Wednesday, October 31, 2012

They say "Birds Of A Feather Flock Together"


And Rick Scott does look like a vulture.


Did you know Steve Earle has a sister


Stacey Earle and her husband play in Steve's band and make some fine music on their own. This is from her first solo album "Simple Gearle". It is simply beautiful.


Don't ask "How's It Hanging?"


To the people building the luxury One57 apartment development. Right now they are praying that it just keeps on hanging.

Charlie Pierce is voting to re-elect Barack Obama.


And while his enthusiasm may not be overwhelming, his reasons are sound.
Barack Obama owes more than I'd like him to owe to the Wall Street crowd. He probably at this point owes a little more than I'd like him to owe to the military. The rest he owes to the millions of people who elected him in 2008 — especially to those people whose enthusiasm I neither shared nor really understood — and he will owe them even more if they come out and pull his chestnuts out of the fire for him this time around. He may sell them out — and, yes, I understand if you wanted to add "again" to that statement — but they are not likely to revenge themselves against the country if he does and, even if they decided to, they don't have the power to do much but yell at the right buildings.

On the other hand, Willard Romney owes even more to the Wall Street crowd, and he owes even more to the military, but he also owes everything he is politically to the snake-handlers and the Bible-bangers, to the Creationist morons and to the people who stalk doctors and glue their heads to the clinic doors, to the reckless plutocrats and to the vote-suppressors, to the Randian fantasts and libertarian fakers, to the closeted and not-so-closeted racists who have been so empowered by the party that has given them a home, to the enemies of science and to the enemies of reason, to the devil's bargain of obvious tactical deceit and to the devil's honoraria of dark, anonymous money, and, ultimately, to those shadowy places in himself wherein Romney sold out who he might actually be to his overweening ambition. It is a fearsome bill to come due for any man, let alone one as mendaciously malleable as the Republican nominee. Obama owes the disgruntled. Romney owes the crazy. And that makes all the difference.
Vote and then you can complain.

Another peek at Mitt's Taxes


From the pen of Tom Toles.



New York City is slowly getting back to its feet


And the New York Times has a constantly updating page with information. Among the bits of information is help about how to get around, items of what happened and generally who is doing what.

One reminder. If you MUST drive into the city, at least find enough people to fill your car.

The Price of Deregulation - Mitt Romney style


Not that Mitt Romney has any style but the results of his actions driven by his ideology have been a factor in the unnecessary deaths of 25 people, so far.
One such example is the Meningitis outbreak that so far, has cost 25 people their lives. An additional 344 people in 18 states are suffering from Meningitis, resulting from Mitt Romney’s failure to regulate while serving as Governor of Massachusetts.
From the Examiner:
Records have revealed that a Massachusetts regulatory agency found that the New England Compounding Company had continually failed to meet accepted standards in 2004. Romney failed to act, was it because the New England Compounding Company were contributors to Mr. Romney, and he did not want to bite a feeding hand?
Nothing says responsible government like ignoring life risking negligence, when the company in question is a political donor.
This meningitis outbreak is the result of contaminated drugs, and according to some experts it will get worse.
We were concerned that there might be other medications that might be contaminated coming from that pharmacy,” said Schaffner, who is past-president of National Foundation for Infectious Disease. “The FDA has given us a heads up that that looks to be the case. We’ll have to notify many more patients across the country that they may have been exposed to a fungal infection.
Realistically speaking, this goes beyond a reluctance to bite the proverbial hand feeding his campaign. It’s an example of the extent to which Mitt Romney puts ideology first and sound policy second.
There are some disease outbreaks that cannot be prevented by regulation. No one is suggesting that regulation can create a disease free world. However, this meningitis outbreak could have been prevented. That is what is so infuriating and disgusting about the extent to which deregulation takes precedence over anything else in Mitt Romney’s world.
And somewhere Mitt and his staff have decided that their decision was a cost effective way to get their man elected.




Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Not that anyone in the northeast needs any more.


But the Beatles make things better,


Sandy asks us what kind of America we want


With some help from Martin Bashir.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


Listen to your elders


Just maybe not at work.


The Proper Response To GOP's "Little Government" (except for your vagina)


The New York Times editorial today:
A Big Storm Requires Big Government

Most Americans have never heard of the National Response Coordination Center, but they’re lucky it exists on days of lethal winds and flood tides. The center is the war room of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where officials gather to decide where rescuers should go, where drinking water should be shipped, and how to assist hospitals that have to evacuate.

Disaster coordination is one of the most vital functions of “big government,” which is why Mitt Romney wants to eliminate it. At a Republican primary debate last year, Mr. Romney was asked whether emergency management was a function that should be returned to the states. He not only agreed, he went further.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better.” Mr. Romney not only believes that states acting independently can handle the response to a vast East Coast storm better than Washington, but that profit-making companies can do an even better job. He said it was “immoral” for the federal government to do all these things if it means increasing the debt.

It’s an absurd notion, but it’s fully in line with decades of Republican resistance to federal emergency planning. FEMA, created by President Jimmy Carter, was elevated to cabinet rank in the Bill Clinton administration, but was then demoted by President George W. Bush, who neglected it, subsumed it into the Department of Homeland Security, and placed it in the control of political hacks. The disaster of Hurricane Katrina was just waiting to happen.

The agency was put back in working order by President Obama, but ideology still blinds Republicans to its value. Many don’t like the idea of free aid for poor people, or they think people should pay for their bad decisions, which this week includes living on the East Coast.

Over the last two years, Congressional Republicans have forced a 43 percent reduction in the primary FEMA grants that pay for disaster preparedness. Representatives Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and other House Republicans have repeatedly tried to refuse FEMA’s budget requests when disasters are more expensive than predicted, or have demanded that other valuable programs be cut to pay for them. The Ryan budget, which Mr. Romney praised as “an excellent piece of work,” would result in severe cutbacks to the agency, as would the Republican-instigated sequester, which would cut disaster relief by 8.2 percent on top of earlier reductions.

Does Mr. Romney really believe that financially strapped states would do a better job than a properly functioning federal agency? Who would make decisions about where to send federal aid? Or perhaps there would be no federal aid, and every state would bear the burden of billions of dollars in damages. After Mr. Romney’s 2011 remarks recirculated on Monday, his nervous campaign announced that he does not want to abolish FEMA, though he still believes states should be in charge of emergency management. Those in Hurricane Sandy’s path are fortunate that, for now, that ideology has not replaced sound policy.
And they had few kind words for photo-op charity of Mitt the Shit.

Noted Horse Fluffer and Former FEMA Director


Michael "Heckuva job, Brownie" Brown
has pitched his 2 cents into the Republican/Teabagger wargarble about Sandy.
Un-effing-believable. The entire GOP has been having a years-long allergic reaction to the very concept of "disaster relief," we've got Mitt Romney refusing to even mention whether or not he thinks FEMA is an abomination unto the budget gods, and now out here comes the head Katrina-botcher himself, back like a bad rash:

Michael Brown, former President George W. Bush's former FEMA director who was criticized for his slow reaction to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said on Monday that President Obama may have acted too quickly on Hurricane Sandy this week.

Brown said Obama's Sunday press conference with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials was "premature" because the effect of the storm was not felt until a day later.

Oh, eff you, Brown. Yes, how dare Obama and FEMA try to prepare people for a natural disaster beforehand, instead of sitting on their asses waiting for it to happen. Everyone knows you're supposed to have the press conference warning people about the hurricane only after they've already lost power and nobody can watch the damn thing. If that's not the most Republican damn thing I've ever heard, it's only because Brown didn't figure out a way to wedge the words "tax cut" in there.
Hey Brownie! It's not even worth 2 cents anymore. Go home and fluff yourself.



Mitt & The Rape Republicans


Perfectly horrible together.


And in today's news from Shitholeistan


From the WaPo:
Two members of the U.S.-led military coalition were killed Tuesday by a man wearing an Afghan police uniform in southern Afghanistan, an official said. The killings are the latest in a series of insider attacks that have sown distrust between coalition and Afghan forces.

An Afghan official said the “green-on-blue” attack happened during a joint patrol in Girishk in southern Helmand province. The killer managed to escape, said the official, who spoke by phone on condition that he remain anonymous.

He said the attacker was a member of the Taliban-led insurgents who have been behind similar attacks in recent years. The killings bring to at least 53 the number of deaths among NATO and U.S. forces in similar attacks this year, the bloodiest period since the phenomenon began in 2007.

In a statement, NATO said the victims were members of the coalition but did not identify them. Most of the foreign troops in Helmand are British and Americans.
Waste, nothing more than waste of men and money and honor.

HMS Bounty sunk by Hurricane Sandy


The replica of the Bounty built for the 1962 movie was lost as it attempted to sail from Connecticut to Florida by going around the storm. Sadly they found out the storm was far, far bigger than anticipated. Two members of the crew were lost.
The ship left New London on Thursday, when Sandy was still over Cuba and its path uncertain. But by Friday, it became clear they could not avoid the storm.

On Saturday, as the sea began to get rough, someone posted on Bounty's Facebook page: "Riding the Storm Out...Day 2. I'm sure that Bounty's crew would be overwhelmed by all the prayers and best wishes that have been given. Rest assured that the Bounty is safe and in very capable hands. Bounty's current voyage is a calculated decision ... NOT AT ALL ... irresponsible or with a lack of foresight as some have suggested. The fact of the matter is ... A SHIP IS SAFER AT SEA THAN IN PORT!"

By afternoon Sunday, Bounty's engines had stopped and the ship was taking on water in 50-knot winds. The ship's crew sent distress signals, so when a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules transport plane was dispatched Sunday, they were able to talk to the air crew by radio, as the plane circled overhead.

At first, plans were made to drop pumps aboard by helicopter to help keep the ship afloat. Then Bounty's crew radioed that the water was coming in too fast, about two feet an hour. They were going to abandon the ship, which was being thrown around by heavy seas that seemed to be traveling in every direction.

At 4 a.m., they launched two orange life rafts with canopy roofs and flashing strobe lights on top, and at least 14 of them climbed in, nine in one raft, five in another. It was still unclear Monday night what happed to the other two-the ship's experienced captain, Robin Walbridge, 63, and Claudene Christian, 42, who joined the crew in May while the ship was in Wilmington and whose Facebook page says she is a descendent of Fletcher Christian, the mutineer on the original Bounty played by Brando.

Late Monday afternoon, the Coast Guard recovered Christian's body and took her to Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City, where she was pronounced dead. Walbridge, 63, remained missing.
Kudos to the Coast Guard crews for their efforts in difficult conditions.

Mendacious Mitt The Mormon Untruth Teller


We have seen time and time again in the months of this election, Mitt Romney telling one lie after another. And when he is called on one lie he just moves on to another lie. Sometimes if the whoppers he told worked well he will come back to them later. All this lying has peaked in his bald faced lie about Chrysler and its Jeep line going to China. It the face of a public denial by Chrysler, he has repeated the lie in an ad defending his lie. He has to lie because he has no platform to run on but what else is working here.
Romney is lying because Romney has to lie. It’s the best card he has to play in a stacked deck, betting on the ignorance and short term memory of the electorate. Oh, and rightwing racial hatred. Romney knows that if he were to tell too much of the truth then he would have to switch sides and begin campaigning for Obama, so instead he and his crew of ankle biters have conspired to weave an intricate alternate universe where the truth is defined strictly by the degree to which it benefits Romney. For instance, in RomneyWorld, Romney never told Detroit to go bankrupt, he only suggested that they consider a managed bankruptcy and Obama stole his idea from him. In RomneyWorld, Obama Care was modeled after..well…something else. In RomneyWorld, a steady if somewhat slowly improving unemployment rate (5.2 million jobs over the past 31 months) is not what a recovery looks like.
He says what his audience wants to hear and if the next crowd wants to hear just the opposite, so be it.



Monday, October 29, 2012

Do as I say, Not as I do.


That tried and true Republican mantra easily describes Mitt the Shit's outlook on disaster response as noted in his remarks and his actions as Governor.
On Oct. 9, 2005, heavy rain storms caused the Green River to rise to historic levels and begin flooding into Greenfield, Mass. The flooding destroyed a trailer park and demolished swaths of low-income housing. Roads were impassable. The flood waters submerged the town's water treatment plant.

As the rain fell and the Green River rose, Greenfield's then-Mayor Christine Forgey tells The Huffington Post that she did not hear from Romney. About 75 people, including many retirees, lost their homes in the trailer park, she says. Still many more were displaced. Forgey says a resident opened up the high school and used it as a crisis shelter. A radio station launched a food and clothing drive and the Red Cross provided services...

The town could handle distributing donated shirts and juice. But Greenfield, with its population of 18,000, couldn't repair this level of loss, which had been estimated to exceed $1 million. Forgey said she needed the state government to respond and for Romney to declare an emergency. But for days, Greenfield residents were on their own, with limited outside help. "We really didn't get the response we were looking for," she says. "I had to declare a state of emergency ... We really needed help desperately, desperately."

On the first day, Forgey says she did not hear from Romney. Nor the second day. Nor the third.

Romney wasn't in Massachusetts when the flood hit, and the emergency did not alter his plans. The Associated Press reported at the time that the governor had been scheduled to speak to an economic club in North Carolina. "If the governor thought for one second he was needed here today, he would be there," a spokesperson told the AP.
When someone is caught in a disaster, the size of the disaster doesn't much matter but the response does. To the Mittwit, there was no great wealth involved so why should he bother. If he is President, we already know what his response would be to something like Sandy. He has dispatched two campaign busses, one each to Virginia & Pennsylvania without bothering to coordinate any efforts with the locals. He probably can't even be bothered to do a W flyover.



Don't forget, before there was Sandy


The wind had another name.


With all the bad news coming down


Let Tom Tomorrow provide a little relief with an unbelievable magic act that is astounding people all across the country.

Whack - A - Mitt



Joss Whedon endorses Romney


Who else can bring on the Zombie Apocalypse?





God Bless Betty White



h/t Addicting Info


There are probably more than 10 of these bastards


But this list from AddictingInfo lists the most prominent CEOs that are pressuring their employees to vote for Mitt the Shit and his butthole buddy Lyin' Ryan.
In this last month leading up to the election, nearly a dozen CEOs of large and very profitable corporations have pressured their employees to vote for (and donate to) GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. With the collective dignity of a back-alley loan shark, these men have intimidated employees into backing Romney by threatening their retirement funds, wages, and very jobs if Obama prevails.

It seems nonsensical for these CEOs to vehemently oppose a President whose administration has overseen skyrocketing corporate profits –- a record $824 billion last year, much higher than at any point during the George W. Bush administration. Also, the Dow Jones industrial average has risen 67.9 percent since Obama took office, a bigger jump than under any Republican president since Dwight Eisenhower.

But no amount of wealth ever seems to be good enough. And, despite representing a very specific, limited slice of America, these chief executives purport to know what’s best for everyone, while pretending to give a flip about increasing your meager take-home pay.

Remarkably, these 10 CEOs are quite similar in ways other than being wealthy and used to getting their way. They also are all male, and all white.
They have all prospered mightily and even taken government money to do so. So are even CEOs dumb enough to vote against their own best interest?



If the Mittwit wins, here come the Republican death panels


This we know because, as Paul Krugman points out, about the only definite policy the Mitt Monster has been steady on is the slashing of Medicaid. And part of the appeal of Mitt's murderous mindset is the general ignorance that many people have about the program.
For while Medicaid is generally viewed as health care for the nonelderly poor, that’s only part of the story. And focusing solely on who Medicaid covers can obscure an equally important fact: Medicaid has been more successful at controlling costs than any other major part of the nation’s health care system.

So, about coverage: most Medicaid beneficiaries are indeed relatively young (because older people are covered by Medicare) and relatively poor (because eligibility for Medicaid, unlike Medicare, is determined by need). But more than nine million Americans benefit from both Medicare and Medicaid, and elderly or disabled beneficiaries account for the majority of Medicaid’s costs. And contrary to what you may have heard, the great majority of Medicaid beneficiaries are in working families.

For those who get coverage through the program, Medicaid is a much-needed form of financial aid. It is also, quite literally, a lifesaver. Mr. Romney has said that a lack of health insurance doesn’t kill people in America; oh yes, it does, and states that expand Medicaid coverage show striking drops in mortality.

So Medicaid does a vast amount of good. But at what cost? There’s a widespread perception, gleefully fed by right-wing politicians and propagandists, that Medicaid has “runaway” costs. But the truth is just the opposite. While costs grew rapidly in 2009-10, as a depressed economy made more Americans eligible for the program, the longer-term reality is that Medicaid is significantly better at controlling costs than the rest of our health care system.

How much better? According to the best available estimates, the average cost of health care for adult Medicaid recipients is about 20 percent less than it would be if they had private insurance. The gap for children is even larger.

And the gap has been widening over time: Medicaid costs have consistently risen a bit less rapidly than Medicare costs, and much less rapidly than premiums on private insurance.
But the program has incurred the wrath of the Right Wing Nut Jobs and other reactionary extremists because it does so by not carving out a chunk of public funds for profit. And that is the death knell of any government program, regardless of how successful it may be.



Sunday, October 28, 2012

As we await the onset of Halloween and Sandy


It is appropriate to have some Spooky Tooth Music - Waitin' For the Wind


What You Say Can Never Be Forgotten


Arizona Sens. McCain and Kyl highly recommend Dr. Richard Carmona (D) in his new ad.


The Mittwit Turns Reality On Its Head


In campaigning in Ohio, Mitt the Shit, once famous for demanding that the auto industry drop dead, is now claiming the savior's cloak regarding the industry.
President Obama’s successful rescue of the auto industry is helping the president maintain a small lead in the crucial battleground state of Ohio. But in the final days of the campaign, Mitt Romney is trying to erode that edge.

In a new ad in Ohio, the Romney campaign argues that it’s Mitt Romney who will support the auto industry and that the president put the companies through a destructive bankruptcy process that will result in jobs going overseas.

“Who will do more for the auto industry? Not Barack Obama,” a narrator says in the ad, which was not announced by the campaign but which media outlets report ran in the Toledo market in Ohio. “Fact checkers confirm his attacks on Mitt Romney are false. The truth? Mitt Romney has a plan to help the auto industry. He’s supported by Lee Iacocca and the Detroit News.”

The ad continues: “Obama took GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy and sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build jeeps in China. Mitt Romney will fight for every American job.”
So Mitt the Shit is hoping a tsunami of bullshit will confuse enough people to vote for him and Lyin' Ryan.



Sunday is Church Sign Day






MoDo wonders why


Maureen Dowd can't understand why her otherwise intelligent sister would choose Mitt the Shit over President Obama. More to the point she can't believe that her sister thinks good old Moderate Mitt will keep the Teabaggers from unleashing the Vagina Police on American Womanhood.
Peggy is that most sought-after creature, an undecided woman who is a swing voter. She started as a blond concrete block in President Obama’s female firewall, but like many other women, is now pondering divorcing him for the man who looks and darn well talks like a ’50s sitcom dad.

She does not believe the economy is getting better, and she trusts Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan not to do anything radical on women’s reproductive rights or Medicare. She rejects my contention that Republicans in Congress would force them to; they see Mitt as an empty suit who would happily sign their far-right bills as long as he got Air Force One.
The attraction Rape Republicans have on women is hard to understand and MoDo thinks it may be too effective. But she may be wrong.



See! We are not that different, are we.


From the pen of Lee Judge.



Saturday, October 27, 2012

With Halloween just a few days off


This would be a good time to post up some Zombies music.


Rats Are Smart


From the pen of Stephen Pastis



How the Fallen Are Not Mighty


From the pen of Stuart Carlson



Quote of the Day


One of the truly disturbing parts of our current politics is that we have begun to identify people who want to impose their religious beliefs on millions of women who don’t share them as moderates as long as they’re O.K. with the rape exemption.
Gail Collins writing about the corrosive effects of abortion politics



And in other news, scientists say the sky is blue.


From the Raw Story:
Rapid advances in the development of cyberweapons and malicious software mean that electronic-voting machines used in the 2012 election could be hacked, potentially tipping the presidential election or a number of other races.

Since the machines are not connected to the Internet, any hack would not be a matter of someone sneaking through cyberspace to change ballots. Rather, the concern is that an individual hacker, a partisan group, or even a nation state could infect voting machines by gaining physical access to them or by targeting the companies that service them.

The 2010 discovery of the Stuxnet cyberweapon, which used a thumb drive to attack Iran's nuclear facilities and spread among its computers, illustrated how one type of attack could work. Most at risk are paperless e-voting machines, which don’t print out any record of votes, meaning the electronically stored results could be altered without anyone knowing they had been changed.
ANd in certain states the results have already been programmed in, we just don't know which ones.

The Cult of the Red Beanie strikes again


Firmly within the grasp of its most reactionary elements. the Immoral Cult of the Red Beanie is once again threatening its members with dreadful otherworldly punishments if the vote in their best interests.
About a month ago, I wrote about a Catholic Bishop in Illinois who warned his parishioners that their souls might be in danger if they vote for Obama. It’s happened again – this time in the neighboring state of Wisconsin...

Not only is the Bishop threatening his congregation’s souls, he’s threatening the community, by saying that the Church will withhold healthcare services.

This isn’t the first time the Church has taken that stance either. Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George threatened to close down the 600 Catholic hospitals across the country if the Affordable Care Act continued. Nearly one in six people, Catholic or not, visit Catholic hospitals in any given year.

People will argue that because the Catholic Church is tax exempt, they are required by law to stay out of politics. Please note, in Bishop Ricken’s email, there are no mentions of candidates’ names or of parties. Obviously, the meaning is clear, but I’m sure that those omissions give some plausible deniability. Even if he had mentioned President Obama’s name or the name of the Democratic party, it’s unlikely the IRS would have anything to say in the matter.
The IRS should have a say in this matter. The Red Beanie Clan should stick to buggering their alter boys and stay out of politics or start paying their taxes.

h/t to Charlie Pierce for the Red Beanie Clan.

Are you looking for that ideal job?


Done with college and wondering how you will pay those student loans? Looking for work and sending resumes to every living person on the planet? Here is one job you probably never considered.
People come from all over the world to trim cannabis during the harvest season in California. Between early October and mid-November they swell the population of Mendocino, Humboldt, and other counties. Many others work on indoor grows year round, all over the state.

There are young adults —high school drop-outs and college graduates— looking for work. There are local moms clipping to help pay the bills. There are Mexican families who come every year from down south. Trimmers come from all walks of life. You find yourself taking part in interesting conversations —a good fringe benefit.

Cultivators generally want workers they are acquainted with, who have trimmed before, and are trustworthy. Training someone new takes time, and the novices tend to work slowly at first.

The amenities of a trim job for an outdoor harvest are varied. Sometimes the trimming is done deep in the woods. A person will be sleeping in a tent with an outdoor toilet. Other times there are more plush accommodations, with guest houses, electricity and plumbing. Growers generally pay for the trimmers’ food and caffeine. They want a productive workforce.
Pay can be by the hour or by the pound but it beats the hell out of stoop labor.



Mitt takes a hit from New Rules


A big hit and actually more than one. Bill Maher is in fine form and plants a solid one on The Donald as well.


Friday, October 26, 2012

Another female newgrass band


Of which there seems to be a fair number of these days. These ladies are out of Boston MA and I hope you will enjoy their music.


Quote of the Day


You look in great shape. And who wouldn't be if they shoveled crap all day long.
Triumph the Insult Comedy Dog to Sean Hannity.

If elected the Moderate Mitt


Would disappear faster a $1 wedding dress at a Filene's sale. Most of us know that Moderate Mitt is just a chimera, but Jonathan Alter is kind enough to show us why even that mythical creature would not last.
You have to hand it to Mitt Romney and his team. Starting in the first debate, he pivoted almost effortlessly to the center, which is where elections are won. If he beats President Barack Obama, it will be because he Etch-A- Sketched his earlier positions and convinced enough people that he would be a moderate president.

Unfortunately, he has little chance of governing that way. We don’t know which Romney will show up on a given day, but we sure know which Republican Party would be in charge in Washington every minute. The Republicans have become the most extreme major political party in generations. They are tolerating Romney’s heresies this month only to gain power.

If a President Romney tried to govern in a moderate fashion by, say, allowing for some revenue increases to reduce the deficit, his base wouldn’t hesitate to savage him. Then he would be a man without a party, unless you include Senator Susan Collins of Maine. Were Senator Scott Brown to survive his challenge in Massachusetts (and Elizabeth Warren currently leads in the polls), the moderate Republican caucus in Congress might include just two senators, plus three or four House members. That’s it.

More likely, Romney as president would be a man with a strange crick in the neck, constantly looking over his right shoulder to see which pickup truck full of movement conservatives was about to run him over.
When you run with a deviant crowd, it is hard not tobe a deviant yourself.




Best spin ever on the debate process,


From Team Coco & Triumph the Neutered Insult Comic Dog.


What Scares The Hell Out Of Republican/Teabaggers?


An intelligent woman talking about a powerful black man, like this.


O the Joys Of Being Supreme Leader.


From the New York Times:
The mother of China’s prime minister was a schoolteacher in northern China. His father was ordered to tend pigs in one of Mao’s political campaigns. And during childhood, “my family was extremely poor,” the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, said in a speech last year.

But now 90, the prime minister’s mother, Yang Zhiyun, not only left poverty behind, she became outright rich, at least on paper, according to corporate and regulatory records. Just one investment in her name, in a large Chinese financial services company, had a value of $120 million five years ago, the records show.

The details of how Ms. Yang, a widow, accumulated such wealth are not known, or even if she was aware of the holdings in her name. But it happened after her son was elevated to China’s ruling elite, first in 1998 as vice prime minister and then five years later as prime minister.

Many relatives of Wen Jiabao, including his son, daughter, younger brother and brother-in-law, have become extraordinarily wealthy during his leadership, an investigation by The New York Times shows. A review of corporate and regulatory records indicates that the prime minister’s relatives — some of whom, including his wife, have a knack for aggressive deal making — have controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion.

In many cases, the names of the relatives have been hidden behind layers of partnerships and investment vehicles involving friends, work colleagues and business partners. Untangling their financial holdings provides an unusually detailed look at how politically connected people have profited from being at the intersection of government and business as state influence and private wealth converge in China’s fast-growing economy.
This is the stuff that grasshoppers don't learn at the monastery, nor do the Chinese people as their Internet access to the NYT has been cut off.

Former Italian PM Berlusconi Guilty of Tax Evasion


Now this should be a lesson to all of us, that political leaders are not above the law.
An Italian court on Friday convicted former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and sentenced him to four years in jail for tax fraud in connection with the purchase of broadcasting rights by his Mediaset television company.

Mr. Berlusconi has the right to appeal the ruling two more times before the sentence becomes definitive and will not be jailed unless the final appeal is upheld. Prosecutors had asked for a jail sentence of three years and eight months.

The court also ordered damages provisionally set at $12.96 million, to be paid by Mr. Berlusconi and his co-defendants to the tax authorities.
Now the question is, Will Silvio enjoy a new form of Bunga-Bunga as much as the old style?

Mitt the Shit is two steps better than the Underwear Gnomes.


Because he has a 5 Step Plan to get America back to being a roaring success. Like the Gnomes, Mitt's plan begins with stealing, in Mitt's case the election. And like the Gnomes it ends with prosperity for all. In between, well let PK tell you.
Well, as I’ve said before, Mr. Romney’s “plan” is a sham. It’s a list of things he claims will happen, with no description of the policies he would follow to make those things happen. “We will cut the deficit and put America on track to a balanced budget,” he declares, but he refuses to specify which tax loopholes he would close to offset his $5 trillion in tax cuts.

Actually, if describing what you want to see happen without providing any specific policies to get us there constitutes a “plan,” I can easily come up with a one-point plan that trumps Mr. Romney any day. Here it is: Every American will have a good job with good wages. Also, a blissfully happy marriage. And a pony.

So Mr. Romney is faking it. His real plan seems to be to foster economic recovery through magic, inspiring business confidence through his personal awesomeness.
A little light in the middle, like the Gnomes. But Mitt has 5 Steps which you can count on your fingers. And when you get to Step 3, well that is probably all you will get from Mitt's Marvelous Machination.



Mitt the Shit dumping jobs before company thinks of it.


The Mittwit
has become so practiced at laying off US workers and sending the jobs to China that he can now do so well in advance of the company decision or even investigation of doing so.
At an event in Defiance, Ohio Thursday evening, Mitt Romney got his Halloween on early by playing the Grim Reaper of jobs when he told a complete falsehood about Chrysler moving Jeep to China and taking Americans job with them. Chrysler said that a “careful and unbiased” understanding “would have saved unnecessary fantasies and extravagant comments.” That’s our Mitt.

Romney took “a leap that would be difficult even for professional circus acrobats” Thursday when he said, “I saw a story today, that one of the great manufacturers in this state, Jeep, now owned by the Italians, is thinking of moving all production to China. I will fight for every good job in America, I’m going to fight to make sure trade is fair, and if it’s fair, America will win.”

Did you catch that? He saw a “story” alright, and just like Fox, he figured he’d “some people” reality by not bothering with it at all.

The truth is that Chrysler is not moving its Jeep production from America to China. As Chrysler said today, “Jeep has no intention of shifting production of its Jeep models out of North America to China.”
That's out Mittwit, pulling disasters out of his ass at a moment's notice.



Thursday, October 25, 2012

A one woman band


Originally from Sweden and now making her home in New Orleans.


Everyone should read their posts.


If you are not yet familiar with Margaret and Helen, yo need to get over to their blog and start reading their posts. Their latest effort on Republican/Teabagger misogyny is a 'must read' for anyone who believes that women are people. It has too much to excerpt.

A bonehead, a muttonhead and an airhead.


Martin Bashir assesses the Mittwit by the company he keeps.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

When I say Up is Down, you better believe.


Which is pretty much what another CEO is telling his workers as he commands them to vote for Romney. This one is particularly vile because he took $Millions in stimulus money to grow his company.
Another boss weighs in telling his workers to vote for Mitt Romney, and if this one takes it easier on the intimidation than many of his plutocratic brethren, he makes up for it with an extra helping of hypocrisy. Jack DeWitt, president of Michigan's Request Foods, included in his company's newsletter a message assailing President Barack Obama for wanting "a bigger government," including "more regulations and rules which makes it difficult to start and grow business (such as Request Foods)." One little thing:

Request Foods obtained $5.5 million under a federal grant program that Obama's stimulus bill increased by $1 billion. Last year, the company greatly expanded its footprint in Holland, Mich., where it used the money for a water treatment plant to serve a new facility.

The company has also seen a strong increase in sales during the Obama administration. [...]

With the help from taxpayer money, Request was able to add at least 250 jobs.

While DeWitt didn't include the threat to his employees' jobs that seems to be de rigeur these days, a logistics coordinator at the company told the Huffington Post that "All the employees fall in line. They support our business policies." (Small conflict there: Request's business policies led to 250 people being hired thanks in large part to the stimulus. It's the company's political message that's at issue here, telling workers to vote against the president who made their jobs possible.)
We really have to wonder what he expects to get from Romney?



C’mon, they’re kinda asking for it


Stephen Colbert with some sage advice on rape for those Teabagger candidates.


Granpa Walnuts gets agitated


Yells at respected military and diplomatic leader for walking on his lawn and for supporting President Obama.
John McCain bitterly denounced former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday for supporting President Obama for a second straight election.

“General Powell, you disappoint us and you have harmed your legacy even further by defending what is clearly the most feckless foreign policy in my lifetime,” McCain told Brian Kilmeade on his radio program.

In 2008, Powell’s late backing of Obama over McCain was one of the most widely-covered endorsements of the campaign.

Once again, Powell weighed in towards the end of the race this week, telling CBS News that he stands by the president based on his first term performance on the economy and foreign policy alike. According to Powell, he witnessed “the president get us out of one war, start to get us out of a second war and did not get us into any new wars. And finally I think that the actions he has taken with respect to protecting us from terrorism have been very very solid. And so, I think we ought to keep on the track that we are on.”
Given John McCain's skill at crashing planes, I think I will agree with General Powell.



Mittens On Defense


From the pen of Nick Anderson.



Texas does not want international poll watchers


Because having all those people looking over your shoulder makes it harder to keep the "undesirables" from voting.
Reuters reported yesterday that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has warned the OCSE to stay away from Texas polling places. I wrote the other day about the Republican reaction to the presence of these international observers. The agents of voter suppression to not want witnesses to their illegal activities.

So in a move that is likely to be repeated in other Red States, Abbott says he will take legal action if the OCSE refuses to follow state law. Not federal law, mind you, but state law. The treaty in question, of course, was not made by the State of Texas, but by the United States of America.

Abbott said,

“They act like they may not be subject to Texas law and our goal all along is to make clear to them that when they’re in Texas, they’re subject to Texas law, and we’re not giving them an exemption.”

He claims, “Our concern is that this isn’t some benign observation but something intended to be far more prying and maybe even an attempt to suppress voter integrity.”

Only in Texas, is the subtitle here. These Red States sometimes forget we are a nation, a union of states under a single federal government and that individual states do not make foreign policy decisions, sign treaties, or decide which obligations to adhere to. You might be able to ignore biblical injunctions at will but states can’t ignore international treaties.
Actually Greg Abbott can ignore anything he wants because he doesn't know fuck=all about the law to begin with. What he does know is how to waste tax dollars on stupidly hopeless causes.


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Every time I see his name


I have to check and see if he is still alive. And last check Johnny Winter is still with us.


The Seven Levels of GOP Approved Rape.




h/t Daily Kos.

Another suit against Bank of America


This one from the US attorney's office in Manhattan along with the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the government watchdog for the bank bailout program.
Federal prosecutors in New York sued Bank of America on Wednesday, accusing the giant bank of carrying out a mortgage scheme that defrauded the government during the depths of the financial crisis.

In a civil complaint that seeks to collect $1 billion in damages from the bank, the Justice Department took aim at a home loan program known as the “hustle,” a venture that Bank of America inherited with its purchase of Countrywide Financial during the crisis. Prosecutors say the effort, created in 2007 but kept alive through 2009 by Bank of America, was designed to churn out mortgages at a rapid pace without proper checks on wrongdoing. The bank then sold the “defective” loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled housing giants, which were stuck with heavy losses and a glut of foreclosed properties.
Not to worry though. This is a civil suit so nobody will go to jail. And US Attorney Preet Bharara should be known as "Old 10 Cents On The Dollar Preet" for his amazing ability to craft exceedingly light settlements. That's why the complaints always seek huge sums. Sure looks like they are doing something, doesn't it?

Why waste time stealing from the state


When the state will let your company collect the taxes and keep them. Saves time and keeps those silly government people from getting their hands on "your money", amirite?
The bill, HB 2626, passed on October 17 with bipartisan support. Just 80 members of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, most of the Democrats, voted in opposition.

Employers that hope to take advantage of the incentive program must hire 250 or more new full time employees and provide health insurance for them, in addition to paying a wage that’s above the county average wherever they’re located. Once those conditions are met, the proposed law would allow companies to absorb as much as $5 million of their employees’ income taxes every year.

As state struggle with one another in an effort to lure companies with special tax rates and incentives, millions are given away every year to thousands of companies that otherwise earn more than enough to continue being profitable.
This should work just fine.

WORD!


Leslie Gore was right then and her words still are true.





Gym fires Marine for being "disabled veteran"


Surprisingly, this was done openly and notoriously despite being illegal.
A retired Marine who served as a gunner in Iraq says that his employer in Lexington, South Carolina refused to let him keep Veterans Affairs appointments and eventually fired him, citing that he was a “disable veteran” as the cause.

Lexington County court filings obtained by WIS showed that Jonathan Brown was terminated by New Life Fitness World on July 31 the and the “Employment Status Change” form said, “Discharged for: disabled veteran.” Brown has sued the gym because federal law requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for disabled employees.

Brown served in the Marine Corps for six years and was deployed to Iraq, where he operated a 25MM cannon before being discharged for a disabling eye condition.

“The VA is just like the military,” the retired Marine told WIS. “If you miss an appointment, you might not get another one to actually let them help you with your problem.”

Brown recalled that his regional manager, Jonathan Moreno, called him into his office to talk about the doctor visits and then fired him for being a “disabled veteran.”
This happened down in Lesser Carolina where they are all patriotic and Teabaggery but really don't give a damn about those who have been used up. They love them some fetuses and cry an ocean when the boys come back in a box, but when they are still alive, fuck 'em.

And the number of cavalry swords has dropped also.


The Mittwit
was taken to task by President Obama for his assertions that the Navy is weaker for having a smaller number of ships than in 1916. In remarks dripping with sarcasm but still easy enough for a 3rd grader to understand, PBO explained that todays ships are much more capable, especially aircraft carriers that planes fly off and everything. Mitt, true to his campaign standards has refused to back down in the face of reality. He has produced a commercial of soundbites that contain his allegations. The President needs to make a commercial from his response.



So now we know what it takes to get action


Under the leadership of unindicted felon Rick Scott, Florida has established itself in the forefront of voter fraud and disenfranchisement. Indeed, it is so common and obviously government sanctioned that the state Attorney General has not bothered to take any action, so long as it was aimed at Democrats. But now there has appeared a fraudulent letter aimed at Republicans.
In a previous post, I reported on some scam letters sent to voters to several counties in Florida. There are many questions that remain unanswered as the FBI and Florida’s law enforcement work to find the source of those letters.

At this point, we don’t know who is behind it and, as of yet, we don’t know why. It could be an attempt to steal people’s identities, deny them the vote or something else.
I am glad that State and Federal law enforcement is investigating. Whatever the motives were, I also hope the people behind this scam are caught and held accountable under the applicable laws.

At the same time, this incident raises questions for Florida’s Secretary of State.
Florida Today reports that the Secretary of State, Ken Detzner made the following comment in an email to Florida’s 67 county supervisors.

The Department of State takes this possible act of voter intimidation and fraudulent activity very seriously and is pursuing all avenues to ensure the practice is immediately stopped, as we do with all attempts at voter intimidation or fraud. The department is referring any information about these letters and other cases of potential voter fraud to law enforcement.

The Tampa Bay Times reported on October 2nd that Ken Detzner has yet to speak publically about the alleged fraudulent activity by Republican strategist, Nathan Sproul and his company Strategic Allied Consulting.

With less than a week before the deadline to register to vote in the November election, Republican state leaders who had made voter fraud a top issue are offering little insight into how they are handling the increasing numbers of suspicious registration forms being found throughout Florida.

What gives, Secretary Detzner? Where was your concern when the perpetrator was known to authorities and election fraud had occurred? Where are you instructions to Country Election Officials?
I guess when voter and registration fraud don't start in the AG's office it is time to do something about it.

Wisdom from the Tweety


Some people can pack a lot of wisdom into 144 characters.


Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Way back before he got fat and sassy


Elton John & Bernie Taupin put together some good radical tunes.


Joke of the Day


As the patient was being prepared for his heart transplant surgery, the surgeon came in to announce that he had great news. There were three hearts available for the patient.

"The first one is from a 24 year old ski champion who died in a skiing accident", said the surgeon.

"The second is from a 19 year old football player who died from football injuries suffered in his last game", said the surgeon. "Which one do you want?"

"But doc," said the patient, "you said there were three, where did the third come from?" "Oh, the third is from a 72 year old Republican banker."

"Great, I'll take that one!" "But why", asked the surgeon.

"I want to make sure I get a heart that has never been used."

Our next financial bubble, farmland.


As long as the economy remains weak, people with money will be looking for a better investment than the traditional ones. One that is currently surging is farmland.
Across the nation’s Corn Belt, even as the worst drought in more than 50 years has destroyed what was expected to be a record corn crop and reduced yields to their lowest level in 17 years, farmland prices have continued to rise. From Nebraska to Illinois, farmers seeking more land to plant and outside investors looking for a better long-term investment than stocks and bonds continue to buy farmland, taking advantage of low interest rates.

And despite a few warnings from bankers, the farmland boom shows no signs of slowing. Almost every year since 2005, except during the start of the recession in 2008, agriculture land prices have posted double-digit gains. In the same period, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has had double-digit gains in only three of those years.

An August survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago showed a 15 percent increase in farmland prices since last year across a region that covers Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan. Another survey released at the same time from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City showed even higher growth in the Great Plains states, where farmland prices have increased 26 percent since last year.

The two Fed surveys and sales data have raised concerns from bank regulators about a potential farmland bubble, similar to the housing frenzy that helped set off the financial crisis. A year ago, rising farmland prices prompted regulators to warn banks not to relax lending standards. In July, the Kansas City Fed held a symposium to discuss concerns about a bubble.
This has happened in the past but if the Fed can keep a tight leash on the banks, we may avoid another bust.

Lyin' Ryan proves he will always be an Also-Ran.


It must have been hard enough on Mitt the Shit to be made the fool last night. But to have his Little Buddy Lyin' Ryan double up on the fools side must have really hurt.
Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan says that he can’t figure out what President Barack Obama meant when he mocked Mitt Romney’s complaint about the Navy’s smaller fleet of ships by saying “we also have fewer horses and bayonets.”
If you missed the debate and any of the follow up punditry explaining it, the exchange between the Shit and PBO wnet like this.
During the third 2012 presidential debate, Romney had criticized Obama because “our Navy is smaller now than any time since 1917. The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission, we’re not down to 285. We’re headed down to the low 200s if we go through a sequestration. That’s unacceptable to me.”

In response, Obama promised that military spending would not be cut, adding, “I think Gov. Romney maybe hasn’t spent enough time looking at how our military works. You mentioned the Navy, for example. And that we have fewer ships that we had in 1916. Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed.”

“We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. And so, the question is not a game of Battleship where we’re counting ships, it’s what are our capabilities?”
Paul Ryan is supposed to be one of the "Smart Kids" in Congress. His remarks this morning should put and end to that delusion, except with the hard core base who also don't get it.





Mitt Needs Ships and Mars Needs Women


And it is most likely that neither will have their needs fulfilled. Mars had its scheme foiled by by Yvonne Craig. Mitt failed because he thought that ships are fungible, they are not. Despite this, the Mittwit went charging in demanding more ships. The scorn in the President's response is obvious even in transcript.
But Romney likes to push the narrative that Obama has made America weaker and that our Navy is no longer the Navy it once was. Romney is wrong, but being wrong has never stopped Romney before, and it did not stop him last night.
ROMNEY: Our Navy is old — excuse me, our Navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917. The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. We’re now at under 285. We’re headed down to the low 200s if we go through a sequestration. That’s unacceptable to me.

I want to make sure that we have the ships that are required by our Navy. Our Air Force is older and smaller than at any time since it was founded in 1947.

But President Obama was ready for this weak play:

But I think Governor Romney maybe hasn’t spent enough time looking at how our military works.

You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military’s changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.

And so the question is not a game of Battleship, where we’re counting slips. It’s what are our capabilities. And so when I sit down with the Secretary of the Navy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we determine how are we going to be best able to meet all of our defense needs in a way that also keeps faith with our troops, that also makes sure that our veterans have the kind of support that they need when they come home.
And from that point on, the Mittwit had no chance of being anything but the President's cats-paw. And speaking of the Navy, I hope no one suggests to Mittens that he take a head count.



Monday, October 22, 2012

I found this rummaging around last week


It was written by Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger in 1978 and it still rings as true today.


The End Is Nigh! *


* Nigh, a fancy Middle English word that means we are getting close.

Tom Tomorrow
says goodbye to what will end and gives us a peek at what follows.

Quote of the Day


Republicans, including vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, are willing to risk the nation's fiscal health on keeping a lousy four points in the tax rate for their richest friends.
Douglas Turner.



The New Yorker pulls no punches, endorses Obama


You have to read the whole endorsement to appreciate the full value of its statement.
Barack Obama began his Presidency devoted to the idea of post-partisanship. His rhetoric, starting with his “Red State, Blue State” Convention speech, in 2004, and his 2006 book, “The Audacity of Hope,” was imbued with that idea. Just as in his memoir, “Dreams from My Father,” he had tried to reconcile the disparate pasts of his parents, Obama was determined to bring together warring tribes in Washington and beyond. He extended his hand to everyone from the increasingly radical leadership of the congressional Republicans to the ruling mullahs of the Iranian theocracy. The Republicans, however, showed no greater interest in working with Obama than did the ayatollahs. The Iranian regime went on enriching uranium and crushing its opposition, and the Republicans, led by Dickensian scolds, including the Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, committed themselves to a single goal: to engineer the President’s political destruction by defeating his major initiatives. Obama, for his part, did not always prove particularly adept at, or engaged by, the arts of retail persuasion, and his dream of bipartisanship collided with the reality of obstructionism.

Perhaps inevitably, the President has disappointed some of his most ardent supporters. Part of their disappointment is a reflection of the fantastical expectations that attached to him. Some, quite reasonably, are disappointed in his policy failures (on Guantánamo, climate change, and gun control); others question the morality of the persistent use of predator drones. And, of course, 2012 offers nothing like the ecstasy of taking part in a historical advance: the reëlection of the first African-American President does not inspire the same level of communal pride. But the reëlection of a President who has been progressive, competent, rational, decent, and, at times, visionary is a serious matter. The President has achieved a run of ambitious legislative, social, and foreign-policy successes that relieved a large measure of the human suffering and national shame inflicted by the Bush Administration. Obama has renewed the honor of the office he holds.
Now match this up with the accomplishments of the Mittwit, which are listed later in the full article, and the choice is crystal clear.



Another way to know that Romney is Lying


Any time you hear him proclaim that he knows how to reduce deficits and balance budgets. In the Mittwit's three great claims to fame, he never had to do that and he never did.
When Romney says he knows how to reduce deficits and balance budgets, he is lying because it is not the business model he used to create his enormous wealth. His practice was creating debt that someone else had to repay, and when they could not, Bain bought the distressed company, stripped assets, and sent profits offshore to avoid the Internal Revenue Service. When Romney ran the 2002 Olympics, the American people paid $1.5 billion as Romney’s cronies reaped the profits.

When he was governor of Massachusetts, he ran up over $1 billion in debt and left taxpayers and the next governor the bill as he began his six year quest for the White House. Now, Romney expects Americans to believe he knows how to reduce the deficit and balance the budget when it is contrary to his entire record? It is impossible to think this man who spent his entire career creating debt for profit is going to “run” the largest economy in the world and not create more debt. It is not likely; not for Romney, or any other Republican president.

Romney’s tax plan alone will increase the deficit by $5 trillion, and that is not including $2.1 trillion increase in defense spending. The 20% across-the-board tax cut and elimination of capital gains and investment taxes means government will have to borrow to fund the cuts and to keep operating. One thing is certain, if a small business owner was told to take on massive debt with no way to repay it and trust providence would repay the debt, they would run for the hills. There is nothing in Romney’s past, or his proposals for the future, that demonstrate he has any knowledge or experience reducing deficits because he never did, does not know how, and it remains a mystery to Republicans.
Mitt is skilled at diverting the cash to himself and his cronies, but he isn't the one who creates it. He just takes it.



Sunday, October 21, 2012

Cleo Laine & Ray Charles


What more do you need?


Sunday is Church Sign Day

What would your Preacher post?



With the third debate about foreign policy


It might be a good idea to look at the Mittwit's mad skilz in the foreign arena.


He stands for all that is worst for majority of Americans


And still Mitt the Shit has support from so many people who not only should know better, but they do know better. Rmuse tries to explain why so many people will be voting against their own better interests and in the end there os only one common thread.
Willard Romney is a pathological liar with a business history steeped in corruption and fraud as he destroyed entire companies and consorted with the likes of disgraced junk bond king Michael Milken, his son Tagg’s Ponzi schemers, and foreign countries he contends are enemies of the state. Americans love a success story, but Romney’s support informs that they also love his un-American tactics that raided employees’ pensions, shipped jobs to China, and sent his ill-gained wealth offshore to avoid paying taxes. Romney’s supporters may claim that accusations of his malfeasance are historical, but how many corruption accusations does it take before an intelligent human being thinks, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire?” The only conclusion one can make is that a large segment of the population loves associating with liars, economic traitors, and tax evaders and still call themselves “real Americans.”

It is incredibly curious that so many Americans identify with a party of anti-government corporatists and corrupt businessmen and claim to be good Americans, and it is incomprehensible why they support a Republican candidate with a shadowy business record, hatred for at least 47% of the population, and fallaciously claims to be a Christian. For the record, Jesus Christ never condoned lying, restricting healthcare and food for the poor, children, and seniors, or advocated for war, and yet that is Romney’s appeal to the American people; particularly the religious right.

It is troubling to portray Romney supporters as pathetic sycophants yearning for Dark Age social policy and government by theocratic plutocracy, but the alternative explanation is worse; racism. That is what this election is coming down to and it has been the driving force behind Romney’s popularity and the ease at selling a Draconian corporatist agenda to the American people. Over six months ago during an interview with four retired middle class men, the question was posed; “do you really want a government controlled by corporations and religious extremists?” The spokesman’s reply was instantaneous; “We’d rather have a corporate theocracy than a n*gger in the White House,” as his compatriots nodded in agreement and patted him on the back. That one statement defines Romney supporters and a great portion of America. This is America drives a large segment of the population to forfeit Medicare, contraception, and peace, and they will give up economic freedom willingly to see a white man, even a corrupt white man, in the Oval Office.
It is scary to see what people will sacrifice to get the Muslin Mau-Mau out of the White House.



R.I.P. George McGovern


Honest, patriotic, Liberal. You will be missed.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Mitt Romney on Women


As discovered by Bill Maher.


Every thing needs a little sauce


And when your sauce has soul, you got it made.


Man on the Scene declares bullshit on GOP Benghazi Lies


Juan Cole was good enough to post a letter he received from someone in Benghazi complaining about the total crap coverage of what happened there. The points he makes are straight forward, accurate and not likely to ever find their way to the American public.
I’m so fed up with all the nonsense that’s repeated over and over about the Benghazi attack that I need to vent. You kind of get used to most reporting on international issues being more or less complete crap, but for some reason it’s really bugging me this time. Apologies in advance for the rant-i-ness.

1) The relationship between the anti-”Innocence of Muslims” protests and the attack is still unclear. There were protests against the video that night in Benghazi. There are reports that some people at the protests were also seen at the attack, though it’s difficult to assess credibility. The video cameras at the consulate didn’t record any protest activity at the consulate site itself, and what they did record looked like a direct and determined attack, but it’s not clear how close the demonstrations got, or whether there might have been overlap. Point being that the administration didn’t lie about the attacks–it genuinely wasn’t sure what happened, because no one was.

2) Whether or not someone called the attack “terrorism” is completely irrelevant. No one here [in Libya] cares what politicians in the US call it.
The Mittwit thinks he can slam Obama on this in their last debate. It's a shame most people won't ever know how full of shit Mitt and the Republican/Teabaggers are.



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