Loose TN Canon

19 Different Polls: Americans agree - higher taxes necessary

2011-07-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

Contrary to Republican dogma, polls show that the American people strongly support higher taxes to reduce the deficit and improve income inequality. ... 19 different polls since the first of the year say yes- Americans think higher taxes are necessary - especially on the rich .

McConnell, Boehner, and Cantor voted EVERY TIME to increase the debt limit under Bush while Bush doubled the national debt. Now, suddenly the top 1% of Americans' tax breaks are more important to Republicans than America's credit and economic stability.

Conservative economic policies are killing the middle class. It is class warfare and the average American is clearly losing.

Republican economic policies are based on proven fallacies like 'trickle-down', and 'higher taxes kill jobs,' 'taxes hurt the economy,' ... etc. Bush cut taxes and had the worst job creation record of any modern president. The Bush tax cuts were not supposed to last forever. Alan Greenspan, whose endorsement was perhaps the single most decisive event in their passage, made it very clear that they were a temporary solution to a temporary surplus, a surplus thanks to the Clinton administration.

Bush Tax cuts will cost America $5 Trillion - CRS.

66% of all income growth during the Bush years has been enjoyed by the top 1%. That is who the GOP is fighting for, against every poll that shows Americans feel the rich are not taxed enough.

For 6 of his 8 years as president, Reagan taxed the top 1% far MORE than Obama has proposed. But Mr. Black President is a ‘socialist’. The effective tax rate vs GDP was 18% under Reagan compared to 14.8% today. The GOP has piled on to the crazy wagon. They are invested in the failure of America. Their only objective is to bring Obama down, even if it means crippling the American economy.

Conservative economic policies are killing the heart of America – the middle class. Yes, it is class warfare and the average American is clearly losing.

66% of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 went to the top 1% of all Americans.

Only the top 5 percent of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975.

n 1950, the ratio of the average executive’s paycheck to the average worker’s paycheck was about 30 to 1. Since the year 2000, that ratio has exploded to between 300 to 500 to one.

The bottom 50 percent of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth.

The top 1% of U.S. households own nearly twice as much of America’s corporate wealth as they did just 15 years ago.

Despite the financial crisis, the number of millionaires in the United States rose a whopping 16 percent to 7.8 million in 2009.

83 percent of all U.S. stocks are in the hands of 1 percent of the people.

61 percent of Americans “always or usually” live paycheck to paycheck, up from 43 percent in 2007.

Approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010 – the highest rate in 20 years

43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved up for retirement

You might be a Republican if...

2011-07-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

Republicans: an embarrassment to TN

2011-05-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

The Tennessee GOP makes the state look "barefoot and bucktoothed."

NASHVILLE CITY PAPER:

A Democratic legislative leader said Thursday Republicans made Tennessee look to the rest of the country like a “barefoot and bucktoothed” state with their social conservative agenda in the just-finished session.
“A bunch of the radical extreme stuff passed,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner of Old Hickory said.
“It hurts business. It’s embarrassing for me to talk to people in other parts of the country. It hurts our image down here. We had an image of everybody being barefoot and bucktoothed with cow licks on the sides of their head. [In the past], we came a long way to try to diminish some of that. We might have stepped back in the pack in the South.”
Turner named two Republican proposals: the “don’t say gay” bill by Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville to ban any mention of homosexuality in schools, and the bill by Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, to overturn Nashville’s anti-gay bias ordinance. Campfield’s bill passed the Senate in a watered-down form but did not advance in the House. Casada’s bill became law when Gov. Bill Haslam signed it on Monday.
“On the social issues, the John Birch Society issues, Tennessee maybe led the way in that,” Turner told reporters. “We stood out. We made the paper a whole lot more. A lot of people around the country might think Sen. Campfield is a typical legislator here in Tennessee, which is unfortunate.

The writing is on the wall: the GOP is floundering

2011-05-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Give them enough rope and they hang themselves.

NY 26 - special election (to replace Republican Congressman Chris Lee who resigned after publicly trying to solicit women on Craigslist) goes to Democrat Kathy Hochul in a solidly Republican district that is seen as a referendum on Paul Ryan's plan to ditch Medicare.

Obama's rating has been inching higher ever since the Bin Laden killing. Now at +10, Fox News has him at +14.

The hate merchants Limbaugh and Hannity have lost a third of their audience in the past 6 months.

A number of potential GOP presidential candidates have bowed out.

Recent media has given bad new for Palin and Pawlenty.

Teabagger FL Gov. Rick Scott is now down below 30% in the polls.

Gingrich starts his campaign for president and gets smacked down.

In Wisconsin recall matchup, both Feingold [D] and Barrett [D] lead Gov. Walker [R] by 7 to 10 points.

The GOP digs themselves even deeper with the Senate GOP voting to trash Medicare.

GAME OVER GOP

Obama will get 4 more years, the Dems will take back the House. 2012!

Bible: Jesus was clearly a liberal socialist

2011-04-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

Since conservatives seem to have claimed 'ownership' of religion and 'moral values,' it is also notable that they are ignoring Biblical moral value principles - true to their consistent hypocrisy.

Why was Jesus crucified?

According to Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan, Jesus was a philosopher who argued that true happiness could be found by charity and kindness, not by accumulation of wealth. Jesus argued that Roman commercialism had corrupted Jewish society. Jesus was a trouble maker to the Romans and made his feelings known. The only time Jesus was ever documented in the Gospls using physical force was when he expells the money changers from the temple. The small few elite Jews were getting very rich cooperating with the Romans while most were being dispossessed and taxed into oblivion. Under Roman rule, their society was becoming dominated by a wealthy arrogant elite grinding down on an increasingly desperate working class. This disparity was against the principles of Jesus, and the Bible is clear on these values:

But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. [Luke 14:13 &14.]

If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. [Matthew 19:21]

You cannot serve both God and Money. [Matthew 6:24.]

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
[1 Timothy 6:10,11]

Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
(Proverbs 23:4,5)

He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
(Proverbs 28:8)

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
(Psalm 37:21)

A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
(Proverbs 28:20)

What would Jesus think of Republicans targeting the poorest and weakest among us by cutting funding for community health centers, heating for the poor, foodstamps, and medicare while fighting tooth and nail to protect tax cuts for the most weathy?

During the election, Republicans lied through their teeth - accusing the Democrats of wanting to cut Medicare and SS. Now look at the hypocrites... planning to phase out Medicare for those under 55, cutting programs for the poor and elderly while fighting to preserve a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans.

A little history: Note the titles given to these Bush tax cuts for corps and the rich:

Cut #1: Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001

Cut #2: Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003

Cut #3: Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005

Well guess what? There was no economic growth and the worst job creation of any modern presidency. The Republican fantasy of trickle down has a proven record of failure, yet they keep sticking to it because of their puppet masters and their innate mental predispostion of not being able to adapt.

This is not to say that Obama is a socialist. We all know where that lie comes from. Like previous presidents, Obama is well connected to the JPMorgan Chase money machine. It just goes to show how hypocrisy runs deep among religious conservatives who now use "socialism" as a dirty word and rallying cry against Democrats.

So, do these GOP generated lies about America becoming consumed by socialism have any bearing in reality? Quite the contrary! America is anything but socialistic. America ranks dead last in social spending among industrialized nations.*
(*OECD members)

Obama approval rating soars

2011-01-24T21:33:00.000-08:00

With his approval at 51% in the RCP poll of polls, Obama is polling significantly higher than both Reagan and Clinton at this point in their presidencies.

Just as important, Obama's disapproval of 42.8% is lowest in a year.

We'll look for an additional bump after Obama's State of the Union Address.

Look at GW Bush's approval graph by comparison, a continuous downward slope. He only eeked out a 50% approval rating right at the time of his reelection. It is now revealed that Bush broke Federal Campaign Law, and got away with it. So much damage in his 8 years.

Conservatives desperately try to justify Glenn Beck's remark: "You're going to have to shoot them in the head"

2011-01-21T10:39:00.000-08:00

It's OK by conservatives that Glenn Beck tells people "You're going to have to shoot them in the head" ... because Beck wasn't appealing to his supporters, so that makes it OK.

This astonishing apologist rhetoric comes streaming to us with denials and supportive comments (all non-supportive comments are of course deleted) from the Patterico blog. And these bloggers consider themselves "Christians"! How's that for Christian behavior... defending this quote?

"They believe in communism. They believe and have called for a revolution. You're going to have to shoot them in the head. But warning, they may shoot you. They are dangerous because they believe Karl Marx is their George Washington. You will never change their mind. And if they feel you have lied to them — they're revolutionaries. Nancy Pelosi, those are the people you should be worried about." -- Glenn Beck, Fox News, 6/10/10

Yes, the same Glenn Beck who pulled a photo of himself with a gun from his website after the Tucson shootings.

In the title of Patterico's post: "Glenn Beck Did Not Tell His Viewers to Shoot Anyone in the Head" ... no, but it's ok that he told Democrat leaders to shoot so-called radical members of their party in the head.

WTF is wrong with these people ... defending a statement like that?

Christians. heh.

Bill Maher: Founding Fathers wouldn't have much in common with the teabaggers

2011-01-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

Hillarious!!!

Bill Maher nails it: AZ shooter's blackboard would look a lot like Glenn Beck's

2011-01-11T17:44:00.001-08:00

Enough of the false equivalencies.

Tell us Teabaggers, on what political side do we see gun fetish blogs? On what political side do we see anti-government militias? On which side do we hear most of the anti immigrant hate coming from?

Answer the question teabaggers. How are those "second amendment remedies" workin out for you?

Why did Sarah Palin remove the crosshairs then say they were just "surveyors scopes."

Why did Glenn Beck remove a website photo of a gun?

Why has Roger Ailes told his Fox News employees to "tone down the rhetoric."?

Who is responsible for the gun culture? Gov. Jan Brewer [R] signed a bill allowing loaded guns in bars and restaurants, as well as another that prohibits property owners from banning guns from parking areas, so long as the weapons are kept locked in vehicles. And in July, Arizona became the only state in the nation with a large urban population to allow U.S. citizens 21 and older to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Lawmakers in 2010 blocked a bill that would have allowed university and community-college faculty to carry guns on school grounds, but Rep. Jack Harper [R], has proposed the bill again this year.

Noooo, the teabagger conservatives don't want to answer these questions. Ingram Entertainment employee Serr8d was too much of a coward to entertain these questions. In his remarkably twisted mind he reasoned that the shooter was a liberal because he was not a Christian:

This skull crap means the guy wasn't an EVIL WHITE CHRISTIANIST, but a Democrat; outreaching to and embracing TEH OTHER religions and beliefs, as Democrats are so fond of doing.

Aaron Worthing at Patterico joins the ranks of the cowardly.

The AZ shooter was upset that people in his district were "illiterate" (read:Mexican). Kind of reminds me of what teaparty racist candidate Tancredo said in Nashville last year that Obama was elected by: "people who could not even spell the word 'vote' or say it in English.'... Further characterizing Democrats as "the cult of multiculturalism" and endorsing the return of Jim Crow laws.

The AZ shooter also was paranoid about US currency and returning to the gold standard... a topic that Glenn Beck talks about all the time. Wonder where he heard that?

There are extremists on both sides of course, but with the Right-wing, it's a bit different. The paranoid and conspiratorial style is much more mainstream, especially with Beck and Fox. On Fox, there are shadowy links between Soros, the Tides Foundation, and other liberal causes that aim to bring America down. Obama is at once fascist and a socialist. Don't forget Palin's dark insinuations about Obama's ties with terrorists and HCR's agenda to impose of Death Panels. Of course, you have questions about Obama birth certificate sadly mainstream when Republican representatives and candidates claim it's still an issue. Candidates and elected officials calling for "second amendment remedies", carrying signs promoting insurrection "Don't Tread on Me" and saying they want their constituents "armed and dangerous." Wake up, this is not an isolated incident. (H/T: the Atlantic)

-- July 2008: A gunman named Jim David Adkisson, agitated at how "liberals" are "destroying America," walks into a Unitarian Church and opens fire, killing two churchgoers and wounding four others.

-- April 2009: A white supremacist named Richard Poplawski opens fire on three Pittsburgh police officers who come to his house on a domestic-violence call and kills all three, because he believed President Obama intended to take away the guns of white citizens like himself.

-- July 2010: An agitated right-winger and convict named Byron Williams loads up on weapons and drives to the Bay Area intent on attacking the offices of the Tides Foundation and the ACLU, but is intercepted by state patrolmen and engages them in a shootout and armed standoff in which two officers and Williams are wounded.

More here:

Exactly how many "liberals" can you find out there who walk into churches, museums and political rallies and shoot people in the head?

Enough of the BS false equivalencies, we can see where this vitriol is coming from.

UPDATE:

Another nut-job was arrested TODAY 1/12/11 by the FBI for threatening to kill Rep. Jim McDermott (D - WA). Check out the afidavit and see how ingrained the right-wing talking points are in his threats.

A SC gun retailer is now selling magazines for assault rifles engraved with Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) famous quote "you lie" that was yelled at Obama during a speech. Joe Wilson appears in the ad for these Limited Edition(!) assault rifle components.

Republicans love the Constitution so much they want to change it

2011-01-06T06:04:00.001-08:00

The first day of the Republican controlled House, they intend on reading the Constitution.

Why is it that Tea Party Republicans that have wrapped themselves in the Constitution are so bent on changing it? They want to change the 14th amendment, the 17th amendment, they want to reject the supremacy clause Article VI, Clause 2, and federal taxation Article I, Section 8, ...clause 2.... and if it were up to them, they'd have a religious (Christian) test for political office which violates Article VI, paragraph 3.

Actually, Republicans want to change the Constitution in a dozen different ways.

Now that's respect for the Constitution!

To top it all off, they had Antonin Scalia school them on the Constitution - he's the guy who thinks that the 14th Amendment - "equal protection under the law" - does NOT apply to women, despite a 1971 unanimous SCOTUS ruled that the equal protection does apply to women.

Scalia also has no problem with promoting religion in government (which is unconstitutional), and is basically one of the most dangerous people of power in America. Let's hope for a retirement soon.

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

UPDATE: Denialist blogger who can't handle debate - Patterico - stikes again. I commented on Scalia yesterday. My comment was of course deleted but wha-lah .... he has a post on Scalia today. heh...

Teabagger Christine O'Donnell caught stealing campaign money

2010-12-30T19:16:00.000-08:00

Christine O'Donnell is in for a lesson. You can't make a career out of failed political campaigns and steal your contributor's campaign funds for your personal use.

O'Donnell is under criminal investigation. It seems not a matter if she stole campaign money, but how much. She could even do time if convicted. This is what passes for morality for the religious right wing teabaggers jumping to her defense.

It is shocking that anyone would have supported this candidate, who claimed American scientists had created mice with "fully functioning human brains." But, that's the level of intellect we're dealing with when it comes to the teabagger:

GAME OVER

Patterico - another denialist conservative blog deletes comments, stifles debate

2010-12-20T15:55:00.001-08:00

Patterico - a conservative blog whose master, Patrick Frey has apparently entrusted to "Aaron Worthing" to it's operation has proven once again, conservatives can't handle the truth.

Not only has "Aaron Worthing" apparently deleted my comments and banned me from commenting (possibly against the blog owners intent), he has taken links from my very comments and produced posts on them, not even allowed me the courtesy to discuss the issue that I brought to his attention. At least this time, "Worthing" gave me credit for it. So upset with my links, facts and debate, everyone I saw post a contrary opinion was suspected to be me. I guess I shook up their little world. At least they haven't libeled me yet, as did Protein Wisdom.

More insidious have been the jokers complaining that I post under different names. When I called their bluff and told them that I would post under my own name if they posted under theirs, well, you guessed it.... they cowardly ran like hell and continued to insult me personally under their cowardly monikers - mentioning my real name, place of employment, often without any meaningful debate or discussion.

One rather infantile self-proclaimed scientist/PhD was particularly insulting and challenging: "Eric Blair".

Due to significant evidence, I have determined "Eric Blair" to likely be Mark Martin - biology professor at the University of Puget Sound. His m.o., giving "test questions" and drawing conclusions based on my unwillingness to participate, was so infantile, I could hardly imagine this guy was my elder, and even a professor. I thought him to be some smart ass grad student at a religious college or something. No surprise, he has been in academia much longer than I and hasn't even been able to muster a Full Professor ranking.

This unfortunate science denier - had made repeated comments showing that like most conservatives, his mind is contaminated by politics and he can not accept the scientific consensus on global climate change. When I outed him, he ran like hell, never to have since appeared at Patterico as "Eric Blair." Not surprising that a scientist like him would go to great lengths to protect his identity, the denier he is. Yet he would always mention MY full name and university in some foolish effort to disparage me.

Apparently, he was not smart enough to keep from being tracked. .. touche' Assoc. Prof. Martin. heh....

Well, thanks "Aaron Worthing" for going on the record as another conservative who fears the truth and debate. Keep it tuned to Fox News.

Pathetic.

Happy Holidays and keep the up the denial!

Fox News viewers are the most misinformed

2010-12-17T02:24:00.000-08:00

University of Maryland study confirms what we already knew... Fox News deliberately misinforms viewers.

Toronto Star:

There were however a number of cases where greater exposure to a news source increased misinformation on a specific issue.

Researchers found that the more you watched Fox News the more misinformed you became; it didn’t matter whether you turned on the channel as a Republican or a Democrat.

“The effect was also not simply a function of partisan bias, as people who voted Democratic and watched Fox News were also more likely to have such misinformation than those who did not watch it — though by a lesser margin than those who voted Republican,” said the study.

Check out the list of lies....

World public opinion org:

Those who watched Fox News almost daily were significantly more likely than those who never watched it to believe [the following lies]:

most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses (12 points more likely)
most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit (31 points)
the economy is getting worse (26 points)
most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring (30 points)
the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts (14 points)
their own income taxes have gone up (14 points)
the auto bailout only occurred under Obama (13 points)
when TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it (12 points)
that it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States (31 points)

The LIE of 'trickle-down economics' - Republicans fight for tax cuts for the rich

2010-12-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

At the expense of the American people, Republicans fight to increase the wealth of the top 1% - their puppet masters.

"Trickle down economics" is a lie and a scam. A way for the GOP to pay their puppet masters. Did trickle down economics work for Reagan?

No:

The UPI headline on 12/30, 1989 - a report on Reaganomics included -

"upper income Americans were the main direct beneficiaries of tax cuts in the early 1980s. there is no evidence in our data that those benefits have trickled down to lower-income Americans."

When Reagan came into office in 1981, he inherited a $994 million national debt. by the time he left, it had ballooned to $2.6 billion.

Reaganomics was a spectacular success for the richest Americans in the country who benefited most from the tax cuts. The top 1% had seen their wages rise by 80%. Average wages in the rest of the country remained flat and the poorest Americans saw their income shrink by more than 10%. That was Reaganomics.

The designer of Reaganomics, David Stockman, declared on NPR that “Reagan would never support extending the Bush tax cuts.” Stockman took this assertion a step further in calling out the Republican leadership for perverting the notions of fiscal conservatism and betraying what the Party used to stand for. He laid blame on the Bush administration. Stockton blames the GOP for "destroying the American economy."

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

Warren Buffett said that he was taxed at 17.7% on the $46 million he made last year while his secretary, who earned $60,000, was taxed at 30%.

That is what the GOP is fighting for. I think Buffet knows a bit about money. You might care to hear what he has to say.

Trickle down economics is not trickling to American jobs, it’s trickling to China. What percentage of your clothing and manufactured good are made in America and who is earning the money for those goods? The top 1/10 of 1% – the CEOs. Delusional Republicans think the tax breaks to CEO’s and big corporations put Americans to work. No, the big corps instead oursource to improve their profit margin. They don't give a shit about putting Americans to work if they can make a few buck by moving operations to Malaysia.

UPDATE: Obama caves. The puppet masters win again. The GOP push their "Leave No CEO Behind" policy. Bernie Sanders to the rescue?

Some people just don't get it.

George Carlin can explain it to you:
(H/T - Shelly Stone)

How dumb is Fox News ... and their viewers?

2010-11-27T12:10:00.000-08:00

Fox News posts a fake story disparaging Obama as real news... from "The Onion," a satirical 'faux news' site.

Further adding to the realization that Fox News thought this was real, they scrubbed the article and comments from their site as soon as they were called on it. They published no retraction, clarification, or correction.

What a bunch of dumbasses.

RS:

The Fox News sister site re-posted a joke from the satirical website The Onion Friday about President Barack Obama sending a 75,000-word e-mail to the the entire nation. At no point does Fox Nation note that the story is a satire.

The Onion story joked that Obama had "reached the end of [his] rope" and sent out the "rambling" stream of consciousness e-mail that addressed everything from the war in Afghanistan to his live-in mother-in-law.

The story goes on to say that the fake Obama e-mail was 27 megabytes and 127 printed pages.

...many of the comments on the post treat the story as if it were actual news.

"It is really sad that in a time of crisis in this country with troops on foreign soil the economy lack of jobs and now N. Korea once again rattling their saber we have a President sitting in the White House that by what I read in the email is utterly losing it," Goofy1954 wrote. "We can not afford to have him in the White House at such a critical time."

"This should be enough to have him removed from office immediately......he is now the highest security risk to this nation," Obamababble observed.

"What you are seeing folks is the human unraveling and development of a self-delusional, irrational madman becoming unhinged. Can anyone say Hitler?" Mmttomb3 asked.

This speaks pretty clearly to the level of intelligence of Fox News and their viewers.

Republican Tea Party Positions - In their own words. GO VOTE!!

2010-10-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

1) Eliminate Federal funding for colleges and Universities – Dick Armey

2) Outsource American jobs oversees and prevent the Democrats from bringing jobs back to America by using foreign funding to attack their candidates. (GOP defeats Dem bill to prevent outsourcing)

3) Government should not prevent private businesses from discriminating on the basis of race. – Rand Paul

4) Gays and single sexually active women should not be legally allowed to teach. – Jim DeMint

5) Victims of incest rape should be forced by the federal government to bear their rapists child. – Angel, Palin, Paul, O’Donnell (official GOP platform calls for illegal abortion - no exception)

6) Evolution is a myth, intelligent design needs to be taught in schools. – Christine O’Donnell, Michele Bachmann, Palin

7) Eliminate the minimum wage. – Joe Miller, Michele Bachman

8) Raise the social security retirement age. – Rand Paul

9) Impose a $2000 Medicare deductible. – Rand Paul

10) “Second Amendment remedies” are needed against government – Sharron Angle

11) The separation of church and state is invalid – Ken Buck, Angle, O’Donnell

12) Abolish public schools and the Dept. of Education – David Harmer, Rand Paul
---------

The Tea Party supposedly touts the US Constitution, yet we have never seen a group more bent on CHANGING the the Constitution. They want to change the 14th amendment, the 17th amendment, they want to reject the supremacy clause Article VI, Clause 2, and federal taxation Article I, Section 8, clause 2.... and if it were up to them, they'd have a religious (Christian) test for political office which violates Article VI, paragraph 3.

Now that's respect for the Constitution. They raise their "Taxed Enough Already" signs in a year where the US saw the lowest taxes in 60 years. A real real bright group you have there!

---------
Republican Tea Party Positions - In their own words. GO VOTE!!

PJTV: "Teabagger Central" touts documented liar: Michele Bachmann

2010-10-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

Top teabagger website, PJTV, touts documented liar Michele Bachmann [R-MN] as an example of a "smart girl." Pulitzer Prize winning non-partisan fact checking website PolitiFact.com has called her out on eleven separate lies, giving her the distinction of an "all false/pants on fire record" - one of the most consistent lying politicians in congress.

Thanks PJTV for showing us an apt example of whom conservative teabaggers consider a "smart girl."

Check out some quotes from the "smart girl."

"There are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them with Nobel Prizes, who believe in intelligent design."
- Michele Bachmann

Politifact:

Bachmann has scored five Pants on Fire ratings, plus six False ratings. After 11 encounters with the Truth-O-Meter, Bachmann continues to hold the rare distinction of an all-False/Pants on Fire record.

Bachmann is up by single digits in recent polls, ahead of her Democratic challenger Tarryl Clark.

GOP's Bogus "Pledge to America" doesn't pass 8th grade arithmetic

2010-09-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

The GOP Pledge: increase the deficit by trillions of dollars and take health-care insurance away from tens of millions of people.

The party of NO becomes the party of nonsense. It must be difficult for any thinking person to be a Republican these days.

As House GOP leader John Boehner said, "We're not going to be any different than what we've been." That's reassuring.

More.... here and here.

In essence, what they [the GOP] say is, “Deficits are a terrible thing. Let’s make them much bigger.” The document repeatedly condemns federal debt — 16 times, by my count. But the main substantive policy proposal is to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, which independent estimates say would add about $3.7 trillion to the debt over the next decade — about $700 billion more than the Obama administration’s tax proposals.

-- Paul Krugman, award winning economist

UPDATE:
GOP pledge fails the Fact Check.

Newt Gingrich becomes the new Joe McCarthy

2010-09-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

What is wrong with Newt Gingrich?

He was once thought of as "the thinker" of the Republican Party, an intellectual.

Putting Gingrich in perspective among his fellow Republicans, Bill Maher remarked on Hardball:

"Pygmies cast large shadows among midgets."

- Bill Maher on Newt Gingrich, MSNBC's Hardball 9/21/10

Does anyone with some level of intelligence actually believe Sharia law to be such a threat that he has to warn the United States Supreme Court:

"And we should make clear to Justice Breyer and Justice Kagan, who both seem confused on this topic, that no judge will remain in office who tries to use Sharia law to interpret the American Constitution."

- Newt Gingrich, Values Voters Summit, 9/18/10

Well Newt, maybe you should warn our Justices not to use Swedish Law, or Japanese Law, or Icelandic Law, as well? What would warrant such a foolish statement? Perhaps to cash in on teabagger white KKKristian Islamophobia?

What is wrong with this picture.... that a majority (52%) of Republicans now believe Obama is sympathizes with the goals of Islamic fundamentalists to impose Sharia Law? (Princeton Survey - 8/27/10). Could this perception have been applied to a Hillary Clinton? Never, it's clearly about race.

This level of Islamophobia is absurd. The teabaggers represent an ignorant and hateful bunch - truly a low mark in the devolution of American politics.

Check this out - TX Board of Education wants to ban "pro-Islamic Bias" in textbooks. Pro-Islamic bias??????? Could these assholes be any more paranoid or hateful?

Even worse, Gingrich characterized President Obama mindset as:

"so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]... That is the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior.”

-Newt Gingrich, National Review, 9/11/10

This is the same guy who called Justice Sotomayer a "racist." Why is this guy so paranoid and hateful?

What is wrong with Newt Gingrich's brain? Why are these teabaggers such a hateful bunch?

Teabaggers fall for the "bearded Marxist" joke

2010-09-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

Every right wing teabagger site in the wingnut universe is painting Delaware's Democratic Senate candidate Chris Coons as a "self described Bearded Marxist." This whole title is based on a joke that Coons used to entitle a college student newspaper article when he was 21. He was making fun of his college Republican friends whom he helped campaign for Ronald Reagan.

His campaign spokesman explains how Coon's study abroad in Kenya changed his political leanings:

“After witnessing crushing poverty and the consequences of the Reagan Administration’s ‘constructive engagement’ with the South African apartheid regime, he rethought his political views, returned to the America he loved and proudly registered as a Democrat.”

How does Coons' political career stand up to the Marxist title?

He's spent six years as county executive, which would have been a great place to try out Marxist theory. Sadly, he became a pretty standard cut-some-spending-increase-property-taxes hack. - David Weigel

Funny to hear someone like Glenn Beck - a college dropout, criticize Chris Coons - a Yale Law grad. But... that's the tea party in a nutshell.

Meanwhile, Coons opponent, O'Donnell (who says she'd not even lie to Hitler to protect a Jew), is the target for a criminal investigation. "She's clearly a criminal"

"Christine O'Donnell is clearly a criminal, and like any crook she should be prosecuted," CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said in a release. "Ms. O'Donnell has spent years embezzling money from her campaign to cover her personal expenses. Republicans and Democrats don't agree on much these days, but both sides should agree on one point: thieves belong in jail not the United States Senate."

Protein Wisdom's Jeff Goldstein commits libel ... again

2010-09-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

Protein Wisdom's cowardly Jeff Goldstein, has a history of committing libel.

Last night, I was alerted by a friend who is an attorney, that Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom blog has attributed comments to me that I did not make on this post - his post, and mentioned my place of employment and full name. I grabbed a few screenshots to document this. Click to enlarge.

This pathetic coward is not just happy deleting factual comments, he now has resorted to libelous defamation, and he admits it (see comment #79).

Per his method of operation, someone must have made a comment that embarrassed him or that he didn't agree with, and since I've hit the mark so many times at his echo chamber blog, and the paranoid he is, he assumed it was me. I'd love to see the comment he deleted that embarrassed him so much. Of course nothing is below Goldstein, described by a recent commenter (who apparently knows him well) as an "unemployable manbaby" - leader of his minions who are "anonymous ankle-biting cowards." He once said he was going to contact my University since he didn't like my blog comments and has "nothing to lose."

Changing people's comments is nothing new for Goldstein, but then attributing racist comments to myself -by full name, and further committing defamation against my employer, MTSU, is beyond dishonest, it's low-life slimy. Obviously, as he described himself, so low he has "nothing to lose" and continues to beg for money at his blog.

UPDATE III:

Thanks to Serr8d for pointing out this blog in not hosted by wordpress.com. For future reference for those that Goldstein may libel in the future, is appears that ProteinWisdom is redirected through Enom.com to Versaweb.com.

I.P. - 208.66.72.11

These companies have been contacted.

Bottom line about Protein Wisdom, summed up by Patterico, who was similarly libeled:

"...you can’t trust anything written at his site. Which is why I intend never to speak about it again. It is an utterly worthless site that has become nothing but the plaything of the site host, to fool the world about what you said by altering it without notice.

A site with so little integrity is not worth my time, or yours, and I’m sorry I wasted so much time writing about it in recent days. That ends, now."

UPDATE:

Why Jeff Goldstein is a criminal

Colorado revised statutes:

18-13-105. Criminal libel.
(1) A person who shall knowingly publish or disseminate, either by written instrument, sign, pictures, or the like, any statement or object tending to blacken the memory of one who is dead, or to impeach the honesty, integrity, virtue, or reputation or expose the natural defects of one who is alive, and thereby to expose him to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule, commits criminal libel.
(2) It shall be an affirmative defense that the publication was true, except libels tending to blacken the memory of the dead and libels tending to expose the natural defects of the living.
(3) Criminal libel is a class 6 felony.

From Burleson consulting:

In Colorado, state law makes criminal libel a felony carrying up to 18 months in prison and a fine up to $100,000 for the first offense. In general, web libel is posting false information about someone that defames them, commonly accusations of criminal acts, marital infidelity, dishonesty... [in Goldstein's case, impersonating William Yelverton and attributing racist comments].

According to this article, if you live on one of the 17 states that enforce criminal libel, you can file to lift the veil on anonymity for someone who defames you and have them arrested on criminal charges.

In Colorado, a man received a a paltry 23 years sentence for "spreading lies on the internet", but some states are getting tougher on libel crimes.

Internet libel is a felony!

UPDATE II:

Goldstein gives us this gem of a response:

"after being made to look foolish in substantive debate"

Question to Jeff:

If Goldstein wants debate, why does he delete comments? How can one be "made to look foolish" if their comments are repeatedly deleted, misrepresented and changed? Tell us, Jeff.

His paranoia runs deep.

President Obama's speech to school children: Republican extremists are racists - confirmed

2010-09-15T00:21:00.000-07:00

Statement by Jim Greer, former chair of the Florida Republican Party:

"In the year since I issued a prepared statement regarding President Obama speaking to the nation's schoolchildren, I have learned a great deal about the party I so deeply loved and served. Unfortunately, I found that many within the GOP have racist views and I apologize to the president for my opposition to his speech last year and my efforts to placate the extremists who dominate our party today. My children and I look forward to the president's speech."

Even when GW Bush had approval ratings below 30%, we never heard this level of disrespect for a president directed at kids as aptly noted by Ed Schultz:

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

Blogger Kay Brooks joins the ranks of cowardly teabagger comment deleters

2010-09-14T10:02:00.000-07:00

Kay Brooks, conservative religious creationist school teacher loves the tea party and hates Muslims - as shown in her in her latest post where she writes:

"they must must never be allowed to build a rabat [mosque] anywhere near that land-- in this land. It was evil. It still is evil. We cannot make nice with it. Understand it. Accommodate it. It must die or we will."

Using the term "they," Kay Brooks clearly identifies all Muslims as terrorists that are evil and "must die." Nice rhetoric coming from a school teacher, aye? Pretty alarming to see a science denier creationist like Brooks (a Nashville school teacher), associated with education. She calls the scientific fact of macroevolution "a religion" and supports Christianist zealot Cynthia Dunbar who was instrumental in rewriting textbooks in TX and who supports a Christian test for pubic office. (You wonder why Tennessee Public Schools have always ranked near the bottom?)

When I pointed out that there was a Mosque in the World Trade Center, linked Colin Powell's statement on the NYC Mosque issue, and a quote from the President she voted for twice - GW Bush, she deleted it.

"The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends. It is not our many Arab friends ... The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics; a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam." - G.W. Bush 9/20/01

Like Serr8d, Ned Wiliams, Wilson County Tea Party, Protein Wisdom, and a host of other conservative teabagger blogs, Kay Brooks demonstrates one of the essential tenets of being a conservative: DENIAL. She no longer allows unmoderated comments.

I have never moderated or deleted comments of opposing views. Some people are just cowards and are ashamed of what the truth shows about them.

Tea Party candidate: masturbation is adultery

2010-09-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

If it didn't seem that the lunatic right wing Tea Party couldn't get any stranger or medieval, here's one that won't disappoint:

Delaware Republican Tea Party candidate, Christine O’Donnell, has likened masturbation to adultery:

"The Bible says that lust in your heart is committing adultery. So you can’t masturbate without lust. The reason that you don’t tell [people] that masturbation is the answer to AIDS and all these other problems that come with sex outside of marriage is because, again, it is not addressing the issue. You’re just gonna create somebody who is, I was gonna say, toying with his sexuality."
--Christine O’Donnell, on MTV program Sex in the 90s.

It is reported that O’Donnell did not actually possess the degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University that she had claimed to have earned.

What is wrong with these people? Are they repressed or just plain crazy?

Murfreesboro attack on Islamic Center site on CNN

2010-09-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Shocking Republican Extremism: NEWSWEEK POLL - 52% of Republicans believe Obama sympathizes with the goals of Islamic fundamentalists

2010-08-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Further proof that the right-wing is becoming fearful, paranoid, and delusional.

The Princeton survey of 1,029 adults asked the question:

Some people have alleged that Barack Obama sympathizes with the goals of Islamic fundamentalists who want to impose Islamic law around the world. From what you know about Obama, what is your opinion of these allegations?

Shockingly, 52 percent of Republicans answered "definitely true" or "probably true."

Bill Maher was right when he said the Republicans have "moved into the mental hospital." Flat earther science deniers and fearful bigot conspiracy theorists ... nice political party you have there teabagger Republicans.

Terrorism strikes Murfreesboro. Right wing hate crime: arson attack at the new Islamic Center site

2010-08-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

The right-wing teabagger hate machine is producing results.

DNJ:
One piece of construction equipment at the future site of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro was set afire in the overnight hours while others had gasoline poured on them, according to a spokesperson for the ICM.

Doesn't surprise me. The local Christian right, led by many local clergy have been fueling this hate all summer long. Pathetic fearful bigots they are.

UPDATE:

Report: Shots fired near the Islamic Center site.

UPDATE II: Taliban is now using right wing hate speak as a recruiting tool. Right wing bigots are putting our troops in danger, recruiting for the enemy.

Glenn Beck - the antithesis of MLK

2010-08-28T06:54:00.000-07:00

Glenn Beck, whose "I have a scheme" speech and teabagger rally is scheduled for today in DC, tries to take the mantle of civil rights as his theme, while he's made a career out of demonizing progressive causes like ... civil rights.

This looks to be a 'very white' event, particularly after seeing the Maine Tea Party giving instructions to it's members on how to stay out of black neighborhoods, 'especially at night' and how to talk with minorities.

C&L:

It is thus, in essence, a civil-rights march for white people. Or more particularly, for right-wing white people who feel threatened by the growing presence and power of the nonwhite population.

Of course, they don't put it that way. They know that race talk will just get them called out for what this is all really about. So they talk about "government oppression" and "taking away our freedoms" and "preserving the Constitution" and "what it means to be American". Strip these down to the bare bones -- especially when you peel away the layers of illogic required to support these claims -- and what's really at issue here is a black man leading nonwhite minorities to power, which is always perceived by authoritarians as a sign of their loss of power.

Back in the day, conservative white extremists including some Christian clergy called MLK a 'communist.' Sound familiar? Yeah, Glenn Beck and his minion have repeatedly referred to Obama as a socialist and communist.

(BTW, LDS PW commenter, Dicentra - a Glenn Beck fan, may be interested to know that the campaign to discredit MLK as a Communist - see above flyer - was led by none other than the Morman Church's future president, Ezra Taft Benson. And Benson, in fact, was close friends with Glenn Beck's guru, W. Cleon Skousen -- who was also known to smear King). HT: C&L

In fact, these all-white teabagger marches remind you of something?

Glenn Beck and the tea party stand against everything MLK and the civil rights movement were for.

UPDATE:

Fox News specifically selected a black reporter, Deneen Borelli, to report from the Beckapalooza. Video of the event showed a sea of white people.

That's exactly the tactic used by the Mufreesboro teabagger "march against the Mosque." Out of 400 teabaggers, there were 2 blacks, a 99.5% white crowd. Guess who the representative speakers were at the courthouse? The 2 black people. Us racist??? We have black people here, SEE!!!!

Bush's campaign chief comes out of the closet - not a mention on Fox

2010-08-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, the guy who had headed Bush’s gay-bating 2004 re-election campaign, admits he's gay.

Here's the pathetic part.

The Atlantic:

Mehlman's leadership positions in the GOP came at a time when the party was stepping up its anti-gay activities -- such as the distribution in West Virginia in 2006 of literature linking homosexuality to atheism, or the less-than-subtle, coded language in the party's platform ("Attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country..."). Mehlman said at the time that he could not, as an individual Republican, go against the party consensus. He was aware that Karl Rove, President Bush's chief strategic adviser, had been working with Republicans to make sure that anti-gay initiatives and referenda would appear on November ballots in 2004 and 2006 to help Republicans.

TP reports on the media coverage:

We wouldn't want Fox viewers to know they were persuaded to vote for Bush by a guy who supports the "homosexual agenda."

Video: Check this homophobic bullshit from the Christian right. This is not a spoof:

And where do you suppose the lies and ignorance comes from?

2010-08-27T00:09:00.000-07:00

As I have stated, I have disdain for religious fundamentalism, especially the violent radical Islamists. I also have disdain for the lying liars that use religion to divide people. Where do you think the hate and ignorance comes from?

Five myths about mosques in America
by Edward E. Curtis IV is millennium chair of liberal arts at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He is the author of "Muslims in America: A Short History" and the editor of the "Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History."

1. Mosques are new to this country.
Mosques have been here since the colonial era.

2. Mosques try to spread sharia law in the United States.
Muslims do not agree on what sharia says; there is no one sharia book of laws. Most mosques in America do not teach Islamic law.

3. Most people attending U.S. mosques are of Middle Eastern descent.
African Americans accounted for 35 percent of all Muslim Americans, making them the largest racial-ethnic group of Muslims in the nation.

4. Mosques are funded by groups and governments unfriendly to the United States.
The vast majority of mosques are supported by Muslim Americans themselves.

5. Mosques lead to homegrown terrorism.
To the contrary, mosques have become typical American religious institutions: In addition to worship services, most U.S. mosques hold weekend classes for children, offer charity to the poor, provide counseling services and conduct interfaith programs.

No doubt, some mosques have encouraged radical extremism. Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind Egyptian sheik who inspired the World Trade Center's first attackers in 1993, operated out of the Al-Salam mosque in Jersey City, N.J. But after the 2001 attacks, such radicalism was largely pushed out of mosques and onto the Internet, largely because of a renewed commitment among mosque leaders to confront extremism.

There is a danger that as anti-Muslim prejudice increases -- as it has recently in reaction to the proposed community center near Ground Zero -- alienated young Muslims will turn away from the peaceful path advocated by their elders in America's mosques. So far, that has not happened on a large scale.

Through their mosques, U.S. Muslims are embracing the community involvement that is a hallmark of the American experience. In this light, mosques should be welcomed as premier sites of American assimilation, not feared as incubators of terrorist indoctrination.

more from WaPost...

Here's where the hysterical hate comes from:

The merchants of hate are now issuing denials.

And they say they're not escalating hate...

how's this for 'escalation?'

2001: GW Bush said, "The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends. ... The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics; a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam."

2003: Bush hires Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf on a diplomatic mission, having him work with the FBI on counter-terrorism efforts.

2006: Glen Beck acknowledges Rauf as a "good Muslim" and that terrorists are just "a small portion of Islam that is acting in these ways."

2010: Glenn Beck labeled Rauf's NYC Park59 Islamic center an "actual danger" and suggested it is an "Allah-tells-me-to-blow-up-America mosque."

2010: Mosque protests break out not only in NYC, but across the USA. Churches organize "burn the Koran" events. Anti-Islam marches take place around the US, some organized by teabagger candidates, NYC Cabbie is slashed in hate crime, Murfreesboro, TN Mosque site suffers arson attack.

Escalation? The hate merchants deny it. Fortunately, the radical religious sometime turn on each other.

Protein Wisdom's Jeff Goldstein shows us how hate and demagoguery override Constitutional principles

2010-08-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

Right wing blogger Jeff Goldstein of Protein Wisdom calls himself a "classical liberal," but what he has proven is that he is a "classical hypocrite" who not only deletes comments and bans commenters, but who demagogues people who stand up for Constitutional principles - principles that are a hallmark of his so-called "classical liberalism" - (one who is committed to the ideal of limited government and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, etc...). Freedom of speech?

Yet, like many right wing bloggers who delete comments, bans commenters, he has come out strongly in opposition of the Constitutional right of freedom of religion on the Park51 Islamic Center and makes the argument by logical fallacy, argumentum ad populum: since enough people are "uncomfortable" (read -buying right wing hatespeak) about the building of the Park51 Islamic Center, than they must be right. Goldstein's fellow libertarian Ron Paul destroys his argument by citing Goldstein's own libertarian principles:

It is repeatedly said that 64% of the people, after listening to the political demagogues, don’t want the mosque to be built. What would we do if 75% of the people insist that no more Catholic churches be built in New York City? The point being is that majorities can become oppressors of minority rights as well as individual dictators. Statistics of support (are) irrelevant when it comes to the purpose of government in a free society — protecting liberty.

This is all about hate and Islamaphobia. … Political demagoguery rules when truth and liberty are ignored.

Ron Paul isn't the only Libertarian who has come out FOR American Constitutional principles. Check out Phil Valentine's comment.

Goldstein is not uncommon. Show me one right-wing Tea Party blogger that doesn't moderate comments. Serr8d, from Smyrna TN, employee at Ingram Entertainment, is typical. Aside from his photoshops, tittie porn, and hate speak, he routinely deletes comments.

Unlike Goldstein, I have never deleted comments that show opposing views. Pretty easy to see who the coward here is. Even easier to see who stands with American Constitutional principles.

These cowards don't want discussion, they want ideological masturbation. They do not want to learn, they prefer to push hate, exclusion, insults, and peddle their bullshit to people who agree with them. Just keep it tuned to Hannity and Beck... everything will be ok.

This failed writer, Goldstein, begs for donations to keep himself and his blog alive. Pathetically, he does not even live up to his own "classical liberal" principles. Obviously has nothing better to than sit on his ass and insult people.

Yes, I also do my fair share of insulting, but when I use a term like "teabagger," I tell you exactly who I'm referring to and what I mean by that term. When Goldstein insults, he often does so with out knowledge or justification, as do his commenters. (UPDATE: for example, note the comments on this post. Real substantive).

I take his insults as an indication my criticisms have hit the mark. Thanks Jeff for letting me kick your ass one last time.

Advice: Get a life, Jeff.

UPDATE: “For the last time, sir, yes, we have an entire pot of clam chowder in the kitchen — and no, that doesn’t mean we ‘owe it to the people’ to give you a bowl for free.” - Jeff gives us the classic teabagger position, something like: Yes, I want good roads, good schools, police protection, infrastructure ... but no, I don't want to pay taxes, I expect the government to give me these things for free!! I don't want your black socialist president raising my taxes !! Taxed Enough Already !!

Olbermann call the 'baggers "the something for nothing crowd." Thanks Jeff for pointing that out for us.

UPDATE II:
Goldstein does not call for the violation of the First Amendment, he calls for violating the Constitution because it makes people uncomfortable - plain and simple. Goldstein - who rails against 'political correctness' feels it is politically incorrect to build an Islamic Center a few blocks from Ground Zero. How's that for hypocrisy? Sorry, as Phil Valentine said, "you are worried about the fascists telling us what we can and can not do and that is exactly what you're trying to do..."

Tell us Jeff, how far from Ground Zero should it be to satisfy you? 4 blocks, 5?

Tell us Jeff, how uncomfortable do you think it makes those teen girls feel who have to listen to all those anti-women's rights Christian zealots protesting at Planned Parenthood clinics? Should we violate their First Amendment rights because it makes someone uncomfortable? Should we outlaw teabagger protests because they're carrying Obama/Nazi signs and that makes me uncomfortable? Yes Jeff, you have every right to protest the so-called Mosque. I've never argued that is not your right.

What side of this argument do you want to be on when history looks back on this? Kind of like we look back at the KKK that marched in Murfreesboro, TN against the building of St. Rose's Catholic Church - because they hated Irish immigrants?

It's great to argue from a position of strength. I've got the constitution on my side. You've got political correctness.

Sorry Jeff, this is America and freedom is our gig. Checkmate.

UPDATE III: The "anonymous ankle-biting cowards from Protein Wisdom and their unemployable manbaby of a leader" can't give it up. Is it jealousy, or are they gay? Demagoging is a way of life for the "manbaby". (Kudos to Turkelson on that one).

Hey Dicentra, do you think maybe you and me, like Carville and Matalin? .... nah, never mind.

The Republican War on Science continues...

2010-08-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

Reagan appointed, Texas born and educated judge bends to a religious argument. As we all know, the Republican party now owns God and as all good Republicans know, we can't have science interfering in our religious imperatives. BTW... does he look like a Republican or what?

Rawstory:

A US court on Monday issued a temporary halt to federal funding of embryonic stem cell research which President Barack Obama had authorized, saying it involved the destruction of human embryos.

US District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled in favor of a Christian group that opposes the research, issuing a temporary injunction that will allow plaintiffs to bring their lawsuit before the court.

"ESC (embryonic stem cell) research is clearly research in which an embryo is destroyed," the judge said.

"To conduct ESC research, ESCs must be derived from an embryo. The process of deriving ESCs from an embryo results in the destruction of the embryo. Thus ESC research necessarily depends upon the destruction of a human embryo," he added.

In March, Obama lifted a ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, lauding potential medical breakthroughs and a new era for US science

"Teabagger:" a working definition

2010-08-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

I had been asked why I use the term 'teabagger.' It is obviously a slang term that has become part of the political vernacular, kind of like the verb, 'swiftboat' (which means: to smear). To some, it has some weird sexual connotation which is certainly unintended in my usage. So, for the record and for reference, I'd like to quote UrbanDictionary.com, which has provided some excellent definitions for the modern political animal I often refer to as a 'teabagger.'

Definition:

TEABAGGER (n.)

A misinformed, right-wing corporate media consumer who often fails to understand that Republicans represent a corrupt plutocracy that steals from the middle class by taxing labor and profiting from corporate tax subsidies.

A teabagger also often fails to acknowledge that George W. Bush and his neo-conservative minions perpetrated one of the boldest and most egregious executive power grabs in the history of the United States. Furthermore, teabaggers mistakenly continue to blame a newly elected President Obama for all that ails the United States of America, based on a grossly flawed perception of reality (including latent racial prejudice) and despite the fact the U.S. economy collapsed on the previous administration's watch.

Teabaggers are also known to base their misguided, right-wing-media-inspired beliefs about President Obama on stupid conspiracy theories about totalitarian takeovers, FEMA camps, etc., despite the fact these very same theories have been circulating around on the Internet for years, and were originally ascribed to neo-conservative cabalists at a time when Barack Obama had not even entered national politics. Teabaggers also are known to be particularly paranoid, xenophobic and intolerant, especially with regard to immigrants and anyone who isn't white.

Additionally, teabaggers generally echo stupid myths about entitlement spending (it actually only accounts for about 1% of federal budget spending), have no idea that most poor people in America are not lazy, actually do work and don't want to be on welfare, and have no idea what socialism actually means or that socialist reform in this country is actually what allowed a middle class to flourish and ultimately make the U.S. one of the most prosperous nations in human history.

Furthermore, teabaggers incorrectly equate socialism with Stalinism, think a system that rewards greed (capitalism) is the divine preference (despite Gospel evidence to the contrary), and are shameless champions of a misguided belief in American exceptionalism. Teabaggers also fail to recognize the inherently unpatriotic nature of their failed every-man-for-himself ideology that ultimately vilifies anyone who supports public policy aimed at reaching out to fellow Americans in need. They celebrate an exploitative corporatocracy (holy creator of jobs, blah blah blah) while denigrating the little guy for being "weak."

Interestingly, teabaggers uphold an immoral, morbidly obese, twice divorced, draft-dodging, college dropout and known drug addict as their de facto leader, and are even known to advocate burning books. Of course, teabaggers fail to recognize the blatant hypocrisy within the GOP and tend to oversimplify all political debate and social issues, much like their pseudo-intellectual, fat-ass leader.

Finally, incredibly, teabaggers fail to recognize the hysterical double entendre associated with their proudly adopted teabag moniker.

Every village has its idiots, of course, but it's sad when citizens of any nation allow themselves to be whipped into a frenzy en masse by a state-run propaganda machine masquerading as a legitimate, fair, balanced and independent news organization. Teabaggers are right to believe the future of the U.S.A. is in jeopardy, but sadly they have not yet correctly identified the real enemy. Perhaps when teabaggers finally grow up and mature into thinking adults, they will see the right-leaning power establishment for the oppressive and cunning beast that it is.

Teabagger: We don't care that George Bush tripled the deficit and lied us into a war. The new administration only cut taxes for 90% of the population... fascists. Let's go throw some Lipton tea bags into a fountain!

-------------------------------

some shorter defintions:

TEABAGGER (n.)

A whining fool shouting loudly for liberty but not willing to pay the bill.
After most American workers saw more money in their paycheck due to the lower tax rate, the teabaggers at Fox News railed against high taxes, but did not discuss how much Jesus hated hypocrisy.

TEABAGGER (n.)

A conservative activist who is so ignorant that they protest against tax cuts (that benefit them) by throwing tea into a river.

TEABAGGER (n.)

A republican who:

1. Protests taxation WITH representation (just because you disagree with it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist)

2. Thinks colonial Americans were prophetic, just because they lived during an earlier time period

3. Falsely claims that the 2009 Teabagging Festival was "bipartisan"

4. Agrees with Joe the Plumber on most major issues

5. Agrees with Glenn Beck, but can't explain exactly what he or they stand for

6. Doesn't understand Constitutional law

7. Doesn't understand what democracy is

8. Blindly uses the words "socialism" and "communism" without knowing what the fuck they mean

9. claims not to be a republican

10. Criticizes democrats, even though their own party has been in office for the past 8 years

11. Thinks the GOP needs to be "more conservative" to get more votes

12. Will listen to every high school dropout before hearing the opinion of ONE intellectual

13. Believes that Fox News is "fair and balanced"

14. Claims to be independent, but certainly doesn't have any liberal beliefs, and listens to guest speakers from the CPAC conference

15. Is a closet anarchist/Paultard

16. Thrives on a mob mentality

17. Prides himself/herself on doing everything he/she has made fun of when Bush was in office

18. Says things like "Where's MY bailout" without understanding how the economy works

19. Like Glenn Beck, has an extremely high word-to-meaning ratio

20. Uses TONS of words from the GOPAC memos of 1990

21. Thinks Russia is still a "threat" to the U.S.

22. Thinks China is still a "threat" to the U.S.

23. Thinks Cuba is still a "threat" to the U.S.

24. Thinks Europeans hate living in Europe

25. Doesn't believe Obama's actual birth certificate is real, but has no problems with McCain's ties to the Iran-Contra Affair or the Keating Five

26. Would rather have the GOP tell them what to think than raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans from 36% to 39%

27. Doesn't realize that they actually benefit from the stimulus package

28. Is only teabagging because Sean Hannity told them to

29. Says they like books by Ayn Rand, but cannot correctly pronounce her name

30. Gets their information from Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, Google searches, YouTube videos, partisan blogs, and Wikipedia

A stunning moment of clarity from an unlikely source: conservative Phil Valentine on the Mosque controversies

2010-08-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

I was absolutely stunned when I heard this live. With all the drivel I've heard coming out of this guy's mouth, I can't believe what I hear in this video.

TN Teabaggers: "dirty hippy commie group from MTSU" supports "Islamic Supercenter"

2010-08-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

The TN teabagger white KKKristian group, Rutherford County Residents Against a Mosque and Training Center, is rallying it's group to the Murfreesboro Courthouse on Thursday, Aug. 12 to make a stand against the proposed Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, which has already received permission to build. They call it an "Islamic Supercenter."

Demonizing anything having to do with education, member Connie Rigney Smith referred in a Facebook comment to the opposition group, Middle Tennesseans for Religious Freedom, as: "the dirty hippy commie group from MTSU," adding to get there early because, "Hippies don't have jobs and they will try to get there early and take up all the seats."

Don't you love the teabaggers? Sworn to uphold the Constitution, (except when it applies to people who don't look or pray like they do).

Fortunately, the Teaparty is now seen as a negative by more Americans (34%), than see the group as a positive (30%) in the most recent Wall St. Journal Poll.

The Teaparty is going down, being sunk by their own extremism, ignorance, and bigotry.

To support the US Constitution and Religious Freedom in Middle TN, the Middle Tennesseans for Religious Freedom group is asking for all to come to the County Commissioners meeting at the courthouse at 4:30 pm on Thurs. Aug 12 and show their support by wearing yellow.

Maddow exposes Fox News and Bill O'Reilly for race baiting ... again

2010-08-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

The video says it all. Bill O'Reilly says there's "not a shred of evidence" that Fox News has pushed a racist agenda. These are his words:

"African-Americans have supported a bigger federal government so it can impose social justice. The vast majority of blacks want money spent to level the playing field, to redistribute income from the white establishment to their precincts."
-- Fox News, Bill O'Reilly

Yes, white people be very afraid, the blacks want YOUR money!

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

And... Maddow brings it to David Letterman, explaining how Fox News does what Fox News does, you're not going to change the smear merchants and the politics of hate.

Just watching Fox News, they are a continuous channel of hate, targeting and demonizing Muslims, blacks, Hispanics, gays, and what or whoever the enemy of the day is deemd to be for white Christian American, so that they can be mobilized to vote Republican to defeat these evil forces. Remember when Fox News, for a solid week, became the "ACORN channel?" Well, all those allegations were found to be based on fraudulent information and ACORN was exonerated. Another manufactured phony scandal created by Breitbart and Fox News to make white voters think that black people are corrupt and trying to steal an election.

The track record is clear, the evidence is there. The verdict: Fox News GUILTY of race baiting. Of course their lies don't matter to the Teabagger crowd, the elderly white conservatives, many who grew up during the days of segregation who make up the Fox News crowd, they WANT to think badly of Obama, minorities, Muslims, gays, immigrants, etc... The Fox News agenda is clear. It is racist and dishonest.

Politics of fear defeated: TN Teaparty candidates lose in Congressional primary

2010-08-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

Tennessee rejects teabagger candidates

Republican teabagger candidate Lou Ann Zelenik who made national news by heading a hate march against the Murfreesboro Islamic Center, lost in a close primary in TN's 6th Congressional district to Diane Black.

Zelenik, who continuously deleted comments from her facebook page and ignored questions regarding her personal experience with area Muslim families (probably zero), campaigned on the politics of fear, stoking the fear of area residents for the new Murfreesboro Islamic Center. The politics of fear came up a little short this time.

A recent article on Hispanic Nashville.com showed the unmistakable parallels between Zelenik's teaparty march against the Islamic Center, and the KKK's march against St. Rose's Catholic Church in the 1920's.

Judging by the comments received on this blog and Zelenik's facebook page, her constituency consisted largely of white fundamentalist Christian dominionists, and fans of professional wrestling and nascar.... the type of people who are hellbent on "taking America back" from those who don't look or pray like they do. They have no respect or regard for higher education.

Teabagger Robert Robinson commented: ‎"Higher education" equals "Liberal/'progressive' propaganda"

Such conservatives here in middle Tennessee suffer from a lack of religious tolerance, ignorance, likely resulting from a simple lack of diversity, as was pointed out in the Washington Times:

"The average person in the United States and in the South, who might not be subject to a whole lot of diversity, tends to skew and color their impression of the Islamic world."
--Richard McGregor, associate professor of religious studies, Vanderbilt University

I received a comment from a Zelenik teabagger who is a self described 'young earth creationist'... proof the religious dogma and fear will alway trump logic and critical thinking. We need intelligent, logical and clear thinking leadership, not dogmatic fundamentalist Christian dominionists. Fortunately, the Tea Klux Klan received a set back and the so have the politics of fear and ignorance.

Tennesseans also rejected Teaparty candidates for Governor - Zack Wamp (who talked of secession), and Ron Ramsey (who called Islam a 'cult') ... they lost to mainstream GOP candidate Bill Haslam.

As a further commentary on how America is rejecting the extremist Teaparty - Harry Reid was only given a 23% chance of reelection by Intrade oddsmakers before the Teabagger Sharon Angle was nominated by the GOP. Now, Harry Reid has a 58% chance for reelection on Intrade and continues to lead in the polls. Thanks teabaggers for givng us a candidate Harry Reid can beat.

Two-faced hypocritical Republicans prove they have no consistent message

2010-08-04T07:07:00.000-07:00

Once again, Dr. Maddow and her crack research staff shows the blatent hypocrisy of Republicans. Issues like: individual mandates for healthcare, campaign finance regulations, tax cuts and loans for small business, cap and trade ... all issues Republicans pushed vehemently, then soon as Obama becomes president, they are suddenly against all these things.

Watch Republicans "who were for it before they were against it"

Teabaggers can't handle the truth, delete factual comments, respond with insults, denial

2010-08-01T22:13:00.000-07:00

A look into the mind of the TN teabagger.

The blog: Wilson County [TN] Tea Party Reports declares on their blog: "We do not fear an educated electorate!" ... yet they delete factual comments. Here is the comment they deleted:

Republicans are fighting to extend the Bush tax cuts for the top 1%. According to the Wall Street Journal, if you make less than $300,000, you will do better under Obama's 2011 tax plan, as Obama's 2009 taxes were the lowest in 60 years. Here are the facts:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704719104575389540592147682.html

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2010-05-10-taxes_N.htm

I guess that's too much education.

TN Teabag candidate for Congress Lou Ann Zelenik is at it again, deleting factual comments from her Facebook page. You really can tell the level of intellect of the TN teabagger constituency by reading her supporters' comments. Their ignorance is shocking, as are their theocratic views, conspiracy theories, etc... . They are nearly 100% white and Christian, no surprise. Here are some examples:

Stacey Smith Fitzgerald: "TROLL - go away. Go enjoy your socialist government and leave us Conservatives alone you jerk"

Beth Obrien: "Maybe the the children of some of the fine folks on here will ultimately be indoctrinated into the wonderful beliefs of the Islamist among them...strap on bombs, fly planes into buildings, and mutilate women. Yeah that's the ticket! We are going to use our own constitution to destroy ourselves."

Robert Robinson: "You still haven't responded to my question from a previous thread, Yelverton... HOW MUCH are you being paid to spam this page and WHO is paying you?"

Robert Robinson's page says he is a big fan of fake professional wrestling... and bacon. Professional wrestling and Nascar should be the official teabagger sports.

When quotes by Thomas Jefferson were cited about his view of religion, teabagger responded:

Joyce Diehl Sanders: "Where did you learn American history? Some one lied to you, son."

Lou Ann Zelenik cited as a historical source, David Barton, a liar and a fraud. Barton has no credentials as a legitimate historian (he holds a bachelor's degree in Christian education from Oral Roberts University). His practice of Christian nationalist history revisionism is designed to dupe his audiences into believing that the United States was founded exclusively as a Christian nation, a necessary element in getting people to vote for and support the agenda of his political cohorts. He has admitted producing quotes that are undocumented, highly questionable, and outright lies.

Yet, Lou Ann's minions love it:

Lori Jenkins: "David Barton is such an American Treasure. I'd love to spend the day with him teaching me REAL & TRUE American History."

You wouldn't have guessed it but... the above comentator went to a Christian school. Now that's indoctrination. A true believer in an unqualified fraud who tells here what she wants to believe.

That is the way teabaggers think. Soon this level of ignorance and denial may be running this state.

Bonus: if you can find a teabagger blog or website that accepts unmoderated comments (as this blog does) - please let me know. It seems such blogs are almost non-existant, it seems the teabaggers want to keep a firm grip on the denial of facts.

UPDATE: REPUBLICAN Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) has characterized the teabaggers in an article:

"poisonous, tea party-driven demagoguery that will undermine the GOP's long-term credibility ...recounting his frustrating interactions with tea party types, while noting that Republican leaders are pushing rhetoric tainted with racism, that conservative activists are dabbling in anti-Semitic conspiracy theory nonsense, and that Sarah Palin celebrates ignorance."

The TN GOP - laughing stock of America

2010-07-30T01:35:00.000-07:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Republican Gubernatorial Primary Battle Watch '010 - Tennessee

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

2010 Election

Fox News

Ron Ramsey calls Islam a cult, Basil Marceaux takes a bold stance against slavery at traffic stops, Zach Wamp's discusses secession, Zelenik incites teabagger Islamophobes, and Rep. Mike Bell (R-TN) suggested paying for healthcare by bartering vegetables.

This is not a joke. These are actual TN Republicans... the party that is destined to control the state legislature and governorship for the near future.

Maddow kicks O'Reilly's ass with facts

2010-07-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

O'Reilly taken down by Maddow, and the facts. O'Reilly touts his ratings advantage.

Just goes to show that we live in a country where Americans prefer to watch fake professional wrestling over O'Reilly ... so say the ratings.... the ratings that O'Reilly touts.

heh.

Fox News and right wing media: Fear the Blacks!! They are coming to take your rights, your country!

2010-07-22T00:44:00.000-07:00

Fox News and right wing media has been inventing ‘whitey fear the blackman’ scandals ever since Obama was elected. Van Jones, Acorn, Black Panthers, now this Shirley Sherrod lie and character assassination. Not that it matters, most Fox viewers are older white people who grew up during segregation, but this just pushes their ingrained racism even further.

For every significant civil rights breakthrough, there is a backlash. Like the KKK after the Civil War… today we have Fox/Beck/Limbaugh/Breitbart and the Tea Party.

T.E.A. = taxed enough already? Hardly, '09 taxes were the lowest in 60 yrs. Let's get to the real issue. 'Socialist' = 'negro' in Tea Party speak. 'Take this country back' = 'take this country back from the blacks, Mexicans and anyone who doesn't look or pray like us white Christians' - yep, that's a translation of Tea Party speak.

Dr. Rachael Maddow documents the right wing race baiting:

Olbermann nails Fox News and Breitbart for their character assassination of Shirley Sherrod, and the Obama Administration enablers:

Lou Ann Zelenik deletes inconvenient facts from her Facebook page

2010-07-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

Tea party values = cowardice and denial of facts

Add these characteristics to what we already know about the extremist white KKKristian movement known as the Tea Party.

Go to Zelenik's Facebook page and ask her the tough questions. You must select 'like' to comment.

The following comments were deleted from Lou Ann Zelenik's Facebook page:

Link to this thread on the economy:

It is important to note 3 things:
1) job creation is extremely important to the US right now. The last Republican Administration had the worst record of job creation since WWII: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/01/09/bush-on-jobs-the-worst-track-record-on-record/
2) Under Obama, Americans paid the least amount of taxes in 60 years. FACT: http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2010-05-10-taxes_N.htm
3) The teaparty movement calls for less government yet TN receives more mone from the federal government than Tennesseans pay in taxes. FACT: http://www.taxfoundation.org/press/show/22659.html

Link to this thread on her position to deny religious freedom:

Lou Ann, Constitutional rights of Freedom of Religion is the law. Republicans sponsored and supported the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the state Senate last year. The law protects mosques and other religious buildings from government interference. Interesting that a group that touts itself as a proponent of the Constitution would stage such a march. Both Democratic candidates Leming and Carter, who have spoken up for the rights of local Muslims, are distinguished vets who have served with Muslims in Muslim countries, and have a great deal of experience with Muslim families and culture. Please tell us, without demagoguing all Muslims by raising the specter of 9/11, tell us your personal experience with Muslims in our community. How many Muslim families and professional associates do you have? Voters recognize personal experience is important in creating positions on issues.

TN Teabaggers' Islamophobic hate march in Murfreesboro

2010-07-18T14:08:00.001-07:00

I've always wanted to see a real teabagger in person, and what better chance than to come to their hate march protesting the new Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.

The first teabagger I saw was there to photograph the counter demonstrators that out numbered the hate marchers. He smiled and said as he was taking his photo, "Smile for the camera, Islam" in a very heavy southern accent (where "smile" rhymes with "Islam").

I was happy to see huge number of counter protesters standing up for the constitution, freedom, and the law. It almost seemed like a case of "town and gown"... where the educated young people and their professor, clergy, and community faced off against the older redneck farmers, "townies, " and conservative KKKristian zealots. Of course the teabaggers made their kids march with them.

Note the ignorance and fear displayed in their signs. They might as well have been saying, 'the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim.'

This level of ignorance represents the Tennessee Republican Tea Party movement which is led by political candidates Lou Ann Zelenik, and George Erdel.

Erdel, calls himself a "Tea Party Democrat" candidate. No such thing, sorry. I saw him speak at the MTSU forum. He won the distinction of being the most ignorant and least intelligent candidate I've seen in quite some time. Further, he is a theocrat, one of those idiots who proclaim the US a "Christian Nation."

Interesting that a group that touts itself as a proponent of the Constitution would stage such a march. Republicans Jim Tracy and Diane Black sponsored the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the state last year, a bill that established as law, which is now in effect, protection for mosques and other religious buildings from undue government interference. The Constitution only applies to issues they agree with, apparently.

Both Democratic candidates Ben Leming and Brett Carter who have spoken up for the rights of local Muslims, are distinguished vets who have served with Muslims in Muslim countries, and have a great deal of experience with Muslim families and cultures. I wonder how their experience compares with that of Zelenik, Erdel, or these teabaggers? How many of these people even know a Muslim?

I asked Lou Ann Zelenik, the leader of the hate march, the following questions on her Facebook page. The question remains unanswered:

Lou Ann,
Without demagoguing Muslims and raising the specter of 9/11 and playing upon the fears of residents, could you please explain your personal relationship and experiences with Muslims and Muslim culture that you base your objections on? How many personal Muslim friends do you have? How many professional Muslim associates do you have? How many Muslim countries have you visited? How many community members that are Muslim are involved in your campaign?

We really would like to know more about how your experiences with Muslims compare with those of your opponents, Ben Leming and Brett Carter, because as we know, positions need to be based on personal experience and we need to know how our candidates justify their positions.

Lou Ann Zelenik - Murfreesboro's Tea Klux Klan Leader

2010-07-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

-- crossposted from TennesseeFree.com

Last week, if you did a Google News search for "Murfreesboro," you would've found the story on the town's new Islamic Center, particularly the story on comments made by Lou Ann Zelenik, Republican Tea Party candidate for Tennessee's sixth congressional district.

MSNBC:

... Lou Ann Zelenik said she stands with those who oppose building what she calls "an Islamic training center." She says the center is not part of a religious movement, but a political one "designed to fracture the moral and political foundation of Middle Tennessee."

"Until the American Muslim community find it in their hearts to separate themselves from their evil, radical counterparts, to condemn those who want to destroy our civilization and will fight against them, we are not obligated to open our society to any of them," Zelenik says in the statement.

Interesting. I wonder how many Muslim friends Zelenik has? I wonder how many Muslims Zelenik has met, had dinner with, talked with? How many do you think? Maybe she doesn't remember the condemnations of 9/11 delivered by the Muslim community?

Some say the Tea Party has been given a bad rap. Members say it's about smaller government, lower taxes, less bureaucracy, etc... The opposition has pegged it the "Tea Klux Klan" - a mostly white Christian group that fears minorities, people who are different, and puts stock in conspiracy theories about the President, the US Government's move toward socialism/Marxism/communism, etc...

Thankfully, the national MSM has taken comments of Zelenik and her teabagger friends and exposed to the nation what a backward, ignorant and bigoted group Zelenik represents. Some of the other choice comments voiced to the press from Murfreesboro residents on the Islamic Center came from religious leaders - supposed role models for the community!:

"Everybody knows they are trying to kill us. People are really concerned about this. Somebody has to stand up and take this country back." -- Karen Harrell

"...we have a duty here at home to understand thoroughly the nature, the intent, the funding of any group that is being invited into our community under that general banner (of Islam)." -- Allen Jackson, pastor of World Outreach Church

"It is a genuine concern based on the fact that, while we believe and practice freedom of religion, experience has taught us that a segment of Muslims are very hostile toward anyone who is not a Muslim. Their Quran is very explicit about how they should treat infidels." -- Michael O'Bannon, senior minister at First United Methodist Church

(I guess Minister O'Bannon missed the part of the Bible that orders death for infidels, death to those who worship differently, death to non-virgins, death to gays, etc...)

It is ironic that the Tea Partiers are campaigning against taxes (TEA = Taxed Enough Already) at a time where taxes are at the lowest level in 60 years. Obama's taxes on dividends and capital gains are better than Ronald Reagan's. So, what are they really complaining about ... especially here in TN where this state GETS more in Federal dollars than they GIVE in taxes?

This controversy about the new Islamic Center in Murfreesboro has pulled the sheets off of the Tea Klux Klan, giving credence to those who have pointed out the ignorance and fear this group exhibits, giving credence to those who call the south, "Dumbfuckistan." Why are they so afraid? Yes, ignorance and lack of education breeds fear. The sign at the new mosque site has been vandalized again.

Fortunately, there are voices of reason, experience, and intelligence, even here in Middle TN. The University Community at MTSU has shown support as well as local church leaders. Congressional candidate, U.S. Marine, and Iraq War combat veteran Ben Leming expressed his disappointment with citizen reaction on this issue:

“What do we have to be afraid of? During my deployments around the world, I have worked, trained, and broken bread with Muslims. I have known their families and communities. I have fought with them and for them, as I have for this country and my fellow citizens, many of whom are also Muslims. The people that want to build a house of worship in Murfreesboro are not the enemy. Osama Bin Laden and his band of thugs and criminals are the enemy. During my fifteen years of service, I’ve studied and fought our enemies. I’m not about to stop now,” said Leming, who earned the Air Medal while flying helicopter combat missions under fire in Iraq.

“I see a lot of people quoting our Constitution these days, but only when it suits their agenda. You can’t have it both ways. I believe in the United States Constitution. I have fought and will continue to fight to uphold every single right guaranteed by it. This includes the right to worship freely. Just because we may not agree with someone’s religious views does not mean we get to decide whether they can have a place of worship in the community. This is simply un-American.”

Speaking of religious indoctrination and training centers, have you seen the size of the Murfreesboro World Outreach Church? This college-sized facility has 4 sanctuaries that seat thousands, 24/7 radio, TV broadcasts, and programs for all aspects of life - from birth to death. Their latest expansion alone, an addition of 125,000 sq. ft, is more than double the size of the propose Islamic Center. Wow!!! No wonder they call this area, "Jesusland." Can theocracy and religious tests for public office be far away, especially here in the south?

The Rutherford County Planning Commission has already approved the 52,000 square Islamic Center on Veals Road. The Muslim community in Rutherford County has doubled in size in recent years and they have out grown their current mosque in Murfreesboro. Their statement of the recent vandalism to their sign:

We have reported this incident to our local authorities as well as the FBI. We place our trust in our law enforcement personnel and judicial system and feel that this incident will be dealt with accordingly. Our community and supporters will remain vigilant and will not tolerate any abuse. We would like to remind everyone that we are contributing members in this community as doctors, businessmen, professors and workers. We have been in this community for many many years.

Climategate - a manufactured scandal

2010-07-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

crossposted from TennesseeFree.com

It's inexplicable to me that conservatives seem to represent the vast majority of the science deniers. I guess it's a combination of low scientific literacy, lack of education, paranoid conspiracy theories, fixed persistent party-line thinking, and perhaps fundamentalist religion/creationism. I don't know. One thing for certain, conservatives seem to hate academia and higher education. On the subject of climate change, conservatives can not seem to separate science from political agenda. They see it as one in the same, a classical persistent response pattern.

Well, the science deniers' big scandal has fizzled.

Investigations clear scientists of impropriety and dishonesty

Newsweek:

British investigators clear the East Anglia scientist at the center of it all, Phil Jones, of scientific impropriety and dishonesty in April, an investigation at Penn State cleared PSU climatologist Michael Mann of “falsifying or suppressing data, intending to delete or conceal e-mails and information, and misusing privileged or confidential information” in February.

Newspapers around the world are retracting their claims of fraud and scientific dishonesty. The campaign of lies is now exposed. Of course the Faux News right wing media machine has already spread the lies. Doesn't matter. Limbaugh and Levin tell them what to think.

For the record, yes, I believe the climate is changing, as it always has. Yes, human activity is definitely a factor in recent warming. That is accepted scientific fact. Can humans effectively halt climate change? I doubt it, I am skeptical, at least in our lifetime. The trend has already been established, and perhaps a 'tipping point' has been reached. Even if it were possible, it would be logistically impractical and improbable, at least in the short term. If it means a cleaner planet, it may be worth a try. I recognize there have been huge climate change events in the past, some triggered by seismic and impact events that would dwarf any effect of human activity and the warming we are now experiencing.

Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle gives us 'God's Plan'

2010-07-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

(cross posted from TennesseeFree)

Sharron Angle- this is the person that the Republican teabaggers have nominated to run against Harry Reid for the US Senate.

Here are some of her positions:

* In the wake of the BP, Angle wants to deregulate the oil industry
* Angle wants to abolish the Education Department, Energy Department, EPA, United Nations and most of the IRS.
* Angle wants to eliminate Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance
* Angle wants to outlaw alcohol
* ... and more crazy shit!!

The Teabaggers have really picked a winner. The results of an annual survey conducted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal named Angle "one of Nevada's worst legislators" for four years between 1999 and 2005. Even fellow Republicans consider her too extreme. Sig Rogich, a Nevada Republican who helped elect Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, calls her "a nightmare." Rogich started a movement called "Republicans for Reid [pdf]" and said, "I could never support somebody who espouses the radical positions that Angle does." Also, Republican Barbara Vucanovich - the first woman to represent Nevada in the United States House of Representatives (1983 to 1997) said, "She's very rigid and I have a little bit of trouble understanding her positions ... So I'm not out there waving the flag. She's a very difficult person."

Most recently, Sharron Angle came out as a supporter of banning abortion under ALL circumstances, including rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother. Extreme, but not surprising. This is consistent with the GOP platform - which provides no exceptions.

Angle said when asked the question: "is there any reason at all for an abortion? ... rape and incest would not be something [of an exception]?"

Not in my book. You know, I`m a Christian. And I believe that God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives, and that he can intercede in all kinds of situations, and we need to have a little faith in many things.

Olbermann slam dunked her ass appropriately:

So, Miss Angle, we`re now talking about a theocracy. A rape is God`s plan? Incest, God`s plan? A pregnancy that kills the baby and the mother and could have been prevented by an abortion, God`s plan? Presumably, a murder is God`s plan? Of course, Miss Angle, you have to ask yourself if the medical knowledge to safely conduct an abortion isn`t also God`s plan. And if you have to, accept that Roe v. Wade and the far right`s inability to overturn it, despite Supreme Court conservative majorities and seven Republican presidential terms since, is also God`s plan.

Thanks, Miss Angle for giving us God's plan, and thanks to the teabaggers for an absolutely stupid and crazy candidate. A perfect representative for the "take America back" idiots. As unpopular as Harry Reid is, he couldn't have asked for a better opponent. Harry Reid, 23 yr legislator, graduate of George Washington University Law School vs. Sharon Angle, B.A. and substitute Art teacher of 25 yrs. Perfect.

Sharron Angle proves what Bill Maher said a year ago:

"We don't have a 'left ' and a 'right' party in this country anymore. We have a 'center-right' party and a 'crazy party.' Over the last 30 years, Democrats have moved to the right, and the right has moved to a mental hospital."

UPDATE: Sharron Angle cites "Second Amendment remedies" for Harry Reid and congress. There is no spinning this. We'll shoot you if we don't get our way... now that's a 'real American.'

UPDATE II: A steady drip of previous radical statements from Angle are coming to light and prominent Nevada Republicans like Reno Mayor Bob Cahsell are throwing their support behind Harry Reid. Angle was found to be responsible for a vitriolic anti-gay newspaper insert that called homosexuals and bisexuals, "child-molesting, HIV-carrying, Hell-bound freaks." The flier also asserted HIV could be spread in public water systems.

Image courtesy of Teaparty Jesus. Check out the site, it's hilarious!

Poll: A majority see a Sarah Palin endorsement as toxic, as is the GOP defense of BP

2010-06-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

WaPost:

Commentators keep telling us how influential Sarah Palin’s endorsements are, and even if the whole “mama grizzly” meme is clearly overstated, there’s no quibbling with the fact that Palin has pull among GOP primary voters.

But the more interesting point to be made about Palin is how toxic she’s become among the broader electorate. In fact, buried in the internals of the new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll is an amusing number: A majority see a Palin endorsement as a clear negative.

The poll asked people how they’d respond if a Congressional candidate had various hypothetical attributes. Asked how they’d feel if a candidate were “endorsed by Sarah Palin,” the response was…

Enthusiastic about this attribute 8%

Comfortable with this attribute 17%

Have some reservations about this attribute 15%

Very uncomfortable with this attribute 37%

So a majority, 52%, reacted negatively. And an astonishing 37 percent would be “very uncomfortable” about a Palin endorsement, more than four times the eight percent who would be “enthusiastic” about it.

Even better, there were only two attributes a candidate might have that were seen as worse than a Palin endorsement: Supporting Bush’s economic policies; and supporting the elimination of various Federal agencies and/or Social Security.

And...Sarah's in trouble...again.

OK, so Palin, the big gun for the GOP is toxic, and now the GOP is apologizing to BP!!

Republican torture apologist, Uncle Tom Sowell was comparing Obama to Hitler again and raising fears of our constitution being trampled by Obama's treatment of BP.

FDL said it well:

So when a Republican is president, he can lock people up in dungeons without charges for as long as he wants and totally go medieval on their ass, because he feels like it.

But when a Democratic president asks a multi-national company to establish an independently managed escrow for damages stemming from their negligent destruction of the Gulf of Mexico and several states’ economies, not to mention the deaths of 11 workers, and they agree to do so — the Constitution is being trampled and the very nature of American democracy is threatened.

Republicans defend BP - that's all you need to know in the next election

2010-06-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks Joe Barton for apologizing to BP. This is the guy who could be chairing the Energy and Commerce Committee if the Republicans could retake a majority. Remember how Republicans defend the perpetrator of the worst environmental disaster in US history when the next election comes around.

WaPost:
How Joe Barton's apology to BP saved President Obama's week

Barton, a Texas congressman and the highest-ranking Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee, decided to apologize to -- wait for it -- BP chief executive Tony "I'd like my life back" Hayward during a hearing Thursday morning.

"I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday," Barton told Hayward, condemning a $20 billion account funded by BP to help pay damages from the spill and calling it a "shakedown" of the company by the Obama administration.

Barton realized his gaffe and retracted. Ooops, too little too late.

TN Republicans support mountaintop removal mining - an eco disaster

2010-06-11T07:14:00.000-07:00

Republicans vote against bill to ban the ecologically disastrous practice of mountaintop removal mining.

Tennessean - June 9, '10:

An attempt to revive a bill that would ban "mountaintop removal" coal mining in Tennessee failed in the state Senate today. The recall motion by Sen. Andy Berke, a Chattanooga Democrat, failed by a 12-14 vote that fell mostly along party lines.The bill would have prohibited surface coal mining more than 2,000 feet above sea level.

Mountaintop removal is devastating hundreds of square miles of Appalachia; polluting the headwaters of rivers that provide drinking water to millions of Americans ... but that's OK with Republicans. Tennessee already allows mountaintop mining at Zeb Mountain in Pioneer, where pollution is showing up in water supplies.

All 12 votes to ban this practice came from Democrats.

The The Republican War on the Environment continues...

more.

Limbaugh on the BP oilspill: "This many gallons of oil seep from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico everyday."

2010-05-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

A few words from conservative leaders on the oil spill:

First it was, "where's the oil?" ... then it's "Obama's Katrina"

My favorite part of this video is at 1:32 where Brit Hume says, "where's the oil?" and Juan Williams answers in stunned disbelief.... "where's the oil???"

How's that for credibility.

Rand Paul defends BP - the perpetrator of the worst environmental disaster in US history

2010-05-21T12:53:00.001-07:00

Rand Paul defends BP - calls Obama "un-American" for criticizing BP.

Republican Tea Party candidate Rand Paul defends the perpetrator of the worst environmental disaster in US history.

"What I don't like from the president's administration is this sort of, 'I'll put my boot heel on the throat of BP. I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business. ... this sort of blame-game society in the sense that it's always got to be somebody's fault instead of the fact that maybe sometimes accidents happen"

--- Rand Paul on Good Morning America.

Bill Maher had the best take on Rand's statement about BP...

"He said 'sometimes accidents happen'....which is not really what you want to hear from the guy doing your Lasik surgery." (Rand Paul is an ophthalmologist)

So we know he is for the right to racially discriminate and now for the rights of oil companies not to be blamed for committing world changing environmental catastrophes.

Great leadership from the head of the Tea Klux Klan...

The trouble with Dr. Paul is that despite his independent thinking, much of what he stands for is repulsive to people in the mainstream. For instance, he holds an unacceptable view of civil rights, saying that while the federal government can enforce integration of government jobs and facilities, private business people should be able to decide whether they want to serve black people, or gays, or any other minority group. -- Louisville Courier Journal

Tea Bagger Rand Paul celebrates at historically all-white country club

2010-05-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

The Bowling Green Country Club where Tea Bagger Rand Paul celebrated his primary victory last night was historically an exclusive all-white institution, segregated as recently as the late 60's/early 70's.

RS:

According to a history of Western Kentucky University, "In 1967 the golf team, which had no practice course, was invited to use the facilities of the Bowling Green Country Club. Then it was discovered that the team might have a black member. The Country Club was not integrated, and the invitation came under question." The university team wound up going elsewhere for its practices.

To further drive the racist point home, Paul remarked on Good Morning America, since Tiger Woods, golf country clubs are no longer ‘exclusive.’

UPDATE:
The Louisville Courier Journal also helps pull the sheet off of Rand Paul:

The trouble with Dr. Paul is that despite his independent thinking, much of what he stands for is repulsive to people in the mainstream. For instance, he holds an unacceptable view of civil rights, saying that while the federal government can enforce integration of government jobs and facilities, private business people should be able to decide whether they want to serve black people, or gays, or any other minority group.

Maddow grills Paul on civil rights ... see video.

More...
And...

Republican front-runner for Governor of CA oversaw growth of Ebay porn sales

2010-05-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

The "family values party" strikes again.

Leading Republican candidate for Governor over saw the growth of Ebay's porn industry as CEO.

SF Weekly:

Whitman oversaw the creation of an eBay section, Adult Only, dedicated exclusively to the sale of pornography, rather than simply including porn items in auctions for more mainstream movies, magazines, or toys.

Whitman herself revealed in a February 2008 sworn declaration... that porn was indeed on her managerial radar. "Certain proposals concerning eBay's mature audiences policies were presented to me," she wrote.

Of course we know conservatives are biggest consumers of porn ... so Whitman does have business savvy. But,but, but... the party of family values!!!

Another "Family Values" Christian Conservative Republican resigns due to a sex scandal

2010-05-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Eight term Republican Congressman, Mark Souder (R-IN) -- just resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair with a staffer. Here's the kicker.... Souder recorded a video with the same woman praising abstinence education.

Priceless.

If I had a nickel for every Christian conservative family values Republican involved in a sex scandal.... here's a gallery of these hypocrites.

From HuffPost:

In stepping down, he asked God for forgiveness in a rambling, all-caps public statement. "I SINNED AGAINST GOD, MY WIFE AND MY FAMILY BY HAVING A MUTUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH A PART-TIME MEMBER OF MY STAFF," he wrote. "MY COMFORT IS THAT GOD IS A GRACIOUS AND FORGIVING GOD TO THOSE WHO SINCERELY SEEK HIS FORGIVENESS AS I DO."

Forgiveness, however, is not a quality that Souder shares with his Lord. No Republican has been more outspoken in Congress in his moral condemnation of Americans who use illicit drugs. In order to punish such sinning, Souder championed and vigorously defended perhaps the least forgiving law on the federal books: the denial of federal student aid for any student convicted of drug possession, no matter how minor.

Here's more on the Republican scandal du jour...

Conservatives try to diminish the danger posed by oil spill

2010-05-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

Would you expect anything less from Fox News moron, Brit Hume?

"Where's the oil? .... You're not even seeing it on the shore yet. .... The greatest source of oil that seeps into the ocean is from natural seepage... not from drilling accidents.... the ocean absorbs a lot." -- Brit Hume, Fox News

Yea, the BP spill clearly visible from space 3 weeks ago, is typical of "natural seepage?"

Here's the oil, Brit....

Where do you find morons like this?

You know where...

UPDATE 5/19: Lastest NASA photo of the spill, appearing to head to the center of the gulf.
(click to enlarge)

Natural seepage, aye Brit?

Republicans Block Bill To Raise Oil Companies' Liability Cap

2010-05-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

Would you expect anything less from Republicans? In the face of the worst oil spill in US history, Republicans blocked a bill that would have raised the maximum liability for oil companies after a spill from a paltry $75 million to $10 billion.

A friend from New Orleans told me BP reps are going door to door in the LA fishing communities trying to get fishermen to sign waivers of liability for a $5000 check.

Much of the oil remains below the surface and appears to be headed toward FL and fragile marine ecosystems.

If you haven't seen the 60 Minutes Report on the BP oil spill, you need to watch this - it a gripping tale:

Part 2

Part 3

Palin's strategy: make Americans proud to be redneck

2010-05-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

I just love this blog post by Matt Taibbi. He makes the point that people who support Palin are less interested in issues and more interested in having a politician who is like them, and who glorifies their redneck (and often ignorant) lifestyle.

Here are some choice quotes that pretty much sum up Sarah Palin's recipe for success:

Palin by the way seems to have settled in on a new rhetorical strategy, which is basically to run out one or another version of her “pit bull” line over and over again and not say anything else at all. She’s tuned in to the fact that her audiences literally can’t get enough of having their lunatic self-images massaged ...

Palin has figured out that this is really all you have to do to win elections in this country — flatter middle Americans’ moronic fantasies about themselves. The great thing about flattery is a) you can’t overdo it as hard as you try, and b) it doesn’t pin you down to messy political positions, controversies, things you can be harassed about by Chris Matthews and other press weasels. It’s basically a risk-free strategy. You get up on stage and you basically say, “I’m just like all you idiots. And you idiots rock!” People will actually fall for this stuff.

Sure, she’ll talk about immigration, or health care, or gun rights, but all that boring stuff is really secondary to the more important business of reassuring her audiences that that it’s okay to be a slob who does nothing but shoot cute animals and watch TV.
She one-ups even George Bush in this respect. .... Bush couldn’t have spent more than ten minutes in some dirty trailer in Arkansas before signaling for the helicopter. The guy was just too used to being around rich people, nice houses, cigarette boats full of sheiks and oil executives, etc. Sarah Palin on the other hand really is the kind of person who you can picture eating egg salad off a ping-pong table. That and her utterly genuine stupidity and meanness can take her a long way — all by themselves, I think these things can win the White House for her — and it seems like she senses this on some animal/reptilian level. Hence the renewed emphasis on jacking off her audiences of late.
Palin, a potential 2012 presidential candidate, delivered calls to action to an audience dominated by women. "The mama grizzlies, they rise up," she said, to laughter. "You thought pit bulls are tough. You don't want to mess with the mama grizzlies. And I think there are a whole lot of those in this room." [audience goes nuts]

Perfect TeaBagger strategy!

DRILL BABY DRILL VIDEO: 3 MILLION GALS PER DAY - Gulf Oil Spill More Than 10X Greater Than First Reported

2010-05-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

Experts now say 70,000 barrels of oil - 2,940,000 gallons per day are spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. That is an Exxon Valdez spill every 4 days.

This is shaping up to be the worst oil spill in human history.

Can you imagine what the Florida's sugar white panhandle beaches will look like? I'm specifically worried about St. Joseph's Peninsula, my favorite wilderness beach:

The Religious Test for Public Office - AL Governors Race

2010-05-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

In order to be a "real Republican" in AL - you must be a science denier and believe the Bible literally.

This is clear violation of the Article VI, section 3 of the US Constitution -no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Don't tell them what you really think, tell them what they want you to think. AL Gov. candidate Bradley Byrne is attacked for supporting the teaching of evolution. Who would have thought .... in 2010? This should tell you something about the intellectual level of the average conservative voter in AL.

12 May, 2010 MSNBC:

The Republican War on Science is alive and well...

Laura Bush supports gay marriage and abortion rights

2010-05-12T22:45:00.000-07:00

If only she were more assertive with her husband.... I had heard the rumor they were effectively separated, Laura in Dallas, GW - on the ranch. Their apparent dysfunctional marriage shows why conservatives get divorced so much. Conservative Christian husbands often subjugate their wives, ignore their opinions, and worse.

Laura Bush on Larry King 5/11 --

Gay marriage:

On gay marriage, she told CNN show host Larry King: "When couples are committed to each other and love each other, then they ought to have, I think, the same sort of rights that everyone has."

"I think we could" accept gay marriage, she continued. "I also think it's a generational thing.... That will come."

"I understand totally what George thinks and what other people think about marriage being between a man and a woman," she said. "I guess that would be an area that we disagree" on.

Abortion:

"I think it's important that it remain legal," she said about abortion. "Because I think it's important for people -- for medical reasons and for other reasons."

Ignorant Tea Baggers rally against taxes - taxes now lowest in 60 years

2010-05-12T10:55:00.001-07:00

Hey moron tea baggers -

Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that Americans' tax bills in 2009 at lowest level since 1950

Idiot Tea Party protesters have been chanting "Taxed Enough Already" .... the inconvenient truth for Tea Baggers is Americans paid the smallest overall tax bill since 1950 - their plummeting payments are due to the tax relief delivered by President Obama.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities last month also found:

Middle-income Americans are now paying federal taxes at or near historically low levels, according to the latest available data. That's true whether it comes to their federal income taxes or their total federal taxes.

To show you the abject ignorance of the Tea Party movement: While over 95% of working Americans received a tax cut thanks to President Obama and Congressional Democrats, a CBS poll found that Tea Party supporters literally didn't believe it:

Of people who support the grassroots, "Tea Party" movement, only 2 percent think taxes have been decreased, 46 percent say taxes are the same, and a whopping 44 percent say they believe taxes have gone up.

Not only are they ignorant and racist, they are misinformed by the Beck/Limbaugh bullshitters, and are just plain stupid enough to believe it. so.... stop fooling around, take off your white sheets, let's see what you're REALLY protesting.

H/T: C&L

Republican candidate for FL Governor Bill McCollum paid $60,000 for anti-gay testimony by Christian leader who hired a male prostitute

2010-05-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

If I had a nickel for every 'holier than thou' Republican hypocrite....

This guy, George Rekers, is a evangelical southern Baptist minister, a Christian leader, co-founder of the conservative rabid anti-gay group - "Family Research Council." He has a long history of anti-gay activism. Rekers is a 61 yr old married man with 3 kids, was found to have hired a 20 yr old male prostitute through a website called "rentboy.com." Rekers has testified in court that he believes the Bible is the infallible word of God, and that homosexuality is a sin. He is also a counselor involved in "gay conversion therapy."

Republican Attorney General and candidate for Florida Governor, Bill McCollum, paid Reker $60,900 for his anti-gay testimony in an adoption case.

Nice...

It appears that this was not Reker's first rodeo.

Now, the Christian conservative organizations that Rekers is involved with (like the Family Research Council, NARTH) are issuing disingenuous statements to the tune of, "George, we hardly knew thee."

Yea, right.

BTW...

Not one word of this story on the Fox News website.

Republicans: The Party of White

2010-05-05T00:21:00.000-07:00

"If Democratic majorities survive the backlash against big government in this election cycle, it will be because Republicans, the party of the right, became the 'Party of White.' .... A party that alienates racial minorities will justly be made a political minority, so the Republican response to what’s happening in Arizona will be a defining moment."

-- Keven Hassett, economic adviser to the George W. Bush 2004 presidential campaign, Senator John McCain's chief economic adviser during the 2000 presidential primaries, and senior economic adviser to the McCain 2008 presidential campaign

via: Bloomberg

"...it's not true, that Republicans, all Republicans are racist. That would be silly and wrong. But nowadays, if you are racist, you're probably a Republican. "
- Bill Maher on ABC

Is it any surprise the Tea Party movement is notoriously 99.8% white in an America that is 65% white? I was just looking at a Facebook group of "Conservative Musicians" .... 100% white. Could it be anymore obvious?

UPDATE: Could it be anymore obvious?

Arizona bill targeting ethnic studies signed into law

The bill was written to target the Chicano, or Mexican American, studies program in the Tucson school system, said state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Horne.

AND....

Right wing crazies Levin and Limbaugh: oil spill caused by environmentalists, beginning of Obama takeover of oil industry

2010-05-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

How stupid and paranoid could people be to actually believe the lies that right-wing radio nuts spew?

Obama said he was dispatching a "SWAT Team" to inspect oil rigs. Guess what he meant by "SWAT Team?" The so-called "SWAT Teams" work with the Minerals Management Service, a bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf. Researchers called the 'Swat Team' are a group from University of California Santa Cruz that collaborate with MMS on shoreline inventory of biodiversity. They are scientists, you fucking douchebags ... not guys in black with guns!!! The name SWAT is not an acronym, but a nickname that came along with the idea that a group of researchers was needed to travel along the coast quickly surveying as many sites within a minus tide series as possible.

But in the paranoid mind of Mark Levin ... it's Obama's plot to take over the oil industry:

“I think those SWAT teams are there in coordination with the attorney general’s office, the Interior Department, Homeland Security, maybe the EPA….to seize records at these sites and to lay the foundation for more government takeover” - Mark Levin

Even more lies from Limbaugh:

Not only did Limbaugh lie when he said it took Obama 8 days to respond to the oil spill, Limbaugh blamed the spill on sabotage by "environmental whackos."

The bottom line here is that if blame for the oil spill could be determined, it most likely will fall on Halliburton contractors and the failed valve manufactured by Cameron International. Cameron's board are all Bush/Cheney contractor cronies, BTW...
It seems clear that Halliburton is directly linked to the failure causing the spill and explosion. Regulators have previously identified problems in the cementing process as a leading cause of well blowouts, in which oil and natural gas surge out of a well with explosive force. It's not the first time for Halliburton, either. Halliburton also was the cementer on a well that suffered a big blowout last August in the Timor Sea, off Australia. The rig there caught fire and a well leaked tens of thousands of barrels of oil over 10 weeks before it was shut down.

Investigators delving into the possible cause of the massive gulf oil spill are focusing on the role of Houston-based Halliburton Co., the giant energy services company, which was responsible for cementing the drill into place below the water.

This spill will certainly be classified as the worst in US history, and maybe the worst ever on earth.... far worse than the Exxon Valdez. Just wait when the pictures come in of the black slick on the sugar white sand of the FL panhandle. Drill baby drill... indeed.

Desperate to believe: Noah's Ark Discovered .... Again

2010-04-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

Beware of "evangelical archaeologists"

[photo: Mt. Ararat - site of 'discovery']

Dr. Randall Price was the "archaeologist" on the Chinese-led team in 2008 when this alleged discovery was first made. A leaked email from Price – which he confirms that he wrote – shows that a group of local Kurdish men trucked wood up to the mountain and staged an elaborate hoax for the Chinese team.

Dr. Randall Price, an evangelical Christian and former member of the Chinese-led team that announced this week’s finding, is director of the Center for Judaic Studies at the conservative Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Although he is referred to as an archaeologist, like many "evangelical archaeologists" ... he has no formal science education in the field.

What is really interesting is that the "evangelical archaeologists" claim the wood has been carbon dated to 4800 yrs old. Funny.... Christian fundamentalists and creationists often reject carbon dating as invalid, maintaining that it is impossible for the earth to be billions of years old.

If I had a nickel for every contradiction ....

more

Drill Baby Drill

2010-04-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

5000 barrels of oil a day spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. The slick is expected to hit the coast tomorrow.

Spill Baby Spill....

The spill occurred on Earth Day.

AP: A new oil leak was discovered at the site in the Gulf of Mexico where a drilling rig exploded and sank, and experts now estimate that five times more has been spilling into the water a day than previously believed, the Coast Guard said late Wednesday. Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead.

Hope this serves as a lesson to those mindless idiots who chant "Drill Baby Drill" .... but then again, you wouldn't expect people like that to give a shit about the environment.

Republicans block financial reform - like everything else

2010-04-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

GOP SUCCESS DEPENDS ON THE FAILURE OF AMERICA

Republicans are scared. America is coming back. Jobless claims are down, GM has paid back the bailout 5 yrs ahead of time with interest and hired more workers, the banks are making money, housing market is up, and the economy is improving. The only thing the Teabaggers have to complain about is the blackness of the President.

Meanwhile the GOP has nothing to do but fuck things up, and make people pissed at government by obstructing - that IS their strategy. For example, Republicans have been blocking votes on nominees to federal posts, taking longer to confirm President Obama’s nominees to executive agencies than nominees submitted by the previous three administrations. Due to these blocks, there is a backlog of 101 executive branch nominees. THE GOP SUCCESS DEPENDS ON THE FAILURE OF AMERICA.

Goldman Sachs committed a billion dollar fraud and who comes to their defense? Republicans!

Republicans take on the SEC in defense of Goldman Sachs! Would you expect anything less?

Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Oversight committee, is demanding a slew of documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission, asserting that the timing of civil charges against Goldman Sachs raises “serious questions about the commission’s independence and impartiality.”

Issa’s letter, addressed to SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro was signed by eight other House Republicans.

These protectors and apologists of corporate fraud are the same Teabaggers that complained when they were bailed out.

Carl Levin nails it:

Tennessee Politics

2010-04-27T00:14:00.000-07:00

TN Republicans say we don't need $30 Billion in Federal Funding.

Like many ignorant "Teabaggers" ... Tennesseans need to remember that we receive more in federal funding than we pay in taxes.

Iraqis bid farewell to Bush - with shoes

2008-12-14T20:55:00.000-08:00

"This is a goodbye kiss, you dog"

- Iraqi journalist Muthathar al Zaidi, who was called 'courageous' by fellow Iraqi journalists, gave Bush an appropriate Iraqi farewell - with both his shoes.

Watch it - it's hillarious

Bush desperately tries to rewrite history on the Iraq war while his administration covers up the war crimes by denying the Obama transition team documents on wiretapping and torture.

Unfortunately for Bush and America, this history of failure will be with us a long time. It was an expensive failure and America is hurting for it.

Official US gov't historical document: Iraq reconstruction a $117 BILLION failure

2008-12-13T23:53:00.000-08:00

More of the Bush legacy...

A 513 page federal history on the Iraq reconstruction was compiled by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, led by Stuart W. Bowen Jr., a Republican lawyer who regularly travels to Iraq and has a staff of engineers and auditors based here. Here are some of the accounts in this first official federal historical document on the Iraq reconstruction entitled “Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience" -

Ignorance: Pentagon planners efforts were crippled by spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure.

Lies: when the reconstruction began to lag — particularly in the critical area of rebuilding the Iraqi police and army — the Pentagon simply put out inflated measures of progress to cover up the failures. Colin Powell said the Defense Department “kept inventing numbers of Iraqi security forces — the number would jump 20,000 a week"

Incompetence: The Bush Administration has in place neither the policies and technical capacity nor the organizational structure that would be needed to undertake such a program on anything approaching this scale.

Politics over planning: Republicans put a greater priority on making things "look good" for Bush because of the 2004 election instead of efficient and competent use of money. Office of Management and Budget balked at the American occupation authority’s abrupt request for about $20 billion in new reconstruction money in August 2003, a veteran Republican lobbyist working for the authority made a bluntly partisan appeal to Joshua B. Bolten, then the O.M.B. director and now the White House chief of staff. “To delay getting our funds would be a political disaster for the President,” wrote the lobbyist, Tom C. Korologos. “His election will hang for a large part on show of progress in Iraq and without the funding this year, progress will grind to a halt.” With administration backing, Congress allocated the money later that year.

Poor planning: As an example of the haphazard planning, a civilian official at the United States Agency for International Development was at one point given four hours to determine how many miles of Iraqi roads would need to be reopened and repaired. The official searched through the agency’s reference library, and his estimate went directly into a master plan.

Early miscalculations: The history records how Jay Garner, Chief of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, presented Defense Sec. Donald Rumsfeld with several rebuilding plans, including one that would include projects across Iraq. “What do you think that’ll cost?” Mr. Rumsfeld asked of the more expansive plan.“I think it’s going to cost billions of dollars,” Mr. Garner said.“My friend,” Mr. Rumsfeld replied, “if you think we’re going to spend a billion dollars of our money over there, you are sadly mistaken.”

Conclusions:

"...the government as a whole has never developed a legislatively sanctioned doctrine or framework for planning, preparing and executing contingency operations in which diplomacy, development and military action all figure.”

And to think in the midst of this recession in America, billions of dollars are flying out of America every week to try to repair the damage of the Bush legacy.

Nashville Scene: Don’t Trust a Politician Who Hasn’t Tried Drugs

2008-12-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

Gotta love the Scene - our hometown Nashville weekly.

This article in the Scene: Don’t Trust a Politician Who Hasn’t Tried Drugs, begs the question…

Have you smoked marijuana?

Answers:

G.W. Bush - no comment

Bill Clinton - “I didn’t like it and didn’t inhale.”

Barack Obama - “I inhaled, frequently. That was the point.”

OK now, question: based on these answers, which politician would you find as the the most honest and trustworthy?

Check out what the top question for Obama was in an online poll.

Blagojevich case reveals Republican hypocrisy - authoritarian loyalty and politics more important than the rule of law

2008-12-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

Patrick Fitzgerald is now the hero of conservatives. The conservative Hot Air blog says the arrest is "staggering" and "Fitzmas arrives early this year." The conservative American Thinker had several articles of this triumph of justice on their website - the arrest of Blagojevich. The Democrats applaud the arrest and are united against Blagojevich. Liberal host Rachel Maddow suggests Blagojevich is mentally ill, a sociopath.

What?

Wait a second. Isn't that the same prosecutor that when indicting Republican Scooter Libby, the conservatives called Fitzgerald "beneath contempt"?

From the American Thinker - 3/08/07:

Patrick Fitzgerald is a disgrace both to the legal profession and to the human race. His partisan allies, such as Senator Chuck Schumer and certain nameless bureaucrats at the CIA, are beneath contempt.... Patrick Fitzgerald fulminated in court about a cloud over the Vice President in an effort to suggest that there was something dark and sinister about administration officials discussing Valerie Plame with reporters after her husband injected her into a national controversy. That suggestion is pure left-wing fantasy.

Conservatives went after Patrick Fitzgerald as the noose tightened around the office of the VP in Plame case. Conservative Tucker Carlson, who once had glowingly approved Ken Starr's inquisition of Bill Clinton, said of Libby's prosecutor:

"You shouldn't have these freelancers, like the lunatic Fitzgerald, running around destroying people's lives for no good reason. I hate this trial."

Weekly Standard editor and New York Times conservative columnist Bill Kristol went after Fitzgerald over his inquiry into the Plame affair:

"You know, the leak story is absurd, but I now think the whole prosecution is absurd. ... I now think it's a politically motivated attempt to wound the Bush administration."

What is truly beneath contempt are the wingnut Republican bloggers, like the pathetic Bill Hobbs, who breathlessly try to tie Obama to this corrupt governor.

Obama has called for Blagojevich to resign. It has been reported that the Obama camp tipped off authorities to the corruption. What does Bush do about Scooter Libby? He commutes his sentence.

What this shows is that conservatives are very happy to overlook corruption, abuse of power, ignoring subpoenas, etc... when it involves Republicans. This clearly shows that for conservatives, authoritarian loyalty trumps the rule of law nearly every time.

The difference here is when a Bushie get called on corruption, conservatives circle the wagons because of their authoritarian loyalty. We've seen it time after time. When a Democrat gets charged, Democrats unite against the criminal. We can see which party values the rule of law over politics and ass-kissing authoritarianism.

The Republican Culture of Corruption under Bush remains unprecedented.

H/T: C&L

TBR Chancellor tries to pull a fast one - gets slammed by academic community

2008-12-05T21:28:00.000-08:00

The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) is the is the sixth-largest system of public higher education currently operating in the United States. MTSU is the largest University in the system and largest undergraduate University in the state.

Facing state budget shortfalls, TBR Chancellor Charles Manning proposed a “New Business Model” [pdf] for the TBR system that was potentially so destructive to sound academics, that he earned the “Turkey at the Top” Award in the Chronicle Review as the worst academic leader of the year. (Nashville Scene story). To put it in perspective, Manning beat out University of Louisville Dean Robert Felner, who was indicted for conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering and tax evasion to the tune of $2 million. Manning’s proposal was to be approved by the TBR Board on Thurs Dec 4, but it didn’t happen.

Some of Manning's proposals included:

Requiring students to take a certain number of online courses en route to their bachelor’s and associate’s degrees.

Turning online learning into an entirely automated experience “with no direct support from a faculty member except oversight of testing and grading,” and providing financial incentives for students to voluntarily accept teacherless education. Even initiating mandatory online classes.

Cutting salaries and permitting furloughs as a short-term expedient in dealing with budget reductions

Use 'advanced students' to teach 'beginning students' and build that requirement into curriculum and financial aid packages.

Increase faculty workload, initiating a "students-taught” metric to supersede courseload, and “revise” summer compensation

Formalizing a system that anticipates even greater use of adjunct professors where the remaining tenure-stream faculty into their direct supervisors

Attack on education - shot down, for now

Apparently due to public and faculty outcry, and a whole lot of bad publicity, the TBR's plans to formally approve a new business model on Thur 12/4 were inexplicably rescinded.
(Nashville Scene story , MTSU Sidelines article)

So what is wrong with Manning's plan?

1) It was sneaky and timed to be pushed through before anyone noticed. Everyone noticed. As MTSU Faculty Senate Prez Alfre Lutz wrote:

Chancellor Manning's memorandum was released as late as November 20, a week before Thanksgiving and about two weeks before the Board "will formalize its approval of this undertaking" at its December 4 meeting.... It is shocking to realize that TBR would (a) initiate fundamental changes to the work faculty members do ("new business model") without so much as informing, let alone consulting, them, the experts on this work; and (b) consider adopting a radical change to the Personnel Policy within two weeks, again without soliciting faculty input. This constitutes a serious breach of trust, and we will certainly no longer assume that TBR values faculty members as stakeholders crucial to the future of higher education in Tennessee.

2) The proposal would create a 2-tiered system: students will receive a tuition discount if they 'work online with no direct support from a faculty member,' setting up a scenario where the wealthier students would be able to consult faculty members, and, as a result, receive a superior education and graduate with higher GPAs.

3) TBR professors are already underpaid compared to the national averages. Adjunct professors are outrageously underpaid. As the Chronicle article stated:

...the reality is that if you’re really experienced and qualified, teaching 10 courses a year for Chuck Manning nets you about 15 grand without benefits, or less than you’d make at Wal-mart. That’s quite a bit less than half the $33, 960 that the extremely useful Living Wage Calculator says is necessary to support one adult and one child in Knox County.

Here is one professor who worked as an adjunct for nearly 10 years at MTSU for $15,000 and had to get family help, food stamps and bear the indignity of bagging groceries for his own students and their parents at a part time job. And the TBR wants more professors like this?

Disgusting. I’m glad to see students both liberal and conservative speak out against this attack on education.

Check out the interview on YouTube:

Personally, I wonder how one gets to be a member of the TBR - the governing body of a major academic system. Most of these board members don’t have anywhere near the level of educational achievement and scholarship that the majority of the faculty that they’re directing have. Also, it is not a diverse group - mostly people involved in business, politics, law, and athletics, but very few individuals with backgrounds in the arts, sciences, and humanities. I don’t think I saw a single board member with any background in the arts. We sincerely hope they do the right thing.

More from NIT and here on MTSU student protest.

Southern Republicans - falling further from the mainstream

2008-11-30T08:56:00.000-08:00

The GOP: a regional party of the poor, white, and less educated

Question for Republicans: how does it feel to be on the political side of the least educated among us, the political party that has now fallen so far from the mainstream of America that it is now essentially a regional party of white people?

NYT:

Southern counties that voted more heavily Republican this year than in 2004 tended to be poorer, less educated and whiter, a statistical analysis by The New York Times shows. Mr. Obama won in only 44 counties in the Appalachian belt, a stretch of 410 counties that runs from New York to Mississippi. Many of those counties, rural and isolated, have been less exposed to the diversity, educational achievement and economic progress experienced by more prosperous areas. ... The Republicans, meanwhile, have “become a Southernized party,” said Thomas Schaller, a political scientist who teaches at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “They have completely marginalized themselves to a mostly regional party,” he said, pointing out that nearly half of the current Republican House delegation is now Southern... Less than a third of Southern whites voted for Mr. Obama, compared with 43 percent of whites nationally.

The south remains racist

The GOP has lived up to it's reputation here in the south. Race DID matter in this election, particularly in southern states like Alabama:

“Race continues to play a major role in the state,” said Glenn Feldman, a historian at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. “Alabama, unfortunately, continues to remain shackled to the bonds of yesterday.” David Bositis, senior political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, pointed out that the 18 percent share of whites that voted for Senator John Kerry in 2004 was almost cut in half for Mr. Obama. “There’s no other explanation than race,” he said. more...

Something to be proud of?

22-year veteran Rep. Chris Shays [R-CT] was ousted giving Democrats every House seat from New England. Democrats also took control of all of New York City's delegation in Washington for the first time in 35 years.

Redneck Obama bashing

Obama bashing is what you’d expect from ignorant losers who were dumb enough to support a failed incompetent president with the most consistently low approval ratings in modern history. Naturally they’re envious of a well liked president elect, one that received a unanimous international vote from 22 countries in 3 separate polls (BBC, Pew, and Gallup). One whose popularity provided coat tails for large Democratic majorities in both Houses of Congress.

Nice for a change - a bright young respected president filled with positive and constructive energy. The move from incompetence to competence, I can see why they’re jealous.

Gallup Poll: Lowest approval for Republican Party ever measured

2008-11-21T22:28:00.000-08:00

Where is the Republican Party going? Answer: into the shitter.

GOP image goes from bad to worse

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Republican Party has hit a new low.

Just 34 percent of Americans in a Gallup Poll released Thursday say they have a favorable view of the party, down from 40 percent from a month ago, before the election.

What’s worse: 61 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of the Republican Party.

According to Gallup, that unfavorable rating is the highest the polling organization has recorded for the GOP since the measure was established in 1992.

55% currently hold a favorable view of the Democratic Party and only 39% an unfavorable view

Remember this the next time you hear someone refer to Democrats as the "liberal fringe." We can see who the 'fringe' is now.

Conservatives finally admit it: religion is KILLING the GOP

2008-11-20T14:57:00.000-08:00

Conservatives are finally admitting the obvious: Howard Dean was right... it's the "white KKKristian party." The GOP is becoming obsolete.

Look at what a leading conservative writer says about it -

Townhall.com:

WASHINGTON -- As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.

Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D. Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party.

Here's the deal, 'pubbies: Howard Dean was right.

Suffice it to say, the Republican Party is largely comprised of white, married Christians. Anyone watching the two conventions last summer can't have missed the stark differences: One party was brimming with energy, youth and diversity; the other felt like an annual Depends sales meeting.

But, like it or not, we are a diverse nation, no longer predominantly white and Christian. The change Barack Obama promised has already occurred, which is why he won.

The young will get older, of course. Most eventually will marry, and some will become their parents. But nonwhites won't get whiter. And the nonreligious won't get religion through external conversion. It doesn't work that way.

Given those facts, the future of the GOP looks dim and dimmer if it stays the present course. Either the Republican Party needs a new base -- or the nation may need a new party.

Told ya

A New America

2008-11-04T22:27:00.000-08:00

We chose our leadership last night with a convincing voice. We can be proud of who we are as a nation because we made the right choice. This decision will be applauded by the world.

The election has happened exactly as I expected it would, predicted it would, and for the many reasons I've said that it would. This is a historic election, literally the "end of an error" in American history.

On a personal note... as I told a friend,
I called the election at 8:25 pm for Obama on the TN Free political blog right after Ohio. Even so, at 10:00 pm when the networks called the presidency for Obama, I still got choked up. It's been so long in coming. 1000's of blog posts, comments, emails ... such a long hard 8 years. Almost the entire decade of my 40's. Just imagine how it feels to be an African-American this morning. (...Talk about a long time in coming!) Even though I'm not hurting at all compared to many, America is facing serious challenges.

I'm looking forward to the end of political negativity, bitterness, secrecy, lies, abuse of power, incompetence, and as Scott McClellan called it - "the perpetual campaign mentality" that has divided this nation and formed the basis for flawed leadership. President Obama will of course make mistakes, but at least I trust him. I think others will too if they give him a chance to earn it.

For me, I'll be taking some time off from political posting at here at TN Loose Canon.

Wisdom has been vindicated.

This is how McCain can win

2008-11-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

A Bush endorsement for Obama is McCain's last chance for victory

They honestly believe they'll win

2008-10-31T00:52:00.000-07:00

In a measure of the level of delusion and denial that Republicans are experiencing, check this post and comments from Protein Wisdom's wingnut pub. They are so afraid of the truth, they deleted my comment. It will be fun to revisit this thread next Wednesday.

From the masters of delusion and denial:

I’m calling it McCain, 53%-47% popular, 281-257 electoral.
Posted by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates

It's impossible. There is no way the polls and projections could be universally this far off. If McCain wins it will be by fraud and you will see an outright riot. Imagine the LA riots in every city in America.

Rasmussen Projects Obama Landslide

2008-10-31T00:51:00.000-07:00

Rasmussen, the pollster that many see as conservative biased whose website is peppered with McCain/Palin campaign adds, has issued their election prediction:

To make this picture complete, I'd love to see the following in the Senate for a 60 seat majority:

Franken beats Coleman in MN

Martin beats Chambliss in GA

Lundsford beats McConnell in KY

... that would be super sweet.

The way the racist Republican party does business

2008-10-31T00:50:00.000-07:00

How does the white kkkristian party inspire fear of an opposition candidate? They make him look darker.

Aswin Madia is involved in one of the most hotly contested races in the country in the third district of Minnesota. Ashwin is a veteran of the Marine Corps, the Iraq war, and the JAG corps. He is an Indian/American and graduate of NY Law School. He is a Democratic candidate for congress.

KARE11 - MN:

A Republican attack ad invites viewers to "meet the real Ashwin Madia," but the still photos featured in the spot present a noticeably darker version of the 3rd District DFL congressional candidate.

WATCH the report

The NRCC's statement:

Reached by phone in Washington Wednesday, NRCC spokesman Ken Spain replayed the ad on YouTube and told KARE, "We stand by the ad."

Confirmed: Bush is worst ever

2008-10-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

22%

CBS:
Mr. Bush’s approval rating [22%] equals the lowest ever achieved by a sitting president, and is matched only by President Truman in 1952. His 72% disapproval rating is a new high that has never been equaled.

Divided, demoralized, and desperate - bend over GOP

2008-10-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Instead of touting their candidate, they're trying to spread fear. Instead of trying win votes in battleground states, they're defending states Bush had won in '04. Instead of sending a cohesive message, they are infighting... McCain aides calling Palin a "whack-job" that has "gone rogue" while Republican operatives are assuming an Obama win and forming a circular firing squad to sort out the blame. Leaving one McCain aide utterly speechless, Palin is so full of herself she's talking about 2012.

Your pre-election GOP corruption and hypocrisy UPDATE:

McCain and his surrogates have attempted to paint Obama as holding anti-Israel views because of his relationship with Palestinian-American Professor Rashid Kahlidi. McCain served as chairman of the board of the International Republican Institute that distributed several grants to Khalidi’s Center for Palestine Research and Studies - a Palestinian research center co-founded by Khalidi.

Palin has been calling Obama a socialist - "Barack the wealth spreader;" yet Palin boasted to a reporter, "Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth."

Palin has received another ethics complaint. Palin used her official position for personal gain by securing unwarranted reimbursements for her daughters travel expenses - often uninvited extended stays at posh hotels.

The Navy is covering up for McCain and refusing FOI requests for info on an auto accident McCain was involved in where someone died.... McCain's Chappaquiddick.

McCain is now having to defend his home state of AZ where some polls have shown the race to be as close as 2 points. Solid Bush states of GA, MT, NC, IN, and ND are now tossup states.

Reported in the Washington Times: Obama win is inevitable according to an analysis by th AP.

The GOP hate manifested itself in the type of thing I've been warning about and saying that these assholes must be beaten down. I'm talking about the skinheads - you know what side they're on, and the ATF does as well.

The desperate Sen. Elizabeth Dole [R-NC] - losing to Kay Hagen in NC - played the jesus card in her ridiculous new ad calling Kay Hagen "godless." Hagan is an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, NC, has taught Sunday School and accompanied youth mission trips.

The Republican's most senior Senator - from the GOP Vice Presidential nominee's state has been convicted of 7 felonies. Yet Palin has not called for him to resign.

The NEW YORKER: sums it up:

Sometimes, when a political campaign has run out of ideas and senses that the prize is slipping through its fingers, it rolls up a sleeve and plunges an arm, shoulder deep, right down to the bottom of the barrel. The problem for John McCain, Sarah Palin, and the Republican Party is that the bottom was scraped clean long before it dropped out.

Bend over Republicans, you're about to get your well deserved ass kicking.

McCain's "Hail Mary" - Pennsylvania

2008-10-29T00:09:00.000-07:00

Check out the McCain supporters at the rally on Monday in PA.

It's easy to understand why these people are losers. It is thought by many that McCain can't win without PA. These people have earned a good ass kicking.

43 newspapers have switched endorsements to Obama from Bush in 2004, just four flip to McCain

2008-10-29T00:08:00.000-07:00

Obama leads 222 to 93 in newspaper endorsements.

E&P: Obama's lopsided margin, including most of the major papers that have decided so far, is in stark contrast to John Kerry barely edging George W. Bush in endorsements in 2004 by 213 to 205. Obama, with 222, has already topped Kerry's number with many more yet to be tallied.

Attitudes in "Real America" - ignorance and bigotry help the GOP

2008-10-29T00:07:00.000-07:00

A poll in KY by the Lexington Herald-Leader/WKYT-TV revealed the following:

Republicans are 5 times less likely to vote for Obama because he is black

54% of Republicans don't know Obama is a Christian, 28% of them think he is Muslim

No wonder Republicans have disdain for education. Ignorance and bigotry work in their favor.

McCain is leading Obama by 12 percentage points in the 'real state' of KY.

Why I voted for McCain

2008-10-29T00:06:00.000-07:00

Because:

Obama would let the blacks take over

Obama is a Muslim and this is a Christian nation

Obama put his hand on the Koran not the Bible when being sworn in as Senator

Obama's mother was an atheist and his father a Muslim

Obama was educated as a terrorist a Muslim madrassa

Obama has a Muslim middle name - Hussein

Obama would assist Muslims in their 25 step plan to bring America down

Obama is a communist

Obama wants to punish people like Joe the Plumber and oil companies for their success

Obama endorses sex for 5 yr olds

Obama wants women to have abortions and is a baby killer

Obama is friends with terrorists

Obama and his church hate America

Obama doesn't represent REAL Americans

Obama is an educated elitist

Obama has no experience with anything

Obama wants to force my kids to have health insurance that they don't need

Obama may be the Anti-Christ

Obama wants to take my guns away

Obama is popular in foreign countries - and that threatens America

Obama won't let us 'drill baby drill'

Obama wants America to lose in Irack

Obama is related to Osama and Saddam Hussein

Obama wants to sit and talk with our enemies

Obama doesn't have good family values like the Palin family

Obama is a liberal and likes homosexuals

Obama is a negro and is not to be trusted

Obama is involved with ACORN - a company that specializes in vote fraud

Obama uses illegal drugs like most negros

Don't be ignorant.

Palin has not called for the resignation of convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens

2008-10-27T23:55:00.000-07:00

Sen. Ted Stevens [R-AK] - Guilty of seven felonies. Stevens becomes the first senator to be convicted of a felony since 1981.This should help the Dems take that 60 seat majority in the Senate.

Here's a campaign video with Sarah Palin appearing with and being endorsed by the now convicted felon Stevens. Palin has not called for Stevens to resign. It will be interesting to see if the RNC allows a seven time convicted felon run for reelection. As a convicted felon, Stevens can not vote.

McCain campaign's highest paid staffer - a makeup artist

2008-10-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

So what are the candidates spending our money on? Painting lipstick on a pig.

Electoral Vote:

In the first two weeks of October, Obama and the DNC spent $105 million compared to $25 million for McCain and the RNC. In some key television markets, there are seven Obama ads for every McCain ad. Ten days ago each side had about $100 million in the bank, but in the first two weeks of October, the Democrats have raised $37 million to the Republicans $15 million.

Not all the money is going to TV ads. Salaries of people on the ground are also a major expense. McCain was in the news yesterday on this score. His highest paid staffer is makeup artist Amy Strozzi who got $22,800 for 2 weeks' work and hair stylist Angela Lew didn't do badly at $10,000 for 2 weeks work, either.

$150,000 was spent on Sarah Palin's clothes and fashion.

What is truly pathetic, revealing and ironic is to remember how Fox News repeatedly berated John Edwards for receiving two $400 haircuts and now they are DEFENDING the RNC for spending $150,000 on Sarah Palin's wardrobe !!!

Fox News on Edwards:

"...the Democratic Party, it's out of touch with reality, it talks about the common man, but everytime you look, there's John Edwards getting a $400 haircut.

-- Fox News: Your World with Neil Cavuto

Fox News on Palin:

"Television is a cosmetic business, always has been always will be to a certain extent and so is politics... if you're in the public eye, you've got to look good."

-- Fox News: Day Side

WATCH IT

100,000+ greet Obama in Denver, McCain is losing badly - dragging down the GOP

2008-10-26T22:27:00.001-07:00

100,000+ greet Obama in Denver

WaPost:

John McCain is losing in a way that threatens to take the entire Republican Party down with him.

You have to go back to the Watergate era to see numbers quite so horrible for the GOP.

McCain's awful campaign is having awful consequences down the ballot. I spoke a little while ago to a senior Republican House member. "There is not a safe Republican seat in the country," he warned. "I don't mean that we're going to lose all of them. But we could lose any of them."

In the Senate, things look, if possible, even worse.
-- David Frum, former GW Bush speech writer

Why al Qaeda endorses McCain

2008-10-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

The endorsement of John McCain by an al Qaeda-affiliated Web site isnt a surprise to security specialists Richard Clarke, the former White House counterterrorism director, and Joseph Nye, the former chairman of the National Intelligence Council. Both have suggested that Al Qaeda prefers Mr. McCain. Why? The same reason Osama bin Laden wanted Bush in '04:

"From their perspective, a continuation of Bush policies is best for recruiting," said Professor Nye, adding that Mr. McCain is far more likely to continue those policies.

Al Qaeda has simply outsmarted the feeble narrow minded alarmist and arrogant foreign policy of the Bush Administration. Al Qaeda welcomed the war in Iraq as a way to drain America's military resources and economy while building their real base in Afghanistan. Due to this Bush Administration blunder, they have been successful.

Bush obsesses about Islamic terrorism, understandably since he allowed the nation be attacked on 9/11 through gross negligence, he inclines toward military solutions and his antagonistic approach to other nations is an excellent recruiting tool for al Qaeda. In contrast, an African-American president with a Muslim grandfather and a penchant for building bridges rather than blowing them up would give Al Qaeda recruiters much less fertile ground.

McCain represents the cold war mentality, where the American ideological fear of communism led us to mistake every leftist for a Soviet pawn. This myopia helped lead to catastrophe in Vietnam. In the same way today, an exaggerated fear of Islamofascism leads us to overreact and damage our own interests. Perhaps the best example is one of the least-known failures in Bush administration foreign policy: Somalia.

NYT Nicholas Kristof explains:

Today, Somalia is the worlds greatest humanitarian disaster, worse even than Darfur or Congo. The crisis has complex roots, and Somali warlords bear primary blame. But Bush administration paranoia about Islamic radicals contributed to the disaster.

Somalia has been in chaos for many years, but in 2006 an umbrella movement called the Islamic Courts Union seemed close to uniting the country. The movement included both moderates and extremists, but it constituted the best hope for putting Somalia together again. Somalis were ecstatic at the prospect of having a functional government again.

Bush administration officials, however, were aghast at the rise of an Islamist movement that they feared would be uncooperative in the war on terror. So they gave Ethiopia, a longtime rival in the region, the green light to invade, and Somalias best hope for peace collapsed.

"A movement that looked as if it might end this long national nightmare was derailed, in part because of American and Ethiopian actions," said Ken Menkhaus, a Somalia expert at Davidson College. "As a result, Islamic militancy and anti-Americanism have surged, partly because Somalis blame Washington for the brutality of the Ethiopian occupiers."

"There's a level of anti-Americanism in Somalia today like nothing Ive seen over the last 20 years," Professor Menkhaus said. Somalis are furious with us for backing the Ethiopian intervention and occupation, provoking this huge humanitarian crisis.

Bottom line:

The only winner has been Islamic militancy. Thats probably the core reason why Al Qaeda militants prefer a McCain presidency: four more years of blindness to nuance in the Muslim world would be a tragedy for Americans and virtually everyone else, but a boon for radical groups trying to recruit suicide bombers.

Palin says: I'm a "redneck woman" ... no doubt

2008-10-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

Redneck and proud of it.

"Yes! Someone called me a redneck woman once and you know what I said back? I said, 'Why thank you.’"

- Sarah Palin

I guess that's a part of being "a real American."

The term redneck used to be a negative, but now is a source of rural and southern pride. However, the term to many means 'white trash'... uneducated, ignorant and bigoted. Southern comedian Jeff Foxworthy who made a career out of the humor of redneck culture defines it as "a glorious lack of sophistication."

Whatever. I could say something cynical but I'll just note that it was the states with the least educational attainment that put Bush in the White House twice... we can see how well that turned out. Let's not repeat.

In addition, a McCain campaign source said Palin is "going rogue"

"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone. She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else. Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom."

Sounds like a self-righteous sociopath on a mission from god. Make that a redneck self-righteous sociopath...

Give it up

2008-10-26T02:12:00.000-07:00

RCP Poll of Polls: Obama +8

POLLSTER.COM: Obama +9

It's too big of a lead, too big to steal. Not even fraud will help them now.

Bill Hobbs says the race is "Dead Even with McCain rising"

Republicans have earned a good ass kicking and that's exactly what they're going to get.

UPDATE: There are now some polls showing Obama leading in very red states - IN, MT, ND, and GA -- Yes Georgia!!!

Palin pledges to continue the Republican War on Science

2008-10-26T02:10:00.000-07:00

From the mouth of the ignorant and poorly educated Sarah Palin:

You've heard about some of these pet projects they really don't make a whole lot of sense and sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not.

Wait a second, I thought Palin was interested in providing for 'special needs' kids?

Palin is obviously is ignorant of the fact that scientific research with fruit flies has led to valuable discoveries that have boosted autism research. A discovery, made in Drosophila fruit flies may lead to advances in understanding autism spectrum disorders. For example, human neurexins have been identified as a genetic risk factor for autism. The study of fruit flies has also been used for other autism research and revolutionized the study of birth defects.

But of course, what would a dumbass moose hunter ditz like Palin need with science? She has the holy spirit to guide her. Her slut daughter could have been helped by the sex-ed programs that she opposes. Her retarded baby could be helped by some of the very science she dismisses. What a stupid bitch.

A vote for McCain/Palin is a vote for ignorance.

HT: TP

Response to the KKKristian right wing pig, Tracy Kerlee

2008-10-25T00:54:00.000-07:00

Response to the KKKristian right wing pig, Tracy Kerlee. If you haven't seen it, watch this first.
It good to see the youth of America speaking out against bigotry and ignorance. She expresses the abject frustration many of us have with such ignorance - in no uncertain terms.
Nice to see her tell us what she really thinks, BRAVO babe!!!

McCain campaign worker guilty of race baiting - fakes a racist hate crime

2008-10-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

There is ample evidence the McCain campaign pushed this hoax - a fake racist hate crime targeting Obama supporters.

John McCain’s Pennsylvania communications director told reporters in the state an incendiary version of the hoax story about the attack on a McCain volunteer well before the facts of the case were known or established — and even told reporters outright that the “B” carved into the victim’s cheek stood for “Barack,” according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

Fox News is on record saying:

If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.

In an official statement the McCain campaign says: "We're shaken up by this. It's sick and disgusting."

Most bloggers saw through this hoax from the beginning.

Some wingnuts in their desperation embraced the hoax... like at Serr8d's often cited favorite: Ace. Ace defended the victim and pushed the notion that the backward "B" on her face could have in fact been inflicted by a crazed Obama supporter:

ACE supported the hoax:

Backwards B? Not So Much
For one thing, the image could be flipped. For another thing, she could have taken a picture of herself in a mirror. For a third -- if she were on her back, her head held by the attacker's left arm below her chin, her head between his legs as he scratched -- she'd be upside down as oriented to him.

Remember this the next time you see a link to "Ace."

UPDATE II: Drudge Report pushed the story - said she was “attacked and mutilated”

Here's the story:

Police tell KDKA that a campaign volunteer has now confessed to making up a story that a mugger attacked her and cut the letter B in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker. Ashley Todd, 20, of Texas, initially told police that she was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield and that the suspect became enraged and started beating her after seeing her GOP sticker on her car. Police investigating the alleged attack, however, began to notice some inconsistencies in her story and administered a polygraph test.

Note to little Miss Piggy - if you're going to fake a hate crime, you've got to do better, dumbass. Her ass is now in jail.

TN GOP's Bill Hobbs remains hysterical, delusional

2008-10-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

Bill Hobbs

It's Not Over Yet

The most accurate poll in the 2004 presidential election says McCain has cut Obama's lead to 1 point

... You don't punish the Bush administration's Supreme Court's failure to overturn the murderous Roe v. Wade by electing a president who voted to let infants die.

I don't mind repeating this stuff just to show how Bill Hobbs repeats these GOP LIES. It's always fun to watch lying extremists like Bill Hobbs become more desperate, delusional, and fearful.

Man, these people deserve a good ass kicking and that's EXACTLY what they are going to get.

Hey Bill, in case you haven't noticed, like VA, Ohio is now in the Obama column. The red states of IN, MT, and ND are now considered tossup!

Have you looked at your 401k or mutual fund lately? And you want another Republican?

2008-10-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

Remember those great Clinton years?

And you want another Republican?

Palin: Ayres is a terrorist, but not abortion clinic bombers that kill

2008-10-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

From the Brian Williams interview. Sarah Palin was asked about abortion clinic bombers, would they qualify as terrorists? First she sidestepped the question, went to Bill Ayres, then came this response to the question:

Brian Williams: Is an abortion clinic bomber a terrorist under this definition?

Sarah Palin: ... I don’t know if you’re gonna use the word "terrorist" there.

Watch it