Thursday, April 9, 2009

Headlines - Thursday

 
Defenders of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have created a defense fund to help pay for her legal fees, including those stemming from the now-famous Troopergate probe: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/08/palin-legal-defense-fund_n_184634.html

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Family values candidate keeps baby away from father

The father of Bristol Palin's baby boy says he's been treated like an outcast since the end of Gov. Sarah Palin's run for vice president.

A worsening feud has developed between the 19-year-old Levi Johnston and the governor's family in the wake of Johnston's complaints about not being able see his young son Tripp, often enough. Now there is a dispute about whether Johnston had actually lived with the Palins.

"Sarah Palin is
lying," he says.

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h/t Big Daddy:

Dear Conservative Teabaggers: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/8/717683/-Dear-Conservative-Teabaggers

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In the Catholic Church's ongoing effort to become a holy-owned subsidiary of the Republican party, a bunch of Catholic priests at Holy Cross are very upset that President Obama is speaking at Notre Dame. 

Perhaps it's time someone asked those priests what their position is on the Holocaust, and whether they'd let a Holocaust denier speak. (It'd be also great to get their position on pedophilia.) Until we hear what we should be hearing on those topics, these priests are nothing more than Republicans in drag. 

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PRICEVILLE, Ala. – A man who police say shot and killed his estranged wife, their daughter and two other relatives before burning down his house and committing suicide on the eve of their divorce trial gave no hints of the mayhem to come, police and court officials say.

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a 69-year-old Korean Christian volunteer to go on a deadly rampage at a retreat run by those dedicated to serving the poor and homeless.

License to kill: nearly every gunman in this monthlong series of mass killings was legally entitled to fire his weapons.

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The Fearmongering Of the Right.

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The Easter Bunny of the Apocalypse

If you Google "Obama homosexual Easter egg," the first result of your query is "Obama to Worship Jesus with Homosexual Child Molesters," from the reliably insane FreeRepublic.com.

It's a little Google jitsu trick; if you want get a mainstream piece about LGBT issues, you use the term "gay." If you want to get the lunatic take on it, you use "homosexual," because the religious right contends that homosexuality is a curable disorder. I guess they figure "homosexual" sounds clinical and, if they use it often enough, they'll create the impression that it's a disease. It's not really working, though. But they keep doing it because, as any right wing nut can tell you, if something's not working, it just means you're not doing enough of it -- if tax cuts fail to help the economy, for example, it just means you need more tax cuts. Don't be surprised to see articles about "homosexual Homosexuals who practice homosexuality" in the near future.

What has the right pegging the crazy-meter is the fact that President Obama has invited gay and lesbian parents to participate in the annual White House Easter Egg Roll this weekend. It's almost a sure bet that a man will hold a man's hand, that a lady will hug a lady, at which point western civilization will collapse.
 
 
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What is wrong with Texas? Volume 54,835
 
In Texas, Travis County Probate Judge Guy Herman has agreed to a motion from Marissa Evans to have sperm collected from the corpse of her son, Nikolas Colton Evans, to allow her to have a grandchild through a surrogate mother. Story here.
 
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turkishblackface

There is a great deal of chatter on the Internet today about an anchor who appears in blackface in the coverage of President Obama’s trip to Turkey. The rough translation from the appearance is “Welcome, Mr. Obama. You took our hearts with your hospitality. We appreciate your kindness. We will do whatever America asks of us, as friends. Now, we ask the same of you.”

There may be something lost in translation here. Some have stated that this is an attempt at humor or a spoof. Others have argued that it was meant as a sign of respect.

It is possible that the Turkish media does not realize how insulting such an appearance would be, though a simple google search would reveal the cultural meaning of blackface appearances in the United States.

For the video, click here.

I don't recall them wearing dunce caps when Dubya visited.

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Pastor Rick caught lying about his support for Prop 8: http://www.pensitoreview.com/2009/04/08/rick-warren-caught-lying-about-prop-8/

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BAE, Britain, Prince Bandar Bush and blackmail all add together to spell "black money" the newest "must seet tv" from PBS.

And why the hell is former FBI director Louis Freeh now representing Prince Bandar Bush?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcpfDPluMGY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fxnerg%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded 

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When movie critics attack

Roger Ebert swings for the fences and knocks Bill O'Reilly on his pontificating ass after O'Reilly - who was steam-coming-out-of-the-ears furious over the audacity of Think Progress organizing a boycott of his advertisers after he sent his minions to stalk and ambush Amanda Terkel while she was on vacation - then turning around and calling for an advertising boycott of the Sun-Times after it dropped his column.  

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Methinks they jacked the wrong ship

You probably heard this morning about the Somali pirates who hijacked a vessel that was flying an American flag and manned by an American crew.

Well guess what?

That was a well trained and prepared crew, and they took the ship back. One pirate is reportedly in custody and the rest are "in the water."

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2009 Pentagon budget: $513 billion
2010 proposed Pentagon budget: $534 billion

I can’t be the only person to notice that “gutting” of the military includes spending 21 billion more.....

Here's the WSJ redefining "gutting" (the shameful bastards)

Obama and Gates Gut the Military: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123914897083399179.html 

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Killing the farmer's markets

These days, it is hard to tell if this is good intentions gone awry or just another giveaway to Big Ag, but this certainly appears problematic:

The panics over salmonella, E. Coli and unsafe foodstuffs from China have heightened the prospects that Congress will enact a measure known as H.R. 875, the “Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.″Should the measure in its current form become law, “food establishments”, which to quote Patrick at Popehat “means anyone selling or storing food of any type for transmission to third parties via the act of commerce”*, will have to register with a new federal regulatory agency, submit to federal inspections, and, perhaps most significant, keep “copious records of sales and shipment by lot and label”. Penalties for infractions will be very, very steep.

This will essentially kill the farmer's markets all over the country where really good vegetables and locally raised products are sold.

You know what to do. Contact congress.

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Someone needed a study for this?

Paying for lobbyists pays off! 

Big companies that spent hundreds of millions lobbying successfully for a tax break enacted in 2004 got a 22,000-percent return on that investment — proof that for those who can afford it, hiring a lobbyist can pay handsome dividends. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30113628/

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Salon: Military caught on tape cheating vets out of health care as policy.

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What is wrong with Texas? - volume 54,836

On Tuesday, State Rep. Betty Brown (R) caused a firestorm during House testimony on voter identification legislation when she said that Asian-Americans should change their names because they’re too hard to pronounce.

Brown continues to resist calls to apologize. Her spokesman said that Democrats “want this to just be about race.”

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On a “mostly party-line 46-53 vote,” the Virginia General Assembly “rejected $125 million in federal stimulus money Wednesday that would have provided additional unemployment benefits to thousands of jobless Virginians.” Gov. Tim Kaine (D) was “visibly angry” after the vote. Virginia’s unemployment rate is at 6.6 percent.

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Paging Dick and George

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori was convicted Tuesday of "crimes against humanity" and sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in killings and kidnappings by his security forces.

"Justice has been done in Peru. This is an historic day," said Amnesty International spokesman Javier Zuniga. "It is not every day when a former head of state is
convicted for human rights violations such as torture, kidnapping and enforced disappearances.

"We hope that it is just the first of many trials in both Latin America and throughout the world."

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For dumping more than 150 mentally ill patients on skid row streets, LA hospital to pay $1.6 million: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-homeless-dumping9-2009apr09,0,5952498.story

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Do wingnuts even know how capitalism works? http://firedoglake.com/2009/04/09/blog-advertising-do-wingnuts-even-know-how-capitalism-works/

 

 

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