Saturday, February 9, 2013

February 9





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So... what's Chimpy been up to lately, you know, now that his isn't galavanting across the globe wrecking economies and starting wars? Nothing much, just painting pictures of himself naked. (Raw Story)

Washington Free Beacon -- 'GREATEST LIVING PRESIDENT IS ALSO A FANTASTIC PAINTER'

I literally had to wait until I was finished laughing to start this post. The headline at the wingnut propaganda outlet Washington Free Beacon — "Greatest Living President is Also Fantastic Painter" — was just so over the top that you wonder if the writer got his start writing for the North Korean government. No really, they are absolutely serious.

In writing about self-portaits done by Dubya and revealed by hacked email, a post credited to the entire Beacon staff swoons:

The paintings demonstrate a command of line and color that is rarely seen in the modern-day "art" world. Former President George W. Bush appears to be influenced by such painters as Edgar Degas and Édouard Manet. The portraits also clearly capture the personality of their subject.

I don't want to get too down on Bush's art, since he's not the one who put them out there. But no. Not at all. They are not Degas and Manet. They're the work of an older guy trying to figure out if painting's a fun way to while away the hours of retirement.

The Bacon also reminds us that "Winston Churchill also painted." Which I guess means that Bush is like Churchill kinda if you squint.

I don't have a lot more to say about this, other than to point out that there are a lot of people on the right who'll eat this crap up, just like they consume all rightwing propaganda completely uncritically. If you can take Fox & Friends seriously, you can takeanything seriously. This is a glimpse of the world they live in. It'd be a little sad, if it weren't so hilariously stupid.


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A permanent peasant class

I've long assumed that House Republicans and a majority of Republicans in the Senate would oppose immigration reform, if not categorically, then piecemeal, but the alternative some of them are proposing is far more horrible than even I would have imagined.

Under Labrador's proposal, which reflects an alternate route sought by House Republicans, undocumented immigrants would receive a visa that allows them to live, work and travel in and out of the United States, but without the right to vote or become a green card holder or citizen.

"Some people are calling it a blue card or a red card," said the conservative Latino congressman. "I think we should treat them with dignity, but we should also be fair to millions of people that are waiting in line, that are trying to do it the right way. … We have a large majority of the House of Representatives that wants to do something right now."

You can live, work, and travel here. You can contribute to society. But you can never become part of society.

This would essentially legitimize the system we currently have and formally enshrine the status quo into law while doing nothing to solve the problem. It would establish a permanent underclass of society that is free to mop our floors and pick our vegetables, but never vote and never be counted as a Real American. A servant class of peasants.

Why don't Republicans want to solve the problem? Here's a spoiler — because they don't actually believe it's a problem. The only reason they're feigning concern is because they've painted themselves into an electoral corner and their ability to stoke racial animosity for political gain is waning.

They want to keep their servants. They want a permanent underclass willing to work for less. One that can never vote against them.

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The U.S. Department of Labor has fined a private security contractor $75,000 for failing to file timely reports on the deaths of 30 workers in Iraq. 

They've been awarded contracts worth at least $80.9 million and only got fined $75K? Wow. I'm sure they'll never do that again!

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Sen. Sanders Introduces Bill to End Offshore Tax Havens

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Republicans are more likely to place the blame for gun violence on video games, not guns, according to a recent poll from Public Policy Polling. Sixty seven percent of Republicans believe that such games are a "bigger safety threat" than firearms — only 14 percent think the reverse.

The only problem? There's no data to support that position. There is evidence that limiting access to guns can help limit violence wrought by those machines. In particular, there's evidence to show that the Assault Weapons Ban helped to limit gun violence on the Mexican-American border. And in states where gun ownership is high and gun laws are lax, violence rates are higher.

On the other hand, there's absolutely no conclusive evidence showing that video games are the root cause of violence. There are countries with much lower rates of violence that havemuch higher consumption of video games.

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Maryland Middle School Promotes Ex-Gay Therapy To Students

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Condoleezza Rice Now Smacking People In The Face With Her Balls

world's greatest living something

World's greatest living Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who absolutely could not have known anyone would ever use an airplane as a missile, and who could not have known Saddam was not seeking yellowcake in Niger, and who could never have been blamed for Manolo-shopping while a city drowned, has now taken her reign of terror to people personally.

Standing on the steep hill for a blind approach shot on the sixth, Rice hit a hybrid that sent the ball into the left side of the gallery about 50 feet away — and nowhere near the green more than 150 feet to the right.


The ball struck a spectator on her forehead, which gushed with blood and sent her to the ground to recover.

The woman wept in pain while her daughter applied towels and medical personnel hustled over. Rice apologized to the woman and had an assistant get her phone number.


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Hateful Jerks Demand Hateful Jerk Be Fired For Calling Another Hateful Jerk A Hater

 

Oh, dear, it looks like our pals in Wingnut America are going all internecine on each other once more. See if you can decide which group of loathsome fucktoads to root for in this one! (The answer is, of course, "None of them, Katie.") The Daily Caller reports that a group of prominent conservatives — it's a Who's Who of wingnuttia — has called for Karl Rove's group American Crossroads to fire spokesman Jonathan Collegio because Collegio publicly called L. Brent Bozell a "hater." That's a whole bunch of people we would never want to be stuck in an elevator with. The only one we weren't already familiar with was Collegio, so we'll hold off on loathing him until we find out more, as if working for Rove weren't enough already. Go get some popcorn and we'll try to give you the play-by-play on this circular firing squad. 


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God Made A Factory Farm


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Horse Meat Lasagne: Environment Secretary Owen Paterson Says Frozen Ready Meals 'Safe'

What a moron. I wonder if he'd like to eat a horse that's been on the race track and has been pumped full of drugs harmful to humans? Or maybe ones that are sprayed with fly spray every day or don't get treatment for worms. Many of the medications given to horses say 'not to be used in horses intended for food.' The USDA is not testing slaughtered horses for these chemicals, so enjoy your horse burger, Mr. Paterson.


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h/t Dick: Compounding pharmacies have been linked to deaths, illnesses and safety failures for years

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