Saturday, September 12, 2009

Headlines - Saturday

Best possible comment on Glenn Beck's 9/12

Alex Pareene is my hero:

On 9/12, people in New York (and DC) did not feel as "great" as Glenn Beck. They just felt like shit. They felt scared and confused and depressed… And only an idiot or an actual terrorist would want to always feel like it was 9/12/01. And eight years later, normal people, with brains and souls, have decided that some emotional distance from that disaster is healthier and wiser than trying to recapture the dread.

So thank fucking christ that the Commander in Chief is no longer subjecting the nation to death porn.

No, this year it's limited to a nutty little cult leader on basic cable who is encouraging his radicalized band of fanatical followers to invade the cities where the tragedy actually happened in order to shock the populace back into fear.

Glenn Beck is an actual terrorist, and the people attending his rally in DC tomorrow are al-Qaeda in America.

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This one goes out to all the all the Glenn Beck fans gathering in our nation's capitol today:
 
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PZ Meyers:
 
Protect the sanctity of heterosexual marriage! 

California took such a brave leap last year to protect the purity of marriage by denying it to all of those with matching, instead of complementary, genitali; now John Marcotte wants to take the next logical step, and get an initiative on the California ballot to outlaw divorce. That's an excellent idea; most marriages aren't threatened by homosexuality at all (strangely, though, it's the must fervent fundamentalists who are most tempted by the love that dare not speak its name), but they are at risk from divorce. Nothing would strengthen the institution of marriage more than making a wedding equivalent to a shackling.

I also like this idea because my marriage isn't at risk for divorce anyway, so it doesn't affect me at all, but the prospect of being able to meddle in other people's lives and tell them exactly how they must act gives me a kind of head rush of power. All those women trapped in loveless marriages, or dominated by abusive husbands…nuh-uh, no way out for you, you get to suffer until you are dead! All those philandering men who can't seem to find satisfaction with one woman, your days are done — we have to crack down on the wretched slugs who cheat on vows mandated by a loving God.

Next year, someone needs to get an anti-masturbation law on the slate. Then we need to outlaw birth control. If we meddle enough, I'm sure we can get to the point where every marriage is a perfect and happy one.

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"I was incredibly disappointed in the tone of his speech.  At times, I found his tone to be overly combative and believe he behaved in a manner beneath the dignity of the office." Lindsay Graham (R-Gay), who once got 5 rugs for $5 bucks in Iraq  Link
 
Really? You heard the speech and saw Racist Joe Wilson acting like a goon from hell and you thought Obama had a bad tone? Perkel was right - Obama needs a f*** you czar.
 
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"He talked at us. He didn't listen to us. It was a missed opportunity." Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who is running for Obama's old Senate seat Link  

Hey dumbf**k, it was Obama's speech. How in the hell was he going to listen to you racist handjobs while giving a speech? 

What really steamed the students was when they raised their hands and Professor Obama woudn't call on them. 

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"The Winged Witch-Monkeys Didn't Show Up Because I Scared Them Off"

In what has to be one of the most brazen bits of credit-grabbing in GOoPer history, Sarahcuda announced yesterday that the non-existent "death panels" don't exist because she scared Obama into abandoning them. In effect, Palin's declaring victory in an imaginary war. And she wants credit for it: 

http://casadelogo.typepad.com/factesque/2009/09/friday-palin-the-winged-witchmonkeys-didnt-show-up-because-i-scared-them-off.html#more

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"I'm with stupid" 

It was a triumph of democracy. Ultra-patriot Joe Wilson, Representative from the Great State of South Carolina, called out the president as a liar. On national television. During an presidential address to a joint session of congress. Incorrectly. Not since the invasion of Normandy has there been a greater display of courage.

Honoring this fine American is local South Carolina blog The Palmetto Scoop, 
which ran a contest giving away 50 of these mega-patriotic t-shirts:
http://griperblade.blogspot.com/2009/09/im-with-stupid.html 

Fun fact: Joe Wilson calls for donations to keep from "being "muzzled."
 
 
Really fun fact: his opponent, Rob Miller, just passed the $1M mark for funds raised since Wilson's outburst.
 
 
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46,300,000

We often are told we are the greatest nation in the world. So, how do we explain this?

From Reuters:

The number of people living in the United States without health insurance rose to 46.3 million in 2008 from 45.7 million a year earlier, a U.S. Census Bureau official said on Thursday.

David Johnson, who heads the Census Bureau's housing and household economic statistics division, told a telephone conference the data were collected in March of 2008 -- before the sharp economic downturn in the latter part of the year which saw many more people lose jobs and health insurance.

In other words, it's certainly gotten much worse.

The Republicans, the corporate media, the Blue Dog Democrats in the House and Mangy Dog Democrats in the Senate continually give us lies and misdirections. They talk about deficits and illegal immigrants and abortion and tort reform and the critically important preservation of the precious insurance industry. They don't talk about the people. 46,300,000 people. Without health insurance. In the only industrialized nation that does not provide health coverage to its people. In a nation that likes to pretend it's the greatest in the world. It's time to find out if that claim has even a plausible basis in fact.

Do we take care of our own? Who are we, as a people?

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The adventures of President Barack von Munchausen

As you may know, there's a psychiatric condition known as Münchausen syndrome by proxy, one of the manifestations of which can be loosely defined as putting someone or something else in jeopardy so that you can be a hero by "saving" it.

For obvious reasons, this came to mind as I watched a surprisingly reinvigorated Barack Obama give his speech to Congress on Wednesday night.  As columnist E.J. Dionne wrote for the Washington Post, "After a listless summer during which his opponents dominated the health-care debate… it seemed as if a politician who had been channeling the detached and cerebral Adlai Stevenson had discovered a new role model in the fighting Harry Truman."

Then again (though I know I might be inviting sneering about "multi-dimensional chess" and the like), there may have been a method to the seeming madness of Obama's lackadaisical summer attitude toward healthcare reform. A NYT story a few days ago navel-gazed about how Obama has attempted to learn lessons from the failure of Bill Clinton's healthcare proposals in 1994: http://needlenose.com/wp/2009/09/11/the-adventures-of-president-barack-von-munchausen/

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Margaret & Helen: A buttload of moolah!

Margaret, I guess if you get enough morons congregating in one particular geographical area, eventually they will vote a fellow moron to represent them in Congress.  Kind of like sleeping with your cousin – eventually your offspring are not going to be right in the head.  But the idiot parade coming out of South Carolina seems to be getting longer and longer these days.  

From where I sit Republican Congressman Joe Wilson's heckling of the President puts him pretty far down on the moron food chain in South Carolina - well below  Miss Teen Lauren Caitlin Upton, but only slightly above Governor Mark Sanford. Which isn't saying much considering all of them are behind the Osprey, northern pike, perch, bleak, shrimp and plankton.  For those of you in South Carolina that is just a fancy way of saying they aren't worth a pile of shit in my book – except for that little Lauren Caitlin Upton.  She couldn't help herself the poor dear. Everyone knows you can't be a carnivore and still fit in your pageant dress. 

Folks, let me tell you something about  healthcare and health insurance.  There are a  couple of ways to make a buck in the game.  One way is to systematically deny coverage to anyone with a propensity to get sick as evidenced by past occurrences.  The other way is to spread the risk over the largest population possible effectively minimizing the impact of the most risky.  But there is one way for sure to lose a buck – keep increasing the number of people who can't pay their bill.  It's really quite simple. A public option means insurance companies will report profits using language like "impressive" and "satisfactory" rather than "awesome" and "a buttload of moolah!"

When exactly did we become so enamoured with health insurance companies that we are now so adamantly fighting for their rights to make a buck off our misfortunes?  None of this makes any sense to me.  The President wants to make a speech encouraging our children to stay in school and study hard and we compare that to Nazi Germany. Doctors talking to patients about feeding tubes and life support machines has become some secret plot to kill Grandma.  Making sure a woman can get treatment for her breast cancer is unreasonable.  I don't know Margaret.  What's next?  Governor Perry and Governor Sanford fight to see which state secedes from the Union first- Texas or South Carolina? If only…

Someone needs to remind Representative Wilson that he and his family currently have a public option for their health insurance.  And while you're reminding him of that, be sure he understands that the next time his doctor has a finger up his butt all of us taxpayers footed the bill.  Come to think of it, maybe instead of paying the bill we can skip the finger and just introduce his ass to my foot.  I mean it.  Really.

PS.  Did anyone else notice the look Nancy Pelosi gave to Joe Wilson when he acted out?  Now there is a lady I would enjoy having over for coffee and pie.

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Once again, Keith Olbermann speaks for the 80 percent of Americans who are able to think for themselves — this time about the growing threat presented by the 20 percent who can't, and who have been brainwashed by Republicans and other agents of corporatism.

http://www.pensitoreview.com/2009/09/11/olbermann-on-rep-wilson-this-government-cannot-endure-permanently-half-smart-and-half-stupid/

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A Wells Fargo executive who oversees foreclosed properties hosted parties and spent long summer weekends in a $12 million Malibu beach house, moving into the home just after it had been surrendered to Wells Fargo to satisfy debts, neighbors said.

The previous owners of the beachfront home in Malibu Colony — a densely built stretch of luxury homes that has been a favorite of celebrities over the years — were financially devastated in Bernard Madoff's massive fraud scheme, real estate agent Irene Dazzan-Palmer said.

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Not every country looks the other way or actually rewards bad behavior: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090911/ap_on_re_as/as_taiwan_former_president
 
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I'm guessing the same is true of my ISP....
 
South Africa's internet network is awful: 
Local news agency SAPA reported the 11-month-old pigeon, Winston, took one hour and eight minutes to fly the 80 km (50 miles) from Unlimited IT's offices near Pietermaritzburg to the coastal city of Durban with a data card was strapped to his leg.

Including downloading, the transfer took two hours, six minutes and 57 seconds -- the time it took for only four percent of the data to be transferred using a Telkom line.

SAPA said Unlimited IT performed the stunt after becoming frustrated with slow internet transmission times.
 
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Global warming has advantages!
 
The dream of shipping captains (or at least owners) for centuries suddenly doesn't sound very dreamy.
For hundreds of years, mariners have dreamed of an Arctic shortcut that would allow them to speed trade between Asia and the West. Two German ships are poised to complete that transit for the first time, aided by the retreat of Arctic ice that scientists have linked to global warming.

The ships started their voyage in South Korea in late July and will begin the last leg of the trip this week, leaving a Siberian port for Rotterdam in the Netherlands carrying 3,500 tons of construction materials.
 
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Money talks
 
Which, when you get right down it it, is why Congress has done jack shit about restoring regulation to the financial industry. The banks are still ginning up and selling the same bullshit "securities" that damn near brought on another depression and that brought us the worst recession since 1941. Congress could repeal the Gramm-Leach Act of 1999, which had repealed parts of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, but they haven't moved to do anything.
http://eb-misfit.blogspot.com/2009/09/money-talks.html
 
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gingrichchri
 
Newt Gingrich awards the "Entrepreneur of the Year" award to the head of an on-line porno studio: http://www.mockpaperscissors.com/?p=23380
 
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America's daughter.

Here's another way to mark the inevitable passage of time since everybody was all nutty about the 9/11, eight years ago: Jenna Bush, fun-loving teen-aged drunkard of Smith Point and daughter of America's worst president, is now so grown up and harmless that she's going to do some video stuff for the Today program, which is a soothing combination of cooking tips and birthday greetings to 100-year-olds, early in the morning, because old people get up crazy early for no reason at all. Jenna! She's married and is a teacher or something in Baltimore, too. Baltimore Sun

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Bill Maher to Obama: 'Stand up for the 70% of Americans who aren't crazy.'

http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/09/bill-maher-to-obama-stand-up-for-the-70-of-americans-who-arent-crazy/

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I'm sure if you or I lied under oath we'd be given the same treatment ..

Bush Justice Department official who lied won't be charged

Attorney General Eric Holder has decided not to bring any criminal charges against a former Bush administration official who lawmakers said lied to them in sworn testimony.

An inspector general's report found that Bradley Schlozman, the former head of the civil rights division, misled lawmakers about whether he politicized hiring decisions.

Criminal prosecutors eyed the matter but decided not to file any criminal charges for his under-oath denials of making personnel decisions based on politics. http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/09/holder-wont-charge-bush-justice-department-official-who-lied/

 

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