Headlines - Thursday September 22

 

"How did we beget a generation of people who war for money, cheer at the number of people Rick Perry has condemned to death, shout out that people without insurance should simply be allowed to die, spew racial and religious hatred as if it were mainstream thought, put likely innocent (black) people to death while letting likely guilty (white) people go free or... who would deny their neighbors basic help in times of catastrophe and the myriad other examples of hatefulness, selfishness and greed we see on open display today unless there's something in it for them?"

 

### 

 

 

 

###

 

FRC says DADT repeal will force bigots into the closet. Fuck you, Peter Sprigg.

 

And another fuck you to you, Tony Perkins!

 

###

 

 

###

 

Dan Choi says he's going to re-enlist.

 

###

 

Bob Cesca: Republican intimidation of the Fed

Despite everything that's going on, congressional Republican leaders are trying to bully Ben Bernanke to not interfere in the economy. Or else. Bernanke is going to announce a plan today, I think, that will lower consumer interest rates even further.

David Frum wrote a scathing takedown of the Republican sabotage here. Ezra Klein's take is here.

Meanwhile, it's increasingly likely there will be a Republican president elected in 2012. According to the new CNN poll, independents are seriously leaning Republican with 53 percent support for Random Republican X and only 28 percent support for the president.

The sabotage is working. Sadly. It's truly astonishing how the Republicans are getting away with this. By rights, they should be summarily removed from office by throngs of screaming (unemployed, bankrupt) voters. The Republicans have successfully pulled off one of the biggest marketing coups of all time: deliberately sabotage the economy and make voters think it's the other side's fault.

###

 

As ThinkProgress noted, now that the president has included tax increases for the rich as part of his jobs plan, the Republicans have revived their misleading claim that higher tax rates will hurt job creation. Chart, please.

Higher taxes on rich people means more revenue which means more spending on projects that stimulate job creation and economic growth — a proposal called The American Jobs Act, for example.

###

 

"Impeached President Says Global Warming Deniers Embarrass America"

 

"Fair and Balanced News, Biased and Deceptive Headlines."

 

###

 

 

###

 

Levi Johnston slams Palin family.

 

###

 

###

 

From the pull-themselves-up-by-their-own-bootstraps state:

 

Alaskans' interest in state government was exceptionally high on Tuesday (September 20), when Governor Sean Parnell announced the amount of the state's yearly dividend check: the share of oil money that each state resident receives just for living in Alaska.

 

In a news conference aired on live TV around the state, Parnell tore open a golden envelope and revealed that Alaskans will receive $1,174 this year, The Associated Press reports. The checks will go to 647,549 people — or 91 percent of Alaska's population — for a total cost of $760.2 million.

 

###

 

From Think Progress:



They can steal a lot of elections with that money.

If you're curious about why their wealth has grown so much so fast, it's apparently because of speculation on the energy markets. Lot's and lots of job creation right there.

 

###

 

A report found that the Department of Justice spent roughly $500,000 for food and beverages — at just 10 conferences. That included $16 muffins and coffee at a dollar an ounce.

 

"Maybe this is why the Justice Department has been so slow to move on torture and war crimes allegations. At $32 per person for snacks, one wonders if the conference tables should have include free brochures for Jenny Craig."

 

###

 

Obama at the UN: Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations

 

### 

 

You've heard of "lying for the Lord," well this is lying for the presidency.

 

###

 

High speed rail: ridiculous. Why are Democrats supporting this de-funding?

###

 

###

THIS is why we have to have neverending wars... so we can keep blowing people's shit up.  It's just too bad we have to blow so many of them up WITH their shit.

We go to foreign countries and blow all their shit up and then the billionaires running our Military Industrial Complex get richer yet by selling them replacements for the shit we blew up.  Latest example?  Flying machines.  

U.S. to sell 18 F-16 fighter jets to Iraq: Pentagon

The United States is "very close" to sealing a deal to sell 18 F-16 fighter jets to Iraq, a top Pentagon official announced Wednesday.

Iraq had frozen the $4.2 billion deal earlier this year amid the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings, but the prospects were "promising" for the contract to now move ahead, said General Russ Handy, head of the US air forces in Iraq.

"They are seeking to buy a larger number of F-16s (than) they had originally, up to 36," he told reporters.

"This first letter of offer and acceptance is for 18 of them, so we hope to hear very soon, but no final word yet on that."

The US military mission in Iraq is winding down ahead of a complete pullout of American troops by the end of the year but Washington is keen to sell as much equipment to Baghdad's fledgling security forces as possible.

The United States Department Of War Defense_Making the world safe profitable for General Dynamics.

###

POLL: 69 Percent Of Israelis Say Israel Should Accept U.N. Recognition Of Palestinian State | A joint poll by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in the Occupied Palestinian Territories found that 69 percent of Israelis think that their country should accept United Nations recognition of an independent Palestinian state, according the Jerusalem Post. The survey also found that 83 percent of Palestinians supported the U.N. bid. Six hundred Israelis and 1,200 Palestinians in the Occupied Territories participated in the poll. Of the Israelis that sided with accepting the U.N. decision, 34 percent said Israel should start negotiating with the Palestinians and 35 percent said the Palestinians should not be allowed to change dynamics on the ground.

And in a related story...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that President Obama deserves "a badge of honor" for his opposition to Palestinian statehood recognition at the U.N. Agreeing that Palestinians and Israelis should negotiate a settlement, Netanyahu said Palestinians "are not prepared yet to give peace to Israel in return."

###

In an embarrassing setback for Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), 48 rank-and-file Republicans voted against their leadership's temporary spending bill last night. The revolt underscores Boehner's lack of control over his own caucus and the GOP's need to get Democrats on board to govern. The speaker even threatened to strip Republicans of their committee assignments if they didn't toe the party line, to no avail.