Friday, September 17, 2010

Headlines - Friday September 17


Dems have a new web site about John Boehner and his incessant ties to corporate lobbyists. More from the Washington Post.
 
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Matt Taibbi on NFL players' pro-union 'statement'
 
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Coburn blocks food safety, wants to deny FDA right to recall dangerous food.
 
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"If Christine O'Donnell can't stand masturbation, she'll hate the US Senate." - Paul Begala, Link  
 
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Of Mice and Men

I'm a bit sick of O'DonnellGate already, but TPM is doing yeoman's work digging up all the crazy shit she said. My favorite so far is this:

American scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains.

And all this from a Claremont Institute Lincoln Fellow.

There's a Burkean brouhaha raging: is O'Donnell a real Merkin who speaks too plainly for the ears of the elite or is she an idiot nutsoid? The truth is she's a nutsoid who was nurtured by the creme de la creme of serious, high-brow conservative institutions (the same one that birthed Conor Friedersdorf). If she hadn't talked so much about masturbation and "man pants" and man-mice hybrids, we'd be hearing about her prestigious intellectual pedigree.

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Mouse with Fully-Functional Human Brain

Human with Fully-Functional Mouse Brain
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LOUISIANA: Sen. David "Diaper Boy" Vitter Signs Tea Party Morality Pledge

Sanctity of opposite-marriage hero, serial adulterer, hooker patron, and diaper fetishist Sen. David Vitter has signed the Tea Party Patriots' morality pledge.

I hereby pledge to: Support and defend the U.S. Constitution as originally intended by the Founders and as explained in the "Federalist Papers." Act in a fiscally responsible manner: Decrease the size and scope of government on all levels--localstate, and federal; Decrease spending on all levels--local, state and federal; Work toward a balanced budget. Support the free market by lower taxes and fees on businesses and individuals: support only those regulations that enhance competition. Conduct myself personally and professionally in a moral and socially appropriate manner.

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Mitch McConnell and the poor downtrodden rich

If you had to give a face to Republican's heartless to-hell-with-the-middle-class attitude, I can think of no better one than that of Mitch McConnell's disgusting mug.  Here he is on the Senate floor defending tax cuts for the richest 2 percent.

"We can't let the people who've been hit the hardest by this recession, and who need to create the jobs that will get us out of it, foot the bill for the Democrats' two-year adventure in expanded government."

The tens of millions of unemployed and families who have lost their homes, health insurance and life savings over the last year will by glad to know that the wealthiest in the nation have been hit harder by the recession than they have.  Someone should tell the 1 in 7 Americans who live in poverty to stop the bitching.

A McConnell spokesman came out the next day to spin explain what McConnell really meant.  Whatever.  The truth is that McConnell's statement expressed Republican concerns perfectly…concerns which have nothing to do with the poor or middle class of America and everything to do with sucking up to the rich and special interest groups who fill their campaign coffers with millions.

If you're not making $250 K or more, rest assured that the Republican party doesn't give a flying f*** about you or your measly concerns.  Don't take my word for it.  Just ask Mitch McConnell.

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Barack Obama will finally announce sometime today that Elizabeth Warren is America's new consumer-advocate czar. Warren will be appointed as a "special adviser" to the Consumer Protection Bureau. And because Warren is just doin' some harmless consulting work, there is no need for a Senate confirmation hearing, which is excellent because we all know that would have been a mess. So hooray, Elizabeth Warren will help you understand your
monthly credit card debt-statement and your soul-crushing mortgage. Soon you will be begging Elizabeth Warren to stop, because if you are financially literate, how can you apply for credit cards you don't need or send in your Cash4Gold without feeling a little guilty? [
Boston Herald] READ MORE »

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Now some other comedians will do national mall rallies
Oh it's a teevee show promotion! But for some reason, you'll all applaud this one.
 
Will this be terrible? Probably! But the crowds are likely to be much sexier then Glenn Beck's sad old slob-followers: Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have announced competing rallies on the National Mall, on October 30. The character Colbert plays will be leading a "Keep Fear Alive" march, while Stewart's sad anchorman character will lead the "Rally To Restore Sanity." So …. Wonkette will hold a counter counter rally, perhaps with Christine O'Donnell and the Divinyls performing their awesome '80s '90s hit, "I Touch Myself."
 
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Pope blames atheists for the holocaust
Benedict XVI used the first papal state visit to Britain today to launch a blistering attack on "atheist extremism" and "aggressive secularism", and to rue the damage that "the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life" had done in the last century.

The leader of the Roman Catholic church concluded a speech, made before the Queen and assembled dignitaries at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, with the argument that the Nazi desire to eradicate God had led to the Holocaust and a plea for 21st-century Britain to respect its Christian foundations.

Oh, really? Let's go to the other side and see what evidence they have. Or another source.

Or, if you believe that a picture is equivalent to 1K words:


Blaming atheism for the atrocities of Germany before and during the Second World War is a wholesale re-writing of the historical record. It is a rewriting of history worthy of the "we have always been at war with Oceania" revisions contained in 1984. It is the sort of crap that one might expect to be spewed by the likes of Mel Gibson in a drunken rage, not by a man who is the so-called "Vicar of Christ".

The Queen is, no doubt a very courteous hostess. But after that screed by Pope Heinrich Benedict, I think that she could be forgiven for thanking the Pope for the urban renewal preparations done by his countrymen in
1940-41 and 1944-45.
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Sounds like a job for Lizzie Warren
 
Why won't Scarah Palin give this guy his $600 back? 
I don't know any Dons. Sorry.

Our consumer affairs desk brings you the sad, sad story of Donald Cranfill—a man with a name full of pathos, which is his mama's fault, and a wallet full of empty, which is his Mama Grizzly's fault. A truck driver, Cranfill bought a $600 ticket to see the actress Sarah Palin perform her funny one-woman show at a fund-raiser that was supposed to happen in Charlotte, N.C. in June. But you know Palin's habit of saying "hell no I won't" after she's agreed to perform—the fund-raiser never happened. And neither did the refund of Cranfill's $600, which was last seen on in the cash register of the Spanx flagship store in Wasilla. READ MORE »

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Priceless: Costume-wearer Glenn Beck tells teabaggers to stop wearing costumes
Hypocrite! Why did you make us throw our coustumes on our pile of burning Korans?
 
Glenn Beck is going on his radio and teevee shows and asking Teabaggers to stop wearing dumb dead historical figures costumes at rallies, and Teabaggers are calling in very angry about this. "What's more effective, you as Betsy Ross or you as somebody who looks just like their neighbor, not dressed as Betsy Ross?" he said, unaware that coming as yourself in your American flag tee and scooter is not the best advertisement for your cause either. But as The Blaze and Glenn Beck's personal website show with some photo examples, Glenn Beck likes to wear silly costumes all the time, such as this very nice yellow banana one. Wait, aren't those sites owned by Beck? Why are they undermining his message? READ MORE »

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When Gingrich calls Obama a "Kenyan," that, of course is code for 'ni**er;". - Bill Maher, with the truth, on Larry King, Great 2-min Video
 
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Here we go

Oh, you Bumpit wearin' Commonsense Constitutionalists, you betcha!

I can't wait for the Palin/O'Donnell presidential ticket slogan:

"DON'T MASTURBATE - REFUDIATE!"

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Another Big Accomplishment on the Economy

We missed this yesterday. Very good news out of the Senate:

The Senate on Thursday approved a multi-billion dollar package of tax breaks and government-backed loans for small businesses, as Democrats surmounted months of opposition by Republican leaders. Backers say the bill could spur business growth and new hiring.

"Small businesses are the major job creators in our economy, and this legislation will ensure that our small businesses have the tax incentives and credit they need to expand and hire," said Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California.

Only two Republicans voted for the bill: Voinovich and LeMieux.

Yet where are we today? So far, I haven't seen a single Democrat on television (yet) ballyhooing this bill or attacking the Republicans for voting against small business tax cuts and job creation. Not one. While this bill will help millions of people, it's yet another missed political opportunity to both energize the base and to rightfully criticize the Republicans.

I really need to lower my expectations, which I didn't think was possible when came to the framing and optical impotence of the Senate Democrats.