To all the conservatives who rooted against America (which, not too long ago, you once considered a bad thing), pat yourselves on the back: Mission accomplished. Never mind that the event would have brought in 22.5 billion in economic activity (the equivalent of 315,000 permanent jobs in America), much less be a good place to exhibit American pride. It's more … Read More
Another Day, Another Michelle Bachmann Lie-Meme
So here's what The World's Worst Politican Evah ™ said on the floor of the House last night: For the video-impaired, here's a transcript: "[T]he bill orders that these clinics protect patient privacy and student records. What does that mean? It means that parents will never know what kind of counsel and treatment that their children are receiving. And as … Read More
Nate Silver vs. Strategic Vision
In a series of blog posts, statistician Nate Silver has made a compelling case that Strategic Vision, LLC is a public realtions/polling firm which, put bluntly, makes up data. In this post, Silver looks at a recent poll conducted by SV, which made some news. The upshot of the poll, commissioned by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, is that Oklahoma … Read More
Quote Of The Day
Sarah's got a book coming out soon called "Goin' Rogue" (I guess "maverick" was taken). She reportedly got a $7 million advance on the book, which is good for her, because she's not exactly taking the lecture circuit by storm: Palin's bookers are said to be asking for $100,000 per speech, but an industry expert tells Page Six: "The big … Read More
Friedman’s Must-Read
NYT columnist Thomas Friedman recalls not too long ago when Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was accused by his political opponents of being a socialist, a Nazi, a treasonous villian, etc. That all pretty much ended when Rabin was assassinated in 1995. Friedman today writes that what we're seeing in America now is much the same thing: Others have already remarked … Read More
Palin Memoir Due In November; English Translation To Follow
HuffPo: NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) – A memoir by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will be published this November, with an English translation due shortly thereafter, her publisher confirmed today. According to Carol Foyler, a spokesperson for the publisher, translators are working "around the clock" to translate Ms. Palin's text into English. "We have hired the best linguists in … Read More
Loon River
Count in singer and still-not-dead Andy Williams as a teabagger: "Don't like him at all," he said, "I think he wants to create a socialist country. The people he associates with are very Left-wing. One is registered as a Communist. "Obama is following Marxist theory. He's taken over the banks and the car industry. He wants the country to fail." … Read More
Anti-Government Sentiment Leads To Murder?
What happens when you gin up anti-government sentiment among the rightwing nuts? The AP is reporting that Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old part-time Census field worker and occasional teacher, was found hung to death in Kentucky with the word “fed” was scrawled on the dead man’s chest. Investigators are still trying to determine the motive, but “law enforcement officers have told … Read More
If The Midterm Elections Were Held Today
"If the election were held today," said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), "we would have the majority of the House back." Um…. I don't know about that. [Source: Daily Kos/Research 2000 Poll, Sept. 14-17; 2% MOE]
Poor Orly Taitz
Orly Taitz is an attorney and a doctor and she's the one filing all these lawsuits trying to prove that Obama was actually a Kenyan. Having had one of her cases thrown out of federal court last week (with an admonishment from the judge that if she continues to waste the court's time, she'll be fined), now she's the object of conspiracy … Read More
New Rightwing Outrage: The Arts
Yup. That's what you're going to hear about, starting this week and going on for the next few weeks. Here's the "scandal" in a nutshell, as described by the rightwing "journalist" who "broke" it: I was invited by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to take part in a conference call that invited a group of rising artist and … Read More
Okay, THIS Is Exhibit A On Why I Get Frustrated With Teabaggers
I don't mind Obama opposition in general, and concerns about exploding the deficits are more than reasonable concerns. Heck, make a coherent argument against anything I support, and I'll listen and consider it. My problem with many — if not most — of the Tea Party protesters is that — well, how shall I say it — they're idiots. They … Read More
The Party of Children
First it was "Liar, liar" (embodied in Joe Wilson); now it's "he started it" ("he" = Obama). My favorite: After the vote was taken, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) declared on the House floor that Obama had insulted Congress, by saying that his opponents were lying about his health care proposals. "He comes in here talking about a lie … He … Read More
Tearing The Country Apart
Van Jones, ACORN, and now the video of the school bus brawl. Anyone notice a pattern of the right-wing targets? There seems to be a racial pattern to the target-du-jour of the right wing. The school bus brawl incident is especially noteworthy, because it is clearly race-baiting. I mean, some kids beat on another kid on a school bus. Worthy … Read More
About ACORN
Well, there's no doubt that ACORN, the community organizing group, has some — shall we say — issues. What I don't understand is why this is such a victory-lap issue for conservatives, who have been targeting ACORN since Obama became President. In fact, getting ACORN has been part of a prong in the Beck-driven right's full frontal assualt on Obama. … Read More