Transparency in government? Sure. But, as the American Thinker notes, there are limits: As evident is that public officials are under no “transparency” obligation to address all questions. Were the right fringe to allege that Barack Obama is in fact a woman, and demand a photograph of his penis to definitively prove otherwise, and the left fringe retaliated by alleging … Read More
Yet Another Republican “Family Values” Hypocrite
TPM reports: Meet Tennessee state senator Paul Stanley. He's a solid conservative Republican and married father of two, who according to his website is "a member of Christ United Methodist Church, where he serves as a Sunday school teacher and board member of their day school." (Check out the religious imagery on the site — the sun poking through clouds, … Read More
The Hysteria Continues
When George Bush was "elected" president in 2000, I thought it was bad for the country. I didn't agree with his policies, and I thought he was a weak leader. And I said so. But what I didn't do was FREAK OUT. I didn't go around saying, "OMG! He's going to force us all to wear uniforms, and he's going … Read More
Obama Has A Deep-Seated Hatred For White People, But Doesn’t Necessarily Dislike Them
More from the "Better Conservative Criticism Please" Department. In the same interview this morning, Glenn Beck said: "This president, I think, has exposed himself as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture…" Moments later, Beck said: "I'm not saying he doesn't like white people. I'm saying he … Read More
Sarah Palin’s Gradual Descent Into Incoherency
I didn't come up with that title. It's what Pareene at Gawker used for her video timeline article, which is worth looking at if you want a laugh. It starts from the fairly competent Sarah Heath, the sports teleprompter newsreader from the late 1980's: …to her farewell speech last weekend. And Gawker pointed that this line from Sarah's farewell speech: "In the winter … Read More
Fox News Poll Finds Repubican Support At Its Worse In The Poll’s History
The GOP's favorability rating has slid noticeably from the spring, from 41 percent in early April to just 36 percent. At the same time, the party's unfavorable rating increased from 50 percent to 53 percent. Both of the current numbers represent new lows for the Republican Party in Fox News polling. At the same time, the Fox News survey finds … Read More
I Love This Birther Issue
It just cracks me up. Yesterday, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) introduced a resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s statehood. The resolution also proclaims the state as President Obama’s birthplace, a point the Plum Line’s Greg Sargent noted may "put House GOPers who are flirting with birtherism in a jam." On the House floor, Abercrombie spoke of his measure and … Read More
William Shater Turns Palin’s Farewell Speech From Last Sunday Into Performance Art
Wild, man: It's the bongos that make it great. More late-night fun? Jon Stewart and Bill Kristol.
The Birther Headache
The Politico discusses the "birther" problem I've discussed a few times here on this blog. What's the problem? With Congress out of session in August, legislators will be going home to their constituents. And Republican legislators will be inundated with questions from citizens who insist that Obama is a ferner and therefore can't be preznit of these here united states. … Read More
Sarah, We Hardly Knew Ye
Well, she's gone. Sarah officially resigned yesterday as Alaska governor, still being vague about her future. She assured her supporters that she "will be able to fight even harder" for them, now that she has no office, no governmental power, no authority, and no influence over public policy. Ironically, she took some shots in her bye-bye speech against "Hollywood 'starlets'" who … Read More
Nobody Likes Sarah Anymore
Hmmmm. Looks like Sarah's "I'm quitting because I'm all mavericky and it's great for Alaska" spin didn't work too well. From WaPo: Overall, the new poll found that 53 percent of Americans view Palin negatively and 40 percent see her in positive terms, her lowest level in Post-ABC polling since she first appeared on the national stage last summer…. The … Read More
The Born Identity
I generally don't have much success embedding The Daily Show videos, but I'll give it a shot this time, because Stewarts roast of the "Birthers" (the tin-foil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorists who espouse that Obama isn't a legitimate president because he wasn't born in the United States) is excellent. I especially love the end where Stewart describes exactly what the conspiracy theory … Read More
Quote Of The Day
In discussing the need for a balanced budget and PAYGO legislation, Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) shockingly exclaimed: "We're not going to cry 'emergency' every time we have a Katrina." In other words, having a balance budget is of paramount importance, and we're not going to muck it up by spending money on emergency appropriations like we did when Katrina hit. … Read More
The GOP Dilemna
Over at The Atlantic, columnist Marc Ambinder makes the same point I made yesterday (only better): Republicans have to be extra careful. If they give credence to the birthers, they're (not only advancing ignorance but also) betraying the narrowness of their base. If they dismiss this growing movement, they might drive birthers to find more extreme candidates, which will fragment … Read More
Palin: Defense Fund Is Unethical
Yup, the defense fund set up by Sarah Palin to pay for defense of all the ethics investigations against her is itself unethical: ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated ethics laws by accepting private donations to pay her legal debts. The report obtained by The Associated Press says Palin is … Read More