Rising Hegemon
The research of more than 2,300 undergraduates found 45 percent of students show no significant improvement in the key measures of critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing by the end of their sophomore years.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
That's more than half!
Why can't black people keep babies in a jar? It's the sane thing to do.
Ah, Rick Santorum, he's planning to run for President. That's quite the special needs contingent that are throwing their "hats in the ...ooh shiny" for 2012.
Time to get those therapy bills ready kids.
Time to get those therapy bills ready kids.
Great News everyone...
I've heard that Joe Lieberman and Matt Millen are planning on going into business together...in another country.
Glenn Beck would recommend you buy more gold now
But I for one welcome our new giant crayfish overlords.
[Insert Glenn Reynolds joke here]
...which makes it terrifying as they are still smaller than an average lobster.
We're doomed!
In Tennessee, reports recently surfaced of a gigantic crayfish that no one had ever seen before. Much to their surprise, researchers found one hiding under a rock.
[Insert Glenn Reynolds joke here]
This crayfish is twice as big as its relatives, and there's only one other previously known species that's even remotely similar.
...which makes it terrifying as they are still smaller than an average lobster.
We're doomed!
Privacy is for the Gated Community only
The long-standing fevered dreams of the right are ever coming true, and providing the propellant is the Supreme Court:
JPL's virtually exclusive mission is planetary exploration. So it's obvious why such intrusions are necessary. We cannot have someone who once declared bankruptcy or likes the occasional shocker selling research to Jupiter before it can be broadcast on Nova; or telling Saturnians, "we're going to enjoy probing your moons!". Science is clearly best served when it is performed only by the most politically sanitized of people, like Tycho.
But have no fear, just because the decision was unanimous doesn't mean it applies to fields filled by non-scientist types:
Oh, well, thank goodness...uh, what?
Well, so much for being limited. Seeing as how the Constitutional Right-to-Privacy only applies to, you know, the government, that doesn't sound so limited at all.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday to allow sweeping background checks of JPL scientists and other government contract workers, ruling that privacy rights do not prevent officials from digging into employees' medical, financial and sexual histories.
JPL's virtually exclusive mission is planetary exploration. So it's obvious why such intrusions are necessary. We cannot have someone who once declared bankruptcy or likes the occasional shocker selling research to Jupiter before it can be broadcast on Nova; or telling Saturnians, "we're going to enjoy probing your moons!". Science is clearly best served when it is performed only by the most politically sanitized of people, like Tycho.
But have no fear, just because the decision was unanimous doesn't mean it applies to fields filled by non-scientist types:
...the decision, which holds JPL researchers to the similar standards as government workers with access to classified information, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the justices were not ruling on whether citizens had a constitutional right to informational privacy.
Oh, well, thank goodness...uh, what?
"We reject the argument that the government, when it requests job-related personal information in an employment background check, has a constitutional burden to demonstrate that its questions are 'necessary,'" Alito wrote.
Well, so much for being limited. Seeing as how the Constitutional Right-to-Privacy only applies to, you know, the government, that doesn't sound so limited at all.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Good to see such a high level of sophistication
Warner Oland would pronounce Limbaugh "Number One Asshole".
I'm not quite sure this is what some on the left had in mind...
Randall Terry will make quite a "scary" primary opponent for Obama.
It's almost as if he were being challenged by a less popular Bill Kristol.
It's almost as if he were being challenged by a less popular Bill Kristol.
Way to go Papacy
After all this time, of course, this is no surprise but the clarity and starkness of it all is still shocking:
A letter attempting to make such allegations internal church matters only is pretty much the opposite of what the Church has been saying in lawsuits throughout the world, particularly in the U.S. on the matter.
In the Church's defense, "ass-covering" is not necessarily in the 10-commandments if you read them like Scalia reads the Constitution.
A newly revealed 1997 letter from the Vatican warned Ireland's Catholic bishops not to report all suspected child-abuse cases to police...
...The letter undermines persistent Vatican claims, particularly when seeking to defend itself in U.S. lawsuits, that the church in Rome never instructed local bishops to withhold evidence or suspicion of crimes from police.
A letter attempting to make such allegations internal church matters only is pretty much the opposite of what the Church has been saying in lawsuits throughout the world, particularly in the U.S. on the matter.
In the Church's defense, "ass-covering" is not necessarily in the 10-commandments if you read them like Scalia reads the Constitution.
Save it for Broder
One of the true traditions of the Village is giving the the recently deceased or retiring cocktail party attendees an obsequious sendoff. An "art form" practiced since the Pierce Administration by David Broder. Broder's columns on Joe McCarthy and Theodore Bilbo likely focused on their mutual love of the then segregated Washington Redskins.
But Broder hasn't written a column in several weeks and somebody needs to get the hell into the breach and say something nice about Joe Lieberman as he departs for that seven figure FoxNews commenting deal.
Enter Ezra Klein, and whoever writes his headlines:
Hey, thanks for the question mark at least.
Contained within the short prose, is the self-evident nature of Lieberman's regard for no one but himself and his donors:
But he ended up voting for the legislation he'd damage severely and made significantly worse for Americans but made better for the Hartford, AETNA, and Magellan. Oh, and he endorsed John McCain and Sarah Palin.
What a guy, what a Democrat.
Joe, you are the breaking-of-wind beneath our wings.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
But Broder hasn't written a column in several weeks and somebody needs to get the hell into the breach and say something nice about Joe Lieberman as he departs for that seven figure FoxNews commenting deal.
Enter Ezra Klein, and whoever writes his headlines:
Joe Lieberman: Democratic hero?
Hey, thanks for the question mark at least.
Contained within the short prose, is the self-evident nature of Lieberman's regard for no one but himself and his donors:
Among other things, he skipped the meetings where Democrats were trying to work out a compromise on the public option, and then he killed the Medicare buy-in proposal they'd developed -- despite endorsing that exact proposal months before. In doing so, he doomed a great piece of policy, and by doing it at the last minute, endangered the rest of the bill, too.
But he ended up voting for the legislation he'd damage severely and made significantly worse for Americans but made better for the Hartford, AETNA, and Magellan. Oh, and he endorsed John McCain and Sarah Palin.
What a guy, what a Democrat.
Joe, you are the breaking-of-wind beneath our wings.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
America's Concern Troll
Poor Richard Cohen, a man so unappreciated for his self-proclaimed gifts.
He's a better "comedian" than Stephen Colbert.
He's a better "lover" than Bill Clinton.
And he's a better "speaker" than Barack Obama.
Good for that guy
Richard Lugar, invites a Teatard challenge by having the actual balls to do the right thing, as opposed to the right-thing.
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) this weekend called on Congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004.
Well . . . I'm not saying he's a dick from Wisconsin, but Brett Favre just texted me his picture.
The Daily Show bids adieu to Michael Steele:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Run RNC | ||||
| ||||
You’ve gone backwards a ways baby
Along with Martin Luther King Day, I remembered that yesterday was also the 50th anniversary of Eisenhower's farewell address.
Although, until Josh Marshall reminded me just before the first cup of coffee, I had forgotten that yesterday was also the 20th Anniversary of the beginning of the Gulf War (part one).
So then we went to war because it was argued, Iraq had invaded Kuwait and taken its oil. It was emphasized at the time that this was a sign of clear evil and Hitlerness to all 'Muricans.
Cut to modern America and Sean Hannity:
Isn't progress grand?
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Although, until Josh Marshall reminded me just before the first cup of coffee, I had forgotten that yesterday was also the 20th Anniversary of the beginning of the Gulf War (part one).
So then we went to war because it was argued, Iraq had invaded Kuwait and taken its oil. It was emphasized at the time that this was a sign of clear evil and Hitlerness to all 'Muricans.
Cut to modern America and Sean Hannity:
On his Friday show, Sean Hannity wondered why Iraq and Kuwait hadn't "[paid] for their own liberation" by the United States, and said that America has the right to "go in there...and take all their oil."
Isn't progress grand?
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Breathing
Many have posted about Palin's "breathing" only video.
I still prefer it in its original presentation, even with the mandated laugh-track:
I still prefer it in its original presentation, even with the mandated laugh-track:
More than just MLK Day
It's also the 50th Anniversary of this:
King emerged as a national figure while Eisenhower was President and, of course, was violently murdered about a year before Eisenhower expired in a more common fashion.
I never really thought of them as being terribly intertwined, but they'd probably both be rather disgusted in some ways how we have ignored much of what they said. Ike was certainly not the pacifist that King was, but he knew plenty of pacifists (his mother was a Quaker) but they'd both be radical left-wingers on the issue today.
King emerged as a national figure while Eisenhower was President and, of course, was violently murdered about a year before Eisenhower expired in a more common fashion.
I never really thought of them as being terribly intertwined, but they'd probably both be rather disgusted in some ways how we have ignored much of what they said. Ike was certainly not the pacifist that King was, but he knew plenty of pacifists (his mother was a Quaker) but they'd both be radical left-wingers on the issue today.
Emission Accomplished
Sean Hannity, scheduled to appear tonight with Sarah Palin to discuss how awesome guns are and compare various shades of paper sacks on MLK Day, had a Friday that sums up his moral code perfectly.
For those of you who, for some reason, are wondering, that is pretty damn close to the reasons Saddam Hussein invaded the country to begin with.
Sean Hannity = Saddam Hussein.
You really have tempered the rhetoric over there Roger Aisles.
On his Friday show, Sean Hannity wondered why Iraq and Kuwait hadn't "[paid] for their own liberation" by the United States, and said that America has the right to "go in there...and take all their oil."
For those of you who, for some reason, are wondering, that is pretty damn close to the reasons Saddam Hussein invaded the country to begin with.
Sean Hannity = Saddam Hussein.
You really have tempered the rhetoric over there Roger Aisles.
Oh look, a jackass
Good thing there's no incitement going on from the right anymore:
"Enemies of God"? Thanks Osama bin Morons.
Quite the legal scholars these two are of the slightly better than G.E.D. set.
The remaining members of the Iowa Supreme Court have proven they are immoral and “open enemies of God” by choosing Mark Cady as chief justice, and thus, all deserve to be impeached, according to conservative radio host Steve Deace and Republican Party of Iowa central committee member Wes Enos.
"Enemies of God"? Thanks Osama bin Morons.
Quite the legal scholars these two are of the slightly better than G.E.D. set.
Miss America and Qaddafi Agree
This weekend the nation's first non-legal Miss America, future Gretchen Carlson replacement Terry Scanlon was crowned after playing "White Water Chopped Sticks" on piano and telling the audience that when it comes to the website Wikileaks, security should come before public access to government information.
And she has good company in that regard, from governments everywhere. But notably in the form of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi:
And now Qaddafi is worried about his own dictatorial ass over the same things.
Oh, what an awful international crime Wiki-leaks must be, giving people a reason to overthrow dictators on their own initiative instead of having an outside country bomb them into submission. Making dictators mad and frightened, clearly they are worse than Stalin.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
...when it comes to the security of our nation, we have to focus on security first and then people's right to know
And she has good company in that regard, from governments everywhere. But notably in the form of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi:
...an ally of the ousted president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, said he was "pained" by the fall of the Tunisian government. He claimed protesters had been led astray by WikiLeaks disclosures detailing the corruption in Ben Ali's family and his repressive regime.
And now Qaddafi is worried about his own dictatorial ass over the same things.
Oh, what an awful international crime Wiki-leaks must be, giving people a reason to overthrow dictators on their own initiative instead of having an outside country bomb them into submission. Making dictators mad and frightened, clearly they are worse than Stalin.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Sunday, January 16, 2011
This has to be a joke
This cannot be a real event.
Sandbaggers will be shot.
Plus, in North Korea everyone's an amateur compared to Kim Jong-Il and his 11-holes-in-one in one round.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
America's Concern Troll
Dear James Wolcott,
Love your blog, your column, your books, and that certain je ne sais quoi you bring to the table(t).
I was catching up on magazines the other day (I am forever catching up on magazines) when I came across your column, "One Cool Cat", in the September 2010 issue of Vanity Fair and I thought you might like to know that the term "America's Concern Troll" that is beloved by liberal bloggers was coined by none other than my liberal blogger benefactor, Dr. Atta J. Turk.
Keep telling it like it is. And, on behalf of Dr. Turk, thanks for the shout-out of January 10th.
xxx...res
How long before Glenn Beck
Encourages Americans to be more like Tunisia? Our newest "non-scary for the time being even though we propped up their own tyrannical regime and the people there know it" muslim country?
Seriously, good for you Tunisians...this is the most attention America's given to you since Malcolm Forbes flew all his beards over to party there and Morocco.
Now let's see how many Teaparties can find Tunisia on a map?
Seriously, good for you Tunisians...this is the most attention America's given to you since Malcolm Forbes flew all his beards over to party there and Morocco.
Now let's see how many Teaparties can find Tunisia on a map?
File Under: You Can't Spell "Twitter" without "TWIT"
Why is Andrew Sullivan even bothering to wonder, "Could Tunisia be the next Twitter revolution?" "Next" would imply that there was a previous "Twitter revolution" and as we know, there was not, so please, enough with the Twitter-as-Global-Change-Agent nonsense.
Best bit from the link:
Shirky ends the story of the lost Sidekick by asking, portentously, “What happens next?”—no doubt imagining future waves of digital protesters. But he has already answered the question. What happens next is more of the same. A networked, weak-tie world is good at things like helping Wall Streeters get phones back from teen-age girls. Viva la revolución.
Believe it or not
There are shows on TLC which are more jaw-droppingly offensive than 'Sarah Palin's Alaska'.
Several of them in fact.
But nothing is worse on TLC...indeed nothing worse has ever been on television, than this.
Several of them in fact.
But nothing is worse on TLC...indeed nothing worse has ever been on television, than this.
Technicalities
I'm the least gung-ho lawyer you'll ever encounter. I don't wander around yapping about "The Majesty of the Law" or "The sanctity of the courts" or the wisdom of of judges. But it irks me, as both a lawyer and a citizen, when people use the phrase, "He got off on a technicality." The word "technicality" usually refers to a mistrial being declared or a conviction being vacated or somesuch because there was a violation of procedural rules, a breach of judicial or attorney ethics, or a misapplication or subversion of a Constitutional protection. Those rules, norms, and protections exist for a reason: to protect the rights of the defendant and to uphold the integrity of the legal system. If you don't think those things are important, you're nuts, frankly, and I hope you're never at risk of losing your reputation, your livelihood, your liberty, or your life due to a flawed indictment, prosecution, or trial.
So in hindsight, I'm ashamed to admit that I giggled fiendishly when Ted Stevens was convicted and lost his senate seat back in 2008, and that I barely noticed when his conviction was vacated a little over a year later. But I stopped laughing and took notice when I read this New Yorker piece about Stevens' trial and the misconduct of the people who prosecuted him. There are people -- some of whom I call "friend" -- who will say that Stevens "got off on a technicality", but they are wrong for the aforementioned reasons.
Anyway, the piece isn't online, but if you've got old issues piled up (as I do, which is why I only got to the Stevens story yesterday), ferret out the January 3rd issue and read Jeffrey Toobin's story about the Stevens prosecution.
And now onto the December 13th issue and what promises to be a fun-filled story about a native American tribe that's going to build a casino in the Hamptons!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Noooooooooo!
Michael Steele is leaving to that big FoxNews All-Star berth in the sky (or studio).
Now I won't get my malice in unintentionally humorous form.
Now I won't get my malice in unintentionally humorous form.
Can we leave him out of this?
Defend, if you can, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq if you want, but really, I think we know pretty clearly Martin Luther King's position on such matters and it would not be an endorsement.
Criminy!
Criminy!
Oh nothing abhorrent in this
I imagine if the left-wing were truly as efficient as the right, it would have been screamed about as the top story the next morning with our empty headed Doocy, not-Doocy and Googling Fake-Airhead equivalents generalizing about how ALL people who are in that party are like this.
But we're not so it took two months to come out (oh, and it's true another difference).
Let's just say having your Republican Party opponent (and apparent Bond-villain) and his supporter bully you and scream "JEW" at you like something out of 1930s Munich is fucking scary and not sarcastic scary, but depressing scary.
But we're not so it took two months to come out (oh, and it's true another difference).
Let's just say having your Republican Party opponent (and apparent Bond-villain) and his supporter bully you and scream "JEW" at you like something out of 1930s Munich is fucking scary and not sarcastic scary, but depressing scary.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Consider this logic
Leader of the Teaparty in Tucson says it is Giffords' fault she was shot for not having security. So I guess she was just asking for it (it's the O'Reilly rape defense).
Consider the implications of this idea by a guy who no doubt considers himself an awesome libertarian, which in spite of how he defines it is not confined solely to having a fetish about handguns?
Consider the implications of this idea by a guy who no doubt considers himself an awesome libertarian, which in spite of how he defines it is not confined solely to having a fetish about handguns?
FoxNews will show us how to Memorialize stuff -- you keep it tasteful and timely!
FoxNews fresh off telling us what is and isn't appropriate at Memorials because that's all they got, is going to show us all how remembrances are done.
Coming this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day they're doing the totally appropriate thing.
Bringing Civil Rights Pioneers Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin together to talk about how awesome both guns and metaphors about aiming them at their political opponents can be. How could King possibly have disapproved? Why, they're even going to do it LIVE without commercial breaks for Goldline and Brink's Home Security getting in the way.
Damn, I was sort of hoping they would, as usual, tastefully save all the blood libel talk for Passover...I guess we can still hope.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Coming this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day they're doing the totally appropriate thing.
Bringing Civil Rights Pioneers Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin together to talk about how awesome both guns and metaphors about aiming them at their political opponents can be. How could King possibly have disapproved? Why, they're even going to do it LIVE without commercial breaks for Goldline and Brink's Home Security getting in the way.
Damn, I was sort of hoping they would, as usual, tastefully save all the blood libel talk for Passover...I guess we can still hope.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Glad to see
That Breitbart is now having "Big Hollywood" do the porn reviews that "Roger T. Pipe" can't get to (I just know things, okay?). Personally, I think it is some of Lisa Ann's weakest work (again, I just know stuff).
In addition to seeing what an incredible woman Sarah Palin is, we were introduced to some amazing characters. Her daughter Piper was a constant companion of Sarah’s in the show. She is beyond adorable, says all the things a smart-as-a-whip witty little girl would say, and makes lots of funny faces. We see a lot of her husband Todd who is a hunky, smart companion to Sarah Palin.
Batteries not included.
Sums it up
This came up a couple days ago, but I hadn't gotten to it. This idea of a Democratic representative is both unconstitutional and stupid.
Rep. Robert Brady, D-Pennsylvania, said he will introduce legislation making it a federal crime for a person to use language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a Member of Congress or federal official.
How many ways is this unconstitutional...well, it out and out violates the First Amendment, and could it be any more vague? Horrid.
But as usual, and dispiritedly so, for every stupid Democrat's idea there is a worse one by an order of several magnitudes coming from a Republican.
Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert says his office is drafting a measure to allow members of Congress to carry guns in the District of Columbia, including in the Capitol and on the House floor.
If Louie Gohmert knew who the hell Preston Brooks was (or Herb Brooks, Foster Brooks, David Brooks or Brooks Brothers were for that matter) he'd be certain to add to his reasons why this is the dumbest idea he's ever had...which is really saying something.
(fez tip Digby)
And then there's this from "mental giant" Dan Burton -- put Congress behind a dome. I'm not kidding. Sadly, in the contest between intellectual dishonesty or rank stupidity no member of Congress out perform the depths of the Republican 4-horseman, Bachmann, Steve King, Gohmert and Burton.
Here's one thing that inflamatory igorant rhetoric
And irresponsibly absent media reporting has caused.
Idiocy and a people acting against their own interest.
First off, I'm guessing the question wasn't couched with the additional information, "...even though failure to do so could hurt America's international standing and push up borrowing costs...".
But I'm guessing that little information nugget is the first time people have been informed that would be the result. Some things are so self-evident they are not discussed much by rational people, leaving only the irrational to drum up the noise.
Idiocy and a people acting against their own interest.
Two in three Americans now favor defaulting on the U.S. debt and sending the global economy into a tailspin, throwing millions out of work. Reuters: "The U.S. public overwhelmingly opposes raising the country's debt limit even though failure to do so could hurt America's international standing and push up borrowing costs, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday. Some 71 percent of those surveyed oppose increasing the borrowing authority, the focus of a brewing political battle over federal spending. Only 18 percent support an increase...
First off, I'm guessing the question wasn't couched with the additional information, "...even though failure to do so could hurt America's international standing and push up borrowing costs...".
But I'm guessing that little information nugget is the first time people have been informed that would be the result. Some things are so self-evident they are not discussed much by rational people, leaving only the irrational to drum up the noise.
Alert Captain Renault
The usual right-wing suspects seem to really have strong objections to any memorial service involving someone who isn't right-wing. From Paul Wellstone to Coretta Scott King to Ted Kennedy and so it shall be in regard to the service for the victims of the violence of Jared Lee Loughner (three name rule for all assassins).
Because THAT is the first thing you complain about after a service remembering victims...not the victims, but how the Memorial Service went. When is Bravo picking up that show, "Project Interment"?
Because after all this condemnation about others trying to stifle their First Amendment rights to put bullseyes on Democrats and encouraging expression via the Second Amendment, people need to be lectured about how to behave at a Memorial Service.
Apparently the proper decorum is to raise money...even better if you raise it at a party.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Because THAT is the first thing you complain about after a service remembering victims...not the victims, but how the Memorial Service went. When is Bravo picking up that show, "Project Interment"?
Because after all this condemnation about others trying to stifle their First Amendment rights to put bullseyes on Democrats and encouraging expression via the Second Amendment, people need to be lectured about how to behave at a Memorial Service.
Apparently the proper decorum is to raise money...even better if you raise it at a party.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Just wondering
Is the "blood libel" right next to the "death panel"?
And while I'm at it, will Newt Gingrich...who literally called not yet Justice Sotomayor a "racist" while on a visit to fucking AUSCHWITZ take the time to support her proclamation?
Just need to know how much the ol' glass house of their egos need polishing.
And while I'm at it, will Newt Gingrich...who literally called not yet Justice Sotomayor a "racist" while on a visit to fucking AUSCHWITZ take the time to support her proclamation?
Just need to know how much the ol' glass house of their egos need polishing.
Once his ox is gored
So to speak, Howard Kurtz finally has some cognizance of what it means to be a complete ass...in others...now that Naschnook of the North has managed to use a buzzword he can identify with...and which is aimed directly at people like him:
Two days ago he was apologizing for her.
...By the way, how fucking CLASSY to use the term "blood libel" at any time when it comes to political discourse...BUT to roll it out there after a Jewish congressperson is shot, well that's of a whole new realm of crass.
Two days ago he was apologizing for her.
...By the way, how fucking CLASSY to use the term "blood libel" at any time when it comes to political discourse...BUT to roll it out there after a Jewish congressperson is shot, well that's of a whole new realm of crass.
Guess who claims she's the real victim here?
That's right, Sarah Palin.
She even trotted out the phrase "blood libel".
Naturally, the Washington Post has this story on the front page -- so how could I not put it up top on this blog?
Meanwhile, guess who gins up the love of which portion of this poll?
It's bad enough that 11% of anybody says it's justified, but the fact that it's another 250% higher amongst the GOP tells you what base is being appealed to with the Second Amendment fetish, birthers, and saying someone "hangs around with terrorists".
Sarah Palin would be on their proverbial wedding cake along with this asshole.
She even trotted out the phrase "blood libel".
Naturally, the Washington Post has this story on the front page -- so how could I not put it up top on this blog?
Meanwhile, guess who gins up the love of which portion of this poll?
Do you think it is ever justified for citizens to take violent action against the government, or is it never justified?
Republican 28% yes, 64% no
Democrat 11% yes, 81% no
Independent 11% yes, 81% no
It's bad enough that 11% of anybody says it's justified, but the fact that it's another 250% higher amongst the GOP tells you what base is being appealed to with the Second Amendment fetish, birthers, and saying someone "hangs around with terrorists".
Sarah Palin would be on their proverbial wedding cake along with this asshole.
Well, that's a lovely message
In the wake of the shooting of a congressperson, Joe "You Lie" Wilson gets a special machine gun, engraved with his intemperate statement upon it.
Sadly, his 2nd Amendment rights will be deprived and he will not be able to wield it during this years State of the Union.
Sadly, his 2nd Amendment rights will be deprived and he will not be able to wield it during this years State of the Union.
And he'll get an ever fatter paycheck from CNN
Erick Erickson, well-compensated CNN anal-yst thinks Gabrielle Giffords shooting means only one thing.
That Jewish lady should come to Jesus.
I guess that beats his threatening to shoot people.
That Jewish lady should come to Jesus.
I guess that beats his threatening to shoot people.
The summing up, sums it up
Two different posts or comments from sources I don't always rely upon for "trenchant" analysis (not everyone can be as intellectually sound as a Fark photoshop thread).
First someone at Gawker depressingly points out that FoxNews runs the world:
But it will probably be even worse, per Dave Weigel:
So remember ladies and gentlemen, enrolling voters bad, the occasional empowered spree killer "meh".
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
First someone at Gawker depressingly points out that FoxNews runs the world:
Those same people, who moved like buttered lightning to yank ACORN funding, won't even entertain the briefest possibility of thinking about maybe eventually, after consideration, applying the slightest restriction to the availability of guns.
But it will probably be even worse, per Dave Weigel:
Arizona's response—the most likely legislative response—is going to be expanded gun rights.
So remember ladies and gentlemen, enrolling voters bad, the occasional empowered spree killer "meh".
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Good Question
Do you have an answer?
There are two subjects we're simply not allowed to discuss. The first is guns. The second is ... guess.
The sudden shift
A few minutes of NBC News seemed to raise questions about Jared Lee Loughner's parents...oh, nothing really factual...just the usual "how could they not know he'd do this?" sort of thing.
I've never had children (in large part because I wouldn't want to be around someone so like me), but I was once a 22-year old boy -- and though not disturbed on the Loughner-scale by any means -- my parents did not know much about me at all. And I, like most 22-year olds, liked it that way.
I've never had children (in large part because I wouldn't want to be around someone so like me), but I was once a 22-year old boy -- and though not disturbed on the Loughner-scale by any means -- my parents did not know much about me at all. And I, like most 22-year olds, liked it that way.
Sean Hannity shall attempt to ban him from the planet!
Such extremist rhetoric!
Hours earlier, the nation observed a moment of silence for the victims of the rampage, from the South Lawn of the White House and the steps of the U.S. Capitol to legislature beyond Arizona and the International Space Station.
There, Giffords' brother-in-law, Scott, the commanding officer, spoke over the radio. Flight controllers in Houston fell silent.
"As I look out the window, I see a very beautiful planet that seems very inviting and peaceful," he said. "Unfortunately, it is not."
"These days, we are constantly reminded of the unspeakable acts of violence and damage we can inflict upon one another, not just with our actions, but also with our irresponsible words," he said.
"We're better than this," he said. "We must do better."
About sums it up
Tom Tomorrow:
At his blog, T. Tomorrow also reflects on "man of peace" Glenn Becks' general non-violent nature:
I know it's so offensive that the left, like me, puts up the statements of those of the right.
It's so offensive.
At his blog, T. Tomorrow also reflects on "man of peace" Glenn Becks' general non-violent nature:
BECK: Hang on, let me just tell you what I’m thinking. I’m thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I’m wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out — is this wrong? I stopped wearing my What Would Jesus — band — Do, and I’ve lost all sense of right and wrong now. I used to be able to say, “Yeah, I’d kill Michael Moore,” and then I’d see the little band: What Would Jesus Do? And then I’d realize, “Oh, you wouldn’t kill Michael Moore. Or at least you wouldn’t choke him to death.” And you know, well, I’m not sure.
I know it's so offensive that the left, like me, puts up the statements of those of the right.
It's so offensive.
I'm so old
I remember when improper psychological diagnosis were left to the inappropriately practicing conservative professionals like Charles Krauthammer, and not to self-licensed ophthalmologists like Rand Paul.
Iowa's Shame
Steve King (R-Iowa), Iowa's primary congressional spokesperson for people who don't like Iowa, was live on television on Saturday fresh from being denied a long-prized committee chair on Immigration. At the same time, the news broke of the murderous rampage directed against Gabrielle Giffords and others.
Someone at this office put together a statement for his signature:
Inconceivable where such attitudes come from?
February 22, 2010:
Just inconceivable.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Someone at this office put together a statement for his signature:
“We serve together and she is outgoing, personable and widely respected. It is inconceivable that anyone could harbor a vile, vindictive or malicious attitude towards her..."
Inconceivable where such attitudes come from?
February 22, 2010:
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) told a crowd at CPAC on Saturday that he could "empathize" with the suicide bomber who last week attacked an IRS office in Austin, and encouraged his listeners to "implode" other IRS offices, according to a witness.
Just inconceivable.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Monday, January 10, 2011
Black PALM Face
Dude, really?
(I think, to be fair he might be trying to be the Heisman Trophy, but really fella, you've got to give more thought to that)
He's creepy and he's kooky
Jared Lee Loughner's mugshot. Hard to believe he wasn't popular.
That's an old 22.
(Must always give three names for assassins)
It's not that some people are stupid, its that politicians think you're stupid
Yesterday, in the wake of putting Giffords and 19 others in her "crosshairs" and pretending she did no such thing a spokesperson for Palin tried to pass out this lie:
We'll see how many people...besides the entire FoxNews "family" push this palpable falsehood.
After all, the one clearly saying they were not surveyor marks but a "bullseye" was none other than this person:
I imagine the words "taint" and Sarah Palin go hand in glove...or something.
...we never, ever, ever intended it to be gunsights. It was simply crosshairs like you see on maps.
BRUCE: Well, it's a surveyor's symbol. It's a surveyor's symbol.
MANSOUR: It's a surveyor's symbol.
We'll see how many people...besides the entire FoxNews "family" push this palpable falsehood.
After all, the one clearly saying they were not surveyor marks but a "bullseye" was none other than this person:
I imagine the words "taint" and Sarah Palin go hand in glove...or something.
As some form of higher being is my witness
How this show isn't a gigantic hit is beyond me. But thank goodness it's around. The season 1 DVD helped my sanity this weekend.
Here's the difference
Left-wingers who spew hate and violence in this country are found in the anonymous comment sections of blogs and message boards.
Right-wingers who spew hatred and violence, get elected or get underwritten.
This is apparently too much for Matt Bai to comprehend.
Right-wingers who spew hatred and violence, get elected or get underwritten.
This is apparently too much for Matt Bai to comprehend.
Forgive me my delicate sensibilities
In a middle-aged person's lifetime we Democrats have managed to see, just to point out a few things, two Kennedy Brothers and Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated, the murders of several physicians who performed abortions, and now this. A little fact that makes it rather understandable some of us have a problem with, not the Second Amendment as written, but rather the unhealthy obsessive love affair too many people have with it. It's a legal document, not your mother/binky/savior/God/manhood.
Michael Moore made a trenchant point about this seeming fetish with "bullet" fashion that applies to its most notable current adherent Sarah Palin:
I think it would be safe to say we'd also immediately see irrational blog posts and tweets from many on the right with overblown responses favoring crushing every available Constitutional right and privilege...except the Second Amendment, of course.
So I guess it would be another day ending in "Y".
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Michael Moore made a trenchant point about this seeming fetish with "bullet" fashion that applies to its most notable current adherent Sarah Palin:
I think it would be safe to say we'd also immediately see irrational blog posts and tweets from many on the right with overblown responses favoring crushing every available Constitutional right and privilege...except the Second Amendment, of course.
So I guess it would be another day ending in "Y".
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Book Report
Speaking of books, here's my first great read of 2011: The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.
Give it a whirl ...
When I Look Back on All the Crap I Learned in High School, It's a Wonder I Can Think at All
On a warm afternoon, somewhere toward the end of tenth grade, I was sprawled on a couch in the windowless reading room within my high school's library halfway through this when the vice principal, an ex-Marine with spit-shined shoes poked his head in and said, "What are you reading that for? That's a pig book. You should read T.S. Eliot."
I don't know why I just remembered that.
(A "pig book"?)
Another Dispatch from The Great Silk Road of Pseudoleft Punditry
Yes, Matt Bai, because a Daily Kos commenter saying, "She's dead to me" is just like Palin's infamous "Crosshairs" map.
Bai is one of those guys -- there are hundreds of them in this business -- who poses as a wonky, Democrat-leaning "centrist" pundit and then makes a career out of drubbing "unrealistic" liberals and progressives with cartoonish Jane Fonda and Hugo Chavez caricatures. This career path is so well-worn in our business, it's like a Great Silk Road of pseudoleft punditry. First step: graduate Harvard or Columbia, buy some clothes at Urban Outfitters, shore up your socially liberal cred by marching in a gay rights rally or something, then get a job at some place like the American Prospect. Then once you're in, spend a few years writing wonky editorials gently chiding Jane Fonda liberals for failing to grasp the obvious wisdom of the WTC or whatever Bob Rubin/Pete Peterson Foundation deficit-reduction horseshit the Democratic Party chiefs happen to be pimping at the time. Once you've got that down, you just sit tight and wait for the New York Times or theWashington Post to call. It won't be long.
I'd say, "You're dead to me, Matt Bai!" if I wasn't positive that you'd like to this post as Bai-style "proof" that "Both sides do it!"
Smarter and far less lazy pundits, please!
But, but, "both sides do it"
Uh, not quite on the same scale.
If you are a Democrat and in your mid-50s or older you saw...
John Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. shot to death.
And the Republicans in this country turning the 2nd Amendment into a farce by making people afraid of the people that followed people that were...well, shot...so they need all the handguns they want to stem the fear.
So naturally...
Because self-censoring yourself from being crude, abusive, and inflammatory language is somehow a loss of your First Amendment rights.
Their goal isn't just to keep their guns, it is to continue to be un-shunned for proclaiming they love their fucking guns more than they love people or well, anything.
If you are a Democrat and in your mid-50s or older you saw...
John Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. shot to death.
And the Republicans in this country turning the 2nd Amendment into a farce by making people afraid of the people that followed people that were...well, shot...so they need all the handguns they want to stem the fear.
So naturally...
Tucson Tea Party Leader: We Won't Change Our Rhetoric After Giffords Shooting
Because self-censoring yourself from being crude, abusive, and inflammatory language is somehow a loss of your First Amendment rights.
Their goal isn't just to keep their guns, it is to continue to be un-shunned for proclaiming they love their fucking guns more than they love people or well, anything.
The seasons of hate
What Digby said.
And look at that last video from prominent gold shill and occasional fake-crier Glenn Beck.
Now THAT'S one of these.
And then there is this.
And look at that last video from prominent gold shill and occasional fake-crier Glenn Beck.
Now THAT'S one of these.
And then there is this.
Gadzooks!
In an otherwise terrible day, this effort by Marshawn Lynch of the maligned Seahawks was one of the greatest runs I ever have seen.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Tragic
And it's not like we didn't think this was bound to happen.
Terrible.
Per Atrios:
It doesn't help that "gun violence" is so casually tossed out as glib politics.
UPDATE: MSNBC reporting that Gabrielle Giffords may still be alive, though in very critical condition as she was shot in the head.
...apparently a Federal Judge was also present and was shot as well. Now confirmed per MSNBC, Federal Judge John Roll was shot and killed. Roll had been the recipient of death threats stemming from rulings in various immigration cases.
There have been reports that the gunmen called out names and yelled at various victims. Though that may very well be speculation.
Terrible.
Per Atrios:
on Twitter, DNC Western States Director says source tells him gunman called out names of targets as he shot them.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
It doesn't help that "gun violence" is so casually tossed out as glib politics.
UPDATE: MSNBC reporting that Gabrielle Giffords may still be alive, though in very critical condition as she was shot in the head.
...apparently a Federal Judge was also present and was shot as well. Now confirmed per MSNBC, Federal Judge John Roll was shot and killed. Roll had been the recipient of death threats stemming from rulings in various immigration cases.
There have been reports that the gunmen called out names and yelled at various victims. Though that may very well be speculation.
A rare heart-warming story
Following a terrible act by extremists against Coptic Christians a few days ago, this occurred:
So how much of this has been ignored by our American media so as to portray ALL Muslims as either being terrorists or enablers?
...by Coptic Christmas Eve, which took place Thursday night in Egypt, things had changed completely. As Egyptian Copts attended mass at churches across the country, “thousands” of Muslims, including “the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak,” joined them, acting as “human shields” to protect from terrorist attacks by extremists. The Muslims organized under the slogan “We either live together, or we die together,”
So how much of this has been ignored by our American media so as to portray ALL Muslims as either being terrorists or enablers?
Wow...
This is certainly something our media overlords would never allow published in this country. (Via Booman)
Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is a free press...and as Booman says, something stinks to high heaven.
When the Messiah comes, the Occupation will end.
But before it does, a global social network led by the Republican Jewish Coalition, Fox News, The Zionist Organization of America and Daniel Pipes, will launch a campaign aimed at exposing the Messiah as a Muslim.
When the Messiah is crucified, the army will deny that he was even present at the time.
Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is a free press...and as Booman says, something stinks to high heaven.
Friday, January 07, 2011
Fill in your own "overcompensating" joke here
This has to piss off Dubai...who can do nothing about it:
It's going to be bigger and cheaper too.
Meanwhile, Kim Jong-Il's giant penis stands empty still.
waaaah-waaaaah.
Just three days ago the pride of the Emirates, the 160-floor Burj Khalifa hotel, celebrated its first birthday. The next day, a Chinese official announced plans to build a $1.3 billion knock off of the "seven star" hotel in Beijing.
It's going to be bigger and cheaper too.
Meanwhile, Kim Jong-Il's giant penis stands empty still.
waaaah-waaaaah.
No more tears
When asked to name ONE program he'd cut...after how many years of waiting...and the gift of a giant gavel of over-compensation John Boehner cannot think of one.
But he has a source of comfort:
...Farmville.
But he has a source of comfort:
BRIAN WILLIAMS: When you go home next, is there a sidewalk, a place, a person that's kind of a talisman to grab onto? Again, talkin' about strength and the new job?
JOHN BOEHNER: Well, I get strength every day just uh, going to my Facebook site.
...Farmville.
At least it's not the Wickerman remake
One of the hilarious side-effects of Nicholas Cage's self-delusional bankruptcy is watching the guy pay off those debts by taking one ridiculous movie role after another.
How can one watch the ads for 'Season of the Witch' and not know this is a gigantic turd?
Shatner has more dignity.
How can one watch the ads for 'Season of the Witch' and not know this is a gigantic turd?
Shatner has more dignity.
But of course...
I admit, I didn't watch the "reading" of 3/5ths or so of the Constitution yesterday, as I was busy doing more exciting things, like not watching people read the Constitution. But considering their self-proclaimed advocacy of the project one might have been surprised to learn:
Until one considers even the Republican Leadership realizes it would prefer things be read by those that can read. [Yeah, no one saw that line coming]
That's not to say, Steve King wasn't busy doing his usual intellectual dumpster diving.
Okay...
Steve King must have a hell of a Christmas Nativity-scene.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Did anyone else notice that GOP Reps. Michele Bachmann and Steve King -- both Tea Party chieftains who routinely wrap themselves and their policy preferences in the Constitution -- were conspicuously absent from today's reading?
Until one considers even the Republican Leadership realizes it would prefer things be read by those that can read. [Yeah, no one saw that line coming]
That's not to say, Steve King wasn't busy doing his usual intellectual dumpster diving.
"You find the baby that was not born in a hospital or with a midwife, who did not receive inoculations," Polis said. "You find that baby and identify them and I'll be happy to have that discussion."
"I hate to tell you but they show up in garbage cans around this country, sir," he said.
Okay...
Steve King must have a hell of a Christmas Nativity-scene.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Thursday, January 06, 2011
You sir, are an idiot
Bill O'Reilly proclaims religion is true because agnostics and atheists have no explanation for why ocean tides rise and fall.
Just let that soak in for a moment.
You have now given more thought to this subject than O'Reilly has any subject his entire life.
Uh, I blame fireworks?
It's getting kind of creepy out there:
The Star reported Wednesday that more than 40,000 dead Velvet swimming crabs have appeared on the Thanet shoreline in England. Dead starfish, lobsters, sponges and anemones were also found.
The World's Worst Dictators
Have no greater friend than Lanny Davis.
What a horrible douche. No wonder he's beloved by FoxNews as the ideal Democrat.
What a horrible douche. No wonder he's beloved by FoxNews as the ideal Democrat.
How terribly shocking
Get ready for this myth to continue into perpetuity anyway:
A now-retracted British study that linked autism to childhood vaccines was an "elaborate fraud" that has done long-lasting damage to public health, a leading medical publication reported Wednesday.
An investigation published by the British medical journal BMJ concludes the study's author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, misrepresented or altered the medical histories of all 12 of the patients whose cases formed the basis of the 1998 study -- and that there was "no doubt" Wakefield was responsible.
Not to go all World Nut Daily
But if this blog was that blog, we'd be demanding an investigation over whether swearing in Orange Julius Caesar was a sign of the apocalypse. There were no reports of mass avian suicides when Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi were sworn in. Those things only happened in the movies and television.
And speaking of swearing in, here's another sign of that neutral umpire just calling balls and strikes:
Of course it was, it occurred about the same time that Antonin Scalia was "teaching" Michelle Bachmann's band of maniacs that the latter had no 14th Amendment protections -- other than their party affiliation.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
And speaking of swearing in, here's another sign of that neutral umpire just calling balls and strikes:
Behind closed doors Chief Justice John Roberts swore in members of speaker designate John A. Boehner’s staff this morning during a private ceremony.
...the speaker designee’s spokesman believes it could be the first time staff was sworn in by a Chief Justice.
Of course it was, it occurred about the same time that Antonin Scalia was "teaching" Michelle Bachmann's band of maniacs that the latter had no 14th Amendment protections -- other than their party affiliation.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Note to self
Making arguments about historical figures is stronger if you get them in the right order and can remember the name Khalid ibn al-Walid.
Nino's giant Vaffanculo
Joan Walsh is absolutely correct.
The slipshod result-driven "originalism" of Scalia in saying --- despite it's express language --- that the 14th Amendment provides no protection to women or gays means that should Congress or a State legislature pass a low allowing women to be beaten, the 14th Amendment would not protect them.
Want to prevent gays from being allowed to drive -- or hanging out in a public location? It's perfectly legal for the legislature to do so.
Want to pass a low outlawing women in the workplace?
No problem.
The man is not a brilliant jurist, he's a wretched scholar and a worse ideologue.
Of course, in Bush v. Gore he had no problem using the 14th Amendment to give George Bush the Presidency.
Hilarious YouTube video to follow
So at least there's a silver lining:
Whoever dumped the body of a prominent national defense consultant into a garbage bin in a bustling college town risked being detected, either by witnesses or surveillance cameras, with some of the containers in well-lit parking lots, near restaurants and stores.
This cannot be good
It must be Obama's fault...
The abundance of four common species of bumblebee in the US has dropped by 96% in just the past few decades, according to the most comprehensive national census of the insects. Scientists said the alarming decline, which could have devastating implications for the pollination of both wild and farmed plants, was likely to be a result of disease and low genetic diversity in bee populations.
Bumblebees are important pollinators of wild plants and agricultural crops around the world including tomatoes and berries thanks to their large body size, long tongues, and high-frequency buzzing, which helps release pollen from flowers...
the insects, along with other crucial pollinators such as moths and hoverflies, have been in serious decline around the world since the last few decades of the 20th century. It is unclear why, but scientists think it is from a combination of new diseases, changing habitats around cities, and increasing use of pesticides.
"Your Biggest Fan"
It's been nearly a month since we heard from David Broder, a blessed 28 Days -- uh oh.
But at that time, he'd let Barack Obama know that he had won him over:
Obama used his news conference Tuesday [December 7th, a day which will live in Brodery"] to define himself, more clearly than ever before, as a raging moderate - a man who recognizes that compromise is the key to serving a broad and diverse set of constituencies, rather than fit some ideological standard of intellectual purity.
Meanwhile, in the world of the Republican Party:
"We worked very hard to keep our fingerprints off [legislation advanced by Democrats]," McConnell says. "Because we thought -- correctly, I think -- that the only way the American people would know that a great debate was going on was if the measures were not bipartisan. When you hang the 'bipartisan' tag on something, the perception is that differences have been worked out, and there's a broad agreement that that's the way forward."
So even good and popular legislation can be made to seem "extreme" and dangerous by not being bipartisan.
And it's not like Obama didn't offer compromises anyway, thinking he looked like the "bipartisan" guy Broder loves, while undermining both the effectiveness of legislation and playing into this false, but real, perception.
He may be playing 11-dimensional chess, but he has often kind of sucked at it.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
All your apologia stands empty
Today's column by America's Concern Troll is a model of truth and sobriety about today's cult of the military.
Which is nice.
Except for Richard Cohen the time for such statements is made years too late.
We are a good country, attempting to do a good thing. In a post-Sept. 11 world, I thought the prudent use of violence could be therapeutic. The United States had the power to change things for the better, and those who would do the changing -- the fighting -- were, after all, volunteers. This mattered to me.
The hack is ruled by his emotions and running with the tide, the great thinker and writer is the person who can see when his emotions are telling them bullshit.
Which is why the Washington Post and most of American politics and media is pile of shit.
Post-hoc ineffectualness is his calling card -- along with sexually offensive statements.
What Dennis G. says
It is necessary to slay the ghost of Robert E. Lee in order to slay the ghost of the 'Lost Cause'.
In no way, shape, or form was Robert E. Lee a greater general than the man who won both in the West (arguably the most tactically important victories) and in the East (the most politically important victories). Grant, with some stumbles causing great loss, was with his most important deputy Sherman, the man who figured out how to win the war at a time when defensive weapons were supreme (How did Lee do on the attack? See Seven Days, Antietam and Gettysburg -- not very well, won the first with heavy casualties, lucked out in the second, and was obliterated when he met the very tactically solid Meade). Note that Grant had an unknowing early assist from the brilliant and too often forgotten Winfield Scott the greatest American general between Washington and Grant.
The South's cause was lost because it was morally indefensible in every way. It was a cause that fought for the rich to hold all power while keeping blacks so low in the social structure that non-wealthy whites would tolerate it because at least they weren't on the bottom and could dream of heading west where they could be the wealthy planter. When that option ended because of Lincoln and the free-soilers all hell broke loose.
There was, at heart, very little that is ever moral about a Civil War, though sometimes there are beneficial side effects. In this country those beneficial effects were the 13th through 15th Amendments.
And yet, we continue to hold ourselves and our history hostage to the great sin of the American experiment (along with the simultaneous and then post-civil war ethnic cleansing of Native Americans) and it's malignancy.
Because southerners were more greatly affected by the war and had a need to rationalize its origins and results, southern-oriented historians dominated Civil War historiography for the first century after the war. They created the “Myth of the Lost Cause” and designated Lee as the god of this mini-religion. Their creation was so effective that many Americans have perceived Lee as the greatest general of the war (and perhaps in “American” history) while Grant often was denigrated and rebuked as a butcher, a drunk, and a victor by brute force alone.
In no way, shape, or form was Robert E. Lee a greater general than the man who won both in the West (arguably the most tactically important victories) and in the East (the most politically important victories). Grant, with some stumbles causing great loss, was with his most important deputy Sherman, the man who figured out how to win the war at a time when defensive weapons were supreme (How did Lee do on the attack? See Seven Days, Antietam and Gettysburg -- not very well, won the first with heavy casualties, lucked out in the second, and was obliterated when he met the very tactically solid Meade). Note that Grant had an unknowing early assist from the brilliant and too often forgotten Winfield Scott the greatest American general between Washington and Grant.
The South's cause was lost because it was morally indefensible in every way. It was a cause that fought for the rich to hold all power while keeping blacks so low in the social structure that non-wealthy whites would tolerate it because at least they weren't on the bottom and could dream of heading west where they could be the wealthy planter. When that option ended because of Lincoln and the free-soilers all hell broke loose.
There was, at heart, very little that is ever moral about a Civil War, though sometimes there are beneficial side effects. In this country those beneficial effects were the 13th through 15th Amendments.
And yet, we continue to hold ourselves and our history hostage to the great sin of the American experiment (along with the simultaneous and then post-civil war ethnic cleansing of Native Americans) and it's malignancy.
Such a decent and august body
NCAA bans the Stanford Band from the Orange Bowl.
Yet in many of these bowls when USC is involved we hear that faux roman march music, or with Oklahmoma 'boomer sooner' played constantly.
You tell me which is more offensive?
Yet in many of these bowls when USC is involved we hear that faux roman march music, or with Oklahmoma 'boomer sooner' played constantly.
You tell me which is more offensive?
Are there limits
To what I want to know about sports figures taking shots of their junk?
Decidedly YES!
I'm guess for humor's sake, it's Curtis Strange...as there hasn't been a Ryder (or Rider) Captain named Richard Junk.
I reserve that kind of thing solely for matters involving Pat Boone (nsfw).
Decidedly YES!
Happy New Year: There Is An American Ryder Cup Captain's Dick Shot For Sale
I'm guess for humor's sake, it's Curtis Strange...as there hasn't been a Ryder (or Rider) Captain named Richard Junk.
I reserve that kind of thing solely for matters involving Pat Boone (nsfw).
If you look under your seat, you'll see you're not getting anything
It has been tough for me keeping track of all the political developments over the last few days with the premier of the 24-hour Oprah network, but I manage to browse the internet for non-Oprah matters when Gayle King is on.
As mentioned earlier, since we're a democracy and all, the 112th Congress (Truman's "Do Nothing Congress" meet Obama's "Know Nothing Congress") can take the thoughts of the people into consideration...
So being a "modern" democracy I guess we'll just be going after Medicare and Social Security.
Wonder how stuff like that can happen?
Now back to 'Oprah Behind the Scenes'.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
As mentioned earlier, since we're a democracy and all, the 112th Congress (Truman's "Do Nothing Congress" meet Obama's "Know Nothing Congress") can take the thoughts of the people into consideration...
Sixty-one percent of Americans polled would rather see taxes for the wealthy increased as a first step to tackling the deficit, the poll showed.
The next most popular way -- chosen by 20 percent -- was to cut defense spending.
Four percent would cut the Medicare government health insurance program for the elderly, and 3 percent would cut the Social Security retirement program, the poll showed.
So being a "modern" democracy I guess we'll just be going after Medicare and Social Security.
Wonder how stuff like that can happen?
Now back to 'Oprah Behind the Scenes'.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Monday, January 03, 2011
A banner day
It's not just that Orange Julius has become Speaker, there is more good news -- for blogging at least -- around every corner.
It's snark Christmas.
Steele Foe Drops Out of RNC Race
It's snark Christmas.
731 Days of Idiocy
Introducing, your 112th Congress.
Ladies and Gentlemen, start your bogus Articles of Impeachment!
I'm only sad that Billy Mays couldn't live to take on a new celebrity endorser for Orange Glo (nsfw - language).
So which dim incandescent bulb (naturally) will be end up being your favorite source of blog comedy (to hide the tears of a rueful nation) the next two years?
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]
Sunday, January 02, 2011
A Nation of Assholes
What Digby and Will Bunch say about tasers.
They were originally -- allegedly -- designed to have an alternative to deadly force against real and imminent danger.
Naturally, they've turned into nearly the first alternative to controlling all citizens, including those who are not at all dangerous.
And too many just laugh and clap at their use.
They were originally -- allegedly -- designed to have an alternative to deadly force against real and imminent danger.
Naturally, they've turned into nearly the first alternative to controlling all citizens, including those who are not at all dangerous.
And too many just laugh and clap at their use.
My resolution...
To make more fun of the Speaker of the House than I did last year.
I like to have resolutions I can keep.
I like to have resolutions I can keep.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Goals: 2011
Happy 2011. Yesterday I suggested that you shouldn't bother with New Year's Resolutions, that rather, you should formulate goals: clear, concrete goals, not mushy, gushy resolutions.
One goal I have this year is to read Alexis deTocqueville's Democracy in America. I decided I needed to read it after hearing this brief excerpt read by George Plimpton at the beginning of Ric Burns' American Experience film "The Donner Party":
"The Donner Party" is a terrific film, by the way. Well worth your time -- and you can watch it online.
One goal I have this year is to read Alexis deTocqueville's Democracy in America. I decided I needed to read it after hearing this brief excerpt read by George Plimpton at the beginning of Ric Burns' American Experience film "The Donner Party":
It is odd to watch with what feverish ardor Americans pursue prosperity. Ever tormented by the shadowy suspicion that they may not have chosen the shortest route to get it. They cleave to the things of this world as if assured that they will never die, and yet rush to snatch any that comes within their reach as if they expected to stop living before they had relished them. Death steps in, in the end, and stops them before they have grown tired of this futile pursuit of that complete felicity which always escapes them.Other reading goals including (finally, really) finishing The Power Broker , reading Catch 22 (how is it I have missed Catch 22 all these years?), and starting Dickens' Bleak House. (Please note that I am not committing to finishing the latter.)
"The Donner Party" is a terrific film, by the way. Well worth your time -- and you can watch it online.
LVI
Well, my state has its fifty-sixth governor.
I'm going into this administration with absolutely no expectations. Our last three governors haven't exactly distinguished themselves. As an equally distinguished politician once said, "There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on, shame on you. Fool me, you can’t get fooled again.”
I'm going into this administration with absolutely no expectations. Our last three governors haven't exactly distinguished themselves. As an equally distinguished politician once said, "There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on, shame on you. Fool me, you can’t get fooled again.”
Welcome to what will be known as the "Teens"
Which, of course, begins in the year no one ever thought about, or may think about again if you didn't live through it. Hell it doesn't even end in "teen".
Quick, without resorting to Wikipedia, name one massive historical event that happened in 1911, 1811, 1711, or 1611?
Thought so.
On the other hand, the year doesn't really start until February when you start entering the year correctly on your checks.
Quick, without resorting to Wikipedia, name one massive historical event that happened in 1911, 1811, 1711, or 1611?
Thought so.
On the other hand, the year doesn't really start until February when you start entering the year correctly on your checks.
I'm not optimistic
Sometime this year the international community...sans the United States...will roundly criticize and act against Israel economically for its actions in the unending and accelerated land grab and repression of the fast-growing Palestinian population.
And the right-wing rapture brigade will sing the praises of the Netenyahu regime...even as it falls apart both internationally and domestically.
We've built this "fantasy" image brow-beaten into the discourse by the same people who also believe in jesus-horses.
Nothing good can come of it.
And the right-wing rapture brigade will sing the praises of the Netenyahu regime...even as it falls apart both internationally and domestically.
We've built this "fantasy" image brow-beaten into the discourse by the same people who also believe in jesus-horses.
Nothing good can come of it.
Let the Theft begin
The GOP isn't even in control yet, but they are all ready to fuck things up even more to benefit their friends.
Let us replace TSA employees with private contractors -- especially those companies from the incoming Committee Chairs home district.
Watch the WaPo barely notice the connection.
Let us replace TSA employees with private contractors -- especially those companies from the incoming Committee Chairs home district.
Watch the WaPo barely notice the connection.
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