Ted throws down on the Shameful Six

Six Republicans in the Senate voted, in the current catastrophic jobs/mortgage/credit climate, to deny an extension of unemployment benefits. How selfish and out-of-touch does a congress-critter have to be to do this? I'll bet a year's pay that not one of these subhuman assholes has ever worked with his hands, for minimum wage, or without some kind of special financial treatment.

But Father Ted's got their number. He may be an elderly lion, dying of brain cancer, but he is still more of a man than the Shameful Six:

In one of the best Senate-floor speeches I ever heard Ted Kennedy (D-MA) give, he brutalized Senate Republicans for continuing to block the first increase in the minimum wage in almost a decade and roared to the other side of the aisle "What is it about working men and women that you find so offensive?"

"What is it about it that drives you Republicans crazy? What is it?" asked Kennedy about GOP objections to raising the minimum wage rate. "What is the price that the workers have to pay to get an increase?"

What indeed. These fuckers have some very bad karma coming:

• John Barrasso (R-WY)
• Tom Coburn (R-OK)
• Jim DeMint (R-SC)
• Mike Enzi (R-WY)
• Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
• Jame Inhofe (R-OK)

"This is my home town" (Springsteen)

No Proposition h(8). Not here. Not in our town.


Not anywhere.

O'Reilly, Beck, Hannity, and other cowards

Watching loofah-Bill on The Daily Show where, as is his wont, Stewart is entirely too kindly: scum like O'Reilly don't deserve to be made fun of, much less treated with the nudge-nudge wink-wink "it's all just an ironic television put-on" reception that Stewart gives similar troglodytes.

I would give up a year of my life for five minutes in a room, no-holds-barred, with O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and any other such-like haters--or, hell, with all of them at the same time.

These guys don't deserve a platform--they deserve a beat-down . On at least as severe as the suffering and hatred they have sown, with impunity, for entirely too many years.

There's not a one of these guys I don't want a piece of. Jobsite-test.

This is what the oligarchs have always feared.

This is why they're been shredding frantically ever since the 2006 Revolution:

(commercial shredding company outside Cheney's Naval Observatory residence in late Nov 2006).

Just in case Junior thinks that blanket pardons for war crimes will let anybody forget the past "in the spirit of bi-partisanship":

Obama Plans Probe Of Bush Torture Whether Or Not Officials Are Pardoned

WASHINGTON -- With growing talk in Washington that President Bush may be considering an unprecedented "blanket pardon" for people involved in his administration's brutal interrogation policies, advisors to Barack Obama are pressing ahead with plans for a nonpartisan commission to investigate alleged abuses under Bush.

The Obama plan, first revealed by Salon in August, would emphasize fact-finding investigation over prosecution. It is gaining currency in Washington as Obama advisors begin to coordinate with Democrats in Congress on the proposal. The plan would not rule out future prosecutions, but would delay a decision on that matter until all essential facts can be unearthed.

They did this in post-apartheid South Africa, as well: the Truth & Justice commissions, run by the saintly Bishop Desmond Tutu, emphasized not prosecution or vengeance, but simple truth: the recognition that the only way that nation could ever possibly heal from the psychotic brutality of the apartheid years was for everyone involved--both victims and criminals--to simply acknowledge the truth of what had been done.

War crimes, baby. You monsters should be terrified, because this community organizer (that one's for you, Governor), is going to turn over all your rocks--pardons be damned.

Pathetic pygmies, redux

Gingrich called them "pathetic pygmies"--and (leaving aside the fact that he's just as much one as are they) he wasn't wrong:

Caribou Barbie pwned

Guess it won't be Summer all year long. Republic Governors' Association votes for Pedro, consigns Tracey Flick to N Latitudes irrelevance:

In the wake of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) convention this week in Miami, many GOP governors were reluctant to embrace Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) as the party’s leader or presidential candidate for 2012. Today, the RGA made that sentiment official, by not voting her in to any of the organization’s leadership positions...Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was voted RGA chairman, taking over the top job from Texas Gov. Rick Perry who will now serve as finance chairman. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is vice-chairman, while Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will serve as chair for the annual RGA gala, and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue will head up the recruitment effort....Not on the list? Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who also attended the Miami meeting.

The article neglects to mention that she addressed the convention, but landed no gig. Guess they weren't buying whatever she was selling.

Sorry, Summer!

If you voted for Prop 8, this is the karma you are creating

"So I be written in the Book of Love."

Not hate.

Keith dope-slaps Bill O

Keith Olbermann administers the job-site test to Blowhard Bill:

Olbermann challenged Bill O'Reilly to an arm wrestling match, and is sure that he would win:

"He'd never do it, because every time we're in the same place, he keeps himself 25 feet away, but I'm ready to go. I do yoga, work out three times a week. I think I could take him if it comes to that."

Yes, Keith, I think you could take him too:

More whiney punks

Jut another schoolyard bully, who talks tough until someone pops him one on the beezer:

A Republican congressman from Georgia said Monday he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist dictatorship."It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he's the one who proposed this national security force," Rep. Paul Broun said...

The Obama transition team declined to comment on Broun's remarks. But spokesman Tommy Vietor said Obama was referring in the speech to a proposal for a civilian reserve corps that could handle postwar reconstruction efforts such as rebuilding infrastructure _ an idea endorsed by the Bush administration.

You know, kinda like the WPA?

They're only tough until they lose. Then they turn into the biggest crybaby paranoiacs in the world.

No, Paulie: it's not "a bit crazy and off base"--it's a lot crazy and off-base. And cowardly.

This is the same jackass who sponsored a "defense of traditional marriage" act, tried to dictate to the GA house how they would pause during the Pledge of Allegiance, tried to ban Playboy magazine from army bases, tried to outlaw in vitro fertilization, and lied about his Vietnam service.

Republicans: these are the lunatics who have taken over your asylum. Don't you want your party--the party of fiscal conservatism, minimal government intervention, maximal personal rights--back?

He's taller than you, Junior

He's smarter than you. He's a better person than you.

Good goddamned riddance!

"I'm a man who's rich in daughters"

Watching this slideshow, I was happily thinking of Greg Brown's great song "Daughters":

I'm a man who's rich in daughters,
And if by some wild chance I get rich in money,
Like say another two thou a year or even one thou a year,
I'm gonna look in to havin' some more daughters.

And watch the video too: any man whose interaction with his girls can make the Secret Service smile has already transformed the Bush regime.

Just gimme the ball

This is Patrick Gaspard, Obama political director, after the first debate with McCain:

After Obama’s first debate with McCain, on September 26th, Gaspard sent him an e-mail. “You are more clutch than Michael Jordan,” he wrote. Obama replied, “Just give me the ball.”

That's what I want in a President. I want somebody that tough, that confident, and that ready to step up.

Not this:

The brain-trust

All your brain-trust are belong to us.

The Dream Team (L-R): C.J. Cregg, Josh Lyman, Jeb Bartlett, Toby Ziegler.

Naw, just kidding: that's a West Wing fantasy.

Actually, these are Robert Gibbs, David Plouffe, the President-Elect, and David Axelrod. These guys are the brain-trust who ran the most perfect, virtually seamless, ferociously competent political campaign I have ever seen. And every one of them is going into the White House in one or another capacity.

On second thought, maybe it wasn't a fantasy at all.

This is what the Founding Fathers had in mind

"Dancing in the Streets."

Over three years ago, I said this was what we needed.

Tracy Flick for governor!

Like a drunken cheerleader with a stolen credit card:

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family--clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast."

This should come as no surprise to anyone. She behaved precisely the same way throughout her mayorality and governorship.

The latest spin-control

The hard-right greed-and-repression wing of the Conservative Party will try to spin this landslide defeat, not as a rejection of a political philosophy, but "merely" a rejection of those "failed-conservatives" Bush II and McCain.

Richard Viguerie, conservative stalwart:

"Voters did not reject conservatism," Richard A. Viguerie, the Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, said. "They rejected Big Government Republicanism in all its forms, including the Bush administration and the Republican leadership in Congress."

Shorter version of conservative stance: "Oh no they din't."

Longer response: "Oh yes they did!"

Well, this is pretty adorable

Natalie Portman phone-banks for Obama:

People have the power

My heros, Patti Smith (author) and Bruce (bandleader. First saw them in 1977 & '78 and 30 years later they're still showing me the way forward:

The whole world is watching

The whole world is watching.

A shining city on a hill

As my hero Hunter Thompson said: "a monument to the best possibilities of what this country could be."

Y'all calm the fuck down. He GOT this!

All your grooves are belong to us

This is my kind of Revolution: the Black President and Stevie (make sure you hear the closing song):

This is what democracy looks like

Praetorian guard FS: Will work cheap

This is what happens when a Praetorian Guard loses its patrons. Who are these psychos?

Mercenary Firm Offers to 'Detain Troublemakers' on Election Day (Updated)

By Nathan Hodge EmailNovember 03, 2008 | 11:39:00 AMCategories: Mercs, Secret Squirrel

Ss_212x CIA-linked private military contractor Evergreen Defense & Security Services offered to post sentries at Oregon election offices on Tuesday, "detaining troublemakers" and making sure voters "do not get out of control."

In an e-mail to local election supervisors, obtained by the McMinnville, Oregon News Register, Evergreen president Tom Wiggins said he "recognized the potential conflict" that could occur on November 4th. "Never has there been a more heated battle in the race for president."

The Boss and the Black President

"...but when they said "Sit down" I stood up!"












Waiting a long time for this day. And now it's here.

THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!!!

Sleep?!? Who needs sleep?!?

I swear to God I don't think I'm going to sleep in the next 48 hours. My uni won its 500th victory this past week, winning in the last 10 seconds of play, gutting it out because they refused to believe the hype about the other side, defeating a #1 ranked team for the first time ever, and in the next 36 hours Barack Obama is going to become the first African-American president of this nation.

Who the hell needs sleep?!?

One more kiss-off..

...to the privileged, draft-dodging thugs, thieves, sociopaths, and torturers of the departing regime, who send poor boys to die for rich men's dividends, courtesy of John Fogerty:

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
Ooh, theyre red, white and blue.
And when the band plays hail to the chief,
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, lord,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no senators son, son.
It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no,

Yeah!
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, dont they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no millionaires son, no.
It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no.

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
Ooh, they send you down to war, lord,
And when you ask them, how much should we give?
Ooh, they only answer more! more! more! yoh,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no military son, son.
It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, one.

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate one, no no no,
It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate son, no no no,

Palin hearts Beethoven, ya know

Absolutely masterful Palin-parody from an old friend from Bloomington days:

JD: Governor, may I call you Sarah?

SP: You betcha.

JD: I just simply can’t believe in the midst of this intense campaign season, you could find the time to talk with me about the “Hammerklavier” Sonata.

SP: Well, ya know, Beethoven was the dude who said thanks but no thanks to Napoleon. Plus from all the mavericky songs he wrote, maybe this one could be known as the most maverickyest.

JD: I have to confess I’m a bit surprised you are so familiar with this particular work.

SP: Well, Mr. Snooty Juilliard Graduate, I’ll have you know I did my thesis on the Hammerklavier at Hawaiian Pacific University. Of course I had to continue revising it at Northern Idaho Massage Institute. And at Montana College for Bear-Loving Beauty Pageant Alumni. But also too the Hammerklavier’s on my ‘Pod whenever I go wolf hunting … those dactyls get me SUPER pumped...

JD: But Sarah—to play devil’s advocate here—you could make that one of the defining, most beautiful elements of the piece is the presence of sort of “radical” notes, notes that don’t really belong in B-flat major, strange other notes, neither major nor minor …

SP: All that sounds really good on paper, Jeremy, at your Ivy League coffeeshops and so forth, but out here in the real world where I’m sitting there’s plenty of common sense telling me that wrong notes are wrong notes. There was a great piece on Lou Dobbs the other day about this, called “Why Is G-Flat Getting My Tax Dollars?”...

JD: Tell me your thoughts about the slow movement.

SP: [pause] In what respect, Jeremy?

JD: The third movement: how would you describe it?

SP: [pause] I gotta confess, I usually fast forward through that one … It’s kind of a bummer. And since unlike some Americans out there I don’t hate America, I don’t want to dwell on all those negativity.

JD: But some people might make the case that the third movement is kind of the emotional core of the work … ?

SP: Ya know, I feel pretty strongly that a composer is a lot like a musicologist, except that he has actual notes to put down on paper. [Applause]...

JD: Sarah, the last movement is one of the most famously difficult things in all the piano repertoire. Do you have any advice for this American pianist about this movement before he performs this work on tour?

SP: You don’t want to hear my advice.

JD: Oh come on let me have it.

SP: I think it’s pretty obvious.

JD: I’m dying to know.

SP: You’re not gonna like it.

JD: Please …

SP: Trill, baby, trill!

JD: [sinks head in hands] The interview is over.

Seriously, go read the whole thing.

If Tracy Flick (from Election) both anchored a network and ran for VP

This is the kind of "Mean Girls" shit that ensues when you have an entire mass-media, and an entire campaign for Vice President of the United States of America, run as if it were a "class president" election in Napoleon Dynamite:

Palin Blows Off Fox News, Lies About Agreeing To Appear With Megyn Kelly»

Last week, Fox News host Megyn Kelly complained that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AZ) hadn’t done enough interviews on Fox. “She has yet to do any Fox daytime. She has not gone on this broadcast. She hasn’t gone on Fox and Friends. She hasn’t done Brit Hume’s show,” Kelly said. Days later, Kelly announced that Palin had finally granted her an interview to be aired today at 9am.

This morning, however, Kelly announced that Palin had backed out at the last minute, less than 24 hours before their scheduled 10-minute sit-down on Sunday:

Now on Friday, we promised you an interview with Gov. Sarah Palin. We did that because the McCain camp promised us, after weeks of negotiating, that the governor would sit down with me in Ohio on Sunday. On Saturday, less than 24 hours before the interview, the McCain camp canceled, saying that the the governor would not meet with us after all. They claimed that the governor suddenly did not have any time over the coming 72 hours to make good on her agreement of a 10-minute sit-down. We apologize for the McCain camp breaking its word. Our viewers certainly deserve better.

Fox fucking News complaining about somebody else "breaking their word"?!? The network of Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity? Ann Coulter's second home? Jerome Corsi's enablers? Are you fucking kidding me?!?

You remember what happened to the bully in A Christmas Story when Ralphie was finally fed up, and turned on him? He got his nose bloodied and started to cry, didn't he?

Megyn...what happened to your BFF?

All your cuteness are belong to us

"Babies for Obama"

Palin pranked

Giggling like a schoolgirl because she thinks she's talking to Pres. Sarkozy of France, even when her interlocutor says, "Oh, yesss, I love zat aerial 'unting, killing aneemals from ze 'elicopter, jus' keeling theengs."

She's not a maverick. She's even going "rogue." She just thinks running for the Vice Presidency of the United States is like running for class president.

In short, she's stupid.