Purple Ink

The World Stops When Bizarre Things Happen

2009-10-16T20:44:00.001-04:00

Posted by Broadway Carl

How else do you explain the nonstop coverage of today's story about a runaway balloon allegedly with a six-year old boy along for the ride? Once the balloon landed, and no boy was found, the very first thing I thought was that the boy let the balloon go and realizing how stupid it was, decided to hide for fear of getting in major trouble. If I were six years old and did something as asinine, I'd hide too!

The story has a "happy" ending. Despite horrid thoughts and speculation by bearded CNN pundits of a box or basket that was attached to the balloon in which the little fly boy hopped in and eventually plummeted to his death while 10,000 feet high, he was eventually found hiding in his attic, scared shitless of the Major League trouble he would be in.

And yet, hours after the homemade weather balloon landed two counties away sans kid, we were forced to watch speculators and and pseudo-pundits trying to figure out how high the balloon got, if it could handle the weight of a child and the basket he was supposedly in, all while watching the same 30 seconds of footage of the flying balloon, followed by 30 seconds of the balloon landing, followed by 30 seconds of the flying balloon that we'd just seen.

The world stopped while this balloon was in the air. Nothing else was happening. At least not according to the 24/7 news media outlets. And even after the boy was found, they kept talking about it! Nothing happened on the health care front. Everyone forgot to criticize President Obama's trip to New Orleans. Yet we were mesmerized by the balloon story. That silver, mylar, flying saucer shaped balloon put most of us in a trance even when there was NO NEW NEWS to report for hours.

This is the problem with 24 hour news outlets. When does breaking news stop becoming breaking news? Even when the story is long over, it's still "Breaking News" and real news gets ignored. Sensationalism is only sensational when something sensational happens, whether it be the balloon boy, or Natalee Halloway or Anna Nicole Smith or Michael Jackson. I wish someone would let cable news producers in on that little tidbit of information.

UPDATE: SURPRISE! (Not.) Balloon Boy Hoax

Falcon Heene: "You guys said that we did it for the show."

When I found out about Balloon Boy, my first instinct after I heard he wasn't on the balloon after it had landed was that he had untethered it, and fearing the wrath of mommy and daddy, decided to hide out. When I found out that these people were on ABC's Wife Swap, my cynical side immediately took over and I thought mom and dad might be attention hounds or that it might be a publicity stunt. Luckily for us, six-year olds are too honest when under pressure, you know, like during a live TV interview.

I wonder if Mr. Heene is going to get a nice, fat invoice for the emergency resources that were used in searching for a child that wasn't lost?

Obama Wins Nobel Prize, Wingnuts Crap Cages

2009-10-12T15:31:00.001-04:00

Posted by Broadway Carl

Anti-Obama all the time. America loses 2016 Olympics and "WOOHOO!" Obama sucks! He couldn't seal the deal! This only proves that the world really hates him. Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize and "WHAAAA?!?!!" Political fallout! What will the right say? What will Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity and *gasp!* Rush Limbaugh say about it?

And I say, "Who gives a shit what the nutballs have to say?" They are preaching to their ever shrinking choir. They will tell their audience of 30 percenters what they want to hear. So why is this any different than any other day, other than the fact that the rest of the reasonable, sane population should feel a sense of pride that their country's leader, only the third sitting President in the history of the nation, should receive such an honor?

When Limbaugh gets himself into such a lather to the point of agreeing with the Taliban, and lumps his audience in with that assertion while calling President Barack "Nobel Peace Prize" Obama a "worldwide joke," and saying it's "a greater embarrassment that losing the Olympics bid," then you know you're on the right track. Really? Winning the Nobel Peace Prize is an embarrassment? How does he rate getting busted with illegal Viagra prescriptions at the airport?

So let them fling their feces. They do it every day. It only proves their simian intellect. What difference does another reason make when every day we sit in a front row seat at the viewing of Glenn Beck dirtying his underpants? Just another a day in the life of the disinformers and the misinformed.

ADDING... Rachel Maddow dissects this situation perfectly.

Obama Derangement Syndrome

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Originally posted October 9th

Other people's sex lives

2009-10-05T14:37:00.002-04:00

Ever since then-President Clinton was practically burned at the stake by our highly-principled news media for his affair with Monica Lewinsky, I've been fascinated by the pull that this type of adultery story seems to exhibit. I totally understand the concern that a person in a position of power could abuse that position to demand sexual favors from staff members. If that had been the case with Clinton, then yes, my journalistic instincts tell me that would have been a story. But with a willing, adult-age partner, where is the story? A guy cheated on his wife? These things do happen. Dog bites man. Not a story.

I've been reminded of all this in reading the tons of ink spilled on the David Letterman adultery story. Unless I’ve missed something, it doesn’t seem that any of the women Letterman apparently slept with have accused him of demanding sex in return for job perks or promotions or continued employment. Nobody is saying he preyed on underage staffers. So why the hell does anyone care? Did the guy break any laws? If not, why does the media feel inclined to beat this story to death? I guess in this case the answer is the same as it usually is: this story is being over-covered because it’s an easy story to cover. (Our media is nothing if not lazy.) There’s ready-made video with Dave’s noteworthy on-air discussion of the events, in an effort to take control of the narrative from the guy trying to blackmail him. And as much as we love our celebrities in America, we love seeing them beaten down even more. A humiliated celebrity is far better news fodder than a famous person on top of the world.

That said, I find the Associated Press’ hand-wringing in the above-linked story quite interesting. What must Dave do to keep women viewers, the AP wonders? Speaking as a (sigh) middle-aged married woman, I have to say that nothing about this whole thing bothers me, aside from the media’s over-reaction to it. Letterman’s sex life concerns me precisely as much as Bill Clinton’s sex life concerned me back in the 1990s: not one goddamn bit. Why shouldn’t I keep watching Letterman’s show? Don’t I have more pressing things to worry about? How immature am I supposed to be, exactly?

The last thing I want to waste time worrying about is other people’s legal, consensual sexual activities. Period. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. But the media will never admit that most people simply don’t care about this stuff.

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania

Rep. Alan Grayson: GOP Nothing But "Knuckle Dragging Neanderthals"

2009-10-02T12:32:00.002-04:00

Posted by Broadway Carl

I never thought I could run for elected office because, as evidenced by my blog, I can be crass, foul-mouthed and generally tend to cast any sense of decorum out the window. (I'm not smart enough either, but judging by the current crop of GOP elected officials, I don't think that's much of a hurdle anymore.)

Now I have new found hope! Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Florida) is my new hero. Not only did he turn the tables on the Republican party's use of "death panels" and "health care reform equals dead people" rhetoric, but he refused to apologize for saying that the GOP Health Care Plan is to "die quickly" if you get sick on the floor of the House. And to top it off, while being interviewed by Rachel Maddow, Grayson added that the Republican party is "utterly unscrupulous. These are foot dragging, knuckle dragging Neanderthals."

Crack open a beer, sit back and watch what I can only dream of doing.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Originally posted on September 30th on Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

Grieving in the digital age

2009-09-23T23:41:00.003-04:00

So it's 10 p.m. and I should really go to bed, given that I have to work tomorrow. But I decide to jump online to check e-mail. "Bad news," the subject line reads. The sister of a dear, dear friend (one of my bridesmaids in fact) who I've known, oh, what feels like forever, has been in a car accident with her husband and son, who is 7, or maybe by now had turned 8. Some idiot, or maybe a drunk, plowed into them on a Pennsylvania highway.

The little boy didn't make it. My friend's sister, who I also think of as a dear friend, is in critical condition. The husband has a broken pelvis, but will survive.

Physically, at least.

To say these people are the salt of the earth is both a cliche and a gross understatement. They are intelligent and unfailingly kind. They were the most loving parents to their son, whom they adopted from South Korea as a baby. They were so proud to be his parents--true parents, even though he was born half a world away. Now he is gone, and his adoptive mother might not make it, and I am filled with sadness and rage.

I hadn't talked to this couple for many years, but then everybody on earth (or so it seems) started getting on Facebook. So for the last little while, I've been chatting with them regularly. Getting updates on their little boy. Hearing about their lives.

And now, tonight, as news of the horrible accident spread, a bunch of us who were friends together in New Jersey, and later in Boston, many, many moons ago now, mutual friends, gathered in cyberspace to discuss what happened and to grieve. I had four Facebook chats going at once at one point. This, I guess, is how we gather now to process such shattering events, especially when we are separated by hundreds of miles.

I only wish there was something I could do for my friends, but I know there is nothing. There are no words you can say to parents who have lost a child. To a man who might lose his wife. God willing she will make it. But what they are going through, I wouldn't wish on anybody.

I'm not sure how I will sleep now.

MONDAY UPDATE: The little boy's mom died, too, over the weekend. Heaven has two more angels now.

Protect Insurance Companies

2009-09-23T07:19:00.000-04:00

A public service announcement.

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

"Our Awesome Post--Racial Society"

2009-09-22T09:49:00.002-04:00

The amazing Tom Tomorrow hits the nail on the head re: right wing racial hypocricy. I would love to re-post the cartoon here but I suspect there are copyright issues with that. As with all his cartoons, it's a must-read. (Notice the Obama "African" photo in the third panel -- this is an actual teabagger poster that's been making the rounds.)

Quote of the Day

2009-09-21T16:21:00.000-04:00

Posted by Broadway Carl

"We figured Fox would rather show 'So You Think You Can Dance' than broadcast an honest discussion about health insurance reform," - White House spokesman Josh Earnest on the omission of Fox during the current Presidential media blitz

Of course, imbeciles like Chris Wallace don't get it. They don't understand why President Obama wouldn't use his time to go on their network to promote health care reform after the network decided not to air his joint session of Congress on the very same topic.

"They are the biggest bunch of crybabies I have dealt with in my 30 years in Washington," Wallace said on the Fox News program "The O'Reilly Factor."

Well, somebody's crying, but it sounds like Chris Wallace.

Things people have forgotten about

2009-09-18T12:25:00.003-04:00

(Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania)

Remember Hurricane Katrina? It's had some jaw-dropping lasting effects. That no one will talk about. Because they concern mostly black people.

But it's not like people are still racist in America, right? Just avert your eyes and carry on...

Personally I still recall the raw horror, the literal nausea, I felt watching the Katrina disaster unfold on TV while King George the Inept ate birthday cake with John McCain. I vividly remember thinking: "We've lost an entire American city due to the Bush administration's ineptitude. NOW, now he's going to get impeached for sure."

So much for that. And today, all these years later, large swaths of New Orleans are evidently still a giant hellhole, and this NEVER makes it on the news. Awesome.

Immune To Irony

2009-09-18T10:47:00.005-04:00

Posted by Broadway Carl

How do these people get elected into office? Did they stop drooling on themselves long enough to convince the rubes they call their constituents that they would be of use in Congress? ANY USE?

After receiving a complaint from a rube/constituent of their inconvenience during their recent travel, Republican Texas Rep. Kevin Brady decided to write a letter on their behalf, which would be a nice gesture if it weren't for the purpose of the trip and the specific travel complaint, as the Wall Street Journal so aptly describes:

Protesters who attended Saturday’s Tea Party rally in Washington found a new reason to be upset: Apparently they are unhappy with the level of service provided by the subway system.

Rep. Kevin Brady asked for an explanation of why the government-run subway system didn’t, in his view, adequately prepare for this past weekend’s rally to protest government spending and government services.

Seriously.

This would be funny if it weren't so pathetic. But what do you expect? These people who, as Brady writes in his letter of complaint to DC's Metro system, "came all the way from Southeast Texas to protest the excessive spending and growing government intrusion by the 111th Congress and the new Obama administration" complained that said government's transit system did not spend extra money to provide extra service for the teabagger event.

Seriously.

And the newest Republican MENSA member to step into that dubious Spotlight of Superstupid decides to write a letter on the behalf of an 80-year old woman, who is most likely in that evil, socialized Medicare program, with absolutely no conception of the irony of the situation.

Seriously.

And the kicker of this whole affront to the teabagging community? In July, the House voted on a resolution for appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, HUD, and related agencies including emergency funding for the Metro DC subway system. Brady voted against the resolution.

Seriously.

Texas Republican Rep. Kevin Brady: SUPERGENIUS.

(H/T Wonkette)

Classic Stupidity

2009-09-16T21:28:00.001-04:00

Posted by Broadway Carl

These are the boneheads we are dealing with.

(Photo via Bob Cesca)

These are the imbeciles that "want their country back" as if it was taken away from them in the first place. I wonder how morons like these get by day to day without being killed by walking into traffic? Or walking off a cliff? Or having an anvil fall on their head?

UPDATE (2:30pm): Update on The Stupid.

Via Wonkette:

Would-be teabaggers and and other easily duped dingbats are proudly emailing each other wonderful pictures of a million teabaggers crowding the National Mall, but these pictures are actually from the Million Man March of 1997, an event attended by, ahem, colored people.

Oh, the irony! AHAHAHAHAAHAAHAAHAAAAAAA!!!

Yes, yes, yes and yes

2009-09-16T12:21:00.003-04:00

Atrios hits the nail on the head:

Obviously the recession has much to do with it, but I do wish it would occur to our great captains of the airline industry that one reason people are flying less is that the experience has become so incredibly shitty. Some of this is not the fault of the individual airlines, such as stupid security theater, but plenty of it is. I mean bag fees, what the fuck? And it isn't simply the money, it's the extra hassle and just general sense of being screwed and harassed throughout the entire process.

When ARE the airlines (to say nothing of the people in charge of Homeland Security) going to realize that the more they crap all over people, the less people will fly? Why am I still taking my damn shoes off, for example? Why must we take our 4-year-old's shoes off? Why is it that when we finally get on the plane, we barely fit in the seats? How tall and heavy do the airlines think the average person is, anyway? My husband, around 5"8 and still as skinny as he was in his 20s -- he barely fits. Me, 5"3 and certainly overweight but nowhere near obese -- I barely fit. My knees practically hit the seat in front of me. Do the airlines think most adults are not over 5"3? I weep for these poor 6"4 guys, folding their entire bodies, origami-like, in a vain attempt to fit in the coach seats. Deep vein thrombosis, here we come!

And then, say you're going from Boston to Los Angeles. Would you like to have a drink of water over the next 6-plus hours? Well, good luck with that, if you lacked the foresight to bring your own bottle of water.

Anyway. None of these are new complaints. It's just amazing how, even in this economy when you think they'd want to encourage people to fly, the whole experience just gets worse and worse.

Reboot

2009-09-15T12:26:00.003-04:00

This poor blog has been sadly neglected lately, for which I must apologize. You think your life is going to get less crazy, and somehow it only gets crazier. I now realize this is the permanent state of things, so I might as well get used to it!

With that, I would like to declare a reboot on my blogging activities. I'm going to start over with new posts on all things personal as well as political, because there's a ton going on on both fronts. As always, I must thank the highly talented Broadway Carl for his insightful contributions here, and you'll see my posts over at his place as well.

So stay tuned for more updates, and as always, thanks for reading!

The People Health Care Reform Would Help...

2009-08-20T15:52:00.002-04:00

... have no idea as to what they are protesting against.

Here is a two minute interview with a middle aged woman, the same woman who screamed "Heil Hitler!" at an Israeli man while he was extolling the virtues of Israel's national health care system. Irony of ironies, she's wearing an "Israel Defense League" t-shirt and yelled "Heil Hitler" at an Israeli Jew.

In two minutes she personified what is wrong with these town hall windbags that haven't a clue why they're against health care reform.

1 - She doesn't want to identify herself with any group except to say that she's a lifelong Republican conservative who "believes in Biblical vows." Good job not trying to box yourself in, lady.

2 - She knows reform is needed because of escalating costs but doesn't want a government take over, as if that were the case. Will she refuse Medicare when she or her husband reaches that age?

3 - She thinks reform will "support illegal aliens." It does not.

4 - Her husband works "two and a half" jobs and HAS NO INSURANCE.

5 - She hopes Obama is voted out of office because he has the audacity to try and provide health care for Americans who can't afford it.

Barney Frank is right. There is no reasoning with these people.

Obama Kung-Fu Panda™

2009-08-19T12:44:00.001-04:00

posted by Broadway Carl

There was a lot of talk this weekend about the perceived White House softening on the public option due to a comment made by President Obama during a town hall meeting in Colorado (which I think wasn't a softening at all if you listen to what he was trying to say in the overall context) and an interview by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in which she stated that the public option is "not the essential element" in health care reform. I was still hesitant to think that all the "president is backing off the public option" ballyhoo was actually the case considering that Congress is not in session and the MSM was hungry for something to fill their time other than Michael Jackson's brain.

In any case, the possibility that this could happen was a breaking point for the left who have started to mobilize. Whether progressives and liberals were coming off the Obama honeymoon or whether they realized that they had to be as vocal as the misinformed, gun-toting nutballs at the town hall meetings, the pushback has finally started.

My theory: I think the Sebelius statement was a trial balloon. If the statement was used to gauge a perceived softening on the public option or an actual one is up for debate. The end result is the liberal and progressive base got tired of laying back and are now on the offensive to the benefit of the Obama administration, even though their outrage is directed at the ever-tiring Democratic capitulation.

But some are now writing that this may have been part of the plan all along; some more Obama Kung-Fu. And if you think about it, you can whip up your base into a frenzy by looking like you are softening to the GOP and losing your spine, because in the end you really aren't going to lose your liberal base. What liberal or progressive in their right mind would vote for ANY Republican?

Now, President Obama has always said that change has to start with us. On that I agree. But the way this has been unfolding, I'm finding it a little hard to believe that it's all part of a grand plan, that this administration although very savvy, is always ten steps ahead of absolutely everyone else. (If they are, then we are in for an awesome eight years.)

Ultimately, I don't think that the White House will accept a final bill without a public option, but if there had been no outrage from the left, if we had become defeatist and complacent (and I think some of us were headed that way) then who knows how horrible a compromised bill could become? Luckily, progressives and liberals, sixty and counting in the House, are galvanizing and threatening to vote against any bill that doesn't contain a public option.

So in my opinion, I don't think this was an example of Obama Kung-Fu; it was more the situation turning to fortuitously help the White House. Maybe call it Obama Kung-Fu Panda™.

The GOP Cockroach Scurry

2009-07-29T14:06:00.001-04:00

Posted by Broadway Carl

I find it amazing that elected officials are so afraid of reporters with cameras, they literally run away as fast as they can. Mike Stark (of HuffPo and FDL) is the light switch that makes these GOP roaches run for cover. And all because they don't want to be on official record as supporting the Birther Movement, yet giving it credence by saying there may be something there.

And Rep. Thaddeus "I'm focused on health care issues" McCotter actually introduced a resolution to get President Obama to officially apologize to Cambridge Police officer Sgt. James Crowley. A fine use of time for the state of Michigan and their tax dollars.

More on "Twilight"

2009-07-29T12:31:00.002-04:00

So I've finally gotten (mostly) through Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels. I say "mostly" because I simply could not bring myself to read every single word of the final installment, the execrable "Breaking Dawn." I sort of speed-read through that one to see how the whole thing wrapped up, skipping the portions in the middle that dragged and generally made no sense. Unfortunately for me, I didn't skip over the very worst bits: (SPOILER ALERT) the most horrific pregnancy and birth in the history of literature, along with the creepy pedophile overtones of the Jacob-falls-in-love-with-the-demon-baby sequence. All I can say is: oh my GOD, what is wrong with this woman?

The clunky end to the series is unfortunate, because the first two books were actually pretty good. By the third installment, "Eclipse," the narrative starts falling apart at the seams, before the utter train wreck of the fourth novel. I find the whole thing fascinating, from a writer's perspective (how is it that the editors and publisher allowed Meyer to go off in such unhinged directions in the last book? And why did she feel the need to go in those directions?) and from a mother's. I've read that Meyer's got a bunch of kids--evidently pregnancy was not kind to her. I find it hard to believe that a woman who went through relatively normal pregnancies could have written that section describing Bella's unnatural gestation and ghoulish childbirth. I could be letting my imagination run away with me, but it seems to point to some unresolved personal issues on the part of the writer. To put it mildly.

But, flawed though the series may be, it does have its moments. The first book lays a convincing foundation of suspense and tension, and pretty accurately describes the intensity of first love. Edward is a figure of pathos in the first book, rather than the humorless, authoritarian figure he becomes later. And the character of Jacob, at least until he goes off the rails in the last book, is far and away the most convincingly fleshed-out of all the inhabitants of Meyer's twisted little world. Well, him and Alice, who I also liked a lot. And even in "Breaking Dawn," you can see hints of the talent that evidently got Meyer her publishing contract in the first place.

You know how in certain books, an image will stand out from the rest, providing a compelling visual hook for the story? One example that comes to mind is from J.K. Rowling's final Harry Potter book, "Deathly Hallows." I'm thinking of Rowling's description of Draco Malfoy's mother standing at Severus Snape's door with her long blonde hair flowing down her back, "giving her the look of a drowned person." Similarly in "Breaking Dawn," when Jacob witnesses Edward's suffering as Bella gestates the vampire/human hybrid baby: "This was the face a man would wear while burning at the stake."

It's too bad this talent wasn't put to better use as Meyer wrapped up the series. It seems to have ruined the whole thing for many of the fans, and it's set up what could be an unresolvable conflict for the movie studio producing the films of the books. How in God's name are they going to make a decent movie out of "Breaking Dawn"? There is no way in hell that they can replicate that birth scene without turning it into a torture porn movie. And, the whole "imprinting on the baby" thing...one has to assume the studio lawyers won't let them go anywhere NEAR that. Which means that if they make a movie at all, it's going to be vastly different from the book by default. With any luck, maybe it will be better. It's hard to imagine it could be worse.

Rachel Corrects The Record

2009-07-21T11:17:00.002-04:00

by Broadway Carl

Last week during the groudswell of racism that permeated the US Sentate hearing on the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, I posted video without comment of MSNBC "pundit" Pat Buchanan and the pretty remarkably harsh, racist statements he was making on the issue. I didn't comment on them because I thought that they basically spoke for themselves and that there were soooo many misstatements, factually incorrect statements and flat out lies, it would have taken too much time out of my life to go through them one by one. Besides, I value my normal blood pressure.

Luckily Rachel Maddow, who had a debate with Buchanan on the issue, took it upon herself to correct the record because she couldn't stand not to.

The Eagle Has Landed

2009-07-20T22:56:00.001-04:00

Forty years ago today.

Check out more video at Bob Cesca's blog.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

Why I don't watch the news anymore, Part XXVVI

2009-07-20T11:17:00.005-04:00

Because it has all become "The Onion." Really. We have people elected to Congress in this country whose intellectual powers don't compare favorably to those of the lower primates. I read about these things after they happen and they just stagger my ability to comprehend that so many of our elected officials are this...I can't even think of an adequate word. "Stupid" comes to mind but doesn't begin to cover it. People like Republican Sen. Tom Coburn are to "stupid" as...oh, I don't know...a Maserati is to a Chrysler K Car? Maseratis and K Cars are both, technically, cars, but the former is in an entirely different league. To put it mildly. There's stupid, and then there's Tom Coburn Stupid:

And in one comical if awkward exchange with Mr. Coburn, on whether Americans had a right to self-defense, Judge Sotomayor broke with her resistance to hypotheticals to invoke one, imagining an instance in which, threatened with imminent harm, she went home, got a gun and came back to shoot him.

“You’d have lots of ’splaining to do,” Mr. Coburn replied, borrowing Desi Arnaz’s frequent line in his portrayal of Ricky Ricardo, the Cuban-American bandleader on the old “I Love Lucy” television show.

Seriously. This actually happened on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Just shoot me.

The Equilvalent of Hoods

2009-07-13T17:39:00.006-04:00

By Broadway Carl

I've always found it rather unsettling that the anonymity of the internet causes what would otherwise be normal discourse and debate into heated, hate-filled rhetoric that one would most likely never dare to say face to face for fear of physical assault.

With the ascent of our country's first African-American president after our sordid history of racism however, never has it struck me more that the progeny of the cowards who once wore hoods and robes are now trading them in for the 21st century version of their shameful furtiveness.

We've seen it bubbling up more and more. What may have started as a moron with a Curious George doll at a Palin campaign rally or the accusations of President Obama being a secret Muslim has escalated to deadly violence and frightening vitriol on conservative websites without the slightest hint of disgrace or remorse.

Case in point. Free Republic.

"A typical street whore." "A bunch of ghetto thugs." "Ghetto street trash." "Wonder when she will get her first abortion."

These are a small selection of some of the racially-charged comments posted to the conservative 'Free Republic' blog Thursday, aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama's 11-year-old daughter Malia after she was photographed wearing a t-shirt with a peace sign on the front.

The thread was accompanied by a photo of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that featured the caption, "To entertain her daughter, Michelle Obama loves to make monkey sounds."

The cowardice to write such things while hiding behind a keyboard used as a hood and a username used as a robe is immeasurable. This isn't about disagreeing with the administration's policies. This isn't worrying about national security. This isn't about the threat of terrorism. This is hostility and disdain for an 11 year old girl purely based on the color of her skin. This is about the overt racism displayed at the President of the United States and his family.

And the bigotry doesn't stop at the faceless ones living under rocks. Now the ugly scars and boils filling in a Dorian Gray's portrait of the GOP are visible for all to see. Chip Saltsman, a candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee, sent out CDs containing the song,"Barack the Magic Negro." South Carolina GOP activist Rusty DePass joked that an escaped gorilla from a local zoo was an "ancestor" of Michelle Obama.

Speaking of primates, let's not forget about the editorial cartoon depicting police officers shooting a monkey and lamenting that "they'll have to find someone else to write the stimulus bill." And most recently there's Audra Shay, a candidate to chair the Young Republicans National Federation, who "LOL"ed when a Facebook friend ranted that they had to "take this country back from all of these mad coons." Further review of her Facebook account and her poor attempts to scrub her page found more than a few racist and homophobic comments.

In October 2008, in the wake of news that an effigy of Sarah Palin was being hung outside an affluent Hollywood home as an offensive Halloween decoration, Shay replied, returning to the “LOL” style that she employed after the “coons” comment: “What no ‘Obama in a noose? Come on now, its just freedome [sic] of speech, no one in Atlanta would take that wrong! Lol.”
She picked up the thread again the next morning with a clarification and a new insight. “Apparently I could not spell last night. I am wondering if the guys with the Palin noose would care if we had a bunch of homosexuals in a noose.”

By the way, she won her election.

Apparently, this is the future of the Republican party, continuing to elect not only racists, but overt ones at that. While the anonymous "hooded" cowards of the Internet feel free to spew their intense hate of "the other" without fear of repercussion, their elected Grand Dragons and Imperial Wizards further marginalize the 21st Century Whigs.

Ballsy Greenpeace Protest

2009-07-09T08:59:00.003-04:00

Greenpeace activists scaled Mt. Rushmore today to issue a challenge to President Obama. "Our brave climbers rappelled down the face of Mt. Rushmore today to issue a challenge to President Obama: If he wants to get his face on this monument, he needs to be a true leader on global warming, not a politician," said one Greenpeace member.

Sanford Censured

2009-07-07T13:45:00.001-04:00

As Major Garrett would say, "What took you so long?"

After nearly four hours of deliberation and multiple rounds of balloting, the South Carolina Republican Party voted Monday night to censure Mark Sanford for secretly traveling overseas to visit his mistress — but stopped short of calling on the governor to resign.

We can't totally blame them. After all, if a schlub like Mark Sanford can get an Argentine hottie to play Evita & Juan then you gotta give him a little credit. So what if he called for the resignation of Bill Clinton when he was in the same situation? Obviously his mistake was that he didn't keep his shenanigans overseas.

So, a little slap on the wrist for a Governor who abandoned his state for almost a week with no information to his whereabouts in case of emergency. But hey, it's okay if you're a Republican.

And then Mariah Carey, Usher, and Lionel Richie will moonwalk around the coffin!

2009-07-07T12:37:00.002-04:00

Holy merciful crap, this is disturbing:

Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton revealed this morning during a live radio interview that despite days of plans indicating otherwise, the coffin containing the body of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson will be taken from the earlier private funeral at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills to the Staples Center, where it will be on stage during the memorial event.

Someone help me out here...they're going to have Jackson's coffin ON THE STAGE while the performers are, you know, performing? Singing and dancing around the body??

The Pandemic of Stupid (Part Three: The Michele Bachmann Edition)

2009-07-01T12:55:00.001-04:00

posted by Broadway Carl

Minnesotans should be completely embarrassed having this moonbat represent their state. Michele "Armed and Dangerous" Bachmann's latest conspiracy theory involves the evil Barack Obama and the use of information in the upcoming 2010 Census.

Now the Census, for those that don't know, has been around since Thomas Jefferson in 1790. A Founding Father. But that doesn't matter to Bachmann. She's convinced these personal questions are an invasion of privacy and doesn't know what the evil government (the government she is a part of) would do with such vital information like her phone number. Because we all know it's impossible for the government to get that information unless provided by the customer. The telecom companies would never surrender than kind of vital info.

Well, Michele, the U. S. Constitution (Article I, Section II) requires that there be a census every ten years in order to apportion the seats in the House of Representatives among the states. That would be to assure idiots like Bachmann have a job. Census information is also used by federal, state and local governments to assess needs and allocate funding, by academics to study the changing population, by individuals to trace their genealogy, and for many other purposes.

Besides the fact that you are subject to prosecution if you refuse to answer census information and Bachmann insisting she will not comply with the census next year, the killer is this little nugget: she is upset that they ask for all this very personal information, but don't ask if you are an American citizen. Listen to the MENSA conversation between Bachmann and Sean Hannity.

Really? Is there no question in the US Census asking if you are an American citizen? Surely that has to be an oversight, and an egregious one at that. Could Bachmann be correct? ...Of course not.

Section 3: Page 18, Question 8

Of course, Bachmann also brings ACORN into the mix, just one of over 250 organizations used by the government in compiling information of over 300 million people. I always knew that some ultra-conservatives righties were nuts when they were in power, but now that they're out of power they are freaking out and coming out of the woodwork faster than the zombies in Night of the Living Dead.

Here's Stephen Colbert's take on the Census (Thanks to Annette for the video).

(H/T GottaLaff)

The Pandemic of Stupid: Parts One and Two

It Only Took 238 Days

2009-06-30T16:07:00.001-04:00

Senator Al Franken

The unanimous 5-0 decision of the Minnesota Supreme Court declaring Franken the winner also contained language that politely stated the Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty should not hesitate to sign the certification of the election.

...Pawlenty had indicated as late as Monday that he was willing to certify Mr. Franken as the winner once the state’s highest court decided the recount and Mr. Coleman’s battle. On CNN on Sunday, Mr. Pawlenty said: “I’m prepared to sign it as soon as they give the green light.”

A 5-0 unanimous decision sounds like a green light to me. Will Norm Coleman now do the right thing and not appeal to SCOTUS? I'm not so sure he's that smart.

UPDATE (4pm): Coleman concedes! Congratulates Al Franken as state's new Senator. Respects Minnesota Supreme Court's decision although does state he "also thought it was important to stand up for enfranchesing thousands of Minnesotans whose votes weren't counted like others' were."

Seven years

2009-06-30T09:48:00.002-04:00

June 30, 2002. Happy anniversary to me and Mr. Fraulein! This was one of the readings at our wedding: Shakespeare's Sonnet 116:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments.

Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Must-read column by Vicki Iovine

2009-06-26T13:31:00.002-04:00

I recently decided to make the best of the fact that it's been 60 degrees and raining here in Boston since, oh, April, by starting to read the "Twilight" saga. I figured that if the Northeast is slowly turning into the Pacific Northwest, climate-wise, I might as well find some appropriate reading material for the transformation. I didn't have high hopes for these books as far as the writing goes, and while they certainly ain't Jane Austen, they really do suck you in. As it were.

That's why I laughed so hard when I read this new Huff Post column by the always-awesome Vicki Iovine, author of the Girlfriends' Guide books on parenting. Iovine links her furtive middle-aged-mom addiction to the "Twilight" books with her annoyance over Mark Sanford, Eliot Spitzer, and their ilk, and it's pretty damn funny. Vampire or no, I'd take Edward Cullen over Mark Sanford any day.

Now I know what I want for my anniversary

2009-06-22T11:54:00.002-04:00

A bra that shoots fireworks! You think they sell these at Victoria's Secret?

(Also...old fart alert...am I the only one who doesn't know who "Lady Gaga" is?)

Gallows Politics

2009-06-18T11:35:00.007-04:00

by Broadway Carl

Boom! goes the dynamite!

"I think he smells some blood in the water on the national-security issue. It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that's dangerous politics."

-- CIA Director Leon Panetta, in an interview with the New Yorker, on former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticisms of the Obama administration.

Since posting this on Sunday, Ed Schultz has had a run-in with Joe Scarborough regarding this issue. Schultz agrees with the assessment. Scarborough is shocked, shocked I tell you!, that anyone would think Cheney would want "Americans to die" so he could say he was right.

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Scarborough tries to discredit Schultz by equating the support he says he's receiving with 9/11 Truthers, but Schultz isn't buying it.

Must Reads

2009-06-18T11:24:00.002-04:00

by Broadway Carl

I usually do a Must Reads post every Saturday at my blog. Saturday is a full work day for me with not much posting time, so I collect interesting articles from the week (usually toward the end of the week so they aren't stale by Saturday) and link them for posterity.

It seems Ms. Fraulein especially liked this batch of political cookies, so she's requested I re-post them here. Enjoy.
*****************
Bob Cesca: The Health Insurance Mafia Deserves a Good Screwing

Andrew Sullivan: A Marine and the T-Word

Paul Krugman: The Big Hate

Halimah Abdullah, McClatchy: Senators who opposed tobacco bill received top dollar from industry

Lars Thorwald: Obama on DOMA: He IS Keeping A Promise

Joan Walsh: Why I went on "The O'Reilly Factor"

The Daily Howler: It Happened Last Time! Yesterday’s killing made us think about what happened the last time

D. Aristophanes, Sadly, No!: The Usual Gang of Idiots

Tom Leonard: US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive

No-Work Fridays Summer

2009-06-17T12:30:00.002-04:00

With coming up on four years' worth of full-time work under my belt since the Peanut was born, I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to take Fridays off for the summer. As I recently lamented, the thing that I (and pretty much every other mom I know!) desperately need more of is time. Time to exercise. Time to cook a decent meal. Time to park my butt on the couch and read "In-Style" magazine. Time to blog. And most of all, time to spend with hanging out with my precious Peanut while she is still (well, most of the time, anyway) a perky little bundle of cuteness.

Thus the idea of No-Work Friday Summer was born. Thanks to an understanding boss and a family-friendly employer, the request was approved. And whatever income I lose (which won't end up being that much anyway given the corresponding drop in day care costs) will be paid back in spades by having the opportunity, for a little while at least, to take a break from being a cranky person with an aggravating, never-ending commute and just be.

And with any luck, this poor blog won't be as neglected as it's been the last few years, and I'll have time to come up with more contributions to the conversations over at Broadway Carl's place!

DHS Right Wing Extremist Report Coming To Fruition

2009-06-11T08:41:00.002-04:00

by Broadway Carl

When the Department of Homeland Security issued a report warning of possible violence from right wing extremists and extremist groups a few weeks ago, there was much outrage. Or fauxtrage as the case may be. For some strange reason, the Republican party took offense at the report.

Wingnuts like Michelle Malkin called the report "one of the most embarrassingly shoddy pieces of propaganda I’d ever read out of DHS", "piece of crap report" that serves as "a sweeping indictment of conservatives." Really, Michelle? A word search of the words, "conservative", "Conservatives" and "Republican" turns up no hits on the PDF of the report. An indictment of conservatives? Why would they equate themselves with extremist hate groups?

No matter to the Republicans/Conservatives who felt the vapors. This was a hit job on the GOP by the duplicitous Obama administration. The "Support the Troops - Buy a Car Magnet" groups were upset about the mention that returning Iraqi vets might be targeted for recruitment by these extremist groups in order to utilize their military talents. The immediate suggestion of course was that this insinuation vilified our soldiers. The bluster was so loud, that DHS Director Janet Napolitano felt the need to apologize to those who were "offended."

The kicker was that it was the Bush administration that ordered the assessments of both right wing and left wing extremist groups, but the reports weren't completed until after Obama took office. And I don't remember hearing any outrage of the left wing report which was released in January.

So here we stand a few weeks later, after the murder of Dr. George Tiller while in church by a pro-life "extremist" and today's shooting attack at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, by an 88-year old anti-Semitic, white supremacist with a previous record and you have to wonder, "What did DHS Director Napolitano apologize for?"

What will Michelle Malkin say now about that "shoddy piece of propaganda"? What will Texas Rep. Lamar Smith say now after categorizing the DHS report as "racial profiling" the pro-gun advocates, pro-life advocates and veterans? What will Joe Scarborough say now after accusing the DHS and Obama administration of targeting veterans instead of Al-Qaeda?

They'll say what they always say: a lone wolf. A nut who was acting alone. They won't see the big picture. They'll refuse to look back and see the rise in vitriol and violence since the election. And as is frequently becoming the case, they will be wrong.

UPDATE (6/10/09 6:45pm): It seems I had some kind of Spidey sense today.

Fox News Reporter: Scandalized DHS Report Needs Second Look

Originally posted on Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania 6/10/09

Jon Stewart Eats Joe Scarborough's Head

2009-06-09T12:55:00.001-04:00

Posted by Broadway Carl

Not much to say on this one. Morning Joe sold out. Starbucks is now a sponsor. Jon Stewart calls Joe out on his ass-kissing of Starbucks CEO and product placement. Joe Scarborough claims it was sarcasm... even though THEY ARE sponsored by Starbucks and THEY ARE placing product all over the set. Jon Stewart eats Joe for a snack.

Enjoy.

If you have a problem with this, you can write in to Starbucks and complain regarding their Corproate social responsibility efforts. Some are suggesting to boycott Starbucks and let them know why. I'll write in to say that their choice of sponsorship is suspect, but sorry, Carl can't gives up the Starbucks. If I boycotted every product because some asshole plugged it, I'd starve.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

Fake English accents: First Madonna, now the Peanut

2009-06-08T12:45:00.011-04:00

What with her continual exposure to "Charlie and Lola" and "Angelina Ballerina," it was perhaps inevitable that the Peanut would start speaking in a fake English accent.

If I weren't so woefully tech-challenged, I'd post an audio file here because it's kind of a hoot. What's a little scary is that she's doing a pretty damn good job. (If we get her a job acting in a commercial, maybe her Screen Actors Guild credentials can list her foreign accent skills.) "Can I pick out your outfit today, madam?" she asked me this morning, emphasizing each word in the appropriate Britishy fashion. She talked like this all morning. "Have fun at your stuuuu-pid work," she said to Mr. Fraulein as he buckled her into her car seat. I just need to emphasize: she is 4 and a half. God, does she crack us up!

I don't think I can bring myself to watch this one

2009-06-05T12:38:00.005-04:00

Thanks to Netflix, I've been slowly working my way through Robert Downey Jr.'s entire oeuvre. This one, however, I think I'm going to skip. I have no idea what it's about and I'm not sure I want to know. Above is what he apparently looks like in this movie. Why, I have no idea.

Imagine how long it took the makeup people to cover him in all that hair! Can you say disturbing?

Twirly Girl

2009-06-01T12:30:00.001-04:00

The Peanut at the flower girl dress shop, May, 31, 2009.

President Obama, the Peanut, and More than 5 Million Others

2009-05-29T15:08:00.005-04:00

Multiracial Americans Become Fastest-Growing U.S. Group

WASHINGTON (AP)— Multiracial Americans have become the fastest growing demographic group, wielding an impact on minority growth that challenges traditional notions of race.

The number of multiracial people rose 3.4 percent last year to about 5.2 million, according to the latest census estimates. First given the option in 2000, Americans who check more than one box for race on census surveys have jumped by 33 percent and now make up 5 percent of the minority population _ with millions more believed to be uncounted.

"Multiracial unions have been happening for a very long time, but we are only now really coming to terms with saying it's OK," said Carolyn Liebler, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota who specializes in family, race and ethnicity.

More than half of the multiracial population was younger than 20 years old, a reflection of declining social stigma as interracial marriages became less taboo.

Interracial marriages increased threefold to 4.3 million since 2000, when Alabama became the last state to lift its unenforceable ban on interracial marriages. (The Supreme Court barred race-based restrictions on marriage in 1967.) About 1 in 13 marriages are mixed race, with the most prevalent being white-Hispanic, white-American Indian and white-Asian.

A Failure to Multitask

2009-05-29T12:28:00.004-04:00

I've decided that this blog is a metaphor for my life. With, as a conservative estimate, dozens of things I could comment on here each day (between the personal and the political) I am constantly engaged in an insufficiently-productive process of trying to figure out how to prioritize and multitask. I can't do 19 things at once, yet there are at least 19 things at once that vie for my attention. There are a multitude of talented bloggers I'd like to read, online conversations I desperately want to join, but until somebody invents a way to circumvent time and physics (Mr. Fraulein is working on it; MIT graduates enjoy this kind of challenge) many of these goals will remain unaccomplished.

Everyone who juggles a full-time job and children yet has other interests they want to pursue in life knows exactly what I'm talking about. You consider it a good day when you manage to sneak in one 10-minute conversation with your significant other, in between bites of a too-rushed dinner, over the shouts of a four-year-old who's simultaneously dropping food on the floor, jumping up and down like a pogo stick, and doing her damndest to keep you from finishing a coherent thought. And this is after you get home from what in all likelihood is a typically frustrating day at work, with, for many of us, the threat of layoffs lingering in the air like poison gas. You try to keep moving, juggling more projects than you ever thought possible, just to prove your worthiness for the job you've already got.

Related to this is my recent conclusion that our modern society's incessant demand for us to work what feels like a million hours a week and do dozens of things at once is what's robbed us of a sense of community. I am 40 years old, and the suburban, middle-class world I grew up in, where many (though by no means all) moms had the luxury of staying home part of the time to deal with the kids and the house and the doctor's appointments, etc., is gone. Literally gone.

When I was a kid--even by the time I was in high school--it was still commonplace for people to host huge gatherings of family, neighbors and other friends most weekends. Now I can't remember even a casual dinner party with a couple of friends that didn't involve weeks of e-mail discussion to coordinate. I haven't seen the members of my extended family in one place in many, many years, because they are scattered from New Jersey to California and numerous places in between. The aunts, uncles, cousins and associated other characters who gathered around my parents' dining table and whose houses we frequented when I was a kid feel scattered to the wind now. This bothers me.

Maybe it's because I'm Italian. It isn't much of a stretch to assert that my people are happiest surrounded by loved ones of all ages, gathered around the table discussing everything under the sun. Arguing vociferously over coffee and dessert. My earliest memories, and some of my most vibrant, are of such gatherings. The volume was only exceeded by the passion with which this aunt, that neighbor's brother-in-law--the one who owns the butcher shop, and dropped by unexpectedly with some outstanding sausages and a bottle of red wine--would make a point. Defend it.

Maybe it's because I'm an only child. The extended family was my family. Last week we gathered around my sister-in-law's table near Los Angeles, everyone from the 4-year-old Peanut, who was the youngest, to my father-in-law, who's 85. Actually there were two tables. One was the "kids' table," for the Peanut and several of her cousins, ranging in age from 12 to 21. They have barely ever seen her, these California cousins, since we don't make the big trip west more than once a year. But they accepted her gifts of pre-school drawings and they played hide-and-seek with her, and she loved them for it. It reminded me of my family gatherings of a long time ago.

This is a highly unfashionable sentiment, but I kind of miss those days. If you asked my mother circa, say, 1980, about "multitasking," she would have defined it as getting me to do my homework while making sure the cats were fed, the house cleaned, the laundry done, and dinner underway. Which I think is more than enough for one day for most people. She didn't have to do all that while working full-time in a stressful environment and sitting fruitlessly in the car going to and from that job. There was still time for community back then.

Wouldn't it be nice if we somehow figured out a way to do meaningful, fulfilling paid work while still having enough time to enjoy our families, friends and neighbors?

This Ain't Your Ordinary Bush Military Tribunal

2009-05-18T15:00:00.001-04:00

by Broadway Carl

Let's not get our panties all in a bunch. There's been a lot of talk about how the Obama administration is just a continuation of the Bush years, especially this last week with the reversal on releasing more detainee abuse photos (which I addressed earlier in the week) and now with President Obama's decision to continue military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees. But let's get one thing straight: Dubya and Dick aren't running things anymore.

Robert Gibbs: "...first and foremost the President of the United States is going to do what he believes is in the best security interests of the people of the United States.

I think military commissions have a long tradition in the United States. The President spoke in 2006 in his belief that military courts and commissions had a role to play in the detainees that were at Guantanamo Bay, but also spoke forcefully about the notion that the system that had been first set up and ruled unconstitutional, and then passed legislatively and largely ruled unconstitutional again by the Supreme Court, wasn’t working. And I think the best way to understand why it wasn’t working -- and when I say "wasn’t working," I mean, wasn’t working in seeking swift and certain justice for families of victims as well as the American people because in about eight years -- a little less than eight years’ time -- exactly three cases had gone through military commissions.

The President, as I said, during the debate said that properly structured military commissions had a role to play. The changes that he is seeking he believes will ensure the protections that are necessary for these to be conducted in order to reach that certain justice as well as live up to our values.

...statements that have been obtained from detainees using cruel, inhumane, and degrading interrogation methods will no longer be admitted as evidence at trial.

Second, the use of hearsay will be limited so that the burden will no longer be on the party who objects to hearsay to disprove its reliability.

Third, the accused will have greater latitude in selecting their counsel.

Fourth, basic protections will be provided for those who refuse to testify.

And fifth, military commission judges may establish the jurisdiction of their own courts.

Again, if you look back through the arc of this process beginning back in 2001 and 2002 through Supreme Court making decisions in 2005, moving this to the venue of Congress in 2006, and the legislation that the President supported that came out of the Senate Armed Services Committee with strong bipartisan support -- four Republican senators joining all the Democrats involved -- in passing legislation that the President believes met the goals of instituting swift and certain justice and the protections adequate enough to be reviewed by courts, and believes so."

Stating that this is simply a continuation of the Bush policies without noting the changes is being disingenuous.

Another Reason Not To Visit Texas

2009-05-14T23:34:00.001-04:00

The Great Zombie Fire Ant Plague of 2009. I howled during this entire segment.

I ♥ Rachel.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Politics and Pragmatism

2009-05-14T23:27:00.002-04:00

by Broadway Carl

Yesterday was a rough day for me*. My usual weekend off (Mondays and Tuesdays) was negated due to special events at the theatre and an extra maintenance call... so no days off. I was on my eighth of twelve straight days of work which can tend to leave some people tired and moody, so it was a major disappointment to me when I learned that President Obama had decided to reverse his decision and attempt to block the release of the latest detainee abuse photos in a Pentagon case, in which the Pentagon had sided with the ACLU and agreed to release the photos.

The shoot from the hip response would rightly be, "So much for transparency" and that's what I've been hearing from friends, colleagues and what little I've read on the blogosphere. But since I didn't have constant access to The Internets™ yesterday, I was able to formulate some of my own theories on why the President chose to take this action. I've read his statement but haven't heard others' speculation, so forgive me if I'm repeating what has already been said.

Here is President Obama's statement:

Now, let me also say a few words about an issue that I know you asked Robert Gibbs about quite a bit today, and that’s my decision to argue against the release of additional detainee photos.

Understand these photos are associated with closed investigations of the alleged abuse of detainees in our ongoing war effort. And I want to emphasize that these photos that were requested in this case are not particularly sensational, especially when compared to the painful images that we remember from Abu Ghraib. But they do represent conduct that did not conform with the Army Manual; that’s precisely why they were investigated and, I might add, investigated long before I took office. And, where appropriate, sanctions have been applied.

In other words, this is not a situation in which the Pentagon has concealed or sought to justify inappropriate action. Rather, it has gone through the appropriate and regular processes. And the individuals who were involved have been identified, and appropriate actions have been taken.

It’s therefore my belief that the publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals. In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.

Moreover, I fear the publication of these photos may only have a chilling effect on future investigations of detainee abuse.

And, obviously, the thing that is most important in my mind is making sure that we are abiding by the Army Manual and that we are swiftly investigating any -- any instances in which individuals have not acted appropriately and that they are appropriately sanctioned. That’s my aim, and I do not believe that the release of these photos at this time would further that goal.

Now, let me be clear: I am concerned about how the release of these photos would be -- would impact on the safety of our troops. I have made it very clear to all who are within the chain of command, however, of the United States Armed Forces that the abuse of detainees in our custody is prohibited and will not be tolerated.

I have repeated that since I’ve been in office. Secretary Gates understands that. Admiral Mullen understands that. And that has been communicated across the chain of command.

Any abuse of detainees is unacceptable. It is against our values. It endangers our security. It will not be tolerated.

All right? Thank you very much, everybody.

Security

As much as I hate that he used the line, "the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger," because it echos what we've heard before from the previous administration, the fact remains that we cannot disprove that statement. It is his opinion, most likely an informed opinion especially after reviewing the photos, that they could be used as a further recruiting tool for extremists and cause inflammatory actions against our troops. I'm not certain about this theory and I'm not happy about it either. But it can't be ruled out. Most of us agree that our continued presence in the Middle East and our imprisonment of detainees without habeas corpus and our treatment of them under the Bush regime has been a recruitment tool for Al-Qaeda. Why not more photos of abuse?

Distractions

Nothing that the President does can be looked at in a vacuum. Every word he utters, every decision he makes has repercussions. Currently, there are congressional hearings on the use of torture techniques and their effectiveness, or lack of, going on. Just yesterday, FBI interrogator Ali Soufan was before a Senate hearing on the use of "harsh interrogation" techniques and how those techniques actually hindered intelligence gathering in his opinion. I think I'd rather watch the 24/7 news cable talking heads discuss that Senate hearing than get inundated with a slide show presentation of five or six released photos in a continuous loop every 15 minutes on MSNBC. Is this part of President Obama's thinking? That the release of these photos would only serve as yet another distraction rather than trying to get at the heart of the matter in terms of torture? I don't know, and neither does anyone else outside the walls of the West Wing.

Apathy

What's the first image that pops into your mind the second you hear "photos of Abu Ghraib"? I think of two particular photos. The hooded man standing on a crate with electrodes on his hands and naked pyramids. That's what it's been reduced to in my mind. So I ask myself what good would it do to release these new photos? You would think that the actions of Abu Ghraib would have been enough for anyone to protest in the streets with pitchforks and torches, but the "outrage" lasted a month, maybe two, and after Donald Rumsfeld attributed it to "a few bad apples," it has been forgotten by the general public. I have no reason to doubt the President when he says, "these photos that were requested in this case are not particularly sensational, especially when compared to the painful images that we remember from Abu Ghraib." We know abuse happened. We know there are factions in the government trying to cover it up. Why do we need to see the photos? Not only would it serve as a distraction to "future investigations of detainee abuse" but would anyone really care?

Priorities

This is the theory I'm going with. Think about the position in which President Obama finds himself. He takes office in the worst recession (bordering on depression) since the Great Depression. We are fighting a war on two fronts. Job losses mount to the tune of 500,000 to 650,000 per month. The stock market declined 6,000 points in a year before his first day in office. Record home foreclosures are creating homelessness and making tent cities commonplace. The banking industry is tanking and he must take over a $700 billion bailout by the Bush administration. The US auto industry is tanking and he must take over a $17 billion bailout by the Bush administration. 48 million Americans have no health insurance.

To stop the bleeding, President Obama begins a Recovery plan to infuse $787 billion into the country to create jobs, including the largest middle class tax cut in US history, and needs all the support he can muster to reform the health insurance industry. Is this the best time to release these photos? It's very possible that they will be released by the courts anyway, so why should we expect President Obama to rock the boat while he's standing on the bow?

More and more details are coming out daily regarding the torture memos and Dick Cheney's deeper involvement than originally thought. Congressional hearings and investigations are coming to a head. I'm just a little too young to remember Watergate first hand, but I do know that investigative reporting and the hearings during Watergate took a long time to get the truth out. My prediction is that within 18 months, the current snowball of scandal will turn into an avalanche. There will be indictments, prosecutions and jail time for some of the big wigs that were involved in Torturegate, as well as the possibility of war crimes committed for starting a war on intentionally false pretenses. That all takes time.

I'm going to expect President Obama to prioritize and try and get something done for the near future. There will be enough independent investigation without Obama looking like he's out for partisan blood. The last thing we need is self sabotage by initializing investigations that will be misconstrued as partisan witch hunts which can derail his agenda by Day 114. I have to give him that time. I voted for change, but I'm realistic enough to know that change doesn't happen overnight... or over 114 nights.
___________________________
* My day concluded with the Mets losing an 8-7 game in 12 innings, the Senate voting against the Credit Card bill and my softball game being rained out this morning. *Sigh*

Cross-posted on Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania

Off to La-La Land

2009-05-14T22:11:00.002-04:00

Hopefully one day soon work will take a break from kicking my ass so I can pay a bit more attention to this blog! I have a doozie of a post I need to write on kindergarten early-entry chaos in my Boston-area suburb. Suffice it to say that with the Peanut being but four weeks too young to make the cutoff, I kind of figured they'd cut us a break and admit her this year, but no dice. Exact quote from the school district wonk: "We only take the most exceptional children." The Peanut is apparently not "exceptional" enough for these people, and so now we have to jump through a million hoops to figure out where she goes for kindergarten--AND she might have to do a kindergarten year twice. I really wish with every fiber of my being that day care could just go on forever. Our experience with public school so far has been frustrating beyond belief.

But the full story of this madness will have to wait until after our trip to sunny L.A. I'm leaving things in Broadway Carl's very capable hands for the moment.

Here Comes The Fauxtrage

2009-05-12T23:10:00.002-04:00

by Broadway Carl

It seemed pretty quiet Sunday, the day after President Obama's first White House Correspondents' Dinner. What with comedienne Wanda Sykes joking at the expense of the Almighty Rush Limbaugh, leader of the Republican Party and Hutt crime lord, I thought there would be more initial fallout on Sunday. But, it was Sunday after all and Mother's Day to boot, so the blogosphere, although making occasional mention of Sykes comparing Rush to a terrorist, calling him a traitor and hoping he'd have kidney failure, was relatively subdued regarding this matter. After all, the wingnuts rest on the seventh day.

Here's the exact quote:

"Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails," Sykes said. "So you're saying, 'I hope America fails', you're, like, 'I don't care about people losing their homes, their jobs, our soldiers in Iraq'. He just wants the country to fail. To me, that's treason. He's not saying anything differently than what Osama bin Laden is saying. You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight."

Sykes then said, "Rush Limbaugh, I hope the country fails, I hope his kidneys fail, how about that? He needs a good waterboarding, that's what he needs."

Well it's Monday and the the fauxtrage* is now in full swing. Here is Joe Klein calling the whole notion that this was an affront to humanity ridiculous and calling bullshit on the Washington Times' Amanda Carpenter who named certain "inappropriate" jokes.

Good for Joe Klein to point out that it wasn't like Sykes was talking about Mother Teresa. She was dishing it back to a self-centered, self-important sonofabitch who routinely goes over the line on a daily basis, whether it be making fun of Parkinson's patients or suggesting that the only reason people voted for Obama, including Colin Powell, is because of his race.

What is wrong with these people? Where was the outrage during the 2004 WHCD when George W. Bush showed a slide show of himself searching under sofa cushions in the Oval Office looking for weapons of mass destruction while US soldiers and Iraqi civilians were dying by the thousands in the Middle East? What do they expect? It's a night of poking fun and hiring a comic that will probably be offensive to someone somewhere. If they want a fucking cotillion, then do that and cancel the fucking dinner.

As far as Limbaugh is concerned, that motherfucker can't take a debate in person. When have you ever seen him go head to head with someone of a different ideology? Answer: Never. He briefly had a television show and couldn't handle his own audience. He sits behind his desk spewing shit on a daily basis and has been for the last 20 years because he knows that as long as he has the power to cut off someone's microphone, there's no need to have an actual conversation with someone with a difference of opinion, someone who'll dissect his outrageous lies and give him the bitchslap of a lifetime - one that he's deserved for so very long.

I was about to say that once Limbaugh apologizes to Michael J. Fox for the horrendous mockery of his illness, I'll consider that he get an apology. But the truth is, what Wanda Sykes dished out to Rush Limbaugh last Saturday night doesn't even begin to make up for his 20 years of disgusting behavior. He deserved that and lots more.

Luckily for the Democrats, they don't have to answer to and grovel at the feet of Rush Limbaugh and apologize for disagreeing with him, belittling his status in the Republican Party or yes, even hoping his kidneys fail.

Stay tuned for more fauxtrage.
_____________________________
* Thanks for Armadillo Joe for introducing me to the word "fauxtrage."

UPDATE (4:10pm): Drudge leads the way not only in fauxtrage, but in picking a photo of President Obama laughing and pointing, inferring that moment to the Limbaugh-kidney joke.

4:40pm How soon before Bill Bennett apologizes to Rush Limbaugh for calling him an "entertainer"?

5/12/09 12:20am Malkin Fauxtrage

Adam Serwer: One word. Sweet.

Wanda Sykes' comedy routine at the White House Correspondent's Dinner was really offensive. In it, Sykes suggested that conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is supported by Hamas, and that Islamists are "constantly issuing Limbaugh talking points." She joked about terrorists supporting conservatives in general, suggesting that recent violent events in Iraq are attempts by terrorists to swing the upcoming midterm elections in favor of Republicans.

Then she got really personal. She joked that Limbaugh was a racist who doesn't want black people to "escap[e] the underclass." She accused him of being responsible for killing "a million babies a year," and aired her friend's theory that Limbaugh himself was a terrorist attack," a followup to 9/11. She also, most disgustingly, said that if conservatives kept apologizing to Limbaugh, they'd eventually contract "anal poisoning." She wondered when Republicans would finally stop "bending over and grabbing their ankles" for Limbaugh, and finally concluded that Limbaugh was just a "bad guy."

Oh wait. Wanda Sykes didn't say any of these things. These are things Rush Limbaugh has said about Obama or other Democrats in the past year, the kind of statements few reporters found offensive enough to write about, despite the fact that most of them were said with the utmost seriousness. And while Sykes is a mere comedian whose influence on the Democratic Party is negligible, Limbaugh's influence in the party is so great that Republican leaders can't even criticize him without having to issue apologies after the fact.

Code Words - Empathy & Activist

2009-05-06T15:57:00.000-04:00

by Broadway Carl

There has been nonstop cable chatter regarding President Obama's mention of searching for someone with "empathy" to replace Justice Souter on the Supreme Court. I've been hearing it everywhere, including MSNBC, that supposed "liberal," in-the-tank-for-Obama network. There are those who are opposed to what they perceive will be a choice by Obama to lean towards an "activist" judge because his preference is to choose someone who may have some street cred instead of blue blood.

Orrin Hatch: "It's a matter of great concern, if he's saying that he wants to pick people who will take sides. He's also said that a judge has to be a person of empathy -- what does that mean? Usually that's a code word for an activist judge.

...But he also said that, that, he's going to select judges on the basis of their personal politics, their personal feelings, their personal preferences," Hatch said, "Now, you know those are all code words for an activist judge who's going to be partisan on the bench."

Now, it seems to me that the Grand Opposition Party using the term "activist judge" is just code for pro-choice judge. It may also mean a non-white non-male, but that's for another post. But what did President Obama actually say? (1:56)

President Obama: "I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with peoples' hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes. I will seek somebody who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our Constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process and the appropriate limit of the judicial role. I will seek somebody who shares my respect for the Constitutional values on which this nation was founded..."

It's interesting to see the GOP oppose someone who hasn't even been named yet. But they're not the Party of No.

The GOP Communications Gold Standard

2009-05-04T18:16:00.001-04:00

by Broadway Carl

...Former White House press secretary Dana Perino, former Bush counselor Ed Gillespie and former White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto are among those set to provide words of wisdom to House Republican press secretaries at their annual workshop this Friday.

GOP House Conference Communications Director Matt Lloyd said Perino, Gillespie and Fratto represented “the gold standard for Republican communications professionals” and were obvious choices to advise the party’s messengers.

So, to turn the page and recover from the Bush administration, they're looking for advice from the "gold standard" of communication officials and turning to... the Bush administration.

I just wanted to remind everyone of these stellar communicators.

Dana Perino:

...Appearing on National Public Radio's light-hearted quiz show "Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell Me," which aired over the weekend, Perino got into the spirit of things and told a story about herself that she had previously shared only in private: During a White House briefing, a reporter referred to the Cuban Missile Crisis -- and she didn't know what it was.

"I was panicked a bit because I really don't know about . . . the Cuban Missile Crisis," said Perino, who at 35 was born about a decade after the 1962 U.S.-Soviet nuclear showdown. "It had to do with Cuba and missiles, I'm pretty sure."

So she consulted her best source. "I came home and I asked my husband," she recalled. "I said, 'Wasn't that like the Bay of Pigs thing?' And he said, 'Oh, Dana.'

She is so on top of things. How did she possibly figure out that the "Cuban Missile Crisis" had something to do with Cuba and missiles? Soooo smart, that Dana Perino.

Tony Fratto:

"That's true. No one could have anticipated [flying 767's into buildings on 9/11], or very few people."

Well, yeah... especially if you disregard a Presidential Daily Brief as far back as December of 1998 titled, "Bin Laden preparing to hijack U.S. aircraft and other attacks" for purposes of trading hostages for imprisoned terrorists that conspired in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

And of course the August 6th, 2001 PDB titled, "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in US" that most likely wasn't read.

And the FAA report that "reviewed dozens of intelligence reports that warned about Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, some of which specifically discussed airline hijackings and suicide operations, according to a previously undisclosed report from the 9/11 commission." But other than that, no one could have anticipated planes being used as weapons.

So go at it, GOP! Seek advice from these beacons of the Bush administration; the same administration that led you to the place you currently reside. Hint: if you use a compass and remember that the sun rises in the east, you may find your way out of the wilderness sometime.

A tale of three little girls

2009-04-29T15:02:00.004-04:00

We always tell the Peanut she has beautiful, chocolate-colored eyes (because this is their exact color -- just like the very darkest chocolate). Yesterday morning as I stood in the bathroom brushing my teeth, she stood beside me, looking in the mirror.

"I love my chocolate eyes. They're awesome!" she said. She was so clearly excited about her own beauty, which makes me very happy, to say the least.

I thought of this later in the day when I overheard the following exchange between a man and a woman:

Woman: Oh, I see your friend dropped off those pictures of your daughters from last Halloween.

Man: Yeah. They're ugly, ugly children, aren't they?

It was his idea of a joke. There are some things in life I will never understand, and this is one of them.

Psyched for "The Soloist"

2009-04-24T13:10:00.005-04:00

As I've mentioned before, I only get excited about new movies a couple of times a year, since Hollywood seems to pump out so much crap. But I can't wait to see "The Soloist," partly because Robert Downey, Jr. is in it, and as far as I'm concerned he's achieved "I'd buy a movie ticket to watch him read the phone book" status. But I'm also intrigued by the story of a journalist writing about a homeless schizophrenic person, because when I was a newspaper reporter, I once got a very similar story.

It was the mid-1990s and I was covering Morristown, N.J., for a mid-sized daily newspaper. The beat reporter's job involves a lot of walking around--going from the firehouses to the mayor's office to the police stations to local stores and restaurants, trying to ferret out interesting nuggets of information. On my jaunts through Morristown, I used to see the same woman over and over again. You couldn't help but notice her, as all of her visible skin--her face, neck, arms and hands--was covered in what looked like either dark theatrical makeup or shoe polish. Her close-cropped hair was usually covered in the same substance.

At first it wasn't clear what she was up to, as she appeared to be white. Was this performance art, some misguided attempt to shock and alarm by parading the town in blackface? I started asking questions. People shrugged their shoulders. "That's Marianne," they'd say. "This is just what she does." And then: "She lives in the park, you know." And not only that, but: "Look at her close up and you'll see how pretty she is. She used to be a model."

Marianne was schizophrenic, according to her family. The local cops kept an eye on her; restaurant owners sometimes gave her food. Occasionally she would walk, straight as an arrow, down the yellow lines in the middle of the traffic. Her relatives would bring her warm clothes. But she was suspicious of the homeless shelters. When I attempted to interview her, it didn't go too well. Her answers didn't make a lot of sense. Except for when she said: "Why do you want to write about me? There's nothing special about me."

Over the years I've often wondered whatever happened to her. This movie should be an interesting look at a journalist interacting with a person like Marianne; I hope it does the ailing newspaper business justice.

And on a related note: Why does every journalist ever portrayed in the movies have to look like such a schlub?

DHS Report Nothing New

2009-04-22T12:56:00.000-04:00

by Broadway Carl

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean no one's out to get you. But in this case being a paranoid conservative means you should think everyone is out to get you. Even when no one is.

And thus the noise from conservatives is painfully loud at the Department of Homeland Security report entitled, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" because for conservatives, it's all about them.

This has become instant fodder for Republicans and conservatives as an attack on them. Michelle Malkin calls it an "Obama DHS hit job" even though it was the Bush administration that ordered the report before leaving office. Nevermind that there isn't one mention of "conservatives" or "Republicans" in the report. Nevermind that there was a DHS report on "Leftwing Extremists" released in January. This is just another excuse to cry foul.

There are mentions of "rightwing extremists, including militias and white supremacists" but for the life of me, I don't have the first clue as to why conservatives and Republicans would define themselves as "rightwingers" and take offense. Do they not believe that there are neo-Nazi hate groups or white supremacy groups like the KKK in existence? Why would they be so quick to assume that rightwing extremists = conservative?

Amazingly, Shepard Smith of Fox News blew their conspiracy theories out of the water.

...at the end of last year, prior to the inauguration, the Department of Homeland Security under the Bush administration was sounding the alarm about the potential for right-wing groups to act, specifically because of the economy, and also because America was going to have its first African-American president.

...we were able to obtain [a leftwing extremist] bulletin as well. It came out in January, and... didn't get the same attention. It looked specifically at groups like the Earth Liberation Front, or ELF, groups that in the opinion of Homeland Security, in the future will try and attack economic targets and specifically use cyber-attacks, because they see that is sympatico, or in concert with some of their other beliefs.

So there are two assessments. The one on the left, the one on the right is the one that's getting the attention because of the leak.

... I would point out that both of these assessments, Shep, were commissioned under the Bush administration. It takes some time to do them. They only came out after he left office.

An Ass Kicking of Epic Proportions

2009-04-22T12:52:00.000-04:00

by Broadway Carl

Rachel Maddow usually gets her shit straight. And it seems that if you try to correct her to save face, she'll gladly check to see if she was mistaken. If she sees she wasn't mistaken, then you are in deep shit as Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) found out last night. It's sort of like poking a hornet's nest or a crime suspect making a cop run after them. Burr got his ass kicked but good. The fun starts at 1:20.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Mom, if you don't get your act together, I'm taking over this blog

2009-04-17T10:14:00.002-04:00

You have been warned!

-- The Peanut

President Obama Passed The Test, Douchebags

2009-04-14T13:04:00.001-04:00

by Broadway Carl

Oh, that sorry, sorry GOP. Taking a tragic circumstance like the kidnapping of a cargo ship captain by pirates and turning it into a political strategy to discredit the Obama administration and his decision making is now the new low point for this excuse for a political party.

And all the questioning was rather ridiculous. Glenn Beck (what a surprise) was his usual smirky, sarcastic self while, as Bob Cesca notes, criticizing the Navy... you know, not supporting the troops.

Newt Gingrich who, unless I am mistaken, is not currently involved in any official capacity as an elected politician and therefore not privy to intelligence (of any kind), assumes that President Obama is frozen, the administration is in a panic, and not doing anything in the hopes that someone else will take care of the situation so they won't have to make hard decisions.

Talking heads on Fox News wonder why Obama, "the most powerful man in the world" isn't publicly commenting on the situation in real time. Maybe because he's actually doing something in the back rooms instead of added face time on TV pretending to do something.

"The US does not negotiate with terrorists. Are pirates somehow different?" ...Uh, yeah. They're not terrorists. They're pirates. Terrorists have political objectives. Pirates, or at least these Somali pirates have never, to my knowledge, demanded anything but ransom.

The most dismal and disgusting part of all these sad sacks questioning and doubting is that it seems they have no regard for the safety of the hostage. It seems that since we didn't blow the lifeboat out of the water within the first couple of hours, that translated as President Obama trying not to make a hard decision. Captain Phillips? Eh, collateral damage. Why isn't this over yet?

Well, I would say that if this was a "test" for President Obama, he passed - and that's got to stick in the craw of the Newt Gingriches and the Glenn Becks of the world. To his credit, Rush Limbaugh has praised the President for the rescue effort. Yes, he patted himself on the back in the process, but he congratulated the President nonetheless. I'm awaiting Beck's and Gingrich's praise with bated breath.

ADDING... Hannity fail! I'm expecting a lot more of this.

Overwhelmed

2009-04-14T12:39:00.002-04:00

If anyone is still reading this, just wanted to say thanks for continuing to check in. Work and life craziness have made it all but impossible for me to keep up with this blog lately, which is a shame because as always, I feel like I have so much that I want to say about motherhood and work and friendship and politics. I think for the time being when I can manage to post on political issues, I'm going to do it over at my buddy Broadway Carl's place, as he has so kindly invited me to do, since the discussion is always a lively one there. Of course you'll still see Carl's contributions here too.

With any luck I will be able to get back to regularly scheduled posting soon.

Newt's Friggin' Lasers

2009-04-07T10:36:00.002-04:00

by Broadway Carl

Can you throw Newt a friggin' bone here?

Newt Gingrich has stated that if it were up to him, he would have done everything possible to prevent North Korea's rocket launch failure this past week. Even by using friggin' lasers. Well, thank Jebus it wasn't up to him. A war on three fronts? Good thinking, Newt.

Now some are trying to say that Newt's reference to "lasers" was to laser-guided missiles. To which I call bullshit. If you watch the original video in the VanSusteren interview, Gingrich first talks about an "electromagnetic pulse attack." Not the possibility of it mind you, just the scenario of it set in book that a friend of his wrote. Seriously. A book plug. He's not mentioning some scientific study on the effects of EMP which have been around since the 1960s by the way, he's mentioning what I assume to be a Doomsday book about what would happen to us in such a case.

At the end of the interview Gingrich does say that he would use any means necessary to stop the launch test, "either a small team go in, or a way to deliver either a laser or another kind of device..." If he's talking about laser-guided missiles, why didn't he just say so?

Either Gingrich isn't using his words carefully enough or he knows exactly what kind of audience he's speaking to. When talking about "lasers," not missiles, it's a lot easier to get your idea to stick if you're not talking about shooting missiles pre-emptively into another country. That sounds bad. But lasers? Friggin' awesome!

Finally, it's odd to me that this would be a feasible idea to the same people that were shocked, SHOCK I TELL YOU!, at the use of drones on terrorist camps in Pakistani territory. Is Newt's idea okay for North Korea's failure of a satellite launch but not okay for specific terrorist training camp targets in the ideology formerly known as the "War on Terror"?

On the other hand, I hear these lasers are relatively inexpensive. One. Million. Dollars.

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

This Could Be The Start of Something Big

2009-03-29T23:27:00.001-04:00

By Broadway Carl

Since the stalking of Think Progress' Amanda Terkel by the Bill O'Reilly Goon Squad, the website has started a campaign to let advertisers who use his show to peddle their wears know of O'Reilly's stalking tactics that make paparazzi look like upstanding citizens. Today, UPS has responded by ceasing to advertise during The O'Reilly Factor.

Thank you for sending an e-mail expressing concern about UPS advertising during the Bill O’Reilly show on FOX News. We do consider such comments as we review ad placement decisions which involve a variety of news, entertainment and sports programming. At this time, we have no plans to continue advertising during this show.

To add your name to e-mails being sent to advertisers to voice opposition of O'Reilly's stalking methods instead of just having them appear on his show for an honest discourse, as honest as O'Reilly can be anyway, head to the website and sign the petition.

UPDATE: It looks like Chrysler may be following suit.

Another in an ongoing series... my periodic plea for comments

2009-03-29T18:53:00.003-04:00

I ask this every so often and it usually garners no response, but I'd like to try again. If you're reading this, whoever you are, feel free to comment.

Thank you!!

God is hiding his face

2009-03-29T18:35:00.002-04:00

I find it a lot harder to believe in God than it used to be, the older I get and the more I read about things like this:

Dad jailed for setting baby ablaze
By Herald wire services
Thursday, March 12, 2009

A Dorchester man was sentenced to 50 years in jail for dousing his 14-month-old daughter with gasoline and setting her ablaze, permanently disfiguring the girl’s head, face and arms, prosecutors said.

Dung Van Tran, 38, was also convicted of burning her 66-year-old babysitter, and for attacking a man who tried to extinguish his daughter’s upper body in January 2007.

and, today, this:

Brother kills two sisters in Milton, police save the third
By Associated Press Sunday, March 29, 2009

MILTON - A man on a rampage fatally stabbed his 17-year-old sister, decapitated his 5-year-old sister in front of a police officer and then headed toward his 9-year-old sister with a knife in his hand before officers shot him amid what their chief described as "a killing field."

There was no clear motive for the events that unfolded Saturday in a tony Boston suburb that also is home to Gov. Deval Patrick. But there was no doubt at the carnage wrought by 23-year-old Kerby Revelus against his three sisters in the two-family home they shared with their parents and grandmother.

Bianca was killed as a cake for her fifth birthday sat on the kitchen table.

May there be a heaven for those departed girls, and a hell for Kerby Revelus and Dung Van Tran. But I wonder, which I never used to do.

Required reading

2009-03-27T12:47:00.005-04:00

Here are some lovely, heartfelt posts, from women I deeply admire as people, writers and mothers...

Girl's Gone Child: The Pre Half-Birthday World

I cleaned out her drawers today. Plucked dresses from their sleeves and onesies from their stains and formerly white socks I accidentally dyed purple. And she watched me from the bed, her feet in her hands, gurgling with her tide pool sounds.

Antique Mommy: And Then I Bought Myself a Rubber Snake

After our picnic, I took him to Target to let him pick out a toy for no particular reason other than he’s been a really good and helpful boy lately. We’ve done some stringent expense cutting at our house since before Christmas and he has not once complained.

When we arrived in the toy department, a bin of rubber snakes caught his eye. For twenty minutes or more, he went through the entire nest of snakes, examining each one like a jeweler with a loop, looking for the most perfect and flawless of rubber snakes.

Rainy Day in May: Happy Birthday, Baby...

Just know, angel, as your eyes read this letter in your journal one day--that I love you ALWAYS. NO MATTER WHAT. Nothing changes this, ever. If the girl you are today is any indication of the woman you'll be at the end of these next ten years than I guess I have little to worry about.

Furloughed

2009-03-25T12:40:00.003-04:00

Ten years ago if you had predicted that today we'd be using the Internet to track (to varyingly obsessive degrees) our friends' every movement and life development, people would have thought you were crazy, yet here we are. Thanks to Facebook and Twitter, we're now all privy to everyone's changes in fortune live as they happen. I'm still trying to adjust to it, to be honest. (Hey, give me a break -- I'm 40. It's hard for people my age to get used to anything new.)

Thus I have learned that several good friends, veteran news reporters and photographers I’ve worked or gone to school with, are enduring unpaid furloughs in order to keep their jobs. In one case, a friend is on furlough from a part-time news reporting job. Meanwhile my formerly hellish metro-Boston commute has suddenly gotten a lot…lighter. Way fewer cars on the road in the overall Route 128 area, the last few months. Just as many of the major corporate layoffs kicked in.

While I’m amazingly thankful that my job, which is dependent on government contracts, is safe so far, the last few months I’ve felt like a hamster running on a tiny wheel. I’m really tired but not quite getting anywhere. Such is the nature of this place, and obviously being gainfully employed in this atmosphere, I have no right to complain. But right now what I would love is a furlough to someplace where I could park my ass on a beach chair for a week or so and read “In-Style” magazine while sipping a brightly-colored drink with an umbrella in it.

President Obama on 60 Minutes

2009-03-23T23:06:00.001-04:00

By Broadway Carl

Here's why I like my new President. He tells people the truth. He tells people what the need to hear although it may not necessarity be what they want to hear.

President Obama sat down with Steve Kroft for a 60 Minutes interview to take his message directly to the American people. Yes, it's edited by CBS, but an extended interview is better than a 30 second sound bite from the cable chatter news networks.

Here's a question: Do you think another President would be honest enough admit to a fear of further "systemic risks" when interviewer Steve Kroft asked? I don't. I'm also happy that he got a chance to reply to the criticism Dick Cheney has been spewing of late, and exactly the reasons Cheney and the Bush administration were wrong when it came to the detainees at Guantanamo.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Here is the more complete response (bold indicates comments left out of video above):

"I fundamentally disagree with Dick Cheney. Not surprisingly. You know, I think that Vice President Cheney has been at the head of a movement whose notion is somehow that we can't reconcile our core values, our Constitution, our belief that we don't torture, with our national security interests. I think he's drawing the wrong lesson from history," Obama said.

"The facts don't bear him out. I think he is, that attitude, that philosophy has done incredible damage to our image and position in the world. I mean, the fact of the matter is after all these years how many convictions actually came out of Guantanamo? How many terrorists have actually been brought to justice under the philosophy that is being promoted by Vice President Cheney? It hasn't made us safer. What it has been is a great advertisement for anti-American sentiment. Which means that there is constant effective recruitment of Arab fighters and Muslim fighters against U.S. interests all around the world," he added.

"Some of it being organized by a few people who were released from Guantanamo," Kroft pointed out.

"Well, there is no doubt that we have not done a particularly effective job in sorting through who are truly dangerous individuals that we've got to make sure are not a threat to us, who are folks that we just swept up. The whole premise of Guantanamo promoted by Vice President Cheney was that somehow the American system of justice was not up to the task of dealing with these terrorists. I fundamentally disagree with that. Now, do these folks deserve Miranda rights? Do they deserve to be treated like a shoplifter down the block? Of course not," Obama said.

Asked what should be done with these people, Obama said, "Well, I think we're gonna have to figure out a mechanism to make sure that they not released and do us harm. But do so in a way that is consistent with both our traditions, sense of due process, international law. But this is the legacy that's been left behind. And, you know, I'm surprised that the vice president is eager to defend a legacy that was unsustainable. Let's assume that we didn't change these practices. How long are we gonna go? Are we gonna just keep on going until you know, the entire Muslim world and Arab world despises us? Do we think that's really gonna make us safer? I don't know a lot of thoughtful thinkers, liberal or conservative, who think that that was the right approach."

Of course, the only thing taken out of this interview by the right wing crazies today is that President Obama laughed and smiled through a couple of questions that were no laughing matter. Steve Kroft set them up for it, and the wingnuts swallowed it, hook, line and sinker.

"You're sitting here. And you are laughing. You are laughing about some of these problems. Are people gonna look at this and say, 'I mean, he's sitting there just making jokes about money.' How do you deal with, I mean, explain the…mood and your laughter," Kroft asked. "Are you punch drunk?"

"No, no. There's gotta be a little gallows humor to get you through the day," Obama explained. "You know, sometimes my team talks about the fact that if you had said to us a year ago that the least of my problems would be Iraq, which is still a pretty serious problem, I don't think anybody would have believed it. But we've got a lot on our plate. And a lot of difficult decisions that we're gonna have to make."

Steve Benen notes that this should be put in perspective, and if you did watch the interview, this is exactly the perspective that I drew.

About half-way through, Kroft brings up aid to the auto industry, and public opposition to additional government investment. The two share a laugh at the one-sided polling numbers, which led to Kroft's question about "laughing." As Steve M. explained, "[I]t's obvious -- the chuckling is mutual as they agree about the extraordinary unpopularity of bailing out the auto industry."

When you see reports today about the president laughing at economic hardship, keep this in mind.

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

Things I'll never get tired of watching

2009-03-23T12:45:00.008-04:00

NOTE: This was originally posted in April 2008. Now I have an update...

This weekend Mr. Fraulein and I were talking about movies and old TV shows that hold up well on repeated viewings. Some movies you see in the theater and think, well, that was OK but I don't need to ever see it again. Others, you know you just have to have for your own collection. There's something so comforting about relaxing in front of a movie or show you already know will make you howl with laughter, think about Important Issues, or both! So here is my list of movies and a TV episode I can happily watch a million times:

1. Office Space. Have you ever had a job that, as somebody in a Dilbert cartoon once said, made you "long for the sweet release of death"? The kind of job where, if you were offered the choice between working for those people again or being waterboarded by Dick Cheney, you'd take your chances with the waterboarding? If so, like me, you will never get tired of this movie.

2. Galaxy Quest. If there is anything funnier than Alan Rickman's pained facial expression pretty much every moment he's on screen, I'd like to see it. An absolute classic.

3. Monsters Inc. When Sully thinks he'll never see Boo again, it makes me cry every time. Cute, funny, and creative.

4. His Girl Friday. I first saw this movie in Journalism 101 my freshman year at Boston University, and thus a newspaper career was born. The scene where Hildy chases down her interview subject (across a couple of lanes of traffic) and then tackles him (while wearing 1940s-era heels) still gives me the chills. Just awesome.

5. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. If you were in high school in the 80s, you have to love this one. It perfectly captures the joy of skipping out of school.

6. Stranger than Fiction. Turns out Will Ferrell can act. I completely adore the idea behind the plot of this one: a guy hearing a disembodied voice narrating his every move. This movie is underappreciated and sheer genius.

7. Orlando. My favorite Virginia Woolf novel can't have been a picnic to adapt for the big screen. With this one they did what I assumed was impossible: bringing the humor and humanity of one of literature's most fascinating characters vividly to life on screen. Tilda Swinton comes close to my exact vision of this character, with the exception of her red hair (Orlando is very explicitly a brunette in the novel).

8. Ratatouille. We rented this for the Peanut without realizing it's really a Big People Movie, although little people can appreciate it too. Not just one of my favorite animated movies -- one of my favorite movies period. Hilarious and moving at the same time.

9. Cars. How do the animators get the cars to look like they have emotions? Just brilliant.

10. The Office, Season Two: the "Office Olympics"episode: Can't find a link to this particular one. It's the episode where Michael buys his condo and while he and Dwight are out at the closing, Jim and Pam organize the Dunder Mifflin Olympics, featuring such events as races around the building with full cups of coffee. Oh, and "Flonkerton." I have seen this over and over on DVD and it still makes me laugh almost to the point of losing bladder control. Rainn Wilson outdoes himself in this one, which is saying something since he's always hilarious.

11. (2009 update) Tropic Thunder, baby. All hail the mighty Downey, who can literally do no wrong: "I'm head-to-toe legitimate."

Obama's Tonight Show Appearance

2009-03-21T10:04:00.002-04:00

by Broadway Carl

I watched President Obama's Tonight Show appearance with Jay Leno last night and I think he did a pretty good job. Reaching out to a television audience that isn't fixated to 24 hour cable news chatter and most likely not addicted to MSNBC or CNN, President Obama did a great job explaining the AIG bailout mess in clear, succinct, layman's terms for everyone to understand.

His one gaffe came toward the end of the interview when Leno asked him about his bowling skills. As he said that he'd been practicing and he bowled a 129, Leno sarcastically congratulated the President and amid the laughter and applause, Obama responded, "It's like the Special Olympics or something."

I had watched Countdown with Keith Olbermann previously and Olbermann had mentioned this possibly cringe inducing gaffe, but when watching the Leno interview, I have to admit that had I not been listening for it, I probably would have missed it as it was said in the middle of laughter and applause. Let's get one thing straight: the audience did not laugh at Obama's "joke" as some news articles suggest. They were already laughing and applauding at Leno making fun of the President's latest bowling score when he blurted out the unfortunate line. Here is the video.

Now there is yet more outrage from the right wing "teabaggers" about this line. All I had to do was go to Fox News online to see it as the headline on the main page. But let's break it down.

There is no excuse for what President Obama said. It was a dumb thing to say, and the President should be held to a higher standard. But if we're honest with ourselves, I think almost everyone has used some form of wording to imply mental or physical handicap in such a way. "Retard" (pronounced ree-tard) has been used forever until it became politically incorrect, but I occasionally still hear some older people and comedians use it. I remember using it in the playground as a kid and all through high school. It was another version of "dumbass" as far as I was concerned until you peel away what it really implies. "Duh" evolved from the same place when you exaggerate its pronunciation. And EVERYONE uses "duh."

Ultimately, Obama's "Special Olympics" comment wasn't said in a malicious way and he was making fun of himself, so yes, the faux outrage is a bit much. I mean it wasn't as if he was flailing his arms about making fun of people afflicted with Parkinson's disease or anything.

Bill Burton: “The president made an off-hand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics,” White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said. “He thinks the Special Olympics is a wonderful program that gives an opportunity for people with disabilities from around the world.”

If we're honest with ourselves, in an unguarded moment, anyone could have said it.

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

UPDATE: President Obama apologized before anyone knew about it.

Even before the taped program aired, Obama had already issued an apology.

On Air Force One, Obama called the chairman of the Special Olympics, Tim Shriver, and apologized.

"He expressed his disappointment and he apologized in a way that I think was very moving. He expressed that he did not intend to humiliate this population," Shriver said Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

...The White House said Friday Obama realizes his quip was a "thoughtless joke."

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the president believes that the Special Olympics are "a triumph of the human spirit."

Gibbs added that Obama "understands that they deserve a lot better than the thoughtless joke that he made last night."

Market Down? Blame Obama - Market Up? Credit Bush

2009-03-16T15:58:00.001-04:00

by Broadway Carl

No... seriously.

Huff Po: Former White House spokesperson Dana Perino said on Sunday that the Bush administration, while presiding over the start of the current recession, nevertheless deserved some credit for the modest uptick that Wall Street experienced this past week.

Appearing on CSPAN's Washington Journal, the last of Bush's press secretaries said it was "not a secret" that the current economic mess started under her boss's watch. But, she cautioned, the public had yet to realize the full extent to which the past president's policies "alleviat[ed] the downturn."

..."You were just speaking earlier about the possibility that since we had a little bit of a better week on Wall Street does that spell a turnaround?" Perino said. "Can all the credit go specifically to President Obama? Well, I would say no. We will just have to take a while to let all of this settle down and let the policies that our administration and the new administration are trying to put in place have a chance to work."

******************

...Cheney agrees that Obama did indeed came into power amid very difficult economic circumstances.

But Cheney says he doesn't think the Bush administration can be blamed for creating the economic woes. Cheney says it's a global financial problem.

So is it an "Obama recession" or not? They can't claim that Obama's policies are sinking the economy if the Bush policies haven't been realized to their full extent.

And the Bush Legacy Project continues...

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

The Silence Was Deafening

2009-03-15T11:45:00.003-04:00

MSNBC Barely Touches Stewart vs. Cramer

By Broadway Carl

Every time someone uses the phrase,"liberal media," I look for the nearest brick wall on which to pound my head against.

In anticipation for the Jon Stewart/Jim Cramer knock-down-drag-out, Cramer took to the airwaves of the morning shows in his defense to attempt to rehabilitate his image and rebut his main critic with a specific message: "A comedian’s attacking me. Wow. He runs a variety show." I remember him saying it at least twice. He appeared on the Today show, got Joe Scarborough to shill for him on Morning Joe, and even pounded dough with Martha Stewart.

After the bloodletting, Joe Scarborough was touting an exclusive interview with Cramer on Morning Joke™ using Twitter.

I even got up at an ungodly hour to watch. No Cramer. Then this.

So much for Jim Cramer taking it like a man. Did he no-show or was he cancelled? Maybe the latter.

..."MSNBC producers were asked not to incorporate the Jim Cramer/Jon Stewart interview into their shows today." In fact, the only time it came up on MSNBC was during the White House briefing, when a member of the press corps asked Press Secretary Robert Gibbs if Pres. Obama watched. Gibbs wasn't sure if the president had, but Gibbs did. "I enjoyed it thoroughly," the Press Secretary said.

Keith... Keith... Why have you forsaken us?

The biggest disappointment in all of this is that the "liberal media" (namely MSNBC according to its detractors) took its marching orders with the culmination of Keith Olbermann completely ignoring what was probably one of the best journalism pieces this short year. Not. A. Word. And the silence was deafening.

Now we all know what side KO's bread is buttered on, but I think this qualified as a pretty big news story and if Olbermann doesn't think he can mention it because of a conflict of interest with separate NBC network entities, then he actually did no better than Jim Cramer.

Luckily, there is still one person on the MSNBC line up that kept her integrity.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Yes, Rachel Maddow framed the feature of this "Dust Up!" story in regards to what millions were interested in, in comparison to other newsworthy stories... but she mentioned it. She didn't ignore it like the rest of the day of MSNBC programming, from Morning Joke™ to hours of inane coverage of that missing Halleigh girl to even more news of Anna Nicole Smith two years after her death. That's what they talked about. But something that happened to one of their own in the NBC family? Mum's the word.

Chris Matthews, who got his own drubbing in my opinion with the Ari Fleischer crapfest, ignored it. David Shuster? Did he mention it? Apparently not, since it seems to be the talk of the intertubes that except for Maddow, the Cramer story was ignored (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Let's not forget that this isn't some little side story about television personality rumbles. This was the true outing of the lack of financial oversight and regulations that have put our government in an economic crisis that we all fear, an admission from a former hedge fund manager as to how the inside game is played because the SEC doesn't understand it, as well as a complete deficiency of investigative journalism on the part of the financial "reporters" on financial news networks like CNBC and Fox Business Channel. If they have doubts about a certain company, do they seriously expect a CEO of said company to come on their show for an interview and be honest?

As for Jim Cramer, he was the only other NBC regular that actually mentioned "what happened yesterday" on his Friday broadcast, proving to all that it was going to be "business as usual" on his show, bell, whistles, red buttoned sound effects, plastic sledgehammers and all. So much for the promise of change, Mr. Cramer. So much for the promise of change.

Excuse me while I go find a brick wall.

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

Pictures of Bevin: remembering my friend

2009-03-05T09:18:00.004-05:00

Originally posted March 8, 2005. Yesterday marked five years since Bevin left us.

Your image is everywhere in the photographic history of my life. There we are together in 1990 in Paris and in Ireland. There is your smile, beaming out at me across the years. There you are, happy, celebrating, on all those Christmases, Thanksgivings and Fourths of July our families spent together. And, heartbreakingly, there you are in my wedding album, in the background of the picture of my first dance with Mr. Fraulein. It’s been a year since you left us, and the hole in my heart is still there. I think it may be permanent. You never got to meet Little Peanut. I don’t even think you knew I was pregnant when you died.

It’s never going to go away, this feeling of wrongness. Something cracked in the universe when you left, and it’s never going to be put right. How I wanted to dance at your wedding. How I wanted to get to know your children. How very much I wanted you to be a part of my daughter’s life.

But now you’re elsewhere. I still think about you all the time. I just want to sit down and have a beer with you again. Someday, in another place, we will meet again and have that drink – I know that we will. In the meantime, I try to take some comfort in knowing that you are out there somewhere, a guardian angel for your niece and nephew, and hopefully for Little Peanut as well.

The Sky Is Falling! Blame Obama

2009-03-04T11:27:00.001-05:00

Guest posted by Broadway Carl

The Dow Jones average fell below 7000 for the first time since 1997. And it's Obama's fault. At least that's what the corporatists and right wing would like you to believe. The fast and furious mudslinging doesn't stop, nor will it ever in my opinion. Anything bad that happens? It Obama's fault.

Nevermind the fact that it's taken years to reach the financial tsunami, this perfect storm of a crisis. It's Obama's fault. Even the Rupert Murdoch owned Wall Street Journal, a financial paper that used to have some credibility has jumped on the "Blame Obama" bandwagon.

As 2009 opened, three weeks before Barack Obama took office, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9034 on January 2, its highest level since the autumn panic. Yesterday the Dow fell another 4.24% to 6763, for an overall decline of 25% in two months and to its lowest level since 1997. The dismaying message here is that President Obama's policies have become part of the economy's problem.

January 2nd? But President Obama didn't take office until January 20th, when the Dow closed at 7949. Kinda blows a whole in the numbers, doesn't it? So not only is it bad enough for the WSJ editors to fudge numbers to make it look worse since Obama took office, they are now saying he's had enough time to fix the economy. Why can't Obama close the deal?

But after five weeks in office, it’s become clear that Mr. Obama’s policies are slowing, if not stopping, what would otherwise be the normal process of economic recovery. From punishing business to squandering scarce national public resources, Team Obama is creating more uncertainty and less confidence — and thus a longer period of recession or subpar growth.

Yes, because after eight years of deregulation, ponzi schemes, major tax cuts for the wealthy causing a continuing disparity between the upper crust and the middle class, and during war time no less, it only takes five weeks to clean up the mess, doesn't it...

You'd think some serious ideas to help solve the problem instead of being the Party of No would behoove these people, but why should I continue to be surprised?

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

I'm not that old...

2009-03-04T10:22:00.002-05:00

The Peanut has been very into dinosaurs lately. We've gotten a bunch of books about dinosaurs from the library, and she is very interested in learning about how big they were and what they looked like and what they ate. She still can't quite wrap her mind around the idea that they lived millions of years ago, though. To a 4-year-old, "a long time ago" is relative.

Thus yesterday's Question of the Day: "Mommy, were the dinosaurs still around when you were a kid?"

Though I have learned from Facebook that I looked vastly younger in 1993, fortunately I am not THAT old.

Sorry for light posting

2009-03-03T11:46:00.002-05:00

Work combined with an unexpected snow day are kicking my ass right now. So for the few who are reading this, sorry for light posting at the moment. Hopefully regularly scheduled political rants/observations on the Peanut will resume shortly. Fortunately for me I have the talented Broadway Carl to pick up my slack! If you haven't yet checked out his blog, where I also contribute occasionally, please do so.

This Is The Mentality We're Dealing With

2009-02-28T13:28:00.004-05:00

Guest posted by Broadway Carl

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif.—Keyanus Price, an African American, said she was appalled when she received an e-mail from Mayor Dean Grose's personal account that showed a picture of the White House with a watermelon patch imposed as the White House garden.

...Grose's e-mail included the picture with a heading that read, "No Easter Egg hunt this year."

UPDATE:

AP: LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. (AP) — The mayor of a small Southern California city says he will resign after being criticized for sharing an e-mail picture depicting the White House lawn planted with watermelons under the title "No Easter egg hunt this year."

Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose issued a statement Thursday saying he is sorry and will step down as mayor at Monday's City Council meeting.

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl' Blog-O-Mania!

Culture Shock - Bachmann Strikes Again

2009-02-28T13:00:00.000-05:00

Guest posted by Broadway Carl

I seriously want to know how stupid the voters are in Michele Bachmann's Minnesota district. Is there some kind of chemical plant in the area poisoning their local water supply? How is it possible that one of the stupidest people on the planet is an elected representative of the United States?

You'd think that she would have disappeared after suggesting that some of her colleagues in Congress were anti-American because of their liberal views, but she actually won her re-election bid. Does her whole district reside under power lines?

Well, never let it be said that Bachmann isn't the conservative goose that lays the racist egg. After RNC Chairman Michael Steele spoke at CPAC yesterday, Bachmann let loose with some words of praise, but in an effort to follow Steele's call for appealing to "urban-suburban hip-hop settings," shouted out "You be da man! You be da man!" Come to think of it, is Bachmann related to the woman in the movie "Airplane" that was able to translate jive?

Steele responded with this.

Speaking of Michael "Bling-Bling" Steele, Stephen Colbert had a challenge for the RNC Chariman last night.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Stephen Challenges Michael Steele

Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor

Joke of the Day
Stand-Up Comedy

(H/T Bob Cesca)

Cross-posted on Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

Matt Lauer Calls Out Santeill On His White House Threat Claim

2009-02-28T12:23:00.003-05:00

Guest posted by Broadway Carl

Santelli: "Well, I'm not saying 'threatening'..."

Really? That's not what you said on G. Gordon Liddy's sorry excuse for a show.

Good for Matt Lauer to call out this moron. And Lauer didn't even mention the fact that the reason Robert Gibbs "called out" Santelli is because he was asked a question about Santelli's specific action!

Q On the foreclosure plan, aside from Rush Limbaugh and that cable rant on the floor of the Exchange, there really does appear to be some --

MR. GIBBS: Chuck's network? (Laughter.)

Q -- there really does appear to be some anger out there from people who just don't believe the President when he said that only people who acted responsibly are going to be helped here. How can you assure people that you're going to reward only people, only homeowners who acted responsibly?

Can this guy please fade back into obscurity now?

Cross-posted on Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

This just hasn't been the Republicans' week

2009-02-27T12:08:00.003-05:00

Coming hot on the heels of "Bobby" Jindal's spectacularly awful performance in delivering the GOP response to President Obama's recent address to Congress, now we have news that "Joe" the "Plumber"'s recent Washington book signing event was something of a dud:

About 11 people wandered into the rows of seats set up hopefully in the basement of a downtown Border's bookstore to hear Joe speak. Joe addressed them from behind a lectern and with a microphone, but that seemed unnecessarily formal.

Even the Washington Post can't keep the snark in check on this one. Classic:

It's fair to say Joe's appearance at Borders at 18th and L streets wasn't eagerly anticipated. People just kind of shuffled over when Joe strode in with Thomas N. Tabback, the co-author of "Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream." Annie Hickman, a young woman whom Wurzelbacher called "sweetie" during a brief Q&A, was
browsing when the PA announced that Joe was in the house. "I'm missing pottery class for this," she said.

You know what I especially love about the rise and fall of this gormless nitwit? The fact that he, like so many other intellectual midgets before him, has been hailed by the Republican party as the embodiment of a "real American." As if those of us who, for example, manage to pay our taxes and speak in coherent sentences, should by all rights pack up and move to France. The irony is breathtaking: this guy is somehow the real thing, according to the right-wingers, yet he goes by a fake name and lied about being a licensed plumber. It's as if there was a Women Who are Proud of Having Real Boobs organization, and they appointed Pamela Anderson as their spokesperson. Makes no sense. Just ain't right.

Luckily for the rest of us, it looks like old "Joe," or Sam, or whatever the hell his actual name is, is about to shuffle off into the obscurity he so richly deserves.

Separated at birth?

2009-02-25T15:33:00.002-05:00

(With apologies to Don Knotts.)

Another thing about Facebook

2009-02-25T13:22:00.004-05:00

Your friends post all these old pictures, which of course are a blast to look at, but then again you're forced to recognize how much you've aged! Here's me and a bunch of college friends in 1993. I'm 24. I'm in the middle next to the guy with the sunglasses. Mr. Fraulein said, "You don't look that different," but of course he has famously bad eyesight. Oh the humanity...

"I want to sit on your lap forever"

2009-02-21T08:13:00.003-05:00

She is getting so tall now, my Peanut. In a few more weeks she'll be four and a half, which is very hard to believe. I always know when she's about to go up to the next clothing size when suddenly her feet start to look big for her body. It's really funny.

The other day she said to me, "I wish I could sit on your lap forever." If only!

Political Suicide

2009-02-19T21:52:00.001-05:00

Guest posted by Broadway Carl

It's amazing to me that some of these insane Republican Governors would even fathom the idea of refusing federal aid for their states to make political hay. South Carolina's Mark Sanford has been the most vocal when it comes to the recovery bill.

“We’re moving precipitously close to what I would call a savior-based economy,” Sanford also said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.
...“That is quite different than a market-based economy where some rise and some fall but there’s a consequence to making a stupid decision,” Sanford said after pointing to the powers granted to the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve to help deal with the current economic crisis.

I wonder if Sanford will make the "stupid decision" of letting his state starve instead? Hell, he waited until the last possible second before asking for money to shore up unemployment benefits in the state with the third highest unemployment rate at 9.5%, so I wouldn't put it past him.

But we all know that in general, Republicans are hypocrites.

Sanford: "Being against it doesn't preclude taking the money."

Lindsey Graham on CNN after being asked if South Carolina should take the money: “I think that, yes, from my point of view, I — you don’t want to be crazy here."

Is it just me or is this like force feeding a baby to eat his beets? We know it's good for them, but they turn their heads and make a stink and cry and moan and wail because they don't like the taste of what's best for them.

I say, let them drink the political hemlock. If they seriously think that threatening to refuse money based on some set of misguided principles, or touting the funds they got in the bill through amendments they then voted against are going to help them in their upcoming campaigns, go right ahead and jump off that cliff. I'll be the one playing the pipe as they leap off the egde.

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

No one could have predicted that this would end badly

2009-02-17T12:35:00.010-05:00

It's stories like this one that make a person marvel that the human race hasn't gone extinct yet through our own stupidity:

Huge chimp shot dead after mauling woman in Conn.

By STEPHANIE REITZ (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
February 17, 2009 12:50 PM EST

HARTFORD, Conn. - A 200-pound domesticated chimpanzee who once starred in TV commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola was shot dead by police after a violent rampage that left a friend of its owner badly mauled.

These people had a 200-pound chimpanzee living in their house. In Connecticut. Doesn't everyone on your suburban block have a wild animal stashed in the basement? Maybe their next-door neighbors have a lion on a leash? In all seriousness--WTF? But wait: it gets worse...

Police have dealt with him in the past, including an incident in 2003 when he escaped from his owners' vehicle in downtown Stamford for two hours. Officers used cookies, macadamia treats and ice cream in an attempt to lure him, but subdued him only after he became too tired to resist.

At the time of the 2003 incident, police said the Herolds told them the chimpanzee was toilet trained, dressed himself, took his own bath, ate at the table and drank wine from a stemmed glass. He also brushed his teeth using a Water Pik, logged onto the computer to look at pictures, and watched television using the remote control, police said.

So to recap, not only did these maniacs keep a chimpanzee as a pet, they also let him drink wine. And this arrangement went sour--imagine that!

UPDATE: Not just wine -- also Xanax. As Bob Cesca would say, "Smart!"

I am utterly fascinated by this story. What exactly was the thought process here? Did this woman think: "I know what would be awesome: I'll adopt this gigantic wild animal, dress him up like a person, keep him living in completely unsuitable conditions, and then drug him up with pharmaceuticals meant for humans. What could go wrong?"

I just don't get it. But I do think she should go to jail. How it could be legal for someone to keep an animal like this in an ordinary home is beyond me. Whether it was legal or not, she should be held responsible for what happened to the friend who was unfortunate enough to get in the chimp's way as the poor animal made his final bid for freedom. Just completely sad all the way around.

Yes Pecan!

2009-02-13T11:10:00.002-05:00

Guest posted by Broadway Carl

I just received this e-mail and laughed so hard, I had to share.

Ben & Jerry created "Yes Pecan!" ice cream flavor for Obama.

[This is true. The rest of it, I'm not so sure.]

They then asked people to fill in the blank to the following:
For George W. they created "_________".

Here are some of their favorite responses:

~ Grape Depression
~ Abu Grape
~ Cluster Fud
~ Nut'n Accomplished
~ Iraqi Road
~ Chock 'n Awe
~ Wire Tapioca
~ Impeach Cobbler
~ Guantanmallow
~ imPeachmint
~ Good Riddance You Lousy Motherfucker. .. Swirl
~ Heck of a Job, Brownie!
~ Neocon Politan
~ Rocky Road to Fascism
~ The Reese's-cession
~ Cookie D'oh!
~ The Housing Crunch
~ Nougalar Proliferation
~ Death by Chocolate... and Torture
~ Credit Crunch
~ Country Pumpkin
~ Chunky Monkey in Chief
~ George Bush Doesn't Care About Dark Chocolate
~ WM Delicious
~ Chocolate Chimp
~ Bloody Sundae
~ Caramel Preemptive Stripe
~ I broke the law and am responsible for the deaths of thousands... with nuts

Since posting, it has been confirmed that while Obama's new Ben and Jerry's flavor is authentic, the ice cream company is not making a flavor for George W. Bush.

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

Things Republicans don't mind spending money on

2009-02-13T09:53:00.002-05:00

Here is what is infuriating about the uproar over President Obama's economic stimulus package: the very same people who are screaming that the U.S. government is setting taxpayer money on fire by using it for upgrading the electrical grid and fixing crumbling bridges, had, and STILL HAVE, absolutely no problem with the trillions of dollars the U.S. has spent on the Iraq war. Money flushed down the toilet. Wasted--for nothing. Well, except guaranteeing that most of the Middle East will continue to hate us for generations to come.

This is a major point that you rarely hear made by the TV news empty suits. Why is "government spending" a horrible travesty when the money goes to building schools and cleaning up toxic waste sites in our own backyards? Why is it not only OK, but utterly necessary, according to the Republicans, to spend trillions of dollars of public money on wars of choice? Because putting on a show--homeland security theater, if you will--trumps all other considerations? Because as long as their buddies in the defense and oil industries are raking in the cash, that's all that matters? That's what it's about, and the leadership of the GOP knows it. The question is when ordinary citizens who tend not to pay attention to politics are going to figure this out.

I wonder if we are beginning to see a shift in public thinking on this issue. I think Obama's election was just the beginning. As people's 401ks and other investments continue to tank and their jobs become more precarious--as more and more people lose their homes--the consequences of eight years of indiscriminate tax cuts for the uber-wealthy are becoming increasingly clear. The math just doesn't work. You can't simply remove a vast chunk of the public wealth from the government's coffers, in the form of the war spending and the tax cuts, and then expect things to magically continue to function as they always have. Infrastructure falls apart after a while. Schools crumble. If you never spend money to fix anything, well, things don't get fixed. I think people are starting to figure this out. It's really not that complicated.

The peril for the GOP will be the moment when a critical mass of Americans FINALLY gets this point. Once people realize that for the past 30 years, this line they've been feeding us about how "government is the problem" is actually bullshit, the Republicans are done. And they know it. This is why they are fighting Obama tooth and nail over this stimulus spending. The outcome of this fight will determine what trajectory our country takes over the coming generations.

The trolls are having a party at Bob Cesca's

2009-02-12T16:43:00.003-05:00

Have you noticed, Carl -- they're out in force over there today! I think you should go get 'em!! It seems they're being driven insane by the sheer force of Bob Cesca's genius:

The far-right will never grasp or accept the fact that government spending stimulates growth -- double the growth that's created by tax cuts. I mean, the government could allocate funds to tear down the Washington Monument and, in its place, rebuild four replica monuments made out of ham, and such spending would create jobs and stimulate the economy.

I think it's all animated movies for me from here on in

2009-02-09T12:33:00.002-05:00

I saw two movies this weekend, one ostensibly a kids' movie, and one a "grown-up" film. Anyone care to guess which one I actually enjoyed?

On Saturday night I had a very rare girls' night out with a friend. We had Mexican food for dinner and then saw "Revolutionary Road," which we both thought we'd like since it's gotten a fair amount of Oscar buzz. Good God in heaven, sitting through this was like having root canal work done. What I want to know is when it became acceptable to completely dispense with the idea of plot in the movies. When the characters start out screaming at each other from almost the very first frame, with absolutely no context or back story or explanation, for some reason the filmmakers think this will be riveting. To me it was just mystifying.

So it's the 1950s and everybody's a chain-smoking drunk, apparently, and everyone ignores their kids 95 percent of the time, and in a vague generalized sense, they have angst. In the viewer, this creates questions: Why specifically do they have angst? And why should I give a shit? The filmmakers have told me exactly nothing about the characters, so why should I care if they hate each other and their marriage is falling apart? It's evidently supposed to be entertainment enough to watch Leonardo DiCaprio (who is looking weirder as he ages, with those child-like features becoming obscured by creeping middle age) and Kate Winslet, who is certainly capable of much better acting, shrieking at one another in naked pursuit of Oscar nominations. The whole thing was an ordeal to sit through. I want my $10 back!

Then there was Madagasacar 2, which we watched on DVD after having seen part of it in the theater a while back. (We had to leave early because the Peanut was freaked out by the scary parts.) As I've said before, the people making kids movies these days (Dream Works in this case) seem much more concerned with delivering a satisfying story. And while the Pixar folks are the undisputed masters of computer animation, this film shows that Dream Works is capable of giving them a serious run for their money. Some of the animation work here is astonishingly sophisticated. Fast, funny, engaging and moving, this movie was every bit as good as its predecessor, which you can't always say about sequels.

That said, I do have one gripe: why must the scary bits be SO scary? It's fine for, say and 8- or 10-year old to see the terrifying shark trying to eat the cute little lemur guy--not so great for a 4-year-old. Same thing for the use of an actual child's voice for baby lion Alex in the scene where he is being abducted by poachers. This certainly added realism, but it's disturbing to hear a real kid crying "Daddy!" in that scene. We had to fast-forward through that part when the Peanut was watching, and then watching it ourselves later after she went to bed, we found it terribly off-putting.

But, even given that issue, give me the latest and greatest from Pixar or Dream Works before some lumbering pretentious novel adaptation any day of the week.

Obama Fights Back - Washington Post Editorial

2009-02-06T13:52:00.002-05:00

Guest posted by Broadway Carl

This is something we're not used to seeing from Presidents. I can't remember if President Bush wrote anything, speeches, editorials, a book report on "My Pet Goat"?

President Barack Obama took his pen to paper and wrote an editorial regarding the economic struggle that we find ourselves in and the urgency of passing the Economic Recovery Bill currently in the Senate in the Washington Post today.

In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis -- the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive.

I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. They know that we have tried it those ways for too long. And because we have, our health-care costs still rise faster than inflation. Our dependence on foreign oil still threatens our economy and our security. Our children still study in schools that put them at a disadvantage. We've seen the tragic consequences when our bridges crumble and our levees fail.

Now, some will say that this is beneath the President. Why is he writing editorials in the Washington Post? The answer is because he can. I don't know if it's my perception or if the media is following Obama with a fine tooth comb, but I don't ever recall any President having or maybe wanting this much media access to bring his message directly to the American people. There he was on all the nightly newscasts answering for the Daschle withdrawal. Have you ever seen anything like it? With this President the words, "The buck stops here," isn't just a funny little catchphrase. He actually means it.

Some will suggest that the editorial sounds like fearmongering. I vehemently disagree. The President's editorial isn't fearmongering if there is truth to it. There are no false qualifiers here, no deception, no lies to persuade. We are in deep, deep trouble and every day we wait it gets worse. There is no falsehood to that. There's a difference between laying out the dire circumstances for all to see and fearmonging to scare up votes by saying something like, "...if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States." See the difference?

I also disagree with those who think that President Obama didn't have to send this message. So far, this recovery bill has been based on the framing of the argument. The Republicans have framed the debate on this bill as "pork laden." Rush Limbaugh calls it "porkulus" in front of 14 million weekly listeners. (And he certainly know something about porkulus.) The GOP has capitalized and zeroed in on a fraction of one percent of the recovery bill for their political advantage and framed the entire bill it as a pork laden wish list. They public thinks it looks like pork because the Democrats are sitting back while the Republicans, with the blatant or inadvertent help of the media, are framing it as wasteful spending. And if the public gets that perception, then that's what they'll believe because the media is never wrong. Where is the rebuttal from Democratic leaders explaining why these measures are in the bill?

$200 million for Medicaid on contraception will save $60 billion in government medical costs in the future. Sounds like a good investment. $21 million for the National Mall will put arguably thousands to work to repair the crumbling foundations of our national monuments. But the GOP calls this "$21 million for grass." The list goes on and on, and instead of the Democratic leaders rebutting these ridiculous pork notions, they are either nervously wringing their hands in silence or aren't getting the air time to rebut. The only Congressman I saw defending contraception was Robert Wexler (D-FL), who explained it rationally and logically on Hardball with Chris Matthews. And when he was done, he still got a "I don't understand what you're talking about," from an obtuse Phil Gingrey, the same Congressman who's apologized to Rush Limbaugh for his brief moment of clarity.

Maybe the President did make one mistake. In the interest of bipartisanship, President Obama compromised too much; he backed off to a fault with initial GOP resistance and it was perceived as a validation of Republican complaints. But what happened? After he accommodated them, House Republicans rejected the bill anyway. And the more it went on, the more we saw the political endgame that they would have rejected it no matter what the President did just to send a message.

Well, now it's the President's turn to send a message. It's the Democratic leaders' turn to send a message and make the obstructionists decide that if they really want to fight this thing, they're going to have to filibuster for it. No pansy ass cloture votes. Make them filibuster.

The only mistake the President made regarding the Washington Post editorial was not going far enough. This was a statement that needed to be made on prime time television in front of a national audience.

Cross-posted on Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

Letting the sun shine in

2009-02-05T21:55:00.006-05:00

In the early 1990s, fresh out of college, I began my career as a newspaper reporter. My career in the news business was pretty average--I toiled somewhat anonymously at a variety of weekly and daily papers, covering car accidents and fires, town council meetings and court hearings, parades and funerals and school board meetings. I worked for several years before my employer thought to invest in this crazy newfangled Internet thing. Once we got it, the whole concept was so alien to us that most of my colleagues avoided any attempt to do research on the Internet in favor of the reporting tools that had worked just fine for us up until that point--the telephone and the strength of our relationships with our sources.

But sources, no matter how solid, can only bring a reporter so far. When you're covering a complex issue of national import like, for example, proposed military base closings (which I wrote about extensively during this period) you inevitably run up against the limits of what your sources know--or what they're willing to tell you. The Freedom of Information Act is a powerful tool that can be used by every reporter, whether at a lowly weekly or the New York Times, to shine light on issues of great importance to the public. FOIA requires federal agencies to release (with certain exceptions) requested non-classified information pertaining to the activities of the federal government. The request can come from any citizen, but reporters tend to rely on FOIA the most (even today, when the Internet has made it so much simpler for reporters to research most topics). The idea is to keep the government honest.

So you can imagine what happened to FOIA under George W. Bush. As Leslie Harris wrote on Huffington Post:

For the last eight years, government agencies were encouraged to thwart FOIA requests twisting the broad language in the Act in favor of secrecy. Under Bush, FOIA restrictions were routine, often bizarre and sometimes outright laughable. For example, the names of drugs forced used on the prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay were withheld because releasing the information would be considered a violation of 'personal privacy.' Schedules of agency officials were deemed off-limits and information once widely available on the Internet, such as information about toxic chemical spills, essentially became invisible to scrutiny.

It's just another example of how Bush and his minions went out of their way to hide the extent of the damage they did to our country. Now, with Bush mercifully gone and Barack Obama running the show, FOIA has gotten a new lease on life. Obama has directed federal agencies to take FOIA requests seriously, in stark contrast to the obstructionism of the last eight years under the Republicans. The importance of this is hard to overstate. Imagine a government operating in the sunlight instead of skulking about in the shadows. It's a win not only for journalists, but for all of us.

You've never seen them in the same place, right?

2009-02-04T12:26:00.005-05:00

This made me laugh out loud: Antique Mommy and I are apparently married to the same guy. (He's Antique Daddy, or AD in this post.) Like Mr. Fraulein, Antique Daddy is also an engineer. Coincidence? I think not.

THURSDAY UPDATE: I stand corrected -- seems like AD is in a technical field of some kind but is not actually an engineer. Sounds like the same pack rat rules still apply though!

"Terrible Towels"?

2009-02-03T13:43:00.003-05:00

So I really, really don't pay attention to sports -- but I can't possibly be the only person who has zero idea what this is about:

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Thousands of Pittsburgh Steelers fans lined downtown streets Tuesday cheering and twirling Terrible Towels at a parade celebrating the team's victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Sunday's Super Bowl, the sixth for the storied franchise.

Um, WTF? Nowhere in the AP story is this explained. Bad journalism.

"Joy crosses the placenta"

2009-01-30T16:38:00.002-05:00

This post by Antique Mommy is, like most of her writing, simply perfect. Even though I've read her story before (pregnant for the first time, more or less by accident, at 44!) I find it endlessly inspiring. It's a powerful reminder to never, ever give up hope.

Welcome back to the 1980s

2009-01-30T16:25:00.003-05:00

So our national economic picture is back to pretty much what it was in the bleak 1980s recession (thank you, Ronald Reagan). And it's about to get even worse:

Another 2 million or more jobs will vanish this year, economists predict.

This raises a number of questions for me:

1. Will conservatives/Republicans/people who voted for George W. Bush/people who voted for John McCain ever admit the direct link between GOP policies and the economy plunging into the shitter?

2. Will any of the Republicans in Congress now actually work with President Obama to try to make things better? (I know, I know, the idea makes me laugh too.)

3. What is going to happen to the 401K system? Since, like many Americans, I'm relying on this for my retirement, this question is a somewhat urgent one for me. I'm frankly kind of tired of hearing, "Oh, you're only 40 -- it will bounce back." When? How much of it will bounce back? Will I now have to work until I'm 80?

4. Will Obama stick to his guns and do what needs to be done to keep the Republicans in check and bring us back from the brink? I sure as hell hope so.

What do you think -- are those of us with 401Ks completely screwed? Will the GOP obstructionism continue unabated?

The Emotional Dick Cavett

2009-01-29T17:53:00.000-05:00

Guest posted by Broadway Carl

Dick Cavett writes up a nice opinion piece about his Inauguration Day feelings with a bit of a tangent on his emotional outpourings when listening to certain music. But I would be remiss if I didn't include these words for posterity in this space.

I felt bad when George Bush was booed.

But only briefly. My sympathy for that man has a half-life of about four seconds.

There was a surprising number of outpourings of sympathy for his having to sit there and, as it was too-often described, “take it on the chin.” Was there ever a chin more deserving of taking it?

“You have to feel sorry for him,” someone cooed. “No. You do not!” I shouted at the screen. I know he “tried” and he “did what he thought was right.” But so does the incompetent surgeon.

What does that excuse?

His brief discomfort “sitting there” can’t have been less endurable than the discomfort of the young soldier describing on the news how he watched helplessly as his gut-shot buddy bled to death on the sands the smirking Texan sent him to.

*****

And a hearty sayonara to that other fellow.

Do freshman philosophy classes nowadays debate updated versions of the age-old questions? Like, how could a merciful God allow AIDS, childhood cancers, tsunamis and Dick Cheney?

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

Is Obama Playing Limbaugh?

2009-01-29T14:50:00.004-05:00

Guest posted by Broadway Carl

There's been plenty of talk for the last few days about President Obama and Rush Limbaugh. First it was Limbaugh's idiotic diatribe hoping that Obama fails and rejecting the notion that other less extreme Republicans are defending Obama and hoping for his success because he's a black man and it's the politically correct/affirmative action thing to do. I suppose it had nothing to do with the fact that the nation is currently in the toilet.

Then it was President Obama meeting with Congressional Republicans and suggesting that they shouldn't listen to Limbaugh if they want to get anything done. Rush Limbaugh enjoyed the attention and the talking head pundits were wondering why Obama would give Limbaugh such credence.

But it would seem that there is yet another possible scenario in play. Obama is baiting Rush, not the other way around. And so far it looks like GOP mouthpieces are heeding Obama's advice and possibly marginalizing Limbaugh in the process.

I never thought I'd agree with Phil Gingrey (YEAH, I KNOW!) but here's his comment:

"I think that our leadership, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, are taking the right approach," Gingrey said. "I mean, it's easy if you're Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks. You don't have to try to do what's best for your people and your party. You know you're just on these talk shows and you're living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of that thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn't be or wouldn't be good leaders, they're not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell."

Media critic Michael Wolff thinks Obama got under Limbaugh's skin by having a dinner with conservative journalists and pundits and conspicuously excluding poor, misunderstood Rush.

So is Obama playing Limbaugh like a big, fat fiddle? I don't know if there's any validity to the theory, but Obama is a shrewd character, and every time he was doubted during the campaign, he kept proving the doubters wrong. I'm wondering what the next step will be in the Rush Wars. It's silly, but kind of exciting instead of listening to the continual zombie drone of "more tax cuts."

(H/T HuffPo)

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

The REAL CBO Report

2009-01-29T13:20:00.005-05:00

Guest posted by Broadway Carl

According to Think Progress, this much ballyhooed Congressional Budget Office report that was used to criticize the Obama Recovery Bill by Republicans was cited 81 times in the last six days by the talking heads on television and in print; they criticized that spending was initally slow and that only 35% of the package would be spent by 2011.

There's just one problem with that: the CBO report they were citing doesn't exist. Rather, the media and Republican opposition to the bill were citing a partial report that didn't include the planned tax cuts, unemployment benefit extensions and numerous other factors. Even after Press Secretary Robert Gibbs explained that everyone was citing an incomplete report in his press conference on Friday, inaccurate reporting continued on the news.

New Meet The Press host David Gregory used the CBO report in criticism on Sunday morning and I personally witnessed Nora O'Donnell on MSNBC ask about the partial report when questioning Congressman Chris Van Hollen late Monday afternoon! But I suppose if it isn't scandalous it doesn't sell, so why bother with accuracy?

Well guess what? The CBO actually released a complete report Monday evening which shows that, just as the Obama administration has been saying, about ¾ of the stimulus package would be injected into the economy within the first 18 months.

From the CBO report (emphasis mine):

This is the first cost estimate that CBO has prepared for H.R. 1 in its entirety. A previous preliminary estimate that has been widely cited addressed only the budgetary impacts of an earlier version of the provisions contained in Division A, at the request of the House Committee on Appropriations.

CBO has since made small changes to our estimates of the portion of the bill that was included in that preliminary estimate, mostly to reflect amendments to the legislation since we prepared the last estimate. Based on information provided by the committee and discussions with numerous state officials, we also made small technical changes to that earlier estimate.

I wonder how quickly the very serious mainstream media will report on this, and if they'll mention it 81 times in six days? I'm also sure the GOP will ignore it while tending to their fudge, since it doesn't fit into their agenda.

I mean, think about it. All we've heard the latest cheap Republican talking point is the expenditure of $200 million for Medicaid to be used for contraception and all the hysteria from the right asking how something like that can stimulate the economy. They are completely ignoring the fact that education, prevention of STDs and unwanted pregnancies can help in reducing governmental financial responsibilities later on. But the word "contraception" is a touchstone for their religious right base, even though the money planned for this program is only 0.00024% of the total package.

What's the GOP solution? More tax cuts. You know, because it's worked so well before.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

Cross-posted at Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania!

Shaking things up around here

2009-01-28T22:06:00.002-05:00

So in my usual fashion, since I'm perpetually trying to do about 273 things at once, I have dropped the ball (until now!) on writing a post to explain the cross-posting experiment I've undertaken with my virtual pal Broadway Carl. You will see below that he's already posted here to introduce himself and talk a bit about what drew him to blogging in the first place. Like me, Carl found himself watching the rapidly-metastasizing horrors of the Bush administration with increasing dismay. Also like me, he began blogging to vent his rage about what was happening to our country and to find a community of like-minded folks to commiserate with.

Carl and I first "met" in the online world in the vibrant group of frequent commenters on Bob Cesca's fantastic blog. During the election frenzy I found myself commenting there every so often, and it was clear from Carl's contributions to those memorable conversations, as well as from his thought-provoking posts on his own blog, that this guy was a kindred spirit: someone unafraid to mince words about the massive stupidity of the right-wing ideology. Someone who loves being part of the debate about how to fix our country's many problems. And someone who approaches his writing as I always at least try to do--with humor and inventiveness.

If you take a trip over to Carl's excellent "Blog-O-Mania," you'll see what I'm talking about. And to shake things up a little around here, I'll be featuring some of Carl's posts here on Purple Ink, and some of my posts will appear on the Blog-O-Mania. If you like what you see, we both hope you'll come back for more! Comments, effusive praise, constructive criticism, and tips are always welcome.

Who Is Broadway Carl?

2009-01-25T14:43:00.006-05:00

Guest-posted by Broadway Carl

Hi, I'm new here so I thought I'd introduce myself. I go by Broadway Carl - my nom de plume - that's french for "name of pen," although the name of my pen is actually Paper♥Mate™. I call myself Broadway Carl because, 1) I work on Broadway as a stagehand and, 2) my name is - well, I can't tell you what my name is or else my non de plume would be useless. I'll give you a hint... it's starts with a 'C'.

My first foray into blogging came a little over two years ago. It was my attempt to deal with my growing anger for the recently departed presidential administration. I tend to get "worked up" - a mild way of saying "frothy-mouthed frenzy" - and my lovely, patient wife got tired of the spittle flying about. (I get very animated and loud when angry.) So I decided to put my thoughts down on "electronic paper" as an outlet. Two years later, I'm still writing. And my wife reads my rants instead of trying to decipher what the hell I was screaming about while sitting behind a protective shield.

The lovely Fraulein has frequented my site, as I have hers, and we decided it might be a good idea to occasionally cross-post our thoughts on each others' blogs. I enjoy and respect her writing and assume she enjoys mine; why else invite someone to contribute to your space if you think it's swill? Hopefully, you'll enjoy what I have to say as well and stop by my place to say hello.

Cheers,
Broadway Carl

One more thing - I see that Fraulein has been having Facbook issues lately. Here's what I had to say on the subject last month.

Another thing about Facebook

2009-01-22T22:40:00.002-05:00

If you're not on Facebook, you won't know it if your friends have been posting photos in which you appear hungover and are sporting a tragic hairdo, circa 1989.

One of the many awesome things about having a "President Obama"

2009-01-20T22:28:00.003-05:00

I'm watching the coverage of the various Inaugural balls now and it occurs to me that Obama's triumph must stick in the collective craw of our country's hoardes of racist Republicans (and just plain racists) to no end. Can you imagine how much it must kill these people to see all these BLACK people in positions of power? A BLACK First Couple, being serenaded by quite a few talented, attractive, BLACK celebrities? And not only that, but as you looked out over the Mall earlier today, you could see all those white people mixing in freely with everybody else of every other color, united in celebration of our common victory over the right-wing forces of darkness.

Man, they must hate this. It's going to be a tough four (well, hopefully eight) years for the racists.

(Photo credit Huffington Post)

Don't let the door hit you on the ass, George

2009-01-20T11:20:00.001-05:00

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Inauguration Day is here!! I can't wait to hear Obama's speech.

A new day is coming...

Facebook

2009-01-17T10:43:00.002-05:00

So I've finally been dragged, kicking and screaming, onto Facebook. First impressions: if you want to keep your work acquaintances from learning every detail about your life in high school, etc., you need to avoid "friending" the work people. The other thing is, since I want to keep this blog anonymous-ish to the outside world, I won't be promoting the blog on Facebook. So it's like you have all these separate online profiles, or personae...I can see how this might get difficult to manage.

Also, it is truly hilarious how the people whose guts you hated in high school suddenly come out of the woodwork to become your virtual "friends." As I suspected, some of the people who weren't that bright and were the sworn enemies of my group of the (ahem) smarter kids, have now become Republicans. No one could have predicted that...

This is the man who will be President

2009-01-15T10:14:00.004-05:00

I can't even put into words how proud I am that this man will be our President. That he will replace George W. Bush, that tiny, insignificant man, so tortured by rage at his own inadequacies. Here is part of a letter Barack Obama wrote to his daughters, that will run in "Parade" this weekend:

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me--about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

The Word of the Day

2009-01-13T13:12:00.003-05:00

Every time we give the Peanut a bath, she emerges from the tub as an even bigger silliness generating machine than usual. You wouldn't think it should take two adults to subdue one 40-pound person long enough to towel her off and put her pajamas on, but it often does, because of her inability to stop flailing her limbs, shouting and giggling. So we only bathe her once a month.

OK, I'm kidding about that last part. But not about the Unstoppable Silliness Machine. Sometimes, post-bath, she fixates on a word and shouts it at the top of her lungs for 20 minutes or so. (Howdy, downstairs neighbors! Just wait until your little toddler starts to talk...just wait...) One time, the Word of the Day was "butt." Last night, it was:

"Booger!" (Giggles uncontrollably.) "BOOGER!" (Giggles uncontrollably.) "BOOGER!" (Etc.)

"Oh....KAY. Can you please not say 'booger'?" I said. Which was totally the wrong thing to say, because it just kicked off another round of booger-shouting. "Where did you learn that word from?" I asked, already knowing the answer. The culprit was, of course, this guy.

Evil

2009-01-08T17:39:00.001-05:00

UN truck comes under deadly fire in Gaza
By IBRAHIM BARZAK and STEVE WEIZMAN (Associated Press Writers)
From Associated Press
January 08, 2009 4:19 PM EST

JERUSALEM - The U.N. suspended aid shipments in the Gaza Strip on Thursday and the Red Cross restricted its convoys after their trucks came under Israeli fire. The threat of a wider conflict arose when militants in Lebanon fired two rockets into northern Israel.

One rocket crashed into a retirement home, but there were no serious injuries. Israel responded with mortar shells.

The driver of the U.N. truck died immediately; another worker in the truck died later of his wounds. The truck, which came under fire in northern Gaza, was marked with the U.N. flag and insignia.

During a three-hour pause in the fighting to allow in food and fuel and let medics collect the dead, nearly three dozen bodies were found beneath the rubble of bombed out buildings in Gaza City. Many of the dead were in the same neighborhood where the international Red Cross said rescuers discovered young children too weak to stand who had stayed by their dead mothers. The aid group accused Israel of an "unacceptable" delay in allowing workers to reach the area. Relations between Israel and humanitarian organizations have grown increasingly tense as civilian casualties have mounted.

Me, 40

2009-01-02T17:04:00.002-05:00

Jan. 1, 2009.