Weekend Edition - the bottom line stuff

Saturday October 3, 2009

. . . .Alrighty then, here we go. . . .off and running.

. . .First off and up. . .It's Michigan vs. Michigan State weekend, nuff said! Go Wolvies, a program that is on it's way back up to where it belongs in terms of it's stature and it's record. I'm geeked.

. . . .And for today, after the week that this country went through, it's time to cut loose with some entirely snarky, completely cynical, at least for me, laugh out loud shit.

. . . .And yes, the narrative coming from the obstructionists is completely falling apart.

. . . .First, up, those good Americans, the Repubs, who stood up and cheered when Chicago's Olympic bid failed. From Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog, his chief investigator of GOP skullduggery, Elvis Dingledein:

Michael Steele and top Republican members of Congress released a statement this morning praising the International Olympic Committee for its first-round knockout of filthy Socialist hellhole Chicago as a contender in the 2016 Summer Olympics:

“This is a proud day for real Americans everywhere. In denying the United States this privilege, the IOC has sent billions of Socialist dollars and tens of thousands of Marxist and/or Stalinist-Hitlerian/Attila-the-Hunian jobs to some other country, where they belong. Besides, everyone knows the global brotherhood of peace and unity represented by the Olympics is just a plot by the New World Order™ to enslave mankind and force our daughters to marry Illegal Immigrant Gay Abortion Doctors with leprosy.”

Glenn Beck has announced he’ll air a six-hour special tonight entitled “The 50-Yard Dash Caused The Great Depression,” which also proves that African Americans actually enslaved White Peoples until the Civil War, which was won by Thomas Jefferson. And Chuck Norris.

. . . .Yes, that piece was cynical and a spoof, but it has to be lightened up some. How's about a little video of the Americans for Properity Republianist gathering that erupted in applause and cheers when the United States of America was knocked down. From those two great gals over at The Political Carnival, follow the link for the video of just a bunch of great Americans getting all giddy and gleeful over our country getting defeated.

. . . .Krugman chimed in with the perfect title for his post:

Party of Beavis and Butt-head

Middle-aged adolescents — dumb middle-aged adolescents — rule one of our nation’s two great political parties. Read it and weep.

. . . .I'll save you the trouble, you don't even have to click the link, here's the article that it jumps to, from TPM and the Muckrakers:

When the International Olympic Committee voted against Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics this morning -- after the President and First Lady flew to Copenhagen to push for it in person -- the Weekly Standard newsroom burst into applause.

"Cheers erupt at Weekly Standard world headquarters," wrote editor John McCormack in a post titled "Chicago Loses! Chicago Loses!"

The line was quickly removed, but ThinkProgress caught it in time and posted a screenshot of the post.

But even with the edits, McCormack is still obviously reveling in America's defeat.

"As a citizen of the world who believes that No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation, I'm glad that the Obama White House's jingoist rhetoric and attempt to pay back Chicago cronies at the expense of undermining our relationships with our allies failed," he wrote.

McCormack's fellow conservatives joined in the celebration.

"Chicago and Tokyo eliminated. No Obamalypics," Michelle Malkin tweeted, following up with, "Game over on Obamalympics. Next up, Obamacare."

"Please, please let me break this news to you. It's so sweet," said Glenn Beck on his radio show.

"Hahahahaha," wrote Red State's Erick Erickson. "So Obama's pimped us to every two bit thug and dictator in the world, made promises to half the Olympic committee, and they did not even kiss him. So much for improving America's standing in the world, Barry O."

The Drudge Report announced the news like so: "WORLD REJECTS OBAMA: CHICAGO OUT IN FIRST ROUND. THE EGO HAS LANDED."

"The worst day of Obama's presidency, folks. The ego has landed. The world has rejected Obama," echoed Rush Limbaugh.

"For those of you ... who are upset that I sound gleeful, I am. I don't deny it. I'm happy," Limbaugh said. "Anything that gets in the way of Barack Obama accomplishing his domestic agenda is fine with me."

"President Obama fails to get the Olympics while unemployment goes to 9.8% Iran continues nuclear program. America needs focused leadership," Newt Gingrich tweeted. Then he added, "Somehow charm and oratory dont seem to work in foreign affirs but historians have warned that foreign policy is different than campaigning." (sic)

"ChicagP\/\/n3D!" tweeted Newsmax, of recent fame for running, then pulling, a column about an impending military coup against Obama.

Apparently no one read the tweet from former Bush flack Scott Stanzel.

"Note to GOP officials/consultants - resist the temptation to pile on about Chicago losing the Olympic bid just because Obama made the pitch," he wrote, advice reportedly passed on by Former Mitt Romney spokesman Kevin Madden.

Fox News, however, saw it coming. A Fox anchor told senior adviser David Axelrod she could "imagine the headlines" that would come out of this, that Obama had been "rebuked," and had "failed." Axelrod simply responded that no one could doubt Obama's influence after watching the G-20, and said neither he nor the President have any regrets about trying.

. . . .Doesn't it just make you proud? Why aren't you asking yourself, after this, after the revelation about socialized health care funded by you and me that each and every Senator, Representative and their family enjoys, courtesy of goverment (read our tax dollars), about the Gulf Coast Senators and Representatives rushing back to Washington (Trent Lott leading) to build a public option property insurance plan for members of Congress, funded by you and I, and making it retroactive, so that you and I could rebuild their homes, when their own property insurance wouldn't pay (instead of fighting for property owners rights); why aren't you asking yourself just how cynical these bastards can be? how corrupt? how dupliticious?

. . . .More from Cesca:

Because hypocrisy is apparently oxygen to Republicans, Karl Rove wrote an Op Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal chastising Barack Obama for outsourcing the war in Afghanistan. This attack is intellectually bankrupt considering Rove was a key player in the administration that brought us never-to-be-held-accountable Blackwater mercenaries gunning down innocent Iraqis as "payback" for 9/11. Naturally, Jeremy Scahill took Rove to task:

While Rove may be using the term “outsource” in a general way, let’s remember this fact: never, ever in US history have more government and military activities been outsourced to private corporations than they were the day Bush and Rove left 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and Obama moved in. [Emphasis mine.]

Of course, Jeremy Scahill left out one important factor: George W. Bush had God on his side. And that's where the disconnect from reality begins. There's no arguing with, or pointing out the blatant hypocrisy of, a party who 100% believes their every action is condoned by an omniscient being in the sky who loves America most. When Republicans do something, it's sanctified. When a Democrat does it, kill it! KILL IT WITH FIRE!

To emphasize my point on Republicans and religion, per Scahill, Blackwater founder Erik Prince believes in fighting a holy war to completely eradicate Islam. And this is who the Bush administration awarded contracts to. In the Middle East. Smart.

Adding... Blackwater and its various subsidiaries are still being used by the Obama administration which is a disgrace to our soldiers who conduct themselves honorably within the boundaries of the law.

. . . . .Bill Maher, the smartest political commentator on television, on his show Friday night on Republican climate change skeptics. "These people are so stupid they make me question evolution." Catch the video clip here.

. . . .Andrew Sullivan picked up on this one from Joe Carter, over at First Things, a conservative blog, on the weird cult that modern conservatism and the GOP have become:

Joe Carter circles back to the "Going Galt" phenomenon and makes an astute point:

During the Cold War-era people who held incompatible views—such as libertarianism and social conservatism—embraced a limited form of “fusionism” in order to provide a united front against a common enemy—communism. Today, the common enemy is liberalism and the fusionism occurs not between disparate groups but within an individual. People who would laugh at the absurdity of a “Christian Muslim” seem not to recognize the similar incongruity between being a follower of Christ and an acolyte of Ayn Rand.

He also points to a cult of personality on the right:

Their defense tends to be based on a variation of a common theme: They don’t actually subscribe to those crazy views (at least not all of them), they just align themselves with a personality that does. It’s politics by proxy with a Machiavellian cult of personality twist. If any victories against liberal elites can be attributed to our favorite TV personality/failed politicians/radio host/third-rate novelist, then that cult figure, their views, their motives, and their actions, are provided blanket immunity against criticism. These St. Georges slaying the liberal dragons are placed beyond reproach. You are no more allowed to question the right’s preferred cult of personality - CoulterHannityBeckLimbaughPaulLevinRandPalinWhoever - than liberals can challenge Obama.

. . . .And it just keeps piling up, yes, shit does stack. Sen. John Ensign, that one, we're not gonna let that one die either:

The New York Times is reporting that Senator John Ensign (R - NV) used his government and C Street connections to secure jobs for former aide Douglas Hampton to make amends for sleeping with his wife Cynthia. The senator also hoped this would keep the affair out of the press, but that plan went south in June when Hampton wasn't making enough money. On top of that, these jobs involved Hampton lobbying the senator for his employers which violated ethics laws and basically created a giant clusterfuck for everyone involved:

While the affair made national news in June, the role that Mr. Ensign played in assisting Mr. Hampton and helping his clients has not been previously disclosed. Several experts say those activities may have violated an ethics law that bars senior aides from lobbying the Senate for a year after leaving their posts.
In acknowledging the affair, Mr. Ensign cast it as a personal transgression, not a professional one. But an examination of his conduct shows that in trying to clean up the mess from the illicit relationship and distance himself from the Hamptons, he entangled political supporters, staff members and Senate colleagues, some of whom say they now feel he betrayed them.

It should be noted that Senator Ensign is in opposition of the public option because apparently the government shouldn't do something worthwhile like guarantee basic health coverage for its people, but instead act as a giant employment agency to cover up the extramarital affairs of C Street members. Which is almost exactly how Jesus would want it if I'm remembering my New Testament correctly. "Screw the sick, get rich dudes laid." Yeah, that sounds about right.

. . . .And my quote of the week, simply because I can't stand the woman and all she represents in her Christian Taliban, anti-knowledge, glory, on Sarah Palin, from the New York Post by a lecture circuit booking agent:
"The big lecture buyers in the U.S. are paralyzed with fear about booking her, basically because they believe she's a blithering idiot. They don't want to tick people off."

. . . .And tied for quote of the week, Steve Schmidt, who was John McCain's campaign manager in '08 on Sarah Palin: "fairly inconceivable" that she would be elected and "In fact, were she to be the nominee, we could have a catastrophic election."

. . . .And simply because I hate the man, and find him to be the biggest cynic and self-absorbed, narcissitic manipulative bastard around these days, this one has been making the blogosphere for a few days, and is literally dripping with irony. The best part, Beck's sheeple probably won't read a word of it, as his fringe Mormon apostates will only read what he tells them to directly, and will avoid those things he tells them to. The man truly is the P.T. Barnum of today's political media circus- Cesca:

Based on the amount of unadulterated dumb that flies out of Glenn Beck's face, you'd think the guy would have a fair amount of respect for the First Amendment. Then you realize it's Glenn Beck and things such as logic and irony bounce off his moron skull like so many rubber bullets. Which brings us to the current legal battle over the parody site DidGlennBeckRapeAndMurderAYoungGirlIn1990.com that lampoons the talk show host's style of asking asinine rhetorical questions that might as well be accusations. Beck obviously wants it taken down and could give a flying fuck about the very amendment that allows him to get paid millions to slather wingnut ears with tales of the Negro boogeyman.

So, realizing the very Constitution that protects his blabbering might actually protect somebody else's right to say ridiculous shit (Oh noes!), Glenn Beck's legal team is circumventing the U.S. courts and going straight to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva in a plea to pull the site down. That's right, Glenn Beck essentially went to the U.N. of the Internet. PING! There goes another irony bullet.

In the meantime, the Beck parody site's lawyer Marc Randazza has responded to the WIPO with probably the greatest legal response in the history of attorneying stuff:

We are not here because the domain name could cause confusion. We do not have a declaration from the president of the international association of imbeciles that his members are blankly staring at the Respondent’s website wondering “where did all the race baiting content go?” We are here because Mr. Beck wants Respondent’s website shut down. He wants it shut down because Respondent’s website makes a poignant and accurate satirical critique of Mr. Beck by parodying Beck’s very rhetorical style. Beck’s skin is too thin to take the criticism, so he wants the site down. Beck is represented by a learned and respected legal team. Accordingly, it is beyond doubt that his counsel advised him that under the First Amendment to the United States’ Constitution, no action in a U.S. Court would be successful.

The response has to be the first legal document to contain the words "Mr. Spock ate my balls," so if you're looking for a humorous read on this fine Saturday, give it a once over.

Adding... Why does Glenn Beck hate freedom of speech so much?

. . . .Ah, the Democrats don't escape my wrath today either, ineffective, spineless wimp pussies!
Jon Stewart, earlier this week on The Daily Show (the 2nd smartest political show on television, right behind Bill Maher's) on the Democrats: "Democrats couldn't get laid in a house whose sole purpose is to have consequence and disease-free sex with legislators on finance committees"

. . . .All except for Alan Grayson, that man is my frickin' hero! He is awesome, and just the jolt that bunch needed. He best not apologize, back off or anything of the sort. He just needs to start talking, and talking and not stop.

. . .It's actually a pity. A majority in the House and Senate, and one man, one man alone is willing to grow a set and stand up and start telling the truth. That sucks, and it's sad, really.

. . . And here's why I have to get a little cynical and snarky, why I get so damn mad. Here's the real toll of inaction and stupidity in Washington. People. People getting hurt, people suffering, people who should be being represented, with answers being found and acted on, but no, everyone, and I mean everyone in the Beltway, both parties is far too involved in their own little political puppet show and theater, in their own political drama. And what happens in between?

. . . .We've now become 1933. Unemployment is now lasting longer than benefits. From Bloomberg:

For the first time, the average amount of time it takes fired employees to find a new job exceeds the length of their standard unemployment benefits.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows the average duration of unemployment is now 26.2 weeks, longer than the 26 weeks of state benefits normally provided to workers who lose their jobs. It’s the first time that has occurred since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping records in 1948.

The jobless rate rose to 9.8 percent in September, while payrolls fell by 263,000, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington.

Congress has extended unemployment benefits twice -- first in July 2008 and then as part of the stimulus bill signed in February. Currently, the unemployed are eligible for a total of 46 weeks of benefits, and those in states where the unemployment rate is more than 6 percent are eligible for 59 weeks.

Those additional benefits expire at the end of the year, and about 1.3 million people will exhaust them by then, according to the National Employment Law Project. An extension of benefits, which was passed by the House of Representatives, is being held up in the Senate by lawmakers who object because their states would be excluded from the plan.

The purple line on the chart shows 5.4 million people have now been out of work for at least 27 weeks, representing 35.6 percent of the total number of unemployed, the most since the agency began keeping statistics in 1948.

. . . .From the Wall Street Journal, personal bankruptcies have now topped one million.

. . . .Because Washington still doesn't get it, and I don't care which party you're talking about, or which branch.

. . . Krugman, in the Times:

But while not having another depression is a good thing, all indications are that unless the government does much more than is currently planned to help the economy recover, the job market — a market in which there are currently six times as many people seeking work as there are jobs on offer — will remain terrible for years to come.

Indeed, the administration’s own economic projection — a projection that takes into account the extra jobs the administration says its policies will create — is that the unemployment rate, which was below 5 percent just two years ago, will average 9.8 percent in 2010, 8.6 percent in 2011, and 7.7 percent in 2012.

This should not be considered an acceptable outlook. For one thing, it implies an enormous amount of suffering over the next few years. Moreover, unemployment that remains that high, that long, will cast long shadows over America’s future.

But can we afford to do more — to provide more aid to beleaguered state governments and the unemployed, to spend more on infrastructure, to provide tax credits to employers who create jobs? Yes, we can.

The conventional wisdom is that trying to help the economy now produces short-term gain at the expense of long-term pain. But as I’ve just pointed out, from the point of view of the nation as a whole that’s not at all how it works. The slump is doing long-term damage to our economy and society, and mitigating that slump will lead to a better future.

You see, spending money now means a stronger economy, both in the short run and in the long run. And a stronger economy means more revenues, which offset a large fraction of the upfront cost. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that the offset falls short of 100 percent, so that fiscal stimulus isn’t a complete free lunch. But it costs far les

. . . .Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich:

Unemployment of this magnitude and duration also translates into ugly politics, because fear and anxiety are fertile grounds for demagogues wielding the politics of resentment against immigrants, blacks, the poor, government leaders, business leaders, Jews, and other easy targets. It's already started. Next year is a mid-term election. Be prepared for worse.

. . . .From Dan Froomkin:

Nowhere is the massive disconnect between Washington D.C. and the rest of the country more striking than when it comes to the issue of jobs.

Inside Washington, it is almost universally considered a foregone conclusion that unemployment will remain near, at, or even above 10 percent -- not just for months, but for years to come. (The unemployment rate in September, we just found out this morning, ticked up yet again, to 9.8 percent.) As White House economic guru Larry Summers dispassionately told reporters last month (while otherwise taking credit for turning the economy around), "The level of unemployment is unacceptably high and will on all forecasts remain unacceptably high for a number of, for a number of years."

This situation creates no sense of urgency in Washington. Ask Summers what he's going to do about it, for instance, and he hems and haws about recovery act programs that have yet to take full effect. To our political elite, jobs are simply nowhere near as critical an issue as the other economic indicators, the stock market, or the financial health of the nation's top bankers.

Outside the Beltway, however, it's a different story. According to a new poll by Hart Research Associates for the Economic Policy Institute, unemployment and the lack of jobs "remains the dominant problem on the economic agenda for voters across party lines." In fact, it's not even close. Asked to name the most important economic problem facing the country, registered voters cited unemployment twice as often as they mentioned the deficit or even the cost of health care; and four times as much as the housing crisis or problems with the banking system.

A whopping 83 percent see unemployment as either a fairly big or very big problem; and 81 percent say the Obama administration hasn't done enough to deal with it.

And there just aren't a whole lot of things that more than 80 percent of Americans agree about.

Not coincidentally, large majorities of voters also see the government's economic policies as helping banks and Wall Street -- while few see themselves or average working families in general as benefiting.

. . . . .the gigantic production shortfall that continues to afflict our nation is not abstract. It is made up of people -- people who are out of work, families who are losing their homes and health insurance, young people who are dropping out of college and children who are going hungry. This is the real drama of modern American life, barely registering in Washington where what matters most is political consequences -- and where the bigger danger, for now, is seen in action than in inaction.

. . . .We can salvage this shipwreck of a Nation. It will take all of us working together. It will take all of us understanding the concepts of the Great American Experiment, the political process of the Republic. It's amazing, I don't see eye-to-eye on every issue with my friends, but we respect one another's opinion, share information, share facts, and we don't talk over one another or at one another, we talk with one another. It's amazing what happens when a group of people who share the common goal of leaving a better country for their children and grandchildren can do when they sit down with one another as human beings, and realize that we each have power, and together, we are unstoppable.

. . . .I'm going to ask this of you for the next 30 days. Turn your TV off, turn your radio off. Start to use that beautiful mind that your Creator gave you, that your underpaid, underappreciated High School teachers tried to develop. If you hear something, if you read something, if someone sends you an e-mail that says "this bill will do this", or "this politician says this", I'm asking you to check it out. Check it out this way, use some of the following fact-based sites, who exist solely for the purpose of data and fact-checking.
- If whatever you've heard or read concerns a bill in Congress, use the following -
- Open Congress, it's non-partisan and devoted to a complete tracking of every bill in Congress, both houses. How a bill is developed, who is sponsoring it, what the riders are, what the discussion around it is.
- GovTrack, again non-partisan, non-commercial and open source; devoted to the same things, tracking Congress.
- Open Secrets, one of the most important ones, it tracks the lobbying money and campaign contributions flowing to your congressperson, and most of the time is a pretty good predictor of how they'll vote.
- Political Party Time, non-partisan, devoted to solely tracking political fundraisers, and letting you know exactly what parties your Representative and Senators are throwing for fundraisers and who is attending and how much money they're throwing at them to gain influence.

. . . .If someone sends something to you saying "this is so" or "that is so" or "the President/Senator/Representative said this" use the following:
- Fact Check, non-partisan, designed to separate fact from bullshit and fiction
- Snopes, devoted to the same thing.
- Politifact, devoted to getting to the truth, and separating out the lies that are spread.


. . . .I keep doing this not because I don't have faith, but because I do have faith. I have faith in the ultimate triumph of the spirit, intellect and heart of the American people. I have faith that the people I know want to leave something better for future generations, and know that something is terribly wrong, and want to do something about it. I do it because Paine and Jefferson were brilliant, unique singularities and were right.

. . . .I keep doing this because I don't believe in big imaginary friends for adults, I don't believe in alien conspiracies running the Government, I don't believe the Roswell bodies are at Wright-Patterson, I don't believe that a big portal will open up on Dec. 21, 2012, I don't believe that the spaceships will show up.

. . . I do believe that the people who have fucked everything up are greedy, avaricious human beings who have been able to steal from the American people, to harm them, who have run unchecked because no one calls it out for what it is. I believe that if we shine the light of day on it, if the people of this country have had enough, we can change it, and change it for the better.

. . . . I keep doing this because I do believe that people, human beings, unchecked will continue to do what they've done throughout history, and throughout the history of this country. Together, they will find the solutions and provide better for their children and grandchildren.

. . . .I believe in us, I believe in people. I believe in the beauty, power and grace of the individual.

. . . .I do this for everyone who's ever walked that lonely road of knowing what they do, what they believe, what they know is right. I do it for everyone who's ever walked that lonely road of faith, hope, love, hate, justice, war and peace.

. . . .I do it because I believe in justice, in all it's forms.

. . . .I do this everyday for the people and kids who are tattoed, pierced and inked and keep getting told to get "into the mainstream". I do this everyday for those guys who wear black that you don't understand, you just know there's something about them, and that when the chips are down, when you have to walk down a dark alley somewhere, and you know what's waiting for you at the end of it, and you can only take one person with you, that's who you want walking with you, because you know you'll come back out alive, and that guy doesn't care what it costs him.

. . . .I do this everyday for the outcasts, the misfits, the ones who don't fit and who will turn their back on you and walk away when you try to make them fit into a mold. I do it everyday for everyone who does it their way, knows that they're paying a high price for it, but the freedom is worth the cost.

. . . . I do this everyday for outlaws, cowboys, renegades, pirates and fallen angels. I do it everyday for the people who understand that rock and roll can save their soul, that redemption can be found in a 3-chord lick from a vintage Les Paul. I do it for the men and women who aren't afraid to turn it all the way up, who keep looking for an 11 setting on a volume knob that only goes to 10, who know that rock and roll's got nothing to do with age.


. . . .If right now, you're doing something you don't want to do, stop it. If you've surrounded yourself with people who want you to do or be something other than who you are, walk away. If you've got people around you who actually let it slip out that they think you "should be doing (fill in the blank here)" and it involves your life, your future, your existence as an individual, walk away, right now, and don't look back. You don't owe anyone anything. Live fearlessly. If the people around you can't accept it, can't accept you as you are, really are, they aren't and weren't friends anyhow.

. . . .Don't march to anyone else's drumbeat, don't drink the Kool-Aid, anyone's. Right, Left, conservative, liberal, Democrat, Republican, Christian, Buddhist, Pagan. Use your own mind, that's why you were given one. Examine, question, do what's right for you first, everything else will fall in place from there, quit looking for the path, you're already on it.

. . . .Come out of the gate each morning with both barrels blazing, pedal-to-metal, full-tilt boogie, all-in and balls-out, what's stopping you? Do you want to live forever? That'd be boring.

. . . .Got your back. somewhere out there in the night

. . . .Kiss your kids, tell the ones you love out loud that you do. Seize the precious moments before they're ripped away from you. This rodeo is a one-way ticket and no one, absolutely no one gets out alive. There aren't a lot of second chances, and we don't get to dictate terms and circumstances of how the ticket gets punched. This ain't no dress rehearsal, and the curtain's gone up, it's real and right now. It's not about yesterday or tomorrow. It's about right fucking here, right fucking now. This, what you're reading, what you're hearing, is the proof, the words, the sounds and the sights of someone changing his own life and his own world and not being afraid to put it out there. What have you done for yourself lately and why are you waiting? Do it now.

The Desolation Angel
from somewhere halfway to Heaven, and just a mile out of Hell

You know someone like me, there's still a few of us left. If we have to, we'll stand at the gates of Hell and hold the last train home for you.. . . . . .