Saturday, August 1, 2009

Rachel Maddow - Calling Republican bluffs on health care


Rachel is correct. Health care is a battle between the righteous and the corporate interests.

We are ruled by corporate interests. Some might say we live under a dictatorship of corporate interests. Many, if not most, of the people we elect to represent us, do not, in fact represent us, but rather serve those corporate interests which provided the wherewithal to get them elected and hold the purse strings to the dollars needed to stay in power.

Why do so many folks in this country fear "socialism," which they often define simply as a "government" program, but do not fear the absolute rule corporate interests hold over their lives?

We don't have health care for all because of corporate interests. We don't have cheap medicine in this country because of corporate interests. We don't have cheap oil because of corporate interests. We go to war to serve corporate interests (and with a couple of exceptions that has always been the case in recent years!). We don't have a decent minimum wage because of corporate interests. Our air is filthy and our forests are devastated because of corporate interests. We're are unable to fight global warming effectively because of corporate interests. Our food is untested and the animals we eat are raised amidst filth and disease because of corporate interests. Jobs by the millions have fled this country to those places where labor is cheap because of corporate interests. We waste billions and billions of dollars every year to incompetence, fraud and outright theft because of corporate interests.

And, ladies and gentlemen, it was corporate interests and the greed of those corporate interests that built a financial house of cards which crumbled in front of our eyes and is causing untold hardship for millions of our American citizens and people around the world!

Corporate moguls make myths

Found this at BuzzFlash.

It seems that General Electric, which is one of the worlds largest arms dealers, among other things, got its corporate shorts in a knot because Bill O'Reilly began attacking GE to get back at Keith Olbermann.

Huh? Well, Olbermann and O'Reilly have been feuding and Olbermann has exposed O'Reilly for being the pompous rightwing asshole he is who tells lies as a matter of course on a regular basis. Olbermann is employed by MSNBC which is owned by General Electric.

FAUX News is owned by Rupert Murdoch. O'Reilly, representing FAUX News, attacked GE for it's legal business dealings in Iran in a chickenshit attempt to punish GE for allowing Olbermann to say such nasty things about phone-sex Bill.

This led to some protests of MSNBC by GE stockholders.

Well! Can't have that! Thus, the corporate moguls got together and made a deal. Olbermann will back off and O'Reilly with STFU.

Sort of.

The myth we're supposed to believe is that FAUX News and GE via MSNBC care about reporting "news" or truth or anything of importance.

As my friends in Texas would say: Sheeeet! All they care about is makin' money. They got that right!


Read the entire BuzzFlash article here.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Thursday, July 30, 2009

God Almighty!



This is a bit long, but worth every minute!

Rachel Maddow - Obama vs. "Deathers"

Coulter and Malkin - Liars, liars, panties on fire!


It would be hard to find two more despicable, hateful, dishonest, morally-challenged women than Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin.

According to Politics Daily these two women invented a story about Lynn Sweet and Barack Obama. Lynn Sweet was the one who, at Obama's July 22 press conference, asked the president what he thought about the arrest of Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

President Obama then made the "famous" comment which has caused something of a stir, particularly among the more rabid racist element in our country - which includes most of the Repugnican Party.

Coulter, on FAUX News, said that Obama "planted" that question and that she could prove it! Michelle Malkin, on NBC's "Today Show," said "Absolutely do," when Matt Lauer asked if she thought the question had been "planned."


Lynn Sweet, who asked the question, said both Coulter and Malkin are wrong. She was being nice. She should have and could have rightly said, they are full of the usual bullshit they spread over the country's airwaves.

Sweet said the White House did not plant the question, nor did they know the question ahead of time.

Sweet also said, coherently, unlike either Coulter or Malkin, that the story of Gates' arrest had been plastered all over the media and it would only make sense that Obama would expect someone to raise the issue at his press conference.

Sweet noted "The idea that the Obama media machine would try to plant that question -- or any question -- with me is nutty. ... By the time Coulter and Malkin spoke with such certainty, I had already said that Obama did not have a clue about what I would be asking."


Hmmm. Well, that wouldn't matter to either Coulter or Malkin, for both are amoral, without integrity and disinterested in truth.

What I find interesting is that their suspicions reflect exactly what we had come to expect from the Bush White House. Rare and controlled press conferences where no "real" questions were allowed because Bush would not know how to answer a "real" question and would look as stupid as he really is if he tried, were the rule with Bush and Company.

So, when Coulter and Malkin make such assertions, they are telling us that's what they would have done; they are giving us another glimpse into the darkness of their souls!

A Virgin Birth

Boy, is this one on target. Thanks to Atheist Cartoons!

The Good Samaritan

Are there any "good" Samaritans? This is very funny. Thanks again to Dan Florien at Unreasonable Faith.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Rachel Maddow - A journalist. Lou Dobbs - A hack.

Lou Dobbs, the hack, calls Ms. Maddow a "tea-bagging queen." Ms. Maddow has a couple of things to say about that.

Health care, the GOP's death knell

The Southern Baptist Convention doesn't believe in education

That's right. The Southern Baptist Convention does not believe in education.

Onenewsnow reports that Morris Chapman, a former president of the SBC and one of the more hide-bound SBC leaders, wants Southern Baptist Churches to establish "Christian" schools. Chapman claims to be most concerned about "the protection and nurturing of the spiritual health and growth of children and adolescents."

And the reason he's concerned is because of the ungodly, secular, humanist public school system!

"In far too many public schools throughout the country," said Chapman, "our children are being bombarded with secular reasoning, situational ethics and moral erosion."

Hmm. He doesn't define those terms, but obviously considers such things to be anti the Southern Baptist god.

The solution, according to Chappie, is for SBC churches to set up "kingdom schools." This is what SBC kids need in order to learn the "truth" and be able to survive in the real world. Heh. Heh.


All of this may be leading somewhere else; may have more significant implications. Christian, in an article at Talk2Action, quotes Bruce Shortt of the Exodus Mandate, an organization involved in pulling christianist kids from public schools:

"Historically," says Shortt, "the Southern Baptist Convention has been rather joined at the hip with the public school system. But this proposal by Chapman, I think, represents the realization that the public school system is, in reality, the youth ministry for the state church of secular humanism."

What a fascinating statement. Especially the last part which uses a bunch of code words for the purpose of raising the hackles of fundy christianists: "youth ministry," "state church," "of secular humanism"?

Sheesh! Shortt is simply unconscionable! None of those terms have any validity in fact. They simply derive from his deluded mind.


The movement to move christianist kids from public to christianist schools is not new. James Dobson has been calling christianist parents to pull their kids out of public school for years. But, Chapman's statement may signal the beginning of a concerted SBC push to do just that.

Which is OK. Christianists can run their own schools. They can teach their children all the fantastical biblical stuff and create a whole generation of young people who are basically ignorant of reality and the way the world works. That's their right.


But it isn't education. It's indoctrination. Chapman, Shortt, Dobson and all those cut from this anti-public school mold, do not care about education; they do not believe in education. Education, by definition, is to help people learn to think, to consider alternatives, to come to their own conclusions.

And those goals are exactly the opposite of christianist indoctrination. It would be too bad for the country if the SBC decides to set up these so-called "kingdom schools." We already have too many people ignorant of history and science and just about every other subject you could name.

They're generally the ones who vote Repugnican!

Palin's "new" role


When Sarah Palin resigned as the governor of Alaska, she gave a speech which was full of the kind of nonsense we expect from Ms. Palin (such as how the media tells lies and picks on her kids), but also contained some unusually strange and contradictory remarks.

She seemed to be saying that she stepped down in order to better help Alaska with its problems. She said she wants "to chart a new course to advance the state." She also said that because she is no longer the governor she "will be able to fight even harder ... for what is right and for the truth."

Then she patted herself on the back by claiming, "What I promised, we accomplished."


It is truly fascinating how this woman's mind works. She resigned as governor in order to do precisely the things that a governor can do? As governor she had certain powers necessary to promote programs that benefited Alaska, and to achieve her goals for the state. As a private citizen, she has lost those powers.

And she didn't accomplish what she promised! The most egregious example being that she failed to serve out her term which she promised to do when she took the oath of office.


No one knows what she intends at this point other than to make speeches and make money and try to solidify her credentials as a political contender. But the polls suggest she is not as well-regarded as she might hope and political pundits are divided on her future role in the Republican Party.

Fortunately, the latest polls indicate a majority of Americans hold a negative view of her politics and her abilities.

Whatever happens, the MSM needs to pay much closer attention to her off-the-wall religious beliefs for they have grave implications in that they tend to drive her life, and more importantly, tie her to some very strange and dangerous theocrats who are in turn driven by a theology that is not close to traditional Christianity and in many ways is decidedly un-American.

We'll be discussing that further in a future post.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Amsterdam and Bill O'Reilly and FAUX News

By now, everyone should be well aware of the fact that Bill O'Reilly and FAUX News make up stories. They make them up and what's worse they broadcast their lies to the unsuspecting and naive folks in America who want so hard to believe that the United States is the best country in the world in every way.

Evidence never is a problem for Bill or FAUX News as they simply ignore it. Thus, when Bill and FAUX News made up stuff about Amsterdam they offered no evidence to back their claims. But they solemnly pronounced their made-up stuff as true. They shook their heads, went "Tsk, tsk, tsk."

But it was all a lie.

Here's the truth.

With thanks to PZ Myers at Pharyngula.

Mr. Jon Stewart eviscerates Ms. Sarah Palin

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Quitter
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Political HumorJoke of the Day

I'm not sure anyone should be subjected to Palin's incredibly irritating nasal whine for more than, oh, 1 or 2 seconds, but if you can handle it, watch this video where Mr. Stewart has a great time helping Ms. Palin show the entire world what a complete fool she is. "Ignorance R Us" describes Palin perfectly.

Oops! I better go upstairs and see what Mommy has cooked for din-din. You see, just like Sarah said, I'm in my basement den, lounging about in my PJ's, pecking away on my computer writing nasty articles about her for my blog.

What conservative Repugnicans really think about their country


Conservative Repugnicans in Congress do not give a rat's ass about this country or the people whom they serve!

As we have said many times, it's all about power: how to get it and how to maintain it!

McClatchy describes the shenanigans currently underway in Washington surrounding the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court.

There is no question she will be confirmed. All 12 Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee and one Repugnican (Lindsey Graham) are planning to vote for her. When the nomination goes to the full Senate, it is expected the Democrats will vote for her and the Repugnicans will vote Nay!


So, what's new, you say? Well, the Repugs see the vote of Judge Sotomayor as an opportunity to gain political points! In other words, their vote in the Senate is not based, in any way, shape, or form, on whether she might be a good judge on the Supreme Court, but on whether they can use it to their political advantage!

Ralph Reed, the nogoodnik "activist," wrote a memo stating that "Republicans can reap significant political benefits by voting against her confirmation and making her an issue in key races next year."

Grover Norquist, another nogoodnik, wants Repugs to point out that Sotomayor is anti-gun and is for racial quotas. True or not. It doesn't matter.

The NRA is going to use her as ammo to elect more of it's supporters in the next go-around.


But none of this may work and, indeed, may backfire. Some analysts, such as Merle Black, says "The main issue right now is jobs. I don't know how many Americans are paying attention to the Sotomayor debate."

And so it goes. There's a lot more which you can read at the McClatchy Washington Bureau here.

The point remains: The bulk of Congressional Repugnicans just don't give a damn about the country or the people! They are a collection of right-wing freaks who collectively distort the truth or tell out-right lies and have absolutely nothing to offer on any issue with which this country is confronted!

Finally, they are, for the most part, out-and-out racists!

Big Brother is here!


The United States House of Representatives "overwhelmingly approved a bill saying that anyone offering an open Wi-Fi connection to the public must report illegal images including 'obscene' cartoons and drawings--or face fines of up to $300,000," according to BS Alert.

Here's more:

"That broad definition would cover individuals, coffee shops, libraries, hotels, and even some government agencies that provide Wi-Fi. It also sweeps in social-networking sites, domain name registrars, Internet service providers, and e-mail service providers such as Hotmail and Gmail, and it may require that the complete contents of the user's account be retained for subsequent police inspection."


Frankly, I find this mind-boggling! The vote was 409 to 2. It's called the SAFE Act.

And the SOB's behind it were very sneaky. They "rushed" it "to the floor under a procedure that's supposed to be reserved for noncontroversial legislation. ... [It] has never received even one hearing or committee vote."


The bill will probably be found unconstitutional as there is no way to define what "illegal images" means or how to determine what is "obscene."

The world is going to hell in a handbasket. Our country is sinking in the mire of corporate corruption devised and supported by the previous administration. Well, you know how the rest goes - we've got some real problems on our hands.

Not to worry. Our Congressional representatives are hard at work proving that Obama's real birth certificate is a fake and passing bills that threaten your rights under the First Amendment!

And these are the clowns that crow about their "strict" construction of the Constitution and who parade their fears of "socialism" and "big" government telling people what to do!

I'm thinking we're involved in a repeat of 1930s Germany. Hitler, you'll recall, was not a commie or a socialist, but a "conservative" who thought he knew best what Germans should believe and do.

Glenn Beck IS insane!


One important aspect of the definition of insanity is the inability to differentiate between what is real and what is fantasy.

Enter Glenn Beck who thinks that Obama hates white people. That's quite interesting for, as Crooks and Liars points out, his mother was white and he was raised by white grandparents.

One of these days they're going to come in white coats and straight-jackets and haul Beck's fat ass off to a water-boarding school where he can get some hands-on experience.

Well, hell, we can dream, can't we?

Thaddeus McCotter is a dimwitted wingnut Repugnican from Michigan. How do asshats like this get elected? It's very frightening to realize Congress is full of them!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Glenn Beck is probably insane


I wonder if the FOX News corporation has therapists that could help this poor fool.

Rick Perry - Worst person in the world!

Top Ten Things Overheard at Sarah Palin's...



Thanks to Video Cafe.

Heil, you Dick!

Old news in a new wrapper, and ultimately unsurprising, though frightful as hell:

Dick Cheney had no use for the Constitution of the United States when he was running the White House during the Bush Administration.

We've known that for years. The MSM has known that for years. But the MSM, fearful of losing "access" to the White House Lie Machine, and compromised by their corporate masters, let Dick Cheney get away with perfecting his anti-Constitutional agenda!

Heil, Dick!


The latest example comes from a NY Times article which reported Cheney, using a self-justifying DOJ memo from the nogoodniks, John Yoo and Robert Delahunty, pushed hard to use United States military forces "to arrest and detain American citizens, inside the U.S., who were suspected of involvement with al Qaeda."

Glenn Greenwald gives all the rotten details in a detail article at Salon.com.

Greenwald notes that "this October 23 Memo was one of the most significant events in American politics in the last several decades, because it explicitly declared the U.S. Constitution -- the Bill of Rights -- inoperative inside the U.S., as applied to U.S. citizens."


Although Cheney pushed hard for using of the military against American citizens, he was ultimately overruled by Bush. It is doubtful that George Jr. knew what the Constitution says about this or cared, but being first and foremost a political animal, he determined it would cause too much of an uproar and might lead to further investigations into the criminality of his administration.

Over the past eight years, while the MSM has been kissing the asses of the Bushites, many people in the blogosphere have been crying that a dictatorship is just a stroke of the pen away and that under Bush/Cheney we came closer to a full-fledged dictatorship than at any time in our history. The Bush/Cheney administration not only had no respect for the Constitution and laws of our country, but contrived over and over again to circumvent both!

Please read Greenwald's article here for a detailed and reasoned argument as to why we cannot allow this to happen again; under Obama or anyone else!