The "disgraceful" treatment of G. W. Bush

The Wall Street Journal. Jeffrey Scott Shapiro. "The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace."


Mr. Shapiro, erstwhile defender of George W. Bush, writes that a whole bunch of folks in San Francisco petitioned to have a sewage plant named after George W. Bush. (Sounds good to me, but why give a sewage plant a bad name?)

Shapiro, though, is upset. This, he says, "is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president."

He says Bush's approval ratings are hovering just above basement level. And that "is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans."

It's all so sad. Poor Mr. Bush. His "bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties."

All right, stop laughing! Shapiro isn't done!

"It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything." Yup!

Shapiro, living in an alternative reality, whines on:

"The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.

"Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House."

That must be why the entire world is dancing for joy over Obama's election and Bush's anticipated departure?


Do you suppose Mr. Shapiro made it through the 8th grade?

It's not just that what he says is insanely misguided, but that the opposite of what he says is true. The problem is not that Americans have treated Bush "disgracefully," but that Bush has treated this nation and its people disgracefully; it's that Mr. Bush has damn near destroyed the land of the free and the home of the brave.


To put it in the words of Joseph L. Galloway at McClatchy:

"They've [the Bush administration] squandered lives, fortunes and our sacred honor."

To be specific:

The Republican Party, under the leadership of President Bush, has "wrought - an economic meltdown, two endless wars, class warfare that's enriched the very rich and beggared everyone else and a treasury bulging with IOU's..."

Bush and his Party have, says Galloway, "...done everything they could to destroy the government and the Constitution that our forefathers so carefully constructed to check and balance any self-anointed monarch's ability to do evil or accumulate dangerous and excessive power. ...

"...our right to privacy has been whittled away, legally and illegally. Big Brother has been listening, but only for our own good. ...

"With the arrogance common to those who are ignorant of both history and the world, these people threw away our standing in that world, declaring that everyone must either be with us or against us. ...

"They demanded unfettered capitalism, and in the hands of the Wall Street robber barons that was turned into pure evil, pure greed and pure folly. Now millions of Americans are losing their homes in the mortgage meltdown, and millions more have seen their life savings, their 401ks and IRAs, their hopes of a comfortable retirement, blow away like so many leaves on a cruel Texas norther.

"They played on our fears like a mighty Wurlitzer Organ, frightening us with lies into an unnecessary war in Iraq. ...

"They frightened us so badly that we voluntarily surrendered the precious rights that a million American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen and others bought for us with their lives during two centuries of freedom and democracy.

"They used fear to violate international law, to torture and imprison thousands of suspected enemies without charges or trials. They used fear and invoked national security to suspend the right of habeas corpus, the foundation of our freedoms."


Galloway is absolutely right, but he didn't even touch on one of the most detrimental policies of the Bush administration -- the denial of global warming and the refusal to engage in any action which might deal effectively with what is rapidly becoming the major threat to the world's survival!

He didn't mention the failure of Bush and company to address the growing poverty in this, the richest nation on earth, or the unwillingness to provide health care to people who cannot afford it, or the shameless absorption of fundamentalist Christianity political goals into the policies of the Bush administration, thus disallowing stem cell research, and condom-distribution in AIDS-stricken Africa. This merging of church and state has also led to the infiltration of our military by christianist rightists, to a insane and belligerent stance toward Iran predicated on end-times theology, to a refusal to protect women's right to choose, to an assault on the rights of gays and lesbians.


As the Bush/Cheney administration winds down, the culprits face the nation with innocent blood dripping from their hands, and the entire world reels in pain, shocked by these madmen who have ruled the United States for nigh onto eight years. At this very moment, American soldiers are dying in far-off lands for no reason whatsoever, and innocent men, women and children lay eviscerated next to them, and the cries of the suffering rise to deities who have either turned away or are not there.


So, Mr. Shapiro, don't tell us that we have treated this president "disgracefully." Everything he has touched has turned toxic and, except for his wealthy cronies, the world has suffered in ungodly agony.

He and his friends are criminals, Mr. Shapiro! It is possible that they will eventually stand before the bar of justice and answer for their crimes.

You see, the word, "disgraceful," is an adjective describing President Bush.

Tim Tebow and facial evangelism

[Photo by Rob Witzxel, staff photographer at the Star Banner]


The following is derived from a story at Ocala.com.

Tim Tebow, for those of you who are not Gator fans, is the esteemed quarterback for the University of Florida's football team. A Heisman Trophy winner, Tebow is obviously a skilled pigskin artist.

He's also something of a flake. Silly as it sounds, Tebow paints a link to one of his favorite bible verses on his cheeks - Philippians 4:13, which reads "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Now, Mr. Tebow can paint any damn thing he so desires on his cheeks. It's interesting, though, that he feels the need to wear his faith on his face. Lots of people wear their faith on their sleeves and that's annoying enough. Is Tebow trying to convert his opponents? Maybe he's attempting to intimidate his opponents by implying that he's got Christ backing him up? Does Mr. Tebow really believe his Christ gives him super strength in order to win a football game?

Many of the christianists on the right believe that their Christ takes a special and personal interest in the minutia of their lives. But what kind of theology holds that Christ gives a rip who wins a college football game?

Tebow is convinced that Christ does care. Indeed, for him, Christ is the "true source of strength."


So what would it mean to Tebow if everyone on an opposing team showed up with a link to the same bible verse on their cheeks? That would sure as hell confuse the issue!

Even more fascinating is that Tebow doesn't link to anything Jesus said, but to one little verse from Paul's letter to the Philippians?

Why not link to Matthew 19:21 where Jesus tells the rich young man (football player?), "If you wish to go the whole way, go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor, and then you will have riches in heaven; and come, follow me"?

Nah...too many endorsements await!

Update (12/7/08): Click here.

The moral issues

In previous posts, we have discussed the "moral" issues deemed most important by the christianists on the right.

Almost without exception, for right wing christianists, the term "moral issues" refers to abortion and homosexuality. Once in awhile, "socialism" is also thrown into the mix, but for the most part moral issues are the holy duo of abortion and homosexuality.

We've mentioned that this is an unholy disregard for other, more significant moral issues, such as preemptive war, stealing from the poor to enrich the rich, denying people their rights under the Constitution, health care, education, poverty, global warming, the environment, etc.


But from our inception as a nation, the major moral issue has revolved around our treatment of minorities. Genocide was our national policy for years as we systematically killed the natives whose land we wanted for our own. Slavery, from the beginning, has hung like a dead weight around our collective necks. And as various immigrant groups found their way to our shores, they were routinely derided, defamed and made to bear the burden of hate.

All of this is racism, which in its multitudinous forms, continues to be a moral issue in this country. That's why the election of Barack Obama, a "mutt," as he called himself today in his first press conference -- half white, half black -- is such a milestone and why it should be a cause for celebration for all Americans. It was a giant step up from the mire of racial hatred.

Anna Quindlen, writing in this week's issue of Newsweek, referred to a speech given by President-elect Obama some months ago. Obama spoke of the problem of race, and about people living with "systemic poverty, bad schools and broken families. Obama said that "Many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow."

No one with a modicum of knowledge about our history would disagree. And as we noted in a previous post, slavery "by another name," which involved the selling of blacks - arrested on bogus charges - to plantation owners and steel mills to be worked until they dropped or died in their shackles, existed in the South until the 1940's.

Quindlen continues: "But Obama said something else in that speech, something both simpler and more profound that has special resonance now that his improbable candidacy has prevailed. He made the political spiritual.

"'In the end, then,' he said, 'what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand--that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.' He asked the American people to be fair and just, to be kind and generous, to put prejudice behind them and be one people because that is, not a legal or social imperative, but a moral one."


It would be nice to hear something from the christianists on the right about the moral issue of racism in our midst, and it would be nice if they could admit that Obama was speaking the truth and praise him for it.

But they're too busy preaching God is exclusive, not inclusive. They're too busy spreading their hate for those who believe differently about abortion -- and many of them lie about Obama's position on abortion, claiming he wants to kill babies born alive after botched abortions! The christianists on the right are too busy spreading their prejudice against gays and lesbians, picking and choosing a couple of bible verses to bolster their animosity.

[As regards socialism, the Book of Acts in the New Testament would seem to support a socialistic system, for it describes the early followers of Jesus as living in a community where all shared what they had with each other. Sounds like socialism, albeit primitive, to me!]


One cannot find any justification in the life or teachings of Jesus as he is presented in the gospels for the hatred expressed by christianists on the right for those we describe today as pro-choice or people born homosexual. In fact, just the opposite is true. The gospel writers are one in their portrayal of Jesus as being especially accepting of those society has cast aside.

The people Jesus really had problems with were the pompous, pious, pretenders to righteousness who failed to see they shared a common humanity with all people, and failed to realize that god's love was unconditional.

If the shoe fits...

False equivalencies by Glenn Greenwald

In a Nov. 6 article at Salon.com, Glenn Greenwald quotes a Maureen Dowd piece in The New York Times that equated the Clinton presidency with the Bush presidency and then said that Barack Obama "has the chance to make the White House pristine again."

Greenwald argues that Dowd's argument doesn't hold water:

"These things are not equal. They're not even comparable. But in her desperation to establish false equivalencies -- the central article of faith in the modern journalist's religion -- Dowd argues that Clinton dirtied the White House by having oral sex and liking hot tubs, and, likewise, George Bush also dirtied it by destroying the Constitution, torturing people, invading and destroying another country based on false pretenses and spying on American citizens (and, just by the way, Bush and Cheney weren't 'making torture and domestic spying legal'; they were doing those things in violation of the law).

"The stain Bill Clinton left on Monica Lewinsky's dress isn't remotely comparable to the stain George Bush and Dick Cheney have left on the Constitution, our political values and our national imagge -- to say nothing of the indelible bloodstains on their hands. But for so long, Beltway journalists have treated those things as though they're equal; more accurately, they were -- and remain -- far more offended by the former than the latter. To this day, David Broder still insists that Bill Clinton should have been forced to resign ove the sex he had with Monica Lewinsky, whereas nothing that George Bush did merits removal from office or even resignation, and especially not criminal investigation and prosecution (holding lawbreaking Bush officials accountable is to commit the ultimate Beltway sin of 'criminalizing our politics'").


Greenwald is absolutely correct and his observations will become more significant in the days ahead as the Bush criminals try to avoid prosecution for their crimes. Rest assured the Limbaugh's, Coulter's, O'Reilly's and the other right wing scum will be crying that Bush did nothing worse than other presidents, especially that bad guy, Bill Clinton. Unfortunately, joining their chorus of weeping will be other, less rabid, pundits.

Real all of Greenwald's article here.

James Dobson is in mourning

James Dobson is a religious fraud, promoting a religion not found in either the Hebrew Bible or the Christian New Testament, and has no relationship whatsoever to the Jesus of the Gospels. He preaches hatred and division, and calls the people of America to go to war against one another.

Dobson is an ass.


Thus it was a joy to hear that James Dobson, the ass, the morning after the election, went into mourning. "I want to admit that I am in the midst of a grieving process at this time. ... I'm not grieving over Barack Obama's victory, but over the loss of things that I've fought for, for 35 years."

That's a crock. It was Barack Obama's victory that caused the "loss of things" that Dobson's fought for, for too goddamn long! And it couldn't have happened to a "nicer" guy.

Dobson "congratulated" Obama on "his stunning victory." Watch for the knife in the back, Barack! Ah, here it comes ... "...to be honest, I have to say his win causes me enormous concern because he will be the most committed pro-abortion president in our history. He's in favor of much of the homosexual agenda and he's going to appoint the most liberal justices to the Supreme Court, perhaps that we've ever had. So, there are many reasons why I'm struggling to day over the likely path that the nation has taken."

Ouch!, but "congrats, Barack!" Hah!

Notice how the words of this christianist phony are a battle cry. My god, Obama's gonna tear down all that's right and good. What should the "values" voters do? Try to destroy the Obama presidency?


Dobson, the christianist phony, has set up a sister organization to his Focus on the Family in order to avoid trouble with the IRS. It's a scam, though. It's not fundamentally different than Focus on the Family, and promotes the same crap. But, by taking advantage of the way the law is written, the organization, Focus on the Family Action, can politic all day and its execs can stay out of jail.

Unbossed.com noted that last night, "Focus on the Family Action sent out a fundraising email to members that likened the victories of Barack Obama and the congressional Democrats in Tuesday's election to the Nazi bombing of England during WWII. The author of this vile letter is Tom Minnery, Senior Vice President of Focus on the Family Action."

Here's how the letter begins:

"Dear Friend,

"The spirit of Winston Churchill was alive and well on Tuesday night at Focus on the Family Action headquarters.

"You may recall that in the most desperate days of World War II - when Great Britain was being pounded daily by Hitler's Luftwaffe - that Winston Church called on his countrymen not to despair from danger but to rise to the challenge.

"'Do not speak of darker days,' he said. 'Let us speak rather of sterner days. These are dark days; these are great days -- the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we shall all thank God that we have been allowed, each one of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable. ...'

"As our incredible team of staff members watched the election results pour in on Election Night, an amazing thing happened that Churchill might have recognized. Despite some sobering disappointments, there was no mood of despair and no 'bunker mentality.' Instead, a firm sense of resolve began to permeate our team -- a spirited and determined recognition that now, more than ever, we must prayerfully and boldly shine the light of truth in the public arena and defend what is right.

"Let me speak plainly. Our nation has never faced the kind of anti-family, pro-abortion assault that we're likely to see in the coming weeks and months. We don't have to guess what the Left will do now that they control Congress and the White House ... "

Blah, blah, blah...

The letter ends with, naturally, a plea for money "to stem the tide of liberalism."

A vile letter, indeed. Winston Churchill, if he were to read this moron's letter, would take a big draw on his cigar, a big swig of his brandy, and pronounce, in his inimitable voice:

"I say, old chap, that bloke is full of shit!"


Here's more on Minnery and friends from citizenlinkelectioncentral.com.

"With an Obama administration forthcoming, Focus Action's Tom Minnery says, 'We've got a big challenge ahead of us.'"

"He and FRC Action President Tony Perkins encouraged CitizenLink viewers to remain hopeful of what God might do in the next four years -- and to be in prayer.

"'For those who have been praying for weeks, our responsibility does not end today,' Perkins said. 'In Luke 18, Jesus said men should not lose heart, but they should pray. We need to continue to be in prayer for America.'

This next is really sad:

"Minnery pointed out that in the Bible, God worked through pagan rulers such as Nebuchadnezzar, Darius and Cyrus to accomplish his purposes, and that values voters ought to begin praying for President-elect Obama.

"'God can use any president for his own purposes.' Minnery said." In other words, Obama is a "pagan ruler."

Yup, keep praying, and God will twist that old pagan president into a pretzel of his own choosing and save Amurrica from the devilish abortionists and homosexual predators!


As I said above, these christianist right organizations are nothing more than churches in disguise and they should immediately lose any tax exemptions they might currently hold. They are openly religious organizations but are engaged primarily in promoting their political agenda!

It also seems to me that asses like Dobson, Minnery, Perkins, et. al., are certifiably insane. One of the definitions of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again when it is clear that what you're doing doesn't work.

Pray, pray, pray. Now either prayer doesn't work (I mean, Obama was elected), or the god to whom these clowns were praying wanted Obama to be president! The latter scenario is just too hard to imagine, so it must be the first - prayer doesn't work. To continue to pray, knowing that it is a futile exercise, is insane!

Remember though, crazy people can be very dangerous, and mean, and evil. Some of them are asses.

A dream realized

Thanks to the Pensito Review. Cartoon originally posted at Brains & Eggs.

When is a mandate a mandate?

When one's mind is encircled and closed by a rigid ideology, or theology, or any kind of ology, it is difficult to accept contradictory information or another version of what might be the truth.

Thus, fundamentalist Christians, who base literally everything in which they believe on their faulty and errant assumption that the bible is the "word" of god and is infallible and inerrant, have to go through increasingly complex intellectual gymnastics to try to keep on an even keel as the world around them demolishes their assumptions. And that is why they stay clutched together--physically and mentally--with other members of their particular brand of religious ideology. They clutch one another to protect themselves against the fearsome possibility there might be an alternative reality that would dissemble their most cherished myths.


The same is true of political ideologues. Political ideologues can be found along the full-range of the political spectrum. They differ, however, in the way they react to new truth and to change. Those that reside on the more "liberal" side of the spectrum tend to welcome new truth and to treat change as an opportunity. Those who live further right on the spectrum tend to deny and defy new truth and resist or refuse change, while clinging to their past beliefs and strategies.


Thus, we can understand someone like Robert Novak. Brian Normoyle at the Huffington Post notes that Novak's column in Wednesday's edition of the Chicago Sun-Times claimed that Obama's election was not "a broad mandate from the public" and all those new Democrats elected to Congress did not constitute, in Normoyle's words, "evidence of a shifting tide in American politics."

Robert Novak is a conservative -- residing way down on the right side of the political spectrum.

In 2004, G. W. Bush won re-election by a 35 electoral vote-margin: 35 votes. He won the popular vote (so long as you allow the Ohio thefts) with a 2.4% margin over John Kerry - 50.7% to 48.3%.

George W. Bush, and Republicans in every corner of the country, and conservative pundits like Novak, all proclaimed that Bush had a received a "mandate" from the American people. Bush even went on to pronounce that this "mandate" gave him lots of political "capital" to spend and he intended to spend it!


Obama won with an electoral count of 364 as opposed to 163 for McCain! (That count may be updated shortly). Obama won 53% of the popular vote as opposed to McCain's 46.6% for McCain - a 7.4-million vote margin of victory!

In the Senate, the Democrats ended up ousting enough Republicans so far to claim a 55-42 majority, and that number may increase in the days ahead.

In the House, the Democrats ended up ousting enough Republicans so far to claim a 254-173 majority, and that number may increase in the days ahead.


What, I wonder, would it take for Novak to credit Obama with a "mandate" from the American people? How does a 35 electoral vote margin trump a 201 electoral vote margin?

One of the problems with ideologues is that facts never disturb their fantasies!

What the hell happened in Alaska?

This from Americablog yesterday.

Quoting pollster Nate Silver:

Although Ted Stevens holds a small lead in Alaska and is the favorite to retain his seat, the outcome is not as inevitable as it might appear to be. Stevens currently holds a lead of 3,353 votes, or about 1.5 percent of the votes tallied so far. But, there are quite a large number of ballots yet to count. According to Roll Call, these include "at least 40,000 absentee ballot[s], 9,000 early voting ballots, and an undetermined number of questionable ballots".

Indeed, it seems possible that the number of "questionable" ballots could be quite high. So far, about 220 thousand votes have been processed in Alaska. This compares with 313 thousand votes cast in 2004. After adding back in the roughly 50,000 absentee and early ballots that Roll Call accounts for, that would get us to 270 thousand ballots, or about a 14 percent drop from 2004. It seems unlikely that turnout would drop by 14 percent in Alaska given the presence of both a high-profile senate race and Sarah Palin at the top of the ticket."


The Anchorage Daily News has also weighed in, offering comments from around the country on this weird phenomenon. One of the best came from "Homer blogger Shannyn Moore."

Not only is Ms. Moore "raising the specter of a 'stolen election' for Stevens ... She's suspicious of an apparent drop in voter participation from the 2004 presidential elections - from 66 percent then to 55 percent this week - even with Sarah Palin on the Republicans' national ticket.

[Note that her percentages differ a bit from Silver's]

"That's a decrease of more than 11% in voter turnout even though passions ran high for and against Obama, as well as for and against Sarah Palin! This year, early voters set a new record. As of last Thursday, with 4 days left for early voting, 15,000 Alaskans showed up - shattering the old record set in 2004 by 28%! Consider the most popular governor in history-and now the most polarizing-was on the Republican ticket. Consider the historic nature of this race; the first African-American presidential candidate EVER! The second woman to ever make a presidential ticket; and she's one of our own. Despite that, we're supposed to believe that overall participation DECREASED by 11%. Not only that, but his historic election ... HAD THE LOWEST ALASKA TURNOUT FOR A PRESIDENTIAL RACE EVER!!! That makes sense. REALLY??? Something stinks."

Yup!


Could it possibly be that the Republican Party in Alaska, not known for its ethics or morals, and afraid that Alaska might vote Democratic (which would be a huge embarrassment what with their guv running with J. McCain!), somehow arranged for enough votes to disappear to keep Alaska in the Republican column?

Yup!

Hey, they did it in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004!

Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel

Already the carping has begun. Some folks are unhappy with the choice of Rahm Emanuel as President-elect Obama's Chief of Staff.

He's too conservative, they say. He's too intense, they say. He's too ferocious, they say.

He's too partisan, they say.

What we need now is someone willing to "reach across the aisle," they say.

Bullshit, I say!


Already, the Repugs are lining up their ducks to fight the Democrats at every turn! The Repugs know nothing except partisanship! Partisan is the name of the ship they've sailed for the past eight years - actually, for the last almost 30 years! And New Gingrich made that ship an ironclad in 1994!

Now, Roy Blunt, the current House Minority Whip is stepping down (shoved out?) and his place is being taken by Deputy Minority Whip, Eric Cantor, of Virginia.

Why? Because Eric Cantor will fight the Dems more effectively! He is an extremist by almost every measure, and is partisan to the extreme. When his name surfaced as a possible running mate for John McCain, Republican moderates went screaming into the night.

Some time ago, we blogged on Mr. Cantor. Click here for a rundown on what he's voted for and what he's voted against. He's farther right than Attila the Hun, to use an old cliche!


So I say, Welcome to the Party, Mr. Emanuel! You've got experience, you know what the hell is going on, and you're not afraid to take on the dipshits on the Republican side of the aisle. You'll protect your president from the goofballs on the right and all the other just plain goofballs.

You're in for the fight of your life because the Repugs aren't going to take their bitter defeat sitting down or standing up or in any other position. They're gonna fight every Democratic initiative and they're going to attack President Obama at every turn. They're also gonna use their normal M.O. and fight dirty.

It's nice to have someone who knows how to fight back and isn't afraid to deal with the scumbags on their own ground! They say you're hard-headed. Great! Put on the gloves!


Watch Chris Matthews eviscerate Eric Cantor in the video below.

More of the same

56,302,616 Americans voted for more of the same.


[Thanks to the Ybor City Stogie]

The difference between a grown-up and a Pit Bull with lipstick

A week or so ago, Sarah Palin answered the phone and began talking with the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.

She was sooooo excited! She gushed like a teenager getting an autograph from a rock star. Both John McCain and I love you, she said.

When the caller referred to various political leaders, including the Canadian Prime Minister, it was clear that Palin had no clue who was who.

The kicker was when the person calling said he'd seen the documentary done on her life, Hustler's "Nailin' Paylin," and she said, "Oh good!"

Palin was not talking to President Sarkozy, of course, but to a Canadian comedian who had "pranked" her.


Today, President-elect Obama responded to calls from nine world leaders, including the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy.

"Sarkozy's office says they spoke for 30 minutes and characterized the discussion as 'extremely warm' as the president congratulated Obama on a 'brilliant' election victory. The statement said they discussed international issues, particularly the financial crisis, and agreed to meet in the 'quite near future'"


And that, ladies and gentleman, is the difference between a grown-up and a Pit Bull with lipstick.

Sarah Palin and Washington "insiders"

In an article titled "The Insiders," published October 27, 2008 in The New Yorker, Jane Mayer shreds Palin's contention she is an "outsider," unconnected to the "elite" in Washington, D.C.

You may recall Palin's smartass comment at the Republican Convention:

"Here's a little news flash. I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I've learned quickly these past few days that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone..."

Somewhat later, she told FOX News, "I'm certainly a Washington outsider, and I'm proud of that, because I think that is what we need."


But this is the best one. When interviewed by Charles Gibson of ABC, she was questioned as to her foreign policy experience. She said, "We've got to remember what the desire is in this nation at this time. It is for no more politics as usual, and somebody's big fat resume, maybe, that shows decades and decades in the Washington establishment . . . Americans are getting sick and tired of that self-dealing, and kind of that closed-door, good-ol'-boy network that has been the Washington elite."

Ask yourself - which well-known person, recently on the campaign trail, fits quite neatly into Palin's characterization? Which politician who gives speeches to what he calls his "friends" has a "big fat resume" showing "decades and decades in the Washington establishment"?

Why the hell didn't someone pick up on this? Here's the vice presidential candidate bashing the presidential candidate! And more importantly, why didn't the McCain campaign put her on a snowmobile and send her back to Wasilla?


But there's more to this story. Palin is well-connected to the Washington establishment, that elite group she disparages at every turn.

When she wanted media attention paid to her efforts to promote a natural-gas pipeline, "the state hired a public-relations firm with strong East Coast connections. Marcia Brier, head of MCB Communications, in Needham, Massachusetts, was the publicist on the project. The contract was for $37,000.

In Wasilla, Palin as mayor hired a Washington-area lobbyist, Steven Silver, to represent the town's interests in Washington. (Silver, Ted Stevens' chief of staff, "was indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts and is now standing trial). The Washington Post reported that Silver helped Palin obtain $27 million in federal earmarks for Wasilla, which at the time had 6700 residents.


Ms. Mayer provides a number of other scintillating details regarding Ms. Palin's "insider" status, essentially proving that was far from the case. You'll enjoy reading about her fawning over "well-connected Washington conservative thinkers" who came to Alaska. You'll also find new insight as to how and why this relatively unknown pol from that northern outpost ended up on the McCain ticket.

Read it all right here!

Richard Viguerie wants all Republican Congressional Leaders to resign

Who the hell is Richard Viguerie? Do you recognize the man in the photo?

Mr. Viguerie has for years, been one of the most radical "conservative" extremists in our land. A true believer, he attacks with viciousness all those who refuse to share his vision. Although he's written several books promoting his nonsense, he's most famous for developing a direct mail system for political campaigns.

Today Viguerie is chairman of a right-wing extremist group called ConservativeHQ.com.

Christiannewswire.com reports that Viguerie is now taking after those Republicans in Congress who, he believes, are responsible for what he considers an election debacle.

"Republican congressional leaders have failed their party, they have failed the conservatives who make up their party's base, and they have failed the American people. They should resign immediately."

Dontcha just love it?

Viguerie continues his diatribe: "The political party that conservatives have supported with their volunteer work, money, and votes has not supported conservatives. That has to change. The congressional leadership must be replaced with principled conservatives."

Now where the hell are you going to find a "principled" conservative? That's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one!

"If the congressional leaders refuse to resign, grassroots conservatives should cut off their support - their financial support and their volunteer support. ...

"Not one cent, not one minute of volunteer work, should go to the Republican Party until the congressional leadership is replaced with principled conservatives. These leaders still don't understand why the voters have rejected them, and they won't 'get it' until conservatives hit them where it hurts. ...

"In this election, the people did not reject conservatism. They rejected failed, incompetent Big Government Republican leaders. It's time for conservatives to do the same."


Methinks Viguerie doesn't get it, either. The people did, indeed, reject "conservatism," as well as what he so aptly describes as "failed, incompetent Big Government Republican leaders." They've had enough of this crap!

It's a new day, thank the deity! And while Viguerie is flapping his wings in protest, he ain't going nowhere!

The meaning of Obama's election

Many people are pondering and pontificating as to what special meaning we can derive as a nation from the election of Barack Obama.

Much of what is said is valuable and helpful.

Michael Moor, erstwhile and dedicated patriot, notes that "In a nation that was founded on genocide and built on the backs of slaves, it [Obama's election] was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity: Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea. ...

" [...] today we celebrate this triumph of decency over personal attack, of peace over war, of intelligence over a belief that Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago. What will it be like to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will return. Imagine supporting our country's greatest minds as they seek to cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet.

"We may, just possibly, also see a time of refreshing openness, enlightenment and creativity. The arts and artists will not be seen as the enemy. Perhaps art will be explored in order to discover the greater truths. ... What will it be like to work and create in an environment that nurtures and supports film and the arts, science and invention, and the freedom to be whatever you want to be? Watch a thousand flowers bloom!"


Tony Pugh of McClatchy Newspapers, reminds us that "When President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in January, he'll be standing on stone that was laid by more than 400 African slaves who helped build the structure from 1792 to 1800.

"While few modern Americans are aware of the role that slaves played in the early days of the nation, Obama's inauguration will be a pivotal moment in the nation's centuries-old struggle to purge itself of the sins of slavery."


And that is wonderful! But, Pugh refers us to Clarence Williams, a professor of history at the University of California at Davis, who warns that "Obama's victory doesn't mean that America is or ever will be colorblind. 'But what it does is suggest we have taken another gigantic step forward with our racial problem."

In other words, Obama's election is not the end, but another beginning: "America retains a unique ability to reinvent itself on the fly. And whatever problems we face as a nation, they're not intractable."

That's the hope of Obama!

Palin's religious ties explained

Bruce Wilson, who has written extensively on Sarah Palin's ties to a particular and scary religious movement, now offers an article which summarizes the salient points he has been making for months.

In "The Palin Scandal in The Living Room," he decries the fact that Palin's religious ties, for the most part, have been ignored by the MSM, even though they are much more questionable than the associations of either McCain or Obama.

"Sarah Palin's religious beliefs and associations should have provoked a national scandal given the possibility that remained, even as of yesterday, that Palin might become, as a vice president, a heartbeat away from the United States presidency."

Here's why that is true:

"High level leaders in that [religious] movement directly tied to vice presidential candidate Palin were on public record urging Christians to 'infiltrate' key sectors of society such as government and business and proposing a program of religious and social cleansing in which entire population groups would convert to the form of Christianity espoused by the New Apostolic Reformation or else be 'displaced', driven from 'the land.' ...

"On October 16, 2005 Sarah Palin was endorsed, blessed and anointed by Thomas Muthee. Video footage of that ceremony is in the public domain.

"In the video, Muthee tells his Wasilla Assembly of God audience, which included Sarah Palin, that 'God's Kingdom' (Christians in his movement, that is) should 'infiltrate' and 'penetrate' seven key areas of society including politics and government. Muthee also said that 'the Israelites' control the economy.

"Thomas Muthee is an international celebrity to millions for Muthee's role in the Transformations video series, by George Otis, Jr. which describes how crime, addiction and other societal problems can be cured by driving out 'witches' and casting out territorial demons. Sarah Palin, in 2000, while mayor of Wasilla, borrowed one of the Transformations videos from a former pastor of Palin's."

Palin is also a friend or Mary Glazier and joined Glazier's prayer group in 1989, at the age of 24. Glazier also proposes "a program of total social and religious cleansing, violent by implication."


Wilson put together the 10-minute video above, in which he examines, "in the context of its heavily anti-Semitic undertone, the New Apostolic Reformation's recently launched program encouraging and equipping Christians to begin taking control of business and finance: 'The Seven Mountains Mandate.'"

One might be tempted to dismiss all this as the Palin/McCain team lost the election and Sarah has gone back to Alaska to face her own demons. Not so. The New Apostolic Reformation movement is world-wide, engaging some 295 million people! Palin has implied that she may well show up again in the future on the national political scene. Some of her right-wing Christian followers are already touting her as a presidential candidate in 2012!

All of which gives an immediate urgency to what Wilson has to say. Please read all of Wilson's article here.

[Please note that talk2action.org has numerous articles covering Palin's religious connections and the New Apostolic Reformation.]

Fundamentalist Christian "moral" issues

Fundy Christians obsess over "moral" issues. In fact, CBN News (the Pat Robertson entity) carried an article yesterday on its website titled, "How Moral Issues Fared in the Election."

It is clear from the article what these folks consider "moral" issues.

1. Homosexuality and gay marriage. Both are bad and against god's laws and therefore, are moral issues. So, the fundys were elated that California, Arizona and Florida "protected" traditional marriage by outlawing gay marriage.

2. They were sad, though, that Colorado voters turned down an amendment that would have defined "personhood" as "any human being from the moment of fertilization." That would have meant, of course, that a fertilized egg was a human.

3. They were also sad that Californians declined to require minors to get permission from their parents before obtaining an abortion.

4. They were further saddened that South Dakota refused to ban abortion for almost any reason.

5. Arkansas, that place of southern enlightenment, passed a law with "bans all unmarried couples from adopting and/or becoming foster parents." Shit!

6. In Washington State, voters gave the OK which would authorize "assisted suicide."


So, in 2008, the fundys were batting 50 percent on "moral" issues.


Isn't it fascinating that these so-called lovers of Jesus, born-againers, bible thumpers, fail to see some of the really important issues of our time as "moral" issues?

What theological poverty! Unbiblical, too! And it sure as hell denies what their Jesus stood for!

Is not war a moral issue? Is not poverty a moral issue? Is not stealing from the poor to give to the rich (e.g., the Bush administration) a moral issue? Is not lying to the American people to attack a non-threatening country a moral issue? Is not authorizing the decapitation of one's enemies a moral issue? Is not caring for the aged and the sick a moral issue? Is not global warming a moral issue? Is not the sickness of racism a moral issue? Is not the threat of nuclear annhiliation a moral issue? Is not the destruction of our environment a moral issue? Is not torture of one's enemies a moral issue? Is not the corruption of our government by lobbyists and their corporate employers a moral issue?

Abortion is a concern, naturally. The fewer the better. But it is also an issue about which sane people might disagree. Homosexuality is not a choice. To deny one's fellow human beings the rights that you enjoy because of their sexual identity is horrific. Euthanasia is another issue about which reasonable people may disagree.

These so-called "moral" issues pale in comparison to the real moral issues that confront out country and the world. And what's worse is the fact that millions of people waste much of their lives worrying about them, and millions of dollars are spent annually to force a particular view of these "moral" issues on the American public, all the while the real moral issues are ignored!

The Palin legacy of hate

The Huffington Post has an article noting that the current issue of Newsweek which arrives on the stands today, includes its Special Election Project "which allowed reporters to gather behind-the-scenes information on the presidential campaign with an agreement that none of their reporting would be published until after Election Day."

The section offers a number of fascinating tidbits, such as the fact that over the summer the Obama and the McCain campaigns were hit by a cyber attack "by an unknown 'foreign entity" in order, the experts believe, to obtain information that could be used "in negotiations with a future administration."

Then there is the brouhaha about Palin's costly wardrobe and a note that McCain was kept in the dark as his aides knew her extravangance would upset him.

And much more...

But, the most troubling item has to do with the fact that "the Secret Service [showed] a sharp and very disturbing increase in threats to Obama in September and early October, at the same time that the crowds at Palin rallies become more frenzied."

Much has been written about these "frenzied" crowds [mobs?] who called out racial epithets along with comments mimicking Palin's rhetoric, such as "terrorist!" and "socialist."

None of this fazed her majesty from Alaska in the least. She continued to spew out lies such as Obama is "palling around with terrorists," and Obama does not want to win the war, and Obama will raise your taxes, and Obama is not one of us, etc.

We have also learned that Palin wanted to use Obama's association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright as a means of attacking his character also, but was turned down by the McCain campaign.


It is incredible that in spite of the fact her words created a milieu in which racism and hatred thrived and led to a number of threats to Obama, which could conceivably have resulted in violence against him or even his death, she continued to attack him personally and directly on a daily basis, inciting the mobs even more.

That is the Palin legacy: Not spreading the wealth, but spreading the hate, and not caring where that might lead.

Poignantly, Michelle Obama, feeling the weight of the Palin attack, asked one of her aides, "Why would they try to make people hate us?"

The education of Tom Brokaw

Frankly, I never gave Tom Brokaw much thought. He was an anchor on NBC News and seemed to do his job fairly well, and he wrote a book about how great people were during WWII, and, well, he was a TV fixture...

...who I thought was "fair and balanced," unlike, say, those folks at FOX News...


Then John McCain ran for president. And I realized that Tom Brokaw really liked John McCain. When he interviewed McCain, Brokaw fawned all over him, lobbed him easy questions, and neglected to challenge McCain on his falsehoods. Brokaw wanted McCain to be president!


Then this from Eric Alterman at Altercation:

"Brokaw is back at it -- he said on Morning Joe that America is a center-right country because a majority of land area in the United States, if you measure it on the county level, voted for McCain."

Huh?

Alterman asks, incredulously: "When do they name that replacement?"

And, "Did he really say that? Does land vote? Is it possible for someone in Tom Brokaw's position to be that stupid? Of perhaps a better question is, 'Is it necessary?'"

Fundamentalist Christian rancor and hate, Part III

James L. Lambert is the author of something called "Porn in America," and "a licensed nationwide real-estate mortgage loan sales agent." Wow.

He writes for OneNewsNow, too.

Lambert says if you voted for Obama, you put Obama before Christ! "...it seemsthat many people who claim the Christian faith are casting their religious values to the curb in favor of being able to claim a role in 'a historic event.'"

Yep. That's what he said!

But how could that be? Well, it's all about abortion and those pesky homosexuals.

Lambert quotes one Rev. Adlai E. Mack, "senior pastor and founder of Christians United Church in San Diego: "If you're willing to sacrifice your babies, your children, and your business for Mr. Obama, you have that choice...

"If Obama wins, the babies lose. If Obama wins, your children will be discipled by homosexual [activists] in the public schools. If Obama wins, small businesses will suffer. Raising taxes would be the worst remedy during an economic downturn."

And not to forget, Obama is really, really "liberal." And he's pro-choice! And he thinks gays should be allowed to be married!


Most of this is horseshit, but nevertheless, this ethically-challenged "Christian" poses the question to his fellow "Christians" -- "Are you willing to put Obama before Christ?"

Argh!

P.S. I talked to Jesus today, and he told me that those who voted against Obama voted against him, and obviously don't love him anymore. He's going to cast them in the fiery pit! Hey, that's what he said!

Fundamentalist Christian rancor and hate, Part II

Star Parker, "syndicated columnist," also writes for OneNewsNow. She loves Jesus, too. The trouble is her Jesus is a figment of her imagination.

How else do you explain this black woman's attempt to assassinate the character of President-elect Barack Obama?

Obama is a socialist, according to Ms. Parker, and he tries to cover that up with the "Obama oratorical fog."

Obama has big plans to use "the tax code to redistribute wealth." How will he do this? "He's got about $700 billion in so-called refundable tax credits in mind, direct money transfers to individuals, to finance his social engineering ideas in education, childcare, and environmental policy."

Is that all? Mein Gott, I thought he'd also "socialize" medicine - at least. And take over the banks. Oh, I forgot, Bush already did that!

Parker says "We're talking about a trillion dollars in new government spending to pay for his government-directed schemes to deal with just about every aspect of our lives."

All of this means "our country becomes more socialized and, by definition, less free."

Sorry, Ms. Parker, go back to school. Socialism is an economic system that by definition, has nothing to do with freedom. Freedom, or the lack of it, is a function of a political system!

Nevertheless, Parker whines that Obama's "vision of America ... has little to do with the vision of its founding because so many Americans are now detached from and uninformed by the documents that defined the country -- the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bible."

The Bible is one of the documents that defined our country? Please! Go back to school again, Ms. Parker, 'cause your full of ... well, you know what! And while you're at it, read the Declaration and the Constitution again, yourself, 'cause you really don't have a clue!

Because Obama's a socialist, says Ms. Parker, instead of protecting individual liberty and guarding against "intrusions on our life and property," he'll begin intruding wholesale on our individual liberty and our life and property.

Then, Parker really goes off the rails. She's afraid that Obama will appoint judges who will actually care about the poor, the sick, and minorities and might make laws to help them. She quotes a bible verse against such a thing: "Do not glorify a destitute person in his grievance." Whatever the hell that means. She doesn't reference the verse so it's hard to put it in context, if, indeed, it even appears in the bible.

What's the problem with caring for the poor, the sick and minorities? Well, says Parker, "Our biblical tradition, which is clear that we should love our neighbor and give charity, is also clear that courtrooms are the place to objectively apply law and not for politics.


The woman is a moron and biblically illiterate. Unfortunately, too many people will read this trash and believe it.

Fundamentalist Christian rancor and hate, Part I

OneNewsNow is an adjunct of The American Family News Network, which probably tells us all that we need to know. OneNewsNow is part of a phalanx of right-wing Christian fundamentalist outlets that promote exclusiveness, prejudice, and hatred on a daily basis; all for Jesus, of course!

The target for Christian hate is now President-elect Barack Obama.

Here is one example.

Someone named Jane Jiminez, a freelance writer and ex-elementary school teacher, writes in a column titled, "Style over substance," that we cannot believe what Obama says. Obama is all style, no substance. The "package [that Obama] delivered to voters is beautiful," says Jiminez, but boy, unwrap that package and you'll find all kinds of evil stuff.

Here's what Obama is really all about, according to this woman who knows not Jesus, nor ethics, nor truth:

"Partial-birth abortion and infanticide, ensuring that babies die who 'accidentally survived abortion,' will be finally and permanently entrenched as lawful 'choice' in America."

No more "choice" for people who want to use tax money to send their kiddos to private/parochial schools.

Obama will "cultivate the already glowing approval of Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, Hamas leaders, and Louis Farrakhan, all of whom praise Obama's politics."

We'll have an "activist" Supreme Court which will make law, not interpret laws [kinda like the Supremes who handed Bush the presidency in 2000?]

Real marriage will be over; no longer meaning one man and one woman. [Did you ever wonder why god allowed those ancient Israelite males to have damn near as many wives as they wanted. And Obama wasn't even born then!]

Those who want to became citizens will need only to "'show up' at a window to fill out paperwork.

Taxes - boy, they're gonna go through the roof!

American jobs will move overseas.

We'll soon have a really bad national healthcare system - like they have in Canada and England.

Blah, blah, blah.

Almost everything this so-called "Christian" loony-toon writes is false. I guess her Jesus made her do it!

The ignorance of Sarah

This from FOX News: [Yes, that FOX News!]

"There was great concern in the McCain campaign that Sarah Palin lack[ed] the degree of knowledgeability necessary to be a running mate, a vice president, and a heartbeat away from the presidency. We're told by folks that she didn't know what countries that were in NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, that being the Canada (sic), the US, and Mexico. We're told she didn't understand that Africa was a continent rather than a country just in itself ... a whole host of questions that caused serious problems about her knowledgeability. She got very angry at staff, thought that she was mishandled....was particularly angry about the way the Katie Couric interview went. She didn't accept preparation for that interview when the aides say that that was part of the problem. And that there were times that she was hard to control emotionally there's talk of temper trantrums at bad news clippings....."


John Aravosis has much more at Americablog, here.

Reeking of racism

You can dress it up however you wish. You can say he's a Muslim. You can say he's an Arab. You can decry his "palling around with terrorists." You can whine about something his former pastor said a long time ago. You can bitch about his lack of experience (or the fact he wasn't the mayor of some teeny little burg in the snowy wilderness). You can pretend his birth certificate isn't valid. You can protest he will change our national anthem, or re-arrange the American flag, which he doesn't salute anyway.

There are all sorts of things you can say about President-elect Barack Obama; in fact most of them have been said - over and over again, ad nauseum.

But those things are all a cover for another word that most people are hesitant to speak out loud: he's a n------!


Robin Shulman writes in the Washington Post of a journey to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, a town which contains not a few people who still cling to their guns and religion along with hatred of black people.

Shulman spoke with a couple eating breakfast at Denny's the morning after...you know, after "that one" won.

The woman is 62. She wears a diamond-studded cross around her neck.

She says, "I don't believe a black person should be president."

And there you have it. Racism front and center. From someone wearing what has been the symbol of Christianity for 1700 years - since the time of Constantine. Ironically, the person wearing that symbol denies by her words, just like Peter, the savior that cross represents!

Shulman says, "Few people acknowledge racial prejudice as nakedly as" this lady. But it's found in every corner of this Pennsylvania town. Michelle Obama hates her country, says one. Obama can't be trusted, says another.

To be sure, there are many not overtly prejudiced and others who overcame whatever latent prejudice they may have had and voted for Obama because they were convinced he was the best man for the job.

But, in Wilkes-Barre, in Boston, in Atlanta, in Los Angeles, in Houston, in Minneapolis, in Chicago, in Boise, in Sacramento, in Colorado Springs, in Milwaukee, in Cleveland, in Detroit, in St. Louis, and in all the cities and towns in between, racism is alive and well. It may wear different clothes in all these places, but the clothing does not disquise what's underneath.

And sometimes racism rears its ugly head unexpectedly. Julie Myers, the Bush administration's Head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, came under fire in 2007 for attending a "Halloween party honoring a white employee dressed as an escaped prisoner with dreadlocks and makeup that made him look African-American or Hispanic."

Myers apologized. She's leaving the Bushite family on November 15. Not soon enough!


Fortunately, not merely for Senator Obama, but for our nation, a sufficient number of our citizens rejected the racist claims when they entered the voting booths.


But, to our eternal misfortune, and to our ever-lasting shame, we shall always have people who reek of racism in our midst - those uneducated, mentally-deficient, ignorant, hateful and stupid people, who judge other human beings, not on their merits, but on the color of their skin.

We'll just have to overpower them whenever and wherever they appear - as we did yesterday!

The Body Language of Loss

From distributorcap NY ... couldn't have said it better, myself!

Well, at the risk of sounding cliche - the page has finally turned. We can actually countdown the days to the end of the Bush-pierre Reign of Terror (well he still has 70+ days to do a lot of damage).

It was quite a night. Obama's speech was amazing. He is a once in a lifetime figure when it comes to oration and inspiration. But now the hard work comes. The vitriol and nastiness has already started - just listen to the diarrhea hitting the crapper from Morning Dump with Joe and Pat and his assorted sidekicks. They cannot wait for Obama to fail and tell everyone "we told you so."

Be that as it may - there is plenty of time to deal with them. And they can be the news source of material for the Blogworld Comedy Hour.

But first to John McCain. No amount of good will from him - or even that gracious concession speech will EVER absolve him for running the angriest, meanest and most divisive campaign in history. He can be humble and give his hand in peace - but we will NEVER forget how nasty he and Mooselini were to Obama - from saying he palled around with terrorists, that he was a socialist, to labeling him that one, and finally being called a celebrity and elitist. You name it, McCain and especially Sarah Palin called Obama everything but the word they really wanted to use - and we all know what that world is. We will not forget. McCain and Palin - you deserved to lose and lose bad -- because both of you really SUCK. This loss was not only a repudiation of the awfulness of George W. Bush, but also of John McCain, his nasty campaign and his unleashing of Sarah Palin on the American public.

May all three of them rot.

Speaking of body language. Look at McCain at the end of his concession speech. Look at his body language with Palin. It is SO obvious he is angry and blaming her for the loss. And you know, he should be -- she was a BIG reason he lost. He could barely acknowledge her - and watch how he greets/embraces her. It is quite telling.

On the flip side, so look at how ANGRY Caribou Barbie is -- she is not humbled (like McCain) or caught in the moment -- she is fuming that they lost -- and she blames McCain. She is not going gently into that good night.

What a team - they hate each other and blame each other for this demoralizing and overwhelming loss. You can't write this script.

Dancing in the streets

Words are insufficient to convey joy experienced and hope realized!

And a h/t to Blue Gal

Conservatives deal with loss

Here's an especially interesting and humorous article from 23/6. The photo, I think, illustrates pretty well why the Repugs lost the election.


Conservatives to figure out how they lost women, minorities, gays, Jews, anyone else? oh yeah, college grads

So where does the GOP go from here, now that it turns out the Bridge to Nowhere didn't lead to the White House? According to Jonathan Martin at Politico, that will be the main topic of discussion at a super secret Republican strategy session to be held this weekend -- sort of [a] reverse Renaissance Weekend. The gathering, says one attendee, will include a "who's who of conservative leaders -- economic, national security and social." And, one presumes, plumbing. After all, how they can chart a comeback without their primary fiscal policy guru. Plus, with that many people in attendance, sometimes the toilet backs up.

Not surprisingly, Martin writes that the feeling in the party is that the party lost because it wasn't right-wing enough. "There's a sense that the Republican Party is broken, but the conservative movement is not." Paul Krugman, writing about the future of the party in the GOP notes that many of them are blaming ... the loss on the media and, of course, the powerful ACORN.

Sounds like they've really got their finger on the pulse of the American public.

While the names of the attendees aren't public, 23/6 happens to have gotten its hands on a super secret copy of the schedule of the super secret meeting. Or not.


You can read all about the agenda here. It's great fun!

Palin and her clothes

This is from an article at Think Progress here.


In a new 50,000 word article on the presidential campaigns that will come out tomorrow, Newsweek reports that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) spent far more on clothing than the $150,000 reported last month. According to a preview by Politico's Mike Allen, "McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy."

'One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family -- clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband.'

Newsweek reports that McCain "rarely spoke to Palin during the campaign, and aides kept him in the dark about the details of her spending on clothes because they were sure he would be offended."


Ah so. It all begins to unravel. Again, though, we are struck with just how stupid McCain was to pick this nogoodnik from Alaska. He must have been desperate. The Christian Right must have had him by the short hairs.

Palin was a disaster. But that disaster was McCain's fault!

None of this is all that surprising, however. Remember Palin's the one who charges the state of Alaska thousands of dollars to fly her family around while she is on "state" business. She even flew everyone up to a snowmobile race!

Won't it be fun if she decides to try for higher office when Alaskans throw her out of the governor's mansion? Oh, that's right, she spends most of her time at home. I forgot.

Obama around the world

Aidan Maconachy has an excellent post at his blog, Therion, on the Obama win and Obama's speech at Grant Park in Chicago.

Included in that post are photos of people in various countries who joined with us in celebrating Obama's victory.

America has already become again a beacon of hope!

Please click here.

Musings in the afterglow

Sarah Palin will fly back to Alaska on the plane she sold to eBay, over the Bridge to Nowhere, above the pipeline she hasn't built, with luggage containing her lies, her character assassinations, her snide, whiny voice, her winking eyes, her religious fanaticism, her lack of ethics, and her astounding ignorance... to face new ethics charges.

Can we never, ever hear again of Joe the Plumber?

May the words, "lipstick" and "pit bull" be excised from all political speech!

Can the "First Dude" fade away on a snowmobile to nowhere?

No more, "I was a POW, so vote for me."

No more, "My friends," and "I know how to do that."

Are we done with the political attack ads?

Barack Obama won. Evidently, the god prayed to with such fervor by the Christian Right was not listening. Or, horror of horrors, she wanted Obama to be elected! Or prayer doesn't work.

The disease of homophobia is still virulent in our nation, witness the passing of anti-gay marriage amendments in California and Florida.

This is not a Christian country, but a country where all people of all religions are welcome as well as people with no religion.

All Americans are "real" Americans!

Liddy Dole went down!

The election of Michelle Bachmann indicates that Minnesota contains too many morons!

Hatred does not always prevail.

The Dobsons, Hagees, et. al., were discredited. Their power, hopefully, is waning.

Racism is less a force in American society than it was a few years ago.

The politics of hatred and divisiveness, ala Bush, Cheney, Rove, et. al., was rejected by the majority of the American people.

Bush will retire to Dallas and disappear, in disgrace.

Cheney will, god-willing, disappear from public view forever!

Finally, after so many desolate years, we have an intelligent - brilliant, even - and articulate president who cares about the people and the Constitution.

Hope is real, and change is possible.

The McCain/Palin debate

I'm hoping Sarah Palin will go away. Forever! But this video was just too good. One last look at the two Repugs who dared to, not only appear in public, but run for president and vice president.

Thanks to the Huffington Post.

President-elect Obama speaks to the nation

Here's to you, America!

Grant Park, Chicago, November 4, 2008. The scene was surreal, beautiful, haunting, lovely, incredible ... hopeful.

Could it be that we, as a country, will begin to actually put into practice our rhetoric about freedom, and peace and opportunity?

Joe Galloway is a believer:

"Here's to the American people, the electorate, for finally coming to their senses and voting for something different, for someone different and for a chance to fix the multitude of man-made disasters that confront us.

"By their votes, the Republican revolution and all it's wrought - an economic meltdown, two endless wars, class warfare that's enriched the very rich and beggared everyone else and a treasury bulging only with IOU's -- will be crushed.

"That revolution began to take root with the criminality of Richard Nixon's administration, with its paranoid enemies list. It gathered steam in the time of Ronald Reagan and with Newt Gingrich's seizure of Congress. ...

" [...]

"High tide arrived with the unlikeliest occupant of the Oval Office in our history, the beady-eyed, smirking, tongue-tied, counterfeit cowboy George W. Bush, and a Congress that after 9-11 was ru by runaway Republicans who were too busy enriching themselves and their friends to care what their president was doing to the country, the Constitution and even their own party.

"Little wonder, then, that Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Paliln will go down to defeat after a campaign of sheer desperation that's been nasty, brutish and long. ..."


McClatchy's article encapsulated much of what has been going through my mind since last night. You can read all of it here.

The Obama Robin

The Obama robin ...
A sign of hope!

Go Obama!


Photo art by Denise Jelonek, noted Colorado photographer.
See more of her work here.

The Repugnicans are going CRAZY!

Watch these poor, deluded Repugs go crazy about Obama! Dontcha jest love it? You betcha!

Europe celebrates the end of Bush or Why I love Paris

Not everyone around the world is rooting for Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.

But most people are!

The election today is being watched carefully everywhere! In Germany, "...the election dominated television tickers crawls, newspaper headlines and Web sites.

"Obama mania was evident not only across Europe but also in much of the Islamic world, where Muslims expressed hope that the Democrat would seek compromise rather than confrontation. The Bush administration alienated Muslims by mistreating [read torturing!] prisons at its detention center for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and inmates at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison -- human rights violations also condemned worldwide."

Rais Yatim, the Malaysian foreign minister expressed the hope of many: "I hope Obama wins (because) of the need of the world to see the U.S. represent a more cosmopolitan or universal political attitude.

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson said "For those who have become disenchanted with America -- including many Americans -- (Obama) offers the hope of reigniting the love affair."

In Kenya, of course, Obama's support is overwhelming and Kenyans "packed churches today to pray for Obama.

And in Obama, Japan, a "sleepy ... coastal town ... images of him [Obama] adorned banners along a main shopping street, and preparations for an election day victory party were in full swing."


But, then we have Paris. I love Paris for many reasons. Here's just one more reason to love Paris. Thousands of Parisians are expected to show up for a "Good-bye George" party. How great is that?


Read more here.

Christians are full of bull - on Wall Street

The Lord [Jesus] spoke to Cindy Jacobs during a church service. The Lord [Jesus] said: "Cindy, the strongman over America doesn't live in Washington, DC - the strongman lives in New York City! Call My people to pray for the economy."

Now when "the Lord" talks to you and tells you to do something, you sure as hell better do it! So, Cindy called "His" people "to converge on New York City the week of October 29 for an emergency prayer rally to cry out against economic collapse ... "

Oh, the Lord also told her that "October 29 was Black Tuesday, the day the stock market crashed and Satan wants to do it again."

Cindy, no slacker, cried out, "we need to P.U.S.H. (pray until something happens to avert financial judgment."

Why would god send financial judgment on his favorite people, the United States Americans? "[B]ecause" said Cindy, " ... not only for our stance towards Israel, but our blatant sin against Him in passing laws such as the one allowing homosexual marriage."

But it's not just Amurricans who have to worry. The Lord is sending his judgment on "the ideologies of nations. He is moving to put the fear of the Lord not only on His church, but upon the nations of the world."

Whew! That IS scary!


Not to worry. Cindy had an answer, a way out of the mess: "We are going to intercede at the site of the statute of the bull on Wall Street to ask God to begin a shift from the bull and bear markets to what we feel will be the 'Lion's Market,' or God's control over the economic systems."

She gets crazier: "While we do not have the full revelation of all this will entail, we do know that without intercession, economies will crumble."

So, these freaks went to the site of the bull and prayed for money.


Evidently, they don't bother actually reading the Bible they claim to revere. I'd suggest they gather at the site of a ass and have do a study on Mark 10:17-22. Methinks they might think twice about praying for money in front of a bull; actually, they might think twice about praying for money at all!

Now I know "good" Christians don't believe that the Law, which Jesus, the Jewish peasant, said he had come to fulfill and must be obeyed, applies to them; but they still go the Hebrew Bible to pull out select verses when they want to castigate some poor sinner, like a gay person.

Perhaps they should read more than one verse calling homosexuality an abomination. They would find that praying to a bull for money is right up at the top of the list of No-No's that God gave Moses - something about graven images, as I recall. Plus, there's a story in Exodus 32 which tells what happened to the Israelites when they collected all their gold and fashioned a "molten" calf. It wasn't pretty:

God told Moses his people were "a stiffnecked people." But more than that, in the scathing words of the KJV, God said, "Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them..."

Yikes!

Cindy Jacobs and her idolatrous cretins that followed her to pray before the bull better make tracks for some safe place, 'cause god is gonna get 'em! The bible says so!


Jesus Cristos! What a bunch of morons!

Did I hear a heavenly "bullshit!"?

h/t to Wonkette and Pharyngula