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You are here: Home / Politics / Republican Stupidity / Go For It Lads

Go For It Lads

by John Cole|  April 22, 20098:19 pm| 203 Comments

This post is in: Republican Stupidity, Clap Louder!, Clown Shoes

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The Republican rump:

House Republicans are calling on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to step down or be fired in the wake of a controversial department memo that has sparked indignant battle cries from conservatives and some veterans.

“Singling out political opponents for working against the ruling party is precisely the tactic of every tyrannical government from Red China to Venezuela,” said Texas Rep. John Carter, a member of the party’s elected leadership who has organized an hour of floor speeches Wednesday night to call for Napolitano’s ouster. “The first step in the process is creating unfounded public suspicion of political opponents, followed by arresting and jailing any who continue speaking against the regime.”

These people are seriously not going to last four years. We should probably take out a few more of them in the 2010 elections just so they can take a breather and pull themselves together, because they clearly didn’t get the message in 2006 and 2008.

The Republican Study Committee is fundamentally no different from the wingnuttiest blogger.

*** Update ***

Speaking of the Republican Study Committee, I believe this guy is a ranking member:

The title of that video, hosted on Rep. Joe Barton on his youtube channel, is “Energy Secretary puzzled by simple question.” Barton then tweeted the following:

Yeah. You stumped the Nobel Prize winner. Like I said- wingnut bloggers ran the McCain campaign, and wingnut bloggers are all that is left of the GOP.

(via)

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Previous Post: « The Village People
Next Post: Yes, you are getting carried away »

Reader Interactions

203Comments

  1. 1.

    JC

    April 22, 2009 at 8:24 pm

    Red China… Really? When was the last time someone used that phrase? The Korean War?

  2. 2.

    jake 4 that 1

    April 22, 2009 at 8:24 pm

    “The first step in the process is creating unfounded public suspicion of political opponents, followed by arresting and jailing any who continue speaking against the regime.”

    IronyOmeter go boom.

  3. 3.

    Bill Teefy

    April 22, 2009 at 8:25 pm

    Singling out political opponents for working against the ruling party is precisely

    what Republicans under Bush did every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every year of their rule.

    Again. Republicans point at the mirror and and yell.
    Take a note: That reflection is you! Morans.

  4. 4.

    Fencedude

    April 22, 2009 at 8:27 pm

    “Singling out political opponents for working against the ruling party is precisely the tactic of every tyrannical government from Red China to Venezuela,”

    …so…did the last 8 years just…not exist…at all?

    The hypocrisy, while expected, is just stunning.

  5. 5.

    Unabogie

    April 22, 2009 at 8:28 pm

    OT Sheppard Smith gets righteous.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEtFMj6ZiHM&feature=channel_page

  6. 6.

    TR

    April 22, 2009 at 8:29 pm

    “Singling out political opponents for working against the ruling party is precisely the tactic of every tyrannical government from Red China to Venezuela,”

    That’s not as catchy as “You’re either with us, or with the terrorists,” but it’ll do.

  7. 7.

    Libertina

    April 22, 2009 at 8:30 pm

    Yup, it’s just like

    every tyrannical government from Red China to Venezuela

    …or Karl Rove…mmmmm…just sayin’.

  8. 8.

    Bill Teefy

    April 22, 2009 at 8:30 pm

    @JC: Actually it was only on holiday during the Bush Administration – kind of like States Rights.

    Remember Red China was who Clinton was in bed with (tee-hee) as opposed Green China which was making every item in Walmart and buying up American Tobacco products and our Bush-era Debts.

  9. 9.

    J. Michael Neal

    April 22, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    @Unabogie: Ol’ Shep clearly wants to get fired.

  10. 10.

    Fencedude

    April 22, 2009 at 8:33 pm

    @Unabogie:

    Shep’s the one who was openly mocking Beck a month or so back, right?

    How is he surviving on Fox?

  11. 11.

    Shygetz

    April 22, 2009 at 8:34 pm

    Okay, I just watched that video. Rep. Barton’s constituents should be demanding their money back. That was embarrassing for Barton.

  12. 12.

    Ninerdave

    April 22, 2009 at 8:35 pm

    In case you all missed TBogg today:

    Ladies, John Ziegler is available:

    “I am not married. I have no children. I’m now living 3,000 miles from the closest people of my life. I’m missing my nieces and nephews growing. I hate where I live. I don’t even feel like LA is America. I feel like when I come here I ought to go into the international terminal, show my passport.”

    and this is John Zeigler on a reality dating show:

    http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2009/04/22/so-i-guess-a-handjob-is-out-of-the-question/

  13. 13.

    4tehlulz

    April 22, 2009 at 8:36 pm

    I predict that Republicans will be talking about the dangers of demon rum within six months.

  14. 14.

    merl

    April 22, 2009 at 8:37 pm

    I think he was just baffled by the utter stupidity of that questioner. I know I was.

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    April 22, 2009 at 8:38 pm

    Dr. Chu’s mistake was that he didn’t say “God put the oil in Alaska for the greater glory of Sarah Palin”. Trying to explain plate tectonics to a moran like Barton is just a waste of time.

    -dms

  16. 16.

    Dennis-SGMM

    April 22, 2009 at 8:39 pm

    Repeat after me: Armed violence is not “working against the ruling party”.

  17. 17.

    Brick Oven Bill

    April 22, 2009 at 8:39 pm

    Janet Napolitano was a lawyer for Anita Hill when she accused Justice Thomas of doing things with Coca-Cola cans and pubic hairs. This was the highlight of her short private sector experience. She was then hired by the Clinton Administration.

    She just told the Canadians that the 9-11 hijackers came into the United States through Canada. This woman is now in charge of Homeland Security.

    You can tell that President Obama is a confident leader and has no personal hang-ups because he is willing to take on assistants that are more talented than he is. This is what is taught in business school as the sign of a strong leader. One who does not fear day-to-day personal challenges.

  18. 18.

    mcc

    April 22, 2009 at 8:40 pm

    Now wait for the debate when the Matthew Shepard act / hate crimes bill comes out of committee later this week (?), when the Republicans will claim that a bill which covers acts such as assault and murder is limiting their rightful free expression.

    It’s funny that “they supported everything the Republican President did, and they’re opposing everything the Democratic President does” is the charitable explanation for how the Republicans are behaving at this point. The other possibility is that the rights they’re defending now (forming armed resistance groups, assault and murder against the disadvantaged) are the rights they actually value, and the rights they let slip away during the Bush years (checking out books from a library, speaking on the phone free from arbitrary surveillance) are in fact things they just don’t care very much about.

  19. 19.

    HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker

    April 22, 2009 at 8:40 pm

    Where does oil come from?

    God put it in the ground, that we would find it and use it to light our way to Him?

    Or, trees.

    Olive trees, to be precise.

  20. 20.

    gopher2b

    April 22, 2009 at 8:42 pm

    I WANTED TO SAY GOD PUT THERE. DAMN!! Too slow this evening.

  21. 21.

    JenJen

    April 22, 2009 at 8:42 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill: Seriously, is *that* what you get out of the DHS Report?

  22. 22.

    JC

    April 22, 2009 at 8:43 pm

    @4tehlulz: WIN!

    Soon they’ll go back to the 1884 playbook. Democrat: the party of Rum, Romanism and Rebellion.

  23. 23.

    Mnemosyne

    April 22, 2009 at 8:45 pm

    @Shygetz:

    Rep. Barton’s constituents should be demanding their money back. That was embarrassing for Barton.

    I loved his sneer at “continental drift.” After all, if you can’t sneer at things that were theorized 400 years ago and proven to be fact over 40 years ago, what can you sneer at?

    Next up from Rep. Burton: getting someone to explain how gravity works.

  24. 24.

    28 Percent

    April 22, 2009 at 8:45 pm

    “Singling out political opponents for working against the ruling party is precisely the tactic of every tyrannical government from Red China to Venezuela,” said Texas Rep. John Carter, a member of the party’s elected leadership who has organized an hour of floor speeches Wednesday night to call for Napolitano’s ouster. “The first step in the process is creating unfounded public suspicion of political opponents, followed by arresting and jailing any who continue speaking against the regime.”

    That is right and Ms Napolitano if that is her real name is not fit for service after that memo. I know plenty of returning vets who have not committed any terrorist acts maybe if she got to knwo some she would not have released this memo. She should not make sweeping genralization sabout people that is what they do in Russia.

  25. 25.

    TR

    April 22, 2009 at 8:46 pm

    Soon they’ll go back to the 1884 playbook. Democrat: the party of Rum, Romanism and Rebellion.

    Given that Republicans spent the 2004 election saying John Kerry wasn’t obeying the Vatican enough and have spent the last month talking about Texas seceding from the Union, that might be tough.

    But rum? Sure. They’re clearly drunk off their asses on something. Rush has probably hoarded up all the hillbilly heroin, so it’s likely liquor.

  26. 26.

    SGEW

    April 22, 2009 at 8:47 pm

    @Unabogie: Righteous is right, all right.

    That was beautiful.

  27. 27.

    dmsilev

    April 22, 2009 at 8:48 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Next up from Rep. Burton: getting someone to explain how gravity works.

    Intelligent Falling.

    Duh.

    -dms

  28. 28.

    Unabogie

    April 22, 2009 at 8:49 pm

    Brick Oven is lying:

    The furor began when Napolitano was asked to clarify statements she had made about equal treatment for the Mexican and Canadian borders, despite the fact that a flood of illegal immigrants and a massive drug war are two serious issues on the southern border.

    “Yes, Canada is not Mexico, it doesn’t have a drug war going on, it didn’t have 6,000 homicides that were drug-related last year,” she said.

    “Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it’s been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there.”

    When asked if she was referring to the 9-11 terrorists, Napolitano added: “Not just those but others as well.”

    http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090422/USA_Border_090422/20090422?hub=QPeriod

    Wow, something taken out of context and then repeated as fact?

  29. 29.

    valdivia

    April 22, 2009 at 8:50 pm

    @Ninerdave:

    so you guys think I should try going out on a date with him?

  30. 30.

    Mnemosyne

    April 22, 2009 at 8:50 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    Yeah, all Janet Napolitano did was successfully get Tim McVeigh’s accomplices to turn on him and agree to testify against him. Too bad she was such a sucky prosecutor that she helped get a mass murderer convicted and his accomplices put away.

    What could Obama have possibly been thinking to put someone with a successful record of prosecuting terrorists in charge of homeland security? He should have been smart like Bush and gotten a horse breeder to do the job.

  31. 31.

    Cain

    April 22, 2009 at 8:52 pm

    Where does oil come from? “Well.. first the earth cooled, then the dinosaurs came, but they became too big and fat and died and turned into oil. Then the arabs came.. ”

    points if you know where that came from. :-)

    cain

  32. 32.

    Mnemosyne

    April 22, 2009 at 8:53 pm

    @28 Percent:

    Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, both US Army veterans.

    You’re welcome.

  33. 33.

    clone12

    April 22, 2009 at 8:53 pm

    Barton is teh FAIL on so many levels here…

  34. 34.

    Cat Lady

    April 22, 2009 at 8:54 pm

    These people are seriously not going to last four years.

    1360 days to go John. You could construct a Mad Lib-like outrage du jour generator, and save us all a lot of agita.

  35. 35.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    April 22, 2009 at 8:55 pm

    @Cain:

    Airplane!

  36. 36.

    sgwhiteinfla

    April 22, 2009 at 8:56 pm

    Rep Barton wanted the Energy Secretary to say that God made it rain oil for fourty days and forty nights in Alaska and thats how we got oil there.

  37. 37.

    Rick Taylor

    April 22, 2009 at 8:57 pm

    What’s amazing is that video of Joe Barton wasn’t put up by some lefty to make him look bad. He put it up himself, because he was proud of how he’d stumped the nobel prize winner and wanted everyone to see it. Mind boggling.

  38. 38.

    gwangung

    April 22, 2009 at 8:58 pm

    I’ll be be VERY amused if anyone’s defending Barton in the next few days….

  39. 39.

    superfly

    April 22, 2009 at 8:58 pm

    He turned off the comments on his YouTube page, because people were pointing out that he was the one who looked like an idiot.

    Some were even being very polite about it, it was very funny.

  40. 40.

    HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker

    April 22, 2009 at 8:58 pm

    Janet Napolitano was a lawyer for Anita Hill when she accused Justice Thomas of doing things

    Uh, he was just Uncle Clarence, not Justice at the time.

    Now, the crazy fuck is a justice. The man is actually crazier than you are, which is saying something.

    Okay, just kidding, not as crazy as you are.

    Well, okay, crazier than you are.

    But just barely.

  41. 41.

    Jon H

    April 22, 2009 at 8:59 pm

    Barton could have asked Chu how Barton could find his own ass with both hands, and Chu wouldn’t have been able to explain it in six seconds.

  42. 42.

    HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker

    April 22, 2009 at 9:00 pm

    @Cain:

    The Creation Museum?

  43. 43.

    Mr. Poppinfresh

    April 22, 2009 at 9:01 pm

    @Unabogie:

    Actually, as much as I hate to feed BOB the Troll, Napolitano’s comments in regards to the US/Canada border were a fucking disaster, especially in light of how much more difficult the border has gotten since the fall. In a time of increased tensions due to American protectionism directed at your largest trading partner, having your DHS secretary making ass-retarded comments and then do a shit-poor job of walking them back is not really helping matters.

    But hey, its just Canada, its not like those hundreds of billions of dollars worth of cross-border trade are employing anyone or anything.

  44. 44.

    4tehlulz

    April 22, 2009 at 9:01 pm

    @Jon H: That would truly be stumping, as it is a mystery how Joe Barton finds his ass with his hands.

    [Obligatory Larry Craig joke here]

  45. 45.

    gwangung

    April 22, 2009 at 9:03 pm

    Any bets on how long Barton’s video stays up?

    And sidebets on how long it takes for some poor Republican with a LITTLE science sense to clue Barton in on what a fool he made of himself?

  46. 46.

    Jon H

    April 22, 2009 at 9:04 pm

    @4tehlulz: “That would truly be stumping, as it is a mystery how Joe Barton finds his ass with his hands.”

    I’m sure his hands are usually on someone else’s ass. That’s what GOP pages are for.

  47. 47.

    Jay B.

    April 22, 2009 at 9:04 pm

    After the last few weeks, I think the DHS needs to update their report to include all present members of the Republican party, just in case they missed a few when cataloging the potential threat from neo-nazis, deranged vets, gun nuts, booze-fueled militia types, secessionists, klansmen and end timers.

  48. 48.

    Jon H

    April 22, 2009 at 9:05 pm

    As someone said, it’s like they take pride in being ignorant.

    That clip could have come from the Scopes trial.

  49. 49.

    Laura W

    April 22, 2009 at 9:07 pm

    @Ninerdave: Gosh. Thanks. I just can not see that reality show clip enough!
    Where are JenJen and Ash Can?
    Moderately Rational (is that what he was looking for in a woman? I lied. I watched it once and that was one time too many…),
    Laura W.

  50. 50.

    Ash Can

    April 22, 2009 at 9:07 pm

    @Ninerdave: There’s a reason Ziegler’s available.

  51. 51.

    bvac

    April 22, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    Lou Dobbs has been crusting his sock over this since the report was released, and it’s easily the most entertaining thing that has happened as a result of the election of Comrade Barry Soetero-X Hitler.

    When DHS/FBI infiltrated far-leftist anti-war/pro-anti-american groups such as the Quakers, they at least had the reasonable suspicion that peaceful, law-abiding groups were being targeted for their political views. All of their hemming and hawing changed absolutely nothing.

    Certainly no amount of protest from these right-wingers, who are well armed and openly speak of overthrowing the government, will change anything. Without incident, the next 3.75 years should be quite entertaining from where I sit.

  52. 52.

    KevOH

    April 22, 2009 at 9:11 pm

    @Cain:

    Airplane

  53. 53.

    demkat620

    April 22, 2009 at 9:11 pm

    Golden oldie from Barton’s past as chairman. He had a voter arrested who wanted to discuss why Joe Barton wouldn’t allow the 2006 combating autism bill out of committee.

    What an asshat!

  54. 54.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    April 22, 2009 at 9:11 pm

    OT – Levi Johnston is on Larry King right now.

    Man, do I feel sorry for that guy. He’s still just a teenager.

  55. 55.

    Laura W

    April 22, 2009 at 9:13 pm

    @Ash Can: There’s my girl! Simu-posting with me.

  56. 56.

    Krista

    April 22, 2009 at 9:13 pm

    having your DHS secretary making ass-retarded comments and then do a shit-poor job of walking them back is not really helping matters.

    Meh — I didn’t get too wound up about it. It is true that security here probably isn’t as stringent as it should be. I’m not talking necessarily about the Canada-U.S. border. That border needs to stay relatively easy-ish, solely due to the sheer amount of trade. But as far as people coming to Canada from other countries? I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that we could do a better job.

    Besides, Napolitano’s comments aren’t really news. We’ve heard this song before about how terrorists get into the U.S. via Canada, due to our policies being more slack.

  57. 57.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    April 22, 2009 at 9:14 pm

    @KevOH:

    Sorry Kev, I beat you by 17 posts.

    :-)

  58. 58.

    Ash Can

    April 22, 2009 at 9:15 pm

    @Laura W: Yes, that was a hoot. I must say, though, that it was another poster, whose handle escapes me, who broke that story. I just hyped it on a couple of threads because it was so damn funny.

  59. 59.

    Brick Oven Bill

    April 22, 2009 at 9:18 pm

    ” [“Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it’s been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there.”

    When asked if she was referring to the 9-11 terrorists, Napolitano added:

    “Not just those but others as well.”]”

    The 9-11 terrorists actually flew into US airports on commercial flights, with reportedly valid paperwork from the government.

    This Janet is a very qualified woman. She also knows the mechanics and techniques of the Coca-Cola can and pubic hair legal charge. She was on the losing end of that hearing too. But this was good exposure to the private sector, in any case.

  60. 60.

    KevOH

    April 22, 2009 at 9:19 pm

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: Technically it was Airplane II

  61. 61.

    SBW

    April 22, 2009 at 9:19 pm

    Wow, Barton looks like one smug a**hole. (Alas, a completely unscientific opinion.)

    But contra Steven Chu, he let himself be trapped.

    I don’t think he should have attempted to answer that question at all, it would have taken a while to explain how oil is chemically formed in the first place, before even going on to list the geological reasons it is concentrated in certain physical locations.

    A Nobel prize in Physics makes him Chu a brilliant physicist, not an expert in other fields (not a criticism of him personally, but he could have pointed out he is not a subject expert ).

    I’m picky about this because I’ve noticed a similar pattern: many a geologist (in print or in debates) getting (seemingly) creamed by creationists due to the asking of asinine questions that disallow proper rebuttal due to debate format (either lack of time, or in speaking debates, lack of ability to show large amounts of data ), and hence ending up looking like over credentialed imbeciles.

    Which is not true, but public perception matters, and essentially anti-science movements (perhaps groups sound less ominous) control the framing of many debates.

    There is nothing embarrassing about explaining ‘Sorry Congressman, that subject matter is too complicated to explain in a few minutes, we can meet later to cover it more completely if you want.’

    And yes, I am fully aware that Barton would never follow up on such a statement.

  62. 62.

    r€nato

    April 22, 2009 at 9:20 pm

    BOB, let me help fill in Napolitano’s CV for ya. You seem to have left out that she was a very successful law-and-order US Attorney for Arizona during the Clinton administration. She ran for governor in Arizona and won. She ran for re-election in 2006 and not only won, but won BIG. The GOP in Arizona could not convince any of their first-string, nor second-string, nor third-string to run against her so they settled on the virtually unknown Len Munsil as their sacrificial lamb, a social conservative who, as far as I know, has never held a job in the private sector except for a stint running a PAC which lobbies for conservative Christian issues.

    Napolitano was a political ally of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, which did not exactly endear her to Arizona liberals.

    Napolitano brought stability and competence to state government after her predecessors badly mismanaged the state; Fife Symington was a crooked developer who was forced from office due to a corruption scandal while his successor, Jane Hull, was a well-meaning former legislator who signed off on a disastrous ‘alt-fuels’ bill which was badly abused mostly by conservative Mormons to buy government-subsidized large SUVs outfitted with propane tanks but which usually ran on gasoline most of the time anyway. That fiasco cost the state hundreds of billions of dollars.

    Now, you were saying? Oh yes, Janet Napolitano is going to throw all Republicans and veterans in FEMA concentration camps. Well, the silver lining there is that maybe you fuckers will listen next time we spend 8 years warning you about the dangers of allowing the executive branch to run roughshod over our civil rights, including the 4th Amendment and habeas corpus.

    Oh and by the way… Thomas DID proposition Anita Hill. He’s a pig. Kudos to Janet for defending her against you hyenas.

  63. 63.

    Martin

    April 22, 2009 at 9:20 pm

    Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, both US Army veterans.

    As was Eric Rudolph.

    Why do I sense that Barton’s next question was going to be “Why can’t we take advantage of Santa Claus’ sleigh and flying reindeer technology to reduce our dependence on foreign oil? How does he do that, anyway?”

  64. 64.

    Ash

    April 22, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    I just really don’t understand (which is something I’ve said in like every comment I’ve made this week about Republicans), are they COMPLETELY unaware that this whole report was already being compiled long before Barry Xenu Allah Obama was put into office by ACORN?

  65. 65.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    April 22, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    @KevOH:

    D’oh! Damn technicalities!

  66. 66.

    jnfr

    April 22, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    We are totally going to take out more of them in 2010. Count on it. I hope after that they kick back, rethink and regroup, but I’m not confident.

  67. 67.

    mcc

    April 22, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    Which is not true, but public perception matters

    In this particular case I think public perception is more likely to turn out well for Chu than Barton.

  68. 68.

    Jay B.

    April 22, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    Holy shit Barton’s a fucking tool. Watch that thing. Chu makes a perfectly understandable, as-succinct-as-possible, top-level explanation of what happened over hundreds of millions of years and Barton is mocking the entire notion.

    It’s mindbreaking.

    He might as well have said: “You mean to tell me son, that in its 6000 years of existence, the Earth has geological epochs? Pffft. Nonsense. It’s obvious that when Alaska was warm (perhaps when Columbus landed there as the first human settler and by the way, doesn’t this fact disprove global warming somehow?) oil somehow melted into its ground. It’s impossible to think this took more than five, ten years, tops.”

  69. 69.

    PhysicsFun

    April 22, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    I’ve worked with some very talented scientists who communicated with the public and I know that look on Steven Chu’s face, I’ve seen it lots of times.

    It’s “Oh lordy, lordy, this person is ignorant as pigf**k, and worse, ignorant of their ignorance, perhaps willfully. Even if the universe turns out to be infinite, there’s not world enough nor time for me to get them to understand. What’s the quickest diplomatic way for me to respond so that I can go on to something that will be productive?”

    Dr. Chu had the good fortune to spend much of his career interacting daily with individuals who were brilliant, well-informed, thinkers. Now, he has to talk to congress. Let’s hope he survives the transition.

  70. 70.

    josefina

    April 22, 2009 at 9:26 pm

    Jee. Zuss. Kryst. The ignorance combined with the arrogance…

    In case no one’s posted it yet, you may express your appreciation to Rep. Barton through his (horribly designed) website.

    Be polite. No profanity. You know how sensitive these nutjobs are.

  71. 71.

    burnspbesq

    April 22, 2009 at 9:27 pm

    @valdivia:

    I would like to think that you have never been that desperate.

  72. 72.

    jcricket

    April 22, 2009 at 9:30 pm

    As was Eric Rudolph.

    Nothing to see here. Move along. No reason to pay attention,

  73. 73.

    Brick Oven Bill

    April 22, 2009 at 9:30 pm

    Question:
    What do the vast majority of illegal guns in Mexico that originated in the US have in common with the 9-11 terrorists?

    Answer:
    Both were the direct result of federal government approvals.

  74. 74.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    April 22, 2009 at 9:31 pm

    @Jay B.:

    “It’s mind-bottling…You know, when things are so crazy it gets your thoughts all trapped, like in a bottle?”

  75. 75.

    El Cid

    April 22, 2009 at 9:32 pm

    I think that Republicans finally ought to have the guts to go after Napolitano and the traitor liberals on what they’re doing to Republican bodily fluids through fluoridation.

    And I’m really proud of Representative Barton for not referring to Dr. Chu as “Fu Manchu” or “Chinaman”.

  76. 76.

    r€nato

    April 22, 2009 at 9:34 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    huh?

  77. 77.

    Iowa Housewife

    April 22, 2009 at 9:37 pm

    @Jay B.: Thank-you. I watched the video and read all the comments here and I kept thinking…..why did he ask that? what was he looking for? Creationism. oh….I am so dumb.

  78. 78.

    Tom65

    April 22, 2009 at 9:38 pm

    Let me get this straight: a US Congressman from TEXAS doesn’t know where oil comes from?

    End times, indeed.

  79. 79.

    Max

    April 22, 2009 at 9:40 pm

    I’m starting to get a little suspicious… The GOP has been so teh fail, that I am beginning to think they are pulling the rope a dope on us.

    A collective group of individuals can’t possibly circle the drain this much this quickly.

    We love you Denver! City by the Bay.

  80. 80.

    jcricket

    April 22, 2009 at 9:41 pm

    And I’m really proud of Representative Barton for not referring to Dr. Chu as “Fu Manchu” or “Chinaman”.

    Or asking him to change his name to Steve Smith, or something otherwise easily pronounceable by “real muricans”

  81. 81.

    TR

    April 22, 2009 at 9:42 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill: huh?

    That’s generally my reaction to everything he writes.

    It’s adorable, really. Reminds me of a demented great-uncle.

  82. 82.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    April 22, 2009 at 9:43 pm

    “red china”? Talk to me when you have been there, I am guessing the majority of these dumb fucks haven’t left the United States.

  83. 83.

    The Cat Who Would Be Tunch

    April 22, 2009 at 9:43 pm

    @superfly:

    Turned off the comments, eh? What a cowardly act. Couldn’t take the heat for his stupidity.

    @valdivia:

    Yes, especially if you’re a guy.

    I kid, I kid. I would never wish something that terrible on you.

  84. 84.

    28 Percent

    April 22, 2009 at 9:44 pm

    @El Cid: thank you El Cid it is a real problem I am glad that you agree it is serious and about time!

    As for the others talking about McVeigh and Nichols and Rudolph I do not know them and that dose not matter it is the politicisation of thought and makeing it so that our VETS who SACRIFICED adn DIED for our FREEDOM AND COUNTRY are suspected of being the TERRORISTS well what do you think they are fighting, huh? You do not have an answer for that do you? You are trying to take away speech from brave men and ladies who have DIED FOR YOU saying that they are violent you should be ashamed but a revolution is coming and then you will all pay.

  85. 85.

    Jay B.

    April 22, 2009 at 9:44 pm

    @Iowa Housewife:

    I don’t think it’s creationism necessarily, but a way for him to try and tricksterly point out that Alaska’s North Slope used to be a veritable Eden, ipso fatso, global warming has already happened! And if we’re undergoing global warming NOW, and we think it’s man made, how do you account for Alaska having vegetation back then, huh, mr. Nobel Prize Winner? Yet, at the same time, I’d bet my eyeteeth that Barton’s on the 6,000 year old Creationist tip too, which brings in certain, um, contradictions in his other idiotic assumption.

  86. 86.

    El Cid

    April 22, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    @Iowa Housewife: No, actually, I don’t think Barton’s main thrust in this was Christian Creationism.

    I really think Barton thought he had Chu pinned down in an anti-global warming ‘gotcha’ — if Alaska used to be hot enough to have dinosaurs (really plants, but, whatever) to make oil, then this would mean that Alaska used to be hot, and this means global warming is wrong.

    Forget the changing climate and energy budget of the entire planet, dude was completely unprepared for the suggestion that Alaska used to be somewhere else.

  87. 87.

    joes527

    April 22, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    OK, so I am not youtube savy enough to do this, but someone should post a video response to the Barton clip.

    Post exactly the same video with the title:

    Congressman puzzeled by clear answer.

  88. 88.

    valdivia

    April 22, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    trick question?

    I was actually just kidding but it *is* true that some of my friends have accused me of dating politically reprehensible men (loooooong story). Ziegler is just too out there, for anyone with a brain, no wonder he is alone.
    so the answer is absolutely *not* that desperate.

  89. 89.

    El Cid

    April 22, 2009 at 9:46 pm

    @Jay B.: X-post!

  90. 90.

    Iowa Housewife

    April 22, 2009 at 9:49 pm

    @Jay B.: Which is nuts, I don’t understand the wingnut need to not believe in global warming, what have they got invested in that?It doesn’t address anything biblical, so why, what gives?

  91. 91.

    bvac

    April 22, 2009 at 9:49 pm

    Someone just tell me straight up, is 28 Percent a spoof?

  92. 92.

    dmsilev

    April 22, 2009 at 9:50 pm

    Ahem: The name of the prize is Nobel, not Noble.

    -dms

  93. 93.

    JGabriel

    April 22, 2009 at 9:50 pm

    SBW:

    Wow, Barton looks like one smug a**hole. (Alas, a completely unscientific opinion.)

    Honestly, I’m pretty sure that can be scientifically established.

    .

  94. 94.

    Montysano

    April 22, 2009 at 9:51 pm

    @Unabogie: Shep was twitching like Frank Constanza. Amazing.

    We live in interesting times.

  95. 95.

    JGabriel

    April 22, 2009 at 9:52 pm

    bvac:

    Someone just tell me straight up, is 28 Percent a spoof?

    Must be. No one who really believed that shit would have the ironic sense to call themselves “28 Percent”.

    .

  96. 96.

    Fencedude

    April 22, 2009 at 9:53 pm

    @bvac:

    And not a very good one at that.

    Booooooooring.

  97. 97.

    valdivia

    April 22, 2009 at 9:54 pm

    OT–wasn’t BOB saying a few months ago that Obama would be almost bellow 50% by his 100 day mark?

  98. 98.

    joes527

    April 22, 2009 at 9:54 pm

    puzzled
    @El Cid: But the fact that plate tectonics hadn’t even occurred to him, along with the fact that he didn’t even seem to acknowledge the possibility (much less understand it) puts him clearly in the young-earth camp.

    So yeah it is even more bizarre the more you analyze it. He was clearly fishing for “Alaska used to be a tropical paradise” but unable to accept the very idea of change on a geological time scale. Obviously god put it there to let us know that we should MAKE alaska a tropical paradise. (by 2012)

  99. 99.

    El Cid

    April 22, 2009 at 9:57 pm

    @joes527: I don’t doubt that Barton was inspired by those models of people riding saddled dinosaurs at the Creation Museum.

  100. 100.

    JGabriel

    April 22, 2009 at 9:57 pm

    PhysicsFun:

    Dr. Chu had the good fortune to spend much of his career interacting daily with individuals who were brilliant, well-informed, thinkers. Now, he has to talk to congress.

    Time for a new thread. No one’s gonna top that one.

    .

  101. 101.

    Ash

    April 22, 2009 at 9:58 pm

    It’s truly fucking scary how stupid some Congresscritters are. It seems like Barton had seriously never even heard of plate tectonics.

  102. 102.

    28 Percent

    April 22, 2009 at 9:59 pm

    @JGabriel: I do not know what you mean by spoof I am a REAL PATRIOTIC 100% AMERICAN you are trying to take away my free speech by calling me a so called “spoof” but I will kick your ass I was in ‘Nam.

  103. 103.

    mvr

    April 22, 2009 at 10:00 pm

    @Rick Taylor:
    Barton is a little confused about which of the characters in that video did not understand how to correctly answer that question.

    He’s lucky that Chu (pardon me if I misspell his name) gave him the benefit of the doubt and answered the question as though it was serious.

    And I suppose we’re lucky that those who oppose a serious climate change policy are such idiots as to post evidence of their idiocy on their websites.

  104. 104.

    OldDave

    April 22, 2009 at 10:02 pm

    Please tell me “28 Percent” is a spoof…

  105. 105.

    JGabriel

    April 22, 2009 at 10:03 pm

    Brick Oven Bill:

    Question:
    What do the vast majority of illegal guns in Mexico that originated in the US have in common with the 9-11 terrorists?

    Answer: Both were the direct result of federal government approvals.

    Republican owned companies, like gun manufacturers and Halliburton, profited from both. The Republican slogan really should be: “Your misery is our financial gain.”

    .

  106. 106.

    Iowa Housewife

    April 22, 2009 at 10:04 pm

    @bvac: I vote spoof

  107. 107.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    April 22, 2009 at 10:04 pm

    @joes527:

    Someone needs to brief Barton on Pangaea.

  108. 108.

    TR

    April 22, 2009 at 10:05 pm

    @JGabriel: I do not know what you mean by spoof I am a REAL PATRIOTIC 100% AMERICAN you are trying to take away my free speech by calling me a so called “spoof” but I will kick your ass I was in ‘Nam.

    Yeah, I’m thinking spoof. If not, a total fucking idiot.

    Either way, not worth the effort to engage.

  109. 109.

    28 Percent

    April 22, 2009 at 10:06 pm

    I am a Master of three martial arts including ninjitsu, which means I can wear the special boots to climb walls. I will be completing my ninjisu training in a little over 8 months, and then I will be a Master of Ninjitsu, a true “Ninja”. But it is not my martial arts skills that make me so vital to the security of the mall, it is my tactical and strategic skills honed by years of intens on-site on the job training. You all who are makeing fun of me have never been threatened by jailed drug dealers, serial killers, and shoplifters, or fired at by high powered rifles or to protect honest shopkeepeers from mindless teenyboppers who go to the Hickory Farms store, and then take double samples of fruitcake and cheeselog, you warn them that they will be charged with a felony(grand theft), and that if they attempt to fight and run, they will be, unfortunately, first tazered, and if they continue to resist violently with intent to maim, then wounded.

    Meanwhile, my ass is one the line so your fat butt can go to the mall and pick up the latest copy of “Computer Gaming Monthly” without getting jumped and sodomized in the mall bathroom. I was in a firefight just last month because of liberal slike you the SWAT prettyboys were overpowered by the Gap, and we Backup RTF’ers had to resume our roles, and basically put everything five by five. The takedown was actually applied with SW weapons, SW3’s. It happened a while agao, and there is no way you would know what city I am in, so I can reveal these details. If you want to laugh at somebody, try laughing at the sheep out there who go to the mall unarmed trusting in me to stand guiard over their lives like a God.

  110. 110.

    Ash

    April 22, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: Hogwash. God never would have put us so close to Africa for heaven’s sakes.

  111. 111.

    eric k

    April 22, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    I didn’t think Barton was going for the Creationism angle, I thought he was trying to get Chu to say it used to be a lot warmer in Alaska, the Global warming isn’t an issue because 500 million years ago it was warmer argument, just as stupid in a different way.

  112. 112.

    Iowa Housewife

    April 22, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    @El Cid: I guess I tend to sum up the creationism/anti-global warming/anti-science/anti-education other than religion and abstinence into one category…..it all fits.

  113. 113.

    JGabriel

    April 22, 2009 at 10:10 pm

    28 Percent:

    JGabriel: I do not know what you mean by spoof I am a REAL PATRIOTIC 100% AMERICAN you are trying to take away my free speech by calling me a so called “spoof” but I will kick your ass I was in ‘Nam.

    Really? Then what are you doing here amongst us treasonous libtards when you could be spending time with more like-minded folks at Michelle Malkin’s or Pamela Gellar’s blogs?

    .

  114. 114.

    Iowa Housewife

    April 22, 2009 at 10:11 pm

    @28 Percent: Observe and Report was a bad movie.

  115. 115.

    demimondian

    April 22, 2009 at 10:12 pm

    @Iowa Housewife: Hardly. 28 Percent is a TRUE, BLUE, AMERCAN, the kind of Very Serious Person who puts the Ruth in Truth. No member of the 101st Chairborne, he, but rather the toughest of the tough, the roughest of the rough, broadly trained in the marital arts.

  116. 116.

    Ash

    April 22, 2009 at 10:12 pm

    @eric k: Global warming deniers, creationists, all the same brand of stupid.

  117. 117.

    Laura W

    April 22, 2009 at 10:12 pm

    mindless teenyboppers who go to the Hickory Farms store, and then take double samples of fruitcake and cheeselog, you warn them that they will be charged with a felony(grand theft), and that if they attempt to fight and run, they will be, unfortunately, first tazered, and if they continue to resist violently with intent to maim, then wounded.

    I pray you are never on defense duty when my 94-year-old grandmother runs amuck in a Costco.

  118. 118.

    toujoursdan

    April 22, 2009 at 10:12 pm

    As much as I don’t want to feed the troll, Janet Napolitano’s comments about the Canadian border have touched off a diplomatic incident between Canada and the U.S.

    CBC News: Canada more lax than U.S. about whom it lets in, Napolitano says

    A suggestion by the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary that terrorists have routinely entered the United States through Canada — including the perpetrators of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — caused a kerfuffle in Washington Tuesday. Janet Napolitano made the comment in an interview Monday with CBC’s Washington correspondent, Neil Macdonald.

    Read the rest of the article:

    That prompted Michael Wilson, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, to set the record straight Tuesday. Wilson told reporters at the Border Trade Alliance meeting in Washington, where he was keynote speaker, that he is “frustrated” that the 9/11 myth has surfaced yet again. “Unfortunately, misconceptions arise on something as fundamental as where the 9/11 terrorists came from,” he said.

    But then, Napolitano appeared to make matters worse by explaining to the border conference Tuesday why the Canada and Mexico borders should be treated equally. “The fact of the matter is that Canada allows people into its country that we do not allow into ours,” she said. “That’s why you have to have a border, and you have to have border policies that make sense.” Liberal MP John McKay, who was at the conference, said Napolitano’s comments alarmed him. “If you are, in fact, negotiating a managed border, and your negotiating partner believes a set of mythology, then you have problems,” he said “You try to work on the basis of fact, not on the basis of myth.”

    Yes, it’s just Canada, but it’s important to keep in mind that Canada is America’s largest trading partner (and the largest trading relationship between any two countries in the world) and America’s #1 energy supplier and 5 million American jobs are directly tied to the Canadian economy.

    It may not be a big deal south of the 49th parallel, but 75% of Canadians live within 100km of the U.S. border.

    Why she would repeat such falsehoods is beyond me. The only known terrorist that crossed the U.S.-Canadian border was the “Millennium bomber” and in that case, U.S. Customs officials were tipped off by the RCMP that he had explosives. There is really no evidence that Canada is any softer on terrorism than the U.S. or that terrorists have a safe haven here. Making the border harder to cross is going to cost both economies billions in lost trade, tourism and productivity.

    It’s sad to see the paranoia of the Bush years continue. The last thing the U.S. needs is to be an armed camp.

  119. 119.

    Iowa Housewife

    April 22, 2009 at 10:14 pm

    @Laura W: Never go to Costco on Monday. Always a disappointment, snackwise.

  120. 120.

    demimondian

    April 22, 2009 at 10:14 pm

    @Iowa Housewife: That’s _Observe and Deport_, don’t you mean?

  121. 121.

    Martin

    April 22, 2009 at 10:14 pm

    Which is nuts, I don’t understand the wingnut need to not believe in global warming, what have they got invested in that?

    Because acknowledging that people can impact global climate means that there is an additional external constraint on our behavior. To the GOP, God is the only acceptable external constraint. They attack liberals for advancing the idea that other governments are an external constraint. It’s all about doing whatever we want until God drowns a city for being too gay.

    But if they accept that climate change is real, that opens the door that we need to exhibit self restraint. For some reason, the GOP feels that we should be above that. See the Ayn Rand “Exploit the earth or die” arguments. That’s the GOP.

  122. 122.

    Maureen

    April 22, 2009 at 10:15 pm

    Don’t know if this has already been mentioned but has anyone seen the following video of Shep Smith dropping the F-Bomb during a discussion about torture as in “THIS IS AMERICA AND WE DON’T F***ING TORTURE”

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/22/723294/-Shep-Smith:-We-do-not-f***ing-torture!UPDATED-w-VIDEOS

    I will not watch Faux News but good on Shep!!

  123. 123.

    El Cid

    April 22, 2009 at 10:15 pm

    Someone needs to brief Barton on Pangaea.

    Sure, and while you’re at it, make sure and do it speaking in Sanskrit and put all numbers in Hexadecimal, because it’s just as likely to penetrate as showing him 1,250 Discovery / National Geographic / BBC channel documentaries on the Earth’s formation.

  124. 124.

    Martin

    April 22, 2009 at 10:17 pm

    Never go to Costco on Monday. Always a disappointment, snackwise.

    I have proposed to my family that Costco should offer up a ‘Sampler Pizza’, taking the various free samples being offered that day and using them as toppings. Every day would offer a different pizza, and lazy folks could save a bunch of walking.

  125. 125.

    demimondian

    April 22, 2009 at 10:17 pm

    @El Cid: Reunite Gondwanaland! Stop the Laurentian drift!

  126. 126.

    demimondian

    April 22, 2009 at 10:18 pm

    @Martin: Yeah, you know, I kind of want to avoid the mosquito repellent pizza, if that’s all the same to you.

  127. 127.

    Dennis-SGMM

    April 22, 2009 at 10:18 pm

    @El Cid:

    And I’m really proud of Representative Barton for not referring to Dr. Chu as “Fu Manchu” or “Chinaman”.

    I guess you missed the part where asked Dr. Chu how his people got those little pieces of paper into fortune cookies.

  128. 128.

    Martin

    April 22, 2009 at 10:21 pm

    Yeah, you know, I kind of want to avoid the mosquito repellent pizza, if that’s all the same to you.

    I would assume all items edible. Teriyaki chicken, lasagna, trail mix, and multivitamin pizza – you could find worse, you know.

  129. 129.

    Laura W

    April 22, 2009 at 10:22 pm

    @Dennis-SGMM: Phew! Ouch. Hurts.

  130. 130.

    M. Bouffant

    April 22, 2009 at 10:23 pm

    our VETS who SACRIFICED adn DIED for our FREEDOM AND COUNTRY are suspected of being the TERRORISTS

    Yeah, especially those who died. Wait ’til the Zombie G. I. terrorists come to get us all.

    Wazzat? G. I. Zombie want Bush brains? Not too happy at being killed for nothing by the recent President? That’s a little different, then.

  131. 131.

    Comrade grumpy realist

    April 22, 2009 at 10:23 pm

    Oh yes, 28 percent is one of our pet spoofs. Took over from DougJ. Gives us good practice. Very good at the dingbat-crazy. We hone our arguments on him.

    (Speaking of spoofs, whatever happened to Birdzilla? Now that guy is EPIC.)

  132. 132.

    demimondian

    April 22, 2009 at 10:25 pm

    @Martin: Um…yeah.

    Listen, now that you mention it, I think that DEET sounds _just fine_. Could I also have a slice of the double fudge brownie-orange juice pizza?

  133. 133.

    Fern

    April 22, 2009 at 10:26 pm

    @toujoursdan:

    Thanks. Her comments sure annoyed this Canadian.

  134. 134.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    April 22, 2009 at 10:27 pm

    I think Shep Smith said what the majority of Americans said in the last eight years…. “we do not fucking torture” I like Shep Smith, he has not drunk the Foxnews Koolaid.

  135. 135.

    Mike in NC

    April 22, 2009 at 10:28 pm

    I guess you missed the part where asked Dr. Chu how his people got those little pieces of paper into fortune cookies.

    We ordered Chinese take-out tonight. My fortune cookie said “You will always get what you want through your charm and personality”. Spooky how accurate those things can be…

  136. 136.

    gopher2b

    April 22, 2009 at 10:28 pm

    Looks like SNL got their opening skit.

    “Wait, wait….so you’re going to tell me that there are these “plates” under the ground that move. Are you f#cking kidding me.” Blago should be involved somehow.

  137. 137.

    Cap'n Phealy

    April 22, 2009 at 10:30 pm

    John Carter? Isn’t he of Mars?

  138. 138.

    mcc

    April 22, 2009 at 10:30 pm

    “Wait, wait….so you’re going to tell me that there are these “plates” under the ground that move. Are you f#cking kidding me.”

    An interesting coincidence that this occurred so close to 4/20.

  139. 139.

    gopher2b

    April 22, 2009 at 10:30 pm

    Does anyone know a good 5th grade science text book we could buy for him. We could all pitch in-maybe Cole could set up a PayPal.

  140. 140.

    Mnemosyne

    April 22, 2009 at 10:34 pm

    @toujoursdan:

    Why she would repeat such falsehoods is beyond me. The only known terrorist that crossed the U.S.-Canadian border was the “Millennium bomber” and in that case, U.S. Customs officials were tipped off by the RCMP that he had explosives.

    I think she was referring to the millennium bomber, who traveled pretty freely between Afghanistan and Montreal and who operated a terrorist cell there. I haven’t seen any references to the customs office in Washington state being tipped off by the RCMP, though the guy was a known terrorist being watched by the Canadian government.

    The problem was that she tried to expand out past the known Algerian terrorists operating in Montreal and link them to the 9/11 guys, which was more than a little tenuous, even if they were all technically al-Qaeda.

  141. 141.

    El Cid

    April 22, 2009 at 10:36 pm

    “Wait — I heard a this once’t. Are you one a’ them a’ Chinese type people think that our country lives on a bunch of plates that is stacked on other plates and then is on a bunch a’ elephants and them’s on a bunch of turtles allaway down???”

  142. 142.

    demimondian

    April 22, 2009 at 10:38 pm

    @El Cid: Tonight, I think that’s pizzas.

  143. 143.

    toujoursdan

    April 22, 2009 at 10:39 pm

    @Mnemosyne

    Wikipedia is your friend:

    On December 14, 1999, Ressam boarded the M/V Coho at Victoria on Vancouver Island and entered the United States at the Port Angeles, Washington ferry landing. Canadian agents had been watching him for more than two years in Montreal. When he disappeared, Mounties traced him to a motel room in British Columbia where they discovered materials that could be used in making bombs.

    The Mounties then tipped off US Customs officials of a potential bomb threat to them.

    Travellers on this ferry route headed from Canada to the USA, at the time of the incident, would be pre-cleared by United States Immigration and Naturalization Agents (then under the U.S. Department of Justice) in Victoria and then be inspected by U.S. Customs Agents (then under the U.S. Department of Treasury) upon arrival at Port Angeles. Ressam was cleared by U.S. immigration in Victoria. At the US port of entry, upon noticing that he appeared nervous, US Customs officers inspected him more closely and asked for further identification. Ressam panicked and attempted to flee.

    He was pre-cleared by U.S. authorities BEFORE taking the ferry to Washington. The RCMP already tipped them off. US Customs should have alerted American INS officials of the threat so they could have stopped him before he got on the ferry in the first place. He could have blown up that ferry and killed the other passengers.

    This is just part of a long line of “blame Canada” memes coming out of the U.S. It was Pataki that initially blamed Canada for the 2003 blackout of the Eastern Seaboard before it was traced to a plant in Ohio.

  144. 144.

    jrg

    April 22, 2009 at 10:41 pm

    Meanwhile, my ass is one the line so your fat butt can go to the mall and pick up the latest copy of “Computer Gaming Monthly” without getting jumped and sodomized in the mall bathroom.

    You are a genius, sir. Wait a minute, are you the Filthy Critic?

    You’d like Joe Barton [R] – He’s a mall Ninja. A scientific bad-ass too, from what I hear.

  145. 145.

    Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse

    April 22, 2009 at 10:44 pm

    Yes, Napolitano stepped in it with her border remarks.

    A Word from the Director General of RCMP Border Integrity: Securing the Canada/U.S. border – Facts, Fiction and Realities

    Myth number three: Canada is a haven for terrorists.

    It’s hard to know where this started, but it may have come from the arrest of Ahmed Ressam in late 1999, the so-called “Millennium Bomber” who entered the United States via Canada. This led some in the U.S. to assume that where there was one, there must be more – perhaps many more.

    The fact is, threats go both ways and we have an inventory of the groups operating inside our borders. As the Director General of the RCMP Border Integrity Program, I’m under no illusions and I think Canadians understand that terrorism represents a direct threat to our way of life as well. It is not just an American concern and it is not just America’s problem to solve.

  146. 146.

    r€nato

    April 22, 2009 at 10:46 pm

    @valdivia:

    wasn’t BOB saying a few months ago that Obama would be almost bellow 50% by his 100 day mark?

    a wingnut – girlfriend’s uncle – confidently predicted to me shortly after the inauguration that in six months, nobody would admit to having voted for Obama.

    hell yeah I’m gonna rub that one in his face come July 20.

  147. 147.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    April 22, 2009 at 10:49 pm

    @4tehlulz:

    [Obligatory Larry Craig joke here]

    Republican agenda stalls.

  148. 148.

    valdivia

    April 22, 2009 at 10:55 pm

    @r€nato:

    ha! I will toast to you on that day, go rub his face in it.
    (hmm does that sound lewd?)

  149. 149.

    El Cid

    April 22, 2009 at 10:55 pm

    @r€nato: By this time in his Presidency, George W. Bush hadn’t even gotten full steam at telling all the people trying to warn him of imminent terrorist attack to go f*@% themselves, you’ve covered your a**.

  150. 150.

    Joshua Norton

    April 22, 2009 at 10:56 pm

    You are trying to take away speech from brave men and ladies who have DIED FOR YOU

    Dude, I love you. That is GOLDEN!

  151. 151.

    ellie

    April 22, 2009 at 11:01 pm

    Didn’t Eric Rudolph’s brother deliberately cut his hand off with a saw to make a point? What a bunch of loons.

  152. 152.

    28 Percent

    April 22, 2009 at 11:03 pm

    @Joshua Norton:

    At last, someone who appreciates my art.

  153. 153.

    El Cid

    April 22, 2009 at 11:05 pm

    @ellie: What? Did his hand offend him, and thus he thought Jesus commanded him to cast it off?

  154. 154.

    Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s

    April 22, 2009 at 11:10 pm

    The answer is:

    God put it there.

  155. 155.

    Mnemosyne

    April 22, 2009 at 11:10 pm

    @toujoursdan:

    Wikipedia is your friend

    Yes, because Wikipedia is known for being 100 percent accurate 100 percent of the time. There’s no possible way that incorrect information could ever make its way onto Wikipedia.

  156. 156.

    passerby

    April 22, 2009 at 11:12 pm

    @Unabogie:

    Thanks for the Shep clip. I need a cigarette now.

    @Maureen:

    Yep, great clip. Unabogie @5 beat you to it.

  157. 157.

    bago

    April 22, 2009 at 11:14 pm

    Dude, that was straight copy/paste mall-ninja. It worked on some people though.

  158. 158.

    Rick Taylor

    April 22, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    I didn’t think Barton was going for the Creationism angle, I thought he was trying to get Chu to say it used to be a lot warmer in Alaska, the Global warming isn’t an issue because 500 million years ago it was warmer argument, just as stupid in a different way.

    I’m sure before Adam and Eve sinned it was a lot warmer and more pleasant.

  159. 159.

    toujoursdan

    April 22, 2009 at 11:22 pm

    @Mnemosyne

    Yes, because Wikipedia is known for being 100 percent accurate 100 percent of the time. There’s no possible way that incorrect information could ever make its way onto Wikipedia.

    So are you saying that this detail is incorrect in this case? Because it is a detail that is often mentioned on Canadian news reports when this story is aired. Do you know something they don’t?

  160. 160.

    burnspbesq

    April 22, 2009 at 11:23 pm

    @toujoursdan:

    Napolitano’s speech is payback for allowing Mark Steyn to write for Maclean’s.

  161. 161.

    Minionero

    April 22, 2009 at 11:26 pm

    28 Percent = DougJ ?

  162. 162.

    toujoursdan

    April 22, 2009 at 11:30 pm

    LOL. Well you got me on that. Mark Steyn is a “moran”

  163. 163.

    Kyle

    April 22, 2009 at 11:34 pm

    All the Repigs have left is fomenting fear amongst the stupid.

  164. 164.

    Ben

    April 22, 2009 at 11:36 pm

    That video with Chu is one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever seen. The smug bastard smirking at the idea of continental drift is one of those moments that captures the current state of the Republican Party perfectly.

  165. 165.

    Zuzu's Petals

    April 23, 2009 at 12:05 am

    So I notice Politico mentions complaints from “veterans groups” but neglects to include what the head of the largest veterans group in the country has to say:

    The leader of the nation’s largest combat veterans’ organization said a leaked government document that mentions disgruntled military veterans as potential security threats should have been worded differently, but he takes no issue with the document’s purpose: to assess possible threats to the safety and security of the United States.

    ” A government that does not assess internal and external security threats would be negligent of a critical public responsibility,” said Glen M. Gardner Jr., the national commander of the 2.2 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and its Auxiliaries.

    ……
    “The report should have been worded differently, but it made no blanket accusation that every soldier was capable of being a traitor like Benedict Arnold, or every veteran could be a lone wolf, homegrown terrorist like Timothy McVeigh. It was just an assessment about possibilities that could take place,” said Gardner.

  166. 166.

    asiangrrlMN

    April 23, 2009 at 12:06 am

    Oh good fucking grief. What a major idiot! I can’t believe he posted it himself. Poor Dr. Chu looked like he was thinking, “I gave up my day job for this?”

    Republicans! Back away from teh Twitter. You suck at it!

    P.S. I was going to make a joke about wanting Ziegler, but my stomach isn’t that strong.

  167. 167.

    Cain

    April 23, 2009 at 12:16 am

    @KevOH:

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: Technically it was Airplane II

    Ding ding! We have a winner. :-)

    cain

  168. 168.

    Cain

    April 23, 2009 at 12:19 am

    @OldDave:

    Please tell me “28 Percent” is a spoof…

    He is as real as everyone else here. ;) He’s part of the eco-system here like BoB with his strangely poetic postings. Now if myiq2xu came back, we’d have some fun. 28 percent was hilarious during the Obama/Clinton primary.

    cain

  169. 169.

    Cain

    April 23, 2009 at 12:20 am

    @28 Percent:

    I love you.

    cain

  170. 170.

    Zuzu's Petals

    April 23, 2009 at 12:20 am

    @toujoursdan:

    Canada is, as GWB pointed out, “our most important neighbor to the north.”

  171. 171.

    Zuzu's Petals

    April 23, 2009 at 12:28 am

    I wonder if anyone has bothered to point out to Mr. Barton that it was probably never “a lot warmer” at the North Pole because it isn’t land, but ice.

  172. 172.

    Andrew

    April 23, 2009 at 12:33 am

    Lame, 28 percent is plagiarizing the Mall Ninja.

    More, better original spoofs please.

  173. 173.

    4jkb4ia

    April 23, 2009 at 12:45 am

    John may not have noticed this freak accident in the joy of Philly’s imminent humiliation.

  174. 174.

    Ed Sky

    April 23, 2009 at 12:55 am

    Joe, you don’t help the cause of conservatives by being ignorant of geological history. Crack open a book other than the Bible. For the record, I am a conservative and don’t believe in man-made GW.

  175. 175.

    OriGuy

    April 23, 2009 at 2:04 am

    @gopher2b: How about this one. It’s for ages 9-12. Maybe an aide could explain the big words to him.

  176. 176.

    Mnemosyne

    April 23, 2009 at 2:29 am

    @toujoursdan:

    Let me put it this way: when all of a sudden an “international incident” comes along that just happens to make Napolitano look bad when Republicans are already howling for Napolitano’s head for daring to point out that US military veterans have committed terrorism against their fellow Americans before, I can’t help but wonder if said international incident is perhaps a tad overblown with the help of right-wing media on both sides of the border. There’s a reason this story is running on Fox News here in the States, and nowhere else. I can’t even find it in the Canada News section of Yahoo! News as of 11:30 pm Pacific time.

  177. 177.

    Mnemosyne

    April 23, 2009 at 2:40 am

    I’m also not seeing anything about Napolitano on Yahoo! News Canada, though it looks like your prime minister pissed off the Turks.

    Turkey should just admit that it was a genocide and apologize to the Armenians instead of throwing a hissy fit every time someone brings it up, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.

  178. 178.

    RememberNovember

    April 23, 2009 at 8:09 am

    @28 Percent:

    Thank you Seth Rogan, or is it Kevin James. Mall cops rule!

  179. 179.

    kay

    April 23, 2009 at 9:00 am

    I knew it was coming.

    She’s the new Janet Reno for the black helicopter crowd.

  180. 180.

    Svensker

    April 23, 2009 at 9:42 am

    @SBW:

    Wow, Barton looks like one smug a**hole. (Alas, a completely unscientific opinion.)

    But contra Steven Chu, he let himself be trapped.

    I don’t think Chu had any idea. He’s a sane guy, trying to answer an insane question, but he was courteous about it and took the question literally.

  181. 181.

    Svensker

    April 23, 2009 at 9:50 am

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    Republican agenda stalls.

    Is stalls a noun or a verb?

  182. 182.

    Cyrus

    April 23, 2009 at 10:55 am

    @Martin:

    Because acknowledging that people can impact global climate means that there is an additional external constraint on our behavior. To the GOP, God is the only acceptable external constraint.

    Could be, but I always thought the main reason was that if global warming was real and human-influenced, then it means that we should make changes, and that’s bad for business.

  183. 183.

    someguy

    April 23, 2009 at 11:11 am

    Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, both US Army veterans

    And if that doesn’t prove that vets bear government monitoring, nothing does.

  184. 184.

    Comrade Darkness

    April 23, 2009 at 11:13 am

    @Cyrus, I think Martin has it. If you listen over the shrillness of the right’s base on this topic, they accuse the left of having a “religion of environmentalism”, which tips their hand on the psychology of it. From a lobbyist perspective, it’s all about business, but that’s starting to balance out with the wind and nuclear industries getting in there to rumble.

    I thought a bit about whether I agreed that environmentalism is a religion, I’ll admit. I decided that if it is a religion, then there is also a religion of NASCAR, a religion of baseball/sports fans, and a religion of beer/wine, among many many others. If the right is willing to admit that, then I’ll concede the point.

  185. 185.

    SenyorDave

    April 23, 2009 at 11:14 am

    Here is another link to the video on Youtube. Interesting that most people’s take on it is that Chu was shocked by the shear stupidity of Barton.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=symYfq51aho

    I honestly believe you could take the average person off the street and they would have more common sense and intelligence then this pompous ass. What’s scary is the amount of power someone like Barton has.

  186. 186.

    jonas

    April 23, 2009 at 11:56 am

    Did a United States congressman just evince skepticism of continental drift in a public hearing?

  187. 187.

    A Fun Time Waster

    April 23, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    Barton has four different offices (3 in TX, one in DC). Call each and offer to make a donation! At first the staffer on the end (if you’re calling one of the state offices) will say “we can’t take donations” and might try to redirect you to the DC office – but then clarify and let them know that you’re not actually offering money, but that you’d like to donate some elementary level science texts, that way the good Rep. and his staff can bone up on plate tectonics and basic geology – the kind of things that most 5th/6th graders are taught.

    The reactions have been pretty good! And I think the donation piece kind of throws them – they can’t tell at first whether you’re a creationist/global-warming-denier supporter of his or a smart ass, but the donation offer is too good to turn down!

    Here are the numbers:
    WASHINGTON OFFICE
    (202) 225-2002

    ARLINGTON OFFICE
    (817) 543-1000

    ENNIS OFFICE
    (972) 875-8488

    CROCKETT OFFICE
    (936) 544-8488

  188. 188.

    Evinfuilt

    April 23, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    @Unabogie:
    Beautiful.

    He’s one of the best reporters on any network, amazing how Fox keeps him around.

  189. 189.

    Evinfuilt

    April 23, 2009 at 12:31 pm

    By the way… Its the ferns not the dinosaurs that gave us our petroleum. Same period (kinda, most of our oil and coal is older than the dino’s) but wrong life form.

  190. 190.

    Joel

    April 23, 2009 at 12:34 pm

    Doctor Chu,

    Why is the Sun so hot?

    Got you there, smartypants!

  191. 191.

    Comrade Darkness

    April 23, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    @Joel,

    *Dr. Chu, why is the sky blue?*

    Well, what do you know about the refraction of different wavelengths of light?

    *Light has wavelengths?*

    I don’t think I can explain this, then.

    *I PWND you, nah nah nah, nah nah nah.*

  192. 192.

    HyperIon

    April 23, 2009 at 1:26 pm

    @Iowa Housewife: carbon tax

  193. 193.

    HyperIon

    April 23, 2009 at 1:29 pm

    @28 Percent: is that you, dougj?

  194. 194.

    HyperIon

    April 23, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    @Minionero:you beat me to it. as did someone further upthread.

  195. 195.

    Pangloss

    April 23, 2009 at 3:30 pm

    These people are seriously not going to last four years. We should probably take out a few more of them in the 2010 elections just so they can take a breather and pull themselves together, because they clearly didn’t get the message in 2006 and 2008.

    “If it was anybody else, I’d say what’s going to happen to you would be a lesson. Only you’re going to need more than one lesson. And you’re going to get more than one lesson.” — Boss Jim W. Geddes

  196. 196.

    El Cid

    April 23, 2009 at 3:35 pm

    “Are you tryin’ ta tell me that Alaska was once consortin’ with them hot latitude Latin or Ay-rab countries?”

  197. 197.

    bartkid

    April 23, 2009 at 3:35 pm

    >“Yes, Canada is not Mexico, it doesn’t have a drug war going on, it didn’t have 6,000 homicides that were drug-related last year,” she said.

    Uh, actually, Vancouver does have a drug war, but it is two orders of magnitude lower.
    The drug war is there, but it is on the same order as US deaths due to tasering.

  198. 198.

    James Weatherby

    April 23, 2009 at 5:19 pm

    @Bill Teefy: A typical idiot Democratic response. Bush kept this country safe and now the left wingers want to hang his administration out to dry. Obama yo’ mama needs to be concerned with his own stupidity and that of his brain dead appointees. I don’t think it would have taken Bush four hours, much less four days to do away with the pirates. Obama is a wuss and so are you.
    Terrorists don’t water board they just cut off heads.

  199. 199.

    James Weatherby

    April 23, 2009 at 5:27 pm

    @Mnemosyne: IDIOT.

  200. 200.

    James Weatherby

    April 23, 2009 at 5:30 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I’d rather have a horse breeder than a dyke.

  201. 201.

    James Weatherby

    April 23, 2009 at 6:05 pm

    Stupid, stupid and more stupid. Some people cannot see past the end of their own noses. Obama and crew are doing their damndest to ruin this country. He wants to talk about Bush. As a matter of fact, that is all he knows to talk about. Someone needs to let him know that the election is over. And by the way he wasn’t even running against Bush. I don’t think he knew that. Obama has already gotten more money to throw away than all American presidents put together, and two of them funded world wars. I hope you are all happy when our taxes double or triple. I’m sure you will love him then. The man just can’t seem to get that addition thingamajig down. Yo, Make no senze. I got pleny mony.
    Up with the Republic of TEXAS!!

    Man do I feel safe with our Dept. of Homeland Security ? Hell I don’t even know what to call her. Words will just not express my appreciation of her kind words since I am a veteran and a terrorist.

  202. 202.

    James Weatherby

    April 23, 2009 at 6:14 pm

    @Kyle: Hi Kyle, are you afraid yet?

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. Rep. Joe Barton Denies Plate Tectonics; Thinks He’s a Genius says:
    April 24, 2009 at 12:46 am

    […] (link via John Cole) […]

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