Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

The way to stop violence is to stop manufacturing the hatred that fuels it.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Bark louder, little dog.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

In my day, never was longer.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

People are weird.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

You are here: Home / Archives for 2009

Archives for 2009

Book Learning Ain’t Just for Elites

by | 64 Comments

This post is in: ,

This is great. Red State “interviews” Sarah Palin, although I’m not really sure you could call this an interview, because there are no real quotes, and it turns out she has been doing some book learning:

One of the criticisms leveled by the right when Palin was chosen as McCain’s nominee is that she had not shown she’d done the reading to lead, i.e. read the Hayek, Friedman, Goldwater, Bastiat, to form her thoughts. She admitted she is a gut level conservative, but also said that criticism comes mostly from “shallow people who have not delved into [her] record.”

I did not want to sound like Katie Couric and ask what she’s read, but I broached the subject and she went right into mentioning Thomas Sowell and Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism. She said she has read some of the foundational stuff, but she sees no need to focus on the old writings. She likes “the modern stuff too.” Her preference is policy and application, focusing on writers who are not just following up on foundational conservative ideas, but applying those ideas too.

I can’t believe 25% of the country thinks this woman could be President.

BTW- does the Bible count as an “old writing?”

Book Learning Ain’t Just for ElitesPost + Comments (64)

So Much for the “Up or Down” Vote

by | 48 Comments

This post is in: , ,

Remember that mantra from the past eight years? At any rate, the Democrats finally broke the filibuster on one judicial nominee:

Senate Democrats broke a GOP filibuster Tuesday against a district judge first nominated eight months ago by President Barack Obama for a seat on the federal appeals court.

The Senate voted 70-29 to end debate over the nomination of Indiana Judge David Hamilton, who was tapped by Obama in March to fill a vacancy on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Hamilton was Obama’s first judicial nominee.

The full Senate is now expected to move forward quickly on a final vote on the nomination.

I’m as shocked as you are that the Democrats fought this. In other news, even the media is starting to notice the hypocrisy:

In 2005, Republicans spoke for days about the insult of the judicial filibuster, calling it unconstitutional. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, now the Senate Republican leader, said in 2005 of the Democrats: “For the first time in 214 years they’ve changed the advise and consent responsibilities to advise and obstruct.”

North Carolina’s Richard Burr, like many other Republicans, said the debate was about “fairness” and “about principle and …. allowing judicial nominees an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor.”

And the man who is now the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, contended that “the Republican leadership have been consistent on this issue even when it was not to their political benefit to do so. We have opposed judicial filibusters and have not supported them.”

Imagine that- taking what the Republicans have said in the past, show that what they are doing today is completely at odds with their past statements, and point out they are hypocrites. Have these guys been watching the Daily Show to figure out how this reporting thing is done?

So Much for the “Up or Down” VotePost + Comments (48)

Call Him What He Is

by | 128 Comments

This post is in: ,

Bart is at it again:

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) pledged on Tuesday morning to defeat healthcare reform legislation if his abortion amendment is taken out, saying 10 to 20 anti-abortion-rights Democrats would vote against a bill with weaker language.

“They’re not going to take it out,” Stupak said on “Fox and Friends,” referring to Senate Democrats. “If they do, healthcare will not move forward.”

He’s basically a political terrorist a kidnapper. He doesn’t have the votes in the Senate to get what he wants, so he’s threatening them- take this amendment out, and we kill your loved one. Steve Benen points out that it is all sound and fury, but should Stupak actually attempt to blow up health care reform because not everyone in the House and Senate is a pro-life extremist, the Democrats should kick him out of their caucus. That might seem harsh, but this is the most important (or so they say) piece of legislation the Democrats have pursued for decades, and anyone who intentionally sabotages it for his own little culture war BS should be forced to pay a price.

*** Update ***

Some of you hate the terrorist bit. Probably right and it is over the top. I apologize. But what really irritates me about this is that Stupak isn’t concerned about the actual health care bill- he’s concerned with advancing his religious agenda through a health care bill, and if he doesn’t get what he wants in the OTHER branch of Congress, he will work to blow up the whole bill. That is infuriating and wrong.

Hell, I’d even understand it if pro-choice advocates had tried to advance the ball in the pro-choice direction, and Stupak said “If they do that, I am voting against it.” But he isn’t doing that, and what he is doing is much more extreme. He is going well beyond the Hyde amendment, and then threatening to blow up the bill if people don’t follow through with his religious beliefs. He’d let tens of millions of people go without health insurance just because he couldn’t for private insurance companies to no longer cover abortion. That makes him pretty despicable in my book. And the fact that the more conservative Senate Democrats aren’t even going to give him the time of day tells you everything you need to know, if the Fox news appearances didn’t already.

Call Him What He IsPost + Comments (128)

Sprezzatura!

by | 82 Comments

This post is in: , ,

I realize that full-throttle wankery is not to everyone’s tastes. But if you like the stuff, do yourself a favor and read Lee Siegel’s “Obama’s Dangerous Obsession” piece. The idea is that Obama’s remarks at Fort Hood betray a dangerous infatuation with Lincoln and that, although everyone loves Lincoln, the guy presided over a bloody civil war, so we might also expect presidents who like Lincoln to want to preside over bloody wars. It’s more complicated than that and, honestly, I’m not sure that it makes any kind of logical sense. But he really explores the studio space. It’s a little hard to believe that it’s not parody.

Sprezzatura!Post + Comments (82)

The Holidays Are Around the Corner

by | 102 Comments

This post is in: 

So why not treat yourself to a furry friend? Lots of adoption stories coming in, but I loved this one because it was a great story plus it had a picture of a pet in a compromising position, and I thought it would break up a dull afternoon:

dolce1

This is Dolce, she is a greyhound rescued from Ireland. She was hit by a car after being released from the race track because she was too small to race so we don’t know her true age. She was found with a band of gypsies and a badly broken leg and an Irish rescue arranged with our greyhound rescue here in Mass. to fly her here for surgery. Unfortunately they could not save her leg and after multiple surgeries actually removed the entire leg and shoulder blade. This is her halloween costume and as you can see we gave her a peg leg, unfortunately she wouldn’t wear the pirate hat, but she would wear the witch hat. She is a very happy dog and gets around great on 3 legs, she really has been a sweetheart. Greyhounds really are wonderful dogs.

The rescue we use is Greyhound Friends Inc. of Massachusetts. They are at greyhound.org. Since we banned greyhound racing in the state they have a lot of dogs at this time. There are 44 currently listed on their website and the rescue is not equipped to handle nearly that many, and we already have 2 in a 500 sq ft apartment. My wife won’t let me get another one.

If you live in the area and think a Greyhound might be a good choice, you know where to go and what to do. But remember, pets are a lot of fun, but they are also a lot of responsibility and they cost money. They need medical care and food and attention and walks, so make sure you are prepared for the commitment.

The Holidays Are Around the CornerPost + Comments (102)

Shadoobie Shaddegg

by | 165 Comments

This post is in: ,

Obviously, we can’t hold Congressmen to the same high standards as late night comedians:

On the House floor last night, Media Matters points out, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) made his case against holding trials for 9/11 suspects in New York City, directing a question to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“I saw the mayor of New York said today, ‘We’re tough. We can do it.’ Well, Mayor, how are you going to feel when it’s your daughter that’s kidnapped at school by a terrorist?” Shadegg said.

I’m kind of surprised they haven’t used the “if it was your child strapped to that ticking bomb” argument in favor of torture more, to be honest with you.

Shadoobie ShaddeggPost + Comments (165)

Open Thread

by | 19 Comments

This post is in: ,

SouthofI10, Shrimp Boat. On the Bayou Teche, near Patterson, LA.

boat

Max, The Bees, from the 2009 ABQ Balloon Festival.

the-bees

Email me a link to your one or two favorite pics on a photo site like Flickr (do not send the image itself please) and I will put up favorites in open threads. Send a short caption if you want one.

Click on the photo for a link to the photographer’s website. To see all photo threads, click on ‘photo blogging’ at the bottom of the post.

If your computer cannot read our email links at top right, my email is (remove the zeroes): portus0jackson0ii at yahoo dot com.

Open ThreadPost + Comments (19)