Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

No one could have predicted…

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

Republicans in disarray!

Dear legacy media: you are not here to influence outcomes and policies you find desirable.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

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

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Second rate reporter says what?

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

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Archives for 2009

Unspoofable

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Because I have no life, I’m listening to C-Span while playing Dragon Age, and the dumbest man in the House, Mike Pence, just gave what can only be described as the funniest speech I have heard from the well of the House. I seriously hope someone can put the close up on youtube, because it ended with a call to arms, asking the Democrats to take a stand for freedom and to do battle with this bill, and they will go down in history as defenders freedom.

With Allah as my witness, I expected him to yell Wolverines when he finished. And you have to watch his facial expression when he finished speaking. It looked like he was confused or didn’t know what to do next.

*** Update ***

Boehner is now basically reading Betsy McCaughey’s WSJ editorial today. Just clowns.

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Fight to the death

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I just got an email from a guy named Dudley Sharp supporting Rick Perry’s decision to suspend the panel that was looking into the prosecution of Cameron Todd Willingham. The piece is pretty incoherent (link corrected) — there are no factual statements of any kind and it opens with an extended rant against the media that has almost nothing to do with this particular case.

Regardless of whether or not one supports the death penalty, the fact is that the prosecution’s case against Willingham was largely based on arguments that the fire in his house was caused by arson (rather than by, say, a space heater). These arguments were riddled with errors, and arson expert Craig Beyler concluded that the fire was probably caused by a space heater.

No criminal justice system is perfect, and, similarly, no expert’s judgement is perfect. But it is difficult for me to believe that a reasonable person could now be convinced, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Willingham was guilty. It is, perhaps, not surprising that there are so many people out there who claim otherwise simply because they like the idea of putting the supposedly guilty to death. But it is shameful that these people appear on television so frequently.

Update. I accidentally screwed up the link to Dudley Sharp’s original article. So I am reposting it in its entirety below.

show full post on front page

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Saturday Night Open Thread

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I think I am going to be eating beef vegetable soup for about two more days. I suppose there are worse things to eat. I froze two big containers, but I still have a bunch left.

Lots of pictures came in today, but this was my favorite:

sany1947

Another exciting night playing games and walking the dog. Really loving the storyline of Dragon Age. First game in a long time I remember actually caring about the story.

Also, since it is rapidly becoming Christmas time, the best and easiest way to support this website is if you are going to order through Amazon, click the Amazon link up above and to the right before you go there and shop. Some months we earn up to 50-60 bucks through referral fees, which is cool.

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So Why Didn’t You?

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Jack Kingston, R-Ga, on the Democratic health care bill:

“This bill is a wrecking ball to the entire economy,” said Representative Jack Kingston, Republican of Georgia. “ We need targeted specific reforms to help people who have fallen through the health care cracks.”

Ezra Klein, on the Republican bill unveiled just the other day:

The Republican alternative will have helped 3 million people secure coverage, which is barely keeping up with population growth. Compare that to the Democratic bill, which covers 36 million more people and cuts the uninsured population to 4 percent.

But maybe, you say, the Republican bill does a really good job cutting costs. According to CBO, the GOP’s alternative will shave $68 billion off the deficit in the next 10 years. The Democrats, CBO says, will slice $104 billion off the deficit.

The Democratic bill, in other words, covers 12 times as many people and saves $36 billion more than the Republican plan. And amazingly, the Democratic bill has already been through three committees and a merger process.

Shut up, Rep. Kingston. If all we need to do is help those who have slipped through the cracks, then why the hell couldn’t the Republicans do that in their “alternative?” Why does anyone take these people seriously?

You know, I don’t know if the Democrat’s plan is an objectively good bill, and I have my doubts. I have no idea if it will work as planned and be an objectively good thing in the long run. But at least they are trying.

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Here Is How It Works

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What does it cost to get $2.4 billion in unemployment benefits extension?

$24 billion:

President Obama is scheduled today to put his signature to HR 3548, the unemployment extension bill that’s been struggling to make its way out of Congress for over a month. Thousands of unemployed Americans will applaud this move by Congress and the White House. Despite the protracted process of getting the bill through the Senate after an initial version was passed in the House, this is much-needed legislation that will help unemployed Americans whose benefits have or will run out in all 50 states.

***

Also included in this bill is an extension of the homebuyer tax credit to April 2010. The bill totals $24 billion in economic stimulus through these programs.

More here:

The House voted 403-12 today to approve Senate amendments to H.R. 3548, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009, and sent the measure to
President Obama for his signature. The bill extends unemployment insurance benefits but also includes a provision added in the Senate that will expand businesses` ability to “carry back” net operating losses suffered during the current recession in order to claim a refund from taxes paid in previous years.

You see- you aren’t allowed to just pass a bill extending unemployment benefits at the cost of $2.4 billion dollars, because that would be socialism. It takes another $21.6 billion to grease the palms of the people who own the “moderates” and the “fiscal conservatives,” and once you get the cost up to $24 billion, you have achieved “capitalism.”

Please tell me I am interpreting this wrong. I would love to be wrong about this. I really would. I’m sure no bad can come from artificially propping up the housing market with tax credits.

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