Our latest from the GOP’s agenda setter.
There Is Something Deeply, Deeply Wrong With These People
These wingnuts just lack any trace of empathy or humanity. Empty souls.
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Of Course They Knew About It
A high-profile parliamentary panel investigating phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch’s now-defunct News of the World tabloid released embarrassing new evidence Tuesday that the practice of intercepting voice mail had been widely discussed at the newspaper, contradicting assertions by its owners and editors.
In light of the new evidence, the panel also announced that it was summoning at least four former News of the World figures for questioning at a hearing next month and could possibly ask Mr. Murdoch’s son James, the head of the Murdoch conglomerate’s European operations, back for more testimony as well. Both father and son testified at a dramatic televised hearing last month. The disclosures threatened to push the scandal back to the forefront of public concern, raising worrying questions for Mr. Murdoch and for the British prime minister, David Cameron, who hired Andy Coulson, a former News of the World editor, as his director of communications and has been taunted by the opposition for poor judgment in doing so.
Tom Watson, a Labour lawmaker and member of the panel, also said Mr. Coulson may be among those summoned to give further evidence.
The newest allegations are contained in a four-year-old letter released for the first time from Clive Goodman, the News of the World’s former royal correspondent who served a jail term for hacking the mobile phones of three members of the royal household, to a senior human resources executive who had informed him that he was being dismissed.
In addition to the Goodman letter, the parliamentary panel released a letter from Harbottle & Lewis, a law firm hired by the Murdochs, which they have repeatedly cited as having given the News of the World a “clean bill of health” in reviewing a cache of e-mails in 2007. The law firm’s letter contradicts that assertion and says that its own investigation had been limited strictly to advising the company in its employment dispute with Mr. Goodman.
I guess basically they will have to keep treating the News Corp folks like any organized crime machine- keep pushing, and drip, drip, dripping evidence out until they fear prison more than Murdoch. It’s probably also worth pointing out that you can bet this is happening here- by the government, by criminals, by interested political parties, etc. The technology is out there, so unscrupulous people will do what unscrupulous people do.
Keep Government Out of My Public Roads
Are we honestly going to have a fight over our puny national gas tax? Seriously?
A Feature, Not a Bug
The Republican plan is working as intended:
The stock market fell sharply Thursday on intensifying investor fears about a slowdown in global economic growth and worries about Europe’s ongoing debt crisis, which is centered now on Italy and Spain.
As Japan intervened to weaken its currency and European stock markets turned negative across the board, United States stocks fell by around 2 percent in morning trading in New York.
The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down 33.71, or 2.67 percent. The Dow was off 278.75, or 2.34 percent, to 11,617.69, and the Nasdaq was down 77.10 points, or 2.86 percent.
A fear haunting markets in the United States is that the economy may be heading for a double-dip recession. Although the fractious debt ceiling debate is now past, markets fear spending cuts and weaker economic data point to a weaker economy. The latest weekly jobless data Thursday again showed the economy was still fragile.
And for the delicate souls who claim this is just hyperbole, a quick review of the facts:
Appearing on CNBC this morning, presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) was asked about this morning’s dismal jobs report and whether higher unemployment rates might help her chances of winning in 2012. “Does it strike you that as the unemployment rate goes up, your chances of winning office also go up?” host Carl Quintanilla asked. “Well, that could be. Again, I hope so,” Bachmann replied.
Even with the country on the brink of default, the Senate’s highest ranking Republican says his “single most important” goal is to make Barack Obama a one-term president.
“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told National Journal’s Major Garrett in October.
“Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban,” Sessions said during a meeting yesterday with Hotline editors. “And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person’s entire processes. And these Taliban — I’m not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban. No, that’s not what we’re saying. I’m saying an example of how you go about [sic] is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message.
The teahadists have one goal, and one goal only. Getting back in power. If crashing the economy has to happen, well so be it. Plus, given our worthless media and idiot populace, they can use additional economic strife as a pretext for further tax cuts, deregulation, and attacks on medicare and social security because we “can’t afford them.”
But, you know, Paul Krugman is shrill.
The Onion Once Again Reporting Hard News
It’s really come to this:
After months of heated negotiations and failed attempts to achieve any kind of consensus, President Obama turned 50 years old Thursday, drawing strong criticism from Republicans in Congress. “With the host of problems this country is currently facing, the fact that our president is devoting time to the human process of aging is an affront to Americans everywhere,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who advocated a provision to keep Obama 49 at least through the fall of 2013. “To move forward unilaterally and simply begin the next year of his life without bipartisan support—is that any way to lead a country?” According to White House officials, Obama attempted to work with Republicans right up until the Aug. 4 deadline, but was ultimately left with no choice except to turn a year older.
Think this is over the top? Guess again:
Republicans have unleashed a barrage of criticism against the president for making the trip, accusing him of hypocrisy during tough economic times.
“With 9.2 percent unemployment, he could work on creating jobs, but I suppose the White House is thinking he should stick to the part of his job he really likes,” said RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski in an email statement.
GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney also took a swipe at Obama for the trip, publishing an online video Tuesday that highlights a spike in Chicago’s unemployment rate and falling housing prices over the past three years.
Administration officials have dismissed the criticism.
But both sides do it, doncha know!
The Onion Once Again Reporting Hard NewsPost + Comments (55)
We are ruled by sociopaths
If there’s one Very Serious Person I despise, it is deranged sociopath Charles Lane, who today unloads a McCardle-length screed against everyone who has accused the Tea Party of acting as terrorists.
In light of Gabby Giffords’ vote yesterday, I’d like to revisit his despicable comments about striking workers in Wisconsin:
If the brave Gabrielle Giffords could speak normally, what would she say about these events? I hope she would agree with me: This is a sad moment for liberalism, for the Democratic Party, and, really, for the whole country.
Awful. That paper can’t go bankrupt fast enough for me.