Your Armchair Movie Critic

If you liked the book, you'll hate the movie. If you didn't read the book, you will be underwhelmed by the movie.

Repugnant in the News: Karl Rove Interrogated by Feds

Karl Rove reportedly squealed: "DON'T WATERBOARD ME!!! PLEASE ... PLEEEAAASE." (Copious SOBS)
Fed interrogator: "Sir, CALM DOWN. We don't do this any longer. Would you like a Valium?"
KR: "Yes, please ..." (Whimper)

KARL ROVE TO BE QUESTIONED BY PROSECUTOR

The aim: to determine if officials obstructed justice in the dismissals of U.S. attorneys.
Washington Post
May 15, 2009

Washington -- Karl Rove will be interviewed today as part of a criminal investigation into the firing of U.S. attorneys under President George W. Bush, two sources say.

Rove, a former senior aide to Bush, will be questioned by Connecticut prosecutor Nora Dannehy, who in September was named to examine whether former Justice Department and White House officials lied or obstructed justice in connection with the dismissal of federal prosecutors in 2006.

Re: You Read it Here First (Peter's Prophecy)

Note: Peter once hit a $20 straight exacta at the Kentucky Derby for $1,000 and change, so his gift for prophecy in the Sport of Kings is established. The rest, by comparison, is gravy.

Let it be written--let it be done

And the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls--and sometimes in blogs:

Miss California on Cable News: Fox & Friends Gives Carrie Prejean Her Chance
May 14, 2009 03:24 PM ET Paul Bedard Permanent Link Print
by Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Miss California and Miss USA runner-up, Carrie Prejean, tossed around in the battle over gay marriage, will be a one-day guest host for Fox News Channel's popular morning show Fox & Friends, Whispers learns. She will host the 6 a.m.-to-7 a.m. slot on May 27, filling in for Gretchen Carlson—the 1989 Miss America—who will be off that day.

The party of Lincoln

Is now a petulant 3rd-grader (from Politico, courtesy of my pal Ms. Em):

A member of the Republican National Committee told me Tuesday that when the RNC meets in an extraordinary special session next week, it will approve a resolution rebranding Democrats as the “Democrat Socialist Party.” When I asked if such a resolution would force RNC Chairman Michael Steele to use that label when talking about Democrats in all his speeches and press releases, the RNC member replied: “Who cares?”

I understand that "Democrat Socialist Party" narrowly edged out "Stinky Poo Poo Heads," and that the RNC further stated "na na na na na you can't get me" and emphasized that girls have "cooties."

A concise statement of the obvious

From former law prof, current federal appeals judge and interesting crank Richard Posner:

By the end of the Clinton administration, I was content to celebrate the triumph of conservatism as I understood it, and had no desire for other than incremental changes in the economic and social structure of the United States. I saw no need for the estate tax to be abolished, marginal personal-income tax rates further reduced, the government shrunk, pragmatism in constitutional law jettisoned in favor of "originalism," the rights of gun owners enlarged, our military posture strengthened, the rise of homosexual rights resisted, or the role of religion in the public sphere expanded. All these became causes embraced by the new conservatism that crested with the reelection of Bush in 2004.

My theme is the intellectual decline of conservatism, and it is notable that the policies of the new conservatism are powered largely by emotion and religion and have for the most part weak intellectual groundings. That the policies are weak in conception, have largely failed in execution, and are political flops is therefore unsurprising. The major blows to conservatism, culminating in the election and programs of Obama, have been fourfold: the failure of military force to achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives; the inanity of trying to substitute will for intellect, as in the denial of global warming, the use of religious criteria in the selection of public officials, the neglect of management and expertise in government; a continued preoccupation with abortion; and fiscal incontinence in the form of massive budget deficits, the Medicare drug plan, excessive foreign borrowing, and asset-price inflation.

By the fall of 2008, the face of the Republican Party had become Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber. Conservative intellectuals had no party.

I would argue that the judge might be overstating the intellectual power of conservatism even BEFORE its Limbaugh-ization, but that is another story for another time. His analysis of the party and what passes for "conservatism" hits fairly close to the mark.

Hurray for Miss California!

Now go away. Now. Away. Go.

I think I know where she's headed though. She's blond, dumb as multiple bags of hammers, with a fake tan, fake boobs, hell, everything about her is fake. You know what that means?

FUTURE FOX NEWS ANCHOR!!!!!!!!

The Right Just Keeps Lying and Lying and Lying

The chattering right wing chihuahuas LIE with almost complete impunity. It’s nearly impossible to catch these bloviators in real time because they keep throwing out the lies quicker than anyone can correct them. Sure, there’s YouTube, KO, Rachel Maddow, Huff Post, and the blogs. The problem is the lag time and a captive audience that has already drunk the Kool Aid.

On the bright side, the right is losing audience as fast as the left is gaining it, so the country is becoming less stupid as a result. Those of us who tuned in to Keith Olbermann last night were treated to a fist-pumping point-by-point destruction of Bill-Oh Really’s historical revisionism that President Obama was wrong when he said Winston Churchill never tortured.

Yes, Bill-Oh, you are WRONG, you fool; ignorant lying sophist.


Sunday, on This Week with Georgie Boy, the unctuous George F. Swill declared imperiously that “more than 80% of Americans are more than satisfied with their health care plans.”

WRONG again, Swill, and YOU KNOW IT. The FCC ought to have a voluntary truth-in-commentary rule that would place the political chattering class on time delay so that every time they utter an untruth the viewer would see a freeze frame with a rolling text box at the bottom displaying the factual information. I propose that it be called WINGERFAX.



As soon as Swill makes the statement, “more than 80% of Americans are more than satisfied with their health care plans,” the screen would be frozen and the following rolling text displayed at the bottom:

According to the respected Gallup Poll (12/4/08) on Americans’ attitudes toward U.S. healthcare:

“The net result of these observations about the way U.S. healthcare works is that Americans generally believe the system is highly troubled: 14% say it is "in a state of crisis" and 59% think it has "major problems." Only 26% believe it has minor problems and a slight 1% say it does not have any problems.”

What’s most galling about this smug little jerk with a bow tie is that as the father of a special needs child who was never denied the best healthcare available, one would expect him to have some empathy for the uninsured, or at least, to accurately and honestly discuss the state of healthcare. 

But this is by no means the one and only time Swill has lied: as with all right wingers it's a consistent pattern with him.

- In 1980, Swill helped Ronald Reagan prepare for his presidential debate while posing as a neutral or objective journalist. There were similar conflicts of interest involving his associations with Conrad Black and Bob Dole.

- More recently, in a 2008 column Swill claimed China and Cuba had partnered to drill for oil off the Florida coast. That statement was false, and Swill published a retraction, but not before Dick Cheney and John Boehner repeated it.

- In 2009 Swill disseminated false information about the effects of global warming by claiming that, "[a]ccording to the University of Illinois' Arctic Climate Research Center, global sea levels now equal those of 1979." The Arctic Climate Research website of U of I fired back: "We do not know where George Will is getting his information, but our data shows that on February 15, 1979, global sea ice area was 16.79 million sq. km and on February 15, 2009, global sea ice area was 15.45 million sq. km. Therefore, global sea ice levels are 1.34 million sq. km less in February 2009 than in February 1979."

And so, Swill's off-the-cuff "80%" remark is simply the first salvo as he (and I'm sure, Bill-Oh) aim to destroy President Obama's efforts to provide healthcare for all Americans. Their campaign will be one of lies, misinformation, and slander to swiftboat healthcare. (Yes, it's true; the swiftboaters are baaack and they're the anti-healthcare storm troopers.) Anything for a buck. It's in their DNA.

Senator Edward Kennedy, who is battling brain cancer and whose son lost a leg to cancer, dedicated his entire career to giving Americans universal healthcare, precisely because of these experiences. He said he and his son are alive today because they were privileged to get the very best healthcare available. But millions of our citizens are not so fortunate, and that’s wrong.

For Senator Kennedy, healthcare is a right, NOT a privilege.

Therein lies the difference between liberals and conservatives. Let's roll.

We live in the world's dumbest country

You probably heard this one:

Teen Suspended for Going to Prom--Baptist School Forbids Dancing, Rock Music and Hand-Holding

FINDLAY, Ohio - An Ohio teenager has been suspended by his Christian school that bans dancing because he attended another high school's prom.

Officials at Heritage Christian School in Findlay had warned 17-year-old Tyler Frost that he would be suspended and prohibited from attending graduation if he went to the public school dance over the weekend with his girlfriend, according to The Courier.

Frost danced and held hands [Editor's Note: OMIGOD!! WE'RE DOOMED!!!] with his girlfriend, Rebecca Smooty, at the Findlay High School prom, attended by about 800 students, officials told the newspaper.

OK, boys and girls, this raises SOOOO many issues.

First of all, what sort of mutant parent sends their child to such a school?

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given that 44% of Americans believe in this:



Well, if the school won't allow hand-holding, we know who can't enroll:


People far wiser than me have called faith the belief in things not seen. I don't think faith requires the rejection of those things that are patently obvious.

CHENEY'S CHILLING MOTHER'S DAY MESSAGE

With apologies to all the wonderful moms for this slightly twisted post:

To the relief of all those present, Darth Cheney did not attend the WH Correspondents Dinner. President Obama joked the Dark Lord was busy working on his memoir "tentatively titled, How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People.” Then, he reportedly added: “The FORCE is with us.”

But Darth Cheney wasn’t too busy to make it onto one of the Sunday talk shows:

A Tale of Two Joes: Baseball Musings

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

One of the most famous opening lines in literary history could well describe Joe Torre’s passage through the Bronx as manager of the storied New York Yankees. From 1996 to 2007, Torre managed the Yankees to consecutive postseason play, winning ten American League East Division titles, six American League pennants, and four World Series titles, while earning a .605 winning percentage.

All of this got tossed overboard after Torre published his kiss-and-tell book, mildly titled “The Yankee Years,” ripping into his former employer and certain players, whom he called “prima donnas.” But Torre reserved some of his most acid remarks for A-Rod, according to the NY Post:

Alex Rodriguez, was called "A-Fraud" by his teammates after he developed a "Single White Female"-like obsession with team captain Derek Jeter and asked for a personal clubhouse assistant to run errands for him.

Weird.

And that’s not all. Torre headed for the sunny climes of California to manage that other team that had fled NY for LA, the Dodgers. In doing so, he made sure to torch any and all bridges to the Yankees. As Yogi Berra said, “when you get to a fork in the road, take it.”

Today, another Joe is managing the Yankees: Joe Girardi. He’s well known to Cubs fans as a capable defensive catcher and game caller. When he was a Cubs player, I met his parents once in a bar on Milwaukee Ave. Or so they said (I had no reason to disbelieve them.) They were nice folks, proud of their son.

Joe Girardi is a nice guy, some would say a player’s manager. But managing the Yankees and all those prima donnas Torre blasted may be too much for Girardi. I get the impression that Girardi is as tightly wound as Willie Randolph was when managing that other NY team, the Mets, in a slow, painful, downward spiral, till he was abruptly and summarily fired.

By the numbers, the two Joes are a study in contrasts:














Which of these Joes would Yankees fans want to see managing the team?

- Joe Torre
- Joe Girardi
- Neither Joe

Question for Cubs fans: Is Lou Piniella overrated as a manager? I’ve never understood his penchant for yanking starters after six innings, no matter how well they’re doing on the mound. I saw two blown Cubs games in which the starters were stellar and the floodgates opened up once Lou decided to yank them after six.

PS - The Dodgers' red-hot record is imperiled now that Manny Ramirez is out for 50 games after testing positive for steroids.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo, Hermanos y Hermanas!

On May 5, 1862 an outnumbered and ill-equipped Mexican army defeated the occupying French Army in the Battle of Puebla. This event was the cornerstone of Mexican resistance to foreign occupation. Today, the date is observed voluntarily in the U.S. to commemorate the cultural experiences and great contributions of Americans of Mexican ancestry to our society. The Battle of Puebla, pictured below:



Viva Mexico y Estados Unidos!

So Much for "Rebranding."

The GOP has picked Jeff Sessions from Alabama to replace Arlen Spector as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The selection of Sessions, pictured below:

clearly shows the direction of the so-called "new" GOP. The direction is to retrench and intensify their ties to their ever-shrinking base.

Sessions (JEFFERSON BEAUREGARD SESSIONS) is a bigot, by his own words. He called a black U.S. attorney a "boy" and admonished him about how he spoke to "white folks." He had good things to say about the Klan until he found out some of them smoked pot. When Reagan appointed him to the federal bench, even the senator from Alabama (although a "Democrat," Howell Heflin was a Democrat from a WAAAY different time) voted against him. Senators just did not do that then, to vote against someone from their state.

So it looks like the GOP has taken yet another step to solidifying their position as the majority party of the Confederate States of America.

Condi Rice: 'Waterboarding Diplomacy'

Former GWB Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice made this mind-boggling, and PROBABLY CRIMINAL, statement to a Stanford student because, AS ALWAYS, the mainstream media was asleep at the switch:

“BY DEFINITION, IF IT WAS AUTHORIZED BY THE PRESIDENT IT DID NOT VIOLATE OUR OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE.” -- Condoleeza Rice

WHAAAT?? Condi Rice has the AUDACITY and INTELLECTUAL DISHONESTY to invoke not only the “I was just following orders” but the “emperor’s clothes” defense?

We should not be surprised by this unguarded statement -- only that the buttoned-up, controlled, and anal Ms. Rice was sufficiently goaded by an insistent student demanding an answer into letting her guard down and incriminating herself.

Well, we had 'Ping-Pong Diplomacy' and 'Shuttle Diplomacy' under Nixon/Ford, so 'Waterboarding Diplomacy' seems like the appropriate term to describe Condoleeza Rice's legacy. After all, Condi Rice, who served a corrupt imperial president, was simply channeling the role model of ALL corrupt imperial presidents: Richard Nixon.





And here is Condi Rice's eery channeling of Richard Nixon. (Really, any other interpretation would be far-fetched.)



Lady, if the Attorney General gets serious about investigating this, you’re not going to be a poli sci professor at Stanford, you're headed straight for that other BIG HOUSE!

Hmm … I wonder what course she’ll be teaching; here’s a thought:

WATERBOARDING DIPLOMACY: WAR AND TORTURE AS A FOREIGN RELATIONS TOOL. (Course requirements: Must pass Stanford test revealing a totalitarian anti-democratic mindset.)

UPDATE: After her initial faux pas, Condi Rice yesterday was GRILLED by a 4th grader, and had to try to defend the legality of "all methods" of interrogation used by the Bush regime. "This is NOT (pleasepleaseplease) a Frost v. Nixon moment," she insisted plaintively.

Right. Nailed by a 4th grader. Which raises more questions about the state of our mainstream media, but that's another topic. For now, KUDOS to Misha Lerner, a student at the Jewish Primary Day School in our nation's capital, who asked the tough question the "pros" were too reticent or scared to ask.

Days we should remember

They seem like distant and unrelated memories. First, May 1886:

and May 1970:

The bloodshed on these distant May 4ths though evolved from common threads. The protesters rallied for things that we should no longer consider to be controversial--an eight-hour workday in Chicago and in Ohio, the end of America's unholy war in Vietnam. What had begun as peaceful demonstrations turned into violent confrontations in both cases from an unfortunate combination of arrogance and incompetence. Those in power used similar phrases to refer to the labor activists and the antiwar protesters. Both were dirty, un-American anarchists viewed as somehow less than human. The results, tragically but predictably, are Haymarket and Kent State.

A.A. Milne in the Swine Flu Era

Thanks Nick!

Who Would Jesus Torture?

From CNN.com:

More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is “often” or “sometimes” justified. Only 42 percent of people who “seldom or never” go to services agreed, according the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified — more than 6 in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only 4 in 10 of them did.

Explain to me again why religion is a prerequisite for morality. I can't stand that argument.

Alex, may I have "Blowholes" for $1000?

I was listening for just a minute to the drug-addled gasbag while out at lunch. He was ripping into the president's Churchill reference last night about how the Brits didn't torture. The blowhole pulled out a National Geographic story about how the British gave captured German spies an option--hanging or helping. Rush proceeded to tell his dimwitted followers, and I paraphrase, "See! They threatened to HANG them! That's surely worse than anything we did that they are calling torture!"

Good Lord.

Rush, the operative word here is captured SPIES. Not "detainees," not POWs but SPIES. Doesn't EVERYONE know that spying during wartime is a capital offense? This wasn't "torture"--it was a plea bargain.

Now I don't know if the British tortured or not, not my field. Since I DON'T know I won't comment on the underlying accuracy. However, whether Obama's statement is factually accurate or not is irrelevant as to Limbaugh's shallow and ridiculous attempt to mislead his room-temp IQ band of believers.

Does cheese glow?

Bill Nye the Science Guy goes to Waco:

The Emmy-winning scientist angered a few audience members when he criticized literal interpretation of the biblical verse Genesis 1:16, which reads: “God made two great lights - the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.”

He pointed out that the sun, the “greater light,” is but one of countless stars and that the “lesser light” is the moon, which really is not a light at all, rather a reflector of light.

A number of audience members left the room at that point, visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence.

“We believe in a God!” exclaimed one woman as she left the room with three young children.

But, apparently, not a God who could invent an object that reflects the light of another.

Sure don't need that money...

In a remarkable bit of irony, given that they called it "pork" amidst swine flu, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) led the fight AGAINST funding for flu pandemics in the stimulus bill. "Does it belong in this bill? Should we have $870 million in this bill No, we should not," she argued.

Nice work, Sue.

And Chuck Schumer gets no points either for caving and calling the flu money by its porcine nickname.

Newsflash: Sen. Arlen Specter Sees the Light!

This hot from the Washington Post: Senator Arlen Specter has decided to SWITCH PARTIES from that R-word to the Democratic Party.

Wow. This is a HUGE political story. With Senator Franken, this will give the Dems that 60-vote filibuster-proof majority.

SCOTUS Rules Against Fox: No Drive-By Potty Mouth Allowed

From the NYT:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the government could threaten broadcasters with fines over the use of even a single curse word on live television, yet stopped short of ruling whether the policy violates the Constitution.

The decision did, however, throw out a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. That court had found in favor of a Fox Television-led challenge to the FCC policy and had returned the case to the agency for a ''reasoned analysis'' of its tougher line on indecency.

Tsk, tsk Shep ... Looks like you’ll have to pay the fine.



Oh, and Shep, you’re right: “WE ARE AMERICA:” YES. WE. DO.

Isn’t it a bitch when reality intrudes to shatter your illusions?

Swine Flu Source Identified

The Guardian published a story this morning about a possible link to the source of the Mexican swine flu outbreak. In the U.S., the disease is associated with contact with diseased pigs, as seen below:

The stupid, it burns

CNN's on a roll today.

Headline: "Historian: Give Obama an 'incomplete'"

Wow? Really? He's completed roughly 6% of one term as President, and he hasn't done enough that his evaluation can be completed? Frickin' morons.

Disingenuous much?

The headline story on CNN.com:

Bipartisanship didn't last long for Obama
There's little debate that Democrats who run Congress will mark President Obama's 100-day milestone with significant victories. But the legislative achievements have come at the cost of bipartisanship. The president's stimulus package passed with three Republican votes. His budget blueprint passed without a single GOP vote. What's the reason for the partisan divide?

What's the reason? Really? This is "America's most trusted news source"?

You mean like this, Carlos?

Taking the day off, going to the Bulls game tonight.

Back to torture

So, now it appears that BushCo. Inc. was torturing to get confessions they knew were phony, i.e., the ridiculous to assume even from the beginning "link" between lifelong and hate-spitting mortal enemies, bin Laden and Hussein. That is disgusting to the nth power, shades of the Inquisition and Stalin.

And something tells me Cheney ordered torture in no small part just because he liked it.

Meanwhile, back in Frostbite Falls...

Anyone notice this little tidbit from Madame Secretary?

I think we cannot underscore [enough] the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan by the continuing advances, said Clinton, adding that the nuclear-armed nation could also pose a `mortal threat' to the United States and other countries.

Great. While BushCo. Inc. was off screwing the pooch in Iraq, they nonchalantly looked away and set the stage for nuclear weapons to fall into the hands of radical groups. Nice work there, guys.

The Torture Memos: A Question of Justice

Regarding the release of the torture memos: The CRIMINAL Bush regime is putting forward a full-court press -- Dick Cheney (former acting president who has a hard time LETTING GO), Michael Hayden (former NSA chief), and Michael Mukasey (last GWB AG) -- to spread lies, propaganda, and misinformation pounding the false premise that the knowledge imparted of their "enhanced interrogation techniques," a.k.a. TORTURE, makes the U.S. less safe. That is patently FALSE.

First, these TORTURE techniques had already been out there in the public domain and President Obama had already ordered that they are not to be used, therefore the information could be declassified.

Second, the revelation that the 9/11 mastermind was waterboarded 183 times, for an average of 6 times a days every day for 31 days, and another Al Queda suspect 83 times, for a total of 266 waterboarding sessions, raises questions not only about the purported effectiveness of such torture, but debunks any argument that torture is an effective interrogation "technique" in the first place.

Third, there's been some misunderstanding about who can authorize and/or prosecute or investigate these torture incidents. Michael Izikoff of Newsweek noted that his sources close to the President informed him that this authority rests squarely in the Justice Department, and that Attorney General Eric Holder is seriously considering whether or not to open a criminal investigation into the Bush regime's use of torture.

Fourth, Congress has a parallel responsibility, under the separation of powers, as the legislative branch of government to conduct its own investigation and hold hearings on the matter. One issue that is clearly a prerogative of Congress is the impeachment of federal judge Jay Bybee for authoring one of the torture memos when he was Assistant AG in the Bush regime. Among other things, Bybee wrote "waterboarding could not be said to inflict severe suffering." The New York Times has called for Congress to impeach Bybee in a 4/19 editorial:

The investigation should start with the lawyers who wrote these sickening memos, including John Yoo, who now teaches law in California; Steven Bradbury, who was job-hunting when we last heard; and Mr. Bybee, who holds the lifetime seat on the federal appeals court that Mr. Bush rewarded him with.

These memos make it clear that Mr. Bybee is unfit for a job that requires legal judgment and a respect for the Constitution. Congress should impeach him. And if the administration will not conduct a thorough investigation of these issues, then Congress has a constitutional duty to hold the executive branch accountable. If that means putting Donald Rumsfeld and Alberto Gonzales on the stand, even Dick Cheney, we are sure Americans can handle it.

See, it worked, right? It worked! It's in the paper!

Don't ask me why (my own personal penance, perhaps?) but I do occasionally listen to right-wing gasbag radio. Today was so SO rich. The king gasbag was going on about the torture thing and Cheney opening his foul yap (WHY isn't he in prison??). He then nearly wet himself over an editorial in the Washington Post about how great the enhanced techniques torture worked.

The piece? Why it's by Marc A. Thiessen. I'm sure he is either an expert or at least a disinterested observer. And his evidence? A memo from THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT saying how great torture worked. Wow! Right??

Well, surprisingly, no (we could discuss the 183 episodes of waterboarding if it worked so well, but that is another post for another time. Today's topic is "consider the source." )

First of all, Mr. Thiessen was last gainfully employed as the scribner who put words into THIS mouth:

Alex, may I have "CYA" for $1000?

And of course, the Justice Department in 2005? Who ran that?? The guy on the left who previously wrote the torture memo that the guy on the right wanted.

That's right-wing radio, and the right-wing mindset for you. Thanks for torturing in MY name.

Well, I learned something today

While taking the boys to the high school, one could not help but be stunned by the sight of every police car in town at the school entrance. I thought perhaps it was a preventative measure on the Columbine anniversary. Honorable Son #1 looked at me like I had an axe in my head. "Dad, it's 4-20," he says. Still dumbfounded, I asked again. "4-20, dad. Google it."

I did, and I had no idea. Learn something new every day!

For those as naive as me, try here.

Quote of the Day: President Obama's Remarks to CIA Employees

"I understand that it’s hard when you are asked to protect the American people against people who have no scruples, and would willingly and gladly kill innocents. Al-Qaida’s not constrained by a constitution. Many of our adversaries are not constrained by a belief in freedom of speech or representation in court or rule of law. But I’m sure that sometimes it seems as if that means we’re operating with one hand tied behind our back, or that those who would argue for a higher standard are naive. I understand that. You know, I watch the cable shows once in a while. What makes the United States special and what makes you special is precisely the fact that we are willing to uphold our values and our ideals even when it’s hard, not just when it’s easy; even when we are afraid and under threat, not just when it’s expedient to do so. That’s what makes us different. So yes, you’ve got a harder job and so do I. And that’s OK, because that’s why we can take such extraordinary pride in being Americans. And over the long term, that is why I believe we will defeat our enemies because we’re on the better side of history."

President Obama in remarks to CIA employees -- 4/20/2009

Hugo Chavez Sells a Book!

The book that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave President Obama at the OAS summit as the cameras rolled, Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano (referenced in my post below), IS NOW, get this:


NO. 2 ON AMAZON'S BESTSELLER LIST! FRIDAY, IT WAS NO. 60,180!!
(
source: CNN news story based on running sales rankings on Amazon)

The 1971 book details centuries of exploitation of Latin America by Europeans and the United States, and has been through multiple reprints, the latest update being in 1978. WOW ... I'd better order my copy now while supplies last and prices are good.



PS - I just placed my order. Better hurry and get yours! :)

Let's Hear it for New Beginnings

BOLIVARIAN HANDSHAKE

President Obama is spreading a little North American good will and cordiality among former sworn enemies of the criminal Bush regime in South America. It's all part of the President's exceedingly successful effort to mend frayed relations between the United States and the rest of the world. This weekend it's his "good neighbor policy" with our friends to the South and the Caribbean, one that could actually be worth more than the irony and suspicion such slogans have been met with in the past by Latin Americans. The first glimmers of a thaw in relations with Cuba are in the offing, a recognition that nearly 50 years of a U.S. embargo against that tiny island nation has done nothing to improve the lives of Americans or Cubans over the decades, much less our relationship with the rest of the hemisphere's nations, all of whom have normal relations with Cuba.

And so, the President made the first gracious gesture by approaching Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, and shaking his hand. President Chavez returned the gesture by making a beeline for Mr. Obama, who was seated at the other end of the room, and presenting him the book, Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano. The 1971 book details centuries of exploitation of Latin America by Europeans and the United States. Unlike the moron who preceded him, President Obama is a student of history and well aware of the centuries of U.S. exploitation of Latin America, which began in earnest with the Monroe Doctrine. Significantly, Chavez's gesture was indicative of just how much this craven history is ingrained in the psyche of Latin Americans. To say Latin Americans have ambivalent feelings and a love-hate relationship with the United States is to put it mildly, in many cases. In fact, one reason Fidel Castro remains popular in the democratic republics of Latin America is that he's been thumbing his nose at the mighty U.S. imperialist behemoth to his north from his tiny island-state of Cuba for the past 50 years. Such anti-American chutzpah trumps ideology every time with Latin Americans.

Besides, let's face it, Hugo Chavez articulated what plenty of politicians around the world and in this country were feeling but dared not say, when he told the UN General Assembly in 2006 that "the devil came here yesterday," referring to George W. Bush. "It still smells of sulphur today," he added, waving his hand as if to dissipate the odor.

If he called George W. Bush the devil, perhaps he has cause, ya think?

Here's a leader who was elected president of Venezuela in 1998, twice reelected in 2000 and 2006, and in 2002 foiled a CIA coup attempt authorized by Bush and Cheney against him. Hugo Chavez has replaced Fidel Castro as the American right's Latin American boogieman, now that Fidel is languishing in a Cuban hospital wearing a Nike track suit and blogging entertaining anti-American screeds (not so much now since Obama became president). Despite the right wing's hysterical anti-socialist/communist phobias aimed at President Chavez, the fact is the leader of the "Bolivarian Revolution" has never committed a single hostile act against the United States. That is, unless the wingnuts consider -- which they did -- giving poor people in the U.S. home heating oil at affordable, subsidized rates, a sinister Chavez plot to undermine this country from within. As we witnessed in those bizarre Teabagging protests a few days ago, it seems the spirit of McCarthyism and unbridled xenophobic paranoia is never far below the surface in this country.

Finally, President Obama respectfully greeted the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, who had the audacity to harshly condemn the imperialism of foreign capital, mostly American, that had been plundering his country -- the poorest in South America -- for centuries until he was swept into office by a populist democratic uprising and put an end to the gringos' chokehold over Bolivia's rich natural resources. For one thing, Bolivia sits atop the world's largest reserves of Lithium, the essential mineral for the batteries that will fuel the cars of the future, holding forth the promise of a bright future for the long-suffering Bolivian people.

And so let's hear it for new beginnings, and a rekindling of friendships among peoples that should never be enemies. Today, Lucifer resides in Dallas and that stink of sulphur is indeed finally dissipating, to be replaced by the competing aromas of a delicious Latin American churrasco and, dare I say it, a good ole Texas barbecue?

A LITTLE LIGHT READING

OBA CHAVEZ

OBA EVO

You do the math

From a great post by Matt Taibbi about the teabaggers:

Oh, and there’s one other thing. I heard today from Steve Wamhoff of Citizens for Tax Justice. He had an interesting tidbit to offer on the teabagging movement. According to his research, 39% of respondents with incomes below $30,000 told the Gallup agency that they felt that federal income tax levels were “too high.” Which is interesting, because only 32% of respondents in that income category will pay any federal income taxes at all on their 2008 income.

Burr-ainless

Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) is in a little bit of hot water as of late, after it came out (through amazing detective work, as Burr himself admitted to it) that when the financial crisis first hit last year, he encouraged his wife to take as much cash out of the bank as she could. Well, via the ATM. He wasn't crazy enough to suggest that she, y'know, go to a teller and withdraw money (that's so 1980's anyway). Now, he clearly did this because he saw the risk of financial collapse, had a brain cramp (or was just an idiot) and forgot about the FDIC, but didn't want to represent his constituents any and maybe help them too. Fine. He's an idiotic, selfish, greedy bastard, but we knew that already (hint: he's a Republican). It gets better.

From CNN: But a NRSC spokesman defended the remark, "It's little wonder Americans want to keep their hard earned money away from the grips of Washington."

Because that was the real financial risk, right? It's not that credit was frozen, but that the black man who stole the presidency was also going to go to banks in the middle of the night and take your money away from you. Yegads, these people are stupid.

It's not just Texas

Welcome Georgia to the crazy party.

But on April 1, your Georgia Senate did threaten by a vote of 43-1 to secede from and even disband the United States.

It was not an April Fool’s joke.

Read the text of the bill. It's an exercise in bureaucratic insanity.

From The Land of Lincoln: A Shout-Out to Texas Gov. Rick Perry

This is dedicated to our favorite secessionist, Governor Rick Perry of Texas: Congratulations, Ricky … you beat out Sarah Palin’s “First Dude”!

The Band



PS – Oh Governor Perry … I think President Obama of Illinois just did a flyover Texas on his way to Mexico.

Sniff, sniff … Buh - Bye.

A Teabagger With COJONES (Not Tea Bags ...)

Here's a gentleman speaking truth to ignorance, stupidity, racism, hatred, bigotry, you know, the MAINSTREAM Faux News demographic of brain-addled rednecks:



Hey, hey, right wingers, as KO said, "ya just got PUNKED!"

To the guy in the video, I salute you, sir.

An aside to Cavuto, Sean "Baby Jesus" Hannity, and the rest of you ignorant guttersnipes: STOP LYING. Don't you know you can't get away with your wingnut bullshit any more?

Stay classy, teabaggers

h/t DailyKos

Good point

The local paper has a little write-up on the teabagging going on today in good-old Champaign-Urbana. This group seems (at least from the organizers) to be more of the libertarian (government is just bad) variety, rather than springing from the Fox/Hannity/Beck (all liberals are evil) brand of insanity. Anyway, at the end of the article, in which the protesters call for an end to all income taxes and a reduction in government, someone leaves this priceless comment:

"I dig the irony of tax protesters using a public park."

Says it all really, doesn't it?

"Andy Martin"

I have posted on this cretin before, but he's back bloviating on Faux News.

The right-wing blogger and frequent Hannity guest known as "Andy Martin" is really Anthony Martin-Trigona. That name is familiar to anyone in Illinois, and particularly those of us who went to the University of Illinois. He was a Champaign-Urbana slumlord, and like me, received a law degree from the University of Illinois. However, Mr. Martin-Trigona was denied a license to practice on character and fitness grounds. State psychiatrists described him as having a "moderately severe character defect manifested by well-documented ideation with a paranoid flavor and a grandiose character."

He is also a perennial political candidate, running for every office around. He really imploded in Florida when he named his campaign committee for a state legislative run "Anthony R. Martin-Trigona Congressional Campaign to Exterminate Jew Power in America."

THAT'S your Faux News "journalist."

Two things for which there are no rational explanations

I have never seen a cogent argument on either of the following points. If you have one, please let me know:

1) The U.S. policy toward Cuba and

2) LEGAL opposition to same-sex marriage.

And remember, as every teacher throughout history has stated--ANSWER THE QUESTION ASKED. I'm not asking if we should give a wet sloppy kiss to the Castros. I am only asking if you can justify treating Cuba differently from countries ruled by unpleasant self-important despots? AND if government is sanctioning relationships between TWO CONSENTING ADULTS, please justify limiting THAT sanction to heterosexual relationships.

Follow-up to the Thomas post below

I always felt that the judiciary (culminating with the Supreme Court) was to protect the minority and the individual. The majority gets its voice through the election of Congress and the President, but the Constitution was created with explicit protections for the minority, and it's up to SCOTUS to do that. When the judges disregard that role, the rights of the individual become endangered.

Um, "Teabagging" Wingnuts: This Is a Family Show, right? RIGHT?

Apart from the weird psycho-craziness of the participants in so-called "teabagging" protests, presumably, irrationally, against President Obama's rollback of tax rates to those of the 90s Clinton years; apart from the usual regurgitation of ethnocentric paranoia and conspiracy gone wild -- President Obama wasn't born in the U.S., he's a socialist, he's a Muslim, he's a terrorist, etc. etc. -- the most perversely hilarious thing about these book-burning fanatics ("let's burn all the books about evolution," screams a madwoman), these so-called "TEA-BAGGERS" whose idiotic protests are based on the ignorant misinterpretation of their own history regarding the Boston Tea Party ... IS

THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT "TEABAGGING" ACTUALLY MEANS! Hahahaha!!!


A Little background from Paul Krugman:

"One way to get a good sense of the current state of the G.O.P., and also to see how little has really changed, is to look at the “tea parties” that have been held in a number of places already, and will be held across the country on Wednesday. These parties — antitaxation demonstrations that are supposed to evoke the memory of the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution — have been the subject of considerable mockery, and rightly so. But everything that critics mock about these parties has long been standard practice within the Republican Party.

it turns out that the tea parties don’t represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. They’re AstroTurf (fake grass roots) events, manufactured by the usual suspects. In particular, a key role is being played by FreedomWorks, an organization run by Richard Armey, the former House majority leader, and supported by the usual group of right-wing billionaires. And the parties are, of course, being promoted heavily by Fox News."

Nuance, damn glad to see you!

In one of its first major tests, the Obama administration passed with flying colors. It is quite refreshing to have a president who does not see the world in simplistic black and white terms.
First of all, the result could not have been better. The hostage captain freed, the hijackers killed or captured, the vessel safely back in port.

But beyond that, the administration acted as if they understood this was a complicated situation, in which piracy has its roots in the Somalian civil war and the lack of an effective government.

Nice job, Mr. President, well done.

Get off my lawn!

The evening was devoted to the Bill of Rights, but Justice Thomas did not embrace the document, and he proposed a couple of alternatives.

‘Today there is much focus on our rights," Justice Thomas said. "Indeed, I think there is a proliferation of rights."

“I am often surprised by the virtual nobility that seems to be accorded those with grievances,” he said. “Shouldn’t there at least be equal time for our Bill of Obligations and our Bill of Responsibilities?”

Now, I agree that many Americans have no idea that there is a concept such as shared responsibility or the social compact, but I do believe that this man has been given the solemn responsibility of helping to protect the rights of the weakest and least powerful among us, and is supposed to do so utilizing the Constitution as his guiding document. I've read the Constitution a number of times, and I would assume that Justice Thomas has a copy somewhere, and I've missed the sections on Obligations and Responsibilities.

In case you're curious about the kind of world he imagines:

“Or how can you not reminisce about a childhood where you began each day with the Pledge of Allegiance as little kids lined up in the schoolyard and then marched in two by two with a flag and a crucifix in each classroom?”

Donald Payne, Congressman MORON

One day after the successful rescue of Captain Phillips from the Somali pirates who held him hostage, a daring operation by U.S. Special Forces with use of deadly force authorized by President Obama – ONE DAY after this occurred – Congressman Donald Payne of NJ flew into the lion's den in Somalia, according to his spokesperson, because he “felt it was important to go to Mogadishu and see first-hand what was happening there.”

Donny Payne's Excellent (NOT!) Adventure

WHAT? Don't you KNOW, Donny? (This reminds me of that lunatic woman who jumped into a polar bear enclosure, swam gleefully toward the bears and got her ass mauled, barely escaping with her life.)

As if he DIDN'T, the Congressman came under mortar attack. According to Congressman Moron’s spokesperson, "All we know is his plane was fired on and of course we feel it was in retaliation."

OF COURSE.

"One mortar landed at the airport when Payne's plane was due to fly and five others after he left and no one was hurt," a police officer at Mogadishu airport said.

Here's one of MANY questions for Congressman Moron: What did you get to see “first-hand” that your government doesn't already know … Donny?

We KNOW enough of what’s happening in Somalia not to go there on a lark: it’s a LAWLESS country, Donny … Didn't you know?

Piracy has been a profitable criminal enterprise for these high seas thugs for several years … Did you even KNOW that Somalia is a DANGEROUS failed state, Donny?

Here are a few more BASIC questions for Congressman Donny Payne:

Did you CLEAR your trip to Somalia with the State Department?

Did you get the LATEST briefing from the State or Defense departments on the security situation in Somalia for U.S. citizens prior to entering Somalia?

Based on this imbecile’s rash actions, I’m inclined to believe he did not, because if he did they would certainly have told him DON’T GO or turn his ass back around and get out of there. Now we learn the State Dept. was informed of Payne's ill-advised trip and "discouraged" him from going. That's diplomatese for don't go; get your ass outta there.

When asked whether an escalation of hostilities by the pirates is likely after this successful Navy operation which resulted in three pirates being killed and one taken into custody, a defense analyst said YES. According to the latest news reports Somali pirates “vowed retaliation” for this action and named the U.S. forces their “No. 1 enemy.”

Doh.

Diplomacy and foreign policy is the province of the executive branch of government, NOT the legislative branch. Just imagine the dire consequences had Congressman Payne gotten himself killed or taken hostage in Mogadishu. What had been a successful rescue operation would have escalated into a MAJOR international incident at a time the President needs to concentrate on the economy and not on a freelance jackass congressman.

Donny, if you’re wondering why the American people hold Congress in such contempt, take a look in the mirror. Those in Congress living entire careers in a Washington glass bubble filled with regal prerogatives and privileges not accessible to regular citizens lose sight of the REAL world. Like Congressman Leo Ryan, who was tragically killed in Jonestown in those horrible events in Guyana, Donny Payne naively seems to believe Congressional prerogatives will somehow protect him in extremely dangerous situations in countries where the rule of law is literally a foreign concept. Donny, you should know better than to drink the Kool-Aid!

MEMO to Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

Please strip Congressman Donald Payne of his subcommittee chairmanship. His incredibly bad judgment in pursuing freelance diplomacy in Mogadishu has not only endangered him and those in his entourage, but most of all, our country, by preempting the President's and Secretary of State’s ability to pursue U.S. foreign policy interests.

A plea to the business world

Please, for the love of all things everywhere, please, please, please stop creating ads involving the words "stimulus" or "bailout." They're not clever, they're not funny, and all it will do is make people stop buying your crap. STOP IT!

The prez and health care

Administration sources are indicating that the president is next ready to push for health care "reform." His " reform" plan calls for somehow "strengthening," through tax advantages, etc., employer-sponsored health care and expanding Medicaid.

NO NO NO NO.

Incentivizing health care as an employee benefit does NOTHING to eliminate the fundamental problem, which is the PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY. This only empowers and perpetuates the source of the problem. And also, Medicaid (as compared to Medicare, which is federal) relies in part on the states and is just a nightmare.

DON'T SETTLE, Mr. President. Single-payor health care works across the globe. Take your mandate out for a spin and do this.

The future is already set

So in the last couple of weeks, two more states have legalized gay marriage, one through the judiciary (Iowa) and one through legislation (Vermont). The polling shows that the opposition to gay marriage is clearly generational. Young people are overwhelmingly comfortable with the idea, and the older people who are fighting to keep bigotry encoded in the law are, frankly, going to die off. A wonderful story, courtesy of the Iowa Senate Majority Leader:

One of my daughters was in the workplace one day, and her particular workplace at that moment in time, there were a whole bunch of conservative, older men. And those guys were talking about gay marriage. They were talking about discussions going on across the country.

And my daughter Kate, after listening for about 20 minutes, said to them: You guys don't understand. You've already lost. My generation doesn't care.

What did Kate's dad do after hearing this? Did he go on a rant against the abomination of homosexuality?

Is that so wrong? I don't think that's so wrong. As a matter of fact, last Friday night, I hugged my wife. You know I've been married for 37 years. I hugged my wife. I felt like our love was just a little more meaningful last Friday night because thousands of other Iowa citizens could hug each other and have the state recognize their love for each other.

Somewhere, a wingnut is weeping into a pair of Glenn Beck's panties and dreaming of a world in which Mike Huckabee is President. Bwahahahaha.

Sarah Palin must be dying a thousand deaths...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

One more clue for Lula

There's one in the comments below but here's another pic:

Geo-Quiz

I usually give you a photo quiz of the wife's wanderings, but this time we cashed in some miles and all of us are going on a SHORT getaway trip in early summer. Where?

Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame

That isn't something you generally hear from me, but...

In the eyes of the archbishop of Chicago, it was an "embarrassment" for the University of Notre Dame to invite THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES to speak. Because he supports scientific research and wants government out of reproductive decision-making? What's next?

So, Cardinal George, it would only be proper for a Catholic university to entertain speakers who are not only communicants with Rome but adherents to church orthodoxy? That doesn't sound particularly collegial, does it Rev. George? Shouldn't a university community be exposed to the widest spectrum of ideas, PARTICULARLY those you disagree with? I thought universities existed to expand intellectual horizons rather than to reinforce dogma. Are you so insecure in YOUR faith, Cardinal, that you cannot hear of differing views?

And by the way, when it comes to things that are embarrassing, when looking at your little bailiwick over the last few years...people who live in these....?

Bretton Woods, Somewhere Between Peyton Place and Dallas

President Obama gave a masterful performance at the G20 Summit. Many participants characterized it as the most important world economic parley since 1944, when the postwar financial system was remade even as WW II raged on. That summit meeting, hosting all the allied powers, was held at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, in the sleepy Preston Hollow enclave of Dallas, Texas, where the booze flowed freely since the arrival of faux President and Mrs. Laura “Pickles” Bush, No. 43 watched for any missteps by No. 44. He was also taking bets on how soon before his old buddy Berlusconi made a move on that babe, Cristina Kirchner, president of Argentina.



The President was speaking to the press:



PRESIDENT OBAMA: "There's been a lot of comparison here about Bretton Woods... you know, last time you... saw the entire international architecture being remade,'' he said. "Well, if, if it's just Roosevelt and Churchill sitting in a room with a brandy, you know, that's an easier negotiation.”


W.: “Hey Pickles! Ain’t Bretton Woods that gated community just down the road from this here Preston Hollow??? Ah didn’t know Roosevelt and Premier Churchill met for drinks over there?!”

LAURA “PICKLES”: “Ah’m not sure George, honey …”

W.: “Hell, woman, check the INTERNETS, do the GOOGLE. If OHBAHMA – he KNOWS things -- says our Dallas, Texas neighborhood’s hosted a presidential summit, we oughta have those folks over for a barbecue …"

Blago Indicted

So Illinois' hairiest ex-governor likes to wear jogging suits:

How about trying this one on for size?

The Executive Mansion in Springfield:

wasn't good enough for him. How about here?

Bye Rod...

NEWSFLASH (April 1, 2012) - NORM COLEMAN CONCEDES!

The longest running Senate race in HISTORY has finally come to an end as Sen. NORM COLEMAN, Republican incumbent from Minnesota, reluctantly conceded defeat to comedian and author AL FRANKEN, after the Republican Party's legal options finally ran out. Republican National Clowns Chairman Michael Steele was inconsolable: "I am prepared to lead a march on Washington to prevent this Stuart Smalley character (author: I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!: Daily Affirmations With Stuart Smalley), this, this Rush Limbaugh denier (author: Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot) from being seated!"

Michael Steele: "I'll stand on the steps of the Capitol ...

Turning apopleptic, the RNC Chairman disclosed his STRATEGERY: "If necessary, I'll stand on the steps of the Capitol to prevent that COMEDIAN from walking through the door, just like my hero of old, Chris, I mean, George Wallace."

Read more about it here.

Welcome Back, Doc

We missed you, hope you're back to game speed. Unfortunately, though, while you were gone...

It's April 1.....

Minnesota, do you know where your senator is????

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar:

U.S. Senator Al Franken:

Harry Reid, grow a pair?? SEAT THE JUNIOR SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA!!!

Extra, Extra, Don't Read All About It!!!

Newspapers are dying. We see it all around us. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer no longer prints its paper, the 150-year old Rocky Mountain News is no more, both major Chicago dailies are in some form of bankruptcy and the list goes on. In the Internet world, newspaper publishers have not found a workable business model, and the future does not look promising.

I LOVE newspapers. I am a print guy. I do not read newspapers as a primary source of information. Given the nature of the beast, the "news" carried in the papers no longer fits that description. I read newspapers because it is what I do. I love the feel and smell of newsprint. I am surrounded by a sea of books at home, and I can access the information I need for the day instantaneously online, but my day gets off to a VERY bad start if I don't have my paper. Computer screens mean work to me, the printed page says life. I also enjoy the conversational interaction prompted by the paper, the "did you see this" exchanges with my wife [Editor's Note: That annoys the hell out of her, but that is a different story for a different time]. When I travel, I WANT to read the local paper. You learn about a place and its people through THEIR paper, not some homogenized piece of nothingness left outside your hotel door.

Newspapers have often responded to their new world by cutting corners. The paper itself becomes smaller, they rely more on canned stories, fluff pieces and bland wire service generalities. I cannot think of a better example of penny-wise and pound foolish. By reducing or eliminating the things I buy the paper for, I am inclined to continue buying your paper why?

I do not have a solution. If I did, I would be earning far more than I am currently. However, I was intrigued by a recent piece of legislation, S. 673, introduced by Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland. Like most bills introduced, it will probably die a slow death by committee, but his idea is fascinating. He calls for newspaper companies to be allowed to treat themselves as tax-exempt non-profit organizations, which could allow for subscription charges and advertising expenses to be deductible. Newspapers would be run by people who love newspapers rather than corporate conglomerates with an eye toward the bottom line.

The ultimate question, though, is even if we embrace what is probably a pipe dream of the honorable gentleman from Maryland, does a viable market remain (or can one be resurrected) for HIGH-QUALITY and LOCAL newspapers? I for one certainly hope so, because I would truly miss my very dear old friend.

A peek into the modern wingnut mind

I'm not dead, I swears.

It all went to hell when wimmen got the right to vote. Seriously.