Friday, July 31, 2015

Just A Tad Racist

GOP criticizes 'offensive' posts of NC elections appointee:

...In another, Butner posted a photo of a Moral Monday event in Raleigh protesting the policies of the state's Republican leaders.

"Gee they are all black," he wrote. "I guess the white folk could not get off because they were too busy being productive good citizens..."

Thursday, July 30, 2015

The Kurdish Problem

The Kurdish Elephant�|�John Feffer:

...Because it would be stitched together from bits and pieces of their territory, the countries of the region oppose an independent Kurdistan. Outside actors, meanwhile, feel varying degrees of guilt for abandoning Kurds over the years: for not paying attention to human rights abuses visited on the minority, for ignoring the promises of self-determination (going back to Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points), and for using the Kurds as pawns in myriad geopolitical games. Sovereign sensitivities and outsider guilt combine to drape a cloak of invisibility over the Kurds...

Con Critter Linked To Clinton Email Fiasco

Vox's Jonathan Allen Implicates Trey Gowdy In The NY Times Botched Clinton Emails Story | Blog | Media Matters for America:

Vox's Jonathan Allen suggested that House Benghazi Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy knew about the request to the Justice Department regarding Hillary Clinton's email practices "at least a day" before The New York Times published its botched story relying on anonymous sources that "had it wrong" according to "a top-ranking editor directly involved" with the report....

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

OH Pot Not Fraud

Ohio elections chief opens investigation into group's petitions to legalize marijuana:

...ResponsibleOhio legal counsel Andy Douglas, a former Ohio Supreme Court justice, said Husted "will have to answer for" his treatment of the campaign.

"Instead of working with us and addressing the problems within his office and at the county boards of election, Secretary Husted has slapped us with a subpoena meant to silence us and chill any future opposition," Douglas said in a statement. "He even deputized a former prosecutor to investigate us, then bragged about his past success gaining convictions — all in a further attempt to frighten, harass and silence us..."

Local Carpetbaggers Pulls A Boner

All puns fully intended.



John Boehner coup leader an army of one - Lauren French - POLITICO:

You’re on your own, pal.

That, in so many words, was the response from House conservatives to Rep. Mark Meadows after he launched his quixotic bid this week to boot John Boehner from the speakership.

In fact, the message has been delivered to Meadows three times in the last 24 hours – by some of the North Carolina Republican’s closest friends and political comrades in the House. Just hours before Meadows introduced his so-called motion to vacate the speakership Tuesday, leading members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus held an emergency meeting and pleaded with him to reconsider....

Flogging The NYT

Veteran Editors And Journalists Rip NY Times' "Ready-Fire-Aim" Approach On Clinton Emails | Blog | Media Matters for America:

Veteran newspaper editors and other longtime journalists are harshly criticizing how The New York Times has handled its recent botched story related to Hillary Clinton's emails, calling out the paper for failing to take responsibility for its errors and for being slow to offer corrections for its mistakes sparked by anonymous sourcing...

Training Time For Police

In Iraq, I raided insurgents. In Virginia, the police raided me. - The Washington Post:

...Rhoads, the Fairfax County police lieutenant, was upfront about this mind-set. He explained that it was standard procedure to point guns at suspects in many cases to protect the lives of police officers. Their firearm rules were different from mine; they aimed not to kill but to intimidate. According to reporting by The Washington Post, those rules are established in police training, which often emphasizes a violent response over deescalation. Recruits spend an average of eight hours learning how to neutralize tense situations; they spend more than seven times as many hours at the weapons range...

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

GOPer Tail Wagging Dog

Veteran Republicans Say Right-Wing Media Is "A Big Problem For The Party" In New Harvard Report | Blog | Media Matters for America:

...Dave Schnittger, a longtime former top aide to House Republican leaders, told Calmes that conservative media are loudest in opposing actions "that leaders have to get done as part of governing," such as meeting basic fiscal deadlines.

Another top Republican aide, who asked for anonymity, complained of the conservative media: "There's no money, ratings or clicks in everyone going along to get along." Calmes added, "Asked whether he could offer examples of legislative outcomes affected by conservative media, this Republican all but snapped, 'Sure. All of 'em.' Does he worry more broadly then about the small-d democratic process? 'Yeah, absolutely. Because the loudest voices drown out the sensible ones and there's no real space to have serious discussions...'"

The Bully Stakes Out Another Bully Position

Christie to Colorado: Pot party ends with me | TheHill:

 "If you’re getting high in Colorado today, enjoy it," Christie, a Republican presidential candidate, said during a town-hall event in the early voting state of New Hampshire, according to Bloomberg.

“As of January 2017, I will enforce the federal laws,” he added...

The Bully Stakes Out Another Bully Position

Christie to Colorado: Pot party ends with me | TheHill:

 "If you’re getting high in Colorado today, enjoy it," Christie, a Republican presidential candidate, said during a town-hall event in the early voting state of New Hampshire, according to Bloomberg.

“As of January 2017, I will enforce the federal laws,” he added...

Paul Becomes A Landscape

The Cancer on Rand Paul’s Campaign - The Daily Beast:

...But that's more of a symptom than the cause of the cancer on Paul's candidacy. The root of the decay is this: as Rand Paul has campaigned, it has become increasingly evident that he is not the candidate his supporters were promised he would be–a more electable version of his father. And the candidate he did turn out to be is not interesting or authentic enough to stand out from the 20,000 other Republicans seeking the nomination. Paul, previously “the most interesting man in politics,” is now just scenery...

Monday, July 27, 2015

Krugman Flogs JBush

Paul Krugman: The GOP has never “abandoned its dream” of destroying the social safety net - Salon.com:

In his Monday column at the New York Times, economist Paul Krugman went after GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush for claiming that Medicare ought to be “phased out,” claiming that such talk is emblematic an ideologically motivated desire on the part of the Republican Party to destroy the social safety net — especially if there’s evidence that it’s working.

Krugman began by mocking Bush for espousing yet another obsolete idea. “Mr. Bush often seems like a Rip Van Winkle who slept through everything that has happened since he left the governor’s office,” he argued, because “after all, he’s still boasting about Florida’s housing-bubble boom...”

Go Donald Go!

Trump's Gift to Hillary: Rest and Extra Prep Time!�|�Carl Jeffers:

This past weekend the noise over the Clinton State Department emails erupted again as Senate hearing dates were announced. But, ironically thanks to Donald Trump, the average American's response was, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." And think about it: When had you last heard about Benghazi, or Clinton Foundation campaign contributions, or State Department emails? About a month ago.

Why? Because in the last month Donald Trump has just about sucked all of the air out of the 2016 presidential campaign in a way that has helped Hillary and hurt the overall Republican chances in the fall elections -- next year's fall elections, not this year's -- another problem we as the people need to do something about -- with or without the media's help...

Ammosexuals Dominate House

The House’s hypocrisy | TheHill:

...In contrast to the quick action of the House in response to the tragic shooting of Ms. Steinle, it has been two years and seven months since the gun massacre of 26 people, 20 of them children, in Newtown, Connecticut. It has been almost exactly three years since the shooting in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado where 12 were killed and 70 people injured. And it will be three years on August 5 since the killing of 6 people and wounding of 4 in a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Despite these horrific, tragic events, Congress has done absolutely nothing to prevent gun shootings from happening again and again...

Raising Stupid To A New Level

Fox's Elisabeth Hasselbeck Suggests Sandra Bland's Lit Cigarette Could Have Justified Police Conduct | Video | Media Matters for America:
HASSELBECK:But, what if, I mean, there are times, I'm sure, someone has, in the history of this land, used a cigarette against a police officer, maybe chucked it at him, pushed it at him...

Clinton On GOP Climaters

Hillary Clinton Calls Out GOP Climate Change Deniers in New 'Stand With Reality' Video - ABC News:

Hillary Clinton today attacked the Republican presidential contenders who deny "the settled science of climate change" and laid out two renewable power goals in a new video that outlines part of her plan to tackle global warming.

"It's hard to believe there are people running for president who still refuse to accept the settled science of climate change, who would rather remind us they're not scientists than listen to those who are," Clinton narrates over a graphic that shows quotes from Republican presidential candidates, including Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump...

Sunday, July 26, 2015

"Liberal" NYT Lied About Clinton Email Probe

If there's anything criminal in this story, it's the NYT reporting. NY Times Issues Second Major Correction To Botched Report On Clinton's Emails | Blog | Media Matters for America:

...As Media Matters laid out yesterday, there are several significant questions about the Times' handling of the story, which originally levied the bombshell allegation that a criminal investigation had been sought into a leading candidate for the presidency based on anonymous sourcing. Those questions include the sources for the paper's faulty information, whether the Times saw or attempted to see the referral document itself, whether the paper reached out to Cummings or any other Democrats on the Benghazi committee, and whether it contacted the inspectors general before publication.

In a statement, Cummings highlighted the report's sourcing, calling the Times story "the latest example in a series of inaccurate leaks to generate false front-page headlines -- only to be corrected later -- and they have absolutely nothing to do with the attacks in Benghazi or protecting our diplomatic corps overseas." Media have frequently been forced to walk back their initially flawed reports on Clinton's emails...

The Daily Flashback: Hollywood Sniper Edition

The American Sniper Turned Anti-War Activist the Media Didn't Tell You About:

...As Zaid Jilani recently wrote, the film “American Sniper” uses clever editing to suggest that Iraq was somehow responsible for 9/11: In one scene, Chris Kyle is watching the 9/11 attacks unfold on TV. In the next scene, Kyle is seen deploying to Iraq. But unlike Kyle, Reppenhagen became aware that he and his division were risking their lives in Iraq for fabricated causes, and actively started speaking out against the war.

“It was the conduct of the war that really started turning me, and the fraudulent causes that sent me there that really put me over the edge,” Reppenhagen said. “There were no ties to 9/11, no weapons of mass destruction...”

About The Illiberal Media

15 Things Americans Would Know if There Were a 'Liberal Media' | Alternet:

If you know anyone who still believes in a "liberal media," here's 15 things everyone would know if there really were a "liberal media" (inspired by Jeff Bezos' purchase of The Washington Post):...

GOPer Express To NoACAville

Republicans Is Weird, Summer 2015 Edition | Mother Jones:

No, this isn't about Donald Trump. It's about Sen. Mike Lee of Utah—who plans to offer yet another amendment to repeal Obamacare, but this time with a special super-duper secret sauce added to the upcoming highway funding bill:..

Friday, July 24, 2015

Cruzing The Monkey House

Republican White House hopeful Cruz calls McConnell a liar | Reuters:

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz ripped into his party's establishment on Friday, calling Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell a liar during an unusual public attack on the floor of the Senate.

Amid intense maneuvering over an ambitious $340 billion transportation bill, Cruz railed that McConnell and the Senate's new Republican majority were serving the interests of big money lobbyists and corporations, because of a move to offer an amendment to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank...

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Pot And Kettle Theatre: Rubio Edition

Rubio: Obama has no class | TheHill:

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) accused President Obama of having “no class” during an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News, citing a selfie-stick video and interviews with YouTube stars...

LEO Behavior

“If you don’t want to get shot, just do what I tell you”: American cops are on a dangerous power trip - Salon.com:

....Here’s a little reminder of what cops, and many fellow Americans (until it happens to them), believe citizens should do when a police officer is present:

[I]f you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you. Don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you.

That’s from an op-ed by a former police officer and current criminal justice professor by the name of Sunil Dutta. His argument is, of course, complete nonsense. Yes, on a practical level, knowing what we know about how police behave in this country, one would be wise to just try to get out of any dealings with a cop alive. Here’s a stop that ended with the police breaking a window and tasering a black male passenger inside the car while his kids screamed in the backseat. Here’s one in which the police thought a bike-riding black man (who happened to be a firefighter) was “throwing signs” at them. (He was just waving hello.) In the end, he got lucky. They only threatened to taser him...

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Blueprint For GOP Victory

Why Progressives Must Stay United�|�Robert Reich:

....For decades Republicans have exploited the economic frustrations of the white working and middle class to drive a wedge between races, channeling those frustrations into bigotry and resentment.

The Republican strategy has been to divide-and-conquer. They want to prevent the majority of Americans - poor, working class, and middle-class, blacks, Latinos, and whites - from uniting in common cause against the moneyed interests.

We must not let them.

Our only hope for genuine change is if poor, working class, middle class, black, Latino, and white come together in a powerful movement to take back our economy and democracy from the moneyed interests that now control both.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Pot And Kettle Theatre: Euro Edition

Economists Troll Germany, Telling It To Leave The Euro First:

...Eurozone leaders resisted aiding Greece until the end of negotiations, and proposed a Greek departure at the last minute. They were only willing to assist Greece in exchange for the deepest austerity measures yet, including a fire-sale privatization of some of Greece’s state-owned assets. It is unlikely that the eurozone will have a greater political appetite to lend to Greece if the current loans-for-austerity deal breaks down. Short of additional funding and liquidity support for its banks, Greece will once again face a Grexit...
Perchance, the Germans might want to consider the debt they had forgiven before lecturing other countries on austerity measures.

Native Americans Shot By Police

Cops Shoot Many, Many Native Americans | Crooks and Liars:

Not only do Native Americans get killed at an astounding rate, many of them live in extreme poverty conditions. Despite so much official indifference, they dependably turn out the vote for Democrats. Maybe it's time we started helping our indigenous people! Via Mother Jones:...

Tossing Poo In The Monkey House

2016 election: Jeb Bush v. Scott Walker in Round 1 of a long brawl - POLITICO:

Suddenly, the gloves are off between Scott Walker and Jeb Bush.

Surprisingly, Bush threw the first punch, sparking a back-and-forth between the two leading Republican candidates in early-state polls, both eager to highlight what they see as the other’s fatal flaw — Bush as the establishment shill and Walker as the foreign policy lightweight....

Monday, July 20, 2015

Why Flog Trump Now?

"Why Only Now?": Media Ask Why Trump Drew GOP Candidates' Ire For McCain Remarks, But Not Anti-Immigrant Rants | Research | Media Matters for America:

Amid widespread condemnation of Donald Trump from his fellow Republican presidential candidates following his attack on Sen. John McCain's military service, media are highlighting Republicans' collective failure to denounce Trump's past bigotry and xenophobia...
Maybe this proves you can't criticize vets, but you don't have to help them.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Beaver On Trump

(3) Jim Beaver: Jim Beaver
17 hrs �

 As a Vietnam veteran, in particular, I am appalled at Donald Trump's ridiculing the combat service of John McCain. I was equally appalled when many of the hand-wringing right-wingers who are currently calling out Trump applied the same ridicule to the combat service of John Kerry and Max Cleland, just because they were on the other side of the political aisle.
Oh yeah. And Sinclair using Mark Hymen constantly to attack Kerry. And America The Stupid fell for it and we got more GOPerism. Maybe the chickens are finally finding their way to roost.

Pontificating With Cause

So Pope Francis should stick to religion? - Asheville Citizen-Times:

...By contrast, Jesus spoke repeatedly and eloquently about the obligation to care for those in need — “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,” he says in the book of Matthew, “you did for me.”

Yet the pope has somehow crossed a line when he speaks about the victimization of the vulnerable?

That’s the nonsensical judgment of those for whom “faith” evidently imposes no burden, demands no change, requires only a vague effort to become a better person. Yet you will find no such complacency in Jesus’ “new command.”

“Love one another,” he said. And love is not talk. Love is compassion in action.

It is intolerance of suffering. It is urgent empathy. And it is something 2 billion of us are told to give. Candidly, most of us don’t seem to take the command all that seriously. But this pope inspires you to wonder: What would the world be like if we did?

Friday, July 17, 2015

Clinton All The Way

I am at almost 100% with this post. Read it.
Calling All Democrats | Uppity Woman:

...She may not be able to accomplish it, but she is really going to try. And who else is left to try? Bernie Sanders, who doesn’t even identify himself as a Democrat; who to my knowlege has never campaigned outside his state for any Democratic candidate? That should not even be worthy of consideration. If Sanders somehow got the nomination, he would win about seven states, and the Democrats would end up with about 120 seats in the House, 40 or so in the Senate; and the Supreme Court would be ultraconservative for another 30 years at least, because three or so Justices would retire, and be replaced by young corporatist right-wing radicals. On the other hand, if Hillary Clinton is elected President, she will not only be able to change the Supreme Court balance, but she is going to work to actually strengthen the Democratic Party at the statewide level, so that it somehow might be able to battle the Republican money machine on even terms. She is not going to concede the country to the evil forces, she is going to try to defeat them. And yet some people cavil and hesitate about supporting her for President? This is about the equivalent of being out in the desert, and trying to find reasons not to drink the bottle of cool, pure water you are being offered, because you think you might somehow find another one of a better brand somewhere out there in the mirage. If you are a real Democrat, and not just a professional carper, the choice to support Hillary Clinton in this campaign is as clear as you are ever going to get in any election. How about us Democrats taking advantage of it, for just once?

Con To Lib: The Awakening

Like people retiring to the North, I've never read of someone making the opposite journey-- for honest reasons.

I was poor, but a GOP die-hard: How I finally left the politics of shame - Salon.com:

...Sadly, it took me years — decades — to see the illogic of supporting people who disdain me. But I’m a super-slow learner. I wish I could take the poorest, struggling conservatives and shake them. I would scream that their circumstances or failures or joblessness are not all their fault. They should wise up and vote themselves a break. Rich people vote their self-interest in every single election. Why don’t poor people?

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Iranian Neocon Nonsense

I looked at the leading Iran hawks' cases against the deal. They're utter nonsense. - Vox:

Yesterday I published an article asserting that opponents of the nuclear deal reached between Iran and the six major world powers negotiating with it had no argument. Of course, before reaching that conclusion I was not able to literally read every single hostile article that has been published. I was, however, able to engage last night in a little Twitter dialogue with Noah Pollak, a well-networked neoconservative who leads the Emergency Committee for Israel and writes for Commentary, the Weekly Standard, and the Washington Free Beacon....

Denying Terrorists

Daily PUMA:

...As you can see both examples above point to a KNOWN type of defense against terrorist attacks, it's called MINIMIZING the attack in the media in an effort to DEMORALIZE the attackers. So as the Neocons continue to blather on about Benghazi and condemning Obama and Clinton for blaming the Benghazi attack on a documentary, just remember that the worst thing one can do for a terrorist in this day and age of social media is to admit a terrorist attack was 100% successful.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Anti-Choice Grifters At It Again

Secret Video of Planned Parenthood Employees Makes the Rounds:

...There's no question who these grifters are. Even the Post gets around to admitting that, albeit mildly, and deep into the story.

The Center for Medical Progress was established by Daleiden, a controversial antiabortion activist who previously worked with Live Action, another antiabortion group known for its "stings" of Planned Parenthood using actors and undercover videos. The group is a non-profit organization that describes itself on its Web site as "a group of citizen journalists dedicated to monitoring and reporting on medical ethics and advances..."

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

On The Flag Issue

I've never thieved an entire post before but here goes:

Alabama Civil Rights lawyer's epic rant: Media targeted Confederate flag because Charleston didn't riot - Yellowhammer News

Alabamian and Civil Rights attorney Temple Trueblood took to Facebook Thursday to share her thoughts on how, and why, the media has targeted the Confederate battle flag in the wake of the Charleston shooting.

Her brilliant insight is already going viral, with thousands of shares from her personal Facebook page.


Without further ado:

I’m a Southerner. I’m a civil rights lawyer. I’ve stayed out of this fray and, to be honest, I’m really tired of the whole media frenzy.


With that said– taking out soapbox… pontificating….

The media did not get what it wanted from the South as a result of the Charleston tragedy. The good people of Charleston did not riot, did not engage in hateful shenanigans and did not provide the racist fueled fodder for their 24 hour-a-day headlines.


Poor, poor media–no Ferguson, no Trayvon Martin, no Oscar Grants. Instead, the good people of Charleston and of South Carolina unified and came together–all races, all creeds. They marched hand in hand to pay respect to the poor souls lost and to strengthen their community.

In short–they did what Southerners do. They put their faith forward nd did the right thing ‘cause their mommas raised them right.


So, what are they left to do? Well, the Confederate flag seems like a fine substitute–and it worked.


Now, don’t get me wrong; I don’t think the Confederate flag has any place flying over any governmental building for several reasons:

(1) the Confederacy was a briefly lived nation–they lost the war–they don’t exist anymore…hello???

(2) the only flags that should fly over any governmental buildings in the United States are those of the United States and the sovereign State itself, let alone that of a defunct government (see No. 1); and

(3) regardless of what an individual’s intention is regarding the Confederate flag, it is a symbol of governmental oppression to many in this nation as recently as only 1-2 generations ago so a present day governmental unit flying it is…well…not good. Period.


But (you knew there would be a “but,” right?), if an individual wants to own, fly, wear, burn, or otherwise have emblazoned on them a tattoo of the Confederate flag then Hell–knock yourself out. It’s not my place (or anyone else’s) to tell you that you can’t do that.


Are all people who display or own a Confederate flag racist? No.

Are there racists who display and own Confederate flags. Yes.

Can it be offensive? Yes.

Does that mean that all Confederate flags are to be banned or wiped out? Well, of course not. This is America…remember?


And get this–once again, the South did not give the media machine what it wanted. South Carolina removed the flag, followed almost immediately by Alabama….ALABAMA, people!

But are the media mongers gushing over the progressive character of these moves…no. Now they are calling for the removal of the flag from the General Lee….dude, it’s the Dukes of Hazzard…a show that stopped running, oh, THIRTY years ago.

Ok…whatever. But then they are calling for historical monuments related to the Civil War to be removed.

This is called rewriting history.


This is bad….ask Ray Bradbury (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about read Fahrenheit 451). I won’t even launch into that, but you get my gist.


Should the Lincoln Memorial be destroyed? Should the hundreds of Civil War monuments spread across this nation honoring the tens of thousand who died (on both sides) be eradicated? Of course not.


Look, there are plenty of things that people do and that are part of the mainstream American life that offend me to my core (Kardashians, anyone?) but that doesn’t mean they should be obliterated.


I find it personally reprehensible and offensive to my very being when I see people burn the American flag, stomp on the American flag, rip up the American flag, toss the American flag in the garbage, or even wear it in some version of cut off shorts barely covering their hoo-ha. But, do they have a right to do all of those things? Yes.


Does every person who owns or reads a Quran follow extreme Islam and plot the death of all Infidels (that’s you and me, by the way…)? No. A

re there Islamic extremists who do plot and carry out the death to all Infidels who own and read the Quran? You betcha’.

Again, does that mean that all vestiges of Islam should be eradicated from the United States. Um, no.


There are plenty of music lyrics (rap, metal and pop) that as a woman I find personally degrading, threatening and flat out inhuman misogyny.

Do I think that every single person that listens to this music, owns it or blares it at 11 million decibels in traffic treats all women as subhuman or wants to rape, kill and murder me? No.

Are there some people out there who do view women as subhuman who listen to this stuff? Sure.

Again, does that mean it should all be banned, the musicians locked away and all vestiges of their existence erased? Please.


So, as you are jumping on the current media-hyped-frenzied band wagon just stop and think…for yourself. For like a second. Use some common sense. Don’t be a cog in the machine and help them create an even bigger division in this nation than they already have.

Candidate Scotty

Watching Scotty Blow, Cont'd: The Assassination of Wisconsin Democracy:

...(My favorite part of the National Journal profile is how the nearly unbroken strain of petty grifting that has sent so many of his aides to the sneezer is merely Walker's unfortunate habit of trusting the wrong people: In interviews with dozens of Wisconsin Republicans, none of whom would speak on the record when asked about Walker's weaknesses, one consistent criticism leveled at the governor is that he has not, over the years, surrounded himself with good people. That's just too, too adorable for words.)..

Thursday, July 09, 2015

Wednesday, July 08, 2015

Jeb! Going For Slave Owner Vote

Jeb Bush: ‘People need to work longer hours’ | TheHill:

According to ABC News, Bush was asked a question about tax reform during an interview live streamed on Periscope, and said he believes the U.S. can achieve 4 percent growth.

“Which means we have to be a lot more productive, workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows,” Bush continued. “It means that people need to work longer hours...”

A Clinton SOS Story

Hillary Clinton on Her 'Last Rodeo' - NationalJournal.com:

...One anecdote from her career as secretary of State in particular stood out as something new not only to the attendees, but to the reporters who obsessively cover the Clinton campaign as well. She told a story about the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. Clinton and President Obama were trying to negotiate terms with India and China—two of the fastest-developing countries in the world—for a climate change agreement.

(RELATED: Here's the Real Reason Hillary Clinton Has a Lock on the Democratic Nomination)

The problem: China and India's leaders were nowhere to be found. Clinton said she and Obama "sent out scouts," who found that the leaders were meeting in a clandestine conference room. Clinton and Obama marched to the room, she said, and pushed past Chinese security guards to confront the heads of state. As a result, the assembled countries signed an accord outlining emissions pledges and other goals for energy use, though much of the text was nonbinding...

Tuesday, July 07, 2015

Palin TV ReFail

Sarah Palin Pulls Plug on Internet Subscription-Video Channel | Variety:

Sarah Palin’s views on America, politics, immigration and family values may not have been compelling enough to convince many people to fork over $10 per month...

Comment Of The Day: Grecian Loan Edition

What's Going on in Greece? Nobody Really Knows

Jerry Soucy
I recently came across a piece on this topic, and the author pointed out that the "moral hazard" people like to invoke actually applies to the lenders, not debtors.

The idea is that lenders need to understand that if they loan money to high risk borrowers, who subsequently default, then they shouldn't expect to be bailed out. It's wrong to bail out the lenders, because they'll just go out and make more crappy loans.

Monday, July 06, 2015

Fighting Disclosure

Police Union Fights To Keep The Names Of Officers Who Shoot Civilians Secret | ThinkProgress:

For Philadelphia Police Chief Charles Ramsey, increasing transparency within the nation’s oldest and fourth largest police municipality and holding its officers accountable to residents may be easier said than done...

What About Some Tv $

U.S. Women Win World Cup, Get Stiffed By FIFA | ThinkProgress:

The U.S. women’s soccer team defeated Japan on Sunday to win the World Cup. For their dominant performance, the team will collect $2 million from FIFA, the international body that runs the tournament.

The championship prize for women pales in comparison to the $8 million in prize money awarded to men’s teams who lose in the first round. Every men’s team was awarded $1.5 million just for participating.

Krugman Explains Greece

Paul Krugman: Europe should be ashamed of its “campaign of bullying” - Salon.com:

...Which, of course, they weren’t, because “[t]he truth is that Europe’s self-styled technocrats are like medieval doctors who insisted on bleeding their patients — and when their treatment made the patients sicker, demanded even more bleeding...”

Saturday, July 04, 2015

Comment Of The Day: Magistrating Edition

(3) Facebook: Mark Heinrich It makes the clerk feel violated from few minutes of notorizing and filing a form so a couple that loves each other can't get married. One wonders what conservatives would think of a pacifist that refused to issue a concealed carry license or a vegan that refused to issue a health permit to a steakhouse?

Biblical Hijinx

Captive virgins, polygamy and sex slaves: What marriage would look like if we actually followed the Bible:

Bible believers are beside themselves about the prospect that marriage norms and laws are changing, but let me tell you a secret about Bible believers that I know because I was one. Most don’t actually read their Bibles....

Friday, July 03, 2015

The Daily Flashback: Molly Ivins Edition

Celebrating America's Independence:

...The late Molly Ivins always used to write a Fourth of July column in which she exhorted readers to enjoy fighting for freedom, to get a laugh out of it, to understand that not being scared out of your own freedoms is to create for yourself a wondrous republic that could produce not only the Declaration of Independence, but plastic surgery for your dog, too.

"And here's to keeping America weird," she wrote, not long before she died. "To Scott Peterson and Kobe Bryant for making cable television so busy, happy and productive. Here's to the tabloids, eternally discovering alien zombies from outer space (have they checked out the Veep lately?). Here's to all our grumps and scolds, constantly insisting that we're going to hell in a handbasket. Where would we be without an active core of selfless citizens constantly prepared to tell us we're dumb, fat and lazy, and it's all our fault? Concerning our national habit of polling ourselves to find how just how dumb we are, a new study shows 88.2 percent of all Texans believe Osama bin Laden has two first names, like Jerry Jeff or Billy Bob...

Thursday, July 02, 2015

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

This Day In GOP Criminals

Judge: Bosworth Showed No Remorse For Crimes | KDLT.com South Dakota News - News, Sports, and Weather Sioux Falls South Dakota:

Former U.S. Senate candidate Annette Bosworth was facing up to 24 years in prison for 12 felony convictions...
Oh, and being a Republican means never having to say you're sorry.

In Greek News

Thom Feeney Crowdfunds Greek Bailout...Will It Work?:

...But really, the people of Greece already made their choice when they voted in the populist Alexis Tsipras as their prime minister and swept his left-wing Syriza party into power back in January: Like many here in the U.S., they’re tired of socialized risk, privatized profits and bailouts for banks but not for ordinary people. As a scathing article from The Guardian points out, less than 10 percent of all the so-called Greek bailout money in 2010 and 2012 actually went to alleviate people’s dire poverty and economic losses: The other 90 percent went straight to the banks...

Clinton Rules, Bush Rules

Media Silent On Expos�of Bush's Questionable Business Deals | Research | Media Matters for America:

Evening news programs on cable and broadcast news channels were completely silent in the immediate aftermath of a Washington Post story about business dealings by Jeb Bush "that raised questions about his judgment and exposed him to reputational risk." Their complete lack of coverage stands in stark contrast to the nearly three hours of coverage by cable and broadcast evening news programs devoted to The New York Times' faulty allegation that Hillary Clinton's State Department was influenced by Clinton Foundation donors when it signed off on the purchase of Uranium One the same day the story came out...

From Much Ado Nothing HRC Email Dump

Hillary Clinton emails: The dozen you must read - POLITICO:

On Tuesday evening, the State Department released approximately 3,000 pages of emails sent by and to Hillary Clinton during her time as secretary of state, primarily in 2009...

Xian Advice

Supreme Court Ruling and Christian Outrage�|�Michael Cheshire:

...You know, I have always found it interesting how our religion, based so deeply in love, acceptance, and kindness, gets easily hijacked into political hatred and social judgments. We need to stop trying to legislate our own morality and ethics onto those who don't believe the same way. Jesus never did this. And in truth, most of us "Christians" disagree greatly on the tenants of what are "moral issues" within our own faith. In many ways, we are a herd of cats trying to steer the world. And, it's not working people...

Science Opinion Huh

Politics may interfere with science — but that doesn’t mean all science denial is political - The Washington Post:

...“Americans’ political leanings are a strong factor in their views about issues such as climate change and energy policy,” the report notes, “but much less of a factor when it comes to issues such as food safety, space travel and biomedicine...”