Saturday, April 30, 2016

Email Flashback

Clinton Email Scandal Falls Apart As State Dept. Says There Was No Policy Against Private Email:

...On CNN’s New Day, State Department spokesman John Kirby said, “We have said in the past, Chris that there was no policy prohibiting the use of a private email account here at the State Department, and that is still a fact. Now, obviously, we have policies in place now that highly discourage that, and you are supposed to use your government account so that there is a constant, permanent record of it, but at the time she was not violating policy….I can tell you that there was no prohibition for her use of this, and we’ve since changed the policy to discourage that greatly, and in fact, the policy is that you have to use your government account for business.”

Kirby added that he didn’t believe that the policy changed while she was Secretary of State, which means that Hillary Clinton was doing nothing wrong when she used private email...

The Daily Flashback: Old Smug And New Smug Edition

Not often that I link to the same post twice but this Vox piece has a lot of salient points, even if liberals are too smug to admit it. One of these days, I'll trace the Big Smug back to its roots-- The Civil War.

The smug style in American liberalism - Vox:

...During a San Francisco fundraiser in the 2008 primary campaign, Barack Obama offered an observation that was hailed not without some glee as the first unforced error from then-Senator Cool.

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania," Obama said, "and, like, a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate, and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter. They cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

It's the latter part that we remember eight years later — the clinging to guns and religion and hate — but it is the first part that was important: the part about lost jobs and neglect by two presidential administrations...

Salon And The Root Of Evil

I've loathed Salon from afar for quite a while. I've found nearly all their opinion pieces to be, at best, half-baked, and their attempts at "journalism" were often littered with red herrings and curious omissions of pertinent facts. I've found their current "liberalism" to insanely inconsistently and pustulated with genderism. Joe Cannon has offered up another public service with his post exposing Salon's nasty roots.

Cannonfire "Wanna know Salon's dark secrets...":

A lot of people think that Salon is in the tank for Bernie. No. They're in the tank for Trump -- officially.

Sanders supporters, you've been conned. Salon has used you. Lied to you. Salon is doing what it can to elect Trump because Salon is heavily funded by the Department of Defense and by investment banking...

A Fundamental Question...

...that exposes the number one problem afflicting our political system: the Media. The slide to partisan echoing began with Raygun's repeal of the Fairness Doctrine and accelerated to near warp when Murdock jumped the game with Fox and Ailes. Though conservative titty-babies have long accused the media of a liberal bias, that never really existed to any extent that would damage the nation. The conservative rage machine stands a very good chance of destroying the nation. Following the lead of Rove and the gang from the Nixon administration, the great right wing slime machine was borne and so every day in every way we all subjected to the constant drip-drip-drip of conservative bile, of which SOS Clinton has been a near constant target. A new President Clinton should begin work on Day One to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.

How Do We Explain to These Young Girls That Hillary Gets More Negative Coverage Than Trump? - Blue Nation Review:

Donald Trump stands to be the most unpopular presidential candidate since that metric has been tracked, and with good reason: He is an inveterate bigot who insults women and fundamentally lacks the temperament and experience to be president. And yet he gets less negative coverage than Hillary Clinton, one of the most admired women in the world...

On David Frum, Professional GOPer

driftglass: David Frum's From Outer Space:

...In Mr. Oppenheimer's vivid description of of Mr. Frum's career since shaking hands with the devil --


David Frum has been cuddled as lovingly in the ample bosom of the great Republican establishment—and derived as much nourishment from its plump teats—as any other man in the last thirty years. The Canadian immigrant, who turned 52 in June, has been a Wall Street Journal editorial writer, an editor at Forbes, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a speechwriter for George W. Bush—Frum helped write the “axis of evil” line—and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. The last of those jobs, the AEI fellowship, paid him $100,000 a year, and it did not actually require any work.
Also, David, There. Is. No. Tea. Party. There never was, It was just another Republican responsibility-dodging scam. It was only ever the same wingnut base which you were only too happy to supply with slabs of raw, red, partisan meat for most of your professional career...

tRump The Clueless

Donald Trump Doesn’t Know We Invaded Iraq After We Invaded Afghanistan | Crooks and Liars:

...That’s one place, frankly, instead of going to Iraq, we should have probably gone there first.

Newsflash for Trump: We did go there first. The Afghanistan war began in 2001. We invaded Iraq in 2003. And here’s another newsflash for the birther: Then-candidate Barack Obama – you know, the one you can’t stop bashing – called the Iraq war a “dangerous distraction” from Afghanistan...

No There There At DNC

Sanders campaign drops lawsuit against DNC over voter database breach - CNNPolitics.com:

Bernie Sanders' campaign on Friday withdrew its lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee after claiming the party had unfairly blocked its access to a critical voter database in December.
The lawsuit came after a Sanders staffer exploited a software error to improperly access confidential voter information collected by Hillary Clinton's team. The DNC database is a goldmine of information about voters and being blocked from it threatened to complicate Sanders' outreach efforts just weeks before the Iowa caucuses. The incident also fueled a long-held belief in the Sanders camp and among his allies that the DNC was stacking the deck in favor of Clinton...

Friday, April 29, 2016

Bernie The Con Man

Drum echoes my sentiments exactly.

Here's Why I Never Warmed Up to Bernie Sanders | Mother Jones:

With the Democratic primary basically over, I want to step back a bit and explain the big-picture reason that I never warmed up to Bernie Sanders. It's not so much that he's all that far to my left, nor that he's been pretty skimpy on details about all the programs he proposes. That's hardly uncommon in presidential campaigns. Rather, it's the fact that I think he's basically running a con, and one with the potential to cause distinct damage to the progressive cause...

The Clinton Quick Start Guide

The Quick Startup Guide to Hillary — Armistice Designs:

...I made a mistake eight years ago. And so did a lot of my friends. We won’t make the same mistake again. And you shouldn’t either. Because from what I’ve seen, she might actually be better than Obama. Better than Bill. Better than anyone who thinks they know her knows...

Here's Hoping

Insiders: Clinton would crush Trump in November - POLITICO:

...Looking ahead to the general election, Republican insiders fretted that if Trump is at the top of the ticket, he will not only lose in a landslide, but will also endanger Republicans on the rest of the ballot...

A Benghazi Note From The Pentagon

2016_04_28_DOD_Letter_to_Gowdy.pdf

Shorter version: go away, you moron.

If Excuses Were Votes...

Closed vs. Open Primaries: Final Attempt to Delegitimize Hillary's Victory Is Discredited - Blue Nation Review: By Melissa McEwan
April 29, 2016
2124 Shares

Team Sanders has offered every excuse in the book for why Bernie is losing: A primary schedule that front loaded the deep south, voter fraud, superdelegates, super PACs, the DNC, the “establishment,” a rigged system, he wasn’t really trying in some states, because Black voters don’t know what’s best for them, because poor people don’t vote. All of these excuses have been debunked. The latest excuse is closed primaries (pushed in recent days by Jane Sanders)—but this, too, has now been discredited...

tRump And The Card Game

Yes, Digby, he does know something | The Confluence:

...As for journalists, they are magpies. They’re fascinated by Trump and his pink marble grotesques. And they hate Hillary. No, it’s not rational. For all we know, the feeling is mutual. They should never have gone rifling through her real estate deals, law firm billing records or cookie recipes. There’s a great deal of mutual animosity. Don’t expect them to come to her rescue. Expect them to watch this all play out like they would watch an approaching asteroid. It’s great for ratings, people will be thrilled to the very last minute, and there will be plenty to report when the Second Great Extinction happens.

Donald isn’t presidential. Not in the least. But he knows how to fight dirty and he will drag us all down into the gutter with him.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

The Worker Masses Of GOPer Fantasy

But Really, It's The Anti-Choicers Blocking Merrick Garland | Crooks and Liars:

...This crusade must continue because if legal abortion is outlawed, what will motivate their fanatic base to vote? The hypocrites on the right will continue to do anything they can to make it impossible for a woman to seek a safe and legal abortion procedure, and then cut any and all funding for poor children once they are born. They ironically endorse measures that make it very difficult for people to adopt, so the foster care population is alarmingly high. The Dystopian Republican ideal is a nation filled with poor, unwanted children. They really believe that basic decency and ethics can be replaced by fake Christian virtuosity, that's the ruse the GOP has embraced and always will.

Devil Called Out By The Other Orange Republican

John Boehner calls Ted Cruz 'Lucifer in the flesh' - CNNPolitics.com:

Former House Speaker John Boehner called Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz "Lucifer in the flesh," in a withering interview at Stanford University published Thursday...
..."Lucifer in the flesh," Boehner told Stanford's David Kennedy, a history professor emeritus, according to the Stanford Daily. "I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life..."

No "Bernie Or Bust"

George Takei scolds Bernie supporters who would rather “bust” than vote for Hillary - Salon.com:

On Wednesday evening, actor, activist, and general boon-to-humanity George Takei posted a video on Facebook urging supporters of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders not to embrace the “Bernie or Bust!” mentality and support Hillary Clinton...
If Sanders truly cared about his country or the issues he keeps flogging, then he would be doing everything in his power to stop the "Bernie or Bust" movement and keep a Republican out of the White House. Instead, he seems to be wallowing in the warm glow of adulation.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Corporate Hypocrisy: Say It Ain't So!

Corporations Opposed To North Carolina's Anti-LGBT Law Helped Elect Its Supporters:

More than 100 corporations have voiced extreme displeasure with North Carolina’s government since the state legislature passed a bill blocking municipalities from enacting their own rules to prevent anti-LGBT discrimination. Dozens of these corporations also had a hand in electing the very Republican majority that passed the legislation they now abhor.

At least 45 corporations denouncing North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law have contributed to a group called the Republican State Leadership Committee. The group, which can receive direct corporate contributions, works to elect Republican state legislatures across the country. It played a big part in helping to elect North Carolina’s legislative majority in 2010 and has pumped at least $1.6 million into the state’s legislative elections from 2010 through 2015...

Good News For Dems

Hispanic voter registration spikes | TheHill:

Registration among Hispanic voters is skyrocketing in a presidential election cycle dominated by Donald Trump and loud GOP cries to close the border...
Of course, this will help burn Trump down, but I reckon a more important result may be the significant swing in state governments. In NC revulsion over the GOP is high, though their bellowing, crying, whining supporters make it seem less so. NC has also experienced a dramatic growth in Latino population so their impact at the polls may be significant. As The Hill points out, TX could also swing blue.

Red State Silliness

A hat tip to Daily Puma for his "Concern Troll" post. Right on the money. Here's a fun quote from Red State, offering Democrats some low-cost psychological analysis.

CT, RI, MD, DE, PA Democrat Primary Results: Why is Hillary Still Losing States to Bernie? | RedState:

...For all the chaos on the Republican side, which may well end up at a contested convention, the Democrats have to be at least a little concerned that Hillary Clinton continues to lose states, even though the Democrat race is essentially decided. The fact that Bernie continues to actually win states is indicative of more than just ideological preference or personal loyalty to Bernie, it is indicative of long simmering resentment that Democrats are going to have to deal with in November...

GOPer Dennis Hastert Going Down

My edits in [ ].

Dennis Hastert Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison in Hush-Money Case - NBC News:

Former [GOP] House Speaker Dennis Hastert was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison in his hush-money case by a judge who called him a "serial child molester" and ordered him to enroll in a sex-offender treatment program.
Never once that I could find did NBC mention the very salient fact that molester Hastert is a Republican, a member of the GOP who was elected as a Republican and worked for GOP goals the entire time he was in office, probably molesting both Republicans and Democrats.

Trophies For The Bros

Hullabaloo "Bubble Babies":

...Everyone has a right to be involved, of course. They should. But social media is making it seem as though everyone has a right to win --- and if they don't it can only be because the system is rigged against them. After all, "everyone" is on their side!

There's always been a bit of this in politics. It was taken as a given by a whole lot of people that JFK stole the 1960 election in Illinois. I remember that people said President Bill Clinton wasn't legitimate because he won with a plurality. And in 2000 George W. Bush actually did manipulate the system in broad daylight. The results of close elections are always debatable I suppose. But in the social media age it's gone well beyond anything like that to the point where everything is a conspiracy. I don't know where this leads --- probably nowhere. But it doesn't strike me as one of the positive developments to emerge from the internet...
The Participation Trophy is just that. There is only one winner. The Bernouts should keep that in mind. I might also add that losers don't dictate terms to winners, else there is no point in the competition.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Baltimore Sun Endorses Clinton

Clinton for president - Baltimore Sun:

...But Mr. Sanders' success has also prevented the party's front-runner from fully turning her attention to the general election this fall, as she should be doing at this point in the race. Now is the time for the party to come together around its strongest potential candidate. The former first lady, senator from New York and secretary of state clearly has the experience, detailed knowledge of the issues and proven record of accomplishment that America needs in its next president, and that is why we urge voters to cast their ballot for Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's Democratic primary...

Losers Trying To Win

Time for Sanders to support Clinton - Baltimore Sun:

Sen. Bernie Sanders said his support for Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party "is totally dependent" on their adopting his more aggressive agenda ("What Bernie Sanders wants," April 26). It's OK for Senator Sanders to campaign (civilly) to the end of the primaries if he so chooses. But then he should be an enthusiastic supporter of Secretary Clinton and the party's platform. When Ms. Clinton realized Barack Obama was going to win the 2008 primary, she conceded, stopped raising money, didn't demand anything and went to work uniting the party. It's not OK, even for someone who fought an impressive issue oriented campaign that benefited both the party and Ms. Clinton, to demand that he be allowed to dictate the party's platform...

Bernie And The Exit Polls

Why Bernie Sanders fans are annoying - Business Insider:

...Of course, the real reason Sanders does better in exit polling than actual votes is that Sanders supporters will not shut up about Bernie Sanders, so of course they're eager to talk to exit pollsters. That, not a national conspiracy among county election administrators to rig the system for Hillary Clinton, is what's at play...

Monday, April 25, 2016

Comment Of The Day: Brainy (They Think) Left Edition

Northeast Corridor | The Confluence-- William, on April 25, 2016 at 2:53 pm said: :

...These intellectuals do not like compromise or pragmatism, they want an heroic figure from fiction, or at least they want FDR as of 1932. It should be very clear that now in America, the pure liberal is not going to win, except if the country were in a state of crisis, as with the Great Depression. My parents loved Adlai Stevenson, and I think he may have been closer to the ideal, except that he was probably incapable of winning a national election, even if we do allow for him coming along at the wrong time, after 20 years of Democratic control. McGovern was ineffectual as a candidate. What is the point of losing every election, as we were doing in the 70’s and ’80’s, just so we could feel noble about it? And once again, we must note that Hillary is probably more liberal on issues than Obama, probably more liberal than any Democratic candidate siince 1972, excepting Dukakis, who was another very nice and idealistic man who was not going to win on his platform...

The Swiftboats Are Coming

RNC Chief Exposes Republican Strategy Against Hillary Clinton: 'Swiftboating Benghazi' | Crooks and Liars:

...Here's where Priebus let the cat out of the bag by telling Stephanopoulos this:

"Well, look, I mean and -- and we're starting the general election campaign, too. We had two soldiers from Benghazi at the RNC meeting who were lied to by Hillary Clinton, who did an awful job as secretary of State..."

Sunday, April 24, 2016

The Daily Flashback: Smug Liberals Of The 90s Edition

driftglass: The Desolation of Smug:

...Since he was literally only four years only at the time, I guess Mr. Resnin is unfamiliar with that period in American history when we on the Left tried sweet reason and compromise to achieve our goals. That era is known as "the 90s" and for our trouble we got six years of Republican Congressional witch-hunts fueled by slander and lies underwritten by crackpot Conservative billionaires and troweled out out as "news" by the Conservative media. For our trouble we got a government shutdown, impeachment, the rise of Newt Gingrich-style, slash-and-burn Conservative politics and Rush Limbaugh-style slash Conservative propaganda one 1000 radio stations coast-to-coast...

Money Is Not Always The Answer

Bernie Sanders Just Doesn't Seem To Understand What Poverty Really Is - Forbes:

...And that is the public policy point to be considered here. There is no possible sum of tax money that would create a decent education system out of one being grievously mismanaged. We thus, once we’ve got reasonable amounts of money going into such a system, got to focus rather more on the efficiency with which it is being spent rather than just crying out for ever more cash to be shoveled into it. That is, Senator Sanders, could we have a little more thought about why Baltimore cannot produce at least a simulacrum of a reasonable education system on 50% more money per pupil than possibly the world’s best education system, that of Finland, requires? And when you’ve done that pondering then we can talk about budgets

How To Lose (And Win) A Debate

BeggarsCanBeChoosers.com: How to Debate a Wingnut: Cenk Uygur Slices & Dices Ann Coulter:

One thing that has long been a pet peeve of mine is when I watch a Progressive get stomped on by a Conservative in a debate. Often, the latter happens not because the Conservative has the facts on his side.

Rather, it's that Conservatives appear to do well in debates because they simply spew an endless assortment of lies, often in a loud voice. If you repeat this formula over and over again against a wimpy, unprepared Progressive who's afraid to stand up to you, you'll appear to win the debate. And in our TV culture, of course, appearances are everything...

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Bernie Importing Bros

Australians say they were paid by Labor Party to work for Bernie Sanders in Project Veritas video - Washington Times

Australians say they are being paid to work for Sen. Bernard Sanders‘ campaign by the Australian Labor Party in what appears to be a violation of U.S. election law, according to an undercover video released Thursday.

The footage captured by Project Veritas Action shows three campaign volunteers discussing how they received compensation from the Australian Labor Party — including airfare, housing and a daily stipend — in order to help Mr. Sanders‘ bid for the Democratic presidential nomination...

On Accepting Reality

Sanders supporters suffer through stages of grief - POLITICO:

...After holding out hope, some are beginning to accept the disheartening notion that the Vermont senator is now unlikely to win the party's nomination.

“It is over,” Lee Stonum, an avid Sanders supporter and public defender in Orange County, California, wrote on his Facebook page after the New York results were tallied. “I’m a little annoyed by the tone of the emails I’m now getting from the campaign that refuse to acknowledge this and claim there is still a path to the nomination. There is not...

The Boring Left

Hillary Clinton: Cersei Lannister or Sansa Stark? | The Confluence:

...Funny, but not surprising. Lefty academic guys are so predictable. And beginning to bore me.
Ain't it the truth.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Clinton Gets Womansplained

....by a raging Bernie licker who is none too shy about beating us over the head with her resume (and degrees).

Enough with the Hillary cult: Her admirers ignore reality, dream of worshipping a queen - Salon.com:

...Gee, that sure wasn’t my reaction. My first thought was: “Why is Hillary wearing a lab coat?” My second was: “Isn’t this a major gaffe—reminding people of abortion clinics?” My third was: “The big belted look is not recommended for those broad in the beam.” For all the complaints about an alleged higher scrutiny suffered by women candidates, affluent politicians like Hillary can afford glam squads of stylists and an infinite range of clothing choices, hairstyles, and cosmetic aids. Male candidates with their boring cropped hair and sober suits fade into the woodwork when the queen bee flies in.

The protective major media phalanx around Hillary certainly extends to her health issues, which only the Drudge Report has had the courage to flag. In assessing possible future occupants of the White House, the public has an inalienable right to know. I was incredulous at the passive gullibility of the media, including the New York Times, last July, when a woman internist, identified as Hillary’s doctor, released a summary letter about her health that was lacking in the specifics one would normally expect in medical records. Does anyone really think that world-renowned Hillary, whose main residence for years has been in Washington and not Chappaqua, has as her primary physician an obscure young internist in Mount Kisco, New York? It’s ludicrous on the face of it...

Trump Thanks Sanders

Trump on Sanders-Clinton brawl: ‘I’d like him to keep going’ - The Washington Post:

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday offered rare words of praise for one of his Democratic rivals: Sen. Bernie Sanders, who Trump said should keep attacking front-runner Hillary Clinton.

"He's been tough on her. In fact, I'd like him to keep going because the longer he goes the more I'm going to like it," Trump told thousands of supporters during a campaign rally here in Harrisburg...
You can get more on this particular angle at Blue Nation Review.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Scientology Wall Cracking

Something huge is about to go down with Scientology that could destroy the ‘church’ once and for all:

A brewing power struggle between Lisa Marie Presley and Scientology leader David Miscavige could inflict crippling harm to the controversial “church.”

The only daughter of rock icon Elvis Presley has been slowly pulling herself away from Scientology, to which she was introduced as a child by her mother, since at least 2008, reported Tony Ortega...

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Piercing The NYT

When Is 'The New York Times' Going to Step Up and Admit This Is Crazy?:

...It goes on like this for several more paragraphs. Because, like most of the elite political media, the Times would light itself on fire rather than admit that one of our two political parties has lost its mind, we are seeing Cruz's retrograde antebellum views of the Constitution being exhumed from the grave of Alexander Hamilton Stephens, shined up for Hi-Def politics, and trotted out as though it were the shining future instead of the dead past. The worst thing that the "conservative intellectual leaders" people are willing to say about him is that he's not necessarily a Cheney-esque blood beast on foreign policy 100 percent of the time. This is not reassuring...

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Cruzing Into Gold

Ted Cruz Just Reminded The Republican Establishment Why They Hate Him:

...But if you run a business, are employed by one, care about the stability of the financial system, or would prefer that the U.S. economy not be needlessly thrown into disarray — a group that seems like a pretty broad coalition of voters — Cruz’s economic policy is not OK.

He told CNBC on Friday that he wants to push America back to the gold standard. This is a hare-brained policy that no other country uses and not a single surveyed economist thinks is a good idea. Under the gold standard, a dollar is worth a certain amount of gold...

Comment Of The Day: Bernie Bucks Edition

It’s Up To Youuuuuu, New York, New York. | Uppity Woman: Brassy Rebel, on April 18, 2016 at 11:17 AM said:

 As bad as CNN is, Dan Merica who travels everywhere wirh Hillary’s campaign does a good job of reporting on what’s actually happening. That tweet from him about the astroturfed “protest” where the BS people threw $1, 000 at Hillary’s motorcade after it was handed out to them by Sanders official is a good example. Too bad his reporting never makes it on air. I don’t know why they have assigned him to her campaign. That whole protest was steeped in misogyny, btw

Monday, April 18, 2016

Cannon Defines The Smuggies

Cannonfire: Meet the Smuggies!

When I was a boy, college-aged adults became hippies. Now they are Smuggies.

They have earned that name via their perpetual sense of self-righteousness and entitlement. Smuggies are convinced that only they have ever possessed intelligence, morality or decency. Smuggies think that their elders are all racists, fiends and dupes.

Smuggies know everything. Smuggies love to whine. Smuggies need little pretext to act affronted. Smuggies were raised by "helicopter parents" who always protected them from the dangers of this world. That's why Smuggies demand an environment free of any sight or sound that might possibly cause offense...

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Pope Recommends Shrink For Bernie

Bernie’s Bad Week Continues: Pope Francis Denies Holding Meeting With Sanders:

Pope Francis shot down reports that he met with Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The pope described his interaction with Sanders as a brief greeting and common courtesy...
...“If someone thinks that greeting someone is getting involved in politics,” he said, “I recommend that they find a psychiatrist.”

Saturday, April 16, 2016

The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Is Real

Media Analysis: Hillary Clinton Received Most Negative Stories, Least Positive Stories Of All Presidential Candidates:

A newly released media analysis found that the “biggest news outlets have published more negative stories about Hillary Clinton than any other presidential candidate — including Donald Trump — since January 2015.” The study, conducted by social media software analytics company Crimson Hexagon, also found that “the media also wrote the smallest proportion of positive stories about her...”

Abul-Jabbar, Clinton, And The Age Of Reason

http://www.dailynewsbin.com/news/kareem-abdul-jabbar/24494/

...The NBA legend goes on to explain his Hillary endorsement: “Clinton possesses that rare but crucial combination of idealism and pragmatism. She can both envision a better world and take the necessary steps to make that vision a reality. She embodies the principles of the Age of Reason and isn’t afraid to fight against the confederacy of dunces who would undermine the principles of inclusion and diversity that America stands for...

Clinton/Trump Charity Contrast

The charity double standard: Hillary gets murdered, Trump goes unscathed - Salon.com:

...But let’s not pretend the coverage this week approached scandal-like attention and commentary. And let’s not pretend there’s any indication the Trump charity story has legs and will be revisited time and again in coming months as a template to raise doubts about the candidate’s character.

To date, that kind of charitable second-guessing has been reserved only for the Hillary Clinton charity story; the one where she has helped raise nearly $2 billion to aid poor people around the globe via the Clinton Foundation.

Talk about Bizarre World: Trump refuses to make personal donations to charities while Clinton helps bankroll a wildly successful charity, but she’s the one who’s been x-rayed by the press for the last year on the topic...

Friday, April 15, 2016

Clinton Brings Up Choice

Anti-Abortion Extremists in Major Nationwide Push - Hillary Clinton Right to Draw Attention:

To her credit, in the debate on Thursday night, Hillary Rodham Clinton went out of her way to mention that, in all the times that she and Bernie Sanders have debated each other, they hadn't been asked a single question on the issues surrounding reproductive freedom. This is not an idle concern, especially given the outright extremism in which anti-choice politicians are now trafficking. There is now a bill before the House of Representatives that is based on a popular fiction in the anti-choice community that may be one of the single most reprehensible assaults on a woman's right to choose ever to emerge from the mind of sinful man—and I do mean man...

More Unicorns And Pixie Dust

The question to me has never been about Sanders' positions or the need for change. The biggest, most important question is, was, and always has been which Democrat is most likely to keep a Republican out of the White House, and the answer is, has been, and always will be not Bernie Sanders. Why I’m Supporting Bernie Sanders - The New York Times

Thursday, April 14, 2016

The Whore Has Disappeared

After a considerable amount of free roaming, sans Teh Google, I have found only one mention of Song's (Bernie Sander's) contention that Hillary Clinton was a "Democratic whore." I betcha that if a Clinton surrogate said something similar it would be a part of every teevee news show and the liberal blogs would be belching fire calling for the impalement of said speaker. The Clinton Rules and CDS remain unchecked in our "liberal media."

Update: Well, here we are late in the evening and some mention of the event has occurred, including a long apology at HuffPo.  I suppose this little blip in the Purity Parade will disappear along with all the other little blips, so I'll just move along. Nothing to see here.

The Whores Kick Back

Sanders Under Fire for Supporter's 'Whores' Remarks - NBC News:

Bernie Sanders' campaign is under fire again for comments made by a supporter at a campaign event, this time after a speaker at Sanders' massive Manhattan rally Wednesday night decried "corporate Democratic whores..."

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Crowds Ain't Everything

Beware the crowdsmanship: Does the size of political rallies really mean much? – Something Like the Truth:

...I have bad news for Sanders, Trump, their supporters and some in the news media fixated on the numbers at candidates’ rallies: The size of rallies has long been a flawed measure of a campaign’s vitality. Journalists often survey an arena brimming with enthusiastic supporters and mistakenly use a head count to gauge the campaign’s prospects. Candidates and their staffs are eager to bolster that faulty notion, sometimes feeding reporters exaggerated crowd estimates (there’s no evidence Sanders’ campaign has done that)...

Bernie's Liberal Purity Police

NERVE: Self-Appointed Bernie Purists Sit in Judgment of Legendary Activists - Blue Nation Review:

...Any credibility or good will Tom Hayden might have accumulated through decades of activism and organizing was gone in the blink of an eye. Poof! We recognize the pattern from the earlier attacks on John Lewis, Dolores Huerta, and Elizabeth Warren when she committed the grave sin of refusing to endorse Bernie.

That’s the thing about True Believers™. You can’t grow, you can’t change, and you mustn’t ever deviate. The purity is an end in itself...

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Crazy In NC: HB2 Cry Edition

North Carolina: Seeming rather than being – Baptist News Global:

...I called North Carolina Senate President Pro-Tempore Phil Berger’s office to express my concern about this. His assistant told me that Mr. Berger was acting to protect our children. She does not believe that, though, and neither does her boss. I told her that, real nicely. “Do you not care about our women and children?” she asked me, as though she did not know that this was the question asked to justify every lynching that ever stained the soil of this country. If care for our children was a motivator, then Berger wouldn’t sleep again until he convinced his colleagues to act with all deliberate speed to fix our schools and pay our teachers what they deserve. If the General Assembly’s concern was for the young people of our state, especially for the weak ones trying to grow great, they would expand Medicaid so that families are not going broke paying for basic health care...

Choosing Clinton For The Middle Class

Daily News Editorial Board: Vote Hillary Clinton in N.Y. - NY Daily News:

...At this severe breakpoint, the central challenge confronting the next President is clear: She or he must ignite and rebalance the United States economy in favor of the many while also extending an extra helping hand to ease burdens that have grown too heavy for some.

On April 19, New York Democrats will have unusual say over the party’s nominee. They have in Clinton a superprepared warrior realist. They have in opponent Bernie Sanders a fantasist who’s at passionate war with reality. By choosing Clinton, Empire State Dems would powerfully signal that the party has gotten real about achieving long-sought goals...

Clinton Gains An Activist

CONVERSION: With a Powerful Essay, Famous Social Activist Tom Hayden Switches From Bernie To Hillary - Blue Nation Review:

“Tom Hayden? Tom Hayden?” I said to myself when I saw The Nation today. If you asked me who were the least likely activists to support Hillary, Tom Hayden would have been on the list — especially since he was already supporting Bernie. But here’s what he writes today: “We still need the organizing of a united front of equals to prevail against the Republicans. It will take a thorough process of conflict resolution to get there, not a unilateral power wielding by the usual operatives. It’s up to all of us..."

Crooks In Texas?!?!

I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you. Feds Charge Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton With Fraud | Crooks and Liars

Monday, April 11, 2016

The Origins Of CDS

It is no surprise to me that the origin of Clinton Derangement Syndrome has its roots in the "soft" bigotry of regionism and the narcissistic superiority assumed by the urban elite, whose prejudices far exceed the familiar boundary of political party. The assumed supremacy of all things urban over anything rural was affronted by the bumblers from the sticks when they stumbled into the White House. They were never forgiven by their betters for occupying a palace reserved to the entitled members of the coastal rulers, and just like LBJ and Jimmy Carter they were treated with all the hospitality of a returning Vietnam veteran.

The mainstream media has a decades-old Hillary narrative — and they’re sticking to it:

...The media never much liked the Clintons to begin with. In this election season of anti-elitism, one reason why is instructive for its condescension. As Sally Quinn, Washington Post writer and society doyenne (she was executive editor Ben Bradlee’s wife), put it in a famous, huffy 1998 article, the Clintons had sullied the White House and Washington had “been brought into disrepute by the actions of the president.” What she was really saying was that they were country bumpkins, not part of the ritzy DC establishment that she inhabited, and they needed to be punished for it. The irony is that rather than scorn the establishment that scorned them, the Clintons got into some trouble trying desperately to enter it...

Sunday, April 10, 2016

The Truth In Clinton's Emails

I Was One of the Most Ardent Hillary Haters on the Planet...Until I Read Her Emails - Blue Nation Review:

...I​n those emails, I​ also found a woman who ​seemed to ​understand power and how to use it wisely. A woman of formidable intellect who actually understood the nuance​s​ of a thing, and how to strike a tough bargain.

I read every single one of the emails released in August, and what I found was someone who actually gave a damn about the country, the Democratic party, and all of our futures...

The Panama Papers--- Bernie In Error, Again

The Panama Papers prove Mr. Sanders was wrong about a trade pact with Panama - The Washington Post:

...In response to our questions, the Sanders campaign didn’t address the data, but said the administration had missed an opportunity to completely “eradicate” the Panama tax haven. To us, it looks like the Obama administration’s diplomacy resulted in real progress, and that if anyone’s entitled to say “I told you so” about that, it would be Ms. Clinton.

Political Correctness Runs Amok

You know you have too much time on your hands in Portland when this seems like a good idea (Part Deux) - What Would Jack Do:

...If you believe that protesting Saffron Colonial is an appropriate and reasonable thing, you really need to get over yourself. If you want to vent your considerable outrage, how about doing it on something that actually matters? Portland is a city facing more than a few serious and significant problems, issues eminently worthy of considerable amounts of righteous outrage. Targeting a restaurant is little more than a silly, mean-spirited attempt to destroy someone’s hard work and dreams for no good reason.

We should be better than this, but given Portland’s reputation for enforcing political correctness, it’s not surprising that so many have stooped so low. If it wasn’t for manufactured outrage, some would have no outrage at all.

Seneca Silencing Critics

Seneca says it didn't try to get professors fired | The State:

The city of Seneca put out a statement Friday saying its city administrator didn’t mean to suggest that the president of Clemson University should fire two professors who spoke against the city’s handling of the Zachary Hammond shooting...

Saturday, April 09, 2016

Laura Bush May Go Clinton

Laura Bush SLAMS The GOP, Says She’d Rather Vote For Hillary Than A Republican ‹ Winning Democrats:

...At the annual Women in the World summit held in New York, Bush revealed that she would like the next POTUS to be someone who will work to improve the lives of women in Afghanistan – basically eliminating misogynist Republican frontrunner Donald Trump right off the bat. Speaking to female business leaders and prominent women from all areas of the world, Bush actually hinted that she would rather vote for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton over Trump, because she knows that he’s not a candidate that has women’s interests at heart...

Bernie, His Flaws, And The Pope

You lost the Bernie/Vatican plot all right. In a really big way.:

...The Sanders campaign has from the beginning been marred by several deficiencies, among them a stunning lack of what is and what is not culturally sensitive or appropriate, a flagrant lack of respect for any values outside its own goals – see, for example, the decision to denounce Planned Parenthood as ‘establishment ‘, a slap in the face of pro-choice women and liberals in general – and a fast and loose relationship with observable reality, such as endorsements it claimed but didn’t actually have, the spat two days ago over his opponent’s qualifications based on a too-cursory reading of a newspaper article or even the yawning competence gap illustrated by Senator Sanders’ interview with the Daily News...

The Cruelty Of The Bern

My bold. Jail for Stem Cell Researchers? How Bernie Sanders Lost My Vote:

...What does this have to do with Bernie Sanders?

He voted to imprison SCNT researchers—and fine them one million dollars.

Hard to believe? Here is his vote.

Bernie Sanders voted YES on “forbidding human cloning for...medical research. Voted to pass a bill that would... punish violators with up to 10 years in prison and fines of at least $1 million.”

The specific bill is H.R.234— the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2003 (Introduced in House) January 8, 2003, by Dave Weldon (R) of Florida.

Not only did Bernie Sanders give his support to this anti-science bill, but he is officially listed as a co-sponsor
...
So if he's a cosponsor, I suppose it will be more difficult to argue that he didn't know what he was voting for. Methinks, this vote shows more than the Iraq war vote.

GOPer True Confessions

On MSNBC, Ex-GOP Staffer Details How The Purpose Of Voter ID Laws Is To "Take People's Constitutional Rights Away":

TODD ALLBAUGH: I've been a Republican for a long time. It was at that moment, Chris, in that room in the senate Republican caucus when I heard people, a Party I had fought for for over 30 years of my life, actually giddy and happy and talking about how we can take people's Constitutional rights away, or at least impede them, in order to hang onto power...

Friday, April 08, 2016

Bernie The Inciter

TOXIC: The Culture of Bernie's Campaign - Blue Nation Review:

Bernie long ago promised not to run a negative campaign, but every last shred of that pretense went up in smoke when he called Hillary unqualified for the presidency. His escalating attacks and those of his aides and surrogates are finally attracting attention, but the negativity is nothing new. By his own standards, Bernie has insidiously set the toxic tone for months...

Bill And The Crime Bill

Cannonfire BS "from the Bernie-bots":

...An incessant propaganda campaign has convinced ignorant young voters that the 1994 crime bill should be used against Hillary, never against Bernie -- even though Bernie voted for the thing.

Propagandists like Taibbi and Goldberg also don't tell you the following:

1. The bill was extremely popular at the time.

2. It was popular among black leaders, because black communities were being hit hard by a very real crime wave.

3. The Congressional Black Caucus insured the passage of the bill.

4. Legislation is passed by Congress, not by the President.

MOST IMPORTANTLY:

5. The subsequent increase in African American incarceration had almost nothing to do with that bill -- and everything to do with a wave of tough-on-crime laws passed at the state level. The vast, vast majority of people who have gone to prison have never committed a federal crime.

None of these points are getting through to the public. The propaganda is incessant. The fix is in...

Thursday, April 07, 2016

Rangel Flogs Sanders

Rangel: 'Who the hell is Bernie Sanders to say somebody is not qualified to run for president of the United States?':

Rangel told Golodryga that in all of his years in Congress, he’s “never had a conversation with Sen. Sanders.” He said, “He’s the type of person that is so proud that he’s not a Republican and he’s not a Democrat that he feels compelled not to converse with you, but to give a lecture to you so that you would know how much he knows about whatever he’s talking about.” He continued, “I don’t know any bill that I associate with him...”

Clinton Rules Media Bias Again

BIAS: Flailing Bernie Slams Hillary and National Media Go After HER - Blue Nation Review:

It’s no secret that the national media have clear anti-Hillary proclivities. Their default stance is to criticize her no matter what she says or does. If she wins, she didn’t win by enough. If she loses, she lost by too much. If she laughs, she’s being sarcastic. If she’s serious, she’s unlikable. If she’s nuanced, she’s calculating. There is very little Hillary says or does that isn’t filtered through a demeaning and destructive prism.

Case in point: The morning after Bernie Sanders stepped into the gutter of politics and called Hillary unqualified to be president — a statement that would have caused mass media chaos if it came from her — ABC’s Good Morning America led with “Hillary attacking Bernie...”

Wednesday, April 06, 2016

King Of Coal Going In Can



Former U.S. coal CEO gets prison time for blast that killed 29 | Reuters:

Former Massey Energy Chief Executive Don Blankenship was sentenced to a year in prison and fined $250,000 on Wednesday for his role in a 2010 West Virginia coal mine explosion that killed 29 workers...
Oh, yeah. I'm amazed.

Stop The Caucuses!

PCTC* | Caucuses are Undemocratic:

...So, here’s the question of this election season; why do so many progressives seem perfectly okay with the fact that there are so many Democratic primary caucuses? A growing number of states have adopted the caucus model, including some states that used to hold primary elections, and if we are serious about democracy, that needs to stop now. The caucus is the least democratic way to choose a nominee and it’s time we jettisoned that process as such. I mean, come on; many of the same people who complain about the concept of super delegates because they’re “not chosen by the people” seem to have absolutely no problem with the archaic process of the caucus. The funny thing is, super delegates are far less consequential than delegates chosen by caucus. Caucuses are an artifact of the old days, in which party bosses chose nominees, and they’re only slightly more democratic than that...
Amen on killing this beast.

Bernie Clueless Interview While Guaming The Vote

Live Blog: Wisconsin Returns the Vote but it could be Guam, who really knows? | Sky Dancing:

...The news today is filled with the interview given by Sanders to the NYDN. Sanders appears to be completely confused by the process of federalDunce Cap2 regulations and oversight as it pertains to Wall Street and Financial Institutions. I always knew he sounded vague on details but this interview shows his ignorance. This is about as bad as recent Trump interviews. Both appear big on their vision but extremely stupid on policy details and the workings of government. Trump could be excused as a outsider if he were running for lower office. Bernie, however, is a Senator. We shouldn’t have to direct him to School House Rock for Lessons. This is Chris Cillizza writing for WAPO...

Tuesday, April 05, 2016

Feeling The Burn

This post contains a very valuable summary of all of Sanders', uh, er, little quirks and problems.

A Fool's Paradise: How Bernie Sanders' Brand of Political Purity Was Never Realistic — The People's View:

...Bernie Sanders supporters made a simple mistake: they trusted a politician. They saw him as someone who promised the moon but instead they have been left with green, moldy cheese. Bernie Sanders' candidacy has been based off a series of lies and hypocrisy that the mainstream media was complacent in allowing until recently. With the curtain pulled back, Sanders' candidacy is starting to unwind, slowly and surely. With recent issues of FEC violations as well as questions as to how his staff is being compensated, Sanders supporters are seeing their candidate's true colors for the very first time. By choosing to run a campaign based on absolutes, Sanders set himself up as the model candidate whose words and promises would 100% correspond to his deeds on the campaign trail. Now that we have finally seen that Bernie isn't as virtuous as he initially claimed to be, it is up to all of us to determine what Bernie Sanders actually stands for.

Even if we don't like what we find out.

tRump Abortion Secret?

Has Donald Trump Paid for Abortions?:

...Don’t be at all surprised, if he gets the Republican nomination, to see a few women coming out of the woodwork and saying that he got them pregnant and then pushed them to have an abortion and paid for it. I think it’s extremely likely to have happened. And you know the Democrats have been digging deep into every single aspect of his life to build their oppo file.

Monday, April 04, 2016

Bernie's NYT Puffery Deconstructed

Falstaff: Astroturf - updated:

A Berning pile of crap in the Times, this article purports to be a critique of Sanders's campaign missteps, but is nothing more than butter-wouldn't-melt hagiography. He was too pure and too naive to go after Hillary and to campaign hard (because he was so, so dedicated to his job as Senator), and that's why he's losing...
Details and deconstruction follow at the link.

Hmm, Bernie. Yeah. Right.

Sanders refuses again to release taxes, blames wife - AMERICAblog News:

Bernie Sanders told CNN’s Jakes Tapper today that he can’t yet release his tax returns, even though his challenger Hillary Clinton has released eight year’s worth of such returns, because Sanders’ wife Jane does their taxes, and she’s been too busy with the campaign to get to them.

Tapper expressed surprise that Sanders, who is running as a “new” kind of candidate who is super transparent about his finances, is hiding his tax returns at such a crucial point in the Democratic primaries...

Uh-Oh, Liberal Heads May Explode

The South Isn't The Reason Schools Are Still Segregated, New York Is:

...Nowadays, New York state is home to the nation’s most segregated schools.

“For several decades, the state has been more segregated for blacks than any Southern state, though the South has a much higher percent of African American students,” wrote the authors of a report from the UCLA Civil Rights Project in 2014.

For Delmont, that statistic is less than surprising...


Not news to those of us who have been paying attention.

SCOTUS Sez TX Good On Districts

Supreme Court rejects conservative challenge in 'one person, one vote' case | Reuters:

The Supreme Court on Monday endorsed the way Texas draws its legislative districts based on total population and not just eligible voters - the same method used by all 50 states - rejecting a conservative challenge in a case focusing on the legal principle of "one person, one vote."

The eight-justice court unanimously rebuffed the challenge spearheaded by a conservative legal activist that could have shifted influence in state legislative races away from urban areas that tend to be racially diverse and favor Democrats to rural ones predominantly with white voters who often back Republicans...

Sunday, April 03, 2016

A Media Diversity Question

They all look like Chuck Todd: The lack of diversity on shows like “Meet the Press” is just embarrassing - Salon.com:

...By House Democratic leadership’s count, there are 78 white men who are Democrats, out of 188 Democratic members in the chamber. This means that white men do not make up a majority of the House Democratic caucus.

So how is it that political press stalwarts, such as the Sunday shows, remain stubbornly white, male and conservative while the rest of the country, and the rest of our politics, moves in the opposite direction?

The Daily Flashback: Stephen King Talks Rich Man Edition

Stephen King: Tax Me, for F@%&’s Sake! - The Daily Beast:

...The Mitch McConnells and John Boehners and Eric Cantors just can’t seem to help themselves. These guys and their right-wing supporters regard deep pockets like Christy Walton and Sheldon Adelson the way little girls regard Justin Bieber … which is to say, with wide eyes, slack jaws, and the drool of adoration dripping from their chins. I’ve gotten the same reaction myself, even though I’m only “baby rich” compared with some of these guys, who float serenely over the lives of the struggling middle class like blimps made of thousand-dollar bills...

St. Bernie No Mo'?

NEW YORK: Bernie's Campaign Targets a Hillary Supporter - Blue Nation Review:

...When Tad Devine lashed out at BNR in response to our reporting on Sierra Blanca and our willingness to call Bernie out for smearing Hillary, I thought it was highly unusual for a senior campaign aide to go after a Democratic media publication in such personal terms...
Follow the Sierra Blanca link to discover how Bernie lost his wings.

A Meeting Of The Huey Newton Gun Club

Anti-Muslim Hate Group Gets More Than They Bargained For When Met By Gun-Toting Worshipers | Crooks and Liars:

An anti-Muslim hate group planned an armed protest at an African-American mosque in Texas — but it didn’t go as planned...

Saturday, April 02, 2016

If Bank Corruption Surprises You...

...then I'm glad you finally got out from under that rock.

Big Banks Aided Firm At Center Of International Bribery Scandal:

No business can operate without bankers — not even the bribery business...

More Bag Media Admissions

Charlotte Speaks | The Confluence:

...Go to the 40 minute mark and you will be gob smacked by the angry truth. Plotz says that the worst example of presidential campaign coverage is not 2016. It was 2008 specifically because of what the media intentionally did to benefit Obama. It’s refreshing to finally hear it but it’s also cold because we will never know how much of a difference it would have made if they had just done their jobs critically and honestly.

I think we can all agree that this is what we witnessed in 2008. Obama could do no wrong. Everything he did or didn’t do was covered favorably. Anything Hillary did was picked to pieces, made to look sinister and calculating, and was portrayed in the most negative light possible. So, thank you David Plotz for laying it all out so clearly...

Bernie The Bully

Sensitivity Training: Bernie's Meltdown Over Hillary's Truth Telling Exposes Nature of a Bully — The People's View:

...So no, Bernie Sanders shouldn't get an apology. Here's why: Truth is an absolute defense, and Hillary Clinton was telling the truth.

The meltdown from the Bernie camp is instructive if nothing else. This is how bullies act when they are stood up to. They throw a tantrum because they do not understand how someone is standing up to them. They cannot stand the fact that they are being called out, and they want to quickly crush any talk of that calling out.

Why? Because bullies don't have anything to go on beside for their bluster, red-in-the-face attack, and brute force. They thrive on not being challenged, on not having to answer to anyone for their behavior. When they are stood up to, they want everyone to coddle them and be sensitive to their hurt feelings while they go on being the biggest pinheads on the face of the earth...

Friday, April 01, 2016

Time To Tell The Old Man To Grow-Up

Feel the Math - The New York Times:

...First, the Sanders campaign needs to stop feeding the right-wing disinformation machine. Engaging in innuendo suggesting, without evidence, that Clinton is corrupt is, at this point, basically campaigning on behalf of the RNC. If Sanders really believes, as he says, that it’s all-important to keep the White House out of Republican hands, he should stop all that – and tell his staff to stop it too.

Second, it’s time for Sanders to engage in some citizenship. The presidency isn’t the only office on the line; down-ballot races for the Senate and even the House are going to be crucial. Clinton has been raising money for other races; Sanders hasn’t, and is still being evasive on whether he will ever do so. Not acceptable...

Clinton Anger Becomes Key

THE MOMENT: Why Hillary's Visible Anger at Being Smeared Spells Big Trouble for Bernie - Blue Nation Review:

...Hillary stepped outside the perfect calibration pundits and reporters demand of her and appeared, just for a moment, the way Bernie is allowed to appear all the time without special comment: Righteously, passionately angry.

We are glad that she did, and glad that there are media outlets who are responding with credibility. It is long past time that Bernie’s frontal attack on Hillary’s integrity is shown for what it is...

Scary GOPer Prez Realization

My bold. Donald Trump Accidentally Articulates GOP Abortion Stance A Little Too Loudly:

...It was maybe the only thing a candidate could say about abortion to get both defenders of reproductive freedom and their antagonists angry, and condemnation from both sides was so swift that it managed to knock Trump a-kilter. But lost in the ensuing controversy and Trump campaign walk-backs was an essential truth: Trump was just “saying bluntly what the actual implications of longstanding Republican policies” on abortion are, co-host Zach Carter argues. Also lost: In many ways, Trump is the moderate candidate in the GOP race when it comes to reproductive rights...