Issa Getting More Dem Flack

New Resolution Condemns Darrell Issa As 'Offensive':

...Nevertheless, the move highlighted the deep, lingering anger that Democrats feel for the Californian, who they believe has abused his role atop a committee meant to ferret out waste and abuse in the federal government. It was high-lighted even further in the way Democrats tried to proceed, with many holding up iPads and phones with pictures of Issa cutting off Cummings.

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who was presiding over the session, gaveled the reading of the so-called "privileged resolution" by Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) to a halt until members put their devices away, saying the display was a "violation of the House rules..."

Dems Win One For The Little Guy

Huge Victory for Democrats as Senate Republicans Cave on Unemployment Benefits:

Late this afternoon, Democrats scored a huge victory on President Obama’s agenda by getting Senate Republicans to cave on unemployment benefits that are paid for in part by effectively raising taxes on corporations. But heck, they’re paid for and that’s what Republicans said they wanted....

Further on...

...The AP also points out that the agreement ends jobless payments for those earning over $1 million. Republicans would rather try to make a “moral” argument for denying food to starving children than take a penny away from a millionaire, so it looks like poor John Boehner will be stuck between the tea and an election...

Say what?

Crazy In NC: Burr v. Canada Edition

Canadian doctor makes anti-Obamacare senator look like a buffoon - Salon.com:

Speaking before a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday, Dr. Danielle Martin, vice president at the Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, masterfully showed how to smack down a disingenuous politician’s misleading and misinformed questions with courtesy, intelligence and, well, facts.

In this instance, the role of disingenuous and ill-informed politician was played by North Carolina’s GOP Sen. Richard Burr, who decided to use his question time to imply that the Canadian healthcare system was bad because it led to Canadian doctors moving to America and rich people going to the U.S. to get complicated and expensive surgery. These were both good points — except for the fact that they were, as Martin made clear, completely wrong...

Spending Your Defense Dollar

Shrinking Size Of The Army - Why A Larger Navy And A Smaller Army Just Isn't A Good Idea - Esquire:

...So you see, putting our eggs in the Navy basket may be a bad idea since apparently as highly touted as our technology may be, it is demonstrably not good enough. The Chinese have demonstrated that they can get inside our most alert and capable screening force and come to the surface as a sort of international military signal for "Gotcha!" The practical implication is that they could sink that ship if they wanted to, even if the DF-21s did not get there first. What we need is a lot of little carriers, if we must have carriers at all, so that the loss of any one is not catastrophic. As my friend Jerry Hendrix says, "Buy Fords, not Ferraris," and he is spot on with that assessment...

Solving The Libertarian Puzzle

3 Things That Make Libertarian Heads Explode | Alternet:

Libertarians are proponents of a philosophy that embraces free-market ideology, limited government, and a certain form of individual liberty. They would like to take the government and drown it in the proverbial bathtub. Unfortunately, libertarians tend to ride on theoretical unicorns that don’t take them too far in the real world...(to the list!)

Brewer Says No To Re-Election

AFP: Hardline Arizona governor won't run for re-election:

Arizona governor Jan Brewer, known for her hardline stance on illegal immigration and a stand-up row with President Barack Obama, said Wednesday she will not seek re-election later this year...

CIA v. Senate

The Senate-CIA Blowup Threatens a Constitutional Crisis | Mother Jones:

This morning, on C-SPAN, the foundation of the national security state exploded...

With a lede like that, the rest had better be good. It is.

Russia: The Laws Of Blowback Heed No Borders

Russian Oligarchs Fear Economic Casualties if Ukraine Crisis Escalates - NYTimes.com:

...In private conversations, though, several people described high anxiety within corporations, especially about the prospect of any sanctions’ affecting banks. Large Russian corporations have significantly increased foreign borrowing in recent years, and 10 were negotiating loans when the crisis boiled over, said Ben Aris, the editor and publisher of Business New Europe. Financial sanctions could set off a chain reaction of blocked transactions, frozen accounts and bank closings. “Those oligarchs who are already having trouble would be completely cut off,” he said...

Calling BS To BS

Robert Gates Explains There Was Nothing America Could Do To Prevent Putin | Crooks and Liars:

While most of the Beltway media is lapping up Republican talking points against President Obama and the Russian-Ukraine situation, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates brought some much needed sanity to the discussion when he flatly rebuked Chris Wallace's assertions that Obama emboldened Putin to act and stated the obvious:...

Christie's Real Problem

Chris Christie's 2016 problem has nothing to do with a bridge - CBS News:

...This line of criticism isn't new. Christie has drawn ire from conservatives for years, and many saw his cozying up to President Obama in the wake of Hurricane Sandy as an intentional message that he frankly doesn't care. But if he's serious about 2016, conference-goers seemed to agree, Christie needs to realize: The bridge fallout may fade. His longstanding problem relating to the types of conservative activists who frequent such cattle calls will not.

"He's very liberal, in my opinion," proffered English Hinton from Florida. Though she said she'd opt for the lesser of two evils in the event Christie did secure the 2016 GOP nomination, she emphatically clarified she would never even consider voting for him in the primary...

Well, not really. Christie's real problem is that he was finally exposed for what he is to the voters who kept putting him in office (the same type who keep electing lunatics in the South): low information voters. In Christie's case. these voters came from the Democratic party; he lost the Democratic vote on a bridge too crowded.

Conspiracy Romper Room

Cannonfire: "Christian Concentration Camps"

 ...There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of similar websites. As Alex Jones has proved, an entrepreneur can make small fortune providing fixes for fear-junkies.

Visit the link above for a nice sample. (I love Joe's term "fear junkies"; I think I'll steal it.)

Fox News Jr. Blasted

Harry Reid to Politico: 'Get a brain,�OK?':

...In Reid's mind? He's just imagining the tea party took over? He just imagined it when Mitch McConnell said his top priority was denying President Obama a second term? (Which Politico reported on, btw.) He's just imagined all those bullshit amendments, every cloture vote required on every nominee—even those that end up garnering 100 affirmative votes? He's imagined the most filibusters ever forced? Politico reporters obviously don't spend enough time with C-SPAN2.The last thing Reid should be apologetic for is speaking the truth about Republican obstruction. And he really doesn't need to apologize for telling Politico reporters to get a brain.

Pierce Flames CPAC

The Crooks At CPAC - Esquire:

You have to hand it to the conservatives here at CPAC. They're a forgiving lot. They believe in second chances, even for felons. Why, just this morning, I heard a speech by a guy who sold missiles to a government that sponsored terrorism, lied about it, got convicted, and then dove like a scalded rat through a loophole. I watched a panel including a guy who, while working as police commissioner in New York, entangled himself in such baroque corruption that he ended up in the federal sneezer for 36 months. And, this afternoon, on a panel entitled "After Obama," we will be treated to the views of a guy who helped out a covert CIA agent, lied about it, got convicted, and then got pardoned...

A Burning Pot Question

Minister's daughter: Cannabis 'a gift from God' - CNN.com:

...In the meantime, patients like Curry, who have become staunch proponents of medical cannabis, are confounded by the debate.

"I don't get why the government can recommend narcotics, your doctor can prescribe you Percocet or Oxycontin and you can literally die if you take too much," said Curry. "But if you smoke too much pot you'll just ... fall asleep..."

Military Sexual Assault Bill Up Again

Military sexual assault bill heads for Senate vote - The Messenger: News:

Legislation to curb sexual assaults in the military by stripping senior commanders of their authority to prosecute rapes and other serious offenses is headed for a highly anticipated vote in the Senate...

Let's hope this bill has better luck.

The Daily Flashback: Russia Invades! (2008)

Flashback, 2008: When A Russian Invasion Made Fox News Shrug | Blog | Media Matters for America:

Fox News commentators have been rushing in to blame President Obama for the Russian military's excursion into Ukraine. It's because of Obama's "weakness" that Vladamir Putin has seized the military initiative, announced Sarah Palin...

From The Fainting Couch: Miss Lindsey Tweets Nonsense

How The Right Helped Sen. Graham Blame Ukraine On Benghazi | Blog | Media Matters for America

Ukraining It

What Are The Gobshites Saying These Days? - Esquire:

...Don't take it from me. Take it from foreign policy savant Marco J. Firefl...er...Rubio who, as part of his ongoing effort to apologize for having been empathetic for 11 seconds towards undocumented immigrants, dropped by Disco Dave's Disco Dance Party to say a lot of sentence-like things about how the shit's getting real in the Ukraine. Of course, we're not going to actual war. We are going to war rhetorically. We will fight them at the buffet tables. We will fight them in the Green Rooms. We will fight them in the studios. We will fight them in the think tanks. We will never surrender...

Dems Target Districts

DCCC taps 16 pols for 'Red to Blue' - Emily Schultheis - POLITICO.com:

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee named 16 new House candidates to its “Red to Blue” program Monday, aiming to offer support to top recruits in competitive races across the country.

Included on the list are Democratic candidates facing off against some of the DCCC’s biggest Republican targets: former Colorado state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, running against GOP Rep. Mike Coffman; Michigan Democrat Jerry Cannon, running against incumbent Republican Dan Benishek, and Gwen Graham, who’s challenging GOP Rep. Steve Southerland in Florida...

GOPer Hypocrisy, Part ???

Paralyzed GOP Lawmaker On Medicaid Opposes Medicaid Expansion:

More than a decade ago, Arkansas Rep. Josh Miller (R) was in a catastrophic car accident that broke his neck and left him paralyzed. Medicare and Medicaid paid the $1 million bill for his hospitalization and rehabilitation.

But this week, as the Arkansas legislature has debated continuing its privatized Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, Miller has remained steadfast in his opposition...