Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Mama Turtles Force Closure of Runway at JFK Airport

Flights crawled to a stop at one of the world's busiest airports this morning when it was invaded by turtles! One runway was closed at New York's JFK Airport when about 150 Diamondback Terrapin turtles were spotted crossing the tarmac. The mama turtles were trying to get to the other side to lay eggs on the shores of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, which borders the airport. Ron Marsico, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York said pilots from Jet Blue and other airlines halted their flights to let the expectant turtles pass. But he brushed off the turtle invasion saying: "Flight delays attributed to turtles were minor, about 15 minutes or so." People began tweeting about the turtles soon after the news broke. Within 8 hours, @JFKTurtles had almost 3,000 followers on Twitter. It's nice hearing these stories. Think of the alternative had the pilots been jerks.


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Look for Oligarchs Attack on Workers to Continue

During the 2010 midterms, several far-right U.S. Senate candidates said they either wanted to slash the minimum wage or eliminate it altogether. Each of these candidates, incidentally, lost. The Republicans’ hostility towards the minimum wage hasn’t gone away. Michele Bachmann, for example, has argued that eliminating the minimum wage would eliminate unemployment entirely. Bachmann conceded she’d consider eliminating the policy as president as part of her efforts to crush “expansion of government.”

Their cockamamy theory is that instead of a company paying 4 workers $10 per hour, it would be better to pay 8 workers $5 per hour or even better in the regressive party's mind, 16 workers making $2.50 per hour. I've been saying this for months. Their plan to lower unemployment is to abolish minimum wage. Then they can bring back the jobs they've farmed out to third world countres while making the United States one. If their goal is accomplished, non-union companies can start slashing wages of current employees who are making a fair wage and/or threaten their job security if they fight back with the ability of cheap labor. Do you think maybe this is the long term goal of all the union busting? Anyone who thinks it can't happen here isn't watching what this SCOTUS is doing.

Such a radical change would be unpopular, and the idea is so far from the American mainstream, there aren't any polls even asking the question. The problem is the current Teapublican Party doesn't care about what the American people want. They don't care if their position is unpopular. Look no further than Ayn Rand fan boy Paul Ryan's "bold and couragious" budget proposal. It screws future Medicare recipients and further slashes taxes for the wealthy while raising the debt! Teapublicans only care about their strict ideology

I wonder if others in the GOP field will go on the record supporting this as well? Or they'll just pull a Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI). Run on balancing the budget and then spend every waking moment destroying unions with the help of the billionaire Koch Brothers, or as I prefer, Koch-roaches. Meanwhile, the idiotic voters who elect these fascists because
"the gays are out to get them," are chanting, "U.S.A., U.S.A." like a bunch of indoctrinated zombies.

People need to put down their iPods and stop playing Warcraft and start paying attention to what the plutocrats are up too, damn it.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

New York Becomes 6th State to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

MSNBC actually allowed "The Rachel Maddow Show" to run fourty minutes over it's normal 10PM conclusion last night to cover the New York state senate vote which legalized same-sex marriage in that state at approximately 10:30PM. It must also be noted that the NY state senate currently has a Republican majority. New York joins Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia where same-sex marriage is permitted. New Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) had made it clear that this legislation granting full and equal rights was a priority of his administration. He signed the measure at 11:55 p.m., less than an hour and a half after the vote. The law will go into effect in 30 days, meaning that same-sex couples could begin marrying in New York by late July. Evidently he's already evolved enough to understand that equality is equality. C'mon President Obama, you see how easy that was?

The powers that be at MSNBC must've had a tough call, cover a historical vote or switch to Lock-Up, their normal weekend programming which starts at 10PM on Fridays. I shouldn't pick on MSNBC too much, Faux Newz is still pretending it didn't happen. There was absolutely no live coverage from the "fair and balanced" network.



Very nicely done New York and congratulations!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Clarence Clemons Dead at 69

Clarence Clemons — the Big Man with the big horn of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band — died yesterday of complications from a stroke he suffered a week ago. He was 69.

Clemons, the group’s saxophonist was probably the most charismatic figure in The E Street Band's history, since even those of us who weren't devout fans knew who he was. Even Springsteen seemed to acknowledge this by always introducing Clemons last at concerts.

Statement from Bruce Springsteen:

“Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage.”

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Best New Thing ... Since 2008 Anyway

I'm a bit burned out by the craziness, but I thought this was a very nice gesture by the only consistantly competent commentator on the tv machine. I found it enjoyable to watch this "star" ridicule herself, while showing the artwork from some youngsters who called her out on her Sponge Bob error. I'm sure it was a huge deal for these kids. Very cool!


Thursday, June 16, 2011

Weiner Succumbs to Media Circus Because, IOKIYAR

Rachel Maddow delivers a big F U to the Democrats in the nicest possible way:

"Congratulations, Democrats. In an era of unhinged, ideological, big money conservative media that is wholly and admittedly divorced from the precepts of journalism, in hounding Anthony Weiner into resigning ... you have just fed and unleashed this beast onto yourselves, probably for a generation."

I know, I know, but she's the best thing that has happened to our news media in at least 30 years. Democrats never learn. Because of this "let's take the high road" bs, we ended up with a dumb ass, selected by the SCOTUS to wreak havoc on us from 2001-2009. An era we may never recover from.

Meanwhile, Republicons operate under different rules. David Vitter, a Republican senator from Louisiana who was caught in the same sex scandal as Eliot Spitzer (Democratic NY governor forced to resign)in 2006 is still serving in the Senate even though he was making dates with hookers from the Senate floor. Oh, by the way, did I mention that this "family values" jackass liked to wear diapers and get spanked, presumably for being a bad boy? Meanwhile, he rails against same-sex marriage for couples who actually love each other and want to be in a committed relationship because in his mind, it's creepy. Freakin' douche bag.

I'm not condoning Anthony Weiner's actions, in fact it pisses me off because this guy was the best fighter for liberals/progressives and middle-class in the congress. He's a bigger disappointment than Clinton for liberals. Clinton ran to the right and gave us NAFTA, DOMA, and DADT.  What did Weiner actually do? He sent some pics via twitter which as lame as it is, isn't illegal. If Teapublican Eric Canter had done this (although I'm guessing he's got nothing to show), the Republicans would've rallied around him, blamed the non-existent "liberal media" and the story would've disappeared within three days. However, self-righteous Democrats shoot our wounded, give an asinine story legs and allow, as Rachel basically said, feed and unleash a conservative media juggernaut that we'll be dealing with for years.



Will the Democrats ever learn to stand up to the GOP attack machine? I'm not hopeful.

*For non-Twitter folks, IOKIYAR is a hash tag which means "It's ok if you're a Republican."

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Olbermann Comments On Embarrassing Weiner Roasting

Keith Olbermann explains how Republicans and Democrats alike have embarrassed themselves over Anthony Weiner’s Twitter-revelations, and what Weiner should do next. This is a tough one. I love Weiner's fire, and I initially thought he shouldn't resign. The problem now is, the Democratic leadership has turned against him so this passionate voice of the people will not have the same affect. It's a shame.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Republican Dirty Tricks With Fake Primary Challengers in Wisconsin

You see, Republicans can't win on their ideas. They got voted into office promising jobs, but instead went full throttle into far right wing ideology. Once voters caught on and realized they were bamboozled they fought back in the only way they could, recalls. First stop, Wisconsin.

Republicans in Wisconsin got caught planning to recruit fake Democrats to run primary races against the Democrats in the upcoming recall elections. In order to delay recall elections, the GOP has planned to run fake Democratic primary candidates against the GOP challengers, which would push the elections back another month. That would give Republicans an extra month’s worth of distance from the collective-bargaining debacle that got them in this situation, and would allow more time to campaign. It certainly appears like an admission that Republicans are struggling. And while it can be argued that the recall elections in themselves are merely dirty tricks, enough of a double standard exists that this ploy could backfire. They don't even care who knows that they're willing to win an election by any means necessary. As Rachel points out, even the National Review is saying this could backfire on them.

The key here is that recalls are now tentatively scheduled for July 12, under the state election officials' proposed timelines, targeting six Republicans. If there were only one Democrat against each one Republican, then the July 12 date would immediately be held as the general election. But if there were additional Democrats, the July 12 date would then become the primary, giving the incumbents more time to campaign for a general election in August. Also, thanks to Wisconsin's open primary system in which anybody can vote in a party primary, it would force the Democrats to spend time, money and resources campaigning for their own nominations. The strategy is being officially coordinated by state Republican leaders, and has been endorsed by state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. Evidently the extra expense to taxpayers doesn't concern these "fiscal conservatives."


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Fetus Personhood Supercedes Human Personhood in Right-Wing World

Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, joins Rachel Maddow to mark the anniversary of the legal right to birth control in the U.S. and to discuss the rash of anti-abortion "personhood" legislation across the U.S. that would effectively ban the birth control pill.

As we continue to watch the far, far right dismantle womens reproductive rights, we find that making abortion criminal isn't enough for them. They also strive to make birth control unavailable. Don't forget, today's unwanted fetus is tomorrow's soldier. We need more pawns for our appetite of world domination. If you follow their logic, every sperm is also sacred. Hey boys, you know what that means, right? Oh wait, this only applies to women as the male "plants" the seed. And you know, seeds have a way of "blowing in the wind." Afterall, not every "seed" sown in the Kingdom of Heaven would take root and produce a harvest.

I would once again like to post an actual piece of the Bible on this subject; the book that they all say is what guides them, a book none of them has even bothered to open. King James version: Genesis: 2.7. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."


Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Louisiana Bill Will Criminalize Abortion Even In Cases Of Rape

I saw this on the Political Correction website. Evidently, Louisiana has a bill that would criminalize abortion even in cases of rape. The Republicons must think we're running short on future soldiers

As I've been writing about the Teapublicans attack on womens reproductive rights, it has managed to get worse. A Louisiana bill currently under consideration by the state legislature is the most extreme yet. The bill would not only criminalize most abortions, threatening to punish doctors for performing a medical procedure whose legality has been upheld by the Supreme Court, but it would also force poor women whose lives are endangered by their pregnancies to pay for a life-saving abortion out-of-pocket. Victims of rape or incest aren't even afforded that exception.

In addition to banning abortions, the proposed bill would actually violate the federal Hyde Amendment, which states that while federal money cannot be used to pay for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest, and life endangerment, in those cases Medicaid and other government funds must be provided. Rep. John LaBruzzo's abortion ban would not include such exemptions.  Will the fed push back?

Attempting to criminalize in Louisiana what is nationally a legal redress available to victims of a violent crime is part of a larger conversation on abortion rights that is given to trivializing rape and its consequences. It's the same callous, paternalistic attitude towards women and their bodies seen in the idiotic Kansas lawmaker who last month suggested that women ought to plan ahead for rape because after all, he carries a spare tire.

That Roe v Wade challenge is on the horizon. I just hope we can get to 2012, an Obama re-election, hopefully an Anthony Kennedy retirement to sway the SCOTUS back to a less politically ideological group. Bush II was all about far right ideologues, and as a lefty I wasn't thrilled with Obama's play it safe choices although I don't have major issues with his selections. My issue was with his exemptions from consideration.

Palin's Version of Revere's Ride Re-Enacted by Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert proves that Paul Revere could have ridden a horse while ringing a bell and firing multiple warning shots from a front-loading musket. I was laughing so hard I started to cry. A brilliant, hilarious skit that I recommend to all!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Palin Fans Spent Weekend Trying To Rewrite Revere's Ride on Wikipedia

A few days ago, Sarah Palin told a news station in Boston that Paul Revere "warned the British that they weren't gonna be takin' away our arms." As the media pointed out that Revere was actually warning the American colonists (which also isn't totally accurate, because as I pointed out Friday, he was to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were coming to arrest them), not the British, Palin's supporters instead attempted to update the Wikipedia entry on Revere in order to make the facts conform to Palin's version of history. According to the revision history on the Wikipedia page, Palin supporters attempted to add this line (among others): "also, most colonial residents at the time considered themselves British as they were all legally British subjects." By the way, Revere did not shout the phrase later attributed to him ("The British are coming!"), largely because the mission depended on secrecy. I'll at least give the reporters credit for reporting what we were taught back in the day...her, not so much.

That revision was deleted with the explanation "content not backed by a reliable sources (it was sarah palin interview videos)." On Sunday, Palin, a paid Faux Newz employee, insisted on "Faux Newz Sunday" that she was correct, with no dissent from the enamored host, who I also spoke of yesterday. She says there were British soldiers in the area for years before Revere's legendary ride, and that he was warning them, as well as his fellow colonists. "Part of his ride was to warn the British that were already there that 'hey, you're not going to take American arms, you are not going to beat our own well-armed persons individual private militia that we have.'" Here's a big surprise ---She blamed her previous answer on the media, saying it was a "gotcha question."

Thank you to Little Green Footballs for once again exposing this crackpot for what she is. A clueless, narcissistic, sociopath and media w***e. It is actually frightening to watch the levels her followers will go to to make her look like she's correct. What does that say about us? What does that say about our future? Look at Texas rewriting history in text books. They've removed Thomas Jefferson because he backed church-state separation! They've dropped references to slave trade! Laugh if you will, but as Joe Biden would say, "This is a big f*****g deal." People need to understand that based on sheer numbers, Texas and California purchase the largest amount of textbooks, so they get what they want. These revisionist text books will make their way to the northeast and to the west coast. What will our history look like in 50 years? The fact that our "history" teaching is up for grabs should scare people. People like Palin emphasize how dangerous this is. This is not a good thing, not good at all.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Wallace and Palin Sittin in a tree...

Sunday is always a great day for a game of softball! Thanks for pitching Chris. This morning on Faux Newz, Chris Wallace couldn't stop gushing about Palin's "Boffo" interview. Honestly, why doesn't he just ask Palin to (insert thought here) him get it over with? You know he wants to. There is no depth to this woman yet they keep building her up to be something she's not. And you also know that his father, Mike Wallace is rolling over in his grave watching what his son has become. Watch Chrissy allow the abominable snowbitch to double down on her stupidity.



In the midst of her supposedly non-campaign bus tour of America (where she trampled on Mitt Romney's presidential bid announcement in New Hampshire, driving through the western Massachusetts tornado to get there in time), Faux Newz Sunday host Chris Wallace let Sarah Palin continue to babble through the network, with an "exclusive" half-hour long interview. Not sure why Faux declares it as exclusive since she won't talk to any other network. However, Wallace wasn't content to promote Palin simply by handing her Sunday program, he began an all-day Palin-cheerleading session by declaring in the second half of his show that her performance was "boffo." He went on to add that she was "sharp on the issues" and that she has "a serious possibility to be president." If indeed he's correct and she has a serious chance of becoming president, be afraid, be very afraid.

After his show, Wallace appeared on Faux Newz and said that in that interview, "I think you see Sarah Palin the way people never quite have before. She talks in great depth and I think with a good deal of expertise about the economy, about the debt, about Paul Ryan's Medicare plan, about our involvement in Afghanistan." What the hell is he smoking? This woman couldn't make change at McDonald's with the cash register showing her the exact change due to the customer. The debt? Ask Alaskans about her expertise. Oh, and how she managed to slide materials for her new house into the budget of the new arena that was built. A taxpayer funded house! Ayn Rand Ryan's Medicare Plan? Ask those of us under 55 who were basically told, "go to hell." Not only have we paid into it our whole lives, if this draconian bill passes, we'll still get to pay into it without any benefit! Isn't Republicanism ****ing awesome?! Apparently Republicans are banking on the fact that many voters are over 55, and are hoping they don't care about their younger family members so they can pull this off. Oops. Afghanistan? Yes, I want words of wisdom on military intervention form a woman who thought North Korea was an ally.

Later Wallace again appeared on Faux Newz America's Newz HQ and told host Shannon Bream: "I have never seen her as impressive and specific on the issues as she was, whether it was the debt or the state of the economy or what the situation is on the ground in Afghanistan" Of course, Wallace's praise for his Faux Newz colleague, while creepy, isn't surprising. Faux is, after all, the friendliest place in the universe for her. But his assessment of her as a serious contender for president in 2012 only strengthens the case that Faux is an unethical network by continuing to employ her as a contributor. Not that ethics mean a whole heck of a lot to the television media wing of the Teapublican propaganda machine.



Still, let's be fair, Palin's interview was even more impressive than the time that Paul Revere rang the bells of Westminster Abbey to warn the British that the Minutemen were coming.

For more laughs, check the link below out:
Palin Fans Trying To Edit Wikipedia Paul Revere Page

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Idaho Woman Charged For "Unlawful Abortion"

This is what is beginning to happen as the far right evangelicals are being voted into positions of power...

Idaho Woman Charged For "Unlawful Abortion," Turned In By Anti-Choice Advocate

Unable to afford the doctors visits and medical bills associated with an actual medical abortion, Jennie L. McCormack of Idaho instead had her sister purchase drugs online to ingest in order to cause a miscarriage. McCormack, who is the mother of three, is now being charged with "unlawful abortion" according to the Associated Press. If McCormack is found guilty, she could be subject to a $5,000 penalty as well as up to five years in prison.

McCormack's case is a sign of the true desperation of women in this country. She said she believed she was only 14 weeks along, although the examination of the remains concluded it was more likely 20-25. She is already a mother of more than one child, one still a toddler. But financially she was cut off from any choice she wanted to make about how many people she wanted in her family, unable to procure an abortion she couldn't afford and now facing criminal penalties for taking the only option left to her. According to the report, McCormack was turned into the police by the sister of one of her friends, a woman who stated "There's other things she could have done. She could have asked for some type of help."

But it's obvious that the only "help" that was acceptable in this situation, according to the tipster, was to have the baby, and that the woman who contacted the police did it solely to punish McCormack. "I'm a grandmother myself. And the love and the compassion I have for my grandkids? They're my life. And I felt that if somebody didn't speak up for this baby, who would? It doesn't have a voice anymore," Carnahan said.

Idaho has recently passed a 20 week abortion ban, making any abortion after that point a criminal activity. How many more women will take it into their own hands to try and self-abort due to the lack of ability to obtain a doctor who can perform the procedure safely? And how many women are conservatives willing to throw a friend in jail for the crime of not wanting to add another mouth to feed to their families?

More here: Idaho Press Tribune

If anyone believes this will be an isolated case if the right wing fringe gets their way and outlaws abortion, they're mistaken. There are plenty of stories pre Roe v Wade to support the desperation women feel towards an unwanted pregnancy. For all you voters who think old white guys and far right religious zealots like Palin and Bachmann are good for American women, wake up and smell the coffee. This is America's future with ideologues in charge. If you don't believe your daughter or sister or girlfriend is smart enough to make a decision that is best for her, you're a symptom of the message that the evangelicals have been selling since the 70's. Democracy doesn't matter when you don't believe another should have the same rights as you if they do not think as you do.

Friday, June 3, 2011

As Keith Olbermann Would Say, This Woman...Is An Idiot

“He who warned uh, the British that they weren’t gonna be takin’ away our arms, uh by ringing those bells, and um, makin’ sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed.”



For those who wonder what was wrong with this idiotic statement, I first ask if your school taught history, and then wonder did you go to school. Paul Revere’s historic ride occurred in 1775, the constitutional convention did not even convene until 1787. And "ringing those bells" and "warning shots"...really? Where the hell did she get that? Nevermind, it's Palinese, who knows. On the evening of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere was sent for by Dr. Joseph Warren and instructed to ride to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them. Revere wasn’t ringing bells or firing shots into the air. He had to quietly deliver the message that the regulars were coming to arrest them. And he had the assistance of nearly 40 riders spreading the message of the movement of the British army, and preparing the patriots to fight.

The Real Story of Revere's Ride

As stupid as I think this woman is, and I really think she's stupid with a capital "S', what scares me even more are her followers. The dumber she is, the more they love her! Also, is it just me...and I doubt it is, her voice is in Edith Bunker territory to start with, but when she starts using voice influctions, don't you just want to stick screwdrivers through your ears? Seriously, when snowbilly grifter was talking about Paul Revere, all the dogs within 15 miles had their paws over their ears.

And a sidenote to Michele Bachmann who also spent some time in Concord, New Hampshire recently and proclaimed, "This is where the shots heard 'round the world were fired." Not so much. One of the reasons Paul Revere is famous today is also because of the battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. He played an important role as he helped to organize an intelligence and alarm system that was designed to keep watch over the British forces and warn Americans of threats so that they could be prepared.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Floodgates Are Wide Open For Anti-Abortion Republicans

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) talks with Rachel Maddow about the rabid escalation of the anti-abortion legislation and rhetoric as each republican candidate tries to out-extreme the next. I've written about this a lot because I think the stakes are extremely high for the next generation of young women. Once you've lost rights, you never get them back. And for some reason the far right fringe, lead by Evangelicals are wielding a lot of power at this time, even though they're not a majority in this country. The fright wingers gets upset when some of my like-minded bloggers call them the Christian Taliban, but they're really not far off. This particular group of Christians do not view women as equals and hate the fact that we've been given a voice, not just with bodily decisions, but with careers, education and votes. They want that to go away. Mark my words, if they win on the abortion issue, they will move on to the next anti-woman policy that they think they can win while lying about what's in the Bible.