Proud of Being Ignorant

Virginia Governor McDonnell was FOR slavery.....

McDonnell: Slavery Wasn’t ‘Significant’ Enough To Be Included In My Proclamation Honoring The Confederacy

BEFORE he was kinda/sorta against slavery.

Virginia... you still have a problem:

PostPartisan - McDonnell backpedals on Confederate History Month:

"Do you pine for the gallantry of the soldiers in grey, affix Confederate flags to your pickup’s antenna and delight in rebel yells at football games? Or do you regard the Confederate cause as a fundamentally racist and treasonous project whose defeat was a blessing? Take your pick: McDonnell’s got a proclamation for each constituency.."

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Rabidly proud of being dumbass. Hate is the only thing that rides shotgun with these folks:

Proud Of Being Ignorant - National - The Atlantic

The GOP is, effectively, the party of willfully unlettered Utopians. It is the party of choice for those who believe global warming is a hoax, that humans roamed the earth with dinosaurs, and that homosexuals should work harder at not being gay.

That the party of unadulterated quackery also believes that Birth Of A Nation is more true to the Civil War than Battle Cry Of Freedom, is to be expected. Ignorance does not respect boundaries. It is, at times, qualified and those who know more, often struggle to say more. But people who believe that the Census is actually a covert attempt to put Americans in concentration camps, are also likely to believe that slavery was incidental to the Civil War.

This is who they are--the proud and ignorant. If you believe that if we still had segregation we wouldn't "have had all these problems," this is the movement for you. If you believe that your president is a Muslim sleeper agent, this is the movement for you. If you honor a flag raised explicitly to destroy this country then this is the movement for you. If you flirt with secession, even now, then this movement is for you. If you are a "Real American" with no demonstrable interest in "Real America" then, by God, this movement of alchemists and creationists, of anti-science and hair tonic, is for you.

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And that willful ignorance yearns to be stoked into violence by the FAUX Propaganda Network:

Charles Alan Wilson Charged With Threatening Sen. Patty Muray's Life:

FBI arrests man for threatening Pelosi | Seattle Times Newspaper

Mom: Son who threatened Pelosi got radical ideas from Fox News | Raw Story:

'Greg frequently gets in with a group of people that have really radical ideas and that are not consistent with myself or the rest of the family, which gets him into problems,' the 83-year-old mother of the accused man, Eleanor Giusti, said. 'I say Fox News, or all of those that are really radical, and he, that's where he comes from.'"

Prosecutor: East TX Man Distributed Pipe Bombs Because Of Anger At Government | TPMMuckraker:

"An East Texas man who federal prosecutors allege left explosive devices including pipe bombs in multiple area mail boxes, was motivated in part by anger at the government,"

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These are the people you want managing your money? Really?

Junior Florida Republican Party staffer had $1.3 million charged to party credit card - St. Petersburg Times:

"She was a 25-year-old junior staffer when the Florida Republican Party gave her an American Express card.

Over the next 2� years, nearly $1.3 million in charges wound up on Melanie Phister's AmEx — $40,000 at a London hotel, and nearly $20,000 in plane tickets for indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom, his wife and kids, for starters. Statements show thousands spent on jewelry, sporting goods and in one case $15,000 for what's listed as a month-long stay at a posh Miami Beach hotel, but which the party says was a forfeited deposit."

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Think Progress � Tea Party Movement As Popular As Socialism

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I like this guy a lot. He's a badass.

Rodney Glassman: McCain (Or Hayworth) Gets First Serious Democratic Challenger:

"His time in D.C. was limited, as he went back to Arizona to get his PhD in Arid Land resources at the University of Arizona's college of agriculture. But he kept one foot in politics, holding on to his formal duties on the congressman's staff. As if that wasn't enough for his plate, Glassman than pursued a law degree at UofA, during which a spot on the Tucson City Council opened up. Persuaded to run for the post, he left Girjalva's office and announced his candidacy. That was 2006, his second year of law school.

The actual election took place in 2007 and his admission to the Arizona Bar took place in May 2008. Still, apparently, not internally satisfied, he decided to join the Air Force to become a JAG -- a challenge in its own right, but made even harder by the fact that officials told him he had to lose 60 pounds to qualify. He did it. In six months."

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Because that is exactly how the Republicans want it:

When Did the Senate Become Such a Lonely, Cynical Place? -- New York Magazine

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Yes, this was 100% a political prosecution. Will anyone be held accountable? Come on, now. This is 'Merica! We don't do 'accountability'.

Ethics Complaint Alleges New Politicized Probe Involving Siegelman Prosecutor | TPMMuckraker:

"A U.S. attorney in Alabama whose close ties to local Republicans were at the heart of previous high-profile charges of politicized justice is drawing scrutiny again. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department received a formal complaint alleging that an investigation being run in part by U.S. attorney Leura Canary was intended to influence the vote on an upcoming bill in the statehouse, and asking that Canary be removed from the probe because of her 'close political ties' to Governor Bob Riley.

This isn't the first time that Canary's ties to Riley and Alabama Republicans have generated controversy. Numerous observers have charged that the prosecution by Canary's office of former governor Don Siegelman, who in 2006 was convicted on corruption charges, was politically motivated. Canary's husband, Bill Canary, a top Alabama GOP political consultant and associate of Karl Rove, ran Riley's 2002 gubernatorial campaign against Siegelman, a Democrat."

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Really hope the FCC pulls the trigger here. These are 'We the people's airways and lines these asshole companies are using. We LET them use them.

FCC loses key ruling on Internet `neutrality':

The more likely scenario, Scott believes, is that the agency will simply reclassify broadband as a more heavily regulated telecommunications service. That, ironically, could be the worst-case outcome from the perspective of the phone and cable companies.

'Comcast swung an ax at the FCC to protest the BitTorrent order,' Scott said. 'And they sliced right through the FCC's arm and plunged the ax into their own back.'"

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Teabaggers still up in bare arms about this:

Forbidden Images: Movie Montage Of Censored Images From 1920s And 30s (VIDEO)

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I lived half a block from Louis' for 3 years and went probably once... because it was always so packed, you couldn't get in. Great views, though.

The Scavenger : Louis' diner ... close? Nooo!!!!

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Home-Run Obama

Excellent job by our President last night.

Speech didn't soar or get too lofty. Very practical and he took some folks to task who needed it.

I support the President (though not blindly or quietly) and I support the House Dems.

The entire Senate can suck it. Those fuckers are a real problem. We must get rid of the filibuster.

News Analysis - Obama Delivers Confident Speech to a Skeptical Audience - NYTimes.com:

"He pleaded for patience and understanding. “I campaigned on the promise of change; ‘change we can believe in,’ the slogan went,” he said toward the end of the address. “And right now, I know there are many Americans who aren’t sure if they still believe we can change — or that I can deliver it.

“But, remember this,” he went on. “I never suggested that change would be easy, or that I can do it alone. Democracy in a nation of 300 million people can be noisy and messy and complicated. And when you try to do big things and make big changes, it stirs passions and controversy. That’s just how it is.”"

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But, surprise, here's my problem.

I hope Obama's continued talk of Bipartisanship is only for show. He MUST realize that to forsake all progress in the name of bipartisanship is a horrible decision.

These people will, never, ever, ever, fucking work with you Obama.

Do whatever Kabuke you feel you need, but if it appears that this will be your actual governing strategy, I'll work my ass off to have someone primary you in 2012.

These people hate you. They hate that you are a black man. They do not see you as a legitimate president. There is no reason to legitimize them back.

Obama Emphasizes Bipartisanship: Dems And GOP Unite In Displeasure:

"And at the same time, his continued emphasis on bipartisanship worried Democrats, while failing to appease Republicans.

Some Democrats expressed concerns Wednesday night that he had failed to learn one of the key lessons from this first year in office: that efforts to find bipartisan consensus invariably lead to watered-down legislation that still doesn't get the GOP votes.

'It is fine if he wants to meet with Republicans once a week, but I hope he doesn't think those meetings will produce anything,' Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who worked on the losing side of the recent Massachusetts Senate race told the Huffington Post. 'I hope he understand that bipartisanship won't work and it won't produce the results he wants.

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What Jon Says.

Jon Stewart Warns Dems: Republicans Are "F**king With You!" (VIDEO):

"Shocked that the Dems would make such concessions, Stewart asked, 'Don't you get what the Republicans are doing? They're fucking with you.' He then compared the ploy to the 'Wonder Years' where Fred Savage's character would repeatedly attempt to get into a station wagon, only to have his brother Wayne drive off. Stewart warned that giving into Republican agendas would be fruitless: 'No matter what you do, the Republicans are not going to let you into the station wagon.'

Correspondent Aasif Mandvi joined Stewart, going as far to say that Democrats should abandon their unrealized agenda and revert to Bush-era policies. To top it off, he unveiled a new logo for the DNC: a lifeless possum. Explained Mandvi: 'It says, 'You can't hurt us anymore. Because we're already dead.''"

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He did stick to the assholes last night.

Obama Takes Crack At GOP For Not Applauding Tax Cuts (VIDEO):

"The Republican lawmakers in attendance sat on their hands while the president discussed policy provisions that, ostensibly, are very much in their philosophical wheelhouse. At one point, Obama turned to the GOP leadership with surprise: 'I thought I'd get some applause on that side,' he said.

So, apparently, did others. A Democratic strategist quite pleased with the chilly Republican reception emailed the Huffington Post the following: 'Footage of every Republican sitting when Obama talked about bank tax is going straight into every 2010 ad.'"

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What Kerry says. I've been saying it all along.

Best get outraged and louder than the teabaggers toot sweet.

One EVERY issue.

Think Progress � Kerry tells climate advocates to get as angry as Tea Partiers.:

"Kerry told the assembled crowd that if “the Tea Party folks can go out there and get angry because they think their taxes are too high,” then even more people “ought to get angry about the fact that they’re being killed and our planet is being injured” by fossil fuel pollution:"

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2nd place asshole of the night:

Chris Matthews on Obama: ‘I forgot he was black tonight for an hour’ | Raw Story

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Super-Duper Republican ASSHOLE of the century:

Alito Mouths 'NOT TRUE' At State Of The Union (VIDEO)

Daily Kos: Greenwald on Alito: "A Serious And Substantive Breach Of Protocol":

"By contrast, the behavior of Justice Alito at last night's State of the Union address -- visibly shaking his head and mouthing the words 'not true' when Obama warned of the dangers of the Court's Citizens United ruling -- was a serious and substantive breach of protocol that reflects very poorly on Alito and only further undermines the credibility of the Court. It has nothing to do with etiquette and everything to do with the Court's ability to adhere to its intended function,"

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Coal Mine Canaries

What Kos says... Always.

Daily Kos: Canaries in the coal mine

As you can see, our base is demoralized and tuned out, and plan on sitting out the 2010 elections at rates that will absolutely fuck us if they don't improve by November.

But again, African Americans, Latinos, and young voters aren't tuning out because we failed to build bipartisan concensus with Olympia Snowe. Making such claims is patently absurd. They're tuning out because we wasted 2009 "negotiating" with bad faith actors like Snowe and Mike Enzi. The tools were available to quickly pass a health care bill, yet Democrats were too incompetent to do so. And on issue after issue, they've proven completely ineffective.

THAT's why the base is sitting things out. They don't need blogs or MSNBC to tell them that Democrats can't govern. They already knew that Republicans don't want to govern, but the Democrats were supposed to be different. And they are, they want to govern, but they can't. And the voters that worked their asses off to give Democrats the White House and super majorities in Congress are now realizing that it was all for nothing. That all that talk about hope and change was cynical bullshit designed to motivate them. It worked once, but that crowd is learning the art of political cynicism, and it ain't pretty.

Cole may want to lash out at prominent progressives who have tried to prod our Democratic majorities in the right direction, and they certainly offer a tempting and easy target. But the reality is that voters demanded accomplishments, and on the big items, the Democrats have mostly failed. They weren't hired to tinker around the edges. They were hired to enact transformative "change". And while Cole and others like him might wish that progressives banded together to cheer along bullshit negotiations with Snowe and Enzi and repeated capitulations to an irrelevant minority and its corporatist allies in the Democratic Party, fact is, voters aren't that stupid. All the neocon cheerleading in the world didn't prevent Americans from realizing that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had been completely botched. Canned cheering for this health care bill wouldn't have saved it from similar sentiment.

Those prominent progressives have, in effect, been canaries in the coal mine -- warning of the disengagement and alienation among base voters we now see so clearly in the polling.

It would be absurd to blame those canaries for any deadly gas leaking into mine shafts.

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Why would any progressive with half a twig rattling around upstairs believe this for a second.

It would be the first 'Fight Back' we've seen.

Think Progress � White House Signals That It Will Fight Back Against GOP Abuse Of Filibuster

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Brutal. From the man who should, but won't replace Bernanke.

He Wasn’t The One We’ve Been Waiting For - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com:

"But I have to say, I’m pretty close to giving up on Mr. Obama, who seems determined to confirm every doubt I and others ever had about whether he was ready to fight for what his supporters believed in."

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We're in this shithole because of the likes of Ben Nelson. Just go switch parties already. Asshole.

Nobody should listen to him. Everybody will. It will be all the rage on the horseshit Sunday beltway villager circle jerk. Want to be misinformed? Watch Sunday 'news' programs.

Another Dem backs down: ‘Scale back’ our agenda | Raw Story:

"WASHINGTON -- Succumbing to the insecurities weighing on Democrats after losing Ted Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts, another key Democratic senator says it's time to take a step back and embark on a less ambitious agenda.

'I think the President Is going to have to scale back his agenda after we pass health care reform,' said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) in an interview with ABC News."

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Later, loser. One way to get rid of an ineffective majority leader. I won't shed a tear over this lost seat.

Daily Kos: NV-Sen: Reid is toast, Goodman would be competitive:

"Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/18-20. Likely voters. MoE 4% (8/31-9/2 results)

Harry Reid (D) 41 (40)
Danny Tarkanian (R) 52 (45)

Reid (D) 42 (41)
Sue Lowden (R) 51 (44)"

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We hate this guy more than the last guy and we recalled the last guy.

Field Poll: Governor's approval rating 27%:

"A majority of voters - 59 percent - also said that Schwarzenegger, who will be termed out at the end of this year, will leave the state in worse shape than when he won office in 2003, after Gov. Gray Davis was recalled."

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But they are fighting tooth and nail against the health reform. Bullshit.

No one could've ever predicted. Except we did.

Largest US health insurer’s profits rise 30 percent | Raw Story

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Some feel good. Camp Amped Band doing a Centro-Matic cover at the DBT/Nuci's benefit:

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Truly Awful People

Truly Awful People:

Daily Kos: Remember Bush's response to 2001 Shoe Bomber Attack?

Northwest Flight 253: al Qaeda Leaders Behind Terror Plot Were Released by U.S. - ABC News:

"Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Northwest bombing in a Monday statement that vowed more attacks on Americans.

American officials agreed to send the two terrorists from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia where they entered into an 'art therapy rehabilitation program' and were set free, according to U.S. and Saudi officials."

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Fuck Jim DeMint. Asshole.

Who's running the TSA? No one, thanks to Sen. Jim DeMint | McClatchy:

"The post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has held up President Barack Obama's nominee in opposition to the prospect of TSA workers joining a labor union."

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And while we clean up their shit pile, they attempt to rewrite history.

Bush inherited 9/11. OK.

Mary Matalin: Bush 'Inherited' 9/11 Attacks (VIDEO)

Talking Points Memo | Breaking News and Analysis:

"Interesting Similarities

Bush Administration: Brought down by full weight of failures of Bush admin policies.

Obama Administration: Brought down by full weight of failures of Bush admin policies."

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I can only afford (not really afford, but...) the fine for ignoring the mandate. No subsidies for me. Nice work, Dems.

Health Reform Subsidy Calculator -- Premium Assistance for Coverage in Exchanges/Gateways

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David Simon On Health Care Bill: "Only One Thing Can Make People This Stupid, And That's Money":

"But then the critics of a system like that immediately cry socialism.
And of course it's socialism. These ignorant motherfuckers. What do they think group insurance is, other than socialism? Just the idea of buying group insurance! If socialism is a taint that you cannot abide by, then, goddamn it, you shouldn't be in any group insurance policy. You should just go out and pay the fucking doctors because when you get 100,000 people together as part of anything, from a union to the AARP, and you say, 'Because we have this group actuarially, more of us are going to be healthier than not and therefore we'll be able to carry forward the idea of group insurance and everybody will have an affordable plan...' That's fuckin' socialism. That's nothing but socialism."

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The Rational Case For 'Kill The Bill':

"It's important though, to note, that the Howard Deans and Jane Hamshers of the world neither want LITERALLY want to destroy President Barack Obama's domestic agenda in a fit of ideological pique, nor do they want to consign millions of uninsured Americans to their deaths. In fact, they desire the opposite: more Americans safely insured, and more electoral success for Democrats -- the kind that comes when Democrats actually keep their promises. You want to talk about people who are, in fact, high on drugs? Let's talk about the Democratic strategists and their journalistic enablers who believe letting down the base is a good thing."

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Daily Kos: The left flank:

"But the larger point is that the health care debate NEEDED TO BE MOVED TO THE LEFT. And while there were way too many people who defended whatever was being done by the Obama administration, shouting down anyone who disagreed, a great service was being done by those who helped pull the discussion to the left, and even were able to make great strides in making certain things acceptable, included in the House bill, excluded from the Senate bill or countering the lies of the right."

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Excellent read with a great perspective.

Daily Kos: HCR Bill - a Frenchman's viewpoint:

"The present bill has many flaws; most of these flaws can be corrected by subsequent bills; but it has also, in my opinion, the following merits (I'll make it short - 4 items only):

1. It establishes healthcare as a universal right - and that means, also, a universal duty! Healthcare has a cost, and everybody must pay for it othewise it doesn't work. This means a complete change of perspective. Once people have accepted that, the landscape will be completely different.

I think this is the key point and even liberals find it hard to swallow. Many oppose mandates because they are pissed off by such and such flaw in the bill (notably the fact that their money will be going to private insurance). I understand that but if you believe in universal healthcare
you must accept that you will be forced to pay even when you're in good health and your money will be going to private interests, notably the pharma industry and you will be pissed off. This happens in all the countries which have good health care (at least, it happens in France) but we have health care and that is what matters foremost. It's up to us to try and fight the lobbies when necessary and to elect politicians who will protect health care against private interests. There is no miracle here."

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Health Reform Getting Better?

Markos makes my point far better (per norm) than I do.

Obama may very well be playing 11th dimension chess. But I can't count on that.

The squeaky wheel gets greased. It always does. So, Obama may be playing the base in order for us to become damn squeaky. Then again, he may not and he's just a massive failure at governance.

But, there is no final bill for HRC. Until there is, progressives need to continue to raise holy hell pushing the final product more to the left.

Those liberals who are appalled that we are taking on Obama and calling him out,need to move the fuck out of the way. They're causing far more harm than good. Learn to raise hell early and often or get the hell out of the way.

Never trust your president to do the right thing.

Daily Kos: Markos on Countdown: Don't stop fighting for change:

"Once we have a final bill, and things are set in stone, then we can re-examine that bill. But right now, things can still change. To stop fighting for that change, to me, is patently ridiculous.

Any positive change from here on out is going to be because we keep pushing from the left not because we say, 'Good enough. Let’s pass it.'"

Here's an article, hidden away, no mainstream coverage, but a smart maneuver. These little things make me think something is more afoot than meets the eye.

Obama seeks drug imports outside of health bill | Reuters

Also, some big wonky news coming from Sen. Sanders. There could be a back door, single payer plan in the works, but it is just the seed. Will take a while to flourish. But, still, movement in the right direction.

Daily Kos: This HCR Bill: 45,000,000 Get Single-Payer Vermont Health Care

Sanders Strengthens Senate Health Bill - Newsroom: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont):

"Sanders urges progressives to continue fighting for House provisions--including the $14 billion for community health centers, progressive taxation as opposed to taxing healthcare benefits, and a strong public option.

But can we get a better bill and still get 60 votes?

'Well, that remains to be seen,' Sanders says. 'What is being increasingly discussed all over the country is this is extremely undemocratic. You've got a strong majority in the House who want to do something, and all of that effort is nullified by one or two people in the Senate. Does that make sense to you? I don't think it's fair. So I think we want to take a look at how we deal with a dysfunctional situation like we've seen on the Senate healthcare bill, and you know, maybe some good will come out of that.'"

The real sausage is being made behind closed doors:

(12 Angy Men was the very first bit of acting I ever did. I think I was #11)

Late night, closed-door deals will shape final health bill - Yahoo! News:

"The internal dynamics of a conference can sometimes be reminiscent of Reginald Rose's '12 Angry Men,' a play about tension in a deadlocked jury, where stamina, personality, ego and sometimes stubbornness can play major roles, said former Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska .

'People like myself who have run for office before, we have 25 percent more capacity for self-delusion than most people,' said Kerrey, now the president of the New School in New York . 'In conference, it comes down to, 'If they get to know me, they'll support me.'

Fatigue could also become a factor, Kerrey said, particularly among Senate conferees. The House adjourned last week for a lengthy holiday break, but the Senate has worked almost nonstop since Thanksgiving and is poised to work up to Christmas Eve .

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So, I find a little positive in the health care fight. I'm swinging a bit back towards Obama knowing what he's doing. Then.... this:

War Room - Salon.com:

"The idea has 'become a source of ideological contention between the left,' Obama said, adding, 'I didn't campaign on the public option.'

The president's claim that he 'didn't campaign on the public option' is at best on shaky ground, factually speaking. It's unmistakably true that during the campaign his plan for reform included a public option."

That's a goddamn lie on par with "We didn't go to war with Iraq over WMDs".

We aren't stupid, Obama:

Think Progress � FLASHBACK: Obama Repeatedly Touted Public Option Before Refusing To Push For It In The Final Hours

And it continues......

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Theft and Libel

This 'climategate' nonsense irks me to the enth.

The last two paragraph nails what it is really about:

Eschaton:

"Barbara Boxer is right about this:

Leaked e-mails allegedly undermining climate change science should be treated as a criminal matter, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Wednesday afternoon.

Boxer, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said that the recently released e-mails, showing scientists allegedly overstating the case for climate change, should be treated as a crime.

This really is not even debatable. Data was stolen and then misrepresented in order to slander specific individuals, even to accuse them of criminal wrongdoing: this is what happened.

'ClimateGate' is about the contemptible methodology of powerful interests cheering on mass human suffering for narrow financial gain, full stop. It's about theft and libel. Period."

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Shocking.

Group promoting climate skepticism has extensive ties to Exxon-Mobil :

"A group promoting skepticism over widely-accredited climate change science has a web of connections to influential oil giant Exxon-Mobil, Raw Story has found."

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Earth could plunge into sudden ice age - LiveScience- msnbc.com:

"In the film, 'The Day After Tomorrow,' the world gets gripped in ice within the span of just a few weeks. Now research now suggests an eerily similar event might indeed have occurred in the past."

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And now a comment on Congress... because others write what I think so much better than I can.

Daily Kos: State of the Nation:

"The 'world's greatest deliberative body' is increasingly being laid bare for what it is--utterly dysfunctional because of the massive egos and personal foibles of narcissists like Joe Lieberman, who can hijack the most critical of issues for their own narrow, personal reasons."

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Yup

Former MO. House Speaker charged with felony assault:

"Longtime Republican politico allegedly punched, choked and had sex with woman when she blacked out after drinking glass of wine

Former MO. House Speaker charged with felony assaultFormer Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton was charged with second-degree assault Monday stemming from a woman's claim that he hit her in the face several times and choked her"

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I need to up my staring out the window time.

Cat Cams: What DO Cats Do Home Alone?:

"Fifty house cats were given collar cameras that took a photo every 15 minutes. The results put a digital dent in some human theories about catnapping.

Based on the photos, about 22 percent of the cats' time was spent looking out of windows, 12 percent was used to interact with other family pets and 8 percent was spent climbing on chairs or kitty condos. Just 6 percent of their hours were spent sleeping."

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But is it low calorie?

Alcohol Pill Can Get You Drunk Without Drinking, Researcher Says

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Living to be 100

Damn right. We definitely need some crazy ass LBJ channeling.

So far, I'm not impressed with 'Chicago style politics'. Kind of doughy and bloated like their pizza. (Otherwise, Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the U.S. Love that place).

John Conyers Tells Obama: 'Start Knocking Heads':

"'The president could take a few pages from Lyndon Johnson's book... and start knocking heads together,' said Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee."

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Granted, those past Dem Congresses didn't have to deal with the current bat-shit crazy Republicans we do, but still....

Harold Meyerson - Harold Meyerson on the Senate's sluggish pace - washingtonpost.com:

"While Republicans have become an immovable object, the Democrats have yet to find a way to become an irresistible force. They began the year with a president who had been elected by a substantial majority on a platform of urgent change, and with sizable majorities in both houses of Congress. They had been in this position twice before. The first time around, in 1933, Franklin Roosevelt and Congress had enacted the landmark legislation of the First Hundred Days -- depositor insurance, emergency relief, industrial stabilization, public employment (the Civilian Conservation Corps). The second time around, in 1965, Lyndon Johnson and Congress had created the Great Society, passing more than 80 bills, among them Medicare, the Voting Rights Act and federal aid to education, in six months."

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Excellent piece. California is hamstrung b/c of a bill passed by Reagan Repubs in the 70s which essentially eliminates majority rule in California. 1/3 of the Cali Senate can stop anything from happening in the state.

No similar law is in place on the Fed level. Dems are just allowing the same thing to happen.

Never once from 2001-2008 did you hear of 60 votes needed for any damn thing. 60 votes are only needed when Dems are in power.

Jeez.

Steven Pearlstein - Want real reform? Let's start with Congress.

So at the risk of sounding naive, I'd like to offer a novel idea for changing the legislative dynamic, restoring majority rule to the legislative process and keeping health reform alive: Debate it on the Senate floor.

That's right, forget about spending another six weeks searching for those elusive 60 votes to break a filibuster, going back and forth with weak-kneed centrists like Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu who can't seem to decide what they really want, or self-righteous egotists like Joe Lieberman, who thinks he can call all the shots. If they have suggestions for improving the bill, let them do it the old-fashioned way: propose an amendment on the floor and see if they can get 49 other senators to agree.

To get things started, it will be necessary to put Vice President Biden in his rightful constitutional place as presiding officer, where he should make clear he'll do whatever is necessary to restore majority rule to the Senate, even as he jealously protects the rights of the minority to blabber on as long as it wants and offer whatever amendments it thinks necessary. And if that means overturning some outmoded precedent laid down by some dead predecessor, so be it.

As a final step, Majority Leader Harry Reid will need to break out the cots and announce that he'll keep the Senate in session day and night until a bill is passed or defeated or Senators agree to give up and go home.

If nothing else, it will be a marvelous civics lesson for Americans who have probably forgotten, if they ever knew, what a real floor fight looks like. They might even be so captivated that they decide to join the battle and let their elected representatives know how they feel. And my hunch is that when it's all over, we'll wind up with a health-care reform bill that is not only better than one negotiated in the backrooms, but is a much better reflection of where the country is on the issue.

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God forbid if we use reconciliation. Why, there is absolutely no precedent for such a thing....

Sen. Sanders: If Lieberman filibusters health reform, force it through | Raw Story:

"While congressional Republicans tend to howl at even the threat of such a measure being used to pass legislation they are opposed to, the GOP used reconciliation against Democrats in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005,"

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It is ours to win or fuck up.

Op-Ed Columnist - Paranoia Strikes Deep - NYTimes.com:

"And if Tea Party Republicans do win big next year, what has already happened in California could happen at the national level. In California, the G.O.P. has essentially shrunk down to a rump party with no interest in actually governing — but that rump remains big enough to prevent anyone else from dealing with the state’s fiscal crisis. If this happens to America as a whole, as it all too easily could, the country could become effectively ungovernable in the midst of an ongoing economic disaster.

The point is that the takeover of the Republican Party by the irrational right is no laughing matter. Something unprecedented is happening here — and it’s very bad for America."

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Damn right! Money talks, bullshit walks.

Progressives Threaten To Cut Off Money For Dems Who Oppose Health Care:

With the finish line for health care reform in sight, progressive groups are taking an aggressive approach to make sure that Democrats in Congress vote with their party. They're threatening to stop giving them money.

In the past few weeks, several separate groups have announced they will withhold fundraising money and political support from any Democrats who either vote against the bill in the House or support a GOP filibuster of the bill in the Senate.

"A similar effort is being launched on the House side. On Tuesday, Markos Moulitsas, founder of the popular Daily Kos blog, urged readers to simply stop writing checks to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as an explicit message to those '18 most endangered' Democrats who voted against health care legislation.

'It's clear that if you don't want your money to go to bad Democrats, then it's impossible to donate to the party committees,' Moulitsas told the Huffington Post. 'Some of the most endangered Democrats in 2010 are also some of the worst. If you want to contribute to the good ones, it's best to target your money directly to them.'"

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The portion of this diary excerpted below is righteously indignant, but the rest of the diary is brutal, albeit kinda inspiring too.

Talk about your Dirt Underneath.

Indeed. Fuck Y'all.

Daily Kos: I'm scared. �And I'm really f@cking angry.:

"Are you gonna sit there and tell me Mr. Gasbag/Mr. Congressman that that little clump of cells is a sacred treasure which must be saved at all costs and then turn around and say that providing healthcare for that clump of cells once the cord is cut is fiscally irresponsible and that the little bastard is now on its own?

Are you really gonna sit there and tell me Mr. Gasbag/Mr. Congressman that driving people into poverty so deep that they don't even have a shitty car to live in while Wall Street thieves, military contractors and environmental rapists grow ever more porcine and gluttonous is GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY and then turn around and LECTURE people driven mad with despair about bootstraps while hucking the occasional chunk of expired government cheese at them?

Are you gonna sit there and tell me Mr. Gasbag/Mr. Congressman that my gay friend's desires to have a legal joining that affords them the rights that the most basic common decency prescribes is somehow a THREAT to the kind of 'TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE' that my granddaughter witnessed last night?

Because if that's where we are at this point in the conversation, then I just have one thing to say to you, Mr. Gasbag/Mr. Congressman.

FUCK YOU."

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And the over/under for Dobbs on FAUX announcement is 7 days.

Lou Dobbs announces abrupt departure from CNN | Raw Story

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Hurry up with the life extenders, science. We godless bastards have placed our bets on y'all. And no more of the Ted Williams head freezing bs, either.

One Key Found for Living to 100 - Yahoo! News:

"Scientists have zeroed in on one apparent key to long life: an inherited cellular repair mechanism that thwarts aging and perhaps helps prevent disease. Researches say the finding could lead to anti-aging drugs."

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Assholes

Sign it. Send it. Fight these Republican douchebags tooth and nail.

Organizing for America | BarackObama.com | Tell Congress to Support President Obama's Plan for Health Reform

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Fucking assholes whose only purpose is to shit the pool and stuff their pockets.

Dana Milbank - Washington Sketch: Republicans Behaving Badly at Obama Speech - washingtonpost.com: '

"The national debate, already raw for years, had coarsened over the summer as town hall meetings across the country dissolved into protests about 'death panels' and granny-killing. Guns were brought to Obama appearances. A pastor in Arizona said he was praying for Obama to die.

But even by that standard, there was something appalling about the display on the House floor for what was supposed to be a sacred ritual of American democracy: the nation watching while Cabinet members, lawmakers from both chambers and the diplomatic corps assembled."

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This is how we do it.

Opponent of ‘You Lie’ Rep. raises $96,000 overnight:

"The opponent of GOP Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who yelled 'You lie!' at President Barack Obama during his speech to Congress on healthcare, has raised more than $96,000 from online donors since Wednesday evening.

ActBlue, a liberal advocacy group, posted an appeal for Wilson opponent Rob Miller, a Democrat. Within hours, online donors flooded the site, leaving the Republican's Democratic opponent flush with new campaign cash overnight.

A spokesman for ActBlue tells RAW STORY that Miller has raised 'north of $96,000' since Wilson's outburst Wednesday."

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Nice.

Recorded sex comments cost Calif. lawmaker his job - Yahoo! News:

"The Orange County Republican is now a YouTube hit after KCAL-TV aired his racy comments about sexual conquests that were caught by an open microphone in a Capitol hearing room. Several media outlets said the comments referred to Duvall's affairs with a female lobbyist and another woman. He resigned Wednesday."

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A'merika. Fuck Yeah!

Free market, bitches.

Walmart's Project Impact: A Move to Crush Competition - Yahoo! News:

"Thus, the company is in the beginning stages of a massive store and strategy remodeling effort, which it has dubbed Project Impact. One goal of Project Impact is cleaner, less cluttered stores that will improve the shopping experience. Another is friendlier customer service. A third: home in on categories where the competition can be killed. 'They've got Kmart ready to take a standing eight-count next year,' says retail consultant Burt Flickinger III, managing director for Strategic Resources Group and a veteran Walmart watcher. 'Same with Rite Aid. They've knocked out four of the top five toy retailers, and are now going after the last one standing, Toys 'R' Us. Project Impact will be the catalyst to wipe out a second round of national and regional retailers.' (See 10 things to buy during the recession.)

Though that's bad news for many smaller businesses that can't compete, Walmart investors have clamored for this push. Despite the company's consistently strong financial performance, Wall Street hasn't cheered Walmart's growth rates. During the 1990s, the company's stock price jumped 1,173%. In this decade, it's down around 24% (Walmart's stock closed at $51.74 per share on Sept. 3). 'Walmart is under excruciating pressure from employees and frustrated institutional investors to get the stock up,' says Flickinger."

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But They Can't Take our Free Markets!

A to the men, Bernie. Now, if you can just get all of these fake-ass Democrats to sign on.

This is the route, though.

Republicans in charge = 51 votes. Democrats in charge = 60 votes?

I'm gonna blame the gays on this one too.

I said it's hard out here for a (D)imp.

Congress Matters :::

"'I think that with Al Franken coming on board, you have effectively 60 Democrats in the caucus, 58 and two Independents,' Sanders said in an interview with the Huffington Post. 'I think the strategy should be to say, it doesn't take 60 votes to pass a piece of legislation. It takes 60 votes to stop a filibuster. I think the strategy should be that every Democrat, no matter whether or not they ultimately end up voting for the final bill, is to say we are going to vote together to stop a Republican filibuster. And if somebody who votes for that ends up saying, 'I'm not gonna vote for this bill, it's too radical, blah, blah, blah, that's fine.''

'I think the idea of going to conservative Republicans, who are essentially representing the insurance companies and the drug companies, and watering down this bill substantially, rather than demanding we get 60 votes to stop the filibuster, I think that is a very wrong political strategy,' Sanders added."

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Freeeeee Maaaaarkets! Oh, wait...

Health-Care Market Characterized By Consolidation, Not Competition | TPMMuckraker:

"The problem is most acute in small rural states, according to the report. In Shelby's own state of Alabama, the biggest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, controls 83 percent of the statewide market. There, and in nine other states -- Hawaii, Rhode Island, Alaska, Vermont, Maine, Montana, Wyoming, Arkansas and Iowa -- the two largest health insurers control at least 80 percent of the market. So much for Shelby's 'marketplace for health care.'"

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And you wanna know why it's important to have the public option active on day one...

They didn't make the new credit card/consumer laws active on day one, and now looky-looky:

Citi raises rates on millions of credit cards: report | Reuters

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My beans crawled into my tummy a bit when seeing this.

I went up to the top of the Sears Towers a few months after 9/11. Scary. No 'up high' fan am I.

Sears Tower unveils 103rd floor glass balconies - Yahoo! News:

"CHICAGO – Visitors to the Sears Tower's new glass balconies all seem to agree: The first step is the hardest.

The balconies are suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out four feet from the building's 103rd floor Skydeck. Their transparent walls, floor and ceiling leave visitors with the impression they're floating over the city.

'It's like walking on ice,' said Margaret Kemp, of Bishop, Calif., who said her heart was still pounding even after stepping away from the balcony. 'That first step you take — 'am I going down?''"

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Angela's Asses

It became 'anti-American' because the Republicans said so. Simple, see.

Ex-CIA agent: When did questioning the CIA become anti-American?

Since Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi suggested that the CIA misled her in 2002 concerning its use of waterboarding, the Republican Party has been attempting to paint her claims as outrageous.

Former CIA special agent and radio host Jack Rice finds the Republicans’ outrage unconvincing. He told MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann on Tuesday, “What’s extraordinary here is the idea that if you would ever question the CIA, now all of a sudden somehow it’s anti-American.”

“What’s extraordinary to me is that I’ve seen the Republicans do this over and over,” Rice explained. “They will wrap something in the flag … and they will put a little lapel pin on it that says ‘national security.’ And if you ask a question about it, somehow you’re anti-American. And that’s what they’ve been trying to do to Nancy Pelosi for about six years.”

Rice has no illusions about the CIA’s vulnerability to pressure during the Bush administration. “Anybody who believes that an administration can’t push the Agency to do something is really missing the point,” he told Olbermann. “The fact that they can push the Agency and say, ‘This is what I’m looking for’ … will drive them to do certain things that may or may not be true — and that’s a big part of the problem that we’re facing right now.”

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Amen to that.

Top Powell aide says Congress is most ’spineless’ he’s seen in 65 years

The former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell — who of late has been supportive of more liberal positions — launched a stunning broadside against the Democratic-controlled Congress Wednesday, asserting that it’s been “spineless” when it comes to oversight and the most feckless he’s seen in 65 years.

Former Powell aide Col. Lawrence Wilkerson said he agrees with Democrats who say the CIA isn’t known for telling the truth. But he also launched a salvo at Congress for its alleged failure to investigate abuses of power.

“We could have less feckless leadership in the Congress in terms of oversight,” Wilkerson said. “And I’m not just talking about the Select Committees in the House and the Senate for Intelligence. I’m talking about the leadership in the Congress.

“This has been the most feckless Congress ever since 2000 that I’ve seen in my 65 years,” Wilkerson added. “I just don’t think there’s leadership over there. It’s spineless, it lacks courage, lacks political will.

He continued: “I shudder for the fact that we’ve got to face these economic and financial challenges we’ve got to face — Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea and other things — and we don’t have a Congress that has any leadership.”

Wilkerson also told CNN’s Kiran Chetry that the CIA regularly didn’t tell the whole truth in briefings. “The leadership of the CIA does not have a stellar record about telling the full and unequivocal truth about its covert operations,” he said.

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JTC!

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I'm a big fan of McCourt's books. Frank's brother Michael is a legendary bartender in San Francisco.

My trivia night team at the Bitter End in SF was named 'Angela's Asses'. Ah, good times.

Get well, Frank.

'Angela's Ashes' author Frank McCourt has melanoma:

"A publicist for Frank McCourt confirms the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'Angela's Ashes' has cancer.

Scribner spokesman Brian Belfiglio (bel-FIG'-lee-oh) says the 78-year-old writer is being treated for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer."

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Good stuff.

Rules for Time Travelers | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine

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Prep Time

The next few days are gonna be a crazy couple of days to be blogging because.... The DBT shall be rocking the SF tomorrow!

Lot's of prep going on so this week's posts will be short and sweet til Monday.

Here's the Anaheim thread already started on Ninebullets.org.

NineBullets.org - a DBT fansite :: View topic - Anaheim

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No, we can't!

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Here, here, Matt Tiabbi!

The Chicken Doves : Rolling Stone:

"Quietly, while Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been inspiring Democrats everywhere with their rolling bitchfest, congressional superduo Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have completed one of the most awesome political collapses since Neville Chamberlain. At long last, the Democratic leaders of Congress have publicly surrendered on the Iraq War, just one year after being swept into power with a firm mandate to end it.

Solidifying his reputation as one of the biggest pussies in U.S. political history, Reid explained his decision to refocus his party's energies on topics other than ending the war by saying he just couldn't fit Iraq into his busy schedule. 'We have the presidential election,' Reid said recently. 'Our time is really squeezed.'"

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Cool Poop

Well, isn't that convenient. I'm SO glad that Pelosi and Reid took impeachment off the table. I mean, we really dodge an impeachment bullet there. Thank god there's not a ball or lady ball between those two or we might have actually had some accountability this past year. Whew, glad that bothersome Constitution still remains shredded.

Oh, and Bush 'killing' something with 'Freedom' in its name. How redundant.

Bush 'kills' Freedom of Information Act compliance officer:

"Buried on page A17 of Wednesday's Washington Post is a bit of a non-surprise: President George W. Bush has effectively killed a position monitoring compliance with government efforts to release documents.

Late last year, Washington watchdogs won over a reluctant President Bush, who agreed to sign a law enforcing better compliance with the Freedom of Information Act."

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You mean a minority party can BLOCK bills?!? Really? You mean the Dems could of blocked the war resolution? The bankruptcy/credit card bill? The Terri Shaivo debacle?

Wow. Who knew.

Republicans block stimulus bill :

"WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans blocked a move by Democrats on Wednesday to add more than $40 billion in checks for the elderly, disabled veterans and the unemployed to a bill to stimulate the economy.

The 58-41 vote fell just short of the 60 required to break a GOP filibuster and bring the Senate version of the stimulus bill closer to a final vote. The Senate measure was backed by Democrats and a handful of Republicans but was strongly opposed by GOP leaders and President Bush, who objected to the costly add-ons."

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Warning. This next bit is not for the faint of heart. Its an important topic, though, and one I feel must be discussed here on AAW.

Soon, I will begin a cleansing/diet/exercise regime unlike anything I've attempted in the past (this will be AFTER the DBT show, of course).

I'm talking a top to bottom overhaul. And when I say 'bottom' I ain't kidding. I'm going the Colonblow route.

I shan't get into may details here. If you want to read about this product and experience then I've supplied the links below. The website is hilarious (check out the testimonials).

In short, there are two ways to clean the colon. One involves sticking something up the place where everything comes out. Not an attractive choice for me.

The other is to start at the top and work your way to the 'bottom'. This is the option I've chosen.

I give you:

Colonblow - natural, aggressive, humorous colon cleanse

Now, if you're REALLY interested in seeing how this works you can click on the link below. WARNING: This post contains a series of pics to demonstrate the effectiveness of this product. You've been warned.

What A F*cking Shame!!!: KJ's EXPERIENCE WITH COLONBLOW

After I've tried it all let you know how it all comes out.

Grow up, people! We're talking colon health, for jeebuseses sake!

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We the 'freakin' People.....

We have to impeach.....

Wexler Calls For Cheney's Impeachment:

"(The Politico) Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) is urging the House Judiciary Committee to begin impeachment hearings against Vice President Dick Cheney, despite opposition from House Democratic leaders.

Wexler, who first gained national attention for defending former President Bill Clinton during his impeachment in 1998, said Cheney has to be ousted in order to restore the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches, which in his view, has been eroded by an ever-expanding claim of authority under Cheney and President Bush.

'There's a litany of issues that need to be heard,' Wexler said. 'This administration has abused the power of executive privilege. This administration has completely avoided testifying before Congress on any one of a host of six, seven, eight issues."

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..... Because of shite like this....

White House reused e-mail tapes:

"WASHINGTON - The White House has acknowledged recycling its backup computer tapes of e-mail before October 2003, raising the possibility that many electronic messages — including those pertaining to the CIA leak case — have been taped over and are gone forever.

The disclosure came minutes before midnight Tuesday under a court-ordered deadline that forced the White House to reveal information it has previously refused to provide."

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...... and if we don't, it opens the door for this to happen:

Huckabee: Amend Constitution to be in 'God's standards':

"The United States Constitution never uses the word 'God' or makes mention of any religion, drawing its sole authority from 'We the People.' However, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee thinks it's time to put an end to that.

'I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution,' Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday. 'But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view.'

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Huckabee as president or an anal probe..... Huckabee or anal probe.... tough decision.

The Raw Story | Witnesses claim F-16s chased flying saucer across Texas skies:

"Dozens of eyewitnesses have reported seeing a mile-long UFO being pursued by fighter jets last week in the small town of Stephenville, Texas. 'It was very intense bright lights ... and they spanned a wide area,' said one woman."

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We're # 12!

Travel day today. Here's to hoping that the skies are friendly today.

Slobberbone fan Stephen King keepin' it real:

Q&A: Talking with Stephen King - TIME:

"I mean, I know people who can tell you who won the last four seasons on American Idol and they don't know who their f------ Representatives are."

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Riiiiiiight. OK.

Rove: "Congress Pushed Bush to War in Iraq Prematurely"

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One Meal-ee-on Dollars.

This guy is a Super Genius.

Ga. man tries to deposit fake $1M bill:

"AIKEN, S.C. - A bank teller in Clearwater had a million reasons not to open an account for an Augusta, Ga., man Monday, authorities said. Alexander D. Smith, 31, was charged with disorderly conduct and two counts of forgery after he walked into the bank and tried to open an account by depositing a fake $1 million bill, said Aiken County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Michael Frank."

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We're # 12! We're #12! We're #12!

Iceland best place to live, Africa worst: U.N.

"BRASILIA (Reuters) - Iceland has overtaken Norway as the world's most desirable country to live in, according to an annual U.N. table published on Tuesday that again puts AIDS-afflicted sub-Saharan African states at the bottom.

Rich free-market countries dominate the top places, with Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada and Ireland the first five but the United States slipping to 12th place from eighth last year in the U.N. Human Development Index."

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Flying Monkey Love

Take Action: Tell Congress to Dump Rush

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More Republican douchebaggery.

Can't they even do a little background work before they start lying? What's the point if you're lying, right?

Daily Kos: ME-Sen: Ooops

GOP press release this morning:

October 2, 2007

"Congressman Tom Allen missed each of the three votes the House of Representatives held yesterday, bringing his missed votes total to 132. He also missed three days of votes for a fundraising [sic] trip to California two weeks ago. Over the last three weeks the House has only held votes on ten days -- Congressman Allen has missed four of those days completely, for a total of 22 votes.

"Maine Republican Party Chairman Mark Ellis said, "Congressman Allen really seems to have lost interest in showing up to work. At the very least, he should tell his constituents why he is choosing to leave them unrepresented in Congress less than a year after he was reelected. For these and the many other days that Tom has skipped votes, Mainers deserve to know the answer to the question: Where was Tom?"

Yeah, where was he? The Maine GOP actually tells us in a subsequent press release:

"October 2, 2007

"It has come to our attention that Congressman Tom Allen was in Bangor on Monday attending the funeral of a family member. Without question, the most difficult times in our lives are those in which we grieve the loss of family or friends. Our thoughts are with Congressman Allen and his family during this difficult time," said Maine Republican Party Chairman Mark Ellis."

Nice crocodile tears. And for the record, Allen's voting record is a stellar 98 percent.

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Republicans are in the process of creating a bill that would ban monkey/pigeon unions.

The abandoned monkey who has found love with a pigeon:

"They're an odd couple in every sense but a monkey and a pigeon have become inseparable at an animal sanctuary in China. The 12-week-old macaque - who was abandoned by his mother - was close to death when it was rescued on Neilingding Island, in Goangdong Province. After being taken to an animal hospital his health began to improve but he seemed spiritless - until he developed a friendship with a white pigeon."

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Can I get a frickin' amen!

The fall of the Godmongers / Praise Jesus, it's the collapse of evangelical Christian rule in America. Rejoice!:

Do you know this clenched and panicky group? Of course you do. They're the throngs of megachurch lemmings Karl Rove masterfully manipulated and rallied and whored to Bush's very narrow advantage in two elections."
.......
"And why? Because the fundamentalist mind-set is not so much a firm and rational set of beliefs based on thoughtful interpretation of strict Biblical screed as it is, well, a paranoid wallowing in fear. Fear of the Other, fear of change, of progress, of the new and different and young and the sexual and the truly spiritual. And as we all know from almost seven years of Bush, fear knows no reason. It knows no stability. Fear is simply insatiable, voracious, and about as un-Godlike as Jesus with a machine gun."

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Bullet Headache

Following up on yesterday's post re: the modern day Alabama lynching:

Looks like sweet home Alabama was a real world evil laboratory for Rove. He tested of few of his nastier tricks in Alabama, pre-W's reign of terror on the entire country.

Most specifically, it looks as though he worked on perverting an already shaky legal system in the state.

TPMmuckraker:

"Ex-Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL) is again questioning the motives and impartiality of the prosecutors who want to put him away for 30 years. And the prosecutors keep giving him good reason to."

A newbieish Alabama blogger, Legal Schnauzer seems to be all over this story:

Legal Schnauzer:

"Reporters are focusing on the case because it is the latest example of corruption in the U.S. Justice Department, a scandal that began with the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys earlier this year. A growing body of evidence suggests that the Siegelman/Scrushy prosecution was politically motivated and driven by Alabama Republican operative Bill Canary, with assistance from White House political strategist Karl Rove. The Alabama case presents the strongest evidence to date that the politicization of the U.S. Justice Department has direct links to the White House.

The Los Angeles Times reports that even prominent Republicans, such as former Arizona attorney general Grant Woods, smell something fishy going on in Alabama."

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Again, if you vote for people who don't believe in government and want to shrink it to an appropriate bathtub drownable size, then this is what you get.

They feel no shame, no obligation to their fellow men and women, no sense of honor, no sense of honesty.

Fuckers.

Think Progress - New Post-Katrina Investigations Reveal More Federal Waste And Incompetence

EPA allowed toxic chemicals to harm poor Katrina victims:

FEMA guaranteed billions in profits for big companies:

FEMA guaranteed billions in profits for big companies:

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Another follow up on yesterday's post re: obstructionist Republicans.

Why the fuck aren't the Democrats screaming bloody 'up or down vote' just like the Republicans did? Why aren't we threatening the nuclear option.

Democrats, quit playing a game that your opponents aren't playing. They've defined the game over the past six years. You can't just ignore it. You have to play their game and whip their ass at it THEN you can change the rules to your game.

Take off the fucking gloves.

Think Progress - Senate Conservatives Aggressively Obstructing Critical Legislation:

"Senate conservatives in the 110th Congress are obstructing and blocking legislation at a rate more than double that of the past two Congresses combined.
.....

The legislation being blocked by right-wing senators has broad public support:

– Conservatives blocked debate on raising the minimum wage (54-43, Roll Call Vote #23)
– Conservatives blocked debate ethics reforms (Rejected 51-46, Roll Call Vote #16)
– Conservatives blocked debate on funding for renewable energy (Rejected 57-36, Roll Call Vote #223)
– Conservatives blocked a vote on funding for the intelligence community (Rejected 41-40, Roll Call Vote #130)
– Conservatives delayed legislation fulfilling the 9/11 Commission recommendations (Passed 97-0, Roll Call Vote #53)

Believe your eyes, then....

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A ray of hope... though it don't mean shit until it translates into votes.... I take that back, it does mean shit b/c these young'uns are attaching themselves to liberal/progressive ideas which are the best ideas at fostering a peaceful, responsible, educated, loving, lucrative future for this dirt ball we're stuck to.

MyDD :: Direct Democracy for People-Powered Politics:

I've been trying to track the transformational potential of the Bush presidency -- how the tenure of George W. Bush could change the electorate for decades to come to become significantly more Democratic -- for some time. Back before the election, for instance, I pointed to the argument that once political and partisan leanings are enshrined in young voters, as they appeared to be doing last fall, they tend stay with that cohort for as long as that cohort stays in the electorate.

Exit polling from last November's elections indicated that younger voters -- those age 18 to 29 -- were more likely than any other age group to vote for Democrats, backing Democratic House candidates over GOP candidates by a whopping 60 percent to 38 percent margin (up from 55 percent to 44 percent in the 2004 House elections). Subsequent polling undertaken by Pew back in January also indicated a decidedly Democratic and progressive lean to the group they labeled as 'generation next.' And now a new survey (.pdf) commissioned by The New York Times, CBS News and MTV finds that younger voters look a lot more Democratic and progressive than the electorate as a whole."

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god, I hate those liberal Hollywood jerks, using their time and money to prevent genocide. I mean, what kind of jackasses are these people?

Clooney's dreamy. I mean, he's no Fred Thompson with the smell and all, but....

Clooney: Cast raises millions for Darfur:

"UNITED NATIONS - 'Ocean's Thirteen' stars have donated $5.5 million to humanitarian efforts in Sudan's Darfur region, according to actor George Clooney.

Clooney told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Rome that he was joined by Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and producer Jerry Weintraub in raising $9.3 million for Darfur, most of which was contributed at a dinner during the film's premiere last month at the Cannes Film Festival.

Clooney said more than half the money has already been donated to various charities dealing with Darfur. He said his group wants to keep emptying and replenishing the coffers of the humanitarian organization they co-founded, called Not On Our Watch, to focus global attention on the plight of the 2.5 million civilians in Darfur who have fled their homes."

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Oh, what a true champ Kobayashi is turning out to be. He's going to play through the pain, maybe.

Hot-Dog Champ Is Coming to Brooklyn, Manager Insists:

"Takeru Kobayashi’s debilitating jaw pain has generated widespread speculation in the world of competitive eating that he might not be able to take part in the Nathan’s Famous July 4 International Hot-Dog Eating Contest next week — a competition he has won every year since 2001.

But The Times’s Tokyo bureau, which interviewed Mr. Kobayashi’s manager today, tells City Room that Mr. Kobayashi got treatment for his jaw problems today and intends to catch a flight to the United States on Thursday. The manager said that Mr. Kobayashi intends to take part in the Nathan’s contest on July 4 and in a Pizza Hut “Dare You to Still be Hungry” eating contest on July 10."

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Man, how drunk do you have to be to not know you've been shot in the head until the next morning.

It's great.... she took him to the hospital and only ran after then found the bullet. Did she think they wouldn't find it?

Florida man's headache mystery solved by a bullet:

"MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida man awoke with a severe headache and asked his wife to drive him to a hospital, where doctors found a bullet lodged behind his right ear, sheriff's deputies said.

'The nurse looked at him and said, 'It appears that you've been shot,'' the Fort Pierce Tribune quoted St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara as saying. 'And he said, 'No way.''

The wife, April Moylan, fled the emergency room when the bullet was discovered but later told deputies she had accidentally shot her husband as he slept early on Tuesday. She was jailed on a weapons violation charge while deputies pursued additional charges"

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Jaw Breaker

I want to say this is unbelievable... but I know that it is not.

Where there's smoke (coming from your house that was set a flame because you dare speak truth to Rove) there's fire.

Rovian Justice in the Banana Republic of Alabama:

"Wow. Go read this if you want to learn just how Rove wants to use the legal system to settle political scores. Of course, I’ve always felt that Alabama was really a third world banana republic run by the sort of folks who belong in John Grisham novels — but I digress.

And, apparently, it all would’ve worked perfectly but Dana Simpson, a Republican, had to open her mouth and blow the whistle. So now the Rovian mafioso-like intimidation begins:

The response to Simpson’s affidavit has been a series of brusque dismissive statements – all of them unsworn – from others who figured in the discussion and the federal prosecutor in the Siegelman case, who has now made a series of demonstrably false statements concerning the matter. She’s been smeared as “crazy” and as a “disgruntled contract bidder.” And something nastier: after her intention to speak became known, Simpson’s house was burned to the ground, and her car was driven off the road and totaled. Clearly, there are some very powerful people in Alabama who feel threatened. Her case starts to sound like a chapter out of John Grisham’s book The Pelican Brief.

Um, national media? National media where are you? This sounds like something you might want to look into — perhaps? Maybe?"

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People are pretty put off by Congress these days and for good reason. Democrats are working hard if not entirely smartly. Lord knows we still have to weed out a lot of fake Democrats and Liebercrats from our party to have a true progressive movement while at the same time battle the fucking evil that is the Republican party.

Remember when the Dems where in the minority and the Republicans kept threatening to use the 'nuclear option' which would have stripped the minority of most of their ability to participate in the government? Remember the constant threats that all bills and appointments deserved an up or down vote whenever the Dems considered a filibuster? Remember?

Well, these Republican fucks are using the filibuster daily now to prevent all kinds of progressive, smart, helpful bills from even coming to a vote.

These hypocritical bastards know how to do one thing and that's obstruct.

Screw the workers.

Senate Republicans block labor bil:

"WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked a bill that would allow labor unions to organize workplaces without a secret ballot election.

Democrats were unable to get the 60 votes needed to force consideration of the Employee Free Choice Act, ending organized labor's chance to win its top legislative priority from Congress."

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And remember all the carrying on about 'liberal activists judges' (who exists only in the Republican mind along with a liberal media and unicorns). That was a smoke screen for the REAL Neocon, activist judges being shoved down our throats. And because the Dems were too cowered to filibusters a lot of these fucks, we are now reaping the demon seed that was sown.

Both of these decisions are so outrageous and contrary to the founding principles of this country that I just want to break shit.

Court bars suit against faith-based plan

Court: Protecting trade secrets takes priority over election transparency:

"A Florida appeals court has upheld a lower court decision that denies requests for an independent source code audit of voting machines used by Florida's 13th district, which suffered election irregularities in a highly controversial congressional race. The appeals court has chosen to support a lower court decision which asserts that forcing voting machine maker Election Systems and Software (ES&S) to provide source code access to independent security auditors would amount to 'gutting the protections afforded those who own trade secrets.'"

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It's nice how we get to find out how terrible our government really is only after 20-30 years have passed. Kinda puts us in a perpetual state of suckiness, doesn't it. Can't ever learn from the fuck ups because by the time we learn about them it is too late.

Though, some of these scandals seem quaint to what Cheney/Rove/Rumsfield have put on the table.

CIA releases papers that set off scandal:

"WASHINGTON - The CIA released hundreds of pages of internal reports Tuesday on assassination plots, secret drug testing and spying on Americans that triggered a scandal in the mid-1970s.

The documents detail assassination plots against foreign leaders like Fidel Castro, the testing of mind- and behavior-altering drugs like LSD on unwitting citizens, wiretapping of U.S. journalists, spying on civil rights and anti-Vietnam war protesters, opening mail between the United States and the Soviet Union and China, break-ins at the homes of ex-CIA employees and others."

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I'm taken by eating contest for some reason. I think, probably, because its something that I physically just can't do. As someone who has shitty pipes and who constantly battles indigestion and heart-burn, I'm enamored by these folks who can shove massive amounts of food down their throats in short periods of time.

The competitive eating world suffered a huge blow recently when champion Kobayashi blew out his jaw.... no shit.

Japan's all-star speed eater suffers professional injury:

"A Japanese man who set a world record by wolfing down dozens of hot dogs within minutes has suffered a severe jaw injury due to his rigorous training, making his next title uncertain.

Takeru 'Tsunami' Kobayashi said he can only open his mouth to make a gap the size of a fingertip after being diagnosed with jaw arthritis.

In an entry on his blog entitled 'Occupational hazard,' Kobayashi said: 'My jaw refused to fight any more.'

The injury occurred only a week after the slender 29-year-old started training to win his seventh straight title at the annual July 4 Nathan's Famous hot dog eating event on New York's Coney Island.

'I feel ashamed that I couldn't notice the alarm bells set off by my own body,' he said. 'But with the goal to win another title with a new record, I couldn't stop my training so close to the competition."

I was really looking forward to whatching Joey Chestnut and Kobayashi battle it out this forth of July at the Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest.

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But, I do have a local kid whose not doing it for money or glory... he's doing it because he can.

Inhuman Eating Machine: IEM Session #2- Battered and Fried- A Fish & Chips O.D.: "

I approached Inhuman Eating Machine (IEM) session #2 as if I was about to jump out of the tenth story of a burning building into one of those net-things the fire department uses. Even though I knew I must proceed, the prospect terrified me nonetheless. I had chosen fish and chips this time and I knew this could possibly be the greatest struggle I would face in my IEM career.

I have a very strong stomach. I willingly partake in foods spicier than most mortals, I eat street food in undeveloped countries, and I eat too much of everything. But despite all of this, I rarely, if ever, experience heartburn or an upset stomach. And I can count on one hand how many times I have vomited post toddler-hood. However, fried chicken and fried fish are 2 items that I cannot ingest with impunity. If I eat larger-than-average portions of either of those items, I start to feel not-so-fresh. It’s as if those items drain me of my life-force. They quash my chi. They are my Kryptonite."

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