Ain't Free Market

Truth? Only compromised deals where everyone is equally at fault.... or some similar bullshit.

Daily Kos: Some Things Are True

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Indeed, why.

The coming economic catastrophe: Why do we still listen to free-market ideologues? - By Joseph E. Stiglitz - Slate Magazine

Just a few years ago, a powerful ideology—the belief in free and unfettered markets—brought the world to the brink of ruin. Even in its heyday, from the early 1980s until 2007, American-style deregulated capitalism brought greater material well-being only to the very richest of the richest country of the world. Indeed, over the course of this ideology's 30-year ascendance, most Americans saw their incomes decline or stagnate.

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Joy.

Murdoch and the British phone-hacking scandal: Why the U.S. should prosecute News Corp. and strip its TV licenses if it's guilty. - By Eliot Spitzer - Slate Magazine

Much more importantly, the facts already pretty well established in Britain indicate violations of American law, in particular a law called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The Justice Department has been going out of its way to undertake FCPA prosecutions and investigations in recent years, and the News Corp. case presents a pretty simple test for Attorney General Eric Holder: If the department fails to open an immediate investigation into News Corp.'s violations of the FCPA, there will have been a major breach of enforcement at Justice. Having failed to pursue Wall Street with any apparent vigor, this is an opportunity for the Justice Department to show it can flex its muscles at the right moment. While one must always be cautious in seeking government investigation of the media for the obvious First Amendment concerns, this is not actually an investigation of the media, but an investigation of criminal acts undertaken by those masquerading as members of the media.

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A Growing Trend of Leaving America - US News and World Report

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Landmark transplant uses stemcell-coated artificial windpipe | The Raw Story

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U.S.A.!

The ladies World Cup Semi against Fucking France (h/t Christopher Moore) kicks off in 30.

Watch it on ESPN3: Watch Live Streaming Sports Online - ESPN3

Check out this great video while you're at it. U.S.A.! (I love you, Hope Solo)

Wambach goal gets its own tribute video - World Soccer - Yahoo! Sports

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Good work, WI. I want to see this headline from across the nation in '12:

Fake Democrats lose in Wis. primary recalls - Yahoo! News

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Pip-pip and hell yeah. Hopefully this monopolist who peddles propaganda to the rich and political goes down like a whore tryin' to make rent.

Fuck Murdoch.

Murdoch’s Watergate? - Print - Newsweek:

"The hacking scandal currently shaking Rupert Murdoch’s empire will surprise only those who have willfully blinded themselves to that empire’s pernicious influence on journalism in the English-speaking world. Too many of us have winked in amusement at the salaciousness without considering the larger corruption of journalism and politics promulgated by Murdoch Culture on both sides of the Atlantic."

Daily Kos: Investors Turn On Murdoch. This Is Going To Leave A Mark

Murdoch drops bid for British Sky Broadcasting - Yahoo! News

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Snakes

Here's how our ruling elites behave when they think no-one is watching.

Clinton and Paul Ryan kissing each other's ass and discussing the need to end Medicare.

We are ruled by truly awful people.

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What Krugman says...

Debt Limit Stakes - NYTimes.com:

"Think about it. There’s a significant chance that failing to raise the debt limit could provoke a renewed financial crisis — and Republicans would rather take that chance than allow a reduction in tax breaks on corporate jets.

What this says to me is that Obama cannot, must not, concede here. If he does, he’s signaling that the GOP can extract even the most outrageous demands; he’s setting himself up for endless blackmail. A line has to be drawn somewhere; it should have been drawn last fall; but to concede now would effectively mean the end of the presidency."

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AMERICAblog News: Honey I shrunk my negotiating position in the deficit talks:

"So basically, the Republicans keep saying 'no' and the White House keeps offering them more and more cuts to programs, and fewer and fewer tax increases, while the Republicans simply keep saying 'no.'

Heck of a negotiation. The White House is simply negotiating with itself at this point. Lowering its bid, lower and lower, while the GOP does nothing. Guaranteeing that any final deal that is reached starts at a point so low that we're screwed no matter what the details.

Now, I'm sure the White House thinks it's going to win the battle by showing the American people how earnest the President has been in these talks, while the Republicans have been intransigent. Yeah, fat chance. That is all a matter of spin. And the White House folks, and Dems generally, don't spin very well. They need to hire someone who does, and empower them to win, rather than tying their hands in a never-ending desire to be nice to people who want to destroy you."

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No one could have predicted....

Financial Reform Destined To Fail, Top Federal Reserve Official Says:

"For Hoenig though, the choice is clear when it comes to what to do with the financial institutions that caused the most punishing downturn since the Great Depression: break them up into pieces that regulators can understand and provide a backstop to entities engaged in the so-called real economy -- but allow those dabbling in more risk-laden activities to fail.

The Obama administration and Congress chose the alternate route in passing the Dodd-Frank financial regulation law. To Hoenig, they made a mistake.

'Following this financial crisis, Congress and the administration turned to the work of repair and reform,' he said during a Monday speech in Washington. 'Once again, the American public got the standard remedies -- more and increasingly complex regulation and supervision.'

'The Dodd-Frank reforms have all been introduced before, but financial markets skirted them,' he continued. 'Supervisory authority existed, but it was used lightly because of political pressure and the misperceptions that free markets, with generous public support, could self-regulate.'"

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Shocking.

After Taking A $10 Billion Bailout, Goldman Sachs Announces It Will Outsource 1,000 Jobs To Singapore | ThinkProgress

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Nice work, NYC'ers.

Glenn Beck and family encounter hostility in NYC - Yahoo! News

Hateful bastard deserves every bit of it. You reap what you sow. Fuck. Him.

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Losers

Jeez. Republicans say jump and Demo-losers ask 'Is this high enough? Please don't hurt me".

Senate to send Obama a stopgap GOP spending bill - Yahoo! News

I'm no longer surprised, but still baffled at the loser mentality of Democrats.

Looking forward to voting for anyone but a Democrat in 2012.

"WASHINGTON – In an early victory for Republicans, the Democratic Senate is voting to send President Barack Obama a GOP-drafted measure that cuts $4 billion in spending as the price for keeping the government open for an additional two weeks.

Sweeping bipartisan support is expected Wednesday for the measure, which passed the House on Tuesday by a 335-91 tally. More than 100 Democrats broke with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California to support it."

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Fox lies. End of story.

Fox News reporter appears to have lied about being ‘punched’ by protester | The Raw Story

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Speaking of lying liars FAUX, O, Canada, you sexy, reasonable beast you.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Regulators Reject Proposal That Would Bring Fox-Style News to Canada:

"Canada regulators announced last week they would reject efforts by Canada's right wing Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, to repeal a law that forbids lying on broadcast news.

Canada's Radio Act requires that 'a licenser may not broadcast....any false or misleading news.' The provision has kept Fox News and right wing talk radio out of Canada and helped make Canada a model for liberal democracy and freedom. As a result of that law, Canadians enjoy high quality news coverage including the kind of foreign affairs and investigative journalism that flourished in this country before Ronald Reagan abolished the 'Fairness Doctrine' in 1987."

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Heck of a job, Barackie. Heck. Of. A. Job.

BP reneges on deal to rebuild oyster beds, repair wetlands, Louisiana officials say | NOLA.com

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Love, Love, Love

Don't mess with hackers.

How one man tracked down Anonymous-and paid a heavy price

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In the news of no-shite....

Daily Kos: A Foxer Finally Admits: They Just Make #*It Up!

Report: Wal-Mart actually kills jobs, creates taxpayer burdens | Raw Story

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Neat.

Experts determine age of book 'nobody can read'

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SOME People are Awesome

Happy November! Eat some turkey:

Making the Case for a $140 Turkey: BA Daily: Blogs : bonappetit.com

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Then make a local FAUX affiliate eat some crow:

Daily Kos: Milwaukee County Dems take on Fox News crew

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Attaboy, Jorge.

Soros gives $1M to Calif. pot legalization measure - Yahoo! News:

"SAN FRANCISCO – Billionaire financier George Soros has thrown his weight behind California's marijuana legalization measure with a $1 million donation a week before the vote. The contribution reported Tuesday by The Sacramento Bee is the single biggest donation from an individual other than Proposition 19's main sponsor, Oakland medical marijuana entrepreneur Richard Lee."

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Forward looking NorCal. Thank jeebus. I love the headlands.

Marin Headlands saved when 1960s city plan quashed

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SOME people are Awesome:

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Strongly Worded Letters

Stewart and Colbert might just end up saving the country in the long run.

New Survey Reveals Why Jon Stewart is the Biggest Long Term Threat to Fox News:

"Fox News has made no secret of their distaste for Colbert, and especially Jon Stewart, and it is pretty obvious why. Colbert and Stewart are educating an entire generation of younger viewers to critically think about what they see in the media. The long term health of Fox News is going to depend on their ability to attract and retain younger viewers. These are the same viewers that are watching Jon Stewart expose and mock Fox News on a nightly basis. This is why FNC goes out of its way to impugn the credibility of Stewart anytime they can. It is funny to think that the competition that may do the most long term damage to Fox News is not Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow, but a comedian who hosts a nightly mock newscast on a comedy network."

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Amen to this. However, I've always felt that the weak-ass Dems used the strongly worded letters with not teeth to lift the spirits of their very dispirited voters. Didn't work then and won't work now. Roll up your sleeves and get to fucking work.

Daily Kos: Strongly Worded Letters Don't Cut It:

"While Rep. Grivalja is definitely one of the Good Guys, promises that 'This time will be different' just don't cut it.

The Congressman should be doing more than writing letters about protecting Social Security, he should be protecting Social Security by introducing a bill to defund the President's Deficit Commission."

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This is not good. I'm glad I haven't touched an antibiotic in more than a decade.

Drug-resistant super bacteria found in three US states and Canada | Raw Story:

"An infectious-disease nightmare is unfolding: Bacteria that have been made resistant to nearly all antibiotics by an alarming new gene have sickened people in three states and are popping up all over the world, health officials reported Monday."

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Nice.

Texan saves Quran from burning | AP Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

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Rare to hear such praise from a Yankee, and he definitely didn't stick around long enough to kick off some of the dirt underneath, but a nice write up.

Commentary: Southern hospitality is no joke at Alabama | PennLive.com:

"But I can tell you this much about my first trip to Alabama and I think a lot of PSU fans who made this trip would agree: Very few people associated with any team project as much grace and love for the game of college football than these folks. They’re good people. And it’s plain to see in every detail they’ve etched into their domain. Visiting it and meeting them has been a gratifying experience."

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Nothing to See Here, Folks

The ghost of GW Bush was on the TV last night acting presidential.

Obama's 'nothing to see here, folks' style of management is dragging this country further into the pit.

Fuck you, Obama. If we forget, If we do not hold accountable, then we have failed and we might as well start teaching Chinese in those lovely charter schools you desire in order to crush those nasty unions that are all mean to you and shit.

Daily Kos: Turn the page on Mister Bush? Never:

"I cannot and will not turn the page until George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and the others in that cabal of scorpions are brought to justice and make amends for Iraq. Which means never. No apology, much less time in the slam. I'll go to my grave knowing Bush and the rest got away with it. In a couple of months, Bush hopes hundreds of thousands of Americans will be turning the pages of his memoir, a book certain to add to the plethora of lies and pathetic, murderous rationalizations with which we became so familiar during the last seven years of his presidency."

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Connect these dots:

Franken tells FCC: Without ‘Net Neutrality’, a ‘handful’ of corporations will control the Web | Raw Story

Fox News: DEAD LAST In Online Ratings

In U.S., Confidence in Newspapers, TV News Remains a Rarity

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Some of the first color film moving images. Pretty neat.

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False Equivalencies

Again, if you get your news from the TV, you are not being informed.

Conservatives/Fox has all of the traditional media so cowed at being called 'liberal' (meaning conducting actual journalism and letting the facts fall as they may) that they are forever pushing these bullshit false equivalencies.

There is no Rush equivalent on the left. There is no Beck equivalent on the left. There is not FAUX News equivalent on the left.

Calling Out Anderson Coopers False Left/Right Equivilency

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Another case in point. Dollars to donuts, after this vapors session on those dirty, dirty bloggers, I'm sure the next story by on CNN was based upon an 'unnamed administration official'.

Turn off the TV news if you want to be informed.

It isn't 'news', its 'advertisement'.

CNN anchors attack the scourge of anonymity - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com

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This response is a thing of beauty:

Sick of Republican Forwarded Viral E-Mails (UPDATE: A Response)

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The Raw Story | Drinking edges up in US, with beer still favorite:

"There was also a marked difference in drinking habits by education, with college graduates topping people with a high school degree or less by 79 to 58 percent respectively.

Income also mirrored drinking levels, with 81 percent of people making 75,000 dollars per year saying they drank, followed in descending order by lower incomes until only 46 percent of those making less than 20,000 dollars said they drank.

And religion also had a bearing with people attending church regularly drinking the least -- 61 percent of Protestants, 78 percent of Catholics -- compared to 80 percent of non-religious people.

Finally, the Gallup poll found that beer was still the preferred drink of Americans (41 percent), followed by wine (32 percent) and liquor (21 percent)."

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Moon over Birmingham.

Birmingham's Vulcan emerges as long-shot basketball star; guy sinks ball from atop statue (with video) | al.com

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Climate Leadership FAIL

Stick-to-yer-guns Obama is gonna drive off the same cliff as GW.

Putting A Face To The Cost Of Dem Cowering - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime:

"From the inadequate stimulus of 2009, to the deficit 'concerns' (see the catfood commission) of today (among many other issues), the flinching and cowering of the Obama Administration and the Dems has damaged the country and, ironically, the political fortunes of the Dems. The reflexive hippie punching, the constant refrain of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good, the ever present concern of being labeled a gasp, liberal, has led to great suffering in the nation. Simply put, the Dems have not been up to the job. L'Affaire Sherrod has put a face to the cost of this attitude. I hope that the transcendence of this problem is recognized and addressed."

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Howard Dean in 2012... or 2016.

Howard Dean: No More Apologies -- It's Time to Stand Up for Our Convictions

Obama should be saying this. Obama should also get on his knees and beg Dean's forgiveness and ask him to be Chief of Staff.

Howard Dean tells Fox: Your coverage of Sherrod was racist:

"Appearing alongside Newt Gingrich, Dean was blunt with his accusation. 'I don't think Newt Gingrich is a racist and you're certainly not a racist but Fox News did something that was absolutely racist,' said Dean.

'They had an obligation to find out what was really in the clip. They have been pushing a theme of black racism, phony Black Panther crap and this business and Sotomayor and all this other stuff. The Tea Party called out their racist fringe and I think the Republican Party has got to stop appealing to its racist fringe,' Dean continued."

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Another once in a lifetime opportunity pissed away be O.A. Hell, even Nixon created the EPA when a scant few barrels were spilled.

Sen. Cardin: Dems, Obama Never Connected BP Spill To The Need For Climate Change Legislation

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Where Was Obama When Reid Killed the Climate Bill? | Mother Jones:

"Handled correctly, the BP spill should have been to climate legislation what September 11th was to the Patriot Act, or the financial collapse was to the bank bailout. Disasters drive sweeping legislation, and precedent was on the side of a great leap forward in environmental progress. In 1969, an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California – of only 100,000 barrels, less than the two-day output of the BP gusher – prompted Richard Nixon to create the EPA and sign the Clean Air Act. But the Obama administration let the opportunity slip away.

Early on, Obama failed to challenge blowhards such as Senator Jim Inhofe who distorted the science of global warming. Revkin points out that the president has not invited researchers and climate analysts to the White House (as even Bush did). And after BP's well blew out, Obama's infamously milquetoast address from the Oval Office never connected the disaster with the need for a cap on carbon. All of this wasn't for a lack of pressure from his allies. Nine high-profile environmental groups wrote a letter to the president pleading that 'nothing less than your direct personal involvement' will break the logjam in the Senate. Al Gore ultimately said what Obama wouldn't:"

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Op-Ed Columnist - Who Cooked the Planet? - NYTimes.com:

"So it wasn’t the science, the scientists, or the economics that killed action on climate change. What was it?

The answer is, the usual suspects: greed and cowardice.

If you want to understand opposition to climate action, follow the money. The economy as a whole wouldn’t be significantly hurt if we put a price on carbon, but certain industries — above all, the coal and oil industries — would. And those industries have mounted a huge disinformation campaign to protect their bottom lines."

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We need to speed up the space travel gig.

Deep space probe finds hundreds of new planets | Mail Online:

"Hundreds of new planets have been discovered by Nasa's new space probe, sparking new hope of life outside our solar system.

Up to 140 of the newly-found planets are rocky and Earth-like containing both land and water, conditions which could allow simple lifeforms to develop."

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Chickenshit Hippie Punchers

Goddamn right, Lee Stranaham:

Lee Stranahan: President Obama Listens to the Right Because He Ignores the Left:

"The reason President Obama focuses on the right is because he's ignored the left since the day after the election, and if he wants to save his presidency, that needs to change.

In fact, the only times that President Obama and his gang o' hacks haven't ignored the left is when they've blown off steam by actually attacking progressives. Who called MoveOn.org 'fucking retarded'? Was it Andrew Breitbart? Glenn Beck? Mel Gibson? Of course not -- it was Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Emanuel's outburst was right in line with the path the Obama administration has taken from the beginning -- side with Big Business in the hopes of building the Democratic war chest through corporate donations. Every watered-down, ginned-up company-approved bit of major legislation that has oozed through Congress and on to the president's desk has helped bail out corporate America at the expense of the middle class."

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Wherein Obama once again shows how much he really doesn't get ir, or, rather his reflex to punch the hippies.

It isn't the 'YouTube/blogger' culture, DA, it is the FAUX News/Right Wing media culture.

Stop blaming the hippies, asshole.

Sherrod gets biggest 'I'm sorry' — from Obama - Yahoo! News:

"'He jumped the gun, partly because we now live in this media culture where something goes up on YouTube or a blog and everybody scrambles,' Obama said."

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Why this SOB still has a job....

The Jester, the Coward, and the Employee | VF Daily | Vanity Fair:

"Andrew Breitbart is a blip on the American screen and only a minor player in this story. The central character in this regrettable drama is agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack, who fired Shirley Sherrod before he got his facts straight. Before he got any facts at all, it seems. Did Vilsack, an adult, even take the time to ask Ms. Sherrod, another adult, any questions? Or was he too preoccupied being terrified by the easily disproved distortions of known laughing stock Andrew Breitbart? That Vilsack acted on the assumption that Breitbart was telling the truth was a huge mistake that shows an astonishing lack of judgment and character. To fire anyone on information that is not carefully and fully verified is grossly irresponsible."

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Nation editor: Obama ‘feeding zealots’ by not standing up to right-wing media | Raw Story:

"The Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel told NBC's Today Show Friday that the Obama administration needs to 'get a spine.'

'This White House needs to institute procedures, as President Obama said, and get a spine because it is feeding the zealots of our system by not standing tall and confronting the forces of hate and fear in a country that has a lot of economic pain,' vanden Heuvel said."

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Daily Kos: Why Does Fox News Have More Power Than Any Progressive in the Country?:

"The idea is that Fox News is more important than any progressive leader or commentator (or even the majority opinion of progressives throughout the country, as evidenced by polls) because liberals have nowhere to go. So, that's why you can abuse them, ignore them and even treat them with disdain -- and they'll still vote for you. What are they going to do -- vote for Republicans?

That's why Rahm Emanuel can call them 'fucking retarded' and derisively dismiss them on almost every issue. They think there's no price to pay. Whereas, if they cross Fox, all of Washington will be talking about it. And they're obsessed with the Washington chatter. And they are under the grossly mistaken impression that the country gives a shit about what Fox says.

In Washington, Fox News is very important and you get judged by how quickly you handle the media maelstroms they create. That's viewed as a barometer of how well you handle 'bad news cycles.' So, the rest of the Washington press corps judges you by how quickly you drop to your knees to end the 'bad news cycle.' Congratulations Obama administration, you're now professionals!"

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At least somebody is calling it like it really is:

Sherrod: I'm a Victim of Breitbart, Fox 'Racism' | Media Matters for America

Rachel Maddow: Fox News Stoking Racial Fears Among Whites (VIDEO)

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Health care should not be subject to the not-very-free market.

Consumer group: Insurers kept surplus while hiking premiums - USATODAY.com:

"Non-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans stockpiled billions of dollars during the past decade, yet continued to hit consumers with double-digit premium increases, Consumers Union found in an analysis of 10 of the plans' finances.

Insurers must keep surplus money to ensure they can pay policyholders' medical bills if unexpected market conditions develop. Yet seven of the plans examined held more than three times the amount regulators consider the minimum needed to do that, according to a report being released today by the non-profit consumer group.

'Consumers are struggling to afford health coverage,' said report author Sondra Roberto. 'Those funds could be used in some cases to mitigate these rate increases."

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Wait... who's in charge again?

BP trying to legally ‘contaminate’ Gulf scientists: report:

"BP plans to fight a lawsuit to be filed by the Natural Resources Damage Assessment, according to Press-Register's Ben Raines. Putting Gulf scientists on the payroll could mean there are less experts to testify against them.

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow compares the tactic to an episode of The Sopranos where Tony Soprano consults with top lawyers so his wife isn't able to hire them in a divorce case."

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After Oil Spills, Hidden Damage Can Last for Years - NYTimes.com:

"In 1969, a barge hit the rocks off the coast of West Falmouth, Mass., spilling 189,000 gallons of fuel oil into Buzzards Bay. Today, the fiddler crabs at nearby Wild Harbor still act drunk, moving erratically and reacting slowly to predators.

The odd behavior is consistent with a growing body of research showing how oil spills of many types have remarkably persistent effects, often at levels low enough to escape routine notice."

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I'll take a sixer of squirrel, please.

Strongest ever beer served up in dead squirrels

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Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black

Yes, just imagine. Imagine the 24/7 hyperventilation of the FAUX 'news' borg.

Ephphatha Poetry: "Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise:

"Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose."

Plus:

Dem governor: Fox News outdid tea partiers in ‘marshalling anger’ | Raw Story

equals:

Armed man held after arrest as Obama leaves NC:

"His car was equipped with clear LED law enforcement-style strobe lights in the front and rear dash, Smith said. The car also had a mounted digital camera in the front window, four large antennas on the trunk lid, and under the steering wheel was a working siren box.

When McVey got out of the car, he was listening to a handheld scanner and radio that had a remote earpiece, Smith said. Police said he was monitoring local agencies and had formulas for rifle scopes on a note in his cup holder."

Times a million:

Not so much for lovers.

Think Progress � Virginia DMV Pulls License Plate Coded With Neo-Nazi Message From Truck With Anti-Islam Imagery

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Of course they did. The gulf coast has been destroyed.

How's the oily drilly nowy thingy workin' for ya, you betcha.

This is going to make the Valdez look like a coffee spill.

Big Oil Fought Off New Safety Rules Before Rig Disaster

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Something to keep in mind:

CBS Report: Copy Machines Retain Copies On Their Hard Drives | Crooks and Liars

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I've never understood this term 'premature ejaculation'. I 'ejaculate' precisely when I'm suppose to... always.

Priligy, First Pill To Stop Premature Ejaculation, Goes On Sale In UK

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Great product commercial:

The Best Apple Advertisement Yet - Stephen C. Webster - Brave New Hooks - True/Slant:

"Virginia Campbell, a 99-year-old resident of Mary’s Woods Retirement Community in Lake Oswego, Oregon, recently got an iPad. She says it has changed her life because it enabled her to read and write again. Now, there’s video."

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At least I hope I did

Fair and balanced journalism:

Fox News yanks Sean Hannity from Cincinnati Tea Party rally he was set to star in | Show Tracker | Los Angeles Times

Well, duh.

Cincinnati Tea Party: Fox Isn’t Telling The Truth About The Hannity Broadcast:

Faux + Teabaggers = Violence.

Tea Partiers Get Their News From Fox And Are More Likely To Justify Violence Against The Government

He really can't.

Daily Kos: He really can't be their president:

"Just like some people distort the Koran to fit their crazy fanaticism, teabaggers twist ideals like 'Freedom' and 'Self Reliance' and 'Individualism' into something that is 180 degrees different. 'Freedom' is the freedom to hate anyone who isn't like 'us', 'Individualism' is ignoring anyone who is not as successful as 'we are' because it's their fault and they can go to hell, and 'Self Reliance' turned into simple selfishness."

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Shocking

Report: Tea Parties created as GOP political ploy | Raw Story

The Tea Party has been billed as an organic grassroots operation, but a newly uncovered document obtained by Politico suggests the movement has been successfully co-opted as a Republican fundraising ploy.

GOP political consultant Joe Wierzbicki floated the proposal a year ago today to create the Tea Party Express, a nationwide bus tour to "give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus." His idea eventually became one of the best known brands in the Tea Party movement.

The document cautioned planners to be careful when discussing the ruse to use Tea Parties for political gain. "We have to be very, very careful about discussing amongst ourselves anyone we include 'outside of the family' because quite frankly, we are not only not part of the political establishment or conservative establishment, but we are also sadly not currently a part of the 'tea party' establishment," Wierzbicki wrote.

Wierzbicki, who works for the Sacramento firm Russo Marsh + Rogers, went on to outline how conservative media including Fox News could be leveraged to hype the Tea Party Express. He recommended using "mentions and possibly even promotion from conservative/pro-tea party bloggers, talk radio hosts, Fox News commentators, etc..."

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To reiterate: 'Go Fuck Yourselves, FAUX'.

Stewart calls out Fox News hypocrisy: ‘Go f*ck yourselves’ | Raw Story:

"'They're tarring the entire Tea Party movement and the Republican Party,' Goldberg complained.

'Bernie Goldberg is right!' Stewart exclaimed. When it comes to generalizing, just 'don't do it.'

But the Fox News pundits don't seem so worried about generalizations of liberals and the Democratic Party. Goldberg told MSNBC's Joe Scarborough that liberals think 'that whole middle of the country is made up of sort of jerks. You know, that's a Democratic thing. That's a liberal thing.'

'That's what we call a fair generalization,' said a sarcastic Stewart. 'By the way, the anti-generalizers at Fox want you to know that generalizing is the least of the liberals problems,' explained Stewart. And to make the point, The Daily Show's research staff had no trouble find plenty examples of conservative pundits at Fox News doing their own generalizing.

'The left in this country is invested in defeat in Iraq,' said Cal Thomas.

'Liberals see just about everything through the prism of race,' according to Goldberg.

'The left always paint Christians as hate mongers,' Glenn Beck told O'Reilly.

Jon Stewart concluded with just three word for the hypocrites at Fox News: 'Go f*ck yourselves.'"

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Rockets, man.

Asteroid, bitches!

Obama: NASA Still Has Space Adventures Ahead:

"Asteroids zip by Earth fairly often and have occasionally smacked the planet with disastrous results. For example, asteroids have been blamed for the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Landing on an asteroid would give scientists a better idea of how to handle a future killer asteroid that could wipe out much of life on Earth. Also, it would be a feat sure to win great attention – and there is far less gravity than the moon, meaning it would be easier and cheaper to leave."

Despite uproar, Obama holds firm on NASA space exploration plans / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com

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Finishes what he starts and very well organized.

Man delivers obituary to newspaper, hangs himself:

"The Mountain Democrat newspaper published part of the Allan Leo Peters II suicide note accompanying the obituary. The 64-year-old man wrote he'd been struggling with emphysema and had trouble breathing. He wrote, 'Yes, I have hanged myself (At least I hope I did).'

The suicide note and obituary arrived at the newspaper Tuesday night, but went unopened until the following day. It included a $90 money order, the cost of publishing an obituary."

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Pretty damn amazing:

Red Bull Skydive Team Pulls Off Incredible Stunt: Man Jumps From Plane To Plane In Midair (VIDEO)

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Fundies Ain't No Fun

This one will get you thinking. Very interesting take.

Ronald Wilson Obama - The Week:

"With his 2012 election victory, Barack Obama has secured a progressive hegemony in American politics reminiscent of the conservative one engendered by Ronald Reagan a generation ago. Both men arrived at their second term landslides following a remarkably similar path."

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Yeah, we'll the dirty hippies have been shouting this obvious comparison for years now. I'm glad an excommunicated Republican finally shed some light on the obvious.

Daily Kos: Heretic David Frum's blog equates American Fundamentalists with Taliban:

"...how the religious fundamentalists in Afghanistan are strikingly similar to religious fundamentalists in America – who are also trying to force their literal interpretation of Holy Scripture onto everyone else through laws.

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In news of 'no-shit':

Elves convene at the North Pole with no mention of Christmas:

Republicans convene in New Orleans, with no mention of Katrina - Ben Smith - POLITICO.com

No-shit:

Beck admits he doesn’t give ‘a flying crap about the political process. … We’re an entertainment company.’

Really? No-shit?

George W. Bush 'knew Guant�namo prisoners were innocent' - Times Online

No fracking shit:

Ron Paul: President Obama Is Not A Socialist | TPMDC:

"'The question has been raised about whether or not our president is a socialist,' Paul said. 'I am sure there are some people here who believe it. But in the technical sense, in the economic definition of a what a socialist is, no, he's not a socialist.'

'He's a corporatist,' Paul continued. 'And unfortunately we have corporatists inside the Republican party and that means you take care of corporations and corporations take over and run the country.'"

No crapola.

Russian President says what distinguishes Obama ‘from many other people’ is that he is ‘a thinker.’:

"STEPHANOPOULOS: Sixteen, OK, I knew it was fifteen, I wasn’t sure about sixteen. What do you make of Barack Obama the man?

MEDVEDEV: [Obama] is a very comfortable partner. It’s very interesting to be with him. The most important thing that distinguishes him from many other people, I won’t name anyone by name, he’s a thinker. He thinks when he speaks.

STEPHANOPOULOS: (laughing) You have somebody in your mind, I think!

MEDVEDEV: Obviously I do have someone on my mind, I don’t want to offend anyone."

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Nothing to see here folks. Al Gore invented the internet... and is fat:

Huge Glacier Breaks Apart In Peru, Triggering Andes Tsunami (VIDEO)

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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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Morality Button

Yup:

Daily Kos: Shorter Anti-Obama Billboards: N***er!

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Can they at least try to live by the principles that foam from their mouths?

ABC: Militia members receive government money | Raw Story:

"ABC News' Ryan Owens reported on Tuesday's Nightline that most of the LightFoot members he talked to during a weekend training session 'don't have a job, and most do take unemployment from the state. They argue it's insurance, not welfare.'

Owens reports that Jeff Stankewicz, the group's leader, is unemployed and formed the group a year ago, after attending a Tax Day Tea Party event."

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Dangerous Dinosaurs

Vivian Norris de Montaigu: An Ode to a Disappearing Texas:

"It seems that the Conservatives are hunkering down because they are scared. The world has changed and it is unfamiliar to them and the good ole boys don't control it anymore. We have elected a progressive intelligent well educated President and there are a few people in Texas who don't get it. They are the dinosaurs.

But dinosaurs can also be dangerous. Don't let this insanity spread. Write to your representatives, school boards, schools, teachers, friends. Education will save the United States. It will help us through the financial crisis, but not if this kind of fear spreads and questioning and free thinking is stifled."

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Shocking.

Rupert Murdoch Firm Goes on Trial for Alleged Tech Sabotage:

"Did a Rupert Murdoch company go too far and hire hackers to sabotage rivals and gain the top spot in the global pay-TV war?

This is the question a jury will be facing in a spectacular five-year-old civil lawsuit that is finally being tried this month in California but which has, oddly, received little notice from U.S. media."

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Very cool. Only lasted a few months.

Pony Express ran into history 150 years ago:

"This is a day when a legend of the Old West began: The first Pony Express riders set out 150 years ago today from San Francisco and St. Joseph, Mo."

"We stopped for nothing," express rider Charles Cliff was reported to say.

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Be sure to add several happy meals to your panic shelter. You never know how long you might be in there.

We eat a bunch of crap in the U.S.

BabyBites.info – Transforming a picky eater into a healthy eater.� Spoonful of Love � Happy Birthday to My Happy Meal:

"The photo above on the left is the one I took today. Because Colorado has an arid climate, over the year the moisture has been slowly pulled from the Happy Meal. The bread is crusty and if you look closely, you will see a crack across the top. The hamburger has shrunk a bit and still resembles a hockey puck. Yet, the French fries look yummy enough to eat. I never had an odor problem, after a couple of weeks, I couldn’t even smell the fries.

Now look at the photo on the right, I took it a year ago. Not much difference. The bread is plumper and the fries a tad bit perkier."

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They took Tom's stash. He's a regular online read.

Chronicle outdoors writer arrested in pot case:

"(04-02) 11:57 PDT WEED, SISKIYOU COUNTY -- Chronicle outdoors writer Tom Stienstra and his wife were arrested at their Northern California home on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale, and later released with no charges filed pending an investigation, officials said."

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I keep pressing it but nothing happens.... though I did wake up covered in..... hmmm.

EM field, behind right ear, suspends morality | The Sci-Tech Heretic:

"This new finding, from MIT, should cause scientists to more closely examine the risks to human health posed by mobile phones and other wireless, personal technologies. — M.B.

MIT neuroscientists believe they have isolated the brain region — just behind the right ear — where moral judgements take place.

And they can suspend someone’s ability to judge right from wrong, simply by generating a magnetic field near the same spot where many of us hold our cellular phones and wireless, Bluetooth, headsets."

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End Times

A headline birthed from the bowels of hell. This could be the final sign for end times:

Toby Keith joins LL Cool J in surprise at being used for Palin’s Fox News show.

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Speaking of "I'll wear it if someone else buys it" V-PILF:

Post-Palin Alaska has largest debt burden in US:

"Sarah Palin has long sold herself as a fiscal conservative, arguing against the Democrats' health overhaul on the grounds that the nation simply can't afford it.

But when the former vice presidential candidate resigned as governor of Alaska in the summer of 2009, she left the state with a 70 percent debt-to-GDP ratio -- the highest state debt burden in the United States.
.............

By comparison, crisis-stricken California has a debt ratio of less than 40 percent. All the more confounding about Alaska's debt is the fact that it is an oil-producing region with a small population to share in that wealth. Oil-rich Alberta, Canada, for example, collects no sales tax and still managed to retire its debt entirely in 2004."

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Once again, the Onion's satire is prescient. I'm fully on board with abolishing the Senate.

At the very least the filibuster rule needs to be changed.

But, yeah, they make a good case for canning the Senate:

U.S. Government To Save Billions By Cutting Wasteful Senator Program | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

"'I'm sure when it was first introduced the U.S. Senate seemed like a worthwhile public service that would aid vast segments of the population and play an important role in the years to come,' said Sheila McKenzie, president of the watchdog group the American Center for Responsible Government. 'But in reality, this program has been a complete and utter failure.'

'It simply doesn't work,' she added. 'We've been pouring taxpayer dollars into this outdated relic for far too long.'"

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Now THIS is smart change I can believe in.

Corporations in the U.S. are far from being great innovators. They do one thing only. Hoover up money. They want cheap, disposable labor. Gov has a role here.

White House Launches Push For Workplace Flexibility:

"Once you realize that, there are a bunch of employer practices and policy proposals that suddenly make a lot of sense: Encouraging telecommuting, giving people time off for family emergencies, enabling flexible schedules, allowing employees to swap shifts, and so on.

At the White House on Wednesday, Michelle and Barack Obama held a summit meeting to discuss, as the president put it, 'what we can do -- as business leaders and advocates, as employees and as government officials -- to modernize our workplaces to meet the needs of our workforce and our families.'

As part of his push, Obama cited a new White House report which concludes that flexible workplace rules could increase productivity."

...............

"'[U]ltimately, it reflects our priorities as a society -- our belief that no matter what each of us does for a living, caring for our loved ones and raising the next generation is the single most important job that we have. I think it's time we started making that job a little easier for folks,' he said."
...........

"Advocates of greater workplace flexibility consistently said their biggest obstacle is managers who can't let go of the need to exercise authority over employees -- in person. 'Sometimes flexibility requires sharing control,' said Peter Berg, a Michigan State University professor who tracks workplace issue. 'Sometimes there's a sense [among managers] that we don't necessarily want to share control.'"

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Idiots. Git a brayn Morans!

Teabonics - a set on Flickr:

"These are signs seen primarily at Tea Party Protests.

They all feature 'creative' spelling or grammar.

This new dialect of the English language shall be known as 'Teabonics.'"

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Speaking of idiots... sorry, I meant, Speaking of asshole idiots.

Hilarious. Big High Five to the fraternity.

Glenn Beck fans’ cars towed during ‘revival’ event | Raw Story:

"Glenn Beck told his audience in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday that Americans are 'worshipping cars.'

If that's so, then his audience must have felt it was sheer blasphemy that their cars were towed from a nearby parking lot as they listened to the controversial commentator speak.

According to WFTV channel 9 in Orlando, 53 cars were towed out of a fraternity parking lot at the University of Central Florida on Saturday night, and all of them belonged to people who were attending Beck's American Revival Tour appearance at the nearby UCF Arena."

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So, how would this work re: repossession?

Calif. woman gets 6 months for fake breasts heist:

"An Orange County woman's new breasts cost her six months in jail. Yvonne Jean Pampellonne was sentenced Monday in Westminster for using a fraudulent line of credit to obtain $12,000 in cosmetic surgery, including breast implants and liposuction."

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Keep Your Socialism Off my Medicare!

An excellently sourced rant. Spot-on.

An open letter to conservatives | AmericanDad's Blog:

"If you're going to use words like socialism, communism and fascism, you must have at least a basic understanding of what those words mean (hint: they're NOT synonymous!)

You can't cut a leading Founding Father out the history books because you've decided you don't like his ideas.

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Get it?

Poll: ‘Anti-socialist’ Tea Party activists want government to create jobs | Raw Story:

"Tea Party sympathizers are against government 'socialism' except when it comes to their own jobs, a new poll has found.

Seventy percent of those who identify as Tea Partiers -- a platform that strongly decries government intervention in public life -- want an interventionist government to create jobs, and only about one in three believe Medicaid and Medicare are 'socialist' programs, according to a new Bloomberg poll."

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President. Black.

Libertarian Militiaman Who Urged 'Patriots' To Break Windows? He's On Government Disability | Crooks and Liars:

"So the Washington Post interviews this Tea Party leader and former militiaman, the one who urged people to break Democratic party office windows, as if he were just someone with another reasonable point of view that's not worth examining. It's the old 'he said, she said' that's just what we've come to expect from the corporate media.

They don't even mention that he's calling for an armed march on Washington for April 19 - a favorite of extremists because in addition to being the date of the first shots fired at Lexington in the Revolutionary War, it's also the anniversary of the last day of the government siege in Waco and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. No implied threat there, though! If you listen to the above radio interview, his stated position boils down to: Don't make me shoot you."

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Somebody found a little liberal Jesus in their heart.

Health-reform rally heckler says he's sorry and scared | The Columbus Dispatch:

"The man who berated and tossed dollar bills at a man with Parkinson's disease during a health care protest last week says he is remorseful and scared.

'I snapped. I absolutely snapped and I can't explain it any other way,' said Chris Reichert of Victorian Village, in a Dispatch interview.

In his first comments on an incident that went viral across the Internet and was repeatedly played on cable television news shows, Reichert said he is sorry about his confrontation with Robert A. Letcher, 60, of the North Side. Letcher, a former nuclear engineer who suffers from Parkinson's, was verbally attacked as he sat before anti-health care demonstrators in front of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy's district office last week.

'He's got every right to do what he did and some may say I did too, but what I did was shameful,' Reichert said. 'I haven't slept since that day.'

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Black. President.

Think Progress � Obama bumper sticker fuels violent political road rage in Tennessee.

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Hates Noir.

C-Span Caller Rails Against Black Callers (VIDEO) | TPM LiveWire:

"A caller to C-Span this morning, who identified himself as a Republican from North Carolina, accused the network of taking too many phone calls from black people.

'You have black folks calling in on the Republican line, independents. And you have so many of 'em I can't believe this is just an accident. If you keep on with the way you've been programming, you should change your name from C-Span to black-span,' he said. 'I know they have an opinion but I wish that they would be honest and call in on the right line.'"

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Pants on Fire O'Lielly.

Think Progress � Forgetting His Attacks On The Netroots, O’Reilly Says Media Are Using ‘Nuts’ To ‘Brand’ Tea Party As ‘Racists:

"O’Reilly’s effort to make a nuanced distinction is surprising, however, considering his past efforts to use cherry-picked user comments to label the netroots as “hatemongerers” like “the Ku Klux Klan” and “the Nazi Party.” In 2007, when JetBlue sponsored the YearlyKos convention, O’Reilly attacked the company, saying that “if the company was sponsoring a David Duke convention, we’d do the same story. Hate is hate, no matter where it comes from.” The two or three comments out from a forum in which hundreds of thousands of people participate were not representative of the site as a whole."

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I can't wait till I get the call to train with the elite, undercover Liberal plant brigade. Those darn Baggers/Conservatives just won't show their true colors.... we've got to make them, bygod!

OK.... just a straight up racist.

Bonus Quote of the Day -- Political Wire:

"'These people could be anybody. I wouldn't put it past the Democrats to plant somebody there. They're trying to label the tea party, but I've never seen any racial slurs.'

-- Dale Robertson, self-proclaimed founder of the Tea Party, quoted by the Washington Times.

The only problem? The Washington Independent caught Robertson at a Tea Party rally last month holding a sign with a racial slur."

Sign:

‘N-Word’ Sign Dogs Would-Be Tea Party Leader � The Washington Independent

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Shocking.

Military is just one big socialist program anyway.

CREW, VoteVets File IRS, FTC Complaints Against Sean Hannity Charity Freedom Concerts

Hannity’s Freedom charity is ‘huge scam’: conservative blogger:

"Columnist and blogger Debbie Schlussel claimed on Friday that Hannity is profiting from a charity that raises money for severely injured US soldiers and the children of troops killed in action, and she described the Freedom Alliance as 'a huge scam.'

'Less than 20% -- and in two recent years, less than 7% and 4%, respectively -- of the money raised by Freedom Alliance went to these causes, while millions of dollars went to expenses, including consultants and apparently to ferret [sic] the Hannity posse of family and friends in high style,' Schlussel writes.

'And, despite Hannity’s statements to the contrary on his nationally syndicated radio show,' she continues, 'few of the children of fallen soldiers got more than $1,000-$2,000, with apparently none getting more than $6,000, while Freedom Alliance appears to have spent tens of thousands of dollars for private planes.'"

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Republican Celebs. Always good for some crazy.

Fox's Doocy learns the hazards of not vetting guests | Media Matters for America

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In news of no-fucking-shit.

Fmr. NYT editor: Fox running ‘propaganda campaign’ against Obama:

"A former executive editor of the New York Times has charged the president of Fox News, Roger Ailes, with 'using the network to conduct a propaganda campaign against the Obama administration -- a campaign without precedent in our modern political history.'

'Through clever use of the Fox News Channel and its cadre of raucous commentators, Ailes has overturned standards of fairness and objectivity that have guided American print and broadcast journalists since World War II,' Howell Raines wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Post.

'Yet, many members of my profession seem to stand by in silence as Ailes tears up the rulebook that served this country well as we covered the major stories of the past three generations, from the civil rights revolution to Watergate to the Wall Street scandals,' Raines continued."

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Liberal/Commie/Treehugger.

Gashaw Tahir Fights Deforestation, Plants One Million Trees In Ethiopia:

"He gathered young people from his hometown -- only a few dozen at first -- but those young people recruited their friends and family until there were hundreds. On only two acres of land they planted thousands of seedlings. Now, Tahir owns 11,000 acres of Ethiopian land on which his group has planted one million trees.

'You see, one person can enroll other people,' Tahir says. 'Outreach to them for a vision. And he can lead, and other people follow and they can make a difference. You can do a lot. I planted over a million trees, hired over 450 young people, and made a difference in the ecology. That's what I have done. If one man can do this with collaboration, we can make a huge difference.'"

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If I come back, I'm going to be pissed if their are Teabaggers in that Universe too.

Robert Lanza, M.D.: Do You Only Live Once? Experiments Suggest Life Not One-Time Deal:

"Biocentrism extends this idea, suggesting that life is a flowering and adventure that transcends our ordinary linear way of thinking. Although our individual bodies are destined to self-destruct, the 'me'' feeling is just energy operating in the brain. But this energy doesn't go away at death. One of the surest principles of science is that energy never dies; it can neither be created nor destroyed. When we die, we do so not in the random billiard ball matrix but in the inescapable life matrix. Life has a non-linear dimensionality −- it's like a perennial flower that returns to bloom in the multiverse."

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A Big F*cking Deal

Happy Birthday, Patterson Hood. Thank you!

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It is, Joe. It really is:

Biden: Passing health reform ‘a big f*cking deal’ | Raw Story

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My, my winning sure does changes the narrative, don't it. Gotta keep this ball rolling, but November is looking a LOT brighter.

Can't pull up, though.

Obama, Democrats Begin Reaping Political Benefits Of Reform - Yahoo! News:

"According to a Gallup/USA Today poll conducted the day after health care legislation passed the House of Representatives, 49 percent of the respondents think the passage of reform is a 'good thing,' compared to the 40 percent who think it is bad. The numbers are a welcome relief for a party and a presidency that had been bleeding popular support over the course of the past six months.

Democrats didn't just get a health-care-related boost in the realm of public opinion. The Democratic National Committee reported raising more than $1 million in donations on Tuesday even without making a direct ask. The money is expected to pour in for other campaign committees as well."

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Last throes? Doubt it. Crazy motherfuckers (and I mean that in the worst possible way).

Vandals hit at least five Dem offices nationwide, threaten to ‘assassinate’ children of pro-reform lawmakers.

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GOP fans flames of health care reform hatred:

"For the record, House Republican leader John Boehner, GOP Chairman Michael Steele and the organizers of the Tea Party rally condemned the slurs. Steele suggested the movement and the party should not be linked with 'idiots out there saying stupid things.'

Stupid things? Try Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, shouting 'baby killer' when Rep. Bart Stupak, an anti-abortion Democrat from Michigan, was outlining his conviction that the bill would not result in federal funding of the procedure - and right after unruly House members had been admonished to stop yelling during the debate. Neugebauer claimed Monday that his exact words were 'it's a baby killer,' and were directed at the measure, not at Stupak - which would make his outburst less stupid only by slight degree.

Stupid things? How about the House Republicans who cheered two hecklers who were ushered out of the public gallery by Capitol Police on Sunday. Or the GOP lawmakers who kept going to the House balcony during the debate to wave clenched fists and handwritten signs at the crowd and helped ensure it remained whipped into a frenzy.

Stupid things? How about the steady stream of rhetorical excesses during the debate. They warned of the death of freedom, of a coming era of totalitarianism, of a 'fiscal Frankenstein.'"

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These people are certifiably fucking insane. Trying to work with them is unpatriotic. They live in a different, crazy world.

Just oozing with racism.

‘Scary’ Harris poll: 24% of Republicans think Obama ‘may be the Antichrist’ :

"Birthers, deathers, now, apparently, there are Antichristers on the Obama warpath.

The Daily Beast's John Avlon writes, 'On the heels of health care, a new Harris poll reveals Republican attitudes about Obama: Two-thirds think he's a socialist, 57 percent a Muslim—and 24 percent say 'he may be the Antichrist.''"

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Palin's "Real America".

Op-Ed Columnist - An Absence of Class in the G.O.P. - NYTimes.com:

"For decades the G.O.P. has been the party of fear, ignorance and divisiveness. All you have to do is look around to see what it has done to the country. The greatest economic inequality since the Gilded Age was followed by a near-total collapse of the overall economy. As a country, we have a monumental mess on our hands and still the Republicans have nothing to offer in the way of a remedy except more tax cuts for the rich.

This is the party of trickle down and weapons of mass destruction, the party of birthers and death-panel lunatics. This is the party that genuflects at the altar of right-wing talk radio, with its insane, nauseating, nonstop commitment to hatred and bigotry."

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This is awful. Congress really needs to do something about this. Fucking activist neocon Supreme Court assholes.

First Corporate Campaign Ads Appear After Supreme Court's Citizens United Decision:

"A Texas company recently took out a political ad in several local newspapers, making it one of the first corporations to do so in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court ruling that lifted restrictions on corporate political spending."

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Gee, wonder how that happened. Enjoy all of your eggs in that unsustainable basket.

Bush speechwriter: Republicans ‘work for Fox’ :

"Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us and now we're discovering we work for Fox," Frum told ABC's Terry Moran. "And this balance here has been completely reversed. The thing that sustains a strong Fox network is the thing that undermines a strong Republican party."

"Frum's view of the GOP's electoral prospects seemed dim. 'Nobody ever won an election by spitting on his political opponents,' he said, evidently referring to the incident this past weekend when anti-health reform protesters spat on Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver."

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Shut the fuck up.

Tebow's pre-Wonderlic prayer request falls flat | ProFootballTalk.com:

"At the Scouting Combine, the Wonderlic exam is administered to players in groups. The 12-minute test is preceded by some brief instructions and comments from the person administering the test.

Per a league source, after the person administering the test to Tebow's group had finished, Tebow made a request that the players bow their heads in prayer before taking the 50-question exam.

Said one of the other players in response: 'Shut the f--k up.' Others players in the room then laughed."

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I was far more disgusted by the hiring of Fleischer than I was by any whore Tiger fucked.

Think Progress � Ari Fleischer quits PR job for Tiger Woods because his legacy was so bad it harmed Tiger’s rehabilitation.:

"The AP gives no reason for Fleischer’s departure, but FoxSports reports that Fleischer “fell on his sword because he felt he was becoming the story“: “Fleischer’s legacy, whether fairly or not, remains propagating Bush/Cheney myths — like Saddam Hussein attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001 — which Americans don’t want to hear. Having him in behind the curtain gave the impression Woods had something to hide, and that words were being fed to him.”"

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