Robot Robot

Really not much different than any current pop star. Just as robotic and the auto-tune is built in.

Man hands are kinda freaky, though. Flesh-bots aren't too bad.

You're welcome. Happy nightmares.

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Not all Republicans are racists, but all racists ARE Republican. Just sayin'.

Brian Kilmeade sez: 'Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.' Oh really? | Crooks and Liars

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Did wonders for the acid scene.

BBC News - How Mandelbrot's fractals changed the world:

"During the 1980s, people became familiar with fractals through those weird, colourful patterns made by computers.

But few realise how the idea of fractals has revolutionised our understanding of the world, and how many fractal-based systems we depend upon."

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Build the Big F****n' Thing!

Government is about the only entity left in the U.S. that CAN create jobs. Corporate America could give a rats ass about creating American jobs.

Thus, we should go big with a public works campaign and....

Build the Big F****n' Thing!

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We're doing it here in NorCal, even though we imported most of the steel from China (reformatting your resume in Mandarin is a bitch, btw).

Piece of new Bay Bridge tower to go up:

"Crews are scheduled to install the 165-foot, 12,000-ton piece, known as a lift, Wednesday afternoon. The massive piece arrived in the Bay Area from China earlier this month.

It is one of five pieces that will make up the first section of the 525-foot tower, which will be the centerpiece of the new, seismically safe, $6.2 billion eastern span."

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And we roll with our own renewable energy plans, feds be damned.

Sonoma County resists feds on home energy loans

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And it is not like this country isn't looking like some Appalachian, backwoods shack that one strong wind can take out....

Dam fails in eastern Iowa, causing massive flooding - CNN.com

Oil pipeline leak pollutes major Michigan river | Raw Story

Oil spewing from well near La. marsh - U.S. news - Environment - msnbc.com

Officials detail how Tempe Town Lake dam will be repaired

So, stimulate and stimulate BIG, Obama or go home.

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Speaking of hell... I mean, Phoenix... You reap what you sow....

Fleeing Phoenix out of fear of immigration law - Los Angeles Times:

"Reporting from Phoenix — Every time a customer buys some of the large fabric tote bags from the Dollar Store at 43rd Avenue and Thomas Road, Najmuddin Katchi sees another piece of his business vanish.

The purchase of the briefcase-sized shoulder bags means that another one of Katchi's customers, mostly Latino immigrants, is packing to leave the state before what is touted as the nation's toughest law against illegal immigrants takes effect July 29."

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Very cool, but you'd be forced to utilize their email program, I bet.

PilotHandwriting.com

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So awesome.

Flying giants: Incredibly rare display as manta rays leap 3ft out of water into the air | Mail Online

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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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A Whopper

Before I start kvetching, check this out. I love when nature fights back.

Kaboom! Whale Crash-Lands on Boat - ABC News

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Ya think, Tom-who-still-has-a-job for some damn reason? You were one of the ones who put her through hell, asshole.

Tom Vilsack: Shirley Sherrod Has 'Been Put Through Hell,' Deserves New Job:

And here's another not being held accountable and who should be on his ass w/o a job in the White House.

In meeting, Messina praised Sherrod handling - Ben Smith - POLITICO.com

Wouldn't it be nice if the Obama Administration held itself and bankers and BushCo and BP to the same standard they expect from educators. If that were the case the two above plus Rahm, Geitner, Sumners and a whole host of other Administration failures would be unemployed.

Race to the top is worse than No Child Left Behind. This is a goddamn tragedy of Obama and Arns making.

On Education - A Popular Principal, Wounded by Good Intentions - NYTimes.com:

"“She should not have been removed,” Mr. Sanders said in an interview. “I’ve walked that school with her — she seemed to know the name and life history of every child.”

Ms. Irvine wasn’t removed by anyone who had seen her work (often 80-hour weeks) at a school where 37 of 39 fifth graders were either refugees or special-ed children and where, much to Mr. Mudasigana’s delight, his daughter Evangeline learned to play the violin.

Ms. Irvine was removed because the Burlington School District wanted to qualify for up to $3 million in federal stimulus money for its dozen schools.

And under the Obama administration rules, for a district to qualify, schools with very low test scores, like Wheeler, must do one of the following: close down; be replaced by a charter (Vermont does not have charters); remove the principal and half the staff; or remove the principal and transform the school."

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If it seems I'm hammering the Obama Administration more so that Breitbart's sorry, racist ass as well as Fox and every other traditional media outlet that picked up this ginned up 'controversy', you are spot on.

We know what the right wing puke funnel has done, is doing, and will do. We know.

I'm hammering the Obama Administration b/c a). They should really know better and I'm sick of them being a bunch of pussies anytime Beck says 'boo'. and b). Obama Administration loves to punch them some hippies and shit on the folks who put them in office. Well, I punch and shit back.

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Fine then, Hodes. We know most Dems are a bunch of weak knee pussies. Stop writing about the obvious and start going big to make big changes. Tell use who are the 'too many of us'. Point fingers. Name names. Create change. Otherwise, save the obvious diaries.

Daily Kos: Weak Knees:

By Congressman Hodes (D)

"The firing of Sherrod over what turned out to be a heavily (and deceptively) edited video of her remarks is the latest example. When the far right bulldozes, too many of us buckle.

Democrats need to stop panicking every time we find the right-wing media in our face. The only way to beat back the misinformation they spread is by calling them out and holding them accountable – not caving to pressure from their echo chambers.

We have no excuse for not fully understanding what the far-right is capable of in terms of hateful and deceitful rhetoric. From Glenn Beck to Rush Limbaugh to Andrew Breitbart – they’ve shown us time and again exactly how willing they are to distort the truth.

During the health care debate they brought us “death panels,” a “socialist state” and “pulling the plug on grandma.” We watched as they singlehandedly destroyed the honest conversation we were trying to have with the American public about how to fix a system rigged for the special interests and against the American people."

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Dems worth a damn:

Woolsey to introduce ‘robust public option’ bill | Raw Story:

"Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), co-chair of the progressive caucus, is making good on her promise to continue pushing for a public health insurance option after the enactment of sweeping reform legislation.

On Thursday afternoon, the Northern California congresswoman will announce the introduction of a bill offering consumers a choice between private plans and a 'robust' public plan in the health insurance exchanges set up by the law."

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Culling the herd:

Cell Phone May Have Distracted Teen In Fatal Fall - News Story - KTVU San Francisco:

The Coast Trail is wide and clearly marked near the beach. Authorities said early reports indicate the teen may have been talking or texting on his cell phone and simply walked over the edge."

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Awesome:

Parachuting donkey shocks Russian beachgoers | Raw Story:

"'It was put up so high into the sky that the children on the beach cried and asked their parents: 'Why did they tie a doggy to a parachute?' the newspaper, Taman, said late last week."

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Gutless Cowards - Reinstate Sherrod, Fire Vilsack

The Obama Administration is nothing but a bunch of gutless cowards.

Here's the Whitehouse phone number to tell them so:

202-456-1111

Reinstate Sherrod TODAY, and fire Vilsack on the spot plus anyone else who doesn't have the balls to tell the Teabaggers to go fuck themselves.

Dollars to donuts, Obama makes a speech where he falsely compares right wing racism with non-existent left wing racism. Rahm will be jacking off on the corner b/c Obama is doing his 'hippie punching' for him.

These people manage about was well as Bush. They embarrass me.

White House Uses Misleading Breitbart Video As Basis To Hastily Demand USDA Official’s Resignation

White farmers at the center of Shirley Sherrod controversy: ‘No way in the world’ she is a racist.

Daily Kos: Reinstate Shirley Sherrod:

"Despite the fact that Sherrod did nothing wrong -- in fact, did everything right -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack fired her after Breitbart's video was released. As you can see in Ben Smith's article, the White House is trying to simultaneously support Vilsack's position and deny responsibility for it. Obviously, Vilsack fired her out of the misguided belief that Breitbart had turned her into a political liability. But not only is that immoral, it's stupid; the backlash against the unjustified dismissal of Shirley Sherrod will dwarf whatever teabagging nonsense Breitbart could have drummed up.

As both Digby and Greg Sargent argue, Vilsack's decision to fire Sherrod is appalling. Shirley Sherrod is a good woman who did nothing wrong and nobody should want to live in the kind of country where good people are fired because politicians are worried that they might become liabilities.

There's still enough time to make the situation right. President Obama should step up to the plate and reinstate Shirley Sherrod. Let this be a teaching moment, that in this country we don't let innocent bystanders become victims of political assassins like Andrew Breitbart. This is a time for leadership, but there isn't much time left to show it. The clock is running."

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Hullabaloo:

"They are telling wingnuts everywhere that all they have to do is gin up a phony controversy (especially about a black person, apparently) and the administration will fire them so as not to shake confidence that they are 'fair service providers.'

This is sheer cowardice."

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UPDATED: White House, You Were Punked By Andrew Breitbart | Crooks and Liars:

"This whole episode screams 'Why can't we have reasonable discussions about racial issues???' at me.

The answer is twofold: First, Andrew Breitbart is a dirty, lying SOB who thrives on waving his malodorous lies around on Fox News and the Internet. Second, the White House or USDA, depending upon which story you read, believed him."

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This is how bad it has gotten. I'm quoting one of the dumbest conservative assholes out there, Johah Goldberg:

Maddow to White House: Giving in to conservative spin ‘makes it worse’ | Raw Story:

"Goldberg went on to express a perception of the Obama administration that was strikingly similar to Maddow's. 'Meanwhile, as a matter of politics,' he wrote, 'I think this episode demonstrates that this White House is a much more tightly wound outfit than it lets on in public. The rapid-response firing suggests a level of fear over Glenn Beck and Fox that speaks volumes.'"

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These are the idiot assholes who rule Obama's world:

Onion story from 2007 currently being accepted by TeePees as ... on Twitpic

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Keeping up with the Jonses.

Growing China oil spill threatens sea life, water - Yahoo! News

AMERICAblog News: BP photoshops fake photo of crisis command center, posts on main BP site

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Amen. Nationalize them.

Oliver Stone: US should nationalize oil resources | Raw Story:

"The Gulf of Mexico oil spill shows that the United States should follow the example of South American socialists in nationalizing its energy industry, filmmaker Oliver Stone said Tuesday.

The Academy Award-winning director of 'Born on the Fourth of July' and 'JFK' said that America's country's natural wealth was too important to be left in private hands, telling journalists in central London that oil and other natural resources 'belong to the people.'

'This BP oil spill is typical' of what happens when private industry is allowed to draw revenue on what should be a public good, Stone said."

"We shouldn't make this kind of profit on oil or on health or on war or on prisons. All these industries should be public industries."

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Shock Doctrine

More blood on the hands of Fox/Rush/Beck/et al.

Think Progress � Angry About Congress Passing ‘Left-Wing Agenda Items,’ 45-Year-Old Parolee Opens Fire On Cops

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What Digby says always:

Hullabaloo

Therefore, his political advisers should know that when the country is still reeling from unemployment and foreclosures after nearly two years, the passage of an inadequate stimulus bill, which unrealistic benchmarks and a giddy victory party ensured would be the only chance they got, the only people who will consider that a "success" would be beltway insiders. They should have realized that a health care bill that nobody in their right minds would have designed from scratch, the worst aspects of which liberals will be asked to defend for years to come, would be met with dampened enthusiasm by those who watched the process devolve from a sense of progressive purpose to an exhausting farce. They are expected to be able to predict that financial reform without accountability for what's gone before, combined with the administration's unwillingness to confront the civil liberties abuse of the last administration -- indeed expanding on them in some cases -- would show a lack of fundamental concern for justice among those who care about such things.

.........

"Since the Village is essentially a Republican town perhaps they assumed that liberals were all going to be the same dead-enders the Bush cultists were, defending their man until the day he was out of office (and then insisting they never liked him in the first place.) That's what 'little people' (and paid political hacks) are supposed to do. But liberals are not known for cultlike devotion to their leaders --- ask Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter."

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Shock Doctrine. Rinse and Repeat.

Chris Hayes: Deficits are the new Weapons of Mass Destruction:

"Conservatives and their neoliberal allies don't really care about deficits; they care about austerity—about gutting the welfare state and redistributing wealth upward. That's the objective. Deficits are just what they can all agree on, the WMDs of this manufactured crisis."
...........

"The LIES (WMD's, Deficits are the problem, Death Panels, Maverick), once accepted as gospel by the villagers and their uber-wealthy patrons shall no longer require second thought. Anyone with proof of the fallacy of the gospel of the villagers will be ignored. The burden of providing proof is never on the side of the people who push corporatist policies that harm everyone so the richest may profit. And once the corporatist policies utterly fail everyone who wasn't super rich already ( just like they are supposed to ) the same people who were dead wrong the first time will be right back telling you why they never saw it coming and their NEW idea is just what the doctor ordered."

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Daily Kos: The Facade Is Crumbling: The Fraud and Looting Continue:

"How does one decrease the cost of labor in America? Well first, you have to bust the unions. Check. Then you have to create a pressing need for people to work – perhaps give them easy access to credit and then get them to go so deeply into debt that they will have to work until they die to pay them off. Check. It also helps if you push up the cost of living by manipulating commodity prices. Check. Then, take away people’s retirement savings. Check. Lower interest rates to make savings futile and interest income inadequate. Check. And finally, threaten to take away the 12% a year that people have been saving for retirement by labeling Social Security an 'entitlement' program – as if it wasn’t money Americans worked their whole lives to save and gave to the government in good faith. Check."

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Change you can be appalled by:

Obey: White House Suggested Cutting Food Stamps to Pay for Education Program � The Washington Independent

Health Care Reform Produces Win For Abortion Foes

Halliburton 2Q profit jumps 83 percent | Raw Story

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Very good:

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The GOP's Deliberate Sabotage

The GOP's Deliberate Sabotage.

It's been their strategy since day one. God forbid the 'unpleasantness' of it all sully those poor, poor 'reporters' fragile little minds.

The Washington Monthly:

"It's unpleasant to think about, and I really hope it's not true, but it may be time for a discussion about whether GOP lawmakers are trying to deliberately sabotage the economy to help their midterm election strategy. After all, these same Republicans have supported deficit-financed tax-extenders before -- there's no credible reason to change course now. On the contrary, with the economy struggling to break through, the need for this package is more obvious, not less, if your goal is to actually improve economic conditions."

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Gulf Coast Governors Leaving National Guard Idle - CBS Evening News - CBS News

Kenneth Jindal has 6000 NG at his disposal and has activated only 1500 all the while bitching that the Feds, who, as a Republican, he believes should not interfere in any-damn-thing, haven't supplied him with any resources.

See above.

Pattern of sabotage. High crimes, indeed.

And nobody gives a damn.

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What Ed says:

Daily Kos: Ed Schultz: "If you love America, quit voting like you hate Americans"

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Seriously. Imagine the hyperventilation going on at FAUX News.

Just imagine it for a minute.

Courtland Milloy - Tolerance of white militias exemplifies racial double standard:

"Imagine that the inauguration of President George W. Bush had sparked an explosive rise in African American militia groups. Suppose thousands of heavily armed black men began gathering at training camps in wooded areas throughout the country, devising military tactics for 'taking back their country' after what they believed was an electoral coup.

Do you think Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney would have reacted to a black militaristic buildup as coolly as President Obama has to the phenomenal growth of white militias?"

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Seriously, WTF! Makes me want to go down their and cross every one of BP's fake barriers and when I'm accosted, tell each and everyone to fuck off.

Louisiana Police Pull Over Activist at Behest of BP | Mother Jones

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I sure wish we'd passed health care instead of a health insurance bail-out.

U.S. scores dead last again in healthcare study | Reuters:

"(Reuters) - Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system, according to a report released on Wednesday."

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Very good explanation of the CLEAR Act:

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Inspired. Lera Lynn (drool) on vocals. Song by Jeff Soileau, video by Evan Soileau.

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Speak Our Minds

Daily Kos: Why Some Will Never Thank Us or Stop Hating Us

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Changing Obama's Mindset | The Progressive:

"What’s required is a total turn�around. We want a country that uses its resources, its wealth, and its power to help people, not to hurt them. That’s what we need.

This is a vision we have to keep alive. We shouldn’t be easily satisfied and say, “Oh well, give him a break. Obama deserves respect.”

But you don’t respect somebody when you give them a blank check. You respect somebody when you treat them as an equal to you, and as somebody you can talk to and somebody who will listen to you.

Not only is Obama a politician. Worse, he’s surrounded by politicians. And some of them he picked himself. He picked Hillary Clinton, he picked Lawrence Summers, he picked people who show no sign of breaking from the past.

We are citizens. We must not put ourselves in the position of looking at the world from their eyes and say, “Well, we have to compromise, we have to do this for political reasons.” No, we have to speak our minds."

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Al Franken Slams Supreme Court For Dismantling Legal Protections (VIDEO)

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Warren Buffett pledge as part of the $600 billion challenge - Jun. 16, 2010

Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not. I like having an expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden. Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.

My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery. (For starters, the odds against my 1930 birth taking place in the U.S. were at least 30 to 1. My being male and white also removed huge obstacles that a majority of Americans then faced.)

My luck was accentuated by my living in a market system that sometimes produces distorted results, though overall it serves our country well. I've worked in an economy that rewards someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with sums reaching into the billions. In short, fate's distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.

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DOJ: Nearly 500 arrests in mortgage fraud probe - Yahoo! News

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WATCH: Autistic Student Eric Duquette Amazes Audience With Graduation Speech

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Executing Acorn

A public execution of an innocent organization that helps the poor. Republicans and Democrats both complicit in the murder.

And nobody gives a damn.

Exclusive: ACORN leader says critics mounted ‘McCarthy-era war against the poor’ after report clears organization of wrongdoing:

"“This was a McCarthy-era style war against the poor and minorities, nothing more,” the group's former leader told Raw Story.

“This proves the right will resort to anything to maintain power to continue the war on poor black and brown people,” she added."

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Congressional report clears ACORN of wrongdoing — after group forced to disband:

The report found no evidence of fraud, lax oversight or misuse of federal funds."

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Daily Kos: Reagan Revolution Home To Roost -- In Charts

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Take off the oxy...

Sam Bennett: The Oxymoron of the Sarah Palin "Conservative Feminism" Brand:

"Sarah Palin calling herself a conservative feminist is like BP calling themselves a corporate environmentalist. You don't get to just pick up that word and use it the way you want it.

I think we can all agree that feminism is about equality. Where we disagree is whether or not 'equality' extends to all aspects of a woman's life—including reproductive health choices.

To me and the many other women's rights activists who have spoken out on this subject, claiming to support equality for women—without trusting them to make the most important and personal life decisions—is both absurd and insulting."

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Stupid reality.

Rand Paul's ideas crash into reality - Editorial - Kentucky.com: "

There's the time that Paul, an eye doctor, wanted board certification but didn't like the new rules for earning it. So he created his own medical board. He's now certified by the National Board of Ophthalmology of which he's president, his wife is vice president and his father-in-law is secretary.

At the the junction of principle and pragmatism, Paul denounces big government and its costs and intrusiveness, but depends on the little things that big government does for him. Paul's campaign told reporter John Cheves that about half of his medical income comes from payments by Medicaid and Medicare, entitlement programs for the elderly, poor and disabled."

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Mean people asking questions and shit.

GOP Shields Angle And Paul To Avoid Making Them Face Of '10 | TPMDC:

"It's no accident or coincidence that Republicans in Washington are trying to shield Senate candidates Rand Paul and Sharron Angle from the national, and even local, press.

Remember the GOP establishment didn't want these far-right, insurgent candidates in the first place, and now Republicans fear that in the year of the tea party, Paul and Angle could become the face of the party for the midterm elections. That could present an image to voters that screams radical more than it does electable."

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Nice. Entitled assholes.

Billionaire Bad Boys Club: Meg Whitman's Son's Arrest for Beating Up a Girl

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Mighty white of them. Just now? Just getting around to this now?!?

Congressional leadership to acknowledge role of slave labor in Capitol construction - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

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The Shortest Possible Game of Monopoly: 21 Seconds � scatterplot

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State Capitalism

Here's an important lesson for us all. Get your learning hat on:

AMERICAblog News: State capitalism & you:

"Thanks to the BP spill and the excellent coverage of it by people like Chris in Paris and a host of others, the relationship between the state and capitalism is coming under the microscope — a very good thing. This post offers a bit of orientation, and a small peek forward.

So let's look at three concepts and see how they interact. The first two are:

* The state (the federal government, the People's Republic, the Thousand-Year Reich, whatever)

* The owners of the means of production (capitalists, bankers, the 'Big Boys,' that ilk)

The third concept to notice is the national interest (sometimes mislabeled 'patriotism' or 'chauvinism,' after M. Chauvin)."

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This SOB should be so far under a jail.... Fuck George Bush.

Former Argentine president says Bush told him ‘the best way to revitalize the economy is war.’

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A Republican opens their mouth and a lie falls out. Must be a Thursday.

Brewer tells conflicting stories about dad's war effort:

"Gov. Jan Brewer said in a recent interview that her father died fighting Nazis in Germany. In fact, the death of Wilford Drinkwine came 10 years after World War II had ended.

During the war, Drinkwine worked as a civilian supervisor for a naval munitions depot in Hawthorne, Nev. He died of lung disease in 1955 in California.
......
'Knowing that my father died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany, that I lost him when I was 11 because of that... and then to have them call me Hitler's daughter. It hurts. It's ugliness beyond anything I've ever experienced,' Brewer said in the story, published Tuesday.

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Fuck no. Hack.

Easy answers to stupid ass question.

Is Brian Williams The Walter Cronkite Of The 21st Century?

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Brilliant:

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Pretty good:

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Long Conversation

So.....

Alabama Teacher Gives Geometry Lesson Using Assassination As Example | TPM LiveWire:

"A student in the class described the lesson: 'He was talking about angles and said, 'If you're in this building, you would need to take this angle to shoot the president.''

The district superintendent told the News that the unnamed teacher will not be disciplined."

...'will not be disciplined'.

Oh, Alabama. The digital age, you just don't get.

You are being watched.

Legal Schnauzer: Anti-Obama Teacher Is Placed on Administrative Leave in Alabama:

"An Alabama teacher who used the assassination of President Obama as an example in a high-school geometry class has been placed on administrative leave.

Gregory Harrison is on paid leave and faces possible termination, Jefferson County School Superintendent Phil Hammonds said. Hammonds originally said Harrison would not be fired and would face no disciplinary action other than a 'long conversation.'

Hammonds apparently changed his mind after phone calls flooded his office yesterday, coming from as far away as New York, California, and Wisconsin."

Changed his mind, indeed.

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Later fake Dem Specter.

Joe Sestak: Pennsylvania Senate 2010 Election BREAKING News

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Wow! Drudgico using 'GOP' and 'Failure' in the same headline.

Somebody is getting fired.... or will have to apologize to Rush.

The GOP's special failure - Jonathan Martin and Charles Mahtesian - POLITICO.com:

"All the evidence pointing to monster Republican House gains this fall—the Scott Brown upset win in Massachusetts, the scary polling numbers in once-safely Democratic districts, the ever-rising number of Democratic seats thought to be in jeopardy—was contradicted Tuesday.

In the only House race that really mattered to both parties—the special election to replace the late Democratic Rep. John Murtha in Pennsylvania’s 12th District—Republicans failed spectacularly, losing on a level playing field where, in this favorable environment, they should have run roughshod over the opposition."

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Like the sound of this:

Kagan: In Bush v. Gore, Court Was Affected By Politics And Policy

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Irony is so totally lost on these people.

Don’t shoot: NRA bans guns from its annual meeting | Raw Story

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Nothing to see here folks.... except the slow decimation of an entire way of life.

Tar balls found along shore in Key West - Gulf Oil Spill - MiamiHerald.com

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At least somebody is doing some good in our waters.

Whales, oceans, wildlife rescue: Gray whale is freed from web of nets, swims off - latimes.com

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Robin Hood vs. The Tea Baggers

I just removed myself from a 'family' email list after blasting the fuck out of everyone on the list for sending racist, anti-Obama, Teabagger propaganda.

Feels. So. Good. I'll make my own damn family, thank you. Fuck 'blood'.

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Visit Arizona... if you are white:

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Crowe nails it:

Daily Kos: Robin Hood vs. The Tea Baggers : Russell Crowe Gets It:

"'Or would he be looking at what you guys do for a living and realizing that the true wealth lies in the dissemination of information? And my theory would be, if Robin Hood was alive today, he would be looking at the monopolization of media as the greatest enemy.'"

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The silly shell games NeoCons play. Wake me up when military spending appears on his ButtCut silliness list.

Something for the media to note about Cantor's "YouCut" program | Media Matters for America

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Oh my, Winnie Cooper!

Danica McKellar, 'Wonder Years' Winnie, Strips For Maxim (PHOTOS)

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Jesus....?

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And I'm Praying for You Too.

I hope President Obama learned the lesson that policy decisions should be based on merit, not politics. He's going to have to eat this one, big time. AND, we dirty hippies called 'bullshit' when he made this proclamation and included opening up new territory for drilling in the energy plan.

Yes, technology is advanced.... in other countries. Why not here in the U.S.?.....

Wonk Room � Citing Katrina Myth, Obama Claimed ‘Oil Rigs Today Don’t Generally Cause Spills’:

"I don’t agree with the notion that we shouldn’t do anything. It turns out, by the way, that oil rigs today generally don’t cause spills. They are technologically very advanced."

....Here's why. Shocking, I know. We'll be paying for the Bush/Cheney years for decades to come. Thus, the reason why Obama needs to stop splitting babies and push as hard as he can for tranformative, progressive policies. No. More. Bipartisanship. Bullshit.

Daily Kos: BP Oil Platform Spill Disaster is CHENEY'S Fault:

"Mike Papantonio, an environmental lawyer on the Ed Show just now: An 'acoustic switch' would have prevented this catastrophe - it's a failsafe that shuts the flow of oil off at the source - they cost only about half a million dollars each, and are required in off-shore drilling platforms in most of the world...except for the United States. This was one of the new deregulations devised by Dick Cheney during his secret meetings with the oil industry at the beginning of Bush's first term."

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Yup. Palast does a great job. I think it is called 'journalism'.

Greg Palast � Behind the Arizona Immigration Law:GOP Game to Swipe the November Election:

"What moved GOP Governor Jan Brewer to sign the Soviet-style show-me-your-papers law is the exploding number of legal Hispanics, US citizens all, who are daring to vote -- and daring to vote Democratic by more than two-to-one. Unless this demographic locomotive is halted, Arizona Republicans know their party will soon be electoral toast. Or, if you like, tortillas.

In 2008, working for Rolling Stone with civil rights attorney Bobby Kennedy, our team flew to Arizona to investigate what smelled like an electoral pogrom against Chicano voters ... directed by one Jan Brewer."

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It works....

Local businesses already feeling financial fallout of SB 1070 | Phoenix News | Arizona News | azfamily.com | Home:

"Some local businesses are already feeling the financial fallout. The Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association say 19 meeting have been cancelled because of Senate Bill 1070.

These groups represent an economic impact of $6 million to the state.

Ben Bethel says, “It's been a very quick swift action like I've never seen before.”"

What do the crazies do in response? Double-down!

Think Progress � Arizona Expands Its Discrimination: Teachers With Heavy Accents Can’t Teach English, Ethnic Studies Are Banned

Here's that list. Use it:

Arizona Boycott | Boycotting Arizona Companies

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I wouldn't let my child near this sick, twisted fuck of a person. I recently went through my Facebook friend list and blocked anyone who joined the 'Pray for Obama's death' group. Found three booger eaters from Alabama who got the boot.

I want those folks to know that I'm praying for them in the same manner they are praying for Obama.

Principal: Anti-Obama Facebook group 'a joke' | Concord Monitor

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Geek in Chief made a social media funny:

White House Correspondents’ Dinner: Obama on “Socialized Media” [VIDEO]:

"Social media earned a mention in the annual White House Correspondents Dinner tonight, with President Obama quipping, ‘But even though the mainstream press gives me a hard time, I hear that I’m still pretty big on Twitter, Facebook … or as Sarah Palin calls it, the socialized media.’ [1:25 in the second clip below]"

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Something We Wouldn't Want to Meet

Skimmer's are Republican darlings; the folks they are fighting for tooth and nail.

What Atrios says:

Eschaton:

"The Skimmer Economy

Some day I hope more people realize that large segments of our economy don't actually do anything (health insurance, much of finance/real estate), they simply position themselves in the middle of transactions and take their cut. That isn't to say there are no transactions which legitimately require skilled middlemen, or that there is no legitimate function for the finance and banking industries, but to a great degree the skimmers just don't do anything productive at all. Except take our money."

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I spent a couple of years in AZ. As a Dem, the A-xenophobes (R) have just handed us a gift. Will be interesting to see how the Dems screw it up.

And isn't having to carry papers at all times rather.... well, Nazi-ish?

I thought Dems were the Nazi/Commie/Socialist. Makes about as much sense as a Glenn Beck chalk board.

Linda Greenhouse: Arizona Is A 'Police State,' 'I'm Not Going Back':

"I'm not going back to Arizona as long as it remains a police state, which is what the appalling anti-immigrant bill that Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law last week has turned it into.

What would Arizona's revered libertarian icon, Barry Goldwater, say about a law that requires the police to demand proof of legal residency from any person with whom they have made 'any lawful contact' and about whom they have 'reasonable suspicion' that 'the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States?' Wasn't the system of internal passports one of the most distasteful features of life in the Soviet Union and apartheid-era South Africa?"

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Sound of crickets.

Why Aren’t Tea Partiers Protesting Arizona’s Big Government Overreach On Immigration?:

"Isn’t the whole premise of the Tea Party movement that overreaching government poses a grave threat to individual freedom? It seems to me that a law allowing individuals to be detained and interrogated on a whim — and requiring legal residents to carry identification documents, as in a police state — would send the Tea Partyers into apoplexy. Or is there some kind of exception if the people whose freedoms are being taken away happen to have brown skin and might speak Spanish?"

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SF is boycotting AZ.

City Insider : City workers banned from official travel to Arizona

So is Mexico.

Some truckers plan boycott over Arizona immigration law - Politics AP - MiamiHerald.com

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I made a similar comment recently.

Justice for thee, but not for me.

Boggles the mind:

Greenwald: Obama DoJ prosecutes Bush corruption whistleblower, but not Bush war crimes

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Larry Flynt is right!

BBC News - Stephen Hawking warns over making contact with aliens:

"He explained: 'We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet.'"

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Talk about your skimmers.

Congratulations Comcast; You're The Worst Company In America! - The Consumerist:

"After four rounds of bloody battle against some of the most publicly reviled businesses in America, Comcast can now run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and hold its hands high in victory -- it has bested everyone else to earn the title of Worst Company In America for 2010."

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Big placebo in the sky.

Placebo effect beats God, Prozac:

"This is the story of three drugs. Except one is not really a drug at all and is merely an illusion, a nifty construct, an intense belief that it might be a drug, even though, as mentioned, it is very much not. We just think it is. Isn't that strange? Wonderful? Both?

The three drugs -- which, sorry, are not so much drugs as they are modes of comprehending our own weird little minds, needs and inherent psychoses -- are presented here by way of two recent studies that essentially reinforce what similar studies have been declaring for years and decades and, in the second case, since the ancient mystics suckled wild plants in the forest, licked God, found the source of the soul, and said, you know, holy f--."

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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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"Race" Means "Class"

Of all the domestic gripes that I have, Obama's foreign policy and counter-terrorism efforts have been excellent.

You won't hear about it on the TV or read about it dead tree news. They're too busy covering 3k Tbaggers flinging spittle and drawing silly mustaches on pictures of Obama.

The Washington Monthly:

"I realize conservatives don't want to talk about this story, which is probably why major media outlets aren't paying much attention to it.

But that's a shame because when it comes to counter-terrorism, this is a big f'in deal. Here we had a serious terrorist threat -- arguably the most important since 9/11 -- and an al Qaeda recruit who was poised to kill a lot of people. Obama administration officials thwarted Zazi's plan, took him into custody, read him his rights, and gave him a lawyer.

And the results couldn't have been better for the United States. Zazi will spend the rest of his life behind bars, but only after cooperating with federal officials and becoming a valuable source of intelligence.

If Republicans really want to debate the efficacy of Obama's counter-terrorism policies, we can start right here."

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Back to domestic issues.

Damn right! A VERY liberal SCJ. I don't think Obama can screw his base any more without effectively ending his presidency. Enough is enough with the cutesy-by-half baby splitting.

Elections have consequences. We've yet to reap any of those consequences.

Daily Kos: Anything short of a liberal Supreme Court nominee is unacceptable:

"Sorry, but progressives are owed big time for electing a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress and sweeping Obama into the White House. After being brushed aside, and certainly after seeing the damage that extremists on the Supreme Court have done, another 'well qualified nominee' who doesn’t further progressive causes is completely unacceptable and should be viewed as nothing short of giving the finger to progressives.

On the flip side, it is a GREAT way to use political capital in a way to motivate a base that is becoming more apathetic as each blow-off occurs."

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Noted:

Democratic Strategist:

"The Republican right has a deeply disturbing covert extremist agenda for the Supreme Court – end the separation of church and state, undermine the legality of Social Security and Medicare and give individuals the right to ignore any laws they choose."

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Anyone who doesn't think it is a GREAT idea to try these bastards in the city of New York is simply not being genuine.

NYC deserves to try these SOBs. In a civil court, dammit.

Holder says NYC not ‘off the table’ for trying 9/11 suspects | Raw Story:

"'New York is not off the table,' Holder said. 'The Southern District of New York, for instance, is a much larger place than simply Manhattan.'"

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Of course. Teabaggers don't really have a problem with the green as much as they have a problem with the black.

You Don't Really Hate Paying Your Taxes:

"For all the grousing about taxes these days, a new survey concludes that it's doing taxes rather than paying them that really rankles.

A plurality of Americans think they're paying about the right amount in taxes, and a significant majority say they're paying the fair amount.

There is widespread agreement that the rich and corporations are paying too little in taxes. And a majority of Americans think the Bush tax cuts helped the rich the most and should be eliminated

Americans are also vastly more concerned right now about unemployment and the economy than they are about taxes -- or deficits, for that matter."

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Daily Kos: New York Times: "Race" Means "Class":

"Their fierce animosity toward Washington, and the president in particular, is rooted in deep pessimism about the direction of the country and the conviction that the policies of the Obama administration are disproportionately directed at helping the poor rather than the middle class or the rich."

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NY Tea Party gov. candidate sent videos of bestiality, pics of Obama as pimp | Raw Story

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Way to taint your brand, Discovery/TLC.

Cenk Uygur: Discovery Channel Insider: Sarah Palin's Show Is "a New All Time Low for Discovery":

"Last week Discovery had its annual sales conference for ad buyers for all of its 13 networks. The presentation showcases all of their new shows across the different networks. That night the presentation was on Sarah Palin's Alaska.

Our source says 'the whole thing [was] comical.' Apparently the ad buyers were not impressed. This Discovery insider said, 'When the promo was over, people (employees and buyers) were rolling their eyes, snickering, and even laughing. People were laughing and it's not even a comedy. No one took it seriously.'

This person was concerned that given the lack of interest from ad buyers that Discovery would have to dump the show to 'a crappy time slot' to cut its losses. They added, 'Bottom line everyone thought it was a new all time low for Discovery. My guess is the show is going to tank big time.'"

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Like a Handshake

This is a great read and sums up most of my thoughts on the matter. However, I am of the school that progressives and liberals need to play even dirtier.

Playing nice will get us killed. Literally.

But, yes, your modern conservative movement is seditious.

None Dare Call It Sedition | OurFuture.org:

"These two events are a wake-up call for progressives. They're telling us that it's time to openly confront the fact that conservatives have spent the past 40 years systematically delegitimizing the very idea of constitutional democracy in America. When they're in power, they mismanage it and defund it. When they're out of power, they refuse to participate in running the country at all -- indeed, they throw all their energy into thwarting the democratic process any way they can. When they need to win an election, they use violent, polarizing, eliminationist language against their opponents to motivate their base. This is sedition in slow motion, a gradual corrosive undermining of the government's authority and capacity to run the country. And it's been at the core of their politics going all the way back to Goldwater."

Moderates and liberals are responding to this rising threat with feckless calls for "a return to civility," as if all that's needed to put things right again is a stern talking-to from Miss Manners. Though that couldn't hurt, the sad fact is that we're well past the point where it's just a matter of conservatives behaving like tantrum-throwing spoiled brats (which they are). When a mob is surrounding your house with torches and telling you they intend to burn it down, "civility" really isn't the issue any more.

At that point -- and we're there -- criminal intent and action become the real issues. Progressives need to realize that the right began defiantly dancing back and forth over the legal line, daring us to do something about it, quite some time ago. And it's high time we called it out -- and, where appropriate, start prosecuting it -- for exactly what it is.

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Yes, let's let Big Business run our country instead of a government for, of and by the people.

The ‘mind-blowing’ surge of wealth inequality in America - Sahil Kapur - AntiPartisan - True/Slant:

"One of the most understated issues in American political discourse is the surging inequality of income and wealth. The Nation has a chart that sheds light on what’s going on."

Thus the importance of....

Unions To Out-Tea-Party The Tea Party With March On Wall Street:

"A host of union groups and community activists are planning to one-up the anti-Wall Street sentiment commonly associated with the Tea Party movement by actually organizing a massive protest on the streets of downtown Manhattan.

The AFL-CIO is set to orchestrate a 10,000-person 'march on Wall Street' on April 29, designed to push for several broad and specific actions on the financial regulatory reform front."

It’s War: SEIU Starting Third Party In North Carolina | The Plum Line:

"In a shot across the bow of Dems, the labor powerhouse SEIU is starting a new third party in North Carolina that hopes to field its own slate of candidates, part of an effort to make the Democratic Party more reliable on issues important to labor, I’m told.

SEIU officials setting up the new party, called North Carolina First, are currently on the ground collecting signatures to qualify as a state party, SEIU officials tell me, adding that there are around 100 canvassers on the ground right now. The goal: To have the party up and running so candidates can run in this fall’s elections.

It won’t be lost on political observers that three House Dems who voted No on reform are from the state: Heath Shuler, Mike McIntyre, and Larry Kissell."

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Of course he joined in. They have a little color problem.

Mississippi gov joins in: No need to cite slavery when cheering confederacy | Raw Story

Think Progress � Ohio Tea Party Organizer And Father Of Part-Latino Son Threatens To Shoot Latino Immigrants

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Weird group of people. This is what counts as 'funny'?

Christian ‘comedian’ accidentally exposes evils of indoctrination - Stephen C. Webster - Brave New Hooks - True/Slant:

"I was raised very, very Christian. So Christian, in fact, my family wouldn’t even identify their denomination — which is to say, they were in the anti-denomination denomination. They preferred the term “nondenominational.”

Even as a child, I carried an ever-present suspicion that everyone I knew was completely Fucking insane."

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Kinda like a hand shake.... or a pat on the back.

'Clinton-Lewinsky Effect': Study Shows Students' Changing Views Of Oral Sex:

"Sex researchers point to former President Bill Clinton, former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, a notorious blue dress -- and perhaps a cigar -- for a recent study that shows college students are growing more hesitant to call oral sex actual sex.

According to the University of Kentucky study of sexual definitions, only 20 percent of students considered oral-genital contact to be 'sex.' That's about half the number who responded that way in similar 'sex' classification studies in 1991 and 1999-2001."

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50 Hilarious TV Screenshots and Freeze Frames - Urlesque

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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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