Rachel, Rachel

I check in on Rachel Maddow once in a while.  When she wags her finger and gets preachy, I can do without her, but when she sticks to stringing the facts together and connecting the dots, there's no better reporter.

Both Sides Doin' It

I don't even remember where I saw it today, but some preacher dude on a webcast was calling for  Newt Gringrich to produce his birth certificate, because "Gingrich's daddy ran off when Newt was just a boy and - you know - ain't no white folk gonna name they baby Newton LEROY..."

I'm really hoping it was satire or just the guy screwin' around or whatever - and not some kind of serious attempt at payback.

Everybody loses when we become what we're fighting against.

A Nation Of Sheep

...begets a government of wolves.

I'm The Slime

Nobody better'n Zappa. (hat tip = Democratic Underground)



I am gross and pervertedI'm obsessed 'n derangedI have existed for yearsBut very little had changedI am the tool of the GovernmentAnd industry tooFor I am destined to ruleAnd regulate you
I may be vile and perniciousBut you can't look awayI make you think I'm deliciousWith the stuff that I sayI am the best you can getHave you guessed me yet?I am the slime oozin' outFrom your TV set
You will obey me while I lead youAnd eat the garbage that I feed youUntil the day that we don't need youDon't go for help...no one will heed youYour mind is totally controlledIt has been stuffed into my moldAnd you will do as you are toldUntil the rights to you are sold
That's right, folks..Don't touch that dial
Well, I am the slime from your videoOozin' along on your livin'room floor
I am the slime from your videoCan't stop the slime, people, lookit me go
Copied from MetroLyrics.com 

Today's Pix

Get It Together, Girls

Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

When Mitt Romney Came To Town

At what point do we start to see a movement to dump Biden and put Gingrich on the ticket with Obama?

Little Jimmy (updated)

(update) - From a story at The Boston Herald site

James O'Keefe strikes again!  Except he doesn't.  Here's the video of O'Keefe's latest escapade, attempting to demonstrate the urgent need for Voter ID.



I'll certainly agree with the basic premise that we have to look after the integrity of our elections process - no argument there.  But this Voter ID thing is a solution in search of a problem.  And while we're at it, how come the "party of personal responsibility and small government" is being so adamant about getting Big Gubmint to step in on this one?  Can you say "Nanny State", bitches?

Anyway, Ryan Reilly at TPM has the breakdown.  (hat tip = Balloon Juice)

“Who in their right mind would risk a felony conviction for this? And who would be able to do this in large enough numbers to (1) affect the outcome of the election and (2) remain undetected?” Hasen wrote.

That quote hits it smack on the head for me.  Again - Voter ID (eg) is not about what they tell us it's about.  So what is it?

Pick Them Cherries

A facebook friend posted this.

When this kinda junk shows up, my habit is to put up some smartass comment on their wall, but this guy's not the usual brand of bible-thumper; I detect very little condescension in his attitude.

So I'll confine my own dismissive and condescending comments to my little blog here.

Anyway, using the formula depicted near the end of the video, we see that Hard Work = 98%, Knowledge = 96%, and Attitude = 100%; but Love Of God = 101%. Yay.

But wait - it gets better. Bullshit = 103%. And if you really really wanna score, then Pious Baloney = 139%. No wonder Gingrich was taking those shots at Romney the other night.

Miracle At Mile High

(posted by a facebook friend)

Iran

Sounds plain to me. Iran is not on the verge of getting the bomb. That means all the crap coming from guys like McCain and Lieberman (et al) is meant to focus attention on Iran for other reasons. (ie: this "issue" is in keeping with my basic premise that it's never about what they tell us it's about) So what is it?

(hat tip = Democratic Underground)

We Are So Fucked

From Mother Jones:

For the German chemical giant Bayer, neonicotinoid pesticides—synthetic derivatives of nicotine that attack insects' nervous systems—are big business. In 2010, the company reeled in $789 million euros (more than $1 billion) in revenue from its flagship neonic products imidacloprid and clothianidin. The company's latest quarterly report shows that its "seed treatment" segment—the one that includes neonics—is booming.

The nexus of Crop Engineering, Corporate-Funded Research, and Regulation Capture scares the fuck outa me.

And BTW: Ain't no such thing as National Security when it's not safe to breathe the air, drink the water, or eat the food.

Double Speak

In the 40 years I've been voting, every time anybody runs for President, he ends up talking about what he'll do - or what we need to do - "to restore America to greatness".

When you say something like that, doesn't it have to mean you think America is a pretty crappy place right now?  I know it's just a rhetorical gimmick, but it seems like whoever says that kind of thing will always also say that he's 'plain-spoken'; that he says what he means and means what he says, and blah blah blah.  And then he'll turn around and say that the US is - not was, and not will be - but is the greatest.

So when do we get a guy who does actually give it to us straight?  We don't.  Well, we did let that guy in a coupla times.  Bobby Kennedy grabbed us by the collar in 1968 and made us look directly at our own shittiness in places like Appalachia and Viet Nam - we felt so bad about it, we had to shoot him in the head, and then vote for Nixon so we could get us a little law and order up in here.  We went back to the well in 1976 but that guy turned out to be Jimmy Carter, who also told us way too much truth about way too many things that really bummed us out.  Carter managed to avoid being shot in the head by being extraordinarily adept at shooting himself in the foot - but anyway, we went back to voting for guys who knew how to wave the Big American Dick; guys who could help a bunch of petting zoo ponies pretend to be racing studs.

They lie to us because we insist on it.

Pots And Kettles

I couldn't look at this and not see people like Willard and Lil' Newt.
(hat tip = Balloon Juice)

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If I Hafta Tebow 'Round The World

(my sincerest apologies to Marvin Gaye for the title)

Cults of personality are occasionally interesting, sometimes powerful, often dangerous - and generally hard not to watch.

Especially when they're more than a little weirdly ironic.