(updated) I do actually know what the DNC platform says (as of 10:55 PM, according to democrats.org), and it's not true that the word "god" doesn't appear in it even once. In fact, the word "god" appears in the DNC Platform more that it does in the US Constitution.
And even if it didn't - get stuffed, you sanctimonious prigs.
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
GOP Convention Scorecard
A quick look at what FactCheck had to say about the Repubs' get-together last week:
FactCheck.org's Weekly Update for August 31, 2012
New Wire ItemsRomney’s Sorry ‘Apology’ Dig
Mitt Romney wrongly accuses President Obama of going on an “apology tour” in foreign countries.
Romney’s Big Night
There were a few bits of exaggeration and puffery in his Republican convention speech.
Ryan’s VP Spin
Paul Ryan’s acceptance speech at the GOP convention contained several false claims and misleading statements.
Santorum’s Distorted ‘Dependency’ Claims
Rick Santorum faults Obama for 'almost half of America receiving some sort of government assistance.'
Christie’s Fact-Free Keynote
The New Jersey governor made some exaggerations in a speech heavy on generalities, opinion and platitudes.
Republican Retreads from Tampa
The first day of the Republican convention saw a lot of exaggerated, misleading or downright false claims that we’ve heard before.
Spin Detectors: Help Us Monitor the Conventions
We still want you to help us monitor the Democratic National Convention.
Winning? Super PAC Compares Republican to Charlie Sheen
There is less to Majority PAC's claims about Connie Mack IV than meets the eye.
New Ask FactCheck Responses
Q: Is the Democratic National Convention hosting a Muslim “Jumah” prayer service after rejecting a Catholic cardinal’s offer to lead a prayer?
A: No. A Muslim group scheduled an event that was independent of the convention at a city park. The cardinal is leading the convention’s closing prayer.
Q: Would a “list of Republican budget cuts” by the “new Republican House” slash $2.5 trillion from federal spending over 10 years?
A: The list is real. But so far, there has been no action on the bill, which was sponsored by 33 conservative GOP House members.
FactCheck.org's Weekly Update for August 31, 2012
New Wire ItemsRomney’s Sorry ‘Apology’ Dig
Mitt Romney wrongly accuses President Obama of going on an “apology tour” in foreign countries.
Romney’s Big Night
There were a few bits of exaggeration and puffery in his Republican convention speech.
Ryan’s VP Spin
Paul Ryan’s acceptance speech at the GOP convention contained several false claims and misleading statements.
Santorum’s Distorted ‘Dependency’ Claims
Rick Santorum faults Obama for 'almost half of America receiving some sort of government assistance.'
Christie’s Fact-Free Keynote
The New Jersey governor made some exaggerations in a speech heavy on generalities, opinion and platitudes.
Republican Retreads from Tampa
The first day of the Republican convention saw a lot of exaggerated, misleading or downright false claims that we’ve heard before.
Spin Detectors: Help Us Monitor the Conventions
We still want you to help us monitor the Democratic National Convention.
Winning? Super PAC Compares Republican to Charlie Sheen
There is less to Majority PAC's claims about Connie Mack IV than meets the eye.
New Ask FactCheck Responses
Q: Is the Democratic National Convention hosting a Muslim “Jumah” prayer service after rejecting a Catholic cardinal’s offer to lead a prayer?
A: No. A Muslim group scheduled an event that was independent of the convention at a city park. The cardinal is leading the convention’s closing prayer.
Q: Would a “list of Republican budget cuts” by the “new Republican House” slash $2.5 trillion from federal spending over 10 years?
A: The list is real. But so far, there has been no action on the bill, which was sponsored by 33 conservative GOP House members.
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
Gen Douglass
I'm always pretty skeptical of people moving from one place that's among the top echelons of government to another one that's possibly a position of even greater power.
So it's not without some trepidation that I'm heading into Charlottesville tomorrow to do some volunteer work for John Douglass, who's running pretty well against the latest empty suit installed in the US House by a local Repub party that's anything but clean.
Gen Douglass via TYT:
Here's hopin'.
So it's not without some trepidation that I'm heading into Charlottesville tomorrow to do some volunteer work for John Douglass, who's running pretty well against the latest empty suit installed in the US House by a local Repub party that's anything but clean.
Gen Douglass via TYT:
Here's hopin'.
Pendulum
Here's a guy running in Virginia's 6th District - Andy Schmookler. He's up against a strongly entrenched incumbent (Bob Goodlatte) and he'll prob'ly get stomped, but it's just possible this speech should be packaged and sent to every Democrat everywhere.
And here's a guy not running this year - Mark Warner - giving a speech that's kinda crummy, but considered OK for a Democrat speaking in rural Virginia. I still think it's just not what's needed at all.
If you want "regular folk" to get behind you, then you have to get up on your hind legs; you have to go toe-to-toe, and you have to stick it into the other guy's gizzle. It's called a fight, and they don't call it that fer nuthin'.
And here's a guy not running this year - Mark Warner - giving a speech that's kinda crummy, but considered OK for a Democrat speaking in rural Virginia. I still think it's just not what's needed at all.
If you want "regular folk" to get behind you, then you have to get up on your hind legs; you have to go toe-to-toe, and you have to stick it into the other guy's gizzle. It's called a fight, and they don't call it that fer nuthin'.
Honestly Conservative
From a piece in The American Conservative by Richard Gamble:
(reminding me that a conservative is somebody who just tries to stay true to the ideals at the heart of our liberal democracy)
(reminding me that a conservative is somebody who just tries to stay true to the ideals at the heart of our liberal democracy)
In 1814, half a century after the publication of his "Dissertation on Canon and Feudal Law", John Adams wrote to his Southern adversary John Taylor of Caroline. In the course of defending his constitutional principles, Adams issued a warning that the new exceptionalists will never quote, let alone heed: “We may boast that we are the chosen people; we may even thank God that we are not like other men; but, after all, it will be but flattery, and the delusion, the self-deceit of the Pharisee.”
A people, as surely as an individual, cannot stand in the presence of the world and congratulate itself on its unassailable virtue without leading itself into moral blindness and earning the contempt of others. Nothing about the American achievement is “placed beyond all possibility of failure,” as John Quincy Adams boasted. It would be fatal for a republic to entertain such presumption. There is nothing inevitable about our future, and no facile talk about exceptionalism will make it so. A history and a tradition—an authentic, fully American history and tradition—is available to us, but only if we turn away from the myths of the new exceptionalism.
On Boiling Frogs
Learn something new every day.
As Wikipedia puts it, German physiologist Friedrich Goltz “demonstrated that a frog that has had its brain removed will remain in slowly heated water, but his intact frogs attempted to escape the water.” Other 19th Century studies appeared to have different results, but modern experiments (!) show that frogs with brains are in fact smart enough to leap out of water as it is heated up.I'd heard the Slowly-Boiled Frog thing was bunk, but I'd never looked it up. So there it is.
Advantage: White Guy
Louis CK on Being White.
From a piece about the myth of voter fraud by Andrew Cohen in The Atlantic:
And, oh yeah - I almost forgot. When voting is outlawed, only outlaws will vote.
From a piece about the myth of voter fraud by Andrew Cohen in The Atlantic:
Last week, as one federal judge after another struck down these new measures, as one court after another called out Republican lawmakers for the lack of evidence supporting the push to stop "voter fraud," it dawned on me that this national debate suffers, as so many do these days, from a lack of a common starting point. There is so much fear. There is so much ignorance. There is so much exaggeration. Here are six of the most frequent comments I get when I write about voting rights followed by my attempts at a few answers that perhaps can get us talking about this in a more productive way.The Myths:
In the end, Voter ID is just not fair - and fairness is one of things American Exceptionalism is really about.
- We need these new voter ID laws to stop voter fraud
- We need these new voter ID laws to stop illegal immigrants from voting
- The new voter laws do not create substantial burdens on registered voters
- The new Republican voter laws are the results of reasonable compromises between and among state legislators
- There are many restrictions upon the right to vote -- what's so vital about another such restriction?
- Burdening the rights of voters to cast their ballots is not the same as disenfranchising voters
And, oh yeah - I almost forgot. When voting is outlawed, only outlaws will vote.
Today's Quote
LBJ On Voting Rights:
"It's outrageous that all people do not have the dignity to which they are entitled. But we can't legislate human dignity -- we can legislate to give a man a vote and a voice in his own government. Then with his vote and his voice he is equipped with a very potent weapon to guarantee his own dignity."
--Lyndon Johnson, 1960; speaking about 1957 Civil Rights Legislation
Without Apology - Part 2
(con'd from Without Apology - below)
If I argue "when healthcare coverage is outlawed, only outlaws will have healthcare coverage", I suspect "conservatives" to scoff and tell me I'm stupid to think they're trying to "outlaw" healthcare coverage.
But they're wrong. Being against HealthCare Reform and against ObamaCare (and and and) almost always goes with a package that includes being in favor of Free Market Solutions. These guys will always spout the standard suite of platitudes:
But outlawing coverage is (effectively) exactly what happens. In a system of completely unfettered capitalism, the Market is the law, and your paycheck is Law Enforcement.
In that system, what's the difference between being unable to buy it and being forbidden by law to possess it?
If I argue "when healthcare coverage is outlawed, only outlaws will have healthcare coverage", I suspect "conservatives" to scoff and tell me I'm stupid to think they're trying to "outlaw" healthcare coverage.
But they're wrong. Being against HealthCare Reform and against ObamaCare (and and and) almost always goes with a package that includes being in favor of Free Market Solutions. These guys will always spout the standard suite of platitudes:
- the market will always find a fair balance on its own
- the market brings innovation to satisfy all needs of every market segment
- the competition of the market will force prices down so everybody can get it on the benefits
- everything is good as long as government stays out of it completely
But outlawing coverage is (effectively) exactly what happens. In a system of completely unfettered capitalism, the Market is the law, and your paycheck is Law Enforcement.
In that system, what's the difference between being unable to buy it and being forbidden by law to possess it?
Without Apology
Here's what I've been thinking: "Conservatives" have had a field day with the Clever Turnaround that says it all when it comes to convincing the 30-40% of people who really don't wanna think much more deeply than your basic bumper sticker. They need to categorize the issue, and file away something that's easy to recall, and sounds more or less like it fits with the standard bullshit that "all we really need is some good ol' fashioned common sense up in here".
We've heard it a thousand times. In response to mountains of facts and miles of perfectly cogent reasoning about the honest-to-god, real-life need for sensible Gun Control, they say, "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns".
So how 'bout we fight fire with fire? I've been having a lot of fun trolling the facebook posts of my Radical Right friends, and it's a little weird, but it's almost like they just don't expect to get any push back on anything - like they can say any bullshit thing, and nobody's gonna call 'em on it. It shocks the hell out of 'em sometimes when all I do is hit 'em with the kind of crap they usually come up with. One guy put up something about how things had gotten so bad under Obama, so I posted a comment saying he sounded like he was being very critical, and then I asked him why he hated America. I could almost feel the heat when he posted his next comment, which came in very short order, and of course, ended in ALL CAPS!!!!!!!
But here's what I've boiled it down to - this is what I'm gonna try. Whenever somebody says some wacky crap about repealing ObamaCare (eg), I'm gonna turn it around and just say:
--"When healthcare coverage is outlawed, only outlaws will have healthcare coverage".
--or--
("All taxation is theft")
-- "When taxes are outlawed, only outlaws will collect taxes"
--or--
("Churches and good neighbors should care for the less fortunate")
("The Government has no business trying to force me to look after poor people")
-- "When charity is outlawed, only outlaws will get charity"
--or--
("Government Workers and Retirement Obligations are bankrupting state and local governments.")
--"When law enforcement is outlawed, the outlaws will be law enforcement."
--"When clean water is outlawed, only outlaws will have clean water."
--"When safe streets are outlawed, only outlaws will be safe on the streets."
--"When pensions are outlawed, only outlaws will have pensions."
What else? Must be a gajillion of 'em. Roll with me.
We've heard it a thousand times. In response to mountains of facts and miles of perfectly cogent reasoning about the honest-to-god, real-life need for sensible Gun Control, they say, "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns".
So how 'bout we fight fire with fire? I've been having a lot of fun trolling the facebook posts of my Radical Right friends, and it's a little weird, but it's almost like they just don't expect to get any push back on anything - like they can say any bullshit thing, and nobody's gonna call 'em on it. It shocks the hell out of 'em sometimes when all I do is hit 'em with the kind of crap they usually come up with. One guy put up something about how things had gotten so bad under Obama, so I posted a comment saying he sounded like he was being very critical, and then I asked him why he hated America. I could almost feel the heat when he posted his next comment, which came in very short order, and of course, ended in ALL CAPS!!!!!!!
But here's what I've boiled it down to - this is what I'm gonna try. Whenever somebody says some wacky crap about repealing ObamaCare (eg), I'm gonna turn it around and just say:
--"When healthcare coverage is outlawed, only outlaws will have healthcare coverage".
--or--
("All taxation is theft")
-- "When taxes are outlawed, only outlaws will collect taxes"
--or--
("Churches and good neighbors should care for the less fortunate")
("The Government has no business trying to force me to look after poor people")
-- "When charity is outlawed, only outlaws will get charity"
--or--
("Government Workers and Retirement Obligations are bankrupting state and local governments.")
--"When law enforcement is outlawed, the outlaws will be law enforcement."
--"When clean water is outlawed, only outlaws will have clean water."
--"When safe streets are outlawed, only outlaws will be safe on the streets."
--"When pensions are outlawed, only outlaws will have pensions."
What else? Must be a gajillion of 'em. Roll with me.
Monday, September 03, 2012
Strategy
Can anybody tell me with a straight face that the Repubs are all about truth-telling, and nuance and getting at the real heart of the matter?
From Addicting Information:
From Addicting Information:
Fact: Shark Attacks Increase w/ Ice Cream Consumption
Based on the above, which statement below is true?
A. Sharks hate people who eat ice cream.
B. Sharks love ice cream, so they eat people.
C. Obama is a Muslim.
D. None of the above
If you answered “C” – You already have all the answers and can’t be convinced otherwise.
To everyone else, if you answered “D” – Congratulations, you are correct.
Fighting The Myth
From The Daily Beast:
Of all the great, near-great, and less-than-great tweets and remarks about the Clint Eastwood disaster, the most profound came from The American Prospect’s Jamelle Bouie: “This is a perfect representation of the campaign: an old white man arguing with an imaginary Barack Obama.” The story of the whole week, indeed of more or less the whole last four or five years, is of Republicans and conservatives peddling to voters an imaginary Barack Obama. To their immense frustration, a lot of that effort hasn’t taken hold the way they’d have liked. But now it’s crunch time, and in the important states that will decide the election, every vote counts. So Obama and the Democrats should spend part of next week dispelling the five myths that have the potential to singe.
Sunday, September 02, 2012
Fact Vacuum
Charles Blow, in an Op-Ed at NYT:
There is some degree of mythmaking and truth-stretching in every campaign, but the extent to which Republicans have embraced ignobility in this campaign is astounding. They have used their convention podium to unleash a whole lot of half-truths, so many that fact-checkers have been working overtime. But trying to chase down every lie is like trying to catch every bug in a log. It’s almost impossible.
If the news media has to pour so much energy into fact-checking, which is noble and necessary, I worry that the big picture gets short shrift. The convention itself was shockingly low on vision and high on venom.
Yet the candidates are virtually tied in most polls. What does this portend for the republic? I worry deeply about this, not simply because I work at a newspaper, but because I am an American.Favorite Comment:
Ironic that the party which declares itself so unapologetically Christian should keep ignoring "Thou shalt not bear false witness". --O. Sharp, Seattle
Saturday, September 01, 2012
The Empty Chair
And wasn't it just absolutely the height of vulgar disrespect when Romney totally ignored The Invisible Obama standing right there next to him on the podium through that whole acceptance speech? How rude!
These Republicans - I just dunno.
These Republicans - I just dunno.
Chris Rock Tweets
Lifted in its entirety from Democratic Underground:
5hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Clint Eastwood debated a chair and the chair won. #RNC #GOP2012
40mChris Rock@chrisrockoz
The Dems should have an empty chair on stage for the entire DNC, & when anyone asks who it belongs to, they can say Osama bin Laden #DNC2012
1hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
BREAKING NEWS: CNN REPORTS: Last night when he got home, Clint Eastwood got in a huge fight with the rest of his furniture. #RNC #GOP2012
2hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Romney proves w/ a little hard work & a little luck, even a multimillionaire white guy from Harvard can succeed in this country #GOP2012
2hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Mitt Romney says he's never paid less than 13% in taxes, which I think is fair because only 13% of his money is in this country #GOP2012
2hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Clint Eastwood, an 82 year old man who has had 7 children with 5 women, was married twice & talking to me about family values! #RNC #GOP2012
4hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
The empty chair was a metaphor for the entire GOP platform. There's nothing there, but blind hatred for a man that doesn't exist
4hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
If you vote against Obama because he can't get stuff done, it's like saying, "this guy can't cure cancer. I'm gonna vote for cancer." #RN
6hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Republicans are getting so confident of beating Obama they've started admitting he was born here #RNC #GOP2012
7hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Half a billion dollars have been spent on campaign ads so far. It's a good thing our schools & economy are in great shape or I'd be mad #RNC
7hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
The people who demanded to see Obama's birth certificate dont seem the slightest bit interested in seeing Romney's tax returns #RNC #GOP2012
5hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Clint Eastwood debated a chair and the chair won. #RNC #GOP2012
40mChris Rock@chrisrockoz
The Dems should have an empty chair on stage for the entire DNC, & when anyone asks who it belongs to, they can say Osama bin Laden #DNC2012
1hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
BREAKING NEWS: CNN REPORTS: Last night when he got home, Clint Eastwood got in a huge fight with the rest of his furniture. #RNC #GOP2012
2hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Romney proves w/ a little hard work & a little luck, even a multimillionaire white guy from Harvard can succeed in this country #GOP2012
2hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Mitt Romney says he's never paid less than 13% in taxes, which I think is fair because only 13% of his money is in this country #GOP2012
2hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Clint Eastwood, an 82 year old man who has had 7 children with 5 women, was married twice & talking to me about family values! #RNC #GOP2012
4hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
The empty chair was a metaphor for the entire GOP platform. There's nothing there, but blind hatred for a man that doesn't exist
4hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
If you vote against Obama because he can't get stuff done, it's like saying, "this guy can't cure cancer. I'm gonna vote for cancer." #RN
6hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Republicans are getting so confident of beating Obama they've started admitting he was born here #RNC #GOP2012
7hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
Half a billion dollars have been spent on campaign ads so far. It's a good thing our schools & economy are in great shape or I'd be mad #RNC
7hChris Rock@chrisrockoz
The people who demanded to see Obama's birth certificate dont seem the slightest bit interested in seeing Romney's tax returns #RNC #GOP2012
Friday, August 31, 2012
Condi Rice
"Dr Rice has a Chevron Oil Company tanker named after her. She's a perfect symbol for the corporatocracy..." --Larry Wilkerson
I can't get the audio player to embed, so you'll hafta to go over to truthdig to listen to the interview.
And BTW - I'd like to know how Col Wilkerson doesn't get better traction for the things he'd trying to get us to hear.
I can't get the audio player to embed, so you'll hafta to go over to truthdig to listen to the interview.
And BTW - I'd like to know how Col Wilkerson doesn't get better traction for the things he'd trying to get us to hear.
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