Archive for August, 2010
Live Tweeting the Beckathon
Will Bunch is live Tweeting the Beckathon in case you’re interested.
America Is Better Than Glenn Beck
Tired — ready to crash, but — read this, if you have time: America is Better Than This.
Yo, Huffington Post, How About: Congratulations Mr. President!
Democrats — including the Huffington Post, apparently — are so intimidated by the right — they’re running from amazing things like this:
“Farewell, Dear Leader?”
How about: “Jimmy Carter Ends Potential Conflict With North Korea.“
Jesus!
Me and the Civil Rights Movement
I lived in Bloomington, Indiana in the mid-60′s, during the height of the civil rights movement. My father was the minister of the Unitarian church. He took part in local demonstrations and he spoke about civil rights in his sermons.
The environment then was as hot as it is now but 24/7 cable “news” didn’t exist, and it wouldn’t for 30 years.
Being a Unitarian was bad enough, much less being in favor of civil rights for “negroes.” Churches and local groups were pitted against each other. Hate was everywhere.
I was in elementary school — 8, 9-years-old — and what I remember most is the fear.
Our little house had a big “picture window” (as they were called then) in the living room. I remember sitting on the couch across from it and my mother closing the curtains and telling me to stay away. She was afraid a brick or a rock or — a bullet — would fly through it.
I remember being afraid of that window for months.
Glenn: F**k your egomaniacal self. You have no idea.
The National Geographic
I saw an ad a few minutes ago on MSNBC for a new National Geographic special. That tickled a brain cell about Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. owning that outlet.
Sure enough, when you tune into National Geographic television shows you’re lining Rupert Murdoch’s pocket and thus News Corp.’s and Fox’s and Glenn Beck’s and Sean Hannity’s and Bill O’Reilly’s and (heh, “fair and balanced”), Republicans.
Just sayin’.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Never Had to Ask His Followers to Leave Hateful Signs at Home
The organizers of Glenn Beck’s “Restore Honor” rally set for tomorrow at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., have asked attendees to leave their (hateful) signs at home, so as not to “deter from the peaceful message of Beck’s rally.”
Well, the NAACP had something to say about that:
“With more than 101 years of fighting for equality and freedom for all Americans, we respect their right to express their opinions, however out of the mainstream they may be,” said Jealous. “But we are here to honor Dr. King’s historic gift of non-violence and equality to our nation, and we would note that Dr King never had to ask his followers to leave hateful signs and guns at home.”
Nuff said.
Imagine: Harry Reid Says There Are “Domestic Enemies” in Congress
You probably heard that Sharron Angle, the Tea Party candidate for the senate in Nevada (she’s running against Harry Reid), agreed with a radio talk show host that there are “domestic enemies” in congress, right? I didn’t think so because the national media is ignoring it.
Now imagine for three seconds if the tables were turned and Harry Reid agreed (as Angle did) with this statement: “…we have domestic enemies and … some of them are in the walls of the Senate and Congress…” Fox would be turning blue with 24/7 rage and after about two days it that topic replace the mosque on CNN and MSNBC too.
So, really people, it’s high time we stopped pretending the media is sooooo “liberal.”
The Words “Gingrich” and “Iowa” in the Same Article
Is Newtie maneuvering into position to run for prez?
WATERLOO — Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, will headline a fundraiser next month in Waterloo for Iowans for Tax Relief Political Action Committee.
The event will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Sky Event Centre, 501 Sycamore St. Gingrich has been mentioned widely as a possible Republican candidate for president in 2012 and spent time in Iowa recently.
I’d love to stand outside the Sky Event Center and hand out flyers to the attendees that talk about what “tax relief” looks like, as in Colorado Springs (here and here).
What’s With Canadian Oil Companies Threatening U.S. Landowners?
This is freakin’ outrageous:
A Canadian oil giant wants to expand an already-massive pipeline to bring oil from the tar sands of Canada all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. The US has yet to even approve the 1,980-mile TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline, but the company is already sending threatening letters to landowners in their pathway.
In a letter sent last month to a landowner in Nebraska provided to Mother Jones, the company warns that the landowner could be forced to surrender his or her property if the landowner doesn’t consent to the pipeline construction on their property. The company invokes a Nebraska state statute to threaten eminent domain should homeowners turn down their offer of financial compensation for agreeing to let the pipeline cross their land.
Oil companies around the world have been so coddled they think they can do whatever the hell they want.
Hectic Day at the Food Bank
It was a wild day at the food bank. In the four hours I was there, roughly 20 families came through, many of whom I see once a week.
I find it so sad that for the most part we offer the same thing day after day, month after month. The only thing that changes — from the usual canned beans, canned chili, canned fruit and veggies, bread, frozen meat, rice, pasta, cereal, milk, yogurt and processed American cheese — is the occasional treat like fresh blueberries (which we had today), butter, eggs and fresh veggies, which are abundant now thanks to donations from local farmers. (It’s zucchini season — you know — the two foot long monstrosities that are about 10″ in diameter.)
Every once in a great while, as in a few times a year, we’ll have cakes or cupcakes, cheeses like mozzarella or Gruyère, chocolate milk or orange juice.
Yes, it’s free food for those who qualify but believe me, you wouldn’t want to eat what we offer on a long-term basis. Anyone who thinks people are poor on purpose, because it’s easier or more fun, is nuts.
Like a Fox
Turns out Faux News hasn’t aired one single segment about former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman coming out of the closet, which is so like them. Mission #1 — protect and promote Republicans.
Good Morning
It’s a good morning because, well, because it’s Friday!
Lonely People
I’m listening to people calling in to QVC and talking to the hostess as if they’re best friends.
Sad.
John Boehner Forgets He’s a “Federal Employee”
Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) blasted “federal employees” yesterday, complaining about the salaries they make vis-a-vis the “private sector.”
So Boehner lies — as Republicans do when their mouths are open — he’s been a “federal employee” for almost 30 years.
Does the “liberal media” ah, go to The Google and point that out?
Anyone home?
No?
That’s what I thought.
Bristol Palin Set to Receive $14,000 for Speech
A Christian home for unwed mothers in Louisville, Kentucky has agreed to pay Bristol Palin $14,000 to speak at a fundraising dinner next month:
Bristol Palin, the unmarried teenage mother of Sarah Palin’s first grandchild, is being paid $14,000 to speak at a benefit for a Christian home for unwed mothers in Louisville, Kentucky.
She will speak Sept. 8 on behalf of Lifehouse, a home where 17 mothers have given birth since its founding in 2007. Two of the women have given up their children for adoption, while the other 15 mothers decided to raise their offspring.
Bristol Palin will headline a $125-a-person fundraiser for Lifehouse at the Downtown Louisville Marriott.
“We need the community to know we’re here,” Lifehouse director Joan Smith told the Louisville Courier Journal.
Lifehouse must be pretty darn well off to begin with if it can afford to pay $14,000 for a speech — to anyone — which makes me think something’s fishy here.
Tweet of the Day
Bring this up the next time somebody tells you MSNBC is as liberal as Faux is conservative.
Taiwanese Video Mocks US Response to “Ground Zero Mosque”
Now, rightly, we’re the laughing stock of the world.
Fast Food Ad Pics v. Reality
Someone finally did it — compared those gorgeous pictures of juicy hamburgers and bulging, scrumptious-looking tacos with reality.
Hey, we all know the taco we get at Taco Bell doesn’t match the as-advertised picture and the hamburger we get at McDonald’s doesn’t look anything like they say it will. Look at this pitiful thing:
More pictures at the link above. And thanks to ALPHAILA for taking the time.
Dying American Cities
Twenty years ago a headline like this would have been stunning: America’s 10 Dying Cities — From Detroit to New Orleans.
Sadly, it isn’t now.
Buffalo, New York tops the list. My paternal grandparents lived in Buffalo and my mother was raised in Dunkirk which is just down the road. I spent a fair amount of time in that area as a kid. My grandfather owned a very successful plumbing business in Buffalo. As a matter of fact, this company installed the plumbing at the Buffalo airport. I remember it being a bustling, fun city.
Flint, Michigan is second. I lived in that hell hole during my high school years. You could see the writing on the wall of its demise even then, thirty years ago. The city fathers were constantly talking about how they needed to diversify the economic base and bring something other than GM into the mix, but they never did.
The schools were shitty because the place was essentially a company town; you didn’t go to college, you followed your father and your grandfather and your great-grandfather into “the shop,” meaning like lemmings, everyone went to work for GM or AC Spark Plug
When the main source of employment collapses, well, you have Flint, now half the size it was when I lived there.
I left in 1974 and have never been back.
CNN: Reconcile This
I’d like to hear CNN explain this: CNN Censors Bill Maher, Deletes Larry King Live Segment Where Maher Outs GOP Party Chair Ken Mehlman as Gay, versus this: CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin Speculates on Judge Vaughn Walker’s Sexual Orientation.
By the way, Mehlman came out yesterday.
Glenn Beck, You’re No Martin Luther King, Jr.
Sign the pledge (link above) and stand with the peace King advocated, not the hate Beck thrives on.
On Glenn Beck Paying Homage to Himself
Tweet of the Day:
Expect another fight over the number of attendees. Anti-war crowds are always downsized by the “liberal media.” In the case of this Beckathon, the Park police will put out a number that the organizers will quadruple and the “liberal media” will buy it, failing refusing to distinguish between observers and participants.
Ken Mehlman — I’m Gay
My brother is gay. He came out 35 years ago when he was 21. He knew he was gay when he was about 7. That said, George W. Bush’s former campaign manager and the former head of the Republican party, Ken Mehlman, officially came out of the closet today at the age of (ahem) 43:
Ken Mehlman, President Bush’s campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has told family and associates that he is gay.Mehlman arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently, he said in an interview. He agreed to answer a reporter’s questions, he said, because, now in private life, he wants to become an advocate for gay marriage and anticipated that questions would arise about his participation in a late-September fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group that supported the legal challenge to California’s ballot initiative against gay marriage, Proposition 8.“It’s taken me 43 years to get comfortable with this part of my life,” said Mehlman, now an executive vice-president with the New York City-based private equity firm, KKR. “Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I’ve told my family, friends, former colleagues, and current colleagues, and they’ve been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that’s made me a happier and better person. It’s something I wish I had done years ago.”
Time to do some research on the oppressive tactics Mehlman used against gays and lesbians during his tenure at the RNC and with Bush.
Nonetheless, congrats on doing the right thing Ken. You’re to the left of Obama on Prop. 8 at this point.
Live free.
9/11 Families Rally in Support of NYC Mosque
Raise your hand if you see this on the MSM:
The planned mosque and Islamic center blocks from ground zero got a new boost Wednesday from a coalition of supporters that includes families of Sept. 11 victims.
[...]
The new coalition was started by members of 40 civic and religious organizations that “spontaneously called each other, because we had the feeling that something very negative was happening,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of the New York office of the watchdog group Common Cause.
[...]
Coalition members are now contacting officials, asking them to support the project as a reflection of religious freedom and diversity, and the rejection of “crude stereotypes meant to frighten and divide us.”
They plan a candlelight vigil near ground zero on Sept. 10, the eve of the ninth Sept. 11 anniversary.
“This is not just about Muslims; this is about who we are as Americans,” said Lerner, adding that to oppose the Islamic center is “a slippery slope. There will always be people who are offended standing next to people who are different from others.”
If the MSM doesn’t cover it (you can be sure Faux won’t), it will be a tragedy insofar as we’ve been marinating in three+ weeks of 24/7 anti-mosque hate.
It’s called the manipulation of a society.
John Boehner — Go Play Golf — Permanently
Take this John Boner:
Support Justin Coussoule for Congress!
Ah, it would be so sweet to show Boner the door. The guy is worthless, unless you’re a millionaire.
