The Ultimate FoxNews picture

I mean really...behold the combined brain-power of this duo:

Two gerbils in a rolling-ball running in opposite directions without the entertainment value.

Should have brought a snare drum

Audience has the appropriate response to a Michele Bachmann preposterous lie.

A "Charity Event" for the one percent

So Romney allegedly had a non-partisan event that was, in truth, a regular campaign rally (with accompanying slanders) with the addition of a few dropped off soup cans (which the Red Cross doesn't want).

And it was just full of quality and sensitive touches.

A Master of Analogy

As his past statements about FEMA and his past poor performance during disasters in Massachusetts haunt Romney he certainly went all classy in Ohio yesterday. The man knows the scale of natural disasters...there is no doubt.

Romney’s “relief” event outside of Dayton, Ohio, was surreal enough to be a campaign parody, with the candidate comparing the federal government’s hurricane relief efforts to the time he and some friends had to clean up a football field strewn with “rubbish and paper products.” It was supposed to be a parable of how Republicans handle disaster – with private charity, not government intervention

Yeah, it is just like that. Princeton frat boys better get to work! [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

This sounds like a great TLC reality series

The Republicans Montana Meth House!

The boxes landed in the office of Montana investigators in March 2011.

Found in a meth house in Colorado, they were somewhat of a mystery, holding files on 23 conservative candidates in state races in Montana. They were filled with candidate surveys and mailers that said they were paid for by campaigns, and fliers and bank records from outside spending groups. One folder was labeled “Montana $ Bomb.”

The documents pointed to one outside group pulling the candidates’ strings: a social welfare nonprofit called Western Tradition Partnership, or WTP.

Citizens United at work.

Doubling down on the stupid

Romney confirms he hates FEMA:

Romney's comments about FEMA, made at a CNN Republican primary debate in June 2011, received renewed attention Monday. At the time, Romney said he favored states taking on a large role in disaster relief. "Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction," he said. 

Asked Monday whether Romney held the same position he did at the June 2011 debate, Romney campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg explained the candidate believes "states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions."

 How'd he handle such matters as governor?

How bad did it get? The following article from the right-wing (very right-wing, 2004 George W. Bush endorsing) newspaper The Lowell Sun shows what MA got from their "I'm a great manager" Governor":

No relief from Romney
The Lowell Sun,
8/7/2006
Lead Editorial

We find it inconceivable that Gov. Mitt Romney claims the state can do nothing to help those residents still struggling to rebuild homes and businesses after the May flood.

Massachusetts is sitting on millions in unspent emergency funds from Hurricane Katrina and more than $1 billion in cash reserves, yet Romney has failed to even respond to the Lowell delegation's requests to discuss additional aid for victims.

The governor's spokesman -- since Romney can't be bothered to comment now that the photo opportunities have dried up even though some residents' basements haven't -- said the state will not consider spending its own money for flood victims until it's clear how much cash the federal government will give.



It's been two months, governor. Many Massachusetts residents are still living in temporary housing or trying to rebuild destroyed basements and first floors, racking up credit-card debt and taking out home-equity loans.

What's wrong with fronting the money and having those loans repaid when, and if, federal agencies come through with more cash?

If ignoring the pleas of legislators and constituents is the way Romney's going to handle a crisis situation, why would anyone vote for him for president? How would he handle a national crisis, by flying in for photo ops and then hiding in his White House office?

There were many epic fails in the Romney occupation of Massachusetts. The Governor raised fees, neglected education and practiced crony hiring for State offices. But this one really shows Romney's true relationship to voters.

This cycle's "B" Girl

About this time in 2008 some idiot claimed she was assaulted by a raging Obama supporter who somehow branded her with a backwards "B" -- because people always assault others in front of a mirror.   After right-wing blogs blew up with this story it died a quick death as police applied the simple logic the 101st keyboarders could not -- exposing the story as a really bad hoax.

Well, we have this year's non-victim:

Kyle Wood, a campaign worker for the Republican congressional candidate Chad Lee, today recanted his statements about being assaulted and choked at his home on Oct. 24, according to Madison police.

The department updated its incident report late Monday afternoon after Wood met with detectives.

Captain Joe Balles, commander of the South District, confirms that Wood recanted his allegations of the beating.

The Rich...they just get away with more than you

And are therefore, by their own definition -- better:

Federal prosecutors and pro-Israel Republican stalwart Sheldon Adelson’s casino company Las Vegas Sands Corp. may have come to an understanding on issues pertaining to money-laundering laws allegedly violated in the cases of two criminal high-rollers.

Lawyers for the Sands and federal prosecutors met on Thursday after the Sands failed to obtain a dismissal.  Prosecutors threatened to charge the Sands and a company executive with conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Now, the prosecution may indeed drop the case, with the Sands paying a fine and updating regulations on handling customer money.

Now Sheldon will have more time to spend with Mitt Romney's family.

The culmination of the ultimate cult

"Austerity" continues its unprecedented run of being the economic policy with the worst results but the most adherents:

About a quarter of working-age people in recession-hit Spain are unemployed, new figures have shown. The unemployment rate rose to 25% in the third quarter, from 24.6% in the previous three months, Spain's National Statistic Institute said.

Naturally there can be only one solution to this failure of austerity -- more austerity.

Spain has set out its austerity budget for 2013, with new spending cuts but protection for pensions, amid a shrinking economy and 25% unemployment. Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria called it "a crisis budget designed to exit the crisis"

We shall exit the crisis by creating a greater crisis.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

So much for Icons

I'm sure I could just waste my day playing storm voyeur.

Here's a picture of downtown Atlantic city looking toward the Atlantic...that's parts of the Boardwalk floating in the street.

Meanwhile, in our Nation's capitol, the extra-scary Romney son was out on the streets awaiting the storm.

And shortly thereafter the Stay-Puff Marshmallow man appeared

Holy crap, this is New York earlier this morning just as Sandy rolled in.

That seems just a tad ominous.  Suck on that Chuck Todd.

Good luck East Coast. UPDATE: It's a FAKE!

"How dare these women besmirch my name for my actions!"

Yet another woman comes forward with allegations against "family values" screamer Scott "Dr. Bad Touch" DesJarlais:

On the heels of a sex scandal involving a female patient, another woman has acknowledged having a sexual relationship with physician and U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais while she was under his medical care.

The second woman described DesJarlais as "the nicest guy" and said he cooked dinner for her at their first get-together in 2000. But she also said they smoked marijuana during their relationship and remembered DesJarlais prescribing her pain medication on dates at his home.

"His biggest thing that's completely unethical is him just picking up women while he's a doctor," the woman said in an interview last week. "I mean, seriously, that's his big no-no. ... He's just a hound."

The woman said the affair lasted six months and included mutual illicit drug use. "Scott was just a regular guy," she said. "He smoked. I mean, he smoked pot. He [did] all that stuff."

Just a regular guy doctor, having affairs with patients, giving them prescriptions on their dates and smoking some really good pot.

DesJarlais' flacks promptly declared it all a lie and blamed the press, BUT...

 The woman lives in a 4th District county close to the Chattanooga area. The Times Free Press granted her anonymity but checked her driver's license and verified her identity in DesJarlais' divorce papers -- her name is included in his ex-wife's extensive list of "potential witnesses." Court records and a family friend confirm that the woman and DesJarlais had an affair.

Lie-a-cane Mittens

As the "Super-Storm" descends upon the east coast remember one of Mitt's more "timely" pieces of wanking.

During a CNN debate at the height of the GOP primary, Mitt Romney was asked, in the context of the Joplin disaster and FEMA's cash crunch, whether the agency should be shuttered so that states can individually take over responsibility for disaster response. "Absolutely," he said. "Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that's even better. Instead of thinking, in the federal budget, what we should cut, we should ask the opposite question, what should we keep?"

Senility or Clown Show?

Fresh off pretending that Colin Powell got us into Iraq all by himself(ignoring his own close-fisted demanding of it well in advance), John McCain self-described "truth-teller" now proclaims the Libyan attack "worse than Watergate".

Uh-huh.

Yeah, it's so much worse than the August 6, 2001 PDB, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike U.S." being described at the time by Bush as "ass covering".

Why it's the worse thing ever, it's the Rape of Nanking; the Holocaust; and the last two Matrix movies all-in-one.

Hmmm...sounds familiar

As we are only nine days away from CAMPAIGN 2016 (kickoff event, the Christie Lapbandoning) the candidates for this election cycle are bringing out the promises. And this one had a nice ring to it.

The Obama administration will soon take on a new role as the sponsor of at least two nationwide health insurance plans to be operated under contract with the federal government and offered to consumers in every state.

That sounds all "public-option like" could it be? But I'm sure based on past practice there's no chance at all this won't happen. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Day ending in "Y" and all that

Well, looks like Mitt Romney is playing the part of alternative universe "truth-teller":

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney repeated a false claim Thursday night that Chrysler Group may move all Jeep vehicle production to China, drawing criticism from the Obama campaign, which said the Michigan native had blatantly skewed a news wire story.

And his sources were as impeccable as ever:

Romney apparently was referencing conservative bloggers who misrepresented a Bloomberg story from Monday that discussed Chrysler’s decision to consider starting Jeep production in China, the world’s largest new-vehicle market. 

That story, while accurate, sparked a raft of other stories and blogs that incorrectly concluded that Chrysler might close plants or move Jeep production from the U.S. to China.

How inspiring to think how this guy will handle a bubble that is even smaller than the one he lives in now.

And you know what Republicans will say?

That this is Obama's fault...

...51 percent of Americans now express explicit anti-black attitudes, compared with 48 percent in a similar 2008 survey. When measured by an implicit racial attitudes test, the number of Americans with anti-black sentiments jumped to 56 percent, up from 49 percent during the last presidential election. In both tests, the share of Americans expressing pro-black attitudes fell.

Yes, and we all know how the 'dog-whistles' have really been allowed to go essentially unchallenged.

Which means the Republicans will not just say it's Obama's fault they'll say it is because he's "lazy" or "arrogant" or "un-American" and the media filter will just let that go...unchallenged.

Speeches get harder the less they can rely upon the phrase "9/11"

Rudy Giuliani, showing the vast ignorance and/or intentional lying to make talking points that comprise the modern GOP:

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says that if President Barack Obama’s health care reform law is going to force insurance companies to cover contraception then “it’s only fair” that men are provided with pills to treat erectile dysfunction.

That already happens dumbass. It's been a standard refrain of WHY insurance companies should provide contraception for years now. IF you ever listened to the other side's arguments, let alone did some fucking research because you actually gave a shit you'd know. Of course, Giuliani may not need Viagra, because when he sees mass death, violence, or government repression he wants you to get one of these:

Oh my

This does sum it up succinctly:

Found here.

Because the best kind of blogging

Is the L-A-Z-I-E-S-T kind.

Something to look forward to

Buzzfeed discovered that Westboro Baptist...your go to place for the worst protesters ever have struck again.

Of course, Walter Mondale is very much alive, though he was there too...as it was George McGovern's funeral.

Honey Sununubooboo

Yet another in a long-line of stupid or bigoted statements from the late 1980s favorite unreinbursed military jet traveler:

Top Romnney surrogate John Sununu is in the news for comments related to the president’s race. Again. This time it was Sununu’s claim that Colin Powell, like Sununu an important figure in the George H.W. Bush administration, endorsed Obama this week because they both are black and not because of the president’s record.

How completely unexpected

Even the Romneys are outsourced:

Have you ever seen a Mitt Romney lookalike bobblehead doll? Or the parody video, since removed from the Internet, with former Republican candidate Jon Huntsman’s three daughters interviewing a nodding Mitt bobblehead? This year, the Romney bobbleheads are marketed on the Internet, along with Barack Obama bobble-eads that are reportedly selling faster. But the original Mitt bobblehead first appeared four years ago and was produced—by Ann Romney’s brother at a factory in China—as a party favor for big donors.

Not mentioned -- it was manufactured at the same place the actual Mitt Romney was.

You tell 'em Tina

Of course he did

I understand that Mitt Romney made all manner of promises to the Log Cabin no sense of self-respect Republicans the other day -- that he'd end all forms of anti-gay laws. Of course they are saps.

It seemed like a minor adjustment. To comply with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that legalized gay marriage in 2003, the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics said it needed to revise its birth certificate forms for babies born to same-sex couples. The box for “father” would be relabeled “father or second parent,’’ reflecting the new law. But to then-Governor Mitt Romney, who opposed child-rearing by gay couples, the proposal symbolized unacceptable changes in traditional family structures. He rejected the Registry of Vital Records plan and insisted that his top legal staff individually review the circumstances of every birth to same-sex parents. Only after winning approval from Romney’s lawyers could hospital officials and town clerks across the state be permitted to cross out by hand the word “father’’ on individual birth certificates, and then write in “second parent,’’ in ink.

So he was a prick just...because.

Gingered-out

Oh what a big surprise:

...when the Guardian contacted Trump's office to ask for Trump's college and passport records, it was accused of "trying to be funny" and the request was deemed to be "stupid".

The Powers that Be

The way in which ass-covering and slandering victims...especially the poor and unrepresented was able to survive for nearly a quarter-century is quite sickening. This is a British story...but it is undoubtedly a universal one:

The chief constable of West Yorkshire police, Sir Norman Bettison, "boasted" about having helped to "concoct" a false account of how the 1989 Hillsborough disaster was caused, according to the Labour MP Maria Eagle...

"We were in a pub after our weekly evening class. [Bettison] told me that he had been asked by his senior officers to put together the South Yorkshire police evidence for the forthcoming inquiry. He said that 'we are trying to concoct a story that all the Liverpool fans were drunk and we were afraid that they were going to break down the gates so we decided to open them'." That was the version of events South Yorkshire police put forward to the official inquiry into Hillsborough by Lord Justice Taylor, and to the inquest into the deaths. Taylor, and the panel in its report, found that account was untrue, that there was no excessive drinking or misbehaviour by the supporters, and in fact the police mismanaged the crowd on the day.

96 people died in that disaster -- for a bunch of people that just went to see a soccer match. Incompetence killed them and then the authorities smeared them.

"Everybody loves bombing...and they'll love being bombed!"

Well I thought yesterday that some of the GOP's "bright lights" were getting pretty awful in defining the Almighty as a turned on voyeur of sexual assault, or that a daughter's consensual sex was as bad as if their father was being raped.

But they had a sequel within hours and they one Republican leader took the whole thing international.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on CNN last night that neither he, nor the Iranians, would consider an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities an act of war.

Yeah, just like FDR and American's had no problem with Pearl Harbor.

Again, Republican "Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee".

So has Romney made a commercial for that guy too? [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

How dare you not easily go along with our bs again!

Though they want to get in on that "drone-action" it appears that any pending action against our latest batch of "new just like Hitlers" may contain less poodle-like behavior:

Britain has rebuffed US pleas to use military bases in the UK to support the build-up of forces in the Gulf, citing secret legal advice which states that any pre-emptive strike on Iran could be in breach of international law.

Well obviously a few well-placed Romney insults and they'll be on board again, right?

"The UK would be in breach of international law if it facilitated what amounted to a pre-emptive strike on Iran," said a senior Whitehall source. "It is explicit. The government has been using this to push back against the Americans."

How dare they use the law, I mean really. American's know that Iranians want to be bombed! [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

It is definitely a trend

So many GOP male idiots so little time to post on all of them.

[Pennsylvania GOP Senate Candidate Tom] Smith affirmed that he believed his daughter’s pregnancy from consensual sex was similar to a rape. “Put yourself in a father’s position, yes, I mean it is similar.”

Yes, consensual sex...JUST LIKE RAPING YOUR FATHER.



And as for positions: I'm guessing your daughter's was missionary and yours is unelectable.

Something new?

Now THAT'S some fine logic:

It is disappointing after just posting a clip of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman pointing out a foreign policy success of the president, that he would then go off the rails just a few minutes later and say something this stupid and offensive. Friedman tells The Gregory that (in his opinion) the Obama Campaign must worry that there are a lot of people who only voted for Obama in order to elect "the first black president", but that it didn't work out and therefore are now ready to "try something new."

Yeah, rich white guy as President -- HOW NOVEL! I-D-I-O-T

Because he's into that kind of thing, I guess

Some folks really must think God is a real asshole:

At the final debate in the Indiana Senate race, held Tuesday night, Republican nominee Richard Mourdock explained his opposition to abortion in the cases of rape or incest. In the course of the explanation Mourdock suggested that rape should not be an exception to a ban on abortion, since rape pregnancies are themselves the will of God.

Now, I'm not a religious person, but one would think the message of Christianity is supposed to be  God's Love, not God's non-consensual sexual assaults are par for the course. What do you think Mourdock:

And even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."

Ugh.

Of course ... it's Ohio

Throughout the year, Ohio Secretary of State, Republican John Husted, who runs the states elections has been attempting to defeat early voting in the state and losing. His last effort was two weeks ago:

Ohio's election chief said Tuesday he will appeal a ruling that reinstates the final three early voting days in the battleground state, calling a decision last week by a federal appeals court "an unprecedented intrusion" into how states run elections.

Secretary of State Jon Husted said he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the state Legislature or federal courts should set Ohio election laws.

And....he lost.

So naturally we are to assume this is just a coincidence:

A Republican-run election board in a northern Ohio county sent out voting instructions to several precincts with the wrong date for Election Day and an incorrect description of the polling place location, leading state Democrats to suggest foul play in a presidential race that could be decided in a handful of states like Ohio by tiny margins.

The Ottawa County Board of Elections sent a mailer to three precincts last week referring to Election Day as Nov. 8, instead of Nov. 6, and said their new voting place was in a building on the east side of the high school rather than on its west side.

The head of the Board said it was all an innocent mistake of course. Because naturally the people who run elections all know that they always occur on the second Thursday of November.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Some tweets, better left untwatted

While pushing a thread on the subject of 'best Beatles song' (because THAT has never been done) on Twitter , Joe Scarborough puts this up:

Considering a young dead woman was once found in your Congressional office...that is really really creepy.

Allegedly they don't drink alcohol

...as I said, allegedly:

Jason Reed/Reuters

Mittens hold's hypocrisy down and gives it a nasty haircut

But...of...course:

Bain Capital appears to have benefited from a provision in the U.S. tax code that grants companies tax breaks for costs associated with offshoring American jobs. Bain profited from the closure of a Denver factory in early 2001, when SEC filings list Romney as the sole shareholder and CEO of multiple Bain enterprises.

The tax perk available to Bain while under Romney's leadership conflicts with the Republican candidate's comments at the first presidential debate of 2012.

"You said you get a deduction for getting a plant overseas," Romney said, addressing Obama. "Look, I've been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you're talking about. I maybe need to get a new accountant." A moment later, Romney added, "The idea that you get a break for shipping jobs overseas is simply not the case."

Things unspoken

Oh the debates are finally over...and now the spin will last another couple days, affix metaphorical boynets. Thank goodness. Too bad there wasn't enough talk about the spread of our most successful civilian killing policy other than mutual agreement:

The UK is to double the number of armed RAF "drones" flying combat and surveillance operations in Afghanistan and, for the first time, the aircraft will be controlled from terminals and screens in Britain.

So Cameron, et al, want to get in on the action.

The CIA's programme of "targeted" drone killings in Pakistan's tribal area was last month condemned in a report by US academics. The attacks are politically counterproductive, kill large numbers of civilians and undermine respect for international law, according to the study by Stanford and New York universities' law schools.

Oh sure, they're all those things...but they are good at killing on the cheap and allow us the pretension of not being "messy" (on our end). And we've seemed to have had it decided for us that nothing bad can come of it.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

"OH, the Inanity!!!"

From Crooks & Liars

Only the MOST important news

Via Balloon Juice, actual FoxNews graphic.

I wonder whether Bill Donohue was the guest at the time?

And your opinion of Bush v. Gore is?

Hypocrisy, thy name has an (R) behind it:

During his keynote speech at an election law symposium at University of Toledo on Friday, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted (R) claimed two recent court decisions restoring early voting on the last three days before the election was “un-American.”

Enjoy your morning reflux

From his expensive villa in Croatia, the retired CEO of AIG -- recipient of a gigantic bailout from you and me (oh, and of course he's a self-proclaimed libertarian) -- has this message for all of us who think he and his company and ilk have some responsibility for the economic disaster.

"Nobody has ever thanked me"

That's right, he said that.

Austerity for Thee

George Osborne, the Chancellor under the Cameron Government in the UK has been a lightning rod ever since he helped usher in austerity measures in the UK -- which has undeniably caused a double-dip recession.

One might think that would be the thing that would have cost him his job months ago. But, as usual and as Atrios noted last week the thing that may very well end Osborne's job is not his torpedoing of the British economy, but his being a hypocritical dick on a small scale.

George Osborne, who was last week forced to pay a £160 rail upgrade after sitting in first class with only a standard ticket, had already been caught making the same "error" five months ago, it has emerged.

If this does end up leading to his resignation (and it may not) Osborne can always take solace that years ago John Sununu resigned from the Bush I Administration for similar -- but even more frequent -- offenses.

Twenty years later he's one of Romney's most offensive and prominent liars.

[Cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Wow

For those of you who have not seen 'The Thick of It' you are missing perhaps the most scathing political parody since a George W. Bush press conference. This description of the business of leaking and spin from the main protagonist Malcolm Tucker applies across both sides of the Atlantic. And apparently, it was delivered by the actor Peter Capaldi without rehearsal.

Good job you fucking moron

So who will investigates the world's most desperate and pathetic investigator?

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) compromised the identities of several Libyans working with the U.S. government and placed their lives in danger when he released reams of State Department communications Friday, according to Obama administration officials...

This is pretty amazing

Old gameshow footage via Ta-Nehisi Coates has an interview with an eyewitness to Lincoln's assassination.

The ultimate IOKIYAR posting

The performance artist Dinesh D'Souza who is currently entertaining most of America with a piece called "polygamy in two easy steps" has simultaneously entertained a slimmer portion of the country with an out-and-out piece of shit he fabricates out of whole cloth about Obama.

He continues the former with a right-laughable piece of hair-splitting about his marriage and simultaneous engagement.

Please feel free to read accompanied by the trio of snare drum, sad trombone, and tiny violin.

Another day

Another set of fact showing that Romney has lied again:


CIA documents supported Susan Rice’s description of Benghazi attacks

A proud moment for all concerned

Oh dear, the Corner's tinniest star sure has some evangelical hypocrisy to dig through:

Another layer of intrigue has been revealed in the saga of the downfall of conservative academic and rising Evangelical star Dinesh D'Souza, who resigned from his perch atop King's College today after it was revealed that he had a fiancee while also having a wife. Right Wing Watch reports that his mistress/fiancée, Denise Odie Joseph II, was also married, and said in April that she was going to vote for Mitt Romney, "because [her] husband told her to." 

That husband, presumably, was not D'Souza. According to her Facebook page, Odie Joseph II was married on Dec. 30, 2011, so maybe she wrapped up the whole first marriage thing in time to become Mrs. Obama's Rage.

So not only did he have fiancee while married -- but so was she. 

I guess all this polygamy is all part of D'Souza's imperialist upbringing and was learned from his father.

Oh, and voting for Romney because "her husband told her too" is very liberating isn't it?

Is he the CEO of a company?

Oh this should go over well

Remember how the GOP has a shit fit over any possible -- and quite debatable -- slight of any nature when made by someone with a (D) after their name?  Oh, and how this shit-fit gets tossed right into the narrative of the day.

Well, get a load of this one:

The wife of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Thursday said that her husband and sons had not joined the U.S. military but had found “different ways of serving” by going on religious missions in France, England, Australia and Chile as part of their obligation to the Mormon church. 

...

“He was serving his mission, and my five sons have also served missions. None served in the military, but I do have one son that feels that he’s giving back to his country in a significant way where he is now a doctor and he is taking care of veterans.”

“So, you know, we find different ways of serving,” she added. “And my husband and my five boys did serve missions, did not serve in the military.”

Only someone incredibly out-of-touch could equate dressing up as the "International-version" of Geek Squad and knocking on doors for your RELIGION is the equivalent of serving in the military.  Door-slams are not "being in the shit" Ann!

But maybe I'm wrong -- after all maybe the terrorists and Viet Cong did hide out in France, England, Australia and Chile.  There "Charlie" was, just sitting in his house reading, watching TV, masturbating, shitting -- or all four things simultaneously when the brave Romney men smoked them out of their holes by knocking on their doors and telling them tales of Jesus' New World Tour.

Is Ben Stein still alive?

I'm not sure FoxNews let him get out of the building alive.  I imagine Steve Doocy and not-Steve Doocy went for the eyes the moment they went to commercial.

So, Slate then?

Hey Tina Brown, looks like your desperate attempt so save Newsweek by turning into Grit plus Insight has really worked out well.

Newsweek will print its final edition at the end of this year. After nearly 80 years of publication, the news magazine will shift to a digital-only format, available online and on tablet computers, editor-in-chief Tina Brown said on the magazine's website Thursday morning. Its last will be the Dec. 31 issue. "We are transitioning Newsweek, not saying goodbye to it," Brown said.

So essentially you're just saying screw it, let me kill it quietly so nobody notices. Good job Tina Brown, eighty years pissed away in a matter of months.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

What a timely coincidence

And so thoroughly unexpected given the source -- the County that keeps giving us Sheriff Joe Arpaio:

Officials in Maricopa County, Ariz., mistakenly listed the general election date as Nov. 8, not Nov. 6, in the Spanish translation of an "official government document," according to ABC News. The document was attached to updated voter registration cards that voters had requested.

Oh no, there's nothing about them that screams entitlement at all

Just common ordinary people who do not feel they are superior to anyone at all:

As Buzzfeed reports, the eldest of Mitt's sons said the following in an interview with a North Carolina radio station today:

"Jump out of your seat and you want to rush down to the stage and take a swing at him," Tagg responded, laughing.

I'm sure Tagg is just sitting there dreaming of how he might on January 20th scream about how Obama's people stole all the "M's" from keyboards and other bullshit.

Real good way to run a railroad

Lot's of money wasted to impersonate King Canute:

The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, which is led by House speaker John Boehner, has intervened in 14 DOMA challenges in federal courts now that the Department of Justice and the Obama administration have decided to stop defending the law in court. So far, $1,447,996.73 of the allotted $1.5 million to continue defending DOMA has been spent within one year and three months, according to the Committee on House Administration. The current contract, agreed upon by the committee's chairman, Dan Lungren, specifies that spending to defend DOMA in court cannot exceed $1.5 million.

And in return for the investment of other people's money? 

Jack shit.

And still more than they deserve.

Mon Dieu

Well, look who may be putting an end to Germany's austerity fantasies:

François Hollande, the French president, has warned for the first time that the Paris-Berlin motor driving Europe could stall over deep differences on how to resolve the euro crisis, insisting on a climbdown by Angela Merkel in her emphasis on austerity and the surrender of national powers to tighten fiscal discipline. ... 

He insisted France would "tirelessly" champion the growth agenda – "this compromise between getting out of debt and growth" – without questioning the need for budget discipline, which had been made "absolutely necessary" by the sovereign debt crisis. "Today, recession is as big a threat as deficits."

Considering the global economy has been in a period of mass layoffs and tepid growth for five years, it's nice to finally have a leader state this. It is simply shocking that he's the only one really saying it...and at best one of the small handful actually governing that way. And still Holland can only bring himself to say "as big a threat" as opposed to reality, where tepid or non-growth is a massively larger threat than deficits. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Of course he is

In an event of a completely non-shocking nature, guess who gets to share the same air-tube in the sky with Mitt?

Jerome Corsi, the political writer and conspiracy theorist, is traveling with the Mitt Romney press corps today.

Corsi, 66, writes for World Net Daily and is the author of several anti-Obama books, including Where's the Birth Certificate? The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President.

Asked why he was traveling with the Romney campaign, Corsi told POLITICO, "I am a Senior Staff Reporter for WND covering the campaign."

Corsi's latest fantasy (because you know the guy cranks it after he publishes them) are that Obama is bisexual -- so therefore my theory of what he does is far more credible.

Apparently Jack Welch's Chicago Crowd have taken over Gallup too

This is really good news:

U.S. unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, is 7.3% in mid-October, down considerably from 7.9% at the end of September and at a new low since Gallup began collecting employment data in January 2010. Gallup's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 7.7%, also down from September. October's adjusted mid-month measure is also more than a percentage point lower than October 2011.

Not to get all too soccery

But there was an ugly, ugly racial incident in Serbia yesterday (your #1 sponsor/participant of genocide in the 90s)  where black English players (playing in an "under-21" match btw) were subjected to abuse by Serbian fans ranging from monkey chants to being pelted with rocks, bottles and coins.

The Serbian police and players were of no help whatsoever.

But how seriously will the European governing body take it?  Look at how they have taken it before:

yet a glance at previous sanctions suggests that the governing body is yet to take it seriously enough: £45,000 Spain 2004 (racism); £16,500 Serbia 2007 (racism); £10,000 Croatia 2008 (racism); £80,000 Bendtner (pants). The last of these, of course, was Denmark striker Nicklas' fine for wearing sponsored underpants. That says rather too much.

Corporate sponsors uber alles.

Now THAT'S Republican Leadership

Behold the inherent "goodness" of the system:

When Mitt Romney served as CEO of Bain & Co., his consulting firm helped tobacco giant Philip Morris develop a groundbreaking sales strategy that researchers say has been linked to an unprecedented spike in youth smoking.

On Friday April 2, 1993, Philip Morris stunned Wall Street and tobacco experts by the slashing price on its flagship Marlboro brand by 40 cents a pack, to $1.80. It was a landmark day for the tobacco industry, one that became known as "Marlboro Friday" to public health experts.

The radical move was deemed by top Philip Morris executives as necessary based in part on more than two years of Bain research.

Plus the phrase "binders full of women" has got to be the most inelegant turn of a phrase I can think of.   It's like describing a serial killer's portfolio. 

Not my work

But it gets the job done.  Ann Romney and one of the sons (Biff?  Joffrey? Mitt the V?) watch the debate along with America's smartest people -- "the undecided voter" -- this is from "Ruby the Liberal" at Democratic Underground and it is great.

Fiber problems in his lying, needs Mittumusil

Mitt Romney just lies about everything...and it is very binding.

What actually happened was that in 2002 -- prior to the election, not even knowing yet whether it would be a Republican or Democratic administration -- a bipartisan group of women in Massachusetts formed MassGAP to address the problem of few women in senior leadership positions in state government. There were more than 40 organizations involved with the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus (also bipartisan) as the lead sponsor.

They did the research and put together the binder full of women qualified for all the different cabinet positions, agency heads, and authorities and commissions. They presented this binder to Governor Romney when he was elected.

I have written about this before, in various contexts; tonight I've checked with several people directly involved in the MassGAP effort who confirm that this history as I've just presented it is correct -- and that Romney's claim tonight, that he asked for such a study, is false.

Wait a minute, isn't this Obama's America?

You know, just one wife at a time and all that?

Dinesh D’Souza is facing some tough questions from his fellow Christians over a night spent in a hotel room with a woman he introduced as a his fiancée – despite still having a wife.

Hey, right-wing asshole, that Mormon guy isn't President yet.

IOKIYAR

"for the little person"

Sorry, I'm not going to comment on the debate, no matter what manner of manic behavior it caused in Andrew Sullivan or Chris Matthews, but feel free to comment below.

Meanwhile, you may never have heard of Gary McKinnon, a rather talented but eccentric British man (Asperger's among other conditions) but he won a major victory yesterday.

Ten years ago, McKinnon hacked his way into US military and NASA sites not for the purpose of espionage, but rather for the rather bizarre purpose of finding out information about UFOs. Naturally this did not go over well with the U.S. government which has been trying for a decade to get him deported to our shores where he faced up to 60 years in jail.

One might think the Cameron Government wouldn't care, but a surprising development happened yesterday:

[Home Secretary Theresa] May told MPs there was “no doubt” that Mr McKinnon was “seriously ill”. She said that after taking extensive legal advice, she concluded that his extradition “would give rise to a high risk of him ending his life”. “The decision to extradite Mr McKinnon would be incompatible with his human rights,” she said.

This isn't to defend hacking, but this is yet another example of our bizarre and crushingly stupid laws when it comes to technology and it's inapplicability to real-world situations. Luckily this guy was not an American citizen.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Way to ruin another sport

It was bad enough that any sports organization would hire Ari Fleischer.

But the NHL owners, having locked-out their players for something like the third straight time after the CBA expired had the brilliant idea to hire...

Frank Luntz.


So essentially an American jackass is going to hold all of Canada hostage to his wankery.

Dud, Part II

Apparently I should have said the guy jumping from the balloon was the equivalent of Atlas Shrugged II box office receipts...because a giant bomb surely should always be followed by a sequel.


But ultimately will it be a bigger dud than Won't Back Down the anti-union teacher movie?   Oh it might but it will be close.

Atlas posed

Only good deeds get punished.

But the illusion of good deeds makes a nice photo op:

Brian J. Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, said that he was not contacted by the Romney campaign ahead of the Saturday morning visit by Ryan, who stopped by the soup kitchen after a town hall at Youngstown State University.

“We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of our funding is from private donations,” Antal said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there, and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors.”

He added: “The photo-op they did wasn’t even accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall.”

As TPM points out...the pots and pans he is cleaning appear to have already been clean...so Paul Ryan didn't even have to come near the dirty plates of those filthy proles.

Any other stereotypes you want to proclaim there buddy?

I guess we can let those comments about Obama "throwing spears" from one Republican go, but there does seem to be a pattern:

Romney aides told BuzzFeed their polling indicates that Obama's biggest vulnerability among Hispanics is that he's viewed as a "weak leader." In much of Latino culture, they explained, political leaders are expected to demonstrate a macho bravado

Yeah, the Romney campaign is so totally right -- the culture of American Hispanics must be that they love the macho dictators who's countries many of them happily got the hell out of to come here. That's why Castro is so big in South Florida.

Next up, Mitt and Paul Ryan campaign as masked wrestlers.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Winning the Internet

Ladies and gentlemen...

Feline Baumgartner

From here. *Apparently I'm like the 5,000 blog to post this GIF...so really, I win.

Seriously, you guys are so very subtle

What could be more classy than referring to the President of the United States as a "Spear Chucker"?

I dunno, maybe hiking the Appalachian Trail, right Mark Sanford?

Perhaps we should ask one of former Governor and current Senate Candidate of Wisconsin Tommy Thompson's kids?

And now

A metaphorical representation of how Andrew Sullivan reacts to any kind of bad news no matter how ridiculous. Seriously how frickin' cool was this yesterday?

Oh spare me...

Apparently there is even more -- and quite rich -- hostility toward the Greeks from a predictable source:

...the IMF is understood to be insisting that Greece's eurozone creditors and the European Central Bank write off another €30bn (£24bn) to close the latest funding gap in the Greek rescue plan. For many Germans, letting Greece off the hook is a moral issue. After years of self-imposed austerity, Europe's biggest exporter is upset that when others are asked to go through the same pain they opt out. For the average Christian Democratic Union supporting German, the shopaholic is to blame.

Considering the full length of the history between Greece and Germany one might think this hostility of the Merkel government is just a bit inappropriate -- not to mention this period of relative German austerity as claimed didn't exactly involve the economy being shrunk massively followed by 25% unemployment (comparatively at its worst German unemployment was well under 8 percent).

That is the austerity imposed upon the Greek people primarily by the Germans already. And yet having bled the Greek economy of any ability to generate revenue the proposed German solution is to bleed it more. The last thing the world, and especially Greece, needs is Teutonic Grover Norquists.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

With enough dog whistles you'll lie down with fleas

And somehow the GOP pretends to be "Shocked....SHOCKED" that the culmination of all these years of race-baiting lead racists to actually support them. As ever, Todd Akin is their science adviser. (pic via Getty)

This

Via a reader of TPM:

Did they miss the racist emails, the snide Teleprompter jokes, the smug certainty among so many on the right that this administration is an accident, and that a black man isn’t REALLY president, just some sort of uncrowned caretaker? Do these folks really want their bigoted in-laws and racist YouTube commenters to have the satisfaction of having been right all along? Because that’s what they’ll take away from this. The amount of bedwetting panic on the left is pathetic. The president has approval and favorability ratings at or higher than 50%, the economy is growing, jobs are being created, and they’re going to write off the election because of one awful debate performance? It is mind-boggling.

Of course, I sort of see this every weekday morning in the comment threads at FDL, not the racism, but the anger and frustration that Obama doesn't agree with you enough. Therefore you stomp your feet, call him a miserable failure (or a purposeful one) and say you'll vote for Jill Stein or something.

And the President is "blaaaaaa..."

But of course,

Billy Graham last night endorsed Mitt Romney for president, and shortly thereafter, his website was scrubbed of a statement Graham or his organization made calling Mormonism a “cult.”

"When I grow up I want to be the new Theodore Bilbo"

Mission Accomplished Rick Santorum:

In a video obtained by SeattlePI.com, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) told attendees at a Family Policy Institute that the fight against gay marriage is the most important movement in America today, even more important than abortion.

Ugh

Just...ugh:

Pringles, a potato-based snack that does not actually self-identify as a "potato chip," has recently announced that they will be introducing new "holiday flavors" to the Pringle family. The new flavors? "Pumpkin Pie Spice," "Cinnamon and Sugar," and "White Chocolate Peppermint." Why? God only knows.

I guess, I'll make this part of my one-a-decade beg-a-thon.

If you choose not to give me money, I will be depressed and alone and at Thanksgiving I will sit alone in my darkened apartment with a bottle of Jack, a gun, and some White Chocolate Peppermint Pringles.*

My destiny is in your hands.**









*jesus-fuck, not really.

** actually, no -- I don't even know a Destiny -- I stay out of all local strip joints and Hooters thank you very much.

What Atrios said

I mean really.

And also Charles Pearce.

One fucking question about reproductive rights in two debates and it's all about who's the better Catholic -- on that score and that score alone.

And even on that score it's limited ONLY to a woman's womb for who is a good/bad Catholic as opposed to whether Ryan's desire to slash help to the old and poor violates Catholic teaching...as it clearly does.

Our worthless media

Will again judge the debate based upon who was the most theatrical...one reason I hate these things, they are not substantive discussions they are reality shows, "HoneyBooBoo" with about as much substantive analysis -- but here is a nugget that the David Gregory's of the world could care less about...because it actually affects the life of the proles and all that:

In the vice presidential debate Thursday night, Paul Ryan seemed to indicate that a Romney-Ryan administration would support the idea of giving younger Americans the option to move their Social Security benefits into private retirement accounts.

The Wisconsin congressman and House Budget Committee chairman talked up the concept when asked about his and Romney’s backing of President George W. Bush’s failed Social Security privatization plan.

“For younger people,” Ryan said. “What we said then and what I’ve always agreed is, let younger Americans have a voluntary choice of making their money work faster for them within the Social Security system. That’s not what Mitt Romney’s proposing. We say no changes for anybody 55 and above.

“And then the changes we talk about for younger people like myself is don’t increase benefit for the wealthy people as fast as anybody else, slowly raise the retirement age over time,” he said. “It wouldn’t get to the age of 70 until the year 2103, according to the actuaries.”

That, of course, would kill the program.

But it would starve the old and poor, so why the fuck not?

So, I guess that was better?

Joe Biden apparently managed to remember to call the other guy an asshole last night and this happened:

It was a performance by the vice president guaranteed to amp up -– and buck up -– worried Democrats, who had fallen into a paralysis of anxiety after the president's debate. No one represented that Democratic angst more than blogger Andrew Sullivan, a supporter of the president.

Obama adviser David Axelrod said "Andrew is a unique thinker, and I can't speak for how he might react to this. I hope he is [reassured]," Axelrod said, adding that he had "high regard for [Sullivan] by the way."

Sullivan, for the record, called the night "a solid win for Biden" and called Ryan "competent."

 Look, here's my tip --

No campaign should be run with the thought it will determine whether Andrew Sullivan pitches one of his frequent fits.  I was around when he called all of us on the left a "fifth column" when he was cheerleading the Iraq War and I'm still around now.  He can go ahead and jump if he feels the need.

Let the experts handle it

I know it is de rigueur amongst Republicans to deny all manner of reliance upon experts, especially when they come with good news, but Florida Governor/Supervillain Rick Scott has taken it to a new level.

Florida Governor Rick Scott was embarrassed this week after accidentally giving out the number for a phone sex line telling concerned Floridians that it was a meningitis hotline.

 He really needs to pass this test.
  Although perhaps Republican Congressman and love-doctor Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee could have used that number instead of doing the things he did.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Thanks so much for what you've given so far

In the Once-a-decade or so, I want money-a-thon.

Perhaps there are some of you who are thinking,

 "Y'know Jerry's Kids deserve a tad less this year...besides less Jerry, which is really a gift anyway so...";

 "Who needs to retire?";

"That poor hungry pie-eyed child in the third-world with no fresh drinking water -- sorry but this year  I'm giving so a fat American can do better than Olive Garden -- USA! USA! USA!";

"I hope he wants to buy himself an hour with a GIMP (and perhaps I do)"

You are my target demographic (I knew I should have advertised this in National Review)

So remember Obama may want you to look forward.  But I just want you to think about me and my need to buy wine that is a shade higher in quality than "Turning Leaf" or "Kendall-Jackson". That's right I want to be a "La Crema" kind of guy.

So please help me to a better class of drinking.  Give until it hurts  -- and believe me it should hurt you to even contemplate it -- maybe a GIMP could help?

Jack Welch does not approve of you or your facts!!!

More good economic news...

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid plummeted to 339,000 last week, the lowest level in more than four years. The sharp drop offered a hopeful sign that the job market could pick up. The Labor Department says weekly applications fell by 30,000 to the lowest level since February 2008. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped by 11,500 to 364,000, a six-month low.

Wait, this guy isn't from Arkansas?

Because they've been on quite a run lately. No, this jackass is from Wisconsin (America's No. 1 State for Serial Killers per capita) and endorsed by none other than PX90 Ryan:

A Wisconsin state lawmaker endorsed by Paul Ryan has come under criticism for suggesting that “some girls rape easy.” While discussing a case in which “a 17-year-old high school senior was charged with sexual assault for having sex with an underage girl in the school’s band room,” State Rep. Roger Rivard (R) told the Chetek Alert newspaper in December that his father taught him that some girls will portray a sexual encounter as rape if they become pregnant.

He has now stated his words were taken out of context...while reaffirming them, quite a feat, but you can read it here.

Uh....would you want the local preening asshole at the Y to be this close to the Presidency?

How many mirrors has Paul Ryan installed in his work-out room?

Also, put your hat on the right fucking way. (pic Gregg Segal for TIME)

And in the cruelest twist of all...

After the latest debate in Massachusetts, Scott Brown realized that Elizabeth Warren had successfully implied he was an "Indian Giver" in giving lip service to progressive causes but not voting for them.

Congressperson of the Year

Who needs Todd Akin as a pinata when there is this dipshit?

A pro-life, family-values congressman who worked as a doctor before winning election as a Tea Party-backed Republican had an affair with a patient and later pressured her to get an abortion, according to a phone call transcript obtained by The Huffington Post.

The congressman, Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, was trying to save his marriage at the time, according to his remarks on the call, made in September of 2000. And, according to three independent sources familiar with the call and the recording, he made the tape himself.

Oh, he was trying to save his marriage, was he?

Oh, I'm sorry I guess he's a hero then.

Back to the ol' grind (-ing down of civil rights)

Lest any of you (and I doubt there are any) think that the new Supreme Court term would denote a newer less conservative John Roberts, let yesterday dissuade you. In Fischer v. The University of Texas an otherwise non-qualified white prospective student sued over the admission of minorities under an affirmative action program, in arguments:

Joined by several of his fellow Republican appointees, Roberts pressed repeatedly for details on the university’s stated goal of enrolling a “critical mass” of minority students. Justice Samuel Alito said flatly that he didn’t understand what the university meant, and Justice Antonin Scalia voiced repeated skepticism about what he termed “a very ambitious racial program” that tilts the decision among otherwise equal candidates.

I'm sure the merits of this "affirmative action program" were fully and fairly discussed yesterday on at least one of the cable news channels amongst a panel of children of older white conservative pundits and the single African-American panelist who figured out how much you can make in TV if you are a black conservative (good career move Ron Christie).

Do not get your hopes up on this one. The last decision on this area, upheld such programs 5-4, but that was before O'Connor was replaced to Justice "That's Not True" Alito -- plus Justice Kagan had to recuse herself from the case because the Obama Administration supports the University and she was Solicitor General as the case worked itself to the Court.

But there was nearly breaking news yesterday:

[Clarence] Thomas, who is only the second African American justice to serve on the Supreme Court, followed his customary practice of listening in silence. He was the only justice Wednesday not to ask any questions during the often free-wheeling argument, though at one point he turned to whisper in Scalia’s ear.

He almost talked...he...almost...talked.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

The world's worst beg-a-thon

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Chris Kluwe strikes again

Punter, writer, video-gamer, bassist, and advocate -- has an NFL punter ever been cool before (sorry Bobby Walden) and the most relatable punter since Ray Guy?

Tell me, Archbishop, Pope, what purpose does the Church serve attempting to influence the affairs of a secular state? The federal benefits under law currently denied gay couples certainly fall under the realm of Caesar, don’t they? No one is forcing the Catholic Church to marry gay couples if that is not the Church’s wish. You can keep the sanctity of Catholic marriage solely between heterosexual couples if you feel that is what’s required (again though, I caution you on the dangers of presumed infallibility). All we are asking is for you to extend the open hand of tolerance instead of the closed fist of fear and hate. As American citizens, we respect the right for everyone to practice whichever religion they so choose, including the right to not practice one at all. Haven’t we learned enough from the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the Talibans of the world? What does it benefit the Church to attempt to influence secular policy in this country, especially when that influence is to deny basic human rights to others? Will you now assume Caesar’s throne, grasping the transitory ephemera of worldly power and control, while forsaking the eternal kingdom of Heaven?

All I ask from you, Archbishop Nienstedt, and from you, Pope Benedict XVI, is to practice that most basic teaching found in the Bible – empathy. If you strike me, I shall turn the other cheek. If you ask me to walk with you for a mile, I will do so. If you ask me to respect your faith, your beliefs, then all I ask is that you do the same for everyone else. For is that not the most pertinent of Jesus’ teachings, and one that everyone, no matter their religion, can strive to achieve?

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”