Can you smell the desperation?

Courtesy of an e-mail sent by SarahPAC treasurer Tim Crawford and posted over at US4Palin the heading of which was "We Need $10,000 Before Midnight!:

Dear [Donor], 

Today marks the end of the first quarter, and we need your help to show a strong financial standing. 

The far left is looking to us as a symbol of the “whackjobs“.  (Gee I can't imagine why.) We need to show them that we are strong and united in fighting their anti-American agenda. (WTF?) Our disclosure reports will send a message: that the conservative principles this country were founded on are alive and well. 

We have less than ten hours to go until the deadline. When the clock strikes midnight, we have to legally start tallying every donation. (Or else Sarah Palin's wing turns into a pumpkin.) We must make this one count, friends. Please show the strength of conservatives all around the country by donating now. 

Today, the liberal media has launched attacks against Sarah Palin and everything she stands for. If you agree with her, please donate now. Show the media that patriotism is not something to be ashamed of, but something to be lived out. We need your help by midnight to elect strong American leaders. 

Thank you for your support. And let us not forget what makes this country great: those that are willing to fighting for what they believe–you. 

Regards, 

Tim Crawford

Looks like this next quarterly report from SarahPAC is going to be even more disappointing than the last ones. By quite a margin too.

 Gee, what a shame.

I like how they make it seem as if donating to Palin is somehow supporting the very idea of conservatism, and protecting what they perceive as the values of this country.

For fuck's sake she is a washed up ex-politician, and a failed reality show star, NOT the second coming of Jesus.

Elizabeth Warren to Wall Street banks threatening to withhold donations from Democrats to keep her quiet: "Bring it on."

Go ahead Wall Street, whip it out. Let's take a look at it.

Courtesy of CNN Money:  

The senator from Massachusetts said Monday that she will continue to call for financial reforms and for big Wall Street banks to be broken up, despite potential retaliation against Democratic candidates. 

Last week, Reuters reported that some banks, including Citigroup (C) and J.P. Morgan (JPM), might withhold campaign contributions to Senate Democrats because of Warren's negative portrayal of Wall Street. 

According to Reuters, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Bank of America (BAC) also participated in a meeting to discuss the anti-bank rhetoric, although the idea of withholding donations wasn't talked about. Goldman has already made its donation for the year. 

"You bet I believe it's a serious threat," Warren told a packed room at a Barnes & Noble in New York City's Union Square -- a few miles north of Wall Street. 

"It is so brazen. If they think they can say in public, 'I don't like your tone, I don't like the way you talk about financial regulation' ... I got news for them: bring it on," the Democrat said.  

It is no wonder that Warren has captured the imagination of the progressives in this country, the woman has no fear.

Now the only question is do the rest of the Democrats have her backbone?

And yes I'm looking at you Hillary.

Bill O'Reilly blames bad reviews of his film "Killing Jesus" on a liberal bias and because it's "open season on Christians in America."

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Bill O’Reilly complained that he was a victim of religious discrimination because the “Killing Jesus” television movie, based on his book by the same name, received bad reviews from publications that he considers liberal. 

“The truth is, it is open season on Christians in America, and faith is not held in high esteem in the halls of Manhattan media operations,” O’Reilly said. 

The Fox News host suggested Monday night on his “O’Reilly Factor” program that critics should weigh his intentions in writing the book above its artistic merits, adherence to historical fact, and skillful use of dramatic elements. 

“A movie like ‘Killing Jesus’ is a noble endeavor, even if you didn’t like it – even though some conservative folks didn’t like it, either,” O’Reilly said, promising to read negative comments from conservatives. “But to see what actually happened to a good man, Jesus, who preached loving your neighbor and loving God above all, to see how he was abused and murdered historically, right before your eyes, is a powerful use of the motion picture concept.”

As you can see from the clip O'Reilly claims that he was divinely inspired to write his book, and that God was using him as a vessel, much like Christians believe the authors of the Bible were used by God to put HIS words down on paper.

This of course makes O'Reilly believe that his book is above criticism, despite his claims that critics had a right to their opinions. You can fairly see him bristle as he reads each negative review, and then attacks each of them as stupid, or elite, or pushing an agenda.

From my perspective the first problem with this is that it presents the story of Jesus as "historic" when in fact there is little outside of the Bible to support that label.

The second problem is that while there are plenty of theologians who are qualified to write a book about the life of Jesus, Bill O'Reilly is certainly not numbered among them.

However personally it really does not matter to me.

I have already sworn off ALL movies and television specials based on the Bible.

I made that decision after learning that there is no evidence to suggest that Moses led his people into the dessert, or that the Egyptians ever even had Jewish slaves in the first place.

I, of course, had already dismissed almost all of the Biblical stores as hogwash long ago, but after learning that even the most fundamental stories of the old testament were a steaming pile of BS I decided that I would no longer support the retelling of them with my hard earned money or attention.

I quite literally have no problem spending an afternoon in a darkened theater watching a superhero movie, or a silly horror film, or a movie with the most unbelievable premise of all, the romantic comedy. But those movies simply want to entertain me, and do not have the subtext of wanting to sell me a product for which I have absolutely no use.

Besides of all of the poorly written and unbelievable content I have ever suffered through, nothing challenges the content from the Bible. And I do mean NOTHING.

Potential GOP presidential candidates rush to defend Indiana's controversial "religious freedom" law.

Courtesy of CNN:  

Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum and Ben Carson are rushing to defend Indiana's "religious freedom" law, standing with social conservatives on a measure that opponents have said opens the door to discrimination against gays and lesbians. 

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, meanwhile, is backing the "principle" of the measure. 

The likely Republican contenders for their party's 2016 presidential nomination supported the law the day after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence struggled to explain it in an appearance on ABC's "This Week." 

"Gov. Pence has done the right thing," Bush, the former Florida governor, told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday evening. 

"This is simply allowing people of faith space to be able to express their beliefs -- to be able to be people of conscience," Bush said. "I think once the facts are established, people aren't going to see this as discriminatory at all."

Actually in the last several days we have all learned quite a bit about the "facts" and they have only reinforced that this law is going to be used to discriminate against gay people.

A fact driven home during the Governor Pence interview with George Stephanopoulos where he was repeatedly given the opportunity to say that the law would NOT discriminate against gays, and flat out refused to do so.

And let's not forget that it was only in 2004 when the Republicans, including Jeb's brother, were pushing pretty hard to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment, that would have outlawed gay marriage completely.

Even still I find it almost impossible to believe that ANY conservative politician seeking national office in 2016 would allow their name to be associated with this Indiana law in any way.

But hey it's their political funeral. 

Andrew Sullivan speaks out: "Blogging nearly killed me."

Courtesy of CNN:

"The truth is, I had to stop primarily because it was killing me," Sullivan said Sunday night at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. 

"I used to joke that if blogging does kill someone, I would be the first to find out." He described the grueling pace that he maintained along with a small editorial staff. 

"This is 40 posts a day -- every 20 minutes, seven days a week," Sullivan said.

After closing down his blog in January Sullivan took some time to "detox." But on Sunday he agreed to an interview with Jeff Greenfield.

 "Here's what I would say: I spent a decade of my life, spending around seven hours a day in intimate conversation with around 70,000 to 100,000 people every day, " Sullivan said. "And inevitably, for those seven hours or more, I was not spending time with any actual human being, with a face and a body and a mind and a soul." 

"I couldn't imagine blogging the next election," he said. "I will not spend another minute of my time writing about the Clintons. Period. Or the Bushes."

Wow, you that really hits home for me, and I totally understand where he is coming from.

Personally I keep my blog posts to a manageable seven a day of the most, part but since I have no staff that means that each post must be researched, written, and edited all on my own.

And as many of you know, sometimes mistakes slip past my attention.

Also unlike Sullivan I do work out at least five to six days a week, and usually space out the workouts so that I have a reason to leave my desk and get some exercise. Since my other job also requires time on the computer it is easy to spend up to ten hours at my desk a day. And I often do.

However much like Sullivan I also find that most of my interactions with other people take place online in the form of texts, blog comments, and e-mails. I do get a few phone calls a day to break up the monotony, and I have several face to face conversations with my daughter when she is here, and others who live with here as well. So I am not completely isolated.

What's more I rarely ever feel alone, even when I am completely alone in the house.

That may have a lot to do with the constant ideas that bounce around inside of my head.

I don't actually hear voices or anything, but I have been known to talk out loud to myself when I am trying to flesh out an idea. (My daughter gives me grief about that constantly.)

And unlike Sullivan I have no plans to walk away from blogging at this time even though I have also been doing it for ten years now.

There are some changes coming however.

My buddy Dennis Zaki builds websites as a side job, and he has convinced me to upgrade IM in the near future. I am somewhat resistant as I don't usually welcome change, but he assures me the site will be much improved and more user friendly when he finishes with it.

So let me take a moment here to thank all of you for your patronage. I am well aware that there are sharper, sleeker, more content heavy websites you could be visiting, and yet I know many of you camp out here on a daily basis and I want you to know that it gives me the inspiration to keep on plugging away.

And have no fear, changes or no changes, I will still be the un-apologetically liberal firebrand you have all come to know and barely tolerate.

A Wiccan priestess has been invited to give the invocation to the Iowa House of Representatives. Oh the Republicans will love this!

Courtesy of KCRG:

On April 9, Deborah Maynard, a member of the People’s Church Unitarian Universalist, will travel to Des Moines to deliver her blessing. 

According to Maynard, her prayer will make history. 

“I didn’t really think it was that big of a deal, until I did more research on it,” she said. “The more research I did on it, that’s when I found that it’s never been done in a state government body before by a Wiccan.” 

A 2014 Supreme Court ruling allowed for sectarian prayer before government bodies, as long as the prayer is inclusive. 

And democratic representative Liz Bennett of Cedar Rapids, who invited Maynard to give the blessing, said inclusion is her goal. 

“I think there are people across the nation who don’t realize how diverse Iowa really is, and so I’m proud that this is another first for us,” Bennett said. 

You know I'm starting to like Iowa more and more lately. 

I dated a Wiccan once. She was pretty much like everybody else actually, except she had no inhibitions.

And I mean NO inhibitions.

If that was a product of her belief system this should be a lively invocation indeed.

Sounds legit.

You have to admit it IS easier to understand, and more straightforward, than the Bible.

A replacement for Jon Stewart has been found.

Courtesy of The Verge:  

Comedy Central has found a new host for The Daily Show: Trevor Noah, a South African comedian who has appeared as a contributor to the show three times over the past year. According to The New York Times, Noah will be announced as Jon Stewart's replacement today. Noah may be a surprising choice, both as a lesser-known name and with respect to the wealth of regular talent on The Daily Show that Comedy Central is passing over, but as a standup comedian and a series contributor, Noah has consistently offered thoughtful perspectives on social issues and international news stories. He's also quite funny. 

A date has not yet been set for Stewart's departure or Noah's debut as host. "I’m thrilled for the show and for Trevor," Stewart says in a statement, according to the Times. "He’s a tremendous comic and talent that we’ve loved working with." 

With Noah heading to The Daily Show, both of Comedy Central's late night series will soon feature hosts who aren't white — all while the other big names in late night continue to face criticism over their lack of diversity. The Times asked Comedy Central about the possibility of choosing a woman as host, which the network says it considered. "We talked to women. We talked to men. We found in Trevor the best person for the job," Michele Ganeless, president of Comedy Central, tells the Times. Later, Ganeless describes why Noah was ultimately chosen: "He brings such a unique worldview and a deep understanding of human nature, which makes his comedy so insightful."

I actually have no yet formed an opinion as to whether Noah is up to the job or not as I have only seen his work on the show a handful of times.  However I have seen his comedy routine and he is incredibly funny.

But let's face it filling Jon Stewart's shoes is quite an undertaking for ANYBODY, so I am sure that  Noah is feeling both blessed and cursed at the same time.

Blessed that he has this wonderful opportunity, and cursed with the fact that he will forever be compared to a man who has reached legendary status in this country.

Oh well, I plan on continuing to be a loyal viewer. So unless Noah totally sucks ass he will have at least one set of eyes he can rely on.

The National Enquirer has some inside poop on the upcoming Dakota/Bristol nuptials. As well as the reason Sarah is pushing them toward the altar so aggressively.

Courtesy of the Enquirer:  

Sarah has cooked up a secret strategy to win the White House in 2016 – and her future son-in-law is the key! 

He’s Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Dakota Meyer, who recently announced his engagement to Sarah’s daughter Bristol, 24.

With a real war hero in the family, Sarah, 51, hopes voters will forget her clan’s bad behavior, sources said. 

“Since the moment Dakota appeared on her TV show, she’d been trying to figure out how to best use him to her advantage,” said a Palin insider. “So, she started pushing Bristol and Dakota together!”

The piece goes on to claim that Bristol first met in January when they were in Las Vegas.

You all remember that, right?

After all how could we forget?

The Enquirer also confirms the blind item about the ring: 

“Sarah was so eager to have Dakota marry her daughter that she even bought a huge diamond engagement ring for them,” added the insider.

And here is the kicker:  

But a quickie marriage isn’t the only thing on Sarah’s mind, sources revealed. At a recent event for potential Republican presidential candidates, Sarah said: “Without putting any words in my mouth, you can absolutely say that I’m seriously interested” in the 2016 race. 

The insider said: “With Dakota stumping for her, Sarah honestly believes she can’t lose!” 

Okay well that kind of confirms something that my source told me way back in December.

I am still a little doubtful that Palin is serious about launching an actual campaign, however the rest of this definitely rings true and confirms much of what I've been told.

In fact I am almost certain that I know who the Enquirer is using as a source, and if accurate they are definitely getting the inside scoop. However keep in mind that Palin not only lies to the media, and to her supporters, she lies to her family as well.

President Obama trolls the Republicans by using their own predictions of doom and gloom against them.

I like how this video plays the Republicans actually making the statements as Obama shoots them down word for word.

And yes I think this President deserves to take a little credit. Hell he deserves to take a mountain of credit.

For all of those who thought that the engagement between Dakota and Bristol was off. Nope.

Text under the photo on Enjoygram:

completely surprised by my sister today with the most beautiful bridal shower!! 

Holy crap they even  put flags everywhere during baby bridal showers!

In the meantime this is how Dakota is spending his bachelorhood.

Oh yeah this is a marriage made in heaven, or someplace else that starts with an "H."

Sarah Palin mounts her old dead horse, and starts ringing her bell to warn the patriots that "ISIS is coming, ISIS is coming!"

Click dazed expression to play video.

I am going to transcribe the video just to test my pain threshold.

Here you go, oooh that stings already:

"Well President Obama's war against ISIS, it's going so well that ISIS is expanding. The Nigerian terror group called Boko Haram has now repeatedly pledged its allegiance to ISIS. At one stroke ISIS has added a new center of operations, thousands of new fighters, and thousands of square miles to its Jihadist empire. ISIS now controls territory in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, possibly even Libya. While the Obama administration takes its time, refusing to bring decisive force to the fight. ISIS kills innocent men, women, and children by the thousands. And with each kill, each propaganda video, it increases its apill (sic) to Islamic radicals. How much does ISIS have to grow before we realize the magnitude of the threat? The Obama administration (Jarring edit here) Their priority is on limiting American involvement and that means jihadists run wild. (Is that anything like "Girls Gone Wild?") President Obama wanted to be the President who ended wars. (Yep that's why we elected him.) It's what he claimed. But he forgot a fundamental principle (Oh please enlighten us oh bewigged one!) It's hard to end a war when the enemy is still fighting. (You know correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think that ISIS even existed when we invaded Iraq and Afghanistan.) So he forfeited our victory in Iraq (Wait, we won?) imposed ludicrous restrictions on our troops in Afghanistan, and remember he called ISIS the 'junior varsity' even as it was gathering terrifying strength in Syria. Friends we're fighting the most evil jihadists the world has ever seen. Yet the Obama administration refuses to act like we're at war. It's time to take the gloves off overseas. Before ISIS can take the war to us here at home."

Gee I wonder how much ISIS had to contribute to SarahPAC in order to get Palin to make this nifty propaganda video for them?

Isn't this the same way that George W. Bush helped to elevate a rag tag bunch of sheep herders into one the scariest terrorist groups on the planet?

Here is what the folks over at Wonkette had to say:

ISIS is, by almost any measure, losing ground. The group failed to take the city of Kobani, and they failed in large part because President Mom Jeans bombed the living shit out of them. ISIS has been driven out of Tikrit, with a few remaining defenders cut off and encircled near the Tigris River. The group’s revenue streams have been decimated, and their fighting formations are beginning to experience desertion among the rank-and-file. 

ISIS is also currently under attack from Saudi Arabia, the Kurds, Egypt, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Turkey to name but a few.

And of course all of that is thanks to the efforts of the United States and the President that the Republicans keep accusing of "leading from behind."

But let's face it, Sarah Palin and her ilk will not be satisfied with a US response until we have gallons of American blood spilling onto the hot sands.  And of course NONE of that blood will spill from her precious military prop, because he is safely out of harm's way taking drugs, starting fights at parties, and sponging off of his famous mother.

Well Ted Cruz has one demographic firmly on his side. Right Wing talk radio hosts.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Glenn Beck wants listeners to pray for him. Mark Levin says Fox News is out to get him. Hugh Hewitt calls him an “intellectual leader.” Rush Limbaugh thinks his campaign launch was “masterful.” Laura Ingraham hails him as “Reaganesque.” Erick Erickson considers him a “good friend.” 

Ted Cruz may be trailing in the polls and strapped for cash, but the first declared candidate of the 2016 race is winning in at least one key contest — the conservative talk-show primary.

Tens of millions of listeners — and potential GOP primary voters — tune in each week to the biggest right-wing radio hosts, who hold forth on the merits and demerits of the various 2016 Republican hopefuls as keenly as they spit invective about Barack Obama and the Democrats. Many of them are big fans of the Texas senator, if not outright supporters. Most are holding their cards close, refusing to hug any candidate too tightly, be it in the spirit of equanimity or out of fear of alienating some listeners. 

But nearly all the kings and queens of the conservative airwaves express admiration for a man almost universally despised by his Senate colleagues and dismissed by the mainstream media: Cruz. And they are equally clear about who they do not like: Mushy “progressives” like Jeb Bush and Chris Christie. 

let's face it these really are the people that have the ear of the Republican base right now. 

I predict that Cruz will do quite well in some of the primaries, Iowa for instance.

However when he stands on that stage with the rest of the 2016 contenders, debating champion or not, I think he will quickly demonstrate why can NEVER be trusted to get anywhere near the White House.

I also predict that Cruz will not go down quietly and that he will do substantial damage to the other presidential wannabes before his campaign finally gasps its last.

Former Republican operative from South Carolina holds his wife hostage in Chick-fil-A parking lot, blames too much cough syrup.

Courtesy of TPM:  

A former official with the South Carolina Republican Party said an improper dose of cough medicine was to blame for an incident in which he refused to let his wife out of their car, the Charleston City Paper reported Saturday. 

Todd Kincannon, an attorney who briefly served as the executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party in 2010, allegedly refused to let his wifeout of their car after the couple got into an argument at a work function Thursday night, according to a police report obtained by the newspaper. 

A Lexington County Sheriff's deputy responded to a "possible domestic incident" at about 10:21 p.m. at Kincannon's Columbia, S.C. home, according to the report. The report stated Kincannon's wife, Ashely Suzanne Griffith, told the deputy there had been an altercation in a Chick-fil-A parking lot on the drive home. 

Griffith told the deputy that she asked to get out of their car after her husband began screaming at her, according to the police report. The report stated that Griffith said she hit her husband in the arm several times because he grabbed her to prevent her from exiting the car. She also told the deputy that Kincannon had threatened to kill himself if she left the vehicle.

Later Kincannon told a Charleston newspaper that he was all hopped up on cough syrup: Here’s what happened last night:

I had a severe upper respiratory infection, and I’m the kind of guy who never goes to the doctor. I finally went and was prescribed something called Benzonatate for my cough. I’d never taken it before, and took it for the first time last night. Basically, I went completely crazy after taking it. I don’t even remember all of it. My wife called 911 because she was worried about me and my behavior was way out of character and erratic, and she was afraid for her safety and mine. The cops came and they called EMS, and EMS took me to Lexington Medical Center. My blood pressure on scene was something like 190 over 130 and I was tachycardic. The ER doctor at LMC saw me and I was diagnosed ... with an allergic reaction to Benzonatate. Apparently a very small percentage of people go absolutely nuts when they take the stuff, and I’m apparently in that very small percentage. I had calmed down by the time I got to LMC and they let me go after a brief evaluation. I’m totally fine now and not taking any more Benzonatate. 

They need to add a warning label to Benzonatate: “Warning: May cause people to go completely nuts.”

Sounds legit. I mean who doesn't start manhandling women after they take prescription cough suppressants?

A drugged out Republican getting all abusive with his wife in a Charleston Chick-fil-A.

Sounds like a typical Saturday in South Carolina to me.  

Watch Indiana Governor Mike Pence outright refuse to answer any of George Stephanopoulos's questions about his state's new controversial law.

Courtesy of Mediaite:  

This Week host George Stephanopoulos absolutely grilled Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R) over the newly-signed “religious freedom” bill, which critics maintain would allow businesses to refuse services to LGBT customers. Pence argued that the bill’s intentions had been misrepresented in media coverage, and insisted he would not change the bill, though he did continue to say he would “clarify” it. 

However, Pence refused to answer two “yes or no” questions posed to him by Stephanopoulos over the potentially discriminatory ramifications of the bill, including whether it would allow a florist to deny services to a gay couple, as its supporters maintain. 

“There’s been shameless rhetoric about my state and this law and its intention all over the internet,” Pence said. “People are trying to make it about one particular issue, and now you’re doing that as well.” 

Stephanopoulos asked the question several more times. “It’s a simple yes or no question,” Stephanopoulos said. 

“The issue here is: is tolerance a two-way street or not?” Pence said. “There’s a lot of talk about tolerance in this country having to do with people on the left. Here Indiana steps forward to protect the constitutional rights and privileges of freedom of religion for people of faith in our state, and this avalanche of intolerance that’s been poured on our state is outrageous.”

Wow that is some of the fanciest dancing I have seen since John Travolta on Saturday Night Fever. 

Pence goes on to say that he would NOT pass a law protecting the rights of the LGBT community, which would of course make people less concerned about this new law. And at one point refuses to answer Stephanopoulos's question about whether or not it should be legal to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

By the way as Pence continues his dance more and more businesses are making the decision that Indiana is now a "no go zone" for them and their employees.

US soldiers raped and sexually assaulted dozens of Colombian children between 2003 and 2007, filmed the attacks to distribute as pornography, and face no charges due to treaty granting immunity.

Colombian children

Courtesy of WSWS:  

US soldiers and military contractors were responsible for the rape and sexual abuse of scores of Colombian children, but faced no legal repercussions because of a treaty between Washington and Bogota granting them full immunity. 

A fresh revelation of these appalling crimes came as a byproduct of ongoing peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC (Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia) guerrilla movement taking place in Havana, Cuba. 

Last month, a Historical Commission on the Armed Conflict and its Victims in Colombia, formed jointly by the Colombian government and the FARC, presented an 800-page report documenting the causes and consequences of the decades of civil war that have claimed millions of victims in terms of dead, wounded, abused and displaced. The commission was composed of leading Colombian academics and intellectuals acceptable to both parties. 

A section prepared by Renan Vega Cantor, a professor of history at the National Pedagogical University of Bogota, dealt with the role played by the US military. The Pentagon has sent advisers and contractors to the country as part of Plan Colombia, which has included $6 billion in mostly military aid directed at combatting both drug trafficking and the anti-government guerrilla movements. 

The report cites 54 cases of rape and sexual abuse of minors, some as young as 12. “In one of the best known cases, in Melgar and in Giradot [both are to the southwest of the capital of Bogota, with a major Colombian air base that housed US “advisers” located in Melgar], 53 minors were abused sexually by mercenaries, who also filmed it and sold the tapes as pornography,” the report states. The young girls were subsequently threatened with death, and they and their families had to leave the area.

This post is the result of a late night message from my daughter demanding that I write something about this and let people know what we have done. 

She was of course quite horrified and wanted to know how we could not only allow this to happen, but also protect those who committed these atrocities.

My response is of course to refer to the Ted Cruz post from earlier today.

After all how can Americans be held accountable when they are clearly agents of the "American civil religion" whose every action is divinely inspired?

This is the result when you see the military, and military contractors, through rose colored glasses and believe that their every action overseas "protects us over here."

How dare we even think of prosecuting them for helping to keep us free by spreading American exceptionalism to every corner of the planet?

For those who want to learn more about this you can read here, here, and here as well.

Dakota Meyer, Bristol Palin's newest fiance, gives instruction on how to accidentally shoot one of your children for breaking a water glass.

"Remember slow is smooth, smooth is fast." And they say this guy is not a philosopher.

All kidding aside I thought Cletus gave some good tips on how to overreact to a noise in the middle of the night.

I mean personally I just stumble around the house stubbing my toes, cursing frequently, and wielding a plastic baseball bat. But then I'm a trained professional.

Of course perhaps Huckleberry has increased the possibility of home invasion by putting his name on products like this.

And taunting ISIS like this.

Source

I think my advice to Tripp would be to try and stay with dad as much as possible, and when staying with mom use the bathroom BEFORE bedtime, use only Dixie cups for late night drinks, and for God's sake stay low.

Ted Cruz and the American "civil religion." This guy is even scarier than we thought.

Courtesy of Salon:  

Cruz’s White House run is disturbing, and not just because it involves Ted Cruz. Rather, he embodies the modern conservative propensity toward a fundamentalist American civil religion and its attendant, overly simplistic myths. As the English political activist George Monbiot observed during the dawn of the second President Bush’s Iraq War, to America’s conservative subculture “the United States is no longer just a nation. It is now a religion… It is not just that the Americans are God’s chosen people; America itself is now perceived as a divine project.” American civil religion hinges on what Ted Cruz defined in his Liberty University speech as “the promise of America,” embodied in “the American exceptionalism that has made this nation a clarion voice for freedom in the world, a shining city on a hill.” The religion of America is a civil religion that casts the United States as a divine world power shaped by a series of comforting myths that, in the eyes of fervent believers like Cruz, make it the ultimate political Promised Land. 

The term “civil religion” goes back to the writings of French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau, who ruminated on the tensions that arise when church and state become separate entities. In American discourse, the term is most closely associated with sociologist Robert Bellah. In 1967, Bellah characterized civil religion as “a set of beliefs, symbols, and rituals” that was “neither sectarian nor in any specific sense Christian” but nonetheless constituted a shared experience of being American that was inspired by Christian notions of redemption and spiritual fulfillment. Civil religion casts America as a beacon of secular and sacred hope in a fallen modern world. In this context, Bellah wrote, “Europe is Egypt” and America was the Promised Land to which ”God has led his people to establish a new sort of social order that shall be a light unto all the nations.” And if this concept seems open-ended and ripe for abuse, that’s because it is. 

.......

Cruz had the myth of the Chosen Nation down pat when he claimed that America is “an indispensable nation, a unique nation in the history of the world.” As for the myth of Nature’s Nation, he evoked America as the cultivated political garden of God Himself that, “from the dawn of this country, at every stage… has enjoyed God’s providential blessing.” The myth of the Christian Nation? Cruz parroted the now standard (but historically bogus) right-wing claim that the U.S. “was founded upon” the idea that rights come from a very specific “God Almighty.” Cruz’s reference to the myth of Manifest Destiny was more veiled, but he name-dropped key historical figures such as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (no doubt for good bipartisan measure) and, of course, Ronald Reagan to reiterate his point that God has blessed every step in America’s development. The myth of the Capitalist Nation came via his railing against standard conservative government bogeymen like “regulators,” “tax collectors” and Obamacare that despoil the purity of the Free Market. Finally, Cruz touted the myth of the Innocent Nation when he claimed that political change will only come from “lovers of liberty” who realize that “God isn’t done with America yet.” Bless their liberty-loving souls. 

Cruz’s speech was a prime example of how the right wing promotes a deeply fundamentalist American civil religion that relies on time-honored myths to characterize the United States as a nation guided by providential destiny. Cruz and other conservatives don’t see America as one nation that is a part of world history; they see it as one nation apart from world history, one that exists free of the flawed human agency and historical contingency that — contrary to Cruz’s claims — has shaped all of the human experience. 

An America as defined by a future President Cruz is an America that sees itself as blindingly perfect, naively innocent, incapable of critical reflection over both its strengths and weaknesses and utterly convinced of its capacity to shape the world in its own image. Cruz’s version of civil religion is the ultimate example of how conservatives “absolutize the righteousness of the United States.” When you believe that God has blessed America from the beginning, you ignore the times that Americans have invoked God to justify the evils of Indian removal, slavery, racism, sexism and environmental destruction. More importantly, you undervalue the times when Americans have overcome those sins to demonstrate what Abraham Lincoln called ”the better angels of our nature.” When you worship capitalism and tout the United States as the world’s only hope, you ignore the false idols that led to the Great Recession and the bloody folly of the Iraq War that’s left the Middle East in tatters. When you develop a false sense of American innocence, you view national self-reflection as a weakness.

This of course is the same kind of thinking that allowed an arrogant pseudo Texan from a famous political family take this country to war with the idea that all the poor savages needed was a little American exceptionalism in their lives to make all of their problems simply disappear.

It's also the same mindset shared by a Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, and of course Sarah Palin.

In fact when Palin suggests that President Obama is trying to "fundamentally change America" this is what she is talking about. The idea that the President would try to convince Americans to climb off their high horse and recognize that we are part of a global community that can all work together toward progress rather than an oligarchy that is working to proselytize their message of political religiosity to the unsaved, frightens people of limited intellect such as Palin.

However the most dangerous thing imaginable for this country would be to return to leadership that sees this country as not only without flaws, but incapable of mistakes due to the fact that the Constitution, much like the Bible, was inspired by God and is therefore infallible. (Amendments Shamendments.)

Now if you will excuse me I have to go lie down in the fetal position for a few minutes.

Sarah Palin says that any person who joins a terrorist organization should lose their citizenship. She may have a point.

"Only freedom lovin' Mericans can look at my butt."

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Message to would-be ISIS recruits: Sarah Palin doesn’t want you back. The former Alaska governor and current media firebrand said in a Facebook post Friday that Americans who leave the country to join a foreign terrorist organization should be stripped of their citizenship. 

 “As crazy as it sounds, a U.S. citizen who leaves this country to join ISIS, al Qaeda, or any other terrorist organization does not immediately lose his or her citizenship,” Palin wrote in the post. “That needs to change!” 

The post, which was accompanied by a video in which Palin spoke of the “threat of radical Islam,” was shared more than 1,200 times within two hours. “It’s a simple fact that some people are drawn to ISIS’s brutality,” Palin says in the video. “They’re actually inspired by videos of beheadings and burnings. They actually believe ISIS’s religious message.”

Well of course stripping an American of their citizenship flies, without due process, in the face of the Fourteenth Amendment which states that; "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." But why should such a detail bother Palin?

Yeah that sort of makes it hard to enforce a rule which suggests that these individuals "immediately lose his or her citizenship" without first giving them the opportunity to be tried before a jury of their peers. 

Of course I'm sure that does not Palin any pause since the only part of the Constitution she seems to care about is the 2nd Amendment.

However I am not completely in disagreement with her point of view here.

I think that people who run off to join ISIS should probably be detained when they reenter the United States as a possible threat to our security, and if warranted imprisoned or even exiled.

IF they are first found guilty of course.

But hey why stop there. I mean if we are going to take away the citizenship of Americans who go overseas to collaborate with anti-American groups and terrorist organizations why not do the same to people who do it right here on our shores.

The FBI has labeled the sovereign citizen group a terrorist organization.

So I would guess that anybody who fraternized with a group like that, the Alaska Independence Party for instance, might need to be scrutinized by the Federal government to determine if they represent a potential threat.

And if that person were also known to support anti-government groups like the Tea Party, and hang out with folks who had made actual threats against the President of the United States and his Secretary of State like this guy..... 

...well I would think that somebody like that would be hanging onto their citizenship by a thread.

You know it is such a rarity when I even minimally agree with Sarah Palin, that when I do it represents kind of a nice change. Don't you agree?

During interview with Harry Reid on Nevada radio, President Obama calls in to surprise the retiring Senator with heartfelt praise.

Courtesy of Politicususa:  

Sen. Reid was told that he had a surprise caller, and after a pause a voice came on the line and said, “Is this Harry Reid?” Reid answered, “It is.” The President said, “Harry, this is Barack.” Reid could only say, “Well, I’ll be damned.” Obama asked, “Are you allowed to say that on live radio?” Reid repeated, “Well, I’ll be damned. What a guy.” 

The President said, “Well, I think when the stories has been written and when all is told, you’re going to have somebody who has done more for the Nevada for this country than anybody who has been in the Senate. I could not be prouder of him. He did an unbelievable job on a whole bunch of really tough issues. Saving this country from a depression, making sure millions of people had health care, making sure that young people were able to go to college. He’s been one of my best partners and best friends, and I’m really honored to have served him.”

Harry Reid was also quite effusive in his praise of the President, and ultimately it was a very nice moment where two battle scarred veterans of many political skirmishes expressed admiration for each others courage and tenacity.

After listening to this exchange all I could think is what will this country do without Barack Obama and Harry Reid at the helm of this nation steering us around and over Republican obstructionism and bad policy decisions?

You better bring your "A" game Hillary Clinton, because you are definitely going to need it.

America is practically defenseless. If you ignore all that money we spend on defense.

Just imagine how much good we could do with our tax money if we were not so focused on using it to kill people in other countries.

And if we ever start to feel safe enough to spend our money on programs to benefit Americans, well that is the conservative's cue to fear monger and find a reason to start another war.

On Real Time last night Bill Maher asked "How deeply stupid has the far left become?" Uh oh, this one's going to leave a mark.

This from Mediaite: 

Maher said just like conservatives, liberals have crazies of their own they need to rein in. He brought up the controversy over the Economist cover on Latinos and how Media Matters covered it. The liberal media watchdog called it “a tired trope often used to confine the Hispanic community to oversimplified representation in the media.” 

Maher reacted by telling Media Matters to “shut the fuck up.” 

He remarked, “How deeply stupid has the far-left become,” and said liberals just need to stop freaking out about every single little thing that doesn’t 100 percent conform to their worldview.

Maher makes some very good points about the Far Left having its own crazies. Of course we do. 

I guess the only real difference between our crazies and the Right Wing crazies, is that ours do not make up the base of the Democratic party.

I think as a rule most on the Left are quite pragmatic and realize they will never get their ideal candidate elected to office, while the Right have shovels on their shoulders and car batteries in their hands in the hopes of digging up Reagan's corpse and finding some way to bring it back to life to "save the country."

Maher also mocked Ted Cruz for lying about becoming a country music fan after 9-11. Which was such a stupid statement that I literally groaned when I heard him say it.

By the way I imagine that this headline will attract a fair share of Right Wing trolls, so remember the best way to handle them is to politely correct their grammar, pat them on their pointy heads, and smile disarmingly while gently pushing them out the door.

"Stop Chris Christie" PAC closes up shop because...you know...why bother?

Courtesy of MSNBC:  

Former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado is all but throwing in the towel on the political action committee he created to stop New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s potential run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016 — but only because he believes the governor has no chance of winning. 

Citing Christie’s sagging poll numbers and what he described as the governor’s “questionable” behavior, Tancredo told msnbc, “We have not really tried to raise any money because frankly we assumed it would probably not be worth the time we put into it because now nobody believes the guy has a chance. ” He added, “I don’t think anyone’s going to give money to stop Chris Christie — someone who they believe is probably stopped already.”

Well you can't disagree with Tancredo's logic. After all he's right, Christie has about as muhc chance of winning the nomination as he does of ever seeing his own feet again. 

However I would like to extrapolate this conclusion out to include many of the GOP presidential wannabes.

I mean does ANYBODY really think we are going to see a Lindsey Graham at the top of the ticket?

Or a Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, or Donald Trump either?

No, if the Republican party really wants to demonstrate how serious they are about this election, they should all, as one, turn and ignore the clown car and give their support to the ultimate victor.

Hillary Clinton.

See what I did there?

Hillary Clinton deletes her e-mails, all of her e-mails, from her private server. Quick somebody fire up the GOP outrage machine!

All of the e-mails were deleted? Oops my bad.

Courtesy of CNN:  

Hillary Clinton permanently deleted all the emails on the private server she used to do official business as secretary of state, the Republican lawmaker who subpoenaed the emails said late Friday. 

Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, chairman of the House committee investigating the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, said Clinton's lawyer informed him of the news. 

"Secretary Clinton unilaterally decided to wipe her server clean and permanently delete all emails from her personal server," Gowdy said in a statement. 

Gowdy had also asked that Clinton turn over her server to the State Department inspector general for an independent review. 

Clinton's lawyer, David Kendall, said no. In his letter to Gowdy, Kendall said the former secretary of state "chose not to keep her non-record personal emails." 

"Thus, there are no ... e-mails from Secretary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state on the server for any review, even if such review were appropriate or legally authorized," he wrote.

Clinton's lawyer further maintained that all of work related, or potentially work related e-mails had all been turned over to the state department last year.  Which in no way is going to satisfy the Republicans who are convinced that Clinton is hiding something from them.

Once again I find myself understanding both sides.

On the one side it seems perfectly reasonable for people to assume that if Clinton had nothing to hide she would have no problem turning over her private server to a trusted third party to have it examined for anything that might be of use to the House investigating committee.

On the other hand this is like the third committee to investigate Clinton over Benghazi and there is really little doubt that they would have found something, no matter how small, to use against her in 2016, eve if it had NOTHING to do with Benghazi or their investigation.

Hillary remembers all too well that it was the Whitewater investigation, which led to Monica Lewinsky, a stained blue dress, and the impeachment of her husband.

Let's face it Gowdy is under enormous pressure to find something, and it is almost certain that he would have. Whether it was really there or not.

I have to say that as much as this leaves a sour taste in my mouth I am not sure that Hillary had much of a choice.

Colorado Republicans react in horror as fellow lawmaker suggests that woman mutilated in attack was the "curse of God" in response to abortion.

Courtesy of the Denver Post:  

Several leading Colorado Republicans lashed out Thursday against state Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt, saying his "curse of God" comments about an attack on a pregnant woman whose baby was cut from her womb were "disgusting" and "reprehensible." 

The lawmaker, who also is a minister, quoted the Bible in his "Pray In Jesus Name" program Wednesday and tried to link the crime to abortion. 

"This is the curse of God upon America for our sin of not protecting innocent children in the womb and part of that curse for our rebellion against God as a nation is that our pregnant women are ripped open," Klingenschmitt said. 

Among those who denounced the remarks: two fellow El Paso County Republicans, Laura Carno, who in January started a Facebook page called "Conservatives against Gordon Klingenschmitt," and former Rep. Mark Waller, whose used to represent the House district in Colorado Springs now held by Klingenschmitt. 

"It's disgusting. I thought Gordon Klingenschmitt would be our next Todd Akin," Carno said Thursday. "I didn't know he would be our next Westboro Baptist Church. This poor woman gets her baby cut out of her belly and he uses this tragedy to drive traffic to his ministry."

So to be clear this lunatic believes that his God allows vicious attacks on innocent pregnant women as punishment to America for allowing abortions. Oh yeah, let's all drop to our knees and worship THAT guy.

Of course many of you may remember this Klingenshmitt character as the former Navy chaplain who believes that America is being oppressed by demons and that the only healthcare we need is faith in God.

It appears that finally the Colorado Republicans have realized what most of the country realized long ago.

This Klingenschmitt guy is out of his fucking mind!

Perhaps the most articulate nine year old you will ever see speaks out against school testing in Florida.

Okay for the record I would just like to admit that I am not that articulate now much less than when I was in the fourth grade.

Her name is Sydney Smoot, and she is speaking in front of the Hernando County School Board. Here is more on her story: 

"This test defines me as a number," she said, holding up an index finger for emphasis. "One test defines me as either a failure or a success." 

She questioned the merit of the exam that has been subjected to little vetting: 

"Why am I being forced to take a test that hasn't even been tested on students in Florida?" 

And she had a particular objection that brought all her other ones to a head. 

Before taking the reading section of the FSA last week, she was required to sign a form that prohibited her from talking about its contents, even to her parents. 

Jennifer Smoot, her mother, said her daughter came home upset because she felt as though this form kept her from sharing the burden of her testing anxieties with her parents. 

"My daughter talks to me about everything," said Smoot, 38. "She was very upset."

I am a little late to this story as it happened over a week ago, but once I saw that video I knew I had to share it here.

As many of you know I am firmly against most of the standardized testing that resulted from No Child Left Behind, but I don't believe I ever expressed myself with near the eloquence of nine year old Sydney Smoot.

Take my word for it, this will not be the last time we hear from this young lady.

Arizona state senator introduces idea of making church attendance mandatory.

Courtesy of KPHO:  

Each year a few ideas get proposed at the state Capitol that have people shaking their heads. 

This year: Mandatory church attendance. 

An Arizona state senator thinks it is a good idea for the American people. 

State Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, brought it up during a committee meeting Tuesday while lawmakers were debating a gun bill concerning concealed weapons permits, not religion. 

Allen explained that without a "moral rebirth" in the country, more people may feel the need to carry a weapon. 

"I believe what's happening to our country is that there's a moral erosion of the soul of America," she said. 

"It's the soul that is corrupt. How we get back to a moral rebirth I don't know. Since we are slowly eroding religion at every opportunity that we have. Probably we should be debating a bill requiring every American to attend a church of their choice on Sunday to see if we can get back to having a moral rebirth," she told the committee. 

Let me get this straight. The reason that people feel the need to carry guns in this country is because church attendance is down?

WTF?

Ultimately Allen decided to support the conceal carry bill with this simple to understand explanation:

"I'm going to vote yes that people who are responsible who have a CCW permit don't have to worry about their guns as they're out and about and doing business in whatever building they're in except ones that where they aren't allowed."

Oh I get it, she's a crazy person. 

Republican concept of smaller government explained.

Well gee now it makes perfect sense.

I didn't think I could dislike Ted Cruz any more than I do. But then I saw his picture from college.

Picture courtesy of Raw Story

You know I have read before that Cruz was an arrogant SOB in college, and this picture does much to support that.

The guy looks like he is playacting at being a cigar chomping political bigwig even before he finished school.

The Raw Story article claims that Cruz acted in college, which makes me wonder once again if his entire schtick is one big put on to get conservative support and to increase his time in the limelight.

Either that or I have to accept the fact that he is actually what he appears to be, an ignorant, arrogant, blowhard.

Mark Levin, Sarah Palin's favorite person since the Gipper kicked the bucket, claims that President Obama is the greatest threat to the Jews since the 1930's. Update!

Courtesy of TPM:

 "Barack Obama, as a result of this and the other things he’s doing, including arming up the Islamonazis in Tehran, is the greatest threat the Jews face — not in this country but in Israel — since the 1930s," he said on "The Mark Levin Show." 

Levin said that Obama's relationship with Israel and his decision to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran threaten Israeli Jews. 

"He’s the greatest threat they face since the 1930s. And I say that because he is doing more now to degrade Israel’s military and defense posture, its intelligence information. He’s doing more now to arm Israel’s enemy than anybody," he said. "He is the greatest threat that that nation faces. And by the way, he’s a great threat to our nation too, as far as I’m concerned."

Not to nitpick the wisdom of the "Great One" here but between the 1930's and now wasn't there something called the Holocaust?

I mean that didn't start until 1941, and that seems substantially more detrimental to the Jewish people than anything that Barack Obama could possibly even dream up.

But hey what do I know? I mean I don't have a radio show that is listened to by the wingnuttiest of the wingnuts, nor am I beloved by so rational a person as Sarah Palin.

 And let me say how often I thank my lucky stars for that!

Update for clarification: To those who sent me an e-mail, yes I am aware that Hitler came into power in the early 1930's and that he started persecuting the Jews pretty much right away.

I guess my point was that things became even more deadly for the Jewish people when the Holocaust, or Shoah, was in full swing from 1941 to 1945. It was at this time that the wholesale slaughter of the Jewish people commenced.

Of course the point of Levin's remarks was to make a comparison between President Obama and Adolph Hitler. As if the attempts to negotiate a deal with Iran to not build nuclear weapons instead of attacking them and further destabilizing the region, are on par with the actions of one of the most reviled men in human history.

To sum up Mark Levin is a right wing provocateur who will say essentially anything to stoke the hatred of his lunatic listeners for our President, and no rational person should pay him any attention if it were not for the fact that ignoring these anarchists has proven detrimental to our country in the past.

CEO decides to boycott Indiana over controversial new law that allows businesses to discriminate against gays.

Today we are canceling all programs that require our customers/employees to travel to Indiana to face discrimination. http://t.co/SvTwyCHxvE

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) March 26, 2015

Courtesy of Fortune:  

CEO Marc Benioff and other business leaders are outraged over the state’s “religious freedom” law. 

Business leaders on Thursday spoke out against a controversial law passed in Indiana Thursday that could give businesses the green light to deny service to same-sex couples. 

The loudest opposition so far has come from Marc Benioff, founder and CEO of business tech company Salesforce, who declared on Twitter that his company would boycott the state altogether. 

The outcry is in response to Indiana’s Republican Gov. Mike Pence signing into law a “religious freedom” bill that will free individuals and business owners from abiding by state and local laws that “substantially” burden their exercise of religion, unless the government can prove that it has a compelling interest and is doing so by the least restrictive means. 

Supporters of the measure say it will protect people and business owners with strong religious convictions from government intrusion. 

Opponents, meanwhile, claim it paves the way for discrimination, especially against gays and lesbians. 

In addition to Salesforce’s boycott of Indiana, the state’s hot-button law also received condemnation from other folks with business ties to the state.

Funny thing about laws that support discrimination based on religion, they can end up casting certain religions as hateful, and costing those hiding behind those laws their livelihoods.

Personally I would love to see this spread so far and wide that business leaders all over the country simply remove Indiana from their business plans and simply treat it as some backwater, uncivilized part of the country that is simply not advanced enough to appreciate their products.

Not really that far from the truth if you think about it.

Perhaps that could be extrapolated out at some point to simply "If you have a Republican governor we do not feel we can safely conduct business within your borders."

Might be a costly decision at first, but just imagine the ultimate benefit to the country.

Louie Gohmert teases the idea of running for President. That sound you heard was every late night comedian in the country's nipples suddenly becoming erect.

Courtesy of The Hill:  

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) sent mixed signals on his White House aspirations Thursday. 

The conservative firebrand first told The Hill that he might run for president in 2016. 

Gohmert indicated he might launch an exploratory committee for president when asked whether he would support Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) White House bid. 

"Ted is a good friend and would be an outstanding President; however, I haven't ruled out an exploratory committee myself," Gohmert said in a statement emailed to The Hill from a spokesperson.

One of Gohmert's aides suggested that Gohmert was probably kidding, and used his lack of hair as a reason that he would not run.

But in my opinion that is blatant bald-ism.  And we will not stand for that kind of discrimination in this day and age.

Take moment here, close your eyes.  and just imagine a Republican 2016 lineup that included Ben Carson, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, and freaking Louis Gohmert.

Freaking Louie Gohmert!

It is enough to make this blogger froth at the mouth in anticipation.

You throw in a Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann and I would not even be able to get pants on over my ginormous political blogging boner.

If late night comedians were smart they would pool their resources and start a "Draft Louis Gohmert for 2016" SuperPAC. I know I would probably donate.

Senator Elizabeth Warren calls out the Republicans for introducing a budget that would gut Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Courtesy of Ring of Fire Radio:

“It was just a few years ago, 2008, that there was a major financial crisis in this country. People lost their jobs; people lost their homes; people lost their savings,” continued Warren. “And yet, the Republicans seem to have forgotten all that.” 

The GOP’s budget guts financial regulations that were put in place after the financial meltdown — the worst since the Great Depression. 

“A big part of that is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [CFPB],” said Warren. “After the crisis, people like Sen. [Al] Franken (D-MN) and Sen. [Jeff] Merkley (D-OR) were talking about the importance of getting a single agency that would be there to help level the playing field.” 

“The idea was that we would develop a single agency and make that agency responsible for standing up for American families against the biggest banks in this country — make that agency responsible and accountable to the American people. And that’s exactly what we did.” 

So far, the CFPB has forced big banks to return more than $5 billion directly to those customers they cheated, and “has scared off a lot of others from doing more cheating,” said Warren. 

“Given that that’s the case, given that we’ve just been through this financial crisis … what is the position of the Republicans?” Warren asked. “Do they want to strengthen the [CFPB], the agency that’s out there on behalf of America’s families? No. Their view is ‘let’s find ways to weaken it’ … In other words, they want to make sure the watchdogs are tame.” 

“We need tough regulations. We need regulators that are willing to stand up to the biggest financial institutions in this country,” Warren concluded. “And I want to say, with this budget resolution, we’re watching. We’re watching. Democrats in the Senate are watching, Democrats in the House are watching, and the American people are watching. We will not stand by while the Republicans gut financial regulation in this country.” 

The CFPB is Warren's baby and the Republicans just made a terrible mistake.

 If they thought she was a thorn in their side before, just watch what she does now.

And you can bet just about any amount that she will work like crazy to make sure that the next President of the United States is a Democrat who will help protect the program she worked so hard to create.

Like maybe taking the number two spot on the ticket perhaps?

Dating website that caters to married cheaters claims that most of its clients are Christians. You don't say?

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

A dating website that helps people in the United Kingdom engage in extramarital affairs says that most of its members are of the Christian faith. 

The website IllicitEncounters.com said there are more than ten Christian adulterers for every one atheist. 

“It’s incredibly ironic that atheists are more faithful than Christians,” Claire Page, spokesperson for IllicitEncounters, said. “It proves the argument that what some people perceive as immoral – like adultery – isn’t increased by the lack of spiritual guidance. If the only reason you don’t kill someone, or steal, or covet thy neighbor’s wife, is because it tells you not to in the Bible, to me, that’s a lot more worrying.” 

“To me, that says you can’t think for yourself what is right and wrong. Besides, for us and our 987,000 customers, we don’t look at affairs like most people do. There are many reasons people have affairs, it’s not as black and white as some people think.” 

The website conducted a survey of its members, and found only 6 percent described themselves as atheists, while 64 percent classified themselves as Christian. 

“Often, non-believers have a better interpretation of what is wrong and right than believers,” psychologist Lucy Redford remarked in a statement released by IllicitEncounters.

Damn right we do.

Now some will quickly point out that this percentage makes sense considering how many Christians there are in the world. However we must remember that this is a UK site and recently we learned that Christians are now the minority in that part of the world.

Besides if your religion is supposedly the foundation of morality, and those who do not share your faith are considered lacking in morals, then what explains these numbers?

For the record I have never personally cheated on a spouse, though as a single man I have had a dalliance or three with women who were not similarly unattached.

Wanna guess how many considered themselves good Christian women? Try all of them.

Spot the difference.

Trick question, there isn't one.

Picture of the day.

Courtesy of an IM regular.

This is what the Palin gals call a successful hunt.

Republican Congresswoman takes to Facebook to ask for Obamacare horror stories. Does not get the response she anticipated.

So Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers went on Facebook and posted this message: 

This week marks the 5th anniversary of #Obamacare being signed into law. Whether it's turned your tax filing into a nightmare, you’re facing skyrocketing premiums, or your employer has reduced your work hours, I want to hear about it. 

Please share your story with me so that I can better understand the challenges you're facing.

Along with this image.

 I am sure that she was gleefully rubbing her hands together in anticipation of all of the great anecdotes she was going to hear that she could then share on the floor of Congress. However that is not exactly what she got.

Here are a few of the responses. (And trust me these are right at the top so I did not have to cherry pick in any way.):

Erika Dennis My whole family now has coverage. The ACA is the cause for this, I work in health care, I have seen the increase in covered patients first hand. The next step is universal coverage, this will truly lower costs and provide the best care. Cathy, you barely work, spend most of your time catering to special interests so you can be re-elected.. All while receiving a large wage and the best health insurance and care. Stop telling us how it doesn't work while enjoying your tax payer funded care and life. 

Allan Massie Thanks to the ACA, my cousin was able to get affordable insurance despite her preexisting condition. So grateful. 

Mike Ruiz I'm very happy. We still have great coverage and our premiums are much lower than before 

Dean Vercruysse I love people like you Cathy who HAVE Gov't Health Care who want to cancel it for others! it's the Christian thing to do! 

Seth Miller I think we should repeal Obamacare, and replace it … with universal socialized medicine - like the rest of the industrialized nations of the world. 

Lisa Barber Instead of trying to repeal it why don't you improve it? Our local rural clinics are packed daily with people who have needed healthcare for years!! it is a godsend. It is pitiful this nation does not have healthcare for all and that doesn't mean the EMERGENCY room!! 

Bink Olney It's working fine - you and your Republican cohorts aren't. 

William Francis Condon My story is that I once knew 7 people who couldn't get health insurance. Now they all have it, thanks to the ACA and President Obama, and their plans are as good as the one my employer provides--and they pay less for them. Now, that's not the kind of story you want to hear. You want to hear made-up horror stories. I don't know anyone with one of those stories. 

Believe me there are many, many more to read on her Facebook page and if you don't trust me just click the link at the top and take a look for yourself. 

The conservatives try and try to make us believe that the Affordable Care Act is a monumental failure, but unfortunately for them facts keep tripping them up.

Of course as we know facts do have a liberal bias.

(H/T to the Daily Kos)

Ted Cruz calls those who accept that climate change is real "flat earthers," while also demonstrating a complete misunderstanding of science and history.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

A few days after accusing “global warming alarmists” like California Governor Jerry Brown (D) of ridiculing and insulting “anyone who actually looks at the real data” around climate change, newly-declared presidential candidate Ted Cruz (R-TX) upped his rhetoric against those who care about the issue. 

Speaking to the Texas Tribune on Tuesday, Cruz said that contemporary “global warming alarmists are the equivalent of the flat-Earthers.” 

“You know it used to be it is accepted scientific wisdom the Earth is flat, and this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier,” he said. 

In Cruz’s opinion, when it comes to climate change, his denier position places him alongside 17th Century scientist Galileo Galilei, who was also considered to be denying the mainstream knowledge of his day. 

What Cruz fails to recognize is that Gailileo was not taking the minority scientific position against "Accepted scientific wisdom," he was taking a scientific position against a religious position.

That is why the Catholic church threw his ass into prison.

And what Cruz is doing today is to take the religious position, which is that only God can control the climate, against the scientific one, which is essentially "What are you high? Of course pollutants sent into the atmosphere by human beings are negatively impacting climate."

You know it takes some set of Cuban/Canadian balls to compare yourself to Galileo Galilei while arguing on the side of the religiously superstitious. 

Levi Johnston reaches out to Radar Online to correct the lies.

Well it looks like Levi contacted Radar Online and told them his side fo the story.

Here is what he said about the marriage.:  

“We hit rock bottom. Every goes through bad times,” Johnston admitted. “Everyone fights or has arguments, there is nothing out of the ordinary about that.”

Now anybody who is Facebook friends with Sunny already knew this as Sunny wears her heart on her sleeve, and alluded to this fact several months ago before the birth of her last child. Apparently it lasted a couple of days and he spent one night on a friend's couch.

And to be honest who could blame either Levi or Sunny for becoming overwhelmed by circumstances, remember  what they are going through, and considering an escape plan?

However by the time of Indy's birth they were back in love, and committed to each other again.

On being broke: 

“I’ve been doing really well financially and this is the best job I’ve ever had,” he said. “I am not broke. But we moved in with my mom because we plan to buy or build a house in three or four months and I didn’t want to sign a year lease. We are trying to figure out what we are going to do.”

As I understand it Levi has an even better job coming up so fairly soon he should be doing quite well financially.

As for custody of Tripp:

Insisting he is “happy” for Palin, he said “things are better with us than they ever have been before. It is good for Tripp to have his mom be happy. Even though she is going to move [to Kentucky with her fiancé], I will see my son just like any other dad who lives in a different state. And Bristol is from here [Wasilla] and she will always come back.”

This part of course makes me sad, as I well know the kind of heartache a parent goes through when their child spends months away from them at a time. However if  Levi sticks to his guns he will get a fair custody arrangement, and Bristol will no longer be able to use time with Tripp to manipulate or punish him.

And finally as for his future with Sunny: 

“I am going to be with her forever,” he said. We are good and happy and better than we’ve ever been. I don’t have a Bentley or a Lamborghini but I love Sunny.”

And there you have it. 

If you know anything about Levi he hates to talk about his problems with anybody, so for him to do this meant that he was very upset and wanted to make sure that the lies were put to rest.

And now they are.