Apparently Trump's attorney has been trying to silence Stormy Daniels since way back in 2011.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

The president’s personal attorney Michael Cohen interceded in 2011 to prevent porn star Stormy Daniels from airing her story about an alleged affair with Donald Trump, telling the agent who arranged for its publication that he could harm her career, according to a person involved in the discussions. 

Randy Spears, the ex-husband of agent Gina Rodriguez, told The Washington Post he answered the phone when Cohen called Rodriguez after she arranged for Daniels to earn $15,000 by telling her story to a celebrity publication. 

“You tell Gina that if she ever wants to work in this town again, she’ll call me immediately,” Spears said Cohen told him. He said Rodriguez, who declined to take Cohen’s call, contacted her lawyer instead. 

Spears’s account offers the first look at the original effort by Trump’s lawyer to silence Daniels, who resurfaced again in 2016 as Trump ran for president. Cohen has acknowledged arranging a $130,000 payment in October 2016, using money from his own home equity line of credit, to ensure her silence. Cohen did not respond to questions from The Post.

According to Spears, Stormy Daniels, who was a friend and fellow adult film actor, told him about her affair with Trump right after it happened, and he even took a lie detector test about that in 2011.

The agency that Rodriguez worked for was also threatened with a lawsuit, and this story was essentially killed.

Unfortunately for Donald Trump, and his attack dog lawyers, that story did eventually come out within the pages of In Touch Magazine this last January.

However this is yet more proof that Trump has been trying to keep this story quiet for years, and it provides even more credibility for Stormy Daniels.

Not that she needs it at this point.

There was a tragic shooting today so Sarah Palin should make it all about her in 3..2..1...here we are.

Can't we all just get along? And for God's sake pay attention to me?

So apparently after all of the dust settled from that unfortunate shooting today in Virginia, which wounded Rep. Steve Scalise and three others, and resulted in the death of he gunman, Sarah Palin saw an opportunity.

So she contacted perhaps the only media outlet that still takes her calls. Breitbart News which itself is currently hemorrhaging advertisers at an alarming rate.

I will link to the website here, but feel in no way obligated to provide them with any clicks.

Here are the pertinent portions:  

“Prayers for healing are raised for all victims of today’s horrific violence, while we with lift up thankfulness that lives were not lost,” Palin told Breitbart News. “While justice is now sought upon the capture of the deranged attacker, an additional prayer must be for no acceptance of a rush to destroy anyone else in this horrible incident. Those seeking political advantage reacted so recklessly and irresponsibly the last time a member of Congress was brutally attacked, as media inexplicably played a knee-jerk blame game assuming that attacker’s motives. Today’s shooter appears to be a Bernie Sanders supporter and campaign volunteer. But Bernie Sanders is not to blame. Maybe the media have matured enough to allow coverage of this most recent violence to focus on facts, because media integrity will be crucial as America witnesses today’s events unfolding and, on behalf of our Congressional Representatives, we all seek justice.” 

Palin’s call for unity, and media responsibility—and her statement standing up for Sanders despite the shooter being a Sanders supporter—comes after she has been the target of vitriolic media rhetoric for years. Perhaps the worst example of the media targeting Palin was in the wake of the shooting of Giffords, where Palin was blamed inaccurately.

That's right Sarah Palin, who has fanned the flames of partisan rage and violence for years now, is suddenly calling for unity.

The only problem with the comparison of the Gabby Giffords shooting and what happened today is the existence of this:

Yes there are reports that this gunman once worked for the Bernie Sanders campaign, but there is no evidence that HE ever posted a map with gun sights on it that singled out a ball field in Virginia.

Not only that but Sanders IMMEDIATELY came out to condemn the shooting:

"I have just been informed that the alleged shooter at the Republican baseball practice is someone who apparently volunteered on my presidential campaign," Sanders said. "I am sickened by this despicable act. Let me be as clear as I can be: Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. Real change can only come about through nonviolent action, and anything else runs against our most deeply held American values."

By contrast Palin came out four days after the shooting of Gabby Giffords and gave her incredibly insensitive blood libel speech during which she made it all about her.

Gabby Giffords, by the way, also issued a timely response to the shooting today in which she said the following: 

"It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican, nor if you're a senator or a representative, nor a staffer or a sworn officer," Giffords said. "If you serve the institution of Congress, you're connected to your colleagues, current and former, by a shared sense of service to ideals far greater than yourself. This shooting is an attack on all who serve and on all who participate in our democracy."

"I am heartbroken for the pain of Congressman Scalise, the other victims, and their family, friends, and colleagues who survived," Giffords continued in her statement. "I am thankful for the great courage of the Capitol Police, who were my protectors after I was shot and became my friends. I also know the courage it takes to recover from a shooting like this, and I know Steve and everyone there this morning have such courage in great supply."

Another very appropriate, non-partisan response that offers good wishes and a speedy recovery to others while exerting no effort to engage in blaming the media or shining the spotlight on herself.

THAT is the difference between what happened today and what happened back in 2011.

As for unity, yes we can all stand together against gun violence, and I welcome my Republican brothers and sisters to join us in that fight, but as for the partisanship, so long as the Republicans are attempting to do away with everything that President Obama accomplished in eight years, I fear that battle is only just beginning.

Just a reminder that this is why Donald Trump is too afraid to attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

I swear I could watch that over and over again on a loop and never get tired of it.

But see THIS is why Trump does not want to sit up on that stage for the dinner.

He knows that he will be following the guy who was often called the "Comedian-in-Chief."

And he also knows that since he has started a war with the press that the jokes at his expense will be BRUTAL.

However what he does not seem to realize is that the show WILL go on, and that with him out of the room the jokes will only be MORE BRUTAL.

Personally I can hardly wait to see this year's dinner.

I actually had no intention of watching it with Trump attending, but now that he chickened out I wouldn't miss it for the world.

New Frontline investigation confirms that it is quite likely that Donald Trump's campaign was inspired by President Obama mocking him at the 2011 White House Correspondent's Dinner.

Courtesy of Yahoo:

It was a painful moment for Donald Trump. As he sat in his tuxedo at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, President Obama mercilessly mocked him as a loony conspiracy theorist. The real estate mogul, grim-faced, watched helplessly, unable to respond, while hundreds of journalists and their celebrity guests convulsed in laughter. 

But it may also have been a transformative moment, according to a new “Frontline” documentary on the presidential race, called “The Choice 2016,” which airs next Tuesday night on PBS. “I think that is the night that he resolves to run for president,” Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser and confidant, says in the film. “I think that he is kind of motivated by it. ‘Maybe I’ll just run. Maybe I’ll show them all.’”

Donald Trump himself has dismissed this idea as silly, but it WOULD seem to match what we know about Trump and his thin skin,

Here is what his friend Omarosa had to say about that night: 

Omarosa Manigault, the former “Apprentice” star who now serves as director of African-American outreach for the Trump campaign, notes that when she talked to Trump at the start of the evening — he was a guest of the Washington Post, no less — “he was in just such a great mood. And he was very jovial.”

But as the president “kept going and going and he just kept hammering him,” Trump’s mood changed, she says. His face became “incredibly serious. He just put on a poker face.” And by the time the skewering was over, she suggests, Trump wanted payback. 

“Every critic, every detractor will have to bow down to President Trump,” Manigault says. “It’s everyone who’s ever doubted Donald, whoever disagreed, whoever challenged him. It is the ultimate revenge to become the most powerful man in the universe.”

Well if that does not chill your blood I don't know what would.

I have already gone on record as suggesting that this was likely the moment that Trump decided to teach President Obama and the smug journalists in the room laughing at him a lesson.

I just think it's obvious.

After all Donald Trump had made a living out of manipulating the dumbest human beings on the planet by convincing them that he was some kind of super capitalist, now all he had to do was reach out to their friends and neighbors, who were just as stupid, and convince them that he would be a super President.

After all how could he fail, he is white.

I still don't think he really wants it. 

But he wants to know that if he wanted it he could have it, and he wants his enemies to know it as well.

RAM gets a job.

Courtesy of Breitbart (Of course.): 

The Breitbart News Network (@BreitbartNews) announced today the addition of Rebecca Mansour, former speechwriter and close aide to Governor Sarah Palin, as their Senior West Coast Editor. 

“Rebecca has all the qualities we search for at Breitbart: integrity, intelligence, and fighting spirit. Her indefatigable nature ensures she will be an impact player. Through her work for Governor Palin, she has been in the trenches fighting the political and cultural battles that inspired the rise of the Tea Party and still dominate our national discourse,” said Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon.

Bannon you may remember was the director of that Palin mythological "documentary" The Undefeated. Which in light of recent events seems eve more ironic today.

So seeing Mansour invited to be part of a team now headed by a dedicated Palin worshiper is not exactly surprising.

Of course Bannon was able to get a quote directly from the Grizzled Mama herself about this rather predictable turn of events:

"Rebecca has been a sharp, loyal, and amazing member of my team for over six years now. Though I’m sorry to see her go full-time to another conservative outlet, I’m delighted she’ll be helping change the world for the better by lending her talents to Breitbart. They are so stinking fortunate to get her! Rare is an outfit like Breitbart – they’re most valuable in our culture and the media, fighting the good fight for the sake of this country we love. And I’ll still be bugging Rebecca at all hours – I won’t let her get away that far; every time we encounter an issue that we know the public must be aware of, we’ve been on it, and will continue to do so. She’s the best.”

Well that's a whole lot of BS this early in the morning.

By the way some of you may remember why this "sharp, loyal, and amazing" member of Palin's team has been forced to maintain a low profile these last four years.

It's because back in 2011 she dared to privately criticize the family disappointment, and that became public.  (No not Track. No not Willow. The other family disappointment.)

Well I think we can now expect a lot more articles coming from Palin to show up over at Breitbart.

Gee I wonder who will write them for her?

And of course the next question to ask is why does Mansour now need an outside gig? I think the next SarahPAC filings will help to explain that.

(P.S. Personally I am anxiously awaiting the first mouth breather to post a comment asking why our GinaM. is suddenly so cozy with Sarah Palin. Gonna be some mighty confused trolls all up in here today.)

One of Hillary's e-mails mentioned Sarah Palin, So you all know what THAT means.

Alright she mentioned my name!

Okay so one of the e-mails from back in 2011 that has been leaked to the press discusses Hillary being upset that US passport applications were going to do away with the words "father" and "mother" and instead substitute "parent 1" and "parent 2."

Part of her concern was that this would provide fodder for Fox News and of course the still somewhat relevant Sarah Palin.

“I’m not defending that decision, which I disagree w and knew nothing about, in front of this Congress. I could live w letting people in nontraditional families choose another descriptor so long as we retained the presumption of mother and father. We need to address this today or we will be facing a huge Fox-generated media storm led by [Sarah] Palin et al.”

That makes perfect sense as we all know how Fox and Palin tend to make ridiculous mountains out of the smallest of molehills.

Here is the e-mail:


However in reporting on this non-story, the press has decided to insinuate that Hillary was "afraid" of Palin.

As this headline from People magazine indicates:

Hillary Clinton Feared Sarah Palin and Fox News Backlash, Newly Released E-mails Reveal

Speaking of making mountains out of molehills.

So you just KNOW that Palin and her ghostwriters cannot let this go by without comment.

However Snowdrift Snooki is essentially a coward so she simply has her ghostwriter write up something over on Nancy French's blog and then links to it on Facebook.

As you will see it is composed of self congratulatory hogwash, gleefully written by a paid ghostwriter, posing as a pregnant unmarried celebutard, at her controlling mother's behest.

Just another example of new media at its finest.

Oh and you're going to want to stock up on barf bags.

There’s so much to love about this, it’s difficult to know where to start. 

First of all, Hillary Clinton, the great tolerant one with rainbow Twitter avatars granting open-mindedness to any family formation under the sun (Oh, it looks like Palin DID contribute to this post.), seems a bit more traditional in private than she does in public. 

One might call it hypocritical if it didn’t come across as so focused on self-preservation instead of any actual policy stance. 

But this is just more of the same of what we’ve come to expect from Hillary Clinton. Does she actually believe anything or is she just seeking power and trying to avoid embarrassment? 

Which brings us to that whopper of a finish. It’s not just the irony that Hillary is standing up for mothers and fathers as the normal baseline of what families should be in America. 

It’s the urgency with which she wants to address this so they won’t face a “huge Fox-generated media storm led by Palin et al.” (Right here you can imagine Palin doing the Snoopy dance around her house in her slippers at the idea that Hillary was even thinking about her.)

The liberals like Hillary Clinton would have you believe all sorts of lies about my mother (My "mother/my boss/me" pick whichever one you think fits best). But, behind closed doors, we find out all sorts of truths, including the fact that Hillary fears my mom’s power. (Yeah, that's not how I read it.)

Maybe that’s because she knows deep down that millions of Americans know that what my mom talks about in public is right and what Hillary pretends to stand for is wrong.

Yes folks, I think we can all agree that Sarah Palin is always right, and Hillary Clinton is the one that is wrong, though of course she is only "pretending" to be wrong because....you know...liberals.

You know there is one way to determine if Hillary is indeed afraid of Sarah Palin or not.

Palin should jump into the GOP clown car along with Trump, Carson, Bush, Fiorina, Paul, Graham, Cruz, Rubio, Pataki, Huckabee, Christie, Santorum, and Jindal. (Is that all of them? I keep losing track.)

I mean if she is really such a force to be reckoned with then she should be out there representing her party and taking Hillary on face to face.

Oh, but that would require real courage wouldn't it?

And it is not something which can be accomplished while hiding a ghostwriter, who is hiding behind her daughter, on the internet.

So much for all of that "power."

For those who believed that Palin's recently released nostalgic bus tour video was all about stepping on Hillary Clinton's toes give yourself a big pat on the back.

So that video was of course released the other day and I covered it on Tuesday.

Here is what Palin posted to her Facebook page just today:

Hmmm, as people all over the country are reminding each other, this Hillary Scooby-Doo Tour thing sure looks familiar. We're flattered the liberals think the idea is really keen! Since it's ‪#‎ThrowbackThursday‬, it's also pretty keen to thank the democrats for taking a page out of our playbook (Yes because NOBODY ever went on a bus tour before Palin.)and also to share the picturesque, sincere, no-media "One Nation" RV trek of ours a few years ago. From way up North in the natural resource-rich state of Alaska down to the inspirational, loud and patriotic Rolling Thunder Rally in DC to a calm clambake on a cool New Hampshire night, it was a blast to introduce American people and places to folks who crave the reminders of what makes our nation exceptional and free! Our tour is proof we dare not go backwards and fundamentally transform America; instead we must move ahead to fundamentally restore all that is good and safe and strong in America. And we're pretty good about doing it without letting the media get in the way. (In fact, it was great to see the media finally have to do what the rest of the middle class does every single day – WORK FOR IT. Though I don't know why they were frustrated not being able to keep up with us, I mean, I was in our bus wrapped in the Constitution!) (Stole that line from Jon Stewart.)


So here's a little secret – a video from the SarahPAC vault that's never been released until now. (I knew it'd come in handy someday.) Makes me want to fire up the RV again, load up the kids... Enjoy! 

- Sarah Palin

So to be clear kids, Hillary is just ripping off Sarah Palin. You know because all good ideas start with Klondike Kardashian. 

Didn't she also accuse Obama of stealing her ideas back in 2008?

Yep she sure did.

Okay could somebody in Palin's family please pay attention to her ?

Clearly she is feeling ignored and left out. And the rest of the country has more important things that need our attention.

SarahPAC releases newest pro-Palin YouTube video: "Catch me if you can."

As you can see this entire video is made up of fragments of the confused coverage that Palin received during that 2011 bus tour to nowhere.

I think the point of the video, if I had to make a guess, is that Palin is awesome because she kept the media off balance and never let them know what she was up to during the aimless bus ride.

However what they seem to forget is that we know how it came out, and ultimately it turned out that the only thing she was up to was spending SarahPAC money and trying to get media attention while actual GOP presidential candidates were declaring their intention to run.

This is not the first time that Palin and her PAC have attempted to mythologize the bus tour.

Last month she talked about it on her internet channel that nobody watches, and she said this:

"Knowing that reporters didn't know...we made their job fun cause they didn't know where we were going next, they would just follow us and we would show up at say the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. and we would publicize what it represented and how important it was for other Americans to get to be there. And if they couldn't be there, then live vicariously through us while we were there that day and we'll talk about it and educate America, cause too often, especially our young people, they're not getting that sense, in our schools, of the importance of so many of these historical sites. So it was a blast to be on bus getting to travel the country to see these places. I would do that again in a heartbeat."

However sadly for her SarahPAC does not have that kind of money to spend anymore, so all she can do now is have SarahPAC show us slides of that great vacation they paid for back when they thought they were paying for the start of a presidential campaign.

How fulfilling that must be for them.

Wonkette has more Sarah Palin Channel footage where Palin mythologizes her 2011 faux campaign bus tour as an opportunity for Americans to learn about America.

Click the stupid to play video.

So the folks at Wonkette, thanks to Fartknocker, have some more of that easily mocked Sarah Palin Channel footage.

In their most recent post the video is split into two parts.

In the second Palin tries desperately to think of good things to say about Iowa, but can only come up with patriotism, blue collar people, and butter sculptures.

However in the first video Palin waxes philosophically about her 2011 bus tour (Remember the one where Piper was body checking journalists and complaining they were ruining her vacation.) only now that blatant attempt to trick her handful of supporters into thinking she was serious about a 2012 presidential run has been re-imagined as if it was a "Magic Schoolbus" like educational opportunity for Americans.

You know with Sarah Palin being like a teacher and everything. (Stop giggling, she's serious. I think.)

"We love our road trips. We love our road trips. One of the most fun things our family ever does. We wanted to do a bus tour to see historical sites across America. We didn't even have to tease the tour (Yes you did.), or tease the stops, in fact we didn't even tell reporters where we were going they just literally, physically, followed us in a bus. And we knew that we would bring publicity to all these different historical sites that Todd and I, and the kids, and my parents, and others who came with us, a lot of times they were the first times we had even seen these historical sites so we knew well we're not the only ones across America who haven;t experienced this, so let's bring America along on the ride. And we'll use these doggone reporters to give publicity to the sites that we think Americans should go see. Because it gives you great appreciation for the foundation of the country when you're physically there seeing the birthplace of Lincoln, and Reagan, and the memorials of these..these benchmarks in our nation's history that have put us on the road towards exceptionalism. So being on this bus tour, such a blast. Knowing that reporters didn't know...we made their job fun cause they didn't know where we were going next, they would just follow us and we would show up at say the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. and we would publicize what it represented and how important it was for other Americans to get to be there. And if they couldn't be there, then live vicariously through us while we were there that day and we'll talk about it and educate America, cause too often, especially our young people, they're not getting that sense, in our schools, of the importance of so many of these historical sites. So it was a blast to be on  bus getting to travel the country to see these places. I would do that again in a heartbeat."

So in Palin's re-imagining of her 2011 bus trip, she was essentially trolling the press and tricking them into reporting about historical landmarks that are so unknown that they receive millions of visits from tourists, and school children, every single year.

Some of you may remember that one of the things that Palin educated America about was Paul Revere's famous ride.

Oh yeah, which made her road trip not so much an educational experience as a gold mine for comics and late night hosts. The best response to that gaffe was from Stephen Colbert who absolutely ran, or in this case rode, with it. (That is still one of he funniest bits I have ever seen in my life.)

Okay here's what I don't quite understand.

If I had an incident in my past where I had failed so spectacularly I would avoid ever mentioning it again. But Palin seems almost unaware that she demonstrated to the world the vastness of her ignorance. And seems instead to believe that she helped to improve our knowledge of these historical sites, and even drove tourists there who had never visited before.

You know marijuana just became legal here in Alaska, but I kind of think this is the result of Palin's total separation from reality that keeps her from realizing that she is a moronic simpleton and NOT a political candidate or self appointed professor of American History.

Sadly for her there are fewer, and fewer people who are ready to board her barge and travel down the river of denial with her.

Bumped. Sarah Palin cannot resist jumping into the Hillary Clinton brain damage controversy. Of course she brings Trig along as a shield. Update!

Courtesy of the Poster child for brain damage's Facebook page:

Hey! Hillary’s brain is off-limits! Leave her health records alone! Democrats are right – scouring records of a female candidate is just politics of personal destruction, and for the media to engage in it would be unfair, unethical, and absolutely UNPRECEDENTED. You can’t probe a woman like that because, well, it’s a war on women! 

Bunch of sexist, big meanies engaging in something heretofore unheard of, for shame. 

America, you deserve fair and consistent coverage of relevant issues before deciding a Presidential/Vice Presidential ticket, so have faith the agenda-less media will refuse to push whispers and wildly inaccurate information about a partisan politician’s body part. (Oh, I know where THIS is going!) Goodness, no one credible would print lies, continually harass a candidate’s doctor, disrupt local hospital staff, or even offer to pay locals to give “quotes” about her health records to be included in a “research book” by a public university professor (your tax dollars at work?) which the candidate’s attorney will need to respond to. 

At this point Palin, or her ghostwriter, provide a number of links to Brad Scharlott's attempt to prove that Palin was not Trig's mother, and then this one that she offers as proof that she is.

Of course we dealt with that article back in 2011, which was not hard as virtually all of it was based on various reporter's impression that she seemed pregnant, or that her face "looked fat."

Including this one by Wesley Loy in which he claims that seeing a bump outside of her clothing convinced him.

And of course my response to that is simply this, and this:

March 26, 2008

Palin goes on: 

Thank goodness liberals are consistent in refusing to apply double standards, thanks to their disdain for hypocrisy – so they’ll come through once again! Rest assured these self-designated protectors of what they obviously believe is the “weaker sex” needing protection in the political arena will elevate political discourse. Apparently, Democrats demand their next chosen one’s brain must be absent. Opposition – go there exploring a liberal’s brain and you find nothing; or, find something and you’re just trying to distract voters from the REAL issues. (Okay did that make sense to anyone?)


See, the country’s just swell under the Obama regime (which includes any cabinet member who’d lie and prove ineptitude by shining the boot that’s now on America’s neck). With enormous issues to debate before choosing a Presidential/Vice Presidential ticket, have confidence no mean-spirited salaciousness will be pushed by “real journalists.” 

Nope. This just doesn’t happen at this respectable level of American politics. 

Just ask me. And Trig. 

- Sarah Palin

Then Palin offers this picture of her and little Trig as her shield against any blowback from this ridiculous post.

Yes, Trig is very cute. However his mother may be a psychopath!

Palin must feel awfully confident that she has managed to put the Trig controversy behind her at this point. Or else she would not be so cavalier about bringing it up all of the time.

And that is really too bad. Because I am quite confident that we have more than enough proof to convince a judge or jury that Palin did indeed fake her last pregnancy.

And if there are any journalists out there willing to reopen this investigation I would be more than willing to offer my photos, past posts, and information that I have gathered over the last six years.

Remember Joe McGinniss set out to prove that I was wrong about Trig, and in the end he became a believer. Whether he admitted it in print or not.

Update: Apparently in my rush to type this out I did not pay very close attention to all of the links that Palin used to prove she was harassed.

Believe it or not, she actually used this one to prove that trig truthers were barking up the wrong tree.

Seriously who looks at this and thinks, by gosh she was pregnant?

Update: I decided to bump this up to the top today after several of you asked me to do so.

I really never do this, but since so many of you were interested in this topic, and wanted to discuss it further I figured I would make an exception. 

Here are a couple of response from other media outlets to Palin's pity party/

The National Journal essentially agreed with her.

The Daily Mail covered it in depth, but was also mostly on her side concerning the Trig issue.

And Joan Walsh tweeted about Palin linking to the Salon article, which "debunked" the controversy.

I'm proud that @SarahPalinUSA posted @salon and @JustinElliott's debunking of Trig theories to attack the media's Trig reporting
— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) May 20, 2014

Do you think @SarahPalinUSA even bothers to read what she posts on FB? Or was she praising @Salon? https://t.co/ifP240fa35
— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) May 20, 2014

By the way I tweeted Walsh back and told her that Salon did not debunk anything.

I doubt she'll respond though.

Frontline presents: Inside Obama's Presidency.

Watch Inside Obama's Presidency on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

You know I typically do not post videos that are five minutes or more, because I realize that most people do not have time to watch them.

However THIS report is absolutely excellent, and well worth the fifty three minutes and thirty nine seconds it takes to watch it.

Personally I came away with a deep appreciation of what this President has accomplished and an even more negative perception of the Republicans and some real anger at how hard they worked to destroy Obama at every turn.

I do have to admit that I cringed more than a little during the report on drone strikes, but overall this is a very informative and fascinating look at the last four years of our country's history.

P.S. If for some reason this video does not play please click here and watch it over at PBS.

Obamacare saves American consumers over 1.5 billion.

Courtesy of the LA Times:  

Consumers saved nearly $1.5 billion in 2011 as a result of rules in President Obama's healthcare law that limit what insurance companies can spend on expenses unrelated to medical care, including profit, a new analysis shows. 

Much of those savings — an estimated $1.1 billion — came in rebates to consumers required because insurers had exceeded the required limits. 

The study by the New York-based Commonwealth Fund also suggests that the Affordable Care Act forced insurers to become more efficient by limiting their administrative expenses, a key goal of the 2010 law. 

In some cases, insurers passed savings on to consumers in the form of lower premiums and higher spending on medical care, the researchers found. This was primarily true in the individual market, where consumers buy health insurance on their own. 

The rules "appear to be producing important consumer benefits," concluded the report's authors, Michael McCue, a professor of health administration at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Mark Hall, a healthcare law professor at Wake Forest University. 

Administrative costs in the individual market dropped in 39 states, with major improvements in Delaware, Ohio, Louisiana, South Carolina and New York.

I guess those "death panels" that Sarah Palin was warning us about were ones that kill off wasteful spending and unnecessary administrative costs.

My ultimate hope is that soon Obama will set up those government sponsored national health insurance plans and drive these greedy pricks out of business for all time. In my opinion that was the goal all along, which is yet another reason that the politicians who receive massive campaign donations from health insurance companies fought so hard against the Affordable Care Act, and then later against Obama's reelection.

Examining the nuts and bolts of the big Republican Job Creation lie.

A very enterprising political blogger decided to see exactly how much the Republicans had accomplished in the area of job creation since the 2010 election. This is what he discovered:

During the 2010 mid-terms the GOP ran mainly on the platform of job creation and, as a result of such promises, the GOP gained the majority in the House of Representatives. As the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner made the welcome claim that the primary goal of the Republican Party was to increase employment in the U.S. 

His exact words were: 

"We're going to have a relentless focus on creating jobs." The following, therefore, is a chronological list of legislation by the GOP beginning 2-10-2011 that I created for my own amusement. That it has reached its current imposing length, without one anecdotal citation of new employment as a result of Republican legislation, is simply shocking. Shame on these useless hypocrites. 

There are those who choose to place the blame for high unemployment on Mr. Obama's shoulders, but keep in mind that it's the House that enacts legislation and controls the governmental purse-strings, not the President. The Stimulus package passed by the Democrats in 2009 helped the economy but would have been more effective if the GOP hadn't limited it to little more than a package of more useless tax breaks for the rich.

Click here to run down the list of what the GOP has actually focused on in the last year and a half. If you are anything like me it will at first have you shaking your head in dismay and then end with you screaming out your frustrations.

And don't for an instant believe anything will change either. Currently the GOP is taking the stance that nothing will get done until America eventually surrenders to their demands and elects THEM to run the country.

This is no longer politics, this is a hostage situation.

Did Bristol Palin start a trend?

Courtesy of the Daily Mail:

Chins are the new boobs according to latest plastic surgery figures. 

Chin implants - coined a 'chinplant' - is the fastest growing cosmetic surgery trend, according to statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and grew more than breast augmentation, Botox and liposuction combined in 2011. 

Experts suggest the trend has been prompted by increased use of video conferencing in the workplace which causes employees to focus on their facial appearance. 

Overall more than 20,000 procedures were carried out in the U.S. in 2011, the largest increase was seen in patients aged 40 plus, but their was also a sharp rise in patients in their twenties.

Now of course the argument can be made that Bristol's surgery did not significantly impact the upsurge in recent chin surgery, but it should be noted that she had her surgery in December 2010, and these were the statistics for 2011.

Overall: 20,680 (+ 71 per cent) 
Women: 10,087 (+ 66 per cent) 
Men: 10,593 (+ 76 per cent) 
20-29 years: 2,750 (+ 68 per cent) 
30-39 years: 2,587 (+ 69 per cent) 
40-54 years: 5,075 (+ 77 per cent) 
55 and over: 8,459 (+ 70 per cent) 

So clearly AFTER Bristol's surgery there was a dramatic increase in "chin-jobs" in the US.

Of course this is not definitive proof that Bristol served as a role model to these poor inadequately chinned individuals, but you have to admit it IS an interesting coincidence.

And really who can blame them?

After all she looks magnificent.

Don't you agree?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well we made it through another year.

I promised you all last year that it would possibly be the worst year of Sarah Palin's life, and I think that without equivocation we can all agree that it was indeed.

Some of it was due to the GREAT books that came out and exposed her for who she really is, but of course much of it was due to her own incredible arrogance, ignorance, and the inevitable end of her years long political prick tease.

In the end Palin was forced to slink off of the national stage in defeat, and today can only be seen in her quiet exile at Fox News, where she is sometimes known to raise her bewigged countenance and howl at the moon about President Obama's foreign policies, or politics, or that damn National Enquirer.

Certainly NOT the future that she and her Flying Monkeys had once imagined for her now is it?

And, atheists or not, let's say a silent prayer of thanks for that, shall we?

So what does 2012 hold in store for us?

Beats the hell out of me. Though I do know that I personally have some loose ends to tie up.

I also imagine that I will put a great deal of my energy into working to get President Obama that second term that he so clearly deserves, and that our country so desperately needs. (If you would like to review some of Obama's highlights from last year you can click here to do so.)

I am also hoping to explore more in the realm of religion, and philosophy, as well as science.  I do enjoy those greatly, but have often found little time to write extensively about them.  I think I might make more time this year.

Let me also add how incredibly honored I am to have attracted such a diverse, intelligent, and rowdy bunch of visitors as all of you. You guys have made this last year a hell of a lot of fun, and I hope that the fun continues on for many more years yet to come.

Anyhow why don't we treat this as an open thread, and all of you, well at least those of you who are sober, can share your favorite highlights from last year, and your hopes for the year that lies before us.

Did 2011 signal the end of the United States as a "Hyperpower" in the world? Could be.

Courtesy of Juan Cole:

The United States is no longer the hyperpower. It can no longer necessarily act unilaterally by launching a major war of aggression at will. It lacks the resources. And, it has significant challengers in some theaters. The Obama administration was only able to act in Libya because Russia and China had allowed a strong UNSC resolution in favor of intervention to be passed. Had either exercised a veto, the Libya War would have been forestalled. And, even with a UNSC resolution authorizing the use of force, Washington felt the need to lead from behind and let France, Britain and Qatar stay in the forefront, because it feared bad PR if it were perceived to be yet again unilaterally attacking a Muslim country. 

A corollary is that each region of the world is now more independent of the US than it had been. Brazil defied the US on Libya and Latin America is defying the US on relations with Palestine. 

The greatest trend to greater independence of the US can be seen in the Middle East and North Africa. Some regimes that were almost sycophants toward Western capitals have been swept away. Indigenous and nativist political movements, especially those based in political Islam, are doing well. Religious parties came to power in Tunisia and Morocco, forming governments and selecting the prime minister. A similar development will likely occur in Egypt, Libya and Yemen in 2012. All of these governments had been dominated by billionaire politicians and increasingly Neoliberal economic policies. The new cabinets dominated by political Islam are economic populists, but likely will not challenge the US significantly. Neither can they be depended upon, however, to do as they’re told, in the way that Mubarak could have been. 

It is too early to say whether the assertion of people power, in part via the internet, in the Arab world marks a structural, long-term change in the way business is done. What can be said is that the Middle East is emerging as more independent than it had been since the 1970s.

Personally I do not see this as a bad thing, and neither should any Americans tired of seeing our wealth and resources, not to mention the lives of our young men and woman, wasted in attempts to control the politics and people of countries around the world.

And I have little doubt that this fear surrounding our loss of influence in these Middle Eastern countries is one of the driving forces behind the increase in Islamophobia among the Republican party. The idea that these countries will snip their puppet strings, and finally exert free will over their own futures, frightens the Republicans, and their corporate masters who fear losing access to all of that delicious oil.

The irony of all of this is that supposedly this is what the Bush administration had hoped to inspire in the Middle east by taking out Saddam Hussein as Iraq's dictator, democracy flourishing in the Middle East. Yet now that their wishes seem to be coming true, the GOP seem ot be panic stricken about what their invasive policies have helped to create.

Gotta love Karma, don't you?

Is Sarah Palin the DICK of the year for 2011?

"This is totally unfair. Don't you have to HAVE a dick, before you can BE a dick? Why are you looking at me that way?"

Courtesy of GreenFeed:

This is a nomination for Bright Green’s Dick of the Year 2011 award by Daniel Key. To submit your nomination email 200 (or so) words to editors (at) brightgreenscotland (dot) org. 

Since the failed election campaign and after stepping down as Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin took her charming views on gun ownership, abortion, same-sex marriage, capital punishment and other topics to Fox News. She then used this prime-time television appearance to push the influence of the Tea Party that has recently been astroturfing American politics. Sarah Palin was (seemingly) building up to run as a Republican Presidential Candidate, releasing a book, constantly criticising Barack Obama and visiting states where candidates were campaignin. 

However, just two months ago Sarah Palin officially choose not to run in the presidential election race. While this is good news for world at large, it’s a smack in the face to her supporters, who received this letter in a fundraising drive a few weeks before her announcement: 

“Gov. Palin is on the verge of making her decision… Someone must save our nation from this road to European Socialism. Do you think it should be Gov. Palin? If so, can you send your best, one-time gift to SarahPAC today to help her elect more common-sense conservatives – and show her that we support her if she decides to run?” 

Sarah Palin has effectively used her position as a money making scheme, abusing the position of trust she has with her supporters. SarahPAC, her political action committee, now has $1.4 million that can be spent any way Sarah sees fit.

Okay now for those of us on this blog, choosing Sarah Palin as "the dick of the year" may seem like a no-brainer. But, is it fair?

Don't forget that this was a year that saw Herman Cain deny any inappropriate sexual contact with at least five women who claimed otherwise, and then blamed it on their desire for fame, his Republican opponents, and the DNC.

We also saw Mitt Romney insist that people were corporations, Ron Paul claim that he had no idea there were racist rants on his new letters, and Donald Trump fake a campaign in order to bully the President into showing his long form birth certificate and make a fool out of him.

So considering all possible contenders for this title, is Sarah Palin REALLY the biggest dick of 2011?

Did you have an enjoyable Rapture Day? Well here are some who certainly did not!

"What? Who thought people would actually believeme? 

I think those of us who tend to think, rather than believe, had little difficulty having a relaxing, and sometimes comical, Rapture Day.  However there are those who spent the day in complete disbelief as they had their "gullibility hymen" ruptured, and their innocence ripped away from them.

Courtesy of the LA Times:

Keith Bauer, a 38-year-old tractor-trailer driver from Westminster, Md., took last week off from work, packed his wife, young son and a relative in their SUV and crossed the country.

If it was his last week on Earth, he wanted to see parts of it he'd always heard about but missed, such as the Grand Canyon. With maxed-out credit cards and a growing mountain of bills, he said, the rapture would have been a relief.

On Saturday morning, Bauer was parked in front of the Oakland headquarters of Camping's Family Radio empire, half expecting to see an angry mob of disenchanted believers howling for the preacher's head. The office was closed, and the street was mostly deserted save for journalists.

Bauer said he was not bitter. "Worst-case scenario for me, I got to see the country," he said. "If I should be angry at anybody, it should be me."

Tom Evans, who acted as Camping's PR aide in recent months, took his family to Ohio to await the rapture. Early next week, he said, he would be returning to California.

"You can imagine we're pretty disappointed, but the word of God is still true," he said. "We obviously went too far, and that's something we need to learn from."

Despite the failure of Camping's prediction, however, he said he might continue working for him.
"As bad as it appears—and there's no getting around it, it is bad, flat-out—I have not found anything close to the faithfulness of Family Radio," he said.

Others had risked a lot more on Camping's prediction, quitting jobs, abandoning relationships, volunteering months of their time to spread the word. Matt Tuter, the longtime producer of Camping's radio and television call-in show, said Saturday that he expected there to be "a lot of angry people" as reality proved Camping wrong.

Tuter said Family Radio's AM station in Sacramento had been "severely vandalized" Friday night or Saturday morning, with air conditioning units yanked out and $25,000 worth of copper stripped from the equipment. He thinks it must have been an angry listener. He was off Saturday but planned to drive past the headquarters "and make sure nothing's burning."

Camping himself, who has given innumerable interviews in recent months, was staying out of sight Saturday. No one answered the door at his Alameda home, though neighbors said he was there.

You know I want to be sympathetic, but I just can't. These people were clearly born to be taken advantage of. As a matter of fact, one has to wonder just how many of THESE people are also SarahPAC contributors?

But the group that I CAN feel sympathy for are the children of these brain damaged imbeciles. I mean there are actual human beings who rely on these apparently lobotomized morons for food, and shelter, and guidance.  I think that the local child protective services should go to their houses and take these children into state's custody before their parents convince them to do something even dumber, like get all of their information from Fox News, or go on DWTS while pregnant, or support Donald Trump's 2016 Presidential bid.

All in all the entire thing is ripe for parody. And fortunately we have the Taiwanese animators to do that very thing.



Yes, that is about the level of seriousness this whole thing deserved. If even that.

President Obama's speech from the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner.

The President really knocked'em dead!  But check out the grim visage on Trump's face. The guy looks like he is wants to be anywhere in the world but sitting in that room.

I saw Seth Meyers monologue as well  and he also went after Trump mercilessly. Hey the guy wanted to be the center of attention, and he got exactly what he was asking for.  So fuck him for being able to dish it out, but not take it.

By the way here is a picture of Bristol from the dinner.

Personally I think she looks nice.

You know, considering.

America of 1951 versus the America of 2011. Everything old is new again.

(H/T to PBH for the images.)