Don't worry that Donald Trump is upset about all of the negative press he is receiving. The only person who matters to him thinks he is doing just fine.

Courtesy of TPM: 

Russian President Vladimir Putin lavished praise on President Donald Trump on Wednesday, but added that he was sorely disappointed with the U.S. political system, saying that it has been “eating itself up.” 

Speaking in an interview with the Russian state television, Putin described Trump as a great communicator. 

“I have no disappointment at all,” Putin said when asked about the U.S. president. “Moreover, on a personal level he made a very good impression on me.” 

The two leaders met on the sidelines of international summits last year. Putin praised Trump as a “balanced” man, who easily gets into the gist of various issues and listens to his interlocutor. 

“It’s possible to negotiate with him, to search for compromises,” Putin added.

Yeah I think that last line is Russian code for "The little bitch will do exactly what I fucking tell him to do."

Vladimir Putin famously does not like to compromise, and with Trump in the White House he does not feel he has to anymore.

Oh by the way in case you have not picked up on it, Trump does not work for us, he works for the Kremlin.

And EVERY SINGLE DAY that fact is reinforced by Trump's actions, as well as Putin's supportive comments.

This is why I will never have a subscription to the Wall Street Journal.

Courtesy of The Guardian:  

The Journal, a New York-based institution more than a century old, remains one of the nation’s most-read newspapers, with the power to move markets and shape political agendas. Like the Financial Times in London, it’s long been the must-read for the business and financial class – with a business-friendly conservative editorial page to match – known for its deeply-reported stories and calm design.

Dozens of reporters, editors, and copy staff have left the paper in the past year, an exodus attributable to a combination of buyout incentives, poaching and frustration with management at the title which Rupert Murdoch added to his media empire a decade ago. 

The talented staff that remain still produce memorable journalism. But when it comes to covering Trump – according to interviews with 18 current and former Journal staffers, some of whom have provided the Guardian with previously unpublished emails from Baker (Wall Street Journal’s editor-in-chief Gerry Baker ) – many say this is no thanks to management. 

“The Journal has done a lot of good work in covering the Trump administration, but not nearly as much as it should have,” another recent departee said. “I lay almost all of that at Gerry’s doorstep. Political editors and reporters find themselves either directly stymied by Gerry’s interference or shave the edges off their stories in advance to try to please him (and, by extension, Murdoch).” 

Meanwhile longtime observers like Sarah Ellison, a former Journal reporter and author of the book War at the Wall Street Journal about Murdoch’s takeover of the paper, is not entirely surprised to see what has happened to Murdoch’s paper under Trump. 

“This is the most access he has had to a sitting president ever – that is something he’s tried to do and has done in other countries particularly with British prime ministers,” Ellison said. “He’s choosing his own personal access over having any journalistic clout.”

For most of my career (?) as a blogger I have avoided paying for subscriptions, because to be frank I really cannot afford to pay money to every news outlet I enjoy on the internet.

However after Trump was elected I realized just how important it was to really start to financially support the news media in this country.

So I purchased two subscriptions, one to the Washington Post and one to the New York Times.

And clearly that is money well spent because they have been at the forefront of some of the best reporting to be found on the Russia investigations, the White House drama, and the Donald Trump's insane presidency.

I also contribute in other ways by clicking ads on sites I visit frequently, watching cable news (Including the commercials.), and sending all of you to less well known news outlets which I think are deserving of our attention.

However I will not, EVER, support any news outlet like Fox News, Breitbart, and now the Wall Street Journal, which attempts to either support or give a free pass to Donald Trump.

We are in a war, and these should be identified as the propaganda outlets for the enemy.

Donald Trump's advisers are now warning him about the looming possibility of impeachment.

New: WH releases pics of Trump's #HurricaneHarvery briefing today. Trump alone at Camp David. Everyone else w @VP Pence in WH Situation Room pic.twitter.com/Q9g49pbywC

— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) August 27, 2017

(Just a tweet demonstrating how isolated Trump is now from those who are supposed to be working with him.)

Courtesy of Newsweek:

Donald Trump's presidency already has been one of the most controversial in U.S. history, and its ending could be just as action-packed and unpredictable as his first seven months in office. 

As the 45th president deals with his stalled agenda, his sinking approval ratings and the investigations into his presidential campaign's ties to Russia, White House advisers have reportedly been warning Trump about his potential political doom: the exhaustive impeachment process that could result in his removal from the Oval Office. And he isn’t doing himself many favors.

Republicans on Capitol Hill have become a subject of Trump's daily Twitter storms, with the president repeatedly denouncing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for the GOP's continued failure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. He has also warned others to fall in line and help pass his campaign promises or face the wrath of his 140 characters.

His actions could spell disaster for Trump if special counsel Robert Mueller determines that his presidential campaign colluded with the Kremlin, or that the president attempted to obstruct justice at any point throughout his short tenure in politics. Either situation would swiftly encourage more Democrats to push for his impeachment—and if Trump doesn't have enough Republican allies, he could be ousted.

Several White House advisers have spoken with the president about his possible impeachment, and about how overcoming such proceedings would require friendships with the elected officials responsible for deciding whether he should remain in office.

Of course Trump is currently ignoring the advice of those warning him that he needs to stop pushing everybody away. Instead he just keeps right on pushing.

And this is being illustrated right now by a number of recent firings, and even more resignations.

Courtesy of The Hill:

A pair of top State Department officials, including the lead envoy to the United Nations, have announced they will leave their posts, Foreign Policy reported on Sunday. 

Tracey Ann Jacobson, a career foreign service officer responsible for overseeing U.S. policy at international organizations including the U.N., told her staff on Friday that she will continue in her post until early October but did not specify why she was leaving, a U.S. official told Foreign Policy. 

Also on Friday, William Rivington Brownfield, the U.S. assistant secretary of State for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, told his department that he would leave by the end of September, according to the report.

And that is by no means the only folks currently jumping ship.

Courtesy of Fortune:

A quarter of the members of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, whose purview includes national cybersecurity, have resigned. In a group resignation letter, they cited both specific shortfalls in the administration’s approach to cybersecurity, and broader concerns that Trump and his administration have undermined the “moral infrastructure” of the U.S.

That is seven members gone from a 27 member council whose focus is protecting us from cyber attacks by those who want to steal our information, blackmail powerful Americans, or shape our politics.

Exactly the kinds of people we should NOT be losing.

So to sum up Trump is currently losing support among Washington Republicans, and also losing members of his administration, at an amazing rate.

And this at a time when he most needs people to stay on his team, and to expand the size of that team.

However those are the drawbacks of being an arrogant, egotistical, toxic POS.

Instead of people rushing to help you in your time of need, they are perfectly content to sit back at a distance and gleefully watch as you crash and burn.

Donald Trump's approval numbers hit a new low, but the good news is that his disapproval numbers hit a new high.

#Trump Drops To New Low, Close To 2-1 Disapproval, National Poll Finds; 71 Percent Say President Is Not Levelheaded
https://t.co/jYLZddx1e7

— Quinnipiac Poll (@QuinnipiacPoll) August 2, 2017

Courtesy of CBS News: 

A poll from Quinnipiac University found that only a third of American voters, 33 percent, approve of his performance in office, while 61 percent disapprove of it. This marks his lowest approval and highest disapproval number since he was inaugurated, Quinnipiac said. 

His latest approval rating is down 7 percentage points from the 40 percent approval rating Mr. Trump received in a similar survey in late June. 

Majorities of voters said that Mr. Trump is not honest, doesn't have good leadership skills, isn't a strong person, isn't intelligent, doesn't share their values and doesn't care about average Americans. Voters gave Mr. Trump negative approval ratings for handling key issues like foreign policy, the economy, immigration, health care and terrorism. 

More than half of voters also said that the president "has attempted to derail or obstruct the investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 election." Nearly two-thirds said that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election. Thirty percent of voters said that the president did something illegal in dealing with Russia, with another 30 percent saying he did something unethical but not illegal and 32 percent saying he did nothing wrong.

Nate Silver also weighed in on this poll:

It's not just Rasmussen (or Quinnipiac). Trump approval numbers are at or near all-time lows in many polls lately. https://t.co/CPHJOG7sE6 pic.twitter.com/B3ZLoOLnNI

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) August 2, 2017

I swear some people are incredibly slow to figure shit out.

Still slowly Trump's supporters are starting to figure out what obvious to all of us with more than three brain cells to rub together figured out from the start.

Donald Trump is easily the WORST president that has ever, and I mean EVER, disgraced our White House.

He claims that the building is a real dump, but my response to that is "It sure wasn't when the last President lived there."

It appears that Trump might have started losing support among his Christian base.

Just a guess really.

But what isn't a guess is that he is definitely losing support among the military: 

An analysis of Gallup polling data comparing the first 100 days of Trump's presidency to the month of May shows that Trump's job approval in military counties dropped sharply in the last month — from an average 51 percent approval and 41 percent disapproval in the first 100 days to 43 percent approval and 52 percent disapproval for May.

Still way too high as far as I'm concerned, but nice to see that some folks are starting to remove the blinders from their eyes.

New Quinnipiac poll shows that the flushing sound you hear are Donald Trump's approval numbers.

Courtesy of Quinnipiac: 

The president is losing support among independent voters and groups which are important parts of his base. Approval ratings are:

• Negative 29 - 63 percent among independent voters, down from a negative 38 - 56 percent April 19;
• A split among white voters with no college degree, as 47 percent approve and 46 percent disapprove, compared to a 57 - 38 percent approval April 19;
• White men go from a 53 - 41 percent approval April 19 to a split today with 48 percent approving and 46 percent disapproving. 

American voters' opinions of several of Trump's personal qualities are down:

• 61 - 33 percent that he is not honest, compared to 58 - 37 percent April 19; 
• 56 - 41 percent that he does not have good leadership skills, little change; 
• 59 - 38 percent that he does not care about average Americans, compared to 57 - 42 percent April 19; 
• 66 - 29 percent that he is not level-headed, compared to 63 - 33 percent last month; 
• 62 - 35 percent that he is a strong person, little change; 
• 56 - 41 percent that he is intelligent, compared to 58 - 38 percent; 
• 64 - 32 percent that he does not share their values, compared to 61 - 35 percent. 

"There is no way to spin or sugarcoat these sagging numbers," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. 

"The erosion of white men, white voters without college degrees and independent voters, the declaration by voters that President Donald Trump's first 100 days were mainly a failure and deepening concerns about Trump's honesty, intelligence and level headedness are red flags that the administration simply can't brush away," Malloy added. 

Keep in mind this poll was taken BEFORE Trump fired James Comey.

Just imagine how much lower they will be in the next poll.

The only problem I have with these numbers is that I know Trump cares more about his popularity than perhaps any other president before him, and it frightens me to think what he might do to raise his numbers among his ignorant base in response.

Remember, the last time his numbers were this low he dropped the biggest non-nuclear bomb we have on Afghanistan.

By the way this tidbit of information was also the result of this Quinnipiac poll.

Here were the rest of the choices.

Quinnipiac asked people what word first came to mind when they thought about Trump. https://t.co/ks0UauOs9O pic.twitter.com/HQ3bYWhD16

— Philip Bump (@pbump) May 10, 2017

I am having such a hard time understanding how ANYBODY comes up with "strong" or "leader" when describing this incompetent lying idiot.

Amid accusations of violence toward the mother of his second child Track Palin files motion to modify child support payments to the mother of his first child.

So yes according to Court View Track reopened his first child custody case and filed a motion to modify his child support.

Since it would be the rarest of rarities for a father to reopen a case to increase his child support, and this IS a Palin we are talking about, I think it is safe to assume that Track is reducing his support payments.

So is this a coincidence that the case reopened on the day that Radar Online reported that Track's parents have washed their hands of him, or is losing THAT support in fact the reason that Track can no longer meet his financial responsibilities?

Remember this comes on the heels of Britta Hanson modifying that custody agreement back in March of last year when she heard that he kicked the shit out of Jordan Loewe, his newest baby mama, in a drunken rage.

At that time Track lost overnight visits with Kyla Grace as well as a significant amount of his time during the day with her, and he has never been granted that time back.

Now I know that the Palin troll will be here spinning her bullshit about how the Palins are good parents, and that Track is some kind of special case.

However if you are even a casual Palin watcher you know that is definitely not true.

And one needs to remember that Track could have received help for his substance abuse and out of control behaviors several times along the way, but at every opportunity to get that help his mother interfered and kept him from facing the consequences for his actions.

Seriously the best thing for Track Palin right now is that he get arrested for some crime that hopefully does not leave anybody dead, and that he finally receive the counseling and substance abuse therapy that he has clearly needed since he was a teenager.

Currently this young man is a danger to himself, and to all of those around him until that happens.

Former Trump campaign staffers explain how to control the giant orange baby.

Courtesy of Politico:  

President Donald Trump’s former campaign staffers claim they cracked the code for tamping down his most inflammatory tweets, and they say the current West Wing staff would do well to take note. 

The key to keeping Trump’s Twitter habit under control, according to six former campaign officials, is to ensure that his personal media consumption includes a steady stream of praise. And when no such praise was to be found, staff would turn to friendly outlets to drum some up — and make sure it made its way to Trump’s desk.

"If candidate Trump was upset about unfair coverage, it was productive to show him that he was getting fair coverage from outlets that were persuadable," said former communications director Sam Nunberg. "The same media that our base digests and prefers is going to be the base for his support. I would assume the president would like to see positive and preferential treatment from those outlets and that would help the operation overall."

So apparently their methodology was to treat Donald Trump like a bratty, tantrum throwing child, by only saying nice things to him to keep him calm and deflecting negative information that might cause him to act out.

That is not only a terrible way to support the most powerful man in the world, that is extremely poor parenting.

If Trump's handlers want him to rise the responsibilities of the job that the Russians gave him they need to use a little tough love.

Definitely tell him the bad news, ALL of the bad news, and then tell him how much worse that news could get if he goes off on a Twitter tirade.

The president HAS to know the real dangers facing the country, also how complicated the solutions will be.

Keeping this man in a bubble to protect his ego and control his impulses is not going to, in any way, help the American people.

I once again have to take a moment to wonder just how in the hell people in this country could have voted to put somebody this incredibly unfit, unpredictable, and potentially volatile in the most important job on the planet.

It literally boggles the mind.

The real power behind the power, behind the power.

Look not every person who voted for Donald Trump is a racist.

But if you ARE a racist, then there is literally no doubt who you voted for.

Trump supporter interrupts "HAMILTON" in Chicago with shouts of "We won! You Lost! Get over it! F*ck you!" Such reasonable people.

Courtesy of Broadway World:  

Broadway World has learned that a Trump supporter interrupted the Saturday evening performance of Hamilton in Chicago. An audience member seated in the balcony allegedly shouted "We won! You Lost! Get over it! F*ck you!" during the number "Dear Theodosia." 

One Twitter user who attended the show alleges that the audience member also shouted profanities and had an altercation with security before being removed from the auditorium. 

One Facebook user wrote "At the end, the performers were crying... so was I. They didn't break characters once. They still sang their hearts out."

Later there there was an update that what seemed to incense the man was this line from the play, "immigrants, we get the job done," and the cheers which followed.

The man also admitted that he was intoxicated at the time, which I am sure is a condition that a lot of Trump supporters will share as they finally come to learn just who they put into the White House. 

I guess that this is the country that we live in today.

A country where people rudely interrupt a popular stage show, and act out in anger when confronted with knowledge of the contributions made by immigrants to this great nation.

Democrats raise $13,000 to repair firebombed GOP headquarters in North Carolina.

This is the country of freedom & liberty- not of hate & violence. The orange co gop will rebuild and be renewed. #ncpol @NCGOP pic.twitter.com/fiYvFC5Mvx

— Kami Mueller (@kamimueller) October 16, 2016

Courtesy of USA Today: 

A group of Democrats came together Sunday to raise money to rebuild a Republican headquarters that was firebombed in North Carolina on Saturday night. The GOP headquarters in Orange County, N.C., suffered major damage when an explosive device was thrown through a window on Saturday night, according to officials. 

The words “Nazi Republicans leave town or else” were spray-painted on a nearby building. 

Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, denounced the attack, calling it “political terrorism.” He said all Americans “should be outraged by this hate-filled and violent attack against our democracy.” 

On Sunday, David Weinberger began a GoFundMe page to raise $10,000 to rebuild the Hillsborough, N.C., headquarters. 

“As Democrats, we are starting this campaign to enable the Orange County, N.C., Republican office to re-open as soon as possible,” the page said in the story section. 

The group said that while it’s still unclear who attacked the office, or why, one thing is clear: “This is not how Americans resolve their differences.”

Well put.

There are, as you might imagine, a number of us who are more than a little suspicious as to who firebombed this building.

Of course Donald Trump is convinced that he knows who did it.

Animals representing Hillary Clinton and Dems in North Carolina just firebombed our office in Orange County because we are winning @NCGOP

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2016

Well.....maybe.

However it should be noted that both sides have been known to fake this kind of thing in years past.

Knowing that some people came out very aggressively on social media against liberals who donated.

That included MSNBC contributor Ana Marie Cox who got into a protracted Twitter battle with her detractors.

And, folks, the money wasn't going to directly to them. No one here made a *donation to the GOP* tonight.

— Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) October 17, 2016

The Twitter backlash included reminders of some of the nasty political attacks that have some out of this office in North Carolina and charges that they would certainly not do the same for Democrats if the roles were reversed.

Personally I am glad that the Democrats raised money like this.

Sure the Republican approach to a firebombing of a Democratic headquarters would probably be to show up with marshmallows and stand around singing camp songs while it burned, but then again we are not them, now are we?

Besides if we don't take the high road, then who will?

Man calls into C-Span and confirms that Trump supporters heard his 2nd Amendment comment as a call to arms if Hillary is elected.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

A C-SPAN caller from Michigan proved on Wednesday that even Trump supporters could interpret the GOP nominee’s comments about using the Second Amendment to stop Hillary as a call to gun violence. 

“Number one, Mr. Trump was not threatening assassination of Hillary,” Greg said. “But what he was implying and could happen is if Hillary got her way and did do away with Second Amendment rights (That's actually a false statement.), there are a lot of us who are gun owners who are going to object to that very strongly.” 

“And since we do have firearms, it might if it comes down to it be us having to defend our rights with those guns, just as the revolutionaries did in the Revolutionary War.” 

Greg said that he hoped “it never will come down to that.” 

“And I would point out that [Trump] said right afterwards that would be a horrible day when that happened,” Greg declared.

There have been a lot of people coming to Trump's defense and suggesting that what he said was taken out of context or that it was a joke, but none of that really matters.

What matters is how it was heard by the folks most likely to put those words into action.

Here was what Rolling Stone Magazine had to say about it:

But it's really irrelevant what Trump actually meant, because enough people will hear Trump's comments and think he's calling for people to take up arms against Clinton, her judges or both. Though most of the people hearing that call may claim he was joking, given what we know about people taking up arms in this country, there will undoubtedly be some people who think he was serious and consider the possibility. 

In other words, what Trump just did is engage in so-called stochastic terrorism. This is an obscure and non-legal term that has been occasionally discussed in the academic world for the past decade and a half, and it applies with precision here. Stochastic terrorism, as described by a blogger who summarized the concept several years back, means using language and other forms of communication "to incite random actors to carry out violent or terrorist acts that are statistically predictable but individually unpredictable."

Exactly.

If heaven forbid somebody were to actually make an attempt on Hillary's life right now, that would absolutely be blamed on this statement, whether fairly or unfairly.

Just like what happened to Sarah Palin after Gabby Giffords was shot.

However the underlying concern here is that the words spoken by Presidents, and presidential candidates, are heard all over the country. By the sane, the relatively sane, and those not even in the same ballpark as sane.

That means they have to choose their words with exceptional care, and as we know even when they do that they are misunderstood and mischaracterized by the media.

Simply put Donald Trump is somebody who NEVER seems to choose his words with care, and this last inflammatory statement is just the latest in a never ending stream of inflammatory statements.

All of that should have taken Trump out of the running for the Republican nomination, but since it failed to accomplish that back then it is up to the general election voters to stop him before one of his inflammatory statements causes the economy to crash, destroys diplomatic relations with our allies, or starts a potential nuclear war.

And if you think any of that is hyperbole, you have not been paying enough attention.

So let's start from the beginning.

As I am sure most of you know I had formed a friendship with Levi Johnston's sister and mother way back in 2009.

I had interviewed them, given them advice, and even managed Sadie's blog for a time.

I had at one point also hired Tank Jones to work for me at the same time that he was supposedly managing Levi's "career."

However I had only met Levi twice. Once at his mother's sentencing, and once at Sadie's graduation.

Both times he was polite but a little standoffish.

And why not? Literally everybody had told him I was to be avoided at all cost. (Except for his mom and his sister of course.)

In 2012 I had sent a friend request to Levi's wife Sunny, and she accepted.

I used that connection to send her links to articles that mentioned Levi or to keep her up to date on the things going on in the Palin's lives which might affect her and Levi, and of course Tripp. 

Through that connection I heard about the manipulations and barrage of abuse that Levi often suffered while trying to get time with his son. (Contrary to what you might have read in the tabloids, Levi NEVER stopped trying to spend time with his son.)

As you can imagine it irritated me and I offered to help multiple times.

At first Levi simply could not bring himself to accept help. (We Alaska men are known for our stoicism. Though typically Alaskan women refer to that as stubbornness.)

Late in 2013 things came to a head, and Levi wanted to take Bristol back to court and fight for a real custody deal. (Up to this point they really did not have one, and she used access to his son to manipulate Levi and keep him in line.)

However they no longer had an attorney, and nowhere near enough money to go up against the Palins in court.

But I did.

Senator Al Franken reads his mean tweets after making public his support of Hillary Clinton.

I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that those are the only ones that Franken can read on the air.

If the responses he receives are anything like the ones we receive here, I bet there are hundreds that are too disgusting and misogynist to ever see the light of day.

Personally I have a lot of faith in Senator Franken, his support of Hillary is just one more reason to believe that I am on the right side in this debate.

Rand Paul holds a rally in his home state of Kentucky, and only 50 people show up. Ouch!

"Nobody is supporting me? It's the hair isn't it?"

Courtesy of the Lexington Herald-Leader: 

About 50 people came out on a rainy Saturday morning to see U.S. Sen. Rand Paul rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin. 

Gathered in the basement of the Baptist Ministry Campus at Kentucky State University, the small crowd chanted "President Paul," welcoming the senator and presidential candidate and listening as the two Republicans heaped praise on each other after an awkward week. 

If that wasn't bad enough, and it really should be, the guy that appeared with Paul had earlier in the week inserted a small political shiv in between Paul's Thoracic vertebrae: 

Bevin made national headlines this week by saying during a debate hosted by Kentucky Sports Radio that his first choice for president had been Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and his second choice was Ben Carson. 

When host Matt Jones asked Bevin if he would endorse Paul, who is Kentucky's junior U.S. senator, Bevin said that Paul "would not be the first choice that I would make." 

However according to Paul that did not bother him too much because there are others who know him well also not supporting his bid for President:

Speaking to reporters after the event, Paul gamely downplayed any tension between him and Bevin, calling the gubernatorial candidate's remarks "immaterial" and acknowledging that there "are people who know me well" who aren't supporting his bid for the presidency. 

"You know what's funny about it in the last presidential poll in Kentucky I think I was leading with 20 percent of the vote," Paul said. "Which means 80 percent of the people aren't supporting me for president. But does that mean I don't think they don't support me as their U.S. Senator or don't support me personally? No, so we all have different opinions about who we'll vote for or who we'll support. And if you can't take that, you might as well not run for office." 

There has been some talk recently that Paul will be the next clown to jump out of the car.

After reading this I think that is a reasonable bet to make.

Iowa gay pride festival gets new sponsor. Want to guess who?

Courtesy of The Eater: 

This year's Iowa City's Pride Fest has an unlikely new sponsor: Chick-fil-A. According to local news station KCRG Adam Donius, owner of Chick-fil-A's Coralville, Iowa location, has agreed to donate 200 sandwiches and sides for Iowa City's annual pride picnic, which is being held on June 19. This comes as a surprise to many who have labeled the fast-food spot as against gay rights. Organizers of the event explained that the idea of bringing the community together is what appealed to Donius and resulted in the food donation. 

This news comes after the popular fast-food chain was banned from Johns Hopkins University due to antigay comments made by President Dan Cathy in 2012. Cathy has been very outspoken on his opinion that gay families are not "biblical families," even taking it to social media with his anti-homosexual tweet calling the DOMA ruling a "sad day for our nation." 

Well that is good news. Nice to see that not all Chick-fil-A owners are homophobic assholes.

Still one has to wonder if incidents like this might convince some people to make different wardrobe choices.

 

Mike Huckabee posts his support for the child molesting Josh Duggar on Facebook, suffers immediate backlash.

Photo courtesy of US Magazine.

Courtesy of Huckabee's Facebook page:

Janet and I want to affirm our support for the Duggar family. Josh’s actions when he was an underage teen are as he described them himself, 'inexcusable,' but that doesn’t mean 'unforgivable.' He and his family dealt with it and were honest and open about it with the victims and the authorities. No purpose whatsoever is served by those who are now trying to discredit Josh or his family by sensationalizing the story. Good people make mistakes and do regrettable and even disgusting things. The reason that the law protects disclosure of many actions on the part of a minor is that the society has traditionally understood something that today’s blood-thirsty media does not understand—that being a minor means that one's judgement is not mature. No one needs to defend Josh’s actions as a teenager, but the fact that he confessed his sins to those he harmed, sought help, and has gone forward to live a responsible and circumspect life as an adult is testament to his family’s authenticity and humility. Those who have enjoyed revealing this long ago sins in order to discredit the Duggar family have actually revealed their own insensitive bloodthirst, for there was no consideration of the fact that the victims wanted this to be left in the past and ultimately a judge had the information on file destroyed—not to protect Josh, but the innocent victims. Janet and I love Jim Bob and Michelle and their entire family. They are no more perfect a family than any family, but their Christian witness is not marred in our eyes because following Christ is not a declaration of our perfection, but of HIS perfection. It is precisely because we are all sinners that we need His grace and His forgiveness. We have been blessed to receive God’s love and we would do no less than to extend our love and support for our friends. In fact, it is such times as this, when real friends show up and stand up. Today, Janet and I want to show up and stand up for our friends. Let others run from them. We will run to them with our support.

Well that made me throw up in my mouth a little. 

And I was not alone, get a load of some of the comments that showed up on Huckabee's page: 

I respectfully disagree. His behavior is unforgivable to me and so is covering it up and allowing it to continue. Can't hide behind Jesus to excuse all bad behavior. 

Well you have lost my support! I'm a conservative Christian, and was once a Duggar supporter, but I believe that 14 years old or not he should have never been allowed to continue to live in the home with the girls, and the show should have never aired. He damaged those girls for he rest of their lives, and anyone who can carry on and say it's ok now because he admitted he was wrong is just as sick as him. 

I think you just kissed your chances away for the presidential nomination. 

You all are insane. He molested children. And Mr. Huckabee if he was a child not aware of his actions, why is a 14 year tried as an adult for killing. Give me a break. So if abusers repent they dont deserve to be punished??? Or just "good" Christians on tv. Does it worry anyone he has children. Wow. 

I was really happy that you decided to run for president but now you have lost my support. I'm was a victim of sexual molestation and it may go away for the abuser nut it doesn't for the victims. We may forgive, but we don't forget. Child molesters takes away our chance of having a normal child, a normal teenager, and a normal adult. I will mo longer support or vote for you. Nobody is thinking about victims on all this. 

Let me get this straight (no pun intended). This man will publicly support an admitted child molester, but will condemn a gay couple. What sense or logic is involved with this? And the fact that his family helped to cover up this atrocity, is even more baffling. In my line of work I have seen firsthand the effects are of children who were molested by adults or other children. I am sorry but these actions should be condemned. And the show of support is absolutely ridiculous. Shame on you Mike. And shame on all of you referencing "he who is without sin may cast the first stone", what happened to Matthew 19:14.

And believe me these go on, and on, and on. 

You know this will prove to be so damaging to Huckabee's chances of winning the Republican nomination that I'm almost surprised that Jeb Bush has offered his support to Josh Duggar as well.

(H/T to Raw Story.)

Sarah Palin wants to take the "D" out of PTSD. You know I always thought she had a problem with the "D."

Courtesy of Palin's infomercial Facebook page:

Like most every American I stand by our U.S. military vets! Thank you to our active duty heroes and all who've served this great country in the past. I was honored to speak at a recent fundraiser in Texas for The Mighty Oaks Warrior Foundation to support our returning troops who have left the battlefield overseas, but face new battles upon their return. America owes them a debt of gratitude, and our troops suffering from PTSD must not be ignored by a grateful nation. In the following video, I discuss what Mighty Oaks does for our vets.

There is also a video embedded on her page that claims the Mighty Oaks want to take the "D" out of PTSD, and during which she claims that all these poor soldiers need is a little Jesus in their lives.

I mean really who needs trained therapists, with years of experience, helping you deal with a complicated and often life altering disorder that can cause you to completely disassociate from family members, and friends, and to self medicate with alcohol or drug use?

Instead this program essentially tells the vets struggling with this diagnosis (Or as the program calls it, their new "deployment.") that they are made in God's image, and that since they are trained soldiers they can deal with anything. A kind of camouflage version of "Buck up or stay in the truck."

You know according to Palin her son Track benefited in some way form this program. (One report even claimed he was a councilor.)

If that is true, then you might imagine that she would angry and disappointed at this program for failing him.

After all a well adjusted person does NOT drunkenly start a fight at a birthday party, nor tear off his shirt and start flipping people off when asked to leave that party.

And after leaving a well adjusted person also does not immediately go to a bar, get into another fight, and end up with cracked ribs.

If THIS is what The Mighty Oaks considers a success story then I would make sure to keep friends and family members as far away from them as possible.

Track really is a tragic story, and I have recently heard that his substance abuse is worse than ever, and that he spends very little time with his new daughter Kyla. In fact when she comes over to visit the family, he is often nowhere to be found.

That is just sad and it is clear that he needs much more help than can be provided by the religiously saturated pseudo therapy center. (I mean they have a program called "Fight Club for Men: A Quest for Authentic Manhood. Which is described thusly: "Our six day Post Traumatic Stress Reintegration Program is designed to serve as the catalyst in discovering the answers to the “why” questions in a man’s life. Through camaraderie, recreational activities, and thoughtful conversation, Fight Club teaches men to overcome any past experience that be limiting their personal success. Individual adversities that have grown out of traumatic experiences are able to surface during these six days, as we foster a confidential, safe, and vulnerable environment with a faith-based foundation through Christ.")

Six days. Seriously?

Look I work with clients who have PTSD all of the time. And the idea that they can simply "soldier through it" is not only wrong, but it is dangerous. This disorder, and yes it IS a disorder, is quite complicated and it affects the individuals suffering with it in a variety of ways.

Usually it is approached using a combination of therapy, medications, and family support. It is not enough to simply deal with the patient, you have to help shape their environment and educate the people who are the closest to them in order to provide the kind of wrap around services these individuals require.

And as I have said before, I do not think that Track's problems stem from his time in the military, however stunted that appears to have been. His problems started well before then, and as long as he is surrounded by so many dysfunctional people I do not see them ending any time soon.

So for Palin to suggest that a six day program in a military frat house environment is enough to deal with the complexities of such a disorder may be a new level of deceit.

Update: Also apparently Palin is planning to sue Bob Cesca over the use of her clips. But we all know she is bluffing.  (Palin part starts the 6:00 mark.)

Seems like a worthy cause. Update: Thompson's wife weighs in.

Courtesy of Go Fund Me:  

Eric Thompson was at a party for about 70 friends on September 6th, 2014. At some point during the evening a massive, "Jerry Springer" type fight broke out involving the Palin family. 

ABC's Good Morning America contacted Eric, most likely because he had given his name to the police for the report. GMA asked if he would give an interview, and did so, not asking for money in return. 

Eric did not make a dime from giving his testimony of the Palin brawl to GMA. 

About an hour after the GMA interview, Eric Thompson received a call from his boss saying that he was being immediately fired. 

Eric really wants a job more than anything, but seeing as this was such a sudden release of employment it has left him in a bit of a bind for the month. Also, lawyer fees are now stacking up thanks to this whole debacle. 

I just donated $100.00 to the cause.

At the time of this post the amount stands at $570.00 which is not going to get him very far.

I think that by the end of the day we can get that up to several thousand. 

Just think of it this way, helping him is sending a message to every other person out there that if the Palins come after you there are those who will have your back.

And really, who better than us?

Update: Eric Thompson's wife has also giving HER eyewitness report.

It essentially matches her husband's, though she did add this: 

She also expressed her frustration about the police investigation and that no charges have been filed. She said she, her husband and a number of other party guests spoke to investigators that night. 

"I just think when people assault other people that they should be arrested," she said. "Or at least charged. Especially when there's that many eyewitnesses. I don't think just because you're a Palin that you should not have to suffer the same consequences as any other person."

I could not agree more.

How IM will be covering the new Sarah Palin Channel.

Boy if Sarah Palin wanted to make sure that people are still talking about her she certainly found a way to do so last night.

It seems that just about EVERYBODY is talking about her new pay-per-rant web based TV channel.

And in response journalists are signing up for the free first month's subscription in order to adequately cover the lunacy that is sure to emerge from a Sarah Palin without a media filter to make her appear at least slightly sane.

But not I.

If I had a religion it would forbid me from doing anything to contribute to Palin's monetary gain, EVEN if by doing so I could more effectively dissect her lunacy, call her out on her lack of education and intelligence, and generally mock her at will.

No the way I figure it, if Palin says some thing on her silly little channel, to her handful of silly little paint eaters, that is not news.

And if it IS news, then some poor schlub who is being forced to follow it by his editor will write something up, and I will gladly report on THAT.

I also would discourage all of you from signing on even for the free trial.

As somebody already pointed out, those numbers will be used to suggest Palins' level of popularity and even if the majority of them are critics, journalists, and trolls, a subscriber is still a subscriber in Palin's book.

By the way perhaps the most interesting thing about this new endeavor is that Palin called on the "lamestream" media folks to help her with it.

This from the Daily Beast: 

Jonathan Klein, the former president of CNN’s United States operation, and Jeff Gaspin, the former chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, are just the sort of lamestream media elites that Sarah Palin is constantly railing against. 

But, because this is America, where capitalism is the great equalizer between liberals and conservatives alike, a little difference of opinion hasn’t stopped the former governor of Alaska, Republican vice presidential nominee and right-wing political icon from joining forces with two blue-state media entrepreneurs to launch her own subscription-based online TV channel.

That means that at least these two believe that there is money in them thar fake bolt on hills, and they are hoping to get a piece. (Of the action, not Palin.)

Will it actually be successful however? I seriously doubt it.

For example get a load of this: 

“We’ve been talking to the Palins for a while”—since their initial contact last year her with the ex-Guv’s lawyer-agent, Beltway establishment gatekeeper Bob Barnett—“but we really began talking in earnest a few months ago as her timing came together,” Klein said. “She’s got a complicated life. She does have five kids and three of them are at home, and she’s got a handful, running around the country giving speeches.” 

Two of those kids—sexual abstinence advocate and former Dancing with the Stars contestant Bristol, 23, mother of Tripp and the ex-girlfriend of Tripp’s father, Levi Johnston; and middle school student Piper, 13, her mom’s frequent travel companion to all those high-dollar speeches—are also starring on the new channel’s web site. Bristol has her already-established blog on the site while Piper has begun to record her own video commentary. Meanwhile, Sarah’s mother, Scrabble aficionado Sally Heath, will be providing a word of the day, Klein said.

So the question you have to ask is what kind of subscriber is going to be interested in the ghostwritten posts of Bristol Palin, that they can find for free on Brancy's blog, and the video diary entries of the prepubescent Piper Palin?

My guess would be only those the MOST intoxicated from drinking the Palin brand of Kool-aid, and recent SarahPAC filings have shown that number to be dwindling at quite a clip.