During lengthy and informative New York Magazine interview President Obama connected the dots between Sarah Palin and the Trump campaign.

Palin "Just let me touch him." Lieberman: "Oh hell no."

Courtesy of New York Magazine:  

I see a straight line from the announcement of Sarah Palin as the vice-presidential nominee to what we see today in Donald Trump, the emergence of the Freedom Caucus, the tea party, and the shift in the center of gravity for the Republican Party. Whether that changes, I think, will depend in part on the outcome of this election, but it’s also going to depend on the degree of self-reflection inside the Republican Party. There have been at least a couple of other times that I’ve said confidently that the fever is going to have to break, but it just seems to get worse.

As you all know I, and a lot of other political observers, have already made the argument that without Sarah Palin there would likely never have been a Doanld Trump campaign.

But here is the President, who arguably has far more insight into the inner workings of politics in this country than most of us, essentially pointing out that same connection.

What is more is that earlier in the interview he explains he first noticed the Sarah Palin effect on the Republican party. And it came right after Chicago had lost the bid to host the 2016 Olympics:

On the flight back, we already know that we haven’t got it, and when I land it turns out that there was big cheering by Rush Limbaugh and various Republican factions that America had lost the Olympic bid. It was really strange, but at that point, Limbaugh had been much clearer about wanting to see me fail and had, I think, communicated that very clearly to his listeners. Fox News’ coverage had already started to drift in that direction, and what you realized during the course of the first six, eight, ten months of the administration was that the attitudes, the moods that I think Sarah Palin had captured during the election increasingly were representative of the Republican activist base, its core. It might not have been representative of Republicans across the country, but it meant that John Boehner or Mitch McConnell had to worry about that mood inside their party that felt that, No, we shouldn’t cooperate with Obama, we shouldn’t cooperate with Democrats; that it represents compromise, weakness, and that the broader character of America is at stake, regardless of whatever policy arguments might be made. As a consequence, there were times that I would meet with Mitch McConnell and he would say to me very bluntly, “Look, I’m doing you a favor if I do any deal with you, so it should be entirely on my terms because it hurts me just being seen photographed with you.” 

Essentially Sarah Palin made it okay for the most rabid Right Wing to come out of the woodwork and make themselves heard, and to push a partisan agenda that despised compromise and punished any who did not pass their ideological purity tests.

This not only created huge obstacles for President Obama and his administration, but it made Congress almost completely ineffectual as well.

Essentially Washington D.C. ground to a complete halt, and arguably that was in part inspired by one batshit crazy half term governor from the wilds of Wasilla.

I have been making this point for years partially as a defense for why I kept writing about Palin and digging into her secretes, and now the President has essentially vindicated that work by reinforcing just how damaging she was to national politics in this country.

And I continue to make the case that if the media had done its job, and gone after Palin over her faux political creds, her fake pregnancy, and her many scandals since she left office, that we would never have ended up with a Donald Trump as the GOP candidate in 2016.

I have done everything that I could to get these stories out there, but too many mainstream media sources wanted to turn a blind eye, and now they are left slack jawed at the result.

P.S. By the way the rest of the article is very informative and I urge all of you to read it.

Dozens of retired Generals and Admirals back Iran deal, and the head of a group opposing the deal quits after actually reading it.

Source

Courtesy of the New York Times: 

When the bipartisan advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran decided last week to mobilize opposition against the nuclear deal with Tehran, Gary Samore knew he could no longer serve as its president. 

The reason: After long study, Mr. Samore, a former nuclear adviser to President Obama, had concluded that the accord was in the United States’ interest. 

“I think President Obama’s strategy succeeded,” said Mr. Samore, who left his post on Monday. “He has created economic leverage and traded it away for Iranian nuclear concessions.”

It seems that the more people actually take a look at this deal the more likely they are to support the President and his dealings with Iran.

And fuck Chuck Schumer for putting politics ahead of our national interest.

By the way do you know who is going to be replacing Mr. Samore as the head of United Against Nuclear Iran?

This guy.

Not exactly a surprise considering that John McCain considered him so in line with his way of thinking that he wanted to tap him as his VP, instead of this lunatic.

That may be the last good thing he did for our President, and this country.

First Hindu Congresswoman sworn in, not with a Bible, but on the Bhagavad Gita. Now that's progress!

Courtesy of Deccan Herald:  

Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii has created history by not only becoming the first Hindu ever to be sworn in as a member of the US House of Representatives, but also being the first ever US lawmaker to have taken oath of office on the sacred Bhagavad Gita. 

Tulsi, 31, was administered the oath of office by the John Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

"I chose to take the oath of office with my personal copy of the Bhagavad-Gita because its teachings have inspired me to strive to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in the service of others and to my country," Gabbard said after the swearing in ceremony yesterday. 

"My Gita has been a tremendous source of inner peace and strength through many tough challenges in life, including being in the midst of death and turmoil while serving our country in the Middle East," she said explaining the reasons for taking the oath of office on Gita. 

"I was raised in a multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-faith family. My mother is Hindu; my father is a Catholic lector in his church who also practices mantra meditation. I began to grapple with questions of spirituality as a teenager," Gabbard said. 

"Over time, I came to believe that, at its essence, religion gives us a deeper purpose in life than just living for ourselves. Since I was a teenager, I have embraced this spiritual journey through the teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita.

Okay well obviously as an Atheist, I  disagree with Congresswoman Gabbard's contention that religion provides a "deeper purpose in life," but having said that I LOVE everything about this!

In my opinion it is embarrassing for America that with such a disparity within our religious communities that THIS is the first Hindu in the House. Our Representatives should be as colorful and diverse in their religious and cultural points of view as the people themselves.

One of the scariest times that this country has gone through during my lifetime was the rise of the Moral Majority. When all of the sudden there was a narrowly defined litmus test provided for choosing political candidates, or which legislation should be passed, it sent chills up and down my spine. (The name of this blog was chosen in response to that fear.)

So while I give no more credence to Congresswoman Gabbard's religious choice than I do say Mitt Romney's, Joe Lieberman's, or Michele Backmann's, I DO see it as a very important and progressive step forward for a country that needs to move away from the kind of uber religiosity that has so negatively impacted the nation for the last forty years.

May Lord Ganesha bless her and keep her safe.

Sarah Palin still waiting by her mailbox for invitation from Mitt Romney to attend the GOP convention. What is the temperature in hell today?

"What am I, chopped liver?"

Courtesy of Newsweek:

 What galls the Tea Party activists is the sense that Romney represents a lost opportunity for their agenda of less government, flatter taxes, and constitutional restraint. Facing a vulnerable president saddled with a bad economy and a crisis in the public sector, they feel stuck with a guy served up by Republican elites who speaks conservatism with an establishment accent. Worse, in this view, Romney seems incapable, or unwilling, to even defend himself, as the Obama campaign machine highlights his offshore bank accounts and his career at Bain Capital. 

“Romney’s just not a fighter,” says Jenny Beth Martin, head of the Tea Party Patriots, the largest of the activist groups. “That’s why it would be good for him to have someone like Palin speaking at the convention. He needs to do something to rile up his base, to make them enthusiastic. And I don’t mean just the Tea Party. I mean die-hard Republicans. I live in the second-most-Republican county in the state of Georgia, and the folks around here are not enthusiastic about him.”

I think what his person is forgetting is that Palin may be certifiably insane, and is completely unpredictable in her behaviors.  McCain learned that the hard way the night of his concession speech, and I have little doubt that Romney has watched the movie "Game Change" with all of the lights turned on, between the fingers covering his eyes, multiple times.

Which might explain the Romney camp's response:

Queries to the Romney camp about any possible Palin role at the convention meet with a stony silence.

And what does Palin say about this?

“What can I say?” she responded in an email from Alaska, when asked by Newsweek about the convention, just before heading to Michigan to deliver an Obama-thumping speech. “I’m sure I’m not the only one accepting consequences for calling out both sides of the aisle for spending too much money, putting us on the road to bankruptcy, and engaging in crony capitalism.” 

“In accepting those consequences,” she added, “one must remember this isn’t Sadie Hawkins and you don’t invite yourself and a date to the Big Dance.”

Please! Sarah Palin has been inviting herself to the big dance for months, despite the lack of interest expressed by MOST serious Republican politicians. 

Remember, Palin famously went on her "One Nation" bus tour just to pull attention away from Romney's big announcement to run for president. Well you just know HE certainly hasn't forgotten!

I would be completely surprised if Romney caved and let the Lunatic from lake Lucille anywhere NEAR Tampa. Even for a guy famous for his flip flops, I think this is much too big of a flop to let flip his script.

Of course that may not do much to keep the political albatross at bay, as Palin has rented space in a nearby plaza for reasons that have not yet been made clear. Which indicates to me that she may have plans to crash the party.

If I were Romney I would see if I could hire Senator Joe Lieberman to run defense.

After all he does have experience.

In light of the recent revelations in Joe McGinniss's book, I think THIS picture takes on a whole new meaning. Update.

Look how focused she is on the President.

If they had not sent Lieberman to essentially body check her, there is no telling what kind of fool she would have made of herself.

I wonder if THIS dismissal by Obama was not the beginning of her raging hatred toward the man?

By the way I received a phone call from the National Enquirer, who first published the excerpts and are also chasing the story from another angle, and I asked them if they felt confident they had the straight poop on Joe's book.

I was told they had managed to confirm it with somebody connected to the publishing house, so there was very little doubt that they had their facts right.

I also emailed Joe to ask if he could confirm that what has been reported is accurate.  I don't expect he can say anything about it, and if he did he would probably swear me to silence, but I felt it was worth a shot. But from what I know of Joe he would NOT allow this to be printed if it were not completely accurate.

I also asked Joe if he had sent Palin an advance copy of his book.  I don't think he did, but I do know that other authors have done so, as did the National Enquirer when they were doing the Shailey Tripp story, so its possible.

THAT would explain a lot about her recent appearance and behaviors.

Oops, I almost forgot that we still have source who HAS read the book who continues to actively leak snippets. Here is today's Doonesbury comic, which is still being censored in newspapers across the country.

Update: Okay I sorta kinda got confirmation that the Glen Rice story is in the book. Oh and my copy of "The Rogue" should be here in the next few days.

Update 2: It looks like the New York times has released their review of "The Rogue." (The review also contains an excerpt from the book.  Go ahead and count how many of the "rumors" that you first learned of on the blogs that are validated in just these three pages alone.)

This is the portion that I believe is of the most interest to the majority of those visiting here:

With the same imprecise aim he cites conspiracy theories that Ms. Palin may not be the mother of her youngest son, Trig, and questions the circumstances under which he was born. Mr. McGinniss puts forth a provocative case for doubting Ms. Palin’s account of Trig’s birth, which involved a round trip between Alaska and Texas while she was supposedly in labor. But then he comes to an indefensibly reckless conclusion: “It is perhaps the most blistering assessment of her character possible that many Wasillans who’d known Sarah from high school onward told me that even if she had not faked the entire story of her pregnancy and Trig’s birth, it was something she was eminently capable of doing.”

In Joe's defense I do have to say that he tried to get the information about babygate into his book.  But because he could not get definitive proof of the fake pregnancy, or anybody close to the situation to go on the record, he simply could NOT get it past his publisher's lawyers.

Update 2: Joe McGinniss interview will be broadcast tomorrow on the Today Show for those who are interested.

Update 3: Tweets from Savannah Guthrie:

Savannah Guthrie 
Tomorrow: our exclusive @todayshow intvw w author Joe McGinniss, who authored the new Palin book (and lived next door while researching it). 


Savannah Guthrie 
And we'll report on Todd Palin's response to the book - see you at 7a for @todayshow 

Oooh this could get REALLY good!

Keith Olberamnn discusses Joe "the whiner" Lieberman's threats to filibuster the Senate health care bill.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Why? Why do the Democrats allow this traitor to his party continue to play the spoiler to the Democratic agenda? It is stupefying that they allow this little pathetic weasel to obstruct perhaps the most important bill to come around in the last ten or fifteen years.

Well personally I have had it and have signed this online petition to encourage Democrats to strip Lieberman of his his leadership titles if he dares to stand against progress. It made me feel very good to sign it and encourage all of you to do the same. It may not have any effect at all, but dammit at least we tried!

And since we are posting embeds from Countdown I could not resist Keith's smackdown of Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck for their denial that THEY have incited violence.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If you stayed for the end of Keith's long list of conservative media types who will insist that conservatives "have no voice in the media", you were rewarded with a pretty funny Sarah Palin reference. Did you see it? Well then go back. I have watched it three times and it gets better every time.

Update: Lieberman wins, the Dems suck, and I am pissed!

Joe Lieberman sacrifices what is left of his soul to stop Sarah Palin from reaching President Obama.

(This is a picture that I just discovered taken at that Alfalfa Club Dinner of Sarah Palin trying to sidle up to President Obama and being chick blocked by Joe Lieberman.)

I have said this before, but it bears repeating, Barack Obama MUST NOT ALLOW SARAH PALIN ANYWHERE NEAR HIM!

Mr. President the woman is a succubus! She will steal your very soul and use it to replenish her failing powers. And once she has obtained a picture of the two of you together she will gather her minions, and witch fighting African preachers, to drain your charisma and intelligence and funnel them into Caribou Barbie's wicked shell. Can you imagine just how dangerous Palin would be if she actually made sense?

I am just very thankful that Joe Lieberman was there to stop her from successfully making contact with our new president.

Joe Lieberman has special protective powers because he is Jewish and that is way older and more resistant to evil then mere Christianity. And also because he is no longer a true Democrat and is so close to being a Republican that she can no longer do his political career any harm.

Look how Joe is slapping down her hand to keep her from clutching at our great leader.

Oh Joe I owe you SUCH an apology.

(P.S. Please click the title and visit the sight where I "borrowed" this photograph. It is an interesting story and besides then they can't imply that I took something without at least giving them traffic. Hah! Like I would ever do something like that!)

Joe Lieberman donated campaign funds to Republicans battling Democrats for Senate seats.

When Democrats gathered last week to decide the fate of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), a pair of senators-elect, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, stepped up to offer symbolically important speeches.

Lieberman's support of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for the presidency was well known, punctuated by his nationally televised speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul criticizing Obama as not prepared to be president. His endorsement of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who has served as the top Republican beside him at the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, also was well known in Democratic circles.

But not even Merkley knew of Lieberman's backing of Smith in their critical Senate race, until Capitol Briefing alerted his staff today.

"We were surprised to hear this news, but it's time to put the election behind us. Jeff Merkley is looking forward to working with all his new colleagues on an agenda that will put our nation back on track," said Julie Edwards, spokeswoman for Merkley.

Lieberman's support of Smith came the same weekend he wrote an op-ed in the St. Paul Pioneer Press defending Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) for his work as chairman of an investigative subcommittee on Lieberman's homeland security committee. The same day he wrote a check to Smith, Lieberman's ROC PAC gave $5,000 to Rep. Peter King, the Long Island Republican. In radio and TV appearances the final days of the campaign, Lieberman also frequently said that a Democratic majority of 60 votes, a filibuster-proof level, would be a bad thing.

Jesus Christ!  How much longer are Democrats going to keep turning the other cheek?

Don't we only have the two cheeks?  After that it is time to sack up and knock our assailant on his ass!

Joe Lieberman has done everything but take a piss on a donkey to symbolize his disdain for the Democrats.  Why haven't the Dems boxed his big floppy ears for him?

You know I remained an Independent for most of my life, BECAUSE the Democrats seemed like pussies to me.  I supported almost all of their policies, but I just could not make myself join a team that did not know how to throw a punch.

In 2004 I changed my political identity to Democrat because they seemed like our only hope of stopping George Bush.  And of course they failed.

But I stuck with them, starting this blog and trying to help fill the empty scrotum of the Democrats with my anger and outrage.  And after a while it seemed that we were really starting to "man up".   And this year we actually won!

But now when we have every reason to kick some ass and take some names, the Democrats are starting to "pansy up" again.  Knock it the fuck off!

Look I understand that Barack Obama wants to stay above the fray, and trust me that I do not consider the "O" man a pansy at all, but that leaves it to the other Democratic politicians and supporters to "get a pair" and "unleash hell". (And by the way perhaps watching "Gladiator" would not be a bad choice for you pencil necks.)

Joe Lieberman is a whiny little putz who can only continue kicking sand in the faces of Democrats as long as he enjoys the protection of bigger and stronger politicians.  Right now he is looking for Obama's protection, but Barack needs to leave this jerk to his own devices.  Then some other Democrat (Rahm Emmanuel do you hear me?), should kick his lilly white  ass ALL over the Senate floor! (Hell if you don't want Emmanuel to get his hands dirty then let Barney Frank have him!  That would be awesome!)

No matter who does it, there is no doubt that it needs to be done. And Democrats overall need to start sticking their damn chests out and act like winners for a change and stop playing defense.  

I am not suggesting that we all need to act like assholes I am simply saying that we need to give off confidence and make America believe that we can keep them safe from terrorists both in and outside this country. (And yeah I am talking to you, Bush administration.)

So come on Dems!  Grab a hold of your cocks and lets start to rock!  America is counting on us.

(And by the way if any ladies found my constant reference to the male anatomy offensive then I apologize.  But remember I am from a place where the only person tougher then an Alaskan male, is an Alaskan female.  And these are REAL Alaskan women!  Not "Sarah Palin" Alaskan women. NO REAL Alaskan woman would ever wear high heels and a skirt to a turkey farm!) 

Joe Lieberman tears his lips off of John McCain's ass, swims frantically around, until finally getting a firm liplock on Obama's butt.

"Everything that President-elect Obama has done since election night has been just about perfect, both in terms of a tone and also in terms of the strength of the names that have either been announced or are being discussed to fill his administration," Lieberman said during a visit to Hartford.

Holy crap this guy is unbelievably pathetic!

Joe Lieberman is the human manifestation of the the Remora, a fish that simply cannot survive without being attached to a much larger and powerful creature.  

Once it was Al Gore, then it changed to George Bush, evolved into John McCain, and now he is frantically trying to attach to the sleek ebony underbelly of Barack Obama.

However this is exactly the kind of bottom feeder that Obama needs to kick loose.  He can use him for what little he can provide and then just throw his ass over the ramparts when he is finished with him.

Nobody would blame Barack one little bit for doing that very thing.  The guy is a naked opportunist who does not have one loyal bone in his body. For that reason he is dangerous and should be treated as if he were a poisonous reptile who could turn and sink his fangs in at any moment.

Joe Lieberman, leaving a trail of slime in his wake, makes an appearance on Meet the Press.

Part one



Part two



Joe Lieberman did not publicly decry Sarah Palin's remarks. Not once. He said nothing to defend the man who is now his President, and he should feel nothing but shame for it.

He is lying to save his own skin and it is stomach churning to witness. Simply put the man has no honor.

It is almost impossible for me to listen to Lieberman anymore.

When he speaks all I hear is this passage from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", spoken by Brutus in defense of his decision to assist in the slaying of his friend:

Romans, countrymen, and lovers! hear me for my
cause, and be silent, that you may hear: believe me
for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour, that
you may believe: censure me in your wisdom, and
awake your senses, that you may the better judge.
If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of
Caesar's, to him I say, that Brutus' love to Caesar
was no less than his. If then that friend demand
why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer:
--Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved
Rome more.

In the end of course the citizens rose up and burned the house of Brutus. I would not wish such an end for Senator Lieberman, but that he needs to be stripped of his Chairmanship there should be no doubt.

He is a danger to the Democrats so long as they depend on him, and therefore in my opinion he should be carried aloft over to the side of the Republicans and unceremoniously deposited at their door. After all it is crystal clear that is where he belongs. And the Democrats can certainly make do without him.

After a couple of lackluster shows the Daily Show hit one out of the park last night.

One of my favorite segments, "You don't know Dick"!



And this segment called "Does that get me fired?" takes on the Joe Lieberman kerfuffle and our own cuddly Uncle Ted Stevens.

The only "Joe" I want to hear about from now on is Joe Biden, No "Joe the Plumber", no "Joe sixpack", and no freaking "Joe Lieberman"!

I hate it when I cannot quite understand somebodies motivation for doing what they have done.

Now I just figured that after 9-11 Lieberman got scared shitless so he quickly hid under the skirts of the GOP who were talking tough and puffing out their chests. You know, doing manly stuff.

But then it became clear that the Bush administration had made a number of truly stupid mistakes and had misled the American people, Lieberman still would not step away from the rotting corpse.

So in 2006, due to his infatuation with the Republicans, he loses the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont declares he is now an Independent and, with the support and money of his new Republican buddies, retains his seat in the Senate.

So you would think that Joe would try to show the Dems that he is still one of them and jump right on board the train to support Barack Obama, who is so charismatic he even brings a number of Republican stalwarts into the fold.

But no, Lieberman decides to support, campaign, and appear at the RNC, with his pal John McCain. He also attacks the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, as inexperienced. In other words he places yet another knife in the back of the Democratic party, right next to the many others that he has already placed there earlier.

So why do we keep his ass on the Governmental Affairs Committee as chairman? The Democrats are in charge and they can simply put somebody else, you know somebody more "Democratty", in that position. So why not?

Why not? Because the big baby said that if we take the Chairmanship away he may stop voting with the Democrats and throw his weight behind the Republicans. That is why. Which will help those of you who are confused as to why there is so much focus on the Senate races up here in Alaska, in Georgia, and Minnesota.

But in my opinion regardless of whether Democrats win those seats or not, it is time to kick Lieberman to the curb. He is not a Democrat. He is not an Independent. He is a Republican!

He may vote with the Democrats on some issues, but so do some of the Republicans.

I don't care if the Democrats want to appear all cuddly and non-threatening to the Republicans or not. They need to flex their muscles, stiffen their spines, show some balls, and any other euphemisms denoting strength and certainty that you can imagine.

Lieberman should be used as an example of how Democrats will deal with turncoats, and Democrats in name only. There are important policies that need to be put in place and we cannot have any "occasional Democrats " holding up the process. Simply throw Lieberman to the wolves, and then reach out to some of those moderate Republicans who have been embarrassed by George Bush and who are up for re-election in 2010.

This will send the message that Democrats are tough, but that they are not total dicks, like Republicans. I truly believe that is a message for our times.