I posted a version of this before, but I think with recent events it is well worth listening to again.
And remember folks, totally NSFW.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
41% of Americans are definitely, or probably, sure that humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time.
YouGov's latest research shows that 41% of Americans think that dinosaurs and humans either 'definitely' (14%) or 'probably' (27%) once lived on the planet at the same time. 43% think that this is either 'definitely' (25%) or 'probably' (18%) not true while 16% aren't sure. In reality the earliest ancestors of humans have only been on the planet for 6 million years, while the last dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago.
There is a religious split on this question. While most Americans who describe themselves as 'born again' (56%) believe that humans and dinosaurs once shared the planet, most Americans who do not describe themselves as born again (51%) think that they did not. Only 22% of born again Americans think that dinosaurs and humans did not coexist.
Anybody surprised that religion plays a huge part in the American people's ignorance?
Leave it to Fundamentalists to think that the Flintstones is a documentary.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
When your flag is too racist for Alabama and NASCAR, you know it's pretty damn racist.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) ordered the removal of four Confederate-era flags from the grounds of the state Capitol Wednesday morning, saying it was simply "the right thing to do."
The flags were part of a confederate memorial at the Capitol in Montgomery. Two state workers came out Wednesday morning and "with no fanfare quickly and quietly" took down the first of the four, the battle flag, according to AL.com.
About 90 minutes later, workers came out and removed the three other Confederate flags that were part of the memorial.
I know right?
But if you think that is amazing, and it is amazing, get a load of this:
"As we continue to mourn the tragic loss of life last week in Charleston, we join our nation's embrace of those impacted. NASCAR supports the position that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley took on the Confederate Flag on Monday. As our industry works collectively to ensure that all fans are welcome at our races, NASCAR will continue our long-standing policy to disallow the use of the Confederate Flag symbol in any official NASCAR capacity. While NASCAR recognizes that freedom of expression is an inherent right of all citizens, we will continue to strive for an inclusive environment at our events."
That is an official statement from NASCAR. Freaking NASCAR!
I swear it's like black is white, and up is down.
But you know in a good way.
SarahPAC released this video bragging about her political impact just a week after Palin was released from her Fox News contract.
Okay first off that is a really poorly made video.
And secondly some of the quotes don't even refer to her by name, so they could really be about anybody.
It also should be mentioned that much of what is shown is from way back in 2010 when Palin actually DID have some political clout.
I think the only people who still think she has any real influence on politics, are those who realize that her association with a candidate damages them, and her constantly dwindling handful of Palin-bots who simply refuse to see the evidence right in front of them.
Five Thirty Eight has even charted the demise of her popularity:
Palin’s net favorability rating (favorable minus unfavorable) among all Americans1 has dropped more than 40 percentage points, from +18 percentage points to -24 points by mid-2014, according to a local regression. Meanwhile, her net favorability rating among Republicans has declined more than 55 percentage points, from +83 percentage points to +27 points by mid-2013.
Palin has receded from the national spotlight to the extent that we have very little data since 2012. No live interview poll has asked Americans about her favorable rating in almost a year.
The fact is that today she is nothing. And to be honest that is actually an insult to nothing.
And no shoddily prepared video is going to suddenly make that untrue.
And secondly some of the quotes don't even refer to her by name, so they could really be about anybody.
It also should be mentioned that much of what is shown is from way back in 2010 when Palin actually DID have some political clout.
I think the only people who still think she has any real influence on politics, are those who realize that her association with a candidate damages them, and her constantly dwindling handful of Palin-bots who simply refuse to see the evidence right in front of them.
Five Thirty Eight has even charted the demise of her popularity:
Palin’s net favorability rating (favorable minus unfavorable) among all Americans1 has dropped more than 40 percentage points, from +18 percentage points to -24 points by mid-2014, according to a local regression. Meanwhile, her net favorability rating among Republicans has declined more than 55 percentage points, from +83 percentage points to +27 points by mid-2013.
Palin has receded from the national spotlight to the extent that we have very little data since 2012. No live interview poll has asked Americans about her favorable rating in almost a year.
The fact is that today she is nothing. And to be honest that is actually an insult to nothing.
And no shoddily prepared video is going to suddenly make that untrue.
Bobby Jindal: "I'm running for President." Move over GOP there is a new clown climbing into the car.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is officially running for president.
The Republican governor tweeted on Wednesday that he's jumping in to the GOP nomination race, also sending out a link to a new campaign website. He is slated to hold an official announcement event Wednesday afternoon in New Orleans.
I’m running for President of the United States of America. Join me: http://t.co/MmqB4kxpUq
— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) June 24, 2015
If you click the link in the tweet you can see Jindal and his wife "surprise" his kids with the news.It's just like candid camera in that it also makes Americans cringe.
Bobby Jindal also has the distinction of having the lowest approval rating in his state of any current, or past, governor running for office.
So that should look really good on a bumper sticker.
Mike Huckabee says that if he is elected President he will undermine any Supreme Court decision that favors gay marriage.
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| Hey, what did you really expect from me? |
Yesterday, Mike Huckabee chatted with Iowa radio host Steve Deace and Religious Right organizer Bob Vander Plaats, who led Huckabee’s 2008 campaign in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, about the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling on gay marriage.
He said that if elected president, he would simply ignore any Supreme Court decision in favor of marriage equality until Congress passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide…which he would then veto.
“Until the Congress of the United States puts on my desk a bill that basically defies the laws of Nature and Nature’s God and defies the longstanding tradition of marriage, the federal government will not recognize same-sex marriage because there is no law that requires it and that would be true for the military and it would be true for all federal institutions,” Huckabee said. “If the Congress decides that they want to pass enabling legislation, they could put it on my desk and I would veto it, and they can attempt to override it. That’s the process.”
Seriously Huckabee, we have already decided not to vote for you.
You don't need to keep finding new ways to make yourself repugnant to us.
Fox News dumps Sarah Palin! Update!
Fox News will not renew its contract with Sarah Palin, whose bombastic appearances have been a cable staple since the former Alaska governor’s failed run on John McCain’s ticket in 2007. When asked for comment, a Fox News spokesperson confirmed the network had amicably parted ways with the governor on June 1.
Palin, 51, is expected to make occasional guest appearances on Fox and Fox Business, and will appear on other networks and cables. She has a show on the Sportsman Channel, does a lot of speeches, and will announce a new publishing project soon.
When Palin was at her zenith, she made frequent appearances, and Fox installed a camera at her house. But executives consider her less relevant now, and her appearances were sometimes hampered by the vast time difference with Alaska.
And so it finally ends.
Somehow I think these "occasional guest appearances" will be really,. really occasional. Like maybe never.
After all we remember back in 2013 when Palin walked away from her Fox gig after they refused to renew her million dollar a year contract, only to come crawling back for a fraction of that amount a few months later.
And since then, as many of you have noted, her appearances have become fewer and fewer, and the duration shorter and shorter.
So to sum up Palin's Fox News contract is over, SarahPAC is as shell of its former self, and her Sarah Palin Channel is a joke.
I think all that leaves is her Sportsman Channel gig, and seriously how much can that pay?
Update: On the flip side Sarah Palin's Facebook page got a make over.
Update 2: This seems appropriate.
Iowa is granting gun permits to blind people. Okay does anybody else think this might be bad idea?
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| Okay well it feels like a gun. It is a gun, right? |
Here's some news that has law enforcement officials and lawmakers scratching their heads:
Iowa is granting permits to acquire or carry guns in public to people who are legally or completely blind.
No one questions the legality of the permits. State law does not allow sheriffs to deny an Iowan the right to carry a weapon based on physical ability.
The quandary centers squarely on public safety. Advocates for the disabled and Iowa law enforcement officers disagree over whether it's a good idea for visually disabled Iowans to have weapons.
The "disagree" on whether or not this is a bad idea?
WTF is there to disagree about?
This IS a bad, bad, bad idea. Did I mention how bad this idea is?
Look I am not even sure how many sighted people should have gun permits, but I am positive as to how many blind people should have gun permits.
Fucking zero, that's how many!
And yet nobody EVER protests him like they do Planned Parenthood.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Hey remember that time that a Fox and Friends co-host almost killed a drummer with an axe?
Some of you may have seen a short clip of this last night on the Daily Show, for their moment of zen, but there is actually a whole lot more to the story.
Here is Mediaite for the 411 from the drummer himself:
"I was hit by an axe while performing a drum solo live on National TV…..words I never imagined saying! This happened last Sunday and I have been reluctant to post but starting to receive inquiries from concerned family and friends. I am thankful to God that the double sided blade only hit broadside on the outer elbow with significant impact and a couple of cuts as it fell along my wrist. It could have been much worse or fatal. Focusing on full physical and emotional recovery."
Pressed for more information by friends and family, he elaborated:
"My leadership told me they were told there would be no axe throwing. I think the anchor person went rogue and decided to throw it. He had only thrown it once before in practice for an upcoming segment and they told him to throw it with more force. The vid you see is edited showing the Televised portion of the throw and then edited to a portion that was taken on someone’s phone of us being videoed. The part that was actually televised showed the overthrown axe and then segued to us for the drum solo bump, only showing me walking behind the section holding my arm. The actual part where the axe hit me was not televised. Poor decision, obvious negligence, should not have happened, could have been avoided. When shooting or throwing, always know what is behind your target. Basic safety rule. I’m feeling blessed on Father’s day with my 5 children, alive, and with all limbs."
The host was this guy, Pete Hegseth:
The drummer was part of a marching band from West Point and I am sure he did not consider that his life might be in danger when Fox News asked them to play as part of their Flag Day celebration.
But hey it's fucking Fox News, and since we know they have no journalistic integrity, why would we think they might worry about protecting bystanders from flying axes?
Hey, you know when I said that we were on fire? Yeah, that might have been an understatement.
You know it is actually almost harder to find a place that is NOT on fire.
Sarah Palin thinks that she and SarahPAC still have influence over American politics. Isn't that adorable?
Once again the “Great One” (Wayne Gretzky? Is she talking about Wayne Gretzky?) Mark Levin (Oh, how disappointing.) is spot on for calling out the shameful way the House GOP leadership is targeting good conservatives like Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) who courageously voted against the fiasco that is Obamatrade (I think she means the TPP deal here. But you know everything sounds worse for conservatives when you slap the name "Obama" on it.) that others want to pass before they even know what’s in it. Congressman Meadows deserves our praise, not punishment! But, like the Great One says, apparently the GOP establishment hasn’t learned the lesson of Dave Brat’s unprecedented victory over Eric Cantor last year. The conservative grassroots will no longer stomach politicians who talk the talk to get elected without walking the walk on Capitol Hill. Go ask Eric Cantor how well that worked out for him. (Yeah, you wanna get "Cantored?" Because you could totally get Cantored!) 2016 is just around the corner, and elephants have long memories. My PAC will be supporting the brave conservatives who stood up against Obamatrade and encouraging good challengers for those who punish them for their courage.
Okay first off calling this idiot the "Great One" is getting really creepy.
Secondly the idea that ANY politician is quaking in their boots at the prospect that SarahPAC may support a challenger against them during their primary is laugh out loud funny. After all she only donated around five percent of her SarahPAC earnings to candidates in 2014.
The funny thing is that I am more or less in agreement with Palin about the TPP deal, however that is because the TRULY great ones like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have educated us on what is wrong with it.
Mississippi Republican lawmaker proposes removing confederate battle emblem from state flag and Wal-Mart removes Confederate flags from store shelves.
A top Mississippi lawmaker says the Confederate battle emblem is offensive and needs to be removed from the state flag.
Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn said Monday that remembering our past is important, "but that does not mean we must let it define us."
And remember this is a top REPUBLICAN calling for this change.
And now there is news that Wal-Mart is jumping on the bandwagon:
Wal-Mart said Monday it is removing any items from its store shelves and website that feature the Confederate flag. In a statement, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said its goal is to not offend anyone with the products it offers. "We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the Confederate flag from our assortment — whether in our stores or on our website," the company said. "We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell. Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly — this is one of those instances."
You know it is not often that I want to be wrong about things, but I have to admit that when I first started to cover this Confederate flag story I was skeptical that these stubborn southern folks would be willing to change.
But with Nikki Haley calling for the removal of the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds, and the two changes listed above, it looks like there is a real push by many to move past their historic racist past.
Well if I have to be wrong about something, this is exactly the kind of something that I want to be wrong about.
Damn it looks like the infection has spread. Update!
Bummer.
By the way for those of you worried about Piper's pig, it looks like she has a good home now.
Update: Yep, it looks like Bristol has a new house.
Gee, I wonder if she has new job to go along with it?
Karl Rove does not consider Donald Trump to be a serious candidate. Duh!
Republican strategist Karl Rove says he has a hard time imagining Donald Trump actually going through with his presidential bid and submitting filings that would reveal details about his finances.
“This guy is not a serious candidate,” Rove said on Fox News Sunday. “As of Friday at 5:00, he had yet to file the one-page declaration of his candidacy with the FEC [Federal Election Commission]. The reason he's not is because once he does that, that triggers a 30-day period during which he has to lay out in excruciating detail the range of his liabilities and his assets. He gets to have two 45-day extensions. He will delay filing that piece of paper, and mark my words, he will delay and ask for extensions as long as possible.”
“Ignore him. Look, he's completely off the base. 'I'm going to negotiate with ISIS'? 'I have a secret plan to deal with ISIS but I can't tell you about it because of my enemies'?” said Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush.
“We ought to treat him as a serious candidate when he finally files that declaration and commits himself to unveiling all of his assets and liabilities,” Rove said.
I can't believe I am saying this but Rove has a good point.
After all how many times now has Trump played this game?
He may be a bigger political prick tease than Sarah Palin herself.
Of course Trump being Trump he could not let this go without a response:
.@KarlRove, who spent $430 million in the last cycle and didn't win one race, said I'm not a candidate until I file papers. Next week Karl!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2015
And of course he wasn't done there.
.@KarlRove stated clearly that he wants to repeal the 2nd Amendment. I thought @FoxNews was going to fire that jerk after his Romney fiasco?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2015
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2015
Man I love it when these arrogant assholes fight in public.
Your stupid gun stories of the day.
Alaska State Troopers say a Nikiski man is dead after shooting himself while playing Russian Roulette Sunday afternoon.
In an online dispatch, troopers said they were called to a home in Sterling shortly after 4:30 p.m. Sunday where residents told them that 31-year-old John Rutherford had been playing Russian Roulette on the couch there when he fatally shot himself.
The incident took place in front of Rutherford’s fiancée, troopers said.
The article does not specify that alcohol was involved but this is Alaska, so yeah, alcohol was probably involved.
And just in case you thought that all this guy needed was some instruction on gun safety, that does not necessarily insure the safe handling of a gun either.
Courtesy of Florida's 10TV:
A man accidentally shot himself during a gun safety class at an Orlando pawn shop. Orange County Sheriff's officials did not identify the 23-year-old victim but said the incident happened Saturday at the Instant Replay Pawn Shop and Shooting Range. The Orlando Sentinel reports the bullet grazed his leg.
And hey just in case you thought that the training police received made them more responsible, I beg to differ.
Courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch:
A Columbus police officer accidentally wounded a 4-year-old girl in Whitehall on Friday when he fired at a charging dog, police said.
A neighbor and the girl’s uncle identified her as Ava Ellis, who was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where police said she was in stable condition.
The officer was at the doorway when a dog charged at him, Alex-Bouzounis said.
The officer fired once, missing the animal but striking the girl in the right leg. It was unclear whether the girl was hit directly or by a ricochet. The officer has not been identified.
Gee I wonder if the dog was black?
So there you have it, three completely unrelated incidents with individual circumstances, and one common denominator.
But remember what the NRA tells us; guns keep us safe, and more guns keep us safer.
Monday, June 22, 2015
And now for the really big news of the day, President Obama used the "N" word on the radio.
President Barack Obama used the n-word during an interview released Monday to make a point that there's still plenty of room for America to combat racism.
"Racism, we are not cured of it. And it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say nigger in public," Obama said in an interview for the podcast "WTF with Marc Maron."
"That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It's not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don't, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior."
Oh my stars and garters! A black man used the "N" word while talking about racism. Let the conservative faux outrage commence.
Well there was the Fox News guest who called Obama the "Rapper-in-Chief."
There was this tweet from Sarah Palin's favorite Christian outrage machine Todd Starnes:
President Obama drops the N-word during an interview. You, sir, have disgraced the office of the presidency.
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) June 22, 2015
And then there was this conservative website being outraged while demanding to know why there wasn't more outrage.Personally I think it's obvious that conservatives are just looking for a reason to be angry and outraged at the President, and they think this is one that has teeth.
But it doesn't.
The President was appearing on a cutting edge radio program, hosted by a comedian in his garage. The topic was race, and the President got real.
In fact he got REAL real.
And let's face it, the conservatives really cannot handle it when the President gets REAL real. Especially about race.
The podcast actually covered quite a few controversial topics, including gun violence, the Charleston shooting in particular, his family, and growing old.
You can hear the whole thing for yourself by clicking here.
Nikki Haley to call for the removal of the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds in South Carolina. Update!
Gov. Nikki Haley will hold a news conference in Columbia at 4 p.m. today at which, sources said, she will call for the Confederate flag to come down from the Statehouse grounds.
The move comes as lawmakers are exploring if the removal can be done legislatively in the coming days, tying their heightened attention to the recent shooting deaths of nine members of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.
Haley’s office would not confirm what the discussion would be.
Lawmakers have an unfinished budget, but are considering using the current extended session to address wording that would remove the flag from the Confederate monument as part of the 2015-16 state spending plan.
Well as of right now it is not written in stone that the flag will be removed, and there will surely be a huge fight and political backlash, but I think that this news is somewhat encouraging.
Ultimately I believe that the flag will be removed.
Personally I like John Oliver's take on the Confederate flag controversy.
Update: Nikki Haley has now officially called for the removal of the Confederate flag:
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the state Capitol Monday, less than a week after a 21-year-old white man gunned down nine people at a historic African American church.
Support for the flag to come down from leaders around the state and around the country has been steadily growing in the wake of the devastating attack.
"Today, we are here in a moment of unity in our state, without ill will, to say it is time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds," Haley said during a news conference attended by Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, along with other state leaders.
The announcement was met by applause and cheers from those in attendance.
"The announcement was met by applause and cheers from those in attendance." Okay, well that's a start.
Conservative website that might have inspired Dylann Storm Roof defends his racist views, but really wish he had not shot people.
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| Kyle Rogers of the Council for Conservative Citizens. |
The Council of Conservative Citizens, an organization with white supremacist leanings, has issued a statement defending the "legitimate grievances" expressed by Charleston shooting suspect Dylann Roof. Roof made reference to the council in his manifesto, saying he used its site to learn about "black on White crime."
In the statement, the council condemns "Roof’s murderous actions," but goes on to warn that "our society's silence about [such] crimes—despite enormous amounts of attention to 'racially tinged' acts by whites—only increase the anger of people like Dylann Roof. This double standard *only makes acts of murderous frustration more likely* [emphasis theirs]. In his manifesto, Roof outlines other grievances felt by many whites. Again, we utterly condemn Roof’s despicable killings, but they do not detract in the slightest from the legitimacy of some of the positions he has expressed."
So I guess the message here is that hating black people is fine, but shooting them full of holes is crossing a line.
Speaking of crossing lines it appears that Ted Cruz was by no means the only Republican politician or well known conservative that associated with the CCC.
According to The Daily Beast Trent Lott, Mike Huckabee, Georgia Congressman Bob Barr, and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley have all had close ties with the group, and conservative firebrand Ann Coulter even defended them in one of her books.
And as it has turned out several presidential hopefuls, besides Ted Cruz, have received donations from CCC including Rick Santorum, Rand Paul, and even Mitt Romney back in 2012.
I think that is really why conservative politicians and their apologists are working so hard to convince people that now is not the time for politics (Or to talk about gun violence, which almost literally caused one MSNBC host to lose her shit.)
They don't want us talking about politics, because they are well aware that this shooting is tied to THEIR politics and rhetoric in a way that is essentially indefensible.
The Ted Cruz photo that sent Twitter into a frenzy. Update!
In an Associated Press image that drew comment and criticism on Twitter on Sunday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is seen speaking with what appeared to be a gun aimed straight at him.
The photograph — taken by the AP’s Charlie Neibergall — actually captured a background poster, with a large semi-blurred image of a handgun pointed at Cruz’s forehead, straight between the eyes.
Cruz was appearing Saturday at CrossRoads Shooting Sports in Johnston, Iowa. During his speech, Cruz, an outspoken proponent of Second Amendment rights, encouraged residents to adopt what he called a Texan approach to guns by simply “hitting what you aim at.”
Of course this was the speech that we covered yesterday where Cruz also said, "It's sad to see the Democrats take a horrific crime and try to use it as an excuse, not to go after people with serious mental illness or people who are repeat felons or criminals, but instead try to use it as an excuse to take away Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens."
Which kind of helps to make that photo seem satisfying in a strange way.
However it most certainly did not make those on the Right very happy:
Guess the Political Party: AP Photo Lines Pistol Up with Senator, 2016 Candidate Ted Cruz’s Brain: Of course, ... http://t.co/pfN1CNiSlI
— Tweetonpolitics (@tweetpoliticsUS) June 21, 2015
Just a touch misleading to suggest that the AP "pointed" the gun at Cruz's brain.After all I am not at all convinced there IS a brain to point a weapon at in the first place.
However Cruz WAS smart enough to give the donations back from that Council of Conservative Citizens group that might have helped inspire Dylann Storm Roof's killing spree.
So there's that I guess.
Let's face it Ted Cruz is a joke, and so is his candidacy.
The only thing that keeps him from being the biggest joke in the 2016 campaign season is the possible inclusion of Donald Trump.
Update: Here's a second AP photo.
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