Mustard-gate spreads (get it?)

Not realizing when to stop, the right wing is pouring it on over President Obama's request for spicy mustard on his hamburger.

Unfortunately, this won't end until (at least) 2010. They have to get their asses whipped - again - to truly understand how childish and irrelevant they've become.

Laura Ingraham (2:25): "What?!? He orders a cheeseburger with out ketchup? And the press is so easily bought off..."

Is this dumbass kidding? This is what she worries about? Her president tortured people, deregulated to the point of financial catastrophe and she cares that Obama didn't get ketchup? Or does she spell it catsup - don't want to not fit Laura's vision of America here.

These people are disgusting, with their mock outrage.

Colbert goes after Hannity's ridiculous Liberty Tree

Earlier this week, Sean Hannity hit new highs of ham-handedness when he proposed (cue swelling music):

At the end of that first protest in 1765 the Sons of Liberty hung two tax collectors in effigy from the branches of elm and from that day forward it became known as the Liberty Tree...Therefore, in the spirit of our founding fathers, with our liberties once again threatened, we introduce our own Liberty Tree. Now as you can see, our tree is built upon the roots of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, and freedom. They support the trunk of the tree which is made of we the people. And the trunk supports the branches and the fruits of our liberty represented by the apples. It is those apples, the fruits of our liberty, that this administration is now picking clean.

Perfect fodder for Colbert and his Freedom Fungus:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sean Hannity's Liberty Tree
colbertnation.com

Losing Our Religion

(ABC News)
New research shows young Americans are dramatically less likely to go to church -- or to participate in any form of organized religion -- than their parents and grandparents.

Historically, the percentage of Americans who said they had no religious affiliation (pollsters refer to this group as the "nones") has been very small -- hovering between 5 percent and 10 percent. However, says Harvard University professor Robert Putnam, who conducted the research, the percentage of "nones" has now skyrocketed to between 30 percent and 40 percent among younger Americans.

While these young "nones" may not belong to a church, they are not necessarily atheists.

"Many of them are people who would otherwise be in church," Putnam said. "They have the same attitidues and values as people who are in church, but they grew up in a period in which being religious meant being politically conservative, especially on social issues."

Putnam says that in the past two decades, many young people began to view organized religion as a source of "intolerance and rigidity and doctrinaire political views," and therefore stopped going to church.

This movement away from organized religion, says Putnam, may have enormous consequences for American culture and politics for years to come.

"That is the future of America," he says. "Their views and their habits religiously are going to persist and have a huge effect on the future."

This data is likely to reinvigorate an already heated debate about whether America is, or will continue to be, a "Christian nation." A recent Newsweek cover article, entitled "The End of Christian America" provoked responses from religious thinkers all over the spectrum.

(Read more...)

Hannity attacks Obama over mustard

The right has officially run out of reasons to hate Obama (again/still). Hannity is now off teleprompters and is demonizing Obama because he ordered mustard on his burger.

Ooooohhhhhh, mustard! How elitist. Who does he think he is? Mustard.....

Congratulations, you've got cholera

Mike Pence struggles with evolution, and basic English

(Huff Post)
The conversation started off with a rather simple question. "Do you believe in evolution, sir?" Chris Matthews asked Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), a leading House conservative.

"Um... I, do I believe in evolution? Ah, I, I, ah... I embrace the, uh -- the, uh -- the view, ah, that God created the heavens and the earth, the seas and all that's in them..."

Matthews interrupted. "Right, but do you believe in evolution as a means to get there?"

The sparring continued for the next several minutes, as Matthews demanded the Republican congressman own up to his party's continued skepticism over theories and facts that have broad support from the scientific community, such as evolution and climate change.

At one point, Matthews had Pence confirm for the record that he "accepts the scientific method." Pence said he did, but argued that the mainstream media was ignoring alleged growing skepticism among scientists over global warming.

Asked about teaching evolution, Pence suggested schools should cover "all these controversial areas" and let the children decide. Matthews concluded, "I think you believe in evolution, but you're afraid to say so because your conservative constituency might find that offensive."

The funny: Stewart mocks GOP hatred for empathy; Letterman takes on Cheney

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Justice Is Bland
thedailyshow.com

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Three-Minute Confirmation Stick
thedailyshow.com

David Letterman - "Dick Cheney: How'd He Do?"

Faux News caught cropping, manipulating video

Media Matters


In a more lengthy report, however, Media Matters has other candidates that are fitting examples of these games with videotape, well worth reviewing. Key examples include Sean Hannity's intentional omission of Obama's admonishment of Europeans' "casual...insidious" anti-Americanism to make it look like Obama was apologizing for the United States, and Wendell Goler's splice-happy report that made it look like Obama was in favor of "European-style health care," when he was actually specifically opposing it. Also close to my heart is Fox's misleading insertion of an out-of-context Joe Biden clip into a report, for which the network eventually had to apologize.

Manifest Incompetence

(The Anonymous Liberal)
When you've just been voted out of power for manifest incompetence and your opponents are led by a very popular and reasonable-sounding person, you don't have the luxury of acting righteous and uncompromising all the time. You have to acknowledge error. You have to act civilly. You have to appear pragmatic and reasonable. But the GOP is not interested in doing any of these things. Those who are left in the party are ultra-partisan and utterly convinced of their own infallibility and moral righteousness. Until they lose that attitude and general combativeness, it won't matter what their ideas are. They'll just keep turning people off.

Jack Kemp is an Islamofacist America-hater

In an open letter to his grandchildren, Jack Kemp wrote:

My first thought last week upon learning that a 47-year-old African-American Democrat had won the presidency was, "Is this a great country or not?"

Let me explain. First of all, the election was free, fair and transformational, in terms of our democracy and given the history of race relations in our nation.

What do I mean?

Just think, a little over 40 years ago, blacks in America had trouble even voting in our country, much less thinking about running for the highest office in the land.

A little over 40 years ago, in some parts of America, blacks couldn't eat, sleep or even get a drink of water using facilities available to everyone else in the public sphere.

You see, real leadership is not just seeing the realities of what we are temporarily faced with, but seeing the possibilities and potential that can be realized by lifting up peoples' vision of what they can be.

When President-elect Obama quoted Abraham Lincoln on the night of his election, he was acknowledging the transcendent qualities of vision and leadership that are always present, but often overlooked and neglected by pettiness, partisanship and petulance. As president, I believe Barack Obama can help lift us out of a narrow view of America into the ultimate vision of an America where, if you're born to be a mezzo-soprano or a master carpenter, nothing stands in your way of realizing your God-given potential.

My advice for you all is to understand that unity for our nation doesn't require uniformity or unanimity; it does require putting the good of our people ahead of what's good for mere political or personal advantage.

The party of Lincoln, (i.e., the GOP), needs to rethink and revisit its historic roots as a party of emancipation, liberation, civil rights and equality of opportunity for all.

President-elect Obama talks of Abraham Lincoln's view of our nation as an "unfinished work." Well, isn't that equally true of all of us? Therefore let all of us strive to help him be a successful president, so as to help make America an even greater nation.

Catholic universities seek purification, perfer not to discuss and debate

Rolling back the clock to at least 1619 (when they told Galileo to shut up), the Catholic church has decided that the mission of it's universities has nothing to do with science, scholarship or debate. Instead, it's about being doctrinaire.

Basically, "agree with us or go to hell, literally". The option of the rack is, unfortunately, no longer available - seeing as Vice-President Torquemada Cheney no longer holds power.

It seems that Catholic Bishops are having a stroke (not the kind with altar boys) over President Obama speaking at Notre Dame's commencement, going so far as to have a special mass to apologize to God.

At least 55 bishops have publicly denounced or questioned Notre Dame in recent weeks, employing an arsenal of terms ranging from "travesty" and "debacle" to "extreme embarrassment."

Apparently letting torturers like Bush and Cheney speak isn't an issue, but Obama and his pro-choice stance is. Makes sense, as the church has never been accused of being abortionists. Torture is, however, right in their wheelhouse.

In news closer to home, local enforcer of doctrine Bishop Joe Martino is again rattling his sabre at Senator Bob Casey and King's University. Martino has previously called for the closing of the Diversity Office at Misericordia university because they had a gay, gay-rights speaker in to talk to the students. He threatened to cancel Scranton's St. Patrick's Day Parade if any pro-choice marchers were allowed. He asked the region's 4 Catholic university's for proof that they don't distribute birth control in their health offices.

Now he's having a crack-up because Senator Bob Casey will give the address at King's College.

“I do not believe he has the moral stature to stand before the graduates of a Catholic college to address them about their futures and the challenges they will face when on the most important issue of the day — the sanctity of human life — he cannot muster the courage to oppose the pro-abortion agenda, which is currently being promoted in Washington,” the bishop said in the statement.

He called Mr. Casey’s planned commencement speech May 17 at King’s “sad and disappointing in view of his recent alignment with anti-life forces in the Senate and the highest offices of our government.”

Mr. Casey opposes abortion and has repeatedly said he would vote to overturn the 1973 Roe vs. Wade U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion. But he has angered Bishop Martino with a series of recent votes, including one voting this week to confirm former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services. The bishop accuses Mrs. Sebelius of supporting pro-abortion policies as governor.

Doesn't he have a church scandal (and subsequent monetary crisis) to clean up?  Or just maybe, wouldn't he want the university to be the crucible where the faith of these adult Catholics is tested?  Aren't they called to be "in the world"?  Or do the bishops so fear the world that the only way they can hold on to their flock (and their flock's money) is to hide them from the world?

Hannity/Coulter schizophrenia - torture nothing more than hazing that gets results

(Bob Cesca)
When the chips are down and we're under duress, our character is tested. Either we're strong and sensible -- sometimes heroic -- or we're weak and crazy, abandoning our values.

The current Republican predicament is revealing for many reasons, but one thing we know for sure is this: in their time of crisis, they've become the Torture Party (among other things). I can't imagine that history will be kind to them for this.

As for Coulter in this video, if the CIA's torture techniques were nothing more than fraternity hazings or punishments for a small child, how could they possibly be effective? Either they're fun and games, or they're harsh enough so as to get detainees to sell-out their cohorts and, as Cheney and Coulter and Scarborough claim, reveal terrorist plots in the 11th hour. They can't be both.

Adding... Another twisted Coulter and Hannity video here. It's worth watching simply because it's so scattershot. In one short video, Coulter calls the techniques "wussy stuff" then later "torture" then compares the techniques to amusement park attractions.

So the techniques they're telling us are vital to national security -- either we do these things or we die -- are actually nothing more than a log flume ride? All that stands between us and death at the hands of a terrorist attack is a Fisher-Price toy? By downplaying the harshness of the CIA's torture techniques, they're negating their own efficacy argument.

Democratic douchebaggery on health care

Lest I get accused of fawning at every last thing that the majority party does, there's this:

(Bob Cesca)
Democratic Senators Nelson, Bayh and Baucus have voiced their opposition to public health insurance. And Nelson, in particular, has come right and said that a public plan would succeed in making private plans look bad.

Nelson’s problem, he told CQ, is that the public plan would be too attractive and would hurt the private insurance plans. “At the end of the day, the public plan wins the game,” Nelson said. Including a public option in a health plan, he said, was a “deal breaker.”

In other words, a public plan would be less expensive and more efficient than the bloated, for-profit criminals who are selling health insurance now. The American people win. But Nelson, Bayh and Baucus think this is a bad thing.

Nicole Belle discovers the obvious reason:

Go to Open Secrets to find out who has donated money to Nelson last few years for his re-election and whaddya know? Blue Cross/Blue Shield is in the top 5 with $31K. In fact, Nelson received more than $230,000 from the healthcare industry in the last four years. Actually, HCAN lists more than $600,000 from the insurance industry to Nelson.

The insane thing is that under the president's plan, private health carriers get to keep selling health insurance. But now the government will offer a plan of its own at a fraction of the overhead. Won't that encourage -- what's that free market thing called? -- competition to win over people who might use the government plan? What Nelson, Bayh and Baucus (and all of the Republicans) want is a stacked game in which prices can remain high and services can remain shitty.

GOP lashes out against court pick which is unknown and weeks away

The GOP continued it's circular-firing squad techniques by lashing out at President Obama's pick to fill Justice Souter's seat on the Supreme Court - weeks before Obama is set to make said pick.

The lack of a resume to rail against has not stopped the GOP. Why let pesky things like facts get in the way of a good lynching?