...is that angel or devil, everyone has a FlipCam. (Apologies to MC Escher) Assume forever that you are being videotaped, especially at work. We Lefties make hay when it's a "family-values" Republican bragging about lobbyist sex-spanking, but when it's an ACORN activist finding tax loopholes for prostitutes, that counts, too.
The ACORN video is devastating, and there's no point putting lipstick on it. We lose the point on this one, even though many will point out that anti-ACORN is simply anti-Black, wow, what ammo to give the Right Wing, folks.
There's talk that ACORN will sue FOX News because the law in Maryland is that taping someone when they don't know it is illegal in that commonwealth. It would be nice if Rupert Murdoch's wallet could make up for what will clearly be lost in federal funding as a result of this total embarrassment. Ugh.
But don't worry, you can put it off until next week, FlyLady does it every Wednesday.
And I wouldn't mention it at all except there are two items I keep meaning to blog and haven't yet.
BAC at Yikes! is asking people to join the National Organization for Women on her behalf. Unfortunately I think the contest she was involved in is over now, son-of-a-seacook, but if you are new to NOW and join at this link, she may still get credit for your membership. I love BAC and wish I had blogged this earlier.
John Sundman of WetMachine has sent me copies of his three novels, which look awesome. I look forward to reading them and reviewing them here, John. I especially look forward to reading "The Pains":
Let's say you're the Savior, Fred Christ. Would you want your frozen head to be reanimated in 1984?
I took my kids to the grocery store after school yesterday and as is my habit, I took all the valuables out of my car (steal my broken car stereo, please) and left the car unlocked. It's kind of a Boston/Midwest thing, you get in the habit of being terrified of frozen locks even in the summer.
Anyhow, I come back to my minivan which of course has the left-wing bumpersticker heaven on the back.
Plus an Obama 08 sticker which yeah, I leave up. Wouldn't want anyone to think I voted for Palin after saying God is not a Republican.
So I come back to the car after shopping and someone had left on the driver's SEAT of my car a photocopy of this Ted Rall Op-Ed, "Obama doesn't talk like Bush; he just acts like him." The editorial is heavily based on the writings of this guy Glenn Greenwald, ever heard of HIM? Huh, liberal Obama-loving minivan driver?
While I wouldn't go so far as Rall and call for Obama's resignation (yeah) it made me laugh and laugh that some well-meaning liberal (and trespasser, but I forgive you) thinks, based apparently on my bumper stickers, that I need a lesson in the importance of limiting Presidential power...
(my YouTube Debate Question, unused, from 2007)
...and in criticizing Obama for his stand on torture and detainee policy in general.
from my April, 2009 post "We aren't REALLY having this dance, are we, Mister P?"
Also, this person keeps photocopies of Ted Rall op-eds on his/her person for distribution in parking lots? Oh honey, you need to blog. (PS to my blogging readers send me links I'm due for some round-up duty you-know-where.)
(And love on you, Glenn honey. You drink my milkshake.)
I resisted all morning blogging this, thinking I could reduce it to a twitter message, but really. Starting off an article with "DC is not Hollywood for ugly people."
And then the list...
Steny Hoyer? Ezekiel Emanuel? Maureen Dowd?
Look at the write-up for Patrick Kennedy:
If you can overlook his occasional stints in rehab, Kennedy possesses a boyish look that keeps him on the radar screens of many.
Holy Shit! The publicity agents who arranged this travesty? Helloooo? Fired very much? If this is an exercise in journalistic cruelty, kudos to Politico. But I'm thinking not.
I had to blog about this, because this quote-unquote "article" is living proof of what is so very wrong with the people who purport to Govern This Nation. The President has absolutely no prayer when it comes to "changing the way Washington operates" when the whole town is buzzing about when can poor Janet Napolitano find time to date.
Never in our history has the DC social scene interfered more with the nation's ability to fix what's wrong with Washington, and Washington's ability to fix what's broken in our nation.
The number one reason we will never see justice for the torture of prisoners under American jurisdiction is that bitterness will ruin DC's social scene. Healthcare? Better make it bi-partisan, you know Andrea Mitchell expects all smiles at next year's prom.
Apparently the DC media cohorts can't cover Steny Hoyer without gasping that the congressman is single and probably straight. If his secretary RSVP's, call the Georgetown caterer and double the mini-quiche order, won't you, dear?
Washington is a horny town, full of young and not-so-young party-goers all of whom find power to be the ultimate aphrodesiac. And they're too busy scheduling the next party, to have any idea how pathetic and disempowering 'power as aphrodesiac' really is.
Why does what Senator Ensign actually did, pay a staffer and her entire family so he could have cheating-on-his-wife sex with her, not lead to his immediate censure and expulsion from not only the Senate, but Washington society? Because if the divorce comes through, he'll have a nice 200 word profile in the next Politico list of sexy Washington batchelors:
If you can overlook his use of party funds to turn an employee into a prostitute, Ensign possesses a handsome "George Clooney" look that keeps him on the names-whispered-while-humping-my-pillow list of Maureen Dowd.
When the doorbell rings and standing in the doorway is a jobless recession "recovery" bringing the no-healthcare reform pizza that John McLaughlin ordered while pretending to go to the bathroom, that's the signal:
It's time for the Stephanopoulos cocktail party to END.
Let's break it up, and move the party over to that new wine bar in Georgetown: I hear their paper napkins are actually cut-up scraps of the Geneva Convention.
I received this email and picture from my cousin. I am reprinting it with his permission, and I trust him that this is a true and accurate account of what happened to him. It's also a sad story, showing that we on the "right side" of the Healthcare debate can be prejudiced hooligans when we get riled and scared.
I've either been self-employed or a small-business owner for most of the past 25 years, and, as such, I'm used to seeing insurance premiums go up at least about 12% per year. This year, United HC just raised my rates 18%, during a recession, when they're already making billions in profit. But the problem was just as bad when I had Aetna before. My insurance broker says there are no good deals for health insurance. In my experience there is no competition in this industry any longer, and something like a "public-option" government insurance plan is needed to force the companies to give back some profit in the form of reduced premiums or increased coverage.
Feeling that this problem is under-reported in the health care "debate", I've wanted to be able to express it in some public forum but, alas, in central Florida most politicians are Republicans and they have no interest in discussing the current health care system.
However, just yesterday I saw that there was going to be a meeting in support of health care reform in downtown Orlando (sponsored by Healthcare for America Now). So I bought my "supplies" and made a sign saying "My health insurance just went up 18% (again)" and headed for downtown.
When I arrived at the event, many people complimented me on my sign and asked me to stand for a picture. But at the entrance, I was told the event required a prior ticket (which was not indicated on their website). Fortunately, a man just outside was handing out free tickets to late arrivals and gave me one. Although the ticket collector-girl was skeptical, she took my ticket and let me in.
And so I entered the gymnasium and climbed up into the seats behind others so my sign would not block their view. I felt a little out of place, as the event was in a poor black neighborhood and it seemed there were few whites there. But all seemed to agree that some reform of the health insurance system was needed, and there several signs condemning corporate profit over health.
As we waited, people began chants like "Healthcare Now!" with an aggressive vigor. That's not really my style, but I thought my sign said it all, so I sat and took in my first "political" event.
Then, suddenly, I was surrounded by several angry young black event personnel and a white "union representative" demanding to know what union I was in and saying that I would have to give up my sign. Dumbfounded, I asked why, pointing out that there were many signs which said essentially the same thing. Then, within seconds, brawny policemen sidled up to me, and the other men accused me of sneaking into the event. I tried to explain that I came in just like everybody else, but, obviously a "decision had been made" that I must be ejected from this "private" event.
As I was "escorted" down the stands, more and more people noticed and began to jeer me, as if I were some sinister double-agent. I pleaded with them, saying, "I AGREE with you", but nobody listened. I even felt a strong undercurrent of racism from some present, as if any bearded middle-aged white guy with a SIGN must be up to no good! It seemed that the collective anger over health care, and even some black racism, of hundreds of people was directed towards me as the police lead me out!
At the front entrance, the ticket girl snarled and jeered at me, thrilled that I had gotten "caught". I pleaded with everybody that I was "on their side", but the thuggish policeman just shoved me and made sure that my footsteps lead me to shortest route off the property, and that I did not "loiter" on the sidewalk.
In trying to intuit what happened, I can only guess that some pompous, angry and perhaps (yes) racist "Organizer", seeing me behind the others and not yelling enough, concluded that I must have been a hostile plant, without even THINKING about my sign, and therefore flexed his muscles by sic-ing his minions on me. I do feel that there is a good measure of racism in the protests against health care reform, but overreacting to perceived racism can also become racist.
This whole dynamic calls to mind the many famous historical tales of mad collective Anger Gone Wild (like the French Revolution, for example), where people abandon all sense of reason and even begin "feeding on their own". Such a combination of ignorant and righteous mob anger is always treacherous.
And so ended my first attempt at "grass roots" civic participation!
One of my Montana readers emailed me at the same time. His comments are germane to my cousin's experience:
I am thinking it is time for someone to go away from snarky and call neo-cons’ and Republicans’ public utterances “silly” and “unserious.” When there is so much work to do, why spend all that time and energy going toe to toe with them? I don’t want to demonize them—they are motivated by an odd mixture of fear, greed and love of country. I get that. But they live it more proudly and confidently than they deserve to. Snarky is as snarky does and it makes the public debate stand on a foundation of derision—both deserved and undeserved. Which is not to say I don’t value clever exchanges in public debate. It’s just that I am not consistently clever enough(although I do have a moment now and then) to bang on things that way. Tell them they are silly and unserious, and let us get back to work. Why aren’t more bloggers trying to be like Mark Twain?
Going all Mark Twain means we laugh at everybody, including ourselves. And I'm for that, because I think what happened to my cousin, by people who are supposed to know better, is stupid, silly, and unserious. But we've got to uncover (and if we've got the gumption, laugh at) our own failings, and this was a complete FAIL on the part of Healthcare Now.
This day will be remembered as the beginning of the end for the Republican Party. Any thinking person whose politics is being formulated today (anyone from say, 18-25, has got to be looking at the signs at the 9/12 "Million Moron March" (thanks, Bill Maher) and thinking, wow, these guys are about as un-cool as you can get, and besides, they're racist. They'll be thinking that, and voting against it, for the next 40 years.
Picture from this flickr set, which would be funny if it weren't our fellow Americans.
One of the Crooks and Liars team requested an illustration of Senator Snowe looking like a queen, so I totally ripped off Driftglass and made this:
_____________
By the way, you know it's a bad day for Boehner when a GOP lawmaker bragging in front of a hot mic about sex spanking a lobbyist is NOT the worst thing to happen to the party all day. Now we find out Congressman "you LIE" Wilson has amended his financial records and is in massive debt. Why do these guys need so much negative attention? They're emotional toddlers. Look at Mark Sanford: my five-year-old does not scream "not fair!" with the emotion that guy brings to his "job."
_____________
Computer update for those interested in the end of the soap opera:
After re-installing Windows, repair guy ran checkdisk and found sector errors all over the place. Nothing lost that wasn't already lost with the re-install, though, except the hardware and his time. Nice guy. I started talking "deals" with him and bought a refurbished machine from him for a hundred dollars off with "trade-in" (trade in my machine with a dead battery and bad hard drive? Do I have to?) and no charge for the labor on my old machine. This one comes, even used, with a one year warranty on the hardware. It's a slight financial hit but not what it might have been. I'll fundraise in October. And when I win the MacArthur Prize I promise I'll buy a Mac.
Thanks to the reader who threw me some scratch because he felt I must "stay in the fight." And more than one local reader has offered to configure an old desktop for me from stuff they have in their garage. Be warned I already own a "boat anchor" CRT monitor in the basement...doesn't everybody?
You may or may not have seen "Ruby" on the Style Network but these reality shows are ubiquitous on cable television. Stories of morbidly obese people and their struggle (and in some cases, death) are on constantly.
And if it's not Fat TV it's house makeover reality. The worst bathroom in the world. The ugliest real estate listing. The most cluttered house in the entire universe. And don't get me started about the relationship/dating and wardrobe shows. Both of them are "watch people shop" in the most inhumane and sad display you can imagine.
But there's something behind these displays that, I think, speaks to politics during this recent August Congressional break with the ugliness that came out of Health Care Town Hall Meetings. People sit on their LaZBoy Recliner eating pork rinds and watching equally bad junk, but hey, at least they're not what they're watching: a six hundred pound woman who needs a special double-wide operating table for her gastric bypass surgery.
They may be sitting in a house with a sink full of dirty dishes, but hey, they can find the sink.
And sure, they believe in their heart of hearts that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney did no real harm to the country, he lost the election and what's past is past. Politics is nasty business. Both sides do it. And that Obama Care bill is too long for anybody to understand it, and might make them pay for abortion and kill Grandma. It's all so suspicious and why on earth would Obama WANT to talk to school kids if not to convert them to his way, which might be Socialist or Muslim or ya know, even if it's just a Democrat being pro-education that's bad enough. Keep that stuff outta school, ya know.
We're all good Americans, as long as we're not one of those crazy people out there yelling at a meeting. Sit in the LaZBoy, be nice to your (white) neighbors, collect your social security and pray the Obama government keeps their hands off of it. Don't change your attitude, diet, housekeeping, motives, and above all, prejudices. Most of all, the fact that you are JUST NOW "waking up to politics"? Well, don't worry, you, like George W. Bush, are a good Christian man, and also basically a good person.
Anyone who watched Bush destroy this country's standing in the world and set up the corporate whoredom for which we are now paying the price, and makes the excuse that they were "politically asleep" during the Bush Administration and are now "awake," is using word-for-word Glenn Beck code for racism. This is the third person this past month I've heard use that asleep/awake analogy, and it's a sure sign that you're dealing with a racist LaZBoy who is putty in the hands of Hate Radio. And they are afraid of indoctrination? Really.
Take note, America, your heart is not washed clean from the pork rinds of George W. Bush just because you were asleep when you ate them. Before that heart attack hits you, hop up and down a few times about the black fella in the White House and tell yourself it's good aerobics that'll make up for the eight solid years you let your country go to pot. And don't forget your self-esteem affirmations: look in that red white and blue mirror and keep telling yourself you're fine just the way you are.
"The world just fucking blew up, Mister President. Act natural for the kiddies. Tell them to work hard and stay in...oh nevermind."
There's a very funny and popular Twitter account called Shitmydadsays. Whether it's a real dad or made up it's very well-written and you WILL laugh your butt off.
I'm thinking I may need to start a 'stuff my kids say' hashtag:
10 yo: "Mom, we have five billion years until the sun burns out. We'd better use those five billion years wisely."
5 yo: "Mom, whatever you do, don't stick your hair in the toilet."
7 yo: "Mom, can we get...[many attempts at pronounciation] mistletoe? I want to kiss somebody."
5 yo, when a guest sat too close to the paper and crayons: "Don't ruin my art!"
10 yo again: "Mom, you have NO IDEA what I put up with from living with those two sisters of mine."
Estimated cost of braces (which he'll likely need down the road) as private payee: $5000
Amount I am allowed to have in the bank, ever, before I lose food stamp benefits for me and my three kids: $2000
Good News! As a private payee, maybe I can get one of the 118 orthodontic practices in my hometown to fix my kid's teeth, and be grateful for the savings on gasoline!
Seriously, I KNOW my situation is not a dire as many parents'. I feel for those parents WITH insurance whose child's severe illness (not just crooked teeth) STILL bankrupts the family. I sincerely feel for medical specialists who can't pay the light bills on what Medicaid reimburses them.
I feel more for parents who can't afford to TAKE their child to a doctor who will take public insurance.
Congress: DO YOUR JOB AND FIX THIS.
ps. still waiting to hear if my laptop is or can be repaired. I'm really grateful for all the advice my readers have given me. Please don't ask me to buy another one, buy a Mac, buy ANYTHING. Not today. Not today.
Update: They called from the shop ...pretty good guy. Says the machine itself is fine but totally corrupted so he's reinstalling windows. What I "lose" is mostly replaceable. He offered to back up whatever I wanted but I said screw it. Google backs up every image posted to the blog (you old skool Blogger types know that, right?), and the old skool software I like (especially movie maker 2.6) is still available for download.
Don't Palinize her? I guess becoming a verb is a positive goal for the former Governor of Alaska. But then again, it automatically begs the definition, my version of which seemed rather popular amongst the Twitterati:
Bachmannize (v.) - to expose one's abandonment of all reason and intelligence in the name of wingnut ideology.
She claims I and other Democrats want to sabotage her? Oh honey. Are you KIDDING me?
I'm actually with Wonkette on this one: if Michele Bachmann wants to charge a day-fee for each time she opens her mouth, I'll buy the next three years up-front.
I'll send five bucks to her 2012 exploratory committee just to be on the mailing list. I swear.
I'll even dump any presidential-run hopes for Rick Santorum (now there's a dictionary word for ya) if only you'll announce, Congresswoman. You've now got that in writing. Love, Blue Gal
Original fabulous lesbian pulp fiction cover (I put Sarah in her t-shirt because I didn't think that subtext really added anything, ya know) here.
Lisa at That's Why recommended Natalie Goldberg's latest book, "Old Friend from Far Away." I've always liked Goldberg's exercises; Writing Down the Bones is a get off your butt and get your pen moving Bible.
In this latest book Goldberg reminds us of the "Here's what I do/don't want to say" prompt.
Here is what I don't want to write about:
I don't want to write about health insurance reform, healthcare, Obama, public option, Medicare, or any of it. If the opponents of reform had any ideas beyond the selfish greedy interests of the status quo, if they were unwilling to lie and fear monger in order to accomplish their goals, if their goals were in the best interest of any segment of the American population rather than their own party's soulless ambition, I would debate the facts and make a case. No one opposed to reform is interested in debate. They don't have a plan.
I don't want to write about Republicans. It must be awful to have nothing to base your politics upon except the failure of the current President. What is more awful is that so many Americans go along, squeeze their eyes shut to that which is in their own interest, in order to retain their prejudices.
I don't want to write about fake Christianists who drive so much of the "debate": those who scream god-talk the loudest are the most embarrassing. If the only words allowed in this debate or any other were truth, there would be silence for three solid days, at least. And Newt Gingrich would not open his silver-tongued mouth for a decade.
I don't want to write about him.
I want to write about Life. The culture of life that so many say we're lacking in this country, well yes, if we're willing to believe and promulgate the belief as a US Senator, that safety is in carrying a gun so that the Black president will not euthanize your mother?
The culture of life? Really. And we as a nation have this huge generation facing retirement and aging and they have health insurance, believe it or not, and all you have to do is say "death panel" and "grandma" and "abortion" and the collective freak out from people who HAVE... I just want to scream to them, you are MORTAL and your time on this earth is ticking away and you scream about it but what you really truly want is for a white leader to tell you you don't have to worry about sickness and death forever because he will keep you safe to the point of starting fake wars and torturing the brown people and paying off the insurance people with your money, and the white guy is, guess what, not Jesus Christ. Jesus was born to an unwed mother in Egypt. He didn't have a birth certificate. And his skin? You'd grab your gun if Jesus knocked on your door, asshole.
We have an independent (not Geek Squad) laptop repair shop in town and they've got my computer until probably Tuesday. I'll keep you posted as I am able. I don't like the kid computer here; it's old and klunky for a reason.
I'm a PC person by habit and inclination, no offense to the MAC people out there. This too shall pass.
Thanks again for the well-meant advice. We'll see how everything unfolds.
Writing this on my 7yo's "play" computer. Hope it works!
I can't get my laptop to boot up. It keeps going to startup recovery over and over, says it can't recover manually. I can get to a dos prompt but only to the X:/ directory. I can see the C:/ directory and everything looks like it's there, but there's a corrupt file someplace and I don't know how or if I can fix it.
Everything's pretty much backed up (Thank you, Google) except for the movie I was working on and had finished last night. I can see that file on the C:/ drive in Dos but as of yet have been unable to save or copy it anywhere.
If I have to buy a new laptop the good news is they're way cheaper now than when MY READERS bought this one for me in 2007. It also takes me back to that time, which was a much darker time for me, really, than now. I'm broke but so much happier.
Let me just sigh and be grateful for a minute. If I lose this movie file I'll be pissed, but really that and the cost of a new laptop is it? I'll take it.
If anyone has any advice for me I'd love it. In comments or to bluegalsblog AT gmail. Thanks.
PS I've been told to mention it's a Vista machine. When Vista first came out, I think.
I know this was waaaay back in early July, but don't think we're ever going to forget that your solution to the constituent who wanted the same health insurance you have was to become an employee of the Federal Government:
Got your resume ready, Senator? You're gonna need it when the voters of Iowa fire you next year. Be sure to put "back-stabbing SOB" on your list of accomplishments while in office.
And sure, you're seventy-five, and you could just go on Medicare, but that's government-run healthcare and you've said you'd fight that even when you were apparently working on a bi-partisan plan FOR it. So you'll need another Federal Job to keep the health insurance you've got.
I looked up Federal Jobs in Iowa and there are three options: FDIC, which is banking and finance and other stuff you have no experience in. Let's face it, nobody's hiring fifty-five year olds in the banking industry, so I think a seventy-five year old is probably outta luck.
They're also hiring in the Veteran's Affairs office but you've got two strikes against you on that application: one, you're not a veteran, and two, veterans hate you. Disabled American Veterans rated you third from the bottom in the Senate. Don't mention that in the interview.
That leaves the National Guard. Hey, maybe if you become a MEMBER of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America you can, after the fact, bump your voting grade above that "D" they currently give you.
I wonder what kind of health insurance the Deputy Sheriff of Ames has. You should wonder too, Senator:
Original poster here. And in pre-production: "On a Clear Day You Can See the US and its Media Elite Taking a Big Runny Shit on International Law and All That Is Moral, Again."
Because let's face it. You didn't even need to watch Liz Cheney ON THE PANEL of ABC's This Week this morning, to know for a bonafide fact that her daddy is not going to court or jail or anything. He's poisoned any possible US jury pool, the Western international community doesn't have the money or the will to prosecute, and the only Arab nations who could afford it are the Saudis and Abu Dhabi. At least some of the Gitmo-ers are there because of Saudi intelligence. And Abu Dhabi is busy investing in US kids movies in Hollywood.
If Cheney goes to jail for anything that happened in Iraq or Guantanamo, then Kissinger has to go to jail for what happened in Chile and Cambodia. And the biggest issue, really, is that the messy unearthing of anything bordering "truth" would just fuck up Sally Quinn's dinner parties forever.
The sad fact is, the Washington beltway media is against any kind of accountability for Bush/Cheney, and the West, in its self-centered move-along world, finds it's too much trouble.
And George Stephanopoulos may go to Hell for framing the "question" about torture, not, "WHO SHOULD BE PUNISHED FOR BREAKING THE GENEVA CONVENTION?" exactly because the answer's daughter is sitting three chairs down. Instead he asks HER question: "DID IT WORK?" which in terms of what "might have happened if we didn't" we will never know.
I don't know if I heard somewhere yesterday about the lady who's trying to auction off the crypt above Marilyn Monroe's for four million bucks. I think it's more that the Kennedy family has been on the teevee a lot this week, but I woke up thinking about Marilyn Monroe.
And I wondered what her life might have been like if she had had the advantages that celebrities have today: she'd be an alumna of Betty Ford Clinic and have gone the international adoption route big-time. Hell, she'd be posing at the Warhol museum with her Indonesian-American granddaughter by now.
Her son, Congressman Thuan [John] Monroe, far left, would be primarying Joe Lieberman's Senate seat. We'd have new impetus to just forget the whole "native-born American" provision in the Constitution because let's face it, the SON of frickin' MARILYN MONROE would make a great President. And Grandma M. would be quoted off the record as saying, in the breathless tone that is famous the world over:
"Well, sure, except for that piece of shit Governor of California, I'd be all for it. Notice no one is calling HIM the last Kennedy brother, bastard."
Marilyn and family at the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, alternative 2009. Age progression Norma Jean from here.
'cause really, how insecure do you have to be to openly carry a loaded weapon in the vicinity of the nation's first Black President?**
I received from my childrens' school yesterday the "code of conduct" handbook put out by the district, a fifty-seven page document which outlines policies and procedures related to student conduct and behavior.
The highest "Level IV" Misconduct, which automatically leads to a ten-day out of school suspension and possible follow-up with law enforcement, includes
Possession/use of/or transfer of weapons or look-alike weapons/or other objects to produce bodily harm.
Physical intimidation of a student, school employee, or other person.
Other acts of misconduct which are seriously disruptive and/or which create a safety hazard to students, staff and/or school property.
Mayors of cities/towns where the President appears, I have one word for you: liability. School boards do not have zero-tolerance policies on weapons because they want to piss off the National Rifle Association. They do it to protect themselves and those around them not only from gunshots, but from lawsuits. How's your city budget doin', there, Mister Mayor? Want to pay some lawyers lots of overtime to have them tell you to settle for bigger bucks, because some kid got shot by a bullet intended to intimidate a certain VIP out-of-towner? Talk it over with your council. Work it out with the Secret Service and Congress. And do it quick.
**PS The General goes even further and is so right: if the President's penis is duly registered we won't have all this trouble.
Long version here. And don't forget how Malkin and Co pitched a fit when Homeland Security warned and warned about this just months ago. May her words "Obama hit job" never come back to haunt any of us.
And Dear Tweety: Yeah, you don't want to say someone might shoot the President. We get that. The correct response to that is "we don't give in to [domestic] terrorists." Throw that back in Sarah Palin's face. Really.
Spending part of today praying for our President's safety, and the family of Senator Ted.
Joe Scarborough wants to sing bi-partisan kum-bay-yah! While sitting in his comfy dry diaper false equivalance that "hating" the rape of the constitution, torture, signing statements, and war creating/profiteering on the part of the Vice-President and a third of the cabinet, equals hating the brown furrin'-born President because his health plan will kill grandma and take away my guns? Really, Joe.
Let me show you some left wing hate speech on the subject of clean hands. This from Blue Gal in October 2006. See if you notice any differences between my own "hate speech" and Crazy Eileen waving her own birth certificate from a string around her neck and yelling "Kenyan."
Wolf Blitzer's interview with Second Lady Lynne Cheney, transcript courtesy of C&L:
BLITZER: ...there have been some cases where innocent people have been picked up, interrogated, held for long periods of time then simply said never mind, let go — they're let go.
CHENEY: Well, are you sure these people are innocent?
BLITZER: They're walking around free right now and nobody has arrested them.
CHENEY: You made a point last night of a man who had a bookstore in London where radical Islamists gathered who was in Afghanistan when the Taliban were there, who went to Pakistan. You know, I think that you might be a little careful before you declare this as a person with clean hands.
You know, I sleep better at night knowing that the wife of the Vice-President knows clean hands when she sees them.
"Smells like Teen Smegma."
"Surprisingly soft, and has the same scent as my granny's musty old douche bag."
"It's uncanny how Lebanese dead-baby blood-stink...."
"...reminds me of Iraqi dead-baby blood-stink."
"Thank goodness Halliburton profits smell like rose petals!"
"And we know why he uses hand sanitizer on a regular basis."
Took the ten-year-old to his first comic book convention today. OMG. I suspect do not have to worry about drugs when he's a teenager, unless you consider fantasies related to time travel, alien races, and bodacious heroines to be a drug.
I was reminded at church this morning that we must consider our fellow humans to be children of God. I said a prayer not for today's Michelle Malkin, but for the Michelle Malkin of 25 years from now, when the botox and right wing devotion is no longer enough, for her or her audience. Maybe she'll find out then how merciful God is. Maybe we all will. Amen.
And the best part, a self professed CHRISTIAN continues to post this crap night after night.
I usually don't respond to personal attacks, but I saw this one as a direct swipe at the readership of C&L, so I felt I had to respond:
I wonder with which TV Dancing Celebrity show Jesus would sign a contract. After being indicted for campaign finance fraud.
Anyone who goes after my religion at this site clearly thinks it will help their argument because they perceive C&L commenters to be intolerant towards anyone with Christian leanings. That is not the case.
I'm a dirty hippie mean-photoshopping Quaker, and I've always found lots of support and tolerance at this site and the rest of Left Blogsylvania. I don't ever try to convert anyone because the God I worship loves atheists as much as everyone else. Not to mention those incredibly clever Flying Spaghetti Monster folks. I think God puts them at the front tables of the divine cocktail party because they're so funny and smart.
You know it's a good day at Casa Blue Gal when everybody wakes up to see that the new goldfish survived its first night here. The earlier Grommies had a decent, Christian, toilet burial. With three kids, one fish is about my limit on pets. I expect I'll flush those words, too, as time progresses.
Yeah Joe Scarborough is rendered speechless when Representative Weiner (did you know he was Jon Stewart's college roommate?) makes the point that insurance companies do not provide a commodity and are really, really bad capitalists.
If I paid Joe Scarborough 600 dollars in June to clean my house for a year, and in late August he decided he wouldn't do it anymore because all of a sudden my kids are home and the house NEEDS more cleaning than it did in the summertime, I could SUE him for my money back. Insurance companies that drop coverage when their customers actually use their product, whether it's home or health insurance, are building the worst ill-will possible against their industry.
I know a guy who called his homeowner's insurance company to find out IF he should file a claim for some damage, and immediately after that INQUIRY, where no claim was filed, his insurance was dropped. Really. If you're selling a product that you then STEAL back when the purchaser uses it, you are not a capitalist you are a thief. That's not insurance.
Ill-will against the insurance industry is where we need to go with this debate. They're cheating their customers. They have a MONOPOLY in most states in which they operate. And they do not provide a product like a car or a frozen pizza, where a cheaper quadruple by-pass is available for poor people. Joe didn't want that complicated point brought into the debate on his show, so he clutched his pearls and went to commercial.
The insurance companies will gorge until they self-destruct. I actually have faith that such is imminent. When the right white people get kicked off of their policies just because they hit their $5,000 deductible, all of a sudden something will have to be done.
I also suggest, as some others have before me, that we return to the 'Medicare for All' motif. We pay for it with premiums, and rack up savings by subtracting the CEO salaries, advertising costs, and revenue for bean counters paid to deny coverage for the sake of stockholders. Everyone under 65 can have Medicare if they pay for it. Poor people get help paying for it. And let Senator Grassley try to explain why he doesn't think Medicare is a good idea.
And in case you haven't heard, Katy Abram interviewed here by Lawrence O'Donnell as if she is aw, shucks an average citizen who just woke up to politics by the socialism of healthcare reform, is actually an experienced Glenn Beck 9-12 Organizer who has been involved/"interested" in politics since at least the loss of the 2006 Congressional elections. Enjoy.
Welcome to folks coming from Crooks and Liars, and you can click the image for full-size. Original version here, though if you look closely in the mirror you can see van Eyck had his own obsession with "pixels."
Really, Joe, you protest too much. Why bring it up? You're just reminding everyone that Katherine Harris, who was elected Secretary of State, housed GOP officials IN HER HOUSE during the recount proceedings. Also, I thought O'Donnell was smarter than this:
Good thing Florida has cleaned up its act and now the Secretary of State is appointed by the Governor. Ugh.
Joe getting his panties in a twist, when Hillary Clinton did not say rigged or stolen or anything of the sort, just gives us all an excuse to remember what DID happen. Why'dya do it, Joe?
Hey Iowans, your next 885 days are gonna be nothin' but Huckabee, Mitt Romney, and lil' Ricky Santorum invading your farms and homesteads. Now's the time to decide that Sarah Palin's fake euthanasia death panels are a good idea after all.
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An important PS:
It's been brought to my attention that school systems around the country are reporting poor kids coming to school without clean underwear. Seriously. As panties queen of the blogs, I encourage you to donate new package of kids' underwear to your local children's charity. I did.
I've done some cases over thirty-six weeks, but very few.
For what cause? For some catastrophic problems.
Like what?
Oh, anencephaly or lack of kidneys, you know. Lack of a brain.
I want everyone reading this to know that I, Blue Gal, had a sister with anencephaly. Wiki says that "A baby born with anencephaly is usually blind, deaf, unconscious, and unable to feel pain. Although some individuals with anencephaly may be born with a main brain stem, the lack of a functioning cerebrum permanently rules out the possibility of ever gaining consciousness."
If my mother had been able, in the 1960's, to end her pregnancy, it might have prevented the mental breakdown which she suffered as a result, and given her ten years of her life and a good chunk of my childhood back. Some, and granted, only some, anti-abortion forces care not at all about quality of life issues for those already here.
From Esquire:
The antiabortionists say that in those cases, the woman should just give birth naturally and let God take the baby.
The [doctor's] sharp tone comes back. Having a delivery is not a benign procedure. When you are trying to keep the baby alive, that increases the risk for the woman. And Reagan put in a bunch of rules about requiring to keep babies alive no matter how hopeless it is. You have people going to Europe to get away from that.
You mean the hospital requires them to save the baby? The hospital requires full resuscitation measures, no matter what.
Esquire interviews a couple who wanted their baby but found it had such severe abnormalities it could not survive, and that giving birth would have injured the mother, probably preventing her from having more children:
Was it painful?
Yeah, it was painful physically and mentally.
You don't want to push it. So you ask if there's anything else they want to say. The husband answers.
It's important that people have a choice. At the end of the day, when things go bad, you know? I mean, God forbid something happens to Dr. Hern, where are we going to go next? Australia? China? It's important that people know that choice is very important when it comes to things like this.
Believe me, I completely understand the compassionate and natural human nature to want to protect the unborn. But anyone who thinks another human being should by some divine will, go through the birthing process of an anecephaly fetus, is either completely stupid or a hateful, vicious, uncompassionate freak.
And Sarah Palin for all her "experience" has no idea about parenting a special needs child. It has only begun for her. Little Trig may be mentally retarded, may have other emotional issues, may wind up inflicting pain on himself or others. For her to add the LIE of "special needs baby death panels" to the health care "debate" is atrocious.
By the way, corporate media: I vote we stop the 24-hour-news cycle and all go back to one hour per network of nightly news. You only get to talk about what is sane and real and factual. That will end "debates" about torture being evil and "whether" healthcare for everyone is a "good idea" and anything else that is really truly not debatable. You won't need to fill time with "the other side" of the whole "sky is blue" question.
And incidentally, Madam, you have forfeited your right to be taken seriously the next time you claim offense at somebody mentioning your children. You have just exploited your youngest child, dangled him in front of a mindless mob as surely as if you were Michael Jackson. You have used this innocent infant as an excuse to pander to the worst and least of us in this nation. You have used him to create the false image of 'death panels.'
PS to bloggers don't forget that you too can embed Crooks and Liars videos to your blogs. Click on the title of the post over there and the customizable embed code appears on the right sidebar.
That's a picture of my actual tire that blew out on I-35 in Minnesota. Naturally, I blame Tim Pawlenty. He thinks Cash for Clunkers is a bad idea even though it "makes everybody feel good." It's just government masturbation, Tim? Is that what you're trying to say?
Anyhoo, I got the tire changed and even bought a spare in Minnesota, adding to the sales tax coffers of Minnesota just like those darn feel-gooders who bought a new car/orgasm with cash for clunkers/"head honcho joy gripper pussy pal". (Sorry folks, I just love making the Google Search engines go kablooie.)
Remember, Governor Pawlenty, when you hold out your hand to take all that automobile state tax revenue, shave your palms first.
The guy who fixed my tire kept talking about his commitment to Minnesota, and he looked vaguely familiar and, of course, overly feel-goodish...but he swore to me he only did that "cash for clunkers" thing until he needed glasses.
If any of you have an extra five bucks to help me pay for this mishap, I'd appreciate it. The button below ONLY allows donations of five bucks, I don't want to ask for more from anyone. Thanks again.
They're everywhere. Especially watch out for trollz who insist that you read Michelle Malkin's book before you judge it. She didn't let Barack Obama serve in office before she wrote it, so really I don't see the point.
I did watch her appearance on The View until I barfed, about 70 seconds in. Her argument that hey, "George W. Bush is no longer President" is really convenient for her, and since no one on the show countered with "yeah, but he's still a war criminal" I didn't watch any further.
To repeat: She must have written or at least conceived of this book before January of this year. Apart from the complete intellectual dishonesty that she could judge or analyze this administration so clearly six months in, the timing of her book proves that she banked, personally and professionally, on McCain/Palin losing the election, which makes her a traitor to her Party and cause and the alleged nation she holds dear, period.
