Video: Mark Sanford Family Values Campaign Ad from 2002

The Problem with Ron Paul and Libertarianism

Lots of young people voted for Ron Paul in the last presidential campaign. In a way, it was the 'cool' thing to do.

You see, Barack Obama might have been mainstream cool, but Ron Paul and his credo of "Less government and individual rights for all!" was especially cool. Look at Obama as Nike sneakers and Ron Paul as "Vans" or what anti-corporate hipsters wear on their feet while on their skateboard.

In 2008, Paul voters thought they were the coolest thing since sliced bread. You see they got 'it' and not many other people did...

Libertarianism is popular and growing, in large part, because it's really simple and easy to comprehend: Government is the source of most ills in society. It creeps into everything and fucks everything up.

Lost my job? It's the government's fault. September 11? Of course it was because of our government's meddling in other countries' affairs. Long line at the post office or drivers license place? The government sucks. Pothole in the street? You get the picture...

You see--it's easy! Blame big government for everything....

What the Libertarian/Ron Paul supporter fails to remember is that all humans are inherently greedy, selfish creatures. The strong will always dominate the weak, weather the government is huge and vast (Soviet Union) or weak and inept (Haiti).

Are 50 shitty, racist, ineffective, corrupt governments better than one good one? Can we rely on peoples 'good will' to enforce laws, protect minorities, pave roads, etc.?

Of course not, humans need to organize and have leaders and their subordinates make decisions. That's called government.

On Global Warming Legislation

I can't claim to be an 'expert' on global warming or on the environment. God knows the world has plenty of them around, anyway.

I also haven't read a word of the nearly 3,000 page piece of energy/global warming legislation that just passed the House of Representatives last week in a close vote, either.

What I do know is that the Obama administration and most Democrats in Congress are trying to force American corporations and American citizens to be cleaner and more energy efficient in an effort to stem global warming and to benefit the decaying world environment.

Sounds good to me.

The Current Leader for the 2012 GOP Presidential Nomination is....Haley Barbour?

You didn't read that headline wrong. A man named Haley Barbour--currently serving as governor of Mississippi, is probably today the front runner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012.

Oh yeah, he was also a major tobacco lobbyist and his Wikipedia profile contains this tidbit--something you might expect from a Mississippi Republican:

During this failed bid for Senator a controversy arose at a campaigning stump. According to The New York Times, in the presence of the press an aide was complaining to Barbour that "coons" were going to be at a campaign stop at the state fair. Barbour warned the aide, in front of reporters, that if the aide persisted in racist remarks, he would be "reincarnated as a watermelon and placed at the mercy of blacks."

Needless to say, if Republicans nominate this guy, I don't think California will be in play...

Sarah Palin. Haley Barbour. Newt Gingrich. Bobby Jindal.

Barack Obama might win 48 out of 50 states in 2012. I'm not exaggerating.

YouTube: Video of Mark Sanford's Mistress Emerges

Iran, Mark Sanford, and Michael Jackson

America began this very news intensive week focused on the controversial Iranian presidential election and its violent aftermath.

The page was turned abruptly, however, when the news of the bizarre Mark Sanford disappearance broke. That dominated the airwaves for about two days when suddenly Michael Jackson died.

Jackson's death has been the equivalent of a world wide earthquake--it's literally all the media seems to be reporting on.

Which in and of itself is a reflection on modern American society: hollow, easily distracted, focused on the little things...

The media, after all, is a reflection of ourselves. They are only giving Americans what we want.

Health care? The economy? The pending massive environmental legislation being discussed in Congress? Iraq? Afghanistan?

Who cares. Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett just died.

Video: Jon Stewart Reports on the Mark Sanford Affair

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Governor Mark Sanford's Affair
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The Bizarre Story of Mark Sanford

Up until this morning, South Carolina governor Mark Sanford was a legitimate contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

As of this morning, Mark Sanford is no longer a contender for the Republican nomination for president in 2012.

Way to end your career, you horse's ass...

Hmmm. Let's see, the standing governor of a whole state disappears for a week without telling his wife, his family, or his staff. He initially claims that he was innocently hiking on the Appalachian Trail to 'clear his' mind.

That's until he realizes people saw his car at the Atlanta airport. You're busted, governor.

Now it turns out he was not so innocently half way around the world in Argentina doing who the fuck knows what.

Mark Sanford, as it turns out, is an incredibly dumb man and he is probably also a delusional narcisist.

In other words, he would have fit in perfectly with other 2012 candidates like Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich....

YouTube: Ed McMahon Drunk on The Tonight Show

This was pretty much a nightly occurence in the 60's and 70's....

The Nerve! Madoff Seeks Reduced Sentence

If a judge decided to reduce Madoff's jail sentence, that judge's career would effectively be over.

Gee, let's see....The guy only stole $65 billion fucking dollars. You can fund armies with that kind of scratch!!

Unbelievable.

O'Reilly hosts Coulter to discuss the "reaction" of "the left-wing media" to "our reporting" on Tiller

GOP Senator Cancels Meeting with Injured Sotomayor Because She's 10 Minutes Late

How's this for some compassionate conservatism?

I mean, I don't know what Senator Corker's next meeting was, but was it more important than meeting a Supreme Court nominee who could be on the court for the next 30 years?

The woman's got a broken ankle!!

Unbelievable.

Drug Company TV Advertisements Should be Banned

Lots of talk these days in the United States about health care reform.

Tons of different opinions and competing interests being aired as Obama moves forward to try and revolutionize the current system and enable every American citizen to have health care coverage.

Republicans don't want 'government run health care' (aka Obamacare), and Democrats want everyone to be insured.

However, can everyone agree that it's patently absurd for pharmaceutical companies to claim poverty while carpet bombing the TV airwaves with incredibly expensive ads asking consumers to 'ask their doctor about Viagra'?

Its also unethical. Doctors are the ones who are supposed to diagnose patients, not the other way around. Foreigners who come to this country are blown away by these TV ads--it just doesn't happen in other countries.

Banning drug company TV advertisements: an idea all Americans can get behind.

Right?

Iran: America's Got Enough on its Plate

There's a growing chorus on Capital Hill coming mostly from Republican quarters for increased American intervention in the Iran situation--not necessarily military action, although no doubt some of the more blood thirsty neocon hawks (John Bolton, Dick Cheney) would like nothing more than to launch another war--but increased 'rhetorical' intervention, if you will.

Republicans want Obama to criticize the mullahs more.

Uh, newsflash guys: We've got enough of our own problems to deal with. Iraq and Afghanistan are never ending, money sucking, unmitigated clusterfucks. The last thing in the world we need to be doing is meddling in another country's internal affairs.

Our unemployment rate is skyrocketing, the deficit soaring, and the country is involved in two never ending wars. Put Iran on the agenda?

No thank you...

YouTube: Griff Jenkins of Fox News Victim of Fox News Style Ambush Journalism

Story here

Video: Sacha Baron Cohen's New Movie "Bruno"

George W. Bush Comments from the Twilight Zone

In a hundred years, American students studying history in high school will be scratching their heads wondering how the citizenry of this country elected this simple minded, abject dunce not once, but twice....

In actuality, he wasn't even legally elected in 2000--something that's amazingly pretty often overlooked.

Hopefully future American history books won't miss that critical fact. I don't think they will...

Senator Boxer to Brigadier General: "Please call me senator"

200 Congressional Republicans Vote to Cut off Funds for Troops in Combat

Remember back in the 2004 presidential campaign when George W. Bush, doing what Karl Rove told him too (obviously) hammered John Kerry for voting against the war funding bill?

Insinuating, of course, that he was both unpatriotic, and worse off, was risking the lives of American troops in combat by not providing them with ammunition, food, shelter, etc.

Along with the equally disgraceful "Swiftboat Veterans for Truth" campaign, it was arguably the issue that won Bush the election in 2004.

Fast forward five year to today, and whoa! What do we find? Nearly every single Republican voted to cut off funds for the troops simply because Obama is the president and Democrats are the majority.

Fortunately, America has come a long way in five years. These days Republicans have lost all credibility and get routed in election after election...

Red State Humor: Tennessee GOP Member Accidentally Sends out Racist Obama E-mail

Story here. This person should be fired for being incredibly stupid and for being a racist.

The Menace of Right Wing Fanaticism in America

If you haven't read Frank Rich's Sunday New York Times article on the growing violence and craziness coming from the right wing towards Obama, you should. It is a must read.

What's ironic is that many of these same people rail against Islam and Muslims for being fanatical religious zealouts and terrorists who 'threaten the very fabric of America'.

They should look in the mirror.

Newsflash: America Already has Universal Health Care

The problem is, it sucks.

You see, when anyone gets sick or injured--be it an elderly person, a poor person, a rich person, an immigrant, and that person goes to the hospital to get treated, they will be treated and then billed later.

But no one in this country cares about what that bill costs and very few people ever pay the massive, absurdly overpriced charges.

Doctors and hospitals, well aware of how fucked up the system is, charge the maximum they can and add on loads of extras because they know they will eventually be reimbursed--either by the government or insurance providers.

And there in lies the root of the mess: American health care consumers could care a less of the costs involved with treatment, and health care providers are incentivized to charge as much as they can.

The system--albeit completely, utterly insane and broken, is a form of 'universal' health care.

It's Twilight Zone universal health care though. America deserves better.

The Iranian Presidential Election

Many in the world were probably unaware that Iran had such a vibrant Democracy in the first place, no matter the result of the recent election there.

Indeed, after the cerebrally challenged Bush the Younger lumped Iran into his bizarre "Axis of Evil" several years ago, Americans could have been forgiven if they were under the impression that Iran had a totalitarian government....

And before the American right gets all high and mighty about the legitimacy of Iran's recent election, let's not forget Bush v. Gore....

YouTube: Congressman--Smoking Lettuce can Kill You

Based on this snipped alone, I hereby declare that this man could well be the dumbest member of Congress in US history...

YouTube: Obama Pardons Girl for Missing School

On Socialism and the Economy

Republicans are breathlessly claiming over and over again that Obama and the Democrats in Congress are trying to turn America into a Marxist/Socialist proletariat led European style welfare state.

This is, of course, patently absurd.

Question: what's the biggest 'socialist' entity in America today? Answer: the military. Fire departments, post offices, police stations....dog catchers, public schools. All evil socialist bodies.

Question 2: Which political party took the biggest budget surplus in American history that Bill Clinton created, and turned it into the biggest deficit in American history? Answer: the Republican party.

And we're supposed to believe these fiscal bozos on anything with regards to taxing and spending?

Trying to frighten people by tossing around the word 'socialism' and how the big bad American government is trying to take over our lives isn't policy. It's empty rhetoric.

Video of Mladic Shown on TV

This guy's probably the biggest mass murderer alive today...

YouTube: Shep Smith of Fox News Calls Out Right Wing Nutjobs

Right Wing Freak Kills in DC

The mix of racism, xenophobia, ignorance, and a shit load of guns makes for a toxic American brew, as evidenced by this loony tune yesterday....

There are way, way too many guns in this country, and there are also way, way too many people who listen to the hate and vitriol spewed daily by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glen Beck, and other right wing nut jobs....

It's only a matter of time before one of them guns for Obama. You see, he's the reason for all of the world's problems. And he isn't white....

If they are successful, God help us....

Rove Blasts Dowd Over NYT Article

story here

Party Time! Libya's Gaddafi Visits Berlusconi in Italy

Terrorism not Ruled out in Air France Crash

Well the news that the names of two Islamic extremists could have been on Air France flight 447 certainly changes the dynamic of the investigation, doesn't it?

It puts even more pressure on authorities to find the plane's black boxes, which might be miles underwater by now and impossible to locate...

A bit strange that terrorists would blow up a plane and not take credit for it though, right??

Video: Voight Calls Obama "False Prophet"

Um...ok...Whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean. This freak is better known as Angelina Jolie's father....Lot's of weird apocolyptic religious stuff coming from Republicans these days.

Red State Obama Bumper Sticker

GOP Jihadist Group Targets Crist

The Club for Growth is the type of 'pro-Republican' special interest group that is largely responsible for the party heading towards electoral oblivion.

The Club is anti-tax and anti-government, and if a particular Republican lawmaker or candidate doesn't pass the group's litmus test with regards to these subjects, then look out.

This supposedly 'pro-Republican' group will then train their guns on that very lawmaker.

Arlen Specter was driven out of the party because of the Club. Now they've got their rifle scope trained on Florida's Charlie Crist.

With friends like this, do Republicans need enemies?

No One in America Cares About the European Parliament Elections

Well over 90% (probably closer to 99%) of voting age Americans probably have no earthly idea that elections for the European Parliament took place across the continent this past weekend.

Indeed a plurality of Americans are probably unaware that a massive European government based out of Brussels and representing 27 sovereign European nations is even in existence...

In 100 years or so, however, the situation is bound to be very different:

One of the primary goals of a unified Europe is to serve as a counterweight to the United States and China--both economically and militarily.

Today most Americans see Europe as a toothless tourist destination....you know the Queen and the Eiffel Tower. Big beer steins in Germany...

Tomorrow Americans might well see Europe as their rival.

Gingrich: God Favors America

"I am not a citizen of the world," Gingrich told the crowd, at an event closed to the press but broadcast at the God TV Website. "I am a citizen of the United States, because only in the United States does citizenship start with our creator."

Um....Ok Newt.  (story here)....

So, theoretically if the United States went to war with say, Ireland, God would see to it that the USA won??

Man that's weird.  And frightening.  It's the type of shit Hitler and the Nazis were saying sixty years ago about Germany...

Humanity has made tremendous strides since then, one would think...

Elements of today's Republican party, evidently, though, have not....

Health Care: Obama Shoots for the Moon

A majority of clear headed, non-ideological Americans would agree that the health care system in this country is broken.

Universal health care already exists: no one gets turned down when they show up at the emergency room: illegal immigrants, the wealthy, the poor....

The problem is, the costs keep skyrocketing and are unsustainable: doctors are rewarded for prescribing more drugs, the pill companies spend billions on advertising to pimp their drugs, there is no incentive for efficiency.  

The system is rotten and needs to be flushed.

Universal, nationalized health care in America has been up until now a political graveyard for presidents.

Will it be different for Obama?

OBAMA'S WEEKLY ADDRESS ON HEALTH CARE REFORM HERE

Video: Obama Hate in Israel

The Future of the GOP

When the party finally gets through this brutally bad stretch--and it eventually will (remember prior to Obama, Republicans had won 5 of the previous 7 presidential elections) what will the party leadership look like?

In one word: moderate.

The country is changing too quickly for the party to exist as it currently is--beholden to the Christian right wing.  

We are talking in 2016 at the earliest....

Huntsman.  Pawlenty.  Crist.....Jeb Bush?

Anyone else??

Israel and the Settlements

Joe Klein from Time magazine has a good piece on the issue of Israel's continued building of settlements in the occupied territories, and the Obama administration's decision to publicly call for them to stop doing so...

Its been at least a decade since an American president has taken a firm stand against the extreme right in Israel.  

With regards to the Palestinian issue and foreign policy in general, the Bush administration was nothing more than a de-facto organ of Israel's right wing Likud party.

That strategy did not work.

Change.

Obama is Very Different than Bush

I mean, not to state the obvious or anything, but still... Just listening to him in the Middle East give all these speeches: Bush and Obama might as well have come from different planets...

Bush was ignorant, lazy, impressionable, angry, closed minded, condescending, rude, and had terrible communication skills.

Obama is calm, well prepared, incredibly well spoken, confident, open minded, and sensitive.

Which makes me think:  would something like Obama as president be possible without the catastrophic destructiveness of the Bush presidency that immediately preceded it?

Probably not.  

Life is funny, isn't it?

Perry Touts Limbaugh Support in Tight Texas GOP Race

A New Middle East Policy in Washington

Everything from the chilly encounter Obama and Netanyahu had a few weeks back on their first meeting.....to Obama's splashy current trip to Saudi Arabia, then 'major' speech in Egypt (?).  

To the fact that the Obama administration is insisting on Israel to stop expanding its West Bank settlements..

Proves that the Obama Middle East peast plan will be radically different than the Bush administration's.

Amen.

Video: Obama not Impressed with SNL's Impersonation of Him

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American Political TV Update

The 'news' that the skewed left wing political 'reporting' of MSNBC and the skewed right wing political 'reporting' of FOX News is increasingly what Americans are watching on the boob tube is dismaying.

Apparently CNN's 'moderate' approach is taking a bath in the ratings...

I mean I'm glad that MSNBC has emerged as at least somewhat of a counterweight to the right wing drivel that has come from FOX News for nearly a decade now, but still it's further proof of the dumbing down of America.

Sensationalism, destroying the enemy, and calling people names has replaced traditional political reporting.

Is it no wonder that the familiar refrain every election cycle in this country is how our politics is 'broken'??

Moderate, reasonable discourse between citizens about important things is becoming extinct in American society.  Evidenced by what we're watching on TV....

News from Red State America: Burger King chains promote "Global Warming is Baloney"

Story here

Hmmm.  Let's see Tennessee and all those states listed below voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, then McCain/Palin in 2008, right??  Just checking....

...they (the restaurants) are all owned by a company called the Mirabile Investment Corporation (MIC) that owns more than 40 Burger Kings across Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, as well as a handful of Popeyes

Egyptian Man Cuts off Own Penis in Marriage Dispute

Boy, is he going to probably regret this one....

I guess he proved his point, anyway--

I've heard about cutting off your nose to spite your face, but cutting your dick off to spite your parents??