Michele Bachmann's Iran Gaffe

God, blowing Mrs. Bachmann a kiss. Image from ABC News.

I keep vacillating between thinking the 2012 GOP Presidential field is stupid, ignorant or crazy. I'm starting to think it's a combination of all three. Now, Michele "Crazy Eyes" Bachmann has flubbed in her supposed area of expertise, foreign policy. What a goober.

[Excerpt]


US Embassy in Iran? Michele Bachmann’s ‘Oops’ Moment

Did Michelle Bachmann have her “oops” moment?

In light of the British Foreign Ministry pulling all U.K. nationals out of the British embassy in Tehran after students stormed the building in protest, GOP presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann told a crowd in Waverly, Iowa, today that she would close the U.S. embassy in Iran. . .

Read more at: ABC News

Kentucky Church Bans Interracial Marriage

I'll bet they think Jesus was white too. Image from HuffPo

Um, what? Really? Yeah, I know some churches are deeply attached to reserving the "religious" right to be anti-gay. But, I thought they were all way beyond this. Guess not.

[Excerpt]

Small Ky. Church Votes Against Interracial Couples

A tiny all-white Appalachian church in rural Kentucky has voted to ban interracial couples from joining its flock, pitting members against each other in an argument over race. Members at the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church voted Sunday on the resolution, which says the church "does not condone interracial marriage. . ."  

Read more at: Huffington Post

EXCLUSIVE: Rick Perry's First Presidential Application Was Rejected

Many of us have been made familiar with Rick Perry's memory lapses & his oft-repeated gaffes.
But did you know that his first attempt at filing his application for the presidency was rejected!?!?
He was unable to completely fill out the forms... Apparently, he had some trouble remembering a few things.

We've obtained some audio/video footage from a restaurant where Rick Perry & his staff were discussing the rejection notification. Obviously, they are attempting to clean things up before a big mess is made.

It provides a good insight into what Rick Perry is or may be... And may also help to explain some of the strange behavior.

The Rick! 2012!

SPOOOOOON!

Ann Coulter Calls John McCain a "Douchebag" on MSNBC

A) Why was Ann Coulter on MSNBC, isn't she a FOX "News" contributor? B) Why does even FOX give this long-in-tooth, skeletal she-beast a platform? C) When somebody does give this androgynous ectomorph a platform, why are they surprised when she is a bitch?

Rick Perry Gets Voting Age, Election Date Wrong

Oops. Image from Think Progress

Are all Republican Texas Governors goobers?

[Excerpt]


Once Again Betraying Ignorance Of The Constitution, Rick Perry Gets The Voting Age Wrong 

You’ve got to feel a little bad for onetime GOP front runner Gov. Rick Perry — his frequent gaffes and embarrassing ignorance of basic facts have driven him to the bottom of primary polls. Perry has consistently demonstrated his complete lack of understanding of a document he claims to revere, the Constitution, with bogus claims that programs like Medicare, Social Security, and, well, everything else are somehow unconstitutional. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

84-Year-Old Pepper Sprayed Woman Interviewed by Thom Hartmann

Remember the old lady who was pepper sprayed in the face at Occupy Seattle? Well, here she is in her own words.

American Airlines Files for Bankruptcy

Image from source, Washington Post

You know what I don't like about this? I mean beside the fact that I have a friend that works for American. It's that the headline sounds like all of the nation's airlines filed for bankruptcy. American Airlines as in all American airlines. And I always wondered if that isn't why terrorists chose AA and United. Both sound like the country's airline industry. And don't forget, when we had anthrax attacks, one of the targets was American Media. Makes you think, right?

Anyway, having United in the family, and seeing how they came out of the hole, maybe AA can as well. Here's hoping.

[Excerpt]


American Airlines parent files for bankruptcy

Saddled with an aging fleet of aircraft and high labor costs, the parent company of American Airlines filed for bankruptcy Tuesday, seeking protection from creditors while it restructures its operations. . .

Read more at: Washington Post

Herman Cain: I Need a Lover That Won't Call a Press Conference

More comedy gold from Mike in Raleigh, contributor to The Stephanie Miller show.

I Need A Lover That Won't Call A Press Conference by Mike In Raleigh

Herman Cain Accused of 13-Year Affair

"Where all the White women at?"
(It's funny because her name is Ginger White)

If you get caught with a long-term mistress, blame yo'self!

[Excerpt]

Herman Cain denies allegation of 13-year affair

Herman Cain, whose status as a GOP presidential front-runner had already been rocked by allegations of sexual harassment, denied Monday that he'd had a 13-year, consensual affair with an Atlanta businesswoman. . .

Read more at: Los Angeles Times

Mitt Romney vs. Mitt Romney

This is awesome.

I'm Back!

A drawing of The Hulk by my nephew, Lux

I'm officially back from my Thanksgiving trip to Ohio. And therefore,

- I'm back home.
- I'm back to work.
- I'm back on my diet.
- I'm back to the gym.
- I'm back to blogging.

But that last one is almost as hard as some of the other things. I've got 200 emails to sift through for one. But one way or another, I'm going to get some posts up before morning. Meanwhile, let me thank Stupid Monkey Planet for his help while I was away. Be sure to join him over on Facebook.

Back soon!

LOOK OUT!!! ZOMBIES!!! Hencho En Mexico.

Image from source

We here at Greenlee Gazette have a special dark, dank, flesh-eating, lovable place in our hearts for the undead. With exception to the Walmart Zombies... those things are fucking creepy!
So, when we hear about thousands of zombies descending on a city... We're as giddy as schoolgirls.
We loves us some zombie hordes! 

Thousands of zombies descend on Mexico City

A ghoulish parade of the "undead" numbering almost 10,000 descended on Mexico City in what organisers claim is the largest "zombie walk" ever held.

Wearing blood-spattered rags and make-up displaying festering wounds, the "zombie hordes" wandered through the heart of the capital groaning and stumbling.

Asbury Park in America currently holds the Guinness world record for the largest zombie walk after 4,093 zombies marched through the area in 2010. 

Read more @ tvnz.co.nz...

Back to Ohio, Day Four: Back to Las Vegas

Trips home--in the age of unpaid vacations--generally mean an abbreviated stay. I try to incorporate a holiday, or a day that I'd be off anyway, along with a weekend. It used to be I could go for nine or more days, with a whole week off, both weekends, and maybe an extra day. But that much time can sometimes be too much. So, shortened trips can sometimes be a little more appropriate. But you know what? I hate going back to work 8 or 9 hours after I get home from a trip.




















I hope you've enjoyed the posts by Stupid Monkey Planet, my partner in crime. I'll be back blogging on Monday night, but don't expect too much. It might be Tuesday before I really feel up to it!

Cracked Presents: 8 Insane Similarities Between the Internet and Ancient Egypt

Back to Ohio, Day Three: My City Was Gone

No, my city's not gone. Actually, my city was Whitehall, and in that city, my high school is gone, or soon will be. Every single school in Whitehall is being torn down, and rebuilt on the same land, sometimes concurrently. I can't really believe that this is the best use of taxpayer money, and surely there will be a bond issue up for a vote in order to successfully open the schools, but all that is beside the point. My high school will very soon be rubble, and then less than that. I guess the gym and auditorium will remain, and be incorporated into the new school, which is something.

Attention Black Friday (Walmart) Shoppers

stupid fucking zomonkeeeeys doo whut meeedeeya tell us... waaaalmart...s$aaaving$s...braaaiins (kidding on 'brains' thing.)

And America'$ greedy, corporate/con$umer men$trual cycle continue$...

Back to Ohio, Day Two: The Aftermath

This is my second day in Ohio, the day after Thanksgiving. The first of four "cheat" days in my diet and exercise regimen, which has helped me shed 30 pounds in 2-1/2 months. Did I do any damage? Am I in a coma? Well, I'm not really sure, since I'm writing this before my departure! When I go away, I always do two things: I "seed" the blog with a few time-release posts. And, more importantly, I enlist the help of Stupid Monkey Planet, who livens things up around here considerably.

But given that this is a long, slow, food-coma weekend, both the Monkey and I are apt to only be around sporadically. Which is okay, because it is also a record low time for readers. So if you're here, what's wrong with you? There's cold turkey and mayonnaise in the fridge. You know you want to. . .

And now, some Thanksgiving weirdness, from Roseanne. . .

July 8, 1630 - Governor John Winthrop

Governor John Winthrop and the members of the Massachusetts Bay colony observed a day of prayer and thanksgiving. Winthrop intended this Puritan settlement to be a model Christian community that would serve as a "city upon a hill," admonishing his colonists:

Wee must be knitt together in this worke as one man, wee must entertaine each other in brotherly Affeccion, wee must be willing to abridge our selves of our superfluities, for the supply of others necessities, wee must uphold a familiar Commerce together in all meekenes, gentlenes, patience and liberallity, wee must delight in eache other, make others Condicions our owne rejoyce together, mourne together, labour, and suffer together, allwayes haveing before our eyes our Commission and Community in the worke.

Happy Thanksgiving to Occupiers Everywhere. Thank You.

THANKSKILLING!!!

We all knew it would come to this

Click HERE... If you dare (NSFW-Home-School-Church-Children)

Great Holiday Gift Idea for Relatives with Babies... you know which ones...

This monkey has no little monkeys. Nor is there ever an intent to. I honestly don't believe I have the "stuff" required to raise a mini-me, particularly an infant version. However, I do love being an Uncle Monkey. All the fun, no real responsibility. Win, win.

Recently, I came across an invention that made me reconsider having kids. I think this would help me & many others quite a bit. It would make a great holiday gift... For any family member of yours that has a kid & shouldn't or for any of them that has a kid & really fucking shouldn't.

Waddaya thunk?

Happy Holidays. (Pardon the preceding commercial, if any)

New BabySafe Ball Makes Shaking Your Infant Guilt And Injury Free

hApPyTurKEydAy!

click image, make BIG

Some questions Mad Magazine suggests asking the Butterball Turkey Hotline.

Enjoy...

Back to Ohio, Day One: The Thanksgivening

When you live 2,000 miles away from your family, life can chug along blissfully ignorant sometimes. You've sent the appropriate cards and gifts. You've made the occasional phone call (but with instant messages, email, texts and Facebook, maybe not so many phone calls). And other than a few gossipy tidbits, for the most part, you don't really know what mayhem is rattling the family tree. Meanwhile, back home, your family has had a cold war brewing, with hot spots threatening to go nuclear. Or maybe not! Maybe everything is just fine!

Yeah, you keep dreaming. And now you--I in this example--didn't manage to weasel out of a request to come home for a holiday. Now, it's time to face the music. Well, at least it's an extended cheat period for my diet and exercise regimen, and it's Thanksgiving. So there's that! Oh, I'm exaggerating, I know. It'll be fun. But I'm expecting at least one small explosion.

With this post Greenlee Gazette is on semi-vacation, with me in Ohio, and the big holiday weekend and all. Stupid Monkey Planet will be posting some fun stuff, and I'll still probably poke my head in from time to time. But with the decreased readership (and the decreased news output), I expect things to be pretty light. With a little luck, I'll be blogging full strength again on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Back to Ohio: Travel Day

Yes, today begins my trip to Ohio. And from the way things turn out, it seems like I'm traveling all day. I'm leaving home for the airport at about 10 am, and don't get in until nearly midnight in Ohio. Ugh. There is of course a three-hour time zone change. But throw in  a two-and-a-half-hour cushion at the airport, and that shift is erased. Fortunately, I have my smart phone and my computer to keep me company.

See all the CollegeHumor Original Videos here.

Funniest Thing I've Seen in Ages: Ellen Barkin on Callista Gingrich

From: Joe.My.God.

Worst Passwords

Sometimes passwords are important, sometimes they are not. For instance, my AOL password (yes, I still have one. . . bitch.) couldn't be used for much, unless you're commenting on gay/atheist/cannibal websites. My BofA password is a little more sacrosanct. So, I have an assortment of passwords, most on a theme. And yes, occasionally, I have to hit the "forgot password?" links. But I think most people would have a devil of a time figuring mine out, unless you're The Other Half. And his memory is swiss cheese, so even that's not a worry.

[Excerpt]

Worst passwords of 2011

If your email password is "password," or "123123," you may want to change it immediately to avoid identity theft, says U.S. based Internet security company SplashData.

"Hackers can easily break into many accounts just by repeatedly trying common passwords," said SplashData's CEO, Morgan Slain. . .


Read more: The Vancouver Sun

Amazon Users Post Rave Reviews of Pepper Spray

Image from source, TPM

After FOX "News" cavalierly reporting that pepper spray is just a food item, this is just perfect. I love how fun stuff like this just seems to organically happen on the internet.

[Excerpt]

Amazon Users Post Rave ‘Reviews’ Of UC Davis Pepper Spray


. . .But now that Fox News has declared pepper spray a “food product, essentially,” the good people who post amateur reviews on Amazon.com have weighed in. “Once I realized that spraying whipped cream into my mouth was both bland and fattening, I had to try this out,” one reviewer wrote. “WARNING - Not a condiment!!!” another reviewer wrote. “NOMNOMNOMNOM,” yet another reviewer wrote, adding that the pepper spray is “great on salads, burgers, and pizza. . .”

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

Funny or Die: The 2012 Candidates Meet The Internet

This isn't brand new, but if I missed it, maybe you did too. Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link. It's hilarious (stay tuned to the end!).

Live Funny Or Die in 2012 from Darrell Hammond

Mitt Romney In His Own Words (And By His Own Standard)

Mitt Romney recently took President Obama's words completely out of context, and then made an ad out of it. How would he like it?

Pepper Spray is Delicious... At Faux Nooz

One of the regular dipshit bimbos at Faux Nooz recently declared that military grade pepper spray is nothing more than a food product. Of course, if she were to be doused three times with military grade pepper spray she would probably feel different about adding it to her burrito. Assuming the concentrated chemical could penetrate the multiple layers of 'hot "news" hostess' make-up, that is.

Which, by those standards, makes water-boarding just a way to wash down the peppery goodness, I'd guess.

Anyhow, it got me to thinking about a great episode of The Simpsons that touches on this same subject. With humor... not with a total lack of intelligence, as demonstrated by the Faux Nooz Zombimbo.

Enjoy.

Come Visit Us at Facebook and Twitter!

Trolling once again to get people over to the Greenlee Gazette Facebook and Twitter pages. Almost everything from this blog is posted at Facebook, and automatically linked on Twitter. But several other quickie posts only appear on those pages. So, come check me out! And check out Stupid Monkey Planet, my longtime friend and contributor. He'll take you to places you've never been before.

"I'm a Christian. Unless You're Gay"

The headline is also the title of the post excerpted below. What it means is, often times Christians* don't act very Christian around or about gay people. I've experienced this for years, having been a very early internet warrior myself. I'm somewhere on the continuum between agnostic and atheist (and sliding further toward atheist as I age), and also gay. So, since the days of Prodigy (and even a few bulletin boards before that), I've been having online discussions--usually arguments, really--with Christians. I'd argue with Jewish, Muslim or Hindu people, but they don't tend to "start" it, in my experience.

We know that this is not how all Christians behave. But
many--particularly on the internet--do.

No, virtually all of the condemnation, nastiness and outright hatred poured onto me in these conversations is from purported Christians. With rare exceptions, when things have gotten heated, they applied the heat first. I try to be mature, reasoned and calm. But I tell ya, they know how to elevate the rhetoric. They have a difficult time with the mental exercise of putting oneself into another's shoes. "Imagine there's no heaven," John Lennon said, "it's easy if you try." Not for these folks. They will not go there. And while the story below is all about "the gay," it could easily be about non-believers, or people of other faiths than Christianity.

I would like to interject that this behavior is chiefly in the online realm. In my experience, people aren't usually confrontational in real life, with rare exceptions. It takes a picket line (like above) or other protest before it bleeds over into the "real world." But in today's world, where Facebook, Twitter and other social mediums are as common as actual personal interaction, the distinction has gotten quite blurry.

Like the author, I've very often tried to express myself on the subject, and had difficulty. He needn't have worried. It's excellent. [Thank you to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link. And the reminder at Joe.My.God.]

[Excerpt]


I’m Christian, unless you’re gay.

. . .“God hates fags.” We’ve all seen the signs being waved high in the air by members of the Westboro Baptist church. On TV. In real life. It’s hard not to take notice.
Over the years, I’ve watched seemingly never-ending disgustingness and hatred spill across the media airwaves from those who belong to the organization. For those who don’t know much about that “church,” they have made a seedy name for themselves by doing drastic things like picketing beneath atrocious signs and hosting flagrant anti-gay protests at military funerals.
Almost every person of nearly every religion has no problem loathing and condemning the Westboro Baptist Church and its members, and perhaps with reason. They take freedom of speech far beyond what our founding fathers intended when they fought to give us that right, and they laugh at the rest of the world while they do. . .

Read more at: SDL


*I by no means claim that all or even most Christians are hateful and homophobic. But the most vocal ones are, and they've got nearly the entirety of the 2012 Presidential candidates on board with them. 

Separated at Birth: Darcy Spears & Coco Peru

I know that most people won't get this one. But if you have ever watched Channel 13 KTNV in Las Vegas, Nevada, you might know of a reporter named Darcy Spears. I've seen her before, but until the other night, I'd never noticed that she looks quite like the drag performer, Coco Peru (aka Clinton Leupp). Enough so, that I snapped the shot below with my phone. I think it's a match!

Everything Old is Newt Again

Everyone (except Rick Santorum and oddly, Jon Huntsman) gets their turn in the GOP top spot, it seems. And the newest one is the guy with by far the most baggage. The guy who said he cheated on his wives because he loves America so much. The guy who thinks we ought to get rid of child labor laws. Go get 'em Newt, ya big ball of sweaty dough!

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

Rick Perry: Get Rid of Civilian Control of the Military!

They keep doing this, the 2012 candidates. They keep saying stupid stuff, and yet they get cheered for it. One of many problems with getting rid of civilian control of the military? Oh, the Constitution, that pesky thing.

Newt Gingrich: Kids, Get to Work!

Am I the only one that remembers this
stuff from school?

Do you remember social studies class? I don't remember all of it, but some of the stuff that sticks with me has to do with the late 1800s and early 1900s. I remember the pictures of tenement apartments. Crowded living, dirty people, unsafe factories, and child labor. This, along with corporations run wild, robber barons and no safety regulations, all were considered a bad thing.

So, why do we have one political party--including in this case, presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich--ready to take us back to that squalid time?





[Excerpt]


Gingrich Calls Child Labor Laws ‘Stupid’, Wants To Replace Janitors With Poor Kids



In an anti-government diatribe that would be funny if he weren’t serious, GOP presidential candidate New Gingrich told a crowd at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government yesterday that child labor laws are “tragic” and “stupid” and have “done more to create income inequality in the United States than any other single policy.” In a proposal that he freely admitted was “extraordinarily radical,” he called for firing all school janitors and replacing them with poor students. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Posted Without Comment: Michele Bachmann Serving the Menfolk

Ohhhh, and I so wanna comment! Image from DailyKos

Captain Obvious: Another Study Shows Ignorance of FOX "News" Viewers

What's it going to take to get people to turn off that ridiculous channel? Scratch that, it's pointless to try. I spent a long time arguing on Facebook with one of FOX "News"'s target audience members over gay marriage, religion and theocracy. Needless to say, it was like banging my head into a wall. There is an impenetrable bubble these folks live in that will never be breached.

[Excerpt]

Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don't Watch Any News: Study 

The poll surveyed New Jersey residents about the uprisings in Egypt and the Middle East, and where they get their news sources. The study, which controlled for demographic factors like education and partisanship, found that "people who watch Fox News are 18-points less likely to know that Egyptians overthrew their government" and "6-points less likely to know that Syrians have not yet overthrown their government" compared to those who watch no news. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Great Parody of Occupy Police Over-reaction

Everything has a little humor in it. Image found at OMGBlog.com

Blast from the Past: WKRP's "Turkeys Away"

WKRP in Cincinnatti was one of those TV shows that seemed to be hated by its home network, while it was loved by viewers. But CBS moved it around so often, it finally succumbed after four seasons. It was revived after a nostalgia wave hit, but it wasn't the same. Probably no other episode of WKRP stands out in our memories quite as much as Turkeys Away. It's a classic. And it's still funny, even if they did change the music to generic crap. Thanks, ASCAP. Anyway, enjoy!

NASCAR Fans Boo Michelle Obama and Jill Biden

That's some real class, there. I think conservative audiences in general really need to get hold of themselves. They're thisclose to a Roman Colosseum.


[Excerpt]

Michelle Obama booed at NASCAR event

 

When First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, appeared at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday in support of a charity that works to obtain employment for military veterans, they were met with a round of boos from the audience. . .

Read more at: The Raw Story

Pepper Spraying the Peaceful Protesters

Look at this picture, and then tell me this is necessary.

Source: Joe.My.God

Greenlee Gazette Gets New Computer

After all day driving around, buying a computer, bringing it home, realizing I needed parts, going out again, coming back, realizing my old router needed replacing, going out, coming back. . . I'm finally done! Well, done, until I realize I'm missing a program or something.

The new computer is a Dell Inspiron with an Intel Core i5 processor and a 24" monitor. All very cool. As always--even though I'm a veteran PC guru--there were ample headches along the way. Primary among them was just the sorting out of the spaghetti wires, and cleaning the desk area, above and below. Then putting it back. The wires are slightly fewer with a wireless mouse and keyboard, but it's still a nest.

So far--after replacing my ancient router--I've had a pretty smooth time of it. The monitor is massive. The computer is quick in everything it does, so far. The new computer accepted my old hard drive and a Light Scribe DVD burner without complaint (though I did have to run out for longer internal cables). I moved all of my music--12,000 files or more--in a matter of minutes from the old drive to the new.

The only thing I have to complain about is the long, tiring day, and the $800 bill! Also, it will be a long time before I buy another Hewlett-Packard computer.

Blogging again hopefully sometime Sunday. Good night!

Computer Woes: A PC Bites the Dust

My first computer. Wherever it is, it
probably still works.

I've had nine personal computers, from a Commodore 64 in 1982, to a 386DX off-brand, a Packard Bell Pentium I, a Sony Vaio Pentium III, a Hewlett-Packard Pentium 4, a Dell Pentium 4HT, an HP Core 2 Duo, and two laptops, a Dell Celeron and an Apple PowerMac G4 15 (which I'm using now).

And I'm probably going to have to get my 10th tomorrow. My Core 2 Duo machine promptly died today, while I was away from my desk. No snap, crackle or pop. No poof, or puff of smoke. It just wasn't showing a picture anymore, and the keyboard didn't work.

My doorstop dead computer.

Nothing I've tried helps, and The Geek Squad, via telephone, thinks it's the Motherboard. So, I'm rightly pissed that my HP didn't quite make it to three years of service, and will probably be more efficient to replace than to repair.

The long and short of it is, along with social obligations, I'm going to be very busy for the rest of the weekend, and likely won't be posting much.

Incidentally, not counting the dead one, we have four computers in the house (The Other Half's desktop, my Mac notebook, the unused Celeron, and the "spare" HP Pentium 4 in the closet). All are older--some by a lot--but all are functional. The one in the worst state of repair? The other Hewlett-Packard.

Chris Matthews Takes Rick Perry & Mitt Romney to the Woodshed

So, President Obama says something, Republican candidates take it out of context and run with it. Standard Operating Procedure, unfortunately. Even worse, even though the fact that they're saying that Obama called Americans "lazy" is a lie. . .it will be remembered as true in right-wing world for all eternity.

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

Bob Vander Plaats, Anti-Gay Zealot to Host Presidential Event

Dude really needs some eyebrows. And a
new hairdo. And he probably shouldn't
open his mouth that way, given his favorite
subject matter.

Bob Vander Plaats is a ultra-conservative, ultra-religious political figure from Iowa. Calling him a zealot in the headline isn't an insult or a slam, it is simply the truth. Social conservatives paradoxically preach "smaller government" while simultaneously trying to use legislation to restrict the rights of homosexuals and women. They claim to be about "freedom," but in reality only want their kind of freedom, which includes heaping helpings of Jesus, and questionable biblical admonishment of homosexuality and abortion.

I feel like I'm giving kid-glove treatment here, but thankfully, Think Progress has all the details.

[Excerpt]


Vander Plaats 101: Meet The Anti-Gay Zealot Hosting A 2012 Forum Tomorrow

Who is Bob Vander Plaats & Why Does It Matter?

Earlier this year, we introduced you to the FAMiLY LEADER, the extreme anti-gay group in Iowa, and its leader, Bob Vander Plaats. Tomorrow, Vander Plaats is hosting a “Thanksgiving Family Forum” for presidential candidates. If history is any guide, this event promises to be a veritable cornucopia of attacks on gays and women’s health care and a celebration of fringe social views.

Here’s a rundown of that history, just to remind you who and what Republicans presidential candidates choose to associate themselves with — something that definitely matters. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Scalia and Thomas, and Their Conflict of Interest

Image from source, Addicting Info

Very clearly, this is a clear conflict of interest. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court Justices are not bound by any laws or rules. They're expected to be ethical by the virtue that they were picked for the position. Unfortunately, sometimes unethical people slip in.


[Excerpt]

Scotus: Have Thomas and Scalia Violated Their Code of Conduct Standards as it Relates to HCR?

. . .Justices are appointed for life.  They can be removed from the Court by impeachment or they can recuse themselves from cases before the Bench. Justice Sotomayor has recused herself from cases within the past few months.

Both Justice Scalia, Thomas and Alito have been photographed and in some cases approached by TV camera news crews about their attendance at conservative conferences. . .

Read more at: Addicting Info

Ron Paul Gets the Bad Lip Reading Treatment

And the results are both hilarious, and could easily be believed!

'RON PAUL' — A Bad Lip Reading SoundBite - watch more funny videos

What Happens in Vegas: Fraud & Abuse by Banks on Home Loans

A lot of conservatives--whether politicians, pundits or just internet warriors--like to blame poor people for a lot of things. Herman Cain said, if you aren't rich or don't have a job, "blame yo'self!" Yakkers like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity lay the entire economic collapse on poor people. Or government "forcing" banks to give home loans to poor people. That is not true, but that really doesn't matter in their realm. But even here on my blog, I've gotten in arguments in the comments section, over poor people. And in real life, a friend said, "Hey, if you signed the mortgage papers, you pay the bill or you get forclosed. It's only fair."

Fair. Did the banks play fair? Watch this incredible report below from Las Vegas reporter George Knapp. Some people who were in foreclosure, but renegotiated are in trouble. As are some people who simply bought a foreclosed home. Because the paperwork trail is so complicated, and because there was so much fraud by the banksters, these people in actuality do not own their own homes. Knapp himself bought a home three years ago, and technically does not own it!

[Excerpt]

Desert Underwater: Who Owns Your Home?


The foreclosure crisis has several causes, but government investigators now believe that high risk gambling by major banks is mostly to blame for the economic meltdown. Millions of Americans who played by the rules and paid their bills have lost their homes because banks and their service providers cranked out mountains of bogus mortgage documents. . .

Read more at: 8NewsNow

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

Kathy Griffin on Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell

I wanted to post this Wednesday night, but the clip wasn't up yet. So, here you go!

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

Rick Perry Challenges Nancy Pelosi to a Debate

Seriously. Does he have a problem that 12 steps
could help? Image from source, The Hill.

Oh, for pete's sake, why?

[Excerpt]

EXCLUSIVE: Perry challenges Pelosi to debate

Dear Leader Pelosi,

After reading about House Minority Whip Steny Hoyers' outburst over my "Overhauling Washington" plan, I wonder if his obstructionism reflects your own opposition and that of the Democratic Caucus to urgent reforms the American public so vehemently demand. . .


Read more at: The Hill

I'm a Triple Minority!

How could I say such a thing as a white man in America? This is a little post about a small realization I just had. I'm gay. I'm an atheist (yeah, I'm finally going to own it). And I'm a non-sports fan! I'm a triple minority!

Big deal, you might say. And to the gay thing, I'd agree. The folks that have a problem with that are dying out, and it really isn't much of an issue in my day-to-day life. But that's just the thing.

Imagine your life as a pie chart. Most people have a "work life" wedge. Most have a "home life" wedge, and if you're lucky it is subdivided into "alone time" and "relationship" wedges. That wedge also includes "family obligations", if we still have parents, or adult children. But I'm missing two wedges: religion and sports fandom.

This is why people are wrong (even people I'm fond of, like Thom Hartmann) when they try to say that atheism is a religion in itself. No it's not. It is the absence of religon. There is no section of my life devoted to atheism, besides the odd post here on the blog, or arguments online or in real life. I don't spend time in deep thought about it, there is no list of commandments, no contemplation about "spirituality." It is simply deleted from my pie.

The same goes for sports. I can watch a game, and even enjoy it, as long as I know who I'm supposed to root for. But following sports? Having allegiences and rivalries, and "hated" teams? It literally makes zero sense to me. My brother has similar feelings, though far more militant (yes, he's a militant anti-sportsist). So that sports-fandom wedge is also absent from my pie.

Maybe that's why I simply can't figure out why coaches carry any allegiance from people. I'm from Ohio, and I couldn't understand the over-the-top love for Woody Hayes. I can't even name a subsequent coach. My sister--a diehard Buckeye, but also an atheist--probably just rolls her eyes at that one. But what can explain the people enraged by the firing of the Penn State coach, Joe Paterno (believe it or not, I had to just look up his name)? The sports wedge seems to be a whole lot like the religion wedge.

All of this is not a declaration that I'm better than you, or have life figured out. I just find it interesting that folks have entire dedicated parts of their life that I don't share. The human experience isn't the same for everybody. I just seem to find myself on the minority side of several of the experiences.

WAIT! I have no children! I'm a quadruple minority!!!

What's Twirling Around in Herman's Head?

84-year-old Woman Maced at Occupy Seattle

Was this really necessary? Image from TowleRoad

I know that conservatives like to deride the "Occupy. . ." movement as a bunch of dirty hippies (and they don't realize that they sound exactly like South Park's Eric Cartman when they do it). But it's a movement that hasn't gone away. It is also likened to the Tea Party, but no tea bagger stayed camped out anywhere for weeks or months. They showed up, waggled their poorly spelled signs around, and went home.

And conservatives also like to call the movement "violent," and indeed there have been a few scattered reports of some foul play. But given the scale of the movement--now in cities all over the world--I think it's safe to say that by-and-large the people are peaceful. So, why are police forces in so many cities going nuclear on the protesters? It's so out of scale. Countless times, cops have been caught on video starting violence, firing rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray. They're in riot gear, often jabbing people in the ribs with their night-sticks. And now? A little old lady, sprayed in the face. Tell me, was that necessary?

[Excerpt]

Cops Soak 'Occupy Seattle' Protesters, 84-Year-Old Woman with Vicious Pepper Spray Assault
 
A stunning photo of 84-year-old Seattle activist Dorli Rainey, after she was pepper-sprayed by police last night at an Occupy Seattle protest, is making headlines this morning. . .


Read more at: TowleRoad

Victoria Jackson's PolitiChicks Show

Image from Reddit

Oh, mercy. No. You would think that certain fringe political figures would just embarrass themselves into oblivion. But it is not to be. There are several, like Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, who are running for president. There is Dennis Miller, who jumped on the conservative bandwagon during the Bush Administration, and painted himself into a very small corner. Then there are the uncategorizable, like Samuel (Joe the Plumber) Wurtzelbacher, who is unbelievably running for Senate. And even lower down the ladder, Miller's former Saturday Night Live cast mate, Victoria Jackson.

Jackson's political acumen amounts to regurgitating the words of Rush Limbaugh and his imitators, along with FOX "News" and FreeRepublic.com. And then, throw in a heaping helping of religious fervor. Jackson's knowledge doesn't run deep, and her arguments don't tend to be logical. And, when delivered in that Betty Boop voice from a middle-aged, corpulent woman's body, it just isn't cute anymore. I worry about what audience would find her entertaining. But then, I worry about the followers of the GOP presidential field too.

[Excerpt]


Victoria Jackson's 'PolitiChicks': Former 'SNL' Star Launches Anti-Gay, Anti-Muslim Web Show



Victoria Jackson has never been one to mince words, having stirred controversy for sounding off on both Occupy Wall Street and the portrayal of gay characters on "Glee" this year. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Thanks to my friend, Tracy for the link.

An Open Letter to the Republican Party

This letter, sadly, is not from me. It is from Hunter, a diarist at Daily Kos (found by way of VoenixRising). It is  a very straightforward, darkly funny but deadly serious call for sanity from the right side of the aisle. But I really doubt we'll get it.

[Excerpt]

Dear Republican Party

Republicans: We need to talk.

I know you and I don't see eye to eye on many things. We hang out with different crowds, we listen to different music, we have different interpretations of pretty much every event that has ever happened from the Big Bang onwards—but I'm worried about you. We, the whole of non-Republican America, are worried about you. Heck, I even know people in other countries that are worried about you. . .

. . .Your first serious non-Palin flirtation of this election cycle was with Michele Bachmann. Really? You could choose from among the ranks of the entire conservative movement, and you said "yeah, Michele Bachmann, I guess." I don't mean to be cruel, but that's when most of us realized that this little ideological obsession of yours had turned into a full-fledged, self-destructive addiction. You'd gone and cracked, right then and there. . .

Keep reading at: Daily Kos

Herman's Head

Source:

"Republicans Are Idiots And Arguing With Them Is A Waste Of Time!" by Addictinginfo.org

who will never be known for their subtlety!

Pizza Sauce as a Vegetable?

Image from source, ThinkProgress

Yes, pizza sauce classified as a vegetable. Incredibly--unbelievably--it was already classified as such. But an attempt to strike that ridiculous notion, and to improve the healthiness of school lunches was thwarted by the GOP. Who are apparently so put off by the First Lady's "Let's Move" campaign--or let's face it, in bed with the corporations making the unhealthy food--that they'd come out against healthy food for kids.

[Excerpt]


House GOP Classifies Pizza As A Vegetable To ‘Prevent Overly Burdensome’ School Lunch Regulations

The spending bill also would allow tomato paste on pizzas to be counted as a vegetable, as it is now. The department’s proposed guidelines would have attempted to prevent that.
The changes had been requested by food companies that produce frozen pizzas, the salt industry and potato growers. Some conservatives in Congress have called the push for healthier foods an overreach, saying the government shouldn’t be telling children what to eat. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment on Occupy Raid

I still can't get Current TV in Las Vegas. So, I've missed these "Special Comments."

GOP Family Feud!

Another one from The Stephanie Miller Show's Mike in Raleigh.

GOP Feud by Mike In Raleigh

Bill Maher's On Hiatus; Wants GOP to Refrain from Stupidity til His Return

I've never really understood Real Time with Bill Maher's schedule. It seems like, just when politics is heating up, Real Time goes on hiatus. It's better now than it used to be, but with last Friday's finale, the show is off the air until mid-January. I'd understand if it were a nightly show, as Maher's Politically Incorrect used to be. But a weekly show going off the air every few months. . .for a few months? Irritating. But only because I miss the show when it is off. C'mon, Bill! Stewert and Colbert take two, three weeks off, and they're back!

[Excerpt]


Bill Maher Hopes the Republicans Won't Do Anything Silly While His Show's on Hiatus


Friday night's episode of 'Real Time With Bill Maher' was the last show of its fall season, and coincided perfectly with Rick Perry's "Oops!" debate gaffe and the Herman Cain sexual harassment scandal. Maher went on 'Good Morning America' (weekdays, 7AM ET on ABC) to dish on the Republican field, and voiced his hope that the candidates would refrain from doing embarrassing things until his show returns in January. . .

Read more (with video) at: TV Squad 

Notable Quotable: The Rude Pundit on Newt Gingrich

"Newt Gingrich is as appalling a globule of corrupt phlegm that the rheumatic lungs of the body politic has ever hacked up."

--Lee Papa, aka The Rude Pundit

Much more at: The Rude Pundit

Herman Cain Has Amazingly Stinky Brain Fart

Stalling for time doesn't work, if you just don't know the answer.
Image from source, TPM

If it hasn't dawned on you yet, the Herman Cain campaign was never supposed to be in first place. It was--much like Newt's effort--a way to sell books and raise his speaking fees. And though Cain's star was only one in a series of new GOP front-runners, he was in the lead for a comparatively long time.
 
At every stop, Cain either lies, spouts nonsense (9, 9, 9!), or just proves that he's not ready for prime time. Uz-becky-becky-stan-stan? But now, he's topped himself. Maybe topped them all.

[Excerpt]

Cain Chokes On Libya Question: ‘Got All This Stuff Twirling Around In My Head’

Herman Cain may have just had his Rick Perry “oops” moment.

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board, Cain was asked whether he agreed or not with President Obama’s decisions on Libya.

The beginning of Cain’s answer then gave the impression that he might have been working from rote memorization — and struggling to remember his lines. . .

Read more (with video) at: Talking Points Memo