Senator Elizabeth Warren on What Comes Next

Image from Huffington Post

I love this woman. I can't express how much, she's just awesome. So awesome, that I really think if she'd been the candidate or if she had been the running mate, we might have had a very different outcome on Tuesday night. I am all in if she runs in 2020, and think of the slogans that could go with that number! She's tremendous.

[Excerpt]

President-Elect Donald Trump

This wasn’t a pretty election. In fact, it was ugly, and we should not sugarcoat the reason why. Donald Trump ran a campaign that started with racial attacks and then rode the escalator down. He encouraged a toxic stew of hatred and fear. He attacked millions of Americans. And he regularly made statements that undermined core values of our democracy.

And he won. He won — and now Latino and Muslim-American children are worried about what will happen to their families. LGBT couples are worried that their marriages could be dissolved by a Trump-Pence Supreme Court. Women are worried that their access to desperately needed health services will disappear. Millions of people in this country are worried, deeply worried. And they are right to be worried. . .

Read more at: Medium

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Electrifying Anti-Citibank Speech

I love Elizabeth Warren, and haven't been shy about saying so. Since the first time I saw her--probably on Real Time with Bill Maher some years ago--I was smitten. I was thrilled when I heard she was running for Senate, and even happier when she beat Scott Brown (and hell, I'm gay, and he's a looker*). I'm an unapologetic Warrenite.

So, naturally, I knew I'd get around to watching her speech before the Senate about the fairly stupid, greedy amendment shoved into the federal spending bill, which was effectively written by Citibank. The amendment returns the burden of a potential bailout of the banks to taxpayers, should they once again gamble with our money and lose it. And they will, particularly when you realize that the Republican Congress loves to deregulate, and hates any restriction on big business. And Democrats can be as bad sometimes.

That's why I love Warren. She may be a Democrat, but she is dedicated to consumers and citizens, not to corporations, and she doesn't appear to have been corrupted (please don't fall under their spell, Lizzie!). She is unafraid to call out Citi, and is heedless of the fact that other Democrats are not on board with her. She's blazing a trail, and she's making some waves. So, I queued up the video, and noticed it was almost 10 minutes long. I figured I'd watch a little, maybe skip ahead. . .but I watched it all, and it went down easy. She's tremendous. Watch for yourself.

And I'll say this: if Right Wing World can only throw slurs like "Fauxcahontas" at her, over her claim that she has some Native American ancestry? I've got to wonder what in the world they're smoking, and point out, they've got nothing. And they've got no one like Elizabeth Warren.

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Elizabeth Warren Rips Citigroup For Weaseling Wall Street Giveaway Into Government Spending Bill

[NOTE: This clip is from Hardball. The un-embeddable stand-alone clip is available at the link below.]

As promised, Elizabeth Warren has left blood and teeth on the floor. During the final debate over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, before Warren was a senator, she was asked about an attempt to defang the unborn agency. "My first choice is a strong consumer agency. My second choice is no agency at all and plenty of blood and teeth left on the floor,” she said at the time, comments that were unsuccessfully used against her in her subsequent campaign. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post


*A little joke, lest anyone wonder. Not the good looking part, the notion that it would matter!

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Knocks Eric Cantor's Multi-Million Dollar Wall Street Gig

Image from source, Huffington Post

I love Elizabeth Warren. I can't stand Eric Cantor's bitch face. So, obviously, I had to post this story.

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Elizabeth Warren Slams Eric Cantor's Move To Investment Bank

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) blasted former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) for taking a job with investment bank Moelis & Co. "How wrong can this be that basically what's happening here is that people work in Washington, and man, they hit that revolving door with a speed that would blind you," Warren said in a Wednesday interview with Katie Couric of Yahoo! News. . .

Read more (with video) at: Huffington Post

Ed Markey Retains Massachusetts Senate Seat for Democrats

I had to chuckle when I watched a portion (I can only take it in small doses) of FOX "News" Sunday, and saw Chris Wallace interviewing Gabriel Gomez. Of course he would, on the Sunday before the special election to fill Secretary of State John Kerry's Senate seat. You can say this for FOX "News," they always do their part for their team. Gomez had come off poorly in debates, and was trailing by 9 to 12 points in polls, but insisted he could pull out a win. Isn't that always the way?

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It may have worked, slightly. It looks like the margin was 8 points, so Gomez may have picked up a tiny boost from the exposure. He was an unusual Republican, being pro-gay marriage, and soft on several Right Wing World issues. I guess you have to be in Massachusetts. But it wasn't enough, and Ed Markey is in! And he's one of the good guys, in my estimation, so kudos all around.

[Excerpt]

Democrats hold Kerry's Senate seat with Markey victory

Secretary of State John Kerry's former Senate seat will stay in Democratic hands as longtime Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey handily defeated Republican Gabriel Gomez in Tuesday’s special election. . .

Read more at: NBC News

Lawrence O'Donnell Rewrites Rudy Giuliani's Take on National Security

There are certain people who should have no credible say on politics or national security. They include almost anyone from the George W. Bush administration, and Rudolph Giuliani. And yet, they keep popping up like bad pennies. Here's Rudy, lisping Sylvester the cat impersonator, traipsing through the Boston Marathon bombing area, trying to pretend like he's some kind of anti-terrorism expert. He failed. Rather spectacularly. He was lauded at the time, despite his failings. Will history correct the record? With the help of Lawrence O'Donnell, maybe we'll get it right.

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Boston Berzerk

As I type this, I'm up late (or early, I suppose) into the early hours of my birthday. I should be sleeping, so that I can get up early and have a wonderful birthday breakfast. But there is an unfolding, and utterly bananas story coming out of Boston.

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There is too much conflicting and contradictory information to report with any level of accuracy. I'm watching MSNBC, which seems to be really trying to not overstep into too much speculation. Everything is qualified and clearly said to be guesswork when it is, with endless repeatings of the facts as they are known, and then just what they're hearing. The skittishness is understandable, given the bad reporting by The New York Post, CNN and FOX "News" earlier in the week.

But the gist is that a police run-in with a seemingly unrelated criminal element in Watertown, with an officer shot, a hail of gunfire in a fire fight, a pressure cooker bomb being "lit" and thrown at the cops, and a very likely but still tentative naming of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. . .one dead? One on the loose? Possibly three of them?

It's really unclear, though even as I type this, it would seem that they're getting surer that these are the guys that the FBI was looking for. But even that doesn't prove that they were the actual bombers. . .or the only bombers.

Oddly, some sources are saying that one of the guys--the one on the loose--is a guy named Sunil Tripathi, who has been missing for a month. I don't know what that's about, but there you go. I'm sure this story will continue to morph, and some things will turn out not to be true, other things play out, etc. But this is going to be a movie or miniseries one day. Count on it.

UPDATE: As I suspected, this Tripathi kid is NOT one of the names of the two suspected bombers. I'm not sure how his name got in the mix, but I sure didn't think he looked like either of them. More later.

[Excerpt]

Explosions, fatal shooting in Boston area

Two men identified by law enforcement sources as the Boston Marathon attack suspects — armed with explosives and guns — battled authorities in a Boston suburb early Friday morning, unleashing chaos until cops took one of the men into custody, and the other fled, the sources said.
Officials later said the the suspect taken into custody died. . .

Read more at: NBC News

Will Conspiracy Theorists Will Have a Tough Time with Boston Bombings?

When something bad happens in the news that is of the scale of the bombings in Boston, I feel compelled--and I don't know why I do it--to check in with FreeRepublic.com. Not to get the news, or some kind of insight, heavens no. I just want to see what the lunatic fringe (now, sadly with representation in Congress) is saying, right off the bat.

I liken FReepers to Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls, who was said to have suffered a stroke that removed the "tact" filter in her brain. FReepers have no filters, except the reality distorting Right Wing World prism they run everything through. They have no concept of "too soon" or "out of bounds," unless it goes against one of their near-and-dear issues, and then they are extremely easily offended, and full of outrage. They are also prone to instant conspiracy theories. Some flame out very quickly, some catch fire. All have inconsistencies, blind alley tangents and plot holes, with some having coherence problems at the very beginning, and others falling into unintelligiblity later on.

And sure enough, there were already FReepers calling the Boston Marathon bombings a false flag incident. Some were tying it to Sandy Hook. And that of course was leading them to some sort of tie-in with "gun grabbing" and Obama using it to take more of our "freedoms." Yeah, they're idiots. So, while I was glad to find this article from Dave Weigel about why spinning this into a conspiracy will be awkward, he underestimates the wingnuts. They don't care if their theories are around the bend, make no sense and are self-contradictory. They're all id, no tact, no logic, and have no problem with cognitive dissonance. See why I keep tabs on 'em?

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Why the Conspiracy Theorists Will Have a Tough Time With Boston

. . .We walked past it right in time to hear the "false flag" guy. Dan Bidondi, a "reporter/analyist" (sic) for Alex Jones's InfoWars, managed to ask Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick the very first question in a nationally televised press conference. 

Why were the loud speakers telling people in the audience to be calm moments before the bombs went off? Is this another false flag staged attack to take our civil liberties and promote homeland security while sticking their hands down our pants on the streets? . .

Read more at: Slate

New Obama Ad: We've Heard it All Before

A lot of people used to complain that President Obama didn't have enough experience to be president. Well, they probably still do. But what is Mitt Romney's experience? Four years as a fairly unaccomplished governor (except for RomneyCare, which they're not touting much), and being a vulture capitalist. But really, for the last several years, he's just been a professional campaigner for office. And last time out, he was beaten by the guy who was beaten by Obama!

Elizabeth Warren's 30-second Take-down of Mitt Romney

People are focused on the Scott Walker recall election in Wisconsin, and to date I still don't understand why the national Democrats aren't more invested in it. But for me, the real fight is in Massachusetts. That's where the seemingly eternal Ted Kennedy Senate seat was usurped by super-sexy former Cosmopolitan centerfold, Scott Brown. He's only had a partial term, and is now up for re-election. He's running against Elizabeth Warren, one of the most well-spoken, intelligent, educated, awesome women I've ever seen run for office. I'd vote for her for whatever she was running for!

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Elizabeth Warren's First Senate Ad

Elizabeth Warren is quite possibly the only politician I'm excited about. Well, her and Alan Grayson. If I lived in either Massachusetts or Florida, that would be okay. But Nevada's choices aren't quite as exciting.

Sen. Scott Brown, Plagiarist?

Senator Sexy. Image from Jezebel

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is most famous for his nude picture in Cosmopolitan, and for his winning of Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. Since that election, he's become something of a moderate Republican (as much as such a thing exists), and lost a lot of the support he had from diehard tea partiers. Now, he may just my lose some more.

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Scott Brown in plagiarism flap

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is being accused of plagiarizing from the website of former Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

A part of Brown’s welcome message on the student resources page of the senator’s official website was taken verbatim from the welcome message on Dole’s website, language that was used in the former North Carolina senator’s campaign kickoff in 2002, The Boston Globe first reported. . .

Read more at: Politico
 

Elizabeth Warren Running for Senate

For the life of me, I cannot understand the right-wing opposition to Elizabeth Warren. She is one of the most forthright, intelligent, coolest politicians I've ever heard speak. I've caught her interviews on HBO, MSNBC and CNN, and she's never faltered. She's always entertaining and educational. Go, Elizabeth! Run! Run!

Federal Judge Rules DOMA Unconstitutional. . .for Massachusetts

Image from source, GayCityNews

The Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, and ever since has been a source of consternation for those of us on the side of marriage equality.  The fact that it overrules the Constitution's "full faith and credit" clause ought to make its un-Constitutionality obvious.  So, it is very interesting to see that the Federal Judge in this case found two other parts of the Constitution that DOMA violates.  Hopefully another judge will address that clause, rendering the whole of DOMA un-Constitutional.

I'm happy that the judge ruled this way, because very often in sensitive issue cases (religion in politics, and anything to do with the gay), judges twist their logic into a pretzel to come up with reasons why obviously un-Constitutional laws do not violate the Constitution.  An example would be for the Supreme Court to rule that "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance does not have a religious meaning.  Really, they did that.

Another reason to be glad, is that this sets a precedent for other states when it comes to future cases involving same-sex marriage.  Will they fall like dominoes, or have to fight one state at a time? Will this instead go to the Supreme Court, effectively overturning DOMA or cementing it in place?  The prospect makes me--half of a legally married same-sex couple--nervous. Because a court that could rule that "God" is not a religious word could contort their logic to say anything.

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Federal Judge Strikes Down Portions of DOMA



In a stunning double win in the battle to advance the marriage equality cause, a US district court judge in Boston on July 8 has struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal recognition of legal marriages by same-sex couples, in separate cases brought by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and married gay and lesbian couples.



In Gill et al v. Office of Personnel Management, Judge Joseph L. Tauro ruled that Section 3 is unconstitutional in the context of claims brought by seven married same-sex couples and three widowers from Massachusetts. The plaintiffs challenged the denial of federal recognition in a variety of areas, including income tax filing, Social Security, and benefits available to US government employees and retirees. . .

Read more at: GayCityNews

Sen. Scott Brown is Sort of Confused

Image from source, Huffinton Post

Politicians, like newscasters, can sometimes rise to prominence on little more than a pretty face.  It doesn't always work (witness the smart and pretty Scott Kleeb), but sometimes it does. And one-time Cosmopolitan model, Scott Brown (R-Mass.) seems to be between a rock an a hard place. Or rather, between Massachusetts voters and the tea baggers.  It has to be something of a political mine field for poor Brown, trying to please the tea baggers while also trying to. . .you know. . .make sense.

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Scott Brown Struggles To Explain His Position On Wall Street Reform


Share Comments 2,388 I gather that Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) thought that this legislative game was going to be easy? Just straight up drive his pickup truck to Washington and set about casting the 41st vote and all would be well? And then he took a moment to think like a guy who might want to be re-elected to the Senate from Massachusetts, and cast a vote for a jobs bill, and watched as his supporters lost their ever-loving minds on his Facebook wall. Now he doesn't seem to know if he's coming or going -- and having difficulty explaining things to reporters. Nobody said that there would be "explaining"! . . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Maddow: Senator Brown, You're LYING.

Can you believe Sen. Scott Brown (R-Cosmo) is still pretending that MSNBC host Rachel Maddow is running against him for Senate?

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Rachel Maddow & Hal Sparks: Trying to Prove She is NOT Running Against Scott Brown

If you've been here before, you know I love Rachel Maddow. And I love Rachel's guest in this segment, Hal Sparks, perhaps. . .uh. . .too much. Anyway, Rachel and Hal discuss ways to convince Sen. Scott Brown (R-Cosmopolitan) that she is not running against him for Senate. Maybe he'll get it this time?

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Rachel Maddow Throws Cold Water on Massachusetts' Scott Brown

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) has made a bizarre fundraising claim that the Democrats are trying to get Rachel Maddow to run for his seat in November. Captain Naked is darn fine and all, but I think Maddow is the least likely person to be after his seat. Ahem.

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Scott Brown Joins with Democrats on "Bipartisan" Bill

Image from source, MSNBC

It's funny that "bipartisan" now means a bare handfull from the Republican side voting with Democrats to help them flesh out their "small majority." Even funnier is that Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), whom the conservatives were fawning over last week is now on their shit list.

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Bipartisan jobs bill clears GOP filibuster

A bipartisan jobs bill cleared a GOP filibuster on Monday with critical momentum provided by the Senate's newest Republican, Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

The 62-30 tally to advance the measure to a final vote on Wednesday gives both President Barack Obama and Capitol Hill Democrats a much-needed victory — even though the measure in question is likely to have only a modest boost on hiring. . .

Read more at: MSNBC

Sen. Scott Brown Compares Plane Crash to Movement That Got Him Elected

Something tells me that Senator Cosmo is going to be a hoot to have around. He'd been Senator from Massachusetts for all of 90 seconds when he was gaffing about his daughters being "available." Now, he's comparing Andrew Joseph Stack's (the guy who crashed a plane into a building today) motivation to the motivation of the voters who got him elected. I'd call that a gaffe.

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New GOP Senator Scott Brown links guy crashing plane into IRS office to his election - same anger



Seriously. The new Republican Senator from Massachusetts went on FOX News this evening and was asked about the nut who crashed his plane into an IRS office building, because he hates the government. Here is what Scott Brown said, when asked about this possible act of terrorism. . .

Read more at: AmericaBlog

FOX "News" Isn't News: Love Letter to Scott Brown

People with functioning brains have no trouble seeing that FOX "News" is something other than a news channel. But denials--all the way up to Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch--still happen anyway. If you're a doubter (and then doubtless a "FOX fan"), check out this drooling smooch-fest for the recently elected Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.).