ANN COULTER SPEAKS AT CPAC!

UPDATE:

My friend and worthy opponent, Gordon, from A Political Glimpse from Ireland, has chastised me over my nasty characterization of Ann Coulter and for making personal attacks on her womanhood. He felt it necessary to defend a woman who speaks and publishes this sort of crap:

"Coulter writes in a new book, 'Godless: The Church of Liberalism,' that a group of New Jersey widows whose husbands perished in the World Trade Center act “as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them.”She also wrote, “I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much.”


and this:

"Coulter accuses the 9-11 widows—or "Witches of East Brunswick," as she calls them. I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' death so much..."

"The other night she was on "Scarborough Country" bragging that her book has ended the political participation of the 9/11 widows whom she calls the "Jersey Girls," and who she says have enriched themselves over their husbands' corpses. These "broads," as she terms them, are enjoying their husbands' deaths. Then, godly woman that she purports to be, Coulter asks rhetorically, "How do we know their husbands weren't planning to divorce these harpies?"


Yes, I called her a harpie in my satire of her. And I made fun of her with as much callousness and contempt as she has seen fit to give people she disagrees with during her wasted life.


How anyone can defend a pathetic, attention-seeking, self-absorbed wreck of a human being with the heart of a turnip will forever be an enduring mystery to me.

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Ann Coulter spoke, actually a better verb is droned, at the CPAC this week and presented her audience with tired, stale, loser snark. It got the attendees all giddy and jelly-wobbley, but a talking porcine ungulate would have done the same…oh wait…didn’t that happen too?

Anyway, here’re a few of her lame remarks and my snark to counter her High-Lamenity:
She says history shows that the public opinion of Republican Presidents always goes up and Dem Presidents always go down.

Right. Paging Herbert Hoover! Warren G. Harding! Richard M. Nixon! Ann Coulter is channeling you and ‘splaining to the Republicans how highly all of you disgraced presidents are now esteemed by historians! The GOP: We Create Our Own Reality!

She calls the media the government “guard dog” except Olbermann and Matthews who are government lap dogs.

Well Ann, I suppose it’s better to be called a “guard” dog or a “lap” dog rather than just a dog, isn’t it? Tell me.

“The media compared Obama to Jesus. I lost a bet. They do know who Jesus is. But as the leader of twelve apostles, even Jesus had more executive experience than Obama.”
“Apparently the media likes carpenters. It’s plumbers they hate.”

No, Ann, the media hate fake, stupid-ass people who pass themselves off as plumbers. And dated political hacks. You should know that, sweetie.

“I guess that’s the end of Obama’s honeymoon with the press. He’s not Jesus. Now he’s just Lincoln.”

And you’re giving moldy, unfunny speeches at the losing party’s CPAC and will not be getting invitations to the White House. Heh.

“The press called Lincoln a baboon. If only Al Sharpton had been around, Lincoln would have known he was a victim of racism.”

The press also hated Mary Lincoln and called her crazy. If Ann Coulter had been around (and it’s possible she was), Mary would have known who incited the harpies on that issue.

“The press is still talking about the fist bump Lincoln gave Mary Todd the night he won the nomination. It was a big night for Mary Todd. She was finally proud of her country.”

Yes, Ann. We can all be proud that the country kicked Republican ass on November 4, 2008. And a very big fist-bump to you too, honey.

“Wait until the press finds out that Obama sleeps through the night without wetting himself.”

Wait until the press finds out that your unhinged punditry is not due to incisive analysis, but rather to the result of changes that women in their late, late 40s normally experience and come to terms with. It’s all right, dear. There will always be men who will find your skanky looks irresistible.

“The one thing the press knows about Lincoln is that he put rivals on his cabinet. I’m not sure buying Clinton’s cabinet at fire sale prices is the same thing.”

OMG! What a knee-slapper that one was! Anne, who writes your material, Dr. Kevorkian?

“Obama’s basic message . . . was bringing people together. I’ve heard that speech since I was about nine years old. Even Richard Nixon . . . gave a speech in 1968 saying he saw a little girl holding a sign that read ‘bring us together again.’The theme is not new."

Neither are you. Nine years old in 1968? I know of grannys who are younger than that!

“If Obama thinks the people really want change, wait till 2012.”

You really think the country wants to re-experience Republican failures? Did you actually sleep through the last election? Wait. As we age, I understand, naps are needed.

“I think we all know where Clinton’s place called hope is. [pause] Anywhere Hillary isn’t.”

Pssst. Ann, no one takes you seriously, you’re known as a political jokester and hack. Hillary Clinton, OTH, is Madame Secretary of State. Heh.

MORE ON GOVERNOR JINDAL

My conservative friend, Gordon, who guest-blogs over at A Political Glimpse from Ireland, has a post up titled "Hearts and minds, or Why liberal bigotry is okay, and the main thrust of the post is what Ann Althouse IMAGINES people think about Gov. Jindal:

"Bad, bad Bobby Jindal. Quick! Help me think of all the ways Bobby Jindal is just terrible. Ack! Don't look at him! He's horrible! I can barely stand to look at him. When he first emerges from behind a curtain, I moan "Oh, God." This is terrible. This is automatically horrible. A man of color, who is not supporting our side. One look and I am disgusted. How loathsome!"

There isn't anything in her post that links to any ACTUAL racial bigotry toward Gov. Jindal. Only her imaginings and opinions. What a colossal waste of time and bandwidth.

Gov. Jindal was criticized for his awful delivery of his rebuttal to President Obama's speech to the joint session of Congress. And it was awful. No one denigrates his educational achievements nor his political accomplishments. But, as important as those are to a rising politician, there are other attributes that one needs in 0rder to be perceived as a contender for the presidency. To point that out is not bigotry.

One more thing. A number of conservatives have made fun of Pres. Obama's use of the name Barry when he was a young man. He tried it for a time, because he felt the name Barack was too exotic, and like all young people, wanted to "fit in." As he matured, he became comfortable with who he was and accepted the name his parents gave him. No big deal. Except conservatives routinely use the name "Barry" derisively when they refer to Pres. Obama.

Now the Republicans have one of their rising stars who also wanted to "fit in" and decided his given name, Piyush, was too exotic, so he chose the name Bobby, (from the Brady Bunch, which he so admired at the time).

Will the conservatives disrespect Gov. Jindal's wish to be called what he chooses to call himself, "Bobby," and instead mock him by using his given name, Piyush? Just wondering. Because they were so diligent in calling Pres. Obama "Barry," a name he decided he didn't want.


On another issue, Gov. Jindal has a problem with honesty (see my post below) and with hypocrisy as well, and it isn't bigotry to point that out:

Louisiana to seek New Orleans-Baton Rouge passenger rail line from federal stimulus pot that Jindal called wasteful
by Robert Travis Scott
The Times-Picayune
Friday February 27, 2009, 6:08 PM


BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's transportation department plans to request federal dollars for a New Orleans to Baton Rouge passenger rail service from the same pot of railroad money in the president's economic stimulus package that Gov. Bobby Jindal criticized as unnecessary pork on national television Tuesday night.

The high-speed rail line, a topic of discussion for years, would require $110 million to upgrade existing freight lines and terminals to handle a passenger train operation, said Mark Lambert, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.
Jindal on Tuesday delivered the official Republican Party response to President Barack Obama's address to Congress. He criticized the stimulus package passed by the Democratic-majority in Congress and the president and noted examples of projects that he found objectionable.

"While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending," Jindal said. "It includes ... $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a 'magnetic levitation' line from Las Vegas to Disneyland."

WHY DID JINDAL LIE ABOUT THE KATRINA STORY?

He's not a stupid man. Why did he feel it necessary to make up the story about himself and Sheriff Harry Lee and how Jindal told Lee he could ignore the government bureaucrats' requirement for permits for the volunteer boats to rescue stranded Katrina victims?

According to Jindal, he told Lee, "that's ridiculous," which prompted Lee to tell the bureaucrat that the rescue effort would go ahead and he or she could arrest both Lee and Jindal.

In Jindal's rebuttal to Pres. Obama's speech, and in recalling this story, Jindal specifically states that he was there at the time this was happening.

After Sheriff Lee told him about the permit and insurance requirements Jindal states:

"I told him, Sheriff, that's ridiculous. Before I knew it, he was yelling on the phone, 'Congressman Jindal's here and you can come and arrest him too!"

Except...it is NOT true. Jindal was NOT there at the time of the incident. He did not tell Harry Lee anything of the sort.

Jindal Admits Katrina Story Was False
By Zachary Roth - February 27, 2009, 12:39PM


But now, a Jindal spokeswoman has admitted to Politico that in reality, Jindal overheard Lee talking about the episode to someone else by phone "days later." The spokeswoman said she thought Lee, who died in 2007, was being interviewed about the incident at the time.

This is no minor difference. Jindal's presence in Lee's office during the crisis itself was a key element of the story's intended appeal, putting him at the center of the action during the maelstrom. Just as important, Jindal implied that his support for the sheriff helped ensure the rescue went ahead. But it turns out Jindal wasn't there at the key moment, and played no role in making the rescue happen.

There's a larger point here, though. The central anecdote of the GOP's prime-time response to President Obama's speech, intended to illustrate the threat of excessive government regulation, turns out to have been made up.

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Why did Gov. Jindal fictionalize the real story and insert himself into it when he wasn't there? Are the Republicans so bereft of ideas that the only way to convince people that they are the party of solutions is to make up stories and hope people will believe that their fictions prove that they're anti-government heroes?

And why didn't Gov. Jindal think anyone would find out the truth? Telling the truth about that story would have made the point Jindal was going for. Finding out that he lied about his involvement brings everything else he said in his rebuttal into question.

THE MYTH THAT WON'T DIE--TAX CUTS INCREASE REVENUES

“The claim that tax cuts pay for themselves…is contradicted by the historical record,” reported the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which showed that revenues grew twice as fast in the 1990s, when taxes were raised, than in the 1980s, when taxes were cut.

FactCheck.org called the claim that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) made--"Every major tax cut we’ve had in history has created more revenue. "--“highly misleading” and stated the obvious fact that “we can’t have both lower taxes and fatter government coffers.”

From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

TAX CUTS: MYTHS AND REALITIES, dated May 2008:

Since 2001, the Administration and Congress have enacted a wide array of tax cuts, including reductions in individual income tax rates, repeal of the estate tax, and reductions in capital gains and dividend taxes.

Nearly all of these tax cuts are scheduled to expire by the end of 2010. Making them permanent would cost about $4.4 trillion over the next decade (when the cost of additional interest on the federal debt is included). (http://www.cbpp.org/1-31-07tax.htm)

Because important decisions about these tax policies must be made in the next few years, it is essential to understand their effects on deficits, the economy, and the distribution of income.

Supporters of the tax cuts have sometimes sought to bolster their case by understating the tax cuts’ costs, overstating their economic effects, or minimizing their regressivity.

Here, we address some of the myths heard most frequently in recent tax-cut debates. (For a discussion of myths specific to the estate tax debate, see http://www.cbpp.org/pubs/estatetax.htm.

For a discussion of issues surrounding the Alternative Minimum Tax, see http://www.cbpp.org/2-14-07tax.htm.)

Myth 1: Tax cuts “pay for themselves.”

“You cut taxes and the tax revenues increase.” — President Bush, February 8, 2006

“You have to pay for these tax cuts twice under these pay-go rules if you apply them, because these tax cuts pay for themselves.” — Senator Judd Gregg, then Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, March 9, 2006

Reality: A study by the President’s own Treasury Department confirmed the common-sense view shared by economists across the political spectrum: cutting taxes decreases revenues.

Myth 2: Even if the tax cuts reduced revenues initially, they boosted revenues and lowered deficits in 2005 to 2007.

“Some in Washington say we had to choose between cutting taxes and cutting the deficit… Today’s numbers [the updated 2006 budget projections] show that that was a false choice. The economic growth fueled by tax relief has helped send our tax revenues soaring.” — President

Bush, July 11, 2006

Reality: Robust revenue growth in 2005-2007 has not made up for extraordinarily weak revenue growth over the previous few years.

POOR, POOR SIR BOBBY JINDAL

"$140 million for something called "volcano monitoring." Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, DC. "- Bobby Jindal

What was he thinking? Throw something out there that sounds weird and hope the American people agree with you that it's stupid? Despite the fact that volcanic eruptions are real and kill real people? Does he believe hurricane monitoring is a waste of taxpayer money too? Are the Republicans and their "stars" really this out of touch with reality?

Alaskans Erupt Over Jindal Volcano Jab

US, Science & Health, Politics

Alaskans of all stripes are incensed by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s disparaging comments Tuesday about the necessity of volcano monitoring, the Anchorage Daily News reports. It’s “a matter of life and death in Alaska,” Sen. Mark Begich wrote the Republican. Even Gov. Sarah Palin’s office weighed in. “Of course Alaskans want to know if a volcano is going to blow,” a rep said.

Not only is Alaska the locus for much of the volcano activity in the US, but an eruption threatening Anchorage could disrupt international trade. “Any interruptions,” Begich wrote, could be felt even in “Baton Rouge.” Experts also wondered why Jindal singled out monitoring, which will get $14 million in federal dollars, not the $140 million he quoted. “It saves lives to be able to warn people,” one said.

Source: Anchorage Daily News

PS. Gov. Jindal Rejects Stimulus/$3.8B...Accepts $3.7B

Republicans are against the stimulus bill, but that doesn't mean they won't take the money. Bobby Jindal is a particularly excellent example.

LIMBAUGH CALLS JINDAL THE NEXT RONALD REAGAN?

And Jindal absolutely adores Limbaugh? Is this what the GOP has sunk to? A Rhodes Scholar in love with a loud-mouth demagogue?

I am astounded that a man with Jindal's educational background would be so in love with a political hack. And yet it's true.

During his Feb. 28, 2008 radio show, Limbaugh explained that Jindal is among the small group of conservative leaders with the “guts to articulate” right-wing “Rushism” principles.

Right-wing Rushism principles? OMG! Windbag now thinks the GOP worships at his little porcine feet, and what he bloviates on is what will put the GOP back in power in 2012? Keep at it "el Rushbo," I hope you continue to snort and grunt this narcissistic nonsense over the air because it reminds the rest of America--the MAJORITY, BTW, of what a self-absorbed cacafuego you are.

In an interview with Limbaugh in 2007, Jindal gushed that he reads Limbaugh’s books and that he is a “huge fan” of Limbaugh’s program. In addition, Jindal proudly displays Limbaugh’s kind words for him on his campaign website, where there are links to Limbaugh transcripts and articles.

Paul Begala urged Jindal to “dump Rush.” Begala writes, “But if it is Pres. Bush who haunts Gov. Jindal’s past, it is Rush Limbaugh who haunts his future.”

Last night on Twitter, conservative commentator Amanda Carpenter wrote:

"Hackwatch: Conservatives/GOP-ers who try to spin Jindal's performance as anything better than it was..are hacks. Ugh, I have to go to bed."

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SPEECH TO JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

President Obama's speech to Congress last night was very well received.



Gov. Jindal's rebuttal? Not so much.

Here's conservative columnist David Brooks' take on Jindal:

LEHRER: How well did he do?

BROOKS: Not so well. You know, I think Bobby Jindal is a very promising politician, and I opposed the stimulus package - I thought it was poorly drafted - but to come up at this moment in history with a stale, "government is the problem...we can't trust the government"...it's just a disaster for the Republican Party. The country is in a panic, now. They may not like the way the Congress passed the stimulus bill. The idea that government is going to have no role in this...in a moment where only the Federal government is big enough to do stuff...to just ignore all that and say government's the problem...corruption, earmarks, wasteful spending - it's just a form of nihilism. It's just not where the country is, it's not where the future of the country is. There's an intra-Republican debate: some people say the Republican party lost its way because it got too moderate, some people say they got too weird or too conservative. He thinks they got too moderate, and he's making that case. I think it's insane. I think it's a disaster for the party. I just think it's unfortunate right now.





Republicans have to take serious, serious note of this, otherwise, they will be seen as nothing but negative, obstructionist pessimists who have only old worn-out rhetoric to offer and nothing else. If the GOP continues down that path, and if Gov. Jindal is the best they have to offer, they're in big trouble.

GOP OFFERS RETRIBUTION AGAINST MODERATE REPUBLICANS:

THERE IS NO "LIBERAL" MEDIA

The "liberal media" meme spread by the conservatives has always been a lie, but that didn't stop their non-critical thinking followers from repeating it time and again and believing in the fiction. I have posted the reality here and here showing that even though the White House and the Congress is in the Democrats' hands, the cable and network news stations STILL favor Republicans on their shows. Why is that?

Facts are stubborn things, and this study shows that the bellowing bullies in the Republican Party spreading the nonsense about a liberal media are simply wrong.

Study: Network news coverage favored Republicans from 1992-2004.

It’s a truism among conservatives that the media has a liberal bias, but a study of campaign

coverage released by Indiana University has found that ABC, CBS, and NBC favored Republicans

in each of the presidential elections from 1992 through 2004. The study, which is the “first

major research project analyzing the relatively unexplored territory of visual coverage in

presidential elections,” found that “production decisions” such as editing techniques, camera

angles and shot lengths were more favorable to Republicans. The study also looked at “who is

given the last say in a piece,” finding that “GOP candidates were favored in terms of having the

last say in all but the 2004 election.”
- Michael Wilson


From Huffington Post:


The three major broadcast networks favored Republicans in elections from 1992 to 2004, according to a study that analyzed presidential campaign coverage.

That effect was largely due to journalists censoring their own reporting out of frustration at being accused of a liberal bias, according to Maria Elizabath Grabe, associate professor in the Department of Telecommunications at Indiana University College Of Arts and Sciences, who co-authored "Image Bite Politics: News And The Visual Framing Of Elections" (Oxford University Press) with fellow academic Erik Bucy.

Grabe and Bucy examined 62 hours of network news coverage - 178 newscasts - between Labor Day and Election Day over four elections and examined the visual coverage, including such package techniques as the "lip-flap shot - when a reporter's voice is heard over video of the candidate, which tends to be unflattering for that candidate.

They also examined the "Goldilocks effect" - which party gets the last say in a piece and is better remembered by viewers.

According to their research, Democrats were more likely to be the subject of the unflattering "lip-flap" effect while GOP candidates had the last say in every election but 2004. In 1996, Republicans got the final say eight times as many times as Democrats.

REPUBLICANS: WRONG THEN; WRONG NOW.

SEE UPDATE BELOW

President Obama's approval numbers are still high.

When GWB was in office and his approval numbers were in the toilet, I remember reading conservative blogs and learning that it doesn't matter what the pollsters say, that George W. Bush was beloved by the American people, no matter what his approval rating was. LOL!

Now when I visit some of these blogs I read comments about how Mr. Obama's numbers are "tanking" and how the American people don't like him, and he's really not the president because his father was born in Kenya, and he's a radical communist, and blah, blah, blah...


From today's NYTimes:

By JEFF ZELENY and MEGAN THEE-BRENAN
Published: February 23, 2009

President Obama is benefiting from remarkably high levels of optimism and confidence among Americans about his leadership, providing him with substantial political clout as he confronts the nation’s economic challenges and opposition from nearly all Republicans in Congress, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

A majority of people surveyed in both parties said Mr. Obama was striving to work in a bipartisan way, but most faulted Republicans for their response to the president, saying the party had objected to the $787 billion economic stimulus plan for political reasons. Most said Mr. Obama should pursue the priorities he campaigned on, the poll found, rather than seek middle ground with Republicans.

AND THIS FROM ABC NEWS:

Obama's presidency is off to a strong start, marked by a large lead over the Republicans on handling the economy and 68 percent job approval.

Nonetheless Obama clearly holds the upper hand, both in overall approval and on the dominant issue of the day. He leads the Republicans in Congress by 61-26 percent in trust to handle the economy, the biggest such lead for a president in ABC News/Washington Post polls since late 1991. (Bill Clinton came close at the start of his first term.)

More broadly, 68 percent of Americans approve of Obama's job performance to date, not atypical for an incoming president (it precisely matches Ronald Reagan's first-month rating, and trails George H.W. Bush's) but a striking counterpoint to George W. Bush's departing 33 percent approval last month. Bush hadn't seen a 68 in five and a half years.

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Another interesting piece on conservatives being on the wrong side of history is noted over at Congress Matters by David Waldman:

"I have with me a hard copy of a collection of Republican quotes predicting doom and disaster in the wake of the 1993 Clinton economic stimulus plan, and much of the rhetoric is eerily similar to today's. Of course, that should come as no surprise, since the point of the compilation was in fact to point out that the 1993 rhetoric -- particularly on health care, which was still a live proposition at that time -- was itself eerily similar to Republican doom and disaster rhetoric during the debate on the original Social Security and Medicare legislation."

Rep. Dick Armey (R-TX), CNN, 8/2/93:
Clearly this is a job killer in the short run. The revenues forecast for this budget will not materialize; the costs of this budget will be greater than what is forecast. The deficit will be worse, and it is not a good omen for the American economy.

Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA), GOP Press Conference, House TV Gallery, 8/5/93:
I believe this will lead to a recession next year. This is the Democrat machine's recession, and each one of them will be held personally accountable.

Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH), 5/27/93:
The votes we will take today will not be soon forgotten by the American voter. (They) will lead to more taxes, higher inflation, and slower economic growth.

Rep. Jim Bunning (R-KY), 8/5/93:
It will not cut the deficit. It will not create jobs. And it will not cut spending.

UPDATE From ThinkProgress today:

Polls: Americans Want Republicans To Drop Ideology And Work On Obama’s Priorities
In the past few days, a number of national polls have been conducted that measure President Obama’s performance after one month in office. Beyond Obama’s continuing high job approval rating, the polls have found that the public believes Obama has made a good faith effort to work in a bipartisan manner to address America’s problems:

WaPo/ABC News: 73 percent say Obama is “trying to compromise with the Republican leaders in Congress” while just 34 percent believe Republican leaders are trying to compromise with Obama.

NYT/CBS News: 74 percent think Obama is “trying to work with Republicans in Congress” while just 31 percent think Republicans in Congress are trying to work with Obama.

Fox News/Opinion Dynamics: 68 percent believe that Obama “has sincerely tried to reach out to Republicans and be bipartisan” while only 33 percent believe Republicans have “sincerely tried to be helpful to Barack Obama and be bipartisan.”

As Greg Sargent points out, the New York Times/CBS News poll had a particularly interesting finding regarding bipartisanship. According to the poll, “a sizable majority wants Obama to pursue his policies with or without Republican support” while “a huge majority says that Republicans should emphasize working with Obama in a bipartisan way over pursuing their policy ideas.” Matt Yglesias put the numbers into a chart:

****************************

The Republicans were obstructionists then and were absoultely WRONG--why should we listen to their posturings now?

GOP: THE PARTY OF "NO!"

"plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose"

CONGRATULATIONS TO DUSTIN LANCE BLACK

And to Sean Penn and to everyone who works for equal rights for all Americans.

BETTER THAN ANYTHING ON THE RED CARPET AT THE OSCARS LAST NIGHT!

IMHO

President Obama and First Lady Michelle at the Governor's Dinner held Sunday night at the White House.

Go here to see the rest of the "swells."

SHELBY AND BUNNING AND JINDAL, OH MY!

Senator Richard Shelby, (R. Ala.) questions President Obama's citizenship:

"Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any birth certificate," Shelby said on Saturday, in response to a constituent's question at a public event. "You have to be born in America to be president."

Pssst..., Senator Shelby, Hawaii is in America.

(This guy is a U.S. Senator? Where do they find these people?)

And this:

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. -- U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning predicted over the weekend that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would likely be dead from pancreatic cancer within nine months.

During a wide-ranging 30-minute speech on Saturday at the Hardin County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner, Bunning said he supports conservative judges "and that's going to be in place very shortly because Ruth Bader Ginsburg … has cancer."

"Bad cancer. The kind that you don't get better from," he told a crowd of about 100 at the old State Theater.

"Even though she was operated on, usually, nine months is the longest that anybody would live after (being diagnosed) with pancreatic cancer," he said.

Thank you, Senator Bunning. I'm sure Justice Ginsberg and her family are grateful for your sensitive comments about her life expectancy at this very difficult, sad, and challenging time. Your kind words are duly noted. Now please, find some heavy duty duct tape, wrap it around your idiotic head, placing emphasis on the mouth area, and go away for a long, long time.

(Seriously. Where do they get these people?)

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced his intention to oppose changing state law to allow his Lousiana citizens to qualify for the second two unemployment provisions. Jindal said the state would only be accepting money to increase the unemployment insurance payments for those who currently qualify for unemployment insurance.

In all, Jindal turned away nearly $100 million in federal aid for his state’s unemployed residents. Further, as the National Employment Law Project projected on Febuary 13, EUC extension alone would have benefited 24,981 Louisiana residents. Jindal justified his decision by claiming that expanding unemployment benefits would result in tax increases for businesses. In a press release, the governor’s office explained:

The Governor said the state will not use a portion of the stimulus package that requires the state to change its law to expand unemployment insurance (UI) coverage to qualify for up to $32.8 million of the federal stimulus funding because it ultimately would result in a tax increase on Louisiana businesses.

But it is not clear why participating in the expanded unemployment insurance program would result in tax increases for business. By Jindal’s own estimate, the recovery package would have funded his state’s unemployment expansion for three years, at which point the state could — if it chose to do so — phase out the program.

Shelby from Alabama: Hawaii is not a state and the president is an alien.

Bunning from Kentucky: Justice Ginsberg will be dead in nine months.

Jindal from Louisiana: I'm putting my career ahead of the welfare of my state.

THIS IS FOR DAVE MILLER, AS PROMISED

We have too much stuff! Dave Miller, whose blog the mission is well worth reading, talked about Mexico and stuff recently, and that's why I posted this Carlin routine.

IN WHICH OF THE CITIES LISTED BELOW DO YOU LIVE?

America's Top 15 Emptiest Cities

These Once Boom Cities Are Now Quickly Turning Into Recession Ghost Towns
By ZACK O'MALLEY GREENBURG
Forbes.com
Feb. 22, 2009

Call it a modern-day tale of two cities.

Las Vegas edged Detroit for the title of America's most abandoned city. Atlanta came in third, followed by Greensboro, N.C., and Dayton, Ohio.

For decades, Las Vegas, ripe with new construction and economic development, burgeoned into a shimmering urban carnival. Detroit, once the fulcrum of American industry, sagged and rusted under its own weight.

These days, it's the worst of times for both.

Las Vegas edged Detroit for the title of America's most abandoned city.

Atlanta came in third, followed by Greensboro, N.C., and Dayton, Ohio.

Our rankings, a combination of rental and homeowner vacancy rates for the 75 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, are based on fourth-quarter data released Feb. 3 by the Census Bureau. Each was ranked on rental vacancies and housing vacancies; the final ranking is an average of the two.


Those who live in the U.S. love and hate these 10 spots.

In Depth: America's Most And Least Popular Cities

Looking to start over?

Those who have lost their jobs, defaulted on their mortgages or are simply searching for a change might want to consider Denver. The city-- known for its skiing, culture and bustling singles scene--is where Americans would like to live the most, according to a recent survey conducted by Washington, D.C.-based group Pew Research Center.


In Depth: America's Most And Least Popular Cities

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Americans say they'll stay clear of Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Minn., and Kansas City, Mo.


Good old Beantown is looking better and better every year.

SATURDAY NIGHT WITH THE TALKING HEADS

Rock on:

ALAN KEYES IS A LUNATIC.

Really. I hope the Secret Service pays this figu di putana a visit. And real soon. This is the guy who LOST big to President Obama in the Illinois senate race. Obama got over 70% of the vote, and he wasn't even an incumbent! Alan Keyes is a loser of the first magnitude. Take a look at how he's treated his lesbian daughter.

Maya Keyes -- liberal, lesbian and a little lost -- finds herself out on her own. She says her parents -- conservative commentator and perennial candidate Alan Keyes and his wife, Jocelyn --threw her out of their house, refused to pay her college tuition and stopped speaking to her.

Keyes has said he would not be coerced into "approving of that which destroys the soul" of his daughter. He contended that he must "stand for the truth [Jesus Christ] represents" even if it breaks his heart.

[BTW: Jesus says absolutely nothing about gays in the New Testament.]

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Americans don't like people who incite mayhem--especially against a popular, duly elected* president.

If there is anyone more repulsive and pathetic than Alan Keyes, I haven't found him.

Alan Keyes was in Nebraska the other day where he was the featured speaker at a fundraiser for the Triple A Crisis Pregnancy Center. Outside of the event, KHAS-TV's Curt Casper caught up with the perennial presidential candidate to get his thoughts on his one-time campaign rival and current president, Barack Obama.

Needless to say, Keyes is not a fan:"Obama is a radical communist and I think it is becoming clear. That is what I told people in Illinois and now everybody realizes it is coming true. He is going to destroy this country and we are either going to stop him or the United States of America is going to cease to exist," said Keyes.

KHAS also released the video of the four-minute interview and it is really worth watching, especially when Keyes starts getting upset that the interviewer is not taking seriously his claims that Barack Obama's presidency is illegitimate, saying "it's not a laughing matter ... we're in the midst of the greatest crisis this nation has ever seen and if we don't stop laughing about it and deal with it, we're going to find ourselves in the midst of chaos, confusion, and civil war"

How exactly does Keyes propose he and his malcontented, disaffected, fellow conservatives "stop him?"

What is he suggesting?

*h/t dmarks. See comments section.

The Republican Stimulus Plan

Selling these.

LOL!

I found this over at the Huffington Post by Jason Linkins:

"These stickers were apparently inspired by those aforementioned "Impeach Bush" stickers, or the "Impeach Laura Roslin" stickers, or the "Impeach Doctor Zaius" stickers, or the "I Brake For Joe The Plumber" stickers. One of those. Obviously, these Obama versions have some original touches of their own. For instance, did you know that "Osama" and "Obama" sort of rhyme? That's what all the "off the hook" kids grooving on Michael Steele's new urban-suburban dis track tell me, anyway! Plus, the word "lying" is depicted as "lyin'" which is a shout-out to Sarah Palin.


You can probably purchase this stickers in person if you come to CPAC, a convention of conservative Furries and Mitt Romney fetishists, next week. Or buy them here. Consider it a bailout!"

Here's the ad for the stickers:

IN STOCK FEBRUARY 19th - PRE-ORDER TODAY!

During the Bush Administration, "IMPEACH BUSH" stickers circulated around the country.

We've had several requests from Patriot Depot customers to create an "IMPEACH OBAMA" sticker. Popular radio talk show host Michael Savage has called for the nation to start displaying these stickers as well. So, due to popular demand, here they are!

While we are waiting for impeachment charges, keep in mind that our nation was bamboozled into electing a man who is hell-bent on taking away your freedom, raising your taxes, and ushering in a Socialist State not much different than the old USSR.

And don't forget that his campaign was launched in the living room of a terrorist. If 2012 seems too far away, Impeachment is the only answer!

US Residents get FREE SHIPPING!


The poor benighted lunkheads who thought this piece of theater up believe that they will incite enough "GOPmentum" to persuade all 20% of the Americans who support them to riot in the streets and call for the overthrow of the month old Obama presidency.

You have to love these clowns--they are good for a rolicking belly laugh.

Every country needs a political party it can routinely ridicule. Thank you, GOP, for fulfilling that need.

AMERICANS SAY NO TO REPUBLICAN EFFORTS AGAINST STIMPAK

A new AP/GFK poll taken during the final days of the fight over the stimulus bill shows that Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of Republican efforts to block Obama’s plan:

Congress’ approval is only 31%-59%, but additional questions show a much more complicated picture. The number for Congressional Democrats is at 49%-45%, while Republicans are at 33%-59%. The Republicans appear to be cramping Congress’ style.

Only 30% say Obama hasn’t done enough to cooperate with Republicans in Congress — the GOP base vote, basically — while 62% say he’s doing the right amount and 6% say it’s been too much.


Flipping it around, only 27% say Republicans have done enough to cooperate with Obama, with 64% saying not enough and 5% saying too much.


Meanwhile, people are increasingly confident that Obama is leading the country in the right direction.

Since Obama’s election, there’s been a 23 percent rise in those saying the country is headed in the right direction.

In October, only 17 percent of Americans felt that way, while 78 percent thought the country was headed in the wrong direction.

h/t Think Progress

OBAMAMANIA HITS CANADA!

From CNN's Ed Henry's twitter:

Along motorcade route, one handmade sign said, "After God, It's Obama".

Sharp contrast from protests here in Bush years.

Today, President Obama arrived in Canada, his first foreign trip since taking office. Already, the trip is a stark departure from the Bush years. U.S. presidents have traditionally made their first trip abroad to Canada. President Bush, however, broke with tradition and headed south to Mexico.

Already, there’s been a noticeable difference in the way the Canadian public has received the two presidents. Bush was wildly unpopular in Canada. Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who supported the Iraq war (and later admitted it was a mistake), was lambasted by Canadians as supporting “Harper-Bush” policies. Not surprisingly, Bush’s visits to Canada spurred massive protests.

Early Crowds Await Obama,” the Toronto Star reads today.

“American flags are being hung up around Ottawa in preparation” for Obama’s visit, reports the Ottawa Citizen.

How wonderful it is that our neighbors and other people around the world actually respect and like our leader again.

And Jeffrey Feldman writes about the joys of not cringing at our president.

THE CRETINS AT THE NEW YORK POST (a Rupert Murdoch publication)

think this cartoon is incisive political satire. I had not heard about the woman and chimpanzee in Connecticut, so when I saw the cartoon, I saw it as the Post's attempt at making a joke about murdering the president.

(And then there's the disgusting chimpanzee symbolism--racists have used that image to denigrate the black man all through our disgusting history. When people have the image of a chimpanzee (a sub-human image) they tend to treat people in a sub-human way.)

The Democratic Party authored the Stimulus Package, and Barack Obama is the head of the Democratic Party. How else would one read this cartoon except as a incentive to murder the president, the person who signed the Stimulus Package?

They can't defend this--no matter what the racist pigs try to say to justify their treason.