This blog will focus on political images I have found all around the Internet, though I will intersperse some commentary and quotes that I find interesting.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Late Night Politcal Jokes
This was compiled from Bill in Portland Maine over at Daily Kos...
"The good news is, President Obama was born in America. The bad news is, so was Donald Trump."
---Jay Leno
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"If this [birth certificate] really is from 1961, why is there not a single mention of Ed Sullivan? He was huge! And where is the stain from the delivering doctor's martini???"
---Stephen Colbert
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"A new study found that Americans spend $1.2 trillion every year on stuff they don’t need. Or as Republicans call it: health care."
---Jimmy Fallon
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"We haven’t changed since time began. That's why it's the same stories in the Old Testament and the New York Post. Scientifically we've advanced a lot, but human nature is exactly the same. That's why nanotechnology can isolate a single strand of DNA and stop a global plague, but we still need guards at the zoo so nobody tries to jump over the fence and kick the polar bear in the balls just to be a You Tube sensation."
---Colin Quinn, from Long Story Short
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"I think these storms are God’s way of sending us a message. I think that message is that when warm humid air masses surge northward from the Gulf of Mexico and combine with a strong jet stream, it can result in severe weather conditions."
---Jimmy Kimmel
---Jay Leno
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"If this [birth certificate] really is from 1961, why is there not a single mention of Ed Sullivan? He was huge! And where is the stain from the delivering doctor's martini???"
---Stephen Colbert
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"A new study found that Americans spend $1.2 trillion every year on stuff they don’t need. Or as Republicans call it: health care."
---Jimmy Fallon
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"We haven’t changed since time began. That's why it's the same stories in the Old Testament and the New York Post. Scientifically we've advanced a lot, but human nature is exactly the same. That's why nanotechnology can isolate a single strand of DNA and stop a global plague, but we still need guards at the zoo so nobody tries to jump over the fence and kick the polar bear in the balls just to be a You Tube sensation."
---Colin Quinn, from Long Story Short
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"I think these storms are God’s way of sending us a message. I think that message is that when warm humid air masses surge northward from the Gulf of Mexico and combine with a strong jet stream, it can result in severe weather conditions."
---Jimmy Kimmel
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
John McCain follows Obama's lead, releases original long-form Birth Certificate
As if anyone cares - but here it is...
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wow, ain't this something...
Pakistan is lobbying Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to dump the U.S. a long-term strategic partner and "look to Pakistan -- and its Chinese ally -- for help in striking a peace deal with the Taliban." In an April 16 meeting, Pakistan leaders told Karzai that "Americans had failed them both" and that he "should forget about allowing a long-term U.S. military presence in his country."
From "The Progress Report, 4/27/2011"
Economic news
With Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner preparing for a failure to lift the debt ceiling, bank executives are urging Republicans to raise the debt limit as quickly as possible. In private meetings with reluctant lawmakers, bankers have warned that not doing so could cause bank failures, an interest rate spike, and severe depression .
From "The Progress Report, 4/27/2011"
Speaking of religion and politics
Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus
By Phil Zuckerman
This article was co-authored by Dan Cady is an assistant professor of history at California State University, Fresno. He publishes on the history of the American West, music, and religion.
The results from a recent poll published by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (http://www.pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/Tea-Party-and-Religion.aspx) reveal what social scientists have known for a long time: White Evangelical Christians are the group least likely to support politicians or policies that reflect the actual teachings of Jesus. It is perhaps one of the strangest, most dumb-founding ironies in contemporary American culture. Evangelical Christians, who most fiercely proclaim to have a personal relationship with Christ, who most confidently declare their belief that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, who go to church on a regular basis, pray daily, listen to Christian music, and place God and His Only Begotten Son at the center of their lives, are simultaneously the very people most likely to reject his teachings and despise his radical message.
Jesus unambiguously preached mercy and forgiveness. These are supposed to be cardinal virtues of the Christian faith. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of the death penalty, draconian sentencing, punitive punishment over rehabilitation, and the governmental use of torture. Jesus exhorted humans to be loving, peaceful, and non-violent. And yet Evangelicals are the group of Americans most supportive of easy-access weaponry, little-to-no regulation of handgun and semi-automatic gun ownership, not to mention the violent military invasion of various countries around the world. Jesus was very clear that the pursuit of wealth was inimical to the Kingdom of God, that the rich are to be condemned, and that to be a follower of Him means to give one’s money to the poor. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of corporate greed and capitalistic excess, and they are the most opposed to institutional help for the nation’s poor — especially poor children. They hate anything that smacks of “socialism,” even though that is essentially what their Savior preached. They despise food stamp programs, subsidies for schools, hospitals, job training — anything that might dare to help out those in need. Even though helping out those in need was exactly what Jesus urged humans to do. In short, Evangelicals are that segment of America which is the most pro-militaristic, pro-gun, and pro-corporate, while simultaneously claiming to be most ardent lovers of the Prince of Peace.
What’s the deal?
Before attempting an answer, allow a quick clarification. Evangelicals don’t exactly hate Jesus — as we’ve provocatively asserted in the title of this piece. They do love him dearly. But not because of what he tried to teach humanity. Rather, Evangelicals love Jesus for what he does for them. Through his magical grace, and by shedding his precious blood, Jesus saves Evangelicals from everlasting torture in hell, and guarantees them a premium, luxury villa in heaven. For this, and this only, they love him. They can’t stop thanking him. And yet, as for Jesus himself — his core values of peace, his core teachings of social justice, his core commandments of goodwill — most Evangelicals seem to have nothing but disdain.
By Phil Zuckerman
This article was co-authored by Dan Cady is an assistant professor of history at California State University, Fresno. He publishes on the history of the American West, music, and religion.
The results from a recent poll published by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (http://www.pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/Tea-Party-and-Religion.aspx) reveal what social scientists have known for a long time: White Evangelical Christians are the group least likely to support politicians or policies that reflect the actual teachings of Jesus. It is perhaps one of the strangest, most dumb-founding ironies in contemporary American culture. Evangelical Christians, who most fiercely proclaim to have a personal relationship with Christ, who most confidently declare their belief that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, who go to church on a regular basis, pray daily, listen to Christian music, and place God and His Only Begotten Son at the center of their lives, are simultaneously the very people most likely to reject his teachings and despise his radical message.
Jesus unambiguously preached mercy and forgiveness. These are supposed to be cardinal virtues of the Christian faith. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of the death penalty, draconian sentencing, punitive punishment over rehabilitation, and the governmental use of torture. Jesus exhorted humans to be loving, peaceful, and non-violent. And yet Evangelicals are the group of Americans most supportive of easy-access weaponry, little-to-no regulation of handgun and semi-automatic gun ownership, not to mention the violent military invasion of various countries around the world. Jesus was very clear that the pursuit of wealth was inimical to the Kingdom of God, that the rich are to be condemned, and that to be a follower of Him means to give one’s money to the poor. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of corporate greed and capitalistic excess, and they are the most opposed to institutional help for the nation’s poor — especially poor children. They hate anything that smacks of “socialism,” even though that is essentially what their Savior preached. They despise food stamp programs, subsidies for schools, hospitals, job training — anything that might dare to help out those in need. Even though helping out those in need was exactly what Jesus urged humans to do. In short, Evangelicals are that segment of America which is the most pro-militaristic, pro-gun, and pro-corporate, while simultaneously claiming to be most ardent lovers of the Prince of Peace.
What’s the deal?
Before attempting an answer, allow a quick clarification. Evangelicals don’t exactly hate Jesus — as we’ve provocatively asserted in the title of this piece. They do love him dearly. But not because of what he tried to teach humanity. Rather, Evangelicals love Jesus for what he does for them. Through his magical grace, and by shedding his precious blood, Jesus saves Evangelicals from everlasting torture in hell, and guarantees them a premium, luxury villa in heaven. For this, and this only, they love him. They can’t stop thanking him. And yet, as for Jesus himself — his core values of peace, his core teachings of social justice, his core commandments of goodwill — most Evangelicals seem to have nothing but disdain.
You can read more by clicking here.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Voters uninformed
I watched it for years as a local union leader - people voting against their own best interests. I've no idea what motivates them, but whether it is family tradition to vote conservative values, or religion, or historical ignorance, they will do it - and they will do it in droves. More proof...
I have no sympathy for seniors complaining about dismantling Medicare. You old, uninformed, easily confused, overly religious morons voted for Republicans - did you think YOUR benefits were somehow off-limits?
I have no sympathy for seniors complaining about dismantling Medicare. You old, uninformed, easily confused, overly religious morons voted for Republicans - did you think YOUR benefits were somehow off-limits?
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
North Carolina is unhappy that Florida is labeled as the wackiest state in the nation.
Yep - North Carolina wants to lay claim to the title of "Home to the Screwiest People in North America."
Read the entire post HERE.
OK, so, the way I’m reading the bill, if someone comes into the emergency room and his 5-year-old son has a bullet in his leg, a doctor can’t even ask the guy whether he keeps firearms in his house? Jesus, have all the 2nd Amendment folks lost their collective minds...?
Read the entire post HERE.
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS FROM QUESTIONING PATIENTS ABOUT LAWFUL ACTIVITY RELATED TO FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION WHEN PROVIDING HEALTH CARE TO PATIENTS AND TO AUTHORIZE THE IMPOSITION OF A FINE ON HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS WHO ENGAGE IN THE PROHIBITED CONDUCT.
OK, so, the way I’m reading the bill, if someone comes into the emergency room and his 5-year-old son has a bullet in his leg, a doctor can’t even ask the guy whether he keeps firearms in his house? Jesus, have all the 2nd Amendment folks lost their collective minds...?
Thursday, April 21, 2011
A crazy thought
I was just watching a video of Clifford Stoll, a scientist/technician, and he very briefly raised one of the most interesting questions I've heard in a long time - do we have too many computers in schools? Should we have any?
This made me ask - did America's schools begin to fall behind the rest of the world when we introduced computers into the classroom? Do we ask kids to rely too little on their minds and too much on the technology?
Perhaps we are asking our children to just be computer operators and not to be free thinkers.
I have no answers to these questions, but as a former math teacher, I often questioned the wisdom of allowing calculators in school until long after we were sure that kids could add, subtract, multiply and divide. Being a mathematician requires that kids have a strong sense of the concept of "number" and they'll never get it by having machines do the basic work for them.
I'd love to see some research - did our students do better before they had computers?
This made me ask - did America's schools begin to fall behind the rest of the world when we introduced computers into the classroom? Do we ask kids to rely too little on their minds and too much on the technology?
Perhaps we are asking our children to just be computer operators and not to be free thinkers.
I have no answers to these questions, but as a former math teacher, I often questioned the wisdom of allowing calculators in school until long after we were sure that kids could add, subtract, multiply and divide. Being a mathematician requires that kids have a strong sense of the concept of "number" and they'll never get it by having machines do the basic work for them.
I'd love to see some research - did our students do better before they had computers?
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Probably quite right...
"Ryan’s pieties notwithstanding, his budget is a prescription for diminishing prosperity and security, a road map, in fact, for national decline."
-- Harold Meyerson, in his Washington Post column,
"Who's hurt by Paul Ryan's budget proposal?"
-- Harold Meyerson, in his Washington Post column,
"Who's hurt by Paul Ryan's budget proposal?"
Conservatives continue to fight to make you more poor
More proof of the point I was making yesterday, i.e that Republicans want the lower classes to work for less money so that they can have more of the nation's wealth. The link leads to a video.
Tea Party Candidate Rips Minimum Wage
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The Republican takeover begins - can you say oligarchy?
It begins: Michigan's new republican governor "un-elects" the local government of Benton Harbor.
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. These people could be distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, corporate, or military control
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. These people could be distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, corporate, or military control
Eliot Spitzer to Goldman Sachs: You Lied and should be Prosecuted
Click here to read and watch a video.
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An important article to read on the Republican plan for America
Quoted below - Joshua Holland, editor and senior writer at AlterNet - posted on Crooks and Liars...
The right's anti-tax crusade has been so successful that in 2010 the federal government collected a smaller share of our economic output in taxes than it had in 60 years. That's created a large deficit, which is now being used to justify cuts to popular social programs.........................................................
Earlier this month, House Republicans laid out a perverse plan to lower working Americans' wages, supposedly in a bid to get employers to hire more of them (PDF). One would be hard-pressed to find a better example of the "race to the bottom."
More on school reform...
A follow-up to my previous post - click on the link below.
If Charter Schools Are So Great, Why Are They Riddled With Fraud? Why Don't They Produce Better Results?
Why is the GOP focused on teachers' unions?
It's really pretty clear if you study the issues - although there is no evidence that private schools do a better job of providing education, Republican corporate friends stand to make a fortune if public schools can be turned over to corporate interests. Then you will wind up with a stratified educational structure (schools for rich and schools for poor) with huge profits to be made as government funds are turned over (in the form of vouchers and tuition) to private corporations. To hell with educational quality when there's a profit to be made. Click on the link below for further insight.
To Turn Schools Into Profitable Warehouses, Corporations First Need To Destroy Teachers Unions
Saturday, April 16, 2011
About the Republican plan to eliminate Medicare...
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Must be the GOP REALLY loves them some military.
So much for Washington's big budget deal that almost shut down the government last week
From the Washington Post
From the Washington Post
The Congressional Budget Office estimate shows that compared with current spending rates the spending bill due for a House vote Thursday would cut federal outlays from non-war accounts by just $352 million through Sept. 30. About $8 billion in immediate cuts to domestic programs and foreign aid are offset by nearly equal increases in defense spending.
Funny, funny guy
From the Huffington Post...
Romeover
Commented 12 hours ago in Politics
“Jesus died on the cross so we could own guns. I read it in the King James Constitution.”
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
On the war front
I wonder if THIS will turn into something.
From the MoJoblog...
From the MoJoblog...
Yesterday we told you that Pakistani officials came to Washington to demand that the US put the kibosh on its covert activities in their country, and suspend all drone strikes along its border with Afghanistan.
The US' response: today, drones fired four missiles into Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region, killing six militants belonging to the pro-Taliban Haqqani group. It was the first strike since an attack on March 17 that killed 38 suspected militants.
How does Pakistan feel about America's latest drone strike? A top Pakistani official said this to CNN: "What is this? A message (from the Americans) that it's business as usual, irrespective of what we ask of you? If it is, it's a crude way of getting your message across," he said.
For the United States, literally firing back at the call for curtailing its operations is an unmistakably aggressive move. And it seems to indicate that it's is tired of playing games with Pakistan.
The US' response: today, drones fired four missiles into Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region, killing six militants belonging to the pro-Taliban Haqqani group. It was the first strike since an attack on March 17 that killed 38 suspected militants.
How does Pakistan feel about America's latest drone strike? A top Pakistani official said this to CNN: "What is this? A message (from the Americans) that it's business as usual, irrespective of what we ask of you? If it is, it's a crude way of getting your message across," he said.
For the United States, literally firing back at the call for curtailing its operations is an unmistakably aggressive move. And it seems to indicate that it's is tired of playing games with Pakistan.
I've always wondered...
I've always wondered why the states in the deep south aren't more densely populated. I mean, given the superiority of wintering in the warmer climate of the southern states, why do places like New York, Michigan, California, etc. have so many more residents? Could it be because, as my mother used to believe (God rest her soul), the warm weather breeds lunacy? It was always Mom's feeling that the reason there is so much fighting in the Middle East all of the time is because everyone is so hot. Could this be true? And could it be true that the people in the southern part of the U.S. are just as nuts?
The article below was posted on Gawker - and it seems to add evidence to the claims that people in the south are greedy and a little more than dumb to think they wouldn't be found out.
The article below was posted on Gawker - and it seems to add evidence to the claims that people in the south are greedy and a little more than dumb to think they wouldn't be found out.
How the Doobie Brothers Conquered the Gulf Oil Spill
John Cook — After ejaculating 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP doled out $750 million to state and local governments in a panicked attempt to seem less evil. The states, being dutiful stewards of the environment, directed the money to cleanup and mitigation. Kidding! No, they spent it on the Doobie Brothers and iPads.
The AP has taken out the green eyeshades and come up with a hilarious accounting of how Gulf Coast states and cities used BP's money, and lets just say the results don't go very far toward combating certain stereotypes associated with the Old South. Florida spent $560,000 for the Doobie Brothers, Kenny Loggins, and Lynyrd Skynyrd to play shows on Okaloosa Island. Charlotte Randolph, the president of Louisiana's Lafourche Parish, sent BP the bill for a new iPad, which she purchased six weeks after the leak had been capped. And this:
Lafourche Parish spokesman Brennan Matherne, who bought a new Dell laptop and accessories for $3,165, said working on the spill had worn out the computer he got just a year earlier for $2,700.
Biloxi, home to a strip of casinos overlooking the Mississippi Sound, bought 14 sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, two boats, two dump trucks and a backhoe loader with its $1.4 million share of BP grant money.
Mayor A.J. Holloway, who drove a city-owned 2006 GMC Yukon before the spill, now has one of the vehicles the city purchased with the BP grant - a black 2011 Chevy Tahoe 1500 LT that cost more than $35,000. The city's public works director and chief engineer also are driving SUVs bought with BP money.
As long as, in the end, BP is getting screwed, who's to judge?
John Cook — After ejaculating 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP doled out $750 million to state and local governments in a panicked attempt to seem less evil. The states, being dutiful stewards of the environment, directed the money to cleanup and mitigation. Kidding! No, they spent it on the Doobie Brothers and iPads.
The AP has taken out the green eyeshades and come up with a hilarious accounting of how Gulf Coast states and cities used BP's money, and lets just say the results don't go very far toward combating certain stereotypes associated with the Old South. Florida spent $560,000 for the Doobie Brothers, Kenny Loggins, and Lynyrd Skynyrd to play shows on Okaloosa Island. Charlotte Randolph, the president of Louisiana's Lafourche Parish, sent BP the bill for a new iPad, which she purchased six weeks after the leak had been capped. And this:
Lafourche Parish spokesman Brennan Matherne, who bought a new Dell laptop and accessories for $3,165, said working on the spill had worn out the computer he got just a year earlier for $2,700.
Biloxi, home to a strip of casinos overlooking the Mississippi Sound, bought 14 sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, two boats, two dump trucks and a backhoe loader with its $1.4 million share of BP grant money.
Mayor A.J. Holloway, who drove a city-owned 2006 GMC Yukon before the spill, now has one of the vehicles the city purchased with the BP grant - a black 2011 Chevy Tahoe 1500 LT that cost more than $35,000. The city's public works director and chief engineer also are driving SUVs bought with BP money.
As long as, in the end, BP is getting screwed, who's to judge?
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Debunking the myth of the over-compensated public emplyee
The data analysis in this paper, however, indicate that public employees, both state and local government, are not overpaid. Comparisons controlling for education, experience, hours of work, organizational size, gender, race, ethnicity and disability, reveal no significant overpayment but a slight under-compensation of public employees when compared to private employee compensation costs on a per hour basis. On average, full-time state and local employees are under-compensated by 3.7%, in comparison to otherwise similar private-sector workers.
Read more here...
I knew it was coming...
We all probably knew this was coming, but there was a glimmer of hope, deep in the back of my mind, that it wouldn't. But here it is - from the New York Times...
MOSUL, Iraq — Some American troops could stay in Iraq for years, well beyond the scheduled withdrawal of all United States forces at the end of 2011, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Friday.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
If only
If only we had a REAL Democrat for President. What do you think this $39 billion dollar cut in the Federal budget will cost in terms of jobs? One estimate I saw was that 150,000 plus jobs will be lost - but Boehner comes out and declares that this is a job creating budget - and people believe him.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Bristol Palin getting rich for having baby out of wedlock.
From Hunter at Daily Kos...
Holy hell, Bristol Palin got a quarter million bucks in salary to talk about teen pregnancy?
I think the takeaway message here is that baby out of wedlock = BEST. DECISION. EVER.
Think Progress:
In 2009, Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol joined a teen pregnancy prevention nonprofit called the Candie’s Foundation. Today, the Associated Press reported that the Candie’s Foundation released its 2009 tax information, revealing that Bristol was paid a salary of $262,500.
But a closer examination of the tax form by ThinkProgress shows that the group disbursed only $35,000 in grants to actual teen pregnancy health and counseling clinics: [...] Thus, the nonprofit paid Bristol over seven times what it paid to teen pregnancy prevention groups.
Holy hell, Bristol Palin got a quarter million bucks in salary to talk about teen pregnancy?
I think the takeaway message here is that baby out of wedlock = BEST. DECISION. EVER.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
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