Now This Is Rich

Andrew Sullivan has taken to his blog to demand accountability in the form of Janet Napolitiano getting fired over the attempted bombing on Northwest flight 253 on Christmas. He can't actually come up with anything she did wrong but its his contention that SOMEONE must be fired in order for President Obama to prove he isn't like Bush. Mind you as far as is publicly known this was a failure of intelligence sharing which falls a lot more under DCI Dennis Blair's watch than it does Napolitano, but you don't see Mr Accountability Sullivan asking for HIS head.

Anybody with two brain cells can probably figure out that this is all about the bogus right wing framing of her out of context commments on Sunday but you will never get Mr. Acocountability Sullivan to admit that.

Just to remind you that Sully is basically the only blogger over at the Atlantic now who doesn't allow comments. They have a system where you have to register with the site just to leave a comment and you can be banned for inappropriate responses and yet he STILL will not allow comments. Its really ironic that a guy who won't subject himself to accountability by his own readers in the form of comments that he alone could control whether they were actually published or not, is now screaming at President Obama because he isn't being as reactionary, and in this case stupid, as he would like.

Gotta love it!

John McCain, Hypocrite

But then what else do you expect from a guy who can't even remember how many cars and homes he owns?

Do Mainstream Media Journalists Know The Meaning Of The Word Hypocrite?

Witness this post on the Virginia politics blog at the Washington Post.

For months, Democrats have dubbed U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia a hypocrite for strongly opposing the federal stimulus package only to promote aspects of it later.
Here's the latest example:

Nearly half of the 30 organizations participating in a job fair Cantor is holding Monday in Culpeper were recipients of the stimulus.

The list includes a slew of government agencies and schools that have directly benefited from the package and may be using stimulus money to hire people (as the money was originally designed to do), including the Orange County public schools, the Transportation Security Administration and Virginia Department of Labor, and some companies that may have indirectly benefited such as Comcast and Terremark.

Cantor, a Richmond area congressman and the No. 2 Republican in the House, was one of the most vocal critics of the $787 billion economic stimulus bill that Congress passed in February. He has since said the package was a failure.

Now its all fine and good that this blog published what the Democrats "said" about Cantor, but how much damn evidence does the writer need in order to confirm or deny that Cantor is being a hypocrite over the stimulus? Its pretty fucking obvious to most folks that this isn't a matter of opposing opinions. You can't call something a failure then show up at a damn jobs fair skinning and grinning when half the folks there wouldn't be able to participate if not for the stimulus.

Its the same thing with the word liar. I wonder if for just one week American journalists used the words hypocrite and liar when talking about politicians who on a factual basis were hypocrites and liars. Maybe, just maybe they would knock that bullshit off.

Unfortunately nobody in the mainstream media has the balls to do that, so I guess we will never know.

"I Don't Care About The Constitution"

Bill O'Reilly finally says what and other right wingers really think about our Constitution.



The more these dumbasses rail against putting KSM and other terrorists on trial here in federal court, the more they are going to reveal the venal cowards that they really are. It will be interesting to see if Bill O'Reilly tries to walk back his denouncement of the document that he and his cohorts claim to be upholding the values of night after night.

Reality Obliterates Grandstanding

Yeah Rick Perry, its fun to talk shit about the stimulus bill at a tea party isn't it? Not so fun when you actually need those funds to run your state though, huh?

Earlier this year, Texas Governor Rick Perry was one of a handful of Republican governors who refused some federal stimulus funds from President Obama's economic recovery package on the grounds that there were too many strings attached to the money.

Now that the state is dire straits, however, Perry is asking the federal government for a loan to cover the very expenses the rejected stimulus money would have paid for.

While Perry accepted most of the roughly $17 billion in stimulus funds allocated for Texas, the governor in March rejected $555 million that would have covered state unemployment benefits. Perry said he was not accepting the money because the state would have been obligated to expand its unemployment coverage, creating too much of a long term tax burden.

snip

Democratic legislators in Texas are speaking out against the governor's actions.

"That $555 million would that would have come with the stimulus money wouldn't have to be paid back to the federal government, and that would have saved business taxpayers money for the next 20 years," said Democratic State Rep. Mark Strama, according to News 8 Austin.

As I have said before, conservatism is good for sloganeering, bumperstickers, and selling books. As for actually governing, not so much.

Good Luck On Reconciling With Your Wife

No commentary needed on this one.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says he "crossed lines" with a handful of women other than his mistress — but never had sex with them.

The governor says he "never crossed the ultimate line" with anyone but Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine at the center of a scandal that has derailed Sanford's once-promising political career.

During an emotional interview at his Statehouse office with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Sanford said Chapur is his soul mate but he's trying to fall back in love with his wife.

He says that during the other encounters he "let his guard down" with some physical contact but "didn't cross the sex line." He wouldn't go into detail.

Almost Admirable: Game Over

You already know where I stand on the Mark Sanford sex scandal and you already know where I stand on those who would so easily try to forgive him because he appeared to "come clean" of his own accord. It was already apparent before now that such a notion was pure fantasy, but now this comprehensive story in The State put the final nail in his political coffin.

Shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday, Smith went to the airport. Shortly after 6 a.m., she met a surprised Sanford. Smith was the only media member there.

Sanford said he had just arrived from Argentina. He also said he had not been on the Appalachian Trail.

When asked who he had been with in Argentina, the governor cut off the interview.

By 7:30 a.m., thestate.com had broken the news that Sanford had not been on the Appalachian Trail, but in Argentina.

In their morning meeting, State editors decided to immediately inform the governor and his inner circle about the e-mails. .

A reporter called a Sanford staffer, saying the paper had e-mails that outlined an affair between the governor and Maria. Unless Sanford would address the issue privately, The State would have no choice but to ask him — with TV crews filming — if he knew Maria at his press conference that afternoon.

The names of two other women tumbled into the newsroom.

Fearful Sanford’s staffers did not get it — that the paper would ask publicly what Sanford’s relationship was with Maria — a State editor called Davis, Sanford’s former chief of staff.

Davis, a Beaufort lawyer, recently had been elected to the state Senate. When called, he quickly said he no longer worked for Sanford.

The editor said he knew that but wanted to talk with Davis. Sanford had landed from Argentina, and the paper had e-mails about an affair with a woman in Argentina.

The editor told Davis why he thought the e-mails were genuine. They mentioned Coosaw, the Sanford plantation, and Sanford’s love of digging holes; they quoted Bible verses and contained details about Sanford’s known schedule.

And more names of women were coming in over the transom. The total was at three and counting.

“Women?!” Davis responded, sounding incredulous. “Women?!”

The editor repeated that the paper would ask Sanford publicly about Maria with TV cameras running. Jenny Sanford and the couple’s four sons should be spared that image, and it was up to Davis to ensure Sanford’s staffers “got it.”

Davis, who said he was in Beaufort, promised to call Sanford’s staff and call back.

When he called back, Davis said he was driving to Columbia.

Now actually there are some ethical questions you have to ask about "The State" too here. Why were they so intent on giving the Governor a heads up? Why did they go out of their way to make sure Sanford's staff "got it". And even if you buy that they were trying to protect his wife and kids, once the cat was out of the bag, why didn't they ask any questions about the other 3 names that had come into the news room?

Regardless I think its apparent now that Sanford was doing anything noble. He was just taking advantage of the opportunity to come clean that The State granted him when they gave him his "heads up".

Village VS The Blogosphere

Nico Pitney and Dana Milbank squared off today on David Kurtz's "Reliable Sources" show on CNN.



Notice as I mentioned last week, Dana Milbank still won't actually tell the audience what the question was because he knew that it would undermine his whole argument. And it looked like he wanted to gag when he had to admit that it was in fact a legitimate question. I can't say for sure that the audience would say Pitney got the better of the exchange because Milbank did what Villagers are most famous for, as soon as someone calls them out they point to another shiny object in the room. It went from being about the question and the process by which it came to be asked, to Milbank taking issue with what someone else on HuffPo which literally publishes hundreds if not thousands of columns every day, said to criticize him. And then he comes with a bullshit false equivalence hypothetical question. So maybe people at home watching thought it was a draw but for people who really are into politics and political writing I think Milbank just got exposed as a jealous hypcrite. At least from where I am sitting.

(h/t John Cole.

Update: Milbank made my point for me better than I ever could.

Per Nico Pitney:

The only thing that surprised me was when Dana turned to me after our initial sparring and called me a "dick" in a whispered tone (the specific phrase was, I believe, "You're such a dick").

I Just Can't Help Myself

I have tried and succeeded prior to now, to not post about Sarah Palin or her family other than actual policy issues. Palins says and does crazy shit almost on a daily basis but I try to ignore her because I think its better to just let her keep ruining her own legacy than to step in and perhaps do or say something that helps her garner any kind of sympathy. But I mean when she has now turned her daughter's relationship and child into the Wasilla version of the Jerry Springer show through the media, I just can't ignore this stuff any more.

From People magazine

After taking about sex on The Tyra Banks Show, Johnston – the 18-year-old father of Bristol Palin's baby – was hit with a blistering response from Bristol's mother, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

"Bristol did not even know Levi was going on the show. We're disappointed that Levi and his family, in a quest for fame, attention, and fortune, are engaging in flat-out lies, gross exaggeration, and even distortion of their relationship," says the statement from the Palin family rep.

"Bristol's focus will remain on raising Tripp, completing her education, and advocating abstinence," the statement continues. "It is unfortunate that Levi finds it more appealing to exploit his previous relationship with Bristol than to contribute to the well being of the child."

The statement ends, saying, "Bristol realizes now that she made a mistake in her relationship and is the one taking responsibility for their actions."

In the show airing April 6, Johnston tells Tyra Banks that he believes Sarah Palin knew he and Bristol, 18, were having sex when they lived under her roof. "I'm pretty sure she probably knew. Moms are pretty smart," Johnston says.

Talk about pot meet kettle. Wasn't it Sarah Palin who kept bringing Greta VanDouchebag into her home to talk about Bristol and her relationship and her child? I wonder if SHE had to get Levi's approval to do those appearances. Somehow I doubt it. Then she speaks for Bristol and says it was all a mistake? I am just wondering if anybody is going to call her out on this statement where she basically says that Bristol's child, Tripp, was a mistake. You know the right wing pro life lunatics usually LOVE to play this kinda gotcha game, of course thats only when its a librul that they are targeting.

I just do not see Sarah Palin being a viable candidate anytime soon. I mean I haven't even mentioned the sister in law who was caught breaking and entering for the second time in recent weeks. I don't think most Americans want to see Jerry Springer type antics coming from the White House.

10/31

Stephen Colbert pokes the hell out of Glenn Beck

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
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Amanda Terkel On Countdown

Amanda Terkel did a great job last night on Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Good to see her standing up for herself and her organization ThinkProgress.org

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Do As I Say...

Uhmmm Newtie, did you REALLY think people were going to forget the anti-Catholic values YOU have displayed in your own personal life?






Seriously, step away from the twitter, you are only making a bigger ass out of yourself.

How To Handle David Vitter

So Senator David Vitter, lover of whores, is once again in the news. This time he is trying to strip funding for Planned Parenthood in the omnibus spending bill. How frikking long are the Democrats in the Senate going to keep allowing this idiot to pull this crap without calling him out? I am hoping against hope that at some point some Democrat has the backbone to get up on the floor of the Senate and ask some variation of this question:

"One has to wonder since David Vitter wants to strip money for birth control if he used a condom when he was patronizing the DC Madam."

And yes I am totally serious!

Fucking Coward

After talking all that shit, Governer Mark Sanford announced he is going to accept the money from the stimulus bill, SURPRISE SURPRISE. This generation of Republicans are just contemptible. Hell at least if you really BELIEVE the bullshit you are spouting, stand up and refuse the fucking money! Show us all that you really reject socialism and that President Obama is wrong. I hope the idiots who voted for this clown in South Carolina now see that all he wants to do is grandstand and he doesn't really give a shit about them. If its socialism to give the money it is for damn sure socialist to take it so guess what that makes you Governer.

Lindsey Graham: Show Me The Money!!!

Yet another hypocritical Republican caught on tape. This time its Lindsey Graham pummelling President Obama's stimulus bill that will soon be signed into law. But then at about 4:10 of the video a curious thing happens. Wolf Blitzer asks Senator Fun Boy if he thinks his state of South Carolina should accept money from the bill. And what do you think this fiscal conservative who thinks the bill is "stinks" said in response?



If there is anybody out their reading this blog who knows how to do youtube videos, it would be great if you could make a compilation of all the Republican Congressmen and Governers bashing the stimulus bill then back tracking once they are asked if they will refuse the money. I mean if they REALLY fear the size of the bill shouldn't they do their part by refusing the money so the price of the package goes down?

Im just sayin.

My Plan In Action

Remember the other day when I talked about what should be done to guarantee that Republican members start endorsing President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act bill? Well in that post I mentioned the massively hypocritical Governer Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Now this guy among other things claims that the government shouldn't intervene in the economic crisis and businesses should be allowed to fail. But check out his answer when John King asks him flat out if he would reject federal funds from the stimulus bill since he is so opposed to that kind of intervention.



This just illustrates once again that Republicans don't have the courage of their convictions. They don't believe the bullshit they are trying to sell you. When it comes down to it he is going to take the money and run after screaming at the top of his lungs that it amounts to socialism. That's who these people are. It's not just Sandford, although he is one of the worst. These elected officials in the GOP are only good at winning elections and smearing other people. They have not the first clue nor do they want to find the first clue when it comes to governing and making good decisions for our nation. At some point the people who vote Republican are simply going to have to put down the koolaid and examine whether their actions ever match up to their rhetoric. I can tell you right now, for the most part it won't!

(h/t digby)

Pot Meet Kettle

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

John McCain: World Class Flip Flopper

Remember back when he was running for Preznit and John McCain didn't want anybody linking him to Rush Limbaugh? I guess they must have tongue kissed and made up.



Your GOP, the party with no balls!