Sunday Funnies Featuring Stephen Colbert And Mitt The Ripper

Posted by on January 15, 2012 at 3:24 pm. 3 Comments :

This election season’s most electrifying development is the announcement that Stephen Colbert has formed an exploratory committee to discern whether there is a “hunger” for him to enter the race for the Republican nomination for President of the United States of South Carolina.

Colbert has already placed in polling that shows him ahead of Gov. Jon Huntsman. And today he appeared on ABC This Week with George Stephanopolous (which is more than Mitt Romney has done). Notably, Colbert appeared in character throughout the interview (which Romney always does).

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

Clearly Colbert is off to a great start despite it being too late to actually get on the ballot in South Carolina. But in that regard he isn’t much worse off than the so-called “real” candidates like Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich, who failed to get onto the primary ballot in Virginia.

In other news, Colbert’s former SuperPAC (which he transferred to Jon Stewart so as not to run afoul of election law) has released its first ad in South Carolina:

Some may regard that as an over-the-top negative advertisement, but Colbert has made it clear that he is not affiliated with the SuperPAC and that he regards Jon Stewart as a political foe. In any case, Romney has other fictional comparisons he has to worry about.

Mitt Romney - Gordon Gekko

Find us on Google+
Advertisement:

Dana Loesch: CNN’s Pro-Corpse Defiling Contributor

Posted by on January 14, 2012 at 11:26 am. 6 Comments :

This week a disturbing story emerged from Afghanistan in the form of a video of U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Afghans presumed to be members of the Taliban. Such behavior is repulsive and contrary to the standards of the Marine Corps. The acts portrayed in the video have been condemned by the highest representatives of the military.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta: I have seen the footage, and I find the behavior depicted in it utterly deplorable. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey: Actions like those are not only illegal but are contrary to the values of a professional military and serve to erode the reputation of our joint force.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos: [The behavior is] wholly inconsistent with the high standards of conduct and warrior ethos that we have demonstrated throughout our history.

Nevertheless, CNN contributor Dana Loesch (who is also a Tea Party leader and the editor-in-chief of Andrew Breitbart’s BigJournalism) took to the air to exacerbate the offense and defend the soldiers saying…

“Now we have a bunch of progressives that are talking smack about our military because there were marines caught urinating on corpses, Taliban corpses. Can someone explain to me if there’s supposed to be a scandal that someone pees on the corpse of a Taliban fighter? Someone who, as part of an organization, murdered over 3,000 Americans? I’d drop trou and do it too. That’s me though. I want a million cool points for these guys.”

The subsequent controversy erupting from Loesch’s offensive remarks has generated a secondary controversy centered on the appropriate role of news analysts and the lines drawn for decency and civil discourse. Loesch, in a tacit acknowledgement that her comments crossed the line, sought to defend herself by claiming that she was not condoning the Marines, but ridiculing the media response. But the dishonesty of that excuse is apparent just by re-reading her statement. She explicitly says that she would do the same thing the Marines did and praises them for being “cool.” If that isn’t condoning the behavior, what is?

Loesch’s web site, BigJournalism has gone to work to absolve her sins, not by demonstrating that her comments were appropriate, but by attacking anyone who criticized her. They started with Politico, a news operation started by unabashed conservative journalists, and tagged them as leftists because of their article that merely reported that the controversy exists. John Nolte, editor-in-chief of Breitbart’s BigHollywood, desperately stretched to imply a bias by Politico because the article included this:

“I’ve reached out to CNN to ask for their response to Loesch’s comments, and whether or not it will have any impact on her role at CNN.” Nolte’s emphasis.

Most people would regard that as a standard inquiry in a situation where a news analyst’s big mouth got them in hot water. From there Nolte descended into an hysterical rant that accused Politico of “pushing to have Dana taken off the air or punished.” And he escalated that nonsense to claim that Politico had an even bigger agenda to “marginalize” and “silence” Loesch. The conspiracy in Nolte’s mind extended all the way to George Soros, as all conservative conspiracies do. And the entirety of this clandestine plot was drawn from Politico’s perfectly reasonable and responsible desire to get a response from CNN.

Another Breitbart hack, Dan Riehl, weighed in on the subject to accuse Media Matters of being…

“…fixated on a mission to try and silence the free speech of Big Journalism editor Dana Loesch, while also engaging upon a campaign to somehow damage her with CNN.”

Riehl’s evidence is an article by Media Matters that correctly observes that Loesch’s comments were Too Extreme For Rush Limbaugh. Riehl disputes that assessment mainly by changing the subject. He utterly ignores the fact that Limbaugh, with reference to the Marines, said explicitly that “There’s no defense of this.” But Riehl peels away from that fact to post a rambling quote from Tea Party Republican Allen West that also advocates punishing the Marines and says outright that “The Marines were wrong.” It appears that the fixation is on Riehl’s part to avoid the reality that the behavior of these particular soldiers was indefensible to almost everyone but Loesch.

As for Loesch, her own defense that she published on BigJournalism was an incoherent jumble of phony patriotism and self-aggrandizement. Her primary argument was that…

“There is a difference in advocating for the Marines to break the law, which I didn’t do, and defending them from overly-dramatic hysteria.”

Of course, defending them is precisely what she did. Even to the point of declaring that she would have “dropped trou” and joined them (which I’m sure they would have loved). Nevertheless, she contradicts herself a few paragraphs down by stating that “I won’t condemn American soldiers on the battlefield.” Not even, apparently, when they engage in condemnable acts that their commanders have no problem condemning.

The triumvirate of Loesch, Riehl, and Nolte, all touched on what they regard as an underlying evil aimed at Loesch and conservatives in general. They are convinced that any criticism they incur is an attempt to silence them. Ironically, they call for such criticism to be silenced. Conservatives believe that free speech is sacrosanct exempt when exercised by liberals. Consequently, any critique of Loesch is viewed by rightists as akin to censorship.

It is, however, perfectly appropriate to question news analysts who engage in a dialogue that advocates unlawful acts in the conduct of a war. CNN should take the responsible steps to review incidents wherein contributors bring disrepute to their network. But I don’t anticipate that they will. The current head of CNN, Ken Jautz, is the hack who gave Glenn Beck his first job on television. He also recently hired Beck associate Will Cain. These two uber-rightists share the air with CNN contributor Erick Erickson, who called former Supreme Court Justice David Souter a “goat-fucking child molester.” And it was under Jautz that CNN partnered with the corrupt AstroTurf PR firm, Tea Party Express, to host a GOP debate.

The hard-right turn that CNN has taken has landed them squarely in third place. And that decline is due in large part to people like Loesch. The American people are not looking for this kind of substanceless, bombastic, hate-speech from their news sources. They can get that from Fox News. And if anyone’s job should be in jeoprady, it is the person at the helm, Ken Jautz.


DISGUSTING! Fox News Web Site Thinks John Edwards’ Illness Is Funny

Posted by on January 13, 2012 at 3:06 pm. 9 Comments :

It’s bad enough that Fox News disseminates lies and propaganda while pretending to be a “news” enterprise. It’s just as bad that they routinely slander good people and projects with hyperbolic howls of treason and hate. But this is so far beyond the bounds of decency it is difficult to comprehend:

Fox Nation John Edwards

The Fox Nation republished an article from Politico that announced that former Senator John Edwards has been diagnosed with a heart condition that is life-threatening and requires immediate surgery. Upon reading this article the Fox Nationalists rated it as “Funny.” That is about as repulsive as it gets.

These are the same people who complain when they are criticized for being uncaring toward their less fortunate fellow citizens. They whine about being portrayed as insensitive when they advocate for eliminating Social Security and cutting everything from food stamps to salaries for teachers and firefighters.

Yet this is the best representation of what the Fox/Tea Party cult in America truly believes. They are expressing themselves in an open forum and letting their true feelings show. The depths of their nauseating hostility seems to have no bottom. In some respects this should not surprise anyone who has seen the Fox Nationalists relentlessly bashing President Obama, even calling for his assassination. And it isn’t just the puerile morons on their web site, it is also their on-air commentators like Liz Trotta who joked about “knocking off” the President.

It’s all very funny to these misanthropes. So long as the tragedy befalls someone with whom they disagree politically, anything goes. But just imagine their brain-melting hysteria if the situation was reversed and it was Sarah Palin who was ill. I would never wish this sort of hardship on anyone. But they not only wish it, they revel in their wishful depravity.

This really illustrates the dictionary definition of “Sick Fucks.” And if I wish anything, it is that they learn how hurtful and inhumane their despicable behavior is. And I also wish Sen. Edwards a speedy recovery.


Corporate Godhood: When Corporate Personhood Is Not Enough

Posted by on January 12, 2012 at 3:31 pm. 4 Comments :

The Republican National Committee has just filed an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court in Virginia in support of a ruling that would eliminate the ban on corporations making direct donations to political candidates.

Such a ruling would magnify the catastrophic decision issued by the Supreme Court in the Citizen’s United case that permits corporations to make unlimited donations, anonymously, to political action committees. The RNC’s latest move would broaden that allowance to permit such donations directly to candidates.

This is another attempt by the GOP (Greedy One Percent) to usurp power in America from the people and transfer it to the wealthy and to unaccountable business entities. Even though individuals are not allowed to make unlimited donations to political candidates, Republicans want to give that power to corporations.

The result is much worse than the current situation wherein corporations are legally viewed as persons. If this ruling stands, corporations might as well be elevated to Gods. They will have far more omnipotent control over the affairs of humans than humans do themselves. Plus, like Gods, corporations are immortal. They direct our daily behavior. They control our bodies through drug testing, and our minds through propaganda They decide whether we will be able to pay rent or purchase groceries and medicine – essentially whether we live or die.

But unlike Gods, corporations have no moral code, no soul. They are unconcerned with the welfare of people. They are not held accountable for the pain, suffering, and even death that they cause. If I put e-coli bacteria in your soup and you die, I will go to jail, and perhaps be executed. If a corporation feeds tainted soup to millions they might get a fine and a request to recall the soup.

What’s more, corporations have no national loyalty. They are borderless entities that will ship jobs off to the cheapest, most exploitative locations for labor, then re-import those products made in near slave labor conditions and sell them back to us at inflated prices – including medicines that people require to live.

The only obligation that corporations are held to is to return value to shareholders. Period. It is a legal obligation for which they can lose their charter if they fail to comply. It is also a coldhearted standard of ethical behavior that differentiates corporations from people. People care about their families, their communities, their country, and their world. It is that caring that qualifies people to govern themselves. When we hand over that role to corporations, we put everything we care about in the hands of dead entities that were created for the sole purpose of making money.

Yet the Republican National Committee is pleading with the courts to give corporations more power than they have ever had, and more power than ordinary flesh-and-blood people could ever match. That’s today’s Republican Party to which the Tea Baggers and evangelicals are flocking. And they have to be stopped before we are nothing more than anthropogenic machines forced to serve the interests of the Corporation Almighty.

This is serious business. It is not some nuisance suit by an obscure fringe character. This legal action has been taken by the official body of the national Republican Party. It is not a joke. Nevertheless, Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart has once again distilled a complex and profound issue into a concise declarative statement that makes the point in an understandable and compelling way:

Jon Stewart On Corporate Personhood

Indeed. And the Supreme Court, dominated by a right-wing Republican majority, is now getting help from their party apparatus. And their frontrunner for the GOP nomination for president, Mitt Romney (or R*Money as his Highlife Homies call him), famously came out in support of the ludicrous notion that corporations are people.

This is becoming an ingrained principle of conservative politics and we must not allow it to succeed. So keep up the fight, because Corporations Are Not People. Here are some ways to contribute and participate:

Move To Amend is organizing a national action on January 20, 2012, to oppose and reverse Citizens United: Occupy the Courts!
Public Citizen is organizing a national action on January 21, 2012 to oppose and reverse Corporate Personhood: Occupy the Corporations!


Occupy Reality: Americans Concern About Income Inequality Surges

Posted by on January 12, 2012 at 11:04 am. 3 Comments :

The Pew Research Center has conducted an inquiry into the degree of divisions within American society and found that conflicts between rich and poor now outpace other sources of group tension.

That result can only be interpreted as a success for the 99% and those who participated in the nationwide Occupy movement. They decisively altered the national dialogue from one that was obsessed with government spending and debt, to one that focused on economic justice and corporate abuse of power.

This is a terrible time for the GOP (Greedy One Percent) to be coalescing around Mitt Romney as their nominee for president. A multimillionaire, corporate raider who specializes in bankrupting companies and outsourcing jobs may not be the ideal candidate in this political environment. But, fortunately for Democrats, they are stuck with him.

The Wealth Gap in American is currently larger than it has ever been. It is larger than it was in the Great Depression. It is even larger than it was during the ancient Roman Empire that collapsed from the weight of its own injustice and oppression.

Click to enlarge
Decadence Index

The Republicans know all too well that their class war on behalf of the rich is toxic to their electoral aspirations. Their top strategist and pollster, Frank Luntz, has been counseling them to steer clear of debates on economic justice and free market capitalism. In a seminar for the Republican Governor’s Association he told them that he is “so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I’m frightened to death.” Even fellow Republicans are bashing the corporatist tendencies of Romney and his Bain Capital pedigree.

Not to be left out, Fox News joined the club by posting an article about the Pew survey on their Fox Nation web site. Consistent with their inbred bias, they mocked up a graphic that pastes Obama in front of the “Mission Accomplished” banner that George Bush made to pretend that the Iraq war was over, implying that Obama is responsible for the class tensions.

Fox Nation Rich/Poor Conflict

The problem with Fox’s characterization is that Obama was a late-comer to the issue. The people were way out in front of this and they overwhelming support the goals associated with the Occupy movement. And that includes many of the rich people we are supposed to be in conflict with. Notice how they never called it a class war until we fought back.

But more importantly, in their rush to smear the President, they are implicitly conceding that income inequality is a significant problem in America and that it is reaching an historic level of risk. Thanks Fox.


James O’Keefe Crew Commits Voter Fraud

Posted by on January 11, 2012 at 3:05 pm. 6 Comments :

James O'KeefeThe man responsible for producing intentionally deceitful videos and engaging in unlawful political stunts has once again crafted a sham that may land him in jail.

James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas posted its latest video that purports to have uncovered a voting scandal that will shock the nation. He sent his pretend reporters to New Hampshire to masquerade as recently deceased voters. They identified themselves as the dead citizens and took ballots from poll workers in an effort to prove that this sort of voter fraud was possible.

The problem with this caper is that it is illegal to procure ballots “that are known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent.” The Project Veritas gang committed this crime numerous times and then posted video evidence of their crime spree on YouTube.

However, the entire escapade was a waste of time that proves nothing. The fact that it is possible for someone to falsely identify themselves at a polling place is not evidence that voter fraud of that sort is occurring. In fact, it appears that the only known perpetrators of this crime are O’Keefe’s associates. So they contrived this whole scheme to prove that they could do something that nobody else is doing, and in the process they violated federal law.

O’Keefe himself did not accompany his accomplices to New Hampshire because he is still on probation for pretending to be a telephone repairman in order to gain access to a U.S. senator’s office. He must now reside with his parents in New Jersey and cannot leave the state without permission from the court.

O’Keefe is an incorrigible criminal who rejects any attempt to rehabilitate himself. In addition to his falsification of ACORN videos, and his misrepresentation at Sen. Landrieu’s office, O’Keefe has lied to Census Bureau personnel, attempted to lure a CNN reporter into a sexual tryst, deceitfully edited covert videos of a meeting with NPR executives, and posed as Russian drug dealers attempting unsuccessfully to get Medicaid benefits. And in none of these affairs did he ever prove anything other than what a scoundrel and liar hie is.

Time will tell if any of the perpetrators of this latest scam will be prosecuted. O’Keefe could be liable as the ring leader. He may also be in violation of his probation which requires that he not be involved in any illegal activities. But one thing is certain: No one seems to care what he does any more. His toxic reputation has exiled him to the farthest reaches of the wing-nut web. This video was picked up by the Daily Caller, the Internet home of Tucker Carlson who has been thrown off of more networks than any other pundit. O’Keefe is a journalistic leper whose presence stirs repulsion. Let’s hope the authorities do their job and put him away for a while.

Find us on Google+
Advertisement:

Fox Nation Paints Michelle Obama As A Very Angry Black Woman

Posted by on January 11, 2012 at 10:16 am. 3 Comments :

Continuing their campaign to disparage the Obama family at every opportunity, Fox Nation posted an article this morning that asserts that Michell Obama is engaging in “damage control” because “people try to paint me as some angry black woman.”

Hmm. I wonder who would try to paint Mrs. Obama as an angry black woman. Could it be Fox Nation, who last October published an article calling her “The Very Angry First Lady?”

Fox Nation Paints Michelle Obama As Angry

In that article Mrs. Obama was described as “ready to spew her bilious disgust with America on the campaign trail.” They provided no evidence whatsoever to support that hateful representation. It was just a dangling invective meant to perpetuate a racist stereotype.

Now the Fox Nationalists seem confused as to why the First Lady would be so sensitive about how the media is portraying her. But it is Fox News who is most guilty of those false, insulting, and racist portrayals in the first place.


US News & World Report Gives A Lesson In Dishonest Polling

Posted by on January 10, 2012 at 1:02 pm. 4 Comments :

If you are looking for a reliable way to conduct a poll that will provide bad news for a designated adversary, US News & World Report has a helpful example of how to accomplish your goal. All that’s necessary is to select a few unrelated questions that leave respondents with little leeway to actually express what they feel. For example, here are the questions that appeared on the poll that US News published yesterday:

As we enter the presidential election year of 2012, what potential news event do you fear the most?

  • President Obama wins reelection: 33%
  • Taxes will increase: 31%
  • Iran will get a nuclear weapon: 16%
  • Obama will lose reelection: 16%
  • North Korea will attack South Korea: 4%

How did the US News pollsters decide which potentially fearful events would appear in the poll? They have little correlation to one another, and even less correlation to the issues that Americans are actually concerned about. The top issues in almost every poll are jobs and the economy, none of which were represented in this poll.

Instead, the pollsters included two mirror images of a question about President Obama, and three responses about things that no one thinks are likely to occur. Consequently, it should not be surprising that the response from those fearing Obama’s reelection would draw the third of the country that are already committed opponents of the President. [Note: 67% of respondents do NOT fear Obama’s reelection most] The other responses are just filler designed to make the responses to the presidential question stand out. Even the response for those who are most afraid of Obama NOT being reelected is deliberately misleading. Most Obama supporters are fairly confidant that he will be reelected and, thus, would not select the option indicating that they fear that he would lose.

On the basis of this intentionally fraudulent survey, US News publishes an article with a headline that falsely declares “Americans, 2-1, Fear Obama’s Reelection,” which, even by the results of this phony survey, is not true. According to their own results only 1 out of 3 said that. But that doesn’t stop Fox News, and other biased entities that have no integrity, from re-posting the article. Fox Nation’s headline is “Obama Re-election Is Americans’ Top Fear.” Sure it is, except for all the other fears that weren’t included in the survey.

That’s how it works folks. Pay attention, because these charlatans are out to swindle you. They simply don’t care about making truthful representations. The only thing they care about is advancing their agenda at all costs. These are not bona fide news enterprises. I”m still trying to figure out if they are secretly published by The Onion.


How Stupid Are The Fox/Tea Party Nuts Who Want To Impeach Obama?

Posted by on January 10, 2012 at 12:59 am. 26 Comments :

In case anyone is still wondering how stupid the Fox News/Tea Party crowd is, they have announced that they are trying to raise money to fly a banner over the Super Bowl that will say “Impeach Obama.”

Fox Nation Impeach Obama

That’s right. The Super Bowl, over which it will be illegal to fly. The Super Bowl, which will be held in a covered stadium. These geniuses are plotting to hire an airplane to fly in restricted air space, pulling a banner that no one in the stadium would be able to see, that advocates a criminal procedure for which there is no legal basis. And presumably there are dimwits willing to donate to this quixotic scam.

The video above was posted with their pitch for contributors. It proudly displays a prior banner overflying of the Rose Parade which, due to weather and a late takeoff, they missed all but the last half hour. That ought to convince their victims, I mean donors, to dig deep.

I’ve gotta come up with a really dumb idea to fleece these morons. I can’t shake the feeling that I’m missing a rare opportunity to bank some coin before the Tea Party is over. Any suggestions?


Carnage Capitalism: When Mitt Romney Came To Town

Posted by on January 9, 2012 at 2:07 pm. 3 Comments :

“You have to ask the question, is capitalism really about the ability of a handful of rich people to manipulate the lives of thousands of people and then walk off with the money?” (h/t TPM)

You might be wondering which ultra-progressive enemy of conservative, free market, American principles uttered that indictment of capitalism and the GOP (Greedy One Percent) model of the economy. It wasn’t Michael Moore or Nancy Pelosi or George Soros. It was former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and current floundering Republican presidential hopeful, Newt Gingrich.

Seriously. Gingrich is so obsessed with cutting off his nemesis, Mitt Romney (or R*Money as his Highlife Homies call him) at the knees that he has adopted the platform of Occupy Wall Street to expose Romney’s Carnage Capitalism that permits him to profit extravagantly from the suffering of others and the destruction of businesses and jobs. There is even a devastating new video produced by a pro-Gingrich Super-Pac, Winning Our Future, that could easily be used by the Obama campaign against Romney this fall:

This is precisely the strategy that should be implemented against Romney and the rest of the congressional GOP establishment in the upcoming elections. Gingrich knows that this line of attack will be effective or he wouldn’t be using it himself. He has surely done focus groups and other polling to affirm that. Even the GOP’s top pollster/strategist, Frank Luntz warned a meeting of the Republican Governor’s Association that…

“I’m so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I’m frightened to death. They’re having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.”

It isn’t really the word capitalism that is the problem, but the corruption of it by people like Romney (and Gingrich, for that matter). But when the far right is embracing our arguments, you know that the tide has turned. And that is not a sign to relax or declare victory. It is a call to redouble our efforts and march on until our goals are achieved. This concession by Gingrich, and the video by his pals, are just the most recent indications that progressive values are on the ascendancy.