On Hiatus Until 1 December

I'll be ready to rant again, but I need to recharge. Talk to you later.

Confronting Hunger--I Mean, "Low Food Security"--in America

It's my personal belief that no one in this country, however poor, should ever go hungry. My late mother, who was one of the finest people I ever met, said it was a simple matter of right and wrong. America is so rich that there just isn't any excuse for it. And now, with 35 million Americans going chronically underfed, the Bush Administration is trying to deal with the situation in part by relabeling hunger with a bureaucratic euphemism. BradBlog has the story here.

Well, you don't have to wait in order to do something yourself. I urge you to consider a donation to one of the following:

Feed the Children.

Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Heifer International.

Most of us have been blessed. I know many of you already help, and I know I should do more. It's time to wipe this problem out once and for all--now!

Oh Yeah!

(Thanks to Al Rodgers at DKos)

Glenn Beck: Total Jackass

Glenn Beck this Evening used Holocaust remembrance and the vow "Never again!" as a rhetorical device to attack Hillary Clinton's emphasis on health care reform. Yes, just as Holocaust survivors say "Never again!", so we should all say "Never again!" to Hillary proposing changes in health care. He also said that Hillary tried to ruin the "best health care system in the world."

I almost threw something through the fucking television. Why in the HELL does this dick have a show on CNN?

I Won't Forget

I won't forget the phony Republican robocalls that were used to discredit Democratic candidates by harassing voters with messages that were supposedly from the Democrats.

I won't forget how the Republicans have apparently stolen a House race in Florida through rigged voting machines.

I won't forget the "cut and run" accusation wielded by a rightwing Republican chickenhawk against a legless Democratic Iraqi war veteran.

And like Gene Lyons, I won't forget President Pinhead's campaign rhetoric:

For most of six years, Bush governed as if there was never going to be another election. He acted as if the whole country had turned into East Texas or Alabama. So before we get all fuzzywarm and bipartisan, let’s recall his inept and disgraceful performance during the 2006 campaign.

“The Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this,” he said. “The terrorists win and America loses.”

In essence, the president of the United States had accused his opponents of treason. Asked about it by a reporter after the traitors turned out to represent a clear majority of Americans, Bush played it off like a high school “Heather.” Just kidding ! Why, of course presumptive Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are strong patriots like himself. “What’s changed today,” he said, “is the election is over and the Democrats won.”

What glassy-eyed throngs of Bush cultists who’d cheered the president’s divisive rhetoric were supposed to make of that wasn’t immediately clear. Had their champion been conning them all along ?

No, I won't forget the casual way these bastards called me and people like me traitors. I won't forget the rightwing hate radio and cable tv scum verbally spitting in my face for years. And I won't forget that 2008 is yet another opportunity to bury the rightwing lunatics even deeper and smash their wretched, America-destroying policies. No, I won't forget. I've got one long-ass memory.

And I'm a vindictive son of a bitch.

Hey Rush! Thanks for the Democratic Senate!

Haw! I love it. Claire McCaskill, Democratic Senator-elect from Missouri, thanked Rush Limbaugh for helping her win. Evidently, Limbaugh's vicious smearing of Parkinson's victim Michael J. Fox was enough to tip the balance in the Missouri race--to the Democrats.

Limbaugh went too far when he blasted actor Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, on the eve of the midterm elections.

One view is that all's fair in politics, and Fox had put himself in the public arena by becoming a spokesman for the pro-stem cell research faction. But everyone deserves to be treated with respect and compassion. Whether Limbaugh was guilty of bad manners or bad politics, it didn't matter. And even when he explained his remarks afterward, his comments had a hollow ring.

In hindsight, it would have been wise for Limbaugh to leave Fox alone, especially after Fox shook violently during television commercials. But Limbaugh couldn't do that.

Instead, trying to make Fox look as bad as possible, Limbaugh said he suspected that Fox hadn't taken his medication. He reckoned that Fox had exploited his illness as a slick way to boost the public's appeal for federally funded embryonic stem cell research. The stem-cell issue had become a pivotal part of McCaskill's campaign in Missouri (and the initiative ultimately passed).

Here is the irony. If Republican Jim Talent had defeated McCaskill, the Republicans would have held on to control of the U.S. Senate. Not only did Limbaugh hurt Talent, he ended up screwing the whole Republican Party.

He sure did, and I thank him for it. I hope it won't be the last time this vile example of walking excrement screws the Republican Party. He's hurt this country in so many ways in his long and dishonorable history that it's the least he can do.

A Tribute to Donald Rumsfeld

See it here.

Ah, memories.

Hey Republicans! Show Your REAL Colors in 2008!

Talk among the Republicans is that they lost last week because they weren't conservative enough.

OK, here's what I want the Republicans to run on in 2008:

1. The public schools should be abolished.

2. Social Security should be completely privatized and ultimately abolished.

3. America should be officially declared a "Christian Nation" and non-Christians should be declared second-class citizens.

4. All abortions should be outlawed, even in cases of rape or incest.

5. Birth control should be legally restricted or even eliminated.

6. A nuclear attack should be made on Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

7. Homosexual acts should be declared a crime, punishable by prison or death.

8. The state should have the ultimate decision making power in matters of life support for patients in a permanent vegetative state.

9. The state should have the power to restrict or outlaw "non-procreative" sex, even among married heterosexuals.

All of these positions have actually been advocated by various members of the Republican coalition. I say the right wingers should have the courage of their convictions and run on these ideas unflinchingly. In fact, I think they should be the cornerstone of the Republican platform.

Why? Because the Democrats would win a landslide of historic proportions, winning every state in the Union in the presidential election (with the possible exception of Utah) and more than 300 seats in the House and 65 in the Senate. That's why the Republicans won't do it.

They'd like to.

But they don't have the guts.

I dare them.

Daddy to the Rescue

This post in Newsweek is about how Bush 41 and his team have been called in to try to rescue the miserable, failed, rejected presidency of Bush 43. Getting rid of Rumsfeld and replacing him with Robert Gates was the first move. (Gates, by the way, was involved in Iran Contra up to his armpits and I'd like that connection explored thoroughly.)

I don't think a rescue is going to happen. I think Dubya's reign is beyond help. It kind of fits a pattern, though. All through his life Dubya has relied on Dad to bail him out of everything. To bail him out of legal trouble. To bail him out of going to Vietnam. To bail him out of business failures. My God, the elder Bush has been a total enabler of this guy. His eldest son's complete failure should be no surprise to him--he's seen it before.

Let's Always Remember America's Veterans

They've given up more for us than we can ever know or repay. Thank you, to all veterans who served honorably. You'll always be heroes to me.

The Republicans: No Longer a National Party

The Republican Party essentially no longer exists in a key area of the nation: the Northeast. For our purposes here, the Northeast consists of the six New England states and the five MidAtlantic ones. Here's how the region shapes up politically:

--In the last four presidential elections, the Republicans have achieved one victory in the Northeast--NH in 2000. The Democrats have won 43, not counting carrying DC every time (which is a given).

--The northeastern states have 92 members of the House. Following Tuesday's GOP bloodbath in the region, the Democrats hold a 68-24 margin in them.

--Out of 22 northeastern senators, 17 are now Democrats and 5 are Republicans. Three of the Republicans are, moreover, considered non-conservatives.

--With the capture of governorships in New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts, the Democrats now hold 8 of the region's 11 governors. Moreover, Democrats made gains in the state legislatures of the region as well.

People talk about how the Democrats have pretty much disappeared in the South. Well, I'd say that judgment is premature. But the hardest mission in American politics today isn't the one the Democrats face in Dixie--it's the one the Republicans face from the Potomac to the Canadian border.

On the Road to Becoming the Majority Party Again

Check out the exit poll stats here. In the House, the vote was 53% Democratic, 45% Republican. In the Senate, the Democratic advantage was 55%-41% (!).

Now I call that an ass kicking.

VICTORY!!

The Democrats won the House of Representatives, gaining 25-35 seats. Santorum went down, Blackwell went down BIG, Harris in Florida went down by a MILLION, and the Senate might--might--be in our grasp. The Democrats won BIG!!

Thank you America!! Thank you!!

Little Ricky Bites the Dust

Buh-bye Rick! CNN has declared Democrat Bob Casey the new U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania. One of the most dangerous radicals in America has gone down to a crushing defeat.

Damn, this is sweet!

See ya later Santorum. Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

Save our country. Save the world. Save your family. Save yourself.

VOTE DEMOCRATIC TODAY.

You'll be glad you did.

Bill Maher Swinging the Hammer--Hard!

Check it out here.

Help It Go Viral, Baby!

GREAT new video that says it all! Find it here.

The Democrats Answer Burns' Pathetic Lies in MT

Check it out here.

Seriously, these right wing Abramoff connected criminals will say anything. Burns has been lying through his teeth; we're setting the record straight.

Whew! He's Got 'Em Stirred Up!

Weller Using Racial Smears

Republican Slimeball (a redundancy, I realize) Jerry Weller is circulating an ugly racist mailer in his bid to win a thoroughly undeserved reelection in IL-11. The Chicago Tribune has the story:

The mailer, sent out this week by Weller's campaign, depicts a larger-than-life Jackson in front of the Chicago skyline, holding puppet strings attached to John Pavich--Weller's challenger in the 11th District.

"With John Pavich in Congress, Jesse Jackson Jr. will be pulling the strings and controlling the third airport in Will County," it states.

Jackson, a Democrat who represents southern Cook County and a small portion of Will, and Republican Weller, who represents a suburban and rural area stretching from Joliet to Bloomington, back competing plans for a third regional airport near Peotone in Will County."Mr. Weller is using deception to exploit racial fear in order to save his political career," Jackson said in a statement. "It's disgusting, but not surprising."Pavich, a Democrat from Beecher who is trying to unseat six-term incumbent Weller, accused his opponent of "race baiting."

"There is a striking similarity between Mr. Weller's portrayal of my image and the racist propaganda used to negatively portray African-Americans," Pavich said.

Nobody, and I mean absolutely nobody, should be surprised by this. Weller is an evil, corrupt man who in 2004 married into the most notorious crime/murder/terror family in Central America. No Republican in America deserves defeat more--and brothers and sisters, there are a whole lotta Republicans who deserve defeat.

Did you ever notice that when a Republican is desperate, he starts slinging the racist filth?

JOHN PAVICH FOR CONGRESS. VOTE DEMOCRATIC ON TUESDAY!!

See Update Below for "Spread It Around"

I linked to the wrong video. It's fixed now!

The National Press: Kissing Rush Limbaugh's Ass

The whole vomit-inducing story can be found here.

It seems only the Canadian press covered Limbaugh's follow up statement to his so-called "apology" for his gutter level attack on Michael J. Fox. Here is what Fat Bastard actually said:

Days later, as the controversy raged, Limbaugh was even clearer, insisting, "I stand by what I said [about Fox]. I take back none of what I said. I wouldn't rephrase it any differently. It is what I believe. It is what I think. It is what I have found to be true."

That quote was key to understanding the radical, remorseless position Limbaugh had staked out for himself. And here, according to a search of the Nexis database, is a list of major Canadian papers that published the direct, "I stand by what I said" quote from Limbaugh:

The Edmonton Journal, The Gazette (Montreal), the Regina Leader-Post (Saskatchewan), the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix (Saskatchewan), The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia), the Vancouver Sun (British Columbia), and the Windsor Star (Ontario)

Meanwhile, here's a list of major American newspapers that published the same revealing quote from Limbaugh:

(Crickets)

Limbaugh is NOT a legitimate political commentator. He's a vicious, lying, smearing radical right wing propagandist. He represents, along with the entire leadership of the Republican Party, everything that is evil, sick, corrupt, and debased about our political culture. He's PROUD that he attacked MJ Fox, and our conservative-kowtowing media doesn't have the guts to report it. Disgusting.

Read the whole thing, as they say in Blogistan.

Spread It Around!!

"Because of Iraq..."

here.

UPDATE!! I've fixed the link!!