The Disgusting Racial Lies and Fear-Mongering of Fox "News"

Rachel Maddow is my hero for this piece.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

FOX "NEWS" IS DELIBERATELY TRYING TO STIR UP FEAR AND HATRED AGAINST BLACKS IN ORDER TO FRIGHTEN WHITE VOTERS INTO SUPPORTING CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS.

Is that clear enough?

Rick Perry Lies--AGAIN

PolitiFact catches Perry in another of his pathetic lies right here. It seems Perry claims the White House never consults him--a demonstrable falsehood. Naturally, he disseminated this lie on the right's favorite propaganda outlet, Fox "News".

Oh, and Perry said that President Obama is harming Texas and has Texas "in his radar", and not in a good way. I guess that's why Perry accepted $17 BILLION in Federal stimulus money--the program President Obama pushed and Perry's right-wing fanatic allies in Congress opposed. The facts are right here.

I think "conservative office holder" and "pathological liar" are becoming synonymous terms.

Karl Rove, the Cancer of American Politics, Hits New Depths of Dishonesty and Hypocrisy

I'll let Steve Benen take it from here:

The key to dealing with Karl Rove's presence in American politics is understanding the role he plays. Once one fully appreciates the extent to which he's a poison in our democracy, smearing our institutions with a pernicious venom, it becomes easier to endure his nonsense without developing an antacid addiction.

But once in a while, Rove's pathological tendencies are a little harder to take.

...Rove's "biggest mistake," he said, was not fighting harder against Democrats who questioned Bush's honesty on the war in Iraq. His column came seven years to the day after Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) concluded that Bush and his team "put a spin on the intelligence and a spin on the truth." It wasn't long before this obvious truth became the standard position of the Democratic mainstream...

In Rove's bizarro world, it wasn't Bush's spectacular failures that undermined the nation, it was the nerve of Democrats to point out that nearly all of the claims the former president made about a war turned out to be false. In this strange alternate reality, those who lied and failed are the heroes, while those who called out the liars "lost their honor and blackened their reputations."

It's quite literally nauseating.

Read the whole thing and the accompanying comments. And try to control your disgust and amazement at the damned nerve of this son-of-a-bitch calling other people liars.

Right Wingers Lying (Again) About Sen. Franken's VICTORY in 2008

The typical disgusting story is here. Naturally, Fox "News", the Propaganda Arm of the Republican Party, is helping to push this utter BS.

They just lie and lie and lie. They have no shame. They have no morals.

And these are the people who will win in November if the Democrats don't bother to vote.

Question: Is Mitt Romney Mostly a Liar, an Idiot, or an Ignoramus on the START Treaty?

Fred Kaplan utterly destroys Mitt Romney's absurd, dishonest attack on the new START treaty right here. Romney has quite literally gotten EVERYTHING WRONG about the treaty--everything. Excerpt:

In 35 years of following debates over nuclear arms control, I have never seen anything quite as shabby, misleading and—let's not mince words—thoroughly ignorant as Mitt Romney's attack on the New START treaty in the July 6 Washington Post.

Senate Republicans are looking for some grounds—any grounds—to defeat this treaty, which was signed in April by President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev, and which will soon come to the Senate floor for a vote.

Romney, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, clearly feels the need to pump up some foreign-policy swagger in advance of the 2012 presidential primaries. But one would think he could have found a ghostwriter who had even the vaguest acquaintance with the subject matter.

The Senate Republicans have only one real objection to the Treaty: it was proposed by President Obama. And so, in their typically reflexive, brain-dead manner, they have to oppose it, even though America would benefit from it.

But then, when have most of the Senate Republicans ever given a damn about what benefits the American people?

REMEMBER, DEMOCRATS AND DEMOCRATIC-LEANING INDEPENDENTS: IF YOU DON'T VOTE THIS YEAR, LYING, IGNORANT RIGHT-WING FANATICS LIKE ROMNEY WILL COME TO POWER.

Period.

What You'll Get If the Democrats Don't Vote This Year

You'll get borderline right-wing psychotics like Michele Bachmann doing everything they can to destroy President Obama--and America.

DEMOCRATS, GET OFF YOUR TAILS, GET PEOPLE REGISTERED, GET THEM TO VOTE, AND VOTE YOURSELVES!!

Meet the Republican Candidate for the Senate in Illinois

Another Brilliant Tom Tomorrow

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David Jungerman, Right-Wing Parasite

The entire pathetic story is here.

So it seems this right-wing SOB who's calling my fellow Democrats and me "parasites" has sucked up more than $1 million in Federal farm subsidies since 1995, including more than $200,000 in 2000 alone.

Really, do these extreme right-wing conservatives have no conscience, sense of shame, or morals at ALL?

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The Strange Career of Darrell Issa

As you probably know, radical right-wing Republican U.S. Representative Darrell Issa of California has promised the fanatics and haters who make up the Republican "base" that if the Republicans win control of Congress this November, he will use his position to launch one investigation after another of President Obama and his White House staff. The objective will be simple: to destroy Obama and possibly set up the "grounds" for the impeachment of the President. In the twisted, sick world of the Radical Right, no Democrat has the right to govern--ever. Issa intends to see to it that Barack Obama does not get to govern our country, and he intends to send a message: this is what will happen to EVERY Democrat who has the temerity to win the Presidency. Therefore, I thought it might be good to turn my gaze on Issa's career, to see what kind of man we're up against. I think you'll be as appalled and disgusted as I am.

DARRELL THE CON MAN; DARRELL THE CAR THIEF?

In this article from the San Francisco Chronicle, we see the interesting story of Darrell and his brother, who set up a phony car theft and then sold the "stolen" car to a Mercedes-Benz dealer.

In the San Jose case, Issa, who at the time was a 27-year-old U.S. Army officer, and William Issa, 29, were arrested by San Jose police on a felony auto-theft charge in February 1980.

They were accused of a scheme in which Issa's brother allegedly sold Issa's cherry-red Mercedes 240 to Smythe European Motors in San Jose for $13,000 cash and three $1,000 traveler's checks. Within hours, Issa reported the car stolen from a lot at the Monterey airport, near his Army post at Fort Ord.

Issa and his brother pleaded not guilty. A judge ordered them to stand trial on felony charges, saying he had a "strong suspicion" that the men had committed the crime, according to the records.

The case was not prosecuted because the DA didn't think he had a strong enough case, even though strong suspicions still surrounded the Issa brothers. Darrell was also suspected in involvement with two other car thefts, but he blamed his brother William for both of them and denied any wrongdoing. At the time the Chronicle published this article, by the way, Issa was spearheading the movement to recall California Governor Gray Davis, a movement which eventually led to the disastrous governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger. You will recall that this recall campaign aided and abetted Enron's looting of California via the phony "electricity crisis".

DARRELL THE TOOL OF BIG BUSINESS; DARRELL THE ARSONIST?

The Media Matters Action Network has assembled a synopsis of Issa's wretched, scandal-plagued political career right here. Among the interesting findings:

AC Custom Fire: Flammable Liquid Had "Been Poured On The Only Area Not Covered By Fire Sprinklers." The Los Angeles Times reported that "seven months after Issa took control," a fire broke out at the "Quantum manufacturing plant." "Case files from Maple Heights, the Ohio fire marshal and insurers pointed repeatedly to the likelihood of arson in the blaze, which officials estimated caused $ 800,000 in damage. Although an accident could not be ruled out, the uneven and unnatural burn patterns made the blaze 'suspicious in nature,' the state concluded two months later. Flammable liquid appeared to have been poured on the only area not covered by fire sprinklers, investigators found." [Los Angeles Times, 5/23/98, via Nexis, emphasis added]

Issa Has Received Nearly $40,000 From The National Beer Wholesalers Association. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Issa has received a total of $38,500 from the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) in contributions since 2000.

[Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 2/3/10]

NBWA Was A Leading Supporter Of Bush Tax Breaks. According to the Center for Responsive Politics: "The NBWA...was a leading supporter of President Bush's proposed package of business tax breaks in 2001." [Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 5/31/10]

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) Has Given Issa More Than $64,000 Since 2000. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Issa has received $64,150 in total contributions from the company Science Applications International Corporation from 2000-2010. [Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 2/3/10]

SAIC Produced Faulty Software For The FBI. According to SignOnSanDiego.com: "SAIC's custom software, known as Virtual Case File, was intended to help FBI agents and analysts track terrorists and manage criminal investigations. When SAIC delivered the product, [FBI Director Robert Mueller testified that] at least 400 problems were found with the software." The contract between SAIC and the FBI was worth "170 million dollars." [SignOnSanDiego.com, 2/3/05]

DARRELL THE ENEMY OF SIMPLE HUMAN DECENCY

In PERRspectives's "Top 10 Darrell Issa Hall of Shame Moments", (located here) we find the following tidbits:

Issa Calls 9/11 Attacks in New York a Plane Crash

No doubt, Issa's slur against World Trade Center rescue workers was the most unforgettable moment in a truly forgettable political career.

Desperate to refuse federal funds to the ailing workers who rushed to Ground Zero, Issa denied the September 11 carnage was an attack on the United States at all. As the New York Post summed it up:

"It's very simple: I can't vote for additional money for New York if I can't see why it would be appropriate to do this every single time a similar situation happens, which quite frankly includes any urban terrorist. It doesn't have to be somebody from al Qaeda. It can be someone who decides that they don't like animal testing at one of our pharmaceutical facilities."
Issa said the destruction of the World Trade Center did not involve a dirty bomb or a chemical weapon designed to make people sick.

"It simply was an aircraft, residue of the aircraft and residue of the materials used to build this building," Issa said.

Issa also viciously defended Blackwater from charges of committing atrocities, and accused those investigating Blackwater of "going after the troops"(!). He further accused Valerie Plame of perjury, and helped force out federal prosecutor Carol Lam with a phony report accusing her of "lax" enforcement of the immigration laws. The purge of Lam was done in retaliation for her successful prosecution of the crook "Duke" Cunningham.

Oh, and Issa also fought against a bill protecting homeowners from predatory lenders.

DARRELL THE PATHOLOGICAL DAMNED LIAR

Issa lied repeatedly and brazenly in the Countrywide VIP loan scandal. Issa lied about evidence and lied about the involvement of Democrats in the matter.

Issa also blatantly lied about the so-called "Train to Sin City", a non-existent piece of the stimulus plan that supposedly financed a high speed train from LA to Las Vegas at the behest of Harry Reid. David Shuster shot Issa down HARD, calling him on his lie in no uncertain terms. (You can see it here since, for some reason, the video will not embed.)

Issa also blatantly lied when he claimed, in a debate with Debbie Wasserman Schultz, that the Republicans had been shut out of helping to shape Health Care Reform. Wasserman Schultz was having none of it:

Following the vote on the health care bill, Wolf Blitzer talks to Rep. Darrell Issa and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Issa claims that the Republicans were "shut out of the process from the very beginning" and Wasserman Schultz calls him out on it.

Schultz: That is just a brazenly false statement. From the very beginning...

Issa: Is that like you lied?

Schultz: No, it's a brazenly false (crosstalk). With all due respect there are two hundred amendments that were offered and accepted by Republicans, offered by Republicans and accepted by Democrats and incorporated into this bill. This is a bill that is bipartisan in content, unfortunately not bipartisan in the outcome of the votes. We gave every opportunity over and over again and the American people saw a President in Obama extend his hand and saw Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid ask Republicans repeatedly to sit down with the rest of the negotiating table and we were repeatedly rejected.

After Issa pretends like they would have used the amendment process for anything other than trying to either stall or shut down the bill being passed and Blitzer repeating his Republican talking points about major pieces of social legislation never being passed without bipartisan support Schultz comes back again.

Schultz: It passed without any Republican support by their choice.

Issa has also lied about his own military service:

As several politicians have been snared thanks to fibbing about their military records, TPM took a trip down memory lane exploring others who exaggerated service. It turns out that 12 years ago when Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) was running for Senate, the San Francisco Examiner uncovered that his Army record was in doubt.

The Examiner published in May 1998 a devastating article detailing the conflicts between Issa’s public statements and public records. A focus in the story was Issa’s claim he protected then-President Richard Nixon as part of an “elite Army bomb unit” at the World Series in 1971. But it turns out Nixon didn’t even attend the games.

The Examiner scoured military records and concluded that Issa’s service on the squad “was marred by a bad conduct rating, a demotion and allegations that he had stolen a fellow soldier’s car.” It cited his 1998 campaign biography saying he served in the Army nine years, even though records showed he served just over five years.

In Darrell Issa we are facing one of the very worst, most dishonest, most unprincipled, most corrupt, most fanatically right-wing of our opponents. He lacks any shred of decency or concern for the average person. And it is this despicable, loathsome, pathologically lying man who will use his power to ruin President Obama unless we act to stop him, by getting out the Democratic vote in November.

It's simple: either we vote, or this son of a bitch Issa gets to ruin the United States of America.

Vice President Biden Brings the HAMMER Down on BP Apologist Joe Barton,

BP's Best Friends: The Radical Right-Wing Republican Party

TPM has the goods right here about the disgusting way in which the official Republican Party and its enablers in the radical right media are kissing BP's ass as publicly as they can while trashing President Obama's tremendous achievement of getting BP to promise a $20,000,000,000 escrow fund for damages. Some of the select opinions, highlighted by yours truly:

Rush Limbaugh: the escrow fund would be a "slush fund,"..."Who's gonna get this money? Union activists? ACORN people? Who's gonna get this money. Let's keep a sharp eye on who Feinberg gives this money to. Because I'm telling you, this is just another bailout fund, called something else, and we'll see who gets it."

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS) was concerned that making BP pay so much would hurt their profitability.

On Fox News, Sean Hannity speculated that the account would be used as a "political slush fund." (God, that takes some kind of special nerve coming from a crook like Hannity, who looted his own "veterans charity").

In a House committee hearing Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) referred to the fund as a "$20 billion shakedown."

The House's Republican Study Group called the fund "a Chicago style shakedown".

And my favorite idiot/liar/psychopath Michele Bachmann called it an example of "redistribution" of money.

Oh, and one more thing: Joe Barton, who actually APOLOGIZED TO BP at the Hayward hearing, is in line to become chairman of the House Energy Committee if the Republicans win control of the House in November.

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This is How Sick and Dangerous They Are

A new ad for a radical Right-wing teabagger Republican in Alabama:



Note the themes: Impeachment of President Obama, the ludicrous claim that the IRS is unregulated(!!), the lie about the IRS and health care, and most of all, the call to armed revolution and violence. THIS IS WHAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS NOW. This is how sick, how delusional, how dangerous, and how threatening to our country these people really are. They MUST be stopped.

Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents (and fed-up Republicans), the real call to arms is to you:

GET OUT THE DEMOCRATIC VOTE IN NOVEMBER.

Yes, the Republicans WILL Try to Impeach President Obama If They Win This Year

Steve Benen has the story here. And wouldn't you know who's pushing it? Everyone's favorite right-wing psychotic, Michele Bachmann. Details:

Everywhere Bachmann goes [she says], people emphasize their desire to see the president impeached. Impeached for what? Bachmann didn't say, and given the deranged crowd she hangs out with, it's probably safe to assume that it doesn't much matter. (As a rule, those seeking to undo national elections might look for "high crimes," but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that those pushing the issue with Bachmann don't care if Obama has actually committed an impeachable offense or not.)

In this case, Bachmann didn't say exactly whether she supports presidential impeachment; it's just what "people" say "everywhere" she goes.

But this brings me back to a point from a couple of weeks ago -- how seriously are Republicans prepared to take this whole impeachment idea?

Obviously, President Obama hasn't committed any crimes, and there are no sane reasons for anyone to try to impeach him. But House Republicans have been known to take some stupendously crazy steps, so it's hardly unreasonable to ask now -- before the election.

Yes, let's ask the Republicans the question BEFORE the November election: Are you going to try to remove President Obama from office by means of impeachment? YES OR NO?

And by God, let's put them on the record IN FRONT OF THEIR OWN RIGHT-WING FANATICS. That's something I'd pay to see.

Addendum:

Bachmann is associated with (and politically connected to) a "Christian" rock band that advocates KILLING gays. Not imprisoning them or fining them or forcing them to stay in the closet, but KILLING THEM. And this woman is considered a leading Republican??

On Hiatus Until June 11

I'll rant to you later.

J. Miller's Current Political Reading List!

I have a wonderful friend coming to visit for a week, so I'll be incommunicado, but this selection of things should hold you for a while:

Michael Lind reminds us of the truth about the Confederacy here.

Governor Rick "Good Hair" Perry of Texas is exposed for the hypocrite and fraud that he really is here.

Arianna Huffington talks about the offshore tax haven scam here.

Newt Gingrich's pathetic lies are refuted with FACTS and EVIDENCE here.

A little history lesson about Dick Cheney, "patriotic" enabler of brutal regimes, is here.

The AP tells the truth about President Obama's andling of the oil spill crisis here.

Newt Gingrich's pathetic lies and right-wing idiocy get another going over here.

That should hold you for a little while.

This Could Shake Things Up in Illinois

I couldn't conceivably care less whether any candidate for public office is gay or not. But the hard-core Right-wing Republican base does care, intensely. So if this story about Illinois senate candidate Mark Kirk turns out to be true--well, it will be interesting, let's just say that.

Goodbye to One of the Greats

Dennis Hopper, 1936-2010

On Memorial Day 2010

This weekend is a time when we should pause and reflect upon those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our sake. Their experience deserves to be remembered for what it really was, and to that end I'd like to recommend you read this article from the archives of The Atlantic Monthly. It's from war veteran and author Paul Fussell and it's called, appropriately, "The Real War 1939-1945". It is a brutally honest look at what men in combat really go through as opposed to the often sanitized images of war the general public is given. Much of what Fussell recounts in the piece is hard to read, but it needs to be known. Excerpt:

For those who fought, the war had other features unknown to those who looked on or got the war mediated through journalism. One such feature was the rate at which it destroyed human beings -- friendly as well as enemy. Training for infantry fighting, few American soldiers were tough-minded enough to accept the full, awful implications of the term "replacement" in the designation of their Replacement Training Centers. (The proposed euphemism "reinforcement" never caught on.) What was going to happen to the soldiers they were being trained to replace? Why should so many "replacements" -- hundreds of thousands of them, actually -- be required? The answers came soon enough in the European theater, in Italy, France, and finally Germany. In six weeks of fighting in Normandy, the 90th Infantry Division had to replace 150 percent of its officers and more than 100 percent of its men. If a division was engaged for more than three months, the probability was that every one of its second lieutenants, all 132 of them, would he killed or wounded. For those being prepared as replacements at officer candidate schools, it was not mentally healthy to dwell on the oddity of the schools' turning out hundreds of new junior officers weekly after the army had reached its full wartime strength. Only experience would make the need clear.

Think well on all of this. And remember those who were sent and never returned. We owe more to them than language can express.

One Standard for Right-Wing Presidents, Another for Democratic Ones--Especially Barack Obama

Steve Benen strikes again in an incisive summary of the utterly dishonest and hypocritical manner in which the so-called "liberal media" deal with Democratic presidents. Among the things Barack Obama has been criticized for WHICH HAVE ALSO BEEN DONE BY REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTS AND REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS IN GENERAL: (Yes, I'm stealing--er, quoting-- shamelessly from Benen)

* Teleprompters: This trend of characterizing routine developments as controversial started very early in the Obama presidency. Every modern president has used teleprompters, but Republicans and the media thought it was hilarious and wildly important when Obama did the same thing.

* Bowing: Several presidents have been photographed bowing to foreign heads of state, but Republicans and the media thought it was absolutely scandalous when Obama did the same thing when meeting leaders where bowing is customary.

* Talking to school kids: Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush spoke to school children in national addresses, even taking a little time to push their political agendas. When Obama delivered a speech encouraging kids to do well in school, Republicans freaked out; Fox News compared the president to Saddam Hussein; and the New York Times literally ran a front-page story about it.

* Czars: For a half-century, presidents have relied on so-called "czars" for various policy areas. By one count, George W. Bush had 36 czar positions filled by 46 people during his two terms. No one cared. Obama's use of czars became the subject of months of media scrutiny, and even congressional hearings in response to Republican apoplexy.

* Oval Office attire: Several modern presidents have been seen in the Oval Office without wearing a suit jacket. When Obama did it, Republicans ran to the press to complain, and the media actually published pieces on the subject.

* Criticizing partisan media: White House complaints about unfair media coverage are as old as the republic. When the Obama White House noted what is plainly true about Fox News -- it's a Republican outlet -- the media went a little berserk, with the Washington Post and NPR characterizing the administration's criticism as "Nixonian."

* Reconciliation: Republican policymakers have relied on reconciliation to get around filibusters for decades. When Obama recommended the same tactic for health care, the GOP pretended it was an outrageous assault on the political process, and the media pretended Republicans' cries were legitimate.

* Industry bailouts: Government bailouts of struggling American industries and major companies have been common for decades. When Obama rescued GM, it was used as an example of his purported desire to a communist dictator.

* Campaign intervention: Every president has had a hand in campaign activities, with several presidents offering jobs to candidates to get them out of various races. When the Obama White House intervened in Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate primary -- offering a House member an unpaid advisory gig -- the media found it fascinating and Republicans called for the FBI and a special prosecutor to intervene.

* Memorial Day: Many presidents have not appeared at Arlington on Memorial Day. When Obama does it, there's a "controversy." [See my post below this one.]

Yes, the "liberal media" sure are fair and balanced. Just like Fox "News".

Radical Right Determined to Lie About and Smear President Obama on Memorial Day

Shrieking right-wing frauds like Michelle Malkin are having a hissy fit about President Obama choosing to have the Memorial Day wreath laying in Elwood, Illinois, instead of at Arlington National Cemetery. And the right-wing fruitcakes are out in force, apparently, on the Radical Right conservative sites, with their usual incisive comments about our President: "traitor", "piece of shit", "Communist". It just shows how deeply dishonest, twisted, and morally bankrupt these idiots really are. There is nothing--NOTHING--they will not try to politicize and LIE about. The right cannot be trusted on ANYTHING. The do little else except lie through their teeth.

FOR THE RECORD, from commenter Sam on Liberal Forum:

1983 - Reagan attended a seminar in Williamsburg VA. Dep Sec of Defense W. Paul Thayer laid the wreath at Arlington

1987 - Reagan spent Mem Day at Camp David on VACATION while Navy Sec James Webb participated in the Mem Day services at Arlington Cemetery

1988 Reagan was out of the U.S. attending a summit in Moscow.


(during his 4yr term as Pres., Geo H.W. Bush NEVER attended ceremonies at Arlington on Mem Day)


1989 - Pres Geo H.W. Bush went to Rome Italy, and attended services at an American military base cemetery.

1990 - Pres Geo H.W. Bush was on VACATION at Kennebunkport MA on Memorial Day.

1991 - Pres Geo H.W. Bush was on VACATION at Kennebunkport MA on Memorial Day.

1992 - George H.W. Bush was on VACATION but attended a ceremony in Kennebunkport MA, where he also played golf while V.P. Quayle laid the wreath at Arlington Cemetery.

2002 - Pres. Geo W. Bush commemorated Mem Day at Normandy.

2007 - Pres. Geo W. Bush was in Texas, V.P. Cheney attended the Arlington Nat Cem services on Mem Day.

Any questions?

Right-Wing Anti-Government Radicals MURDER Two Policemen, Wound Two More

If the killers had been leftists, every right-wing media outlet would be shouting about it. But they're not--so the Right is dead silent.

Muhammed

A. Because I'll post anything I damn well want to on my blog.
B. Because I'm sick of people groveling to religious radicals of all stripes.

C. Because I stand in solidarity with those exercising their free speech rights.

Lewis Black is My Hero

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Yes, the Original Constitution WAS Flawed

The Usual Suspects are frothing at the mouth because Elena Kagan, newly nominated by President Obama for the Supreme Court, agreed with her mentor, the late Thurgood Marshall, that the original Constitution was a flawed document. Why, how dare she! She thinks the original Constitution wasn't perfect!!! How could she say that?!?

This is how:

From Article I, Section 2:

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.

Translation: Slaves will be counted as three-fifths of a human being.

From Article I, Section 9:

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

Translation: the slave trade will be permitted until 1808. That, by the way, was one of the terms that the patriotic, God-fearing representatives from South Carolina insisted on.

From Article IV, Section 2:

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

Translation: the Free States are obligated to return any fugitive slaves that run away to escape the brutality and barbarism of slave owners in the patriotic, God-fearing southern slave states.

Yes, the original Constitution was deeply and profoundly flawed. It sanctioned the hideous institution of human slavery, at the insistence of Southern conservatives. Slavery, which should have been abolished outright by the Constitution, was not only preserved, but the other states were compelled to support it by being forced to return "property" that had fled to them and recognize slaves as partial humans. An appalling, disgraceful phenomenon.

By the way, you'll notice that the words "slave" and "slavery" were not used in the original Constitution. The writers didn't have the courage to actually say what they meant outright, preferring to hide behind euphemisms. The word slavery wasn't used in the Constitution until the 13th Amendment, which outlawed it in 1865.

Yes, slavery was outlawed after a terrible war that had devoured 620,000 lives, a war that was started by traitorous, violently anti-American slave owners looking to preserve their barbarous system--a system that shouldn't have even existed in a country founded on the stated ideals of the United States, a system that was codified into law by the original Constitution. I call that flawed.

Who would dare to disagree?

Radical Right-Wingers in Utah Dump One of the Senate's Most Conservative Members

Utah GOP Senator Bob Bennett has been denied renomination in Utah for being insufficiently uncooperative to the Democrats. This is UTAH we're talking about folks, one of the most Republican states in the country. Now we see again that to the Ultra-Right Tea Party Loving idiots that now run the Republican Party, ideological purity is the only test. You shouldn't be surprised--but you should be working to turn out the Democratic vote in November NOW.

Republican Candidate for Governor of Minnesota a Complete Wingnut Idiot

Yes, candidate Tom Emmer thinks that Minnesota should have the right to NULLIFY any Federal law it wants to unless 2/3 of the state legislature and the governor approve of it. Yes, you read that right. The Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota is, in effect, a Confederate (in line with the modern Republican Party, in other words). Allow me to quote from a document Emmer needs to familiarize himself with:

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. [ From Article VI of the United States Constitution.]

Emmer is a radical right-wing buffoon in the Sarah Palin mode. He embraces every single aspect of the extremist agenda of the Limbaugh-Beck-Palin-Bachmann lunatics that run the GOP. For that reason alone he deserves defeat.

But I want to take this son-of-a-bitch's [political] head off for another reason. I quote State Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, 26 September 2009:

"I don't think you can call yourself a freedom-loving American and be a Democrat."

I want to take this scumbag down HARD. I'm sick and tired of these idiots spitting in my face and acting as if they had the right to tear up the Constitution whenever they feel like it. We need to WHIP THIS GUY'S ASS and send the lunatics a message, loud and clear:

"You're through."

The True Face of the Wall Street Trader

Do you want to see the face of utter arrogance?

Do you want to see the face of repulsive entitlement?

Do you want to see the face of total contempt for the rest of America?

Then read this dissection of an e-mail written by an angry Wall Street trader, a man who's an arrogant, self-entitled, contemptuous asshole down to his toenails. This laughable little Randian thinks that if he's forced out of his ludicrously overpaid job as a professional con artist that he could just walk into any job held by his social "inferiors" and just do it, no sweat. Unbelievable. Read the whole evisceration of this idiot, and don't miss the comments. They're priceless.

Halliburton, Cheney, and the Disaster in the Gulf

The prominent left-wing, Communist-leaning rag called The Wall Street Journal has part of the story here:

An oil-drilling procedure called cementing is coming under scrutiny as a possible cause of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico that has led to one of the biggest oil spills in U.S. history, drilling experts said Thursday...

Regulators have previously identified problems in the cementing process as a leading cause of well blowouts, in which oil and natural gas surge out of a well with explosive force. When cement develops cracks or doesn't set properly, oil and gas can escape, ultimately flowing out of control. The gas is highly combustible and prone to ignite, as it appears to have done aboard the Deepwater Horizon, which was leased by BP PLC, the British oil giant.

Concerns about the cementing process—and about whether rigs have enough safeguards to prevent blowouts—raise questions about whether the industry can safely drill in deep water and whether regulators are up to the task of monitoring them.

The scrutiny on cementing will focus attention on Halliburton Co., the oilfield-services firm that was handling the cementing process on the rig, which burned and sank last week. The disaster, which killed 11, has left a gusher of oil streaming into the Gulf from a mile under the surface.

Federal officials declined to comment on their investigation, and Halliburton didn't respond to questions from The Wall Street Journal.

Halliburton, you might recall, was the former employer of one "Dick" Cheney. (You may also recall that KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary, electrocuted 12 GIs through incompetence and negligence.) Interestingly, another feature of the oil well disaster story is emerging as well. Another excerpt from the Marxist/Socialist/Terrorist Wall Street Journal:

The oil well spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico didn't have a remote-control shut-off switch used in two other major oil-producing nations as last-resort protection against underwater spills.

The lack of the device, called an acoustic switch, could amplify concerns over the environmental impact of offshore drilling after the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig last week.

The U.S. considered requiring a remote-controlled shut-off mechanism several years ago, but drilling companies questioned its cost and effectiveness, according to the agency overseeing offshore drilling. The agency, the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service, says it decided the remote device wasn't needed because rigs had other back-up plans to cut off a well.

As a third line of defense, some rigs have the acoustic trigger: It's a football-sized remote control that uses sound waves to communicate with the valve on the seabed floor and close it.

An acoustic trigger costs about $500,000, industry officials said. The Deepwater Horizon had a replacement cost of about $560 million, and BP says it is spending $6 million a day to battle the oil spill. On Wednesday, crews set fire to part of the oil spill in an attempt to limit environmental damage...

Industry critics cite the lack of the remote control as a sign U.S. drilling policy has been too lax. "What we see, going back two decades, is an oil industry that has had way too much sway with federal regulations," said Dan McLaughlin, a spokesman for Democratic Florida Sen. Bill Nelson. "We are seeing our worst nightmare coming true."

U.S. regulators have considered mandating the use of remote-control acoustic switches or other back-up equipment at least since 2000. After a drilling ship accidentally released oil, the Minerals Management Service issued a safety notice that said a back-up system is "an essential component of a deepwater drilling system."

The industry argued against the acoustic systems. A 2001 report from the International Association of Drilling Contractors said "significant doubts remain in regard to the ability of this type of system to provide a reliable emergency back-up control system during an actual well flowing incident."

By 2003, U.S. regulators decided remote-controlled safeguards needed more study. A report commissioned by the Minerals Management Service said "acoustic systems are not recommended because they tend to be very costly." [End excerpt.]

And who was the oil industry's chief point-man in the government from 2001 to 2009? You know who. And guess which Bush Administration official pressured the Minerals Management Service to NOT require BP and other Gulf drillers to use the acoustic switch?

Take a wild guess.

The Historical Illiteracy of the Teabaggers

Ron Rosenbaum lays it out in devastating style right here. He points out the absurdity of the ugly, unhinged Teabagger rhetoric, especially the use of the epithets "Communist" and "Nazi" to describe President Obama. He finds the accusation of "tyranny" to be especially ludicrous. Excerpts:

The muddled Tea Party version of history is more than wrong and fraudulent. It's offensive. Calling Obama a tyrant, a communist, or a fascist is deeply offensive to all the real victims of tyranny, the real victims of communism and fascism. The tens of millions murdered. It trivializes such suffering inexcusably for the T.P.ers to claim that they are suffering from similar oppression because they might have their taxes raised or be subject to demonic "federal regulation."

**********

These swastika nuts look ridiculous. But words matter, sometimes in a life-and-death way. Take for instance the Tea Party demonization of "federal regulation" as the instrument of the tyranny that's been imposed on them. I would like every Tea Partier who has denounced federal regulation to write a letter to the widows and children of the coalminers in West Virginia who died because of the failure of "federal regulation" of mine safety.

Tell the weeping survivors that such regulation is tyranny, that their husbands and fathers had to die, but for a good cause: lowering federal spending so the T.P.ers could save a few pennies on taxes. That's worth 29 lives snuffed out in a mine blast, isn't it? They either don't see the connection or don't care. [Emphasis added]

Indeed the demonization of "federal regulation" could prevent cowardly legislators from strengthening protections for miners and other workers imperiled by unsafe conditions. But the happy T.P.ers will still go out with their swastika and Hitler-mustache signs, whining about tyranny. Wouldn't it be great if there were a liberal politician who, in the wake of the mining catastrophe, had the courage to stand up and say that federal regulations are often a very good thing? Don't hold your breath.

This is just one example of the toxic effect of Tea Party ignorance on the lives of their fellow citizens. But the damage done by the injection of fraudulent history into the body politic by Tea Party ignoramuses and their enablers will be more profound and lasting than one tragedy.

Read the whole thing. And then remember something really important:

Words matter.

Yes! Excellent Job!

Jon Stewart Speaks for Me

Oh MAN does he speak for me:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Bernie Goldberg Fires Back
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Fifteen Years Ago Today...

Fifteen years ago, domestic terrorism in the form of an Ultra-Right fanatic reared its terrible head in Oklahoma City. Some 168 people, many of them helpless children, were murdered by the filthy coward Timothy McVeigh. The picture you see above reduced many people around America to tears, and it emotionally tore my heart out.

These are the consequences of mindless hatred and violent rhetoric. And now we see that militia groups are on the rise again.

The demented Glenn Beck screams "Communist!" and "Racist" at Barack Obama on Fox "News", claims that FEMA is building concentration camps for conservatives, and openly discusses the "hypothetical" possibility of a civil war ONE MONTH into the Obama presidency.

Limbaugh openly compares the President to Hitler on Limbaugh's hate radio show. Borderline psychotic Michele Bachmann says Obama is preparing "re-education camps" for young people.

The Governor of Texas openly speaks of "secession" while 1 million Texas "patriots" sign a secession petition.

Newt Gingrich brazenly lies that the new health care law calls for 16,000 new IRS agents to enforce it, when nothing like that has been proposed.

Lying propagandist con man Sean Hannity, fresh from ripping off his own "veterans' charity", edits videotape to portray the President as sympathetic to the 9/11 attackers, changing the President's meaning by 180 degrees.

Despite the fact that President Obama has just been given an "F" from the nation's most prominent gun control group, screeching NRA-extremists still rant that the Obama administration wants to confiscate their guns.

And Fox "News" and right wing lunatic hate radio pour out vile, lying attacks on President Obama 24/7, allowing every raving Right-wing fanatic in America air time to vent their utterly ridiculous, incredibly dishonest, and unfounded accusations against a decent, intelligent, good-hearted man who is trying desperately to pull America back from the brink of the abyss to which conservative economic and social policies have moved it.

Minds are being poisoned by these lies. People are being put in terror by these lies. Mentally unstable people are being provoked by these lies. I am convinced that the vast majority of conservatives intend to commit no acts of violence. But it cannot be denied that there is a very active Right-wing fringe that hates President Obama with such passion that they are willing to "defend America" by killing their fellow Americans.

Yes, 15 years ago today, Ultra Right terrorism reared its head.

And those same forces are gathering today.

Keep your eyes open. And if another terrible Oklahoma City incident erupts, you'll know where to look for its inspiration.

A New Blog You Should Check Out

A young friend of mine, Jake Hartnell, has started a really interesting blog, one that deals with a whole host of issues, always from an interesting perspective. It's right here and I think you would like it. Jake is an intense man with strong opinions, and he has one of the biggest hearts I've ever encountered. He's also interested in everything under the Sun, a very cool individual who's a musician, film maker, and writer, among other things. If you're interested in seeing what he looks like, he's on Facebook, too. Check his blog and leave him a reply.

An Essay You Owe It to Yourself to Read

It's right here, from Dennis G. at Balloon Juice. Excerpt:

By 1948 the Confederate Party began to feel like their host Party [the Democratic Party] was moving away from them and that their access to cheap stolen labor was in jeopardy. Over the next twenty years they fought for control of the Democratic Party and lost. In 1968 the Confederates were in the wilderness. George Wallace was their candidate and he made a respectable showing in a run for President. Richard Nixon saw an opportunity and he invited the Confederate Party to join the Republican Party.

It has been over forty years and now the Confederate Party owns the Republican Party so completely that any Republican from any state must support the Confederate agenda—and that agenda is all about helping the elites steal the labor of others to fatten their bottom line. The old plays learned during Reconstruction are still being run over and over again. One needs to be anti-union. One needs to be anti immigrant. One needs to be anti-black. One needs to be anti-poor. One needs to be pro-elite at all time and one needs to cloak it a patina of carefully tested ‘populism’ and dog-whistles to motivate working class folks with racism, pride and fear. Properly done, this Luntz tested hype will get many a rube to work against their best interests.

So as the Republican Confederate Party celebrates Confederate History Month and insists that it is not about slavery, I am inclined to concede that they have a point. Slavery was not the main goal of the Confederacy—stealing labor was. Slavery just made the theft of labor easy and so it was an important tactic. Losing the war led to the loss of that tactic, but ever since the Confederate Party have been creating new ways to steal labor. Sure, these labor stealing tactics can and have changed with the times, but the ongoing goal to steal the labor of others is why the Republican Confederate Party exists. It is what they do. And this is something to remember as these weasels celebrate Confederate History Month.

Jon Meacham on Right Wing Neo-Confederate Sympathies

An important op-ed on the Radical Right's revival of Confederate imagery and mythology. Excerpt:

Advertently or not, [Virginia Governor] McDonnell is working in a long and dispiriting tradition. Efforts to rehabilitate the Southern rebellion frequently come at moments of racial and social stress, and it is revealing that Virginia’s neo-Confederates are refighting the Civil War in 2010. Whitewashing the war is one way for the right — alienated, anxious and angry about the president, health care reform and all manner of threats, mostly imaginary — to express its unease with the Age of Obama, disguising hate as heritage.

The ENTIRE Confederate cause was about the preservation and extension of slavery. The Civil War was fought on that issue, and none other. Without slavery, there would have been no rebellion and no war. The leaders of the Confederacy were traitors, all of whom deserved to be executed for treason. That the Republican Party is trying to revive enthusiasm for the greatest act of treason in American history tells you everything you need to know about their so-called "patriotism".

This is Why Getting Our Budget Under Control is So Hard

John Sides (link here) put these charts together based on data gathered by YouGov (click to enlarge):

Note the discrepancy between the costliest items in our budget and the willingness of Americans to cut them. It is also worth noting that the average American thinks foreign aid comprises a vastly greater share of spending than it actually does.

And you wonder why I get so exasperated.

The New Symbol of the Republican Party

Ha! I Have to LOVE Charles Pierce

From today's Alterman post:

There seems to be something of a scooby-dooby-doo building because the president of the United States essentially called the former half-term governor a blockhead on the subject of nuclear weapons policy, which is one of several thousand subjects on which the former half-term governor of Alaska is a demonstrable blockhead. This is roughly the equivalent of the president's pointing out that his dog is unqualified to fly the space shuttle. However, the various blockheads claiming this woman to be their queen are furious--and, yes, we're hearing again about how close Alaska is to Russia, even though this is now the "A guy walks into a bar with a duck on his head" of political humor--and various nervous Democrats are worried that, by pointing out that the woman's an obvious blockhead, the president may be elevating her to his equal as a national leader.

Well, every poll I've ever seen shows that, almost universally, nobody wants this woman to be president. She has a very slim national constituency which does not become more significant simply because it's loud. She is a perfect rodeo clown with which to saddle the opposition. Make Newt (I Are Inteleckshual) Gingrich carry her around, or Pawlenty, or Romney, or any of the more serious jackasses. Make her what the Republican party made out of poor George McGovern all those years. And, for god's sake, don't worry about "elevating her status." Do what you can to make her the most important Republican in the universe. Then pop some corn and have some fun.

Hey Liz! To Quote Your Father, Go F**k Yourself.

Liz Cheney, the daughter of war criminal, thief, and spectacular failure Dick Cheney--the man who was quite possibly the most utterly immoral and incompetent member of the executive branch in American history--continues to pour out her lying vomit against President Obama, who has been trying to clean up the unholy mess her father left him. Let me make my opinion of Little Lizzie clear:

• She is a pathological liar, just like her old man.
• The attention given to her by the mainstream media is wildly out of proportion to any actual accomplishment she has ever had in her wretched, nepotism-aided life.
• She is peddling a fairy tale, bizarro-world view of the eight years 2001-2009, one which has no relationship whatsoever to reality.
• She is nothing more than a right-wing fanatic propaganda hack employing all the typical slanders and smears that the Limbaugh-Hannity-Bachmann-Coulter-Palin wing of the Republican Party spews out every day.
• She is the perfect embodiment of everything that was wrong with the Bush-Cheney administration, which did such horrible and colossal damage both to our nation and to the world.

In short, Lyin' Lunatic Liz is the Poster Girl for the Psychotic Right, and we all need to remember this:

If the Republicans regain power in 2010 and 2012, so do people like her.

Now what was that you Democrats said about not voting this year?

You Tell Me What These People Are

No, I would NOT say that all the people depicted in this video are racists. But they are all radical, Right-wing extremists of the worst kind. Are the people depicted in this video the exceptions Or are they typical? Are they the fringe--or the Republican base THAT WILL RETURN TO POWER IN NOVEMBER IF WE DON'T STOP THEM? You tell me.

The Bizarro World of Right-Wing "History"

In the old Soviet Union, the Communists routinely rewrote the history of Russia to suit their political ends, covering up crimes, excising individuals who had fallen out of favor, lying about well-known events, burying inconvenient bodies, and exaggerating the "heroism" of the leadership. The American Right is now engaged in a similar process. The gruesome details are here, courtesy of the McClatchy newspapers. Among the head-spinning assertions being made by the right-wing radicals:

• The Jamestown settlers? SOCIALISTS!
• Alexander Hamilton? Small government advocate.
• Theodore Roosevelt? SOCIALIST!
• Franklin Roosevelt? Caused the Great Depression (!!!!!!!).
• Joe McCarthy? Towering hero.

It is with these preposterous fairy tales that the Right wishes to poison us and our children. All of them are simply outright lies or gross historical illiteracy. (Michele Bachmann has been pushing the "FDR caused the Depression" lie. Enough said.) They are trying to present a version of American history THAT NEVER HAPPENED in order to further their own radical, extremist agenda today. They are no different from the conservatives of a different era who spread the amazing lie that the South was "horribly persecuted" during the Reconstruction Era, when in fact the white South was perpetrating savage violence against the newly freed former slaves. The Confederate Myth--that the greatest act of mass treason and anti-American violence in our history was a "Noble Cause"-- has distorted the education of countless millions of people, people who have been taught that disgusting traitors like Jefferson Davis were heroes. The new fictions being pushed by the con artists and grifters of the Right need to be fought, hard. Those of us who cherish historical accuracy have a powerful weapon on our side: The Truth. Let's use it to knock these lies down now--before they have a chance to infect those we love.

Palin's Alaska Has the WORST Debt to GDP Ratio in America

Well, my, my, my. Looks like Sarah "The Quitter" Palin had a reason for bailing on Alaska: the state's debt to GDP ratio is the HIGHEST in America, despite the fact that Alaska gets about $1.78 in Federal benefits for $1 it sends to the feds in taxes. Here is a graph showing the top 25 states with bad debt to GDP ratios (click to enlarge):

(You'll notice evil blue state California is 23rd on the list. Of course, California is a net CONTRIBUTOR of federal taxes, unlike Alaska.)

Palin left the town of Wasilla mired in $20 million in debts (for "improvements", she argued) even though she secured $27 million in earmarks as well. (That figure might possibly constitute the highest level of federal pork per capita of any town in America.) She was the "Earmark Queen" as governor of Alaska as well. Bear in mind that Alaska's difficulties arose while the state was pulling in record oil revenues and collecting more money than ever from the NEW TAXES THAT PALIN APPROVED. (See here.) And the state is STILL BROKE.

Palin says she quit for the good of Alaska. Looking at these numbers, I'd have to say she was right.

YES! Lawsuit Filed Against Hannity's Phony, Criminal "Charity" Scam!

Joe Conason has the details for us here. Excerpt:

The CREW [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington] complaints, posted on the watchdog group's Web site, provide considerable detail about the facts uncovered in its investigation of Freedom Alliance. Among the documents cached on the site is a contract showing that proceeds from the concert tour are actually controlled by Premiere Marketing, a Tennessee speakers agency that represents Hannity and North, and its president, Duane Ward.

At the heart of the CREW complaints -- and the questions raised about the Freedom Alliance by Schlussel -- is how much of the total that Hannity and North promised to devote to scholarships for the children of wounded and deceased veterans was spent on that worthy purpose. The data compiled by CREW's researchers from Freedom Alliance's own IRS 990 forms show that in every year since 2003, when the concert tours began, the organization has spent more on postage and printing combined (and on salaries) than on "grants" -- and far more on "expenses."

Let's keep the pressure on these crooks and grifters. These bums are leeching money contributed in good faith by people trying to help wounded veterans. Throw the book at 'em!

And let's ask Fox "News": how long are you going to keep this lying weasel Hannity on the air?

UPDATE: The link to CREW's official complaint is here.

Hitchens on the Catholic Child Abuse Scandal

I don't always like or agree with Christopher Hitchens, but his take on the horrible crimes committed by certain Catholic officials over the years is right on the money. Excerpt:

So it seems that 1) Ratzinger was quite ready to take on individual priests who gave him any trouble, and 2) he was very firm on one crucial point of doctrine: Get them young. Tell them in their infancy that it is they who are the sinners. Instill in them the necessary sense of guilt. This is not at all without relevance to the disgusting scandal into which the pope has now irretrievably plunged the church he leads. Almost every episode in this horror show has involved small children being seduced and molested in the confessional itself. To take the most heart-rending cases to have emerged recently, namely the torment of deaf children in the church-run schools in Wisconsin and Verona, Italy, it is impossible to miss the calculated manner in which the predators used the authority of the confessional in order to get their way. And again the identical pattern repeats itself: Compassion is to be shown only to the criminals. Ratzinger's own fellow clergy in Wisconsin wrote to him urgently—by this time he was a cardinal in Rome, supervising the global Catholic cover-up of rape and torture—beseeching him to remove the Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy, who had comprehensively wrecked the lives of as many as 200 children who could not communicate their misery except in sign language. And no response was forthcoming until Father Murphy himself appealed to Ratzinger for mercy—and was granted it.

The more I read about all of this, the more outraged I am. Ratzinger has no business running ANYTHING, and much less giving "spiritual advice" to anyone.

And all I can say is...

écraser l'Infâme!!

Michele the Moron Strikes Again!

Did you know that before September 2008 the economy was 100 per cent private? Yuh huh. And the evil, anti-American (her term) Barack Obama seized it and made this country into some kind of socialist thinga-majiggy. Michele Bachmann told us so. This, from the same woman whose family sucked up more than $250,000 in Federal farm subsidies over a ten year period. This from a "patriot" so utterly ignorant of her own country's history that she confuses Herbert Hoover with FDR. This, from a woman who is either so shockingly dishonest or frighteningly insane that she claims that Barack Obama is planning to herd our nation's young people into "re-education camps". (In fact, just enter the word Bachmann as a search term on my blog. There's a lot more.)

Michele Bachmann is a disgrace to Congress. Her wretched combination of right-wing paranoia, unhinged McCarthyism, and bare-faced lying make her one of the very worst of the Right-wing radicals that are such a deadly threat to our nation's survival. That this incoherent clown is a spokesperson for the "Tea Party" people says everything we need to know about the modern Republican Party.

Remember folks--if the Republicans win this year, Little Michele becomes even more powerful--and more dangerous.