This is the party make-over the Republicans were talking about?

Wow. It never ends does it? When will people get sick of seeing Republicans use 9/11 footage in their attack ads and attempts at fear-mongering?

Hey Boner, I mean Boehner, I have an idea:
COME UP WITH SOME NEW IDEAS ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is just pathetic. No wonder why people are leaving the Republican party in droves. We have crisis after crisis to deal with in this country and all they can do is run attack ads and try to scare the crap out of people. How is this anything different than what they've done for the last 10 years?

Thank ideas such as this on the part of nitwits like John Boehner for the decline of our two-party system. I pity the Republicans that got stuck with him as a leader.

Lazerbitch

Besides having pretty much the coolest name ever, Lazerbitch actually makes some pretty fun music. It's Electro-y goodness.

Check them out and support some Baltimore flaaaaaaavor.

They're playing at the Hexagon on May 23rd.

http://www.myspace.com/lazerbitch

RUN! Mexico is gunning for the U.S. with it's #1 weapon: Swine Flu

I don't know why I still get surprised by people like Michael Savage. I mean, they consistently manage to turn even the most benign news into a plot by either the "terrorists" or some other nefarious group. I guess by now I should have caught on and learned to expect ignorance and far-fetched ideas from him and his ilk.

BUT WAIT... what if two of the greatest bogeymen of all were to team up: terrorists and illegal immigrants. Oh man, some ignorant right winger just crapped their pants. Clean up on aisle 2! Stat!

P.S. Does anyone know if Lou Dobbs' head has melted yet? This is probably too much for him to take.

Wall Street Fighter 4

Answer me this:

1. Who doesn't love some Street Fighter?
2. Who doesn't hate some Wall Street?

My personal favorite: Yoga-latte and the Desk Chair spin kick.

Is anyone else starting to feel bad for this guy?

GOP using Specter's own campaign ads against him

From the link above:
"In light of Senator Specter's changing political party, we felt it was our civic duty to adequately inform Pennsylvania Democrat primary voters about their new Senator's record and his close relationship with our former President George W. Bush," National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson said in a Wednesday announcement.

"I'm here to say it as plainly as I can, Arlen Specter is the right man for the United States Senate," says Bush in comments included in the new call. "I can count on this man — see, that's important. He's a firm ally when it matters most. I'm proud to tell you I think he's earned another term as the United States senator."

Man. Ol' Dubya just can't win, can he? Now even his own party is using his support for someone as a supposed slight against that person. I mean, it's pretty obvious what the folks running these ads are implying. "You know how you hate former President George W. Bush? Well he strongly supported Specter in 2004!".

The 'ol Specter Switch-a-roo

Now that Arlen Specter has officially joined the Democratic Party and, assuming Al Franken is seated, given the Democrats a filibuster proof 60 seat majority in the Senate, there have been two reactions coming out of the Republican party.

1. "Good riddance" (seen from most of the hard-liners)
2. Introspect on a diminishing Republican brand (seen from mainly the moderates)

I think the reality is that Specter did this for mainly self-preservation issues (which he hasn't tried to entirely hide), being that he was facing low polling numbers against a tough further-right challenger in Pat Toomey. I can respect Specter (how's that for an anagram?) for at least being partly honest in explaining his pragmatic reasoning for the switch, and I would hope most people would realize it doesn't say as much about the diminishing Republican party as some would like it to.

However, the reality is that the continued push of the most outspoken Republicans (i.e. Limbaugh, Bachmann, Hannity, DeMint) for the party to move further to the right and their readiness to chastise any sense of moderation within the party is causing a lot of voters to move towards a more Indepedent stance. They did give Specter a nice little excuse to go along with his real reason for switching parties.


I am still trying to decide how I feel about Specter making the switch. I have a generally positive view of the man, and I am glad he seems willing to work with the Democrats to get things done (unlike the majority of the Republican party who have served as obstructionists). At the same time, I worry about the implication of having the Executive and Legislative branches both having untethered control by the Democratic party. Checks and balances are the key to a functioning democracy, and although there is sure to be some debate within the Democratic party, the reality is they have the votes to get things through along party lines. Although, as of the last 10 years, I have deeply disagreed with many of the stances and decisions made by Republicans in power and the sometimes exclusionary vibe they give off to a lot of people in this country, I think one-party rule is extremely dangerous to our country. We need a healthy two-party system (I would actually like to see more than two parties, but I'll leave that for another time) in order to make sure we don't swing too far to either side. I truly hope that the Republican party can recognize that their platform is no longer acceptable to enough moderates and Independents in order for them to be competitive nationally (a recent poll suggested only 21% of Americans self-identify themselves as Republicans) and come back into the fold of mainstream America. Either that, or another party needs to step up and take their place.

Finally, pre-made prison shanks

Thanks Colgate!

The slow death of "news" in America

With Rivals Ahead, Doubts for CNN’s Middle Road

It started with Fox and now has spread to MSNBC. The "news" channels with the best ratings (and therefore the best ability to attract advertisers, remain profitable, and therefore stay in business) are hardly what most objective observers would call unbiased sources of news and factual information. Fox has become the news channel for the right, MSNBC for the left. Now instead of being presented the facts and making up your own mind, you can have someone tell you what to think! HOORAY!

The problem with this is that it further divides our country and encourages people to avoid critical thought and seeing another person's viewpoint. It stokes anger and intolerance. If our democracy is truly going to succeed it needs an unbiased press, which we are quickly moving away from (especially in prime-time cable news).

So next time you go to switch on the news, ask yourself if you want to encourage the death-by-the-market of unbiased news by patronizing news sources that tell you what you want to hear or are more in line with your views. Encouraging biased journalism and press is a strike against our democracy.

The New Haven Firefighter Case

Plaintiff Wail: Ricci v DeStefano and the Myth of White Victimhood

This is easily the best essay I've seen yet on the New Haven Firefighter issue. At least this one lays out the facts of the case rather than immediately resorting to cries of discrimination. Read it, look into the facts laid out, and then make up your mind.

The return of Orwell

Revealing the Secrets in Room 101

Being a big fan of George Orwell and his way of making government misconduct and tyranny so gripping in his books, I thought this was a pretty good article. Read for yourself.

This dude is "fly". Oh snap!

I might have to start flying Southwest again. I'd totally start a rap war with this guy when he told me to put my tray table up.

Change we didn't want

Obama legal team wants defendants' rights limited

I'm not sure exactly why the Obama administration, with all the problems going on in our country today, is making an effort to have this rule overturned (the rule that police cannot question a defendant unless their lawyer is present). It's true that if the rule were overturned, the defendant would still have the right to not answer the questions until the lawyer showed up, but there is some nuance here that needs to be considered. For someone stable and of decent mental capacity, this should present no problems. For a child, someone scared out of their mind, or someone that is mentally handicapped, this could have disastrous results in terms of a false confession that is usable in court. "At the same time, the administration acknowledges that the decision "only occasionally prevents federal prosecutors from obtaining appropriate convictions."" So why risk it? Why risk an innocent person sitting in prison for the rest of their life because an interrogator was able to rattle them into confessing something they didn't do? Shouldn't we be erring on the side of caution here????

In the end, what I really can't understand, in a time when there are plenty of other problems to worry about, is why the Obama administration is making a move to peel back protections for some of the more vulnerable members of our society.

Shep Smith

I gotta give it up to Shep Smith sometimes. He seems to be the only person that's willing to stand up for something over at Fox News. It's pretty rare to ever see an opinion that dissents from the hard right line over there, but it sure is refreshing when it does happen. Shep Smith seems like a pretty independent and well-meaning dude. Fox News should consider hiring more folks like him, then they might start to get an audience outside of the right wingers.

If you like the chainsaw so much, why don't you marry it?

Who gets this excited about cutting down trees on Earth Day? I mean he is literally ecstatic when he thinks this guy is going to cut down big trees. He calls it "eroticism" and asks for some Barry White. I know Glenn Beck hates the idea of gay marriage, but what about chainsaw marriage? I think we should push for Glenn to have the right to marry a chainsaw so he can really break out the Barry White and get "erotic".

Torture

I think the real torture is having to hear what would appear to be decent Americans publicly defending the use of torture and blaming the folks who are bringing these atrocities to light. Most people would guess that as the details begin to emerge regarding the involvement of higher authorities (who approved torture and then blamed it on the soldiers) that there would be outrage at our former officials for breaking the law and putting America's moral standing on loose ground. Instead people are shooting the messengers.

What happened to our supposed "city on the hill"? Do our own citizens really not care that laws were broken by people we put in office? Do we have a monarchy now that is above the law? Make your choice. You either believe in justice or you don't, you can't just apply the principle in some areas and not others. If we let our elected officials slide now, what's to stop them in the future from continually breaking the law??? Democrat or Republican, this crap needs to stop. If someone breaks the law, then lies about it, they should be punished. Justice shouldn't be politicized.

Whatever happened to our dem(merit)ocracy?

Anyone angry yet?

Sources: Wiretap Recorded Rep. Harman Promising to Intervene for AIPAC

As people get pissed about Obama taking a picture with Chavez or him releasing a memo whose contents are already known to the world, stuff like this actually happens. Subversion of justice is what it is called. This is how the world works. This is what those who were elected to be our representatives actually behave. Are you mad yet? Better yet, are you mad for the right reasons? Where's your outrage?

I'd like to tea-bag Fox News

Question: If CNN had co-opted and supported protests against the DOD budget, torture in Guantanamo, or warrant-less wiretapping, would that make them "unfair and unbalanced"? Of course it would. Instead of giving us the news, they would be filtering the "news" using an ideology and throwing their support behind a certain cause (that many say is a cause of the "left"). So why is Fox News still pretending they are "fair and balanced" as their entire network turns into the "Teaparty Network"?

STOP PRETENDING ALREADY! Fox News is not "fair and balanced" news. If it was, they wouldn't have to continually beat us over the head with the ridiculous Orwellian newspeak that is "fair and balanced". Call it what it is, a channel for daily confirmation of the beliefs of right-wing ideologues. This is the final nail in the coffin of Fox's objectivity. You can no longer claim that Fox is an unbiased source of news (not that you really could before either).

I'm fine with Fox changing their network name to the Fox Network (or something similarly ambiguous that doesn't try to hide the fact that they are biased). They can even use a new tag line since "Fair and Balanced" is clearly old news.

How about this?

FOX NETWORK: "We'll tell you what you already believe."

The "Red Scare" of 2009

Bachus tells city and county officials he's worried about socialists in Congress

First it was crazy Michelle Bachman asking for an inquiry into what congress members were "pro" or "anti-American", now we have Bachus playing McCarthy. Are these people serious? They are supposed to be making laws and governing this country, not participating in fear-mongering and scare tactics straight from Hannity and his co-hort. Kick these people out of the damn government already. Your job is not to run around trying to find out who is a socialist in order to try and re-create the Red Scare. I wonder if I went into my job and spent time finding out who is a Socialist if they would still keep me as an employee.

DO YOUR DAMN JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Have you heard our economy isn't doing so well and there are some major issues facing the nation? I know it's not as exciting as pretending the government is being infiltrated by Socialist, but you should really look into it)

Glenn Beck (AKA the political Don West)

First, Don West:


Now some Glenn Beck fear-mongering:


Act II: Glenn Beck crying, scaring me, and saying 9/11 a lot:


Act III: Glenn Beck slamming the families of 9/11 victims and Katrina survivors a few years ago (he tries to qualify it, but he still generalizes a lot):

Who seriously thinks this guy is credible? Seriously? He faux-cries on TV because he "loves America", fear-mongers like the best of them, and tells outright lies like it's going out of style. He sounds like Don West from the trading card QVC show. This guy is laughing all the way to the bank. Americans need to wake up. Every time you watch this guy on the Faux News Channel or buy his books, he gets richer and louder with his vitriol and absurdity. This guy isn't an expert in anything. He's not a scholar. His opinions and stances aren't even well researched or backed with substantial evidence. He's basically an ignorant right-winger with a really loud megaphone. And before anyone starts talking about how he's a regular Joe trying to do his part, save it. There's a lot of regular Joes and Janes out there that could do a better job of bringing up pertinent issues and having constructive discussions on them that would make our country a better place for everyone to live in. Glenn Beck serves as a rallying point for one side of this country to separate themselves from the other. I hate to break it to you, but the problems we face these days aren't going to be solved with left-wing and right-wing hate flying back and forth. Nothing constructive comes out of the narratives built by blowhards like Glenn Beck. We need honest dialogue, not ignorant political theatre.

Run for your life! The storm is coming!

Uh.... huh? I think we're going to need some evidence to back up all this fear-mongering.

Can we just give people equal rights in this damn country already? It's 2009. You'd think we would have learned by now. Of course not.

Separation of church and state, remember that little part of our democracy? Stop using religion as an argument to deny people their equal secular rights. No one is asking you to let gay couples get married in your church. Stop the nonsense. As soon as you have to resort to a religious argument for something that should be a secular matter, stop. You lost. Remember... you hate theocracies (well, at least you do when they are Islamic theocracies).

Also, read a little bit about the history of marriage to realize why all of these arguments about marriage being this eternal un-altered institution are all bunk. No one is trying to teach your kids to be gay or coming into your house to "get gay" with you and your family. These same people fighting virulently against the government allowing gay marriage and civil unions are the same ones who are constantly preaching about how the government should have less control over our lives. Can someone say Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Meet an old white lady!

Her name's Betty Brown, and she's a legislator from Texas.

If you're of Asian descent, she thinks you should change your name to something that's "easier for Americans to deal with."

She's also said:
“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?”

Isn't it good to know that euro-centric bigots such as Betty represent us in our democratic government? Maybe we should all change our to names to simple white-folk names like Betty Brown. Now that I think of it, people sometimes have a problem pronouncing my last name too. Maybe I'll change it to Frank Ford so I can sound like a character in an old Western too! Hooray for homogeneity! Boo for diversity! The "melting pot" can suck it!

I'm not sure if this makes me less of a man...

But damn it if Little Boots doesn't make some of the catchiest songs ever.

http://www.myspace.com/littlebootsmusic

I also caught her at SXSW this year and she puts on a really good show (and seems like a genuinely nice person). Plus she uses a Tendori-on which is pretty rad in my book. Thing costs like $2 g's and her roadie totally dropped it from about 4 feet like it was hot.

Give it a listen. Check out Meddle and Stuck on Repeat.

Some other favorites of the moment:
The new Black Lips album
The new DOOM album
Buraka Som Sistema
Bang!Bang!Eche!
King Khan & The Shrines

Also, if you get a chance, check out Monotonix. Their show at SXSW was probably one of the most insane things I've ever seen.

Lend a voice...

From colorofchange.org:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friend,

When it comes to issues plaguing Black and low-income communities, a White senator from the South is the last person we'd expect to go out on a limb and sound the alarm. Senator Jim Webb from Virginia just did exactly that when he boldly called out the over-imprisonment of Black folks and the serious problems with our prison system. Most importantly, he's demanding big changes.^[1]

Now it's up to us to seize the moment and create the pressure necessary to achieve true reform.

I've joined ColorOfChange.org in publicly thanking Senator Webb. Our praise will show other politicians that when they take risks and step out on critical issues like prison reform, we will have their backs. It will also show that everyday people stand with Webb and are serious about this issue. Can you join me? It only takes a moment. And then please ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/webb/?id=1949-411545

In recent years, politicians have lacked the courage to create meaningful prison reform. They've been paralyzed by the fear of being branded as "soft on crime." They've been held hostage by prison guard unions and industry lobbies. And the communities most affected--Black and low-income communities--have had a hard time getting a seat at the table and making our voices heard.

Our country has a clear problem. With just 5% of the world's population, America holds nearly 25% of the world's reported prison population. Our prison population has quadrupled since 1984, and most of the increase comes from people being imprisoned for drug offenses--mostly minor and nonviolent.^[2]

Despite the fact that there is no statistical difference in drug use between different racial groups, harsh drug laws have had a devastating, disproportionate effect on Black communities. While only 12% of the U.S. population is African-American, Black people make up 37% of those arrested on drug charges, 59% of those convicted, and 74% of all drug offenders sentenced to prison.^[3]

It's surprising and encouraging that someone like Senator Webb is speaking out in this way. Webb is a White politician from Virginia, a Southern "law-and-order" state that has abolished parole and executed more people than any state besides Texas.^[4] He has nothing to gain politically from this--it's an act of true conviction.

By eloquently making the case for reform and calling for a National Criminal Justice Commission, Webb has created a major opening to address these issues. And it comes at a time when there are increasing signs the country is ready for reform. New York's governor and state legislature just struck a deal to reform the state's "Rockefeller drug laws"--some of the harshest laws in the country, and a great example of the failed status quo.^[5] A panel of federal judges has just told California it must reduce its prison population by a third to alleviate the torturous conditions stemming from overcrowding.^[6] And at the same time that more people are recognizing the deep injustices in our system, the economic crisis is forcing elected officials at all levels of government to realize they can't afford to keep directing so many taxpayer dollars toward law enforcement, jails, and prisons.^[7]

We need to make the most of this moment. Please join me in thanking Senator Jim Webb for his courageous stand and support his call for a meaningful commission. And when you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same.

http://www.colorofchange.org/webb/?id=1949-411545

Thanks!

References:

1. http://tinyurl.com/chxaup
2. http://www.parade.com/news/2009/03/why-we-must-fix-our-prisons.html
3. See reference 2
4. http://tinyurl.com/8mgyf2
5. http://tinyurl.com/da2xlw
6. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/us/10prison.html
7. http://tinyurl.com/c36ubb

Gun control and the worst argument ever...

FactCheck Blasts NRA Mailer on Guns

It seems that not many people in America these days are fond of having an honest discussion of the issues. Rather than lay everything out in the table in an honest way, the partisans on both sides twist words, misstate figures and bend the truth to fit their agenda. Although a rational person would tell you that this kind of discussion does nothing to help the country (in fact it probably harms the country), the folks on the far-left and far-right don't seem to care.

A great example is the issue of gun control. It seems to tough to get factual information from either side on this issue. They are so blinded by their agenda that they will sacrifice the truth in order to get what they want. The anti-gunners throw out figures with out sources (90% of the guns used by drug cartels in Mexico come from the US), and some of the pro-gunners resort to outright lies that are easily refuted (as seen in the link above).

My favorite so far has to be Mr. Geraghty's found here refuting FactCheck's outlining of the NRA's blatant lies.

"For starters, FactCheck.org takes Obama at his word that he "believes the Second Amendment creates an individual right, and he respects the constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms." Many gun owners are not so willing to give the benefit of the doubt, as Obama spent most of his adult life in a city with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country, and, according to every record of the past 20 years, never uttered a word of objection. If a candidate claimed that he strongly opposed legal gambling, and yet lived in Las Vegas for 20 years, voters would be understandably skeptical. "

So because Obama lived in a city that had stricter gun laws, we should all believe that he is lying to us when he says he supports the second amendment? What kind of argument is this? Did they not teach critical thinking in any of the schools Mr. Geraghty attended?

I hate to break it to Mr. Geraghty, but there is a reason we have local government, and that is so local governments can govern as they see fit for their situation. I thought this was a huge conservative rallying point? Maybe people in the city don't object to stricter gun laws (I live in Baltimore, and if I want a gun I can have one) because they see the chaos that can sometimes take place when there is no control over who does and doesn't have a gun. The situation in the city is different than that of a rural town in Iowa. But this is besides the point. The point is that just because Obama lived in Chicago or NYC doesn't mean that makes him a liar. You can't go arguing against points or views of his that he never even stated. This is a dangerous precedent.

People need to get real. By lying to benefit your side of an "issue", you are doing the country no benefit. America faces real problems, so instead of trying to stir up vitriol over a non-issue such as "Obama's getting rid of the second amendment", try helping. If you really feel your rights are under attack, tell us why, and give us some evidence. Don't just tell us your rights are under attack because you think that Obama secretly wants to attack them but just hasn't told us yet. You sound like a damn crazy person, and your friends should point that out, otherwise they are bad friends.

If you think you need a fully automatic machine gun with a 150 round clip, please tell us why (i.e. hunting T-Rex or fighting the invasion of Mongols that have surrounded your house). Then we can balance that need versus the need of all the people who don't want crazy folks walking around with tools that will allow them to massacre people. The economy is getting tough and clearly some people are taking out their angst in the wrong way (i.e. murdering innocent people). An honest discussion of gun control is the least we could do.

Genius...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Baracknophobia - Obey
comedycentral.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Jon Stewart continues to deliver. I can't say anything about the hypocrisy and ignorance of certain folks (many of which reside at Fox News) that he doesn't beautifully expose in this clip.

I really hope these numbers are wrong...

Americans split on North Korea action

"A slim majority of Americans, 51 percent, said the U.S. should take military action against North Korea, while 46 percent of Americans opposed the use of military force against what is often described as the most isolated nation in the world. More than half, 58 percent, of Americans said that North Korea is a long term threat, while 25 percent described the nation as an immediate threat and 17 percent believes it poses no threat at all."

You gotta be kidding me. Have the American people learned nothing over the last 8 years of shotgun diplomacy????? Military action? This "satellite launch" (regardless of whether or not that's what it actually was) was no direct threat to America, so why the hell would we take military action??? If anyone would be taking action, it would be Japan, and they didn't even deem it worthy of shooting down the damn missile.

A majority of people in this country must think that taking unilateral military action doesn't cost money and lives and tarnish our international image, because that seems to be their option number one whenever it comes to addressing our non-allies. No wonder a majority of people around the world see America as the number one threat to world peace. I believe it's probably surveys such as this that drive such a commonly held notion.

Wake up people. War-mongering is so Bush-era.

Or should I say, the Bush years called, they want their ignorant war-mongering population back.

The great "Der Takin' ur GUNS!" myth

Police official: 3 officers killed in Pa. shooting

So... some crazy guy that lost his job decided to kill some public servants and blame it on the fictional attempt by the "Obama administration" to take his "rights" and "guns". How many other crazy folk out there probably sympathized with this guy?

This kind of insane banter needs to stop. So far there has been literally ZERO indication that the "Obama administration", AKA our government, is planning on taking away our right to own a gun. Trust me, if they were, I would be none to happy. I'm not a Ruby Ridge militia type dude, and although I believe in intelligent gun control (AKA not letting people buy bazookas and assault rifles with no logical purpose in todays world besides killing people, background checks, etc), I still own a gun. We just need to be honest here and focus on the actual problems we're facing today (the economy, crummy schools, sky-rocketing health care costs) instead of made-up problems that don't even exist.