Class.
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Really? After the Voyeur Club this….
2010
Jambayla of Crazy
A friend recently introduced me to this phrase and it’s the only thing that captures this:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEarV11bMjc[/youtube]
Tim McVeigh Wannabes
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAm3VbKekko[/youtube]
I imagine he was trying to be funny and sarcastic about concern over potential right wing violence simply because I can’t believe Hannity is that much of an asshole. Oh, I think he’s an asshole, just not that big of an asshole that he in any way approves of Tim McVeigh.
It’s not funny. At all. I’ve made mistakes in language before that seemed funny in my head and then weren’t so funny out loud or in writing. All fair enough. But this isn’t funny at all and he needs to explain what he was trying to say and make it clear he didn’t mean McVeigh is a hero in any way.
April 19th is the anniversary of Waco and Oklahoma City-militia Christmas and Easter rolled into one. Toning down violent rhetoric even in jest is the responsible thing to do. We have seen violence from such groups before and dismissing it as a joke is dangerous. Most wingnuts are non-violent, and even most militias are harmless doofuses who believe in weird conspiracy theories. Toning down the violent rhetoric does have the effect of making people understand we are not in any crisis–we simply are having political fights. You can still dislike the ‘Democrat’ Party, the gummint, and that funny Kenyan President, just tone down the violence rhetoric and remind everyone we have perfectly acceptable ways to change the government in the US. They are called elections.
Daily Dolt: The Illinois Green Party
Apparently choosing Sheila Simon is a slap in the face to black voters:
Green Party leaders sharply criticized Governor Pat Quinn and the Democratic State Central Committee for bypassing State Rep. Art Turner and other more qualified candidates in nominating Sheila Simon for Lieutenant Governor.
“Pat Quinn’s message is that he can take the black vote for granted,” said Phil Huckelberry, Illinois Green Party Chair. “Our message is that those days are over. Many of our core issues – especially education funding reform and the lack of economic development in the most struggling areas – are at the top of the list across black communities throughout the state. It’s clearer than ever that those issues are not going to be meaningfully addressed by Pat Quinn and the Democrats. But they’re going to be addressed by the Green Party.”
Simon, a former city council member in Carbondale, is from the same relatively small community as Green gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney.
“Targeting Rich Whitney’s geographical base is a little short-sighted. There are a lot of black voters very upset right now, and Pat Quinn just gave them all even more reason to look to Whitney and the Green Party as a positive alternative,” said Huckelberry.
Statewide Green African-American candidates: 1
Statewide Democratic African-American Candidates: 3
Number of African Americans in the US Senate since Reconstruction: 4
Number of those African American US Senators who were Illinois Democrats: 3
I just like to include the last one to remind out of state twits who bemoan the loss of the only African-American seat in the US Senate. While I’d love to see another African-American from Illinois in the US Senate, the other states might want to join us someday.
None of this means Illinois Democrats can or should stop pressing for inclusion of African Americans and other underrepresented minorities. However, lecturing a party on racial inclusion from a party that is fielding fewer African-American candidate and have never elected a candidate to major office is bloviating nonsense.
Club For Growth Isn’t Happy With Little Mark
I’m betting they wish they had found someone to offer a real primary challenge.
Now the Club for Growth, the powerful, well-funded conservative group, is putting Kirk on notice, and making it clear that they expect him to live up to his promise.
“He said that he’s going to do this,” Club for Growth spokesman Mike Connolly just said by phone. “We expect him to live up to his pledge.”
Kirk has signed on to the Club’s repeal pledge, which states: “I hereby pledge to the people of my state to sponsor and support legislation to repeal any federal health care takeover passed in 2010, and replace it with real reforms that lower health care costs without growing government.”
“He’s made a promise to the people of Illinois,” Connolly continued. Asked if failing to follow through could cost Kirk the Club’s support in a general election, Connolly said: “We’ll have to see.”
Poor Mark Kirk, he must feel like a ping pong ball jumping around issues like this.
Why does the Club for Growth make Bruce Dold sad?
Mark Kirk: Man of Principle
I’m sure the Tribune editorial page will find a way to call this a smart centrist position, but Mark Kirk’s forceful pledge to repeal Health Care Reform legislation is a lot less forceful now:
CHICAGO — Republican Mark Kirk isn’t say if he’ll work to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
Kirk was asked repeatedly Tuesday whether he wants the legislation repealed. He would only say that he opposes the new taxes and Medicare cuts to pay for it.
The congressman who’s running for Obama’s old Senate seat says the GOP failed to block the legislation that’s now the law of the land. Like all the other House Republicans, Kirk voted against it.
Now, he says it’s his job to explain what it means to his constituents.
Let’s see
1) He won’t talk about how he wants to stop Barack Obama’s agenda in public, but only to Republican audiences
2) He won’t talk about a promise he made to the Republican base to repeal health care reform legislation
3) He is against climate change legislation that he voted for in Congress. He claimed it was for national security reasons he voted for it initially and then claimed it was only because his North Shore District wanted it.
4) He wouldn’t decide on which office to run for until Lisa Madigan made a choice
5) He supports closing Gitmo, but then doesn’t want the detainees in America
6) He votes to strip funding for high speed rail and then says he is a big time supporter of high speed rail
What a principled moderate centrist who the Tribune can get behind and extol his virtues of being on every side of every issue.
Welcome to the Twilight Zone Election
Both parties have nominated four people at the top of their ticket who while thinking they are trying to win an election, are more likely to attempt to lose the election leaving this entire election dependent upon who can screw up the most with the winner being the one who doesn’t achieve the biggest screw-up.
Right now, that might be the 27 year old intern guy who is running for Lt. Gov. While he’s been a bit rough around the edges and is very young for a 27 year old, he knows to shut up every once in a while.
Sheila Simon is an incredibly nice person from all accounts, and as honest as can be–and shares the same fatal flaw Pat Quinn does–neither can see the smart political move to save their life.
And then there’s the guy who sponsored a puppy gas chamber bill.
If you think the campaign is going to be funny, wait until we get to watch one of them actually run state government.
That’s Our Rod…
One of my favorite Entertainment Weekly writers, Dalton Ross, describes Rod to a tee:
Say what you will about him allegedly trying to sell Obama’s senatorial seat. Say what you will about his seeming inability to accept one single ounce of blame for his actions. And say what you will about his wife appearing alongside Spencer Pratt on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. But say this also: The guy is a reality TV goldmine. Because reality TV is all about buffoonery, and Rod Blagojevich may just be the biggest buffoon in reality TV history. He’s like the bastard lovechild of Joe Schmo and Coach from Survivor. He just walks around as clueless as clueless can be with his goofy grin on. Ignorance must truly be bliss because this guy seemingly has no skills whatsoever and is caught up in a huge political scandal, yet walks around like he just ate up a huge bowl of sunshine. I wonder what the voters of Illinois — especially the ones that voted for him — think when they see how incompetent he is. Probably the same way I felt watching my hometown of Washington D.C. reelect Marion Barry after he was caught smoking crack and fondling a woman’s breast.
But I’m not here to hate on Blago. I’m here to show the love. Because all I want from the hours of 9 and 11 on a Sunday night is to be entertained by dolts, and as far as television goes, he is the most entertaining dolt I have seen in years. And in the defense of Rod Blagojevich as a television superstar, I would like to present the following exhibits into evidence, all from the most recent episode of Celebrity Apprentice:
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“We’re prematurely ejaculating. We need more foreplay.”
Bibi to US: Drop Dead
In a speech to a pro-Israel lobbying group, Mr. Netanyahu reiterated that Israel had no plans to freeze housing in Jerusalem, the trigger for a recent row between Israel and the United States. He rejected the administration’s contention that Israel’s policies were impeding the peace process.
“The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 years and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today,” Mr. Netanyahu said to the group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “Jerusalem is not a settlement; It’s our capital.”
Apparently then, the descendants of the forefathers of the Mississippians (who didn’t appear until about 1000 AD) will be building on my block with no worry about modern property rights and such because they did it a long time ago. I may be calling for friends to move quickly if that is the standard for booting people out of a neighborhood.
Being as stupid and obstinate at the Palestinian leadership is not going to create a peaceful and secure Israel. It is going to creating a toxic situation to a democracy where the rule of law and essential due process is denied to a people because of their ethnicity. The building of settlements on property currently owned and housing Palestinians is nothing more than racial discrimination.
Beyond that, it makes moving forward towards permanent peace talks with at least the Palestinians in the West Bank impossible (Hamas makes Gaza impossible regardless of Israel). It provides cover within the Muslim world for Iran to escape unanimous condemnation for expanding its nuclear program. But most of all, it tears at the rule of law that all democracies thrive on. The reason the US shares such a special relationship with Israel is an acknowledgment of its status as the only stable democracy in that area of the world. If that status chances, the entire reason for that special relationship disappears. Netanyahu seems to not care.
The Mimes Strike Back…The Revenge of the Mimes…The Return of the Mimes….
We’ve finally found a use for mimes
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVMzozoxBQQ[/youtube]
He describes it as the politics of intimidation. He’s intimidated by mimes? Really?