The story I had not previously heard about was the nixing of the Green Initiative program in the Congress cafeteria, replacing biodegradable tableware with plastic and styrofoam. That's not just thumbing your nose at Democrats, that's thumbing your nose at the environment and the future.
The many aspects of the greening program reduced energy and water consumption in Capitol buildings by 23 percent and 32 percent, respectively. But uh-oh! The composting portion of the program cost $475,000. Well... that ought to fix the budget.
But here's the part of the story that feels like a kick in the head, the new environmentally-unfriendly products in the Congress cafeteria are being provided by Koch Industries.
The only thing Boehner does well is take care of his billionaire friends.
Remember when the Republicans unveiled their so-cool-it-hurts Speak Out America website last year? Remember the hilarious free-for-all that resulted on their open suggestion forum?
Remember the hundreds of "new ideas" that went something like, "The USA don't need socialist measures such as 8-hour work days, weekends off, paid vacations, banning child labor, or the minimum wage if we want to stay competitive against giants like India and China."
Remember I commented that some Republican candidates would actively support these "constructive" proposals?
Well, it kind of makes me sick to say I was right. Missouri State Sen. Jane Cunningham (R) wants to eliminate child labor laws in the state of Missouri. The bill would, among other things, eliminate the prohibition on employment of children under age fourteen.
What the hell is this supposed to accomplish? The party that doesn't want corporation to pay taxes also wants to permit corporations to enslave children?
And just in case you need more evidence that Republicans want to "take our country back... to the 19th century," the Kentucky Senate recently approved legislation to allow the Christian Bible to be taught in public schools. Of course, they claim they want to teach it as literature, but we all know that's bullshit. It will be impossible to hire an unbiased teacher for such a controversial course.
The Republicans are seriously pandering to the nuttiest fringe of their party. Moderates have little to no interest in radically regressive legislation that turns us into a third-world country. And yet, somehow, I don't think we've reached peak insanity yet.
The Daily Show and Kristen Schaal get it: we can't let the drugged, under-aged, or mentally disabled game the system by getting all those complimentary abortions.
Looks like the Republicans have been forced to rewrite their ancient and dangerous definition of rape, but that doesn't matter much. We saw their true colors and we know what they really think of women, we know how cruel and dismissive they are of rape survivors. And despite this new change in language, they're still banning federal aid for the most vulnerable women.
"It is easier for a man to be loyal to his club than to his planet; the bylaws are shorter, and he is personally acquainted with the other members." — E. B. White, 1899 - 1985.
I found the above quote today and I suppose it makes a good epigraph to any article about cronyism. But should I write about the Florida GOP's spending scandal? Or the cozy relationship between the oil companies and the Bush administration which brought us the de-regulations that lead to this ongoing oil spill?
Or maybe I'll just sit back and enjoy my new TV for the rest of the night. Yeah, I'll probably do that.
America is speaking out on the House Republicans' new taxpayer-funded web site. And boy, we sure are funny, but I doubt that's what the Republicans were looking for.
"This site was developed as part of an official effort to increase the dialogue between Americans and their Congress. Here, Americans are provided a new platform to share their priorities and ideas for a national policy agenda."
I'm sure the GOP thought they were being cool and innovative, but somebody should have seriously Googled "flaming," "trolling" and "rick rolling" before jumping into this new-fangled Internet thing. If you think I'm making fun of Republicans for being out-of-touch, then you're absolutely right.
A forum? To express our ideas? On this computer thing? Well gollly!
And wouldn't you know it? Give them an open mic, and people start yapping. Here is what the true Americans are saying on their new so-ugly-it-must-be-hip-with-those-myspace-kids platform:
We should make English the official language of the US and stop spending tax dollars on translations for Mexicans! if English is good enough for baby Jesus, it's good enough for Americans.
The United States needs to quit beating around the bush and declare war on the Devil. He has clearly shown to be a great threat to our national security by creating brown people, gays, and Jews. I know he would be no match for our fine service men.
ONLY gays in the military. Think about it.
We should invade China and take our money back.
The USA don't need socialist measures such as 8-hour work days, weekends off, paid vacations, banning child labor, or the minimum wage if we want to stay competitive against giants like India and China.
Look for more of the un-American places to spread our freedom.
No one should be allowed to criticize corporations, period. It's disrespectful and unAmerican.
Over time I have found that American sour cream just isn't sour enough. This is a national disgrace and is holding us back as a country. Soon we'll be nothing but whipped cream liberal candyasses.
We need to eliminate 62 days out of the US Calendar every year. That way we will move through time faster than other countries and we will be able to find out about new technologies first. Plus we can see the future. Don't tell the French.
Why hasn't anyone followed up on Sarah Palin's idea that we should have Death Panels to decide who gets medical care? I read about her Death Panels suggestion and thought it was very constructive and would make most of the recent very expensive health care plan unnecessary. The congress ignoring Sarah Palin's Death Panel idea shows that they were not serious about listening to the American People and their Constructive Ideas.
The government should never give you up, Never let you down, Never run around and desert you. Never make you cry, Never say goodbye, Never tell a lie and hurt you.
Now, who wants to bet some Republican candidates will actually campaign on a few of the "constructive" ideas listed above? Who wants to bet that the GOP will completely ignore any good suggestions that don't already fit their established agenda?
And who wants to bet that if the Founding Fathers could see us now, they'd pat themselves on the back for shunning direct democracy?
No way could I let this story slip past the Dorkmonger. The "family values" Republican National Committee, headed by Chairman Michael Steele, spent nearly $2000 of donor money at a lesbian bondage-themed strip club in West Hollywood. Apparently, conservative Christians like to conduct business while naked women simulate sex in nets hung from above.
Hmm... but what do I title my blog post? Risque Business? Republinatrix? Balls of Steele? Beating the Party Whip? Oh hell, I can't compete with the Daily Show. Presenting 2 Girls 1 GOP:
Although it's easy for Democrats to speculate whether Steele will be fired, we all know he's not the true RNC leader. He might make decisions about how to spend their donor money. He might push the party deeper into deficit spending with his lavish ways. But we have seen time and time again that the real leaders of the Republican party are Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Fox News. They decide the agenda and ignite their reactionary base.
The RNC won't fire Steele. They can't. Because in their minds, keeping him around proves that they aren't racists! Besides, to bloggers everywhere, Michael Steele is the gift that keeps on giving. So I say, "Viva Steele!"
So the Republican party officially uses the idiotic extremist posters and slogans of the teabaggers while labeling that part of their base as "reactionary." And they call this "strategy"?
But unfortunately, they're not the least bit cute.
First up, Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall (R) says disabled children are God's punishment to women who have had abortions: "The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children."
I'm curious where he gets his statistics, but I suspect he pulls them from his butt. That's the same place he gets his superstitious prejudices. And why isn't Sarah Palin taking these monumentally offensive statements as a personal attack? Maybe she's still dumbfounded by the witty response from the Family Guy actress who has Downs Syndrome? Or maybe it's because Palin is a callow and opportunistic careerist who won't dare confront a fellow Republican.
Next up, Iowa Representative Steve King (R) justifies the suicide attack on the IRS: "I don’t know if his grievances were legitimate, I’ve read part of the material. I can tell you I’ve been audited by the IRS and I’ve had the sense of ‘why is the IRS in my kitchen.’ Why do they have their thumb in the middle of my back. … It is intrusive and we can do a better job without them entirely." Hey King, the grieving family of Vernon Hunter (the IRS manager and Vietnam veteran who was killed in the domestic terrorist attack) wants you to know that Joe Stack is not a hero!
Third up, proving that if you harnessed all the brain-power at CPAC, you could maybe boil a cup of water, Eric Wargotz, Maryland’s Republican Senate candidate, says he does not believe Barack Obama was born in the United States. I don't know what grudge Wargotz has against Hawaii.
Lots of other wingnut pleasing garbage was said at CPAC, but this final quote is actually a screen-shot from the Republican subsidiary known as Fox News:
Maybe Fox has concluded that their viewers are illiterate anyway.
When I first heard that the GOP was considering a purity pledge for candidates, I assumed they were reacting to recent sex scandals. But no, the list of ten resolutions is just the same old laundry list we've been hearing for years:
We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill;
We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run health care;
We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;
We support workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check;
We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;
We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;
We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat;
We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;
We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and
We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership.
The first item on the list was enough to make me roll my eyes and clutch my suddenly throbbing skull. Republicans keep telling us they're all about the smaller national debt, and yet, in reality, they are notorious for throwing debt on top of debt.
Number two and number nine on the list kind of go together. The government won't be running health care and our current system already rations in a truly American way. Number three on the list? I thought cap and trade was a market-based approach.
But let me skip to number six. We can't define victory in either war, and anyway we've been told the withdrawal from Iraq is already underway. Our only existing cause in that occupation is to support Iraq's mythical democracy. But the real foolishness is that part about the President -- the commander-in-chief -- abdicating his role and obeying military commanders who want more troops. This is a frightening recipe for permanent war, and it's officially part of the Republican plan. It's totally ineffectual for fighting terrorism, and oh yeah... see pledge number one up there? Can't fight a war without money, honey.
Number eight on the pledge list is another non-surprise. Republicans are really determined to reinforce that whole "party of no" image! It's all about what they oppose. There are no new ideas. In fact, the GOP's biggest innovation might be this whole pledge thing.
It's pure politics, and it's insane. Why elect somebody whose loyalty is to a party and not their country or constituents? We hear a lot of controversy over the pledge of allegiance lately, but I believe there should only be one mandatory pledge. Every day, every elected official should put their hand over their heart and pledge allegiance to the people.
I cringe every time I hear the word "teabag" now. I thought that, in time, I would recover, but apparently the Republicans want to tea party like it's 1999 or something. Even Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, one of the few Republicans not invited to any tea parties at all, says a Republican renaissance is "being delivered in a tea bag, and that's a wonderful thing." It is? The imagery doesn't really work for me. I'm picturing the soggy teabags my parents leave laying all over the house. Not a wonderful thing. Stephen Colbert mocks, and the word tonight is "I Know You Are But What Am I?":
Also, I'm trying to figure out the part of Steele's speech where he declares an end to the "era of apologizing for Republican mistakes of the past." Did I miss that era? Or was Steele talking about all his groveling to Rush Limbaugh?
Who said the kids are all progressive? Seven years ago or so -- yeah, I remember it had to be when the country was united and frighteningly patriotic -- I was meeting my friend and her little one-year-old daughter for lunch. My friend got out of the car with those knit brows that say "mommy's upset."
We were seated at a table, and I didn't have to ask "what's wrong" because my friend just blurted it all out. She's like that. It seems sweet little Grace, while strapped into her car seat, was pointing at other cars on the road and saying "Fag! Fag!"
Of course I was shocked, but before I could ask questions, my friend explained in hushed tones (so the tot on her lap wouldn't hear I suppose) that her parents babysat Grace over the weekend, and in those two days her conservative father must have taught the child how to recognize homosexuals!
Uh... really? Well, later that night we had a follow-up phone conversation. My friend had confronted her father (that must have been an awkward inquisition) and found out little Grace was saying "Flag! Flag!" Of course! It was 2002 and everybody had an American flag on their car. What we thought was a lesson in bigotry was really just a lesson in civics.
But this wasn't Grace's last foray into politics. Three years later, at the tender age of four, she informed me she didn't want to be friends with one of the neighborhood kids because the parent's car had a John Kerry bumper sticker. Nice. Grandpa was still doing his own homeschooling it seemed.
But I'm not sure "schooling" is the right word. Children at that young age are masters of mimicry (if video doesn't show, click here).
That's 13-year-old Jonathan Krohn at CPAC. He's written a book on conservatism and starred on Broadway. He's a master of dramatic gestures, public speaking, empty words, and the failed Republican talking points. If you think for even one hot second that he understands conservatism, then here's one sobering thought: he would love to see Sarah Palin become president. Sarah Palin, Jonathan Krohn and Joe the Plumber are the trinity of the Republican party. God help us all.
Jon Stewart told me that I can't make fun of 13-year-olds. But in general terms, I must say I cannot tolerate a child that has the poise, stylings and vocabulary of an adult. It's abnormal and creepy, and listening to such a creature is like nails on a chalkboard. In other words, Jonathan Krohn reminds me of Dakota Fanning.
Why can't adults let kids be kids? Don't thrust your failed dreams and aspirations on them. Let them play, make friends, and find life on their own path. They have this tiny slice of time to be a child, and many decades to be a boring blowhard... It takes decades to become a boring blowhard!
Maybe that's what Republicans like about Jonathan. He's young, and for his entire cognizant life Bush was president. A functioning government is like an Aesop fable his parents assured him wasn't real. So during these difficult times, a child is the Republican's savior and symbol for their party.
I need to have another lunch with Grace. She's almost nine now, and I'm sure she can tell me if Jonathan is winning the youth vote or if he just has cooties.
Republicans tell us they have kept us safe and there have been no terrorist attacks in the US since September 11, 2001. But what do you call this? In Miramar Beach, Florida, Dannie Roy Baker shot 5 people killing two of them. Baker had a recent history of e-mailing friends about national political issues. One recipient described the e-mails as "radical" and "inappropriate."
Another acquaintance of Baker commented, "he did come up to me one time and asked me if I was ready for the revolution to begin and if I had any immigrant in my house to get them out." Baker fits my definition of a hateful homegrown terrorist. His demented dreams of creating fear in a group of people through violence and intimidation with the goal of promoting his own ideology unfortunately came to reality last Thursday.
Some people might simply call Baker an "angry white male." Strangely, we didn't hear much about this species during eight years of the Bush administration. Glenn Greenwald points out that this group is not so much fueled by anti-government sentiment but more so by a fear of losing its cultural and demographic supremacy:
What was most remarkable about this allegedly "anti-government" movement was that -- with some isolated and principled exceptions -- it completely vanished upon the election of Republican George Bush, and it stayed invisible even as Bush presided over the most extreme and invasive expansion of federal government power in memory. Even as Bush seized and used all of the powers which that movement claimed in the 1990s to find so tyrannical and unconstitutional -- limitless, unchecked surveillance activities, detention powers with no oversight, expanding federal police powers, secret prison camps, even massively exploding and debt-financed domestic spending -- they meekly submitted to all of it, even enthusiastically cheered it all on.
The angry white male is only pacified when one of his own tribe is in the White House.
Unfortunately the angry tribe has its own political party which is proving itself to be completely out of touch with the American public and reality. Tonight the Daily Show covered the endless hate and malice spewed at last week's CPAC (if video doesn't show, click here):
Though Jon Stewart is awesome, I can't laugh. I can't laugh at the CPAC audience laughing at a nuclear bomb being dropped on Chicago. The whole joke -- based on misquoting President Obama -- was too disturbing. The Republicans are cheering for another terrorist attack in the US. And I fear they are trying to inspire such an attack. This is the new Republican Nihilism.
Because they say socialism is the enemy, or "islamofascism" is the enemy, or immigration is the enemy, they are moved to broadcast creepy fantasies about a coming civil war. It's only a matter of time before more disturbed people take these war games as prophecy. Now I know what Republicans really imagine when they say they want Obama to fail.
I keep waiting for somebody in the Republican party to stand up and stop this vitriol for the sake of the nation.
Right-wing humor makes me sad (if video doesn't show, click here):
When did it become funny to support and encourage torture? When did it become funny to drown a person? When?
President Theodore Roosevelt in his 1906 State of the Union address declared, "No man can take part in the torture of a human being without having his own moral nature permanently lowered." I don't think he was joking.
After World War II, we convicted Japanese soldiers for waterboarding American and Allied prisoners of war... and I don't think we were kidding.
And I don't think we were laughing at Ronald Reagan in 1988 when he referred to torture as "an abhorrent practice."
Wait... I think I have the answer to my own question. It never became funny. It has always been abhorrent. Bill O'Reilly and Dennis Miller are two desperate and unfunny pinheads.
But this leads me to another question. Why do TV conservatives only host lame bullying shows? I'm not aware of any neocons involved in the art, culture or lifestyle shows. Could it be that they fail to understand culture? City Desk has some ideas on Why Conservatives Suck at Culture Criticism. One possibility is that they always define their work as Conservative, and then discuss art only in terms of their own politics.
Ahh... yes. Nobody needed to tell me that actually. I've been observing my own father long enough. You can't even mention Barbara Streisand without him launching into a gasping rant. Our family can't even agree on a movie to watch on Christmas eve because every star has offended his ideologies...
But then O'Reilly and Miller offend my morals. Hey, if the two of them can put together a jolly Christmas special by next year, I'll watch it, but only if they promise not to yell and be stupid.
"I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Nation, doing good. We will work hand in hand, encouraging, sometimes leading, sometimes being led, rewarding. We will work on this in the White House, in the Cabinet agencies. I will go to the people and the programs that are the brighter points of light, and I will ask every member of my government to become involved. The old ideas are new again because they are not old, they are timeless: duty, sacrifice, commitment, and a patriotism that finds its expression in taking part and pitching in." -- Inaugural Address of George H. W. Bush, January 20, 1989.
"On the other hand, you have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education. He worked as a community organizer. (Laughter.) What? (Laughs.)" -- Rudy Giuliani at the RNC, September 3, 2008.
"I guess a small-town mayor if sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities." -- Gov. Sarah Palin at the RNC, September 3, 2008.
Wow. Look how far the Republican party has come... in the wrong direction. Here is Barack Obama's response to this stupidity (if video doesn't show click here):
"Enough!" That's what Barack Obama said last night to eight years of Republican rule. He said what needed to be said and accepted the nomination with gratitude and humiliation. I'm happy, proud, and relieved that's he's the Democratic candidate.
Of course, as you know, Obama has picked Joe Biden as his VP. Biden's electoral history goes back 38 years. Obama made a wise choice based on experience and governance.
Then today we get the news of John McCain's VP choice: Sarah Palin. What I've learned about her so far is that she is the governor of Alaska (elected a mere 20 months ago), a "hockey mom," a social conservative, has almost no foreign policy experience, and doesn't even know what the Vice President does. I haven't even written a punchline, and I'm laughing already.
Of course everybody will be contrasting these two VP choices, but I only have a few comments.
McCain did not make a wise choice. He made a very cynical and political choice. He's fishing for the angry PUMAs (Party Unity My Ass). Those are the bitter Clinton supporters who refuse to back Barack Obama and will instead, for some stupid reason, back McCain who is ideologically opposite of Hillary Clinton.
But I truly believe this group is a fraud. They are a handful of angry Clinton supporters being lead around by a bunch of Republicans. So if McCain wants to gamble on winning over a group of Democratic voters that are actually Republicans pretending to be Democrats, then he is sadly gullible.
And furthermore, wasn't McCain calling Obama inexperienced? Obama has served 8 years in the Illinois State Senate and 4 years in the U.S. Senate. Palin has been governor of Alaska for less than 2 years. These facts undermine the inexperienced argument. And remember the last time a governor became President? Bush!
Oh that brings me to Palin's innocent question about what the VP does. Traditionally, the VP is supposed to sit around and be prepared to be the most powerful leader on earth! You know, in case McCain keels over.
Anyway, the candidates are all lined up now. We know who's running for President and who they've picked for Vice President. We'll hear many debates of change versus experience, but in the end I always vote for whoever believes what I believe.
He's nasty, ignorant, and immoral. That's what I think about Michael Savage after his rant last Thursday regarding autism:
I've never really paid much attention to Savage except to know that he's a conservative radio talk show host. As you may remember from my other post about a psychopathic talk radio host, I have no tolerance for bleating, uninformed drivel on the public airwaves.
But after much stewing over Savage's comments, I suddenly realized the connection between him, John McCain and Phil Gramm... or at least the connection between their mindsets.
Remember, McCain a few weeks back made the comment that "[A] lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological — the confidence, trust, the uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home."
Then Phil Gramm, McCain's top financial adviser, echoed the sentiment by saying "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline..."
And here is what I conclude about the the conservative mindset: A thing (whether it be disease, poverty, racism, wage stagnation, high food prices etc) does not exist unless the conservative experiences it for himself first hand.
Part of this problem is a lack of empathy. If you can't mentally step into another's shoes, you will never understand their suffering, and you are doomed to make such thoughtless comments... like Savage implying that children with autism are "idiots," "brats," and "morons."
But I'm talking about more than just empathy here. You don't need empathy to comprehend the multitude of medical journals that explain the realness of autism. All you need to do is realize your own ignorance and seek out knowledge.
But Savage's education is quite impressive (B.A., education and sociology; M.S., medical botany and medical anthropology; Ph.D., nutritional ethnomedicine). I think he probably does know more than he demonstrates, but his job mandates that he spends hours on air giving knee-jerk reactions to anything that pops into his head. He says these outrageous lies to make a buck. And that to me is immoral.
There is a Fire Michael Savage petition online. I am linking to it though I don't think it will do any good. Oh, maybe he will get fired, but if there is any market for his brand of commentary, then he will be hired again by some other radio network once this controversy fades.
The problem is bigger than Savage or any talk radio host. There are people who will loyally tune in every day because they believe they are being told the truth. They hear things that make them feel good about their own prejudices. They are told that the world's problems are not complicated. They listen. Talk Radio Network profits from this national disservice. It's just the way things work.
On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, "Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day," when Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), rose in protest.
"Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote," he announced.
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who has two young daughters, moved to table Tiahrt's request, setting up a revote. This time, 178 Republicans cast their votes against mothers.
Well, that last statement is not accurate. The 178 nay votes were for a Table Motion to Reconsider H RES 1113. A motion to reconsider is a parliamentary practice that gives the House (or Senate) one opportunity to review its action on a motion, amendment, or measure. The actual H. Res. 1113 passed with 412 ayes and 0 nays.
There is a bigger story here, however. Republicans have been using these tactics all week to bring the House to a standstill because they don't want foreclosure-crisis and war-funding bills to pass.
So, yes, I conclude the House Republicans are stupid. They dug us into this hole in terms of economic, energy, and foreign policy, and now they simply have nothing to offer except pulling this shit and wasting valuable time and tax dollars. The party that claims that government doesn't work is determined to make it fail.
