The Immoral Minority

A Case Against Progressive Despair.

2012-01-28T02:00:00.000-09:00

To win, we only have to try.

If we don't stand together then we deserve to live in a country led by the likes of Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, or Rick Santorum.

Or do we no longer remember how George W. Bush was able to receive enough electoral votes to allow his father's Supreme Court judges to hand him the presidency?

I almost forgot to post this. Diane Sawyer's interview with President Obama from last night.

2012-01-27T16:53:00.000-09:00

Obama addresses the GOP candidates (And their lies), the Jan Brewer confrontation, the rescuing of hostage Jessica Buchanan by Seal Team Six, and how confident he is about his chances of reelection, among other topics. (Spoiler alert: He is VERY confident.)

Also if you want to read a copy of the letter that started the whole brouhaha on the airport tarmac in Arizona you can see it below courtesy of the Huffington Post.

0126brewer-letter

It is not easy to read as apparently she wrote it long hand, and her handwriting is not the best.

I will refrain from postulating whether it was written while imbibing in liquid refreshment or not.

P.S. By the way did anybody notice how "thin skinned" the President was during his interview with Sawyer? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Secret Service investigating Arizona teens who killed a t-shirt with Obama's face on it. Oh, they are also investigating the cop who took a picture of it and posted it to Facebook.

2012-01-27T12:54:00.000-09:00

Photo courtesy of Gawker.

Courtesy of ABC News:

A picture that shows several teens, a few of them carrying guns, displaying a bullet-riddled Obama T-shirt has led the U.S. Secret Service to investigate.

The Peoria Police Department is also doing its own investigation since the person who took the photograph is a Sergeant for the department.

“I don’t think that the shooting of that T-shirt is that big of a deal,” said Sgt. Pat Shearer, who snapped the photo.

“It was more of a political statement,” he told ABC15.

Shearer admitted that he was embarrassed by the photograph, which was being shared on Facebook. On Thursday, the Secret Service told ABC15 that the individuals involved have a right to free speech, but that the agency also has a right to question them.

Shearer said that he stands by President Barack Obama and would sacrifice his own life for the President’s.

“It’s not like they were going to go out and shoot the president,” he said.

Well of course it was "not like they were going out to shoot the president." He wasn't within range of their guns, now was he? However that shirt, with his picture, was.

So now that they have felt what it is like to kill a shirt, what happens if the next time the President IS within range?

And the guy who took the picture, AND posted it to Facebook, is a cop? Holy shit!

I am beginning to think that the Secret Service needs to open a special office just to keep an eye on the people of Arizona.

If this had been a shirt with a picture of Bush, while he was still in office, these kids would be lying naked while chained to the floor of a cell in Gitmo right now.

That mean librarian lady in Wasilla insults the President and claims the establishment is trying to "crucify" Newt Gingrich. Nothing shocking there.

2012-01-27T07:49:00.001-09:00

For today's rantings insert coin into slot. (Click pic.)

Clearly Palin has been mainlining Red Bull all morning and her bouncing seems eerily synchronized with the flames in the fake fireplace behind her.

Her frothy, rabies infected spittle spews forth at the President in the beginning of the interview, as both she and Stossel try to puzzle out why the President's SOTU speech received high marks when THEY certainly did not like it. (After all, don't THEY represent the REAL America?)

But leave it to the Grizzled Mama to get to the bottom of the problem. She states that MOST Americans are not, "so obsessively consumed with what goes on in the political arena. And I think a lot of people in the media forget that. The pollsters forget that. And a lot of pundits, just assume that all of us are like, maybe not you, but a lot of people, that would be your colleagues, in that we have the time, and that we have the energy, and the desire to be so entrenched in what's going on in the political arena today that we would know the difference between liberty and shackled to big government, which Barack Obama represents."

Yes obviously the reason that people liked the President's speech is because they are too busy, and unaware, to recognize the difference between being free and being enslaved. You know THAT is the kind of spot on analysis that earns Klondike Kardashian the big bucks!

A few minutes later Stossel brings the conversation around to what she thinks about Ron Paul. Palin seems to like Paul's financial message, but of course cannot accept his anti-war stance. But Palin uses this as a springboard to defend her favorite candidate, serial adulterer Newt Gingrich: "Look at Newt Gingrich, what's going on with him? Via the establishment's attacks? They're trying to crucify this man, and rewrite history, and rewrite what it is that he has stood for all these years. So it's not just Ron Paul, I believe it's also Newt Gingrich that the establishment, that the liberal media, certainly that the progressives and Democrats, don't like."

It is at this point that Stossel dares to bring up "She whose name must not be spoken," Peggy Noonan. (She once referred to Palin as a "Nincompoop" and has been a vocal critic since the day McCain found her wandering in the woods of Wasilla.)

Stossel: "Peggy Noonan, who I respect, called Newt the 'little attack muffin,' something like that."

(Watch Palin's face screw up as Stossel dares to give Palin's hated enemy any respect.)

Clearly agitated Palin let's loose with some truly mind numbing word fruit salad.

(Starts off with heavy sigh of irritation.) "Yeah, you know they maybe subscribe such characterizations of Newt via words like that, but they don't subscribe those to say, Mitt Romney, when he or his surrogates do the same thing. That's the typical hypocrisy stuff in the media, you know I've lived with over a couple of decades in the political arena, so I'm used to it. But, in order to educate the rest of the American public, I'll articulate that, that it's hypocritical of the media to subscribe to one candidate and not another, that kind of 'angry attack muffin' verbiage to one and not the other."

Well thank goodness Palin was willing to take the time to "articulate" what the media was really doing. I mean here I thought they were bringing up inaccuracies in the candidate's statements, and describing troubling characteristics of individuals who are seeking the highest office in the country, so that the public would be better informed. But now I know they are simply attacking them with truths, that the American people are too "shackled to big government" to understand anyway.

And how grateful am I that Palin corrected my usage of the word "subscribe?" I guess I had been using it wrong all of these years, go figure.

What is it that Keith Olbermann (And of course Peggy Noonan) call this woman again?

Hey, remember hearing that Obama lost the youth vote? Neither do the youths.

2012-01-27T05:00:00.000-09:00

Here are pictures, courtesy of the Obama Diary, of university students lining up yesterday to get tickets for the President's speech in Ann Arbor today.

Here is more from the Ann Arbor News:

Roughly 3,000 people Thursday morning received tickets to President Barack Obama's upcoming speech —many camping outside overnight to secure their place in line— and still hundreds of hopefuls were turned away.

It's clear: Obama mania has seeped into the University of Michigan campus as the school prepares for his speech on college affordability Friday at 9:35 a.m. at the Al Glick Field House.

Every day I am becoming more and more hopeful about this 2012 election.

Sometimes I think I need to get me one of these bears.

2012-01-27T03:00:00.000-09:00

When I was a little boy I had a recurring nightmare about a dinosaur chasing me across a vast desert.

In the last of these I was running as fast as I could when saw a rock on the horizon. As I ran toward it I could feel the dinosaur's hot breath on my neck and was terrified he would catch me before I could reach the rock.

When I finally arrived at my destination, I threw myself behind the rock and covered my head with my hands.

I lay there holding my breath for what seemed like forever, just waiting for the dinosaur to leave.

When I thought it had gone I opened my eyes, and he was right there staring at me.

Suddenly, instead of being frightened, I was pissed off. I jumped up and yelled "GO AWAY!" I suddenly found myself sitting up in my bed with my brother looking at me from across the bedroom with wide eyes, and a look of abject terror on his face.

I never had that dream again. And from then on I have always been able to realize when I was in a dream and to take control of them before they could upset, or frighten, me.

That kind of serves as a metaphor for how I have lived my life.

Palin once again fails to understand what religious tolerance REALLY means.

2012-01-26T15:43:00.000-09:00

"What? Alaska Airlines removed those prayer cards that insult every other religion but my own? How dare they!"

Recently Alaska Airlines decided to end a 30 year tradition and stop providing little prayer cards along with meals in first class:

Airline spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said the airline heard from customers who preferred not to mix religion with transportation.

The decision reflects respect for the diverse religious beliefs and cultural attitudes of Alaska Airlines' customers and employees, the company said in announcing the change. "Some customers were comforted by the cards and some didn't feel religion was appropriate on the plane and preferred not to receive one," she said.

Seems pretty cut and dried doesn't it? The airlines is FINALLY recognizing that not everybody wants to have a religious faith they may, or may not, adhere to thrust in their face while traveling.

It seems like an obvious choice, not to mention one that probably should have taken place decades ago. Who could possibly find fault with it?

Oh that's right, HER!

It seems astonishing that someone would be offended by a simple prayer card placed on an airline’s meal tray, ( Because I lack the imagination to understand how non-Christians might feel about finding these cards attached to their meals.) but I guess that’s the politically correct world we live in now. A few days ago, Rev. Franklin Graham ( Of course!) gave me a heads up that Alaska Airlines may discontinue its nice, decades-long Alaskan tradition of including a little prayer card on flight meal trays. Rev. Graham is a frequent flyer to Alaska on Alaska Airlines because of his missionary work. Of course, as an Alaskan I’m also a frequent flyer on this airlines, which always seems to provide superb service. When I heard from Rev. Graham, I immediately sent the following letter to the CEO and President of Alaska Airlines.

It feels so odd that some may be offended by a little card with an encouraging non-denominational verse from the Psalms, (But not nearly as odd as hearing somebody so completely lacking in religious sensitivity saying how odd it feels.) but how often do we hear complaints about tawdry ads or billboard images flashing at us everywhere we turn? (Uh, all the time?) People of faith and common decency just shrug and move on from the constant assault on their sensibilities; we don’t call for censorship – at least I don’t. (That part made me laugh so hard I choked a little.) So, why in this day and age must every reference to faith in God be censored from the public square? Why must a private company buckle under pressure from a handful of people who find a little card saying “the Lord is my shepherd” offensive? I’m sure there are many more people who appreciate the cards, or at least are ambivalent about them.

That is the problem with people who grow up completely saturated in the teachings from one narrow version of religion, they simply do not understand why EVERYBODY does not want to be exposed to their belief system. I can only imagine how completely insane Palin would suddenly get if, on her next flight, she opened her food tray and instead of finding one of these..

...found one of these in its place.

Somehow I think that Palin's desire to be "ambivalent about them" would disappear in a white hot flash of outrage.

For your amusement here is the letter that Palin had ghostwritten for her to send.

Dear Mr. Ayer and Mr. Tilden:

Thank you for your tremendous service to Alaskans and so many others over all these years! We love Alaska Airlines. As I tell everyone, it is my favorite.

In my book “Going Rogue” (Book pimping opportunity!) I gave a special shout-out to airline employees because of the extraordinary customer service and good attitudes I witness on flights that my family and I take around this great country. It’s inspiring and impressive to see the sweet spirit of hard working airline employees shine, in spite of sometimes difficult people and circumstances dealt with everyday.

Also inspiring and impressive, and very encouraging, is the special touch Alaska Airlines has blessed fliers with for many years. Your small prayer cards that remind us of the beauty of thankfulness have never ceased to amaze me. In this tumultuous world, finding this little tangible reminder of such an important virtue is always uplifting! Thank you for providing the cards.

It’s come to my attention that the cards may be discontinued due to a few who are offended. I really hope this is just a rumor. Please remain strong and courageous in the face of a cultural trend that wants to wage war on any positive thing that a few may construe as offensive. The Alaska Airlines tradition should be looked upon as an all-American, (And by "all America" of course she means Christian) hopeful, encouraging gesture. Please don’t discontinue the cards.

Thank you again for your service!

Sarah Palin and family

You know if I were Sarah Palin (And hopefully that very idea will not cause me to wake up screaming into the night), I would be VERY careful not to irritate the Alaska Airline executives. Especially since they provided cover for her by having their spokesperson Caroline Boren, respond to questions about her flight from Texas while supposedly in labor by saying the following:

"The stage of her pregnancy was not apparent by observation. She did not show any signs of distress," Boren said.

Of course we happen to know that the stage of her pregnancy was VERY evident.

Picture of Palin taken on March 26th, just 23 days before she gave "birth."

Don't we?

And certainly the flight attendants could not help but notice it as well. So far they have stayed quiet, but it would only take one irritated Alaska Airline's executive to open the floodgates and instruct their flight attendants to go public with what they ACTUALLY observed on that flight.

Now wouldn't THAT be fun?

Rachel Maddow to Politifact: "You are fired!"

2012-01-26T13:45:00.001-09:00

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

As somebody who has used Politifact numerous times to check on the validity of stories, or statements from politicians, I applaud Rachel for calling them out on this egregious mistake.

If you are going to identify yourself as a NON-PARTISAN fact checker, than you have to rise to the bar that you set for yourself. This was an absolute failure to do so.

If this is the best they can do, and it is not the first time they have made a similar mistake, then I suggest they change their name. Perhaps to something more fitting like, Politi-guess or Politi-opinion.

Because as of right now they have made a joke out of the name Politifact.

Jan Brewer claims that President Obama is "thin skinned." Interesting that she brought up his skin.

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-09:00

Click picture to see Norah O'Donnell's report on this story. Including past dust ups between Obama and Brewer.

Courtesy of Politico:

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said that her tarmac confrontation with President Obama on Wednesday showed him to be a little oversensitive.

"He brought up my book. And he was a little tense. I asked him if he read my book, 'Scorpions for Breakfast' and he said he read the excerpt and he didn't think that I was very cordial," Brewer told radio host Mike Broomhead on KFYI radio. "He was somewhat thin-skinned and a little tense to say the least. I was trying to be very calm."

"The book is factual, the book is true," Brewer repeated on Fox's Greta Van Susteren show. "I don't know why he was surprised by my book but he evidently is and he's very thin-skinned in regards to it."

"Thin skinned?" You know I personally believe that even the most critical of Obama's critics, would still have to admit that he he has demonstrated an ability to take an awful lot of abuse without letting it get to him. After all the man has been called a socialist, a Kenyan, an anti-American, a communist, uppity, and smeared with every racial epithet known to man, and still managed to rise above it all.

I think Brewer is projecting her own shortcomings on to the President.

After all who looks like their losing their cool in this picture?

As for her claim that "the book is factual" even journalists from her own state referred to it, when first released, as a "sniveling new memoir," and took it to task for the vast number of lies that it contained.

And let us not forget that this governor not only claimed that there were headless bodies all along the US-Mexico border, she also claimed her father was killed "while fighting the Nazis" when in fact he died of lung disease in 1955 while residing in California.

The woman is a complete nutjob and yet another example of the unhinged individuals that have gained office due to support from the Teabaggers. Of course in this case, as one Arizona journalist points out, she could simply have been too hammered to have an intelligent exchange with our President:

The incident if anything, perhaps provides a glimpse into the pitfalls of public figures who are suspected of drinking while they politic, it can cause unintended consequences, at least when the leader of the free world is winging into town, the pesky national press corps is just everywhere.

One can understand how the main stream media considers waving a finger in the face of the President unseemly, especially for a public official, like say a Governor. The problem is most of the main stream media, is unaware Governor Brewer’s nick name around the State capital is Otis, a reference to the town drunk from Mayberry.

You just can't make this stuff up folks.

Update: It looks like somebody photographed the exchange from another angle.

You know I THOUGHT she looked familiar!

Elizabeth Warren makes one of the most genuinely heartfelt "It Gets Better" videos that I have ever seen.

2012-01-26T05:51:00.000-09:00

Here is the text courtesy of Livewire:

I'm Elizabeth Warren. And you may be wondering what I have to you? After all, I haven't lived your life. But when I graduated from college, I was a schoolteacher. And I watched what happens in hallways, on sidewalks, out in the schoolyard. I watched kids who pushed, who bullied. I saw how much pain some kids could inflict on other kids. But you know what happens? It does get better. It gets better, because you're not alone. There are people who care about you, people who love you. Reach out, find friends. And if it feels too hard, call the Trevor Project — 866-4U-TREVOR. Because here's what you'll find: There are a lot of different people out there in this world, and a lot of people who celebrate those differences. That's what makes us strong, that's what makes us exciting. So hang in there — it gets better.

You know I have seen a lot of these, and they're all very touching, but Warren's compassion seems so genuine here that it felt as if she were talking directly to me. I cannot help but imagine how great it would feel to the children of Massachusetts to have their new Senator speaking to them with such kindness and understanding.

Warren in 2012!

Why some religious faiths attack the teaching of Evolution so aggressively.

2012-01-26T04:00:00.000-09:00

Because they fear this, above all else.

While everybody was complaining that Obama failed to bring the change that he promised, it was happening all around us.

2012-01-26T02:00:00.000-09:00

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and President Obama have angry exchange on airport tarmac. Update!

2012-01-25T16:14:00.002-09:00

Courtesy of Politico:

It was a tense moment on the tarmac.

President Obama, alighting from the stairs of Air Force One in Phoenix this afternoon, was greeted by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who handed him an envelope and the two exchanged what appeared to be some heated sentiments. At one point, she pointed her finger at him.

Asked afterward what happened, Brewer said, "He was a little disturbed about my book, Scorpions for Breakfast.

"I said to him that I have all the respect in the world for the office of the president. The book is what the book is. I asked him if he read the book. He said he read the excerpt," she said, according to a pool report. "He didn't feel that I had treated him cordially. I said I was sorry he felt that way but I didn't get my sentence finished. Anyway, we're glad he's here. I'll regroup."

In the envelope she had given him was a handwritten letter, Brewer said -- "an invitation that I've extended to him before with regards to coming to Arizona and going to the border with me....We've had a remarkable comeback here and I want to share that with him."

A White House official confirmed the invitation and described the encounter in more bureaucratic terms: "The President said he'd be glad to meet with her again, but did note that after their last meeting, a cordial discussion in the Oval Office, the governor inaccurately described the meeting in her book. The President looks forward to continuing taking steps to help Arizona's economy grow."

The pool reporter, POLITICO's Carrie Budoff Brown, said the scene was far from the norm. Aside from the pointing, they appeared to talk over each other and he appeared to walk away from her while they were still talking.

I, of course, have not read Brewer's book, but according to Politico, this is the description that upset the President.

“It was though President Obama thought he could lecture me, and I would learn at his knee,” she wrote, according to Capitol Media Services. “He thinks he can humor me and then get rid of me.”

And if Brewer lied, remember she once claimed erroneously that there were headless corpses found along the US-Mexico border, then the President has every right to call her out on it.

Now I wasn't there so I do not know exactly what happened. However I do know that the President is very good at keeping his cool, and it is not HIS finger that is pointed in Governor Brewer's face. Which by the way, I don't care WHO you are, is an incredibly disrespectful thing to do to the President of the United States.

Update: Just a reminder as to who wrote the foreword for Brewer's book,

Tennessee Teabaggers try to, quite literally, whitewash American history. Update!

2012-01-25T13:35:00.000-09:00

Courtesy of the Commercial Appeal:

Members of Tennessee tea parties presented state legislators with five priorities for action Wednesday, including “rejecting” the federal health reform act, establishing an elected “chief litigator” for the state and “educating students the truth about America.”

About two dozen tea party activists held a news conference, then met with lawmakers individually to present their list of priorities and “demands” for the 2011 legislative session that opened Tuesday.

Regarding education, the material they distributed said, “Neglect and outright ill will have distorted the teaching of the history and character of the United States. We seek to compel the teaching of students in Tennessee the truth regarding the history of our nation and the nature of its government.”

That would include, the documents say, that “the Constitution created a Republic, not a Democracy.”

The material calls for lawmakers to amend state laws governing school curriculums, and for textbook selection criteria to say that “No portrayal of minority experience in the history which actually occurred shall obscure the experience or contributions of the Founding Fathers, or the majority of citizens, including those who reached positions of leadership.”

Fayette County attorney Hal Rounds, the group’s lead spokesman during the news conference, said the group wants to address “an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another.

This is why I am always working to energize the Democrats, by pointing out the important things the President has accomplished and reminding everybody that we need to elect more Democrats, not just to help Obama continue his agenda, but to protect America from the destructive anti-science and anti-educational agenda of the conservatives.

The Teabaggers see their overwhelming 2010 victory, a victory they were only able to realize because Democrats let themselves be discouraged into staying home, as a mandate. And they fully intend to change the way history, science, and government are taught to reflect their insane point of view.

Teaching history in such a way that “No portrayal of minority experience in the history which actually occurred shall obscure the experience or contributions of the Founding Fathers," is going to make it almost impossible to teach about the contributions of many important black leaders. Or is that the point?

Taking the accomplishments of minorities in this country out of our textbooks is to remove any opportunity for today's non-whites to find inspiration within their pages. No mention of Booker T. Washington or Harriet Tubman? After all they were once slaves and according to the revisionist history of the Teabaggers, slavery was virtually abolished by the Founding Fathers

What of more modern minority leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks? They fought against discrimination. In a perfect country there can be NO discrimination.

And need I even ask about President Obama's accomplishments?

Apparently not:

The group also wants the state legislature to reject key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 as “an insult to Constitutional principles.”

Our Founding Fathers were great men, of that there is no doubt, but in the end they were just that, men.

They were not gods to be worshiped, they were men to be admired. They did a great thing, but not a perfect thing. Our children deserve to know that. They deserve to know the truth.

And they certainly don't deserve to have ~~KKK members~~ Tea Party members writing their history books for them.

Update: As everybody pointed out the article I linked to is from last year. I follow the link from the original source over at the Huffington Post and did not check the date. But yes it is still happening this year as well:

A little more than a year after the conservative-led state board of education in Texas approved massive changes to its school textbooks to put slavery in a more positive light, a group of Tea Party activists in Tennessee has renewed its push to whitewash school textbooks. The group is seeking to remove references to slavery and mentions of the country's founders being slave owners.

According to reports, Hal Rounds, the Fayette County attorney and spokesman for the group, said during a recent news conference that there has been "an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another."

Different year, same Teabagger shit.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz reads Gabby Giffords resignation letter.

2012-01-25T10:30:00.000-09:00

There is more from the LA Times:

Lawmakers quickly enveloped Giffords as she arrived in the House chamber Wednesday morning, one at a time shaking her hand or kissing her cheek. She was escorted by her closest friend in the chamber, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Giffords' mother, Gloria, watched from the House gallery along with retired astronaut Mark Kelly, Giffords' husband.

The chamber was mostly full, and staff members ringed the back rows.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi began a series of bipartisan tributes to Giffords, calling her "the brightest star that Congress has ever seen."

"She has brought the word dignity to new heights by her courage," Pelosi said. "Congresswoman Giffords' message of bipartisanship and civility is one that all in Washington and in the nation should honor and emulate."

"While Gabby may be leaving Washington today, I know this won't be the last we see of her tomorrow," said Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the majority leader.

At one point, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told Giffords, "We have missed you." Giffords, turned backward to see her colleague, replied: "And I miss you."

The legislation on which Giffords cast her final vote would give the Homeland Security Department greater ability to go after ultralight planes believed to be smuggling narcotics from Mexico into the United States.

It passed unanimously.

I watched this earlier this morning with watery eyes and a godawful lump in my throat. It was absolutely amazing to witness the incredible outpouring of love and support that Gabby inspires in her fellow members of Congress, and for one brief moment politics were put aside as these Congressmen and women dropped their defenses and allowed their humanity to shine. Truly an inspiring sight.

And to demonstrate respect for that ideal I will not engage in any partisan sniping or mention the person behind the one moment of rage that I always feel when I see this brave woman struggling to stand, or walk, or move her now useless arm.

But that does not mean I have forgotten, nor does it mean I have forgiven.

Eric Cantor's face as President Obama knocks it out of the park during last night's State of the Union speech. Update!

2012-01-25T06:29:00.000-09:00

If you click the image of Grumpy McAsshole you can see video of which part of the speech harshed his mellow.

Aww! Hims got a frowny face!

Of course as much as the President's speech clearly upset Cantor, his discomfort was nothing compared to what nine Somali pirates were experiencing while Obama was telling Americans that a brighter day lay ahead for this country:

U.S. Navy SEALs parachuted into Somalia under cover of darkness early Wednesday and crept up to an outdoor camp where an American woman and Danish man were being held hostage. Soon, nine kidnappers were dead and both hostages were freed.

President Barack Obama himself authorized the mission two days earlier, and minutes after he gave his State of the Union address to Congress he was on the phone with the American's father to tell him his daughter was safe.

"As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts," Obama said in a statement released by the White House.

I have to imagine that every time the world sees this President take the podium to give a speech, all over the planet there are terrorists and bad guys hiding under there beds while freaking out that there might be somebody outside their door waiting to put a bullet in them.

"Oh no Ahmad, he is smiling again! Go look out the window and see if there is a drone with my name on it!

Like Andrew Sullivan said last night on the Colbert Report, this President is a bad ass!

(H/T to Buzzfeed)

Update: As for the President's speech itself, apparently 91% of Americans approved of it:

According to the poll, which was conducted online by Knowledge Networks immediately after the president's address, 91 percent of those who watched the speech approved of the proposals Mr. Obama put forth during his remarks. Only nine percent disapproved.

Last year, 83 percent of viewers approved of Mr. Obama's State of the Union remarks.

I wonder what Eric Cantor's face looks like in response to THAT news?

President Obama's new political ad. Now this is how you do it!

2012-01-25T04:00:00.000-09:00

This administration has made numerous historically positive policy decisions, such as the repeal of DOMA, the ACA, the end of the Iraq war, just to name a handful, and yet we are still hearing liberals talk about a "failed administration" and their disappointment that Obama did not change water into wine while walking across it.

It is time for progressives to put their big boy pants on and get behind our President.

There is a vicious battle on the horizon and we are going to need all hands on deck.

Unless of course you want to spend the next four years wondering how YOU could have helped stop the Romney or Gingrich presidency from taking place?

Republican Jesus.

2012-01-25T02:00:00.000-09:00

I sometimes wonder if Republicans, especially those who seem to take all of their lessons from the Old Testament, have ever even heard of Jesus? Or if in fact ANY of them have actually read the Bible?

If they were to truly embrace the teachings of the man they all claim to so admire, just imagine how much better this country could be.

President Obama greets Gabby Giffords with hug. Update!

2012-01-24T17:48:00.000-09:00

My favorite part of the speech so far. (Get your tissues ready.)

Video courtesy of the Washington Post.

Here is the full text of the State of the Union speech. I will put up the video later when the speech is over.

This is going to trip up some Republicans:

I'm a Democrat. But I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed: That Government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more. That's why my education reform offers more competition, and more control for schools and States. That's why we're getting rid of regulations that don't work. That's why our health care law relies on a reformed private market, not a Government program.

You could almost hear the GOP sphincters closing up. all over the room.

Update: I can't get enough of this.

Courtesy of the Obama Diary.

Update 2: Below is the entire 62 minutes of the President's State of the Union speech. If you did not get to watch it, I VERY much encourage you to take to the time to do so now. It was extremely good, extremely inspiring, and extremely important to see in order to understand what our President is doing for us, and what he needs from us. P.S. Wrong video now replaced by 2012 video. Sorry.

So which GOP candidate pimped the memory of Ronald Reagan the most? Do you really even have to ask?

2012-01-24T16:42:00.001-09:00

Ronald Reagan rises from the dead to ask the GOP candidates to stop hiding behind his name.

Courtesy of FiveThirtyEight:

In Monday night’s debate in Tampa, Fla., Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, mentioned Ronald Reagan just four words into his first answer of the night. It was the first of five times that Mr. Gingrich would mention Reagan; no other candidate did so even once.

This was not, it turns out, an isolated example. Mr. Gingrich uses Reagan’s name early and often, and in almost every debate.

Gingrich is lucky that Palin is not in this race, as she seems to mention Reagan after almost every other breath.

It is no wonder that the Republicans keep bringing up Reagan, because they certainly CAN'T bring up George W. Bush, and many people are too young or too forgetful to remember the truth about Ronald Reagan's presidency.

But not everybody has forgotten.

Some of us on the left had also been very glad indeed to see the end of the Russian empire and the Cold War. But nothing could make me forget what the Reagan years had actually been like. Ronald Reagan claimed that the Russian language had no word for "freedom." (The word is "svoboda"; it's quite well attested in Russian literature.)

Ronald Reagan said that intercontinental ballistic missiles (not that there are any non-ballistic missiles—a corruption of language that isn't his fault) could be recalled once launched. Ronald Reagan said that he sought a "Star Wars" defense only in order to share the technology with the tyrants of the U.S.S.R. Ronald Reagan professed to be annoyed when people called it "Star Wars," even though he had ended his speech on the subject with the lame quip, "May the force be with you." Ronald Reagan used to alarm his Soviet counterparts by saying that surely they'd both unite against an invasion from Mars. Ronald Reagan used to alarm other constituencies by speaking freely about the "End Times" foreshadowed in the Bible. In the Oval Office, Ronald Reagan told Yitzhak Shamir and Simon Wiesenthal, on two separate occasions, that he himself had assisted personally at the liberation of the Nazi death camps.

There was more to Ronald Reagan than that. Reagan announced that apartheid South Africa had "stood beside us in every war we've ever fought," when the South African leadership had been on the other side in the most recent world war. Reagan allowed Alexander Haig to greenlight the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, fired him when that went too far and led to mayhem in Beirut, then ran away from Lebanon altogether when the Marine barracks were bombed, and then unbelievably accused Tip O'Neill and the Democrats of "scuttling." Reagan sold heavy weapons to the Iranian mullahs and lied about it, saying that all the weapons he hadn't sold them (and hadn't traded for hostages in any case) would, all the same, have fit on a small truck. Reagan then diverted the profits of this criminal trade to an illegal war in Nicaragua and lied unceasingly about that, too. Reagan then modestly let his underlings maintain that he was too dense to understand the connection between the two impeachable crimes. He then switched without any apparent strain to a policy of backing Saddam Hussein against Iran. (If Margaret Thatcher's intelligence services had not bugged Oliver North in London and become infuriated because all European nations were boycotting Iran at Reagan's request, we might still not know about this.)

There were many other examples of his ineptitude as well, including his failure to address AIDS until it became an epidemic (Because he, like many on the conservative side, believed it was a "gay plague"), that he was the President MOST responsible for the economic decline in this country, and that, though he takes the lion's share of the credit for it, the end of the Cold War was really due far more to the bravery of Mikhail Gorbachev than Reagan.

So the GOP can genuflect in Ronnie's direction all they want, and sing his praises from the highest rafters that Gingrich can hoist his fat ass onto, the truth is that Reagan was just as crappy of a President as the Republican candidates vying for the job today would almost certainly turn out to be.

As Gingrich's chances of getting the GOP nomination improve, so do the President's odds of staying in the White House.

2012-01-24T13:13:00.000-09:00

Courtesy of Yahoo news:

As he prepares for his third State of the Union address--and, he hopes, not his last--Barack Obama's likelihood of reelection has soared in the last few days to 56.8 percent, the highest it has been since last July. This movement correlates with Newt Gingrich's increased likelihood of gaining the Republican nomination, now at 29.7 percent, up from about 5 percent. This upward trend also correlates with a simultaneous downward movement of Mitt Romney's likelihood of winning the presidency if he wins the nomination, now at 44.0, down from about 48 percent. We utilize prediction market data for these likelihoods.

In short, the markets think Obama is more likely to defeat Gingrich than Romney, so when the former speaker's fortunes elevate, so do the president's.

The numbers tell the story.

Personally I think that Obama can beat either Gingrich OR Romney.

If the nominee were Gingrich it would be a much easier contest.

And if it were Gingrich, and he desperately added Palin to bring in the evangelicals, Obama could phone it in and still wipe the floor with him.

On Hannity show Palin expresses desire for candidate who is "not flip flopping around like a halibut getting ready to be clubbed." Hmm, who could she be describing?

2012-01-24T07:48:00.001-09:00

Click wig to play interview

My very favorite quote from this entire interview comes at the beginning when, after Hannity honors his Fox contract by asking Wig-zilla who she will endorse, she responds with, and I kid you not: "Well I still think my endorsement is probably not worth a hill of beans, nor maybe is my advice." (Hey, that's what I was thinking!)

Then, without taking a breath, she says this: "But my advice to Florida voters would be to ask themselves which candidate is able to recapture that American exceptionalism that we all benefited from under Ronald Reagan."

So essentially she quite correctly warns the audience that her advise is not worth "a hill of beans" right before she starts rapidly vomiting it forth into people's living rooms. Gee and she was so close to having an epiphany too.

After that statement Snowdrift Snooki engages in the typical Ronald Reagan necrophilia by repeating his name in a rapid fashion, while all but rubbing one out on camera. Truly a disgusting display.

Apparently somebody introduced Palin to the ramblings of economist Art Laffer, whose name she starts to rapidly repeat like a Tourrette's patient tweaking from methamphetamine's. (Laffer was most recently in the news as being the only economist in the country willing to support Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan. Yeah let's all take advice from THAT guy!)

The next serving of word salad focuses on attacking Barack Obama for his socialist policies which she insists he "throws down our throat." (Damn woman, how big IS your throat?)

Hannity then attempts to get a straight answer out of the Grizzled One by pressing her on who she would vote for in Florida. (Hannity refuses to press her too far after her wig rears up and hisses in his direction.)

"I'm not going to endorse tonight because it's the candidate that has to produce . You know you can have every endorsement in the world that you would ever dream of as a candidate, and it's not going to do you a whole lot of good if you can't produce. Not only in the debates but..ah..according to your experience, again according to what your core foundations are, and according to the proof that you have that uh you're not flip flopping around like a halibut getting ready to be clubbed." (Did you catch that Alaskan flavored reference there? Okay good.)

Hannity then lead her into talking about Chris Christie's allegation that Newt is an embarrassment to the party. Her response?

"Whose one to throw stones? I, and probably every other GOP, um not high profile, but GOP player I guess, has no doubt embarrassed the party. Including Chris Christie, I'm sure, with HIS actions in the past like taking a state owned helicopter to his kid's ballgame, you know maybe some people thought THAT was kind of embarrassing."

Wow! That may be just about the most self aware, and descriptive of the Republican party, statement I think I have EVER heard this lunatic accidentally make!

She might want to check that fright wig of hers for a microchip that might be feeding her Democratic talking points, because I could not have described the ridiculous behaviors of today's Republican party any better myself.

Well done Granny!

Callista Gingrich explains Newt's version of Open Marriage. (Some NSFW language.)

2012-01-24T05:10:00.000-09:00

Callista Gingrich on Open Marriage from Casey Wilson

From the good folks at Funny or Die.

Alaska domestic terrorist Schaeffer Cox, and his merry crew of potential murderers, just lost all hope of ever seeing the outside of a prison again.

2012-01-24T03:00:00.000-09:00

Francis "Schaeffer" Cox when he still thought he had a chance of beating the rap.

Courtesy of the Fairbanks Newsminer:

Fairbanks militia leader Schaeffer Cox and two others are again facing murder conspiracy charges, this time from federal prosecutors who say the three had a plan as far back as 2009 to kill federal officials, including TSA employees, border patrol agents and U.S. Marshals.

A federal grand jury in Anchorage on Friday returned a new indictment against Cox, Coleman Barney of the North Pole area and Lonnie Vernon of Salcha, all members of Cox’s Peacemaker’s Militia. It’s the third federal indictment to be handed up against the three, who have been in jail on weapons charges since March.

The charges are punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison. They are scheduled to go to trial two weeks from today.

The indictments being handed down by the Feds are absolutely rock solid, and they leave little doubt that Schaeffer, Barney, and Vernon were quite serious and dedicated to the idea of killing law enforcement officials, simply because they believed that they were sovereign citizens, and that placed them outside of the laws which govern Alaska and the United States of America.

Could you imagine being an attorney whose client was facing indictments such as this?

Between on or about August 2009, and continuing up to on or about March 10, 2011, in the District of Alaska, the defendants, FRANCIS SCHAEFFER COX, COLEMAN L. BARNEY, and LONNIE G. VERNON did knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully conspire and agree together and with other persons known and unknown to the grand jury to kill, with premeditation and malice aforethought, officers and employees of the United States, including law enforcement officers, while such officers are engaged in and on account of the performance of official duties, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1111 and 1114.

Their lawyers have already demonstrated their desperation by claiming that Cox was essentially kidnapped by one of the FBI informers. A charge so ridiculous on the face of it that it seems like something dreamed up on a half hour comedy sitcom, NOT an argument made by a lawyer whose client is facing life in prison.

They are being charged with sixteen counts altogether, and if convicted (And the Federal case is virtually airtight with several witnesses and reams of video and audio tape at their disposal), there is a good chance that nobody will ever have to worry about these three idiots ever again.

Personally I hope that these guys try to cop a plea. There are much bigger fish that I would very much like to see tied to this "gang that couldn't shoot straight." So far they have kept mum, but I don't think that Francis or Coleman can stand the thought of what awaits them in prison, so there is still some hope.

(You can read the actual indictments by clicking here.)

Palin calls out New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, for getting his "panties in a wad." Eeww!

2012-01-23T18:26:00.000-09:00

Here is the pertinent part of the transcript courtesy of Time:

BOLLING: It’s always a pleasure, always great to hear your thoughts. A lot of news today. First of all, you said Newt Gingrich is a frontrunner, but listen to what New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had to say about Newt.

CHRIS CHRISTIE, GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: We all know the record. I mean, he was run out of the speakership by his own party. He was fined $300,000 for ethics violations. This is a guy who’s had a very difficult political career at times, and that has been an embarrassment to the party.

BOLLING: Ooh, an embarrassment to the party. Governor, care to take Mr. Christie to task for that comment?

PALIN: I do care to take him to task -- poor Chris. This was a rookie mistake. He played right into the media’s hands. Here’s a host that asked Chris does Newt embarrass the party. I think he asked him twice, and there Chris played right into it and, you know, spewed that about, yeah, Newt embarrassing the party. You know, sometimes if your candidate loses in just one step along this path, as was the case with Romney lost to Newt the other night, and of course, Romney is Chris Christie’s guy. Well, you kind of get your panties in a wad and you may say things that you regret later. And I think that that’s what Chris Christie did.

Oh no she didn't!

Number one am I fighting back my gag reflex at the very thought of Chris Christie wearing panties, wadded or otherwise.

Now that my bile has settled back down I think that Palin might have really screwed up here by going after Christie. After all Christie was the guy who famously yelled, “Hey, Gail, you know what? First off, it’s none of your business. I don’t ask you where you send your kids to school, don’t bother me about where I send mine!" at a woman who had the temerity to suggest that he did not care about slashing public school budgets because HIS children attend private schools.

Imagine how easily he could crush Snowdrift Snooki if he wanted to.

Plus Christie is absolutely right in his assessment of Newt's baggage. The guy is a walking disaster area, and the serious Republicans understand that.

As for the un-serious Republican? Well she could not stop herself once she got rolling.

PALIN: Well, I think it was a rookie mistake, and you know, I think if Chris were asked about some of his, you know, past actions, taking a state helicopter to his kid’s baseball game, some people may say, well, that sort of embarrassed your party, Chris.

Jesus, not only does she call one of the most popular Republicans in the country a "rookie," she also calls him out on using that state helicopter to fly to his kid's baseball game. No way is Christie going to let that slide.

I am by no means a fan of Christie, but lets face it, the bitch is asking for it!