Last Call

Hey Republican big money donors?  Feel free to waste as much cash on Rand Paul's 2016 run as you want.  He doesn't have a chance in hell.

“I’m not going to deny that I’m interested” in a 2016 presidential run, the Republican told ABC News. “I am different than some in that I’m not going to deny that I’m interested. I’m not going to deny that I think we have to go a different direction because we’re not winning.”

The tea party favorite said the GOP can turn around its 2012 losing streak if it focuses on localizing issues to state governments instead of focusing of federal responses.

“I think we have to go a different direction because we’re just not winning and we have to think about some different ideas,” Paul said. “States should be allowed to make a lot of these decisions. I want things to be decided more at a local basis, with more compassion. I think it would make us as Republicans different.”

And this is why he's screwed.  He thinks taking programs away from the federal government and giving them to the states is "compassionate", programs like Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid.  His idea of "compassion" is to throw people in the deep end and see if they can swim.

That of course is completely different than Mitt Romney's "you're on your own" approach that help him lose earlier this month.  Rand Paul should evince a completely different result, yes?

Go for it, Rand.

Last Days Of The Wild Wild West

Allen West, the last guy in America to figure out that Allen West lost his bid for reelection, has finally admitted that he lost his bid for reelection.

After two weeks of battle with St. Lucie County elections officials — and a recount of early votes that wound up extending Murphy’s lead — West acknowledged that he couldn’t surmount his 1,904-vote, or 0.58 percent, deficit. That difference was just outside the 0.5 percent threshold to automatically trigger a recount of all votes.

So the brash conservative opted to bow out rather than wage a long and costly court battle he was unlikely to win.

“For two weeks since Election Day, we have been working to ensure every vote is counted accurately and fairly. We have made progress towards that goal, thanks to the dedication of our supporters and their unrelenting efforts to protect the integrity of the democratic process,” West said in a statement to POLITICO. “While many questions remain unanswered, today I am announcing that I will take no further action to contest the outcome of this election.”

West congratulated Murphy, saying, “I pray he will serve his constituents with honor and integrity, and put the interests of our nation before his own.”

Oh, I fully expect Allen West to be the first person to sign up for Murphy's job in 2014.  He's not done, folks, not by a long shot...just ask Alan Grayson what it means to be an unapologetic partisan House member from Florida voted out of a job, only to come roaring back two years later.

We'll see, but for now, I expect West to end up on FOX or some other wingnut welfare operation until he can get back to running to make Florida safe from socialist Kenyan Muslim Marxist everythings, or whatever he does.

Something tells me I'm going to continue to get use out of the tag as I will Grayson's (which is still true, guy has a spine, he paid for it, he came back.)

Back Off Man, I'm Not A Scientist!

Sen. Marco Rubio fails at science.  I'm so shocked.  His latest interview with GQ:

GQ: How old do you think the Earth is? 

Marco Rubio: I'm not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that's a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I'm not a scientist. I don't think I'm qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that. It's one of the great mysteries.

And supposedly, this guy's running for President.  You think Marco sat out the 2012 Clown Car Invitational not because he expected Romney to blow it, but because he knew he himself had no chance?

This is today's Republican party, where "How old do you think the Earth is?" requires a 150 word dodge with about 4 caveats. Pathetic.

How is this guy going to handle our enemies and allies?

StupidiNews!

• As the US sends Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Israel to help broker peace, the US Navy is sending 3 amphibious warships in case they are needed to evacuate US citizens in the area.
• Nearly 100 House Republicans have signed a letter warning President Obama not to nominate UN Ambassador Susan Rice as Secretary of State.
• Washington DC's International Spy Museum celebrates 50 Years of James Bond with a new exhibit dedicated to 007's most dastardly villains.
• Moody's has cut France's AAA credit rating one notch in response to President Francois Hollande's tax plans, citing the country's "deteriorating economic prospects."
• A new study by the World Bank envisions the world after global warming of four degrees Celsius, which would cause planetary disaster by 2100.

Last Call

I don't always agree with Chris Hayes, but he's dead right about NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo and why he's the last Democrat I would vote for in 2016.  Politicker:

Mr. Hayes blasted Mr. Cuomo’s “putative reason” for endorsing two Republican senators–their support for same sex marriage legislation–by asking why he declined to support a Democratic challenger in a race where the pro-gay marriage Republican had already been defeated in a primary. He also criticized the governor for not working to stop Democratic Senator-elect Simcha Felder from caucusing with the GOP, as Mr. Felder’s move may end up being decisive in helping the Republicans hold onto their majority, depending on one race that’s still too-close-to-call and more possible Democratic defections.

“Despite the fact that he’s the leader of the Democratic Party in the state, and wishes someday to be the Democratic nominee for President, Cuomo has refused to intervene with Felder, saying he won’t insert himself into the controversy,” My. Hayes argued. “Watching all this unfold, one can’t help but suspect Andrew Cuomo actually does not want a Democratic majority in the State Senate because a Republican majority gives him more of an opportunity to burnish his bipartisan compromiser bona fides before launching his presidential campaign. And much, much, much more insidiously, we suspect he doesn’t want a Democratic majority because said majority stands ready to pass a whole raft of incredibly important, ground-breaking progressive legislation, including public financing for elections, marijuana decriminalization and a minimum wage hike, among others. The governor says he favors all those policies, but in this case, he sure is not acting like it. We’re almost entirely sure that very soon Andrew Cuomo will be coming before many of the people watching this show, asking for your support in a Democratic primary race to be the next president. You should remember this remarkably cynical display when he does.”

Now that's pretty damn hardcore for Chris Hayes, practically displaying bloody brass knuckles and a promise to get them even messier.  But he's absolutely right.  If New York state got serious about progressive legislation, particularly monitoring Wall Street, it would be a massive victory for liberalism as a whole int he United States.  Let's not forget, Cuomo as the state's Attorney General ran on a platform of doing just that.  When he was easily elected two years ago, he promised to get tough on Wall Street.  What happened was Cuomo finding himself saying "Oh well, sorry guys, Republicans are stopping me from getting this legislation" and then helicoptering off to the Hamptons.

Cuomo basically didn't lift a finger to help NY Senate Dems regain control of the state's upper chamber, because then he'd have to be the bad guy.  Chris Hayes has him pegged 100%.

So no, Andrew Cuomo is by no means a good guy.  Should he take a crack at 2016, he needs to be sent home unless he comes around.

A Different Kind Of Cliff

Lost in the “fiscal cliff slope” negotiations are federal jobless benefits.

As Senate Democrats and House Republicans try to bang out some sort of compromise, it’s important to know that President Obama is fighting for more than just tax fairness, but for the millions of long-term unemployed out there still facing a rough winter ahead.  Yes, the economy is improving and the jobless rate is going down, but there’s still over two million Americans out there facing a real cliff if benefits are cut off on December 29.

Groups backing an extension of unemployment benefits have launched a new round of lobbying to convince Congress to extend federal benefits to the long-term jobless.

A coalition of advocates including the National Employment Law Project (NELP) held more than 40 meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill during the first week of the lame-duck session to make their pitch for a $30 billion extension of the program.

The assorted labor union, civil rights and anti-poverty groups face a tough path to winning the extension at a time when lawmakers are looking for ways to reduce the budget deficit. Lawmakers started talks at the White House on Friday to prevent the nation from going over a so-called “fiscal cliff.”

But the groups are hopeful they can win another extension, and received a shot of confidence this week when Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said stimulus measures should be included in any deficit-reduction package.

“People get it, understand why it’s important and why it could be so bad for their states,” Judy Conti, federal advocacy coordinator with NELP, told The Hill on Friday.

“We’re sensing a lot of support.”

So that’s a good thing.  At least the Democrats are reminded that it’s on the table, and that while going over the deadline may be a pretty hefty part of the President’s leverage in getting the wealthy to pay higher taxes, the payroll tax cut and the unemployment benefits are still up in the air.  If those are allowed to expire, a lot of working class and unemployed Americans are going to take an immediate hit come January.

We’ll see what comes of it all.  Republicans know they can do a lot of damage here by blocking these measures.  The President cut a deal when he needed to two years ago to preserve these.  Democrats will make sure these get spared again, from the President on down.

No Defense Of The Indefensible

There's a huge difference between Israel's right to defend itself (which Palestinians in Gaza never seem to be entitled to) and what the son of former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon wants to do.  Maj. Gilad Sharon took to the Jerusalem Post with this missive:

The desire to prevent harm to innocent civilians in Gaza will ultimately lead to harming the truly innocent: the residents of southern Israel. The residents of Gaza are not innocent, they elected Hamas. The Gazans aren’t hostages; they chose this freely, and must live with the consequences.
[...]
… We need to flatten entire neighborhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza. The Americans didn’t stop with Hiroshima – the Japanese weren’t surrendering fast enough, so they hit Nagasaki, too.

There should be no electricity in Gaza, no gasoline or moving vehicles, nothing. Then they’d really call for a ceasefire.

Were this to happen, the images from Gaza might be unpleasant – but victory would be swift, and the lives of our soldiers and civilians spared.

If the government isn’t prepared to go all the way on this, it will mean reoccupying the entire Gaza Strip. Not a few neighborhoods in the suburbs, as with Cast Lead, but the entire Strip, like in Defensive Shield, so that rockets can no longer be fired.

There is no middle path here – either the Gazans and their infrastructure are made to pay the price, or we reoccupy the entire Gaza Strip.

There's a term for what Gilad Sharon wants to do here.  It's called "genocide".  That it is coming from an Israeli Jew is no small amount of irony.  When I said in yesterday's podcast that I feared this time would be different, that this time Israel would "go all the way on this" as Sharon so ghoulishly remarks without pity or remorse, this is why I believe it is coming unless there's a surprising and breathtaking turn of events that leads to a cease fire.

I hope for the latter.  I fully expect the former, except this time it will be tens of thousands of Palestinians who will die, along with hundreds of Israelis, before the fighting dies down for a bit.

We'll see.  I am not very optimistic.

StupidiNews!

• UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon is calling for an end to violence in Gaza through a brokered peace by Egypt.
• President Obama is in Myanmar today, visiting with democracy activist and fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and praising reforms in the country.
• After years of campaigning for it, the statue of abolitionist icon Frederick Douglass will represent the District of Columbia in the Capitol Building's Statuary Hall.
• Regulators now say the size of the "shadow banking system" of derivatives and money market funds now tops some $67 trillion.
• A new University of Texas Medical Center study finds hardcore gamers are just as deft at manipulating robotic surgery tools as surgeons are.

Last Call

And Sen. John McCain completes his fall to the level of worst loser in Presidential history.  Here he is on Face The Nation with CBS's Bob Scheiffer, talking about Benghazi and Susan Rice's expected nomination as Secretary of State:

SCHIEFFER: Until then, you will remain opposed to her nomination?

MCCAIN: Under the present circumstances, until we find out all the information as to what happened, I don’t think you would want to support any nominee right now. Because this is very very serious and it has even larger implications than the deaths of 4 Americans. It really goes to the heart of this whole light foot print policy that this administration is pursuing.

So that's it then.  McCain is now committed to blocking any nominee for Secretary of State until he gets his "answers" on Benghazi, once and for all proving it was never, ever about Susan Rice, and that it was really all about the fact he despises Barack Obama, and has never gotten over losing to the man.

John McCain is a shallow, petty, thin-skinned baby.  He just proved it today.  He will obstruct America's business until he gets his way, like the enfant terrible he is.

How far you have fallen, sir.

Podcast Versus The Stupid!

Episode 21: Unfinished Business Catching Up With You, of PVTS is now up for your listening pleasure.  Bon and I talk about Twinkies, Israel on the verge of invading Gaza again for fun anfd laughs, the decline of John McCain to Mitt Romney levels of loserdom, and at lot more post-election business catching up with us.

Listen to internet radio with Zandar Versus The Stupid on Blog Talk Radio

As always, you can download the episode here or subscribe to the show in iTunes here.

Earning Your Bragging Wrongs

With their Iron Dome rocket interceptor system working very well, IDF airstrikes leveling key Palestinian targets, and troops and tanks massed along the Gaza border waiting for the word go, Israel is now all but daring Hamas to give it the excuse it needs to turn the place into a parking lot.

Israel bombed Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip from air and sea for a fifth straight day on Sunday, preparing for a possible ground invasion while also spelling out its conditions for a truce.

Palestinians launched dozens of rockets into Israel and targeted its commercial capital, Tel Aviv, for a fourth day. The "Iron Dome" missile shield shot down two of the rockets fired toward Israel's biggest city but falling debris from the interception hit a car, which caught fire. Its driver was not hurt.

In scenes recalling Israel's 2008-2009 winter invasion of the Gaza Strip, tanks, artillery and infantry massed in field encampments along the sandy border. Military convoys moved on roads in the area newly closed to civilian traffic.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was ready to widen its offensive.

"We are exacting a heavy price from Hamas and the terrorist organizations and the Israel Defence Forces are prepared for a significant expansion of the operation," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting, giving no further details.

Translation:  "We're contractually obligated to warn you before we come in there and kill a whole crapload of your people.  Have a nice day."  If the Palestinians were looking to the White House for the Good Cop part of the routine, they're not finding it.  President Obama spoke from Bangkok on his Asian tour:

President Barack Obama says Israel has a right to defend itself from missiles being aimed at the country by militants in the Gaza Strip.

Obama says "no country on earth would tolerate missiles raining down" on its people and says any effort to resolve the conflict in Gaza "starts with no missiles being fired into Israel's territory."

Translation:  "We're looking the other way while the Israelis are contractually obligated to warn you before they come in there and kill a crapload of people.  Have a nice day."


Of course it doesn't matter what the Palestinians do now.  Bibi's not going to turn this opportunity for patriotic bloodlust down right before the Israeli elections in January.  He's proven Iron Dome is an effective defense, he's gotten the Palestinians boxed in on their little reservation, he's got the US looking over Turkey and Egypt's shoulders to make sure they don't try anything stupid, and he's arguably a couple days away from flattening what effectively qualifies as the largest open-air prison on earth.

It's hard to imagine there being any other outcome at this point.  Once those ground troops roll in, the IDF statement will be "We didn't finish the job in January 2009.  We will this time."

And this time, they'll finish it.  The cost will be brutal and devastating, and repercussions lasting a generation.  It will almost certainly fully light the pyre that is Syria's civil war.  If the US steps up the elimination of the al-Asaad regime, that would leave Hezbollah in Lebanon with no backing.  They would go for broke against Israel, and then the real fun begins as Jordanian, Kuwaiti, and Saudi uprisings flare to life and Iran and Egypt get involved.

And that leaves China and Russia in a position where they may have to step in.  Doesn't take a military history major to see what results from that scenario.

I'm hoping it doesn't blow up from here, but given the simultaneous wars about to erupt in both Gaza and Syria, it's going to be a tough couple of months.

Don't Impress Me Much

Yeah, I feel this way about this week too, President Obama.

The U.S. Olympic gymnastics team visited the White House on Thursday, where McKayla Maroney posed for her signature "not impressed" face with President Barack Obama.

Not impressed at all with Republicans in general this week, especially Johnny Volcano and Huckleberry Graham.

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• With 75,000 reservists called up amid promises to "expand the campaign", Israel is massing tanks and troops on the Gaza border for a possible ground invasion.
• A Federal court late Friday sided with a Christian book publisher that the health care law's contraception mandate is a violation of the company's religious liberties.
• An international criminal court has overturned the conviction of two Croatian generals on war crimes charges, stating a lower court had misread evidence.
• Stanford has ended Baylor's 42-game win streak in women's college basketball with a 71-69 win.
• With Nintendo's new Wii U console debuting this weekend, competition from Microsoft and Sony means new price cuts for holiday shopping.

Last Call

When President Obama comes through with a hell of a deal and wins the "fiscal cliff speed bump" showdown, we'll look back and see that the moment he won was the second Grover Norquist opened his mouth.  Yggy:

One part of the ongoing budget farce in Washington has been a lot of dancing around the idea that maybe Republicans would agree to a plan that raises tax revenue without raising tax rates. Frustratingly, reporters have spent a lot of time querying Republican Party elected officials about this (they give cagey answers) rather than asking the person who really matters: Grover Norquist.

The text of the no-taxes pledge that he gets all Republicans to sign is terse and like all good elements of holy writ could be interpreted in different ways. But the Pope of the supply-side cult himself has weighed in and says this doesn't work for him:

“If you raise taxes, it’s a problem with the pledge,” Norquist says in an interview. “Romney’s plan was always revenue neutral – I’m in favor of getting rid of deductions and credits and reducing rates, as long as it’s revenue neutral. That’s always been the Republican position.”

No tax reform.

Ergo the country will go over the fiscal cliff (temporarily) and then as Matt says here, everything from that point on becomes a tax cut.  Republicans will then have no choice but to go along.  Obama wins.

The details are important, but from this point forward, it's just a matter of time.

Another Four Years Of Crap Like This

The sad part is the American public is inured to the constant threats made against President Obama's life.  The US Secret Service on the other hand, the busiest guys in the room.  Every threat gets checked out, as it should.

Police in Melbourne, Fla., are holding a man over threats he made on Facebook to kill President Barack Obama, reported Florida Today.

On Nov. 1, Christopher Castillo wrote on the social network that if Obama were re-elected, he would “hunt down” the president and “watch the life disappear from his eyes.” When someone commented that the threat itself was a federal offensive, he responded that it was a “promise.”

Castillo, a 28-year-old army veteran, also made threats during questioning with U.S. Secret Service agents and county investigators two days after the elections, threatening to beat up President Obama. But Castillo’s father says the threats are meaningless, although he understands that “the Secret Service has to do what they have to do.”

This guy clearly deserves the treatment he's getting from the USSS.  But as a veteran, it would be nice to see him get treatment for whatever issues made him post something like this in the first place.  It's a hell of a cry for attention, frankly.  Let's hope that he gets the help he needs.