Last Call

With Rick Perry fading fast in the national spotlight and his fundrasing cash starting to dry up as the GOP looks for the next Anyone But Romney, the Texas Governor continues to blow a merry little pied piper tune on the racial dog whistle to play for alms from the Tea Party faithful he'll need to gain ground.  TPM's Benjy Sarlin:

Rick Perry says President Obama, the son of a teen mother who frequently was absent from his life and often was stretched financially, grew up the easy way. It’s the latest in a series of winks at conspiracy-minded conservatives deeply suspicious about the president’s background.

Perry’s comments came as he discussed his new ad attacking Obama for saying US policymakers have grown “lazy” about honing America’s competitive edge, a comment that Republicans have inaccurately suggested was aimed at American workers. Asked by FOX News host Sean Hannity about the spot, Perry launched into a highly personal attack on Obama.

“It reveals to me that he grew up in a privileged way,” he said. “He never had to really work for anything.”

Ding ding ding!  And here Perry plays directly to Birther audience, the folks that gleefully pirouette around racial overtones of a man who "never had to really work" to end up President (who just happens to be black.)  The implications that he's undeserving, unintelligent, lazy, shiftless, one of them is no accident.  Perry knows his audience and he's going full blast on that whistle.  Sarlin ends with this insight:

From a strategic perspective, there’s some sense to these tactics as a last-ditch gambit to turn around the Texas governor’s toxic poll numbers. If Perry can bait Democratic critics into accusing him of racially tinged attacks on Obama, he can cast himself as a victim and rally conservative media and Tea Party activists behind him. So far it hasn’t worked, but it certainly isn’t for lack of trying. 

It's an interesting theory and most likely correct.  Certainly the President is staying above the fray...but the point is these are racially tinged attacks and they need to be called out.

Zombie Ghost Pirate Terrorists Could Kill You Like That, Bob

Ten years after the Transportation Security Administration was created, Republicans have a bunch of conflicting, hypocritical nonsense to helpfully spout in order for you to approve of them grifting the system they made in the first place.

Reps. John Mica (R-Fla.) and Paul Broun (R-Ga.) want to give the Transportation Security Administration a series of drastic reforms for its birthday this week.

Days before the 10th anniversary of the TSA's founding, and also one of the busiest travel periods of the year, the GOP lawmakers took the agency to task Wednesday using a new report titled “A Decade Later: A Call for TSA Reform.”

"Americans have paid $60 billion funding TSA and they are no safer today than they were before 9/11," Broun said during a news conference at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport announcing the report. Mica, who wrote the the law that established the TSA in the wake of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, agreed. Despite the fact that there have not been any incidents since that day, the TSA has not made flying safer, he said.

"We are safer today, but not because of TSA," Mica said. "It's because the American people will not allow an aircraft to be taken over. We saw on Flight 93, and almost every instance of a successful thwarting since, it's been the passengers, the pilots and the crew."

I'm no huge fan of the TSA but the notion that the guy who "wrote the law establishing the TSA" saying we're no safer now than we were on September 10, 2010 is idiocy.  The plan here is obvious, defund the TSA to the point it can't do its job anymore, declare government unable to work, then privatize airport security by farming out everything to contractors to "save money" and create profit for the GOP's corporate masters.  Should anything happen to an airplane, blame the Dems.

The "government can't possibly work" gameplan is in full effect here, just like similar plans to rid us of the Departments of Education, Labor, Energy, yadda yadda.  Why, Zombie Ghost Pirate Bin Laden could steal the treasure of Monkey Island kill your entire family at any time.  Government has failed you again!


Besides, real Americans just beat up any terrorists they see and don't need to rely on others to protect themselves.  Get to work making yourself safer, citizen.  Alternately, we'd like to sell you Zombie Ghost Pirate Terrorist repelling rock for a nominal fee...

The Dems' Job Strategy Is Working, Part 3

House Republicans are beginning to crack under the 9% approval rating of Congress and the numbers showing a majority of Americans believe the Republicans are blocking jobs legislation in order to hurt the President.  Now all of a sudden, House Republicans are more than happy to pass tax incentives for government contractors and hiring veterans in a unanimous move.

 “Veterans of every working-age generation are finding themselves unemployed or seriously underemployed due to the economic downturn,” Representative Jeff Miller, Republican of Florida  and chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in support of the bill, which passed. 422 to 0, under a fast-tracked process on the House floor.

The vote followed overwhelming Senate approval and represented a rare bipartisan consensus on elements in the package assembled by the White House in its effort to spur hiring. Republicans have rejected or blocked other pieces of the legislation, including proposals for capital works and money for the hiring of emergency workers and public school teachers.

After the vote, the president said in a statement that he wanted to “congratulate Republicans and Democrats in Congress for coming together to pass these tax credits that will encourage businesses to hire America’s veterans.  No veteran who fought for our country should have to fight for a job when they come home.”

He also said approval of the measure was a “only a step. Congress needs to pass the rest of my American Jobs Act so that we can create jobs and put money in the pockets of the middle class.”


At the same time, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, urged the president to hold a public signing ceremony of the legislation to illustrate the bipartisan nature of the bill — a challenge to the president to share some of the credit with Republicans. 

Why, you'd almost think that House Republicans were terrified of losing control of the chamber next November and were desperate for accomplishments to show off to counter the notion that they were sabotaging the economy on purpose in order to gain politically.  And of course, the Village is expecting the President to be magnanimous and allow the Republicans to save face here, to make sure that Republicans are rewarded for their "good" behavior.

That's hysterical stuff, frankly.  But it also means that the Dems' piecemeal approach to passing elements of the American Jobs Act is not only assuring the issue stays in the news, but also dominates the legislative calendar as well...as the issue of jobs should be doing right now.

Keep up the pressure, guys.

Fire Walker Chronicles, Part 2

Wisconsin Republicans are trying an awful new tack in scuttling the recall effort for Gov. Scott Walker: having Lt Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch (who would also be recalled under the petition) shame the state into inaction with a thinly veiled threat ad that the cost of a special recall election will have to be taken out of money for "teachers or health care for the poor, or school books for your kids.”

“There might be a day when someone asks you for your signature,” Kleefisch says in an ad released Wednesday. “Signing a recall petition is like saying you’re O.K. with spending $7.7 million on another recall election, 7.7 million that may already be allocated to merit raises for teachers or health care for the poor, or school books for your kids.”

“Signing a recall petition is like saying you’re O.K. with taking money away from those things and spending it on another special election,” she continues.

“Signing a recall petition is like saying you’re O.K with spending more months, and more millions, on political campaign ads. Signing a recall petition is like saying you’re O.K with the government taking more of your money to spend on other special elections.”

Yes, sure would be a damn shame if something happened to your nice state here if you dared to have this recall election, Wisconsin.  We wouldn't want to have to cut teacher's salaries or health care for the poor or school funds in order to pay for your little dirty effing hippie populist tantrum, would we?  That would be awful if that happened, so if you would just keep your mouths shut, nobody gets hurt, capiche?

What a lovely little hustle there, bringing in Kleefisch to beg those awful extremist Democrats not to force Republicans to make more cuts to pay for the special recall elections, not to mention giving the Tea Party in that state an excuse to play the "Why do you hippies hate Wisconsin schools?" shame card, all while barely cloaked as an advocacy ad that's not officially a statement from her office but sure looks like one.

You couldn't ask for a better zero-sum extortion racket from the one percent. Keep your head down and nobody gets hurt, plebes...or we make more cuts that will hurt you, not us.

What are you going to do about it, Wisconsin?

This Week's WTH - Crotchless Edition

It started as a family trip to the mall.

"We went towards the play area, because we like to take our son over there," Erin French said.

Next to the play area was a new store called Kids N Teen.

"They have cuddly little backpacks, and pretty little princess dresses," French said.

She also saw underwear.

"Then we saw crotchless panties, and I was mortified. My first initial response was, 'Am I really seeing that?'" French said.

She was. The product has since been taken off the shelves after outraged parents complained to mall management. The store is geared to kids but state that because approximately 25% of their clientele are teens they thought this was okay.

Just... wow.

Truckin' Across The Square

Cincinnati's City Council has finally approved food trucks downtown.

Mobile food vendors will soon be able to do business near Fountain Square.

City Council approved the additional zones for the trucks and trailers Wednesday.

They'll be located along Vine and Fifth Streets.

Council Member Laure Quinlivan made the suggestion after 3CDC shut down food vendors operating in tents on the square.

The vending spaces should be ready in the next week or 2 and that will allow operators to set-up during the busy holiday season downtown. 

Vine and Fifth is the heart of downtown, and it's a good idea economically too.  Cincy's known for its diverse food, now we can finally get some food trucks into downtown and help showcase the city's wide variety of chow.

Interesting to see this happen after the election, and before the new council is seated in December.  Looks like somebody wanted to go out on a high note rather than sour grapes, as the food truck issue has been tied up for months before now.

Good on them for once.  Here's to good eating downtown soon.

Moving Forward At Your Own Perry-il, Part 12

This is not a bug in Governor Goodhair's Inconsequential America, but a guaranteed feature.

At a town hall event in New Hampshire Wednesday morning, reporters have indicated that they were asked if they were U.S. citizens. According to CNN, member of the press were posed this by an employee for Granite State Manufacturing, a defensive contractor hosting the town hall, in order to abide by NAFTA rules.

Associated Press reporter Steve Peoples tweeted, “At press check in for Rick Perry NH town hall, we’re asked if we’re U.S. citizens.”

He added that attendees were “told only citizens allowed because town hall host is a defensive contractor,” meaning “no foreigners allowed.”

NBC News’ Jo Ling Kent shared a similar tweet.

“At Perry press check in, I was asked if I am a U.S. citizen,” she wrote. “Only citizens allowed according to company, which is a defense contractor.” 

This was not an accident, folks.  The frequency Rick Perry is broadcasting on can only be heard if you're tuned into the message of "Y'all ferners git out na."   And he knows exactly who he's sending it out to, folks.  He wants back on the dance floor, and this is his admission.

StupidiNews!

• Occupy Wall Street is calling for a massive national "day of action" rally today to mark the two month anniversary of their first protest.
• Thousands of Kuwaitis stormed that country's parliament in protest, calling for reforms and the resignation of the Prime Minister.
• The Justice Department is leading a civil rights investigation into the Miami PD after seven African-American men were shot by officers in an eight-month period.
• Wells Fargo's VP of retirement accounts says Americans must save more and work longer before retiring, and "80 is the new 65".
• Solar and wind hybrid power generators are finally bringing electricity to rural homes on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico.