Last Call

The response from our "liberal media" on the President's historic stance on marriage equality?  An AP Drudge bait piece on how Barack Obama has killed all the rainbow-farting ponycorns on the entire planet.

In Europe, where more than 200,000 people thronged a Berlin rally in 2008 to hear Barack Obama speak, there's disappointment that he hasn't kept his promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, and perceptions that he's shunting blame for the financial crisis across the Atlantic.

In Mogadishu, a former teacher wishes he had sent more economic assistance and fewer armed drones to fix Somalia's problems. And many in the Middle East wonder what became of Obama's vow, in a landmark 2009 speech at the University of Cairo, to forge a closer relationship with the Muslim world.

In a world weary of war and economic crises, and concerned about global climate change, the consensus is that Obama has not lived up to the lofty expectations that surrounded his 2008 election and Nobel Peace Prize a year later. Many in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America were also taken aback by his support for gay marriage, a taboo subject among religious conservatives.

Whee!  Firebagging is an international sport these days.  Why hasn't President Obama used BULLY PULPIT to make Congress fix Europe's economy and close Gitmo and end all the wars and dammit he's going to lose the vote in Rio and Dakar and Riyadh because he's handing Republicans there a wedge issue!

Of course, the next paragraph is the kicker.

But the Democrat still enjoys broad international support. In large part, it's because of unfavorable memories of his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, and many people would still prefer Obama over his presumptive Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

That part of course is left out of the Drudge bait. 

Another Milepost On The Road To Oblivion

Ladies and gents, my senator, Rand Paul.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) became the latest Republican to weigh in on President Obama’s decision to personally support same sex marriage Friday. From his speech before a Faith and Freedom Coalition meeting in Iowa, per the Des Moines Register:

At the Iowa Faith & Freedom event, Paul mocked President Obama’s remark that his view on marriage was evolving.  “Call me cynical, but I didn’t think his views on marriage could get any gayer,” he said.

The Faith and Freedom Coalition is a socially conservative group led by former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed. At the event, Paul’s speech focused on what he said are the connections between social conservatives and the more libertarian conservatives who support his father’s presidential bid.

 

And I didn't think Rand Paul could be any more of a complete douchecanoe, but there you are.

New Lows In Hypocrisy

If Republicans think people are spending too much time talking about issues other than jobs, then somebody should, you know, probably tell the Republicans.

After a week when gay marriage dominated headlines, House Republicans on Saturday tried to put the focus back on jobs and the economy, which they view as their strong suit heading into this fall's elections.

President Obama gave his personal endorsement of same-sex marriage on Wednesday, but GOP leaders have not pounced on Obama's announcement. Instead, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) used his Thursday press conference to talk about an economy which has shown lackluster growth.

On Saturday, Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) reiterated Boehner's economic arguments and appealed to women and to students, two demographic groups which supported Obama and which his reelection campaign has been working to keep.

“The challenges young people and women face in this economy need to be addressed, not exploited for political gain,” Noem said.

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney spent the day at Liberty University exploiting young people and non-"jobs" issues for political gain.

Presumed GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Saturday reaffirmed his stance on same-sex marriage during his commencement address at Liberty University.

"Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman," he told students at the evangelical Christian College.

On Wednesday President Barack Obama announced for the first time that he supports same-sex marriage. On the same day, Romney reaffirmed his belief that marriage is between a man and a woman, but believes states should have the ability to extend certain rights to gay couples, short of marriage.

On Thursday, Romney reiterated a stance, long held, that states should be able to decide whether or not same-sex couples can adopt children.

"I know many gay couples are able to adopt children," Romney said in an interview with Fox News. "That is fine. But my preference is we encourage the marriage of a man and a woman and we continue to define marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman."

Sure, sounds like he wants to focus on the economy.  Has Orange Julius's people even talked to Mitt's people?  I'm thinking not.

Bristol Palin Spouts Off Again

Bristol Palin is a chip off the old moose - she has no more a clue when to shut up than her mother.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Bristol Palin says children do better with a mother and father.

The daughter of 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin made the comment on the religious website patheos.com. She was responding to President Obama's endorsement of same-sex marriage. 

This, from the single mother, who grew up in an affluent household, who had the world handed to her on a silver platter, who spouts hate rhetoric against gays and pretends to be sorry when it catches up with her.    She is another example of the stupidity in the country, proudly carrying on her mother's tradition of intolerance and righteous indignation at other people's freedom.

Shut your pie hole, sweetheart, you're drawing flies.

Adopting Quite An Attitude

The Avengers has impressed the vast majority of the people who went to see it.  Whenever people love something, it is like a challenge to some folks that simply must find something to complain about.

Disney’s “The Avengers” has earned almost universally positive reviews and made $200 million in its first weekend. Yet for some in the adoption community, a joke in the film goes too far.

The joke is at the expense of Loki, the film's villain and adopted son of the god, Odin. Loki's brother Thor defends him to fellow Avenger Black Widow, who then points out that Loki’s “killed 80 people in two days.” Thor then replies, “he’s adopted.”  

As noted in a petition created by Jamie Berke on Change.org, “According to your scriptwriter, the fact (Loki) was adopted is the reason he is a bad guy!...Being adopted is not something to use for the butt of jokes! Marvel, immediately cease using adoption as the butt of jokes AND issue a public apology to the adoption community!”

Oh, come on now.  I think that's a bit of an overreaction.  My sister is adopted, so I was raised in a family that was sensitive to the topic, as well as to how people will react without thinking.  I know the thoughtless things people can say.  The funny thing is, my sister resembled my parents more than I did, so when "one of them is adopted" came out they often thought it was me!

Still, this was a quick joke, it never implied that Loki was a bad guy because he was adopted.  In fact, despite the fact that he is a bad guy, his adopted brother still loves him and fights to save him every step of the way.  In my opinion, Marvel owes no apologies, nor do the actors or anyone associated with the picture.

Nobody promises life won't ruffle a feather here or there.  There is a chance that this light, offhand remark caused someone a pinch of pain for someone who is sensitive to being adopted.  Such is life.  I have never viewed adoption as a handicap of any sort, however.  I believe those who say it means the children weren't wanted are not seeing the other side of the coin, where that child was desperately wanted and loved.  Everyone is going to see this differently, filtered through the lens of their own experiences.  Regardless, this was a comment made without malice, and in context truly was a funny comeback.

Jamie Berke, get over yourself.

Doing The Right Thing

The President's stance on gay marriage is far from the catastrophe some are predicting politically.

A new national poll from Gallup shows that 60 percent of Americans say that President Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage will make no difference in how they vote. Among those who it will, twice as many Americans said they were less likely to vote for him because of it (26 percent) versus those who would be more likely (13 percent). The poll comes as President Obama became the first sitting chief executive to endorse gay marraige.

Overall, 51 percent of Americans polled approved of President Obama’s new position the policy, while 45 percent were against it.

Might have even helped.  What about the breakdown?

Specifically, 23% of independents and 10% of Democrats say it makes them less likely to vote for Obama, while a smaller 11% of independents and 2% of Republicans say it makes them more likely to vote for Obama. Those figures suggest Obama’s gay marriage position is likely to cost him more independent and Democratic votes than he would gain in independent and Republican votes, clearly indicating that his new position is more of a net minus than a net plus for him. However, those figures also underscore that it is a relatively limited group of voters – about one in three independents and fewer than one in 10 Republicans or Democrats – whose votes may change as a result of Obama’s new stance on gay marriage.

And as everyone keeps saying, six months is an eternity in politics, yes?  Poll the President ending the war in Iraq among the same group of voters, see how that turns out.  It's not going to be the only issue in November but neither is his stance on gay marriage, either.

Even better, poll Mitt Romney's stance on a constitutional amendment to revoke same-sex marriage in the states where it's allowed now.  I'm betting those numbers are worse for him than these are for the President, especially among independents.

So no, not worried about this at all, and he did the right thing.  Shouldn't we be supporting him for doing so?

Big Dog Barks, But Ed Klein Bites

The "liberal media" is trying to divide the Dems and there's all kinds of fault lines.  The Clinton/Obama "fault line" more or less vanished after 2010's election nonsense, but fault lines run deep, and if you flood them with enough sewage they might slip.

Bill Clinton thought so little of President Obama — mocking him as an “amateur” — that he pressed his wife last summer to quit her job as secretary of state and challenge him in the primaries, a new book claims.

“The country needs you!” the former president told Hillary Clinton, urging her to run this year, according to accounts of the conversation included in Edward Klein’s new biography of Obama.

The title of Klein’s explosive, unauthorized bio of Obama, “The Amateur” (Regnery Publishing), was taken directly from Bill Clinton’s bombshell criticism of the president, the author said. 

“Barack Obama,” Bill Clinton said, according to book excerpts, “is an amateur.”

If Edward Klein's name sounds familiar in conjunction with the Clintons, there's a reason for that as Steve M. reminds us about Klein's last book about sinking Hillary Clinton's career in 2005.

 

Its most scurrilous charge was that Chelsea Clinton was conceived during a rape of Hillary by her husband, a charge Klein backed down from when he was challenged by -- of all people -- Sean Hannity.

So we're talking about a guy so sleazy even wingers give him a wide berth (or at least they did back in 2005). And now we have this in the New York Post -- and if we can't prove that Klein is peddling irresponsible nonsense, we can at least say with certainty that he writes some of the most implausible dialogue in the history of the English language.

It's a hit job and a nasty one on the President.  Of course, this isn't 2005, either and the monstrous GOP of today won't even skip a beat when it comes to pushing Klein's book on the air...and more than a few Democrats will bite too.

Obama Derangement Syndrome sells.

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• Claiming mandatory sentencing laws, a Florida judge has sentenced a woman to 20 years in prison for aggravated assault with a firearm for firing a warning shot to scare off her abusive husband.
• A new documentary shows Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker promised a billionaire donor he would "divide and conquer" the state's public unions in January of 2011.
• Lawmakers and regulators alike are scrambling for answers in the wake of JP Morgan Chase's $2 billion hedge losses in the last six weeks.
• Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is cashing in his dual-citizenship in the US in order to avoid a major tax bill as the company's IPO nears.
• Amnesty International faces tough questions as the firm's UK website was hacked in order to host a spy trojan that spread across the EU.