Last Call

Well, that was fast.

Seems our racist Birther asshole friend from Kansas didn't even last 24 hours in the spotlight before he decided he was the victim and that black people are sooooooo mean and why can't you let him be a racist and kick President Obama off the ballot in Kansas in peace, you guys.   Sheesh.

A Kansas man dropped his complaint on Friday that could have led to President Barack Obama being removed from the November ballot there.

Joe Montgomery of Manhattan, Kan., wrote in an email to state officials that he no longer wanted them to investigate whether Obama was really a natural-born U.S. citizen or eligible to run for reelection. The email said that he, along with his friends and colleagues, faced a significant backlash after a state elections board took up his case and agreed to look into whether the president’s birth certificate was real.

“There has been a great deal of animosity and intimidation directed not only at me, but at people around me, who are both personal and professional associations,” Montgomery wrote in an email to the office of Secretary of State Kris Kobach, which released it to TPM. “I’m don’t wish to burden anyone with more of this negative reaction, so please immediatley [sic] withdraw any action on this objection.”

Yeah, I'm so very sorry for the guy who is now blaming all the people who called him out for being a racist douchebag, when he was being a racist douchebag.  Jamelle Bouie sums it up nicely:

The real question isn’t whether race affects our political disputes, it’s how. This isn’t an easy question. Yes, there are clear racial implications to things like Mitt Romney’s false charge that Obama is “ending the work requirement” in welfare and simply cutting checks to recipients. But, when it comes to the role race plays in voting—did Obama lose votes because he’s black—it’s a little complicated.

In any case, if you’re trying to answer the question of race and opposition to Obama, here’s something to remember: we’re only 47 years removed from the official end of Jim Crow. White supremacy was the governing idoelogy for the vast majority of this country’s history, and—in the broad scheme of things—we’re still in the first legs of our journey toward racial equality.

But hey, Mitt Romney gets asked about his birth certificate all the time and Democratic Secretaries of State of the various blue states threaten to remove him from the ballot constantly, right?

School Of Life

Gawker's John Cook analyzes the Chicago Teachers Union strike and Rahm Emanuel's ongoing disaster as Mayor and has an interesting solution to the public education problem in America:  get rid of private schools and level the playing field for all kids.

This would of course be a radical and highly disruptive step. It would involve forcibly transferring ownership of all existing private schools to the school district in which they reside, and readjusting local tax schemes to capture the tuition parents currently pay (the nationwide average is $8,549 per year, which means a total of $47 billion is spent each year on opting out of the public education system). Then access to the newly "nationalized" schools would have to be distributed on some fair basis to local students, with the wealthy kids who don't make the cut into their old schools being sent to the regular ones, without air conditioning or libraries. And resources would have to be redistributed within the school districts so that the resources formerly lavished on private schools could be spent shoring up the failing public ones.

This is not an original idea. Billionaire wise hobbit Warren Buffet once told school reformer Michelle Rhee that the easiest way to fix schools was to "make private schools illegal and assign every child to a public school by random lottery." In England, the notion of banning private education—while highly unlikely—has long been a part of the political debate entertained by major-party candidates.

And while it would have the practical effect of forcing school boards and municipalities to be accountable to their privileged elite as well as their poor families, there's also a moral argument for banning private education. Put simply: Equality of opportunity demands that children should not be penalized—or advantaged—by the accident of their birth. Educational benefits, which are the most crucial resource when it comes to determining the life-outcomes for children of all backgrounds, shouldn't be distributed based on how rich your parents are. They should be distributed equally. Even if we stipulate that radical inequality is OK for adults—once you are out in the world, you rise or fall by the work of your own hands—when it comes to children, it's perverse to dole out educations based on arbitrary circumstances completely beyond their control.

In other words, if Mitt Romney's sons and Barack Obama's daughters had to attend public schools, I'm betting public schools would be remarkably better than they are.  Instead, America seems increasingly going the opposite direction:  privatization (and profitization) of public education.  We're already seeing the disastrous results of that in Florida and Louisiana.  When the point of public school become making a profit and not teaching kids, everybody loses in the end.

But of course, Cook's solution will never happen.  The rich will continue to stay rich through domination of national resources, and that includes education.  He who has the gold, makes the rules.  We've been Darwining off the lower class in this country for decades.  now with globalization, we're Darwining off the middle-class too.

The Full Bernanke

Helicopter Ben just pushed the Big Candy-like Red Button, kids.

The Federal Reserve launched another aggressive stimulus program on Thursday, saying it will buy $40 billion of mortgage debt per month and continue to purchase assets until the outlook for jobs improves substantially. 

In a significant shift in the direction of U.S. monetary policy, the Fed has tied its unconventional bond buying directly to economic conditions, a move that is likely to be controversial among central bank critics.

“If the outlook for the labor market does not improve substantially, the committee will continue its purchase of agency mortgage-backed securities, undertake additional asset purchases, and employ its other policy tools as appropriate until such improvement is achieved in a context of price stability,” the Fed said in a statement.

In an additional step that reflects just how concerned Fed officials have become about the health of the economy, policymakers said they would not likely raise rates from current rock-bottom lows until at least mid-2015. Previously, it had set such guidance at late 2014.

Not only is it QE3, but it’s got no set expiration date, apparently.  You know, exactly the kind of sustained growth program that everyone’s been screaming for now for a couple of years.  That sound you hear is Austrian-school economists exploding like microwaved giant jawbreakers, not to mention the sound of Mitt Romney’s campaign guys going “Umm…we argued that something had to be done, but we refused to provide specifics…now what?”

I gotta fiver says House Republicans will try to impeach somebody before the week’s out.

Congressional Republicans, wary of the Fed’s recent efforts to stimulate the recovery, said Wednesday that the its political independence could be jeopardized if officials embark on another round of stimulus so close to Election Day.

“It really is interesting that it is happening right now before an election,” said Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho). “It is going to sow some growth in the economy, and the Obama administration is going to claim credit.”

“I am shocked, just shocked, that politics are going on in this city!” Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) said sarcastically.

Yeah, let's think about that.  For helping the economy and following its dual mandate of lowering  inflation and lowering unemployment,  the Fed must be punished.  The American people are being helped economically by the federal government, a crime that probably merits Bernanke's public flogging, right?

Expect to hear more of this utter nonsense from batshit crazy Republicans in the days ahead.

Show Me Screwed

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri senators have voted to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill expanding religious exceptions for insurance coverage of birth control.

The vote Wednesday sends the bill to the House, where a two-thirds vote also is needed for an override.

The legislation lets individuals, employers and insurers cite religious or moral exemptions from mandatory insurance coverage for abortion, contraception and sterilization.  It's intended as a rebuff of an Obama administration policy that requires insurers to cover birth control at no additional cost to women, including those employed by religious nonprofits such as hospitals, colleges or charities.

Jay Nixon vetoes the bill, which is a miracle in and of itself.  Now we find ourselves facing the same battle again.  And again.  And again.

Birth control is a medical need, and our employers should have no say whatsoever in how we use our insurance coverage.  This is ridiculous!  Every business who uses this to deny fair coverage to women employees should be ashamed.  And if I get half a chance I'll lead the shaming.

Under The Dome

     I have been a lifelong Stephen King fan.  As it happened, I was a kid and a teen when he went through his cocaine-fueled nuttiness.  I was the right age for haunted cars and impossible events.  But as I grew up, so did King.  His stories became more sophisticated, and his storytelling ability fine-tuned itself into one of the best to ever type Chapter One.
     I've fallen behind on my reading, and some slipped off my radar entirely.  I have been on a crime kick, and there are a thousand reasons why I haven't read Under The Dome.  Until my husband saw it, realized I had not read it, and checked it out from the library.  Well, library books must be read in a timely manner, not allowed to catch dust and wait for my convenience.  I dug right in to the 1,000 page monster, and felt right at home in a world he created that I know so well.  By the way, thanks to my husband for making me read again, I hadn't realized how much I missed it.
     Then I started to see patterns.  I shook my head.  No way did Stephen King just make a political metaphor.  Except he did.  And he kept doing it.  And over 600 pages in, he's still doing it and so well that it is another story inside of the one he's telling.  I will announce a sort of spoiler alert, though I am still reading and can't ruin too much.
     For reasons nobody knows yet, a dome covers a rural town in Maine.  If there is one thing King knows, it's rural folk.  The man in charge, something like a Yankee flavored Boss Hogg, is the perfect Republican prick.  He knows what is better for the town, and he is not afraid to take steps to force people's hands so that he gets his way.  If a few people get squashed... well, it's the price to pay for what is right for the town.  Of course, in a world created by King, people fall like flies.  But this time there's no monster.  There's a Boss Hogg with an agenda, a man who won't use a swear word but is pumping out crystal meth by the truckload.  He and the good men of the town have been up to some shenanigans, but as long as they keep control, what does it matter?  A few men broke a town's back to fund their dreams, and they feel completely justified.
     The military is useless to help our heroes.  They are outside, taking care of business out there.  However, military skills and survival knowledge help our main character stay on top.  People are afraid, and instead of helping the power hogs start slamming down control while trying to sell it as security.  Their own citizens are being beaten to death by law enforcement and nobody can see the obvious.  The town went from a handful of cops to a house full, and they are just now wondering why.  King also rips off the face of the racist hate that blinds the simple minded, and while I have never heard him to be racist in real life he portrays it in characters with utter detail and authenticity.  You can tell he flinched but didn't hold back, because the man saying it wouldn't have.
     Do I think King wrote a thousand page novel that was pure political commentary?  No.  But it made me realize he surely had something to say.  It is striking me so profoundly because I realize I am scared of my government.  There, I said it.  I am goddamned scared that the government that rules instead of serves will take away my medical, legal and ethically obligated rights as a citizen.  I am afraid that we could wake up in a police state where language, behavior and speech are controlled.  I'm reading about it happening on a small scale, but it's like connecting CS Lewis with biblical references, once you see them it all snaps into place and is so clear.
     The scary thing is, the stuff that is bothering me has already come to pass.  He hasn't touched on what happens when those in charge start making life decisions for the people they control.  He hasn't said how they free themselves after losing control over their freedom.  I have yet to see how the little man brings balance back.

This is the way the world ends.
This is the way the world ends.
This is the way the world ends.
Not with a bang, but with a lying sack of shit who smiles and lies with great ability.

Or as it's known in our world, the RNC attendance sheet.

I'll save the rest of my rant for when I finish, because between starting this post and getting here, I have met the Homeland Safety guys.  This will be an awesome journey, I just wish it was more fiction so I could pretend this stuff isn't happening all around me.

Another Milepost On The Road To Oblivion

How much does FOX Nation hate President Obama?

 

This much.

"Obama Calls Libyan President to Thank Him After US Ambassador Is Murdered" is the headline.  

Drudge headline screaming that Rupert Murdoch's UK Independent has an "exclusive" that the US foreign service is fatally compromised by RANGHEAD SUNZABITCHES and that of course President Obama and Secretary Clinton did "nothing" and killed Chris Stewart themselves, all so very convincing they are.

And the winger blogs are screaming that President Obama and Eric Holder have revealed the true identity of "Sam Bacile" on purpose so that an unstoppable army of jihadi super criminals will teleport to California and kill everyone.

These guys are collapsing into sobbing piles of their own miserable stupidity.  It would be sad, except they fully plan to take the rest of us with them down to hell.

Re-Birther Of The Uncool, Part 8

The racist birther nonsense spreads to Kansas, where Romney surrogate and GOP Secretary of State Kris Kobach is considering removing President Obama from the ballot in November's election due to "questions about the President's birth certificate."  Raw Story reports:

The Kansas State Objections Board is considering removing President Barack Obama from the November ballot because of doubts over his place of birth, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.

The panel of Republicans, which consists of Secretary of State Kris Kobach, Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, received a complaint from a resident who claimed Obama was not a natural born citizen and therefore ineligible to be president.

Obama has been dogged by questions about his eligibility to serve as President of the United States since 2008. Some of the so-called “birthers” believe Obama is not a natural born citizen because his father was a British subject.

“As for Mr. Obama’s citizenship, there are many doubts,” said Joe Montgomery, who filed the ballot challenge. “Doing the right thing can be hard and unpopular.”

Doing the right thing would mean Kobach would take Montgomery's complaint, rip it up into tiny pieces on television, and tell clowns like Joe here to stop being such a fool.

There are no "legitimate questions" about the President's citizenship.  The birther attacks have been racist code-word garbage for five years now.  The birth certificate is real, and the only people trying to bring this up are lunatics suffering from such an advanced case of Obama Derangement Syndrome that I would feel sorry for them except for the obvious racist overtones.

If you believe the President is an illegal immigrant and not legally President, then stop being a coward.  Every court has laughed this stuff off, and yet these challenges still come not only from lunatics but now Republicans who are in positions of actual responsibility.  I say put your revolution where your mouth is, and go do something about it.

But instead, you'll hide behind your birth certificate polite racism like the fools you are.  Your refusal to call for Kobach's job over this tells me everything I need to know about Kansas Republicans.  You're racist assholes, cowards, and morons.

Don't like it?  Do something about it.  Demand Kobach's resignation.  Now.

StupidiNews!

• As US diplomatic compounds remain on high alert globally, Libyan officials have arrested four in connection with the death of US Ambassador Chris Stevens.
• A new study in the British medical journal The Lancet finds jobs with stress are 23% more likely to produce a heart attack than a non-stressful job.
• Friends, family, and former astronauts gathered at the national memorial service for astronaut Neil Armstrong, who died last month at the age of 82.
• For the first time, Facebook has beaten Google in online ad revenue with its new Adroll browser ad system released in July.
• France has convicted the first violator under its controversial three-strikes anti-piracy law, being forced to pay a 150 euro fine for an unsecured Wi-Fi connection.