Last Call

Denver Post editorial cartoonist Mike Keefe took home this year's Pulitzer, and he should have won just off this one here:




Joel Pett of the Lexington Herald-Leader here in Kentucky was a finalist in the competition too, and of his entries, I liked this one best.

Hug a cartoonist, folks. Lord knows we need them.

Mr. Potato Head Goes It Alone

Republican Governors are a hard-headed lot.  This time around it's Idaho Republican Butch Otter who today declared by executive order that Idaho is not allowed to participate in the "socialist horror" that is Obamacare in any way.

The executive order issued by the governor Wednesday prevents any state agencies from entering into agreements with federal agencies over optional provisions of the act. State departments would also not be able to accept any money from the federal government to aid with development of Obamacare provisions.

Agencies may apply for waivers in order to enter into agreements or accept federal money, but Otter would have to approve all requests.  Those waiver applications would become a matter of public record.

It might be no surprise to some to see Otter take this step.  In his State of the State address earlier this year, he warned that the state should “push back” on the federal government’s health care reform efforts.

House Bill 298 was toned down from two earlier versions that failed to clear the Legislature due to concerns that the state doesn’t have the authority to challenge the legitimacy of federal laws.

And yet that's exactly what Otter is doing here, ignoring the long-standing Supremacy Clause in the Constitution, and costing Idaho residents millions of dollars in more expensive health care.  OK, Idaho, if you think you can go it alone, the other 49 states would like their Medicare and Medicaid money back, too, you know.

We'll see how far this law gets.

Now This Is Rich

...or not, depending on how you look at it.  Does earning $250,000 a year and being in the top 6% of income earners in the country make you rich?  Not if you're actually in the top 6%, apparently.  The NY Times Catherine Rampell:

I am constantly amazed by how little Americans know about where they stand in the income and taxing distribution. The latest example is evident in a recent Gallup study, which found that 6 percent of Americans in households earning over $250,000 a year think their taxes are “too low.” Of that same group, 26 percent said their taxes were “about right,” and a whopping 67 percent said their taxes were “too high.”

And yet when this same group of high earners was asked whether “upper-income people” paid their fair share in taxes, 30 percent said “upper-income people” paid too little, 30 percent said it was a “fair share,” and 38 percent said it was too much.

I understand virtually nobody likes to pay taxes, but taxes for the wealthiest Americans continue to remain at historic lows.  Yet two-thirds of the top earners complain bitterly about taxes being too high.  The obvious connection here is that $250,000 a year doesn't make you "rich" in America, even though you're better off than 95% of the country.

The less obvious connection is that the top 1% has so much wealth right now even the rest of the Top 5% is bummed.

Final Shot

Tim Hetherington, who had an Oscar nod for Restrepo, has been killed in Libya today while working on a project.  Sources differ slightly, but it seems Hetherington and at least three other men were caught between rebels and government soldiers.  The group was apparently hit by a rocket propelled grenade.  Hetherington was pronounced DOA from extensive shrapnel wounds.

Celebrating 4/20

First, let us celebrate what makes this particular 4/20 extra special.  Many of my geek friends had pointed out that yesterday was the day Skynet assumed control in the Terminator movie franchise.  Whew, thank goodness that milestone is behind us.  Or is it? (Cue shrieking violins and a Windows commercial)

And now, some highlights:


We started the year off strong, with Teen Mom 2 "star" arrested for pot in January.  A teenager, with pot?  I am shocked, just shocked!  I chose the most pinktastic teenage girl site for extra journalistic goodness.  You are welcome.


Curious as to the marijuana laws in your state?  Check an updated status here.  It's color coded so you can read it, even if you're stoned.  In shades of green, naturally.


Denver is celebrating today, with a day-long party.  This comes  the day before the annual convention of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which is drawing attention from many.  The article is also the source of the best random line ever: Hackey sack, while not an official event at the gathering, seems likely to take place.


NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) is having a special today.  You can join for only $4.20!  I don't even know what that means, but I smell... a bargain!  Awesome pic of Willy Nelson for a bonus. 


Meanwhile, our nation is divided on the topic.  Still, for all the pot smokers out there, this is your day!  Happy munching to you, and may your Pink Floyd sound extra magical and mysterious today.

Damned If You Do...

Washington (CNN) -- Don't like the way airport screeners are doing their job? You might not want to complain too much while standing in line.

Arrogant complaining about airport security is one indicator Transportation Security Administration officers consider when looking for possible criminals and terrorists, CNN has learned exclusively. And, when combined with other behavioral indicators, it could result in a traveler facing additional scrutiny.

CNN has obtained a list of roughly 70 "behavioral indicators" that TSA behavior detection officers use to identify potentially "high risk" passengers at the nation's airports.

Damned if you don't...

Among those behaviors is, of course, not complaining about airport security.  Because, in their infinite wisdom, professionals have determined that the terrorists might just  might have been trained to blend in, and therefore it is also considered a possible factor.  The TSA says their data is accurate, because one alleged terrorist complained about the airport and the 19 before him did not. I mean... I have a lot of adjectives for stupid (this job sort of requires it) but even I'm stumped as to how to label something with this many layers of idiocy.

Which leaves me wondering what the hell is wrong with these people?  Why not just watch people carefully and be on alert in case of emergency?  Also important, this is a massive violation of our civil rights, and sets the stage for even more trampling of our rights to search and detainment.  I agree that anything shipped on public transit is subject to scrutiny.  However, the TSA has had multiple legitimate complaints about how they treat passengers.

"Expressing your contempt about airport procedures -- that's a First Amendment-protected right," said Michael German, a former FBI agent who now works as legal counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "We all have the right to express our views, and particularly in a situation where the government is demanding the ability to search you."

"It's circular reasoning where, you know, I'm going to ask someone to surrender their rights; if they refuse, that's evidence that I need to take their rights away from them. And it's simply inappropriate," he said.

We need to nip this stupidity in the bud now, before it starts an upswing in stupidity outbreaks across the nation.  If criticizing loudly is considered an indicator of potential terrorist behaviors, I'm screwed.

War On Privacy: The Bad Guys Score A Point

DETROIT -- The Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is questioning the Michigan State Police's use of cellphone "extraction" devices.

The ACLU said MSP has used the devices to access information from cellphones that officers ask drivers they have pulled over to give them.

"It can contain information that many people consider to be private, to be beyond the reach of law enforcement and other government actors," said Mark Fancher, an ACLU attorney.

We have two disturbing issues here.  One is the ability of the police to adopt this practice without any apparent oversight.  Second, the people whose privacy is invaded don't seem to have much say about it.  So who really is policing the police?

The ACLU is asking why the state police is using devices that can gather data stored on cellphones, and why it is not telling the public about it. The ACLU said the devices could violate Fourth Amendment rights.

"There is great potential for abuse here by a police officer or a state trooper who may not be monitored or supervised on the street," Fancher said.

MSP released a statement this week that said it is working "in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act."

"The State Police will provide information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act ... there may be a processing fee to search for, retrieve, examine and separate exempt material ... ," MSP said in a statement.

Fancher said MSP priced that information, pertaining to five devices, at about $500,000.

"This should be something that they are handing over freely, and that they should be more than happy to share with the public -- the routines and the guidelines that they follow," Fancher said.

In other words, let's give them some time to invent a policy to cover their butts.  The FOIA is supposed to allow citizens access to information. I understand that if research isn't within the parameters of the stored data there may be some reseach.  But inability to publish standard procedure?  I gotta call BS yet again.

More importantly, I will be following up on how this is handled, and any punishments doled out.  Those pesky Amendments are acting up again.

Ignoring The Moose In The Room

I agree with Betty Cracker.  Donald Trump is the new hotness among the wingers, while broke-down Sarah Palin is struggling desperately to stay relevant.  After two years of moaning that the Un-American Liberal Lamestream Media was focused on her every glaring flaw (which is funny, because the woman is nothing but) now the complaints are that the press is ignoring Palin.

Maybe it's because she's crashing and burning in 2011?  Betty explains.

The Palinites aren’t quite ready to face the hard truth—their idol is tanking in the polls against a short-fingered vulgarian like Trump and assorted other absurd figures because even most of her mouth-breathing sister-humping supporters now realize Palin isn’t qualified to manage a Taco Bell.

To hide their hurt, they’re going after their favorite punching bag, the “lamestream media” that they once excoriated for being overly focused Palin’s every fart and nose-twitch. Only now, they’re all “you don’t bring me flowers anymore.”

Which is about par for the course.   Even Tea Party diehards have increasing reservations about Palin (and Michele Bachmann for that matter.)

ABC News' Amy Walter reports: A new ABC News/Wash. Post poll finds that in a head to head match-up against President Barack Obama, 70% of those who say they are Tea Party supporters say they'll vote for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president--compared to 69% for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Seeming Tea Party favorites like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, meanwhile, draw 61% and 60%, respectively, against the president.

Yep...Mittens and the Huckster do better against Obama among Tea Party folks than Moose Lady or the Bachmanniac.   And it's still a good 18 months until the election.  Expect much more whining from Sarah Palin desperately trying to stay relevant by interjecting herself into everything she can.

On the other hand, how does Palin "trump" this level of stupid?



The GOP clown car cavalcade continues.

Exciting New Horizons In Obama Derangement Syndrome

John Cole notes that 27% number of winger idiots has reared its ugly head again.

Remember the offensive monkey/Obama/birth certificate email sent by the OC teahadist? Guess what:

In an exclusive Eyewitness News poll, SurveyUSA asked Southern Californians familiar with the email whether they found it offensive. Seventy percent said yes, 27 percent said no.

It’s starting to get freaky.

And how could you NOT find that offensive?

And yet, that 27% says a picture of the President as a toddler with monkey parents is perfectly fine.  Angry Black Lady has some very choice words for Orange County, California in general.  Please note the Orange County Republican who sent out the racist picture in the first place apologized by saying she's not a racist, and really it's your fault for being offended and you should be like Jesus and forgive her.

Oh, and she gets to keep her job as a county party official.  Gotta love it.

Changing Tides

For the first time, a CNN poll finds a majority of Americans, 51%, favor allowing gay marriage in the United States but there are a number of caveats in the crosstabs.

Although more Americans agree on this issue, a generation-and gender-gap still remains. Sixty percent of Americans under 50 support same-sex marriage, but only four in ten of those over 50 feel the same. More than half of men are against legalizing marriage between gay or lesbian couples, but 57 percent of women are in favor of it.


There's also a partisan divide on the issue. "More than six in 10 Democrats support same sex marriage, joined by more than half of independents, but seven in 10 Republicans are against it," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

The poll comes out just after Speaker of the House John Boehner moved to hire a conservative lawyer to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in a pending lawsuit. The Obama administration said it believed that DOMA to be unconstitutional and would no longer have the Justice Department defend it in federal courts.

Also in the poll, 41% of Americans favor legalizing marijuana.  Older Americans and Republicans are staunch opponents of both ideas, while self-declared liberals, college graduates, and people under 50 are proponents of both ideas.

This means as time marches on, both of these will be legalized at the federal level.  It may or may not happen in my lifetime (I think it will) but it will happen.

StupidiNews!

• One year after the explosion that sank the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and began the release of some 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf, residents are still looking for answers.
• Uganda is threatening to shut down access to social media like Facebook and Twitter if citizens continue to protest high food and fuel prices.
• As the NATO campaign in Libya enters its second month, both sides are digging on the eastern Libyan coast for an increasingly longer waiting game.
• UN officials are saying that Western countries like the US will have to continue long-term jobless benefits to avoid sinking the global recovery.
• Microsoft's Kinect Sports wants you to exercise enough to literally burn off the foods you eat by facing them in competition.

Last Call

I know it's greatly oversimplifying things to portray oil companies like BP as megalomaniacal, cartoonish James Bond villains, but when the somewhat evil patent leather shoe fits...

Plans to exploit Iraq's oil reserves were discussed by government ministers and the world's largest oil companies the year before Britain took a leading role in invading Iraq, government documents show.


The papers, revealed here for the first time, raise new questions over Britain's involvement in the war, which had divided Tony Blair's cabinet and was voted through only after his claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

The minutes of a series of meetings between ministers and senior oil executives are at odds with the public denials of self-interest from oil companies and Western governments at the time.

The documents were not offered as evidence in the ongoing Chilcot Inquiry into the UK's involvement in the Iraq war. In March 2003, just before Britain went to war, Shell denounced reports that it had held talks with Downing Street about Iraqi oil as "highly inaccurate". BP denied that it had any "strategic interest" in Iraq, while Tony Blair described "the oil conspiracy theory" as "the most absurd".

But documents from October and November the previous year paint a very different picture.

Five months before the March 2003 invasion, Baroness Symons, then the Trade Minister, told BP that the Government believed British energy firms should be given a share of Iraq's enormous oil and gas reserves as a reward for Tony Blair's military commitment to US plans for regime change.

The papers show that Lady Symons agreed to lobby the Bush administration on BP's behalf because the oil giant feared it was being "locked out" of deals that Washington was quietly striking with US, French and Russian governments and their energy firms.

Minutes of a meeting with BP, Shell and BG (formerly British Gas) on 31 October 2002 read:

"Baroness Symons agreed that it would be difficult to justify British companies losing out in Iraq in that way if the UK had itself been a conspicuous supporter of the US government throughout the crisis."

The minister then promised to "report back to the companies before Christmas" on her lobbying efforts. 

Hey, but Bush was handing out contracts, so the UK agreed to go to war because BP wanted in on the oil too.   It's not that anyone ever believed Iraq wasn't about the oil, but to have it confirmed at least partially is another thing.

Hell of a mess.  And gosh, we're looking forwards, not backwards.  Don't expect anything to happen to the people who pulled the trigger.

Birthers Get A Trump Card, Part 9

Steve M. argues convincingly that Trump has now crossed the line and is effectively done.  Oh no, he can insult the current President all he wants to, but as Steve says, he's committed the unpardonable sin of pointing out Ronald Reagan's feet of clay.

...in his bestselling book, Art of the Deal, published at the conclusion of the Reagan presidency, Trump cited Reagan as an example of someone who could "con people" but couldn't "deliver the goods." Trump said Reagan was "so smooth" that he "won over the American people." But at the conclusion of his presidency, "people are beginning to question whether there is anything beneath that smile," Trump writes. 

That's it, Donald -- thanks for playing. You can be an ex-Democrat, an ex-supporter of a wealth tax, an ex-Obama fan, an ex-pro-choicer ... but you cannot insult the most perfect human being who ever lived and expect to win votes in the Republican Party. This alone will do more to deflate the Trump bubble than anything terrified establishment 'pubs have unearthed so far.

And it was Think Progress that dug this up. Dammit, guys, you should've let him make the party elders squirm for a few more weeks.

Well, Republicans do lie about pretty much everything, including Reagan. He never would have survived today's Republican Party to make it to the White House, in fact he would have been primaried out of California's Governor's mansion if not recalled. But telling the truth about Ronnie to counter that lie, well. That's breaking the final, inviolable law. I'm going to have to go with Steve here without much reservation at all.

Trump's done, folks. Enjoy the veal.

But You'll Never Take Our Freed...Oh Never Mind

I've talked about Michigan's GOP Gov. Rick Snyder and his dictatorship of Michigan here:

So at this point, Gov. Snyder can appoint an "emergency manager" over a local government who has the power to remove any local or county government he wants to, eliminate all local government contracts, close schools and offices, disband state employee unions, layoff any government workers, and do all this with basically no oversight.

The best part?  Governor Snyder can pro-actively appoint an emergency manager "long before a city gets into trouble".  What's the criteria for appointing this manager and throwing out the elected city or country government?

Well, nobody seems to know, actually.  But Snyder can do it starting now.

Meet the first Michigan town to feel the wrath of Rick Snyder's "Appoint-A-Satrap" program:  Benton Harbor's new head, Joe Harris.

[O]ne of the first things that Joseph Harris did was to fire a number of people on both the Planning Commission and the Brownfield Development Commission in Benton Harbor and replace them with people he hand-picked. These two commissions are the ones most intimately involved in decision-making about real estate development in Benton Harbor. They will decide who gets permits, what developments will look like and who gets to pick the ripe plums present in Benton Harbor. And they are now staffed largely by people chosen by the Czar of Benton Harbor.

This is where the rubber meets the pavement. If you are looking for motivations for Snyder and his Republican friends to take over Benton Harbor, watch who gets development rights of the Lake Michigan shoreline. They are already setting things up to ensure that it is not the local residents of Benton Harbor.

Sure glad Snyder's not abusing his power to rid himself of any local officials he wants to or anything.  Welcome to the Banana Republic of the Wolverine.  Oh, it gets worse.  The real target is Detroit.

As if to prove correct those who argued that the Emergency Manager bill would be used to alter or eliminate union contracts, Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Robert Bobb said Thursday that he will use those new powers to do exactly that.

Just poof, all union contracts thrown out, all teachers given potential layoff notices, all opposition to the plan squelched.  And it gets worse.  E.D. Kain explains:

So who is Robert Bobb?

It turns out, he’s a recent graduate of the Broad Foundation’s Superintendent Academy. The Broad Foundation, along with the Kellogg Foundation, pays Bobb $145,000 a year on top of his $280,000 government salary. For those of you not familiar with Broad, it is one of the leading foundations promoting school choice and privatization across the country. One might almost think that paying a public official hundreds of thousands of dollars a year might amount to nothing short of bribery, especially given the very specific agenda of a foundation like the Broad Foundation.

Now, Bobb is proposing to create charter schools for 16,000 students from 41 schools slated for closure. He argues that this will save millions of dollars. I have to wonder, however, at the conflict of interest.

Did I mention it gets even worse?

This is nothing short of a coordinated effort between the billionaire foundations pushing school reform and Tea Party conservatives intent on slashing benefits and ending collective bargaining rights. Public schools are under assault by the forces of privatization, and public school teachers face benefit and salary cuts while the very rich are promised tax cuts. Similar efforts are underway in Florida and Wisconsin.

That's right, Scott Walker and Rick Scott are very, very interested in passing a similar dictatorship law to what Michigan has now.  They are very much intrigued by being able to exterminate any opposition at the local and county level by simply appointing a financial manager to run out whomever they want to.  And with Florida's GOP having a super-majority, I fully expect Rick Scott to absolutely have a law like this in place so he can simply dismiss any local or county elected official he doesn't like in the state.

But keep in mind that's conjecture.  Michigan's Rick Snyder?  He has this power now, and he's already using it to dispose of anyone who gets in his way.

But remember, Democrats are the fascists.  Snyder's a patriot.

No Dealing On The Debt Ceiling, Part 5

Seems GOP Sen. Jim DeMint didn't get the memo from the US Chamber of Commerce on that whole "ixnay" on the debt ceiling thing.

Throwing down the gauntlet, Republican Sen. Jim DeMint threatened Monday to block a vote in Congress on raising the U.S. debt ceiling unless he wins a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.

The filibuster threat comes a day after Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner suggested Republican leaders had offered private assurances to the White House that they ultimately would vote to raise the $14.3 trillion ceiling, regardless of whether a deal is reached on long-term spending cuts.

Publicly, Republicans say they will demand spending cuts as a condition for supporting a hike in the debt ceiling. They stood by that claim following Geithner's comments, and DeMint took their demands a step further.

"I will oppose any attempt to vote to raise the limit on our $14 trillion debt until Congress passes the balanced-budget amendment," the South Carolina conservative said. He first made the remarks to McClatchy, which his office confirmed to Fox News.

A balanced-budget amendment would prohibit the U.S. government from running a deficit. Such a provision would take a two-thirds vote in Congress, in addition to ratification by the states. 

So Jim DeMint really is threatening to destroy the economy unless he's allowed to destroy the economy.  Brilliant.  Keep posturing like this, Republicans.  Not even Republicans believe in a balanced budget amendment, let alone two-thirds of Congress, and all this is supposed to happen before the debt ceiling forces a default?

Please.  DeMint is full of DeCrap.  When he fails to deliver on this, will the Tea Party primary him out of Washington?