StupidiNews!

• Syrian rebels are in disarray and retreat after their defeat in Homs as the al-Assad regime's crackdown has turned into a deadly nationwide rout.
• Russia's Vladimir Putin won 64% of the national vote to win re-election as President Sunday, despite calls of widespread voting corruption by rivals.
• Mitt Romney's quest for the White House has cost him and his backers some $200 million over seven years, including nearly $45 million of Romney's own fortune.
• British grocery giant Tesco, the country's largest private employer, says it will create 20,000 new jobs in the UK as it struggles to win back customers.
• PC developer Valve could be working on a game console along with its partners in its Steam game distribution platform.

Last Call

And with folks around here in the Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana tri-state area still cleaning up from Friday's tornadoes, Ron Paul tells each and every one of the victims to go to hell and rot.

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, stood by his libertarian beliefs on Sunday, saying that victims of the violent storms and tornadoes that have battered a band of states in the South and Midwest in recent days should not be given emergency financial aid from the federal government.

"There is no such thing as federal money," Paul said, on CNN’s State of the Union. "Federal money is just what they steal from the states and steal from you and me."

"The people who live in tornado alley, just as I live in hurricane alley, they should have insurance," Paul said.

Ron Paul isn't running to be President of the United States.  He's running to replace it with the Hunger Games.  Let the districts fight among themselves and may the odds ever be in your favor.  Isn't it nice to know that if a tornado rips through where you live, Ron Paul won't lift a finger because the other 305,000,000 of us shouldn't have to help?  It's your fault you happened to be where the tornado was, so screw you and your family and your neighborhood.  Move to a better state.

But you see, Ron Paul isn't the only one.  Gov. John Kasich feels the exact same way about his state.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich said thanks but no thanks to immediate federal disaster relief Saturday, even as governors in Indiana and Kentucky welcomed the help.

Kasich did not rule out asking for assistance later, but his decision means tornado-ravaged towns in Ohio will not get federal aid now and are not eligible at this time for potentially millions of dollars in payments and loans.

The governor said Ohio can respond to the crisis without federal help and he would not ask federal authorities to declare the region a disaster area.

“I believe that we can handle this,” Kasich said while visiting a shelter for storm victims at New Richmond High School. “We’ll have down here all the assets of the state.”

Can anyone ever recall a governor turning down disaster aid for multiple tornadoes?  That would be a first.  Of course, there's another first in the White House right now, which most likely explains this first too.

Needless to say, donating to the Cincy Red Cross is much more necessary now.  Donate here.

The American way, indeed.

Stupor Tuesday

Romney and Santorum are effectively tied going into Tuesday's Ohio primary.  Both men need a win here, plain and simple.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has surged into a dead heat with Rick Santorum in the Ohio primary, setting up a cliffhanger race on Tuesday, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday.

The former Massachusetts governor and former senator from Pennsylvania are tied with 32 percent support from likely voters in the Ohio Republican primary, the most important of the 10 state nominating contests on "Super Tuesday" this week.

After his victory in Saturday's Washington state caucuses, Romney is gaining momentum going into Tuesday after trailing Santorum in recent polls in Ohio.

"This race could really go either way between now and Tuesday," said Ipsos pollster Chris Jackson.

"If Mitt Romney is able to close this out and win this race, that gives him a leg up in going all the way to the convention and winning the Republican nomination."

And if he doesn't win? Then things get real interesting. The most important thing that happens after Super Tuesday of course is that I firmly believe people will start asking Newt Gingrich to quit. That would help Santorum more than Romney, and pretty much everyone knows it. Things would be much different now if Gingrich had dropped out of the race back when Jon Huntsman did.

Likewise, Gingrich staying in the race helps Romney, at least for now.  We'll see where things fall out on Wednesday morning.

Of course, the real news is that President Obama would beat Mitt Romney by 12 points in Ohio and Santorum by 14.  Keep in mind Republicans have never won the White House without winning Ohio.

StupidiLeak

All those programs for the elderly that are failing are affecting an ever-growing number of citizens.  There are dozens of examples of programs from little local aid to Medicaid that are dying or working at lower capcacity.  While the "corporations are people too" bullshit is the GOP's best defense for their priorities, real people are going without.

People like Fannie Wilson.

Fannie is 69-year-old Texan who got sick and had a hard streak of luck.  Her finances were so tight that when she sprung a leak and could not afford to fix it, she turned her own water off and lived that way for six long years.  She didn't stay at home often, and her house was full of jugs that of water she collected from other places.  She took the occasional bath at a friend or relative's house.  Six years she went without running water.  Millions of people live in that "one small disaster away from bankruptcy" state, and when the inevitable small disaster happens this is the result.

Wilson got help and now has running water.  She can enjoy a drink in the middle of the night, and flush her toilet with wild abandon.  She was nearly evicted from her home because it is illegal to live in a residence without running water (that whole necessary for life thing being the primary reason).  Thank goodness a small charity was able to help her fix the leak and restore the service.

I hope we all think of Fannie when we hear arguments that we have to slash services for citizens at the expense of big business.  Most of us will likely find ourselves there someday.

Bumping Uglies

Yeah, I knew you'd look.

Pamela Haag reminds us that this whole war on women isn't completely about health care.  It's also about sex, plain and simple.  We have several good examples of cysts and hormonal conditions that the Pill helps with, but there is also the fact that as adults, women and men alike should be able to conduct their sex lives as they see fit, and enjoy protection from unwanted babies.  Haag reminds us that there are healthy couples in committed relationships who want to enjoy sex without introducing a child into the world.  She's completely right, and while I see the issue as a combination of sexual freedom and medical need, she addresses a valid and relatively quiet point: we enjoy sex and we should be able to enjoy it on our terms.

Sex.

Why that gets those old righteous farts whipped into a frenzy isn't hard to understand.  What is scary is that with a teeny bit of encouragement how far it went, and how fast.  As Zandar pointed out, states are removing choices for women without apology.  This has been going on for a while, but the recent snowball of stupidity is alarming.

It's women who ultimately pay the price for this ego and hypocrisy.  The fathers may or may not have to pay child support, but they won't have to raise a child they never asked for.  They won't have near the social stigma associated with not wanting a child.  They won't have to know what it feels like to have their rights to their body decided by a panel of strangers.  Many women wouldn't put a child up for adoption or have an abortion if they became pregnant, which is why they use birth control in the first place.  Imagine having to give up your child because you know it would likely give them a better life.  How many mothers who couldn't afford simple contraception are going to find themselves in that situation?

The only reason the GOP is giving are their "values" and implying that the "other" people don't deserve equal treatment.  They vote against fair pay for women, but expect women to support babies or live a sexless life to satisfy the moral values of someone they will never meet.  It's not just about discounts on birth control. It's about medical rights, fair treatment and recognition under law, and ending a double standard that women can work as hard as men but are not worthy of the same freedoms and choices.  Just quoting their beliefs and holding us hostage to their ideals isn't enough.  Where is the discussion about the legality and the ethics as applied to all of the citizens?  While we are discussing religion and throwing insults, the real argument is being neglected.  The underlying concept of equality and silly notions like Constitutional checks and balances are ignored while Rush calls women sluts.

What would happen if a female candidate called them on their stupidity?  Can you imagine a woman saying she opposed Viagra, that if God wanted you to have a boner you would have a boner, and that it is offensive for us to see your trouser mouse jump every time there's a breeze?  To have such dirty thoughts that led to an erection is an offense to our religious freedom, and we want you to explain to our satisfaction why you think you should have condoms, otherwise they triple in price.  Any child you had a role in creating will be yours to raise, and how you plan to work full-time and raise a child is your problem, not ours.  We have no plans to help you once you have the child, because you were a slut and brought this on yourself.  Now go make me a sammich.

Walla Walla Ding Dong

Mitt Romney has taken the Washington State caucuses from last night, 38%-25%...over Ron Paul.  Santorum came in a close third at 24%.

Mitt Romney won the Republican caucuses in Washington state, according to unofficial results early Sunday, giving the former Massachusetts governor a shot in the arm heading into Super Tuesday contests.

With 99% of the vote in, Romney had 38%. Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 25% and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum had 24%. They were trailed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 10%.

At stake in the contest are 40 delegates.

"We're in a good second place, but the good news is we're doing very, very well in getting delegates," Paul told supporters in Seattle, when about half of the vote had been counted. "The enthusiasm for the cause of liberty continues to grow exponentially."

It's certainly a blow to Santorum to come in third, making Ohio all that much more important for all four candidates.  Gingrich, Santorum and Romney were in Cincinnati yesterday rather than Seattle or Walla Walla.

With 72 hours to go before Ohio voters go to the polls, the Republican White House hopefuls made a mad dash across the state Saturday – with the three leading contenders targeting Greater Cincinnati.

They revved up fervent supporters, sought converts and threw jabs at each other in the home stretch of this pivotal primary contest.

Rick Santorum rallied hundreds of his supporters with a passionate speech about “liberty” and “American exceptionalism” in an overheated hotel conference room in Blue Ash. Newt Gingrich talked about gas prices and energy issues at the Back Porch Saloon in West Chester. And Mitt Romney wrapped up a three-stop tour of the state at a “Ribs With Mitt” gathering at Cincinnati’s Montgomery Inn Boathouse.

I can tell you about the venues.  Any hotel in business park laden Blue Ash says "I'm a grown up, why won't you listen,"  The Back Porch in IKEA country of tony West Chester says "I'm pretending to working class but so is everyone else here" and the Montgomery Inn boathouse location down by the levee says "I'm pretending to be working class and failing miserably."  He probably ruined a lot of people's evenings who were planning to go eat ribs, it's pretty much the busiest restaurant in Cincy and he and his Secret Service detail probably put a whole bunch of hungry people out.

In other words, completely a Mitt thing to do.  Douchebag.

Last Call

Rush Limbaugh wants credit for apologizing, after reaping a week of free publicity. For a troll like him, negative is as good as (if not better) than positive attention.

Though I'm sure everyone has read about it, I'm going to include a quick summary of what he said. He called Sandra Fluke a "slut" and "prostitute" for insisting women have access to birth control. He said he would like to see her put some sex tapes online, and said her costs would be higher because of all the sex she was having.

If he worked for a real corporation, he'd have been fired in a hot second and the victim of this blatant harassment would have a legitimate lawsuit. But because he's a coward he hides behind his own "absurdity" and entertainer job as permission to take cheap shots at a young woman, who took it in stride and showed him what the high road looks like.  By the way, this is exactly what Zandar was saying, even down to the use of the word absurd in his defense.

"For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke."

Really?  So you'd call your own mom a slut or a prostitute because those words aren't a personal attack? How else should she have interpreted the use of those words?  How about apologizing for implying that she was having so much sex she was going broke?  That seems pretty personal to me, and no accident.  This apology is an even more insulting pile of bullshit than the comments that started this entire episode.  His original comments exposed the ignorance that is so common among his intended audience.

When sponsors began to drop, Limbaugh had found the perfect time to try to play it both ways.  He rolled his eyes and "gave in" to the liberals.  He had gotten his publicity out of it and milked it to death anyway.  He'll try to claim it as sincere when it is convenient.  He calls it an attempt at humor in his apology statement.

As soon as it affected the money, he chose to play martyr and let himself be coerced into an apology.  But don't kid yourself for a second, he didn't mean it.  He doesn't give a damn, and would sell all women out in a heartbeat for a little ratings spike.  Oh look, he just did.

Going Back To The Oil Well

Ahead of a trial that was to begin on Monday, oil giant BP has reached a $7.8 billion settlement with Gulf Coast claimants suing the company.  BP is claiming the settlement means these folks will get the money they deserve sooner rather than later...or never.

The estimated $7.8 billion deal struck by BP Plc with businesses and individuals suing over the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill could speed up payments to thousands of claimants and offers lawyers a potential windfall in legal fees.

London-based BP announced the deal on Friday with the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC), which represents condominium owners, fishermen, hoteliers, restaurateurs and others who say their livelihoods were damaged by the April 20, 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and subsequent oil spill.

The settlement, which delayed a giant trial that had been set to get underway in a New Orleans federal court on Monday, is a step by BP toward resolving its liability in the case, which stretches into the billions of dollars. However, the deal does nothing to settle charges brought by the biggest player in the trial: the U.S. government.

And that's the big problem for BP.   The federal trial is still going forward.

Well, unless the GOP gains control of the Justice Department.  You have a say in that as a voter.  If you think President Obama's been soft on BP, the GOP will not exactly bring them to justice.

AIPAC Attack, Get Back

The Hill, today on President Obama's AIPAC conference speech:

When President Obama takes the stage on Sunday morning before the American Israel Public Affairs Conference, it could represent a pivotal moment for Obama to keep Jewish voters in his corner.

Republicans have sought to peel off the Jewish vote from Obama, as his tenuous relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will address AIPAC Monday after a one-on-one meeting with Obama, has led to accusations that he isn't supportive of Israel.

“The feeling is that there’s just no empathy there,” said Dov Zakheim, a former undersecretary of Defense under President Reagan and advisor to President George W. Bush.  “And he hasn’t done anything to really change that."

Another one-time supporter of Obama agrees: "I have been completely disappointed in his policies on Israel. He has a lot to prove going forward."

So glad that a former Bush advisor and an unnamed former Obama supporter proves the President is losing the Jewish vote.  The reality, of course according to J Street's Jim Gerstein:

According to Gerstein, Democrats still maintained a 66 to 31 percent advantage among Jewish voters in the 2010 midterms — in a year where the GOP won in a landslide. Jewish voters voted for Democrats in greater numbers than other key Democratic constituencies, including unmarried women, Hispanics and voters under 30.

Further, Gerstein notes, Republicans and conservatives still have high disapproval numbers among Jewish voters — while Democrats, including the president, remain relatively popular. In July J Street polling, Jews disapprove of the tea party movement 74 percent, with 12 percent approval. They disapprove of Mitt Romney 60 percent to 16 percent, and they disapprove of former President George W. Bush 73 percent to to 16 percent. In the same survey, Obama is above water 56 percent to 34 percent — numbers similar to a recent Gallup polls from the fall that showed Obama at 54 percent to 41 percent.

The notion that Jewish voters are a monolithic block that wants the President to attack Iran or else they'll completely abandon the Democrats is absurd, but it's conventional wisdom in the Village, and they have no intention of trying to correct it themselves.

Call Someone Who Cares

AT&T has finally announced a cap on their data, and after customer outrage they have been upfront about the limits and terms.  The customers who signed a contract expecting unlimited data have continued to rant online and file complaints.  They may actually have a case in court, AT&T may be doing this simply to prevent future losses in small claims court.

AT&T stopped selling "unlimited data" plans nearly a year ago, but existing subscribers were allowed to keep it.

The company charges $30 per month for the plan, the same amount it charges for 3 gigabytes of data on its new "tiered," or limited, plan.

AT&T has about 17 million "unlimited" smartphone subscribers, most of whom use iPhones.

AT&T's reversal comes less than a week after iPhone user Matt Spaccarelli won a small claims lawsuit against the company for slowing down his service. A Simi Valley, Calif. judge awarded Spaccarelli $850, agreeing that "unlimited" service shouldn't be subject to slowdowns. AT&T argued that it never guaranteed the speed of the service, just that it would provide unlimited downloads. The company said it will appeal the decision. It bars subscribers from bringing class action suits.

Maybe it's just me, but does this not sound like a bait and switch?  T-Mobile gives 5 GB for the same price on their most expensive plan.  Notifying customers that you are screwing them over is still screwing them over.

I don't have AT&T, and because of stupidity like this I never will.  If they continue to go in this direction, T-Mobile may end up winning a war they never asked for in the first place.

Santorum Apologizes

... and still manages to screw it up.

"It was a strong term, probably not the smartest thing but you know what I don't give prepared talking points speeches written by other people," Santorum said in an interview on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." "I got a little passionate there and I used a harsher word than I normally would but the point was government shouldn't be dictating to people what they do."

Government shouldn't be dictating to people what they do. That's absolutely correct. That it came from the mouth of Rick "Let Me Tell You What Type Of Relationships Should Be Legal" Santorum is beyond amazing.

Give the man points, he must be completely blind.

Or maybe he's just believes government should be able to tell us what we can't do instead.

The State Of The GOP War On Women

Hey folks, guess what?  While we're certainly watching the GOP introduce bullet to foot on a daily basis at the national level, they're completely winning the war on women at the state level with the power we gave them (in some cases unrestricted power) in 2010.  Federal laws may change for the better, but it doesn't matter a damn bit if states administering the programs simply refuse to implement them.

Montana and New Jersey have eliminated altogether their state family planning programs. New Hampshire cut its funding by 57 percent and five other states made more modest program trims.

But the biggest impact, by far, has been in Texas.

State lawmakers last fall cut family-planning funds by two-thirds, or nearly $74 million over two years. Within months, half the state-supported family planning clinics in Texas had closed.

The state network, which once provided 220,000 women a year free and low-cost birth control, cervical cancer tests and diabetes screenings, will now serve just 40,000 to 60,000, officials said.

Another 130,000 low-income Texas women who get free exams and contraceptives through Medicaid could lose those benefits by month's end, due to a dispute between the state and federal governments over whether Planned Parenthood should be allowed to serve women on that program.

So yes, hundreds of thousands of women are losing access to contraception and basic women's health services.  Voters taught President Obama and the Democrats a "lesson" in 2010, ostensibly over government interference in health care.  Is anyone surprised that the first thing Republicans do when given power of government is use it to take away health care from hundreds of thousands?

If this kind of nonsense pisses you off, you do have an option in November, you know.  Consider the real "lesson" of the 2010 elections:  Maybe there's something to the notion that the "Republicans are worse" as a valid, motivating factor to get your ass into the voting booth this fall.

Blown Away In The NKY

We're still good here at ZVTS HQ here in northern Kentucky, but a bit south of me, several homes were destroyed and 3 people were killed in neighboring Kenton County.  The devastation is pretty awful, not like Joplin last year or Tuscaloosa, but still the footage coming in is just heartbreaking.  One of my co-workers' homes was damaged but she and her family are otherwise unharmed.

Maybe 15,000 people are without power at this point.  It's pretty bad.  One woman was impaled in the storm.  You forget that you live in tornado alley, Ohio and Kentucky aren't really considered "tornado country" the way Oklahoma or Nebraska or Missouri is.  We got an ugly reminder today.

Wasn't just here, either.  Southern Indiana was hit pretty hard, as was northern Alabama.  Something like one of the top 5 worst days for tornadoes in US history.  It was just frightening driving home today, the sky was black and it was pouring, and then it cleared up and it was brightly sunny by the time I got home.  I knew any storm where the clouds that had been there all day were pushed out that quickly had to have been a freight train rolling, and sure enough at least 3 tornadoes touched down.

Needless to say, the Cincinnati Tri-State Red Cross definitely could use your help.  Thanks.

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• Dozens are dead from one of the worst tornado outbreaks in US history, as storms across at least six states caused millions in damage and left thousands without power.
• A federal judge in Illinois has struck down that state's law prohibiting civilians recording police officers without their prior permission as unconstitutional.
• A Pentagon investigation into Qu'ran burnings in Afghanistan has found five US soldiers responsible for the unintentional act that set off days of protests across the country.
• Moody's has cut Greece's credit rating to the lowest possible junk level as a result of the "technical default" triggered by the bailout deal.
• The US State Department has officially adopted Google Chrome for use by all employees.

Last Call

Steve M. is dead right about Santorum calling El Rushbo's comments on Sandra Fluke "absurd" today.  Santorum isn't attacking Rush, he's giving Rush a way out of this mess.

The key word here is "absurd," because it's a word Limbaugh proudly uses. For years he's described what he does as "demonstrating absurdity by being absurd" -- in fact, the title of a chapter in his first book was "People, Think for Yourselves, Or Demonstrating Absurdity By Being Absurd." In fact, just today he described his sex-video remark about Sandra Fluke as "illustrating absurdity here by being absurd."

Either Santorum knows all this (and as a card-carrying movement conservative, he presumably would) or Santorum in understands that saying this is an easy way to attack Limbaugh without actually attacking him.

Oh, and Limbaugh's an "entertainer," so it's silly for anyone to care, right? (Funny, back in January, when Santorum said "we've lost, unfortunately, our entertainment industry" to "the left," he seemed to regard entertainment as a lot more relevant to politics.) 

The entertainer dodge is an out Rush has used before.  He'll survive this.  He always does.  Santorum is calling Rush's comments absurd so that anyone attacking him for it is engaging in even more absurd behavior.

Here's the thing, of course.  It's false equivalence to the max, and ABL calls the GOP out on it.

Rush Limbaugh is calling your mothers, sisters, and daughters sluts and prostitutes. “Inappropriate” and “absurd” doesn’t begin to cover it.

And by the way, the “you sluts want us to pay to have sex” narrative is unimaginably stupid. Sandra Fluke testified about her friend who was prescribed birth control for a medical condition — ovarian cysts. Nobody’s asking to be paid to have sex.  Nobody’s asking for government-subsidized condoms. Besides, we women have been paying men to have sex for years. The only purpose of Viagra and Cialis and the like is to allow men to have sex.  Many health insurance plans cover Viagra.  Where’s Rush’s outrage about that?  Shouldn’t all men who take those little blue pills be forced post sex tapes online?

Agreed.