GOP descends further into sick cynicism

post from Daily Kos on 13 April 2009 02:50:04 PM. © Daily Kos

This is maybe the most disgusting display of conservative mental illness and anti-Americanism I've seen to date.

While all of these pampered fops were sitting, doughy asses-in-chair and having their pusses painted up in TeeVee make-up, so that they could come on the air and go all in against America, actual heroes were at that very moment doing the real dirty work of executing that rescue.

So says CNN:

The military had orders from President Obama authorizing lethal force if there was imminent danger.

"At one point, as uncomfortable as the pirates were, they exposed themselves where there was an opportunity," Gortney said.

He gave details of that "exposure" at a news conference Sunday. He said two of the pirates had their heads and shoulders exposed, while the third was visible in the boat's pilot house, through a window.

"The on-scene commander saw that one of the pirates still held that AK-47, was very, very concerned for the captain's life -- and he ordered the shots to be taken," Gortney told CNN on Monday.

Even with the small boat "moving up and down a couple of feet," the SEALs hit their targets. "Remarkable marksmanship," Gortney said.

The moment came at 7:19 p.m. (12:19 p.m. ET) Sunday -- after sundown, military officials say.

12:19 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Where, exactly, do you think each of these tough-talking blowhards were at 12:19 p.m. ET on Sunday?

I'll tell you where they weren't. They weren't parachuting -- parachuting! -- onto the the deck of the U.S.S. Bainbridge and rescuing Captain Phillips.

Now, look. We can't all be heroes. I wasn't there, either, I can tell you that.

But I certainly wasn't oozing my way into a TV studio, trying to break Bobby Jindal's land speed record for being proven a sick, partisan asshat in near real time, that's for sure.

Almost every clip in this video was being taped or going to air at the very time that U.S. Navy SEALs were executing this mission.

They'll all no doubt be offering mealy-mouthed congratulations today, and insisting that they were really just rooting for this outcome in their own special ways, but I've got two eyes, and I can spot a smarmy opportunist when I see one.

Especially when they trample everyone in their path to get to a TV camera to gleefully predict doom.

Disgusting. America is rightly sickened by these disaster porn perverts.

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into-sick-cynicism

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CNN Poll: Obama not making U.S. less safe

post from Ruinous Right on 13 April 2009 02:49:00 PM. © Ruinous Right

A new poll indicates Americans don't agree with former Vice President Dick Cheney's recent assertion that President Barack Obama's actions have increased the chances of a terrorist attack against the United States.

Seventy-two percent of those questioned in the poll released Monday disagree with Cheney's view that some of Obama's actions have put the country at greater risk, with 26 percent agreeing with the former vice president.

In a March 15 interview on CNN's "State of the Union with John King," Cheney said the Bush administration's anti-terror strategies "were absolutely essential to the success we enjoyed of being able to collect the intelligence that led us to defeat all further attempts to launch attacks against the United States since 9/11."

» Read more

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Catholic leaders welcomed Bush at Notre Dame even
after he personally allowed 152 people to die

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 13 April 2009 02:43:00 PM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

The backlash against Notre Dame for inviting Obama to give the commencement speech this year has really been bugging me. The leaders of that institution (the same leaders who protected pedophiles for decades) have a double standard for Democrats and Republicans.

For example, the Catholic Church is vehemently opposed to the death penalty -- as it should be. As Governor of Texas, George Bush was a very strong proponent of the death penalty -- and he implemented it many times:

George W. Bush during his six years as governor of Texas presided over 152 executions, more than any other governor in the recent history of the United States. Bush has said: "I take every death penalty case seriously and review each case carefully.... Each case is major because each case is life or death." In his autobiography, A Charge to Keep (1999), he wrote, "For every death penalty case, [legal counsel] brief[s] me thoroughly, reviews the arguments made by the prosecution and the defense, raises any doubts or problems or questions." Bush called this a "fail-safe" method for ensuring "due process" and certainty of guilt.

So, Bush actually had a role in the deaths of 152 people. Yet, the Catholic hierarchy welcomed him with open arms at Notre Dame's commencement in 2001.

Yet, this year, the Catholics leaders are having a hissy fit because Obama is going to give the commencement speech at Notre Dame. Obama never signed an execution order. He didn't oversee the executions of 152 people. No, Obama is pro-choice. He supports a women's right to choose (which is the law of the land because of Roe v. Wade.)

This just further confirms the hypocrisy of the church. Catholic leaders couldn't have gotten their heads any further up George Bush's butt. His sins were excusable because he's a Republican. And, Republicans, who mock most of the Catholic Church's values, play Catholic Church leaders for the fools that they are.

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ed-bush-at-notre.html

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Audio: Lost recordings of Martin Luther King
speech given in 1964

post from Let's Talk Honestly on 13 April 2009 02:39:28 PM. © Let's Talk Honestly

Please check out these lost recordings of a specch that Martin Luther King Jr gave at the University of Dayton in 1964.Listen to the entire speech or some excerpts by clicking here:http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/blacknewsblackviews.htmlPosted in african american, black, civil rights, history, Martin Luther King, Ohio, United States, University of Dayton Tagged: black history, civil rights, David Shock, [...]

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g-speech-given-in-1964/

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Liveblogging Post: Nationals Opening Day!

post from Taylor Marsh on 13 April 2009 02:38:26 PM. © Taylor Marsh

2:52:40 PM: Parking insane, but we got one. On to the ballpark![...]

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http://www.taylormarsh.com/2009/04/13/liveblogging-post-nationals-opening-day/

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Real, and threatened, terrorism boosts
self-esteem

post from Open Left - Front Page on 13 April 2009 02:36:15 PM. © Open Left - Front Page

Back in June of 2001, the NBC / Wall Street Journal poll found that 43% of the country thought the[...]

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McCain To Hold Immigration Reform Fundraiser
After Referring To Latinos As ‘You People’

post from Think Progress on 13 April 2009 02:36:00 PM. © Think Progress

On Thursday, the New York Times reported that the Obama administration would begin working on comprehensive immigration reform this year, perhaps as early as May.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who championed immigration reform years ago, is trying to reap a financial windfall out of the news. The Houston Chronicle reported yesterday that McCain’s Senate re-election finance chairman, Jason LaVecke, is planning a fundraiser for McCain after hearing about Obama’s interest in the topic. ?My first mission is to raise enough money early to keep challengers out of (McCain?s) race,? LeVecke said:

Thursday morning the New York Times ran a front-page story announcing that the Obama administration would begin working on comprehensive immigration reform this year. By Thursday afternoon hundreds of Houston business leaders received e-mails urging them to join the effort ? by bringing their checkbooks to a May 4 fundraiser here for Sen. John McCain.
The pitch ought to work. The Houston business establishment, led by the Greater Houston Partnership, is firmly on record for comprehensive immigration reform. The Houston economy is heavily dependent on immigrant labor, legal and illegal.

But when McCain thought Obama wasn’t taking the lead on immigration, he lashed out at the Hispanic community for voting for Obama. National Journal reported earlier this month McCain derogatorily referred to a group of Latinos as “you people.” ?My hands were shaking,? one source at the event said. ?I was nervous as no-end?:

McCain?s message was obvious, the source continued: After bucking his party on immigration, he had no sympathy for Hispanics who are dissatisfied with President Obama?s pace on the issue. ?He threw out [the words] ?You people ? you people made your choice. You made your choice during the election,? ? the source said. ?It was almost as if [he was saying] ?You?re cut off!”

McCain seems to be repositioning himself on immigration, or at least trying to. LeVecke said that he and McCain had ?spoken about working with Senator (John) Cornyn to take leadership with regard to immigration reform.? In 2007, McCain told Cornyn, “F*ck you, John‘” when Cornyn criticized McCain for being absent from the immigration debate.

Of course, changing his tune on immigration is nothing new for McCain. During the Republican primary last year, McCain said he wouldn’t vote for his own immigration bill and repeatedly touted “securing the borders” before comprehensive reform. He then walked the fine line of criticizing undocumented immigration while supporting reform during the general election.

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http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/13/mccain-immigration-fundraiser/

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THE 12 YEAR FIX.

Paul Carrington writes up the only thing older than the justices on the Supreme Court: The argument that justices on the Supreme Court should retire earlier. And he's right! But he doesn't mention one of the main reasons justices retire: Uncertainty[...]

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http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=04&year=2009&base_name
=the_12_year_fix

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Scene from the Sidewalk: Sunset Over Westover

With a hat tip to Andrew Sullivan's The View from Your Window, I'll be posting some photos from around Arlington as I canvass neighborhoods during my campaign for House of Delegates. We'll call it Scene from the Sidewalk. (Get it? Scene/seen? It's the best I could do on short notice.)

Here's the view from Kensington & 11th, with Westover Baptist Church in the background:

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http://thegreenmiles.blogspot.com/2009/04/scene-from-sidewalk-sunset-over.html

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If You Can't Do the Time ...

A former federal prisoner who is now a consultant advising potential future white collar inmates (Wall Street Prison Consultants!!!) on how to survive prison confirms to TPMmuckaker that a woman claiming to be a relative of Bernie Madoff contacted him[...]

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