On VotingWisconsin Constitution, Article III,
Section 1

post from MAL Contends . . . on 25 May 2011 09:01:25 PM. © MAL Contends . . .

Wisconsin Constitution, Article III, Section 1:

"Every United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district in this state is a qualified elector of that district."

Ultimately, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will weigh this fundamental right of citizens to vote against the stated policy rationale of the "Photo ID" bill (AB 7)? protecting the "integrity of our election process," as Gov. Walker alleges in a blatant lie repeatedly endlessly by Republicans nationwide.

The judicial process of protecting the rights of Wisconsin citizens against the temporary majority of Republicans controlling the legislature and the governor's office will offer an object lesson in how the Courts protect the fundamental rights in this state's representative democracy.

To paraphrase David Boies arguing another civil rights case on the federal level: There are certain rights in Wisconsin that are so fundamental, so valued, that the Wisconsin Constitution guarantees them to every Wisconsin citizen regardless of what a temporary majority of Republican pukes are willing to spend $millions on to keep their party in power, irrespective of what a majority of Wisconsinites may want.

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If this is anything to go by, the latest addition
to the DailyKos comics lineup looks OK

post from DownWithTyranny! on 25 May 2011 09:00:47 PM. © DownWithTyranny!

Mark Fiore

video details and more

"Tea Bag -- because other languages are just too hard!"

by Ken

Yesterday on DailyKos Markos introduced the latest addition to the latest addition to the DK Comics lineup (updating my last post on the subject), Mark Fiore:

You may have already seen Mark Fiore's animated work at its home base at SFGate.com [with a sample included onsite].

You may have heard about him when this piece [meaning the "Learn to Speak Tea Bag" piece I've put up top] elicited howls of protests from the teabaggers while Bill O'Reilly blew a fuse.

You may have heard about Fiore when some pigheaded person at Apple declined his iPhone app because it "ridicule(d) public figures" (and it does!). Apple later reversed its decision.

And you may have heard about Fiore when he became the first animated and online-only cartoonist to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Markos even gets off a pretty good quip after running through the DK comics lineup as it now stands: Tom Tomorrow's This Modern World on Mondays, Jen Sorensen's Slowpoke on Wednesdays, Mark Fiore on Thursday, Matt Bors on Fridays, and Eric Lewis' Animal Nuz on Saturday.

As I read those names, Fiore, Bors, Sorensen, Tomorrow, Lewis, I'm filled with gratitude that I'm a liberal. Because if I was a conservative, I'd have to pretend that Mallard Filmore was funny.

I just looked at today's Slowpoke, "Tax Evasion Funnies," and I'm still not getting Jen Sorensen. Ditto Matt Bors's Friday outing, "Bin Laden's Porn Collection." (Hmm, suddenly Mallard Filmore isn't looking so ridiculous.) I'll try to remember to check out Fiore tomorrow, though.

I always try to remember to check out the incomparable Tom Tomorrow, but I forget a lot. For the benefit of other forgetters, here's Monday's strip:

The Slow Boil

[Don't forget to click to enlarge.]

FINALLY, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WHO LIKE ME
CAN'T FIND DK COMICS WITHOUT DOING A SEARCH --

Let's all try to remember the URL: comics.dailykos.com. Shouldn't be that difficult to remember, wouldn't you think?

Still, it seems kind of crazy to me that there isn't any obvious link -- at least not obvious enough for me to find -- on the DK home page.
#

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Democrats should thank Paul Ryan

post from AMERICAblog News on 25 May 2011 09:00:47 PM. © AMERICAblog News

E.J. Dionne:

There is no way for Republicans to spin away Democrat Kathy Hochul?s victory in New York?s deeply red 26th congressional district. This is a big setback for Paul Ryan?s budget and a warning for Republican incumbents everywhere. This is simply not a district a Republican should have lost. Conservative overreach has clearly woken up Democrats and has gone down badly with independents.

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Dave von Ebers is a God Damned
Obamanunistofascist

post from Jesus' General on 25 May 2011 09:00:04 PM. © Jesus' General

Unfortunately, it's come to my attention that one of our long-time commenters is a stooge for the World-Wide Amish Obama Conspiracy to Force America to Accept the Unrighteously Hued as our Equals (WWAOCFAAUHE). The proof of Mr. von Ebers' treachery lies here, in a post in which he questions a TV station's decision to run an interview with a patriotic Birther-American as balance to the OBAMUNIST USURPER's birth certificate announcement.

That patriot is Rick Biesada, founder of the Chicago Minuteman Project, and as Comrade von Ebers notes, a radio host:

That?s right ? Biesada?s radio show on WJJG is called ?Perspectives on Our Heritage ? The Angry White Male Hour.? Gee, no racial overtones there, eh?

Comrade von Ebers, a pointy-headed, college-trained, bar-approved attorney, took issue with Mr. Biesada?s self-taught legal approach, arrogantly declaring that scholarly interpretations of Article II and the 14th Amendment of the Constitution are somehow more valid than folk interpretations:

Article II says nothing about a president?s parents; it only says that any ?natural born Citizen? of the United States (over age 35 and residing in the country for at least fourteen years) is eligible to be president. And while the Constitution, as originally drafted, did not define the term ?Citizen,? the Fourteenth Amendment does..

Thankfully, Mr. Biesada has his own forum to promote his ideas. It's called "The Federalist Observer." Proudly Aryan patriots may recall its scathing expose of Alexander Hamilton which begins:

Hamilton was a rat from the get go. His real name was Alexander Levine; the son of a Jew...Alex was groomed at age 15 when he was sent back to Europe from the Isle of Neveus, to be trained in banking by the Bank of England, and the Rothchilds, knowing that he would be Washington?s aid, as Secretary, when the con job was put into place.

Mr. Biesada responded to Comrade von Ebers in the Observer by making the following points:

Dave von Ebers looks like an anteater
Rick Biesada is not a racist
Aphostropies are the most effective element of argument; use them everywhere
Rick Biesada works in the "city?s most murderous neighborhood;" everyone there loves him; Dave von Ebers better be careful
Obama is a 14th Amendment citizen and is therefore ineligible to be president

That last point is important. It's based on scholarly research conducted back in the nineties by the legal eagles behind the sovereign citizen movement and the Montana Freemen. In essence, only "organic" citizens, those who were afforded citizenship by the original Constitution, are eligible to be president. All others who obtained citizenship through the Fourteenth Amendment are lesser citizens who do not have all of the rights of organic citizens. Here's how Mr. Biesada puts it:

Obama, if born in Hawaii, therefore did not inherit his U.S. Citizenship from his natural parents but rather acquired it by positive law, ie.,the 14th Amendment, or 8 U.S.C. Section 1401 (a), which naturalizes persons who are born in the United States but lack two U.S. citizen parents to be U.S. Citizens at birth, hence, Obama can be a citizen under the 14th Amendment, or 8 U.S.C. Section 1401(a) but he is not an Article II Section, two natural born citizen, as required by our founders as a condition of allegiance.

As for whether Mr. Bethesda is a racist, I prefer to call him a "proudly white" American. Certainly proudly white Stormfront readers and proudly white radio listeners would agree.

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My Little Town 20110525: Joyce

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 25 May 2011 08:59:30 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Those of you that read this regular series know that I am from Hackett, Arkansas, just a mile or so from the Oklahoma border, and just about 10 miles south of the Arkansas River. It was a redneck sort of place, and just zoom onto my previous posts[...]

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The Circumstantial Case against Bruce Ivins Gets
Weaker

post from Firedoglake on 25 May 2011 08:51:28 PM. © Firedoglake

The whole case depends on the FBI's contention that a flask Ivins had--RMR-1029--was "the murder weapon." But in fact, the FBI only has proof that Ivins had what might be one of eight or more potential precursors to the murder weapon. Their efforts to[...]

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Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) on the floor of the
Senate: calling out Rep. Eric Cantor (r)

post from They gave us a republic... - Front Page on 25 May 2011 08:42:06 PM. © They gave us a republic... - Front Page

Monday, May 23, 2011
Eric Cantor: Disaster relief for Joplin must be offset by spending cuts
If House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has his way, the city of Joplin will receive no disaster relief unless it is offset by spending cuts....

Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill spoke about the tornado in Joplin, Missouri on the floor of the Senate today. She praised the response of the community, of state and federal agencies, and first responders. She mentions House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (r) at approximately six minutes into the video:

video details and more

Senator Claire McCaskill (D): [6:11] ...In this instance we're gonna need to sustain the support to this community far beyond the headlines, far beyond the satellite trucks going home. We've got to get these schools open in September. We've got to get this hospital rebuilt. We've got to make sure this community is not left stranded without the assistance it needs.
There is no question we have to be careful about the ay we spend federal money, but, with all due respect, to Congressman [Eric] Cantor [r] I have a hard time believing that if this were in his congressional district he would be talking about how additional disaster relief would not be available, uh, unless we found some other programs to take it from. It must be available. This cannot be a political football. We must provide the assistance. [7:00][video edit]

We can guess what Claire was really thinking about Representative Cantor and his comments about Joplin, Missouri. And to think he's a member of the House's republican leadership.

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Website Upgrade in Progress

post from Taylor Marsh on 25 May 2011 08:39:42 PM. © Taylor Marsh

Website Upgrade in progress … We’ll be back later.For now you can read – you just can’t post new comments or “In the News” diaries.Thanks to AgoraNet for their expertise in making it happen.- TM[...]

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Tea party group sets defeating Mitt Romney as top
priority for 2012

Mitt Romney Looks like RomneyCare was Mitt's Waterloo
Jon Ward:

Interviews with top officials at FreedomWorks, a Washington-based organizing hub for Tea Party activists around the country, revealed that much of their thinking about the 2012 election revolves around derailing the former Massachusetts governor. ...
The group knows they cannot impose their will on the fiercely independent conservative organizers fueling the Tea Party. But they say the activist base is just as anti-Romney as they are.

And the two biggest reasons are no surprise: RomneyCare and the fact that nobody believes a word that Mitt Romney says.

Brendan Steinhauser, who travels around the country meeting with activists as FreedomWorks? top liaison to the grassroots, said most people he talks to are ?definitely trying to stop Romney.?
?I don?t think I?ve met any groups or any local activists that like him or want him to be president,? Steinhauser said. ?They just don?t believe he?s authentic. That?s the biggest problem in addition to the health care thing.?

Three other interesting things from Ward's article, which is worth reading:

1. The FreedomWorks spokesman included Newt Gingrich on its list of unacceptable candidates.

2. According to a BYU study, of all the DC-based tea party groups trying to influence GOP primaries, FreedomWorks has the strongest record.

3. FreedomWorks head Matt Kibbe dismissed Romney's current front-runner status by comparing him to Charlie Crist:

?Charlie Crist had everything, right? He had name ID, tons of money in the bank. He was the sitting governor, he had all the advantages of incumbency, and yet this ragtag insurgent movement connected to a capable candidate and blew up that whole model,? Kibbe said. ?In some ways Romney looks like the Charlie Crist of this cycle: he?s got all the money, he?s got the name ID.?

If that's what ends up happening, you can say you read it here first, more than one year ago. Just as you did with Crist, way back in early 2009.

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Voice Of The Opposition: Fox News Adopts GOP's
"Mediscare" Talking Point To Defend Ryan Budget

post from Media Matters for America - Latest Items on 25 May 2011 08:26:17 PM. © Media Matters for America - Latest Items

Fox News, continuing its role as the communications wing of the Republican Party, has adopted the GOP talking point that Democrats are using "'Mediscare' Attacks" against Rep. Paul Ryan's plan to replace Medicare with vouchers.

House Speaker John Boehner's TalkingPoint: Democrats Are Using "Mediscare" Attacks On Ryan's Budget

SpeakerBoehner: "Democrats' 'Mediscare' Attacks Meant To Deflect Attention From #hcr'Rationing.'" From a May 6 post to Speaker of the House John Boehner'stwitter account:

[Twitter.com/JohnBoehner, 5/6/11]

Boehner'sWebsite: "The 'Mediscare' Offensive Launched By Democrats ... Isn't FoolingAmerican Seniors." From a May 6 post on Boehner's website:

The "Mediscare" offensive launched by Democrats - includingtop Administration officials like Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius - to attack the GOPplan to protect and preserve Medicare isn't fooling American seniors.
[...]
Central to the Medicare scheme outlined by President Obama inhis "phantom budget" speech is the Independent Payment AdvisoryBoard (IPAB), a "rationing board" of bureaucrats created by ObamaCare. [Speakerof the House John Boehner's website, 5/6/11]

Fox Adopts GOP's "Mediscare" Talking Point

CavutoCaption: Senate Vote On Ryan Budget Imminent Amid "Mediscare." DuringFox News' Your World With Neil Cavuto thefollowing on-screen graphic aired:

[Fox News, Your World With Neil Cavuto, 5/25/11]

Krauthammer:New York Democrat Might Win "Almost Entirely On Mediscare." From FoxNews' The O'Reilly Factor:

BILL O'REILLY: Allright, now Karl Rove, at the top of the broadcast, submits this is going to bethe dirtiest campaign in -- almost in history. That the Democrats are going toattack whoever the Republican nominee is and vice versa. I'm sure that's gonnahappen, even though John McCain really kept that at a minimum, Mr. Rovebelieves it's going to break out into real mudslinging this time around. Do yousee that?
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER:Absolutely. Look at two indications of it. Number one, we heard last week theDemocrats are already preparing dirt digging on Governor Christie of NewJersey, who isn't even a candidate.
And second, look howthe media have covered the Medicare proposal of the Ryan plan, the one that theHouse Republicans have supported. Democrats have been running these trulyscurrilous ads which essentially say it's the abolition of Medicare. It's goingto happen to your granny, even though if they're honest about it they would sayit doesn't start for 10 years. And it's a change in the structure of theprogram. It's not an abolition of it.
You're gettingechoes of that already in the press. So you're going to get the presssupporting the Democratic narrative and the lies, I would say, about theMedicare. And that's a very strong issue. There's going to be an electiontonight, a bi-election in New York state for a seat that was left open wherethe Democrat might even win a Republican district almost entirely on theMediscare. And you're gonna see the press line up like lemmings right behindthe Democrats on this issue.
O'REILLY: All right,scaring Granny. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 5/24/11]