Open thread for night owls: Forgetting war
criminals makes for 'magically disappearing blood'

post from Daily Kos on 31 July 2012 11:30:07 PM. © Daily Kos

At Dissident Voice, Media Lens writes The Return Of The King: Tony Blair And The Magically Disappearing Blood:

How many war crimes does a western leader have to commit before he is deemed persona non grata by the corporate media and the establishment? Apparently there is no limit, if we are to judge by the prevailing reaction to Tony Blair?s return to the political stage.
On July 11, it was announced that Blair would be ?contributing ideas and experience? to Labour leader Ed Miliband?s policy review. He will apparently provide advice on how to ?maximise? the economic and sporting legacies of the 2012 London Olympics.
The Guardian described the announcement mildly as a ?controversial move?; not necessarily in the country at large, the paper claimed, but ?perhaps especially within the Labour party?. One Guardian headline declared ?Return of the King?.
The ?left-wing? John Harris did his bit in the Guardian to smooth Blair?s path:
He?s only 59, the picture of perma-tanned vitality and keen to ?make a difference?. Could a fourth stint in No 10 even be on the cards? We shouldn?t rule it out.
Harris declared ?that for all his mistakes, transgressions and howling misjudgments, there remains something magnetic about his talents.?
When Blair appeared at a Labour fundraising dinner at Arsenal?s Emirates stadium, Harris noted that:
He was greeted by the obligatory crowd of protesters, still furious about his role in the Iraq war.
That?s the curious thing about peace protesters; endlessly ?furious? about the country being dragged into an illegal war that led to the deaths of around one million people, created four million Iraqi refugees, devastated Iraq?s infrastructure, generated untold suffering and burned obscenely huge sums of public money in times of ?austerity?. Perhaps we Brits should simply display that famed stiff upper lip and move on. [...]
[Given the talk of possible attacks on Iran, it] is worth referring once again to the testimony of General Wesley Clark, the former Nato chief, when he recalled a conversation with a Pentagon general in 2001, a few weeks after the September 11 attacks:
He reached over on his desk. He picked up a piece of paper. And he said, ?I just got this down from upstairs? ? meaning the Secretary of Defense?s office ? ?today.? And he said: This is a memo that describes how we?re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran.
It seems that journalists simply cannot help themselves in ignoring such inconvenient facts. And so, unless the public demands otherwise, corporate editors and journalists will continue to perform their usual obedient role in the service of power.

Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2010:

It really is amazing how the filibuster works, isn't it? First, Republicans join forces with conservative Democrats like Mary Landrieu to filibuster essential legislation, then, when their filibuster works and the legislation fails, they blame Democrats for not having passed it.
It's cynical and it's infuriating and it demonstrates that Republicans care more about their own power than the welfare of the country they hope to lead, but it also works. The good news is that Democrats could put an end to it by changing the rule at the beginning of the next session of Congress. They'd be insane not to. But that doesn't mean they will.

Tweet of the Day:

According to @NBCDelayed, Mitt Romney will leave Bain Capital in 2020.
? @LOLGOP via Timely by Demandforce

Tune in Monday to Friday from 9-11 AM ET for Daily Kos Radio, hosted by David Waldman a/k/a KagroX. You can listen here.

High Impact Posts. Top Comments.

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-owls-Forgetting-war-criminals-makes-for-magically-disappearing-blood

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Open Thread

post from Crooks and Liars on 31 July 2012 11:30:00 PM. © Crooks and Liars

I've run this before but it's a really good reminder. Address what Romney says. (He'll never share what he is, anyway.) Open thread below....

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Tuesday Stuff

post from The Liberal Doomsayer on 31 July 2012 11:09:00 PM. © The Liberal Doomsayer

(I also posted here.)

I?m messing around a bit with the congressional list, so I?ll take a break again tonight (the breaks may become more frequent as I work further down the list, since the offenders are more and more blameworthy and documenting their misdeeds will take more time).
As a bit of a respite, though, I give you this from Willard Mitt Romney (so presidential, I know?related links are here, and particularly, here ? and yes, the ?kiss my ass? guy apologized, as well he should)?

...and Seether "gets the gold" IMHO for this one (sorry, no video).

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Queer Talk: Democratic Platform Draft Approves
Marriage Equality

post from TaylorMarsh.com on 31 July 2012 11:00:43 PM. © TaylorMarsh.com

Joyce L. Arnold, Liberally Independent, Queer Talk, equality activist, writer.

On Sunday the Democratic Party platform committee approved endorsement of marriage between same-gender couples, along with other pro-LGBT positions. This isn?t a huge surprise, though Rep. Barney Frank has stated the support of House Democrats is more significant. But for many, this was the ?next step? toward marriage equality, and while it is still in draft stage, there seems no doubt it will appear on the party platform.

From Chris Johnson, at the Washington Blade:

Retiring gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who sits on the (Platform) committee, told the Washington Blade on Monday that the 15-member panel unanimously backed the inclusion of a marriage equality plank after a national hearing over the weekend in Minneapolis, in which several witnesses testified in favor of such language. …
A Democratic National Committee staffer, who is familiar with the process and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the language in the platform approved on Sunday not only backs marriage equality, but also rejects DOMA and has positive language with regard to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The exact wording of the language wasn?t immediately available.
The platform is still in a draft phase. Writers of the platform are now set to come up with close-to-final draft that will be presented before the full platform committee in Detroit from Aug. 10 to Aug. 12. That committee will discuss amendments before presenting the platform at the convention in Charlotte in September. …
On Monday, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest deferred a question from National Public Radio?s Ari Shapiro on the adopted language to the DNC. The DNC didn?t respond to the Blade?s request to comment.

At The Advocate, Julie Bolcer writes:

If ratified, the plank would represent the first time the party?s platform has articulated support for marriage equality. President Barack Obama announced his personal endorsement of marriage equality in May.
During testimony on Friday and Saturday, committee members heard from a range of individuals and organizations, both LGBT-specific groups and allies, about marriage equality and repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, as well as other priorities including the Student Non-Discrimination Act and ending discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. …
While the campaign to include marriage equality in the platform has received substantial attention, (Barney) Frank said that he believed the intense focus on the largely symbolic document was ?misguided.? He said it was ?more important? to acknowledge House Democrats? near-universal opposition to DOMA, while almost every House Republican had voted to reaffirm it.

From AlterNet:

Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), an openly gay member of Congress, predicted … the platform plank won?t hurt Obama … or members of Congress up for reelection … .
But Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, was less circumspect. Endorsing gay marriage, he said, will cost Democrats in elections up and down the ballot.
?They can kiss the presidential election, the House and now the Senate goodbye,? he said.

No doubt Brown?s choice of language ? ?They can kiss? WH, House and Senate ?goodbye? ? is purely coincidental. Or maybe Freudian.

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Giving them (the press) his ass to kiss. And more
news from post-racial America.

post from field negro on 31 July 2012 11:00:34 PM. © field negro

Mitt would have been better off skipping this European trip and vacationing in the beautiful mountains of Utah this summer. Honestly, it has been one misstep after another.

And now for the latest:

"WARSAW, Poland - A Mitt Romney spokesman reprimanded reporters traveling with the candidate on his six-day foreign trip, telling them to "kiss my a**" after they shouted questions from behind a rope line.

As Romney left the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw and walked toward his motorcade parked in Pilsudski Square, reporters began shouting questions from the line where campaign staffers had told them to stay behind, prompting traveling press secretary Rick Gorka to tell a group of reporters to "kiss my a**" and "shove it."
Wait, it gets better:

Gorka told reporters answering questions to "show some respect."
"This is a holy site for the Polish people," he added.
"We haven't had another chance to ask a question," one reporter noted to Gorka.
Gorka told another journalist to "shove it."
Show some respect for a holy site of the Polish people yet you curse at a reporter on that very site? Amazing! [Source]

Mitt, please come home, it's clear that you and your peeps aren't cut out for this traveling stuff.

Meanwhile, back here on the home front, the racism chase continues.

Did you hear the one about the dude who walks into a motel room in Ohio, turns on the television, and gets a wonderful message on his television that says "Hello nigger"? Yep, it really happened. (You Negroes need to stay out of places like Motel 6)

Anyway, my man did as he was taught; he called the NAACP. Good luck with those year long free stays at Motel 6 my brotha. [Source]

Did you hear the one about the guy in Florida (Where else?) who shot the black dude in the head and was upset because "he had only shot a nigger"?

"Today's egregious Florida gun crime comes to you from Port St. Joe, where police say 59-year-old Walton Henry Butler shot a man in the head last night, then sat down and ate dinner while the victim lay bleeding at his door. Police say he was upset because "he had only shot a nigger."
The victim, 32-year-old Everett Gant, had gone to Butler's apartment to confront him about calling a child a "nigger" and making "several racial remarks to the black children in the apartment complex," according to the police report. Butler allegedly responded by shooting him in the face with a .22-caliber rifle. After Walt Butler shot Everett Gant he stated he shut the sliding glass door with Everett Gant lying outside the door, called 911 then funished cooking supper, sat at the kitchen table and began eating. When Sheriff Nugent arrived on scene he made contact with Butler by phone. Butler told him to come in he was eating dinner and had put up the gun. Butler was sitting at the table and acted as if it was an inconvenienced [sic] when he was asked to stand up and handcuffs were put on. He said he did not understand the problem he had only shot a nigger." [Source] Maybe that dark meat on the ground was making him hungry. Anyway, the "nigger" will live. So unfortunately for Mr. Butler, unlike Mr. Zimmerman, he won't have all his pals sending money to a website to help him make bail. Welcome back home to your post-racial America, Mitt. *Second pic from theGrio.

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Limbaugh: "We shouldn't remind people on welfare
when the election is"

post from US Politics | AMERICAblog News on 31 July 2012 11:00:28 PM. © US Politics | AMERICAblog News

This is the most powerful man in the Republican party.

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Late Night: Brady Bunch Goes Modern

post from Firedoglake on 31 July 2012 11:00:23 PM. © Firedoglake

The "Brady Bunch" is getting some modern touches for a 21st century relaunch.[...]

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Daily Kos Elections Polling Wrap: A ton of new
polls illuminate current state of play in the House

post from Daily Kos on 31 July 2012 11:00:20 PM. © Daily Kos

There is a quite a pile of fresh new data to close out the month of July, and the critical mass of it is based on the battle for control of the House of Representatives. Indeed, it is a veritable internal poll-a-palooza, and within the raft of new numbers, we can see a few narratives developing as we head through the dog days of summer.

A couple of races may be more competitive than we previously thought, and at least one race that damned near everyone had notched into the "GOP pickup" column may be far less of a lock for the Republicans than previously thought.

In addition, we may well have the nominee for the most absurd poll of the cycle. And it comes from the House of Ras (or...at least...the House of Ras by a different name).

On to the numbers:

PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTION TRIAL HEATS:

NATIONAL (Gallup Tracking): Obama d. Romney (47-45)
NATIONAL (PPP for Daily Kos/SEIU): Obama d. Romney (48-47)
NATIONAL (Rasmussen Tracking): Romney d. Obama (47-44)
ARIZONA (PPP for the League of Conservation Voters): Romney d. Obama (52-41)
FLORIDA (PPP): Obama d. Romney (48-47)
MICHIGAN (EPIC-MRA): Obama d. Romney (48-42)
MISSOURI (Rasmussen): Romney d. Obama (50-44)

DOWNBALLOT POLLING:

AZ-SEN (PPP for the League of Conservation Voters): Richard Carmona (D) 38, Jeff Flake (R) 38
CA-03 (DCCC IVR Polling): Rep. John Garamendi (D) 52, Kim Vann (R) 37
CA-52 (Grove Insight for Peters): Rep. Brian Bilbray (R) 40, Scott Peters (D) 40
CT-SEN (PPP): Chris Murphy (D) 50, Linda McMahon (R) 42; Susan Bysiewicz (D) 45, McMahon 42; Murphy 47, Chris Shays (R) 38; Shays 43, Bysiewicz 40
CT-SEN?D (PPP): Chris Murphy 49, Susan Bysiewicz 32
CT-SEN?R (PPP): Linda McMahon 68, Chris Shays 20
MD-06 (Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for the House Majority PAC): John Delaney (D) 44, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R) 42, Nickolaus Mueller (I) 6
MI-SEN (EPIC-MRA): Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) 49, Pete Hoekstra (R) 35
MI-SEN?R (EPIC-MRA): Pete Hoekstra 51, Clark Durant 27, Randy Hekman 4, Gary Glenn 3
NY-01 (Pulse Opinion Research for Altschuler): Randy Altschuler (R) 47, Rep. Tim Bishop (D) 43
NY-19 (Global Strategy Group for Schriebman): Rep. Chris Gibson (R) 42, Julian Schreibman (D) 32
NY-19 (Public Opinion Strategies for Gibson): Rep. Chris Gibson (R) 53, Julian Schreibman (D) 36
NC-07 (Grove Insight for the DCCC): Rep. Mike McIntyre (D) 53, Dave Rouzer (R) 34
UT-04 (Global Strategy Group for the House Majority PAC): Rep. Jim Matheson (D) 51, Mia Love (R) 33
WI-SEN?R (We Ask America?R): Eric Hovde 23, Tommy Thompson 23, Mark Neumann 17, Jeff Fitzgerald 12

A few thoughts, as always, await you just past the jump...

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Another Proudly White Christian Male Persecuted
For Serving in a A Well-Regulated Militia

Walton Henry Butler of Port Joe, Florida was doing nothing more than pursuing his favorite pastime--standing at his sliding glass door and reminding the children in his apartment complex that they were just a "bunch a god darned niggers" who would never grow up to be a fine semi-literate, toothless, virile, vinyl-woman-romancing white man like himself.

A neighbor man of unhearlandish hue, Everett Gant, overheard Butler's tirade against melanin and approached the glass door to brutalize our proudly white brother with his chocolaty complexion. Acting in his role as a member of our nation's well-regulated militia, Brother Butler responded by aiming his .22 cal. rifle at Mr. Gant and shooting him in the head. Our caucasian avenger then turned his back on the wounded Gant and proceeded to cook up a whole mess of vittles.

Eventually, the diversity-poisoned police arrived to persecute Brother Butler. Indeed, they questioned Brother so severely, the patriot was moved to ask why they were treating him so badly. "After all," he noted, "it was just a nigger."

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C&L's Late Night Music Club With Chuck Berry

Title: School DaysArtist: Chuck Berry

It's the first day of school here in Nashville tomorrow, and I'm sending my little girl to the 3rd grade. Summer definitely went by too quickly. Got a favorite song about school?

Chuck Berry (Chess Box)