Quote Of The Day: Pope Benedict

The Pope warns of misuse of religion from his insulated 15th century-era ivory tower:

"However, is it not also the case that often it is the ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is the real catalyst for tension and division, and at times even violence in society?"

He was speaking in the King Hussein Mosque in Amman, Jordan. Do you think that is the best thing to be saying in their country? To "warn" and "advise"?

Imagine if a Muslim cleric was speaking at the Vatican "lecturing" about the Catholic priests in America raping little children?

Certain Americans use religion more and more, throwing aside the separation of Church and State, to push social issues as wedges. The Evangelical Christians are the worst at this. Will the Pope ever address them?

Source: BBC

Nate Silver: The End of Car Culture

Nate Silver writes about the declining American car culture:

"...there is some evidence that more Americans are at least entertaining the idea of leading a more car-free existence. Between October 2004, when gas prices first hit two dollars a gallon, and December 2008, when they fell below this threshold, three cities with among the largest declines in housing prices were Las Vegas (-37 percent), Detroit (-34 percent), and Phoenix (-15 percent), each highly car-dependent cities. Conversely, the two markets with the largest gains in housing prices were Portland, Oregon (+19 percent), and Seattle (+18 percent), communities that are more friendly to alternate modes of transportation."

Silver adds: "It's not just erratic gas prices and a bad economy that's hurting automakers. It may be that Americans are changing."

Light rail? Car pooling? The drive to work is not as romantic as it once seemed. That's if you still have a job.

Source: Esquire

Judge Napolitano On Fox: Bush Is A Felon

via Earth2Obama.com:

Judge Andrew Napolitano on Fox: Bush is a Felon for authorizing CIA torture!

After the Supreme Court ruled the Geneva Convention applies to all prisoners and after Bush signed a McCain authored law prohibiting torture, Bush still approved illegal torture techniques.

"...is the motivation a defense to lawbreaking? It is not."

Source: http://freedomwatchonfox.com/

Jacob Zuma Sworn In As South African President

With the 2010 World Cup coming to South Africa, the world will be watching more than ever:

Jacob Zuma took power Saturday in the culmination of an extraordinary political comeback, pledging to Nelson Mandela and the nation to renew the spirit of commitment and hope of South Africa's first black presidency.

Some background on Zuma: he has a 4th grade education, married 5 times...6th on the way, rumored to have 19 kids, accused of rape in 2006, hundreds of corruption charges, known for taking bribes, was fired in 2005 as Deputy President and thinks that AIDS is curable by taking a shower. Sounds like a politician to me.

He does have a lifelong devotion to the ANC:

[Zuma] joined the ANC in 1959 and by 21 he was arrested while trying to leave the country illegally. Zuma was jailed for 10 years on Robben Island, alongside [Nelson] Mandela and other heroes of the anti-apartheid struggle. It was there that he continued with his schooling and began making a name for himself among ANC prisoners.

From Mandela to Mbeki to Zuma. Not sure if this trend is good for SA.

Source: HuffPo

U.S. Jobless Rate Hits 8.9%

Job losses are still massive, but they are not as big as they once were. How awful has the recession been? So awful that a month with 539,000 job losses is considered an improvement.

Economists were expecting April totals to reach 620,000 job cuts, but the number was better thanks to what the AP described as "a burst of government hiring."

In Washington, President Obama called the increase in unemployment a “sobering toll” of the recession and warned of more job losses ahead. He said that a recovery could take months or years, but that the moderation in the rate of declining jobs was encouraging.

“The gears of our economic engine do appear to be slowly turning once again,” Mr. Obama said. “Step by step, we’re beginning to make progress.”

Not to say we are bottoming out or leveling off, but you need some sort of evidence at some point to show we are trending in the right direction.

Source: NYT

GOP: Aiming For Mediocrity And Failing

via Taegan Goddard:

"Could the Republican Party have gotten off to a rougher start in the Obama era? It's hard to think so. Even with Bush and Cheney no longer heading the party, the GOP finds its favorability ratings at or near all-time lows. Despite their enthusiasm for their unified opposition to Obama (on the stimulus, the budget), they're blamed more for the lack of bipartisanship in DC. While starting out with all the advantages in NY-20, they still found a way to lose that race. Despite the initial positive reaction to his victory as RNC chair, Michael Steele's reign has been, shall we say, not good. And holding on to 41 votes in the Senate, they enabled a Republican who proved he could win in the increasingly blue state of Pennsylvania to switch parties, giving Dems the prospect of a filibuster-proof majority."

"Yes, Obama is popular right now. And, yes, the GOP is still paying for the sins of Bush and Cheney. But what has to disappoint Republicans right now is that most of their recent problems have been self-inflicted. And to top all of this off, an effort to re-brand the party ends up causing an internal fissure between one of the party's supposed rising stars, Eric Cantor, and many of the leading conservative voices, including Rush Limbaugh. Never mind the silly debate over whether Reagan should be used as an icon or not. The issue of Reagan reminds us of the Kennedy-obsession Democrats had for decades. One could argue it took the Democrats nearly 30 years to kick the Kennedy habit (maybe longer). So, this Reagan issue may take the Republicans another 10 years to get over."

It also took about 30 years to get the Neo-Cons assembled and in power, from the Ford Administration and the Cheney-Rumsfeld alliance, through PNAC and the stealing of the 2000 election by Rehnquist's Supreme Court.

America can stand to be without conservative rule for the next 30 years. Looks like this current batch of GOP "leaders" will help ensure that.

Source: First Read

The "Chicken" Hawks Of The GOP

Why does the conservative Right have such a fear about detaining prisoners in America?

The context of all of this is what to do with 250 detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The United States detained 425,000 Axis Powers prisoners of war, many of them Nazis. Gitmo holds about 250 guys, who can be locked up pretty easily.

The one thing America is good at, it's prison. Have you ever seen the 10-12 hours of "Lock-Up" on MSNBC on the weekends? Crazy gang members with shivs killing each other.

So why this:

GOP Rep Pete Hoekstra, at a press conference today announcing the GOP's new "Keep Terrorists Out Of America Act," which is designed to restrict the housing of Guantanamo detainees on American soil.

Cuban cigars are not OK, but Cuban soil is OK for torture.

These "big on defense" Republicans squawk like chickens when it comes to locking down a few al Qaeda prisoners.

They give new meaning to the term "chicken hawk."

Source: Washington Monthly

What Has Two Thumbs And Is A P*ssy?

Who has two thumbs and is a complete pussy?

Why it's Sean Hannity. Two weeks after volunteering on his TV show to be waterboarded, the Fox pussy is all mum. [MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann even offered to help raise funds by donating $1,000 for every second Hannity is waterboarded.]

No one believed when you said it anyway. You have a child's approach to International torture policy and benefit from having a largely mentally unspectacular following of scared white people.

Your on-air bravado is all fake tough guy BS. After you weep from having been tortured for all of 2 seconds, what will you say then? That's if you ever do it. Christopher Hitchens was man enough to do it. He said it was undeniably torture. Has nightmares about it.

So stand up to your word. No "straw men" to use. No "some people say" useless sentences. Just your experience. Just like you dropped out of college, Sean, you will drop out of this challenge.

The "Last Throes" Of Dick Chaney

"I think it would be a mistake for us to moderate."

-- Former Vice President Dick Cheney, in a radio interview, on the future of the Republican party.

He did go to say: "I think periodically we have to go through one these sessions. It helps clear away some of the underbrush ... some of the older folks who’ve been around a long time — like yours truly — need to move on and make room for that young talent that’s coming along."

I concur.

Source: Political Wire

Republican Senators Message: We Cower

Republican Senators have gone from warmongering hawks, ready to bomb civilians in the blink of an eye, to cowering wusses afraid of housing a Bin Laden messenger?

This video from http://www.youtube.com/user/RepublicanSenators is embarrassing. This is a priority? Second-guessing our prison system's security?



Let's see these same Senator's justify putting a military base in a Communist country [Cuba] for he sole purpose of skirting International law. Cuba has an embargo because they are communist. Would we put prisoners in North Korea?

You can build these guys up into the biggest, most fearsome network that ever lived, but at the end of the day, they can't break metal bars or cement walls. Stop being so afraid. Real problems are living next door to sex offenders, down the street from murderers and drug dealers.

In our prison system we currently have the Beltway Sniper. The BTK serial killer, the Son of Sam, Ramzi Yousef (1993 WTC bombing), Manuel Noriega, Sirhan Sirhan (who killed Bobby Kennedy), the Unabomber, Eric Rudolph (Atlanta Olympics bombings) etc.

We held Timothy McVeigh of the OK city bombings, James Earl Ray (who killed MLK), Ted Bundy, Henry Lee Lucas [only Death Row pardon by then TX Gov. George Bush] and many other bad people over the years.

Name me one incident that has happened since any of them have been incarcerated that would make you believe they would be dangerous to house in the US.

All you are doing is trying to make people afraid. You never talk about justice or legality. If they are guilty, sentence them.

Rush Should Purge Food, Not The GOP

What do you do when madmen run the asylum?

"What Colin Powell needs to do is close the loop and become a Democrat instead of claiming to be a Republican interested in reforming the Republican Party,"
-- Rush Limbaugh on his radio show Wednesday.

A four-star general in the United States Army. The 65th United States Secretary of State (2001-2005), serving under President George W. Bush. In the military, served as National Security Advisor (1987–1989), as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army Forces Command (1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–1993), holding the latter position during the Gulf War.

Asked to leave his party by an AM radio host?

The Big Tent of the GOP sure looks like the party of one fat entertainer addicted to pills whinging on and on to his monochromatic herd of rubes.

Source: CNN

Justice Served, Justice Gained

Why are all the headlines so soft: NY Times' "Inquiry Suggests No Charges" and the Wall Street Journal's "Justice Likely To Urge No Prosecutions".

John Yoo, Steven Bradbury and Jay Bybee need to held accountable. All three wrote and signed memos justifying torture and encouraging others to think that criminal activities were legal.

Now is not the time for denial. Lest we forget the ball-crushing ideology of Yoo. How would he feel about retribution?

Proverb Of The Day

A guilty conscience needs no accuser.

Or, the man with something on his conscience thinks he is always the subject of talk.

Since leaving office, why do you think Bush is silent and Cheney is non-stop yapping?

Farce Repeated As Tragedy

The two most famous statements of the last two presidents will be "I did not have sexual relations with that woman," and "We do not torture."

Both were lies.

For one statement, we impeached. For another, we're told to keep on walking.

Sad.

Specter Stripped

Remember what "loyalty" means:

"The blowback came Tuesday night: On a voice vote, the Senate voted to strip[Arlen] Specter of his 29 years of seniority, effectively transforming him in a blink-and-you-missed-it-moment from one of the most senior senators in the body to a lowly freshman on most committees."

For a guy almost 80, he sure is learning some life lessons.

Source: Politico

Torture's Smoking Gun

From the AP:

Ostensibly, Yoo, an attorney for the Office of Legal Counsel and Bybee, that section's chief, were tasked by Attorney General John Ashcroft with determining whether so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" violated U.S. law and treaty obligations. But a draft report, prepared by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Review, suggests that, at the direction of the White House, the OLC worked to justify a policy that had already been determined and did not begin their inquiry from a neutral position.

It is not clear -- and sources would not say -- who in the White House communicated with the two lawyers about the memos, and it is not clear whether Yoo or Bybee felt unduly pressured to provide a legal framework for a decision already made by senior administration officials.

Who was it in the White House? Who asked for phony legal cover for a plainly illegal torture policy already decided upon? Will US Attorney General Eric Holder do the right thing?

Source: AP

America Had It Right 250 Years Ago

250 years later, Ben Franklin is still right on the mark.

Torturing Democacy

This is an excerpt from the documentary "Torturing Democracy".



The President can not make something illegal into something legal. The torture memos prove that. And for those on the Right who forget your morals from President to President, Jonathan Chait remember this:

Remember the Rule of Law? In the late 1990s, it was all the rage in conservative circles. Having maneuvered Bill Clinton into a position where he could either lie under oath or suffer massive personal and political embarrassment, conservatives reasoned that Clinton must be held accountable for perjury or the basic underpinnings of democracy would be shattered. The Republican sensibility was best reflected by the Wall Street Journal editorial page, which not only crusaded for impeachment but demanded, in 2001, that Bill Clinton be indicted even after leaving office. The Journal rejected the logic of promoting healing and insisted that a post-presidency indictment would uphold "the principle that even Presidents and ex-Presidents are not above the law."

When you torture someone you are looking for confirmation on intelligence you already know. The torturer relents when his subject provides the "correct" answer.

We already have the "correct" answer on whether torture is illegal or not. It's now time to hold our "suspected" policy makers to the Rule Of Law.

Source: www.torturingdemocracy.org

Bristol Palin: Do The Exact Opposite Of What I Did

Levi Johnston responds to his baby mama Bristol Palin's "abstinence only" message.

Does practice what you preach ring a bell, Bristol? The ol' "do as I say, not as I do" move. Sounds so convincing coming from a 17 year-old mother who once opined that abstinence is "not realistic at all".

At least Levi is living in the real world:

” … It’s a great idea and a great message she’s trying to send out to the world and all the young kids. It’s not easy raising a baby. But I do think there’s more things to it than just not having sex.”

Source: CBS

Maine Legalizes Same Sex Marriage

Maine becomes the fifth state:

Governor John E. Baldacci today signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom.

“I have followed closely the debate on this issue. I have listened to both sides, as they have presented their arguments during the public hearing and on the floor of the Maine Senate and the House of Representatives. I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully,” Governor Baldacci said. “I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste.”

It's a rights issue. Baldacci sited:

“Article I in the Maine Constitution states that ‘no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of that person’s civil rights or be discriminated against.’”

Once you remove the mythology of modern religion, it's a pretty easy case. Civil unions are not the same as civil marriage. With this decision, now they are. It's a matter of fairness. Big ups for the progressive North East.

Source: RawStory

Deep Thought of the Day

Why Do They Support Torture?

Jack Cafferty segment asks: why is it the more Americans go to church, the more likely they support torture?

"Holy Wars? Crusades? Jihad? Nobody loves man's inhumanity to man more than those who have God on their side."

Source: http://earth2obama.org/

What To Get The Mother Who Kills Everything

Just in time for Mother's Day!

Sarah Palin was honored by NRA with special Alaska-themed assault rifle. The all-white model, best used after Memorial Day, but before Labor Day, was made legal after the expiration of the assault weapons ban in 2004.



Source: NY Daily News

Letterman: How Did Cheney Do?

David Letterman has a great collection of Dick Cheney claims that painfully remind us what we went through the last 8 years. It's like being wrong was his job. Glad Dick thinks he can attack Obama now.

Letterman on Cheney: ‘How’d he do?’ - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Do The Crime, Do The Time

When you're wrong and you know it.

Newsweek reported recently that the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility report is “causing anxiety among former Bush administration officials.” Now, the Washington Post is reporting that Bush officials are lobbying the DOJ to weaken the report’s conclusions:

Former Bush administration officials are lobbying behind the scenes to push Justice Department leaders to water down an ethics report criticizing lawyers who blessed harsh detainee interrogation tactics, according to two sources familiar with the efforts.

In recent days, attorneys for the subjects of the ethics probe have encouraged senior Bush administration appointees to write and phone Justice Department officials, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is not complete.

Haunted by "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Source: Kevin Drum

UPDATE: The Washington Post also reports that a 200-page draft report of the memo, prepared in January before President Bush's departure, "recommends disciplinary action by state bar associations against two former department attorneys in the Office of Legal Counsel who might have committed misconduct in preparing and signing the so-called torture memos. State bar associations have the power to suspend a lawyer's license to practice or impose other penalties."

Which two lawyers are wetting their pants? Maybe Jay Bybee, John Yoo, or Steven Bradbury?

Captain Obvious

Keeping it real or just stating the obvious, you pick:

"Do you realize that under our dynamic leadership of our leader, we have gone from 55 and probably to 40 (Senate seats) in two election cycles, and if the tea leaves that I read are correct, we will wind up with about 36 after this election cycle. So if leadership means anything, it means you don't lose... approximately 19 seats in three election cycles with good leadership."

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), quoted by the Louisville Courier-Journal, blasting fellow Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

With that bit of candor, I guess Bunning is not running for re-election.



Source: Louisville Courier-Journal

999,999 vs 1

Why is the use of torture always framed in the "torture one person to get information that saves a city" scenario? Why not see if for what it is: torturing thousands of random people, gathering zero intelligence [not to mention the detainees that died because of said torture]. Same with wiretapping. It's not like they used it for limited use, they tapped everyone everywhere. Again, gathering zero intel. The lack of warrants was the middle finger to Americans.

David Waldman puts it:

"As tiresome as it can sometimes be to see people frame matters so that it all comes down to one issue and one issue only, I find myself returning to this one again and again. Whether or not torture is your issue. Or wiretapping. Or indefinite detention. Or signing statements. Or anything, really -- environment, global warming, abortion, health care, taxes, terrorism, the war. No matter what your issue is, at heart, you're dependent on a continuing and consistent respect for the law. Because without it, none of your work on politics and policy is worth anything the moment the White House falls to someone who's not you."

Alberto Gonzales and the Bush/Cheney Administration had no use for the law, always using a one-in-a-million scenario to justify just about anything. The fact that the other 999,999 cases justify using the Rule of Law never mattered to them. They are unapologetic and proud they were never correct.

Even worse, the cases they used to justify the million-to-one odds not only never happened, but will never happen. The fear alone is what they use. The fear they created and spread.

Source: DailyKos

Obama Targets Tax Cheats And Tax Havens

Ed Schultz on the Ed Show has a segment of tax cheats and tax havens used by corporations. Jared Bernstein, VP Joe Biden's ecomonic advisor, guests.

Did you know there are over 18,800 US companies with a Cayman Islands' address used to duck taxes? These easy loopholes have to stop.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Source: The Ed Show

Health Care And Geography

Where are the uninsured?

In 2005, the U.S. Census estimated the size of the uninsured population for every county in the nation. The result is mapped below as the percentage of each county’s population (under age 65, since the elderly are covered by Medicare) that has no health care coverage.

In the Southwest and Western U.S. the percentage of uninsured residents is also very high, partly due to large uninsured immigrant populations (both legal and illegal). Immigrants are about 2.5 times more likely to be uninsured than natives. An estimated one-third of Latinos are without health insurance, the highest rate for any ethnic group. Californians and Arizonans are, by now, very familiar with the health care and general fiscal impact of high levels of immigration — a reminder that health care reform and immigration reform are linked. Immigration is a challenge for policymakers who are trying to reduce the size of the uninsured population.

A large percentage are in States that vote Republican. Do those Republicans have any political incentive to work on this issue with President Obama? Maybe the President does not needs them, either.



Source: www.themonkeycage.org

The GOP Needs A Mirror

A sound reflection for those who think Colbert Report is the truth and Michele Bachmann is on to something:

"When you've just been voted out of power for manifest incompetence and your opponents are led by a very popular and reasonable-sounding person, you don't have the luxury of acting righteous and uncompromising all the time. You have to acknowledge error. You have to act civilly. You have to appear pragmatic and reasonable. But the GOP is not interested in doing any of these things. Those who are left in the party are ultra-partisan and utterly convinced of their own infallibility and moral righteousness. Until they lose that attitude and general combativeness, it won't matter what their ideas are. They'll just keep turning people off".

Reagan famously said that the government is the problem. Every Republican in power since has striven to fulfill that dictum.

Source: www.anonymousliberal.com

GOP-osaurus Siting

It's like the line from Spinal Tap, when faced with shrinking album sales over the years, the group says their fans are just more selective. Which is good line for a comedy movie, not politics.

The extinction of the GOP since 2004: lost 54 House seats, 15 Senators and 7 Governors.

Trying to spin Arlen Spector's switch as a good thing? Michael Steele and Sean Hannity grasping at thin air. Too funny.

Steve Schmidt, McCain's campaign manager was the only one being realistic.

Fitting that the party that is anti-safeguards, anti-regulation, anti-environment and rife with claims climate change is bogus does not see their own short-sightedness and demise engulfing them. The endangered species list you mock could actually teach you a lesson and save you guys.



Source: DailyKosTV