Obama, the leftist Americans like.

So most A-merry-cans believe that O is to the left of them politically. And given how A-merry-cans feel about leftist, it's shocking that his Oness is stacking up so well against each of the republican candidates for president of these divided states. Even the right wing leaning Rasmussen Poll can't put O away just yet.

Maybe it's because most of them admire him so much personally that they can look past his political leanings.

I also wonder if this curious contradiction has something to do with the economy picking up in the last quarter of 2011. The housing market is picking up. Unemployment numbers are down. And there has been growth in the manufacturing sector.

This, of course, is bad news for Flipper Mitt and company. No one is praying for a failing economy harder than my republican friends. Four years of power is at stake. A-merry-cans, as is usually the case, do not care about foreign policy. All they care about is their pocket books, and that is what will influence their vote in 2012. If a leftist commie helps to put steak and potatoes on the table; well then so be it.

Speaking of Flipper Mitt; I see where he recently compared O to Marie Antoinette.

"Mitt Romney says President Obama is out of touch with average Americans and compared the man he'd like to replace with the former French queen who came to symbolize extravagance.

"When the president's characterization of our economy was, 'It could be worse,' it reminded me of Marie Antoinette: 'Let them eat cake,' " Romney told The Huffington Post in an interview Thursday."

Hmmmm.....this is an interesting observation from Flipper. I say that because I just read the following:

"DAVENPORT, Iowa--I'm told the reason it remains illegal to raise chickens in Iowa City, where I live, is because Iowans moved to our relatively cosmopolitan college town to get away from the country people and, by extension, their chickens. Twentysomethings from bigger cities, where it is fashionable to raise your own chicks and harvest fresh eggs and place them decorously on gingham dish towels, come to Iowa thinking they will live the country life for a little while, only to find their neighbors shutting them down. I mention this by way of explaining my first impression of the 400 people who came to see Mitt Romney in a hotel in Davenport, Iowa, on Tuesday night: These are the people who would call the police on your illegal chickens.

The women have accessorized. They're wearing foundation, bronzer, silk scarves, pearls. There are men in ties, men in Banana Republic sweaters, over-scrubbed little blond boys in blue fleece. It is a crowd in which it is possible to linger on a face that seems remotely recognizable and wonder if you're staring at a news anchor whose name you used to know." [Source]

Mitt, those all sound like folks Marie Antoinette would love to me.

Finally, shout out to the folks over at the Black Weblog Awards for recognizing the field for the best political or news blog. That is serious FNB on your part.

The imperfect revolution.

And so the "Arab Spring" continues. In Syria, the tyrant Bashar Assad, continues to mercilessly crack down on his people. And, in Washington, Hillary and company continue to do a delicate dance: Disposing of a brutal dictator which could lead to unanticipated consequences, or allowing democracy and the will of the people to take hold.

The ouster of Assad could open the door for more extremist groups (see Yemen), and, believe it or not, could lead to more instability in the region. Syria is a country of mostly Sunnis being led by a Shias who is in the minority. If the Sunnis take control of the country they might suppress the minority Shias, which could lead to a conflict with their neighbors in Iraq. A neighboring country made up of mostly Shias. Are you confused yet?

Then there is the Israeli problem: Syria shared a  border with Israel at the Golan Heights region. Not good. Believe it or not, the man everyone loves to hate recently, has actually showed that he is a moderate when it comes to Israel and has shown a willingness to sign a peace agreement over the Golan Heights region. Who knows what will happen when real democracy takes hold? 

I know one thing, Assad, like the other tyrants before him; will soon be gone as well. A-merry-cans can only watch so many images of innocent folks getting their heads bashed in on CNN before they start saying enough. The pressure is already on the Arab League to act and even Syria's other allies, such as Russia, are starting to waiver in their support. The world will not stand still while "massacres" occur in the Syrian countryside. If I were Bashar Assad I would be looking for a nice peaceful country to retire with the rest of my family.   

Finally, I, like the rest of you, have been hearing the buzz about my girl Condi appearing on the republican ticket as a candidate for VP. As Robert Traynham wrote in the Philadelphia Tribune, it would be interesting.  

"...Youthfulness, bona fide conservative credentials and diversity. Condi Rice, the first female African-American Secretary of State, brings diversity to the ticket and of course crackerjack foreign policy experience.

As I mentioned before, my money is on Mitt Romney becoming the next Republican nominee. His steadiness in the polls (yes, I know this has been a rollercoaster of a ride), his firm grasp of the issues that are demonstrated in the debates, and his ability to show considerable fundraising might compel me to believe that the primary race is still Romney’s to lose. His challenge will be whether or not he can convince conservative primary voters that he is not going to waffle on social issues if he wins the White House. Senator Rubio, as I have stated before, could be the reminder that conservatives may want in the White House; but Condi Rice could also serve in that role.

First, the drawbacks: Rice having never served in elected office, many Americans may think she is too inexperienced and naïve in the ways of the rough-and-tumble politics to actually assist Romney on the ticket.

The upside: Rice has always been and will continue to be an interesting public policy figure. She’s smart, engaging and unflappable. A debate between Rice and Biden would be must-watch television as each would be ready to better the other on hot-button issues such as North Korea, Pakistan, China and Cuba. Rice would also give African Americans a real clear choice as to which they want to represent them in the executive branch."

Calm down Robert, she would be running as the VP, not the HNIC. Besides, don't cross your fingers in anticipation of Flipper Mitt selecting the concert pianist with the shoe fetish just yet. We are still a long way from Tampa.  








   

Kentucky therapy.

I don't have kids, I pretty much satisfy my kiddy jones through Mrs. Field's nieces, and my now older nephew.

But this story out of Kentucky has me wondering what I would do if I were one of the parents of this poor child. (h/t to the folks at Color of Change for turning me on to this story.)

"A 9-year-old autistic boy who misbehaved at school was stuffed into a duffel bag and the drawstring pulled tight, according to his mother, who said she found him wiggling inside as a teacher’s aide stood by.

The mother of fourth-grader Christopher Baker said her son called out to her when she walked up to him in the bag Dec. 14. The case has spurred an online petition calling for the firing of school employees responsible.
“He was treated like trash and thrown in the hallway,” Chris’ mother, Sandra Baker, said Thursday. She did not know how exactly how long he had been in the bag, but probably not more than 20 minutes.

Mercer County schools Interim Superintendent Dennis Davis said confidentiality laws forbid him from commenting.

“The employees of the Mercer County Public Schools are qualified professionals who treat students with respect and dignity while providing a safe and nurturing learning environment,” Davis said in a statement.
State education officials said they were investigating.

Chris is a student at Mercer County Intermediate School in Harrodsburg in central Kentucky. The day had barely begun when his family was called to the school because Chris was acting up. He is enrolled in a program for students with special needs.

Walking toward his classroom, Baker’s mother saw the gym bag. There was a small hole at the top, she said, and she heard a familiar voice.
“Momma, is that you?” Chris said, according to his mother.

A teacher’s aide was there, and Baker demanded that her son be released. At first, the aide struggled to undo the drawstring, but the boy was pulled out of the bag, which had some small balls inside and resembled a green Army duffel bag, Baker said.

“When I got him out of the bag, his poor little eyes were as big as half dollars and he was sweating,” Baker said. “I tried to talk to him and get his side of the reason they put him in there, and he said it was because he wouldn’t do his work.”

Baker said when school officials called the family to pick him up, they were told he was “jumping off the walls.” Days later, at a meeting with school officials, Baker said she was told the boy had smirked at the teacher when he was told to put down a basketball, then threw it across the room.

At a meeting with school district officials, the bag was described as a “therapy bag,” Baker said, though she wasn’t clear exactly what that meant. She said her son would sometimes be asked to roll over a bag filled with balls as a form of therapy, but she didn’t know her son was being placed in the bag. She said school officials told her it was not the first time they had put him in the bag.
So far, almost 700 people have signed a petition on the website change.org. Lydia Brown, an autistic 18-year-old Georgetown University freshman from Boston, said she started it after reading a story about Chris.

“That would not be wrong just for an autistic student. That would be wrong to do to anyone,” Brown said.

Advocates for the autistic were outraged.

Landon Bryce of San Jose, Calif., a former teacher who blogs about issues related to autism, said the school’s treatment of Chris was “careless and disrespectful.”'[Source]

"Therapy Bag"? WTF? I know we are talking about Kentucky here, but at some point certain folks in A-merry-ca will have to join the rest of us in the 21st century.

The real scary part of this story is that school officials seemed to be aware of this practice. If true, some of these folks should pay with their jobs.   





 

Don't blame Santa.

Oh Lawd! That gunman in Texas was dressed as Santa.

If stuff like this continues, "St. Nick" is going to have to hire a big- time PR firm.

I shouldn't be feeling like this after such a tragedy, but something about that Connecticut fire story doesn't sit right with me.

The kids and grandparents all died but mommy and her boyfriend made it out?
I sure hope my gut is wrong about what it is trying telling me.

"A fire that broke out in the early morning in an exclusive Stamford, Connecticut neighborhood has claimed the lives of three children and two adults. Stamford mayor Michael Pavia told reporters, "It’s a terrible, terrible day for the city of Stamford. There probably has not been a worse Christmas day in the city of Stamford." Update, 12/26: The victims were the three daughters and parents of homeowner Madonna Badger.

The fire department received calls at around 4:52 a.m. about a fire at 2267 Shippan Avenue, a home purchased last December (for $1.725 million) which was undergoing months of renovations. Two adults escaped, but the fire was so consuming that firefighters were unable to reach other occupants in time. A neighbor said, "We heard this screaming at 5 in the morning. The whole house was ablaze and I mean ablaze." He told the Times, "The flames were coming through the top floor, and I thought, ‘Nobody could possibly survive this.’"
Fire officials said it would be days until fire marshals would be able to get clues for what caused the fire and they didn't know the condition of the two survivors, "We had our hands full from the moment we arrived on the scene." The home's previous owners said they sold the property to Madonna Badger, a fashion branding consultant in NYC, "She was living there with her children. She has three children."

In other news, I guess poor John Hithon won't be seeing that 1.4 million he had planned to spend this past Christmas.

"Certain words mean different things to different people. Depending on where you are from calling someone “boy” can get you in a ton of trouble. That’s what happened to a supervisor at Tyson Chicken.
The New York Times reports:

Last year, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled that there were no racial overtones when a white manager at a Tyson chicken plant in Gadsden, Ala., called adult black men working there “boy.”
“The usages were conversational” and “nonracial in context,” the majority wrote in a 2-to-1 decision that overturned a jury verdict of about $1.4 million in an employment discrimination case brought by a black Tyson employee, John Hithon.

Civil Rights attorneys decided to file a brief on the matter:

The brief urged the court to reconsider, making the case that “boy” retains its venom. For evidence, the brief drew on personal experiences, history, literary classics like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Native Son,” and the writings of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Boy,” the brief said, is either a proxy for or “at the very least a close cousin” of the most charged racial epithet.

On Dec. 16, more than a year after the initial decision, the appeals court reversed course. The new ruling was opaque and grudging, but Mr. Clemon said he welcomed it, particularly since it is very unusual for a federal appeals court panel simply to change its mind. “I don’t recall it ever happening,” said Mr. Clemon, who graduated from law school in 1968." [Story]

Now why would Tyson Chicken, of all people, want to f&^% with black folks? Don't they know which side their bread chicken is buttered on?

Finally, what's all the fuss about a TSA agent taking cupcakes from a woman last week?

"A Massachusetts woman who flew home from Las Vegas this week says an airport security officer confiscated her frosted cupcake because he thought its vanilla-bourbon icing could be a "security risk."

Rebecca Hains told ABCNews.com today that a Transportation Security Administration agent at Las Vegas- McCarran International Airport seized her cupcake, saying the frosting sitting atop the red velvet cake was gel-like enough to violate regulations.

The incident took place Wednesday.

Hains, a teacher, said the cupcake was a gift from one of her students. She was traveling with her husband and toddler, and thought her young son might get hungry on the long trip home.

The cupcake was packaged in a glass container with a metal lid, which was why it attracted the attention of the scanner in the first place.

The TSA agent didn't know what to do with the cupcake, so she called over her supervisor, Hains said.

"The TSA supervisor, Robert Epps, was using really bad logic - he said it counted as a gel-like substance because it was conforming to the shape of its container."

"We also had a small pile of hummus sandwiches with creamy fillings, which made it through, but the cupcake with its frosting was apparently a terrorist threat…I just don't know what world he was living in," said Hains, speaking of the TSA officer." [story]

This story has been on every major news show. Why?
The TSA agent was doing his/her job, and I say good for them for taking the damn cupcakes. They probably weren't even any good. That "frosting" could have been a terrorist threat if enough people ate it.

Seriously, who cares? Are they really going to miss the damn cupcakes that much? Better safe than sorry is what I say.

Besides, if that was an Arab woman flying with a box of mammouls, the TSA agent who confiscated them would have been on the news network for dummies all week being praised for being vigilant.

Texas Scrooge!

"It appears they had just celebrated Christmas. They had opened their gifts,"

Man it's the day after JC's birthday and seven people lost their lives in one horrific act in a Dallas area home.

There is just no holiday spirit here in A-merry-ca.

"The victims have not yet been identified, but Eberling said it appears they all died of gunshot wounds. He said authorities still don't know what sparked the incident.

Grapevine Police Lt. Todd Dearing said investigators believe that all the victims were related, but that some were only visiting and didn't live in the apartment. He said police are looking for other relatives to inform.

"Seven people in one setting in Grapevine, that's never happened before. Ever," Dearing said.

He said police were performing a "meticulous" search of the apartment and he expects them to be on the scene for many hours.

Police and firefighters first rushed to the Lincoln Vineyards complex after receiving an open-ended emergency services call at about 11:30 a.m., Eberling said.

"There was an open line. No one was saying anything," he explained." [Story]

These are tough economic times, and given where we put our priorities in A-merry-ca, it's going to be even tougher. When you care more about material things than everything else; bad things tend to happen.

Finally, it's not all bad news here in A-merry-ca. In my city the po po did a nice job of making sure that one poor soul enjoys the rest of the holiday.

"Christmas came early for a Boston music student who was reunited with the $170,000 violin she forgot in the overhead compartment of a regional commuter bus she rode last week, police said.

Muchen Hsieh, a student at the New England Conservatory in Boston, had traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, arriving at roughly 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

Christine O'Brien, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia police, who helped Hsieh track down the missing instrument, said then came a moment of sheer panic for the student.

O'Brien said Hsieh realized she had forgotten the instrument after she was picked up from the bus station. She blamed her absent-mindedness on travel fatigue.

Hsieh called the bus company, Megabus, roughly 30 minutes after she arrived but the bus had already left the Philadelphia station, O'Brien said. Hsieh also notified police, making a plea for the instrument's recovery, O'Brien said.

The 176-year-old instrument, on loan to Hsieh from a Taiwanese cultural foundation, was found by bus cleaners in the same compartment in which Hsieh left it. They put it in storage, and police returned it to Hsieh on Friday.

Hsieh joins the ranks of esteemed musicians who have mislaid or forgotten their valuable and sometimes priceless instruments. World renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma once left his in a cab.

One German string player required medical attention from the stress caused when he left his violin, worth roughly $1.4 million, on a commuter train in 2010.

It is not unusual for students at Hsieh's school to have such valuable instruments, Ellen Pfeifer, spokeswoman for the New England Conservatory, told the Boston Globe.

"Most of our string players, whether violinists, cellists, or violists, have pretty expensive, old, rare, instruments," Pfeifer said. "They frequently get them on loan from wealthy foundations."

The violin, which is in pristine condition, was made in 1835 by Vincenzo Jorio in Naples.

"This is certainly one of the most expensive items I have ever heard of and we were so relieved to get it back to the owner," said Megabus spokesman Bryony Chamberlain, adding that people often forget stowed-away items after long trips.

Hsieh had traveled from Boston to New York City and then to Philadelphia, Chamberlain said, a trip that could have taken more than six and a half hours.

"Each division has incidents of lost items that rare -- but this is probably one of the most unique," police spokeswoman O'Brien said, adding that Hsieh put on a mini-concert for the officers who organized the recovery.

"She is very talented," O'Brien said."

Yes, and very lucky.

Happy B-Day JC!

I hope you all haven't been naughty.

Enjoy your families.

"The Donald" rethinks a run and we rethink Santa.

Oh ohh, could Mr. Bad Hair cause the republicans to lose the next election because of his big ego?

"NEW YORK (AP) — Billionaire businessman Donald Trump has changed his voter registration in New York state from Republican to unaffiliated.

A spokesman for Trump says the businessman and television host changed his affiliation to preserve his option to seek the presidency in 2012.

Special Counsel Michael Cohen said Friday that Trump could enter the race if Republicans fail to nominate a candidate who can defeat President Barack Obama.

He said Trump probably would use his substantial wealth to even the playing field with Obama's re-election campaign.

Cohen said Trump's commitment to hosting TV's "The Apprentice" will keep him from doing anything until May, when the show's season wraps up.

He said Trump filed his voter registration paperwork Thursday." [Source]

I wonder what makes Trump think that he can defeat Obama? That man has been getting some bad advice from somewhere. Donald, stick to building casinos that lose money and tacky television shows.

Finally, as we approach Christmas eve, I have some uncomfortable thoughts about Santa: With all these sexual abuse scandals hitting us one after another and shattering our perceptions of institutions and individuals that we previously held in high esteem, could it be.....noooooo, I don't even want to think about it.

Santa, we will still have milk and cookies out for you; we just won't allow little Johnny to give them to you by himself.

 

"Baby got back!"

"A Republican congressman from Wisconsin has offered a personal apology to First Lady Michelle Obama after he was overheard at an airport lounge criticizing her "large posterior."

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner was overheard loudly complaining on the phone in the Delta Lounge at Reagan National Airport outside Washington about Obama's healthy food initiative.."

First of all, why were you looking at Mrs. O's moneymaker? As old time people used to say: "Stay out of black folks business".

Some of us happen to like a nice* "moneymaker".(Why do you think Kim Kardashian dates so many brothers?) Still, it's nice to know that O still has a little brother left in him.

Anywhoo, I have seen the good congressman, and, believe me, he is in no position to make fun of Mrs. O's physical appearance. Just sayin.

"According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Daniel Bice, Sensenbrenner made a similar remark at the Wisconsin church he was referencing in his phone call, telling attendees there that Obama has a "big butt."

The Wisconsin lawmaker—who, it must noted, is a bit rotund--sent a personal note to Obama apologizing for his remarks, his spokeswoman Amanda Infield tells Yahoo News. She declined to go into detail about what the note said.
In a statement to reporters, the lawmaker reiterated his apology. "I regret my inappropriate comment, and I have sent a personal note to the First Lady apologizing," he said."

A spokesman for Obama did not respond to a request for comment."

"A bit rotund"? Ya think?

I swear, republicans can be so petty. Eight years of first lady **Barbara Bush and I never heard a comment from the dumbocrats about her physical appearance.
And lord knows....let me stop.

Finally, this is all you need to know about Flipper Mitt: he waits until signs of violence in Iraq to attack O for pulling out of that country. He didn't have the courage or the "stones" to make a statement and take a position when the withdrawal was in full effect. But we have come to expect no less from Flipper.

"I hope that risk is not realized. I hope that we're able to see stability there but the president's failure to secure an agreement and maintain 10,000 to 30,000 troops in Iraq has to be one of his signature failures," he told Reuters.

Romney was speaking in an interview on his campaign bus in New Hampshire. The former governor of Massachusetts is among the top two candidates to win the Republican nomination to take on Obama in November, 2012.

In widespread comments on foreign policy, Romney rejected the transfer of Taliban prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison into Afghan government custody as part of a secret dialogue to end the Afghan war.

He also accused Obama's of falling far short in his handling of the economy despite some signs of strength such as a drop in the unemployment rate to 8.6 percent from 9 percent.

Republicans will use Iraq against Obama in the election campaign if the country descends into violence again after the recent U.S. withdrawal. Thursday's attacks there are the first sign of rising violence since Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki moved to sideline Sunni rivals." [Source] 

So now I know what wingnuts want for Christmas: a dead Iraqi or two.

*Black model courtesy of SodaHead.

**Correction: Barbara Bush was First Lady for eight years, not four as I wrote in my post. Thank you.  

Flight delay.

On the road again folks. I am sitting in Philly International waiting on a plane that's delayed from Boston so that I can skid marks out of here. (Two hour delay!)Memo to self: Avoid US Air in the future. They can keep their dam "frequent flyer" miles.

"Ladies and gentlemen. there has been a gate change" Great!

Anywhoo, I am watching the television and CNN is all over this tax cut debate.
Republicans are really looking foolish. Their own bible; The Wall Street Journal, slammed them today in an editorial for not voting to extend the tax cuts. Mr. Tan Man refuses to bring it to a vote, and I suspect that his candidate for president will pay a price at the polls come election time.

No matter how they try to spin this, it all comes back to them not voting to extend the tax cuts past the January1 deadline.

So ten days to go, let's see who blinks first.  

I'm off the ranch for a few days, but I will be posting from the road. Sorry wingnuts; truth never takes a day off. 
  

How can a crack dealer get to that man?

Before I drop this next post, let me just say for the record that I do not want to inhibit free speech. And the young [right] wingnut who made the following comments on her Twitter account has every right to say what she did here in A-merry-ca.

"The University of Texas Austin College Republicans President recently posted an offensive message on Twitter about President Obama.

Cassie Wright tweeted “My President Is Black, He Snorts A Lot Of Crack,” Sunday.

This isn’t the first time a leader of the organization has made offensive remarks about the president. The former President, Lauren Pierce, tweeted last month, “Y’all as tempting as it may be, don’t shoot Obama. We need him to go down in history as the WORST president we’ve EVER had! #2012.”

That Tweet, which Wright’s grandmother has theorized may be the result of hacking, was also re-Tweeted by Wright’s predecessor, the current secretary of the statewide College Texas Republicans, Lauren Pierce." [Source] 

Now maybe she really does think that Obama smokes crack. (Yes, and I thought that George Bush snorted meth just because he was...you know.) Maybe she is not an ignorant racist who is the personification of the southern white republican these days. Maybe she really believes, that Obama, with his small frame, and hailing from the city of Chicago, just fits the profile of a crack smoker. Maybe.

But should we give her the benefit of the doubt? Or, should we look at the past history of a certain party and their standard- bearers? (Ron Paul comes to mind.)

I have a question for my wingnut friends: Why is it that it is always republicans who seem to engage in this seemingly racist and insensitive type of behavior?

I am guessing that if this was not the case you would probably get more than 8% of the black vote come election time. Just a guess.

Finally, I see where a 22 year old Russian, thanks to her billionaire daddy, just purchased an 88 million dollar crib in Manhattan. She did this because she wants to kick it there part-time while attending college. Nice.

Isn't capitalism great? I bet the Russians are glad that they discovered it.

From Kim Jong to Newt.

There are a few things on my mind tonight.

I could, once again, chase the Big R, but I will leave him alone for now. I am sure that he will keep me busy over the coming year.

Anyway, I would like to congratulate Donald Trump for having the world's most f^%*d up hair cut now that Kim Jong Il is dead. Congrats Donald! I know that it was killing you all these years to be number two.

The headlines have been screaming out at me about that horrific killing in a New York elevator. It has "outraged" and "shocked" New Yorkers, and it is front page news damn near everywhere in the country.

We all know about that monster, Jerome Issac, by now, and we are collectively horrified by his actions.

But how many of us know about Sara McCeen? I suspect not many. Because what Sara McCeen did was not caught on camera, and it didn't happen in New York City. But, make no mistake, it was every bit as barbaric and depraved.

"An Illinois woman shot each of her three children, including a 10-month-old baby, in the head before apparently killing herself, authorities said Monday. Investigators arriving on the scene found their bodies in the backyard, the woman's hands stained with soot from firing the gun.

Authorities released new details on the shootings in Emington, a farming community with 117 residents about 85 miles southwest of Chicago. Neighbors have said the gunfire erupted moments after McMeen's two older children got off a school bus on Friday.

Investigators found the body of her live-in boyfriend, Daniel Warren, 29, inside the couple's rented home. They found McMeen, 30, and her three children in the backyard.

Next-door neighbor Annelise Fiedler told The Associated Press on Saturday that she ran out of her house when she heard the first burst of gunfire. She saw McMeen hovering over her baby as if she had dropped her.
Fiedler asked McMeen if everything was all right.

"She looked at me and said, 'No, everything is not all right,'" Fiedler said. Then, McMeen shot the baby.

Autopsy results released Monday said 10-month-old Maggie Warren had two gunshot wounds in the head and a separate wound where a bullet grazed her neck.

McMeen's two older children, 8-year-old Skyler Lemke and 7-year-old Ian Lemke, also were shot in the head. Autopsy results showed Skyler died of two gunshot." [Source]

Yep, shooting your own ten month old child at point blank range rates pretty high up on the f*&^%$ up scale.

There is a big vote tonight in Washington. But beware A-merry-ca; the republican congress is doing its best to make sure that some of you working class stiffs in A- do not have a merry Christmas.

The grownups in the senate voted on a bipartisan measure to extend the pay roll tax cuts for another couple of months. But the republicans in Congress said not so fast. They want to show the beige man in the people's house who is in charge.

"I expect that the House will disagree with the Senate amendment and instead vote to formally go to conference, the formal process of which the House and Senate can resolve our differences between our two chambers and our two bills," Boehner said."

In other words; more bull s%$#!

Finally, goodbye Newt, we hardly knew ya.

It looks like Newt,  like Herman, Michele, and Rick before him; was just another flash in the pan. The latest flavor of the month for restless and unsatisfied republican primary voters. And now, just like the others, his once bright star is fading.

Sorry Newt, at the end of the day, you had too much baggage. Republicans should be glad you are dropping in the polls. You had no shot against Obama, and deep down I think they know it. It's why they are turning away from you.
You might be more conservative than Flipper Mitt, but Flipper Mitt can beat Obama; you can't.

Oh well, maybe you can go back to pronouncing your name GING-rick again:

 "We used to play out there -- cowboys and Indians," Swartz said. "We would also go around and explore the woods."

Even as a boy, Mr. Swartz said, Mr. Gingrich "could always talk."
He recalls that the Gingrich name was pronounced GING-rick, the German way. Newt started calling himself Ging-rich after he went to school in the South and took up his career there, first as an academic and then a politician." [Source]

So Newt has a little German in him.

Auf Wiedersehen Herr Gingrich.




   

  

    

The end of W's war.

 The pretzel logic being used by my right wing friends these days is stunning. They say things like the Iraqi war was successful because it led to the "Arab Spring". Then why is it that with the Muslim Brotherhood on the verge of taking over in Egypt , and with radical anti- American elements having a greater influence in places like Libya and Yemen; you  [right] wingnuts blame his Oness for not walking across the Atlantic Ocean and bringing peace and harmony to the region?

You can't have it both ways. If the invasion of Iraq led to the Arab Spring,  well then whatever flows from those uprisings is also a result of the Iraqi invasion. 

Anyway, the neocons and right wingnuts are upset because Obama is bringing home the troops.  Thankfully, the troops rolled across the Khabari Crossing into Kuwait with no incident early this morning. The wingnuts, of course, are not happy about these developments. They wanted more war not less. The narrative now, from the right, is that Obama is an appeaser; he is making America look weak, and he is not finishing what W started in the right way. The same W, BTW, who declared that the mission was accomplished about eight years too early. Sadly, there was still almost 4,500 American lives and over 100,000.00 Iraqi lives to be lost. Not to mention 770 billion one trillion in American dollars to be spent. 

W's war was foolhardy and misguided from the start. He should have listened to one of his father's advisers: "Besides arguing that Iraq was not the top strategic priority in the war on terrorism or in the Middle East, critics of the war also suggested that it could potentially destabilize the surrounding region. Prominent among such critics was Brent Scowcroft, who served as National Security Advisor to George H. W. Bush. In an August 15, 2002 Wall Street Journal editorial entitled "Don't attack Saddam," Scowcroft wrote that, “Possibly the most dire consequences would be the effect in the region... there would be an explosion of outrage against us... the results could well destabilize Arab regimes”, and, “could even swell the ranks of the terrorists.."  Mr. Scowcroft, do you give tips on betting football? I might have to give you a call.  

Iraq and the region is worse off now than when W and his merry men of neocons decided to invade almost nine years ago.  And saying that President  Obama, by ending it, is at fault for what continues to happen in Iraq, is like having someone come into your home,  s*#ting on your carpet, and then blaming Stanley Steemer for not getting the stain out. Just today I read that a boycott of the Iraqi parliament by a political coalition of Sunnis and secularist is threatening to derail the year long governing coalition in that country. So things are not even looking good on the political front over there.  I guess the [right]wingnuts wanted us to stay until the Iraqis could come to their Kumbaya moment.  Sorry, that would have been a hell of a long wait. 

Thanks to W, we lost this war when the first American soldiers stepped foot on Iraqi soil in 2003. Our mission there was never defined, and their strategy for success was a political and not a military one. The reason that we went there turned out to be either a lie or a mistake ------depending on who you want to believe.  And we stayed too long to achieve something that we all know could not be done in such a simplistic way in that part of the world: nation build.  

And if you still don't believe me about the foolhardiness of this war, consider the following:

"The Pentagon has spent nearly $770bn since 2003 on operations in Iraq. Categorized as overseas contingency operations, the sum is treated separately from the main defence budget, which has also included some funds for the Iraq war.

The World Bank estimates that Iraq's GDP fell by 41% in 2003.

The Iraq war and reconstruction is also projected to have cost US taxpayers $256m per day from 2003 to 2012, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Any accounting of the war's price tag also has to include billions in US civilian aid to Iraq, as well as the cost of care provided to wounded soldiers and veterans.

US government statistics do not distinguish between veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan, as a large number of the 1.25 million veterans were deployed to both wars.

By the end of 2010, the United States had already spent nearly $32bn on medical treatment for wounded troops and payments for disability pensions, a benefit veterans receive for life.
The future cost of medical care and pensions for veterans will grow exponentially in coming decades. Linda Bilmes, professor at Harvard University, estimates that pensions through 2055 for veterans will reach $346bn to $469bn, mainly due to health care costs." [Source]

So welcome boys and girls. Hopefully you won't have to fight as hard at home for things like jobs, proper health care, and all the benefits that you are entitled to, like you fought the "enemy" over there.

Ms. Hein's "cloudy pool" problem.

You Negroes are going to have to stop putting all these chemicals in your hair. It can cause all sorts of problems.

These white folks in A-merry-ca are trying so hard to live up to our new "post- racial" narrative and you all are making it so hard for them.

"A landlord in Ohio is claiming that not only is her “White Only” pool sign not racist, but that the state’s civil rights commission was wrong in declaring it discriminatory.

The landlord, Jamie Hein, posted the sign on a fence near the pool when an African-American teen was visiting her parents, who were then living in a duplex owned by Hein. After seeing the “Public Swimming Pool, White Only” sign, the parents filed a discrimination charge with the state civil rights commission and moved out of the duplex to “avoid subjecting their family to further humiliating treatment,” the commission said in a release announcing its finding. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission determined that Hein, who is white, violated the Ohio Civil Rights Act by posting the sign at the pool.

Hein, however, disagrees. As reported by the Associated Press, she claimed that she only posted the sign to prevent the chemicals in the girl’s hair products from rendering the pool “cloudy.” Somehow the commission managed to see past that statement and concluded that the posting of such a sign “restricts the social interaction between Caucasians and African-Americans and reinforces discriminatory actions aimed at oppressing people of color.”

Hein is appealing the decision, and is now saying the sign is just an antique, and nothing else. If the Ohio civil rights commission upholds the findings, penalties in the case could include a cease-and-desist order and even punitive damages, commission spokeswoman Brandi Martin told the AP. If only the commission could also penalize Hein with a very very cloudy swimming pool." [Story] 

Oh Lawd! Who wants to swim in a cloudy pool? Ms. Hein, maybe we can just tell the Negroes to bring a swim cap.

*H/t to Robert Garrick for sending me this story.*

Farewell to Hitch, crime news in A-merry-ca, and a rapist gets his "just deserts."

I will miss Christopher Hitchens. I didn't always agree with him (I thought he was wrong to support the war in Iraq), but I appreciated his honesty, his lucid writing style, and his perspicacious insight on certain subjects.

He was an atheist, so I am sure that he figured that this was it for him. But hey, I gotta give it to him; the guy made the best of it while he was here.

What is it about trailers that cause folks to go nuts when they are living in them?

"GARGATHA, Va. — Authorities investigating the deaths of five people found in a trailer on Virginia's Eastern Shore say the person responsible is among the dead.
Accomack County Sheriff Todd Godwin said Friday the five were found dead Thursday after deputies responded to a call of an attempted suicide in Gargatha.
Police are attempting to identify the victims.

A brother of one of the victims, Omar Colon Matias, said his sister Evelyn,
her husband, their two children, ages 9 and 11, were living in the trailer
with another woman.

The trailer is located along a dirt road in a wooded remote area of the
Eastern Shore between Parksley and Bloxom. It's among a handful of trailers in
the area." [Source]

*shaking head*

And then, out in Cali, some dude wasn't getting along with his bosses and decided to go all postal. Or, in this case, all utility company on his co-workers.

"IRWINDALE, Calif. (AP) — Three people were killed and two more injured Friday in a California office complex shooting, police said.
The suspected gunman was among the dead and is believed to have self-inflicted wounds, Baldwin Park police Capt. Michael Taylor said.

"As far as we know there was one shooting suspect, period," Taylor said.
The shooting occurred around 1:30 p.m. Friday at Southern California Edison offices inside a larger office complex in Irwindale.

There was no immediate word on what prompted the gunfire. Authorities were not saying whether the gunman worked at SoCal Edison or might have been a former employee.

Multiple media reports said the gunman was an Edison employee and his two victims were believed to be company managers. Police said they could not confirm those reports.

One of the dead was discovered inside the building during a sweep, and police were continuing their search for more victims, said Taylor.

Another victim died en route to a hospital. The two wounded have unspecified injuries and their conditions are not known.

Taylor said police have not accounted for everyone in the building yet and were doing a sweep.

No gunfire was exchanged after officers arrived.
The building was quickly locked down and dozens of people were seen streaming out with their hands raised.

Gil Alexander, a spokesman for Southern California Edison, said the company has about 200 employees at the facility." [Story]

Folks, always keep an eye on that strange co-worker.

Finally, this is why I love my yawdie sisters:

"KINGSTON-Patrick Drysdale, who was convicted of three separate cases of rape, including one where he forced a woman to perform oral sex on him by gunpoint before she almost severed his penis by biting it has been convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Drysdale was convicted of robbery with aggravation, indecent assault, wounding with intent and illegal possession of firearm.
The Jamaica Star reports:

The police found Drysdale at the hospital suffering from an injury to the penis. When questioned he said that he was in bed with a woman when her jealous lover came home and hit him with a piece of chain on his penis. The penis which was bandaged was almost severed.
The Crown led evidence that on June 20, 2008, Drysdale committed the offences in Stony Hill, St Andrew. He went to the homes of three women, robbed and raped two of them, indecently assaulted the third woman and then wounded her." [Source]

Rapists beware; don't f^%* with a yawdie.

Mother in charge.

We need more mothers like Carol Cave in certain neighborhoods. When I saw the story about the two miscreants here in Philly who clocked a sixty five year old man from behind, I was as angry as the rest of the citizens in my fair city who watched it.

I thought that there was no way anything good could come of the story. But I am glad to report that I was wrong.

The mother of one of the little thugs turned his ass in as soon as she saw the video of her little terrorist in training on television. Mama literally dragged him to the police station and went on television here to apologize to the family of the victim.

"Cave's mother was distraught that her son was allegedly involved.

"I am so, so sorry for what he did," Carol Cave said. "He was not brought up like that and it was a senseless crime."

The two teens were caught on surveillance video at about 3 p.m. attacking Thuy Le from behind while the the older was taking a walk on the 400 block of Chelten Avenue in broad daylight.

A source told NBC Philadelphia that after the attack, the two teens went back home and played video games." [Source]

Where is daddy Cave?

Anywhoo, good for Ms. Cave. I hope that others will look at what she did and follow her lead in the future.

Finally, I see that MSNBC has apologized to Flipper Mitt for talking about his wonderful slogan which mirrors that of a certain "Christian" organization from back in the day.

"MSNBC has apologized to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign for airing a segment that connected Romney's use of the expression "Keep America American" to the Klu Klux Klan.

"During the 11AM hour on MSNBC, we reported on a blog item that compared a phrase used by the Romney campaign to one used by the KKK in the 1920s," Chris Matthews said on Wednesday. "It was irresponsible and incendiary of us to do this and showed an appalling lack of judgment. We apologize, we really do, to the Romney campaign."

The aforementioned segment was anchored by Thomas Roberts.

"So you may not hear Mitt Romney say 'Keep America American' anymore,' " Roberts said in his report. "That's because it was a rallying cry for the KKK group, and intimidation against blacks, gays and Jews. The Progressive American blog was the first to catch on to that." (Roberts also apologized on Thursday.)
A Romney campaign spokeswoman told the New York Times that it accepted MSNBC's apology: "We are pleased they have issued a correction and apology. That was the right thing to do."

According to Mediaite, MSNBC executives were furious over the handling of the segment.

"NBC News President Steve Capus addressed this story this morning at an editorial meeting, and stressed the need for accuracy, fairness, and caution before proceeding," Mediaite reported.

And, as Mike Krumboltz noted on Yahoo's Upshot, it's hard to tell from the Romney campaign ad highlighted by Americablog if the former Massachussetts governor is saying "Keep America America" or "Keep America American."

Will someone please tell me why MSNBC apologized?




 

Newt and his" invented" friend, and Mitt and his real catchphrase.

Just look at that pic. Newt is really full of it, and I am not talking food.

He is full of something else. I will spare you the imagery and leave it at that.

Anywhoo, I come not to put Newt on blast tonight; tonight I want to talk about Flipper Mitt.

It seems Mitt has launched a new campaign slogan. But not just any slogan; this one is special.

"On Tuesday, political commenters reported that GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney has been using a catchphrase in his stump speeches that the Ku Klux Klan favored in the 1920s.

When the white supremacist group used “Keep America American,” it was to rally people against blacks American, gay people, Catholics and Jews. When Romney’s used it, as he did in this Los Angeles Times piece, it was to promise that as president he would “keep America American with the principles that made us the greatest nation on Earth.”

When reached by the Huffington Post, a spokeswoman for Mitt Romney has declined to comment on the matter." [Source] 

Nice.

Keep it up Mitt, with moves like that, you just might win the republican primary after all. You are singing their song.

Listen up poor black children! A rich white man has some advice for you.

So there is this article by fellow Philadelphian, Gene Marks, going around. I guess it's his solution to solving the poverty gap here in A-merry-ca. It has a very provocative title, ("If I Were A Poor Black Kid") and it got a lot of attention among black bloggers and the water cooler chattering class. I can't give you all of it, but here are some excerpts:

"President Obama gave an excellent speech last week in Kansas about inequality in America.

“This is the defining issue of our time.” He said. “This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class. Because what’s at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement.”

He’s right. The spread between rich and poor has gotten wider over the decades. And the opportunities for the 99% have become harder to realize.

The President’s speech got me thinking. My kids are no smarter than similar kids their age from the inner city. My kids have it much easier than their counterparts from West Philadelphia. The world is not fair to those kids mainly because they had the misfortune of being born two miles away into a more difficult part of the world and with a skin color that makes realizing the opportunities that the President spoke about that much harder. This is a fact. In 2011.

I am not a poor black kid. I am a middle aged white guy who comes from a middle class white background. So life was easier for me. But that doesn’t mean that the prospects are impossible for those kids from the inner city. It doesn’t mean that there are no opportunities for them. Or that the 1% control the world and the rest of us have to fight over the scraps left behind. I don’t believe that. I believe that everyone in this country has a chance to succeed. Still. In 2011. Even a poor black kid in West Philadelphia.

It takes brains. It takes hard work. It takes a little luck. And a little help from others. It takes the ability and the know-how to use the resources that are available. Like technology. As a person who sells and has worked with technology all my life I also know this.

President Obama gave an excellent speech last week in Kansas about inequality in America.

“This is the defining issue of our time.” He said. “This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class. Because what’s at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement.”

He’s right. The spread between rich and poor has gotten wider over the decades. And the opportunities for the 99% have become harder to realize.

The President’s speech got me thinking. My kids are no smarter than similar kids their age from the inner city. My kids have it much easier than their counterparts from West Philadelphia. The world is not fair to those kids mainly because they had the misfortune of being born two miles away into a more difficult part of the world and with a skin color that makes realizing the opportunities that the President spoke about that much harder. This is a fact. In 2011.

I am not a poor black kid. I am a middle aged white guy who comes from a middle class white background. So life was easier for me. But that doesn’t mean that the prospects are impossible for those kids from the inner city. It doesn’t mean that there are no opportunities for them. Or that the 1% control the world and the rest of us have to fight over the scraps left behind. I don’t believe that. I believe that everyone in this country has a chance to succeed. Still. In 2011. Even a poor black kid in West Philadelphia.

It takes brains. It takes hard work. It takes a little luck. And a little help from others. It takes the ability and the know-how to use the resources that are available. Like technology. As a person who sells and has worked with technology all my life I also know this..."

You get the idea. He goes on to give other solutions to the being a "poor black kid problem", such as utilizing and learning technology, trying to get into the right schools to utilize the proper connections, and so on. He ends his article with a positive vision for those "poor black kids":

"If I was a poor black kid I would get technical. I would learn software. I would learn how to write code. I would seek out courses in my high school that teaches these skills or figure out where to learn more online. I would study on my own. I would make sure my writing and communication skills stay polished.

Because a poor black kid who gets good grades, has a part time job and becomes proficient with a technical skill will go to college. There is financial aid available. There are programs available. And no matter what he or she majors in that person will have opportunities. They will find jobs in a country of business owners like me who are starved for smart, skilled people. They will succeed.

President Obama was right in his speech last week. The division between rich and poor is a national problem. But the biggest challenge we face isn’t inequality. It’s ignorance. So many kids from West Philadelphia don’t even know these opportunities exist for them. Many come from single-parent families whose mom or dad (or in many cases their grand mom) is working two jobs to survive and are just (understandably) too plain tired to do anything else in the few short hours they’re home. Many have teachers who are overburdened and too stressed to find the time to help every kid that needs it. Many of these kids don’t have the brains to figure this out themselves – like my kids. Except that my kids are just lucky enough to have parents and a well-funded school system around to push them in the right direction.

Technology can help these kids. But only if the kids want to be helped. Yes, there is much inequality. But the opportunity is still there in this country for those that are smart enough to go for it." [Source]

Now I won't rip into Marks as some others have brilliantly done in their response. I actually appreciate him writing his opinion. If we are going to have a positive and constructive debate in this country about poverty and inequality we need "rich white dudes" to step up and let us know where they stand and what they think can be done to bridge the income divide in A-merry-ca.

Still, the truth is, you are not a poor black kid from West Philly. You were not born poor or black. So you cannot really relate. Your essay was doomed to be flawed from the start. 

If I am going to be honest; I can’t relate, either. Because while I can relate with being black, one of two ain't gonna cut it. I would love to hear from someone who was born poor and black about how he [or she] overcame their obstacles.

I guess that they should be writing this essay and not Mr. Marks.

The true blueprint to success in A-merry-ca is something that I advocate very hard for: education. And Marks is right about highlighting education in his article. But Mr. Mark's article does come off as somewhat simplistic and condescending.

There are way too many other factors working against these poor black children:

Easy access to guns. (Thank the NRA)

Easy access to bad influences. (Thank some of these record companies out here and BET television)

A lack of proper role models and a stable home life. (Thank some of these Mick Jagger type daddies running around.)

Poor schools. (Thank phony ass politricksters (black and white) and bureaucrats who line their pockets instead of looking out for the welfare of the children that they are charged to serve.)

The deck is stacked against many of these kids from the jump, but they can overcome these obstacles. It just won't be easy. And an article from a rich white man in a business magazine won't make it any easier.     

Maybe Mr. Marks should take Jeff Yang's advice:

"In Philadelphia, there are nationally recognized newspapers like the Inquirer. You have columnists like Harold Jackson, who's also the editor of the editorial page. He has a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. And he's written eloquently about race and income inequality in the past, drawing from his own childhood as a poor black kid. Maybe he could give you a few pointers. If I were a rich white dude who wanted to write a column about poor black kids, I'd make it my goal to talk to a Pulitzer Prize winning opinion writer who was once a poor black kid.

If I was a rich white dude I would be compassionate. I would learn sensitivity. I would learn how to write columns that aren't dripping with entitlement. I would seek out opportunities to immerse myself to the real world rather than just surfing the Internet. I would make sure my cultural competency and knowledge of current events is up to date...

Because a rich white dude who puts in the effort on his part time job as a columnist and learns real empathy for those who don't have the advantages that he and his kids have taken for granted could make a difference. He could help his rich white readers understand that the problem poor black kids face isn't a problem of not having the right software, or not working hard enough, or not making the right decisions. He could help them think of real solutions, not indulge their tendency to blame the victims of centuries of social injustice."

Jeff, I am guessing that if Mr. Marks were to suddenly become sensitive; he wouldn't have any "rich white readers."