Healthcare Reform Squeaks Through

So the healthcare reform bill moves forward by 220 to 215. If it wasn't for the Democrat wins in California and New York, and the sole Republican yea vote tonight, it would have failed.

Will the GOP still be able to pass off Tuesday night as a victory? (Yes, I'm being sarcastic.)

Random Picture of the Day Also...

Oh Lord... I first found 'Pets in Uniform' 4 or 5 years ago... and they're still going strong! They invite you to upload a pic of your favorite pet, then they turn it into a military officer. Why? Like you have to ask?

Random Picture of the Day Too...

Unfortunate Captcha code. More from Fail Blog...

Conservative Thought

"We can't continue to be so politically correct that we're going to say this wasn't religiously motivated."

Said Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC), who wrote the foreword to 'Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that's Conspiring to Islamize America'. Myrick went on to say she was "very concerned about infiltration of the military by jihadists."

Please, is it too much to ask that we get some semblance of professionalism from the charlatans we elect? North Carolina has its problems, the main one being that it's North Carolina, but how could brain-damaged scum like Myrick get over even their very low bar?

It's frightening to wonder how many more disasters like Fort Worth have to follow before we get the message: we need to figure things out like adults and ignore the vacuous bigotry emanating from the right side of the aisle.

Random Picture of the Day

Depressingly enough, this pustular beige represents the color of the universe. More precisely, if the entire sky were smeared out, this would be the final mix according to NASA scientists.

Gotcha of The Week

Tom 'too-depressed-to-go-to-Vietnam' Tancredo underestimates Markos Moulitsas. Turns out bad. Gotta love it!

Dave Gaubatz: Tragedy Profiteer

'Counter terrorist publisher' and anti-Muslim bigot Dave Gaubatz says that Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan was acting on "the orders of the Muslim Brotherhood" and that he is a "terrorist supporting the ideology of Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and yes, CAIR."

Ignore that there's no evidence whatsoever to back up Gaubatz's assertions. Ignore his standard-issue cartoon bigotry. But worry that anyone is even taking this c*** seriously. This is proof enough that our society has neither the emotional maturity or intelligence to deal with tragedies like Fort Hood.

Thanks to the wisdom of 'experts' like Gaubatz, we're accustomed to ignoring the complexity of human nature and tend to see everyone as one-dimensional, ideological automatons - not multifaceted individuals who can break down for a whole slew of reasons with devastating consequences. We do it because it's easy. Gaubatz does it because that's what sells his sh*tty books. And with this mindset in place, we haven't a hope in hell of ever understanding what went on at Fort Hood and will stand even less chance of preventing it from ever happening again.

But it's all good for Gaubatz:

"He is the owner of DG Counter-terrorism Publishing. He is currently conducting a 50 State Counter-terrorism Research Tour (CTRT). He is the co-author (with Paul Sperry) of the new book, Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that’s Conspiring to Islamize America."

I'm sure the relatives of the Fort Hood victims will wish Gaubatz every success in selling a few more books on the backs of their dead.

Random Picture of the Day Too...

Yahoo! Answers takes up the 'abstinence only' sex ed slack.

Random Picture of the Day

First Acorn, Now Sesame Street?

"First, they came for Acorn, and I did not speak out..." But Oscar The Grouch? Really?

"I can’t even sit my kids in front of “Sesame Street” without having to worry about the Left attempting to undermine my authority."

Says some loon posting as Stage Right at Big Hollywood.

Oh my... Now Sesame Street is under wingnut fire? What gives? Have Bert and Ernie finally been busted as sodomites? Has The Count been exposed as an undocumented alien? Nope. It's all about Oscar The Grouch:

"Oscar starts his own news network, GNN (Grouchy News Network). An irate viewer calls in to berate him that the news is not grouchy enough: "I am changing the channel. From now on I am watching ‘Pox’ News. Now there is a trashy news show.""

Stage Right goes on:

"Later in the episode, Anderson Cooper from 4th place CNN, guest stars as a reporter for GNN. He interacts with “Walter Cranky” and “Dan Rather-Not” — Muppets representing real-life liberal news personalities — and they talk about “Meredith Beware-a” and “Diane Spoiler.” But no affectionate nicknames for Fox News personalities; no Spill O’Reilly or Brittle Hume — nope, and the only disparaging characterization of real-world news is reserved for Fox."

How's that for irony... wingnuts like their news channels biased as f*** and they scream 'Stalin!' at the mere suggestion of reinstating the Fairness Doctrine. But they whine about bias on Sesame Street???

If you thought this post was batsh** crazy, try the comments section where grown men angrily conflate Sesame Street with Acorn. And this:

"I first saw that episode last year and couldn't believe what I was hearing. We're watching Disney more now, but I have to monitor to make sure I explain things to my daughter when it does get left leaning."

Disney goes "left leaning"? Thanks "MerNJ". No wonder half the world thinks we're a**holes.

(Thanks Christiaan for the tip)

Diary of a Mad White Woman

The Daily Beast has obtained the concession and victory speeches Sarah Palin had prepared for Election Night 2008. A terrifying glimpse into what may have been... Vice President Elect Palin's victory speech:

"It’s been just 68 days since that afternoon in Dayton, Ohio, when Senator McCain introduced me as his running mate. He is truly the maverick. He took a chance on me. I will always be grateful for that. It will be the honor of a lifetime to work him [sic] as vice president of the United States. And I pledge to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear conviction, and a servant’s heart."

I'm no constitutional scholar (then neither is Palin), but the job of the vice-president is not to 'govern'. Was she intending a bit of usurpation while old man McCain napped through his first term?

Even though Cheney assumed much of the power Bush was too lazy or dumb to handle, the role of veep largely consists of providing a tie-breaking vote in the Senate, waving at people and generally hanging out in case the C-in-C takes a dirt nap. Even though things might be bad now, just thank your lucky stars we don't have Sarah Palin presuming to 'govern' us.

And check out this ironic sentiment:

"By his nomination and extraordinary campaign, Barack Obama has achieved a great thing, for himself and for our country, and for that America will always honor him."

And haven't Palin and her herd done a great job of honoring Obama? To reuse one of my favorite metaphors, this b*** is more full of s*** than the restroom at Taco Bell.

Redneck Jesus

Jim Stevens of Jonesborough, Tennessee, says he's not particularly religious and is clueless about why an image resembling Jesus Christ keeps appearing on his pickup.

Unlike those excitable Catholics with their miraculous visions of the Virgin Mary, Jim looks kind of irritated by his truck Jesus. Must be Lutheran.

GOP: 1854 - 2009

It's the day after the Tea Party affront to decency and the mainstream GOP have made the conscious decision to throw themselves behind the nutjobs. The GOP, along with Fox PAC, now unapologetically and deliberately own the madness.

Does this mean we can drop the pretense there's a debate going on in this country between two points of view? As the banners and the blog chatter show, there is no debate. There is only ignorance, intolerance and inhumanity on one side, everybody else on the other. It's not conservatives v. liberals (if it ever was), it's insanity v. sanity.

If for one second, you indulge those who compare Obama's efforts to save American lives and reduce poverty by providing affordable healthcare to the holocaust, you have lost your right to be taken seriously.

Yesterday it was the Beck/Palin/Limbaugh fringe. Now, after the Bachmann Tea Party and the NY-23 election, it's the RNC itself. Time for the media to redraw the lines. There is no left and right. There is only wrong and right and Steele's Stormfront are on the wrong side.

Brace Yourselves...

Wingnut-think at Townhall.com

"The base commander at Fort Hood says soldiers who witnessed a shooting rampage that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire at the Texas post."

I guess that personnel file where Hasan stated no preference on religion is now a little redundant. More grist for the wingnut hate mill. Trust Fox PAC to get the ball rolling:

""The name tells us a lot, does it not, senator?" Fox News's Shep Smith said while interviewing Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas senator."

But even the MSM are not immune to the anti-Muslim reflex. In a report on the backlash following the Fort Hood massacre, CBS say:

"The Arab-American Institute said it received one threatening call from an unidentified male shortly after Hasan's name was released. The group, which condemned the massacre, said it expected more."

CBS news wants us to know that the Arab-American Institute 'condemned the massacre' - just in case we wondered if they had a pro-massacre stance.

It's mind-blowing to think that mainstream news still indulges bigotry by using this variation of the 'when did you stop beating your wife?' principle. Would CBS, for example, have asked the Lutheran church to clarify whether they approved or disapproved of the BTK Killer? Was it considered necessary to point out that the Vatican did not approve of the Oklahoma City bombing even though Timothy McVeigh was raised Catholic?

I like to think I'm living in a civilized society. Even though there are a loud minority who hate pluralism, every rational person accepts there are Americans of different religions and ethnicities who have just as much a stake in our country as the white Christian majority.

But since 9-11, even the most moderate American Muslim groups are obliged to stand up and condemn every crime committed by other Muslims just in case we think they're not on-side. This is discriminatory, insults everybody's intelligence and makes the lunatic nativists feel validated. If we really are civilized, can we quit doing this?

Random Picture of the Day

Wilsonmania hits DC. Or some kind of clinical disorder if not mania.

Random

"cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm."

Still blows my mind...

Fort Hood Update

The hatemonger's will have a field day with the shooter's name: Nidal Hasan. They'll be less enthused by the fact that "his record said that he had expressed no religious preference."

But, without wanting to write Limp-baugh's material for him, the stated lack of religious affiliation could play straight into the wingnut narrative. For them, Islam is a 'death cult' hell-bent on killing the infidel and anyone who is a Muslim is a terrorist or a sleeper. So what would be more fitting than a guy 'hiding' his true identity so he could infiltrate the army?

If any of this sick logic is expounded upon straight-faced by wingnuts in the next few days, it will be an epoch-making new low. But not exactly surprising.

Fort Hood Tragedy

"Twelve U.S. soldiers are dead and an additional 31 wounded from a shooting at Fort Hood Army Base in Texas, according to an Army spokesman late Thursday. Lt. Gen. Bob Cone told a televised press conference that the shooter is included among the dead. Two other soldiers are reportedly being held as suspects."

Not to belabor my anti-conservative point of view, but these comments (below) on marketwatch.com made me truly sad for morons who seek to turn tragedy into another stick with which to beat Obama. And I'm sure there'll be more of them. I'll bet the fake news channels are hard at work right now researching the political sympathies of the shooter(s) in case they can hit anti-liberal or anti-conservative pay dirt.

Are we really living in a degraded society teeming with overgrown children for whom the concepts of compassion and common decency are anathema? It would take a bigger heart and stronger faith than mine but someone needs to pray for these people too:

Tea Party Update

Jeb Hensarling: Texas' 5th District douche bag "Tiny flag... yay!"

At today's DC Tea Party, hosted by fully-fledged Mad Hatter Bachmann, comes this crowd pleaser:

"Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, got in a big applause line when he pointed to the capitol building behind him, and said “You know that’s your house, and there are people inside who don’t belong there!"

Yeh. And Hensarling's one of them. Instead of ponsing around like a middle-aged Downs victim acting out Sancho Panza fantasies, how 'bout doin' some of that representin' you get paid for? Dumbass piece of sh**.

Oh, and just as a reminder to Jeb and his lollygagging colleagues, here's this week's congressional schedule from House.gov:


Isn't it ironic that America's villages are doing without idiots today so they can protest bad government in DC led by a bunch of meatwads who are supposed to be at work running the... err... government?

Conservative Lookalikes #7

Left: Charles Krauthammer (Foxnewsus Bullshitteris), right: Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

He Who Cares (Hopefully)

"Obama today fulfilled a campaign pledge by bringing representatives of of federally recognized Native American tribes to Washington to air their grievances with senior administration officials. A tribal leader from Wisconsin gave Obama the Indian name "He Who Cares.""

Is it just me, or can you imagine Glenn Beck hatching a new meme as we speak? Limbaugh prefers to call them 'injuns' you know...

Teabaggers Are Go

“Nothing scares members of Congress more than freedom-loving Americans.”

Said Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) as she called on protesters to “scare” members of Congress into killing the proposed health care reform bill with today's DC Tea Party. I guess the teabagger's have the right MC for the job. If you want to scare the bejeezuz out of Congress, or pretty much anyone, you couldn't do better than Bachmann.

As of now, TPM says "The crowd has now grown to between 2,000-3,000, and is increasing by the minute with chants of "Can you hear us now?"" I wonder what the final total will be?

Could they number more than the 3,500 Muslims who rallied in DC this September? Or the 100,000 people who gathered on the National Mall to support gay rights? Or the 125,000 who showed up in Chicago's Grant Park for Obama's victory rally?

God forbid this movement 'representing mainstream America' doesn't top the 837,000 who attended the Nation of Islam's Million Man March in 1995. How will Limp-baugh spin that?

The Thoughts of Chairman Limbaugh

"All them moderate Republicans up there in their ivory shower with their thinking and stuff... it ain't German to the conversation."

Rush Limbaugh is blaming Newt Gingrich for Doug Hoffman's defeat:

"These big thinkers like Newt screwed the whole thing up from the get go."

So it's thinking that got in the way? Funny, I thought it was the not thinking that scuppered them. That and the fact their repugnant ideology only appeals to a hardcore minority of cretinized sociopaths.

What Does This Button Do..?

An airplane passenger "found himself hurtling out of the cockpit, smashing through the Perspex canopy and into space after grabbing the black- and yellow-striped handle between his legs. He had inadvertently pulled the eject lever and found himself blasted 100 metres into the sky on his rocket-powered seat."

As one observer said: "What a trip. That guy took off in an Astra, came down in a parachute, and landed back at base in a helicopter. Not bad for a for a single flip.""

The passenger survived 'with barely a scratch' and, I'd assume, one hell of a pant-load.

Schadenfreude

"My ambitions are to work with children, travel the world and help screw over gays..."

Beauty pageant Nazi Carrie Prejean was seeking more than a million dollars during her settlement negotiations with Miss California USA Pageant. That was until the lawyer for the Pageant showed her a sex tape they just happened to have laying around. She then took about 15 seconds to fold and essentially walk away with nothing.

Oh snap. Don't mess with them beauty pageant thugs. They're ruthless. But it really couldn't happen to a nicer hypocrite.

Another GOP Fantasist

The GOP zombies are still, somehow, harping on about their 'historic' victory last night. They seem to be operating on the old principle 'keep on saying it, and it will become true'. Bless their stony cold, one-trick-pony hearts.

Newsbusters brain donor Scott Whitlock is accusing ABC's George Stephanopoulos of 'spinning' in an attempt to downplay the RNC's victory night:

"Former Democratic aide turned journalist George Stephanopoulos appeared on Wednesday’s Good Morning America to spin the loss of a Conservative Party congressional candidate in New York as a big loss for Sarah Palin."

Err... that's so spin-worthy I feel nauseous. Did someone hide Whitlock's dictionary and he couldn't remember that 'spin' was not a synonym for freakin' obvious? Let's go into it once more for the hard-of-comprehension:

"The NY-23 seat abdicated by Republican John McHugh went to Democrat Bill Owens and the CA-10 seat abdicated by Democrat Ellen Tauscher went to Democrat John Garamendi. That creates some simple arithmetic. Yesterday, Democrats had 256 voting members in the House. By week's end, they'll have 258. Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could afford to lose no more than 38 Democratic votes on a landmark health care reform bill. Next week, after Owens and Garamendi are sworn in, she can lose up to 40."

Geddit? Republican win? No. Democrat win? Yes.

Random Picture of the Day Too...

A proud graduate of Hillbilly finishing school...

Random Picture of the Day

Some porno pastiches are witty. But porno Seinfeld??? The New Sensations smut peddlars also offer a porno version of 'The Office' for some reason. Why the hell would anyone want to relive network sitcoms whilst cracking one off?

Quote of the Day (So Far...)

"You're Not Gonna Spoil My Juice Right Now. You're not gonna take this high away from me."

MC Steele on Morning Joe. Is he smoking crack? Has he denied it yet..?

Ironic Typos

I caught Brian Kilmeade prattling on Fox PAC this morning about how Bob McDonnell won in Virginia because he talked about about real issues like "educations". That and the typo below inspired me to Google "educaton" as a for instance to see how many popped up. Very sad...

Joe Wilson Hoisted on Swine Flu Petard

A supporter at a previous Joe Wilson spelling bee townhall on healthcare reform.

Last week, Joe "You Lie" Wilson sent an email to his district announcing his wife had been diagnosed with swine flu and urged his constituents to get vaccinated. This comes after he voted against more funding for H1N1 vaccines while saying Obama should "be held responsible" for the epidemic.

I wouldn't be as inhumane as to suggest poetic justice is in play here as I'm sure Mrs Wilson has enough on her plate being married to a loud-mouthed neanderthal with no ethical standards. But it is tempting to go there...