Thank you, Rep. Murtha, for your courage in standing down those who equated opposition to the war to treason, and for showing what "support the troops" should always mean.
"Representative John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, a gruff ex-Marine who was one of the most hawkish Democrats in Congress but who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, died on Monday in Arlington, Va. He was 77."
Elected in 1974, Mr. Murtha’s death came two days after he became the longest-serving congressman in Pennsylvania history, his office said, surpassing the record of Joseph M. McDade.
RIP.
"Corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires ... they are not themselves members of 'We the People' by whom and for whom our constitution was established." -- Justice John Paul Stevens, in his Citizens United dissent.Source: http://www.realitychex.com/
"I think, kind of tougher to, um, put our arms around, but allowing America's spirit to rise again by not being afraid to kind of go back to some of our roots as a God fearing nation where we're not afraid to say, especially in times of potential trouble in the future here, where we're not afraid to say, you know, we don't have all the answers as fallible men and women so it would be wise of us to start seeking some divine intervention again in this country, so that we can be safe and secure and prosperous again. To have people involved in government who aren't afraid to go that route, not so afraid of the political correctness that you know -- they have to be afraid of what the media said about them if they were to proclaim their alliance on our creator."Verbal diarrhea from a half-wit who uses her religion to gain political power at a staged event in front of 600 rubes. That's Republican "grassroots": who can be the biggest religious fanatic in a room full of hand-picked religious fanatics.
Written on her hand, high school style:
"Energy"
"Budget [crossed out] (Cuts)"
"Tax"
"Lift American spirits"
Mocking the President for using a teleprompter then writing a cheat sheet on your hand?
Check the video at 47 seconds:
Was she told in advance of the questions she would be asked, one of which was what would be you priorities if you were elected president? Now think about this: she had to write on her hand her priorities as president.
Her fans could care less. The village idiot runs the show. Ignorance is bliss.
"Nearly 3,000 pages of e-mails that Todd Palin exchanged with state officials, which were released to msnbc.com and NBC News by the state of Alaska under its public records law, draw a picture of a Palin administration where the governor's husband got involved in a judicial appointment, monitored contract negotiations with public employee unions, received background checks on a corporate CEO, added his approval or disapproval to state board appointments and passed financial information marked "confidential" from his oil company employer to a state attorney. While 1,200 separate e-mails were released this week, 243 others were withheld by the state under a claim that executive privilege extends to Todd Palin as an unpaid adviser to the government.The still-secret e-mails between Todd Palin and senior officials reach into countless areas of state government and politics: potential board appointees, constituent complaints, use of the state jet, oil and gas production, marine regulation, gas pipeline bids, postsecondary education, wildfires, native Alaskan issues, the state effort to save the Matanuska Maid dairy, budget planning, potential budget vetoes, oil shale leasing, "strategy for responding to media allegations," staffing at the mansion, pier diem payments to the governor for travel, "strategy for responding to questions about pregnancy," potential cuts to the governor's staff, "confidentiality issues," Bureau of Land Management land transfers and trespass issues and requests to the U.S. transportation secretary."
All this from the guy who belonged to the Alaskan Independence Party? Seems like Sarah and Todd Palin are two peas in a corrupt, truth-avoiding pod.
"To me — and I’m not alone in this — the sudden outbreak of deficit hysteria brings back memories of the groupthink that took hold during the run-up to the Iraq war. Now, as then, dubious allegations, not backed by hard evidence, are being reported as if they have been established beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now, as then, much of the political and media establishments have bought into the notion that we must take drastic action quickly, even though there hasn’t been any new information to justify this sudden urgency. Now, as then, those who challenge the prevailing narrative, no matter how strong their case and no matter how solid their background, are being marginalized.
And fear-mongering on the deficit may end up doing as much harm as the fear-mongering on weapons of mass destruction."
The same Republicans who voted for every Bush spending bill that were not funded and every budget-busting tax cut now are trying to demonize Obama and his policy agenda. Republicans fucked up the country, now they get to fuck with the Administration trying to piece it back together.
Cynical posturing and political hypocrisy: The Republican brand.
"Whenever and wherever it’s put into place, universal health care proves popular and enduring." - Matthew Yglesias
It's always around elections, Conservatives pretend to care.
Via Andrew Sullivan:
"Did you notice Admiral Mullen's smackdown of Jeff Sessions, scion of the Old South, which has owned the military for a century? Sessions accused Mullen of "undue command influence", a serious charge--just one step away from "illegal command influence". (At 4:00 in the Youtibe above).
The accusation was so ugly, and so serious, that Gates (rightly) leapt to Mullen's defense, and smacked Sessions hard (5:20), after which Mullen looked straight at Sessions and said:
"Senator Sessions, for me, this is not about 'command influence', this is about leadership, and I take that very seriously." (5:50)
(Emphasis in the original. I should note that Mullen's language contrasting "command influence" to "leadership" is not merely rhetorical, it is legal, and the outline of Mullen's legal defense:
"While some types of influence are unlawful and prohibited by the Uniform Code of Military Justice… other types of influence are lawful, proper, and in certain circumstances a necessary part of leadership".
Sessions, in other words, told Mullen that the Republican line of attack would be to question his competence and integrity, as well as the legality of his open support for the repeal of DADT; Mullen in turn told Sessions that if the Republicans insisted on war, he was happy to oblige them."
Matthews: Do you think we should outlaw gay behavior?There is no Christ in today's Christians. What about love thy neighbor? God is love? Jesus' gospel of love? All this guy can think about is penis. Juss sayin'.
Sprigg: Well, I think certainly it’s defensible –
Matthews: I’m just asking you: Should we outlaw gay behavior?
Sprigg: I think that the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas which overturned, uh, the sodomy laws in this country was wrongly decided. I think there would be a place for criminal sanctions against homosexual behavior.
Matthews: So we should outlaw gay behavior.
Sprigg: Uh, yes! [laughs]
"Obama has spent a year following the guidance of military leaders, and Republicans have spent a year breaking with the judgment of the military establishment.
It's a fascinating dynamic. On everything from civilian trials to Gitmo to torture, we have two distinct groups -- GOP leaders, the Cheneys, Limbaugh, and conservative activists on one side; President Obama, Gen. Petraeus, Secretary Gates, Colin Powell, Adm. Mullen, Adm. Blair, and Gen. Jones on the other."
Republicans never cared about the military using them like pawns, never giving them much needed armor or even a mission. Bush replaced everyone who disagreed with him. Cheney had six deferments.
They flat out abuse the military.
We are in two wars and Republicans oppose and openly reject what the commanders are saying. They are at odds with the military establishment and proud.
"Listen to the commanders on the ground" became a common adage in GOP circles during Bush/Cheney. Now you know that was bullshit.
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