Saturday, June 27, 2009

WHO WOULD JESUS SHOOT..........FIRST.........

.......maybe the pastor.....

Everybody grab your guns, we're goin' to church......'cause everybody knows that Jesus was always packin' heat!

What the hell, why not....the bible is full of murder and mayhem anyway. All the way through what is so commonly called the "old testament", the Jews slaughtered everyone and everything that their god told them to! Kinda scary to think of that and then read that a pastor in Kentucky is telling the members of his congregation to bring their guns to church.

From Alter Net:

Kentucky Pastor Tells Followers to Bring Guns to Church

"Guns and God were part of the foundation of this country," said Ken Pagano . "I don't see any contradiction in this."

If there's one question to which I've always longed for an answer, it's: Who Would Jesus Shoot?

Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church [in Louisville, KY], is passionate about gun rights. He shoots regularly at the local firing range, and his sermon two weeks ago was on "God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry." And on Saturday night, he is inviting his congregation of 150 and others to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary to "celebrate our rights as Americans!" as a promotional flier for the "open carry celebration" puts it.

"God and guns were part of the foundation of this country," Mr. Pagano, 49, said Wednesday in the small brick Assembly of God church, where a large wooden cross hung over the altar and two American flags jutted from side walls. "I don't see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist."

…"When someone from within the church tells me that being a Christian and having firearms are contradictions, that they're incompatible with the Gospel—baloney," he said. "As soon as you start saying that it's not something that Christians do, well, guns are just the foil. The issue now is the Gospel. So in a sense, it does become a crusade. Now the Gospel is at stake."Louisville is less than four hours away from Knoxville, TN, where, less than a year ago, Jim Adkisson walked into a church and opened fire, killing two people and injuring six more, for which he is now serving life in prison. So maybe this whole God-'n'-Guns bravado is a wee bit, um, insensitive, apart from everything else wrong with it.

Just sayin'.


(Hat-tip to Melissa McEwan at Shakesville )

Thursday, June 25, 2009

THREE FOR THURSDAY...

I'm sorry I haven't been around to read anybody's blogs the last couple of days. I got called back to work Wednesday, so between that and things I've had to get done around here, I haven't had much time for anything else.

That said, I thought I'd leave you with three tunes, two of which have been running through my head all day. Can you guess which ones?

Hope you like Humble Pie! Enjoy!





Tuesday, June 23, 2009

CONGRESS STRUGGLES WITH HEALTH CARE

AND THEY SAY DRUGS ARE ADDICTIVE....

....so are some of the online games teenagers play.

Check this out. I found this at The Huffington Post.


Boy Freaks When Parents Cancel Warcraft Account

World of Warcraft, the massive and massively popular online role-playing game, has been known to consume people's lives, but this video shows just how attached to it someone can get.

A warning to parents: if you ever cancel your child's World of Warcraft account, don't leave him alone because it's very possible he will be so upset that he's a danger to himself. That's what happened when this boy's parents took away his online avatar, and, courtesy of his brother, we get to see just happens when the cord is cut.

We would scold his brother for betraying the boy's confidence, but then we would never have seen what is clearly one of the best freakouts ever.


DAMN....IT'S HOT

You're right Newt. You and the coal company you run are correct. There is no climate change going on.

No Newt, you're wrong. You're dead wrong. Climate change is the reason why our winters here in Wisconsin have been getting progressively colder. That's why the winter snow storms have been more intense. It's also why the summers have been getting hotter, and the storms are more fierce and destructive and contain more tornadoes. Climate change is the reason why there are more intense hurricanes, and more flooding, and less polar ice.

GINGRICH, YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT! CLIMATE CHANGE IS THE REASON WHY WE HERE IN SOUTHERN WISCONSIN ARE UNDER A "HEAT ADVISORY" POSTED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE! THAT'S ALSO THE REASON IT WAS 80 DEGREES AT 6:00 AM, AND WHY THE TEMPERATURE IS 87 DEGREES IN THE SHADE AND 128 DEGREES IN THE SUN AT 10:30 AM! THIS IS NOT NORMAL!

Newt Gingrich’s 527 organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF), took to the airwaves yesterday in opposition to the Waxman-Markey clean energy reform bill. The 30-second attack ad falls highlights the Gingrich-inspired Republican strategy of calling the bill a “national energy tax”:

Now congress is about to make things dramatically worse by passing a new national energy tax. We’ll lose more jobs, pay more for gas and electricity, pushing our economy to its breaking point. Stop the national energy tax, call your member of Congress before it’s too late.

Contradicting ASWF’s “energy tax” attack, a Congressional Budget Office analysis of Waxman-Markey found that the legislation only costs the equivalent of a postage stamp a day, while sharply cutting greenhouse gas emissions.


There's a video that goes with this that was put out by Gingrich's 527 group, but I refuse to post it here. If you want to see it, either click here or on the link at the top of the post.

RETHUGLICAN BUFFOONS, GOONS, AND BLOCKHEADS

A show of force in idiocy from the batshit crazy right-wing morons!

First from Rachel Maddow and then from Keith Olbermann:




Monday, June 22, 2009

A LITTLE AFTERNOON MUSICAL HUMOR....

.....hope you enjoy these......I did!





THOUGHTS FROM ROBERT REICH ON HEALTH CARE REFORM FOR PRESDENT OBAMA

Here is an open letter that former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich had posted on his blog.


Memo to the President: What You Must Do To Save Universal Health Care

Mr. President:

Momentum for universal health care is slowing dramatically on Capitol Hill. Moderates are worried, Republicans are digging in, and the medical-industrial complex is firing up its lobbying and propaganda machine.

But, as you know, the worst news came days ago when the Congressional Budget Office weighed in with awful projections about how much the leading healthcare plans would cost and how many Americans would still be left out in the cold. Yet these projections didn't include the savings that a public option would generate by negotiating lower drug prices, doctor fees, and hospital costs, and forcing private insurers to be more competitive. Projecting the future costs of universal health care without including the public option is like predicting the number of people who will get sunburns this summer if nobody is allowed to buy sun lotion. Of course the costs of universal health care will be huge if the most important way of controlling them is left out of the calculation.

If you want to save universal health care, you must do several things, and soon:

1. Go to the nation. You must build public support by forcefully making the case for universal health care everywhere around the country. The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows that three out of four Americans want universal health care. But the vast majority don't know what's happening on the Hill, don't know how much money the medical-industrial lobbies are spending to defeat it, and have no idea how much demagoguery they're about to be exposed to. You must tell them. And don't be reluctant to take on those vested interests directly. Name names. They've decided to fight you. You must fight them.

2. Be LBJ. So far, Lyndon Johnson has been the only president to defeat American Medical Association and the rest of the medical-industrial complex. He got Medicare and Medicaid enacted despite their cries of "socialized medicine" because he knocked heads on the Hill. He told Congress exactly what he wanted, cajoled and threatened those who resisted, and counted noses every hour until he had the votes he needed. When you're not on the road, you need to be twisting congressional arms and drawing a line in the sand. Be tough.

3. Forget the Republicans
. Forget bipartisanship. Universal health care can pass with 51 votes. You can get 51 votes if you give up on trying to persuade a handful of Republicans to cross over. Eight year ago George W. Bush passed his huge tax cut, mostly for the wealthy, by wrapping it in an all-or-nothing reconciliation measure and daring Democrats to vote against it. You should do the same with health care.

4. Insist on a real public option
. It's the lynchpin of universal health care. Don't accept Kent Conrad's ersatz public option masquerading as a "healthcare cooperative." Cooperatives won't have the authority, scale, or leverage to negotiate low prices and keep private insurers honest.

5. Demand that taxes be raised on the wealthy to ensure that all Americans get affordable health care. At the rate healthcare costs are rising, not even a real public option will hold down costs enough to make health care affordable to most American families in years to come. So you'll need to tax the wealthy. Don't back down on your original proposal to limit their deductions. And support a cap on how much employee-provided health care can be provided tax free. (Yes, you opposed this during your campaign. But you have no choice but to reverse yourself on this.) These are the only two big pots of money.

6. Put everything else on hold. As important as they are, your other agenda items -- financial reform, home mortgage mitigation, cap-and-trade legislation -- pale in significance relative to universal health care. By pushing everything at once, you take the public's mind off the biggest goal, diffuse your energies, blur your public message, and fuel the demagogues who say you're trying to take over the private sector.

You have to win this.

Your obedient servant, RBR



Now if the President will listen to Mr Reich, we just may get real health care reform, for everyone, yet this year.

MICHELE BACHMANN....BIG SPENDER

The insane Representative from Minnesota, who complains how much money the government spends, has been going through Congressional funds like a chain-smoker goes through cigarettes. When the members of the House of Representatives got a 7% increase in funds for office expenditures, which was a lot more than the Social Security increase was, Rep. Bachmann didn't complain at all about how much that was costing the taxpayers.

From The Ed Schultz Show:



And then there is this. Batshit Crazy Bachmann says she isn't going to fill out the census form when it is sent out. She says she doesn't have to, even though the Census Bureau says she will be braking the law if she doesn't fill it out completely.

I guess she figures that all the laws of the land don't apply to her.

Once again, from The Ed Schultz Show:

Sunday, June 21, 2009

FATHER'S DAY

To all the fathers out there, everywhere in the world, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, dudes!

To all those who are "fathers" to four legged kids [like Gordon], HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all you dudes, too.

These are for all of us.....



Saturday, June 20, 2009

Friday, June 19, 2009

THE WHINING CRYBABIES OF FOX NOISE ARE AT IT AGAIN

Now they're whining about ABC being privileged by getting access to the White House for an upcoming special on health care, saying that this is unprecedented because no network has ever had access like this. They seem to have forgotten the "unprecedented access" they had during the Bush disaster to not only the White House, but also Air Force One, the Oval Office, and the ranch at Crawford, Texas.

From Think Progress:

Hannity: Only Fox News Deserves ‘Unprecedented Access’ To The White House

Wednesday night on Fox News, Sean Hannity interviewed Karl Rove about ABC’s upcoming special “Questions for the President: Prescription for America,” which will feature President Obama answering “questions offered by audience members ‘selected by ABC News who have divergent opinions in this historic debate’” on health care. Hannity and Rove — echoing a recent Washington Times piece — raised questions about what they called the “unprecedented access to the White House” granted to ABC for their “infomercial” on health care reform:

HANNITY: Karl, it seems rather unprecedented. You were there in the White House for the better part of eight years. Did this ever happened while George W. Bush was president?

ROVE: You know, look, it’s normal for the networks to want to come in and do an interview inside the White House or to get a glimpse behind the curtain as to what goes on there. This is an unprecedented access to the White House and more importantly an unprecedented use of the White House. I can’t remember a time when the network came in and was going to devote a significant block of time to covering an issue that was on the president’s agenda.



As Media Matters first noted, when Fox News’ Bret Baier was granted “unprecedented access” to the White House in Feb. 2008, the network billed it as a “documentary,” not an “infomercial.” Further, Fox was not only welcomed into the White House, but aboard Air Force One, to Bush’s ranch in Texas, and into the Oval Office. Baier introduced the “documentary” saying, “Fox News has been granted unprecedented access inside the President’s world. … It’s a President Bush you’ve never seen before.” Watch a compilation of Hannity last night and Baier’s special:




Prior to airing the Bush special, Baier hosted a special on the famously-reclusive vice president entitled “Dick Cheney: No Retreat.” Fox billed it as “a rare glimpse into the life of the vice president” and aired the program Oct. 13, 2007. Similarly, on Oct. 30, 2007, Fox’s Greta Van Susteren was granted what she called “unprecedented access” to First Lady Laura Bush’s tour of the Middle East.

In the period leading up to Fox gaining such access to the Bush White House, former Fox News Sunday host Tony Snow was serving as White House Press Secretary, leaving office just weeks before Baier’s first documentary aired.


And just for a little extra, here's this from Daily Kos:

The funny thing is that at the same time Fox is accusing ABC of being partisan for broadcasting a special report on President Obama’s health care plan from the White House, Fox is reading straight from Republican press releases.

And let’s not forget another reason Fox shouldn’t be pointing any fingers: remember it’s little Tea Bag Party celebration in April?


IT'S FRIIIIIIIIDAAAAAAAY........

........that means it's time for comedy.......





Thursday, June 18, 2009

HOWS 'BOUT A COUPLA DOOBIES.......




GLENN "THE PSYCHO" BECK......LIAR EXTRAODINAIRE

The main psychotic personality at Fuks Nuz, Glenn Butt-gnome Beck, has long been known for his fabrication of the truth. What he thinks is reality, and the truth, in his little psychotic world is so far from the truth in the real world that the only ones who believe him are those who listen to him daily....and can't think for themselves.

Well....the lying little butt-plug is at it again. Like he ever stopped!

From Alter Net:

Does Glenn Beck Even Know What Glenn Beck Says?

Why can't Beck stop making stuff up?

Or are there many Glenn Becks with nationally syndicated radio shows running around saying lots of different things, and that's what's causing the confusion?

Or maybe Beck can't stop making stuff up. (We're betting No. 2.)

From Beck's WashPost.com online chat:

During the Iraq War, for anyone who cares to know the truth, I was on the air chastising people that were saying that Hollywood should shut up or that if you have a different opinion you should shut up. I was of the opinion that there's nothing wrong with vigorous debate, what George Washington called the "battlefield of opinion."

Beck wants everyone to understand that during that very emotional time around the start of the Iraq War, Beck was one of the level-headed ones. Beck was asking for calm and urging dissenting voices to speak up to be heard. He wanted vigorous debate.

Riiight.

This is from April 23, 2003. Glenn Beck's website for his radio show posted the results of a listener poll which asked the question, "Who has hacked you off the most over the last 6 months." These were among the finalists, and remember, Beck now claims he was most definitely not saying that liberal celebrities should shut up about the war.


Dixie Chicks: Not necessarily the whole group, but definitely the fat butter hog that spoke out against Bush while in Europe only to say later that it was a joke, and then again later to say she stands behind what she said in the first place.

Martin Sheen: One of the more vocal members of 'Not in our Name'. Overall, he was just a big jackass.

Michael Moore: Where to begin.... Really, there is just way to much stuff to list.

Sheryl Crow: From "WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER" to "I DON'T BELIEVE IN YOUR WAR, MR. BUSH!" she proved herself to be just another loud and annoying Hollywood type.

Susan Sarandon: No description required

That was from Glenn Beck's website. But today Beck has a much more pleasing tale to tell. Today, we're told that back in 2003 Glenn was pushing for vigorous debate and was defending Hollywood celebrities and their right to speak out against the war.

(Hat-tip to Eric Boehlert at Media Matters for America)


For a story on another wonder-child from Fuks Nuz go here.

RIGHT-WING EXTREMIST IN AN SUV

A writer for Fuks Nuz has been arrested for hit and run. Don Broderick hit Brian Dooda on June 10th with his SUV, knew he had hit Brian but refused to stop. Broderick continued driving and dragged Brian 200 feet before stopping.....and then the bastard hit Brian again!

From Alter Net:

Fox Newser Arrested for Dragging Cyclist 200 Yards

The NYPD has confirmed that Don Broderick, a news writer at Fox, has been taken into custody for his SUV-capades.

Don Broderick, a news writer at Fox, has been arrested for dragging a cyclist 200 yards with his SUV, Gawker has confirmed.

Brian Dooda, a 34-year-old resident of Brooklyn, told the New York Daily News on June 10 that Broderick knocked him down, forcing him to cling to the hood of the car. Dooda said that as Broderick accelerated, the two made eye contact through the windshield.

"He was expressionless, he didn't say anything," Dooda said.

Dooda posted his full police testimony about the incident on a cycling message board. Here's the excerpt:

I was riding my bicycle North on the East side of the Central Park loop in the left lane keeping a steady pace of 25mph. Just North of the reservoir, a grey s.u.v. aggressively and very deliberately cut me off in my lane, speeding within inches of my front wheel with clear intentions to harass or harm me. I gave chase. Just ahead, the light on the East Dr. (this would be the light at the crosswalk just north of the 97th St. Transverse Rd.) was red with a few cars stopped at it. The s.u.v. that swiped me came to a stop in the right lane behind these cars. I pulled in front of his vehicle directly facing the driver and, straddling my bicycle, explained to him that what he just did almost cost me my life, the speed limit is 25mph in the park and if he doesn't like it to stay out of Central Park. The driver then accelerated, lunging straight into me, knocking me and my bicycle to the ground and to the left side of his car. I quickly got to my feet and positioned myself in front of his vehicle to prevent him from fleeing the scene. I called out to bystanders to call the police and yelled at the driver that he was insane, he just hit me, and he can't leave. The driver again accelerated into me, with no intention of stopping, forcing me, prostrate, onto the drivers side hood of his vehicle. Riding precariously with a 4,000 lb wheel inches from pulling me beneath it, I screamed for the driver to " Stop!!! Please Stop!! over and over. He continued to ignore my pleas for some 200ft. keeping a steady 5 or 10mph. He then stopped suddenly allowing me to fall off the side of the hood. Just as quickly as he stopped he violently accelerated again knocking me to the side. This time I managed to stay standing. The driver then sped off Northbound. At this point several witnesses came to my aid and reported his license plate.

I would describe the driver as an older white male. He looked to be a buttoned up professional with a suit, of medium build, glasses (sunglasses maybe), short, thin, dirty grayish hair. Throughout the incident, the driver said very little. Maybe some quick comments like: "Whatever" "Get the f*ck out of here" or a shrug of the shoulders. Mostly he just starred at me with cold psychotic intent.
I sincerely hope this lunatic does not get away with this behavior. Fortunately I went home with minor injuries considering the potential of this degree of violence.



These fuckers at Fuks Nuz have no compassion for anyone, on the air or in real life. I wonder if this fucktard writes for Glenn "The Psycho" Beck!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

CRUISIN' TUNES

Blame this one on Gordon and Fixer....they started this...







My apologies to Gordon and Fixer, I forgot to link to their posts last night.
They are now linked. Sorry guys.

BOOK BURNING IN WISCONSIN

There is a book on the shelf at the West Bend Community Memorial Library that a so-called group of advocates doesn't just want banned, but want it publicly burned. Nothing says freedom of the press and freedom of speech more [sarcasm here] than a good ol' Nazi book burning. Isn't that just the prefect way to teach our children about the freedoms certain groups [read here christo-fascists] want to take away from them.

The book is about a young man coming of age and discovering that he is gay. This was written as a children's book. At first the group wanted it moved to the adult section, which takes away from teaching children acceptance of others, and from there to the burning of the book because they say it "promotes homosexuality."

From Mustang Bobby at Shakesville:

"It's one thing to want a book that might be considered inappropriate for children put on a shelf in a library that clearly states that it is meant for adults, but this book doesn't sound anything like that; contrary to the feverish obsession of these ignoramuses, there's more to being gay than just having sex. (True to form, the folks who carry on about morality and the Radical Homosexual Agenda are a lot more preoccupied with sex than any normal person -- gay or straight -- should be.) To advocate for publicly burning a book brings it to a level of psychosis that reaches way beyond looking out for what's appropriate and what's not. These people have a deep-seated phobia about anything connected with homosexuality, and it's pretty scary that they're disturbed enough to come out, so to speak, with their rage and their hatred. These folks have a lot to learn about civil liberties, not to mention a lot about Christianity, too."

This from Salon:

A teen book burns at the stake

A Christian group hopes to set fire to library copies of Francesca Lia Block's novel about a gay boy coming of age.

By Laura Miller

June 16, 2009 | Francesca Lia Block, an award-winning author of young-adult books (the "Weetzie Bat" series among them), has known for a while now that one of her novels, "Baby Be-Bop" is at the center of a controversy in West Bend, Wis.

A few days ago, she found out that it might be burned at the stake. "Baby Be-Bop" is on a list of titles that a local group calling itself the West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries objects to seeing in the public library. In February, the group asked the library's board to remove a page of recommended titles about gay and lesbian issues for young people (including "Baby Be-Bop") from the library's Web site. Then they demanded that the books be moved from the youth section of the library and placed with the adult collection, "to protect children from accessing them without their parents' knowledge and supervision."

"My publisher brushed it off at first," Block said, "but now it's starting to look really serious." When the board refused to immediately comply with the requests of West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries, the town's common council voted not to renew the contracts of four recalcitrant board members. A second group, West Bend Parents for Free Speech, formed to oppose the plan to segregate the books.

At a June 3 public hearing, the library board received two petitions (700 signatures supporting the restriction, 1,000 opposed) on the issue and listened to dozens of statements (you can see video of some of the statements here.) Then it voted unanimously to leave the books where they are.

But the controversy isn't over. Now an outfit called the Christian Civil Liberties Union has gotten in on the act, suing the library for, according to the West Bend Daily News, "damaging" the "mental and emotional well-being" of several individuals by displaying "Baby Be-Bop" in the library. Since attempts to label the novel as "pornographic" have failed, the (somewhat shadowy) CCLU hopes to brand it as hate speech, in part because it contains the word "nigger." The complainants, described as "elderly" by the newspaper, claim that Block's novel is "explicitly vulgar, racial [sic] and anti-Christian." They want the library's copy not only removed but publicly burned.

"Baby Be-Bop," a title from the Weetzie Bat series that describes the youth of Weetzie's best friend, Dirk, is, in Block's words, "a very sweet, simple, coming-of-age story about a young man's discovery that he's gay." Dirk is beaten by gay bashers but steadfastly clings to the possibility of finding love. Block finds the disingenuous charges of racism particularly distressing. "Obviously I use those words, including 'faggot,' which is also in the book, to expose racism and homophobia, not promote it," she said. "It's a tiny little book," she added, "but they want to burn it like a witch."

"I'd like to show my support for the librarians with any statement I can make," she said "They're the unsung heroes in our society. My brother works on a hotline for gay youth and every night he's talking people down from suicide because they're gay and they're not accepted by the communities they're in."

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS....ACCORDING TO GEORGE CARLIN

LONG ISLAND.....THE 51ST STATE?

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Long Island Wants to Secede
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Full Episodes
Political HumorJason Jones in Iran

PANETTA VS CHENEY?

This last weekend Leon Panetta, the Director of the CIA, made a statement about what many of us had already thought. He said that it sounded almost [and the key word here is almost] like the former Vice President was hoping for another terrorist attack to prove him right for saying that President Obama's national security policies have made us less safe.

Since then, there have been some on the right who have accused Panetta of saying that Cheney was wishing for another attack.

As far as I'm concerned it sure sounds like the Evil One has been wanting another attack just so he will look like he was right. Of course that's just the impression that I've gotten from the Chain-man.

Lawrence O'Donnell discussed this with KO last night on Countdown.

Monday, June 15, 2009

MUSIC FOR A MONDAY AFTERNOON......

You guys remember Dr. Hook......








This one's for all the ol' stoners out there....

US ARMY ALLOWING WHITE SUPREMACISTS TO JOIN RANKS

Ignoring it's own regulations, the US Military is allowing Neo-Nazis to join their ranks.

This is just what we need, ultra right-wing extremists enlisting in our military and getting training on how to kill effectively. Let's spend taxpayer dollars to train these extremists so they can be even better at killing citizens who are minorities.

This is part of what the Department of Homeland Security Report was trying to warn us about that the conservatives got so pissed off about.

— (U//LES) DHS/I&A has concluded that white supremacist lone wolves pose the most
significant domestic terrorist threat because of their low profile and autonomy—separate from
any formalized group—which hampers warning efforts
.

Now our military has been allowing these white supremacists to entry the US Army. These people are being trained to destroy what the Army is supposed to be protecting.

From Salon:

Neo-Nazis are in the Army now

June 15, 2009 | On a muggy Florida evening in 2008, I meet Iraq War veteran Forrest Fogarty in the Winghouse, a little bar-restaurant on the outskirts of Tampa, his favorite hangout. He told me on the phone I would recognize him by his skinhead. Sure enough, when I spot a white guy at a table by the door with a shaved head, white tank top and bulging muscles, I know it can only be him.

At 15, Fogarty moved with his dad to Tampa, where he started picking fights with groups of black kids at his new high school. "On the first day, this bunch of niggers, they thought I was a racist, so they asked, 'Are you in the KKK?'" he tells me. "I said, 'Yeah,' and it was on." Soon enough, he was expelled.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

..... the military ran in Fogarty's family. His grandfather had served during World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and his dad had been a Marine in Vietnam. At 22, Fogarty resolved to follow in their footsteps. "I wanted to serve my country," he says.

Army regulations prohibit soldiers from participating in racist groups, and recruiters are instructed to keep an eye out for suspicious tattoos. Before signing on the dotted line, enlistees are required to explain any tattoos. At a Tampa recruitment office, though, Fogarty sailed right through the signup process. "They just told me to write an explanation of each tattoo, and I made up some stuff, and that was that," he says. Soon he was posted to Fort Stewart in Georgia, where he became part of the 3rd Infantry Division.

Fogarty's ex-girlfriend, intent on destroying his new military career, sent a dossier of photographs to Fort Stewart. The photos showed Fogarty attending white supremacist rallies and performing with his band, Attack. "They hauled me before some sort of committee and showed me the pictures," Fogarty says. "I just denied them and said my girlfriend was a spiteful bitch." He adds: "They knew what I was about. But they let it go because I'm a great soldier."


In 2003, Fogarty was sent to Iraq. For two years he served in the military police, escorting officers, including generals, around the hostile country. He says he was granted top-secret clearance and access to battle plans. Fogarty speaks with regret that he "never had any kill counts." But he says his time in Iraq increased his racist resolve.

"I hate Arabs more than anybody, for the simple fact I've served over there and seen how they live," he tells me. "They're just a backward people. Them and the Jews are just disgusting people as far as I'm concerned. Their customs, everything to do with the Middle East, is just repugnant to me."

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

The lax regulations have also opened the military's doors to neo-Nazis, white supremacists and gang members — with drastic consequences. Some neo-Nazis have been charged with crimes inside the military, and others have been linked to recruitment efforts for the white right. A recent Department of Homeland Security report, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," stated: "The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today." Many white supremacists join the Army to secure training for, as they see it, a future domestic race war. Others claim to be shooting Iraqis not to pursue the military's strategic goals but because killing "hajjis" is their duty as white militants.

Soldiers' associations with extremist groups, and their racist actions, contravene a host of military statutes instituted in the past three decades. But during the "war on terror," U.S. armed forces have turned a blind eye on their own regulations. A 2005 Department of Defense report states, "Effectively, the military has a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy pertaining to extremism. If individuals can perform satisfactorily, without making their extremist opinions overt … they are likely to be able to complete their contracts."


We are effectively cutting our own throats by allowing white supremacists and other extremists to enter our military services. This needs to stop, and stop now!

There is much more to this story. It is well worth it to read the entire article.

Go here to read the rest.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

INCITING THE LUNATIC FRINGE

That's what the conservative hardliners are doing. They are inciting the lunatic fringe of their party to commit the heinous acts such as the attack on the Holocaust Museum and the assassination of Dr. George Tiller.

The last time the lunatic fringe of the Rethuglican party was moved to take action like this was the last time we had a Democrat for president, Bill Clinton. At that time the right-wing hate machine got rolling and cranked up the scare tactics to get the loonies moving into action.

I was reading a post by Gordon at Alternate Brain about a column that Paul Krugman had written the other day. In it, Mr. Krugman explains just how the right is getting their lunatics stirred up to the point of exploding. Below you will find the entire column from Mr. Krugman.

Thanks so much for the heads-up on this Gordon.
BTW...I didn't mean to steal your thunder, just thought more people might see it if I posted it here, too. Thanks again, pal.


The Big Hate

Back in April, there was a huge fuss over an internal report by the Department of Homeland Security warning that current conditions resemble those in the early 1990s — a time marked by an upsurge of right-wing extremism that culminated in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Conservatives were outraged. The chairman of the Republican National Committee denounced the report as an attempt to “segment out conservatives in this country who have a different philosophy or view from this administration” and label them as terrorists.

But with the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-abortion fanatic, closely followed by a shooting by a white supremacist at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the analysis looks prescient.

There is, however, one important thing that the D.H.S. report didn’t say: Today, as in the early years of the Clinton administration but to an even greater extent, right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment.

Now, for the most part, the likes of Fox News and the R.N.C. haven’t directly incited violence, despite Bill O’Reilly’s declarations that “some” called Dr. Tiller “Tiller the Baby Killer,” that he had “blood on his hands,” and that he was a “guy operating a death mill.” But they have gone out of their way to provide a platform for conspiracy theories and apocalyptic rhetoric, just as they did the last time a Democrat held the White House.

And at this point, whatever dividing line there was between mainstream conservatism and the black-helicopter crowd seems to have been virtually erased.

Exhibit A for the mainstreaming of right-wing extremism is Fox News’s new star, Glenn Beck. Here we have a network where, like it or not, millions of Americans get their news — and it gives daily airtime to a commentator who, among other things, warned viewers that the Federal Emergency Management Agency might be building concentration camps as part of the Obama administration’s “totalitarian” agenda (although he eventually conceded that nothing of the kind was happening).

But let’s not neglect the print news media. In the Bush years, The Washington Times became an important media player because it was widely regarded as the Bush administration’s house organ. Earlier this week, the newspaper saw fit to run an opinion piece declaring that President Obama “not only identifies with Muslims, but actually may still be one himself,” and that in any case he has “aligned himself” with the radical Muslim Brotherhood.

And then there’s Rush Limbaugh. His rants today aren’t very different from his rants in 1993. But he occupies a different position in the scheme of things. Remember, during the Bush years Mr. Limbaugh became very much a political insider. Indeed, according to a recent Gallup survey, 10 percent of Republicans now consider him the “main person who speaks for the Republican Party today,” putting him in a three-way tie with Dick Cheney and Newt Gingrich. So when Mr. Limbaugh peddles conspiracy theories — suggesting, for example, that fears over swine flu were being hyped “to get people to respond to government orders” — that’s a case of the conservative media establishment joining hands with the lunatic fringe.

It’s not surprising, then, that politicians are doing the same thing. The R.N.C. says that “the Democratic Party is dedicated to restructuring American society along socialist ideals.” And when Jon Voight, the actor, told the audience at a Republican fund-raiser this week that the president is a “false prophet” and that “we and we alone are the right frame of mind to free this nation from this Obama oppression,” Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, thanked him, saying that he “really enjoyed” the remarks.

Credit where credit is due. Some figures in the conservative media have refused to go along with the big hate — people like Fox’s Shepard Smith and Catherine Herridge, who debunked the attacks on that Homeland Security report two months ago. But this doesn’t change the broad picture, which is that supposedly respectable news organizations and political figures are giving aid and comfort to dangerous extremism.

What will the consequences be? Nobody knows, of course, although the analysts at Homeland Security fretted that things may turn out even worse than in the 1990s — that thanks, in part, to the election of an African-American president, “the threat posed by lone wolves and small terrorist cells is more pronounced than in past years.”

And that’s a threat to take seriously. Yes, the worst terrorist attack in our history was perpetrated by a foreign conspiracy. But the second worst, the Oklahoma City bombing, was perpetrated by an all-American lunatic. Politicians and media organizations wind up such people at their, and our, peril.

IT'S SATURDAY.....TIME FOR SOME TUNES

Here ya go mikeb!





Thursday, June 11, 2009

HOW COOL IS THIS...

I saw this all happen on TV!

President Obama was in my state today visiting Green Bay.

After Barry gave his speech, he did his normal town hall meeting thing and took questions from the audience. There was a dad there with his daughter who was called on. The dad explained that his daughter was missing her last day of school to be there.

The President asked the girl if she needed him to write her an excuse for the day. Both her and her dad said that would be great. Barry asked the girl her name and then proceeded to write her a note to excuse her from her last day of school. The news coverage showed the girl walking up and Barry handing her the excuse.

NOW HOW FUCKING COOL IS THAT!!!!

UPDATE: Watch this video and you'll see it at the end!

HOW'S 'BOUT SOME BLUES IN THE AFTERNOON.....

.....and let's make that a little Eric Clapton....




....with some Buddy Guy....


FOX NEWS ANCHOR CALLS OUT RIGHT-WING EXTREMISTS

Yesterday, after the attack at the Holocaust Museum, Fuk Nuz anchor Shepard Smith went out on a limb by saying that the Department of Homeland Security Report on right-wing extremism wasn't overblown like almost all of the conservatives said it was.

I'm sure Shep is gonna get ripped apart by Rushole "The Fat Anal Cyst" Limpballs about this.


From Think Progress:

Fox News’ Shep Smith: DHS Report Was A ‘Warning To Us All,’ But ‘The Right Went Absolutely Bonkers’

On Wednesday, a gunman — reportedly white supremacist James von Brunn — shot and killed a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington. Discussing the shooting, Fox News’ Shepard Smith reminded the audience that when the Department of Homeland Security released a report warning of violent, right-wing extremists earlier this year, “the right went absolutely bonkers!” He called the report a “warning to us all,” and said DHS was “warning us for a reason.” Watch it:


Southern Povery Law Center’s Heidi Beirich told Smith that the shooting is a reminder of the real danger extremists and “crazies” pose to the U.S.:

SMITH: There’s these crazies out there. And we know it’s absolutely — there is no truth whatsoever — zero to any of those ideas. Yet, they live within the computer and they fester within people’s minds.

BEIRICH: Shepard, you’re hitting the nail on the head. We’re extremely concerned about these kinds of crazed conspiracies, whether they’re about the President, or the fact — we’re hearing things like FEMA setting up camps to round up Americans and put them in. I’m getting bad sort of deja vu from the 1990s, when anti-government militias were on the rise, when Tim McVeigh committed that violence in Oklahoma City. I’m really hoping we’re not going through a repeat of that.

Watch it:



The Wonk Room’s Andrea Nill highlights anti-immigrant screeds written by Brunn.

Smith also talked about all the wacko emails that Fuks Nuz has been receiving:

GOOD MORNING KIDS....IT'S ANOTHER DAY IN OUR LIVES



Wednesday, June 10, 2009

JUST FOR GIGGLES AN' SNORTS

Hey....you guys wanna see some funky lookin' buildings?

If ya do, click here and go check out these!

LITTLE MISS FAKE TITS LOSES HER CROWN

After saying that Carrie Prejean could keep her crown, Donald Trump has taken it from her for not honoring her contract. Well holy fucking shit, Donald, it's about fucking time!

From Right Wing Watch:

Carrie Prejean Stripped Of Her Crown

Last month, after Miss USA contestant Carrie Prejean set off a firestorm for saying she opposed marriage equality and then linking up with the National Organization for Marriage to promote her views, there was lots of talk that she might be stripped of her title as Miss California.

At the time, Donald Trump, who owns the Miss USA Pageant, decided that she could keep her title while Prejean, after portraying herself as a vicitm, vowed not to talk about the issue of marriage any more.

But today Trump apparently reconsidered his decision and has now stripped Prejean of her title, citing breach of contract:

The Miss California USA Organization, with the blessing of owner Donald Trump, announced on Wednesday that Prejean would lose her crown due to "continued breach of contract issues."

"This was a decision based solely on contract violations including Ms. Prejean's unwillingness to make appearances on behalf of the Miss California USA organization," Miss California USA Executive Director Keith Lewis said in a statement to ET. "After our press conference in New York we had hoped we would be able to forge a better working relationship. However, since that time it has become abundantly clear that Carrie is unwilling to fulfill her obligations under our contract and work together."

"I told Carrie she needed to get back to work and honor her contract with the Miss California USA Organization and I gave her the opportunity to do so," Trump said about the decision. "Unfortunately it just doesn't look like it is going to happen and I offered Keith my full support in making this decision. Carrie is a beautiful young woman and I wish her well as she pursues her other interests."

Since Prejean was already fast on her way to becoming a right-wing superstar, this latest development will probably be good for her career as she is now free to dedicated herself full-time to her victimization in the name of her favorite cause: preventing gay people from getting equality.

AIR FRANCE FLIGHT AF447 MAY HAVE BEEN A TERRORIST ATTACK

From Sky News:

Terror Names Linked To Doomed Flight AF 447

Peter Allen, in Paris

Two passengers with names linked to Islamic terrorism were on the Air France flight which crashed with the loss of 228 lives, it has emerged.

Air France debris on board a Brazilian Navy vessel

Debris from Air France flight AF 447 has been recovered from the Atlantic

French secret servicemen established the connection while working through the list of those who boarded the doomed Airbus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 31.

Flight AF 447 crashed in the mid-Atlantic en route to Paris during a violent storm.

While it is certain there were computer malfunctions, terrorism has not been ruled out.

Soon after news of the fatal crash broke, agents working for the DGSE (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure), the French equivalent of MI6, were dispatched to Brazil.

It was there that they established that two names on the passenger list are also on highly-classified documents listing the names of radical Muslims considered a threat to the French Republic.

A source working for the French security services told Paris weekly L'Express that the link was "highly significant".

Agents are now trying to establish dates of birth for the two dead passengers, and family connections.

There is a possibility the name similarities are simply a "macabre coincidence", the source added, but the revelation is still being "taken very seriously".

France has received numerous threats from Islamic terrorist groups in recent months, especially since French troops were sent to fight in Afghanistan.

Security chiefs have been particularly worried about airborne suicide attacks similar to the ones on the US on September 11, 2001.

Go here for the video for this story.

TERRORIST ATTACK AT THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM

This is a terrorist attack, but the assassination of Dr. George Tiller isn't?!?! WHAT THE FUCK!?!?

Gunman, guard shot at Holocaust museum

NBC News: Suspect has ties to hate, anti-government groups

WASHINGTON - An elderly gunman exchanged fire with security guards inside the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday. One security guard and the gunman were taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as James Wenneker von Brunn, 88, from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, NBC News reported. NBC said he may have had connections to hate groups or anti-government groups.

D.C. police spokeswoman Traci Hughes said the suspect walked into the museum at about 12:50 p.m. ET with a rifle and shot a guard. U.S. Park Police Sgt. David Schlosser says one or more guards at the museum returned fire, hitting the suspect.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the suspect immediately began shooting his rifle as he entered the museum. The FBI said it had no earlier reports of threats against the museum.

Gunman in critical condition

Authorities said the gunman was in critical condition and the security guard was in grave condition. Both were taken to George Washington University Hospital.

A third person reportedly was hurt after being cut by broken glass.

Von Brunn is believed to have had contact with law enforcement in the past, according to NBC. A D.C. Superior Court jury convicted a man by the same name in 1983 of attempting to kidnap members of the Federal Reserve Board.

The case involved a 1981 incident in which police arrested Von Brunn at the board's headquarters carrying several weapons. He was convicted and later released from federal prison in 1989, records show.

At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, officials declined to publicly confirm Von Brunn is their suspect.

According to Joseph Persichini, assistant director in charge of the Washington FBI field office, authorities have dispatched people to a suspect's home to check his computer. He said they are investigating this as a possible hate crime or domestic terrorism.

A racist, anti-Semitic Web site called http://www.holywesternempire.org and a book called "Kill the Best Gentile" were attributed to von Brunn.


The rest of the artical is here.