Stephen Colbert Has No Balls

IT'S GAYGAN!

2010-05-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

Or so says AP

Waterloo

2010-03-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

Last year Jim DeMint said of health care reform, "If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him."

More recently John Boehner has been arguing that the passage of HCR will be Waterloo for the Democrats.

And yesterday David Frum argued that the historic vote in the House was Waterloo for the Republicans.

Whoever met their Waterloo last night, let's party like it's 1974...

Saints Win The Super Bowl!

2010-02-07T19:57:00.000-08:00

What next, a black president?

A Little Late

2009-06-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

But the Al Franken Decade begins...

Governor of South Carolina

2009-06-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

For a day anyway...

I was pretty sure something was up when Sanford's wife said she didn't know where her husband was, but perhaps he needed time away from his kids. That's a pretty nasty thing for the wife of a Governor with Presidential aspirations to tell a reporter about her husband.

And then a couple days later she said she still hadn't heard from him, but she didn't have time to talk because she was too busy being a mom. Another dig. Clearly all was not well in Sanford land.

Now, if the Sanford's have been trying to work this out over the last several months, why did he go to Argentina? Is visiting your mistress really the way to re-establish trust in a marriage which is trying recover from an infidelity?

Colbert Returns with Ridiculous Toupee!

2009-06-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

Who does he think he's fooling?

The Colbert Report

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Warm Memories of Iraq

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Stephen Colbert in Iraq

Only Because It's So Awesome...

2009-05-28T23:38:00.000-07:00

Deep Thought:

2009-05-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

Is Tripp Palin, borne of a would be virgin, the Second Coming?

Is This An Episode of South Park?

2009-04-29T20:43:00.001-07:00

Michael Reagan on the Right, via TPM:

"It's interesting that people say the right has taken over the Republican Party -- but no one can say what we've done. We've been closeted for the last eight years; it's time for the right to come out of the closet."

Who does Michael Reagan think the right are? Tom Cruise?

Michael Steele Explains His Gaffes...

2009-03-26T21:54:00.001-07:00

MMM Pie...

2009-03-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Happy PI day!

Andrew Card and Freedom.

2009-02-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

Andrew Card has a problem with Obama:

I found that Ronald Reagan and both President Bushes treated the Oval Office with tremendous respect. They treated the Office of the Presidency with tremendous respect. And some of that respect was reflected in how they expected people to behave, how they expected them to dress when they walked into the symbol of freedom for the world, the Oval Office.

Got that? President Obama should not be free to take his jacket off in the "symbol of freedom for the world." Now that's just stupid. And then there's the hypocrisy exposed here by The Huffington Post (scroll down for slide show).

Gotta Love That Republican Can't Do Spirit

2009-01-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

John Boehner style: “Government can’t solve this problem,”

It's from the I Won story at Politco

President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.

Deep Thoughts

2009-01-18T17:05:00.000-08:00

If you think about it, Tiger Woods is the Barack Obama of golf...

Is Agnosticism Possible?

2009-01-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

Andrew links to this post:

This isn't just about semantics. Theism-Agnosticism-Atheism are not 3 points on the same line.

Theism is a belief in god (or gods) and atheism is to be without that belief. You either believe in god or you don't. There is no other position. It's not the same question as: does god exist. The question is do you believe god exists.

You can believe in god without knowing god exists. It's called a leap of faith. You can not know if god exists and not make that leap.

Consider alien abductions. I can't say i know they don't happen, so technically i'm agnostic on the subject. But i don't believe they're happening, so i'm also an atheist on the subject.

And there are those who don't know that alien abductions happen (again agnostic) but believe they do: theism.

This is Great!

2009-01-14T20:47:00.000-08:00

From Felix Salmon via Ezra:

My first appearance on CNBC happened to coincide with the single most important event of the century: Bernie Madoff getting out of a car. So there wasn't much time to talk about anything substantive, although I did try to chide the network gently for being such a central part of the Madoff circus. Yes, the Madoff scandal is a big story, but a bail hearing? Not so much.

Fun fact: the newsroom erupted in spontaneous applause when Madoff appeared -- not for Madoff, but rather because Fox Business happened to be on a commercial break at the time, so CNBC had the live coverage to itself. Or something. Many congratulations to them, in any case.

Wrong Headline?

2009-01-12T22:54:00.000-08:00

Ezra's post is titled: OPENLY GAY BISHOP TO DELIVER INVOCATION AT OPENING INAUGURAL SERVICE.

Shouldn't it be: OPENLY GAY BISHOP GOING TO HELL!

The Franken Decade Begins?

2008-12-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

Looking good for Al.

Palin Family Values

2008-12-19T16:54:00.000-08:00

Levi Johnston's mother hit with drug charges.

I remember when Dan Quayle took on fictional character Murphy Brown for becoming a single mother. He said it sent a bad message about family values.

Now, Sarah Palin is the new failed VP values darling of the right, she's the new Dan Quayle. And her 18 year old daughter is about to give birth to a bastard child. Are they scorning her? No, they're cheering. My how times change.

The truth is the right has no issues, just their anger and sense of moral superiority. Reactionaries instinctively react. It's a reflex.

The Bush Legacy

2008-12-19T15:24:00.000-08:00

Says Bush:

I was in the Roosevelt Room and Chairman Bernanke and Secretary Paulson, after a month of every weekend where they're calling, saying, we got to do this for AIG, or this for Fannie and Freddie, came in and said, the financial markets are completely frozen and if we don't do something about it, it is conceivable we will see a depression greater than the Great Depression.

(How can we blame this on Clinton, or maybe Obama?)

So I analyzed that and decided I didn't want to be the President during a depression greater than the Great Depression, or the beginning of a depression greater than the Great Depression.

Too late. You're also the President who lost the World Trade Center. Heck of a job Bushie...

God Closes a Door...

2008-11-18T18:14:00.000-08:00

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens loses re-election bid

First God didn't want Sarah Palin to be VP now he doesn't want her to be a Senator. I'm sure he's opened a door for her somewhere...

A Look Back.

2008-11-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

As we confront the worst economic crisis in a generation, as we suffer with job losses, stock losses, massive budget deficits, economic contraction, let's remember where we started. Let's remember what Bush inherited and then squandered. From his first speech to congress as President:

My budget has funded a responsible increase in our ongoing operations, it has funded our Nation's important priorities, it has protected Social Security and Medicare, and our surpluses are big enough that there is still money left over.

Many of you have talked about the need to pay down our national debt. I have listened, and I agree. My budget proposal pays down an unprecedented amount of public debt. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to act now, and I hope you will join me to pay down $2 trillion in debt during the next 10 years.

At the end of those 10 years, we will have paid down all the debt that is available to retire. That is more debt repaid more quickly than has ever been repaid by any nation at any time in history.

We should also prepare for the unexpected, for the uncertainties of the future. We should approach our Nation's budget as any prudent family would, with a contingency fund for emergencies or additional spending needs. For example, after a strategic review, we may need to increase defense spending, we may need additional money for our farmers, or additional money to reform Medicare And so my budget sets aside almost a trillion dollars over 10 years for additional needs -- that is one trillion additional reasons you can feel comfortable supporting this budget.

We have increased our budget at a responsible 4 percent, we have funded our priorities, we have paid down all the available debt, we have prepared for contingencies -- and we still have money left over.

That's where we started, lo those many years ago...

Operation Chaos!

2008-11-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

Kudos to Rush Limbaugh and his Operation Chaos:

The dream end... I mean, if people say what's your exit strategy, the dream end of this is that this keeps up to the convention and that we have a replay of Chicago 1968, with burning cars, protests, fires, literal riots, and all of that. That's the objective here.

Well, the Democrats are united and victorious while the Republicans are unarguably in chaos. Well done Rush!

In Defense of McCain - A Crazy Theory.

2008-10-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

McCain was always going to lose this election. He never really had much of a chance. The macro trends are heavily against him, the winds of change blowing too hard.

He could've run an honorable and decent campaign. He didn't have to appease the base with a reckless VP choice. He could've lost with honor. The country would've admired him for that.

But what lesson would the GOP take from that? They would conclude you can't win without fighting dirty, without playing to the base. They would redouble their efforts at being the party of hate.

Maybe, just maybe, and i know this is a crazy theory, John McCain figured that if he was going to go down, he would try to take Karl Rove, Fox News, and what they represent with him?

Now We Know Why McCain Thought He Could Win Pennsylvania?

2008-10-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

TPM has the details of McCain pushing the hoax. Was this their Pennsylvania strategy? Did they instigate it? What will they do now?

Sarah Palin's Shopping Spree:

2008-10-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

Everyone's talking about the hypocrisy. I think there's another angle.

We're in the midst of possibly the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Money is tight. This is serious.

Yet the RNC sees fit to spend $150,000 of their donors' hard earned money at places like Nieman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue on clothes for the VP candidate?

How can these clowns possibly be trusted to manage our financial crisis, to handle our money responsibly? What better example of how the Republicans don't get it, of how they're the problem, not the solution?

This is Pretty Stunning:

2008-09-25T23:22:00.000-07:00

The Deal Dissolves

NYT:

"The day began with an agreement that Washington hoped would end the financial crisis that has gripped the nation. It dissolved into a verbal brawl in the Cabinet Room of the White House, urgent warnings from the president and pleas from a Treasury secretary who knelt before the House speaker and appealed for her support.

"If money isn't loosened up, this sucker could go down," President Bush declared Thursday as he watched the $700 billion bailout package fall apart before his eyes, according to one person in the room.

It was an implosion that spilled out from behind closed doors into public view in a way rarely seen in Washington.

By 10:30 p.m., after another round of talks, Congressional negotiators gave up for the night and said they would try again on Friday. Left uncertain was the fate of the bailout, which the White House says is urgently needed to fix broken financial and credit markets, as well as whether the first presidential debate would go forward as planned Friday night in Mississippi. (...)

"We're in a serious economic crisis," Mr. Bush told reporters as the meeting began shortly before 4 p.m. in the Cabinet Room, adding, "My hope is we can reach an agreement very shortly."

But once the doors closed, the smooth-talking House Republican leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, surprised many in the room by declaring that his caucus could not support the plan to allow the government to buy distressed mortgage assets from ailing financial companies.

Mr. Boehner pressed an alternative that involved a smaller role for the government, and Mr. McCain, whose support of the deal is critical if fellow Republicans are to sign on, declined to take a stand.

The talks broke up in angry recriminations, according to accounts provided by a participant and others who were briefed on the session, and were followed by dueling press conferences and interviews rife with partisan finger-pointing.

In the Roosevelt Room after the session, the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr. literally bent down on one knee as he pleaded with Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, not to "blow it up" by withdrawing her party's support for the package over what Ms. Pelosi derided as a Republican betrayal.

"I didn't know you were Catholic," Ms. Pelosi said, a wry reference to Mr. Paulson's kneeling, according to someone who observed the exchange. She went on: 'It's not me blowing this up, it's the Republicans."

Mr. Paulson sighed. "I know. I know.""

(Bolding mine.) McCain is a coward. What will the spin be tomorrow?

Add the United States

2008-09-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

to the list of enterprises George Bush has run into the ground. This is his M.O.: bankrupt the company, get bailed out with someone else's money, walk away...

Game, Set and Match...

2008-09-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

Score a big one for Krugman:

Here’s what McCain has to say about the wonders of market-based health reform:
Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.
So McCain, who now poses as the scourge of Wall Street, was praising financial deregulation like 10 seconds ago — and promising that if we marketize health care, it will perform as well as the financial industry!

McCain's utter and complete hypocrisy laid bare for all to see. That ought to do it, oughtn't it?

Headline on CNBC

2008-09-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

"Stocks Soar on CNBC Report..."

Wow!

"It's Over..."

2008-09-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

Don't take my word for it, take Peggy Noonan's...

Kevin Misses the Point:

2008-09-02T02:08:00.000-07:00

Kevin Drum asks:

But seriously: are they really that easy to sucker? It's plain where McCain's true sentiments lie: he would have chosen a pro-choice partner if he could possibly have gotten away with it. He only picked Palin out of absolute political necessity. And yet the Christian right reacted as giddily as if he had genuinely seen the light.

So I guess the answer is: yes, they really are that easy to sucker. Pretty amazing.

They haven't been suckered. They've won a battle, they've successfully tested their power over John McCain and found themselves to be quite powerful. They're celebrating.

There is no actual principle involved.

Consider this: What if the Democratic nominee for President was on his second marriage and known to have cheated on his first wife many times? What if the Democratic nominee for VP had a pregnant unmarried teenage daughter in high school?

What would the right say about this duo? About their fitness to lead? About the moral bankruptcy of the left? What are they saying about McCain and Palin?

There are no principles here, only rationalizations and exploitation. The right exploits a faith based belief Christian conservatives have that they are morally good while their opponents are morally bad. Nothing else matters. Deficits, wars, adultery, teenage sex, none of these things matter really. Only a sense of righteousness matters. This is moral relativism in moral absolutist clothing.

An Easy Case to Make

2008-08-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

McCain and the Republicans are mocking Obama for advocating proper tire inflation. They're calling for tax breaks for oil companies and for giving them more federal land to drill on.

Why?

Because that's what they're being paid to do, with oil company campaign contributions. Mocking conservation, cutting corporate taxes and opening more federal land up to drilling all have one thing in common: they lead to higher profits for the oil companies.

It's not hard to understand. It's an easy case to make.

Who's Ben Stein Comparing to Hitler Now?

2008-07-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

First it was Darwin, now it's Obama:

STEIN: I want -- I'm glad you brought up this Denver thing. I don't like the idea of Senator Obama giving his acceptance speech in front of 75,000 wildly cheering people. That is not the way we do things in political parties in the United States of America. We have a contained number of people in an arena. Seventy-five-thousand people at an outdoor sports palace, well, that's something the Fuehrer would have done. And I think whoever is advising Senator Obama to do this is bringing up all kinds of very unfortunate images from the past.

I'd think the more likely comparison would be to JFK's nomination acceptance at the Los Angeles Coliseum:

Barack Obama will give his acceptance speech at Invesco Field during the Democratic National Convention. In 1960, John F. Kennedy also delivered his acceptance speech at an outdoor venue — the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

But apparently Ben Stein has Hitler on the brain. Or maybe JFK is next on his list of secret Nazis?

What's Going On?

2008-07-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Is Obama losing because he's not leading by more? That seems to be the conventional wisdom these days and certainly it's a Republican talking point.

But here's the deal, i think: The media and John McCain are really worried that this election is going to be an Obama blowout.

So McCain is going heavily negative right now, throwing everything he has at Obama, now. He's afraid if he doesn't change the dynamic of this race right now, it's over for him.

And the media wants a horse race for obvious reasons...

Connecting The Dots

2008-07-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

From my previous post (WSJ):

In a new sign of increasing inequality in the U.S., the richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of the nation's adjusted gross income for two decades, and possibly the highest since 1929, according to Internal Revenue Service data.

Meanwhile, the average tax rate of the wealthiest 1% fell to its lowest level in at least 18 years. The group's share of the tax burden has risen, though not as quickly as its share of income.

And today from CBS:

The next president will inherit a record budget deficit approaching $490 billion, according to a new Bush administration estimate.

As Condi might say, "no one could've imagined..."

Kudlow isn't just Stupid!

2008-07-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

He's a scumbag and a liar, a knowing propagandist, a charlatan...

In a recent blog he wrote:

Oh really. New IRS data released last month tell a very different story: In the aftermath of the Bush investment tax cuts, the federal income tax burden has substantially shifted onto the backs of the wealthy. Between 2002 and 2004, tax payments by those with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) of more than $200,000 a year, which is roughly 3% of taxpayers, increased by 19.4% -- more than double the 9.3% increase for all other taxpayers.

What Kudlow fails to mention is that the income of the wealthy is going up faster than their tax burden. Their burden as a percent of their income is actually going down.

The tax burden of the poor and middle class, as a percentage of their income, is actually going up. That pisses Kudlow off.

Let's say the richest man in the world owns 10% of America's wealth and pays 10% of America's taxes. Then 10 years later he owns 20% of America's wealth and pays 15% of America's taxes. Has his burden gone up or down? Kudlow would say it's gone up, though obviously it has gone down.

But don't take my word for it. Take it from the Wall Street Journal:

In a new sign of increasing inequality in the U.S., the richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of the nation's adjusted gross income for two decades, and possibly the highest since 1929, according to Internal Revenue Service data.
[Charts]

Meanwhile, the average tax rate of the wealthiest 1% fell to its lowest level in at least 18 years.

Larry Kudlow is a jackass.

Why Exactly, Is McCain Running?

2008-07-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

Now that Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki has endorsed Obama's position on American troop withdrawal from Iraq, what exactly is McCain's rational for running?

As one Republican strategist has put it (according to Marc Ambinder's blog), "We're Fucked."

Hope I Get Really Old Before I Die...

2008-07-18T21:06:00.001-07:00

Somebody Give Sam Seder a Show!

2008-07-12T13:04:00.001-07:00

His whiner/millionaire routine is hilarious. Watch it here.

As I Was Saying...

2008-07-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a great blog showing how much better economic performance has been under Democrats than Republicans.

For example, are Republicans really the party of job creation? Hardly.

The party of growth? Nope. Turns out tax cuts lead to bigger deficits and bigger gaps between the rich and poor, pretty much what a sane, rational person might expect.

And here's Kevin Drum backing me up on Larry Kudlow, pointing out that he is indeed crazy.

Mr. Motes

More Kudlow

2008-06-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

Looks like i'm not the only one stupefied by his stupidity. Kudlow and his ilk are pathologically incapable of questioning their assumptions, assumptions they hold on faith, like religion.

Bush's tax cuts have directly contributed to our massive deficits. Republicans pay lip service to cutting spending but they never do it. It's just rhetoric to rationalize their looting of the treasury. They never cut spending. They only cut taxes.

That means deficits. That means a weaker dollar, higher oil, and a lot of what is dragging us down today.

The S&P is lower now than when supply-sider tax-cutter George Bush took office. The economy has underperformed in almost every measurable way during the Bush presidency.

How do people like Larry Kudlow explain this? They can't. All they can do is call for more tax cuts and inexplicably utter the word "Goldilocks."

It's laughably absurd. Unfortunately, it's also, to some extent, conventional wisdom...

Mr. Motes

Shit Piss Fuck Cunt Motherfucker Cocksucker and Tits...

2008-06-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

George Carlin dead.

Finally: The Stock Market and Interest Rates Explained

2008-06-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

Found this here. It's brilliant, and dead on...

Mr. Motes

Busted!

2008-06-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

In this AP story, Colbert admits he's a fraud, that among other things, there is no Esteban Colberto, it's really just Stephen in disguise.

Another sly comment came during the writers strike, when Comedy Central's parent company, Viacom Inc., pushed "The Daily Show" and "The Report" back into production without writers. Colbert, desperate for material, rebroadcast an interview with CNN pundit Lou Dobbs, renown for his tough stance on immigration.
Dobbs' segment aired exactly as it had months earlier, but Colbert's side was redone with him dressed as "Estaban Colberto," a Spanish-speaking, mustachioed alter-ego (yes, alter-egos can have their own alter-egos). Estaban arrived at the interview by creeping under a chicken-wire fence.

Watch for yourself:

Wait till Comedy Central finds out. Colbert, aka Colberto, probably double billed them...

Mr. Motes

The Message of the Markets

2008-06-04T23:40:00.000-07:00

I've become fascinated with Larry Kudlow lately. How can anyone be such an idiot? Don't take my word for it, read his blog.

His latest thing is this:

Last night on Kudlow & Company we discussed the theory suggesting the stock market sold off a hundred points earlier in the day -- despite Fed head Ben Bernanke's bullish King Dollar statement -- because of the AP headline announcing Obama's impending nomination.

Under Ronald Reagan, the S&P 500 roughly doubled. Under Clinton it quadrupled. Stunningly, the S&P 500 has done nothing during these long Bush years.

Yet the market is telling us it doesn't want fiscal sanity? It fears Obama will undue all this substandard economic performance we've experienced under Bush?

I'm left to wonder whether Larry Kudlow is a fool or a lying hack, a run of the mill propagandist for tax cuts...

I've got my money on all of the above.

Mr. Motes

It's 1996 All Over Again

2008-06-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

I've been saying John McCain looks a lot like Bob Dole from 1996 and last night was no exception. Everyone is talking about this video highlighting just how bad McCain looked giving his speech in New Orleans, especially compared to Obama.

Bob Dole's rebuttal to Bill Clinton's 1996 State of the Union was equally brutal in comparison.

I don't think things are going to work out any better for John McCain than they did for Bob Dole.

Mr. Motes

Must See TV

2008-05-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Colbert on the O'Reilly melt down, you have to see this

Mr. Motes

Bush Powerless Without Magic Wand!

2008-04-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

Maybe Harry Potter can save us? Was Bush under the impression that he wouldn't have to solve any problems that couldn't be fixed with magic?

"I firmly believe that, you know, if there was a magic wand to wave, I'd be waving it, of course,"

Mr. Motes

A Global Warrming Ad for Stephen

2008-04-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Someone needs to remake this ad, make it about global warming:

Bush to Heal McCain's Leprosy!

2008-03-05T18:17:00.000-08:00

Huckabee Hound

2007-12-17T16:26:00.000-08:00

Arianna has a good post about the Republican freak out over Huckabee but i think she and everyone else is missing the point. It's not about class, it's about money. GWB talked a good game but in the end he's a Bush, he's a blue-blood. He won't do anything stupid with the money, like take it from the rich and give it to the poor.

Republicans, above all else, are about using government to protect and embellish the wealth of their benefactors. Huckabee may not be. He might follow the words of Jesus and take money from the wealthy to benefit the poor. That's the reason for the freak-out. There's a lot of money at stake.

Mr. Motes

SS and Atrios

2007-11-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

Everyone is talking about this from Eschaton:

Essentially this is the prefunding con job. Since FICA revenues will cease to support general expenditures in the near future what we must do is... increase the FICA tax so it continues to support general expenditures. In other words, we need to increase the regressive payroll tax so that we don't need to raise other taxes. And we're doing it to "save" social security.

It's even more insidious and dishonest than that. We have 9 trillion in debt. Only a fraction of that is owed to SS. How is it we can't honor the portion of the debt owed to SS but the majority of the debt is manageable? That makes no sense. We'll do what we always do, just roll it over. The debt stays the same and SS gets paid.

But isn't it time to take the offensive on this whole tax fairness issue? Let's eliminate the payroll tax altogether and do away with the fiction of a trust fund. Let's pay for all of our social programs with an increase in the income tax that offsets the elimination of the payroll tax, no net tax increase, just a simpler, fairer system.

And let's attack this fiction of progressivity. I saw Fred Thompson say the other night, "5% of the people are paying 60% of the taxes, "how much more progressive do you want it to be?" Let's compare that to the wealth distribution in this country and then see how "progressive" our tax code is.

Mr. Motes

Republicans Talk Tough

2007-07-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

But they're really just a bunch of pussies.

U.S. Aborted Raid on Qaeda Chiefs in Pakistan in ’05

By MARK MAZZETTI

WASHINGTON, July 7 — A secret military operation in early 2005 to capture senior members of Al Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal areas was aborted at the last minute after top Bush administration officials decided it was too risky and could jeopardize relations with Pakistan, according to intelligence and military officials.

Twenty Six!

2007-06-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

How Low Can He Go asks MSNBC.

Bush was very unpopular for a newly elected President back in 2001. After 9-11 Bush didn't do anything great but America did: It rallied around its President. However, ever since David Kay came back from Iraq and told us in 2004 that there weren't going to be any WMD, it's been all downhill for Bush. How low can he go?

Peggy Noonan

2007-06-02T23:31:00.000-07:00

Andrew Sullivan nailed it:

In 2004 Noonan wrote:

So Much to Savor
A big win for America, and a loss for the mainstream media.

Thursday, November 4, 2004 12:01 a.m. EST
God bless our country.
Hello, old friends. Let us savor. ...
The Democrats have lost their leader in the Senate, Tom Daschle. I do not know what the Democratic Party spent, in toto, on the 2004 election, but what they seem to have gotten for it is Barack Obama. Let us savor.
George Soros cannot buy a presidential election. Savor. "Volunteers" who are bought and paid for cannot beat volunteers who come from the neighborhood, church, workplace and reading group. Savor.

Yet yesterday she wrote:

Too Bad
President Bush has torn the conservative coalition asunder.

Friday, June 1, 2007 12:00 a.m. EDT
... For almost three years, arguably longer, conservative Bush supporters have felt like sufferers of battered wife syndrome. You don't like endless gushing spending, the kind that assumes a high and unstoppable affluence will always exist, and the tax receipts will always flow in? Too bad! You don't like expanding governmental authority and power? Too bad. You think the war was wrong or is wrong? Too bad.
...The president has taken to suggesting that opponents of his immigration bill are unpatriotic--they "don't want to do what's right for America." His ally Sen. Lindsey Graham has said, "We're gonna tell the bigots to shut up." On Fox last weekend he vowed to "push back." Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff suggested opponents would prefer illegal immigrants be killed; Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said those who oppose the bill want "mass deportation." Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson said those who oppose the bill are "anti-immigrant" and suggested they suffer from "rage" and "national chauvinism."

Why would they speak so insultingly, with such hostility, of opponents who are concerned citizens? And often, though not exclusively, concerned conservatives?

Even now her shameless hypocrisy is unbearable. Where was this outrage when these tactics of personal attack were used against concerned citizens, some of whom happened to be concerned liberals? Not only was there no outrage, she was leading the charge, and then urging Bush supporters to savor the fruits of her loathsome labor.

Even now she has learned nothing, repented for nothing. She merely objects to the two-sided nature of her sword.

Why Are We In Iraq?

2007-06-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

The Blogosphere is all abuzz with that question these days, especially now that Bush has admitted what we've all known and suspected for some time: We will be there for years and decades to come, on permanent bases.

I think you have to go back to what Paul Wolfowitz said in his famous Vanity Fair interview:

There are a lot of things that are different now, and one that has gone by almost unnoticed--but it's huge--is that by complete mutual agreement between the U.S. and the Saudi government we can now remove almost all of our forces from Saudi Arabia. Their presence there over the last 12 years has been a source of enormous difficulty for a friendly government. It's been a huge recruiting device for al Qaeda. In fact if you look at bin Laden, one of his principle grievances was the presence of so-called crusader forces on the holy land, Mecca and Medina. I think just lifting that burden from the Saudis is itself going to open the door to other positive things.

This is about the Saudis in a big way. Our troops there were destabilizing the Saudi regime by inciting Al Qaeda. So what to do with our massive presence in the region? You can't put them in another friendly country it will cause them too much grief. And the less-friendly won't have us. So you either leave or knock somebody off. Saddam was the obvious choice. That move was supposed to be easy and popular.

And of course there's the money: Just consider how much of the the federal treasury has been directed to companies like Haliburton and you see what a success the Iraq war has been for its benefactors...

This Means War!

2007-05-20T09:53:00.001-07:00

America's Moon is clearly under attack from Venus. Will Stephen Colbert have the balls to cover this story? Even if it means criticizing his beloved President Bush?

I Can't Get Too Mad at Wolfowitz

2007-05-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

He looks like Leonard Cohen, one of my favorite people in the world...

Hitchens Gives Falwell a Fitting Farewell

2007-05-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

Was Jesus Betrayed By His Own Son?

2007-03-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

The Discovery Channel's The Lost Tomb of Jesus reveals an ossuary inscribed: "Judah Son of Jesus." What else are we to conclude?

And if you don't think these bone boxes are compelling, just remember what Christian websites were saying when an ossuary (later revealed to be a forgery) was found inscribed, "James Son of Joseph, Brother of Jesus:" Stunning New Evidence that Jesus Lived

Yet somehow these same Christian sites don't think these new ossuaries are worth talking about. That's odd...

And think about this: The Jesus box had DNA in it. Why wait for the second coming? Let's clone him and bring him back now. Really, i don't see any problems, theological or otherwise...

Little Adam's Apple Annie Calls Edwards a Faggot!

2007-03-02T17:18:00.000-08:00

Now that's irony... Crooks and Liars has it here

Colbert Blows it Again!

2007-01-19T18:19:00.000-08:00

Not since he MC'd the Whitehouse Correspondents Dinner has Steven botched something so badly. First, trying to promote Papa Bear's book, he shows a copy with a 30% off sticker covering most of O'Reilly's head? That was insulting to his guest for two reasons.

But even worse than that, Steven made a joke about being sexually harassed by John Stewart at the Daily Show, saying that's the reason Colbert left. "You don't know what that's like" Colbert shouted. Doesn't he know Bill O. had an embarrassing little problem with one of his employees claiming sexual harassment by O'Reilly at The Factor?

O'Reilly had the grace to take these insults in stride, but the baby bear has along way to go before he's in papa bear's league.

Update, here it is on YouTube:

Iraq To Get Boob Job

2007-01-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

So says Condi Rice: "I would call it, senator, an augmentation..." Let's just hope Iraq gets a good one...

The Seventh Seal

2007-01-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

Papa bear and baby bear to go mano a mano, or should i say el oso a el oso?

O'Reilly, Colbert to trade appearances

1 hour, 53 minutes ago

It may feel like looking into the mirror for Bill O'Reilly and Stephen Colbert next week. The Fox News Channel host and Colbert, who has essentially based his comic character every evening on Comedy Central on him, will trade appearances on each other's programs Jan. 18.

"I'm really looking forward to speaking to a man who owes his entire career to me," O'Reilly said.

On "The Colbert Report," Colbert portrays a self-involved talk-show host who has tried to bring "truthiness" to the world. His character owes an obvious debt to O'Reilly, who holds court in the "no-spin zone" each evening.

On "The O'Reilly Factor," O'Reilly portrays a ... um, he hosts the top-rated program in cable news.

"I look forward to the evening," Colbert said. "It is an honor to speak face-to-face with a broadcasting legend, and I feel the same way about Mr. O'Reilly."

Six Years Of George W. Bush

2007-01-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

The Onion has a retrospective, including this gem from 2001:

Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'
"My fellow Americans," Bush said, "at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us."
Bush swore to do "everything in [his] power" to undo the damage wrought by Clinton's two terms in office, including selling off the national parks to developers, going into massive debt to develop expensive and impractical weapons technologies, and passing sweeping budget cuts that drive the mentally ill out of hospitals and onto the street.

During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.

"You better believe we're going to mix it up with somebody at some point during my administration," said Bush, who plans a 250 percent boost in military spending. "Unlike my predecessor, I am fully committed to putting soldiers in battle situations. Otherwise, what is the point of even having a military?"

It would be funny if it weren't so true. And there's more, including this:

Turning to the subject of the environment, Bush said he will do whatever it takes to undo the tremendous damage not done by the Clinton Administration to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He assured citizens that he will follow through on his campaign promise to open the 1.5 million acre refuge's coastal plain to oil drilling. As a sign of his commitment to bringing about a change in the environment, he pointed to his choice of Gale Norton for Secretary of the Interior. Norton, Bush noted, has "extensive experience" fighting environmental causes, working as a lobbyist for lead-paint manufacturers and as an attorney for loggers and miners, in addition to suing the EPA to overturn clean-air standards.

Bush had equally high praise for Attorney General nominee John Ashcroft, whom he praised as "a tireless champion in the battle to protect a woman's right to give birth."

The Second Coming?

2006-12-06T22:30:00.000-08:00

From AP:

Conservative leaders voiced dismay Wednesday at news that Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney, is pregnant, while a gay-rights group said the vice president faces "a lifetime of sleepless nights" for serving in an administration that has opposed recognition of same-sex couples.

Mary Cheney, 37, and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, 45, are expecting a baby in late spring, said Lea Anne McBride, a spokeswoman for the vice president.

"The vice president and Mrs. Cheney are looking forward with eager anticipation" to the arrival of their sixth grandchild, McBride said.

Colbert Explains Religion

2006-12-05T11:41:00.000-08:00

About 4:30 into this clip:

Rumsfeld On How Not To Lose Iraq: Semantics!

2006-12-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

From his memo via the NYT:

Nor did Mr. Rumsfeld seem confident that the administration would readily develop an effective alternative. To limit the political fallout from shifting course, he suggested the administration consider a campaign to lower public expectations.
“Announce that whatever new approach the U.S. decides on, the U.S. is doing so on a trial basis,” he wrote. “This will give us the ability to readjust and move to another course, if necessary, and therefore not ‘lose.’ ”

Stephen Bids Us Farewell!

2006-11-14T00:23:00.000-08:00

Speechless

2006-11-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

Good Work Stephen!

2006-11-08T23:52:00.000-08:00

The shirtless guy in the middle of this photo is now a congressman thanks to Stephen Colbert and a love that apparently cannot speak its name...

I Rest My Case

2006-10-31T21:26:00.000-08:00

Stephen Colbert has no balls:

Butters Uses The N Word

2006-10-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

I suppose Colbert might be interested in this if he weren't on vacation all the time...

Colbert Doesn't Even Know The Difference Between Orleans and Hall And Oates

2006-10-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

And YouTube nails him...

This One Doesn't Need a Headline, Does It?

2006-10-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

White Supremacist Finds Out He's a Jew!

2006-09-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen anything this funny since Dave Chappelle's Clayton Bigsby, the black white supremacist on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show, which is possibly the funniest thing ever, and can be seen here.

Now George Allen, pictured with the Council of Christian Conservatives, finds out he's a Jew. This is just too good. The Nation has Allen's quasi-racist history here. And MSNBC has the latest on Allen discovering his Jewish ancestry here.

This Is An Outrage!

2006-08-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

Pluto isn't a planet? My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nine Pies! Are you telling me there's no pie? This is bogus...

John Fund Vs. Paul Wolfowitz

2006-08-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

From Media Matters: Talking about Al Qaida on Hardball John Fund said:

So they presumed that maybe, if we had a cataclysmic terrorist attack, we might just pull our horns out of the Middle East. And that was ultimately -- or Saudi Arabia, at least. Getting our troops out of Saudi Arabia would have been a signal victory for them. I don't think they anticipated the extent of the attack because our previous responses were so weak.

Of course he was wrong on the facts. Now here's Paul Wolfowitz from his famous Vanity Fair interview on the same subject:

There are a lot of things that are different now, and one that has gone by almost unnoticed--but it's huge--is that by complete mutual agreement between the U.S. and the Saudi government we can now remove almost all of our forces from Saudi Arabia. Their presence there over the last 12 years has been a source of enormous difficulty for a friendly government. It's been a huge recruiting device for al Qaeda. In fact if you look at bin Laden, one of his principle grievances was the presence of so-called crusader forces on the holy land, Mecca and Medina. I think just lifting that burden from the Saudis is itself going to open the door to other positive things.

We have done the exact thing and for the very purpose that John Fund calls capitulation, that John Fund says Osama Bin Laden wanted us to do. Maybe someone will point this out to John Fund?

Bush Blames the Victims

2006-08-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

From the NY Times:

More generally, the participants said, the president expressed frustration that Iraqis had not come to appreciate the sacrifices the United States had made in Iraq, and was puzzled as to how a recent anti-American rally in support of Hezbollah in Baghdad could draw such a large crowd. “I do think he was frustrated about why 10,000 Shiites would go into the streets and demonstrate against the United States,” said another person who attended.

Bush made his comments over lunch. I wonder if he blamed the Iraqi people (who are dying by the thousands in Baghdad) for his own failures with food in his mouth?

Yet Another Mission Accomplished!

2006-08-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

Hezbollah has been defeated. Or is it that they can't be defeated? Mummon has it here.

Say It Ain't So: Papa Bear slams Baby Bear.

2006-08-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

O'Reilly blasts "smear merchants" and "vampires" criticizing Mel Gibson; Rivera smears Olbermann, Stewart, and Colbert

Summary: On his Fox News program, Bill O'Reilly called Mel Gibson's recent anti-Semitic comments "inexcusable," but said it is "more important" to discuss the "point where the media and individual Americans start to enjoy the suffering of rich and powerful people." Guest Geraldo Rivera later suggested that O'Reilly refer to "that schmuck from MSNBC," apparently MSNBC host Keith Olbermann; Rivera added that the "schmuck from MSNBC" is a "lowlife." Rivera also asserted that Comedy Central hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert "make a living putting on video of old ladies slipping on ice and people laughing" and that they "exist in a small little place where they count for nothing."

Media Matter has the video too...

Wikipedia Smacks Colbert Down!

2006-08-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

Read all about it here.

Colbert Breaks Character

2006-07-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

He looked like the Daily Show Stephen to me. He even endorses Wexler. The man is a ball-less hypocrite...

Shit!

2006-07-18T00:58:00.000-07:00

I don't mind the swearing. But chewing with his mouth open and speaking with food in his mouth? Didn't his momma teach him better than that?

Crooks and Liars has the video here.

The Bush Economy

2006-07-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

In the 5 1/2 years since Bush took office:

The Dow is up 4%
The S&P is down 6%
The Nasdaq is down 24%

Haliburton is up 103%...

The Limbaugh Hannity Lie

2006-07-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

How many times have we heard either of them say, "Reagan cut taxes and revenue doubled?" Well it's simply not true. Under Reagan revenue went up from $599.3 billion to $990.7 billion. That's not double, that's 65% over 8 years, or 8% per year.

Now let's consider Jimmy Carter, the worst President ever: Under Carter revenue went from $355.6 billion to $599.3 billion. That's an increase of 68.5% in just 4 years, or 17% per year.

That's right Rush, Sean, revenue grew twice as fast under Jimmy Carter as it did under Ronald Reagan. Now why are you bragging about Reagan doing worse than Jimmy Carter?

How's our current President doing? When he took office revenue was $1991.4 billion. In 2005 it was $2153.9 billion. That's a measly increase of 8% over 4 years, or just 2% per year.

See the pattern? Tax cuts lead to poor revenue performance, just what an honest, sane person might expect. By Hannity's and Limbaugh's logic we should all ask to be paid less so as to have more money in our bank accounts, makes perfect sense really, except for the facts and the logic of course.

From AMERICAblog - Rahm Emanuel makes a funny

2006-07-12T12:29:00.000-07:00

White House paying $100,000 salary to "Director of Lessons Learned"
by John in DC - 7/12/2006 11:25:00 AM

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) offers a few more lessons learned:

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the President said we continue to be wise about how we spend the people's money.

"Then why are we paying over $100,000 for a 'White House Director of Lessons Learned'?

"Maybe I can save the taxpayers $100,000 by running through a few of the lessons this White House should have learned by now.

"Lesson 1: When the Army Chief of Staff and the Secretary of State say you are going to war without enough troops, you're going to war without enough troops.

"Lesson 2: When 8.8 billion dollars of reconstruction funding disappears from Iraq, and 2 billion dollars disappears from Katrina relief, it's time to demand a little accountability.

"Lesson 3: When you've 'turned the corner' in Iraq more times than Danica Patrick at the Indy 500, it means you are going in circles.

"Lesson 4: When the national weather service tells you a category 5 hurricane is heading for New Orleans, a category 5 hurricane is heading to New Orleans.

"I would also ask the President why we're paying for two 'Ethics Advisors' and a 'Director of Fact Checking.'

"They must be the only people in Washington who get more vacation time than the President.

"Maybe the White House could consolidate these positions into a Director of Irony."

Another Mission Accomplished

2006-07-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

The CIA has disbanded the unit looking for Osama Bin Laden. No doubt a photo-op will be coming soon. Kos has more here. NY Times story here.

Little "Adam's Apple" Annie investigated for plagiarism!

2006-07-05T14:03:00.001-07:00

TPMuckraker has it here

What Doesn't Josh Marshall Get?

2006-06-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

So on exporting democracy ...

1. President encourages supporters to accuse newspaper reporters of treason: check.

2. President mandates systematic use of torture: check.

3. President routinely asserts right to ignores laws passed by Congress: check.

What am I missing?

Actually, I think it's more one of those trick questions. Like, we're not exporting 'democracy' but our democracy. So, as we send it to them, we lose ours.

Josh may not get it, but luckily for America George Bush does. They hate us because we're free. By making us less free, President Bush is making us less hated, and therefore safer. God bless you President Bush for understanding how dangerous our freedoms are to us...

Colbert Too?

2006-06-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

The Boss takes on cable's idiot talking heads while on CNN. Think Progress has the video and full transcript here.

O’BRIEN: There is a whole school of thought, as you well know, that says that musicians – I mean you see it with the Dixie Chicks - you know, go play your music and stop.

SPRINGSTEEN: Well, if you turn it on, present company included, the idiots rambling on on cable television on any given night of the week, and you’re saying that musicians shouldn’t speak up? It’s insane. It’s funny.

He didn't mention Stephen by name, but i think we all know where Bruce was going with this one. You hear that Stephen? The Boss has put you on notice...

Colbert as Stossel

2006-06-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

We all saw Colbert ripping off John Stossel (during his early days at WTPS in North Carolina) on the 100th episode of the Colbert Report. And we all saw David Sirota give it to Stephen on the Colbert Report last week.

Now check out David Sirota sticking it to the real John Stossel at Sirota's Blog Here's an excerpt:

Mr. SIROTA: Well, listen, John, I would encourage you stop reciting these dishonest talking points and the chatter you’re hearing on the cocktail party circuit because the stats don’t bear that out in any way at all. And here are the stats that you cannot dispute. In states that have raised the minimum wage, above the federal level, those states have created jobs at a far faster rate than the states that have not. That is because, when you raise the minimum wage, you put money into the pockets of people who will spend it and it spurs the economy. Now, that might not be heard in your book which purports to debunk lies, but those are the facts.

Mr. STOSSEL: Well, if those are the facts, why stop at $7. We should pay everybody 20 bucks, 40 bucks an hour. Then we’ll really have buying power. It’s just…

Mr. SIROTA: You’re changing the subject. You’re changing the subject because you know you’re wrong.

Mr. STOSSEL: Well, the study side, and I now realize who you are because you, on my Amazon page, he came on and said, `I’m a smarmy-looking liar.’

Mr. SIROTA: You are.

Mr. STOSSEL: But that one study was from Robert Reich, former employee. And it’s been widely discredited by every serious economist who looked at this.

Mr. SIROTA: That’s not a study. If you–if you look at the states. Just look at the states. That’s not a study. If you look at the states, the states that have raised their minimum wage higher than the federal level have created jobs faster than states that haven’t. That’s a fact. That’s not a study. That’s a fact.

Sirota really nailed him, so to speak..

Is Ann Coulter Hot?

2006-06-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

That was the topic on Chris Matthews' Hardball last week. Think Progress has it here. I think her Adam's Apple is a bit of a turnoff, but maybe that's just me...

The Blind Leading the Blind

2006-06-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

Bush asks blind reporter, "are you going to ask that question with shades on?" Think Progress has the story and video.

Want To Kill Infidels, But Not Sure Islam is Right For You?

2006-06-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

Well then we have great news for you: There's a new video game that lets Christian children kill infidels who refuse to convert in post-Apocalyptic New York. Yeehaw...

“God wrote (the Bible) in English for a reason: So it could be taught in our public schools.”

2006-06-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

And other mind numbing blather from our favorite idiot...

Olbermann Destroys Colbert Hero Bill O'Reilly on Malmedy

2006-06-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

Crooks and Liars has the video and the story. O'Reilly has never been so brutally exposed as the fool, hypocrite and liar we all know him to be (not even by Al Franken on the Peabody business). Why does Bill hate our troops (and therefore America) so much? And why does Stephen Colbert look up to this clown?

You Hear That Stephen?

2006-06-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

The Department of Homeland Security doesn't think you're worth protecting

No Icons, No Monuments Worth Protecting

June 01, 2006 12:18 PM

Richard Esposito Reports:
New York has no national monuments or icons, according to the Department of Homeland Security form obtained by ABC News. (Click here for the actual document.) That was a key factor used to determine that New York City should have its anti-terror funds slashed by 40 percent--from $207.5 million in 2005 to $124.4 million in 2006.

Ouch, that's got to hurt...

I like David Sirota

2006-05-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

But C'mon, this pimping of his book under the guise of preparing for his appearance on The Colbert Report June 14th is, well, shameless...

As a reader of my blog, you may have heard that I am going to be on the Colbert Report on June 14th. Between now and then, I am going to be preparing for the show - and I need your help. Specifically, I need readers to tell me which sections of my new book Hostile Takeover you think would be best for me to highlight on ColbertÂs show.

Remember - Colbert can dominate the person he is interviewing, so I will likely only have a little bit of time to really get the bookÂs message out. ThatÂs why I need to figure out which sections hit the hardest in the shortest amount of time. As
readers of my past work, your input will be absolutely invaluable. So go pick up a copy of the book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, PowellÂs or your local bookstore, thumb through the book, and then email me your specific suggestions.

Colbert can dominate the person he's interviewing? People should buy your book David, but please, let's not blow your credibility with this tripe...