Using Conservatives' Logic ....

h/t Tom Tomorrow

Oh my.

The well-known hate site BillO’Reilly.com is being investigated by the Secret Service for threatening Hillary Clinton’s life. Well, actually it was just some commenter, but by Billo’s own standards, if the comment is on his site, that means he condones it. Why does Bill O’Reilly want Hillary Clinton to die?

Feed 'em a Peanut

Kudos to James Wigderson at Wigderson Library & Pub for taking on the ridiculousness at Carrick Bend Thoughts (an odd name for the site since very little thought emanates). Wiggy said this:

"Dave of Carrick Bend Thoughts posted a picture of Governor Doyle & Lt. Governor Lawton posing with caricature Native Americans from the old TV series F Troop. He captioned it, "The Governor and Lt Governor meet with concerned constituants (sic) to discuss the the impact of indian (sic) gaming on Wisconsin politics." No context, no link.

Dave was a little unhappy when Mike Mathias at Pundit Nation called it "offensive and juvenile."

"Does anyone wonder why Republicans find themselves battling charges of being insensitive to minority groups?

It’s because too many of you don’t speak up when individuals like Carrick sling their vile hash around.

Regardless of how one feels about Doyle or his gaming polices, our politics and political discourse are tarnished by Carrick’s brand of…well, what is it exactly? It looks like the kind of thing that would draw hoots of approval from readers of websites that advocate white supremacy."

Dave replied with two posts to Pundit Nation readers (in the second he refers to visitors as Nazis ... the last refuge of the weak-minded). In the first post he linked to a post, which contained a YouTube compilation of clips of Jesus and God jokes from Family Guy. Dave thought this an example of the lack of a moral compass of lefties.

I left this message for Dave: "God has a better sense of humor than you ... the ultimate joke."

Dave chose not to accept the comment (he has comment moderation turned on). Why might you ask? The comment was fairly innocuous.

The answer is that Dave is the on-line equivalent of those radio cowards Charlie Sykes, Jeff Wagner, etc. They say they accept comments from listeners, but you know the only ones who really get through are those who agree with them.

...or white supremacists.

Righteous Outrage?

I have a real big problem with all of the Barry Bond's haters. There have been many unkind observations that Bonds must have ingested steroids at some time. But the fact is there is no proof. The time may come when the truth is finally determined ... yet, Barry Bonds is vilified here, here and here by local conservosphereans who claim some sort of love for baseball, certainly not for the adage "innocent until proven guilty."

I don't hear the same chorus of outrage at Jason Giambi who has admitted to using steroids. I hear the crickets from the right, but no outrage over Mark McGwire and his non-answers regarding steroid use. Hell, I'm surprised they're not all over Jose Canseco ... he is Hispanic after all, the right's favorite whipping dog of late.

Lastly, I hear no words of approbation for Bud Selig who knew about the problem but did nothing about it. Of course, baseball was in a mini-renaissance. He probably didn't want to ruin his legacy ... but now, the best he can do is say what those on the right refuse to admit. However, Selig's admittance of innocence before guilt is pathetically lukewarm.

Read here for more on the subject by Buster Olney.

Poor right-wingers, so misunderstood.

Draft a College Republican

Saw this at both jef4wi and This Modern World. I liked it so I reproduce it here for the two or three that look at this blog infrequently. Listen to the Tom DeLay part especially. The man is an absolute putz.

The Sky is Falling

h/t via Illusory Tenant

Regarding the outcry from conservatives about the defeat of the John Doe amendment which would have provided immunity for anyone who alerted authorities about supposed terrorists, and the accusations were found to be false ... this comment by Steve:

Clearly, the way to fight terrorism is to encourage as many people as possible to cry wolf. Surely there’s no way that could be bad for us in the long run.

Hee hee!

The Homophobes Are Coming

h/t Working for Change

This is important. I've already sent in my two-cents to our senators. You can too.

President Bush just doesn't seem to get it. He continues to propose right-wing nominees for top posts in our government as if Congress was still controlled by rubber-stamp Republicans, eager to please their fundamentalist base.

The latest in Bush's series of inappropriate and ideologically-slanted nominees is Dr. James Holsinger of Kentucky, whom Bush has nominated to the post of United States Surgeon General. Holsinger has exhibited a pattern of hostility to gays and lesbians that is evident throughout his career. Consider:

Dr. Holsinger, along with his wife, co-founded the Hope Springs Community Church in Lexington, which operates a so-called "ex-gay" ministry -- with the type of "conversion therapy" that has been condemned by both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association.

Holsinger currently serves as president of the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church; in this capacity he opposed a decision to allow a lesbian to be an associate pastor, and supported a pastor who would not permit an openly gay man to join the church.

He also authored a white paper in 1991 -- "Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality" -- trying to make a medical argument that homosexuality is unnatural and unhealthy. (A University of Minnesota professor on human sexuality has said this paper would have received a "failing grade" in his class.)

Holsinger is, of course, entitled to his private religious views, however narrow and exclusionary they may be. But the U.S. Surgeon General needs to be the chief medical officer for ALL Americans -- not just the heterosexual ones. Tell your Senators to reject this nomination and force President Bush to choose competence over ideology for his next nominee.

Are You Awake, Mr. President?

The vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney, will be briefly in power for a second time according to this report from MSNBC. The reason for his assumption of power on Saturday is the president will be under the effects of anesthesia while a colonoscopy is performed.

Apparently, a previous operation was performed in 2002. At the time:

The 2002 procedure began at 7:09 a.m and ended at 7:29 a.m. Bush woke up two minutes later but did not resume his presidential office until 9:24 a.m., after [Doctor] Tubb conducted an overall examination. Tubb said he recommended the additional time to make sure the sedative had no aftereffects.

My question: How could the doctor tell the difference?

Stick Them Where?

"Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your SUV"

by the Asylum Street Spankers



For my friend, Fred. Oh the idiocy!

More Irony

This is really bad. I wrote a post about some of the nastiness from the right wing (courtesy of This Modern World). The responses have been interesting.

Tom McMahon sent me a comment with a link to his site where he had posted about Hunter Thompson. I zipped over and found that some of the comments matched in ferocity and venom those I posted earlier.

As I said in the comments, echoing something capper said, I know it is true that there are those on the left who can wallow in the depths too. It's just sad to see.

To be fair, below are some of the comments left with Tom. Sorry you had to face that, Tom. I could share some stuff that equals that from one of our local cheddarsphereans ... but, I guess, what is the point. He's not worth the energy and nor are the people who commented at your site.

This guy started out ok, but then the weirdness kicked in.

Mr McMahon Its so obvious that you have read little of Hunter S. Thompsons' literary genius. The man was the most gifted and articulate Social and political commentator of the 20th century. He was a man who lived without fear and lived fully everyday of his life.

Your problem with HST is that he lived his life his way without apology. He lived outside your preconceived ideas of right and wrong and made it work. He proved that you can live a productive life and still ingest whatever you want without losing your intelligence or success. Not everyone is capable of living that lifestyle and no one should try to immitate his life. Yet he did live his life without hipocrisy.

So all I have left to say to you, you bloated greedhead nazi is Fuck you and your GOP horse that you rode in on.

This fellow (appropriately named Chris ... inside joke) was lost from the beginning.

Here we have a bunch of uptight greedy-eyed squares attempting to grind Hunter's image into the dirt. Screw on your heads, Dr. Thompson was one of the most creative and brilliant men in literature this century, do you read Thomas? Obviously not enough. Hunter stayed young and idealistic until he died, you, however, my fatbodied Tommy, are a rotting corpse with no life left in you, don't be envious, loosen your collar and let some blood flow to your oxygen deprived brain meats.

This person wouldn't even include a name. Coward.

When you die, there will be no one will be SOOOO sick of you because you are a talentless partisan hack.

Take a break from force feeding us with the leftovers of your moral self f***atio and learn that the drugs Hunter S. Thompson took are just as bad as the cheeseburgers you slug down like ambrosia.

How stereotypical of a truly revolting kind of conservativfe to judge a man's life not by his merit but by GASP drug consumption.

You are a revolting pig of a man whose simple mindedness would never be able to grasp the brilliance of a man who searched for truth.

You could not find truth if it were right below the pompous tint in your squinted eyes and the gluttony of your corpulent double chin.

Last one. There's more, but I think you all get the point.

hey you cheese burger engulfing Nazi, why dont get your thumb out of your ass and come to terms with the fact that he is a success of an author to some and a revolutionary who lived by his own terms to others.... you know what fuck you mussolini im gonna go get an h.s.t. tattoo now, eat cock!



Sorry, Tom.

Fox Reality

The wingnuts love Fox. Why not, it feeds into their twisted sense of what's real. Witness this from This Modern World.

As Tom Tomorrow points out, the vote was actually 52 in favor of pullout. It fell short of the 60 votes needed. But Fox would have you believe a majority voted to shoot down the plan.

I wonder how Fred at Real Debate would see this?

Irony Never Sleeps

h/t This Modern World

A sampling of the email Markos received from Bill O’Reilly’s viewers after Bill O’Reilly — who later in the same broadcast professed complete computer illiteracy — denounced Daily Kos as a "hate site."

U/R A DIRTY RECTUM LICKING COMMIE SLIME MAGGOT!

BORN FROM KARL MARX’S ROTTING FECES.

Your Evil, Fascist Organization.

Fascist scum like your organization need to be removed and sent to another universe from this one. Evil prevails in your organization, and I hope you will receive the reckoning you deserve when all of you meet your Makers. A gentle riddance to thou in the interim.

You…
…suck beyond belief. Hurry up and die.

I have never seen so much hate

I have never seen so much hate you would embarrassed Nazi’s

Why can’t people like you just make a living, instead of hating everyone else?

Are you all muslims?

I just say fuck you, asshole

Kos

I hope you all die a slow death. Much like you wish on good honest people like T. Snow, the Pope, etc. Liberal Fucks! I hope you choke on the smog & drown in the global warming waters caused by cows. You people are so stupid.

IE: San Fransisco is much better now a days since the liberal invasion 1/2 century ago. Hmmmm: It’s full of disease, poverty, queers(goes with disease…..), and polution. You people can’t keep your backyard clean, but cont. to impose your views on other parts of the country. I’m so sad your still around. I’m sure you’ll die off sooner than later. Much like you morals have. Go eat some grass

Anyone who’s been on or mentioned by one of these shows knows there will be a flood of this sewage in their inbox soon thereafter. O’Reilly certainly knows it as well.

Reads like some of the high-minded commenting found at Real Debate and Badger Blogger here in SE Wisconsin.

Just a Question

What do you think of this statement and do you think it is a fair one to make (bonus points if you can guess who said this)?

"My sons are 25 and 30. They are blond-haired and blue-eyed. One amendment today said we could not sell guns to anybody under drug treatment. So does that mean if you go into a black community, you cannot sell a gun to any black person ...."

Howling at the Moon

Rick Esenberg recently commented about a post by Mike McCabe (some Democratic party guy ... I don't really know all their names) that, Esenberg said, ranted a bit about the listening audience of Charlie Sykes' show, and, presumably, talk radio in general (I have no link because one was not provided and anyway, that's not really what this post is about).

I found this paragraph at the end of Esenberg's post interesting.

I am gobsmacked by the fact that a presumably sophisticated and intelligent public figure actually thinks that talk radio's audience is made up of bible thumping young earth creationists. If you really think that folks you don't agree with must be a bunch of mouth-breathing morons, I suppose you never will encounter any ideas but your own and will continue to commit howler after howler in your isolation. If you think that you and your friends are oh-so-much-smarter, why take anyone else seriously? Why take the time to make sure that you know what you're talking about?

Aside from Esenberg playing a little bit of the victim game (oh those darn libs think they are so smart), one cannot help but wonder whether he feels as gobsmacked by the fact that four of the Republican candidates for president have admitted to disbelieving evolution in favor of the notion of the 6,000 year-old Earth (Sen. John McCain, Sen. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Sam Brownback and Rep. Tom Tancredo).

Oh those creationist-believing Christian candidates, they think they are so much more inteliigent by design than the rest of us. Talk about howler after howler just to capture votes.

Why We Love Jess

"What's with the weird obsession most of the Lefty Blogger Guys in Milwaukee have with Jessica McBride? By comparison John Hinckley had a take-her-or-leave-her attitude about Jodie Foster. I really don't get it. "

This question was broached by Tom McMahon in a previous post and I thought it deserving of an answer because, unlike what J-J-J-Jeff Wagner said about those of us who follow McBride ("the kook fringe ...insanely jealous of her..."), we are all relatively sane individuals.

So why the attention?

For myself, McBride deserves the attention because she is an embarrassment claiming to be a professional journalist. She mocks the history and the role of the press every time she puts fingers to keyboard. She disregards Thomas Jefferson who said: "Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." She misses the point of Napoleon Bonaparte who said: "Three hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets."

Journalists are not here to cater to the party line, which McBride unfailingly does; they are the bulwark of our freedom. That's why she annoys me so much when she so freely besmirches this respectable institution and yet claims to be a card-carrying member. Her forays into commentary contain a disregard for fact and decency that begs for attention.

Bill Christofferson and Mike Plaisted also agreed to comment. Christofferson said:

"It's why Willie Sutton said he robbed banks; "that's where the money is." McBride is an easy and inviting target because she is so wrong so often. You might disagree with (Charlie) Sykes, for example, and challenge him on his view on issues, but you won't catch him making inane comments or stupid mistakes on a daily basis. That is what sets McBride apart.

"She is in a class by herself -- a self-centered ditz, with very little knowledge, who got built up and promoted way beyond her ability and capacity. Her commentary might be tolerable from a teen, but not from someone who presents herself as an insightful adult."

And from Plaisted:

I agree with Bill that one reason she gets so much negative attention from us is because she is such an easy target. Much more so when she had the radio show -- she was such an outrageously bad radio personality, listening to her was like watching a train wreck -- horrible, but somehow engrossingly bad.

I try to give her as little thought as possible. However, when I do, I envision her as Margaret Holihan, played by Sally Kellerman in the original M*A*S*H. Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye described her as a "typical Army clown". I think that's as apt a description for McBride -- inserting wing-nut for Army -- for the same reasons.

We do have to be a bit cognizant, it seems to me, that part of her target-worthy status is because she is a woman. Although the WISN radio geeks don't have vanity blogs, a minor nitwit like Jay Weber is just as insignificant, intellectually offensive and politically vapid as McBride.

But somehow, the same sort of nonsense coming from a smug, elitist woman has much more of a fingernail-on-the-chalkboard quality to it and is so much more fun to criticize. I don't think this is sexist -- she just stands out from the white-boys who usually run the GOP talking points. Her (literally)air-brushed self-image wrapped up with her nose-in-the-air sanctimony and the fact that she is so marvelously wrong all the time just makes her too wonderfully bad for words. It would be blogger malpractice not to take on her glamour-puss at every opportunity.

Now Tom, are you going to ask the same question of those who find every word written by Eugene Kane fodder for comment?

Shallow Jess

Jessica McBride's lack of intellectual depth is really sometimes stunning. Her most recent plunge into the shallow end of the pool regards an article in the New York Times, written by Adam Liptak, and titled, "For Libby, Bush Seemed to Alter His Texas Policy." She claims in her post titled, "The Libby False Analogy," that Mr. Liptak has provided a false analogy in the article by comparing Bush's pardon of Libby to a lack of pardons in capital crimes when Bush was governor of Texas. She huffs:

The critics say that Bush's action in the Libby case is wrong becaus he didn't commute the sentences of many death row inmates in Texas.

For starters, obviously, the death row inmates committed capital crimes. Actually, that's the end of the argument. They are murderers with special circumstances.

So: No story.

She concludes by saying the New York Times finally comes up with reasons that prove the analogy doesn't hold water, but these are buried ... bad New York Times.

I have read and reread the article and can only come to one conclusion ... McBride's treading water and barely staying afloat when all she needs is to put her feet down to touch bottom.

The article had nothing to do with what critics of the Libby action may be saying. The article is entirely a discussion about the history of Bush's policy toward clemency, which has been (essentially) if you're guilty of the crime, you pay the consequences. Liptak writes:

In Mr. Libby’s case, Mr. Bush expressed no doubts about his guilt. He said he respected the jury’s verdict, and he did not pardon Mr. Libby, leaving him a convicted felon. And Mr. Bush acted before the courts had completed their review of his appeal.

Liptak then ponders whether Bush has changed his standard for clemency because it has been documented that clemency, for Bush, was reserved for cases of "demonstrable actual innocence," a far different cry from his decision in the Libby case. The article concludes with this:

In June, before the Libby commutation, The Austin American-Statesman reviewed Mr. Bush’s record on clemency as president and governor in a front-page article. The headline said, "Bush history gives Libby little hope for a pardon."

The article simply explores this seeming discontinuity of Bush's action towards Libby ... at no time making a statement about the right or wrong of Bush's decision.

That is a far cry from the insinuations by McBride ... insinuations that have no basis in fact. But then, McBride has never been one to let facts get in the way of a partisan hack piece. Quick, someone throw her an inflatable doll, she's sinking fast.

She's So Silly

How stupid and annoying is this woman? Jessica McWitless notes this paragraph from the British Newspaper website Telegraph.co.uk, from an article titled "45 Muslim doctors planned US terror raids":

The three "cyber terrorists" - a British national and two who had been given the right to live in Britain - are facing lengthy jail sentences after admitting using the internet to spread al-Qa'eda propaganda inciting Muslims to a violent holy war and to murder non-believers.

They had close links with al-Qa'eda in Iraq and believed they had to fight jihad against a global conspiracy by kuffars, or non-believers, to wipe out Islam.

You mean Iraq is part of the global war on terror? Who knew.

Well, we know now. They weren't and wouldn't have been there but for the actions of this incredibly corrupt administration. Gee, who would have known they would go where it was easiest to strike at Americans.

McWitless and her fellow co-travellers in lunacy (i.e. most conservative bloggers) are like little kids confronted with an empty cookie jar. They ate all the cookies, but having discovered that someone else might have had a cookie, once upon a time ... well, you know who's to blame for eating the cookies.

Thick as a Brick

More evidence that many conservatives are very twisted and very odd people ... regarding the script being passed around that the Libby episode was purely political (you know who is leading the charge). This from Orin Kerr at the Volokh Conspiracy, via Anonymous Liberal (the highlighted text mine):

The Scooter Libby case has triggered some very weird commentary around the blogosphere; perhaps the weirdest claim is that the case against Libby was "purely political." I find this argument seriously bizarre. As I understand it, Bush political appointee James Comey named Bush political appointee and career prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to investigate the Plame leak. Bush political appointee and career prosecutor Fitzgerald filed an indictment and went to trial before Bush political appointee Reggie Walton. A jury convicted Libby, and Bush political appointee Walton sentenced him. At sentencing, Bush political appointee Judge Walton described the evidence against Libby as "overwhelming" and concluded that a 30-month sentence was appropriate. And yet the claim, as I understand it, is that the Libby prosecution was the work of political enemies who were just trying to hurt the Bush Administration.

Things Going for Waukesha, Part Two

Todd Rosiak provides early coverage of the Marquette Golden Eagles b-ball team. Lazar Hayward, Rosiak said, looked especially impressive. Read more here.

For more information on the major NCAA basketball team in Waukesha ... oh, so sorry, there ain't one.

Things Going for Waukesha, Part One

If Yi Jianlian and his handlers ultimately decide that the Milwaukee Bucks are not a good fit for his talents, he can always play for the Waukesha pro basketball team.

Oh, forgot. Ain't one.

Jessica Mcpocrisy

Oh heck, I just commented over at Jessica McBride's (first time for everything), but really should have posted it here. Here is what poor Jessica has to say about Scooter Libby:

Remember that Libby was convicted of lying in a politically-motivated investigation into something that wasn't a crime. In other words, he covered up something that wasn't criminal.

Hmmm. Replace the name Libby with Clinton and you get a healthy dose of understanding into conservative hypocrisy.

You Can Call Me Scooter

In lieu of recent events, I have decided to undertake the legal means to rename my children. I'm certain that my wife and I do the best we can raising the three little urchins ... others have said as much, too. But a little precaution can go a long way.

So, from now on when referring to my 11 year-old son, my six year-old daughter, and my baby daughter, please call them Scooter. At least I can be assured that should any of the three become involved in some unforeseen illegal activty, their chances of avoiding jail when convicted (like Scott "Scooter" Jensen), or receiving amnesty though having lied during trial (like "Scooter" Libby) are increased.

You can never be too careful. I could take the extra step and have them join the Republican party, but that's going just a bit too far.