Senator Franken?

8:21 pm EST July 31st, 2007 | News | 5 Comments

Oh my, Minnesota might do it again.

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A Visit To Bill O’Reilly’s House

3:28 pm EST July 31st, 2007 | News | 5 Comments

I’m not sure that I think this is kosher, but Bill O’Reilly in his jammies is kind of funny.

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No, No, One GAJILLION Iraqis Will Die If We Don’t Do What George Bush Wants!

2:50 am EST July 31st, 2007 | News | 92 Comments

The conservative push to re-cast the common sense plan to leave Iraq as a liberal stab in the back continues with Hugh Hewitt given an assist by NY Times correspondent John Burns. Burns pulls the figure of 1 million Iraqis Wile E Coyotedying in a civil war simply out of his rear, and Hewitt is glad to trumpet that figure because it serves his cause. The very real and very concrete number of 3,652 dead Americans in Iraq isn’t much of a concern to Hewitt and the right in this case, however, not to mention the 3,000 killed on 9/11 still unavenged thanks to the Republican inability to fight terrorism (Oh God, we can’t cross Pakistan’s border – we promised with a pinky swear and everything!).

Before the 2004 election the overwhelming message from the right was "We’re winning, the Iraqis are standing up and we’ll be out soon you liberal whiners", now it has modified and transformed into "Well, we totally screwed up the invasion and occupation of Iraq and were totally wrong on everything, but we need to stay in Iraq and have soldiers die and allow terrorists to run free because we don’t want to admit we were wrong and if we leave something may or may not happen and if it’s bad it’s all the liberal’s fault!!!".

The fundamental difference here is that the impetus behind liberal thinking on this issue has consistently been the protection of American citizens and the security of the world, while for conservatives it has been mission one to carry water for George W. Bush and cover his and Dick Cheney’s posteriors. One of those two mindsets makes rational sense, the other one is deep inside with George W. Bush’s benign polyps.

If these people had been in charge back in the ’60s and ’70s we’d still be "on the verge of victory" in Vietnam right now ("We’ve got the Vietcong on the run. Just yesterday we killed the 4,343rd ‘#2′ in Vietcong’s leadership structure.").

This war was a bad idea, horrendously executed by George W. Bush, the Republican party and the conservative movement with able assistance by a blind and dumb Democratic party. The response to this is not to keep it going in fear of something bad happening (News Flash: It’s Too Late For That), but to end it. Thanks to the mistakes made by our leaders, there’s no clean way to end it. People are going to die, but the point here is to not have those people die be Americans – either military people or civilians like you and me who are not being protected against terrorism.

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Barack Obama Is Christian, And That’s Not The End Of The World

2:12 am EST July 31st, 2007 | News | 42 Comments

barack obama in iowa

Over at MyDD there is some fretting about Barack Obama identifying himself as a Christian family man in a radio ad in South Carolina. In an ad in South Carolina. Targeted to black radio stations. Hello?

I don’t want to believe stereotypes but sometimes they are true, and you get the sense that more than a few white liberals don’t know a thing about black Americans beyond the sort of "racial justice" happy talk. As I’ve noted before here, one of the most diehard religious votes in this country are black voters. If a Democrat wants to win a South Carolina primary, he needs the help of the black vote. One way one usually gets people to vote for you is by identifying an important cultural thing that you both share. For Barack Obama this happens to be the fact that he’s a Christian.

So is every other leading contender for the Democratic nomination! As the top three (Obama, Clinton, Edwards) have all pointed out in the public record, they do not view their religion as something to be imposed on the nation like President Bush does, but on the flip side it’s part of who they are. I know there are some especially on the left who would like Democratic pols to declare their atheism and rally people to their nonreligious arms, but that is a bad read of the mostly religious base of the Democratic party and America in general.

The poster also makes this statement:

A "Christian family man" — that’s a new theme for a Democratic Presidential candidate.

Really? Somebody tell Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton as well as Al Gore, the last three Democratic presidential candidates to win the most votes – as well as John Kerry, who while not as up front about his religion as Carter, Clinton and to a lesser extent Gore, is also a Christian man.

As an agnostic, I hate people imposing their beliefs on others, but I similarly hate reactionary rhetoric when someone – especially someone like Sen. Obama – simply discusses their religious beliefs.

Never forget that the most important progressive leader America has ever had was a black clergyman.

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7.30.07 News Links

12:01 am EST July 31st, 2007 | Uncategorized | Comments Off

News links from Breaking News USA

john robertsRudy Giuliani’s Wife A Psycho, Sez Magazine Profile
Grandpa Cuts Paris Hilton’s Inheritance
Chief Justice John Roberts In Hospital
49ers Coach Bill Walsh Dead
Broadcast Pioneer Tom Snyder Dies Of Leukemia
Bush and Brown Talk Global Power

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The “The Surge Is Working!!!!” Caucus

11:41 pm EST July 30th, 2007 | News | 1 Comment

Pardon my French, but warmongers Ken Pollack and Michael O’Hanlon are what your average person calls "fucking idiots".

If Brookings is “liberal” and produces this kind of swill, can I start calling myself a “conservative Republican”?

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Like Kryptonite To…

11:38 pm EST July 30th, 2007 | Politics | 1 Comment

Something tells me I have grounds for a trademark or copyright lawsuit….

 

Tarantino, Batman: Dark Knight, & More

11:23 pm EST July 30th, 2007 | Uncategorized | Comments Off

On the forums.

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Ted Stevens & The Republican Culture Of Corruption

8:47 pm EST July 30th, 2007 | Republicans | 3 Comments

Ted Stevens was so concerned with the network of tubes, who knew he would have extra time on hand to be the subject of an FBI probe? These guys just can’t seem to help themselves, time and time again – especially on the Republican side of the aisle, no matter if they’re in power or not.

The FBI and IRS have searched the home of Republican Sen. Ted Stevens in a ski resort in Alaska as part of an investigation into his links with an oil-services company, officials said on Monday.

“The FBI and IRS are conducting a court-authorized search warrant in Girdwood, Alaska,” an FBI spokesman said in Washington, but gave no further details.

 

Fred Thompson Campaign A Big Failure

4:32 pm EST July 30th, 2007 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments

What a mess.

Presumptive presidential candidate Fred Thompson on Tuesday will report raising roughly $3 million in one month for his all-but-certain White House bid, Republican officials said.

Hollywood actor Fred Thompson tested the waters. They’re frigid.

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