Friday, November 30, 2012

A Liberal Moment

Savor this liberal moment, the time is ripe for even larger liberal gains writes Timothy Egan in the New York Times:

Still hard to believe, I told a friend the other day while trying to fathom the election results, that pot is legal in my state, gays are free to marry, and a black man who vowed to raise taxes on the rich won a majority of the popular vote for president, back to back — the first time any Democrat has done that since Franklin Roosevelt’s second election in 1936. 

George Zimmerman Is Selling Autographs To Fund Defense In Trayvon Martin Case

Bad news for famed kid slayer George Zimmerman. He is almost broke. 

The $140,000 raised for Zimmerman's defense is almost gone and the kid killer is still trying to mount a defense. 

Trayvon's killer wants you to give him money for his autograph. 

 Gross news from the Miami New Times: 

Ever wanted to own the autograph of a man who gunned down an unarmed teenager guilty of nothing more than being black in his own neighborhood? If you agree with that sentiment, probably not. But the legion who think George Zimmerman is a Second Amendment hero who bravely killed a violent intruder to his central Florida suburb are in luck today!

Zimmerman is now mailing autographed cards to anyone who donates cash to help him fight murder charges over Miami teenager Trayvon Martin's shooting death.


Biden Goes Shopping At Anti-Walmart: Costco (Video)


And check out this great story, from a few years back, about the great customer and employee friendly Costco: How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart 

 

First Dog Bo In Holiday Video. Cute! (Video)


via Jezebel:
First Dog Bo Is Baffled By Giant Effigy of Himself in Best Holiday Video of Our Time 

MoveOn to Dems: Cut 'Entitlements' At Your Own Peril

Salon has the liberal response to Politico's report of a nasty 'Grand Bargain' with big cuts to the safety net, especially Medicare:

Liberals double down: No entitlement cuts  
 

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Photo of Cop Giving Boots to Barefoot Homeless Man Goes Viral

In what is surely the Age of Cynicism, it is gratifying to find an actual hero. The photo of Police Officer Lawrence Deprimo, hero, has gone .. viral: 
Police officer Lawrence Deprimo bought new boots for a homeless man he encountered in Times Square... The act of kindness would have gone unnoticed and mostly forgotten, had it not been for a tourist from Arizona. 
 Her snapshot — taken with her cellphone on Nov. 14 and posted to the New York Police Department’s official Facebook page late Tuesday — has made Officer Deprimo an overnight Internet hero. ..
Officer Deprimo, 25, who joined the department in 2010 and lives with his parents on Long Island, was shocked at the attention. He was not warned before the photo went online; the department had not learned which officer was in the picture until hours later.
"We were just kind of shocked," said Jose Cano, 28, a manager working at the store that night. "Most of us are New Yorkers and we just kind of pass by that kind of thing. Especially in this neighborhood."  

Trump Is Ruining Macy's: Dump Trump Petition Has 675,000 Signers


Think Progress reports that sexist, racist, birther Donald Trump is causing Macy's to lose popularity among women. J.C. Penny's is happy to take up the slack.  

Tell Macy's to lose Trump:
 
Sign the Dump Trump Petition!  

Previously:

Urge Macy's To Dump Sexist and Lunatic Birther Donald Trump 

Chrysler Exec Tweets that Donald Trump Is 'Full of Sh*t' Over Romney's Jeep Lie 

 

GQ Magazine Lists Romney As Least Influential Person of 2012

More people who do not like Romney: 
Was anyone inspired by Mitt Romney? Did anyone vote enthusiastically for Mitt Romney? Of course not. Voting for Romney is like hooking up with the last single person at the bar at 4 a.m. The only successful thing he did this year was embody every black stand-up comedian's impression of a white person. Thank God the election's over...

Good-bye, Mitt. I hope you enjoy the rest of your life quietly ensconced at Lake Winnipesaukee, blissfully ignorant of the plight of anyone who doesn't have $300 million squirreled away in the Bahamas.
 

Watch Kristen Schaal On Conan (Video)



 via Jezebel

Marsha Blackburn Wishes GOP Would Remember the Women (Video)

Marsha does not want to talk about her miserable party's problem with women, nor the promotion she did not get.



Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


"Of the 19 committee chairs chosen by House Republicans thus far, all 19 are white men!"

 Maddow to GOP: Where Are the Binders Full of Women?

 

Maddow to GOP: Where Are the Binders Full of Women?

Quote of the Day

Of the 19 committee chairs chosen by House Republicans thus far, all 19 are white men! ..And while Democrats are gaining women in their ranks, Republicans are losing them. The overall number of Republican women serving in the House will drop from 24 to 19 at the start of the 113th Congress, which begs the question: where are the binders full of women? 

 

MSNBC Morning Joe Boyz Make Pathetic Joke About Sen. Lindsey Graham's Gender (Video)

Who said it was safe to let John Heilemann and Joe Scarborough come in from the playground? In the clip below watch the boyz giggle hysterically after John Heilemann refers to Senator Lindsey Graham as a woman.  And you thought this was a show for grown-ups. 

Something must be wrong with my sense of humor, I just don't get how this is funny. The joke was edited out of the morning's later broadcast. 

Not very long ago, a Fox News anchor called Rachel Maddow "an angry young man." The idiotic Fox News anchor was suspended.  Obviously, the idiotic Morning Joe boyz should suffer the same. 



  Fox Anchor Calls Maddow An 'Angry Young Man'
  

Jon Stewart Slams McCain & Lindsey Graham Over Susan Rice Obsession (Video)


GOP OBSESSION:




Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A Documentary About 'The Farm': American Commune (Video)

Via Kickstarter where you can help support this worthy project and read more about Tennessee's famed hippie commune: 'The Farm.'
In 1970, 300 hippies founded a commune in the backwoods of Tennessee and set out to change the world. Members shared everything, grew their own food, delivered their babies at home and succeeded in building a self-sufficient society. By 1980, The Farm had 1,500 members and hosted 10,000 visitors a year. Their socialist experiment sowed the seeds for many of today’s most progressive movements, including organic farming, natural birth, vegetarianism, and solar power. Countless reporters—everyone from Dan Rather to Walter Cronkite—have covered The Farm in news segments, but we are the first insiders to tell our story. 

 

The Good Wife Tackles Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) (Video)

Goddess, I love this show. Watch the preview here, watch the full episode at CBS.com.


She Wired:  
As the story went, a big-time lawyer renowned for his dedication to LGBT rights and for arguing before the Supreme Court, argued to join Alicia and Diane to take on the case. But that’s where it got tricky. While the Lockhart and Gardner attorneys argued to win the battle to keep their client from doing hard time the big-time attorney was there to lose the battle and take the case to the Supreme Court to try to overturn DOMA. 

Throughout the episode inequality under DOMA was highlighted and spelled out, not by Alicia or Diane, but by the prosecuting attorney -- played by the great Brian Dennehy – making for a compelling mini history lesson for all of those viewers who might not otherwise understand why the hateful legislation is such a big deal to same-sex couples and the people who love them. If the story weren’t enough to tune into The Good Wife, did I mention that Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth played the judge while Dallas Roberts appeared as Alicia’s gay brother and another Tony winner, Stockard Channing, appeared for the first time as Alicia’s mom? This is seriously amazing television.

New GOP House Committee Chairmen Are All Male (White). Where Are the Women? (Photo) (Video)

Pathetic. They don't call it the Party of Neanderthals for no reason. There will be NO WOMEN leading any of the major House committees in the 113 Congress, according to cave-boy Speaker John Boehner's newly released list. That's what happens when misguided voters put the pathetically sexist Party of Misogynists in charge. Here are the pathetic and pasty white good old boys:  


At the top of House committees, it’s a man’s world.
Not a single woman will lead any of the major House committees in the 113th Congress.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/84293.html#ixzz2DVcaNGfi
At the top of House committees, it’s a man’s world.
Not a single woman will lead any of the major House committees in the 113th Congress.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/84293.html#ixzz2DVcaNGfi

House GOP committee chairs named, all white men -- House Speaker John Boehner released the proposed recommendations for chairmen in 19 of the 21 House committees - powerful posts that set legislative agenda and priorities in respective issue areas - and there's not one woman or minority on the list.



Sore Loser Virginia Attorney General Suggests Obama Stole Election

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) and his friendly right-wing radio host can't fathom why Obama won the election when so very many right-wing controlled states had voter suppression laws in place.

The unmitigated gall of right-wingers never ceases to astound:
 JACOBUS: Photo ID. Voter photo ID. Obama lost every one of those states. He can’t win a state where photo ID is required. So clearly there’s something going on out there and until there’s a way to have something done about it where when you report it, you know it’s going to be looked into, the other side just says “Oh, well, you’re just poor losers,” and that sort of thing.
 CUCCINELLI: Your tone suggests you’re a little upset with me. You’re preaching to the choir. I’m with you completely.
 

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Nude AIDS Activists Storm Speaker Boehner’s Office (Video)

The nude AIDS activists were protesting the GOP wet dream of budget cuts that hurt people. Scroll down for the video and hear their chant for the Robin Hood Tax!



See more photos at Mediaite
AIDS Activists Take Over John Boehner’s Office, Stage Naked Protest [NSFW] 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Speaks of 9 Women On Supreme Court, Conservatives See Coming Matriarchy, LOL.

Apparently, the mere thought of nine women on the U.S. Supreme Court comes as a surprise, or a horrifying nightmare, to some people.

An all male court existed in this country for some 200 years -- a court that consistently ruled women to be chattel -- but somehow the concept of an "all female court" signifies the coming matriarchy.

What?  Do they fear that nine women on the Supreme Court will rule to put a cap on testosterone levels?

Goddess, I love Ruth Bader Ginsburg:
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hopes to see an all-female Supreme Court one day. Ginsburg made the comment during a 10th Circuit Bench & Bar Conference at the University of Colorado in Boulder, according to CNS News. 

“Now the perception is, yes, women are here to stay,” Ginsburg told the conference. “And when I’m sometimes asked when will there be enough and I say when there are nine, people are shocked.” 

Ginsburg said that no one has “ever raised a question” when nine men were serving on the bench.  

National Review: An All-Women Supreme Court?   
via CBS: Ginsburg Wants To See All-Female Supreme Court 
 Girls rule, boys drool? Lady parts peddler Justice Ginsburg wants all-female SCOTUS

CREW Files Congressional Ethics Complaint Against DesJarlais

And the adventures of the Tennessee embarrassment Scott DesJarlais continue: 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington on Tuesday filed a congressional ethics complaint against Republican U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, accusing the Jasper physician of lying when confronted about an affair with a patient... CREW, which frequently brings ethics complaints against lawmakers, issued a statement that calls on Congress to punish DesJarlais for "numerous lies." 

Dawn of a New Day for Marriage Equality (TV AD Video Voiced by Morgan Freeman)


Via The Advocate:  Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman narrates a new national advertisement for the Human Rights Campaign, premiering Sunday, that heralds “the dawn of a new day” for LGBT rights, including marriage equality, in America...

 The ad’s release comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is about to decide whether to hear cases challenging barriers to marriage equality — the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8. 

The court’s members are expected to discuss the cases Friday and announce their decision on whether to take any of them the following Monday, December 3. 

Rightwing Freaks Over Idea of Feminist As Time's 'Person of the Year'

The slut-shaming cavemen over at Breitbart.com are shivering with fear over the possibility of Sandra Fluke making Time's Person of the Year.

A woman as 'Person of the Year.'

Wouldn't that be astounding?  

Intrade Shuts Down For U.S. Customers

Boo-hoo: 

Intrade, a website dedicated to online trades and bets, announced on Monday that it would no longer allow U.S. customers to participate in its exchange. The announcement comes following a lawsuit filed earlier today by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates the trading of futures contracts. 
 

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Champion of Equality GOP Millionaire Carly Fiorina: ‘It is not fair’ that public workers 'are so rich’

Yeah, Carly Fiorina is now the champion of equality.

What gives Republicans a bad reputation?

Republicans. 

Shameless millionaire Carly Fiorina uttered the greedy Orwellian words on NBC’s Meet the Press:

During a Sunday panel segment on NBC, MSNBC host Al Sharpton asserted that Congress must agree to raise taxes on the wealthy before cutting spending. 

“This is about fairness,” he explained. “Why do we need to need to deal with the tax on the rich first? Because we must ensure Americans we are dealing with fairness. We keep talking about shared sacrifice, there was not shared wealth and shared prosperity. So, you’re asking people that didn’t enjoy the good times to share in paying for the tab that they never enjoyed.” 

“Let us accept Rev. Al’s point and the president’s point about fairness,” Fiorina replied. “But equally, it is not fair that public employee union pensions and benefits are so rich now that cities and states are going bankrupt and college tuition is going up 25 and 30 percent or police and firefighters are being cut. There’s a lot that isn’t fair right now.”

Yeah, it;s the filthy rich middle class that we need to worry about. Selfish brutes working for the state are causing the grossly unfair inequality in the land, says champion of equality Carly Fiorina.

 I'm surprised Al Sharpton was able to keep from laughing in Carly Fiorina's face.

And what the hell is a "moderate Republican" anyway? The term makes absolutely no sense.

Alleged Black Friday Shopper Dies After Wal-Mart Workers "Subdue" Him With Choke Hold

Two Wal-Mart employees and a contract security officer "subdued" an alleged Black Friday shoplifter by piling on top of him and applying a choke hold.

The man was subdued to death. 
 
More proof that Black Friday is a horrendously primitive sport in the vein of the Hunger Games.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Lesbian Last Supper (Photo)




via She Wired: Check out graphic artist Bronwyn Lundberg's rendering of the Lesbian Last Supper, which includes Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O'Donnell, Heather Matarazzo, Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Portia de Rossi, Sandra Bernhard, Melissa Etheridge, Linda Perry, Lily Tomlin, kd Lang, Rachel Maddow and Shane (Kate Moennig).


You can purchase a limited edition.


DesJarlais Refuses to Resign

In an interview with the Knoxville News Sentinel, disgraced Scott DesJarlais responds to calls for his resignation:

Regret past actions, no plans to resign 


Previously: The Tennessean to DesJarlais: "Resign Now"   

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Did Anonymous Block Karl Rove’s Attempt To Steal Election? (Video)

Rove almost pulled off the same vote flip in 2012 that he pulled off in 2004. Thom Hartmann explains in the video clip below:  Or scroll down for links to read about it.



Anonymous Announces Karl Rove Watch:

 
Salon: Did Anonymous stop Rove from stealing the election? 
Truthout: Anonymous, Karl Rove and 2012 Election Fix?  


Obama Cracks Nate Silver Joke During Turkey Pardon (Video)

Haslam Blames Obama For Haslam's Tardy Health Insurance Exchange Decision

Almost three years after President Obama's health care law passed, Tennessee's Governor Haslam still can't make up his Republican mind about whether the state should run its own health insurance exchange or let the Feds control it. Naturally it's all Obama's fault.

Haslam blames the Obama Administration for Haslam's indecision.

And we thought Republicans had a thing for personal responsibility.

Maybe Haslam should blame Chief Justice Roberts. Or voters. Or maybe Haslam shouldn't have waited so long to ask questions.

But he's not alone.An amazing coincidence this, but a slew of Republican Governors have a slew of last minute questions,  last  minute questions which are being answered and posted online for the many tardy Republican governors.   

Time's running out Governor Haslam. Do us all a favor and let the Feds do the job. Else we might end up with a health insurance exchange that resembles the Tennessee Department of Children's Services.


The Tennessean to DesJarlais: "Resign Now"

Today's Tennessean joins the rest of the world (minus a few from the flaky party) by calling for embarrassment Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn) to resign now: 

[T]here are lies, and there are lies. U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais deliberately deceived the voters of the Fourth Congressional District in the closing weeks of his successful re-election campaign. And because of that, he should resign immediately...

Doctor, you have lost all credibility as a public servant and a medical professional. Do right by the Fourth District and the people of Tennessee, and preserve a last shred of dignity in the process. This controversy that you have created will not “blow over.” Resign now. 

TGW: Colbert: Meet Tennessee's Scott DesJarlais, GOP Congressman Who Is Pro Abortion For His Girlfriends (Video) 
New York Times: Rosenthal: Family Values 

Cute Baby Video: Baby Leo Fighting Sleep


San Francisco Passes Public-Nudity Ban by One Vote

With one more vote to go, there's still hope for the pro nudity camp and for San Francisco's reputation (LOL): 

Undressing in public will likely no longer go unpunished in San Francisco, as the Board of Supervisors voted by the barest of margins Tuesday to ban public nudity...

"Sometimes there's a little weirdness about how we express ourselves, but that's a great thing about San Francisco," Avalos said...
While many in the pro-nudity camp stayed clothed during the vote, the clothes came off as soon as the measure passed.   

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Black Friday Strike Stokes Fear in Wal-Mart's Stone Cold Heart

Uh-oh, Wal-Mart's poverty-waged workers have gotten the retail giant's attention with the threatened Black Friday strike. Wal-Mart is actually taking steps to try to stop the union-backed group OUR Walmart from staging black Friday strikes across the nation: 

New York Times:
In a rare move, Wal-Mart is trying to stop a union-backed group from staging a series of demonstrations against the company on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year... Mr. Gould said. “But I must say if they’ve gone to the N.L.R.B. on this, that must show that Wal-Mart is really concerned.” 

...In this week’s planned events, OUR Walmart, which stands for Organization United for Respect at Walmart, is enlisting a broad range of allies, arranging fliers and letters that community, church and civil rights groups can use to publicize the Black Friday protest. OUR Walmart has even prepared remarks that it is suggesting members of the clergy might use in prayer, “to call upon the world’s largest corporation to treats its workers with justice and fairness.”

Many of those workers assert that Wal-Mart pays poverty-level wages, assigns too few hours a week and retaliates against protesting employees. “I will be protesting because there has been retaliation from the company — they have fired people, they have reduced people’s hours for speaking out,” said Greg Fletcher, an electronics department employee at a Walmart in Duarte, Calif.

Wall Street Journal Calls Justice Roberts 'Liberal Man of the Year,' Again. LOL.


Gee, conservatives are not very happy these days. That must mean we liberals are making a little progress, at long last.

Trying to contain my smirk here:

Wall Street Journal:  Liberal Man of the Year: Chief Justice Roberts shares the dais with Lena Dunham. 

Paul Krugman: "A Public Service Reminder: Paul Ryan is a Con Man"

Paul Krugman warns that con artist Paul Ryan is trying to move back into his previous disguise as "Washington’s favorite Serious, Honest Conservative:"  

He might get away with it; but I hope not.
The fact is that Ryan is and always was a fraud. His plan never added up; it was never, contrary to what people who should know better asserted, “scored” by the CBO. What he actually offered was a plan to hurt the poor and reward the rich, actually increasing the deficit along the way, plus magic asterisks that supposedly reduced the debt by means unspecified.

Crooks and Liars: Boehner Taps Ryan as 'Point Man' in Fiscal Negotiations 

TPMDC: GOP’s Opposition To New Taxes: Same As It Ever Was 

Obnoxious Allen West Concedes, Finally


Finally, Florida Rep. Allen West has conceded. Now the noxious fool can please disappear back into his cave.

 

Oklahoma Rejects State-Based Health Exchange

The people of Oklahoma will be better served by a system set up by the Feds since they actually want it to succeed. We'll all be better off and America will be a better country when Republicans get out of government all together.

The Hill: Oklahoma is latest to reject state-based health exchange 

Gawker: "Scott DesJarlais: Three-Time Aborter, Three-Term Congressman."


Gawker proposes a very appropriate new slogan for Tennessee's lying, cheating, aborting Congressman Scott DesJarlais' next campaign:




Or Scott could use this one:

"Scott DesJarlais TN Teabagger: 'I don't always get my mistress pregnant but when I do I make sure she has an abortion'" 
  -- Image via frabz 


Monday, November 19, 2012

Feminists Protest Anti-Gay Demonstrations in France (Video)

Warning: The video contains nudity and violence. The video pauses for a few seconds before the actual loud and  alarming protest and after the opening clip which shows the women donning their protest garments, or lack thereof. So wait for it. Also, there's another video, narrated, and photos at the link below.


France.com:

French activists from the Ukrainian-based feminist group Femen were pepper-sprayed, hit and kicked by anti-gay marriage protesters in Paris on Sunday when they tried to disrupt a march against plans to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption rights.

"In Gay We Trust" (November 18, 2012)


via In-Gay-We-Trust
via SheWired where there are also photos.  

Gail Kerr: When Will Gov. Haslam Lead?

In today's Tennessean, Gail Kerr presents problem after problem that the Governor has as yet failed to deal with.

Kerr concludes by challenging Governor Haslam to please do his job: 

It’s time for Haslam to quit waffling on whether he wants the state or federal government to run the federally mandated health insurance exchange. It’s time for Haslam to tell us how he plans to fix the broken Department of Children’s Services. It’s time for Haslam to make sure adequate regulation and enforcement are in place so no one ever dies again from a health debacle like the lethal meningitis outbreak. 

And those are just three problems that need the governor’s attention. There are more: Paroled sex offenders are going unsupervised. No one answers the phones in the state unemployment office. And there are those pesky public education questions coming: Who picks charter schools? Vouchers or no vouchers? ...

For the love of Mike.. get to it. Lead us, governor.  
 

Alice's Restaurant: Thanksgiving's Liberal Family Tradition (MP3)

Once again, it's time to dust off our copy of Alice's Restaurant. For the many of us who practice this liberal family tradition during the Thanksgiving holidays, thank you Arlo!  

Here's the mp3 -- Listen to Alice's Restaurant via Susie Bright.

Also, you can hear and see the video of Arlo performing Alice's Restaurant at the Guthrie Center on July 2, 2005 over at Youtube. (The embed feature is disabled.)

Remember, if you want to end wars and stuff --  you gotta sing loud!

Have a happy and a liberal Thanksgiving!

(Here are the Lyrics of the 18 minute and 30 second song.)

Michael Moore: A "To Do" List for President Obama




Michael Moore: An Open Letter to President Obama


Sunday, November 18, 2012

Chris Hayes: White Identity Politics Doomed 2012 Republican Effort (Video)




Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy




Via MSNBC: UP With Chris Hayes 


Maureen Dowd: 'The President’s Fierce defense of Rice Had Virile Flare'

The money quote from Maureen Dowd: Is Rice Cooked? 

The president’s fierce defense of Rice had virile flare. But he might have been better off leaving it to aides, so he did not end up going mano a mano with his nemesis John McCain on an appointment he hasn’t even made (though now Obama might feel compelled to, just to prove that he can’t be pushed around), and so he could focus on fiscal cliff bipartisanship... The president’s protecting a diplomatic damsel in distress made Rice look more vulnerable, when her reason for doing those shows in the first place was to look more venerable. 

Melissa Harris-Perry To Bobby Jindal: 'You Don't Seem To Give A Damn' (VIDEO)


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


via MSNBC: Melissa Harris-Perry