Might as well take teh stupid all the way

After all, who needs schoolin’? I think Ed sent this:

When did Rush add the ‘man-made’ part to his denial script?

A decade ago, Limbaugh had a grand time mocking climate scientists (his favorite target was of course Al Gore) for their ‘hysteria’ saying that the earth was warming. “The  whole thing is a hoax” he shouted across the socialist AM radio spectrum. “There is no warming” he shouted.

Vanity Fair listened to him in 2005 as his voice dripped with scorn for those warning about the consequences of a changing climate.:

“Even though quite a few scientists are now backtracking on their once-dire predictions of melting ice caps and worldwide flooding, Algore and a few hard-line doomsayers are sticking to their thermostats.” . . . . Similarly, Limbaugh scoffed in See, I Told You So, “Despite the hysterics of a few pseudo-scientists, there is no reason to believe in global warming”.

Now, here’s Rush in 2011 in a headline at his website:

The Manmade Global Warming Hoax Thrives on Faith, Not Facts

Notice the ‘manmade’ he’s slipped in there, shamelessly adjusting the script. It had to be changed of course, since it’s gotten a little harder to deny warming outright. His words this time start with the assumption that the warming is real – just not manmade. (He used the word ‘manmade’ in his little rant seven times. I counted. That’s not by accident.)

And still they listen to him . . .

Rush Limbaugh, that son of privilege and college drop out, knows nothing about the issue, cares nothing about the issue, but he knows what sells hemorrhoid creams and survival kits.

Making Florida safe for Democrats again

My governor, Rick Scott, is hitting new lows in approval and has gone from 22% disapproval to 57% in just six months. Good work gov. Brings to mind some oldies but goodies. My favorite line? “I’m not sure what ‘market’ means.”

For those who don’t know, Columbia HCA, founded by Scott and of which he was the CEO, had to pay the largest civil criminal fine in US history for massive Medicare fraud.

Dorian mostly gets it right

Dorian rarely posts here (although he’s always welcome) and he rarely posts at facebook. When he does, it’s good. From him today:

I think, since we often trust homosexuals to work with sharp scissors near our heads, we can trust them with marriage and we’ll all be okay. You wanna defend marriage? Outlaw divorce.

Dana Rohrbacher is an embaressment

A spokesman for the Iraqi president has said that the congressional delegation chaired by US Rep. Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA) is no longer welcome in the country. Here’s what Rohrbacher said:

“Once Iraq becomes a very rich and prosperous country… we would hope that some consideration be given to repaying the United States some of the mega-dollars that we have spent here in the last eight years,” Rohrabacher told journalists at the US embassy in Baghdad.

“We were hoping that there would be a consideration of a payback because the United States right now is in close to a very serious economic crisis and we could certainly use some people to care about our situation as we have cared about theirs.”

He said he raised the issue in a meeting with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Rohrabacher, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the US House of Representatives, declined to give specifics on how much should be paid back, or over what timeframe.

Want another great Rohrbacher quote? Here ya’ go:

“Is there some thought being given to subsidizing the clearing of rainforests in order for some countries to eliminate that production of greenhouse gases? … Or would people be supportive of cutting down older trees in order to plant younger trees as a means to prevent this disaster from happening?”

I guess he skipped fourth grade.

Walker attack spreads to public education

POSTED BY ORHAN

On Sunday Wisconsin Gov. “Chainsaw” Scott Walker signed into law a state budget cutting $800 million from public education, while insisting state school districts will be better off after the cuts. Milwaukee public schools will be the hardest hit, with 988 full-time layoffs coming this week.

In an interview Monday Walker said, “The tools we gave them allow them to more than offset, and in some cases, actually net more revenue than they would have otherwise with the state budget. Now, those are changes you may agree or disagree with how we got there, but in the end, they’re going to fare better.”

The budget expands the state’s “school choice” voucher program, providing more public funds for private schools, and permitting Milwaukee parents to send their children to any private school in the state.

Lobbying group The American Federation for Monetizing Children, which pumped resources into the legislative effort, praised the expansion, as well as the “Once In, Always In” provision that will ensure, according to economist John Lott, that “once a student gets a voucher, that student will always be able to keep it, regardless of their family’s future income. In previous years, a student who received a voucher could lose eligibility for the program because his or her parents happened to increase their income in a given year.”

The idea of students being so harshly penalized for a simple reversal of their parents’ fortunes must have been more than the legislators could bear to contemplate.  And no doubt school district workers are bursting with gratitude for the “tools” Walker gave them.

While I was sleeping . . .

. . . and probably thanks to Orhan’s efforts, Whatever Works hit 70,000. Well. That’s nice.

When A Country Goes Insane

One job for every five looking

That’s the headline on a recent article at Common Dreams, a website I visit when I need to refresh my inner liberal, the one who’s deeply offended by a wealthy country that let’s its children go to bed hungry. Where my Governor is bragging about the 65,000 new ‘jobs’ this year – which pay around $20K and replace the lost jobs that paid $40K.

Six million people have lost their jobs. Twenty five million are underemployed. Many will never work again. Eight trillion dollars of middle class wealth has been destroyed in the housing collapse. One out of four mortgage holders are under water, owing more on their home than it’s worth. Fifty million people are living in poverty. One out of eight Americans are on food stamps. One of every two children will be on food stamps at some point .

And meanwhile:

[The country] can’t tell truths from lies . . . Sleazy operators pass themselves off as statesmen . . . and the crowds, unable to distinguish sanctimony from sincerity, bravado from bullshit, lap it up.

Let’s just ignore:

. . . the Republicans’ response? The working and middle class need to pay. Never mind that it was Reagan and Bush I who quadrupled the national debt in only 12 years, and Bush II who doubled it again in only eight, all to grease the pockets of their wealthy base. It’s the working and middle class who need to be bled. They still have assets that can be milked from them. They can still be made more subservient, more docile.

Remember, it’s Obama’s economy. And what about the American people? The ones who aren’t the 1% who enjoyed all the economic gains of the last 30 years?

. . . they need to give up any expectation of security, or dignity. They need to give up any childish illusions that [government] is operated for any such quaint Madisonian ends as “the general welfare.” They need to put on their kneepads and accustom themselves to being grateful servants to their new feudal masters . .

And through it all:

The media genuflect before gibberish and idolize idiocy. They are the media-tors of a Gresham’s Law of public discourse where bad information drives out good. For their own slick whoring they become “players,” while everybody else is left with a debauched civic currency, a crushed economy, and a collective impotence that makes true democracy and true prosperity impossible.

God bless us every one.

Wipe that smile off your face Mr. Gephardt

A run for President is good for business later

How do these people even show their faces in public? I used to think that Rep. Billy Tauzin was the worst example of the congressional ‘revolving door’, but Gephardt is looking like a contender. These guys still hang out with their former colleagues – probably having a big BBQ together next weekend.

Gephardt (D), former almost-Speaker of the House, is now, well, let’s let Sebastian Jones at The Washington Monthly tell the sordid story;

Even in a town as full of mercenaries and shills as Washington, Dick Gephardt is a special case. Just a handful of years ago, the then-Congressman touted himself as a friend of unions and a universal healthcare crusader. During his failed 2004 presidential bid, he was a man who stood against “the status-quo apologists” and “the special interest lobbyists running amok.” Today, he’s at the helm of his very own lobbying firm, working for the likes of PhRMA, Goldman Sachs and the coal company Peabody Energy. Even when compared to his many peers who have made trips through the revolving door, the list of issues on which Gephardt has been paid to reverse his position is very long indeed.

Reggie does Obama

There were a few stories around last week about the Obama impersonator at an RNC event who was pulled off stage for apparently making racist jokes. I read a few of the jokes and didnt find them at all racist and now I know why the disconnect: the guy was actually pulled offstage when he started to talk about Michelle Bachmann.

Anyway, Bill Mahar had him on. He’s good. And he’s funny.

Wow. Look what my hometown did last night

The Empire State Building knows how to celebrate

Citibank brings you the new Army uniform! (and how I wish I knew how to photoshop)

So many to choose from

Think of the revenues! Just like NASCAR and so many others do, how about we slap corporate logos all over our military uniforms, our tanks, copters and airplanes?  Golden Arches on a tank would attract an enemy longing for a Happy Meal (fooled ya!). BP’s green logo would look snappy on those camo getups. Endless opportunities for serendipity.

Why not? The free market is our god and the corporation is his prophet; we ought to be spreading the word.

Speaking of our corporate overlords: Did you know that AT&T and Comcast are the largest purveyors of online pornography in the country? I got that from Chris Hedges’ book “Empire of Illusion” (no linkee to text), so here’s a link to the online story in The Baptist Standard.

So much to be proud of.

The long U.S. slide to the bottom

I see the GOP is determined to cut the budget of the F.D.A., even as Europe is caught in the grip of an E-coli scare.

I think this brief letter in today’s New York Times says it all.

A Question for the Right

To the Editor:

Re “High-Speed Rail Poised to Alter China” (Business Day, June 23):

As we persist in allowing other countries to outdo us in the development of high-speed rail, the quality of health care, the implementation of cleaner energy solutions, and the rigor of math and science programs in schools, does the “no new taxes under any circumstances or for any reason” right wing have a plan in place to bring us back up from the bottom 20 years from now?

 

New York Senate Does the Right Thing

POSTED BY ORHAN

The New York Times reports that lawmakers voted late Friday to legalize same-sex marriage, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed.

The bill was approved on a 33-to-29 vote as 4 Republican state senators joined 29 Democrats in voting for it: James S. Alesi; Stephen M. Saland; Roy J. McDonald; and Mark J. Grisanti.

After days of agonized discussion capped by a marathon nine-hour closed-door debate on Friday, Republicans came to a decision: the full Senate would be allowed to vote on the bill, the majority leader, Dean G. Skelos, said Friday afternoon, and each member would be left to vote according to his or her conscience.

“The days of just bottling up things, and using these as excuses not to have votes — as far as I’m concerned as leader, its over with,” Mr. Skelos, a Long Island Republican, said.

Grisanti, a Buffalo Republican who opposed gay marriage when he ran for election last year, said he had studied the issue, agonized over his responsibility as a lawmaker, and concluded he could not vote against the bill. Mr. Grisanti voted yes.

“I apologize for those who feel offended,” he said. “I cannot deny, a person, a human being, a taxpayer, a worker, the people of my district and across this state, the State of New York, and those people who make this the great state that it is, the same rights that I have with my wife.”

Earlier, Republican state senator Roy McDonald, who reversed his previous opposition to marriage equality despite threats from conservative groups that he’d pay for his actions at the ballot box, told reporters:

“You get to the point where you evolve in your life where everything isn’t black and white, good and bad, and you try to do the right thing.”

“You might not like that. You might be very cynical about that. Well, fuck it, I don’t care what you think. I’m trying to do the right thing.

“I’m tired of Republican-Democrat politics. They can take the job and shove it. I come from a blue-collar background. I’m trying to do the right thing, and that’s where I’m going with this.”

According to the Washington Post, the bill’s passage was a milestone nationally because it was the first time a GOP-controlled chamber has approved same-sex marriage.

Andrew Sullivan writes that New York granting same-sex marriage rights is important not just because a Republican-led State Senate passed the law, but because it insists on maximal religious liberty for those who conscientiously oppose marriage equality, and because it doubles the number of Americans with the right to marry the person they love, even if they are gay.

My take is that those involved acted with integrity, dignity, decency, and placed individual conscience above partisan politics–a hopeful sign for America’s future.

I love those light summer fashions

Luc is clearly a trend setter. Note the neckwear; that’s what they’re wearing in Seattle this season.

Toe in water: Friday Oldie(s?)

From doo wop to disco. Same song. First, the original:

Then Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons ‘updated’ it:

Rick Perry mixes up a little tequila

POSTED BY ORHAN

From Rising Hegemon:

They ooze class:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry made a joke at a Latino convention that an appointee’s name sounds like a bottle of tequila — and it didn’t go over very well…

Perry reportedly joked that he liked how a man named Jose Cuevas had been appointed to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission because his name sounds like Jose Cuervo, a brand of tequila. The joke fell flat.

“Perry struggled to regain his confidence as he described Texas as a land of opportunity,” the Associated Press reported.

Perry next went to a gathering of rabbis and joked about how many of them had “Gold” in their names.

AARP not now screwing seniors

POSTED BY ORHAN

…because they’ve already been doing it for years. So when AARP’s CEO A. Barry Rand said, responding to criticism, “AARP has not changed its position on Social Security”, he was 100% right. A post at Firedoglake shows AARP has supported Social Security cuts since 2005.

And the rising age at which one can begin to draw benefits, automatic increases in Medicare costs, and rising taxes on benefits–all constitute cuts already built in to existing Social Security legislation.

Wisconsin to defund Planned Parenthood

POSTED BY ORHAN

According to the NY Daily News, Wisconsin is set to become the fourth state to defund Planned Parenthood, joining Indiana, Kansas and North Carolina.

Gov. Scott Walker is expected to sign off on a budget that will eliminate federal and state funding to nine of the state’s 25 Planned Parenthood centers by the end of the month.

The state’s new budget includes a $1 million cut to Planned Parenthood. All the Republicans and one independent voted in favor of the plan while all the Democrats opposed it.

Republican state Sen. Glenn Grothman argued that the new budget doesn’t cut enough funding from Planned Parenthood: “There’s a very ugly side to this organization, and I regret that they’re going to take such a tiny cut in this budget”.

The nine clinics that will be affected by the budget cuts provide low-cost health care to approximately 12,000 uninsured women.

Teri Huyck, president of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, said she is disappointed that political ideology will take precedence over health care.

“It is greatly disturbing to me that some politicians’ personal beliefs are trumping our shared responsibility to make sure women and men have access to preventive reproductive health care, which is not only essential for their own lives, but also a cost-saver for all Wisconsin taxpayers,” said Huyck.

Fox Still Misrepresenting NLRB’s Case Against Boeing

POSTED BY ORHAN

From Media Matters:

Fox News has repeatedly suggested that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is engaging in unlawful or “anti-American” activity by filing a complaint against Boeing for deciding to build a new plant in the “right to work” state of South Carolina. But the NLRB complaint alleges that Boeing moved to South Carolina in retaliation for union workers’ decision to strike, and experts say that allegations in the case represent an “absolutely standard violation” of federal labor law.

The article also points to falsehoods about the story in another Rupert Murdoch propaganda mill, the Wall Street Journal.

In Search of the Secret Report

POSTED BY ORHAN

from Talking Points Memo

by Josh Marshall

I’m not sure where this will go. But one of the core issues in the debate over ‘vote fraud’ is that there’s virtually no recent evidence of voter impersonation fraud in the United States. People who get paid to register people do sometimes fill out registration cards for “Mickey Mouse” and “Mary Poppins.” But no one ever shows up to vote as “Mickey Mouse.” So even though that’s registration fraud, it’s not something that actually ends up affecting real elections. And remember, these claims of ‘fraud’ are what is behind efforts to make it a lot harder for people to vote.

One of the biggest peddlers of vote fraud tales is someone long-time TPMers will know well: Hans von Spakovsky. He’s the one who’s come up with what appear to be the most recent instances of actual impersonation, back in 1982.

But now it gets interesting. One of the most conscientious and knowledgable people to write about this subject is another person we’ve referenced many times: Rick Hasen, a professor at UC-Irvine who writes a blog on election law. He’s being trying to find a copy of the 1984 grand jury report that Spakovsky based his report on — the one about voter impersonation back in 1982. But he can’t find any copies. Anywhere. And von Spakovsky hasn’t replied to Hasen’s request to review the documents. Here’s the rest of the story.

And the unbloggy continues . . .

My brain whirls, my outrage grows, my humor is dampened . . . but none of this translates into actual words.  So Whatever Works shall vacation for a few more days and I can only hope Orhan feels inclined to toss something of substance up here.

In Miami, where the AC is temporarily off line at my brother’s beautiful 17th floor condo, we have open windows on three sides overlooking upper Biscayne Bay. The brisk breezes off the water cools us. Not bad.

Be nice.

RIP, Clarence Clemmons

The ‘big man’ in the E-Street Band whose sax was such an important part of  Springstein’s sound was only 69. He died tonight.

Thanks for the memories big guy.

Soothing Saturday – world’s 2nd largest aquarium

POSTED BY ORHAN

Beautiful.    Serene.    Relax.    Now.

How about two Friday oldies?

One by the ‘real’ Queen, and one from my distant past. A little Freddie (go to 1:25 in for the very best of the man – this one’s from Live Aid in 1984), and a little Jerry Lee (a more mature, more nuanced Jerry Lee and only one time kicking the piano stool) . . .

Trivia question: What other infamous American was Jerry Lee’s cousin?

I love Queen and I am in awe of this kid

Look what he did:

 

Well, lookee here! Union organizing right under Gov. Chris Christie’s nose!

POSTED BY ORHAN

From Blue Jersey
by: Rosi Efthim

Imagine. Right under Christie’s nose. Public workers, white collar though they may be … organizing.

A drive-by question

Can I be in CNN’s next Presidential debate? I think it’s allowed because Monica Michelle Bachman, an undeclared candidate who hadn’t filed any papers got a spot up there with her own podium and everything, so I’m thinking . . . .

Back to the quiet place.

UPDATE: This is a serious question. What are the rules here?

Wisconsin update – Supreme Court overturns collective bargaining ruling

POSTED BY ORHAN

(updated below)

From the Wisconsin State Journal: Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi overstepped her authority when she voided Gov. Scott Walker’s measure limiting public sector collective bargaining, the state Supreme Court ruled today in a 4-3 decision.

The conservative majority said Sumi “usurped the legislative power which the Wisconsin constitution grants exclusively to the Legislature” by voiding the law. Sumi ruled the state’s open meetings law was violated when Republicans met and amended the bill in March, allowing the Republican-controlled Senate to bypass a Democratic boycott.

Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson dissented, writing that the authors of the court’s order, along with concurring Justice David Prosser — lacked “a reasoned, transparent analysis” and incorporate “numerous errors of law and fact.”

“Only with a reasoned, accurate analysis can a court assure the litigants and the public that a decision is made on the basis of facts and law,” Abrahamson wrote, “free from a judge’s personal ideology and free from external pressure by the executive or legislative branches, by partisan political parties, by public opinion or by special interest groups.”

The State Department of Administration “is reviewing the Supreme Court’s order and will begin implementing (the law) when appropriate.”

Bottom line: Prosser voted exactly as expected, and if Kloppenburg had beaten him in the State Supreme Court race, the Republicans would be singing a different tune tonight.

UPDATE:

Also from the Wisconsin State Journal: One day after the state Supreme Court cleared the way for Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial bill limiting collective bargaining to become law, several labor organizations filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in an effort to prevent some of its provisions from taking effect in federal court.

The lawsuit was brought by the Wisconsin Education Association Council, Wisconsin State Employees Union, Wisconsin Council of County and Municipal Employees, AFSCME District Council 48 representing Milwaukee County municipal employees, AFT-Wisconsin, SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin and the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.

The groups are challenging the constitutionality of the bill they say would destroy collective bargaining rights for all but a select group of public sector workers deemed “public safety” employees, including certain firefighters and law enforcement officers.

Walker responded to the suit saying, “I think overwhelmingly the people of the state feel the legal action is done and it’s time to move forward.”

Palin-Revere Redux

POSTED BY ORHAN

Andrew Sullivan on where Sarah Palin got her Paul-Revere-rode-in-a-ringin-them-bells-to-warn-the-British riff:

The vicar who gave the Palins a guided tour of Old North Church explains how she got muddled up:

I gave them our standard talk about Paul Revere and the two men who hung the lanterns in the steeple, Robert Newman and John Pulling.

I added a bit about the debate between John Hancock and Sam Adams after they received the warning from Revere (Hancock: “Staying and fighting will look good on my resume when I run for president.” Adams: “You are too rich to fight. Let’s get out of here.” Adams ultimately won that debate.) I did mention that Revere was arrested by British troops and led back to Lexington, warning those British troops that the minutemen had been alerted.

After the introductory talk, we climbed up to the bell ringing chamber, where I talked about how Paul Revere how founded our bell ringing guild in 1750 as a teenager. Governor Palin was particularly interested to see a copy of the original bell ringing contract between Paul Revere and his friends and the rector of Old North, Dr. Cutler. The contract portrays a group of teenagers using democratic principles to organize their bell ringing guild. We did not have the time to get to the top of the steeple to see the lanterns.

He thinks the whole kerfuffle was ridiculously inflated. But he does note:

I knew where all the factoids she cited came from and take responsibility for putting them in her head. I will not take the blame for the odd order those factoids came out. Perhaps it was too much information in too short a period of time to digest properly. Maybe if we climbed to the top of the steeple and viewed the lanterns, the governor wouldn’t have focused on the bells. Who knows?

Who knows indeed? But would anyone want a president who could misread a briefing that badly so quickly?

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