Going...to Throw Up

by Kevin Theis

The mystery is over. She got a mil and a quarter. Read it and weep:

Sarah Palin reports she received $1.25 million as a retainer for her upcoming book "Going Rogue." The former Alaska governor says in her financial disclosure statement released Tuesday that she received the money from publisher HarperCollins. Palin, the former GOP vice presidential candidate, resigned in July. She kept a fairly low profile as she worked with her book's ghostwriter.

So how much did the ghostwriter get? A substantial fee or, as Levi said to Bristol, "Can I give you a little tip?" (Ooooh, that's bad.)

More:

Palin is regarded as a possible 2012 contender for the presidency. Past candidates, notably Barack Obama, have been helped by writing best-selling books, invaluable platforms for politicians to tell their story.

Yeah, except Barack actually wrote his books. No ghosts needed.

So the couldn't-hack-it-so-she-quit ex-Governor of Alaska walks away with a cool six figure deal, huh?

Jesus wept.

Mr. Wrong

by Kevin Theis

You would think that, in the pundit world, there would be rules about how often you can be dead wrong before your credentials are stripped away and you are no longer considered a Serious Journalist. This being the land of the free and the home of the brave, however, no such rules exist.

You can be wrong, wrong again and then dead wrong and still carry on as if nothing happened. Case in point: William Kristol.

I've written about Kristol before (he's "Pie-Face" to my regular readers (do I have regular readers?)) and his abysmal track record is there for anyone to see. He was a big Bush supporter (wrong), a strong backer of the war in Iraq (wrong), he predicted that Obama would never beat Hillary Clinton (wrong) and, most famously, Kristol was the guy who was responsible for bringing Sarah Palin to prominence (can you get any more wrong?).

So now Pie-Face is predicting the 2012 election. And guess who's going to win? Surprise! It's a super-duper right-wing conservative!

I suspect that the person most likely to break into this group of front-runners would be a businessman who stands up against President Obama's big-government proposals, a retired general who objects to Obama's foreign policy or a civic activist who rallies the public against some liberal outrage. If a Republican elected official emerges, it will probably be because he or she champions some populist cause, not because that person is a fine representative or senator or governor.

Yeah! Damn libruls! They're ruining the country! And after Bush took such good care of it, too!

This gets better, the more you read. See, in Kristol's world, this is not simply a center-right country, as many have claimed. It's a far-right country. And a far-right country, obviously, will want a far right candidate. The GOP itself, foundering because it keeps trying to tack to the center, MUST lurch sharply right or it will lose the base. So who best represents Republican (read: American) values? Who else?

The center of gravity, I suspect, will instead lie with individuals such as Palin and Huckabee and Gingrich, media personalities like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, and activists at town halls and tea parties. Some will lament this -- but over the past year, as those voices have dominated, conservatism has done pretty well in the body politic, and Republicans have narrowed the gap with Democrats in test ballots.

That's right. The center of gravity is...way, way, way off to the right. I mean...Glenn Beck is good for the Republican Party? Only if GOP is going to stand for Glenn's Obama Paranoia.

These people- Palin, Gingrich, Beck and Limbaugh- are the most polarizing mouthpieces that the Republicans have to offer. And Kristol, that genius, is somehow claiming that they represent the bright and shining future of the party.

Okay, Bill. Whatever you say. Keep up the good work.

The Lady or the Tiger

by Kevin Theis

Here's the latest question among the politerati: Is Barack Obama comparable to Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan?

The question presumes two things: One- that Carter was a failure. Two- that Reagan was a success.

Given that the question is based on two complete fallacies: that Carter was awful and that Reagan was wonderful, I'd be happy to offer my humble opinion:

If Obama is more like Carter than Reagan- he's got my vote for a second term.

Easy.

More Good News

by Kevin Theis

...and lord knows we can use it, especially from this Senate Majority Leader. From CNN:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is poised to proceed with plans to introduce a Senate health care bill with a public health insurance option that would allow states to opt out, a senior aide to Reid toldCNN on Sunday.

Love it. Especially the "opt out" part of this bill. Mississippi and Alabama want to keep their votors from a public option choice? Let 'em. Nobody ever pleased the American voter by denying them something they desperately need.

So pass the bill and FORCE the GOP politicians to opt out and then...duck. Because when the people figure out how screwed they are, they'll strike back.

And hard.

Is Fox News...News?

by Kevin Theis

So the Obama Administration finally admits (like other well-known, commonly accepted factoids like "the sky is blue" and "grass is green"), that Fox News amounts to nothing more than a political media arm of the Republican Party and...well, people just freak out.

See, when Bush was in office, he was reknowned for his disdain for the press, but at least Bush hated every journalist. Not just one specific news organization. Bush knew that things like "questions" and "examination" led to things like "discovery" and "ending secrecy" so he steered clear of the press whenever he could.

But Barack? He's an open book. He talks to journalists every day. Hell, the press has started to complain that he's too available. Available to everyone, that is...but Fox News.

It is no secret that Fox, run by right-wing icon Rupert Murdock, is a Republican tool. They parrot the GOP party line, they use Republican Party talking points as their template for "reportage," and they consistently attack Obama at each and every turn, just as they did Clinton and every other Democratic politician.

But when the Obama administration decides to cut them off and deny them access, well...that's just not nice. Now, the poor Fox folks- they feel hurt. The attacks on them are just unfair. They're just like every other news organization, after all. Are they GOP oriented? Nooooo. Heavens nooooo.

To prove it, just go to the Fox News website. You'll see just how fair they are. Just take a look at some of their headlines:

"Obama Threatening Press Freedom?"

"10 Reasons for Moral Outrage"

"The World Turns On America and It's Weak White House"

"American YOU Can Still Stop ObamaCare!"

"Time For Obama to Stop Attacking Fox News and Grow Up"

Yes. Barack Obama is the one that needs to grow up. Not this bastion of fairness and responsibility.

Lord, no.

There's Only So Much Dick You Can Take

By Kevin Theis

Former Vice President and Current Ass-Wart Dick Cheney was at it again this week, perhaps trying to overshadow his loudmouthed offspring (see previous post on the subject), offering a unique glimpse of what it must be like to see your shitty legacy crumbling before your eyes.

Here's the story- see, Dick Cheney (The Most Reviled Man on Earth (TM)) gets invited to speak in front of these über-conservative groups about every other week and the guys who invite him expect Dick to deliver the red meat. Dick doesn't disappoint.

To really view Cheney's remarks in context, however, it is important to remember one of the unwritten rules of politics. So, history lesson: Back in President Truman's day, when Harry was trying to sort through the Korean mess, political opponent and Republican Senator Arthur Vandenberg famously declared that "Politics stops at the water's edge."

In other words, when it comes to foreign policy, you back your President. You don't undermine him with criticism and carping behind his back. It's the political equivalent of Vito Corleone's motto about never discussing busines outside the family. It just ain't cricket, right?

But...things changed under George W. Bush. See, when Bush was pushing his war of choice in Iraq, some people started squawking. When the Patriot Act was introduced, criticism followed. When no WMD's were discovered in Baghdad, there was an outcry. And, little by little, the "water's edge" language didn't seem to matter anymore.

Except, of course, to the White House. The Bush Administration was outraged that un-American, hippy, liberal foreign policy apologists would DARE to say something untoward about Bush's overseas decisions. It was wrong. It was unpatriotic. It was....dangerous.

The Bush message could not be clearer: DO NOT criticize the President on foreign policy. Politics STOPS at the water's edge. Got it?

Back to today's news: now that the Democrats have a guy in the White House and Dick is outside looking in, how is he behaving? From CNN:

After a summer in which Dick Cheney dialed back his attacks on President Obama's national security polices, the former vice president told a conservative gathering Wednesday that the Obama administration had damaged America's relationship with key allies, dangerously wavered in Afghanistan, undermined progress in Iraq, and intentionally sabotaged the Bush administration's national security legacy.

Saying that Obama has "sabotaged the Bush administration's national security legacy" is a lot like saying "The exterminator killed all the rats and roaches, the heartless bastard." But never mind.

More:

In the hard-hitting and wide-ranging speech at Center for Security policy, Cheney targeted the new administration's decision-making process on how to proceed in Afghanistan, saying Obama has failed to give troops on the ground a clear mission or defined goals, and appeared "afraid to make a decision."

Damn right! I mean, if there's one thing the Bushies knew how to do it was make a decision. Bush was, after all, The Decider (TM). And when he made a decision, nothing stopped him from carrying it out. Not facts, not changing conditions on the ground, not piles of dead American
soldiers...nothing.

"The White House must stop dithering while America's armed forces are in danger," Cheney said. "Make no mistake, signals of indecision out of Washington hurt our allies and embolden our adversaries."

Hey, Dick- know what emboldens our adversaries? Calling the President a pussy, that's what. So the question is: Were the dirty fucking hippies who criticized Bush within their rights to do so when they did it? Or is Dick Cheney just a complete and utter hypocritical douchebag?

And yes, the question is rhetorical.

The Failure of Bipartisanship

You gotta give the guy credit. When Barack Obama was campaigning, he swore that he would try to reach across the aisle and create a more bipartisan Washington.

Then, after he was elected - but before he took office - he renewed this pledge.

After he was sworn in...lo and behold...he kept his promise, attempting to forge a new coalition with the opposing party, giving the GOoPers a chance to work with him and try to heal the rifts created in the last eight years.

Well, we all see where that got him. He reached out and pulled back a stump. This means, for me, that the great bipartisan experiment is over.

Obama's a smart guy. He knows better than me that these people are not interested in working with him. They're out to get him. Embarrass him. Stop his policies from moving forward, no matter how much the public needs or wants them.

It's the same attitude Bush had when he took over from Clinton. See, Bush hated everything to do with Clinton, no matter how much sense the policy may have made, and spent the first year in office reversing Clinton's rules and dismissing all of his priorities.

Including a little thing called "keeping an eye on terrorists."

The result? Eight years of political, foreign policy and fiscal mayhem. The collapse of the financial system. 9/11. Katrina. Two unending wars. Deficits as far as the eye can see.

One of these days, and it may happen soon, Barack is going to wake up and say, "You know what? Fuck this shit! Those guys are out to get me? I'll get them. I'm from Chicago, motherfucker! Nobody messes with us."

After that, the fur will fly.

Can't wait.

Another GOoPer Shows Signs of Sanity

Susan Collins, R-Maine, has good news for Barack Obama. And he could use some, these days. From HuffPo:

A second Republican senator signaled Wednesday she's open to voting for sweeping health care legislation this year, putting President Barack Obama closer to a historic achievement that has eluded generations of Democratic leaders.

But Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told The Associated Press that the bill approved Tuesday by the Finance Committee needs substantial improvements to make coverage more affordable, contain costs and protect Medicare. Nevertheless, she joined her Maine GOP colleague Sen. Olympia Snowe in endorsing the goal of far-reaching changes.

Okay, so there's two really important pieces of news here: First, Obama has taken a step closer to passing health care reform this year. That's good. But the second bit of news is the caveat that Collins wants to make "substantial improvements" to the bill. In other words, weaken it. That's bad.

"My hope is we that can fix the flaws in the bill and come together with a truly bipartisan bill that could garner widespread support," Collins said in an interview. "I think this bill is far superior to the ones passed by the Senate (health) committee and the three House committees, but it needs substantial additional work."

The mind reels to think of what the Senate will do to gut this legislation and then, God help us, what the House will do to it once they get their hands on it.

Still and all, the news is mostly good. So I'll take it. But every time this bill passes through some committee or other, it gets watered down. What, at the end of the day, will we end up with?

No Soup(er Bowl) For You!

So Rush "Leader of the Republican Party" Limbaugh decides that he wants to join a group of investors seeking to buy the St. Louis Rams. But, as it turns out, Limbaugh's toxic personality was too much for the NFL and, it seems, his partners. From CNN:

The group of investors seeking to purchase the NFL's St. Louis Rams is dumping Rush Limbaugh from their effort after NFL executives, players and political leaders raised objections to the controversial talk show host's involvement in the bid.

Aw, poor boo-boo kitty. He isn't going to be able to play with the big boys. That's just...well, it's awful isn't it?

Sports media executive Dave Checketts, who is leading the group, announced the
decision in a statement issued Wednesday by his office. "Rush was to be a limited partner — as such, he would have had no say in the direction of the club or in any decisions regarding personnel or operations," the statement said. "This was a role he enthusiastically embraced.”

Yeah, because if it's one thing Rush loves, it's having no say in anything and not being involved in any actual decisions. Right.

"However, it has become clear that his involvement in our group has become a
complication and a distraction to our intentions; endangering our bid to keep
the team in St. Louis. As such, we have decided to move forward without him and
hope it will eventually lead us to a successful conclusion."

And that big "splash!" you hear is ol' Rush being tossed overboard.

On the bright side, it's too late for him to buy the Cubs. Maybe he should just invest his money in one of those pharmaceutical companies. I hear they have customers fairly beating down their doors...

...And Justice for All

You gotta love the American judicial system. Sometimes, boy, they get it just right:

Orly Taitz, the southern California dentist/lawyer who has filed numerous suits challenging President Obama's citizenship, yesterday was fined $20,000 by a federal judge in Georgia for using the courts "as a platform for a political agenda disconnected from any legitimate legal cause of action."

So one of these "birther" nuts is finally handed a fine for abusing the law. Beautiful. But it gets better:

The penalty was double what [Judge Clay] Land had been contemplating and merited a footnote indicating that it was the first time he could recall fining a lawyer without being asked to do so by a complaining party.

Catch that? The judge didn't respond to a complaint about the lawyer. He just got pissed off and fined the sucker. More:

In an added rebuke, Land ordered a prosecutor to look into whether Taitz's fine
could be directed to the National Infantry Foundation at Ft. Benning, Georgia,
"which has as part of its mission the recognition of our brave soldiers who do
their duty regardless of the personal sacrifice required and their own personal
political beliefs."

Ha! So - adding insult to injury - the money will go to the troops. Boo-yah!

Who is Taitz, you ask?

Taitz, of Mission Viejo, Calif, is among the highest profile birthers, a persistent, noisy and thoroughly discredited subculture of conservatives who believe Obama is ineligible to be president by virtue of circumstances connected to his birth.

Hey, Orly- you ever get in trouble over this sort of thing before?

A day after telling a political blog that the federal judge who threw out her
case was corrupt and might merit a trial for treason, leading Obama birther Orly
Taitz was slapped with a California Bar complaint alleging professional
misconduct.

Yoicks! Keep it up, Taitz! You're doing a heckuva job!

No matter what happens for the rest of the day, this will doubtless be my favorite story.

Revenge of the Cheneys

So Dick has slipped back into his undisclosed bunker and only nips out now and then to appear on a talk show or two and try to do what he can to salvage his tarnished legacy. That, you would think, would be the end of that.

After all, here's the most unpopular VP in our history, the man behind the Iraq War, Mr. Wiretap, Senor Secrecy, Shotgun McShooty...truly the definition of the wart on America's behind. You'd think slinking off would be the least he could do.

But no. See, he's got a daughter who is fixated on trying to keep the Cheney brand alive and well. And let me tell you: this chick is as moonbat-crazy as her Dad. Take it away, Liz!

Months after her father's prolonged campaign against President Obama's national
security policies, Liz Cheney is spearheading a new organization aimed at
organizing conservative opposition to the new administration's foreign policy
approach.

Really? We should go back to the good ol' days, maybe, of diplomatic arrogance, cowboy foreign policy and an attitude towards our allies around the world that amounted to standing in front of the U.N. and flipping them the bird? That's the plan, is it?

The new group, Keep America Safe, says its aim is to provide a cogent and
organized rebuttal to a series of recent moves that expressly divert from the
more muscular policies of the Bush administration. The group plans to tackle
hot-button issues like the way forward in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense
spending, CIA interrogation techniques and the planned closing of the Guantanamo
Bay detention facility.

Mmmm. Don't you love that line? "Muscular policies." Sounds great, dunnit? After all, who doesn't like a nice, manly, muscular policy? Am I getting you excited?

"We have watched with concern and dismay as the Obama administration has cut
defense spending, wavered on the war in Afghanistan, and launched investigations
into Americans serving on the front lines of the war on terror, while at the
same time expanding legal protections for the terrorists that plot to attack
this country," Cheney, along with the group's two other founders, wrote on its
Web site. "These policies, along with President Obama's abandonment of America's
allies and attempts to appease our adversaries are weakening the nation."

And, speaking for those of us on the left, Liz-baby, we have watched with concern as your father subverted the Constitution, abandoned American principles, promoted torture and was responsible for the unnecessary deaths of thousands of Americans in a pointless war of choice against a sovereign nation, among many, many other things.

In short, Liz, to quote your Dad: Go fuck yourself.

Nazi Hilarity!

You think Glenn Beck's whine that Fox News is as beleaguered as the Jews during the Holocaust is an abberation? Don't bet on it. Turns out the Republicans are ramping up the Hitler analogies to new (knee-slapping!) heights. Have a look:

The National Republican Congressional Committee has removed a tweet Tuesday that linked to a video comparing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with Adolf
Hilter.

The tweet, sent out Tuesday morning on their official Twitter account, read: "Funny Video: Moonbattery: Hitler Reacts to ObamaCare Maneuvers".

Full disclosure: Last year, during the primaries, I linked to a similar site that mocked Hillary Clinton's refusal to withdraw her candidacy and the video featured a clip from a Hitler film. Was it appropriate? No. Was it funny? Yes. Was it okay for me to do that? Maybe, maybe not. But then....I'm not the National Republican Congressional Committee, now, am I?

NRCC spokesman John Randall said Tuesday the group had made a mistake. "We
obviously made an error in linking to this video and it has been taken down,"
said Randall.

Well, duh. But if you think this is the last of the Nazi comparisons, stay tuned. More- much more- to come.

More Beck

It's an old rule of trying to make a point: If you compare someone to the Nazis, you're making a crappy argument.

Hitler, the Nazis, the Holocaust...these are the most inflammatory references you can make. They are pure, distilled evil. So when try to compare something to them, you're really doing two things- you're diminishing the significance of the horror that was the Holocaust and you're making the person you're attacking sound much more important than they are.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, going on in this country in the past half century- even George W. at his worst- compares to what the Nazis did. Not a single thing. We are, after all, talking about the deliberate destruction of six million human beings. What, honestly, can compare to that?

Well, according to Glenn Beck, President Obama's treatment of Fox News compares quite favorably to the Holocaust. Have a look:

When they're done with Fox, and you decide to speak out on something. The
old, "first they came for the Jews, and I wasn't Jewish." When you have a
question, and you believe that something should be asked, they're a -- totally
fine with you right now; they have no problem with you.

When they're done with Fox and talk radio, do you really think they're
going to leave you alone if you want to ask a tough question? Do you really
think that a man who has never had to stand against tough questions and has as
much power as he does -- do you really believe after he takes out the number one
news network, do you really think that this man is then not going to turn on
you? That you and your little organization is going to cause him any hesitation
at all not to take you out?

If you believe that, you should open up a history book, because you've
missed the point of many brutal dictators. You missed the point on how they
always start.

Charming, isn't he? Also shameless, pedantic, arrogant, whiny and downright stupid.

But we've come to expect this sort of thing from little Glenny, haven't we?

Obama Gets the Olympia!

This from CNN moments ago:

"Health care reform advocates got a major boost Tuesday as Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, a key GOP moderate, announced she will vote for the Senate Finance Committee's $829 billion health care bill."

Good for her. Just goes to show you that they ALL aren't bad guys on the other side of the aisle.

Just most of them.

The Beck Phenomenon

Oh, what a difference half a year makes. About the time I made my last blog post here at the Hood, Glenn Beck was nothing more than a lowly pundit with shitty ratings, no influence and was, in essence, an industry joke.

Now? He's the wunderkind of Fox News, the bane of the Left and...an industry joke. Still, if the joke works, you don't toss it out. You gotta go with what gets ratings, even if it's crap. "Dancing with the Stars" never lost money, did it?

So now Beck is everywhere. Whipping up the troops for the Teabagger protests, scratching his paranoid musings on a giant chalkboard like some deranged psycho in a basement contemplating a takeover by the Illuminanti and, without warning and to great histrionic effect, bursting into tears when he feels his country is in danger by that racist sumbitch Obama.

Who the hell is this clown? How in the Sam Hill does he gain followers? Who, at the end of the day, could take such an obvious, bloviating gasbag seriously?

Turns out, a lot of people. Oh, we're a gullible nation, my friends, and there isn't a leader too ridiculous to get disciples. True, Beck's "legions" are a small, tiny fraction of our great nation but...these people are coo-coo bananas. If anyone actually pulls out a gun and starts shooting at one of these rallies, you can bet that they are regular Beck watchers.

I'm serious. Guys like Beck, Hannity and Limbaugh are whipping up their supporters into a frenzy. They warn these gun-toting whack jobs that the country is in danger from Obama and then act all surprised when it is suggested that one of their kook listeners might take things into their own hands and shoot up the place someday.

Well, I'm here to tell you: the country is in danger. But it isn't necessarily from the guys with the guns. It's the guys...with the microphones.

Nine Months

So, President Obama has been in the Oval Office for almost exactly the same amount of time that it takes to make a baby, start to finish. (Though "finish" doesn't seem quite the right word. Afterwards, you're hardly "finished." But that's a discussion for another day. Now back to our regularly scheduled program:)

So...how's he doing? Well, he's already got George W. "Chimpy" Bush beat: by this time in Bush's presidency, there were two less skyscrapers in New York City and the Pentagon was in flames. But is it fair to compare Obama to Bush? Not really. Kinda like comparing a greyhound to a retarded squirrel. All attempts at comparison fail.

How about to Bill Clinton? He was a pretty good President (if you put aside all that intern-boinking business, I mean). By this time in Clinton's presidency? He was pretty much considered a failure by then, based on the press reports at the time. The "gays-in-the-military" issue really smacked him in the face from Day One and it took a long time to become Mr. Popularity. (In fact, he didn't become really REALLY popular until after the right-wing hate machine went after him and he survived his impeachment. But we don't wish that on Barack, do we?)

I guess you'd have to judge Barack on his own merits, eh? To that end: He's kicking ass. Keeping campaign promises. Reversing draconian Bush rules. Concentrating on health care reform in his first term, like he said he would. Trying to broker peace in the Middle East right up front, too (instead of in his last year like his two predecessors.) Making sure "diplomacy" is no longer a dirty word in Washington. Winning Nobel prizes. Lookin' sharp. Dressin' fine. Feelin' good.

The Chimpy stink isn't quite off the rose yet. We're still recovering from the Bush Recession and will be for some time. Climate change isn't going to be easy to combat either. And health care reform is close, but there's no bill to sign. Yet.

I'm a pretty serious Obama backer, but in the interests of fairness, I'm giving him a B+ instead of an "A." Still too much to be done by his one-year anniversary to warrant top marks.

But he's moving in the right direction, that's for damn sure. How can you tell?

The right-wing media machine wants his HEAD. That's a dead giveaway that he should keep up the good work.