Tweet of the day

Jay Mohr (@jaymohr37) on Twitter:

The first person to tell me what their actual plan is gets my vote.

Jay should really stop listening to the Obamney and Rombama camps and start listening to Gary Johnson!

by Paul on September 4, 2012 at 9:58pm | Permalink
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Alabama new No. 1 in both polls

ESPN.com news services:

NEW YORK — Alabama is the new No. 1 in both The Associated Press and USA Today college football polls, moving past USC thanks to a resounding victory against Michigan.

It’s only week 1, but this is nice to see!

by Paul on September 4, 2012 at 4:08pm | Permalink
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The Assassination of Clint Eastwood by the Coward Mitt Romney

Tom Scocca writing at Slate:

Is there anyone this campaign won’t sell out?

The Mitt Romney campaign had two things to convey about the candidate at the Republican convention: his steadfast likability as a human being, and his hyper-competence as an executive. Whatever progress they made on either front was gone by Friday afternoon, as aides tried to spin away the halting, awkward endorsement-cum-comedy sketch Clint Eastwood had delivered on Romney’s behalf.

Even if you don’t like Romney or support his politics, you’re supposed to acknowledge that he knows what he’s doing. He could have acted like he knew what he was doing. “I liked the speech,” he could have said. “I thank Clint for giving it.” Instead, we get a panicky and mean-spirited organizational freakout, with anonymous staff trying to deflect responsibility.

Regardless of whether or not you believe corporations are people, the president of the United States is a corporate entity—a staff, acting together on behalf of the orders and principles from the top. And based on this 24 hours, Mitt Romney, Inc., is a bungling, blame-shifting mess.

by Paul on September 3, 2012 at 5:16pm | Permalink
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Johnson campaign has had enough of Republican ballot shenanigans

Karl Dickey writing at Observer.com:

With word Friday that a challenge has been lodged in Ohio to try to remove Libertarian Party presidential candidate and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson’s name from the November ballot in Ohio, a senior advisor to Johnson’s campaign is charging that the national Republican Party is mounting a concerted effort to “deny citizens the right to vote for the candidate of their choice.”

Ron Nielson, senior advisor to Gov. Johnson, said the following in a statement released Friday:

“The national Republican Party may not want to publicly acknowledge the presence of a true fiscal conservative in this race, but they are certainly taking Gov. Johnson seriously enough to engage in a concerted campaign to get his name off ballots in key states before voters even get a chance to vote.

“In states across the nation, Republican operatives, lawyers, and in some cases, elected officials, are filing frivolous challenges to Governor Johnson’s ballot status. They know that even if their challenges fail, fending them off is a drain on our resources and a distraction from the real issues in this campaign. We don’t have hundreds of millions of dollars to throw around, nor do we have the Republicans’ endless supply of lawyers.

“We have dealt with many challenges in this campaign from the major parties, who clearly don’t want voters to have a viable third option in this election, but this attack on voting rights and democracy is over the top.

“Governor Johnson has made it clear that we will fight every one of these challenges and do everything in our power to be on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The prospect of a successful two-term governor who is a proven fiscal conservative and champion of social tolerance may be a thorn in the sides of the two so-called major parties, but Governor Johnson will not be deterred in his effort to give voters a real choice in November.”

by Paul on September 3, 2012 at 6:54am | Permalink
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Clint Eastwood Speaks at Republican Convention

I love Clint Eastwood; truly, he is an extremely talented artist. Furthermore, I’m not one of those people who get hung up on the political, or religious, leanings of actors, musicians, etc.

For example, I still see most every Tom Cruise or John Travolta movie even though the most sane parts of Scientography are every bit as bat-shit crazy as Mormon magic underwear, and I still watch damned-near everything that Alec Baldwin appears in even though his politics are just bug-nutty. Alec Baldwin is, by the way, a particularly apt example; I personally don’t know a single Republican who will watch any movie or television show that stars or co-stars Alec Baldwin, despite the fact that by all outward measure he is one of the very finest actors of his generation.

Be that as it may, you have to admit that Clint Eastwood was a bit of an odd choice for the Republican National Convention, no? Not that any of this matters one bit to me, for it has not the slightest bearing on the fact that Clint is an extraordinary actor and director, and a rather talented jazz pianist to boot, but: father of seven (7) children by five (5) women, and married twice (or “only” twice, depending on how you choose to look at it), his first child was born as the result of an adulterous relationship and the child was not acknowledged by Clint until 1996. His second and third children were born to his first wife, from whom he separated while starting a relationship with a married woman who provided Clint with two abortions (which would help explain why an 82 year old man is pro-choice). During the last four years of the fourteen year relationship with the married woman, Clint started another secret affair with yet another woman who bore his fourth and fifth children (in the 1980s), though Clint again refused to acknowledge paternity, this time until 2002. Clint’s sixth child was born to an actress he lived with in the early-mid 1990s, and his seventh child to his second wife, a television news anchor 35 years his junior. He’s on record recently as not giving “a fuck about who wants to get married to anybody else,” and not only is he not a Christian, but he in fact claims no religion whatsoever, though he does profess a certain reverence for nature.

Now, doesn’t that seem like a bit of a strange choice for the self-proclaimed party of “family values”?

by Paul on August 31, 2012 at 5:15pm | Permalink
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Romney wins GOP nomination

Despite the fact that more delegate votes were cast against Mitt Romney (200+) than any GOP presidential nominee since Gerald Ford in 1976, Mitt Romney was formally nominated as his party’s presidential candidate yesterday.

So, to all my friends who, for whatever reason, are still members of the GOP, I say this: keep your chins up and don’t be too depressed; sometimes life just serves you up a big ol’ Mitt sandwich and when it does, all you can really do is take a big ol’ bite knowing full-well that it’s going to taste like, well, shit…

Of course, you could always… LIVE FREE! (But that would mean you’d have to stop trying to tell everyone else how to live their lives… can you handle it?)

LIVE FREE, bitches!

by Paul on August 29, 2012 at 6:22am | Permalink
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Superman, Wonder Woman lock lips to become DC Comics’ true power couple

Associated Press:

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Wonder Woman and Superman are an item, locking lips in a passionate embrace as the pair realize that there’s no one out there like them.

The couple’s kiss is the culmination of a dramatic story in “Justice League” No. 12, which marks the first full year since DC relaunched its stable of heroes with new stories, new costumes and revised origins.

DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee, who has drawn each issue of “Justice League” since its debut, called the canoodling in Wednesday’s issue not a stunt or an alternate reality smooch.

by Paul on August 28, 2012 at 8:08am | Permalink
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Bill Nye the Science Guy: Why Creationism is Bad for Children

Speaking of Bill Nye, here’s another excellent video from Big Think wherein Bill Nye the Science Guy explains why Creationism is not appropriate for children.

by Paul on August 27, 2012 at 6:14am | Permalink
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Bill Nye, the Science Guy, Death Hoax

via Gossip Cop:

Bill Nye is the latest victim of a death hoax.

The sick rumor was started on Twitter late Sunday until a “R.I.P. Bill Nye The Science Guy” topic began trending, which in turn spawned thousands of messages mourning his supposed death.

It is 100% false.

Nye is NOT dead.

Funny thing is that Bill Nye would be one of the first people to tell kids – and it appears that it was primarily teens who fell victim to this hoax – that they should question everything and show a little skepticism about “news” they discover on the internet in the wild or by word of mouth without attribution.

by Paul on August 27, 2012 at 5:53am | Permalink
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Romney = Akin?

Ok, let’s just recap the events of the last few days.

First, Missouri Representative Todd Akin, running for Senate in that state, made statements to the effect that a woman’s body shuts down when she is legitimately raped and that this prevents pregnancy from occurring.

These statements are patently false, and are so very far from anything remotely resembling reality that one must ask the question: is this mere ignorance, willful ignorance, or plain old-fashioned stupidity?

Of course, as I’ve maintained from the beginning, my personal opinion is that this is a prime example of the Kinsley gaffe. The Kinsley gaffe is named for journalist Michael Kinsley, who said, “A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth – some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say.” I personally believe that Rep. Akin was saying what he truly believes, and what a lot of other ultra-conservative, nay fundamentalist, GOPers also believe; it’s just that no one else is dumb enough to say what they really believe on this issue in public!

In any event, the next thing that happened was that Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan rather quickly, as in within two hours, started “distancing themselves” from Rep. Todd Akin.

Then came news that the GOP would be spending $5 million set aside for Rep. Akin’s race “elsewhere”.

Then, we had news that past and present GOP leaders from Missouri were calling on Rep. Akin to quit the Missouri Senate race.

Then GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney came out and flat told Rep. Akin to accept his colleagues’ counsel and exit the Missouri Senate race.

All of which, was really kind of amazing to me. I mean, is the presidential race really that close that Romney has to personally redress each and every GOP member who sticks his foot in his mouth or makes a Kinsley gaffe, as the case may be?

Then, last night, it all became clear why Romney had such a personal interest in Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri, and his statements regarding rape and pregnancy. You see, last night, it came out that in 2007 during his Romney ’08 campaign for president, Mitt Romney not only sought, not only won, but then touted the endorsement of the notorious “rape-doesn’t-cause-pregnancy” doctor himself, Dr. John C. Willke (title links to the original Romney ’08 press release touting the endorsement).

Garance Franke-Ruta writing in The Atlantic:

The Republican presidential candidate hasn’t always avoided those who share Todd Akin’s beliefs.

Mitt Romney distanced himself Monday from embattled Missouri Rep. Todd Akin over the Republican senate candidate’s assertion that “legitimate rape” causes women to “shut down” conception.

“He should understand that his words with regards to rape are not words that I can defend, that we can defend, or that we can defend him,” Romney told WMUR during a campaign swing through New Hampshire.

But this isn’t the first time a member of the Republican Big Tent has asserted this, and in 2007 presidential candidate Mitt Romney sought and won the endorsement of the man who has since the mid-1980s promoted the scientifically baseless idea that rape doesn’t lead to pregnancy, Dr. John C. Willke.

Hailing him as “The Father Of The Pro-Life Movement” and “an important surrogate for Governor Romney’s pro-life and pro-family agenda,” the Romney for President campaign in 2007 welcomed Willke’s endorsement.

So, once again, we’re left asking questions about the veracity and integrity of Mitt Romney, not to mention his true beliefs on this most absurd and patently false matter.

by Paul on August 22, 2012 at 5:25am | Permalink
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