Monthly Archives: September 2011

Wingnuts Go Nutty on Thomas Jefferson

I just leaned that there are “Founding Fathers truthers”. Sigh. Why as the made up word “truther” signify that there is no truth behind what anyone is saying. The latest salvo from the Founding Father truthers is a new book that says that Thomas Jefferson did not father any children with Sally Hemmings.

Certain factions of “Founding Father truthers” are still unable to reconcile themselves to the generally-accepted historical and DNA evidence that white Founding Father squad captain Thomas Jefferson was perenially knocking up one of his black slaves, mostly for the twin reasons that a) as the American reincarnation of Jesus, Thomas Jefferson was not supposed to be sleeping around, and b) he was white.

Case Closed

You may remember the hubbub about climate scientist Michael Mann of Penn State. His only crime believing that humankind has caused global warming. Anywho, he’s been cleared again. You can read about it here and here and so on. Phil Plait of the Bad Astronomer blog writes:

Did I say “has been cleared”? I meant has been cleared once again, since there have been several investigations into his research and Dr. Mann has been cleared of all charges every single time (like here and here). All of this stemmed from the “ClimateGate” nonsense of the past couple of years, where leaked emails were taken hugely out of context by the press and climate change deniers, and used to smear scientists. Dr. Mann was at the center of the whole manufactured controversy, being the biggest target of the people who want to deny the Earth is warming up.

“The Tea Party Can Go Straight To Hell”

This video is being circulated around Tea Party blogs and they’re getting worried. It’s nice to see some members of Congress calling out the Tea Party for what some really are – racists. Tea baggers like Bill Colley are claiming that these Congressional leaders are calling for a race war. But, as you will see, these members of Congress are just pointing out the obvious.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG8x6X8xn3c[/youtube]

Comment Rescue: The Delusional Far Left

John Manifold points us to this article,  John Conyers Loves Obamacare. Why Do Some of His Fellow Liberals Hate the President Who Made it Happen? Yeah, it’s a long title but the post is short enough that you can read it while going through your morning emails.

Ted Kennedy couldn’t do it; it was the greatest regret of his political career. Jimmy Carter couldn’t do it. Bill Clinton came into office with both Houses of Congress in his party’s hands yet almost ruined his presidency trying to do it. President Barack Hussein Obama did it.

Yet a persistent minority of putative progressives speak of holding their nose and voting for Obama against Rick Perry, or call the President a failure, a traitor to liberalism, an icy technocrat, a heartless plutocrat, more conservative than Barry Goldwater, I could go on but I won’t.

[snip]

If someone thinks universal health care would have passed easily if not for the President’s bumbling (or corruption by industry), then that person must think he is living in France 30 years ago rather than in the United States today. If someone thinks President Obama should have won every single political battle in which he has engaged, then that person is confusing the powers of a U.S. President with those of a king. And if someone thinks that somewhere out there is a politician who would never make a mistake as president, then that person is deluded about human nature.

The Republican War on Voters

Republicans and their Tea Party contemporaries have consistently shown a disdain for the rights of people of color especially in the voting booth. Ari Berman reports on the concerted effort of Republicans throughout the United States to find ways to stop the wrong type of people from voting.

All told, a dozen states have approved new obstacles to voting. Kansas and Alabama now require would-be voters to provide proof of citizenship before registering. Florida and Texas made it harder for groups like the League of Women Voters to register new voters. Maine repealed Election Day voter registration, which had been on the books since 1973. Five states – Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia – cut short their early voting periods. Florida and Iowa barred all ex-felons from the polls, disenfranchising thousands of previously eligible voters. And six states controlled by Republican governors and legislatures – Alabama, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin – will require voters to produce a government-issued ID before casting ballots. More than 10 percent of U.S. citizens lack such identification, and the numbers are even higher among constituencies that traditionally lean Democratic – including 18 percent of young voters and 25 percent of African-Americans.

Fear and Loathing: Religious Radicals

Zack Beauchamp writes that Bachmann/Perry want “the establishment of religion in everything but name.” And Ed Kilgore writes:

Both Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry have conspicuously offered themselves as leaders to religio-political activists who, whatever their theological differences, largely share a belief that God’s Will on Earth requires the repeal of abortion rights and same-sex relationship rights, radical curtailment of government involvement in education or welfare, assertion of Christian nationhood in both domestic and international relations, and a host of other controversial initiatives.

Dick Perry Wanted to Go Bi

Way back when during a time when Dick Perry had an open mind, he said this:

Legislation authored by border legislators Pat Haggerty and Eddie Lucio establishes an important study that will look at the feasibility of bi-national health insurance. This study recognizes that the Mexican and U.S. sides of the border compose one region, and we must address health care problems throughout that region. That’s why I am also excited that Texas Secretary of State Henry Cuellar is working on an initiative that could extend the benefits of telemedicine to individuals living on the Mexican side of the border.

Oops.

Bigots Lose Battle in Tennessee

Muslims in Tennessee can build a larger mosque despite the small minds of a few via Wonkette. Said the lawyer representing the haters:

“Chancellor Corlew seems to go on and on that it’s been decided that Islam is a religion, and we take issue with that. There’s no proof in this case that Islam is a religion. There is no case law or code that Islam is a religion.”

Where Have All the Progressives Gone?

Another one bites the dust. First Dennis Kucinich and now Howard Dean. Soon all that will be left is the guy mumbling to himself outside the 7-11.

As senior strategic advisor at McKenna Long & Aldridge, a heavyweight Washington lobbying firm, Dean played a prominent role representing the biotech industry during the healthcare bill debate, staking out a position on biopharmaceutical drugs that was decried by consumer groups.

[snip]

Dean is also currently one of the most prominent paid voices in a public-relations campaign on behalf of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an obscure and controversial Iranian militant group that is aggressively lobbying the Obama administration to remove it from the official list of terrorist organizations.

Stay Calm: “My annual 100% accurate Dancing With the Stars Prediction Post” (c) will be delayed

While you wait, your fingers hovering over your bookies number in your smart phone….

Chaz Bono, the transgender daughter turned son of Cher and Sonny Bono, has been cast on this season’s Dancing With The Stars prompting all kinds of awesome comments on ABC’s message boards. Via Associated Press:

One called the casting choice “disgusting” and said “ABC should be ashamed of theirselves for harassing mainstream Americans and Christains.” (sic)

Stop harassing mainstream Americans and Christains ABC!