Doomsy's Do-Gooders And Dregs (2011 - Pt. 10)

(Back after a bit of a hiatus...Part One is here, Part Two is here, Part Three is here, Part Four is here, Part Five is here, Part Six is here, Part Seven is here, Part Eight is here, and Part Nine is here...some bad words in this post, by the way, but they're mostly quotes.)

The “So Who Exactly Does That Make You Then? Jumpin’ Jesus On A Pogo Stick?” Citation Of The Year

Repug U.S. House Rep Mike Kelly of PA compared President Obama to Pontius Pilate here.

Dregs of the Year Nominee

“Man Tan” Boehner for calling an extension of the middle class payroll tax cut “chicken shit” here (besides shaking down fat cats for dough, I always wondered if Boehner was a subject matter expert on anything else, and now, I think I know…and it’s a huge understatement to say that this would bite Boehner in the ass later)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Politifact, for this (God, I get so sick of everyone bending over backwards in the name of trying to establish fake Democratic “equivalency” when the Repugs pull stupid crap)...

…more here…

…and a “Dregs within a Dregs” citation to Bill Adair of Politifact for this in response (RJ Eskow explains why here).

Update 12/24/11: And on the subject of fake equivalency, I give you this good column from Professor Krugman.

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Poor Pizza Man Herman Cain earns a raspberry, not for suspending his campaign (which was inevitable, given the revelation of a long-running affair), but for blaming the media for doing so.

Oh sure, it was the fault of “the media” that you shoved a woman’s face into your crotch and asked her if she wanted a job (as one of my senior correspondents reported, did you know that Cain’s full name is an anagram for “Reach in Man”?).

And let’s think about what this says about Not Your Father’s Republican Party, by the way; Cain can be an abuser of women, and that apparently was OK enough for him to continue his campaign, but the moment word breaks of an adulterous affair, he has to quit…just a bit of a head scratcher there for yours truly.

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Dr. Erik Fleischman for this (h/t Atrios) – basically, this monster performed “rib-cracking CPR” on a pregnant mother in Tanzania and called his partner who involuntarily tied the woman’s tubes (making her pretty much sterile) “a hero” (and as the Feministe post tells us, Fleischman is pretty well connected, though that doesn’t make him any less of a utter pariah)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Ross Douthat of the New York Times for the stupefying, doctrinal idiocy of this column from earlier in the month, including the following (if you guessed that Douthat is making fun of liberals again, you win a free subscription to The Weakly Standard)…

Yes, Occupy Wall Street was dreamed up in part by flakes and populated in part by fantasists. But to the extent that the movement briefly captured the public’s imagination, it was because it seemed to be doing what a decent left would exist to do: criticizing entrenched power, championing the common good and speaking for the many rather than the few.

The union rallies and the Keystone demonstrations, by contrast, represented what you might call the decadent left, which fights for narrow interest groups rather than for the public as a whole.

The Wisconsin protests didn’t defend American workers’ right to bargain for their fair share of company profits, as traditional union protests have. They defended government employees’ right to negotiate with elected officials over the division of taxpayer dollars — a recipe for profligacy that even liberal icons like Franklin Roosevelt and the A.F.L.-C.I.O.’s George Meany once opposed.

This is flat-out bullshit, and the fact that Bill Keller and “The Old Gray Lady” allowed it to see print is a travesty (and publishing a right-wing lie at fifty other right-wing sites doesn’t magically change that lie into the truth, by the way).

As noted here (for about the zillionth time in the blogosphere – and yes, I still hate that word), Governor Hosni Mubarak Walker created his own budgetary distress by shoveling money out the door in the form of tax cuts for his friends. Then, crying poor mouth, he demanded that his state’s public employee unions give up their rights to collectively bargain so he could impose “austerity” (which, as noted here, was an utter con anyway). And THAT is why the protests took place.

Continuing…

Likewise, the Keystone protesters haven’t been defending “the interests of wage-earning Americans,” to borrow the historian Michael Kazin’s description of the historic purpose of the American left. They’ve been harnessing the power of the Democratic Party’s wealthy environmentalist donors to actively kill off American jobs.

Uh, no – as Think Progress tells us here…

...in late October Republican Gov. Dave Heineman (NE) called a special session of the state legislature to address his citizens’ concerns posed by the pipeline, and soon after the Republican-controlled legislature voted to reroute the pipeline so as to avoid the Sand Hills region and the Ogallala Aquifer. It is interesting to note that although TransCanada originally was strongly resistant to alternate routes for the pipeline, after the Nebraska vote the company is already working to find a new one.

Jane Kleeb, who testified today on behalf of BOLD Nebraska, further explained the position of Nebraska landowners in her testimony:

While the permit process may seem like it is taking too long, we still have no proposed route in Nebraska and no study on how tar sands affects our land, water and health. Additionally, if this oil is meant for the United States, then please make an agreement stating as much. Pass a bill saying the oil is for US consumption. It is hard to rationalize how a pipeline carrying oil across our nation to an unknown final destination can be in our national interest. We all know TransCanada and other tar sands companies need to get their oil to various ports in order to sell it to the highest bidder. In the end, we assume all the risks and none of the rewards.

Do you know how long it took for me to find the information I linked to above from HuffPo and Think Progress? About five minutes (oh, and by the way, Chunky BoBo, Heineman is a Republican).

But of course, why would Douthat try to do something like that let it get in the way of trying to propagate yet another bogus narrative about Democrats?

I think I said, earlier in these posts, that Douthat was better than Kristol Mess, who he replaced.

I now realize that that’s kind of like arguing that walking pneumonia is better than a migraine.

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Repug presidential nominee Jon Hunstman for telling “The Donald” what he can do here."here (the latter was due to “moderate” the 372nd GOP candidates debate earlier this month, though he ended up backing out…Huntsman basically said that it isn’t serious to have Trump moderate much of anything, though I don’t consider the GOP field to be really that “serious” either)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Fix “Business” for asking if The Muppets are “anti-corporate” here (just stop, OK?)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Drudgico, for naming Puppy Dog Eyes And Watch Him Steal Granny’s Medicare And Social Security Paul Ryan “health care policy maker of the year” (as Hunter at Daily Kos sez here, “Politico proves that in D.C., awards are not given on actual merit, but on what The Village cares about.” – uh, yep.)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

An eight-year-old boy known only as “Elijah” who told Moon Unit Bachmann here that “my mom is gay and she doesn’t need fixing” (appropriate in a season in which we sing “a little child shall lead them”)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The Obama Administration earns a dubious citation yet again, this time for overriding the Food and Drug Administration's recommendation to make the contraceptive Plan B available over the counter. The drug is currently available to women of all ages by prescription and over the counter to those who can prove they are at least 17 (here and here).

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius claims she is overruling the FDA because the company that asked to sell it over the counter didn't produce evidence that girls under 17 "can understand the label and use the product appropriately."

As the writer at In These Times noted, “By that logic all over-the-counter medication should be banned because people under 17 might buy it.”

OK, Mr. President, let’s talk. Just you and me for a second, OK?

Listen to me carefully; I’ll say the words slowly so there’s no misunderstanding (yes, you are a smart man, but apparently you have a bit of a mental block in this particular area).

Conservatives…will…never…support…you.

It doesn’t matter how many ridiculous positions you take like this one on “values” issues in an attempt to placate them. And no, it’s not as if they’ll dislike you because you’re African American (though that’s a bonus for their purposes, I’ll admit).

It is merely because you are a Democrat.

So let’s stop this idiotic garbage which, in point of fact, does nothing but alienate further the people who did more to elect you than anyone else.

(And by the way, there has been definitely more blame aimed at Sebelius for this, as noted here, but as far as I’m concerned, the problem on this issue starts with Number 44.)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The 14 Repug U.S. Senators who spoke out against filibusters under Former President Highest Disapproval Rating In Gallup Poll History, but apparently have no trouble with the filibuster while that “Kenyan Muslim socialist” is in the White House, as noted here (more great stuff from Think Progress)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Jim Matthews (brother of Tweety), who, as I type this, is still a Montgomery County, PA commissioner despite his recent arrest for lying to a grand jury, as noted here (he was replaced by Joe Hoeffel as chairman, Hoeffel being a far better public servant)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Recently retired Chief of Police in West Goshen, PA Mike Carroll gets credit here; he appeared in a full-page ad that appeared in the Bucks County Courier Times on December 8th criticizing Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick for his vote in support of HR 822, “a bill that would force PA to accept concealed carry permits from every other state, even if a carrier is too dangerous to be granted a permit under our own laws,” as Chief Carroll told us (more is here).

I’ve said a few times that our police and emergency medical personnel have to “get in the game” more when it comes to standing up to the NRA, because not enough private citizens will and waay too many politicians would wet themselves before they did that themselves. This is a perfect example of what I’m talking about (Is it fair to add that burden to those who serve us so bravely? No, but that’s the reality.).

Thank you, Former Police Chief Carroll (and of course, Carroll was later subjected to wingnut umbrage in the Courier Times as a result, which Carroll should wear as a badge of honor).

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

I know I’ve given President Obama a few Dregs citations here (including the one a minute ago), and I believe they’re deserved (particularly on issues of state secrets and the fact that, with the recent Defense Authorization, American citizens can now be subject to capture and “rendition” without a court order), but let’s not forget that, with all of the infantile political garbage taking place in Washington, just about entirely because of the Repugs, he has stood tall as someone who has advocated for the consumer financial protection bureau (blocked by the Repugs), the middle-class payroll tax cut (blocked by the Repugs before they finally caved), the jobs bill (blocked by the Repugs), appointing Dr. Donald Berwick to head Medicare and Medicaid services (blocked by the Repugs - he got in as a recess appointment before he had to step down), properly funding the infrastructure bank (blocked by the Repugs…anybody else besides me starting to see a pattern?), and he has even expressed his support for the “Occupy” movement here.

And though I don’t think that, by itself, trumps all of the other Dregs citations, it definitely counts in his favor and comes fairly close.

Update 1/2/12: It should be noted here that President Obama issued a signing statement to the Defense Authorization Bill saying he "will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens" (nicely done, Mr. President).

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for this (this foul ad never should have aired in the first place)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Baby Newton Leroy Gingrich gets a citation for calling the Palestinians an “invented” people who want to destroy Israel here (again, real hard for me to feel sympathy for the Palestinians since they continually turn to bad actors like Arafat and Hamas for “leadership,” but I don’t see much serious from “Bibi” and his crowd either, particularly on “right of return” and those damn settlements)

Update 1/3/12: And speaking of Baby Newton Leroy, I think this is absolutely precious (hat tip to one of my senior correspondents).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

The amount of wankerific garbage generated by John Harwood of the New York Times is virtually endless, so I have to pick my spots carefully; here, he said the following recently…

In part, these decisions reflect every president’s obligation to take up some fights but not others, to gratify core supporters most of the time but selectively challenge them in the name of reaching a wider audience. President George W. Bush roiled his base on education, Medicare and bailouts while doggedly advancing conservative goals on taxes and national security.

Concerning Dubya and “national security,” I give you the following (if I didn’t know better, I’d swear Harwood was on hallucinogenic drugs when he wrote that – and yes, I’m going to keep reminding him of that because, no, he has not apologized, nor do I expect him to at this point).

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Former Reaganite Bruce Bartlett for this, including the following...

“Basically we’re still stuck in the situation we were three years ago and we haven’t made any progress at all except that our problems are much worse because of political reasons, because we now have a crazy party in charge of one of the Houses of our Congress and they won’t allow anything to happen because it’s in their vested interest to make things worse,” Bartlett explained in his typically exasperated way. “Plus they have a theory that is completely nuts…. I’m very depressed....The most we can hope for is that a complete crazy person like Newt Gingrich gets the Republican nomination, the Republicans lose so badly that they lose control of the House and don’t get control of the Senate and then maybe in a year we can finally talk about doing something rational...”

Actually, there are a lot of people in this country who don't have a year to wait, but I'll give Bartlett points for speaking truth to stupid anyway.

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The National Lawyers Guild (which, otherwise, seems to be a commendable organization) recently held a phone conference at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia with convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal (who also, astonishingly, is a “VP” of the group) on the occasion of the commutation of Abu-Jamal’s death sentence to life in prison (basically, untold sums of money would have been spent to retry Abu-Jamal and try to obtain a death penalty verdict, but Philadelphia DA Seth Williams – wisely, I think, and with the blessing of Maureen Faulkner, the widow of Officer Daniel Faulkner, who Abu-Jamal murdered – decided not to retry the case and accept the life sentence instead).

Why the National Lawyers Guild treats Abu-Jamal as anything besides pond scum is something I cannot imagine (and as much as I hate to give Mikey the Beloved credit for anything, I have to give him a Do-Gooder citation for writing a letter in protest to the NLG, as noted here).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Scott Bennett, a 45-year-old resident of Brookville, PA, who had an obituary published for his mom so he could get bereavement time from his job; the problem was that his mother was still alive, which he apparently knew (here...I can appreciate how important it is to hang onto a job and to cover yourself when asking for time off, but this move is still ridiculous)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Russell Simmons here, for buying up the remaining ad time for the program “All-American Muslim” that was dropped by Lowe’s after the hardware giant panicked when (presumably) their customers decided they didn’t like the program because the Muslims weren’t portrayed as bloodthirsty terrorists (and definitely a Dregs citation to Lowe’s, a store that I otherwise have patronized…and yes, I’m rethinking that)

…and with that in mind…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock along with all of the other corporate numbskulls who pulled their advertising from the program “All-American Muslim” as noted here, under pressure from a typical “values” group because the Muslims weren’t SCARY enough, I guess (and a Do Gooder citation to all of the companies who kept their advertising on the program, basically telling the group of hateful bigots called the “Florida Family Association” to stick it, as opposed to Niblock and company who utterly caved)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

PA State Senator (and my own, sadly) Chuck McIlhinney for this (re: “voter fraud”)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

No, this isn’t a misprint – Crazy Tom Coburn gets it for this (uh – thanks?)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

Robert Pear and Jennifer Steinhauer (and really, by extension, Bill Keller) for the following propaganda from the New York Times (here)…

WASHINGTON — Defying a veto threat from President Obama, the House on Tuesday passed a bill extending a cut in Social Securitypayroll taxes for 160 million Americans for another year. But the Democratic majority in the Senate vowed to reject the measure because of objections to other provisions, including one to speed construction of an oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast.

The 234-to-193 vote set the stage for negotiations between the House and the Senate that were likely to continue into the weekend.

The vote was a victory for Speaker John A. Boehner.

Really, New York Times? A “victory”?

After you get through about ten or so paragraphs of Republicans boilerplate and self-congratulation in this supposedly hard-news story, you learn the following…

…Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, said the bill was “loaded up with goodies to mollify the extreme right wing that is in charge of this House.” And the No. 2 House Democrat, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, urged his caucus to vote no.

“This is a partisan bill sticking a finger in the eye of those who disagree with the policies included, simply for the purpose of energizing a small political base in their party,” Mr. Hoyer said.

Republicans “included things that clearly are unacceptable to the president,” like the (Keystone XL) pipeline, Mr. Hoyer said. “They know this is not going to pass the Senate.”

Want to know more about Boehner’s supposed “victory”? The following was larded up on the bill sent to the Senate with no hope of passage (from here)…

…whether to bar the District (of Columbia) from spending tax money on abortions for low-income women. Also at issue are whether to include language to reverse a decision by Obama to make it easier for Americans to visit relatives in Cuba and whether to include a provision to block new standards for incandescent light bulbs.

Joan McCarter of Daily Kos considers all of this “stupid, Republican ideological shit,” and I completely agree. But as far as the Times is concerned, this is still a Boehner “victory” (though I grudgingly have to admit that this is a “victory” also for Boehner and company, though definitely not for the “99 percent,” as noted here - yet another "cave" by the Democrats).

And funny, but I cannot recall any similar “victories” by the Democrats (at least, as reported by the Old, Gray Lady) when they legislated against the petulant, idiotic will of Former President Highest Disapproval Rating In Gallup Poll History.

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The Vermont (ugh) chapter of fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon gets a dubious mention here; it has been suspended for passing out a survey to its members that asked questions including, “If I could rape someone, who would it be?”

Which is particularly appalling in light of this…

…and all of which, sadly, is timely in light of this…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Joseph Amendola, the attorney for former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been accused on multiple charges of rape of young boys, for saying here that those decrying Sandusky should call 1-800-REALITY; in addition to being an idiotically snide remark, that is also the number for a gay phone sex line (of course, we already know that Sandusky is almost too monstrous for words and deserves every little bit of what awaits him in prison)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Obama AG Eric Holder for this (I asked about this earlier – good for him for following up)

I'm not sure if I'll finish this up next time or not, but I'll give it my best shot.

Thursday PM Stuff

Uh oh, it looks like somebody got spanked (here) – and by the way, how dumb does Mikey the Beloved now look for this…



…and I’ll put up what I think is a clever parody of that Christmas tune, the original of which I will never feature here…



…though I always get a bit of a chuckle out of this…



…and I always liked this version; kind of neck-and-neck with the one by Ed Ames (I hope she’s OK).

Thursday AM Stuff

Hey Democrats, this is how it’s done; try fanning out to all the news networks with initials for names and beating the Repugs over the head with an actual issue the way that bunch does to you over phony ones…



…and isn’t it amazing how far some people will go in a desperate effort to try and remain relevant (more here)?

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

Wednesday Later PM Stuff

I thought this was pretty good, assuming it buffers OK...

How The Gingrich Stole Christmas narrated by Paul F. Tompkins from Paul F Tompkins

...and it bears repeating that that little stunt by Mikey The Beloved today has everything to do with placating the racist sign and funny hat crowd, a bunch that utterly terrifies our wet noodle PA-08 U.S. House Rep...



...on a seasonal note, here is a number from Sweet Baby James...



...and I'm sure "yule" swing with this one - get it?

Wednesday Early PM Stuff

Of all of Mikey The Beloved’s most infamous moments in Congress, this should rise unceremoniously to the top…



...and here’s a little reminder about our PA-08 rep, who insists he isn’t a “career politician.”

Tuesday Stuff

Louise Slaughter provided what I thought was a pretty good response to this morning’s propaganda from Mikey the Beloved that appeared from his PR service on the matter of the middle class payroll tax cut (the only thing these jokers are going to understand – Boehner and his pals I mean – is to vote them back to the minority, or out of Congress altogether, next November)…



…”Worst Persons” (Cassie Wright, this week’s president of the University of Texas College Republicans, brings teh stupid alleging that Number 44 uses drugs, she of course being the replacement for the person in that role who thought an attempted assassination of the president was a joke – what truly great Americans; the NRA “news” team takes the runner-up for doing their part to perpetuate the dreaded “war on Christmas”…yes, there were indeed howls of outrage here in the “boonies” of Bucks County when the Courier Times, that model of journalistic propriety – snark – changed the “Give a Christmas” fund to the “holiday” fund…must be nice to be able to preoccupy yourselves with such drivel; but Hosni Mubarak Walker and his little sock puppet in that commercial of his take top “honors,” and Keith tells us why)…



...and this little number goes out to everyone celebrating the festival of lights beginning tonight...



...and this really isn't meant as a response, but I came across it and thought it was pretty good (once more, a seasonal offering).

Monday Stuff

(Tomorrow looks shaky for Do-Gooders and Dregs – I’ll try for Wednesday.)

Kudos to Lt. Dan Choi for standing up on behalf of Bradley Manning here…



…and I was wondering if and when any protest songs would be coming out over this year’s developments; even though I guess this is an “homage,” it works for me…



...and Seth MacFarlane is a genius in any season, but particularly now…



…and here’s a seasonal favorite from a guy who didn’t need no stinkin’ music videos.

Sunday Stuff

Here is something secular for the season…



…and here is something sacred.

Saturday Stuff (update)

I hope that bastard Chuck McIlhinney in the PA Senate (here) is watching this (more here)…



Update 12/18/11: And I suppose this idiot thinks what McIlhinney and company are doing is just fine (here).



…and yeah, I guess this is sick and twisted – cool (more here)…



…but what would the season be without this?...



…and speaking of sick and twisted…

Friday Stuff

If she were running in P8-08, I guarantee that she’d have my vote…



…and I thought this was a great debunking of Baby Newton Leroy’s code language (h/t Atrios)…

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

…and tomorrow is an international day of support for Pfc. Bradley Manning; K.O. tells us more in an interview with Daniel Ellsberg of the "Pentagon Papers"…



…and there is humor, and there is the immortal Bill Hicks…



…and ya’ gotta love those holiday traditions…



…and I thought I’d mix up the seasonal stuff a bit with this little number (trying not to think about last night’s Shatner clip as I watch this – yes, I know it was a joke).

Doomsy's Do-Gooders And Dregs (2011 - Pt. 9)

(Part One is here, Part Two is here, Part Three is here, Part Four is here, Part Five is here, Part Six is here, Part Seven is here, and Part Eight is here.)

(Also, I'm going to try and break these up into smaller posts, since I may have a challenge finishing this by the end of the year, for what it's worth.)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Radio host Lisa Simeone, who was fired from her show by NPR for participating in the “Occupy Wall Street” protest here (and a Dregs citation to that supposedly liberal broadcasting network for doing so)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

“Democratic” U.S. Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas for this…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

“Sergeant Pepper Spray” Anthony Bologna – looks like his poor widdle feelins are just hurt soooo bad (cry me a river, jackwad...here)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Iraq war vet Scott Olsen, who joined the Occupy Oakland movement and was critically injured by police here, suffering a fractured skull when mayor Jean Quan approved the jackbooted tactics to roust the protesters (and of course Quan gets a Dregs citation also – as of early December, Olsen had returned to the Occupy Oakland protest…what courage)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Journalist Caitlin Curran gets a nod for assisting the “Occupy Wall Street” movement by helping them with a sign and making a pitch to the producers of WNYC’s public radio show “The Takewaway” to use it for a segment she wanted to do on the protests – not only was she fired from the network and her show (just like Lisa Simeone...ummm, what part of the word “public” in the phrase “public radio show” does WNYC not understand?), but the show ended up using her idea and twisting it in a way favorable to the institution she was trying to hold to account…your “liberal media” at work again, people, here – and yes, WNYC earns a Dregs citation as well.

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The Loudon County, VA Republican Party for this, timed for Halloween (imagine the outcry if lefties did something like this to Bushco)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominees

The six senators behind this (I can think of no legislation more important, nor legislation facing more formidable hurdles)…

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

I never expected to take note of DC Circuit Court Judge Laurence Silberman this way, but he deserves it for this…

Do Gooder of the Year Nominees

The 275,000 individuals who signed a petition here calling for MSNBC to, finally, at long last, dump Pat Buchanan’s sorry ass (long past time for “Uber Alles” to be shown the door)

Update 1/9/12: If this is true, then, wow (long past overdue, though, but still surprising...I didn't think Phil Griffin had it in him).

Update 1/11/12: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The 2,000 or so Penn State students in “Happy Valley” PA who rioted here in response to the firing of legendary football coach Joe Paterno in November (even if they rioted in response to the sex abuse allegations against former coach Jerry Sandusky that Paterno helped cover up – and actually, the riots were apparently in anger that Paterno was dismissed – it was still the wrong thing to do from a school where some alums never miss an opportunity to communicate to the world how much better they think they are than everybody else because that’s where they received a college education)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

Sticking with sports, the Philadelphia Eagles get it for deactivating wide receiver DeSean Jackson for a November game against the Arizona Cardinals for missing a team meeting the day before.

To which I say – duuuhh??!!

Fine him for missing a meeting if you want. Don’t have him start the game – whatever.

But deactivating your most potent offensive weapon for missing a meeting?

Oh, and the formerly 2-6 Cardinals ended up winning the game 21-17.

…

Butt-heads, the whole sorry lot (And for God’s sake, Andy Reid, please don’t say in response that you “have to do a better job.” That was established years ago already.)

And by the way, partly as a result of this, the Eagles now have to deal with another pouting athlete. Am I saying they should give in? No. But they do need to manage these situations better (see T.O. and Donavan McNabb).

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Former legal advisor to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan (Dan Siegel by name) for this (emphasis on former)…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Bill (Maybe He Should Attend A Play) Orally for this (re: his book contained so many factual errors on our 16th president that it was banned from the exhibit at Ford's Theater, though apparently it is available in the gift shop, next to the toy Civil War soldiers and the "Lincoln Logs," I'm sure)…

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Retired Philadelphia Police captain Ray Lewis for sympathizing with the Occupy Wall Street protesters here

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Laurene Pierce, President of the College Republicans at University of Texas, for this (i.e.., joking about shooting Obama at about the same time some nut arrested in PA took two shots at a White House window – by the way, I saw from the Democratic Underground I think that Obama gets about 30 death threats a day…dear God)…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, the person responsible for this…



…more here…

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The law firm of Stephen L. Baum, the “foreclosure mill” that featured employees dressed as homeless people for Halloween (what fun), earns a dubious mention; turns out that, for this and other reasons, the firm will close (here…so maybe some of the employees won’t have to play “dress up” to find out how some of the “99 percent” lives after all).

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber for this

Dregs of the Year Nominee

AIG’s Hank Greenberg – words fail, truly (the very definition of hubris, I would guess...here)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Fix Noise humanoid Megyn Kelly for this – if you think it’s just a “food product,” then try applying some to yourself, hon, preferably directly into your utterly soulless eyes (and it’s almost not even worth it to reply to Falafel Bill...here)

Megyn Kelly Pepper Spray Thanksgiving - watch more funny videos

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Repug NLRB member Brian E. Hayes, who apparently is going to resign so the board does not have a three-member quorum to implement election rules and thus prevent the growth of unions (here - typical)

…more here…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Bill Looman, who owns U.S. Cranes, LLC in Waco, Georgia (of course) – as noted here, this rocket scientist posted a sign saying he won’t hire anyone “until Obama is gone” (if there’s any justice, Looman will be gone soon and not Number 44…Looman’s company anyway)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Kansas high school student Emma Sullivan, not necessarily for saying that that state’s governor Sam Brownback “blows” (though you could argue that he does, so to speak), but for standing her ground when Brownback’s staff demanded an apology and the school tried to discipline her (here...and as much as I hate to give Brownback credit for anything, I should do so here to be fair when he said that his staff overreacted and that Sullivan’s free speech was protected)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Former Bush Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson for this (if Andrew Ross Sorkin felt any shame, he would find a way to edit “Too Big To Fail” and thus make Paulson look not quite as heroic as Sorkin made him out to be)

The “Sorry, Mommy, I Thought I Had The Safety On – I Apologize For Splattering Donner’s Brains All Over The Mistletoe” Citation

Here

Dregs of the Year Nominee

New Hampshire Repug (of course) House Speaker William O’Brien for this…

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Nick Hanauer, a successful venture capitalist as Think Progress tells us, for this…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Every U.S. House Repug except Walter Jones of N.C. (including Mikey the Beloved) for passing this atrocity of a bill banning public funding from political campaigns (going absolutely nowhere in Congress…the GOP non-jobs agenda staggers on)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Ryan Howard of the Phillies for this…

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Gerard Arpey, departing CEO of the now-bankrupt American Airlines – not giving him credit for failure here, but for refusing to take a severance package after 30 years with the company…

“I believe it’s important to the character of the company and its ultimate long-term success to do your very best to honor those commitments (to the company’s employees and holders of its stock and debt),” (Arpey) said. “It is not good thinking — either at the corporate level or at the personal level — to believe you can simply walk away from your circumstances.”

I’m not the biggest fan of former Dem Senator David Boren (though he’s a titan of intellect and morality compared to his slimy son), but I think the elder Boren was spot-on when he said “This country would be so much better off if we had more people who had Gerard Arpey’s sense of responsibility and character as well as ability.”

More later...

Thursday Stuff

Noted anti-unionist Walt Disney died on this day 45 years ago (based on this, though, it looks like a settlement between Disney workers and management was just hammered out a few days ago)…



…and “’tis the season” for this too, unfortunately (here)…



…turning to more seasonal stuff, I guess it’s too late for anybody to “beam Mr. Shatner outta here”…



…and here is an “oughts-era” tale.

Wednesday Stuff

“What on earth is the President doing” indeed, to say nothing of House Democrats (here)…



…”Worst Persons” (Australian communications minister Stephen Conroy, a guy who apparently is big on censoring those darn Internet tubes for just about anything, lets fly with an “F” blast – have fun polishing the windows of your glass house; Fix Noise collectively gets second place for another incorrect graphic display, this one an attempt to ridicule Willard Mitt Romney – seriously, are they even trying anymore; but Joseph Farah of World Nut Daily takes top “honors” for a stunt that, as far as I’m concerned, defines the term EPIC FAIL – I can’t do justice describing it)…



...and the thought of "skating away" appeals to me this time of year also...



...and does anyone have a bicarbonate of soda?

Doomsy's Do-Gooders And Dregs (2011 - Pt. 8)

(Part One is here, Part Two is here, Part Three is here, Part Four is here, Part Five is here, Part Six is here, and Part Seven is here.)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Guy Petroziello, editorial page editor of the Bucks County Courier Times, gets a mention here, and I need a minute to set this up.

Petroziello published a Letter to the Editor from Bucks County Repug Committee Chair Pat Poprik in September in which she criticized the Democrats for the PA Voter Assistance Office boondoggle last year, which appeared to be a ham-handed attempt by the Dems and the campaign of former rep Patrick Murphy to ensure that absentee ballots were sent to one location (the actual office apparently did not, and does not, exist). However, no illegality has ever been proven, and to date no one has been charged.

However, I happen to know that Petroziello will not allow any mention, in a Letter to the Editor, Vent or Guest Opinion, of the Rob Ciervo/Mike Fitzpatrick voter fraud letter from about the same timeframe last year, in which the parents of college students were told to send absentee ballots to the residences of the students at their campuses, creating confusion about which addresses should be written on the actual ballots (if the college residence is shown on the ballot instead of the voting district residence, the ballots are discarded). And this is the case even though the Ciervo/Fitzpatrick letter was reported by his own newspaper! Oh, and did I mention that college students primarily (but not always) vote for Democrats?

The house organ of “Mikey The Beloved” strikes again.

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Conservative comedian (I can never figure out if that’s redundant or a contradiction) Eric Golub for referring to liberals here as “special needs children”; he was opening up for a speech by Palin, apparently, who of course will never criticize conservatives for mocking the handicapped (oh, but Rahm Emanuel and his oh-so-awful “temper” is just SOOO BAD for referring to someone as “retarded,” isn’t he?)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Former Philadelphia Eagles kicker (and All-Pro) David Akers, for thanking Eagles fans here with a billboard that he paid for as he departed for San Francisco, where he signed with the 49ers (and the Eagles remain an utterly amateur organization for continuing to boot experienced veterans out the door when they could provide leadership to younger players; coach Andy “I Will Never Win A Super Bowl, Though I’ve Conned This Ownership Into Thinking I Will” Reid’s remarks after Akers missed two kicks in a playoff game against Green Bay earlier this year were particularly classless, especially considering that Akers found out that his little girl was suffering from a malignant tumor before the game…Green Bay ended up winning the Super Bowl; I don’t think two missed kicks would have ended up making a difference – hopefully Akers will receive the professional respect from the 49ers that the Eagles refused to give him here…by the way, as of this month, the 49ers lead the AFC West and Akers is having another Pro Bowl year, and the Eagles have about a hair’s width of a chance of making the playoffs after they “crashed and burned” despite all of the Philly “Dream Team” media hype...another "pigskin pick" shortly)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Repug U.S. House Rep Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee earns a mention – I’ll need a minute to set this up also.

As Daily Kos tells us, federal agents raided the Gibson guitar company last month looking for illegally imported exotic woods. The raid followed one in 2009; no charges have yet been filed but the cases are ongoing.

And as a follow up to that...

(Blackburn) invited (Gibson Guitar CEO Henry) Juszkiewicz as her guest at Obama's jobs speech on 9/8, to make the point that, by enforcing laws inconvenient to Gibson Guitar, Obama is creating a bad environment for jobs.

As DK also tells us, “According to a law passed in 2008, prior to the Obama presidency, it is illegal to import wood that was illegally exported from its country of origin. Gibson Guitar was found doing exactly that, and was raided for further evidence. And this…is evidence that Obama is somehow overreaching. By enforcing laws passed under George W. Bush.” (and more from Captain Clueless in a minute, by the way)

As long as Moon Unit Bachmann continues to take up space in the U.S. House, Blackburn will never have to worry about being the stupidest Republican in that entire body. However, that really isn’t anything to brag about, is it?

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The National Football League earns a dubious mention for scheduling a full slate of games on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 (so let me get this straight – they were prepared to delay the season as a result of the players’ lockout in the event that a new collective bargaining agreement had not been reached, but they decided not to do that to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the worst foreign-based terrorist attack this country had ever seen).

As far as I’m concerned, the anniversary should have been a day of reflection and remembrance only; probably puts me in the minority, but so be it. Yes, I realize people probably went through that exercise in their own way within themselves, and that’s fine. However, there’s still a ton of information about the attacks, to say nothing of the aftermath, that we should remember and reflect on also (Rachel Maddow and Richard Engle of NBC News hosted a bunch of programs in this vein in the two weeks leading up to the remembrance; everyone else should have also…and a Do Gooder citation within this one goes to the New York Times for publishing a great remembrance section on the anniversary).

Would it have really killed the NFL to start the season on the week of 9/18 instead? I think not.

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Anyone mad at NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg for deciding not to have any religious figures at the 9/11 10th anniversary observance at the WTC site; see, if you really wanted leaders of the religious faiths of all of the victims, that would include a Muslim or two also…and I would guess that more than a few of the people complaining about Bloomberg’s decision also helped raise the hue and cry over the “ground zero mosque” also, and Bloomberg probably decided that he didn’t want to deal with the whole mess…I can’t blame him (though Bloomberg would definitely not cover himself in glory in response to OWS later, which I’ve pointed out before I know)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Dubya, for claiming any credit whatsoever for bin Laden’s death (here...what a pathetic, venal little nothing of a human being; under this logic, or what passes for it, Bill Clinton should get credit too since he was hunting bin Laden before Dubya supposedly was)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

That sleazy weasel Eric Cantor for calling for cuts to first responders in exchange for emergency disaster aid on the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 here (there are actually human beings who, I suppose, manage to sleep at night even though they voted for this cretin – beyond belief...also for this)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominees

The job search web site Indeed.com, for banning job listings that discriminate against unemployed job seekers (here)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

Sen. Mr. Elaine Chao and “Eye Doctor” Rand Paul for thinking that their teabagger cred is more important than the health and well being of their constituents; as noted here, they both oppose President Obama’s American Jobs Act, and all the while, a major federal bridge connecting their state with Ohio (or Indiana – not sure) is closed due to “potentially serious and catastrophic” structural cracks (of course, Obama’s Act would put people to work fixing it – looks like something else besides the notions of government from these two nitwits is defective…but then again, Kentucky voters, somebody elected them – take a look in the mirror)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Federal Judge Christopher C. Conner of Pennsylvania ruled here that the individual mandate in the health care law is “unconstitutional” (commerce clause, commerce clause…how many stinking times do I have to keep repeating it?).

Why do I have a big, ugly picture of “Activist” Hangin’ Judge JR making new law and torpedoing the whole damn thing when it eventually gets to him?

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Claudia Rendon for this (and I'm curious to find out the employer who treated her so shabbily - no wonder they don't want that information to be known)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Ron Paul, at long last, for this – when it comes to political hypocrisy, I don’t know how you can get any lower (and hopefully I never will)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Federal Judge Marcia G. Cooke gets it for blocking a Florida law that forbids doctors from asking patients about whether or not they own a firearm here; Judge Cooke quite rightly claimed that the law violates the First Amendment speech rights of the doctors (of course, Lex Luthor Scott will appeal…another waste of taxpayer funds, but hey, people actually elected this meat sack – I keep saying that about these clowns because it’s always true).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Pat Robertson, for saying that Alzheimer’s somehow makes divorce OK here (no doubt taken from a passage included in the Book of Hypocrisy, Chapter 11, Verses 6:8)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominees

The Foo Fighters, for turning the tables on Fred Phelps and his gang of hateful, bigoted freaks, otherwise known as the Westboro Baptist Church, here (serenading them on a flatbed pickup truck dressed as hillbillies, right in front of one of their little protests – genius!)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The board of directors of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency get a dishonorable mention for awarding $750,000 in public funds to Brooklyn-based artist Tom Otterness to make 59 bronze sculptures of the “cartoonish characters he now makes” for a local subway station (here).

What could possibly be wrong with this? It turns out that in 1977, Otterness made a short film in which he shot and killed a dog he adopted from an animal shelter under the guise of “art.” And somehow the agency didn’t know this apparently when they gave Otterness the funds.

I’m sure another round of wingnut “humor” bashing San Francisco as a supposed bastion of liberal decadence was spawned over this. Nice work (at least San Francisco mayor Ed Lee has put the project on hold pending an investigation – h/t John at Eschaton).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Sen. Charles (“Muffin Man”) Grassley for this (and a dishonorable mention to Repug U.S. House Rep Ted Poe also...and does it need to be pointed out yet again that this turned out to be a wingnut "scandal" about absolutely nothing?)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

As noted here, cross-country runner Josh Ripley participated in a contest in Andover, MN in September; he was running the course when he heard a scream from another injured runner, Mark Paulauskas of Lakeville South.

Every other runner passed Paulauskas by, but not Ripley. So what did Ripley do? He turned and carried Paulauskas a half mile back to the starting line, which was a good thing because Paulauskas had been accidentally spiked by another runner on the course, and he needed to be taken to a nearby ER to get 20 stitches to stop the bleeding (he also needed to be fitted for a walking boot). After carrying the injured runner back, Ripley, though winded, still found a way to turn around and run the course, finishing the race.

So Ripley did a good deed and still somehow found the stamina to participate in the run. Nice work.

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Stephen Hill, serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, for “coming out” in front of the Repug presidential candidates beauty pageant on 9/22 here (and Dregs citations both to the audience who actually booed Hill and the Repug presidential candidates for not both supporting Hill and telling the audience that they’re homophobic idiots)

Dregs of the Year (Maybe The Millennia) Nominee

Judge Edith Jones of the U.S Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for this (wow)…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Yes, I can picture the scolding I’ll get for this and snide derision about “the professional left” once more, but President Obama has to get it for the sale of bunker-buster bombs to Israel (h/t profmarcus – I guess this is the “geopolitik” approach from the Obama White House while also pressuring Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians over settlements, but I still think it stinks)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Rose Marie Belforti – as this New York Times story tells us, she is the…

…elected town clerk in this sprawling Finger Lakes farming community (Ledyard, N.Y.) and a self-described Bible-believing Christian. She believes that God has condemned homosexuality as a sin, so she does not want to sign same-sex marriage licenses; instead, she has arranged for a deputy to issue all marriage licenses by appointment.

…

Ms. Belforti, represented by a Christian legal advocacy group based in Arizona, the Alliance Defense Fund, is arguing that state law requires New York to accommodate her religious beliefs.

“New York law protects my right to hold both my job and my beliefs,” she said in an interview last week, pausing briefly to collect $50 from a resident planning to take 20 loads of refuse to the town dump. “I’m not supposed to have to leave my beliefs at the door at my government job.”

But the couple, Deirdre DiBiaggio and Katie Carmichael of Miami, are arguing that the law requires all clerks in New York to provide marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The couple are being represented by a liberal advocacy organization, People for the American Way, based in Washington.

“Gay people have fought so long and hard to get these civil rights,” said Ms. Carmichael, 53, a filmmaker. “To have her basically telling us to get in the back of the line is just not acceptable.”

In response, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says…

“When you enforce the laws of the state, you don’t get to pick and choose,” he said this summer. And the State Health Department issued a memorandum to clerks that refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples would be a misdemeanor.

Uh, yep.

So obey the damn law, OK? (h/t Atrios).

...on the other hand...

Dregs of the Year Nominee

New York Mayor Andrew Cuomo for this (he definitely should know better)

Dregs of the Year Nominee (Commemorative “Look Out Kid, It’s Something You Did…God Knows When, But You’re Doing It Again” Citation)

A certain R. Zimmerman – as noted here…

Bob Dylan faced uncomfortable questions Wednesday over several paintings in a New York exhibition by the prolific singer-songwriter that appear to have been copied directly from other artists' photographs.

The paintings are part of a show at the Gagosian Gallery titled "The Asia Series," billed as "a visual reflection on his travels in Japan, China, Vietnam, and Korea."

According to the Gagosian, the art work, which went on display earlier this month, shows how Dylan "is inspired by everyday phenomena in such a way that they appear fresh, new, and mysterious."

But Dylan watchers and an article in The New York Times highlight another mystery behind the exhibition: that several paintings supposedly reflecting Dylan's globe-trotting artistic career are nearly identical to already published photographs.

If Dylan used images of other artists, that’s fine as far as I’m concerned. All I (and others I’m sure) care about is that he acknowledge that. After all, it’s not as if most of them (I would guess) are going to come anywhere close to approaching him when it comes to celebrity status; maybe a plug from Dylan would help their careers or their recognition in the art world.

Otherwise, as somebody once wrote, “all the truth in the world adds up to one big lie.”

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Skank of America, as Bill Maher calls it; I actually was going to give them a pass on this because they had company in adding their onerous debit card monthly “swipe” fees along with other financial miscreants like Wells Fargo (B of A is going with $5 a month, and W.F. is going with $3 a month in some southern states, which means that, like a lot of other bad ideas from below that Mason-Dixon line, it will be nationwide soon enough).

But no, Skank gets it for the following supposed justification…

The bank, the largest in the nation by assets, blamed its decision on the so-called Durbin Amendment, a provision of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law put into place by Democrats in 2010 that set limits on the fees banks could charge retailers for swiping their debit cards.

Bank of America said the economics of debit cards has been altered by the fee limit, which will take effect Oct. 1. Banks say the fees go to pay indirect costs of providing debit cards, such as fraud and overdraft protection.

In response, Dick Durbin said the following…

“It seems that old habits die hard for Bank of America,” Durbin said in response to the new policy. “After years of raking in excess profits off an unfair and anti-competitive interchange system, Bank of America is trying to find new ways to pad their profits by sticking it to its customers.

“It’s overt, unfair and I hope their customers have the final say.”

I hope so too (sigh...also, Dregs citations to CEO Brian Moynihan for this and this).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Repug U.S. House Rep Randy Forbes (here)…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times, who estimated here that there were only “80” protestors at the “Occupy Wall Street” protests, presumably across the country (try thousands, numb nuts…oh, and way to suck up to the criminals responsible for the catastrophic state of our economy the way you did in that book and movie of yours – another thing: I’m still waiting for your apology to Paul Krugman for saying that Krugman wanted to nationalize the U.S. banks, which was a flat-out lie)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

There are lots of reasons to give it to Charles and David Koch, but as noted here…

A Bloomberg Markets investigation has found that Koch Industries -- in addition to being involved in improper payments to win business in Africa, India and the Middle East -- has sold millions of dollars of petrochemical equipment to Iran, a country the U.S. identifies as a sponsor of global terrorism.

Why do Charles and David Koch hate America? And yes, I’m asking that question with total seriousness.

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Moon Unit Bachmann, for replying, when a talk radio caller said he’d vote for Charles Manson over Obama, “hey, thank you for saying that” (what a pinecone…the correct answer is “even if you don’t like President Obama, it’s utterly disgusting to mention him in the same breath as one of this country’s most notorious mass murderers” – imagine the howls of outrage, which would be justifiable, if a lefty said something like that about Dubya...here)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Hank Williams, Jr. gets it for comparing Obama to Hitler here (God, that’s so 2009, dude). Oh, and as a result, that dumb song of his that led into “Monday Night Football” was dropped (tee hee…what an asshat, to say nothing of an unworthy namesake to your old man…and yes, he apologized, but I’m tired of idiots like him saying preposterous crap like this about Obama and then saying “oops, sorry if people were offended,” instead of saying “oops, I’m a freaking idiot for saying it in the first place”).

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for this (and best wishes to his wife in her recovery from breast cancer)

Dregs of the Year Nominee (Commemorative, “Hey, I’ve Got A New App Called ‘Hyperbole 4.0’” Citation)

Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple Computer with Steve Jobs (who passed away in October, of course), compared Jobs’ death to the assassinations of JFK and John Lennon here (ummm, no...Jobs had been in poor health for some time and benefitted from the very best our for-profit health care system in this country has to offer; the other two were calamitous acts of sudden violence that shocked the world and have reverberated for decades, and will probably continue to do so).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Right-wing nut job (redundant?) Laura Ingraham for this…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

It should be noted that the performance of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during the “Occupy Wall Street” protests starting in September has been particularly awful (pointing that out yet again, I know); not a word of reproach aimed at “Sergeant Pepper Spray” who snuck up on two women protestors behind a barricade and attacked them when they weren’t looking (the officer then did his best to disappear into the crowd), not a word of reproach at the NYC police officers who arrested some of the OWS crowd that tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge without warning them not to do so in traffic lanes, and finally, this item in which he claims that the OWS protestors are “trying to destroy jobs” (your “benefactors” who bankroll your campaigns and are the targets of the protests have already done a far better job of that than anyone ever could).

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Goalie Jason LaBarbera of the Phoenix, AZ Coyotes earns a mention here; he has chosen to honor former Army Cpl. and one-time Arizona Cardinal football player Pat Tillman with images of Tillman on his goalie mask; as we all know, Tillman’s 2004 death in Afghanistan was propagandized to the max by our prior ruling cabal under Bushco before the truth came out that he was killed by friendly fire (Tillman was also a fan favorite at Arizona State).

Also…

For every win (LaBarbera) gets during the 2011-12 season, he plans to donate $420 -- Tillman's number was 42 -- to the Pat Tillman Foundation. It was started by Pat's widow, Marie, and provides support to military service members and their families.

All class.

...on the other hand...

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Patrick Howley for this (if anything, though, I’m surprised it took the wingnuts this long to try a stunt like this concerning OWS and the “99 percenters”)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

John Smid, the “ex-gay ministry leader” who has “come out” himself and recanted his previous teachings, which hopefully will lead to a greater understanding of LGBT issues (here)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who said, in response to the “Occupy Boston” protest (in which protestors were arrested for supposedly despoiling a green area, even though that city’s jackbooted cops did a lot more to do that during the actual arrest than the protestors did), that “civil disobedience doesn’t work for Boston” here (ummm…if it weren’t for “civil disobedience” in Boston from about 240 or so years ago, this country wouldn’t exist – h/t Will Bunch)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The city council of Topeka, Kansas, for repealing its local law that makes domestic violence a crime as a “cost cutting” measure here (what the hell is wrong with these people?)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Pancake Joe Pitts for this latest atrocity, a bill that would allow hospitals that already don’t perform abortions to turn away women seeking the procedure to save their lives, basically denying abortions in any circumstance (I assume Pitts is married, but I don’t know; if so, his wife truly suffers from Stockholm Syndrome)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominees

Yahoo, for deciding to part ways with the “U.S.” Chamber of Commerce (here)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Repug U.S. House Rep Trent (“You Have To Have Shot Someone” To Be Elected) Franks of Arizona…yes, Arizona, the state containing the city of Tucson, where you-know-what happened last January (here - what an asshat)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Freshman (person?) Repug U.S. House Rep Jamie Herrera Beutler gets it here for asking the Centralia (WA) Chronicle newspaper not to publish her “town hall” event, apparently wishing to keep it secret so only her supporters would find out (nice try, cupcake – and a Do Gooder citation to the Chronicle for refusing to go along with her stupid request).

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Marine Corps Sgt. Shamar Thomas, who stood up to 30 NYC policemen during the Occupy Wall Street protest in October, with only words as his weapon (the act of a true hero - here)



More later (yes, there's more).

Tuesday Stuff

(Hopefully back to “Do-Gooders And Dregs” tomorrow, by the way…)

Thirty years ago, the former Soviet Union crushed the Polish Solidarity movement and imposed martial law – here is a remembrance (oh, and by the way, Jeane Kirkpatrick reminds us here of Jimmy Carter’s “malaise” speech, which I always thought was a strange thing to call it seeing as how Carter never uttered the word in his speech even once – of course, Kirkpatrick’s spin on the speech is nothing but propaganda, which was typical for her – peversely funny now to hear Richard Perle telling us that “détente didn’t work” when that is exactly what The Sainted Ronnie R pursued with Gorby later that decade).

Also, you may find some of the same parallels that I found between Solidarity in the clip and today’s “Occupy” protests, just to let you know…



…and I’m sorry – I believe in a just and merciful God, but I can’t believe He would let us be lucky enough to get this baboon as the nominee…



…and here is more traditional seasonal fare…



…and I suppose this is too.

Monday Stuff

You can tell that Willard Mitt Romney really “screwed the pooch” on the whole “$10,000 bet” thing when even our corporate media decided to pay attention (of course, “Fix and Fiends” couldn’t resist the opportunity to propagandize about the payroll tax cut in one of the clips…and not only does it make Romney look like a rich, out-of-touch, elitist Republican – which he is – but based on this, it makes him a pretty lousy Mormon too, inasmuch as it’s possible to measure that)…



…and if there’s ever a blog that deserves some coin or two, it’s Think Progress, for the reasons noted in the clip (from here)…



…and I always liked this John Denver version of a holiday favorite, full of scenes from The Big Apple…



…and though this isn’t what “Der Bingle” had in mind, it still works for me anyway.

Sunday Stuff

Isn’t it hilarious to hear well-to-do white people pontificate about how “poor” kids should work at an early age instead of benefit from the comparatively meager educational opportunities that exist for them (to say nothing of the largely well-to-do white people in the audience applauding that idiotic notion - here)?



Oh, and by the way, in response to Gingrich’s crap about janitors and teachers, I give you the following (here)…

New York City teachers certainly don’t get paid enough. The base pay is about $45,000, and it takes 22 long years to hit the $100,000 cap, according to the Department of Education. A city janitor maxes out about $6,000 higher—those top 20 reported to earn over $140,000 did so through massive overtime. But in the U.S., the average janitor makes $22,000—roughly half of a teacher’s starting pay. A handful of custodians who have worked long and hard enough to make a good living shouldn’t be an affront to anyone.

Also, from here…

The fact is, Gingrich and the Republican Party want to end child labor laws so that they can replace union workers with cheap labor. Children are easily manipulated and if Gingrich were allowed to put his plan in action, corporations wouldn’t have to provide health care to their new child labor force because they would all be working part-time. This is a way for corporations to eliminate adult workers and would aid in the Republican scheme to end public education. When would young kids find time for school if they are working for pennies? The answer is they wouldn’t. And at that crucial age, school is very important to the development of young minds. If children have to work, it would most likely have to be during the day, when schools are in session. Children will miss valuable educational lessons and will grow up to be ignorant, which is exactly what the Republican Party wants the population to be. Besides, if young kids are used to replace adults in the workforce, they are unlikely to find jobs as an adult because their jobs will be filled by another generation of child labor. Republicans want to groom future generations of Americans to accept what amounts to slave labor. It’s a vicious cycle that will only serve the interests of corporations and the GOP.

Yep, I would say that pretty much nails it.

Also, as noted here (when Gingrich was House Speaker before he resigned in disgrace, in response to Gingrich telling us how much he supposedly loves to fund science)…

…Gingrich and his Republican colleagues succeeded...in pushing through a broad program of (budget) austerity that, though it preserve(d) most of the basic research programs now in place, (put) them on a strict diet. As this issue went to press, most basic research institutions, such as the National Institutes of Health, which sponsors biological and medical research, were slated for cost-of-living increases at best, while others, such as the National Science Foundation, were expected to have to make do on slightly less.

…

The Republicans are expected to continue chipping away at spending on science in 1996. If Congress makes good on its resolution to balance the budget, it will have to cut science and technology spending by 3 3 percent (I assume that’s 3.3 with a typo) over the next seven years, according to estimates by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Stagnation could be the result, as young scientists find it increasingly difficult to win funding. From their viewpoint, American science could be racing toward the millennium on a diet of cold gruel.

And there are people I talk to who actually wonder why I don’t watch this crap.

...and from the ridiculous to the sublime, I give you this.