Tuesday Stuff

I now give you today's regularly scheduled lies from Willard Mitt Romney (here)...

…and “demand a plan” indeed (here)…

...and we're into the single digits now, people...

#10, Jack Kingston
#11, Patrick McHenry
#12, Spencer Bachus
#13, Jim Gerlach
#14, Cliff Stearns
#15, Jean Schmidt
#16, Phil Gingrey
#17, David Schweikert
#18, Virginia Foxx
#19, Pete Sessions
#20, Charlie Dent
#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…and that brings us to #9 on our list of U.S. House Repugs opposed to health care reform, and that would be none other than Joe Pitts (the mistake of PA-16) in our beloved commonwealth.

There are so many levels of awfulness to Joe Pitts that it’s hard to categorize them, though I know I’ve tried (oh, and on the health care law, I give you this). There’s the Joe Pitts that’s the utterly craven shill of big bidness (insurance, pharma, what have you), the Joe Pitts that claims to be a model of supposed fiscal rectitude for everyone else, the Joe Pitts who missed the proverbial boat on the issues that matter long ago, not that he’s had anything worthwhile to say or do on that score anyway (Please note here his “memorandum on creating jobs and fixing the economy” from last November! And by the way, I skimmed over it and had to wade out of it before the dookey got too deep), and on and on.

However, I believe there is no more level of awfulness associated with Pitts than that of the supposed paragon of “family values,” the “culture warrior” who would see women relegated to a permanently subservient status to men and utterly incapable of managing their reproductive health. There was no more proof needed as to what Pitts stood for than during the entire circus concerning the so-called “Stupak-Pitts Amendment” to the Affordable Care Act (named also for Democratic congressman Bart Stupak who, mercifully, is no longer in Washington). As Media Matters points out here, the amendment was dutifully “reported” by our corporate media stenographers as a ban on federal funds for abortion. The problem is that such a ban is already in place from that amendment named after a serial Republican philanderer in the U.S. House. What Stupak-Pitts was really all about was an attempt to roll back reproductive rights also for women in private insurance plans that received no federal funds (more information is here).

(And by the way, when it comes to the Affordable Care Act and women’s health, I would ask that you read this, something you’ll never hear about from Joe Pitts of course.)

Returning to the health care law overall, though, Pitts told us the following from here two years ago…

It’s just been four months since President Obama signed the new health care law, and already Democratic leadership is conceding that portions of the bill will harm the economy. We cannot create a massive new government entitlement program without someone footing the bill.

Small businesses all over America have just been told that they will have to pay billions more in taxes to foot the bill for Obamacare. That’s money that might otherwise go to job creation. That’s just one reason why America isn’t creating more jobs.

And as I noted at the time from here, the PPACA (the proper acronym) will reduce the deficit, something the Republicans pretend to care about. Also, as far as health care reform supposedly hurting the economy, how can something “hurt” that isn’t scheduled to be fully implemented until 2014 (when, God willing, the exchanges are set up in each state and we have competition among health care providers for real, at long last, as noted here…more health care-related propaganda from Pitts is here...last bullet).

And on top of all of this, did you know that Pitts voted against funding COBRA benefits for the long-term jobless and to help states meet Medicaid obligations, among other social safety-net outlays (here)? Or that he voted against expanding SCHIP four times among many other odious votes listed here, as well as cutting the federal gov’t share of Medicaid by $13 billion? Or that he also voted against a bill empowering the FDA to regulate cigarette content, requiring disclosure of product ingredients, banning cigarette marketing to children, and requiring more prominent health warnings (this is pretty sick, and I mean “sick” as in “truly awful” – see the previous link)?

If, somehow, someone from PA-16 happens to be reading this, I implore you as strongly as I can without using profanity to click here and support Aryanna Strader, who is running for Pitts’ PA-16 seat. It is long past time to send Pitts packing (someone else who reneged on a term-limit pledge, it should be pointed out). And though it pales in comparison to his other antics, I give you the following video clip to remind you of what an utter embarrassment Pitts truly is (and my admittedly juvenile response is here)…



…and in light of this story about more Russian human rights misery, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit the protest of three other brave young women in a singing group (putting up the video again perhaps as an expression of solidarity, but also because I like it as a piece of music by itself).

Monday Stuff

I’m taking a break from the Repug congressional countdown opposing health care reform for tonight – I’ll probably get back to it tomorrow (entering the home stretch and a whole new level of crazy, I might add).

And speaking of nuts, I give you this, and this, and kudos to President Obama for this (speaking again of nuts).

I have to tell you that I’m personally disgusted more than I ever thought I would be with the routinely demonic vilification of President Obama by various right-wing mental defectives, one example of which is on display on that disgusting billboard shown above. And I ABSOLTUELY DEFY anyone to try and manufacture some faux equivalency between this and any violence threatened against George W. Bush (yes, it did happen, and it was also wrong, but nothing as orchestrated with this type of frequency).

And finally on this subject, I give you this, with a good response by K.O, including the "a" word, and I'm fine with that when talking about Nugent because it's true.…

…and I’ve put this up a few time already I know, but it always seems to fit, doesn’t it, particularly given what I just pointed out (warning: bad word alert).

Sunday Stuff

I know I’ve picked on the “Peach State” a bit in this list with Broun and Gingrey, and I’m about to do it again; I’m sure there are a lot of good Democrats there, but unfortunately, there are also a lot of Republicans whose actions speak for themselves…

#11, Patrick McHenry
#12, Spencer Bachus
#13, Jim Gerlach
#14, Cliff Stearns
#15, Jean Schmidt
#16, Phil Gingrey
#17, David Schweikert
#18, Virginia Foxx
#19, Pete Sessions
#20, Charlie Dent
#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…and that takes us to #10 on the list of U.S. House Republicans opposed to health care reform, and that would be Jack Kingston of Georgia.

So why exactly does Kingston belong on this list? Well, aside the reason noted here, he said here that the way to get out of poverty is to get married and work longer hours (Wonder if that’s the route he took? I doubt it). He also denied the theory of evolution here, and openly supported right-wing bigot Bryan Fischer (along with Chris Smith, Number 22 on the list) here.

Want more reasons? He justified a bill that would cut $87 million in food safety here (which is particularly repellent given the fact that one of this country’s worst salmonella scares happened in Georgia in 2009, as noted here), he voted for all seven debt limit increases under Dubya, as noted here (something to consider when reading this), and of course, he had no problem with handing out stimulus funds in his district while he cries about it in Washington (here...also, get a load of Kingston trying to explain drug testing for anyone collecting unemployment or government assistance in general here).

I don’t care how many times Kingston appears on TV with Bill Maher – he’s still nothing but a right-wing nutjob (and of course, who can forget this utterly weaselly moment with Dan Savage, with Kingston acting like, well, you libs are the ones making it an issue by responding to our nutty BS…anyone voting for Kingston outside of the one percent should have to take an IQ test to see if they make it beyond single digits)...



…and every once in awhile, MoDo writes a really good column, and she did so today on a tragic milestone, which brings to mind this video (and speaking of people leaving us too early, our deepest sympathies to Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid and his family for this).

Saturday Stuff

Sorry, wingnuts  - I know this is really icky, but it’s also really important (here)…

…and speaking of health care, the next time I do this, we’ll be in the Top 10…

#12, Spencer Bachus
#13, Jim Gerlach
#14, Cliff Stearns
#15, Jean Schmidt
#16, Phil Gingrey
#17, David Schweikert
#18, Virginia Foxx
#19, Pete Sessions
#20, Charlie Dent
#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…and that brings us to #11 on our list of U.S. House Repugs opposed to health care reform, and that would be Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.

I’m not sure what is worse about McHenry – the fact that he called Elizabeth Warren, now running against Scott Brown in Massachusetts for the latter’s Senate seat (and on that subject, what Atrios sez here), a liar when she appeared at an oversight hearing (here), or the fact that McHenry pulled the same crap with Phil Angelides of the FCIC (here). And given that, is this really a surprise?

It was also McHenry’s idea to try and get a movement going on behalf of The Sainted Ronnie R to get his face on the $50 bill (here).

Also, McHenry is apparently closeted. I honestly don’t care about that – I would only say that, if that is true, then he shouldn’t align himself with a political party that has made it its mission to Hate Teh Gay (and the following clip speaks volumes to me about the type of person McHenry is, though he apologized, as well he should...if you're fed up with McHenry and his antics, click here.)…

…and I cannot put up this video enough times – needs to be restated over and over and over…

…and Russia “is our number one adversary,” Willard Mitt? Of a “geopolitical nature,” whatever the hell that means? Really?...

…and maybe it’s progress of a sort that Romney apparently takes better care of his horse than he does of his dog (here)…

…and this might be my favorite tune of the year so far.

Friday Stuff

Tomorrow, there will be a gathering of Bucks County, PA Democrats at the Doylestown office for canvassing, phone banking and voter registration (10 E. Court Street) at 10 AM. You can also sign a birthday card for President Obama. With that in mind, I give you the following video from Kathy Boockvar, running against Mikey the Beloved for his PA-08 U.S. House seat (lots of ammo to use against Mikey…this is good, though - to help, click here)...



…and I’m not going to be able to add Anne Marie Buerkle to the list of Mikey’s pals trying to overturn health care reform (and not to worry – Mikey is on the list), but I thought she deserved a mention anyway (one of the “flat-earth five” opposing the environment, and don’t get started on her and abortion – the Log Cabin Republicans actually gave Buerkle an award; that group defines Stockholm Syndrome as far as I’m concerned…I’m mentioning Buerkle because she was in that video yesterday from Rachel Maddow about that nitwit Mike Kelly…links are here, here and here)…



…and speaking of the list of House Repugs trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act…

#13, Jim Gerlach
#14, Cliff Stearns
#15, Jean Schmidt
#16, Phil Gingrey
#17, David Schweikert
#18, Virginia Foxx
#19, Pete Sessions
#20, Charlie Dent
#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…and that brings us to #12, Spencer Bachus, who spent over $250 grand of campaign funds on lawyers (here – and how exactly is that legal?), probably because of this.

Oh, but it’s really all the fault of that baaad “Democrat” Party, isn’t it, you weasel (here)?

Want more evidence? As noted here, Bachus also came to the aid of Edward DeMarco of the Federal Housing and Finance Agency, who decided that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shouldn’t offer debt forgiveness to borrowers, despite pleas from the Obama Administration and congressional Democrats (more “ROI” for the “pay no price, bear no burden” bunch from Bachus…Professor Krugman had a good column on the odious Mr. DeMarco here).

And in case you had any doubt about Bachus and health care reform, I give you this (and I’m not sure if truer words were ever spoken by Cenk Uygur here particularly at the end)…

…and I apologize for neglecting to mention until now the recent passing of Philadelphia radio legend Joe “Butterball” Tamburro (here) – I offer the following as a tribute.

Thursday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

This might be the best commentary on the so-called “war on drugs” that I’ve ever heard; kudos to Lawrence O’Donnell (here)…

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…and I’m telling you, ya’ just gotta hand it to the Repugs – with Willard Mitt Romney knee deep in doo doo over his joke of a European tour and his continued failure to release his tax returns, they come up with this as a distraction, with meat head PA Rep Mike Kelly working our media and many of us into a lather.

Let’s see now, Mike Kelly…oh yeah, he’s “frugal,” I guess you could say, on taxes unless it affects his dividends, as noted here. He also voted to keep taxpayer subsidies for Big Oil, along with the rest of his playmates (here), and played the teabaggers for the fools that they truly are here.

Gee, if I didn’t know better, I’d say Kelly was trying to find a way to be included in my countdown of U.S. House Repugs opposed to the Affordable Care Act (and here is a great column on health care from our former state rep, who used to be a Republican, believe it or not)…

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…and speaking of the devil…

#14, Cliff Stearns
#15, Jean Schmidt
#16, Phil Gingrey
#17, David Schweikert
#18, Virginia Foxx
#19, Pete Sessions
#20, Charlie Dent
#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…and that brings us to #13 on the list, and (staying in our beloved commonwealth) that would be none other than Jim Gerlach (not in red in the pic).

This one is a bit of a tough case, because Gerlach usually does a good job of “flying under the radar” like David Schweikert and a few others. However, things do go “splat” with Gerlach from time to time; here, a resident tried to pin him down over his opposition to the Affordable Care Act (good luck), he was also busted here for omitting a disclaimer in a political ad that was required for him to receive a cheaper rate, and as noted here, he voted for the so-called “Pence Amendment” (from Indiana Repug Mike Pence, not the departed former Phil) which barred Planned Parenthood from receiving Title X funds (and what the #@$! does that have to do with a spending bill anyway?).

Gerlach has also picked a fight with the Clean Air Council (here), as noted in this video…



…and to support his opponent Dr. Manan Trivedi, click here (Gerlach has bragged that the Dems can’t beat him – we’ll see, won’t we? And it would be nice if Gerlach, Kelly and their pals would pay attention to this instead.)…



…and returning to the now-presumptive head of the Republican Party, I give you this (and how lame is this anyway, by the Mittster I mean?)…



Update 8/3/12: Drip, drip, drip...

…and happy 55th birthday to Mojo Nixon – don’t quite agree with everything here, but at least some of it (and tying back to Lawrence O’Donnell’s commentary a bit too).

Wednesday Stuff

RIP Gore Vidal – he said things that, at times, made people uncomfortable because he forced us to think, as he did in this clip from 1968; would that we had more like him (I would say that he at least hinted at bits and pieces of what was then the future, but which has come to pass in terms of in-vitro fertilization, using food for fuel such as ethanol, etc.)…

…and yes, it’s baaack…

#15, Jean Schmidt
#16, Phil Gingrey
#17, David Schweikert
#18, Virginia Foxx
#19, Pete Sessions
#20, Charlie Dent
#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…and that brings us to #14 on our list of U.S. House Repugs opposed to health care reform, and that would be Cliff Stearns of Florida.

As noted here, Stearns defended oil industry subsidies (along with every other U.S. House Repug, to my knowledge), said that we supposedly can’t compete with China on green energy, and he also said that women who undergo abortions should face criminal charges (peachy). And did I mention that he’s a “birther” too?

Stearns is particularly bad, though, because, at one time, he sponsored the “Consumer Choice Health Security Act” in the 1990’s (here), which was the first time in recent history that Congress had proposed the individual mandate (though he did get some "push-back" from a constituent here). So, you would think that he would be a voice of sanity on health care reform, wouldn’t you?.

Well, you would be wrong, as noted here. And K.O. got the goods on Stearns here (how sad, though funny also)…

Update 8/16/12: It's a shame you can't see my sad face (here :-).

…and it looks like “The Colonel” isn’t above trying to “get on the down-low” for some new bidness (in response to this…I guess it was inevitable – removing my tongue from my cheek)…

KFC Loves Gays with John Goodman from John Goodman      

…and Jerry Garcia would have been 70 today (among other things, he was one of the finest pedal steel guitar players who ever lived).

Tuesday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

I’m messing around a bit with the congressional list, so I’ll take a break again tonight (the breaks may become more frequent as I work further down the list, since the offenders are more and more blameworthy and documenting their misdeeds will take more time).

As a bit of a respite, though, I give you this from Willard Mitt Romney (so presidential, I know…related links are here, and particularly, here – and yes, the “kiss my ass” guy apologized, as well he should)…

Update 8/1/12: So pathetic that I almost feel sorry for him - almost...



...and Seether "gets the gold" IMHO for this one (sorry, no video).

Monday Stuff

You know it, you love it – here it is again…

#16, Phil Gingrey
#17, David Schweikert
#18, Virginia Foxx
#19, Pete Sessions
#20, Charlie Dent
#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…and that brings us to #15 on our list of U.S. House Republicans opposed to the Affordable Care Act, and that would be “Mean Jean” Schmidt of Ohio.

Why “Mean Jean”? Well, for starters, she called the late Dem U.S. House Rep (and former Marine) John Murtha a coward when he courageously came out in opposition to Dubya’s Not-So-Excellent Adventure in Iraq (that and a bunch of other stuff is here). She also told a big lie about Planned Parenthood here (lots of company in that department), faked being targeted for assassination again (!) here, and carried out a two-year vendetta against David Krikorian, a one-time challenger for her seat (here).

Oh, and it should also be noted that Schmidt was one of numerous Congressional representatives tainted in a Turkish influence-peddling scheme (a “Turkish Delight,” if you will) brought to light by Sibel Edmonds, renowned former FBI Turkish and Farsi interpreter and whistleblower (here).

So yeah, Schmidt has a lot of baggage. Unfortunately for we filthy, unkempt liberal blogger types, we won’t have “Mean Jean” to kick around for much longer since she lost her Republican primary in March to Brad Wenstrup (who has the imprimatur of those zany teabaggers, though it is a point in Wenstrup’s favor that he served our country too).

At least Schmidt managed to give us this utterly hilarious moment before she ran out the clock, as Cenk Uygur and company note below (and yep, Michael Savage is that big of a whack job too)...

…and this is a song about a guy with issues, I would say (nice tune anyway).

Sunday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

I’m taking a break from the congressional countdown tonight, or whatever you may want to call it…

Meanwhile, it’s pretty sad when Willard Mitt gets taken to the proverbial woodshed by his party’s own media apparatus, that stupid comment about voting in Chicago (or whatever) notwithstanding (here)…

…and I thought this was a nice little summer video featuring one of rock’s most interesting and underrated bands (doing the Gershwin standard, of course).

Saturday Stuff

I think this is basically a good report about Willard Mitt’s bumbling on the world stage and the fact that he would be “George W. Romney” on foreign policy and other matters, but I think it’s dangerous for anyone to assume that Romney would be a pacifist – I can definitely see him doing something stupid overseas, if for no other reason than to try and prove that he’s tougher than he ever will be…

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And it’s that time again…

#17, David Schweikert
#18, Virginia Foxx
#19, Pete Sessions
#20, Charlie Dent
#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…so that brings us to #16 on the list of U.S. House knuckleheads opposing the Affordable Care Act, and that would be Phil Gingrey of Georgia, who said here that the GOP’s resistance to extending the payroll tax cut last December was their “Braveheart moment.” He also lambasted President Obama for “African Americans for Obama” (though the GOP, of course, are no strangers to such outreach groups…umm, is there an actual issue here? And I guess this was OK anyway).

Rachel Maddow and Kent Jones got the goods on Gingrey a little while ago here (what a total asshat)…

…and I thought this was another clever Mark Fiore clip…

…and this tune is becoming a personal favorite (sorry, no video).

Friday Stuff

I think I’m close to half way on this thing (why do I create so much work for myself, I wonder?)…

#18, Virginia Foxx
#19, Pete Sessions
#20, Charlie Dent
#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…so that brings us to #17 on our list of U.S. House Repugs opposing health care reform, and that would be David Schweikert of Arizona.

This guy doesn’t pop up on the political radar, as it were, too often, but when he does, he usually makes a doozy of an impression. Here, he called for “offsetting” hurricane aid (but not by “offsetting” tax cuts for the “pay no price, bear no burden” bunch of course), and here, he emerged as a “closet birther” (and of course, here is the obligatory anti-HCR link).

And OK, so Schweikert doesn’t like the fact that Obama is trying to get a “stay” on Arizona’s “illegal to be brown” deportation policy (here), but he’s trying to do it by getting Congress (the legislative branch) to tell the Department of Homeland Security (the executive branch) what they can and can’t enforce…I would really like someone to present evidence to me of a Congress that ever impinged upon the rights of the executive branch like this under a Republican president. Go ahead and look – I’ll wait.

As noted in the video, though, Schweikert really made a name for himself by preying on homeowners with “underwater” mortgages (here); what an absolute gem of a human being, my fellow prisoners…

Update 8/2/12: Gee, I wonder if the hot, dry air in that state is affecting one of Schweikert’s fellow reps, as noted here (Flake was endorsed by Jon Kyl for the latter’s seat, which should tell you absolutely nothing good).

…and it’s yet another summer weekend, people – so let’s KICK IT!

Thursday Stuff

Gosh…ummm….welcome to the fight, Billo (?????) – still trying to wrap my head around this, as it were (here)…

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…and it’s that time again – you know the rest, right?

#19, Pete Sessions
#20, Charlie Dent
#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…so now it’s time to turn to #18 on my list of U.S. House Republicans opposing the Affordable Care Act.

And I have to tell you that I really wanted to include Virginia Foxx of North Carolina higher up on the list, maybe closer to the top 10. However, this woman’s words and actions are so utterly repellant so frequently and across such a wide swath of topics that I thought I needed to address her sooner.

You see, today (here – and speaking of Aurora), she used the recent mass shootings in a movie theater to plea for civility, more or less, while the Repugs try to pass a regulatory “reform” bill on behalf of those poor, oppressed “job creators” whose widdle feelins are just so, so hurt by that mean, nasty Kenyan Muslim socialist in the White House that…well, gosh darn it…they just have to respond by hoarding unprecedented amounts of wealth (here).

Continuing (as noted here), Foxx also dumped on students who have run up debt to pursue a college degree (and, of course, she’s the chair of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education…let’s see, “empathy,” “empathy”…I just know I left that dictionary somewhere – oh, and is this really a surprise?). She also added an “anti-gay” amendment to a House Defense Appropriations bill here, and claimed here that the GOP “led the fight for civil rights” in the 1960s (uh, no).

Also, as Rachel Maddow points out here, Foxx said the health care bill “masqueraded” as a tax increase, which of course is more of a threat than al Qaeda as far as she concerned…

...in addition, Foxx mentioned a Thomas Sowell column about health care reform, which apparently had nothing to do with HCR, but she prefaced it by saying that Sowell was “also an African American,” or something (gee, invoking Obama’s race just a little bit? Ya’ think?)…

…and if that isn’t an excuse for this video once more, I don’t know what is (this woman is truly a horrible monster – how life forms in this country can actually vote for her is something that I pray I never understand).

Update 8/20/12: Somehow, I forgot about this truly choice item from Foxx, calling Tucson shooter Jared Loughner the "liberal of liberals" (I'll just let that remark lie there and fester by itself without any further comment).

Update 5/19/21: Wonder if Foxx will be going near metal detectors again any time soon (here)?

Update 8/6/21: She would have been better off just keeping her mouth shut altogether (here).

Wednesday Stuff

I guess he’s “movin’ on up” for real now – RIP, Philly cat Sherman Hemsley…



…and I could call this, sadly, a pretty good “ROI” for ALEC and the Koch Brothers (and in the matter of voter ID laws by state, I give you this)…

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…and it looks like we’re into the “teens” with that little thing I’ve been doing for the past couple of weeks…

#20, Charlie Dent
#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…so that brings us to #19 on our list of U.S. House Repugs trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and that would be Pete Sessions of Texas.

After he and Mikey the Beloved pulled that idiotic swearing-in stunt in January 2011 (where they thought they could get sworn in to Congress by watching the ceremony on TV as opposed to attending in person), Sessions got absolutely owned by a Republican in favor of “Obamacare” (here), though that obviously didn’t influence Sessions one bit in his call to repeal the supposedly “job-killing” health care law (here - warning: wingnut alert!)

Though, as K.O. points out here (and God, do we need him on the air, though the “suits” won’t let that happen I’m sure, at least not until after the election at the earliest…love to be wrong), Sessions has had trouble getting his story straight on other issues as well, earning him a "Worst" nod…



…and here’s a wild and wacky video for all the kids watching at home.

Tuesday Stuff

I suppose you know what comes next, don't you...

#21, Cathy McMorris Rodgers
#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…so that brings us to #20 on our list of U.S. House Republicans opposed to health care reform, and that would be Charlie Dent of our own beloved commonwealth.

And Dent was just sooo cozy with “Man Tan” Boehner here, making a joke about how he wanted to really be on the House Appropriations Committee but ended up on the Ethics Committee instead (what a “laff riot”). And as noted here, Dent introduced a bill to remove U.S. citizenship from admittedly bad actors who want to do harm to this country (uh, don’t we have, like, courts and trials and judges and juries to determine that sort of thing? Or am I just a pointy headed liberal for noting that?).

Oh, and Dent was all “humuna, humuna, humuna” a year ago when confronted by constituents here about taxes and oil subsidies (what a truly dedicated public servant)...



…and in tribute to The Jim Henson Company for this, I thought I’d present the following with The Eternal Lena Horne (appropriate to follow Dent with a cartoon, I suppose :- ).



Update 7/26/12: I would say that this is taking the matter a little too far (h/t Atrios).

Monday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

RIP Sally Ride – among her other accomplishments, I remember her great work on the panel investigating the Challenger disaster…she didn’t take any crap from the Morton Thiokol suits or other bureaucrats; she definitely will be missed…

…and working our way ever forward, I give you this…

#22, Chris Smith
#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…and that brings us to #21 on our list of U.S. House Repugs opposing health care reform (with some truly preposterous charges, it should be pointed out) and that would be Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state – here, Tweety tries to pin her down, as it were, on why the House didn’t include same-sex couples in reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (just smile nice for the cameras and keep repeating your idiotic drivel over and over)…

…and I realize that absolutely nothing in this video is illegal, but I still think it sends quite a message…

Update 12/6/12: Another shining moment from McMorris Rodgers here - not!

Update 12/18/13: And bless McMorris Rodgers and her pointed little "Republic" Party head for this.

Update 1/31/14: No word on whether or not her nose grew in response to this.

…and given the fact that we basically live in “Fortress America” thanks to the NRA, I think this tune is appropriate (sorry, no video).

Sunday Stuff

Moving right along, as they say…

#23, Todd Akin
#24, Buck McKeon
#25, Kristi Noem
#26, Hal Rogers
#27, Lou Barletta (Two bonus selections: Boren and Ross)
#28, Paul Broun
#29, Mary Bono Mack
#30, David Dreier
#31, Marsha Blackburn (including backgrounder)

…and that brings us to #22 on our list of U.S. House Repugs opposed to the health care law (here), and that would be Chris Smith of New Jersey.

I have to admit that I was snookered by Smith for a little while because of his professed commitment to human rights. However, it doesn’t take a lot of digging to discover how truly misogynistic and awful Smith really is, as was the case here in the bill he introduced in the House (soon after the ruinous Repug reign began in that body) redefining rape as somehow worse if it were “forcible” (as determined by who exactly, I wonder?).

The exchange below between Smith and Dem Rep Jackie Speier of California really tells you all you need to know, and kudos to Speier, by the way (Bill Clinton once said that abortion should be safe, legal and rare; that should be the last word, but if it were, life forms like Smith would see their careers in alleged public service come to an end, which can't happen soon enough for yours truly)…

…also, we need more Americans to show some actual guts on the issue of gun violence, kind of like Bill Moyers does here…

Update 7/23/12: This is probably a "rope-a-dope" move by Irving's Boy, but he still deserves credit for it.

…and if the horror in Aurora isn’t enough to make you want to gag, I’m sure this will…

…and I offer the following without comment.