Friday Stuff

(I also posted here.)

Well well, it looks like “Torture Yoo” slithered his way into our fair city again, as noted here; in response, I give you the following (with unintentionally funny captions again - NSFW)…



…and best wishes to Piers Morgan (here) – kudos for keeping the faith on the gun issue…



…and it looks like Dem U.S. House Rep Gerry Connolly gets the whole “IRS Scandal” thing (but don’t be suckered in by Darrell Issa…watch and see if he comes “loaded for bear” against Connolly next time)…



…and today is the 35th anniversary of the Three Mile Island near-catastrophe (here) – here is a tune for the occasion.

#52, Lynn Jenkins (KS - 02)

As part of my “tribute” to the U.S. House Repugs and their 50 51 52 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Law…

Jenkins once laughed at a young uninsured single mother here and told her to grow up and get health insurance...not sure if that's a direct quote or not; I'll check later (almost too precious for words).

A response to a whole cavalcade of lies from Jenkins is here (typical Repug boilerplate, though).

She blamed Senate Democrats for a rise in student loan interest rates here...

…even though the following should be noted from here (a compromise was eventually passed and signed into law by President Obama; not a shining moment for #44, though, it would seem)...

Many Democrats want to base student loan interest rates on the government’s short-term borrowings, ensuring low rates for students. Republicans and the White House prefer tying student loans to 10-year Treasuries, which carry higher interest rates.

Jenkins also once said here that the Repugs needed a “Great White Hope” to run against Obama in 2012, who turned out to be Willard Mitt Romney of course (Blow that dog whistle a little louder why dontcha? And she “obviously” apologized, saying that she was confused by a resolution in support of black boxer Jack Johnson…uh huh).

Update 3/28/14: OK, fair is fair...I went back and heard the tape, and I think someone from the crowd yelled out at the mother to "grow up and get health insurance," which is still offensive and ridiculous. I'm not at all sure that Jenkins actually said that (I think she was stupid to not support the ACA, but I honestly couldn't detect patently offensive behavior.)

Update 4/8/14: You have a better idea, Congresswoman? (here)

#51, Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO - 03)

As part of my “tribute” to the U.S. House Repugs and their 50 51 52 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Law…

He said that the Affordable Care Law web site cost $500 million, which is based on another wingnut lie that the health care site cost $600 million, both being equally incorrect I guess (here).

He helped to introduce something called the Tax Code Termination Act here, which would abolish the entire federal tax code in 2018, with exceptions for Social Security and Medicare taxes - and replace it with, well, nothing.

He masqueraded as a food inspector during the government shutdown last year (nice).

Luetkemeyer said that the expiration of those stinking Bush tax cuts would result in “the largest tax increase in history” here (uh, sorry, but The Sainted Ronnie R is responsible for that one).

In the department of “careful who you choose for your friends,” one of Luetkemeyer’s cronies is a guy named Eric Feltner, who was once indicted for distributing porn to minors, as noted here (oh, but BL is a “family values” Republican, let’s not forget).

Update 3/18/16: Both offensive AND anatomically incorrect? Nicely done, you pinhead (here).

Update 4/15/21: And only .8 percent of his donations from small donors - tells you whose tune he dances to (here).

Thursday Stuff

As usual, it’s “jobs, jobs, jobs” for the Repugs (and Rachel Maddow finished at the end about the whole “Hobby Lobby/Conestoga Wood” thing that The Supremes heard arguments on earlier this week)…



…and yeah, I think we’ve all just about had enough of Gramps McCain, and here’s part of the reason why (and from the first bullet here also)…



…and I think this is basically a positive development concerning NCAA athletes, but I also think Robert Smith is right – this is but the first step on a long journey…



…and I’m not sure any words would suffice for this, so I’m merely presenting the pictures, which are powerful enough…



…and Sarah Vaughan would have been 90 (sorry if I’ve been a particular downer lately)…



...and happy belated 65th birthday to Nick Lowe (this tune definitely hits home).

#50, Mike Kelly (PA - 03)

As part of my “tribute” to the U.S. House Repugs and their 50 51 52 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Law…

Kelly was all about cutting spending until it came to cutting $4 billion in subsidies for the top five oil companies (here) – and did I mention that Kelly’s money comes from car dealerships, and he married a natural gas heiress? (typical)

He said here that people would still get their Medicare/Medicaid access and Social Security checks in the event of a government shutdown (uh, no).

He also said Obama was a “black president who divides us on race” here (good one).

He compared the so-called birth control “mandate” in the Affordable Care Law to Pearl Harbor and 9/11 here (too precious).

As noted here, Kelly played the supposed IRS “scandal” for all he thinks it’s worth at a hearing while questioning IRS commissioner Steven Miller (and as I and others have pointed out many, many times, the only politically-oriented group that actually lost its preferred status was a progressive one in California).

Update 7/30/14: Based on this, I'll acknowledge that Kelly may be an expert on pollution, of the hot air variety I mean.

Update 11/19/14: If Kelly didn't know Obama has the upper hand on the immigration issue, he wouldn't be saying garbage like this.

#49, Kerry Bentivolio (MI - 11)

As part of my “tribute” to the U.S. House Repugs and their 50 51 52 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Law…

This guy is truly unique, I must admit, ending up in the House seat formerly held by “Mad Thad” McCotter until McCotter ran into that little problem with the petition signatures in his run for governor (here – Bentivolio is a veteran, though; I’ll give him that much).

Tim Bos, who was Bentivolio’s Re-Election Field Director, basically took the occasion of the retirement of House Dem John Dingell (the longest-serving member of Congress) to engage in some typical partisan BS here (with Bentivolio trying to pretend that Bos only holds a minor position, or something – please).

Bentivolio didn’t hold a single town hall during the August congressional recess last year (noted here…I remember how the wingnuts in these parts went crazy when former rep Patrick Murphy held “tele”-town halls, also employed since by Mikey the Beloved, without a face-to-face presence…I guess rules are for little people, and Democrats of course).

He also wants to take funds that should be spent on road repair in Michigan and give them to Republican legislators here (nice).

His own brother said Bentivolio was “mentally unbalanced” here (too funny).

He called Obama impeachment “a dream come true” here.

And just for background info purposes, this tells us that Bentivolio is a former Santa Claus and reindeer farmer (ho ho ho).

Update 8/6/14: C'est dommage...

#48, Mike Pompeo (KS - 04)

As part of my “tribute” to the U.S. House Repugs and their 50 51 52 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Law…

Actually, after reading more about Pompeo, I realized that I should have profiled him MUCH earlier than now, but better late than never…

Here, he was called “The Koch Bros. puppet in the war on children.”

And as noted here, that’s not surprising in the least, considering that he made his fortune off a Koch-backed company.

His only public policy experience is with a Koch-related outfit (same Think Progress link as above).

Also the Kochs were by far the biggest contributors to his 2010 U.S. House campaign (same Think Progress link as above).

Pompeo also hired an ex-Koch Bros. lobbyist as his chief of staff (here).

Oh, and he made the news recently when he wanted Edward Snowden off the bill at the South-by-Southwest conference here (ummm, SXSW is in Texas, and Pompeo allegedly represents a congressional district in Kansas…???).

#47, Randy Neugebauer (TX - 19)

As part of my “tribute” to the U.S. House Repugs and their 50 51 52 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Law…

Yes, it’s true – as the picture shows, any discussion of Neugebauer has to begin with his truly infamous episode where he yelled at a U.S. Park Ranger for closing the WWII memorial during the shut down his party initiated (here).

He also yelled out “baby killer,” presumably at former Dem U.S. House Rep Bart Stupak, during Stupak’s speech on the House floor at about the same time as the vote for the Affordable Care Law in 2010, which is truly idiotic but particularly in the case of pro-lifer Stupak (here)…and yes, he apologized.

Oh, and when asked here, he wouldn’t provide a copy of his birth certificate, even though Neugebauer is a “birther” himself, as noted here (uh oh).

Neugebauer was also one of the House Repugs who voted for farm aid (receiving about $4 grand in subsidies) while also voting to cut food stamps (here…also, he’s very definitely a member of the “Koch Caucus” along with Reid Ribble, noted in the link above).

#46, Steve Stockman (TX - 36)

As part of my “tribute” to the U.S. House Repugs and their 50 51 52 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Law…

I don’t know if Stockman is the biggest goof ball on this list or not, but if he isn’t, he’s certainly in the top two…

There’s lots of stuff on Stockman from this great post – take your pick.

He also thinks Ted Nugent is a patriot (here).

Stockman invited the rodeo clown wearing an Obama mask noted here to perform in his district (nice).

He apparently went missing also (here), but he turned up later (here), thinking the whole “missing” thing was a joke apparently (of course, if you want to read something really funny, take a look at this…wonder if the Teahadists will do the U.S. Senate Democrats another favor?).

As noted here, Stockman is also apparently a fan of that show “Duck Dynasty,” along with a lot of others I know (in response, I give you this…anyone who buys into that show is a total rube).

Update 3/4/14: HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Wednesday Stuff

I thought this was a good interview with Rachel Maddow and Walter Dellinger, former Solicitor General, on the whole "Hobby Lobby/Conestoga Wood" Supreme Court story...



…and this latest hissy fit from Catholic League President Bill Donahue is just too precious (a week late I guess...guess Bill forgot about the whole "bearing false witness" thing)…



…and I think Chris Hayes gives Billo the Clown the treatment he deserves here…



…and this is somewhat apropos for yours truly at the moment.

#45, Reid Ribble (WI - 08)

As part of my “tribute” to the U.S. House Repugs and their 50 51 52 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Law…

This tells us that a petition with 120,000 signatures was delivered to Ribble’s office telling him not to include Social Security cuts in fiscal discussions last year, which Ribble intended to do regardless of the fact Social Security does not contribute to the federal deficit…remember the whole “chained CPI” thing, which apparently has come around again as an issue as noted here?

And speaking of Social Security, he wants anyone relying on that popular federal program to get it in the proverbial neck, as it were, as noted here.

In a truly guttural move, Ribble actually scolded Sister Simone Campbell for asking government to help the poor (nice).

Here, Ribble ducked out early from a jobs fair to attend a campaign fundraiser (what a swell guy).

Ribble said here that government shouldn’t borrow, even though he personally carries a couple of hundred thousand in debt (the latter isn’t a crime, but don’t be so damn two-faced about it).

And OF COURSE he’s a member of the “Koch Caucus” (here).

Update 10/23/14: Ribble said here that he lost his doctor and his insurance because of health care reform, which Politifact rated as a "pants on fire" lie.

#44, Renee Ellmers (NC - 02)

As part of my “tribute” to the U.S. House Repugs and their 50 51 52 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Law…

What a prize of an elected official…

Speaking of the shut down (which I mentioned for Mark Meadows), Ellmers voted for it of course, but when asked why she wouldn’t donate her salary, said “I need my paycheck” here (as Laura Clawson says, as if Head Start teachers don’t?).

Oh, and an unsecured AR-15 rifle was stolen from her home here (smooth move).

Here, she introduced a “bill” to provide “rights” to disabled (injured and amputee) veterans that they already have.

As noted here, Ellmers introduced a resolution to honor Jesse Helms (ding ding ding! We have a winner in the “Wingnut of the Week” contest!).

Also, I’m not the biggest fan of Clay Aiken either, and I know politics ain’t beanbag as somebody once said, but I thought it definitely showed a lack of class on her part to mock his singing here.

Update 7/15/14: How about down to your level, Congresswoman? Is that low enough (here)?

#43, Mark Meadows (NC - 11)

As part of my “tribute” to the U.S. House Repugs and their 50 51 52 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Law…

As far as I’m concerned, Meadows is infamous for only one act, but it was a real doozy, and that would be last year’s government shut down; as noted here, he was more responsible for it than any other person in the U.S. Congress.

And just to refresh our memories, these in part were the results:

Disadvantaged women and infants relying on nutrition programs, as well as anyone relying on Head Start, individuals with disabilities and people needing heating assistance were all hurt (here).

Processing of veterans’ compensation, pension and education benefits was delayed; the shutdown was projected to drain about $10 billion out of our economy (here).

Passport applications were delayed as well, and shutting down sites in the U.S. Parks service hurt tourism as well as related businesses relying on tourist dollars, OSHA halted inspections, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission halted investigations of fraudulent trading practices – processing of Pell Grants and student loan assistance was also slowed (here).

FEMA ended up furloughing 86 percent of their employees during the height of the hurricane season (here).

So yeah, if Mark Meadows does absolutely nothing else of consequence one way or the other for the remainder of his public life, he will always be remembered for the utterly ruinous 2013 government shutdown, as well he should.

Update 6/20/14: I guess Meadows never had a mother - that would explain a thing or two (here).

Update 10/23/14: Not sure how I missed this earlier, but Meadows said he wanted to send Obama back to Kenya, or something, here.

Tuesday Stuff

The former secretary of defense compared our incumbent president today to a “trained ape” here – here is one response…



…and here is another (what a pathetic old man).

Monday Stuff

As Heather of C&L says here, Rachel is a little late to the party when it comes to calling out “Kristol Mess” the way he deserves it, but at least Rachel showed up (don’t forget also that, more than anyone else, “Irving’s Boy” led the charge against health care reform in the ‘90s)…



…and here is another lesson in income inequality from Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich…



…and this issue hits home for us, as it should for any parent…



…and here is another tune to recognize another anniversary we wish we didn’t have to remember (yeah, mostly slumming from C&L here for the moment, I guess).