Month: January 2012

Big Damn Heroes, Do Something, Jude2 Comments

Sweet Jesus, These People Are Insane

Fuck you guys. This is bullshit. Well, it’s February in Wisconsin. And that means it’s time for the Polar Plunge. That’s right. Every year, a bunch of totally insane motherfuckers jump into a hole cut into the ice as a way to raise money for the Special Olympics. This year, friend of the blog and regular commenter Hobbes is taking the plunge. Sothrow her some cheddar so she can get wetter. Also, our good friends the Mad Rollin Dolls also have a team jump.Help them out. If you’re interested in other individual donations, check outAndi orPatty. Go give some money, … Continue reading Sweet Jesus, These People Are Insane

Athenae, Stupid Republican Tricks10 Comments

Romney Comes to Save Our Souls

Mitt Romney, everybody: President Obama’s view of capitalism is to send your money to his friends’ companies. My vision for free enterprise is to return entrepreneurship to the genius and creativity of the American people. I want to give your money to MY friends! And then ruin their companies and steal it back from them! This campaign is about more than replacing a President. It is about saving the soul of America. AMERICA, BUY 15 INDULGENCES AND I WILL CUT SOME TIME OFF YOUR STAY IN PURGATORY. Wait, wrong cult. Like his colleagues in the faculty lounge who think they … Continue reading Romney Comes to Save Our Souls

Athenae, Immoral Values13 Comments

Whose Life?

Susan G. Komen Foundation lowers the boom on Planned Parenthood: The nation’s leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is halting its partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates — creating a bitter rift, linked to the abortion debate, between two iconic organizations that have assisted millions of women. The change will mean a cutoff of hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants, mainly for breast exams. Planned Parenthood says the move results from Komen bowing to pressure from anti-abortion activists. Komen says the key reason is that Planned Parenthood is under investigation in Congress — a probe launched by … Continue reading Whose Life?

Athenae, Economy, Immoral Values20 Comments

Today in Total Nitwittery

If you own a toaster oven, you are not poor: Poverty in America is certainly a serious problem, but the plight of the poor has been moderated by advances in the economy. Between 1970 and 2010, the net worth of American households more than doubled, as did the number of television sets and air-conditioning units per home. In his book“The Poverty of the Poverty Rate,” Nicholas Eberstadt shows that over the past 30 or so years, the percentage of low-income children in the United States who are underweight has gone down, the share of low-income households lacking complete plumbing facilities … Continue reading Today in Total Nitwittery

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media1 Comment

The Ethics of Protecting the Powerful

You know, I’m really tired of journalistsequating “ethics” with cowardice: At the time of my email, there was no heroic choice to be made: Pat was no longer a candidate for the Rhodes Scholarship. Days before, the Rhodes committee had suspended his candidacy after discovering that an anonymous woman had accused him of sexual assault. Yale officials knew about the complaint as early as September. It’s unclear if those directly responsible for endorsing Pat’s Rhodes application knew about the assault claim — or if the Yale administration decided to re-endorse Pat after being contacted by the Rhodes committee. Regardless, Pat … Continue reading The Ethics of Protecting the Powerful

Political Crack, Stupid Republican Tricks, Tommy T7 Comments

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Freepers For Newtie Edition

Well, gentle people, Jim Rob has come firmly down on the side of Newtie as the Anti-Romney, and as I predicted, the purges have begun.

Iso suits on, everybody, there’s no time to waste! (My, what a nice shiny new one Kibitzer has!)

The following thread waspulled(I’ve started copying them in toto and emailing them to myself rather than just bookmarking them), raising the question:Are we eating our own, now?

Gingrich Was No Coward, Just Corrupt
Commentary Magazine ^| 1-20-12 | Jonathon Toobin

Posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 5:13:45 PM byafraidfortherepublic

One of the interesting sidebars of last night’s debate was the fiery exchange between Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich over the latter’s “grandiose” ideas and unstable leadership style. During the course of this rhetorical dustup during which Gingrich took Santorum’s bait and took credit for the Reagan presidency, the defeat of the Soviet Union and the 1994 Republican Congressional victory. While the first two claims are the stuff of self-satire, Gingrich is surely entitled to puff his chest at the memory of his role in the GOP’s taking back the House for the first time in 40 years.

Alexander Burns of Politico recals that in 1992 the New York Times reported about Gingrich’s involvement in the banking scandal. Apparently, Gingrich was kiting checks along with the worst Democratic scofflaws. His 22 overdrafts including a $9,463 check to the IRS was a major issue in his re-election campaign that year and nearly cost him his seat which the then House Republican Minority held by a razor-thin margin of 982 votes that fall.

Santorum was wrong to imply that the Georgian didn’t get involved in exposing the House Bank scandal because he lacked the moxie to mix up with the Democratic poobahs. In fact, as Gingrich pointed out, he had already played the lead role in taking down former House Speaker Jim Wright. The real reason for Gingrich’s silence was far worse: conflict of interest.

Gingrich said nothing about the bank while Santorum stuck his neck out because he was as guilty as any of the Democrats who were caught bouncing checks at the bank at the taxpayers’ expense.
That information leaves us wondering why, if Santorum was going to bring up the scandal in the course of an attack on Gingrich, he pulled his punch. Wouldn’t it have been far more devastating to rightly accuse Gingrich of complicity in the scandal instead of wrongly accusing him of cowardice?

1 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 5:13:49 PM byafraidfortherepublic
To: afraidfortherepublic
Wow. I had forgotten all about that scandal. Gingrich may be our candidate but I’m holding my nose all the way.

3 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 5:26:29 PM byExtremeUnction
To: ExtremeUnction
global warmist, freddie mac, fidelity, Dede Scozzafava…
under no circumstances will I vote for him.

4 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 5:31:07 PM byGeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness)
DangerClose

To: GeronL
Ooh! Aren’t you just so special. Clearly you are an Obama supporter . . . or a Romney supporter.

9 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 5:37:11 PM bySudetenland (Anybody but Obama!!!!)

There are a lot of “In before the Zot” posts, but “afraidforfreerepublic” still seems to have an account, even though the URL for the thread now directs to this:

iv>

This thread has been pulled.

Pulled on 01/21/2012 1:21:12 AM PST by Jim Robinson, reason:

taking out the trash

Of course, at this point in time, the “trash” is still piling up:

To: GeronL
“under no circumstances will I vote for him.”
Yeh as a registered Demorat I guess not.

14 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 5:41:54 PM byGeorgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
To: Georgia Girl 2
I am as conservative as anyone on this forum. I do not belong to any political party and never will.

16 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 5:44:23 PM byGeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness)
Purity test! Purity test!

To: GeronL
I guess you think everyone on FR who supports Gingrich is an idiot.

Gingrich IS a “conservative, sport.”

21 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 5:49:05 PM bySudetenland (Anybody but Obama!!!!)

There’s a spurious comma in your last sentence.
“Sport” is what they called people in Fitzgerald novels who couldn’t keep their pants zipped.

To: GeronL
I’m still gettin that demorat feelin.

Too bad you weren’t gettin that “learning how to spell” feelin.

25 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 5:54:02 PM byGeorgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
To: Georgia Girl 2
Are you a Noob or something? I have been on FR for a very very long time. People know where I stand.

26 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 5:56:51 PM byGeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness)
ClownSlapFight

To: GeronL; Sudetenland
I guess you think everyone on FR who supports Gingrich is an idiot. I would be very, very careful in answering that question.
JimRob doesn’t share your disdain for Newt
And neither do I.

31 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 6:01:54 PM byYankee (ANNOY THE RNC AND THE MEDIA: NOMINATE NEWT GINGRICH!)
To: ventanax5
Last time I checked, King David was also an adulterer.

35 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 6:09:03 PM byconservativebuckeye
ChristOnACracker
Family.
Values.

To: narses; GeronL
Why are you posting that to GeronL? There is nothing in his posting past here to try and paint him as a “MittBot”.Are we eating our own now?

46 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 6:22:12 PM byAzzurri

Why, yes – you are. And you’re yum yum yummy,
More catching up after the thingy.

Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Freepers For Newtie Edition”

Athenae, Faith, Immoral Values, So Called Liberal Media12 Comments

Ross Douthat: Love is a Bowl of Sugar

OH GOD IT’S NOT LIKE THAT YOU CLOWNASS: Many conservatives would go this far with Frank: Government is one way we choose to work together, and there are certain things we need to do collectively that only government can do. But there are trade-offs as well, which liberal communitarians don’t always like to acknowledge. When government expands, it’s often at the expense of alternative expressions of community, alternative groups that seek to serve the common good. Unlike most communal organizations, the government has coercive power — the power to regulate, to mandate and to tax. These advantages make it all … Continue reading Ross Douthat: Love is a Bowl of Sugar

Current Affairs, Doc, So Called Liberal Media, Weblogs2 Comments

Student media at odds with educational paths

Loyalty and affiliation, once earned and given, become a large part of who we are. It is for this reason that I still wear T-shirts from my student media days, root for the Cleveland Browns through every double-digit loss season and have never once thought about “Newting” my wife. It can also be something that blinds us a bit to the reality of our surroundings. I thought about this when one of my previous stops along “career highway” fell into my newsfeed this week.The editor-in-chief of a blog that critiques the Mizzou J-School was told to resign from her post … Continue reading Student media at odds with educational paths

Athenae, Diary4 Comments

Friday Ferretblogging: Bath Aftermath Edition

So Riot’s almost completely bald now, and not much in need of submersion cleaning. The other three, though, have devoted the past couple of months to becoming filthy little critters, and with the arrival of several days’ worth of houseguests it was time to tidy them up a bit.  Easiest way to dry them off afterward? Fill up the bathtub with towels and let them have at it:  http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf A.  Continue reading Friday Ferretblogging: Bath Aftermath Edition

Adrastos, Political Crack, Stupid Republican Tricks11 Comments

To the moon, Newt

Peter Adrastos Athas

Newt Gingrich seems to be channeling either Jackie Gleason or Ray Bradbury right now. Personally, I think alunar base would be awesome in a sci-fi, Trekkie kinda way but the Apollo program, uh, took off when the economy was purring like a cat with a Harley implant. I wouldn’t, however, object if we sent Newt to the moon: he could be the Lunar Kaiser instead of a mere candidate pandering to Florida’s Space Coast. Continue reading To the moon, Newt

Michael F7 Comments

Makes Me Wonder More ‘What’s in the Water?’ There

FromAlbum4 I realize “Low-Double-Digit-IQ-and-Oklahoma-State-Senator” isn’t exactly news, but this, no pun intended, truly takes the cake: Oklahoma GOP State Senator Ralph Shortey is on a mission to finally put an end to his state’s allegedly rampant cannibalism problem. Alarmed after his own research, which consisted of reading a nameless report stating that companies have used stem cells in the production of food, Shortey introduced a bill that would prohibit the manufacturing and sale of food “which contains aborted human fetuses.” Chicken embryos, though, are on their own… Continue reading Makes Me Wonder More ‘What’s in the Water?’ There

Athenae, Economy, Immoral Values, Scott Walker's Horcruxes6 Comments

What We Can Afford

This one burns a little hotter than all the other rage-inducing hippie-punching poor-hating nonsense coming out of Wisconsin’s legislature on a daily basis: In the Wisconsin Legislative session of 2009-2010, a bill passed both the Senate and Assembly providing health insurance to the families of firefighters killed in the line of duty. For reasons unknown to me, police officers were not included in this legislation. However, in May of 2011, a bipartisan effort led by Republican Senator Van Wanggaard and Democratic Senator Bob Jauch sought to remedy this. Senate Bill 18 added the health insurance protection to the surviving spouses … Continue reading What We Can Afford

Current Affairs, Jude, Stupid Republican Tricks4 Comments

Today In Wisconsin Republican Duck-Fuckery

Funny, he doesn’t look like an utter halfwit here. That, ladies and gentlemen, is Wisconsin state senator Glenn Grothman (R-Lead Industry). Why is he the duck-fucker of today, you ask? Simple.Just look here: The bill, introduced only last week, is moving at breakneck speed, getting a hastily scheduled public hearing on Thursday. Introduced by Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, the proposal also apparently has the blessing of Republican leadership. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has signed on as a co-sponsor. “When a court does something that’s as outrageous as (the Thomas ruling), when they retroactively tell businesses that were producing … Continue reading Today In Wisconsin Republican Duck-Fuckery

Afghanistan, So Called Liberal Media, Stupid Republican Tricks6 Comments

Codetalkers

This: The only people who find Alinsky’s writings radical are the Haves, because it suggests that the Have Nots have the power to equalize the system a little more. That’s a scary concept for the one percent for which the GOP is entirely dedicated. But unlike former Reagan Budget Director David Stockman in the clip above, I do think this resonates with those Republican voters notorious for voting against their own interests. Because not one of them will bother to get informed on Alinsky. Not one of them will bother to do any critical thinking but simply categorize Alinsky as … Continue reading Codetalkers

Adrastos, Current Affairs, Law/Justice, Music, Sports, Stupid Republican Tricks3 Comments

Odds & Sods

Peter Adrastos Athas

I’m in for yet another week from h-e-double hockey sticks so I thought I’d go the quick blurb route. I also decided to pander to all the ice people out there by making a hockey reference. Guess I’m still capable of some puckishness. The No Harbaugh Bowl Blues:I was pulling for the Harbaugh brother coached Ravens and Niners yesterday and we know how that went. I didn’t watch either game but it sounded like the heartbreak of psoriasis for those who did since nobody but their own fans root for either the Foxboro Bradys or the Jersey Elis. The good … Continue reading Odds & Sods

Athenae, Economy, So Called Liberal Media4 Comments

Story Fatigue

The public wants better news than it’s getting: Even duringweeks when the economy was the top story, interest surpassed coverage. For example, the week of Dec. 8, 41 percent of people said they were following the economy very closely; it was 13 percent of coverage that week.From Dec. 15-18, 36 percent said they were following it closely; it was 10 percent of coverage. But hey, let’s talk more about abortion, gay marriage, Newt’s wives, Obama’s birth certificate, who “won” a debate, what video is “sweeping like wildfire across the Internet” and for fuck’s sake, the motherfucking weather: Keep stats like … Continue reading Story Fatigue

Pony, Bitches!, Tommy T, Travel4 Comments

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Cheesy Burgher in Paradise Edition

Good morning, all ! No post today, as Barbara and I are on our annual pilgrimage to theIberostar Quetzal in Playa Del Carmen, where agouti, peacocks, howler monkeys, and smiling bartenders roam the gounds freely. It’s co-incides with our wedding anniversary, and these good people always make it special. There will also be omelettes. Here’s a cheesy home movie I made of last year’s trip for those fo you who would like to glimpse something besides Janurary weather – incudes Bonus Barbara Wave: https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=183253625048900 Hasta luego! Tommy and Barbara Continue reading Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Cheesy Burgher in Paradise Edition