Inspire Political Discourse

SB1070 Palin Again Defending What Was Wrought "We’re all Arizonians"

On Saturday, Palin spoke at a news conference with Gov. Jan Brewer [R-AZ] in an effort to discourage the growing boycott of Arizona due to SB1070, the immigration law enacted in Arizona earlier this month.

Palin defended the law by declaring President Obama responsible for the lack of secure borders, said lack "forcing" Arizona to take action to defend itself and secure it's own borders.

We're all Arizonans now. And in clear unison we say, 'Mr. President: Do your job. Secure our border”.

Okay, so here are a few FACTS for Ms. Palin:

  The crime rate in border towns has not increased for a number of years.

This Week in Bizarro World With Sarah Palin May 10 - May 15

Monday, 10 MAY 2010

Palin started her week by boldly lying about supposed pay decreases for our armed forces.The implication was that Obama was decreasing the pay of armed forces personnel, when in reality, he had requested a pay raise for them to take effect in 2011. Via BroadwayCarl:

Sarah's Facebook ghostwriter wrote:
“ Soldier pay decreases in the midst of overspending elsewhere and government union pay raises. Seriously? What are our priorities? ”
going on to cite a Newsmax article. Newsmax!

On the Facebook post itself, Palin's fawning, and unpaid, lackeys deleted all comments which called her out or cited the truth. I know this because not only did it happen to Broadway Carl, it happened to me when I posted a comment citing the truth of the matter. She scrubbed my comment, and banned me from her page.

John McCain Loves the US Chamber of Commerce

Did John McCain used to be a decent man, or was he always just a sleezy politician doing and saying what would get him re-elected? I vote for option no. 2. Via Think Progress:

Today, while the Senate continued to debate Wall Street reform, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) ventured south of the Capitol to a fundraiser hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Years ago, when McCain still considered himself a “maverick,” McCain and the Chamber clashed bitterly as McCain voted against the Bush tax cuts and pushed for campaign finance reform to rein in corporate power over elections.

ThinkProgress approached McCain as he walked to the fundraiser from his car. Asked if he supports new campaign finance reforms, McCain said no, and said that Rep. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-MD) bill does not include disclosure requirements for unions. In fact, the DISCLOSE Act would force ads funded by unions to reveal the same information as ads funded by corporations. Asked why he was attending a fundraiser hosted by the organization that helped kill his own campaign finance reforms, McCain flashed ThinkProgress a thumbs up and yelled that he “love[s] the Chamber of Commerce”:

The perils of selling yourself to the highest bidder.

Too Many Wall Street Shills ...

McConnell (R-Ky) managed to get 41 GOP senators to vote against even DEBATING the financial reform bill. This, after his private meeting with Sen. Cornyn and a group of 25 Wall Street executives, most of them hedge fund managers, a week earlier.

As a financial reform bill starts to take shape in Washington, two key lawmakers came to New York City last week to explain what it means for Wall Street, and how financial executives might help prevent some of its least market-friendly aspects from becoming law by electing more Republicans, FOX Business Network has learned.

About 25 Wall Street executives, many of them hedge fund managers, sat down for a private meeting Thursday afternoon with two of the most powerful Republican lawmakers in Congress: Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and John Cornyn, the senior senator from Texas who runs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, one of the primary fundraising arms of the Republican Party.

The undercurrent of the gathering, however, was undeniably political. [......]

It was revealed earlier in the week that McConnell's talking points came directly from a memo created by GOP pollster, Frank Luntz, and are nearly all completely false.

McConnell's hometown paper published a scathing editorial titled "McConnell to big banks' rescue". The Lexington Herald-Leader accuses McConnell of  pandering to Wall Street executives ,as well as his repetition of the false talking points created by Luntz. 

SEC Files FRAUD Charges Against Goldman Sachs

This is BIG. Civil charges only. But still……..

Goldman Sachs, which emerged relatively unscathed from the financial crisis, was accused of securities fraud in a civil suit filed Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which claims the bank created and sold a mortgage investment that was secretly devised to fail.
The move marks the first time that regulators have taken action against a Wall Street deal that helped investors capitalize on the collapse of the housing market. Goldman itself profited by betting against the very mortgage investments that it sold to its customers.(emphasis mine) [……]

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VIDEO: Maddow Exposes GOP Lies on the Financial Reform Bill

Maddow makes it clear. Republicans are liars, and are representing the interests of Wall Street rather than those of the American people.

Scott Brown Announces Payback to Wall Street

Scott Brown (R-MA), elected in January to fill Ted Kennedy’s seat in the Senate, after a campaign largely financed by Wall Street, is now “returning the favor”. But of course.

As the Senate prepares to take up Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-CT) financial regulatory reform bill, Brown said “in his strongest statement yet” that he “can’t support it.” While Brown said he is still “open” to working on a bipartisan bill, he seemed befuddled when asked how the bill could win his support: [……]

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VIDEO: Interview With Tea Party Racist Moron Carl Paladino

Yesterday, we posted a link to a breaking story about Carl Paladino, the Tea Party gubernatorial candidate in New York.

Today, Paladino was confronted at a Buffalo, NY rally by WNYMedia on camera, and yet Paladino never answers a direct question, just babbles incoherently about how this expose is a “Democrat smear”.

Via Think Progress:

Q: Do you condemn the stuff that was forwarded in those e-mails?
PALADINO: I don’t know. I don’t know what e-mails you’re referring to specifically. I wouldn’t even know half of them if I saw them.
Q: Let’s take a look at some of them. … Is that appropriate for somebody who’s running for governor to forward to other people? It’s a very simple question.
PALADINO: Is it appropriate for the Democrats to want to smear — Q: Carl, I’m not asking about the Democrats.
PALADINO: They can hear the rumblings, okay, of something happening.
Q: What does this have to do with the Democrats?
PALADINO: Everything.

Kudos to WNYMedia.net for exposing this creep.

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Keith Olbermann to Sarah Palin on Her Imaginary "Death Panels"

I just listened to this episode of Countdown, with Keith Olbermann. Two of the people Olbermann focuses on here are Sarah Palin and her inspired claims of "death panels", and Glenn Beck. Both are, in my view, among the most disgusting human beings I can imagine, and Olbermann speaks out for those of us who are bloody damn TIRED of the right wing's racist, fear mongering, violent, ignorant and un-American rhetoric.

 

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

COMPLETE VIDEO, Uncensored and Unedited: Jon Stewart Interview With Jim Cramer

Jon Stewart responds to the video posted here, re an interview with Jim Cramer, aired on Comedy Central last night.

Jon Stewart, forthwith to be known as the guy we turn to for the real news. It may be a comedy show, but as Jon Stewart spoke for everyone who has been affected by the takedown of Wall Street, it turned out to be a first class moment of real journalism. Well done, Mr. Stewart.

In segment no. 1, Cramer talks about Santelli, as well as his own mistakes. Uncensored, and unedited.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Interview Outtake Pt. 1

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

In segment no. 2, Stewart shows Cramer some video clips from his days as a hedge fund manager, a video which we posted here. Uncensored, and unedited.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Interview Outtake Pt. 2

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

In segment no. 3, Cramer defends his position as a commentator on an entertainment show. Huh. And here I, sadly deluded apparently, thought that "Mad Money" was intended to be taken seriously, used as a tool in the quest for financial solvency. Stewart says "These guys at these companies were on a Sherman's march through their companies, financed by our 401ks, and all the incentives of these companies were for short-term profit and they burned the fucking house down with our money, and walked away rich as hell. And you guys knew that was going on."

Jon Stewart, you rock. Unedited, and uncensored.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Interview Outtake Pt. 3

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

By the way, as Stewart himself said in video no. 3, Henry Paulson is the guy who wrote the rule that allowed people to over-leverage.

The video which started the brawl between Stewart and Cramer/CNBC, can be viewed here.

Host of MSNBC's "Mad Money", Jim Cramer, Admits to Manipulating the Market, Other Illegal Activity

You may be aware of the ongoing kerfluffle between Cramer and Jon Stewart, If not, I plan to catch you up later.

Suffice it to say that I am thinking that Mr. Cramer is now wishing he had simply ignored Stewart rather than acting like a big d.ick about the whole thing. Joe Scarborough might be wishing the same thing.

The video is an interview Cramer did with TheStreet.com in 2006, and in it, Cramer admits to illegal activity as a hedge fund manager. The video is fascinating but I dug around and found more info. Links below the video. Enjoy.

From HUFFPOST:

In it, the host of Mad Money says he regularly manipulated the market when he ran his hedge fund. He calls it "a fun game, and it's a lucrative game." He suggests all hedge fund managers do the same. "No one else in the world would ever admit that, but I could care. I am not going to say it on TV," he quips in the video.

He also calls Wall Street Journal reporters "bozos" and says behaving illegally is okay because the SEC doesn't understand it anyway.

Here are some gems:
-On manipulating the market: "A lot of times when I was short at my hedge fund, and I was positioned short, meaning I needed it down, I would create a level of activity before hand that could drive the futures,"

Jim Cramer is a Complicated Man
Jim Cramer Uses CNBC to Manipulate Stocks
A Scandal Unfolds, and the Media Mob Scampers
WATCH: In Shocking '06 Interview, Jim Cramer Admits To Market Manipulation, Touts Illegal Activity

Gregg Conflict of Interest With Commerce

:: The AP reports that Gregg may have had a conflict of interest which caused his resignation from the commerce post.
Too bad that he wasn't honest with the American people.
From HUFFPOST:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's former nominee to become commerce secretary, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, steered taxpayer money to his home state's redevelopment of a former Air Force base even as he and his brother engaged in real estate deals there, an Associated Press investigation found.

Gregg, R-N.H., has personally invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in Cyrus Gregg's office projects at the Pease International Tradeport, a Portsmouth business park built at the defunct Pease Air Force Base, once home to nuclear bombers. Judd Gregg has collected at least $240,017 to $651,801 from his investments there, Senate records show, while helping to arrange at least $66 million in federal aid for the former base.

Image courtesy of Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images. .
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Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration is unacceptable.

As a progressive who strongly supports civil rights for all citizens, including those in the gay community, I was disheartened and angered when I read that President-elect Obama had chosen Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration.

While I believe that I understand his intent, I disagree with it. And just because he is a democrat does not mean that I will not speak out when I believe that he is wrong.

Obama's "talking points" (fabricated by myself, and only an opinion) and my responses:

• PEBO is modeling "tolerance".

Oh, please. Why should one be tolerant of someone who is intolerant? I have zero interest in being tolerant of a viewpoint which refuses to recognize a woman's right to choose, which does not afford the same civil rights to gays as to any other citizen, and which feeds on divisiveness.

• PEBO is practicing inclusion.

Inclusiveness is all well and good, however, inclusiveness of a man who is himself not inclusive, who does not support the civil rights of the gay community, indeed, who has been active in the "ex-gay" movement, a movement which simply ignores all scientific evidence that sexuality is not a choice, is unconscionable in my eyes.

Just my two cents which I posted in the discussion on change.gov. Be sure to make your voice heard also. The site is having problems with heavy traffic, so check back if you get an error page.

EDIT: They began a new discussion after 5,000+ rick warren comments swamped the service discussion. :)

A Panel of Top GOP House Leaders Appoints the Ethically Challenged Doc Hastings to Chair Committee

Oh, my. How differently the GOP treats their "ethically challenged" pols as opposed to how we Dems treat ours.

A group of ranking GOP congressman have appointed Doc Hastings (R_WA) to chair the Natural Resources Committee. Hastings has a tarnished history, as reported today by Think Progress. There is much more to this story, so do be sure to check it out at TP. Bolding is mine.

Recall, Jack Abramoff once boasted of having an “excellent relationship” with Hastings, who received $14,000 from Abramoff’s firm, Preston Gates — including $1,000 from Abramoff himself. After taking control of the Ethics Committee, Hastings reportedly fired two staff lawyers involved in unanimous decisions to admonish Tom DeLay for improper fundraising. Hastings also contacted fired U.S. Attorney John McKay and attempted to pressure him in an ongoing investigation.

Daily Political News Summary - Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Scroll down or clickhere to view  today's updates on the Gov. Rod Blaogjevich corruption scandal.

:: WATCH VIDEO: Keith Olbermann

Olbermann names Fox News triple threat, Will, Hannity, and O'Reilly as the three worst persons.

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:: Pentagon attempting to sabotage Obama re Gitmo.

Harper's Magazine tells a story of the Pentagon's efforts to prevent Obama from following through on his promise to close down Gitmo, including the military commissions system that the Bush administration put in place. 

 As President-elect Obama works to make good on his promise to shut down Guantanamo Bay, including the military commissions system that his predecessor put in place, and which has become the butt of worldwide ridicule, the Defense Department’s close-knit circle of neoconservatives is busy laying traps and bombs to obstruct Obama’s plans. Their objectives are clear: they want to push the process of the commissions as far as they possibly can so that by January 20, Obama is presented with a fait accompli." HARPER'S Magazine

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:: An FBI probe in to Norm Coleman's ties to businessman Nasser Kazeminy?

 Federal investigators are looking into allegations that a longtime friend and benefactor tried to steer money to U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, the Pioneer Press has learned.  HUFFPO

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Day Two of the Blagojevich Corruption Scandal

| The arrest of Gov. Rod Blagojevich [D-IL] on Monday, remains the headliner on newspapers, and blogs, pushing all else aside. The fallout can only be unreliably predicted.

Some of the headlines today:

> The Early Word: Blagojevich Fallout - NYT

>  Illinois Governor in Corruption Scandal - NYT

>  Blagojevich plans to return to work on Wednesday - CNN

>  FBI: Ill. Gov. Tried To Sell Senate Seat - The Washington Post

>  Editorial: Resign, governor - The Chicago Tribune

| The disclosures continue, and I'll do my best to keep you updated throughout the day. The revelations regarding Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, began yesterday, so do check out my day one  post in order to get caught up if you haven't yet done so.

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Gov. Rod Blagojevich Arrested on Federal Corruption Charges

Gov. Rod Blagojevich [D-IL], along with his chief of staff, were arrested by the FBI today on federal corruption charges.

Read the full release detailing the charges from the US Attorney's office here.

Scroll down or clickhere to view today's political news summary.

A federal complaint charges Gov. Rod Blagojevich with conspiring to sell or trade Obama's vacant senate seat for personal benefit, along with other corruption charges.

“"The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering," U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement. "They allege that Blagojevich put a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism."”  Chicago Tribune

Image credit: Dec. 8, Chicago Tribune

:: Blagojevich, Illinois Governor Arrested - Huffpo

UPDATE NO. 1 - 1:30pm: Think Progress is reporting that Rahm Emanuel may be responsible for the FBI's quick action on Gov.Blagojevich today.

I am loving the idea that our incoming administration has actual scruples. You know, one of the many attributes of a fine character that has been in notably scarce supply for the past 8 years.

“Marcy Wheeler catches local Chicago press reporting that Rahm Emanuel may have tipped off federal investigators that Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was engaging in corrupt acts. Jack Conaty, a Chicago reporter for the local Fox affiliate, said on-air that Rahm Emanuel might have been responsible for causing federal investigators to act quickly to apprehend Blagojevich this morning:.”

Daily Political News Summary - Tuesday, December 9, 2008

►The story of the ultimate press conference, told by Salon.com, re the "The Born Conspiracy".

This would be a completely amusing read if these people weren't so very deeply pathetic. Try not to laugh....out of respect, ya know.

“Two and a half hours later, as dentist-slash-lawyer Orly Taitz harangued reporters for not investigating whether Obama's mother was actually dead, that hope had been obliterated. It was crushed by a torrent of half-baked legal theories, vague platitudes about the Constitution and sinister "facts" assembled by a collection of true believers so extreme that even Michelle Malkin wants nothing to do with them. (Let alone actual Republican operatives, who appear to realize that questioning Obama's citizenship isn't the best way to begin their journey out of the political wilderness.) Although the news conference wasn't quite over when Taitz began her harangue, it had been 15 minutes since a member of the audience compared Obama's alleged electoral fraud to how Hitler rose to power -- a sure sign it was well past time to leave.”

Graphic by MGM and IPD.;)

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►Gov. Rod Blagojevich [D-IL], along with his chief of staff, were arrested by the FBI today on federal corruption charges.

»Read the full release detailing the charges from the US Attorney's office here.

Read the story with updates, here.

Lieberman Goes Unpunished by Senate - DPN - Wednesday, November 19, 2008

►ABC News reports that P-E Obama has appointed a blogger, the first ever to fill a cabinet position, for his cabinet. | Source

►Lieberman crows to Couric about his lack of punishment, and says he feels "closer to Dems" than he has since 2000. *gagging*

Watch CBS Videos Online

“Asked to respond to critics who are angry at how little punishment Lieberman received for campaigning against Barack Obama in the election, the Connecticut Independent pointed to Barack Obama's appeal against retribution.”  »Huffpo

:: Lieberman: Dems didn’t punish me »Politico

►Not really political 'news' persay, but nevertheless of interest to many online, Andrew Sullivan, at The Atlantic poses the question "Will Blogs Kill Political Magazines?" Interesting and well written, Sullivan is one of my favorite writers online.

:: James Joyner responds to Sullivan »Outside the Beltway
:: Sullivan responds to Joyner in Will Blogs Kill Political Magazines?, Ctd.

On Sarah Palin - Intolerance is Not a Quality to be Admired in Anyone, Much Less in a Public Servant

64% of Republicans would like to see Palin run for president in 2012. WHY??

Look, let's face it. Sarah Palin is many things, but intelligent, dedicated to the people she serves, fiscally conservative, ethical, competent, tolerant and truthful she is not.

Yet more from NEWSWEEK, via the Huffington Post. A minor thing, perhaps, but the intolerance revealed by her behavior would be frightening if she were governing more than a state with a small population. From the NEWSWEEK issue dated November 17:

The day of the third debate, Palin refused to go onstage with New Hampshire GOP Sen. John Sununu and Jeb Bradley, a New Hampshire congressman running for the Senate, because they were pro-choice and because Bradley opposed drilling in Alaska. The McCain campaign ordered her onstage at the next campaign stop, but she refused to acknowledge the two Republican candidates standing behind her.

And a bit of humor re Palin, from Gail Collins at the NYT:

The Republicans are being way more nasty to Sarah Palin than the Democrats are to Lieberman. They’ve been portraying her as both a shopaholic and a woman who walks around in nothing but a bath towel, a hillbilly who’s also a prima donna. The leakathon climaxed this week when Fox News’s Carl Cameron announced that Palin did not know that Africa was a continent.

RELATED POSTS

>More on the Sarah Palin Wardrobe Flap
>A Picture of the Real Sarah Palin Emerges and Yes, She is As Bad As We Thought She Was
>Newsweek Outs Sarah Palin Regarding Her Shopping Spree
>Senator Palin???