Sarah Vick?

I am totally hyped for my "birds" going into Big D this Sunday and taking on the Cowgals. Here is hoping that my main man, Michael Vick, chuck and ducks out another win for the birds. (Did I mention that I hate the Cowgals?)

Michael Vick is a perfect segue into my next post, because I want to talk about my girl Sarah Palin and an interesting double standard being played out in A-merry-ca.

Unless you have been living on another planet you know by now what Michael Vick was accused -and ultimately found guilty- of. He served two years and lost a hundred million dollars for his mistreatment of Fido. But thankfully, and with all due respect to F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are second acts in American lives. And Michael Vick is burning up the stage while he plays out his. But I digress.

Sarah Palin has been torturing animals and killing them for sport as well, and she is a hero to a lot of people here in A-merry-ca. Why? Where is the outrage for this heartless killer? Sadly, it took a Hollywood screenwriter to point out our willful hypocrisy:

Unless you've never worn leather shoes, sat upon a leather chair or eaten meat, save your condemnation."

You're right, Sarah, we'll all just go fuck ourselves now.

The snotty quote was posted by Sarah Palin on (like all the great frontier women who've come before her) her Facebook page to respond to the criticism she knew and hoped would be coming after she hunted, killed and carved up a Caribou during a segment of her truly awful reality show, Sarah Palin's Alaska, broadcast on The-Now-Hilariously-Titled Learning Channel.

I eat meat, chicken and fish, have shoes and furniture made of leather, and PETA is not ever going to put me on the cover of their brochure and for these reasons Palin thinks it's hypocritical of me to find what she did heart-stoppingly disgusting. I don't think it is, and here's why.

Like 95% of the people I know, I don't have a visceral (look it up) problem eating meat or wearing a belt. But like absolutely everybody I know, I don't relish the idea of torturing animals. I don't enjoy the fact that they're dead and I certainly don't want to volunteer to be the one to kill them and if I were picked to be the one to kill them in some kind of Lottery-from-Hell, I wouldn't do a little dance of joy while I was slicing the animal apart.

I'm able to make a distinction between you and me without feeling the least bit hypocritical. I don't watch snuff films and you make them. You weren't killing that animal for food or shelter or even fashion, you were killing it for fun. You enjoy killing animals. I can make the distinction between the two of us but I've tried and tried and for the life of me, I can't make a distinction between what you get paid to do and what Michael Vick went to prison for doing. I'm able to make the distinction with no pangs of hypocrisy even though I get happy every time one of you faux-macho shitheads accidentally shoots another one of you in the face." [Source]

I could not have said it better myself.

"Evildoers"

I see that the evil ones are still up to their old tricks in Washington:

"WASHINGTON – House and Senate Republicans on Wednesday thwarted Democratic efforts to award $250 checks to Social Security recipients facing a second consecutive year without a cost-of-living increase.

President Barack Obama and Democrats have urged approval of the one-time payment, saying seniors barely getting by on their Social Security checks face undue hardships without the COLA increase.

But most Republicans contended that the nation couldn't afford the estimated $14 billion cost of the payment, and that the COLA freezes in 2010 and 2011 come after seniors received a significant boost in 2009.

The measure was brought up under a fast-track procedure in the House that required a two-thirds majority for passage. The 254-153 vote in favor of the bill fell short of that." [Source]

Damn! You mean to tell me that you republi-clowns can't afford $250 for grandma? That's the cost of a tie and a shoe shine for you boyz. But I am not surprised, republi-clowns tend to roll like that:

"An Indiana baby needs life-saving surgery, but the state health care agency -- whose budget was slashed this year -- won't pay for it.

Six-month-old Seth Petreikis suffers from complete DiGeorge syndrome, which keeps him from developing a thymus, an infection-fighting glandular organ. He needs a transplant that's been pioneered by a specialist at Duke University in North Carolina. But the procedure costs $500,000, and the state's Family Social Services Administration won't pay for it under the state's Medicaid, reports the Northwest Indiana Times. It claims that the treatment is "experimental" -- even though 58 of 60 children to receive it have survived.

We last wrote about Indiana's FSSA after some of its staffers told parents to drop off their developmentally disabled children at homeless shelters. The parents had failed to receive schedule Medicare waivers to pay for care, after Gov. Mitch Daniels -- who is now weighing a possible 2012 GOP presidential run -- cut the agency's funding to deal with a budget shortfall." [Source]

At least we know that they don't discriminate; they f&^% over young and old.

But wait, there is more:

"The Senate Republicans did what they said they'd do today -- they blocked a bill aimed at providing over $7 billion in federal money for 9/11 responders and their families because it came before a vote on taxes. But despite the almost scripted outcome, Democratic Senators behind the bill seemed shocked at the outcome.

"We are gravely disappointed," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), a key sponsor of the bill, told reporters following the failed cloture vote. "When every Senator on the Republican side signed a letter saying no business can be done until they had a vote a vote on a tax issue, I find [it] to be morally reprehensible."

Sen. Chris Coons, a Democratic Senator from Delaware for all of three weeks, said the bill was the first one he chose to co-sponsor. The fact that the GOP stopped it in its tracks (for now, at least) was a surprise, he said." [Source]

Oh my! The young; the old; and first responders.

Still, if you are the GOP, it must be nice to know that you have a major news network in your pocket to work on your image for you:

"It's no secret that Fox News' political coverage isn't always quite "fair and balanced." But emails obtained by Media Matters show that Fox News' Washington managing editor Bill Sammon urged his staff to actually echo Republican talking points on the health care debate.

According to the emails, Sammon directed his staff to use specific wording when describing the health care debate, preferring the term "government option" over "public option."

Here's an email that Sammon allegedly wrote, outlining his instructions:

1) Please use the term "government-run health insurance" or, when brevity is a concern, "government option," whenever possible.
2) When it is necessary to use the term "public option" (which is, after all, firmly ensconced in the nation's lexicon), use the qualifier "so-called," as in "the so-called public option."

3) Here's another way to phrase it: "The public option, which is the government-run plan."

4) When newsmakers and sources use the term "public option" in our stories, there's not a lot we can do about it, since quotes are of course sacrosanct.

Apparently Sammon's instructions made an impact. Media Matters reports that Republican pollster Frank Lutz in August told Fox News' Sean Hannity that referring to health care reform as a "government option" creates more public disapproval than calling the reform a "public option." Media Matters also reports that the memo affected Fox News anchor Bret Baier's wording from one night to another." [Source]

You can't make this stuff up. And yet, there are folks in A-merry-ca who still believe that the folks over at Radio Rwanda are real journalist. Unbelievable.

Life Is a Balance

"A van careered off a mountain road and ended up balanced on a cliff edge. The vehicle plunged down a rock face in Colorado and dangled on a precipice 170ft from the ground. (The driver) tried to balance the weight of the van but in his confusion climbed onto the back seat which was already hanging off the cliff. Rescue crews managed to manoeuvre him from the van and up the cliff face before he was airlifted to hospital where he received treatment for minor injuries."

I saw the above picture while reading the Guardian online at my hotel in Nairobi about two weeks ago.  Since my return to South Africa 12 days ago I have managed to work in another visit to Kenya before the clock turns to 2011.

On Sunday I am going to Lamu the Island city that is a UNESCO "World Heritage Site".

Lamu's fate (culture and heritage) hangs in the balance so to speak.

The Kenyan government seems intent on turning Lamu into a trading port.  There is also strong evidence to suggest that the government is 'dumping' IDPs (internally displaced people) in Lamu.

The 1400 year history of Lamu hangs precariously.

Onward!

Picture and caption Credit

Imagine there's no hypocrites in Washington.

So it's been thirty years since that wack job with the Catcher in the Rye jones put a cap in John Lennon's dome. He seemed like a cool dude and all, but I never understood the obsession. (Field, that's heresy! I know.) This is how f&^%$d up I am; Ringo Starr has always been my favorite Beatle.

Anyway, it looks like O might share a tragic anniversary with Lennon. This is the day that Lennon died, and it might very well be the day that the Obama mystique died as well. (At least with the lefties) I sure hope not. Maybe he will be ultimately viewed as a disappointment, but he does have two years to go. That is an eternity in polit-tricks.

Folks want to know why I am not as pissed off about his O ness caving as some other people, and I always have to explain that I never expected as much from the man as the people who are crying a river now. I took him for what he was: a career politician raised in old school democratic urban politics with a centrist and go along to get along mind set. He is no more no less. Ultimately what type of president he was going to be was going to depend on the people he surrounded himself with. That's why I was disappointed when I saw the first cast of characters.

---I am still waiting for someone to get his ear who knows what is going on with real people in A-merry-ca.

Still, what is pissing me is watching folks like Mary Landrieu play Jane f&^%$#g Addams all of a sudden. Give me a break! Question for folks like Michael Collins over at the Agonist; why are you even using Mary Landrieu as an example of liberal angst?

"Here's what Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu said about the deal. Landrieu is a conservative Southern Democrat with big energy agenda. She represents a very conservative state. Even she knows this deal is a disaster.

"He's enthusiastic about this new arrangement dealing with the Republican caucus that stated, according to their leader, their number one objective is to unseat him. I can understand trying to appeal to independent voters. I do that myself. I think it's very important. But this sort of enthusiasm for caucusing with Republicans – and he didn't even, literally, didn't even speak to the Democratic caucus. Not any of it. Not the liberal group, not the moderate group, not the conservative group," said Landrieu. Senate Democrats Openly Upset with Tax Cut Deal

When Mary Landrieu opposes your strategy on tax cuts for the rich, you know you've gone too far. But Obama is just doing his job, the one he signed up for - an elegant, charming functionary for the ruling class who could fool people just long enough to allow the Bush bailout looting to continue in full force."

Ahhh excuse? Let me remind you folks of something: MARY LANDRIEU VOTED FOR THE BUSH TAX CUTS! (h/t Lawrence O'Donnell for calling out this fraud)

" this "is beyond politics. This is about justice and doing what's right."

O- man, no wonder you're going gray.

Calling all Obamaholics!

*

Let me start this post by saying RIP Elizabeth Edwards, you went down with dignity. Breast cancer is a bitch!

Now let me get to my man O and these tax cuts he officially caved on today.

First, a few words for some folks like Bill Maher who are taking certain liberties with his O ness because of his race. Stop it! You can criticize his "wimpiness" without making reference to his black side. Like WTF? You never heard of wimpy black people? Just because he is black doesn't mean he has to fit into your stereotype of black people. That sh&^t is ignorant and backwards.

"Bill Maher expressed disappointment and frustration with President Obama on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on Sunday. The president, he said, has been too timid in pursuing the Democratic agenda. "I thought, when we elected the first black president, as a comedian, I thought two years in, I'd be making jokes about what a gangsta he was, you know?" Maher said. Instead, Maher said we've got "President Wayne Brady."

Huh? Memo to Bill: just because you get some black loving every now and then, doesn't mean you get a black pass. Obama is an Ivy League educated lawyer who grew up in Hawaii you ignorant mother.....let me stop. -My sister told me to stop cursing so much on my blog- Did you expect him to get all gully like some dude from deep in the streets of North Philly?

And while I am on the subject; it's not only Bill Maher, some of you Negroes are doing the same thing. Who the hell is Laura Washington? This clown wrote an article titled: "Many prodding Obama to go black." Again, what does that even mean? Go black? How about just going smart? And yet another one of those not black enough headlines. This one from my friends over at the Maynard Institute (who, by the way, I love) and the subtle...well not so subtle imagery from that *cartoon above by the very white Mike Lukovich. And question for Courtland Milloy: why does he have to "throw some elbows"? (Pleeeese tell me that wasn't a reference to the Ludicrous song?) Is it just me or does it seem like the entire country is caught up in some fifties Tarzan movie?

So on and on it goes. The left is pissed at our bridge building president and rightfully so. You don't build bridges with people who don't want to cross it. They will wait until you are in the middle and then blow it up. But we need sensible commentary about the issues and the shortcomings of Obama the man. Not the black man.

I am not mad at folks like Glen Ford (although I don't necessarily agree with him. I will take the 50% of what O does right, over the 0% of what the wingnut in charge would be doing right any day) because he has been on Obama's case from day one. Or, the always refulgent Kristina vanden Heuvel, (this latest post was money) because she is always consistent with the issues and where she stands as a progressive in this country.

Still, you have to wonder; all these leftist and liberals jumping from the good ship O.--- Where are the Obamaholics when you need them?What happened to you bloggers O invited to the White House?----

Watch how you jump ship, folks. Unlike our boy, you can't walk on water.

Can you stop a weasel with a pitchfork?

I swear, every time I see that little weasel, Mitch McConnell, I want to take a pitch fork to his dome. (I am speaking metaphorically so save your damn e-mails.) I love you Claire McCaskill, let's raise our pitchforks together. These wingnuts can try to spin this tax brake for wealthy folks anyway they want to, it's still a tax break for folks who don't need it, and it will cost us money, damn it! I thought that they wanted to reduce the deficit.

And now, to add insult to injury, "the One" has decided to go ahead and cut a deal with the weasels of Washington. Wingnuts are crying a river, and they claim that raising taxes during tough times for any A-merry-can would be wrong. Bulls^%t! Not raising taxes for high end wage earners will cost us more than the extended unemployment benefits and the payroll tax cuts combined. His O ness wanted those things in his little deal with the devils. Not enough! -BTW, I am writing this as someone who would be hurt more than many of you reading this by these cuts, so I come to this debate from a position of moral rectitude.-

"Administration officials sought to cast the deal in a positive light, saying many of the new provisions would do more to accelerate the economic recovery than the tax cuts at high income levels.

But Congressional Democrats have expressed increasing anger that the payroll tax cut and the jobless aide, which Mr. Obama demanded in exchange for continuing the Bush-era tax rates for the highest-income Americans, were not enough in return for such a big concession.

The payroll tax cut would put about $120 billion back in the pockets of workers and the unemployment benefits would cost about $60 billion, officials said. Continuing the lowered tax rates for the highest-earners, by contrast, would cost the government $700 billion in lost revenue over the next 10 years, according to budget analysts.."

Do you hear that O? SEVEN HUNDRED BILLION. (With B) Remember that figure come 2012 when the little weasels in Washington are slamming you about the budget deficit.

Still, I am glad to hear that hard working folks who lost their jobs and now depend on their unemployment benefits might be spared. Folks like Felicia Robbins might still have a happy holiday. You know who won't have a happy holiday? Folks like yours truly who are sick and tired of seeing the weasels in Washington get over on hard working people.

I know what I want from Santa this Christmas: a nice pitchfork.

Easy pickings.

There is something that always infuriates me with the political debate here in A-merry-ca. It's this obsession we (by we I mean conservative black and white folks) have with going after poor people and giving those with means a pass. This is why I can't blame folks like my girl Eco.Soul for being pissed.

For instance, this latest blingnut (That's a black wingnut in case you were wondering.) found it convenient to go after the folks in Atlanta who were clamoring for heat subsidies, recently:

"Things almost spun out of control and people had to be sent home. Why is this happening there and not all over? Simple, welfare mentality.

Is Atlanta that much worse off than the rest of the country? No. I think the city's unemployment rate is slightly higher than the rest of the country, but clearly people have come to think that they can get money from "the government." But the government doesn't have any money. The government never has any money. It must take money from other people.

How many of these people were on their cellphones while waiting in line? How many of them have flat panel televisions? Cable tv?

There are people in our government who understand that the more they get us dependent on them, the more power they have. " [Link to the clown. You are welcome for the hits]

Hmmm, I wonder if my man did a post about millions of dollars worth of farm subsidies going to rich folks in New York? -----No, there is not a lot of farm land in New York.

He called it a "welfare mini-mob", and he was outraged that some of them might actually have "flat panel televisions", cell phones, and a "Cable tv" in their homes. Granted, I have issues with folks trying to have certain luxuries when they can't afford it, as well as them not prioritizing their spending. I get that. But I also have problems with greedy corporations not reinvesting in A-merry-ca and sitting on trillions of dollars that they could be spending to give people jobs. Not to mention them using every tax loophole available to pocket their billions and billions of dollars in profits. Why doesn't this clown do a post about them? I will tell you why: because he has fallen into that same rich man good, poor man bad trap that has become the norm in political discourse here in A-merry-ca. It's always much easier to demagogue poor folks and score easy brownie points with folks of a certain stripe that you are trying to impress. It's harder to speak truths and to attack the real problem with poverty here in the land of the [some are] free.

But don't worry Kenneth, they don't need you, they already have all the lobbyist they need to do their dirty work. You posting on a blog to a few of your conservative friends won't get you Thomas Sowell status. It only gets you in the house and raises your slave catcher bona fides. Which, of course, I am sure you won't mind.