gwydion | Aug. 18th, 2011

Aug. 18th, 2011

* You know that huge job creation rate Rick Perry is claiming? It's a net.7%. The net government job creation rate in Texas is 7%. Basically, that's being offset by the incredibly low private sector hiring rates. IE: so many people are getting downsized in the private sector that the government hiring is not enough to raise the net job creation up into whole numbers. The only reason there unemployment level is a bit below national average is because the price of oil is so high and they are an oil producing state. Rick Perry wants to cut Public sector further and spread the Texas economic model to the whole country. Be afraid, be very afraid. It sounds more like a threat than a promise.

* Rick Perry has called for an end to Public Education. He's already laid off large numbers of teachers and cut school budgets. Not surprisingly, the Anne Richards education gains that George W. Bush claimed credit for, then dismantled, are long gone, and test scores are amoung the lowest in the country. This is part and parcel with the National Level Republican attempts to make higher education unaffordable, strip union rights from teachers, and starving public schools of funds. The only surprise is that he is so open about wanting to deprive all but the wealthy of even basic education, like literacy. That is what dismantling the entire public school system would do, after all. How many people can afford 13 or 14 years of private school for their children? Rick Perry wants us to find out by making this the only option.

* Both democrats up for recall won their elections in Wisconsin. There is still one more republican in the Wisconsin senate, but one of those Republicans was the only one who voted against the union stripping bill. Meanwhile, in Ohio, a referendum on repealing their union stripping bill is going on the ballot. Ohio Republicans, seeing what happened in Wisconsin, have announced they may be willing to soften the union stripping law in exchange for cancelling the election. Let's hop the Ohio democratic Party stands firm.

* The NNSA just returned from a successful mission to south Africa, securing 13.8 pounds of radioactive material taken from black marketers. The NNSA is one of the "unnecessary" government organizations that Republicans want to abolish, presumably on the grounds that letting terrorists have radioactive materials, thus making everyone in the world less safe is good for republicans. After all, nuclear bombs used against civilian targets are a good excuse to further erode civil liberties. Who cares if people die, as long as Republicans get what they want. The NNSA has taken enough material off the black market in the course of it's existence to make 150 nuclear bombs. It's an effective law enforcement agency that does measurable things to actually keep us safer, so of course the republicans are against it. Better to let people make the bombs and use them so we will have an excuse to invade more countries, right?

Remember how I've been saying that the right response to terrorism is law enforcement instead of armies? To me this is yet another examnple of republicans wanting to get rid of cheaper, more effective preventative law enforcement now in exchange for more expensive in lives and money after the fact response.

* Republican candidate Herman Cain is calling for the impeachment of Obama because he's refusing to fight for DOMA in the courts.

* I still couldn't get the lady in the billing department to phone me back with info I need for tomorrow's hearing. Sigh.

* Muppets: http://www.sparkindarkness.com/2011/08/ok-on-muppets.html

* FTW: http://lettersfromtitan.tumblr.com/post/9038856577/ladysisyphus-fuckyeahsirpatrickstewart-sir

* Yet more reasons that the late Nancy Wake was amazing: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/resistance-heroine-who-led-7000-men-against-the-nazis-2334156.html

"Ms Wake had mixed feelings about previous cinematic efforts to portray her wartime exploits, including a TV mini-series made in 1987. "It was well-acted but in parts it was extremely stupid," she said. "At one stage they had me cooking eggs and bacon to feed the men. For goodness' sake, did the Allies parachute me into France to fry eggs and bacon for the men? There wasn't an egg to be had for love nor money. Even if there had been why would I be frying it? I had men to do that sort of thing."

* Colbert interviews the last Space Shuttle Crew (extended version, 2 parts): http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/394871/august-16-2011/exclusive---space-shuttle-atlantis-crew---extended-interview-pt--1

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/394872/august-16-2011/exclusive---space-shuttle-atlantis-crew---extended-interview-pt--2

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

* A comparison of the double standard applied to nearly identical speeches by Michelle Obama and Michelle Bachmann with attention to othering of African Americans in politics: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44183267#44183267

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

* You know that huge job creation rate Rick Perry is claiming? It's a net.7%. The net government job creation rate in Texas is 7%. Basically, that's being offset by the incredibly low private sector hiring rates. IE: so many people are getting downsized in the private sector that the government hiring is not enough to raise the net job creation up into whole numbers. The only reason there unemployment level is a bit below national average is because the price of oil is so high and they are an oil producing state. Rick Perry wants to cut Public sector further and spread the Texas economic model to the whole country. Be afraid, be very afraid. It sounds more like a threat than a promise.

* Rick Perry has also called for an end to Public Education. He's already laid off large numbers of teachers and cut school budgets. Not surprisingly, the Anne Richards education gains that George W. Bush claimed credit for, then dismantled, are long gone, and test scores are among the lowest in the country. This is part and parcel with the National Level Republican attempts to make higher education unaffordable, strip union rights from teachers, and starving public schools of funds. The only surprise is that he is so open about wanting to deprive all but the wealthy of even basic education, like literacy. That is what dismantling the entire public school system would do, after all. How many people can afford 13 or 14 years of private school for their children? Rick Perry wants us to find out by making this the only option.

* Both Democrats up for recall won their elections in Wisconsin. There is still one more republican in the Wisconsin senate, but one of those Republicans was the only one who voted against the union stripping bill. Meanwhile, in Ohio, a referendum on repealing their union stripping bill is going on the ballot. Ohio Republicans, seeing what happened in Wisconsin, have announced they may be willing to soften the union stripping law in exchange for cancelling the election. Let's hop the Ohio democratic Party stands firm.

* The NNSA just returned from a successful mission to South Africa, securing 13.8 pounds of radioactive material taken from black marketers. The NNSA is one of the "unnecessary" government organizations that Republicans want to abolish, presumably on the grounds that letting terrorists have radioactive materials, thus making everyone in the world less safe is good for republicans. After all, nuclear bombs used against civilian targets are a good excuse to further erode civil liberties. Who cares if people die, as long as Republicans get what they want. The NNSA has taken enough material off the black market in the course of it's existence to make 150 nuclear bombs. It's an effective law enforcement agency that does measurable things to actually keep us safer, so of course the republicans are against it. Better to let people make the bombs and use them so we will have an excuse to invade more countries, right?

Remember how I've been saying that the right response to terrorism is law enforcement instead of armies? To me this is yet another examnple of republicans wanting to get rid of cheaper, more effective preventative law enforcement now in exchange for more expensive in lives and money after the fact response.

* Republican candidate Herman Cain is calling for the impeachment of Obama because he's refusing to fight for DOMA in the courts. *facepalm*

* I still couldn't get the lady in the billing department to phone me back with info I need for tomorrow's hearing. Sigh.

* Muppets: http://www.sparkindarkness.com/2011/08/ok-on-muppets.html

* FTW: http://lettersfromtitan.tumblr.com/post/9038856577/ladysisyphus-fuckyeahsirpatrickstewart-sir

* Yet more reasons that the late Nancy Wake was amazing: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/resistance-heroine-who-led-7000-men-against-the-nazis-2334156.html

"Ms Wake had mixed feelings about previous cinematic efforts to portray her wartime exploits, including a TV mini-series made in 1987. "It was well-acted but in parts it was extremely stupid," she said. "At one stage they had me cooking eggs and bacon to feed the men. For goodness' sake, did the Allies parachute me into France to fry eggs and bacon for the men? There wasn't an egg to be had for love nor money. Even if there had been why would I be frying it? I had men to do that sort of thing."

* Colbert interviews the last Space Shuttle Crew (extended version, 2 parts): http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/394871/august-16-2011/exclusive---space-shuttle-atlantis-crew---extended-interview-pt--1

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/394872/august-16-2011/exclusive---space-shuttle-atlantis-crew---extended-interview-pt--2

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

* Tuesday, Senator Tom Coburn said, "As an African-American male, Obama received tremendous advantage from a lot of these programs." Really? what are these tremendous advantages African American men get in our society exactly? The advantage of random stops and police harassment for driving while black? The advantage of being underrepresented at all levels of power? The advantage of being underrepresented in the private sector's highest levels such ass CEOs? The advantage of, if arrested, getting harsher sentences for the same crime? The advantage of being statistically more likely to be much harder hit by the financial crisis than white counter parts? The advantage of being less likely to be hired even when white candidates for the same job have identical or weaker credentials? not to mention the day to day bullshit, harassment, and suspicion African American men are still subjected to in day to day life. Racism is not dead, Senator Coburn, much as we'd like it to be, and pretending that African American me are somehow privileged over white men in our country shows that you are either lying or delusional. Trust me, plenty of white people are on assistance too. In every state I've lived in in my life significantly more white people were on assistance. I remember the toxic use of "welfare queen" during the Reagan era as Republican code for evil black women we should let starve and die. No matter that welfare does not let anyone live well, let alone like a rich person. No matter that white people are on assistance too. If you can other poor people, you can do terrible things to us and call it justified.

* While he was at it, he fantasized out loud about carrying a gun onto the floor of the senate, presumably to shoot senators who disagree with him. no word about what Gabby Giffords thought about him wanting to open fire on the Senate floor, but I can guess.

* Mr. Coburn is also in favour of abolishing Medicare as people could just pay for medical care with chickens or baked goods. Really? This fantasy again? I do not think the hospital would take out a gallbladder in exchange for a tray of cupcakes. Does anyone honestly think this would work in the real world outside of the world of politicians who get unlimited free government health care?

Here in the real world, hospital bills routinely cause poeple to go bankrupt and lose their homes. It's nice that Mr. Coburn gets all his medical care for free, but I take unkindly to his proposal to kill my mother because he's hankering for the 19th century for the rest of us.

* Mr. Coburn is now demanding the poor and unemployed pay more taxes to make up for the tax cuts for the rich. After all the bottom 50% of the country's earners own a whooping 2.5 percent of the wealth, while the those at the top 2% of earners own 40% of the wealth. I mean clearly, it's unfair that the people with 2.5% give all of that in, right?

It seems to me folks like Coburn won't rest until the wealthiest 2% have a 100% of the wealth right?

* Michele Bachmann is claiming if we elect her gas will be $2.00 a gallon again. I have to ask, how? Systematic price caps like that would require a massive intrusion into the private sector. I'm not convinced that it is constitutional, and even if it were, given how much money the oil industry spends to buy politicians, I have trouble believing that a majority in both houses would bite the hands of their corporate masters, especially since they hadn't enough spine to abolish the oil subsidy, a popular proposal that wouldn't cut into profits anything close to the way passing a law barring them from charging more than $2.00 would. I'm guessing that she isn't even proposing the only way the government could control prices. No, I'm guessing this is Republican magical thinking, just like retreading Hoover's economic policies is meant to magically fix the economy instead of taking measures known to work. Obviously, if we just trust someone with an incredibly tenuous grasp of reality everything will be sunshine and rainbows with pots of gold.

* Here is Time magazine's reality based debunking of Bachmann's claims that she will somehow magically make the price of oil drop, based on actual facts, statistics, and her economic policies: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/08/18/why-michele-bachmanns-2-a-gallon-gas-promise-is-a-fantasy/

* Michele Bachmann lied about a whole lot of things today, but frankly the list of the factual errors and lies was so long I simply haven't the energy to list and refute them. it seems to me, that as this is a near daily occurrence, the best response from news organizations would be to run her speeches and sound bites with a Colbert "The Word" style split screen with the actual facts on the blue side.

* Republicans are now attacking Obama for using Aerosmith's tour bus, even though that was the Bush administration. More evidence of Obama being a time traveler and having tremendous power of Bush Era decisions in Republican minds. They are also blasting him because he's using the bus the secret service bought to save money, and the Republican nominee will be using it too in few months. (See previous entry for why buying a bus is cheaper in the long ruin than repeatedly renting and upgrading them).

* Gov. Huntsman, the other Mormon Republican presidential candidate that isn't Romney, came out of the evolution closet today. He's the only one so far.

* Bachmann and Perry are both in favor of dismantling the EPA. After all, there is another oil puddle in the Gulf this Summer and how better to respond to the recent catastrophic oil spill than to dismantle all environmental protection. After all, look how well oil companies self regulate! What better thing to do than deregulate all industries!

* DC Hates Diversity: http://big-wired.livejournal.com/257616.html

* In case you missed it, Anderson Cooper really went after the Syrian Ambassador today, asking tough questions, and generally calling bullshit on the government claims that mysterious unnamed "armed gangs" are responsible for all the violence in Syria despite volumes of footage showing the economy; claims the US is in league with Al QWueada; and claims that there is a free press in Syria. It went way too long for me to link here, but I suggest checking out the Anderson Cooper 360 blog for some serious pwnage by the Silver Fox.

* "Church extends authority to absolve sin of abortion for papal visit:" http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/18/authority-to-absolve-sin-of-abortion-extended-for-papal-visit/?hpt=hp_c2

* FOX "news" is now calling Warren Buffet a Socialist for wanting to raise the tax rate for the rich to Clinton levels. I do not think that word means what you think it means, FOX "news."

* Today sucked to the point I still really want to just curl up in a ball and hide for a few days, but I don't want to talk about it yet. I'm bad at dealing with huge life changing stuff that's mostly out of my hands that can fuck me over permanently if they don't go right. Bonus points for the nausea being so bad this week that even with all the anti-nausea drugs it's a battle to eat anything. Bonus for the extra special pain coming from sleeping in small interrupted segments instead of a proper sleep schedule. I still need to run all over town for even more documentation, but I'm putting it off to Monday on the grounds of really needing a day of real rest.

* I've been mostly reading series books unlikely to interest y'all, plus Midnighters, and now the poison eaters anthology, which I am enjoying. It still pleases me that the Authority universe Superman and Batman are gay and in love with each other. I still would pay full price to see a quality Misha Collins Midnighter movie. Now who would be a tasty Apollo is the question? Alexander Skaarsguard maybe?

* neo_prodigy found, On Respecting the boundaries of your bisexual friends: http://cypheroftyr.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/on-respecting-the-boundaries-of-your-bisexual-friends-inspired-by-neos-post/

* I haven't read this book, but from the review it looks like it can do a lot of good out in the schools (trigger warning): http://slatebreakers.com/2011/08/18/review-the-mockingbirds-by-daisy-whitney/#more-303

* Melissa Harris Perry breaks down the vacation double standard when it comes to republican vacations vs. Obama's. (My thought has been that unless a news person, politician, or pundit, complained about bush taking a record number of vacations, or congress taking a month and a half off during this economic crisis, they should shut up about Obama taking ten days. What exactly do they think he's going to do with Congress out of session?) Anyway, full breakdown of the underlying hypocricy is here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44197714#44197714

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

* John Stewart on Santorum and DOMA: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-august-17-2011/doma-sweet-doma---beer---anchor-nursing?xrs=share_copy

The Daily Show - DOMA Sweet DOMA
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* In honor of il_volpe: http://youtu.be/gs2kFrGluKs