TomCat

The GOP Idea of Latino Outreach

Posted by TomCat at 12:45 am Politics

Aug 012013

Every once in a while I run into something that is absolutely hilarious and absolutely true at the same time. I could not have come up with a piece that more accurately portrays the GOP idea of Latino outreach, let alone done it so comically.

Ready to gun down anything that resembles immigration reform and undocumented immigrants, the three hateful amigos are at it again! Cuentame.org‘s video, "A Republican Idea of Latino and Immigration Reform" stars the craziest, anti-immigrant Republican House members Louie Gohmert, Ted Poe and all-star Steve King.

"How is it that we can capture all the illegal grasshoppers from Brazil, but not the thousands of people that cross the border everyday?" Grasshopper Exterminator Ted Poe says in the clip…

Inserted from <Alternet>

I hope this spreads to every Latino voter in the US.

Poll Results–8/1/2013

Posted by TomCat at 12:45 am Blog News, Politics

Aug 012013

Here are the results of our House Immigration Zimmerman Verdict Poll. Politics Polls are not scientific, because those who respond are not balances according to demographic categories, and therefore, we do not demographically reflect the US population. Nevertheless, our polls are often accurate.

Poll0801

And here are your comments:

Posted by Phil P July 24, 2013 at 7:34 pm.

The defense put Trayvon on trial from the beginning and the prosecution never countered or presented Trayvon as a typical 17 yr old black kid nor alternative scenarios of the shooting that the jury could consider as Manslaughter.

Posted by Patty July 20, 2013 at 5:36 am.

It was a bit of everything. I knew it wouldn’t happen but I wished with all my heart that Zimmerman would have taken the stand. The jurors would have seen his hatred on display then.

Posted by Barbara K in reply to Patty July 21, 2013 at 2:08 pm.

Am I the only one who noticed how they wouldn’t let Zimmerman speak so the the jury could not hear his higher pitched voice?

Posted by Patty in reply to Barbara K July 22, 2013 at 4:10 am.

Barbara K, I had heard that mentioned on some news show at one time during speculation of the trial. I think it was before they even picked the jurors. One of their "expert lawyers" said something to the effect that they shouldn’t let him testify because of his high pitched voice. I thought that was the last of their worries.

Posted by Rixar13 July 19, 2013 at 3:49 pm.

AG Eric Holder said it best. The stand your ground law was for a problem that did not exist…

Posted by John Dasef July 17, 2013 at 10:12 am.

Instructions to the jury were heavily slanted in Zimmerman’s favor.

Posted by Fred Lemon July 17, 2013 at 6:05 am.

I also think it was a bit of all the things mentioned except nothing. I just ask what made it Zimmerman’s ground to stand on rather than Martin’s?

Posted by Angelica in reply to Fred Lemon

That was my question, too. Why did the prosecution ignore that? They should have raised hell and they didn’t.

Posted by Archie July 16, 2013 at 9:09 pm.

So when Mr Zimmerman moseys on down the street with shopping bag,is followed in the dark by someone who hollers"Hey you stop there!" You are of middle Eastern appearance, you are a terrorist! I,ll have to shoot you! Would the good folks of this jury say right ON!?

Posted by dave c July 16, 2013 at 12:54 pm.

a little bit of each?!

Posted by SoINeedAName in reply to dave c July 16, 2013 at 3:04 pm.

Most definitely, a little bit of each.

Posted by Angelica July 16, 2013 at 6:33 am.

I heard juror @37B on TV last night. The woman has an IQ about 4 points higher than a head of iceberg lettuce. She "liked what was in Zimmerman’s heart." I almost fell out of my chair. It was clear that she never saw the victim as human. I say she’s beyond ignorant because she thought the most compelling testimony OF THE WHOLE TRIAL was the doctor who talked about death screams in Nam.

Posted by Vanessa Dawne in reply to Angelica July 19, 2013 at 11:10 pm.

You’ve hit the nail on the head, Angelica! 37B was 1 of 6 making the decision & she was also part of the group who changed the minds of 2 or more of the 6 who were leaning towards ‘guilty’ — an ignorant bully. Is that really representative of a jury of Trayvon’s peers?

Was there any intelligence in that room?

Posted by Angelica in reply to Vanessa Dawne July 20, 2013 at 1:24 pm. From 70.127.233.x

After listening to her make outrageous claims that she "knew what was in Z’s heart," I can only conclude that she was part of the same dumber than dirt group that supports "Stand Your Ground" and all the racial inequality that goes with it.

Posted by Lynn Squance July 16, 2013 at 1:11 am.

I think it was no one thing. A jury made up of 5 white women and one Hispanic woman in my view is not racially balanced. For that matter, where is the token male? As I understand, the judged ruled that there could be no mention of race, yet in some of Zimmerman’s comments prior to the trial, racial profiling was done.

I hope the DOJ carries forth with an investigation and hate crime charges.

Posted by Angelica in reply to Lynn Squance July 20, 2013 at 1:31 pm.

Clearly, there was racial profiling. Those 40-something phone calls of his to the police prove it.

I voted for all of the top four choices. There was clearly bigotry on the jury. 37B proved that beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution was weak. They missed many opportunities to demonstrate premeditated malice. The defense was skillful. All those Republican donations bought great lawyers. The only choice I made, about which I have doubts is that the judge was biased. I thought that he should have instructed the jury that Martin had more right to stand his ground than Zimmerman, as he was the one being pursued. I figured the judge thought that stand your ground only applies to the white in a mixed race confrontation. On the other hand, since the Republicans are the Party of Death, it may be that stand your ground only applies to the armed survivor. I should have included another choice for Florida Law.

Open Thread–8/1/2013

Posted by TomCat at 12:44 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 012013

As I write for day 49, It’s only 79° at my desk, but that will change, because the forecast is 85° (add 15° in my ‘breezeway’), and the humidity is 77%. This the first time I have ever seen a forecast for “dry thunderstorms”. I received what appears to be good news on my apartment. I’m approved and first on the list on the 17th, when the woman from county, supposedly with the rubber stamp, returns. I’ll believe it completely when I have a rent receipt in hand, but it looks good.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:14 (average 4:32). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Responding to Pope Francis’s suggestion that the Pope is not capable of judging gays, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia contacted the Vatican today to say that he would be “more than happy” to help the Pontiff do so.

“If he’s having trouble judging homosexuals, well, then I’m his man,” Scalia told reporters after making his offer. “I have over a quarter century of professional experience.”

I’m sure he would get lots of help from Teabag Thomas.

From Me (data from Wikipedia): Where does our money go. This is the longest Short Take (vertically) to date.

1RedStatesTake

Most donor states are blue. Most moocher states are red.

From NY Times: A military judge on Tuesday found Pfc. Bradley Manning not guilty of “aiding the enemy” for his release of hundreds of thousands of military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks for publication on the Internet, rejecting the government’s unprecedented effort to bring such a charge in a leak case.

But the judge in the court-martial, Col. Denise R. Lind, convicted Private Manning of six counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and most of the other crimes he was charged with. He faces a theoretical maximum sentence of 136 years in prison, although legal experts said the actual term was likely to be much shorter.

It has always been my position, along with that of Henry David Thoreau, author of Civil Disobedience, that when one breaks the law in an act of civil disobedience, willingness to accept the punishment for so doing is what underlines the integrity of the act. That and more separates Manning’s heroism from Snowden’s behavior. I’m pleased that Bradley Manning was acquitted of the most serious charges against him, which were not justified in my opinion. I salute Bradley Manning and hope that the actual term of his sentence is short, the shorter the better, with full credit for time served.

Cartoon:

1Cartoon

Life in McCrorystan

Posted by TomCat at 2:26 am Politics

Jul 312013

Once upon a time, North Carolina used to be a lovely southern state, but that was before the state was replaced by the Totalitarian Fascist Plutocracy of McCrorystan, lead by TEAfuhrer Pat McCrory (R-InsaniTEA). He and his Republican cronies have transformed their Reich into a haven for election theft.

…the Republican supermajority in both the N.C. House and N.C. Senate voted in the most sweeping erasure of voters’ rights in the past century. Despite fervent, fact-laden, data-driven, and passionate debates from Democratic lawmakers, both houses of the N.C. General Assembly passed HB589: The House vote was 73-41, along party lines, and the Senate vote was 33-14, also along party lines.

The House version of HB 589 started out earlier this year as a two-page voter-ID bill. After the May crossover to the N.C. Senate, the bill came back as a 57-page piece of legislation that would:

Cut North Carolina’s early-voting period from 17 to 10 days, although counties would still be required to provide the same number of hours for early voting — an unfunded mandate that provides no resources or funds for counties to meet this requirement.

Prohibit counties from extending early voting hours on the Saturday before Election Day to accommodate crowds.

End early voting on the Sunday before Election Day, thereby outlawing the widely popular "souls to the polls" get-out-the-vote effort.

… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

Click through to learn the other draconian features of this Republican move to steal the right to vote from legitimate voters. TEAfuhrer McCrory is overjoyed.

Lawrence O’Donnell (no relation to Christine "O’Dingbat" O’Donnell) provided excellent coverage of the protest to TEAfuhrer McCrory signing the bill.

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

When the TEAfuhrer said I haven’t seen that part of the bill he was lying. The ONLY reason any politicians would openly admit having supported a bill without knowing want is in it is the intent to avoid explaining what they DO know and fully support.

I fully support the Moral Monday movement, and I urge them to file suit immediately, if they have not already done so.

The REAL Reason Republicans Oppose a Corporate Tax Cut Deal

Posted by TomCat at 2:26 am Politics

Jul 312013

Republicans always bellow jobs, jobs, jobs, when running for office. They also keep crying out for tax cuts for small businesses. Barack Obama has proposed a deal that would both create jobs and cut taxes for small businesses, but Republicans want nothing to do with it. Here’s the real reason.

President Obama on Tuesday will offer Republicans a “grand bargain for middle-class jobs” that couples corporate tax cuts with spending on job creation programs.

House Republicans quickly said they don’t see much of a deal as long as the president does nothing to lower taxes on small businesses and families.

Obama will announce his proposal in an address on the economy Tuesday at an Amazon.com warehouse in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The president will offer to cut taxes on most corporations from 35 percent to 28 percent, with a preferred rate of 25 percent for manufacturers.

The plan will also permanently increase the small business tax threshold to $1 million.

Obama is also seeking new spending on investment projects he says will benefit the middle class, such as infrastructure repair, aid to community colleges, and investment in manufacturing hubs.

To pay for the infrastructure investments and other spending, Obama is proposing a one-time tax on the hundreds of billions of dollars in income that multinational corporations have stashed offshore… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <The Hill>

Infrastructure spending and preferred tax rates for manufacturers would certainly create jobs and help families, but when it comes to jobs, the only openings that concern Republicans are lady parts. Increasing the small business threshold to $1 million certainly helps small businesses and families, but the only small businesses Republicans care about are ones like BP, Halliburton and Bain Capital.

The real reason is simple. Republicans want to protect the 1% vulture capitalists who have evaded paying taxes by stashing their wealth offshore. Those are the ones that both Obama and the American people want to pay their fair share. Those are the ones Republicans truly represent.

Open Thread–7/31/2013

Posted by TomCat at 2:25 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Jul 312013

It’s 84° at my desk, as I write for day 47 and the last day of July. We have a couple hotter days forecast followed by a couple more moderate days. The down side is that in the past, August and September have been our hottest months.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:56 (average 4:45). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: For generations, homosexuality has largely been a taboo topic for the Vatican, ignored altogether or treated as “an intrinsic moral evil,” in the words of the previous pope.

In that context, brief remarks by Pope Francis suggesting that he would not judge priests for their sexual orientation, made aboard the papal airplane on the way back from his first foreign trip, to Brazil, resonated through the church. Never veering from church doctrine opposing homosexuality, Francis did strike a more compassionate tone than that of his predecessors, some of whom had largely avoided even saying the more colloquial “gay.”

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Francis told reporters, speaking in Italian but using the English word “gay.”

What a surprise that is!! What will the Republican homophobes, who have used their Catholicism to bolster their TEAbuggery, do to justify spewing hate now?

From Truthdig: Illinois state Rep. Mike Bost is running for Congress. Apparently, he’s very loud.

This is a video put together by liberal fundraising group ActBlue, which, it should be noted, would prefer to keep all Republicans out of Congress

I agree with Act Blue. Republicans are bad for everywhere.

From TPM: A bipartisan road map to avoiding a government shutdown is emerging that involves Senate Republicans partnering with Democrats and the White House to corner the House GOP to continue the current funding levels until a broader budget accord is reached.

For it to succeed, the plan will require a handful of Senate Republicans to side with Democrats to break a filibuster and pass annual spending legislation making its way through the upper chamber. That part of the plan is already in motion — although some obstacles remain. If and when it passes, those close to the process say, the Senate and White House would have to stand firm against the House GOP’s strategy to slash domestic and poverty programs to protect the Pentagon in the hope that House Republican leaders would eventually give in and accept the framework as the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline approaches.

The big question is whether united pressure from Democrats and some Senate Republicans will be enough to force the House GOP’s hand. Given the last three years of budget brinksmanship, it’s not clear whether the House GOP will blink, although there are few tell-tale signs that some House Republicans are tiring of the politically damaging standoffs.

As long as Democrats do not cave in, House Republicans will, because the political cost to them will be so high, otherwise. The question is, will we be able to stomach what comes out of the Senate? Lets not react, based on assumptions. Lets wait and see what actually happens.

Cartoon:

31Cartoon

Republicans on Parade–7/30/2013

Posted by TomCat at 1:04 am Politics

Jul 302013

RepublicansOnParade

Here is the fifteenth article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s honoree is Mark Kessler, for the manner in which he typifies Republican decency, gentleness, and tolerance.

Meet Police Chief Mark Kessler, who has a YouTube Channel devoted to obscenity laden, homophobic rants punctuated by automatic weapons fire. This includes the most recent video he put up to apologize for previous videos that offended people. That one ends with him saying, "Fuck all you libtards out there, you take it in the ass!".

In addition to last week’s video titled "Shoot a Libtard Out of a Tree :)", he features videos where he uses a picture of Nancy Pelosi for target practice, rants about that "cocksucker" Secretary of State John Kerry for his presumed support of an alleged UN plot to take away our guns, and links to — James Yeager’s channel. You remember James Yeager. He was the law-abiding patriot who threatened to start killing people.

Here’s the thing. That self-inflicted wound? He did that in 2011! After that, he was put on leave due to his self-inflicted wound. They had an opportunity to make that leave permanent, but he is apparently back on the force. It would be a tragedy if this knucklehead had to kill someone before people took the risk seriously… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

Photo credit: Bay News 9

Here’s the video included with the article:

Don’t forget. This guy is an elected Republican government official and self-proclaimed member of the Tea Party. When he shot himself, he was off duty and embroiled in a bar fight. Those are the last circumstances in which any sane individual would use a gun. Despite his intense love for guns, he displayed typical Republican competence by shooting himself. He represents the best the Republican Party has to offer.

Open Thread–7/30/2013

Posted by TomCat at 1:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 302013

Writing early for tomorrow day 46, it’s 84° at my desk, but it should not be quite as hot in the old days. Yesterday our favorite Canadian taught us that it is possible to manage a fantasy football draft as effectively as GW Bush managed Katrina. Winking smile

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Yesterday it took me 5:27 (average 6:00). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The Nation: Starting today, workers in seven cities will begin the largest fast food worker mobilization in US history. Staff at chains including McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC and Wendy’s will reportedly walk out in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kansas City and Flint, Michigan.

While the workers are striking, even though I is not in my city, I shall eat not food from those restaurants.

From NY Times: As Detroit enters the federal bankruptcy process, the city is proposing a controversial plan for paring some of the $5.7 billion it owes in retiree health costs: pushing many of those too young to qualify for Medicare out of city-run coverage and into the new insurance markets that will soon be operating under the Obama health care law.

On the one hand, Republicans hate ObamaCare almost as much as they love stealing the right to vote from black people. On the other hand, they are happy to stick the nation’s taxpayers with the city’s obligations, while the 1% gobble up the city’s spoils.

From Alternet: Conservative talk radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are getting the boot from a major broadcaster. Politico’s Dylan Byers reports that Cumulus Media, the second biggest broadcaster in the country, is dropping Limbaugh and Hannity from its stations by the end of the year.

Wooo Hooo!!! Next, get them kicked off Clear Channel. Yes they have a right to free speech. But we have a right not to pay for their microphones by patronizing the advertisers who support them.

Cartoon:

30Cartoon

But they sure blew it with Bush!

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