Daily Archives: April 19, 2011

April 19, 2011 · 5:47 PM

Gov. Brewer Signs Law Giving Tea Party Flag Same Status As American Flag

Jan Brewer

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Just when I thought AZ Gov. Jan Brewer had harnassed some common sense into her cerebrel cortex, she does this…

Think Progress

While Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) is rightly being praised for vetoing a so-called “birther bill” yesterday, she also quietly signed into law legislation that gives the Tea Party-associated Gadsen Flag the same protection as the American flag when it comes to home owners associations (HOA), the Arizona Daily Star reports:

Brewer also signed separate legislation Monday to expand the list of flags that HOA residents could fly despite regulations to the contrary.

Current law overrides any rules when it comes to the U.S. flag, the flags of any branch of the military, the state flag, the POW-MIA flag and the flag of any Indian nation. The new law will add the Gadsden flag to that protected list, that yellow flag with the drawing of a coiled rattlesnake and the phrase “Don’t Tread on Me.”

While the yellow banner dates back to the American Revolution, the flag and its “don’t tread on me” slogan have been appropriated by the modern day tea party movement and are now closely associated with the right-wing activists (it’s even on the tea party race car). The legislation came into being in the wake of a national controversy last summer sparked by an Arizona man who refused to comply with his homeowners association’s request that he remove a Gadsen flag from his house.

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· 3:13 PM

4-19-11 Did You Know?

 

Hedge Fund Gamblers Earn the Same In One Hour As a Middle-Class Household Makes In Over 47 Years.  When I heard this I couldn’t believe it.  The same people that want to take away from the middle class want to give those guys  more of a tax break.  Is this America?

Report confirms Walker budget would cut tax aid for poor, decrease overall taxes.  Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget would reduce tax credits for the poor — effectively taking money out of their pockets — while decreasing taxes overall, according to a nonpartisan report released Friday.

U.S. and Allies Seek a Refuge for Gadhafi.  The Obama administration has be  gun seeking a country, most likely in Africa, that might be willing to provide shelter to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi if he were forced out of Libya, even as a new wave of intelligence reports suggest that no rebel leader has emerged as a credible successor to the Libyan dictator.

Va. Nuclear Power Plant Shuts Down After Storm.  Dominion Virginia Power reports that an apparent tornado touched down on the switchyard supporting the Surry Power Station and the facility’s access road Saturday. The storm cut off the electrical feed from the grid to the station, which is located in Surry County, Va.

Progressive economist Paul Krugman says: Let’s Not Be Civil. ”Last week, President Obama offered a spirited defense of his party’s values — in effect, of the legacy of the New Deal and the Great Society. Immediately thereafter, as always happens when Democrats take a stand, the civility police came out in force. The president, we were told, was being too partisan; he needs to treat his opponents with respect; he should have lunch with them, and work out a consensus.”

Sure to drive the Tea freaks nuts, President Obama to ignore ‘czar’ ban.  President Barack Obama is planning to ignore language in the 2011 spending package that would ban several top White House advisory posts.  House Republicans tacked on language to the contentious spending bill to cut the salaries for four so-called czars — policy advisers appointed to assist the president on health care, climate change, autos and manufacturing, and urban affairs.

H/T The Randi Rhodes Show

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· 1:45 PM

Why Should we Trust Standard & Poors (S&P)?

It boggles the mind to see how print and television media are running around like headless chickens because the financial services company Standard and Poors lowered its outlook on the federal debt.  They tend to forget that S&P were the same group that gave AAA ratings to the mortgage industry just 3 or 4 years ago!   They were the ones who ok’d backing the industry!

Just as Princeton Professor Melissa Lacewell-Harris stated on Lawrence O’Donnell’s show last night, these guys have a credibility problem. 

The federal debt is indeed a serious issue, but ultimately, even the dumbest teabagger in congress will see that there is no choice but to raise the debt or risk global financial complications on a massive scale.

Yet, all the talk on cable news programs are mainly focusing on the S&P report that they are concerned about the political divide regarding the debt.

As far as I’m concerned, this is just another political ploy not unlike their 2007 and 2008 AAA ratings to support the mortgage industry debacle.

The Nation

The financial services company Standard & Poor’s lowered its outlook on the US federal debt yesterday, but as Nation contributor Melissa Harris-Perry said on The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell last night, we should take this news with a grain of salt. The S&P has a real credibility problem because, back in 2007 and 2008, the company was giving AAA ratings to the mortgage industry as the economy was completely collapsing.

The dilemma now, Harris-Perry says, is that the GOP has completely given up on any plan that could fix America’s financial problems. It’s a “really crazy thing,” she says, that America has a real way it could raise revenues that would not create pains for ordinary Americans, yet Republicans refuse to budge on their platform. Tax deductions for corporations could be eliminated. But, the GOP would rather protect corporations instead of working to save the social safety net in America.

See video: How the GOP Continues to Get it Wrong on the Deficit | The Nation

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· 12:18 PM

Blog Round Up from Friends of The Fifth Column

I’ve been looking at some of the blogs on my blogroll lsit and from commenters to this blog.  There’s some really good stuff out there…

Birtherism Abounds As Taitz Commits Fraud To Help It Along - Crazy Internet People

Movin’ on down the road - Whatever Works

Seriously, there are no racists in the Tea Party - New Land Press

Trust Your T**t to Walgreens - WriteChic Press

Chat Spot - The Regulator

donald trump and humility - The Upside of Inertia

What has happened to Dick Durbin? He’s criticizing Bernie Sanders over Social Security - AMERICABlog

AZ Gov. Jan Brewer Vetoes The Birther’s ‘Show Us Your Penis’ Bill - Crooks & Liars

On Fevers and Bad Films Based On Dumb Ideological Books - Mario Piperni

Open letter to conservatives, 2011 -  Russ’ Filtered News

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· 11:18 AM

Donald Trump: Reagan Was A Con Man Who Couldn’t ‘Deliver The Goods’

President Ronald Reagan appointed 376 federal ...

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Uh oh, something else that will not sit well with right-wingers.  An attack on their patron saint, Ronald Regan…

Think Progress

Today, real estate mogul Donald Trump proudly declares that Ronald Reagan is the President he admires most. Here’s Trump on the April 14 edition of Hannity:

HANNITY: Who are our past presidents that you admire most?

TRUMP: Well, I really like and knew a little bit Ronald Reagan, and I really liked him. You know, not only his policies, smart guy and so much smarter, you know, I always sort of have to laugh to myself when people try and criticize that level of intelligence. And I loved his style. I loved what he represented. … I thought he represented something very special for this county.

Watch it:

But in his bestselling book, Art of the Deal, published at the conclusion of the Reagan presidency, Trump cited Reagan as an example of someone who could “con people” but couldn’t “deliver the goods.” Trump said Reagan was “so smooth” that he “won over the American people.” But at the conclusion of his presidency, “people are beginning to question whether there is anything beneath that smile,” Trump writes. Here is page 60 from Art of the Deal:

Currently, Trump is the one who is creating “excitement,” doing “wonderful promoting,” generating “all kinds of press,” and testing the theory of how long you can “con people.” After promoting “birther” conspiracy theories about President Obama, recent polls show him leading the Republican field.

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· 8:52 AM

Orange Co. GOPer Says Obama-As-Chimp Pic Was Just A Joke Meant For Friends

The problem with those self defined innocuous jokes about Obama or Blacks in general, sent via  email or other media is this:  There is a vile history of denigrating African Americans in this country since the civil war, depicting us as monkeys, savages, and the like.  The perception being that we are stupid and have to be trained to act “human” (not to be confused with “humane”.)

TPM Muckraker

Orange County Republican party official Marilyn Davenport has sort-of apologized for sending out a racist picture of President Obama depicting him as a chimp being held by his chimp parents: “I’m sorry if my email offended anyone. I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origin of birth.”

She added: “Again, for those select few who might be truly offended by viewing a copy of an email I sent to a select list of friends and acquaintances, unlike the liberal left when they do the same, I offer my sincere apologies to you–the email was not meant for you.”

Davenport’s message came after the OC Weekly obtained a copy of an e-mail on Friday with a picture of the President photoshopped onto a baby chimp that’s being held by two adult chimps. “Now you know why no birth certificate,” the picture says.

[...]

Here’s Davenport’s full apology e-mail from Saturday — it’s definitely worth a read:

I’m sorry if my email offended anyone. I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origin of birth. In no way did I even consider the fact he’s half black when I sent out the email. In fact, the thought never entered my mind until one or two other people tried to make this about race. We all know a double standard applies regarding this president. I received plenty of emails about George Bush that I didn’t particularly like yet there was no ‘cry’ in the media about them. One only has to go to Youtube or Google Images to see a plethora or lampooning videos and pictures of Obama, Bush and other politicians. That being said, I will NOT resign my central committee position over this matter that the average person knows and agrees is much to do about nothing. Again, for those select few who might be truly offended by viewing a copy of an email I sent to a select list of friends and acquaintances, unlike the liberal left when they do the same, I offer my sincere apologies to you–the email was not meant for you. For any of my friends or acquaintances who were the recipients of my email and were truly offended, please call me so I may offer a sincere verbal apology to you.

 

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· 8:22 AM

Donald Trump, secret liberal? The top 10 reasons conservatives should distrust him

Donald Trump enters the Oscar De LA Renta Fash...

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I’m a native New Yorker (living in the south) and I have seen Donald Trump in action for years.  This sudden shift toward conservatism is just that, very sudden.  Trump has a record of supporting Democrats and liberal causes.

Now, I understand that everyone has a right to change their mind about their political ideology, but Trump seems to be evading the issue of his past political leanings.  Why?

Raw Story

Donald Trump has surged to the top of Republican 2012 polls after wholeheartedly embracing and vigorously touting in recent weeks the conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

But the billionaire real estate mogul and reality TV star — who insists he’s serious about running for president — has frequently changed his political leanings and policy positions on issues of interest to GOP voters. Although Trump has so far been unhindered by his flip-flops, presidential candidates ultimately have to answer for their past remarks.

Here are 10 past quotes that could sink Trump’s hopes of capturing the Republican nomination.

1) “I probably identify more as Democrat.”
–Interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, March 2004

2) “I’ve been around for a long time. And it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans.”
–Interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, March 2004

3) “Nancy — you’re the best. Congrats. Donald.”
–Handwritten note to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, January 2007

4) “Bush is probably the worst president in the history of the United States.”
–Interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, March 2007

5) “I’m totally pro-choice.”
–Interview with Fox News Sunday, October 1999

6) “I want to see the abortion issue removed from politics. I believe it is a personal decision that should be left to the women and their doctors.”
–Remarks to reporters, December 1999

7) “I’m very liberal when it comes to health care. I believe in universal health care.”
–Interview with CNN’s Larry King, October 1999.

8  ) “The Canadian plan also helps Canadians live longer and healthier than Americans… We need, as a nation, to reexamine the single-payer plan.”
–Writing in his book, The America We Deserve, January 2000

9) “By imposing a one-time 14.25 percent net-worth tax on the richest individuals and trusts, we can put America on sound financial footing for the next century.”
–Writing in his book, The America We Deserve, January 2000

10) “I think he [Obama] has a chance to go down as a great president.”
–Interview with NY1, November 2008

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· 8:08 AM

Jan Brewer vetoes birther bill, guns bill

Politico

Calling it “a bridge too far,” Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday vetoed the state legislature’s controversial “birther bill” and also rejected a bill that would have permitted guns on college campuses.

The Republican governor said the birther bill would have created “significant new problems while failing to do anything constructive for Arizona” and that she had no choice but to nix the legislation, which would have required presidential candidates to provide their birth certificates or other documentation proving that they were born in the United States.

In a letter explaining her veto to the House speaker, Brewer said she could not support legislation that “could lead to arbitrary or politically motivated decisions” about candidates’ eligibility for the presidential race, since Arizona’s secretary of state would be the single person to ultimately decide whether a hopeful’s documentation met the state’s standards.

“I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for president of the greatest and most powerful nation on earth to submit their ‘early baptismal or circumcision certificates’ among other records to the Arizona secretary of state,” she said in the letter. “This is a bridge too far.”

Read more…

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