More From The Michael Steele Minstrel Show

Honestly, this guy is an embarrassment:

TPM:

Appearing today on Laura Ingraham's radio show, RNC chairman Michael Steele said that he wrote his book Right Now before he became chairman. The problem is, the book itself doesn't read like it could have possibly been written before January 2009 -- it was clearly written in late 2009, either in November or December, and is based entirely on current events up to that point.

[...]When we here at TPM heard that Michael Steele had a new book, we immediately bought a copy and I proceeded to read the whole thing cover to cover. Unless Steele is remarkably clairvoyant, it seems as though it could not have been written before he became chairman -- it is overwhelmingly a commentary on the political situation in America under President Barack Obama, as of late 2009.

The book is full of references to current events in 2009: The stimulus bill, the health care debate, foreign policy, ACORN, the party switch of Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Tea Parties and the 9/12 March on Washington, etc.

Not just a liar, but a stupid and inept one, too. When is Steele going to recognize that he's just the trained monkey? And for those who don't know who I am--yes, I am African-American, and I say again: Michael Steele is a damn one-man minstrel show for the wingnuts, and I am embarrassed by this man. Not just for his politics, which I find odious, but mainly for his actions, which I find to be foolish, disrespectful, unintelligent, and clownish. Will someone please tell him that he's the monkey, not the organ grinder, and shut down this show?

"Unruly" In The Air?--Your Ass Is Mine

Another jackass caused a mid-air ruckus yesterday, resulting in the flight being escorted to the nearest airport by two F-16s:

An airliner with 132 passengers and crew aboard was diverted to Colorado Springs Airport today after an intoxicated passenger became unruly and locked himself in a bathroom, officials said.

AirTran Airways Flight 39 was en route from Atlanta to San Francisco when it made an unscheduled landing in Colorado Springs at 11:30 a.m., said John McGinley, the airport's assistant director of operations.

Two F-16 fighter planes were deployed by NORAD to escort the plane to the Colorado Springs Airport, NORAD officials said in a release.

The passenger, whose identity was not immediately released, was taken off the plane by Colorado Springs Police officers. He was being detained, but had not been arrested, McGinley said.

I'm sick of this shit. "Detained"? I promise you, if there's an "unruly" passenger on the next flight I take, or another whackjob with plastic explosive in his underwear, shoes, or asshole, the police won't need to "detain" them: I'll personally see to it that the bastard will need to be hospitalized. "Detained"?--no, more like "destroyed."

I have no tolerance for this crap. I mean, really.

Move Your Money

I've been following the development of this idea on the Huffington Post, and I like it! Why should we fund the lifestyles of the greedy & uncaring? Who says Wells Fargo and Bank of America are "too big to fail"? Watch this video, go the website, and then stick it to Potter!--move your money:

YeeeeeeOWWWW! Hot Pants!!

James Brown had no idea:

I've Always Said It Was Demons

HuffPost via Yglesias:

Matt Yglesias grabs a key paragraph from Peter Baker's lengthy New York Times magazine piece, "Inside Obama's War On Terror", in which Baker finds a coven of unnamed conservatives staying mum on their support of Obama's counterterror policies out of fear and/or resentment.

A half-dozen former senior Bush officials involved in counterterrorism told me before the Christmas Day incident that for the most part, they were comfortable with Obama's policies, although they were reluctant to say so on the record. Some worried they would draw the ire of Cheney's circle if they did, while others calculated that calling attention to the similarities to Bush would only make it harder for Obama to stay the course.

Now, who in "Cheney's circle" could make life difficult for these people, and why? Aren't they all "patriots," great Americans who love their country more than us dirty libs? Seems to me that the political takes precedence over policy with these folks, and HuffPost agrees:

[...]what Cheney is clearly trying to do is influence the politics, so any reporter worth his salt should be able to simply listen to Cheney and accurately report that the former vice president has been reduced to demagoguery. It's really just stupid to pretend that there's some great policy debate unfolding between the current White House and the previous White House.

After eight years of selling out America, eight years of government by venality and greed, eight years of lies, deceit, deception, and dishonor, shouldn't it be obvious to everyone that all that Cheney cares about is getting all he can get from the government, and the devil take the hindmost? The idea that Dick Cheney truly cares about the security of America truly makes me laugh. All Dick Cheney cares about is the security of Dick Cheney, and nothing else.

If the Obama Administration won't do what's right, then I can only hope that the Spanish or German government might someday soon "extraordinarily rendition" Dick to some Third World hellhole for crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, Cheney might find a hellhole comfortably much like home.

The Gifts Just Keep On Comin'...

Sunday's StarTribune (I never read that rag, myself; I first heard about this on TPM) reports that Minnesota may lose a seat in the House as a result of the 2010 Census:

Minnesotans have extra incentive this year to be sure they are counted -- and counted here -- by the decennial U.S. census that will begin in March. The retention of the state's current complement of eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives is on the line.

Now, who's been the most vociferous opponent to the Census in Minnesota? And who's also likely to lose their seat if the state loses a congressional district as a result of the 2010 Census?

It's ironic that a Minnesota member of Congress, Republican Michele Bachmann, went so far last summer to declare her intention to only partially complete her census forms, and to suggest reasons for others not to comply with the census law. If Minnesota loses a congressional seat, Bachmann's populous Sixth District could be carved into pieces. She likely would have to battle another incumbent to hang on to her seat. We've noticed that her anticensus rhetoric has lately ceased.

Poetic justice, I call it. TPM also noticed the deafening silence on this issue from Bachmann recently:

[...]interestingly enough, it's been a while since we heard Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) talk about refusing to participate in the Census.

Last year, Bachmann repeatedly said she would defy the Census by not completely filling out the information on the forms, but would instead only give the number of people in her household. She said that Census data was used to conduct the 1940's Japanese-American internment, and warned that the government was seeking to gather information about people's mental health. But as far as we can tell, her last anti-Census public statement was in August.

[...]The really fun fact, as I've learned from Minnesota experts, is that Bachmann's district would likely be the first to go if the state lost a seat. The other seats are all fairly regular-shaped, logical districts built around identifiable regions of the state (Minneapolis, St. Paul, the Iron Range, and so on). Bachmann's district is made of what's left over after such a process, twisting and turning from a small strip of the Wisconsin border and curving deep into the middle of the state. As such, the obvious course of action if the state loses a seat is to split her district up among its neighbors.

Awww, Bachmann might have to run against a sane politician, and not be able to have her christian Taliban buddies stuff the ballot boxes for Bachmann in her gerrymandered district again? Whatta predicament! I tell you, it's Christmas in January.

A Late Christmas Present

A Ramsey County judge has issued a temporary restraining order against Gov. Pawlenty, thus preventing him from starving thousand of poor Minnesotans:

Judge Kathleen Gearin, chief judge of the Ramsey County District, has granted a temporary restraining order, retroactive to Nov. 1, preventing one piece Gov. Tim Pawlenty's use of his unallotment powers. Specifically, she is restoring the funds unallotted from a state program that subsidizes Minnesotans with special health-related dietary needs. Pawlenty unalloted that program in its entirety. The judge's order un-unallots it. But the logic of her order affects the entire $2.7 billion unallotment that Pawlenty ordered at the end of the 2009 legislative session and seems to invite other plaintiffs to come forward seeking reinstatement of all of the appropriations that Pawlenty unallotted.

Hoorah!--that's a big "FUCK YOU!" To Governor Wonder Bread. Pawlenty, in an attempt to burnish his image with the wingnuts as a fiscal Scrooge, had previously screwed thousand of Minnesotans dependent on state aid for medical and dietary assistance. With this ruling, his hands are tied, and the rest of his cold-hearted budget cuts can begin to be erased, too!

Pawlenty's underhanded and callous decision won't be forgotten, I promise you. And thank you, Judge Gearin!!