I was glad to see that the Philadelphia Eagles lost – at home, which is even better – the the Green Bay Packers yesterday. Not that I especially give a crap about the Packers, but I’ve long thought the Eagles and their fans suck for the the way they treated Donovan McNabb while he was there, and, sorry, just can’t get behind the redemption of Michael Vick. A piece of shit is a piece of shit, and I can only assume that, since Vick threw a game-ending interception, he just doesn’t have what it takes to be in the game and will need to be dealt with in the same way that Vick felt it necessary to deal with “under-performing” dogs. Sorry, but that’s just how I feel. So I’m not really down with Charles Barkley defending Vick, but I can only agree with Sir Charles’ assessment of Tucker Carlson.
“Tucker Carlson, who’s a nobody. He used to work for us over here. We fired him because he sucked….”
Ayup.
Predictably, Arizona Konservatives – such as their non-mavericky but equally crazy Jon Kyl – and their minions at Fux News and talk radio – such as Megan Kelly – are jumping all over Sheriff Clarence Dupnik for stating the obvious.
“The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous. And unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”
I feel a great deal of pity for people like Dupnik, KP, Kevin, Okat, and others who aren’t assholes but live in places like AZ, TX, OK, FL, etc. But they aren’t enough to keep me from wishing we could just cut them loose and let them have the crappy country of their own that they so deeply desire and deserve. Not that things are perfect here, that’s for sure. We managed to elect (barely) a teabagger to Congress, and reading the online comments on the local newspaper website both outrages and embarrasses me. And of course we’re afflicted by the same vile AM talk radio creatures that permeate the airwaves everywhere else.
So, maybe things aren’t really any better here. But I think there’s something about 4 or 5 months of cold weather that keeps the crazy in check a little bit better. All that heat just can’t be good for the brain.
Oh well, lots to do today. I took the day off, so hopefully I can get a few things done.
Have a good one.
Gail Collins:
Today, the amazing thing about the reaction to the Giffords shooting is that virtually all the discussion about how to prevent a recurrence has been focusing on improving the tone of our political discourse. That would certainly be great. But you do not hear much about the fact that Jared Loughner came to Giffords’s sweet gathering with a semiautomatic weapon that he was able to buy legally because the law restricting their sale expired in 2004 and Congress did not have the guts to face up to the National Rifle Association and extend it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/opinion/10collins.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
The real question in Tucson, though, is why the alleged shooter, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, was allowed to buy the murder weapon in the first place. Beyond the clearly delusional nature of online videos ascribed to him, Loughner was suspended last year from Pima Community College apparently because of mental problems. According to the college, he was told he could return only if he obtained “a mental health clearance indicating, in the opinion of a mental health professional, his presence at the College does not present a danger to himself or others.” The Army also denied Loughner’s application for unspecified reasons. It’s unclear what other organizations or agencies might have been aware of Loughner’s dangerous mental state. Still, he passed a background check, and late last year legally bought the 9-mm Glock 19 semiautomatic handgun allegedly used in the shootings.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2041448,00.html#ixzz1AdlV4mh8
Palemale has found a new mate.
http://www.palemale.com/
The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of “palling around with terrorists”, citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.
The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling “terrorist” and “kill him” until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.
But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.
The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin’s attacks.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/sarah-palin/3405336/Sarah-Palin-blamed-by-the-US-Secret-Service-for-death-threats-against-Barack-Obama.html?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d2a2a998935ffeb,0
I take issue with the word “unintentionally.”
the confusion/bullshit factor on these murders is extreme.
i feel for that young girl.
what a waste.
The young girl was Former Bears Coach, Dallas Green’s grand daughter, a 9/11/2001 baby, and was truly interested in politics.
Actually, Dallas Green was in baseball and was the manager for the Phils, the Yankees and the Mets. His granddaughter Christina was the only girl on her little league Pirates team, a second baseman.
:pirate: 🙁 :gate: Not missing that tommy gun too much.
A judge has ordered U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to serve three years in prison for his role in a scheme to illegally funnel corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002.
The sentence comes after a jury in November convicted DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/10/935098/-Tom-DeLay-sentenced-to-three-years-of-dancing-behind-the-bars
The news that “Hot Tub” Tom DeLay is headed for prison (after what surely will be years of appeals) almost makes up for the disingenuousness of Palin claiming that those are “surveyors” marks and not gunsights on her terrorist map.
So, so sad about the little girl. :gate: 🙁
DeLay faces a maximum of 99 years and a total of $20,000 in fines, but as a first-time offender, the Sugar Land Republican is eligible for probation.
The AZ tragedy is just too much….and it keeps happening in this country, the land of guns. I never did much like that Tommy gun either.
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RG, I thoroughly enjoyed the video – I laughed out loud
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the bug man is going to the big house…in Tex-ASS!!! Justice prevailed!
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It’s snowing here in northern Ok – the dorks and I are completely happy!
I think Delay was sentenced to three years.
I don’t expect Hot Tub Tom to see a day behind bars but for now I can enjoy the refudiation while it lasts.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. All of these right wing gasbags rail on and on about personal responsibility until the time comes to take some for their own irresponsible behavior and they love to bitch about the ‘victim class’ but they get might pathetic and whiny when they are justifiably called out for something.
The right wing is and always has been exactly the opposite of what they claim to be. Constitution defenders who hate the constitution. Freedom fighters who want to restrict freedom. Fiscal conservatives who spend the country into debt.
‘I took magic mushroom drug psilocybin in clinical trial’
Pretty sure it’s warp drive.