Amusing and Informative, Your Lil' Sister Loves to Get the 'Scoop' on the Mainstream Media and To Present a Variety of Obscure, Under-Reported and Decidedly-More Newsworthy Items From Around The Globe; You'll Also Be Privy To Pieces of My Own Personal Paranormal Phenomena; and Frequently Hear of Things Your Parents, Clergy, Society and Uncle Sam didn't bother to tell you. But, I will...
In Other Words:
The Way This Grrrl Sees It!
If you need any more proof that the GOP is either:
A.) Insane. B.) Completely Out of touch with REALITY. and/or C.) All Of The Above...
The guy they picked to deliver their rebuttal to Obama's State of the Union address was Mitch Daniels.
The same Mitch Daniels who was George W. Bush's Senior Budget Director. The very same dim-witted dolt who claimed that the Iraq War would cost us $50 billion.
(*It cost $3 TRILLION.)
...And now Mr. Daniels/the GOP is promoting himself/themselves as "Mr. Fiscal Responsibility"/"Fiscally Conservative"?
Newt Gingrich was asked to comment on his 2nd wife's, Marianne's, interviews - in which she claims he came to her - after she'd been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and after he'd already been cheating on her; and whilst, simultaneously, he was condemning then Pres. Clinton for his lack of moral leadership - and he asked her for an "open marriage".
Newt's holier-than-thou response was to use the Good Ol' Reliable GOP M.O./Safety Net:
He responded by playing - to the hilt - the part of a poor, innocent victim of that evil "Mass Media" whilst ferociously attacking the big, bad "Mass Media" for making such a big deal about what he felt was a private matter.
And in doing so, Newt avoided (this time, anyway) actually having to answer some very pertinent questions (and he did this to much applause/hooting and hollering).
And whilst - certainly - under normal circumstances, as a rule it is a fact that Newt's or anyone's sex life is neither newsworthy nor is it anyone else's business...
The Fact Is This: These are not even remotely "normal circumstances".
The reason that Newt's marriage(s) is (are) an exception to that rule is due to the fact that, historically, Newt has - militantly, if not religiously - portrayed himself as "Mr. Family Values/Traditional Marriage"-Guy...
Whilst he was publicly vilifying others for their extramarital affairs and...
Whilst he was simultaneously railing against same-sex marriage as an affront to "traditional marriage" and...
Oh yeah ~ Whilst "Mr. Family Values/Traditional Marriage-Guy" Newt, himself, was actively cheating on his own wife... No, wait... Hold that thought.
Correction: "...his own wives".
Hey, Look Everybody: It's the Great White Hypocrite!
Enjoy this brief clip from The Rachel Maddow Show:
Politically, Thursday was a roller-coaster of a day, with some GOP Presidential Primary candidates riding Upwards and some tumbling Down:
"No Newt Is Good" Newt Gingrich rode the crest of the wave whilst "Mr. 1%" Mitt, uh, didn't.
On Wednesday, ABC News reported that the Multimillion $ Mitt (who admitted to lounging in the shallow end of the tax pool: paying only 15%) stashed Million$ of his Million$ offshore... in the Cayman Islands.
After the AP ran with the story today, Mr. Romney's campaign came out and confirmed the veracity of the Mitt's Million$ / Cayman Islands report and then quickly added that the former Governor has "... never used the location as a tax haven".
Sure. {*nudge*nudge} Whatever you say. {*wink*wink}
I'm sure he has a very simple explanation for the Cayman Islands Million$...
Perhaps something like: Mitt just felt that those millions of dollars had earned a well-paid, extended and tax-free vacation(?).
Enjoy this brief clip from Thursday's The Rachel Maddow Show:
In case you didn't know exactly what SOPA and PIPA are (if so, don't worry, you're not alone), but are eager to learn what all the hubbub is about - just as long as it won't take too long...
Well then, here are The Facts and Just The Facts:
(Thank You to PCWorld)
On Martin Luther King Day, during the South Carolina GOP Primary debate, hosts from Fox TV utterly ignored the enormous elephants in the room by refusing to ask Ron Paul about voting against the National MLK Holiday or about his being against the Civil Rights Act.
Then, "No Newt is Good Newt" Gingrich refused to accept that he'd offended/insulted countless Americans (and African-Americans, in particular) with his "... they need jobs not food-stamps" and his suggestion that poor kids (whom he also said "lack a good work ethic") replace janitors at schools.
Hold on, folks... There's more!
Worst of all: the blindingly-white audience defended Newt's nonsense.
(*Sigh.)
For more on the story, please enjoy this brief clip from last night's The Rachel Maddow Show:
It's Genuinely Newsworthy - So, Where's The News Coverage?
A Media Matters for America study shows that most of the major networks - ABC, CBS, Fox News, MSNBC and NBC - have failed to cover opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA).
Speaking at the Iowa State Fair last year, Mitt Romney asserted that “corporations are people.”
Following that line of Mitt-belief, Stephen Colbert's former (and newly Jon Stewart-controlled) Super PAC released an ad on Saturday attacking Mitt Romney as a “serial killer” due to his record of destroying corporations (which Mitt said are "people") as the head of Bain Capital.
Here's Sunday's Colbert interview with George Stephanopoulos and the "Mitt The Ripper" ad.
Brian Stelter at The New York Times has tweeted a tantalizing tidbit...
Stelter tweets that Stephen Colbert (of The Colbert Report) is transferring his Colbert Super-Pac to Jon Stewart and forming an "exploratory committee" for a possible run for the Presidency.
Colbert, himself, hinted at that very possibility on Wednesday night's show, after hearing news reports that, according to at least one poll in South Carolina (Colbert's home-state) Colbert was polling at 5% among likely Republican voters in the state - a whopping 1% higher than the current GOP Primary's 3rd Place-Holder John Huntsman's (4%) showing.
I hadn't heard, until recently, about the unburdened-by-human-sensitivity Mitt Romney incident where Romney packed the family's large Irish Setter, "Seamus", into a dog-kennel which was strapped atop the Romney-mobile for an undoubtedly blustery 12-hour ride to a lakeside in Canada. Apparently, it became a rather messy trip during which the roof-rack kenneled canine, Seamus, visibly suffered from bowel distress - as was first witnessed and then reported by one of Romney's sons - one who was sitting, alone, in the very back section of the station wagon.
According to the Boston Globe-reported timeline of the event, after being informed of the appearance of the "brown liquid" dripping down the rear window, Romney pulled into a gas station; hosed off the car, the kennel and Seamus; and then returned the (now soaking wet?) dog to the kennel (still atop the car) and drove on to Canada.
In an interview on Fox (not)News Sunday - Mr. Wallace asked Romney about the incident... and Mitt chuckled. Following that, Wallace informed Romney that Massachusetts law actually prohibits carrying an animal atop a car: it's considered cruel and unusual treatment. Mitt's response was to claim that he "didn't know that" (that it was against the law) {Did you know this: "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."?} and Romney also added that Seamus (the dog) "loved" these rides.
(Mr. Romney: It's painfully obvious that Seamus did not "love" that particular ride - even before he messed himself and you hosed him off.)
Now, as the story has reached more Americans, something steeped in the tradition of the intentional online redefining of the word "Santorum" and raising of that definition's place in Google searches (initiated after Mr. Santorum's highly-offensive public statement in which he compared homosexuality with "man on dog relationships") has begun to occur. Originating at a website called spreadingromney.com, there's a new definition of the 'Romney' that's being promoted:
The "New" definition of "Romney" is: "To defecate in fear."
First, let me just say, "Eww!". And, after that, "Apropos".
"Netherlands to close prisons for lack of criminals"
My 1st Thought when I saw the above-titled article post...
"Bravo Netherlands!"
My 2nd Thought...
"Here's irrefutable proof that All is Not lost. Not only that, but that Humanity would be very wise to cease with the "It's 2012! The Mayan's said the World's gonna end. We're doomed!" nonsense and any other similar thoughts/acts of self- and/or reckless destruction."
I may not agree with everything he's done - cough*NDAA*cough - but, I'm thrilled that President Obama just made four (count 'em: 1, 2, 3, 4!) recess appointments.
As Rachel Maddow said, "He never does that.".
Our President appointed three people to the National Labor Relations Board - so that they may have a quorum/continue to function - and (Drum roll, please...) he appointed Mr. Richard Cordray to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
I'm doing the Snoopy Dance about that last one.
GOP Senators have been relentlessly preventing anyone from being appointed to head the CFPB.
Why do such a thing?
Because, even after our most recent Wall Street shyster-caused economic melt-down, Republicans in Congress still haven't wanted millions of Americans to be protected from evil, greedy, unethical, fast-talking loan and credit card companies...
But, My President Does!
In this clip from last night's The Rachel Maddow Show, Rachel talks with Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council:
Despite an earlier veto threat - followed by revisions by Congress - President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The NDAA funds our military AND this particular one includes a number of highly radical and inexplicable provisions. For example: It authorizes the military to arrest American citizens 'suspected of terrorism' and - for the first time in our history - detain said American citizens indefinitely without charge or trial for... well, forever.
It's referred to as "Indefinite Detention" and, although Obama added a signing statement saying his Administration would not authorize it, theoretically, he could change his mind.
And, beyond that highly-unlikely event, it will continue to exist as law on the books.
Why is this noteworthy? Once again: Because "Indefinite Detention" is now "on the books". Because it has been signed into law. Which means that any future President could, at any time, decide to authorize "Indefinite Detention" and then... What?
(I sincerely hope none of us ever have to find out. Remember the recent instances of Constitutionally-Protected American protesters being assaulted by authorities?)
Simple Truth: "Indefinite Detention" is Un-American.
And yet, now that the NDAA has been signed into law (mind you, Congress's earlier versions were significantly worse) it is hanging over all of our heads - not unlike a guillotine. And, it will continue to do so - with the blade closing in on us - until the moment when yet another law is passed which will strike the provision of Indefinite Detention from the books, permanently.
Those politicians who've been working, tirelessly, to dismantle and do-away with two of America's most important ideals, namely Liberty and Freedom, have finally done it. They've not only spat on our Constitution and radically-altered our nation's laws... they've done it whilst, simultaneously, achieving those goals usually ascribed to anti-American Terrorists. (Uh... Congratulations?)
Because of their shenanigans, newly-unemployed, former terrorists are likely being forced to search for something else to do with their lives... Once they're able to stop those fits of uncontrollable, hysterical laughter...
4.0 Earthquake In Youngstown; Official Cause: Natural Gas Fracking
From the "I (Don't) Hate To Say, 'I told you so.'" Files:
Surely, you recall the recent flurry of earthquakes in Ohio?
Ohio, a state not known for having significant seismic activity and yet, within a series of smaller ones, it was shaken by one measuring around 4.0-4.3 recently?
A while back, when I recommended the film "Gasland" for it's subject - natural gas fracking poisoning well-water and causing faucets to behave like blow-torches - I hadn't thought to add "causing earthquakes", too...
Until, that is, they started cropping up.
And now?
Well, now it's Official: Gas Fracking = Earthquakes. (Hurray?)
(*Just ignore the little (Ohio Natural Resource Director) man who's still shouting: "The sky isn't falling on fracking! The sky isn't falling on fracking!". He's just visualizing lots of Big Gas Company $ disappearing much like the supporters of gas-fracking.)
