Arthur Lee Conley (January 4, 1946 – November 17, 2003) was an American soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit “Sweet Soul Music“.
Conley was born in McIntosh County, Georgia and grew up in Atlanta. He first recorded in 1959 as the lead singer of Arthur & the Corvets. With this group, he released three singles in 1963 and 1964 (“Poor Girl”, “I Believe”, and “Flossie Mae”) on the Atlanta based record label, National Recording Company.
In 1964, he moved to a new label (Baltimore‘s Ru-Jac Records) and released “I’m a Lonely Stranger”. When Otis Redding heard this, he asked Conley to record a new version, which was released on Redding’s own fledgling label Jotis Records, as only its second release.[citation needed] Conley met Redding in 1967, but after this meeting Redding took Conley under his care, and taught him the finer points of the music industry.[citation needed] Together they re-wrote the Sam Cooke song “Yeah Man” into “Sweet Soul Music”, which, at Redding’s insistence, was released on the Atco-distributed label Fame Records, and was recorded at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It proved to be a massive hit, going to the number two position on the U.S. charts and the Top Ten across much of Europe. “Sweet Soul Music” sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[1]
Wisconsin Justice Department Asks Court To Lift Ban On Union Law
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/wisconsin-union-law-ruling_n_868347.html#comments
MADISON, Wis. — State attorneys asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday to immediately vacate a Madison judge’s decision striking down Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s contentious collective bargaining law.
Judge Maryann Sumi invalidated the law on Thursday after finding Republican legislators violated Wisconsin’s open records law during the run-up to passage in March. The decision came in a lawsuit Democratic Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne filed challenging the law.
The state Justice Department is representing the Republicans. The agency’s attorneys asked the state Supreme Court to take the case and the court set oral arguments on whether it should make a move for June 6. Deputy Attorney General Kevin St. John said in a letter to the justices late Friday they need to act now.
St. John said the issues have been fully briefed so the court can immediately vacate Sumi’s decision without hearing any further argument.
He argued Sumi issued the decision on her own, even though no one involved in the case had asked for such a ruling. She didn’t give any of the parties a chance to be heard on the final disposition.
He also reiterated the Justice Department’s argument that the Republicans can’t be sued because they enjoy legislative immunity and Sumi can’t invalidate the law due to an open meetings violation.
“In its rush to judgment, the Circuit Court has exceeded its constitutional authority not only in terms of intermeddling with the legislative process … but also by its deprivation of the defendants’ due process rights,” St. John wrote.
Ozanne didn’t immediately return a message left at his office late Friday afternoon.
The law calls for public workers to contribute more to their health care and pensions. It also strips almost all of them of nearly all their collective bargaining rights.
**Dead,dead,dead**
5/27/2011
Sarah Palin’s Magic Bus:
You see that thing up there? That sweet ride all pimped out to show that its occupants are so got-damn Uhmerkan that everyone else can suck their patriotic fumes? That shit’s so sick that it’s got the motherfuckin’ Constitution, words from the Pledge o’ Allegiance, and purple motherfuckin’ mountains majesty, like Lady Liberty’s titties just thrustin’ up all hard and ready for pinchin’. And who gives a damn if it looks like the tires are running over the American flag and gettin’ it all muddy on rainy days? This is Sarah Palin’s Magic Bus, motherfuckers, with her autograph next to the Liberty Bell. Yeah, lick the stiletto heels of her red, white, and blue pumps, bitches, and love it.
Imagine all the hot-ass groupie sex she’ll be havin’ in the back of the bus on her grand and glorious journey to “historical sites” all over the Northeast of the U.S.A. Man, you could fit at least three teabagger Hoverounds on that, and Sarah and Todd can get all freaky fucking the fat folds of their fans. Oh, yeah, rubbing clit on some manboobs, pokin’ dick in that crease between dangling ass cheek and dimply thigh, while snorting Metamucil off the counter. It’ll be like Motley Crue back in the day, except with more oxygen tanks and moist-crotched running pants. Groupies rock.
And, surely, the Magical Mystery Tour bus will stop at battlefields and monuments, Bunker Hill and the Lincoln Memorial, so Palin can nasally talk all about “freedom” and “rights” and “people doing things without government telling them what to do,” the same bullshit that gets her slaveringly dumb followers all drippy and semi-hard, as she keeps SarahCo profitable for another quarter or two while she teases them with promise of an ass-reaming with the dildo of her presidential ambitions.
Memorial Day weekend 2011 in America, motherfuckers, kickin’ off a long hot bitch of a summer.
(Note: You know that chances are this crazy kooz is gonna be private jetting into each town and then meeting up with the magic bus.)
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/
Sulu I love you! It’s so good that he is doing this. So creative and a lot of people are passing this on everywhere. I’ve received at least a dozen emails with this clip.
Scott Walker Causes Approval of Obama to Soar in Wisconsin
http://www.politicususa.com/en/walker-obama-wisconsin-poll
A new PPP survey finds that Scott Walker’s actions in Wisconsin have caused Obama’s approval ratings to soar in the state, and made the president Wisconsin’s favorite 2012 choice.
According to PPP, President Obama now has a 52% job approval rating is Wisconsin. The President’s disapproval rating has fallen to 44%. The spread between his approval/disapproval has doubled since the last time the poll was taken. How blue is this state? Obama has more Republicans who approve of his job performance (11%) than Democrats who disapprove (8%).
The problem for the potential 2012 Republican nominees is that the actions of Gov. Scott Walker seem to have seriously damaged the Republican brand in the state. The potential 2012 candidates are very unpopular in Wisconsin. The current frontrunner, Mitt Romney has a 29% favorable rating in the state. His unfavorable rating is 49%. Sarah Palin fares a little better with a 32% favorable rating, but a huge 63% unfavorable rating. After picking a fight with Wisconsin’s own Paul Ryan over Medicare, Newt Gingrich has a 15% favorable rating, and a 67% unfavorable rating.
In the potential head to head 2012 match ups, Obama leads Mitt Romney by 12 points, 51%-39%. The President leads Newt Gingrich by 18 points, 53%-35%, and he crushes Sarah Palin by 19 points, 55%-36%. Obama has expanded his lead over Romney by 2 points. His lead over Gingrich has grown by 6 points, and his lead over Palin is unchanged. Paul Ryan runs closest to Obama in state, and even he loses, 50%-43%.
Obama won Wisconsin in a blow out in 2008 and if voters were unsure about supporting Obama in 2012, the combination of Scott Walker’s leadership and a truly horrifying crop of Republican candidates has cleared up any doubts.
You got that Russ Feingold?
BWA HA HA MUDFLATS IS ON IT!
The Bus to Nowhere – Palin Hits the Road
Sarah Palin has a bus.
It’s not the one that she unceremoniously hurls her personal and political enemies under, nor the one she flew to via private jet during her book tour for Going Rogue.
Like any good Tea Party bus, it comes complete with a giant Constitution on the side. Just in case you didn’t get it, there’s also a redundant “We the People” in gigantic letters on top of the Constitution. Then there’s a One Nation logo, with the ‘A’ as the Liberty Bell, with “One Nation Under God With Liberty and Justice for All” underneath. Then there’s the stripes of the flag, and a map of the United States, and sweeping mountain vistas, and Sarah Palin’s signature, website address, and “Paid for by SarahPAC.” To top it off we are all invited to “Join the Fundamental Restoration of America.” All it needs is one of those flashing signs on the front and back that tells you the next stop is WHITE HOUSE.
http://www.themudflats.net/2011/05/27/the-bus-to-nowhere-palin-hits-the-road/
Oh shut my mouth, as they say down south but I just have to tell this story. One of my uncles went off to Texas in the ’50’s to work in the oil fields. He told about this bus, an old school bus, painted and decorated, full of women who came around to entertain the workers. His words were a lot saltier, we children were snooping on our grownup’s conversation and got caught before all the good parts but your post so reminded me of this.
I’m still laughing!
AG, do you read Rude Pundit’s blog? OMG He’s a salty one, but he nails it everytime. LOL
LMAO! Jimmy Kimmel is STOOPID!
Ayn Rand U? Rich Conservatives — Not Just the Kochs — Buying Up Professors and Influence on Campus
Conservative activists have a good-cop, bad-cop approach to the university. In either case, the same right-wing foundations pay the bill.
May 24, 2011 |
These days, rich conservatives want a lot more than their names on university buildings in exchange for big donations. The Koch brothers recently endowed two economics professorships at Florida State University in exchange for a say over faculty hires. Banker John Allison, long-time head of BB&T, has donated to 60 universities in exchange for their agreeing to teach
Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged–some agreements even include the outrageous stipulation that the professor teaching the course “have a positive interest in and be well versed in Objectivism.”
The economic crisis has opened American universities to ever more brazen–and at times decidedly strange–attacks on the hallowed principle of academic freedom. Conservative efforts to shape hearts and minds on campus, however, are far from new. Like anything in a capitalist society, academia is a place where people with money fight for power, and take their advantage where they can. Indeed, the effort to mold higher education–which the Right has long caricatured as a hotbed of revolutionary agitation–in the image of the establishment has been central to the rise of modern conservatism.
“Conservatives have been funding such efforts for a while, but usually fairly quietly and without the rough touch of the Koch brothers,” says David Farber, a professor of history at Temple University and author of The Rise and Fall of Modern American Conservatism.
http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/151066/ayn_rand_u_rich_conservatives_–_not_just_the_kochs_–_buying_up_professors_and_influence_on_campus/
Mitt Romney Pulls Pizza Prank On Obama That No One Understands Because Romney Is Bad At Humor
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/mitt-romney-pizza-prank_n_868110.html
The big important news of the Romney campaign today is that he apparently swung by some touristy deep-dish pizza place while on a fundraising swing through Chicago, ate some pie — I imagine very daintily, with a knife and fork — and then decided, for the LOLs, to send over the leftovers to the Obama re-elect headquarters, who confirmed the receipt of Romney’s leavings.
I’m not sure what the point of this was! Was it supposed to be a prank? Or send some kind of message? And does the message sent to Obama send a backhanded statement to pizza magnate Herman Cain? Who can say? I spent many teenage years in the pizza delivery industry, and have seen just about every joke that can be played with dough and sauce and cheese. “Send that guy some extra slices,” wasn’t exactly in the canon. Making matters worse is that people like Time’s Michael Scherer are making much better jokes:
Huh? What?
Y’all remember this?
***rolling my eyes very hard***
Mitt Romney – Who Let the Dogs Out?
LMBAO lawdy, cheezy photo op with the negroes, huh, Mittens.. He couldn’t wait to get out of the hood.
Leftoever pizza=Mitten Romney.
Granny, he did it to mock, but the jokes on his ignorant ass. Folks see how transparent Mittens is.
That really pisses me off! How dare he do something like that? There is no lol here as far as I’m concerned. This was just plain insulting.
State Rep. Boman switches to Democratic Party
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110526/NEWS/110529701/1007?tc=ar
MONTGOMERY | State Rep. Daniel Boman, who represents part of Tuscaloosa County, switched to the Democratic party today.
Boman, a 36-year-old lawyer from Sulligent, said Wednesday’s vote on a bill to change the state’s tenure and fair dismissal laws for educators convinced him he was in the wrong party.
Boman, elected as a Republican last November, voted against the tenure and fair dismissal bill that Democrats said removes much of the due process for teachers facing discipline or firing.
His district includes Fayette and Lamar counties and a slice of northwest Tuscaloosa County.
Boman’s switch changes the dynamics of the Tuscaloosa County legislative delegation. The delegation, previously 4-3 Republican, now becomes 4-3 Democrat.
The switch reduces the number of elected Republicans in the House from 66 to 65 and increases the number of Democrats from 39 to 40.
BWA HA HA HA HA HA
***HOLLERING***
Hola Kiddos, late to the party as usual. “Sweet Soul Music…” That brought back some sweet memories for me. I really enjoy the music, pics and links you all provide here.
Since this is an open thread, I will share a concern. Sarah Palin has bought a house here in AZ. If she moves here and establishes residence she could be thinking of running for Kyl’s soon to be vacant seat in the Senate. I don’t think she really wants to be Prez. That’s too much work for someone like her. Maybe she thinks being a Senator is a much cushier job where you don’t have to do much. She did “pall around” with McCain after all.
The concern I have is that she could actually get elected here. A poll in our local rag said that 83% would “welcome her as a neighbor.” Good thing they didn’t call me or I would have scorched the phone lines.
Anyway, just some musings….now I’m off to read all the comments.
Hiya, Aquagranny!
I remember “Sweet Soul Music” when I was growing up. I love the 60’s music! They don’t make it like that anymore! Glad you’re enjoying the music!
Totally agree! I know I’m an oldie but the music I love is from the late fifties and the sixties, some seventies stuff. My Kiddos were teenagers in the eighties so I heard plenty of that, liked some, some I didn’t.
I’m real eclectic about music. I pretty much like just about everything, blues, jazz, folk, rock, country, gospel, classic etc.
I have a little trouble with rap and hiphop but I am learning to appreciate some artists that my teen Grandkiddo likes.
Music feeds the soul…..
I love all types of music. I’m a big fan of country music, rodeos and cowboys! I grew up around it and love it!
speaking of 80’s music, my oldest daughter was a big Madonna and Michael Jackon fan; she had their posters splattered all over her bedroom wall and the music going except for sleep time.
Come on Granny, let’s do the Electric Slide; I know you can do it! LOL
Hi Aquagranny! Good Lawd, Palin’s tryna invade the AZ neighborhood. LOL@ scorched the phone lines. She’s nothin but a quitting GRIFTER.
No kidding but it looks like the scammer may have gotten scammed. The house has one of those dubious titles from that MERS outfit, the inside is unfinished. The seller bought the house on foreclosure for 8K and sold it to her for 1.7 Mil. And it looks like most of her close neighbors have horses. AH, the sweet fragrances of nature on a summer morning! I love horses and that wouldn’t bother me but my Sis has a neighbor with horses, it can get a little too fragrant at times.
I’m just grateful the bruja doesn’t like “certain people” and would not want a house in my neighborhood. I sure don’t want her messing in our politics. We’ve got troubles enough here.
Pelosi steps back into limelight
By Mike Lillis – 05/27/11 05:55 AM ET
The spotlight is back on Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
The Democrats’ upset victory in a special House election this week has stimulated hopes the party can retake the chamber and triggered speculation about what kind of role Pelosi will play in the 2012 elections.
During a press conference on Thursday, a beaming and re-energized Pelosi said, “We had a spectacular election in New York-26.”
Pelosi was frequently cited as one of the most powerful Speakers until the historic GOP wave of 2010 stripped her of her gavel. As she withdrew from the media’s eye, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) political stock rose.
That dynamic is changing in the wake of Tuesday’s result. Pelosi found a rallying
cry of “Medicare, Medicare, Medicare” in the weeks before the New York election, and pounced on the issue with a prepared public statement as soon as the race was called.
During her press conference on Thursday, Pelosi mentioned “Medicare” 22 times.
As the top Democrat in the House, Pelosi has to toe a delicate line. She must speak for her caucus but also be mindful of her low approval ratings. Republicans privately say they want Pelosi to be a prominent player on the national scene next year, saying it will help them hold the House and boost their fundraising efforts.
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/163629-pelosi-steps-back-into-limelight
SG2, where are you? Another clown wants to join the circus.
Gov. Perry will consider running for president
By Daniel Strauss – 05/27/11 12:14 PM ET
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said he will consider running for president in 2012.
Perry had previously taken himself out of contention for the Republican nomination but he has been walking back on that in recent days.
His comments on Friday were the strongest to date.
“I’m going to think about it” when the Texas legislature adjourns on Monday, Perry said, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Most consider the GOP primary field to be set, but several Republicans have expressed unhappiness with their choices, prompting speculation a dark horse candidate could enter the race.
Perry’s name has been one that’s come up, which he seemed to acknowledge in an interview Thursday.
“Oh, I can’t say I’m not tempted, but the fact is: this is something I don’t want to do,” he said in an interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-presidential-primary/163699-texas-gov-rick-perry-will-consider-running-for-president
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said he will consider running for president in 2012.
Hold up….I thought Governor good hair wanted to secede from the Union? Now he wants to run for President? Go sit down, ass clown Perry!
LOL I guess he thinks he can run the whole US of A now since those wildfires are out.
Update:
Perry Spokesman: “The Governor Has No Intention of Running for President”
Shortly after reports surfaced suggesting that Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is considering a potential presidential bid in 2012, his spokesman said he’s not.
“Nothing has changed,” Mark Miner told National Journal in an e-mail. “The governor has no intention of running for president.”
BREAKING: Republican Judge Strikes Down Ban On Corporate Contributions Directly To Candidates
Reagan-appointed federal Judge James Cacheris just ruled that corporations have a constitutional right to contribute money directly to political candidates:
In a ruling issued late Thursday, U.S. District Judge James Cacheris tossed out part of the indictment against two men accused of illegally reimbursing donors to Hillary Clinton’s Senate and presidential campaigns.
Cacheris says that under last year’s Citizens United Supreme Court case, corporations enjoy the same right as people to contribute to campaigns.
The ruling is the first of its kind. The Citizens United case had applied only to independent corporate expenditures, not to actual campaign
contributions.
Today’s decision extends beyond the egregious Citizen United decision because Citizens United only permits corporations to run their own ads supporting a candidate or otherwise act independently of a candidate’s campaign. Cacheris’ opinion would also allow the Chamber of Commerce and Koch Industries, for instance, to contribute directly to political campaigns.
If today’s decision is upheld on appeal, it could be the end of any meaningful restrictions on campaign finance — including limits on the amount of money wealthy individuals and corporations can give to a candidate. In most states, all that is necessary to form a new corporation is to file the right paperwork in the appropriate government office. Moreover, nothing prevents one corporation from owning another corporation. Thus, under Cacheris’ decision, a cap on overall contributions becomes meaningless, because corporate donors can simply create a series of shell corporations for the purpose of evading such caps.
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/27/judge-rules-direct-corporate-contributions/
US President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One at an airport near Paris on May 27, 2011 en route to Warsaw, Poland. Obama left France today after attending the G8 summit in Deauville.
DEAUVILLE, FRANCE – MAY 27: Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron says goodbye to US President Barack Obama and acting Director General of the IMF John Lipsky on the second day of the G8 summit on May 27, 2011 in Deauville, France. The Tunisian Prime Minister, Beji Caid el Sebsi, and Egyptian Prime Minister, Essam Sharaf, are due to meet with G8 leaders today to discuss aid packages as the recent Arab Spring uprisings continue to dominate the talks. Furthermore, the meeting will also continue to address security, trade issues, nuclear safety and climate change.
Pawletny-Obama? No fucking contest here.
Tee hee hee! Where’s the visual, SG2?
Bye, Pawlenty!
Ex-Clinton aide storms off Fox News set during Medicare debate
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/ex-clinton-aide-storms-fox-news-set-during-m
Simon Rosenberg, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton, decided Thursday that he wasn’t going to be pushed around by conservative radio host Ben Ferguson during a discussion about Medicare on Fox News.
Fox News’ Shannon Bream had invited Rosenberg to respond to video published by ABC News that showed Clinton telling Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) that he hoped Democrats wouldn’t use a Democratic congressional win in New York as “an excuse to do nothing” on reforming Medicare.
“Does that hurt the current administration’s efforts and what Democrats in the White House are trying to do, with President Clinton suggesting maybe they do stop the fear mongering and get to work?” Bream asked.
“I don’t think that anything that’s happened in the last few months is fear mongering,” Rosenberg replied.
“Dumping a woman off a cliff isn’t fear mongering,” Ferguson interrupted, referring to an ad by The Agenda Project that shows a Paul Ryan lookalike pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair off a cliff.
Rosenberg calmly quoted Clinton as saying that under the Ryan plan, “medical costs will continue to go up and older people will use less, get sicker and die quicker or they will be poorer because they will have to spend more money on health care.”
“That’s fear mongering,” Ferguson interrupted again.
“Ben, shut up. It’s unbelievable how much you talk,” a frustrated Rosenberg said. “It’s not fear mongering. It is a factual, correct interpretation of the Ryan plan. The Ryan plan is bad public policy. It would have killed people prematurely. That’s fact.”
After Ferguson interrupted yet again, Bream asked that Rosenberg be allowed to finish his answer.
“Why should I come on this show if I can’t talk?” Rosenberg asked.
“You can pout and that’s what you guys do well at,” Ferguson charged.
With that, Rosenberg took off his microphone and walked off the set.
Alabama Lawmaker Abandons GOP Over New Law Aimed At Teachers
Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 26, 2011, 7:32PM
Chalk up another Democratic win this week: Alabama State Rep. Daniel Boman, who entered the legislature as a Republican in November, is switching parties to become a Democrat after he says the GOP went too far in attacking teachers in the state.
It’s just the latest example of mainline Republicans turning on their party following the November sweep which put them in control of the House. On Tuesday, the solidly-Republican 26th Congressional District in New York rejected the GOP in part over the party’s decision to end Medicare in the House budget. A few days before that, the Democrats stunned the Republican city of Jacksonville by electing the first Democratic mayor in 20 years. In New Hampshire, Democrats picked up a surprising win in a legislative special election.
Now there’s Boman, who’s walking away from the GOP after it took on the state’s public school teachers.
From the Tuscaloosa News:
Boman, a 36-year-old lawyer from Sulligent, said Wednesday’s vote on a bill to change the state’s tenure and fair dismissal laws for educators convinced him he was in the wrong party.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/alabama-lawmaker-abandons-gop-over-teacher-rights-stripping-law.php?ref=fpa
Rep. Walsh: Obama Was Only Elected Because He’s An ‘Articulate’ ‘Black Man’
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/27/walsh-obama-articulate/#comments
In an interview this week with Slate’s Dave Weigel, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) confirmed his reputation as a lightening rod for controversy and for being, as Weigel puts it, “the biggest media hound in the freshman class.” In the past week Walsh has made a number of outrageous statements, most infamously his admonishment that American Jews “aren’t as pro-Israel as they should be.”
But even that seems to pale in comparison to what Walsh tells Weigel: that Barack Obama would not have been elected president if he wasn’t black. Walsh dismisses Obama’s meteoric rise as essentially a form of affirmative action and a manifestation of “white guilt” in which the media was complicit:
“Why was he elected? Again, it comes back to who he was. He was black, he was historic. And there’s nothing racist about this. It is what it is. If he had been a dynamic, white, state senator elected to Congress he wouldn’t have gotten in the game this fast. This is what made him different. That, combined with the fact that your profession”—another friendly tap of the bumper sticker—”not you, but your profession, was just absolutely compliant. They made up their minds early that they were in love with him. They were in love with him because they thought he was a good liberal guy and they were in love with him because he pushed that magical button: a black man who was articulate, liberal, the whole white guilt, all of that.”
Weigel notes that in the six months since he took office, Walsh has made more TV appearances than any other freshman in the House. He’s become a favorite of the networks, who can count on him as “a handsome freshman who will say anything.” This latest outburst certainly won’t do anything to dispel that perception.
What is white folks reason for propping up Palin and other white mediocre CaC candidates?
Karl Rove: ‘I Don’t Think Palin Thinks The Rules Apply To Her’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/karl-rove-sarah-palin-_n_867938.html#comments
During an appearance on Fox News’ “On the Record” on Thursday night, Karl Rove weighed in on the political ambitions of Sarah Palin as signs emerge that the former Alaska governor may be laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign in the next election cycle.
Palin is set to embark on a bus tour this weekend, beginning a trip that will traverse the eastern United States in Washington, DC. It was also reported this week that a documentary on the rise of the potential presidential contender and her tenure as governor will premiere in the key early primary state of Iowa next month.
“I think it’s the emergence of a potential race,” said Rove on the possibility that Palin could make a run for the White House. “Look, I don’t think she thinks the rules apply to her. She doesn’t need to have the traditional trappings of a presidential campaign, no finance committee, she can raise the money, she doesn’t need to go shake a lot of hands in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina.”
Rove added, “She gets to decide what the rules are that govern her campaign and go accordingly and politics is changing. Some people have done things that have been outside the norm of custom and have won.”
Senior Advisior Valerie Jarrett on Morning Murderer
Video clip
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/ns/msnbc_tv-morning_joe#43192499
All they have is a clown show…
by Dennis G.
Two news story waves popped up today about the competition to be the 2012 Republican Nominee for President. One concerned the latest Gallup poll about the horse race—you could just feel the panic as Republicans contemplated their choices.
Underwhelmed, would be an understatement.
And then the other news wave broke that the Quitta from Wassila might join the fray. She is number two in the poll and the base is just crazy enough to make her a viable—and yet laughable—GOP standard bearer.
And the BoBo Republicans are so hurt by the Daniels rejection that they can barely lift their heads off the floor. It sad to to watch them bravely type on and try to articulate some reason to support Mittens or Huntsman. Their courage in the face of such sadness, is all the more remarkable because the astroturf TeaBaggers have marked the last two BoBo-ready dudes as future road kill. Meanwhile, old T-Paw has decided to compete with Gingrich to see who can be the biggest liar in the race. And all the candidates are working overtime to “out-crazy” each other.
What a clown show.
As this fail parade marches over every cliff, it strike me that it is the polar opposite of the Democratic Primary race in 2007-2008. That race inspired the base and was exciting from day one. “Exciting” will never be a word used to describe the 2012 GOP race for the White House.
Think back to May 2007. It was already one hell of a race for the Democratic Nomination—and it would last for more than another year before it was decided. It was passionate and interesting. Even if you didn’t follow politics it was news you followed. The stars were Clinton, Edwards and Obama. Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Kucinich and even Gravel had their supporters and they all made the race more competitive—and interesting.
By this time in 2007 I had already seen all the candidates speak at events in DC. I was undecided but leaning towards Obama, but it was a great feeling to be undecided. I knew the bench of possible candidates was deep and felt that any of my top choices would be just fine. It was exciting to know that your vote—and your support—mattered.
In August all the candidate, except Biden (who needed to stay behind for a vote) showed up at Yearly Kos for a debate in front of progressive bloggers. We were mobilized and passionate about the race. It played out over the next year with lots of ups and downs and twists and turns and it was never dull.
OTOH, the current GOP race just screams dull. The only fun is watching the endless series of mistakes the candidates make like clockwork. It is one train wreck after another. And when Queen Palin and Countessa Bachmann jump in the crazy train will never stop.
This race will get the attention of the 27 percenters of wingnutopia and they will decide it, because they make the most noise. Then the rest of the Republicans will follow them over the edge and to their doom. BoBo will weep, but that’s not a bad thing.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/05/26/all-they-have-is-a-clown-show/
Yep! Nothing but CLOWNS; the lot of’em.
May 26, 2011
And let’s hope he believes it!
I give you the inestimable Speaker of the House, John Boehner, political strategist extraordinaire:
[T]he small part of the reason we didn’t win [in NY’s 26th] clearly had to do with Medicare.
And the small part of the reason Gen. Custer didn’t win clearly had to do with the Sioux.
I started to go on with other historical analogies framed in utter ineptitude, but why slow such a helpfully delusional mind on such a magnificent roll?
http://pmcarpenter.blogs.com/p_m_carpenters_commentary/2011/05/and-lets-hope-he-believes-it.html
Glenn Greenwald Silent as Obama Threatens Veto Over Worldwide War
The White House is threatening a veto of the House committee version of the defense authorization bill over Republican attempts to launch a worldwide war without specific targets or reasons, block detainee transfer from Guantanamo, and mess with the president’s efforts to reduce active nuclear warheads under the new START treaty. It is also warning Congress against complicating the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Not that you would have heard about this if you read Glenn Greenwald, self-proclaimed Constitutional hero of the anti-war movement.
In the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Republican Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA, serving defense contractors), slipped in a provision to authorize the President to use force anytime, anywhere in the world even without any specific threat to the United States. The ACLU called this provision the worldwide war without end provision. The House bill also includes provisions to limit the president’s power of detainee transfer from Guantanamo, as well as seeks to delay the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
On Tuesday, President Obama issued a veto threat over the worldwide war and Guantanamo provision, as well as a strong objection to delaying DADT repeal. “Wow!” exclaimed the ACLU, describing the White House’s position as strong and courageous:
The statement is the strongest and most principled stand the White House has taken on these kinds of provisions. The Obama administration is saying no to the proposed worldwide war law. A veto threat is a very big deal. The president is making clear where he stands, and is backing it up with his veto pen, if Congress doesn’t fix the bill.
Something to notice here is the President is displaying his Constitutional mastery. He is schooling Congress on both executive powers as well as the powers of Congress. The White House is objecting to the world wide war provision on the ground that the power is too expansive for the executive, and on the other hand, making clear that Congress is stepping out of its bounds by trying to tie the President’s hands on detainee transfer, which is within the independent powers of the executive to make prosecutorial decisions within a Constitutional framework, including for terrorism detainees.
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2011/05/glenn-greenwald-silent-as-obama.html
*CRICKETS* These mofos will remain silent because the idea is not progression, but chaos and whining, and continuous poutrage. Fuck’em!
Poll: Gingrich’s Standing Plummets With GOP Voters After Disastrous Campaign Roll Out
Newt Gingrich’s terrible, horrible, no good very bad campaign roll out just got a little bit worse.
According to a PPP poll released Thursday, Gingrich’s own party has rapidly turned against on the former House speaker, as a plurality now say they have an unfavorable opinion of him.
In the poll, 38% of Republican voters said they view Gingrich favorably, versus 45% who view him unfavorably. That’s a huge 27 point swing from last month when 52% viewed him favorably, and 32% viewed him unfavorably.
Gingrich stumbled right out of the blocks when he formally launched his presidential campaign earlier this month, and he’s struggled to save face ever since.
In an interview on Meet the Press, Gingrich assailed the Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) plan to privatize Medicare as “right-wing social engineering,” prompting a backlash from leaders of his own party, including Ryan himself, who said, “With allies like that, who needs the left?” Then, after a campaign stop in Iowa, a local Republican was caught on camera telling Gingrich he was a “disgrace” to the party for undercutting Ryan.
Gingrich went through a number of verbal contortions to explain himself, ultimately apologizing to Ryan and saying anyone who used his own statements against him would be lying.
Add to all that a bizarre, overwritten defense of Gingrich penned by his spokesman, and the revelation that Gingrich and his wife Callista rang up between $250,000 and $500,000 in charges at Tiffany & Co while Callista was an aide on a House committee the company was actively lobbying, and it’s been a rough few weeks for the Gingrich campaign.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/poll-gingrichs-standing-plummets-with-gop-voters-after-disastrous-campaign-roll-out.php
House GOP Fights To Keep Federal Contractors’ Donations Secret
Republicans are working on multiple fronts to stop President Barack Obama from making companies bidding on federal contracts disclose their donations to third-party political groups.
The chairmen of the House Oversight Committee and the Small Business Committee have introduced legislation that would ban the federal government from collecting or using information about the political expenditures of federal contractors, allowing them to keep their political donations to third party groups secret. Yesterday, the House passed an amendment to the 2012 defense bill which would prevent federal agencies from collecting such data.
Introduced by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Tom Cole (R-OK) in response to a leaked draft of an executive order the Obama administration was considering which would have mandated federal contractors disclose their donations to third-party groups, the legislation is titled the “Keeping Politics Out of Federal Contracting Act of 2011.”
A companion bill is being introduced in the Senate by Susan Collins (R-ME), Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Rob Portman (R-OH).
Center for Competitive Politics President Sean Parnell called Cole’s amendment to the defense bill a “strong rebuke to the executive branch’s effort to bring politics into the federal contracting process and enable the creation of a Nixon-style Enemies List.”
Issa said the legislation “preempts an executive order designed to silence and intimidate job creators and Americans who are passionate enough to a support cause.”
“Businesses should not have to determine and report to the government on whether certain employees contributed to organizations that support or oppose positions on issues including gay marriage and abortion,” Issa said. “Imagine your employer asking for such information – it would happen for some if the current draft executive order is put in place.”
Good government groups are slamming the GOP’s opposition to a measure they say would increase transparency.
“Precisely when disclosure is most important — at the time in which the Supreme Court has unleashed a flood of unlimited corporate money into our elections — we no longer have a meaningful disclosure law in place,” Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen said in a statement. “Corporate money is flowing into our elections at record levels, but very little about the sources of this money is being disclosed to the public.”
Here’s a rundown of what’s in the bill, per a joint press release:
• Prohibit a federal agency from collecting the political information of contractors and their employees as part of any type of request for proposal in anticipation of any type of contract;
• Prohibit the agency from using political information received from any source as a factor in the source selection decision process for new contracts, or in making decisions related to modifications or extensions of existing contracts; and
• Prohibit databases designed to be used by contracting officers to determine the responsibility of bidders from including political information (except for information on contractors’ violations already permitted by law).
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/house_gop_fights_to_keep_federal_contractors_donat.php?ref=tn
It’s a little late for pushing that meme of bringing business in to politics isnt’ it?
CITIZENS UNITED
Senate Republicans To Block Obama Recess Appointments
Republicans will block President Obama from making any recess appointments during the Senate’s Memorial Day break — including a long-awaited nomination of Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The Senate will remain in pro-forma session because Republicans plan to object to the unanimous consent required to adjourn. The parliamentary maneuver will prevent the Senate from officially going into recess next week, denying Obama a chance for recess appointments even though Republicans openly acknowledge that they don’t expect any.
“Senate Republicans are doing this just in case,” said a House GOP aide.
The House GOP aide knocked down a report that the House is planning to prevent the Senate from leaving for a full recess over Memorial Day as a way to block President Obama from making any appointments during the break next week.
The idea surfaced among a small group of conservative rank-and-file House members, according to the House Republican staffer, but more senior members quickly threw cold water on the idea, reminding the rebelrousers about the timeworn axiom: what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
“Our interest is not served in blocking Senate adjournment,” the aide told TPM. “Now that we have this funky schedule where we don’t match up with the Senate, we may hold their fates in our hands this week but they may hold ours in their hands next week. It’s not in our mutual interest to hold up the other body.”
The Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog issued a breaking news item late Thursday quoting a Senate GOP aide as saying the House was planning to gum up the works for the Senate’s Memorial Day adjournment.
Under the U.S Constitution, neither chamber can adjourn for more than three days unless both chambers agree to it, the Examiner reported.
Some House Republicans still may push the issue by objecting to a unanimous consent motion to adjourn tomorrow and calling for a vote, but such a move is expected only to garner a smattering of votes.
When it comes to blocking recess appointments, Republicans argue, it’s a case of turnabout being fair play.
When Democrats regained the majority in Congress in 2007, they held pro forma Senate sessions every three days during recesses, some of which lasted only seconds, to prevent President Bush from making any appointments.
Republicans want to do everything they can to prevent Warren from ascending to the CFPB because of her strong advocacy for stricter consumer protections after the economic crisis. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) hauled Warren before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing Tuesday in order to grill her about her views. The two got into a heated exchange during the hearing after McHenry accused her of lying about an agreement she had with the committee to end her testimony at a predesignated time.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/house-gop-unlikely-to-block-obama-from-making-recess-appointments-after-all.php
Inspiration for today…
Good Morning, Ladies, friends, & lurkers. Happy FRY-day!
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Coffee: http://community.cbs47.tv/blogs/files/5005/4324331/coffee-cup-01.jpg
Thank you! Got to have my cup of morning coffee. And it’s just like I like it! :)
Loving that sweet SOUL music and words of inspriation, SG2. Thanks!
Do you like good music
That sweet soul music….
LOL Get it, woman!