Monthly Archives: June 2011
Rachel Maddow presents her “post-Bill Clinton American political sex-scandal consequence-o-meter”
Putting the “ick” factor into perspective..
From Raw Replay:
Rachel Maddow Monday night asked just how big of a deal Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D-NY) lewd Twitter photo scandal was, in the context of other politicians’ sex scandals.
Well, as she said, “there’s a graph for that!”
Watch Rachel Maddow position political sex scandals along axes of prosecutability and creepiness on the “post-Bill Clinton American political sex-scandal consequence-o-meter.”
Got to love that red-hand-on-stick pointer..
Only one provable lie?
“The media says, ‘Breitbart lies, Breitbart lies.’ Give me one example of a provable lie,” Breitbart said on stage at the Weiner presser. “One, journalist, one, put your reputation on the line here, one provable lie.”
How about a whole list of provable lies, you scum?
BIG FAT LIE:
Breitbart coordinated release of conservative activists’ undercover ACORN videos. On September 10, 2009, conservative activist and videographer James O’Keefe posted an entry to BigGovernment.com in which he revealed that he and fellow activist Hannah Giles had posed as a pimp and prostitute at a Baltimore ACORN Housing office and secretly filmed their meetings with ACORN staffers. As O’Keefe wrote, their intention was to take “advantage of ACORN’s regard for thug criminality by posing the most ridiculous criminal scenario we could think of and seeing if they would comply — which they did without hesitation,” the “scenario” being the “trafficking of young helpless girls and tax evasion.”
Except they didn’t. Upon viewing the un-edited videos, it was revealed that the ACORN workers did nothing wrong or illegal. As it turns out, O’Keefe, Giles, and Breitbart are the liars in the ACORN case.
That’s one.
BIG FAT LIE:
Breitbart eagerly embraced and promoted [Jim] Hoft’s false attacks on [Kevin] Jennings. Writing for the website Gateway Pundit, Jim Hoft has authored a series of factually dubious attacks on Department of Education staffer Kevin Jennings and the organization Jennings founded and previously led, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Hoft’s Jennings posts — which he has labeled “Fistgate,” even though many of those allegations have little or nothing to do with the sexual practice of fisting – often draw upon the work of MassResistance, a Massachusetts based anti-gay organization that has been labeled a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
When you lie down with dogs…expect to get up with provable lies.
That’s two. Continue reading
The Famous Ride of Paul Revere
Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year… [I guess that explains it]
Showing the now famous clip of Sarah Palin, sharing her own version of historical events (the ride of Paul Revere) during her recent visit to North Boston, Colbert had this to say: “I could not have said a random string of words better..”
Stephen decides to prove that Paul Revere could have ridden a horse while ringing a bell and firing multiple warning shots from a front-loading musket.
After Sarah Palin was called out this week by Chris Wallace of FOX News on her messup of historical facts, this was her response:
You know what? I didn’t mess up about Paul Revere. Here is what Paul Revere did. He warned the Americans that the British were coming, the British were coming, and they were going to try take our arms, and we got to make sure that we were protecting ourselves and shoring up all of ammunitions and our firearms so that they couldn’t take it.
And then this:
“In a shout-out, gotcha type of question that was asked of me, I answered candidly. And I know my American history.”
This all came about, of course, due to the vile ‘gotcha’ question put to Palin by the lamestream media:
What have you seen so far today [in Boston], and what are you going to take away from your visit?
Here’s that video:
Her response to the ‘gotcha’ question:
“We saw where Paul Revere hung out as a teenager, which was something new to learn. And, you know, he who warned the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms by ringing those bells and making sure, as he is riding his horse through town, to send those warning shots and bells, that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free.”
The Watering Hole: Tuesday, June 7th – Dirty Money
Make money, never mind how dirty or not.
Cabinet ratifies ban on cluster bombs
The government has decided to ban the use, production, purchase and stockpiling of cluster bombs under an international convention agreed three years ago.
The cabinet is also proposing an amendment to the law on war materials, including a ban on the direct and indirect funding of outlawed munitions, according to a foreign ministry statement on Monday.Parliament is to discuss the issues at a later date.
Campaigners have accused 16 Swiss companies, including the two big banks UBS and Credit Suisse, of financing cluster bombs and parts despite the entry into force of an international treaty.
However the two banks last week rejected the allegations saying a process of withdrawing from investments is underway. (source)
A process of withdrawing from investments is underway. Means: You are invested in clusterbombs makers.This is not a rejection of allegations, but the confirmation of a fact. 
Of course, if a customer asks a bank to buy stocks of a cluster bomb maker. Then Swiss banks may not be in a lesser position than their competitors, they claim. (sorry german link) Ten dollars will get you an hundred, the Swiss government will revise the law accordingly.
This is our daily open thread. Join in and tell us like it is.
It’s Was Just A Matter of Time
The greedy Republicans want ALL of our money. Last Friday, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), introduced a bill that would allow workers to immediately stop contributing 6.2% of their pay to Social Security and instead, put this money in a “Savings Account for Every American” (SAFE).
That would take the place of the 6.2 percent the workers now contributed to Social Security.
Another 6.2% is sent to Social Security by employers. Under the Sessions bill, employers would continue to make this matching contribution to Social Security, but after 15 years, employers could also send that amount to the employee’s SAFE account.
(Source: The Hill)
Under the bill, employees would be able to make tax free contributions to their SAFE account, and take tax-free distributions at retirement age. The bill would also allow employees to stay with the Social Security program if they wish.
From “the bill”…
‘‘(2) The trustee is a bank (as defined in sec20
tion 408(n)) or such other person who demonstrates
21 to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the manner
22 in which such other person will administer the trust
23 will be consistent with the requirements of this sec24
tion.
A bit more from “the bill”…
‘‘(3) No part of the trust funds will be invested
2 in life insurance contracts.
3 ‘‘(4) The interest of an individual in the bal4
ance in his account is nonforfeitable.
5 ‘‘(5) The assets of the trust will not be commin6
gled with other property except in a common trust
7 fund or common investment fund.
So here it is, the privatization of Social Security. This is what the Republicans have been working towards since the days of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
To the Republican plan, I’ll be saying, “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll be staying with Social Security.”
Watering Hole – Monday June 6, 2011 – I Only Ask…
I only ask God that I not be indifferent to the suffering.
I only ask of God
That i am not indifferent to the pain,
That the dry death won’t find me
Empty and alone, without having done the sufficient.I only ask of God…
Link to the lyrics and English translation.
If you want to hear Leon Geico from Argentina sing this song and see how he inspires the crowd, click here.
This is our Open Thread. These artists have spoken and now it is your chance to Speak Up!
Standards? What standards..
From the BBC today:
Golan: Israel troops fire on pro-Palestinian protesters
Israeli soldiers have opened fired on pro-Palestinian protesters in Syria as they marched on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israel had vowed to prevent a repeat of a similar march last month, in which hundreds of people had managed to breach the border fence.
Unconfirmed reports on Syrian state TV said 14 people had been killed and more than 200 wounded.
The protesters were marking the 44th anniversary of the 1967 Mid-East war.
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Jeff Danziger, Syndicated Political Cartoonist
That Blows
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Matt Davies, CTNews
From the party of “Death Panels”…
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Paul Jamiol, Jamiol’s World
Deja vu all over again…
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Compassionate Conservatives..
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Paul Jamiol, Jamiol’s World
The wonder of the world we live in..
This video is called “Sacred Lands – Eastern California” by Mindrelic.
“Shot over five days in various locations in eastern California including Death valley, Owens valley, Bristlecone forest, and Mono lake during the week of October 18th, 2010.”
I never cease to be in awe of the beauty and wonder of this amazing planet that we are slowly but surely destroying (here too).
Mindrelic has many amazing videos available at VIMEO to view, plus you can watch them on a bigger screen and in HD.
Raise the debt ceiling? That is SO 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and twice in 2008..
I just love how Stephen Colbert slices through to the heart of any issue, and lays bare the absurdity, and the utter hypocrisy, for all to see.
From Colbert Nation:
Republicans show their Tea Party base that they’re against raising the debt ceiling, while reassuring Wall Street that it’s political theater.
Raise the debt ceiling? That is SO 2002, 2003, …, posted with vodpod
Sunday Roast
This is our daily open thread. what’s on your mind?
Wee The People
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Matt Davies, CTNews
American History, as told by Sarah Palin.
By now you’ve probably heard of Palin’s recounting of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere:
He who warned, uh, the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms uh by ringing those bells and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free and we were going to be armed.
The Zoo recently came into possession of documents which some scholars feel may be Palin’s actual notes she wrote while studying American History in College. We share those with you, our dear readers, so that you might have a better understanding of our history and culture, through the eyes of our next President of the United States of America:
The Pilgrims came to America in 1492 wearin their funny hats and shoes and buckles because they wanted religious freedom so they escaped from Nazi Germany because Hitler was sending all the Jews to Israel and they didn’t want to go to Israel because there was no oil there. So they drove their Plymoth over the rocks to Manhatten where they met a bunch of Indians. The Indians said they owned Manhatten, but they didn’t have any birth certificates, so the Pilgrims, naturally knowing the Indians were here illegally, but being good Christians and good neighbors and all gave the Indians a gift certificate to buy them some jewelery at Tiffanies and the Indians gave Manhatten to the Pilgrims so they could practice their religious freedoms and burn the witches that picked all their May flowers.
Our Founding Fathers fought the American Revolution and fired that shot heard around the world because they warned the British not to dump all their tea into the harbor and destroy our freedoms and of religion, too, and they had the right to bear arms. and free markets.
The Civil war was fought by our founding fathers after that greatest of all Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan freed the slaves. The southern states weren’t very civil about it and so they called it the Civil War but the southern states wanted socialism and so that’s why they lost. But once the slaves were free they shot Abraham Lincoln because they didn’t want all that personal responsibility and accountability and so that’s why Democrats gave them welfare so they wouldn’t have to work anymore after their slavery was taken away from them.
This Is NOT a Sex Scandal
Over at ThinkProgress, in a message for Rep. Anthony Weiner Matt Yglesias described the twitter photo controversy as a “sex scandal.” I say it is no such thing.
If you look at the picture, you can see no genitalia of any kind. What you can see is what appears to be a pair of men’s briefs with some kind of bulge in them. But you cannot see what is causing the bulge which, for all you know, may just be a banana strategically placed there. In fact, it is unclear if it is even a pair of briefs on a human as opposed to on a mannequin. (If you want to take another look, you can see it here) The fact of the matter is that there is no penis in that picture, erect or otherwise.
Anyone who thinks they are looking at a penis is only imagining that they are seeing a penis. They are seeing no such thing. So for them to think that it is a “lewd” photo is just describing something in their own imaginations. And I don’t feel it is right that Rep. Weiner must defend himself against what people are imagining they are seeing. Yes, he didn’t do himself any favors by casting doubt over whether or not it is a picture of himself, but that still doesn’t negate the fact that there is nothing lewd in that picture at all. The only lewdness is in people’s imaginations.
A few years ago my late mother-in-law once looked at my size 13 shoes and said, “My, what big feet you have.” And I, being the playful type, said, “Yeah, but that’s just a myth.” To which she replied, “Oh, don’t be so fresh.” I had to tell her, “I didn’t say anything, you imagined that!” And that is exactly what’s going on here. Anybody who thinks that was a lewd photo are denouncing what they imagine they are seeing. It is not a sex scandal when there is no sex involved and people are upset over what they imagine they are seeing.
The Watering Hole: June 4 – Weiner’s Wiener
I would guess that the subject of this thread has raised serious concerns on many threads, blogs and TV news reports. In this world of the tubes, anybody but my mother could find a means to hack the tubes. That is only because she has passed away. No reason to grieve because she would be 98 if she were still alive. One only has to view this clip to understand the severity of this issue!
Mom’s nursing training and Granddaughter’s science books contain more graphic portrayals of male anatomy.
Since the issue has been settled as a farce, why does anyone still dwell on it?
As Clinton said, “It’s the economy, stupid!”. Do we have any other concern? Economists say that we will tank in late July without a resolution of the debt crisis. Do you want that to happen when the GOP is only trying to make a point?
This is our Open Thread. Please feel free to present your thoughts on any topic that comes to mind.
Music Night, June 3, 2011
Oops. Someone forgot it was Friday!
For those unfamiliar with Music Night, this is an Open Thread (musically speaking). Feel free to show us your strange/boring/horrible/wonderful taste in music.
Jobs report bad news for recent grads…oh boy.
While the overall unemployment rate is 9.1 percent, the unemployment rate among those aged 16 to 24 who are not enrolled in school was 18.7 percent for men and 16.5 percent for women. Even for those in this age group with a college degree, which would include most new graduates, the unemployment rate was 6.9 percent in May.
**whimper**
Go lay down!
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Nick Anderson, Houston Chronicle Editorial Cartoonist and Animation Artist.
For Nick’s animations, visit Nick Anderson: Animation Archives.
For Nick’s cartoons, visit Nick Anderson.
The Watering Hole: June 3, 2011 — Clearcut forests to fight global warming!
Rep Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) thinks it would be a great idea for the U.S. to help countries all over the world clearcut all of their trees, in order to fight global climate change.
Srsly.
Is there some thought being given to subsidizing the clearing of rainforests in order for some countries to eliminate that production of greenhouse gases?” Rohrabacher asked Todd Stern, the Obama administration’s special envoy for climate change. “Or would people be supportive of cutting down older trees in order to plant younger trees as a means to prevent this disaster from happening?
Cutting down all the trees, which absorb tons of CO2 every day, would actually make the problem of global climate change WORSE. But don’t bother telling Dumbass Rohrabacher, cuz he knows the real cause — nature.
This is our daily open thread — what’s warming your heart & soul today?
Who? *snore*
All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
GOP: We will blow up the world economy to keep Obama from getting a “win”
