Politics News: May 2013

Friday, 31 May 2013

Mr. Peabody Teaches Sherman About The Tea Party

PushBack Politics

Mr. Peabody Teaches Sherman About The Tea Party

“Hello again, Peabody here. “Sherman.” “Yes Mr. Peabody.” “Sherman, did I ever tell you about the time I went back to the year 2013 to determine what terrible affliction came over the United States of America and caused a catastrophic failure of an otherwise rapidly advancing, industrialized country?” “Gee, no Mr. Peabody. It sounds awful.” “Quite so, my boy, quite so. But rife with lessons to be learned. Set the Wayback Machine Sherman for 2050. It’s time for you to learn about political manipulation, hubris, and The Tea Party.” “Golly Mr. Peabody, what does a tea party have to do with the downfall of a great and powerful nation?” “Not A tea party Sherman. THE Tea Party. Sherman, we’re going to the classroom of Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award, Ms Shirley Weinstein-O’Hanrahan. The greatest history teacher of her era, she lectures frequently on the grievous mistakes made in the early 21st century.” Our stop: 2050-An American History lecture-4th Grade Level: Required for all 5th Grade Students. “Gee Mr. Peabody, I though you had to be much older back in those days to attend lectures.” “Wrong my boy! Although the brains of the early 21st cemtury were stunted by all the chemicals [...]

Mitch McConnell pitches for Gabriel Gomez in Massachusetts

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is going to bat for Gabriel Gomez, the GOP’s candidate to replace Sen. John Kerry in the Massachusetts special election. McConnell sent out a National Republican Senatorial Committee fundraising plea on Gomez’s behalf Friday morning, saying he would match three times any donations up to $32,000. “A Republican majority in the Senate begins with your support today,” he wrote in the email. “Securing a victory for Gabriel Gomez in the Massachusetts Senate special election on June 25th is crucial to taking back the Senate and removing Harry Reid from power.” The solicitation from a top Washington Republican — and symbol, at least among the left, of congressional dysfunction — is somewhat surprising given Gomez’s mandate to win in a predominantly Democratic state. It’s also a sign that national Republicans see a path to victory for Gomez, despite Massachusetts’ long history as a blue state. The NRSC also sent staff up to Massachusetts last week to help Gomez in the remaining time before the June 25 election. Recent polling in the race shows Markey leading Gomez by anywhere from 7 to 17 points. Those polls come after a Public Policy Polling survey in early May that [...]

Kerry Defends US Drone Policy After Pakistan Hit

Secretary of State John Kerry is defending U.S. drone strikes after the CIA’s killing of a senior Taliban member. Kerry says the U.S. is at war with al-Qaida and the Taliban, so the strikes are legal. He says the U.S. wages the war in self-defense and as a last resort. U.S. drone policy is under growing scrutiny. President Barack Obama promised greater transparency last week and said attacks would target only “imminent threats” to U.S. national security. On Wednesday, a CIA strike killed a Pakistani Taliban deputy leader. Source: Associated Press Read more

Man questioned in ricin letters sent to Obama, Bloomberg

PushBack Politics

Man questioned in ricin letters sent to Obama, Bloomberg

A person of interest is being questioned in connection with threatening letters sent to President Barack Obama, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his anti-gun group, according to law enforcement officials. NBC New York

Thursday, 30 May 2013

(VIDEO) The Rise and Fall of Batshit Michele Bachmann

PushBack Politics

(VIDEO) The Rise and Fall of Batshit Michele Bachmann

Representative Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota Republican whose status as a leading Tea Party voice in Congress has faded in the wake of a failed bid for president and a widening investigation into her campaign spending, said Wednesday that she would not seek re-election.

Tuesday, 28 May 2013

The Tea Party Puppets and the Death of Compromise

PushBack Politics

The Tea Party Puppets and the Death of Compromise

My Liberal beef of the day? The GOP has allowed a minority of its own members, the so-called Tea Party, who are manipulated by the very wealthy to use them and their gullible ignorance to dictate party positions. For all of their political leaders’ tough talk, the Republicans have steadfastly refused to act responsibly as one of two parties in the world’s supposed foremost Democracy. And top it off, they have scared the GOP former good-faith conservatives into deriding even the word “compromise” since the day John Boehner took the gavel as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Now, despite the damage that political gridlock is doing to Americans their country’s infrastructure and ability to function as a free society, they press on. Why? Because they’re afraid of being “primaried” out of their 3-day work weeks and lifetime healthcare and pension plans. Some statesmen these are. Although the left has tried–and in the case of President Obama, been a pushover–the political right is particularly vehement when it comes to compromise. Conservatives are now totally under the thumb of the ubiquitous Tea Party movement, whose clarion call is a refusal to compromise, regardless of the practical consequences. And why do the [...]

Budget “Austerians” And Deficit Hawks Won’t Face The Facts

Today’s Liberal Beef? It staggers my imagination to think of how much more solid the U.S. economy’s recovery would be if not for the damned “austerians”, or Tea partiers as they prefer to be labeled—and boy do they LOVE labels– were not such suckers for the panderers and deficit-obsessed. According to the latest forecasts, both here (the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office) and abroad, the US budget deficit will shrink to 4% of GDP this year. That’s right, the budget deficit is actually shrinking despite their wails of doom and gloom. Since the recession ended four years ago, the federal budget deficit has topped $1 trillion every year. But now the government’s annual deficit is shrinking far faster than anyone in Washington expected, and perhaps even faster than many economists think is advisable for the health of the economy. The slide from 2009′s 10.1% budget shortfall is one in the eye for the Tea party and any other advocate of “contractionary expansion”. Even the name illustrates the ridiculousness of its foundation. Worse for the fans of austerity, forecasts published by the US congressional budget office expect the deficit to fall to 2.1% of GDP by 2015 as tax revenues soar. By [...]

Christie Don’t Need No GOP: NJ Gov Can Win In 2016 As Independent

Like most who call New Jersey home, I’m a fan of our Governor. It’s hard to believe Chris Christie—who is prominent on cable news once again this weekend thanks to his relentless PR campaign for the Jersey Shore to kick off its first summer since Sandy—wasn’t even supposed to win against then-Governor Jon Corzine just a few years ago. Remember, the Garden State is decidedly blue. President Obama carried it by 17 points in November (and yes, Dick Morris did mention once that New Jersey “may be in play” for Mitt Romney), and no Republican has won here since George Bush (41) carried it 25 years ago (and yes, 1988 was already 25 years ago…I’m going to go run in traffic on the Turnpike now). But Christie did win, and given the fiscal mess Corzine left behind, a budget hawk was just what Jersey needed to regain not only its credit, but it’s pride as a state that is mostly seen as a punch line by the rest of the country. The Governor’s candor is mostly described as bullying by the scant 29 percent who still don’t approve of the job he’s doing. But for the 71 percent who do [...]

President Obama Lays a Wreath at Arlington National Cemetery

President Obama lays a wreath on Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery. May 27, 2013 As is Memorial Day tradition, President Barack Obama visited Arlington National Cemetery this morning to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns in honor of all those who have fallen during military combat. The Tomb of the Unknowns has become a traditional visiting spot for the president on every Memorial Day. The tomb serves as a monument dedicated to American service members who have died without their remains being identified. In a wordless ceremony, members of the military performed the “21 Gun Salute” before playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” upon the president’s arrival. After the national anthem, the president laid the wreath over the tomb, followed by a performance of “Taps” and then a moment of silence. -snip- mediaite

(VIDEO) Bob Dole gives Republican Party low marks – GOP ought to be “closed for repairs”

Former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole doesn’t think much of his party these days. Dole, who ran against President Bill Clinton in 1996 and was the leader of Senate Republicans for much of the 1980s and 90s, slammed the GOP for excessive obstructionism and for failing to convey a forward-looking agenda during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” Never one to mince words, Dole did not absolve President Obama of the blame for the dysfunction in Washington, D.C., but he directed the lion’s share of his criticism at his own party. “I think they ought to put a sign on the [Republican] national committee doors that says ‘closed for repairs’ until New Year’s Day next year and spend that time going over ideas and positive agendas,” Dole said. Asked whether Republicans of years past, many of whom had a more diplomatic approach to compromise and governance than today’s Republicans, would be able to make it in the modern GOP, Dole said, “I doubt it.” “Reagan wouldn’t have made it. Certainly Nixon couldn’t have made it, because he had ideas,” he explained. “We might have made it, but I doubt it.” And much of the blame for the gridlock, Dole said, [...]

Friday, 24 May 2013

Obama’s 1979 prom photo, yearbook note to ‘foxy’ friend unearthed

PushBack Politics

Obama’s 1979 prom photo, yearbook note to ‘foxy’ friend unearthed

The havoc time wreaks on fashion spares no one, not even the president of the United States. In a newly unearthed photo published Thursday in TIME magazine, a 17-year-old Barack Obama is seen wearing a white dinner jacket as he poses with friends on the night of their senior prom in Hawaii. nbc news Read the complete story.

Michele Bachmann Said God Would do WHAT?!

PushBack Politics

Michele Bachmann Said God Would do WHAT?!

Thursday, 23 May 2013

FULL President Obama Heckled During Speech On Gitmo VIDEO

PushBack Politics

FULL President Obama Heckled During Speech On Gitmo VIDEO

Obama Plays It Cool As Code Pink Disrupts His Speech During President Obama’s counterterrorism policy speech at National Defense University on Thursday afternoon, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin interrupted when the topic turned to the closing of the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. “I’m about to address it, ma’am,” Obama said as Benjamin went off about the hunger strike currently taking hold amongst Gitmo detainees. “Why don’t you sit down? But you’ve got to let me speak.” “You are commander-in-chief! You can close Gitmo today!” she continued, despite Obama’s repeated protests that he intended to address those issues himself. “You should let me finish my sentence,” he said before explaining his desire for Congress to make it easier to transfer detainees out of the camp, allowing him to fulfill his promise to close Gitmo. “I am confident this legacy problem can be solved, consistent with the rule of law.” Obama also added that he is willing to cut the heckler “some slack” because “it’s worth passionate about” the indefinite detention of the prisoners without formal charges. Several minutes later, Benjamin interrupted once more, decrying the administration’s killing of 16-year-old American citizen Abdulrahman al-Awlaki with a drone strike. Instead of [...]

Holder says drone strikes since 2009 have killed four U.S. citizens

PushBack Politics

Holder says drone strikes since 2009 have killed four U.S. citizens

On the eve of a major address by President Barack Obama on his counterterrorism policy, the Obama administration revealed Wednesday that drone strikes since 2009 had killed four Americans overseas – one of whom, Anwar al-Aulaqi, was targeted in Yemen because he’d planned and was planning terrorist attacks on the United States – principally the plot to blow up an airliner over Detroit on Christmas Eve 2009. nbc news

Noam Chomsky: ‘Drone strikes a terror-generating machine’

Abby Martin talks to philosopher, linguist, professor, political critic and author of over 100 books Dr. Noam Chomsky about the Boston bombings, US terror inflicted abroad, drones, Obama’s rebranding of Bush administration policies, the National Defense Authorization Act, Holder v. Humanitarian Law, conventional wisdom, the evolution of media propaganda and education as a form of elite indoctrination.

Wednesday, 22 May 2013

Today’s Liberal Beef? Enough With the “Obama-gates” Comparisons to Watergate

PushBack Politics

Today’s Liberal Beef? Enough With the “Obama-gates” Comparisons to Watergate

Today’s liberal beef? The GOP is so desperate to find something to hang on President Obama– in the hopes of somehow, someway tarnishing his Presidency– that virtually anything that happens in any agency, in any capacity, no matter how minor, becomes worthy of a “gate” designation; as in Watergate. Now, for the record, let me reiterate a few of the major disappointments of my own with this current President. I desperately wanted to see an orange-clad perp-walk of Wall Street banksters after the 2008 crash. Didn’t happen. Not one. They got bonuses for pete’s sake! Obama is the worst negotiator is history! Thank gawd he didn’t negotiate the Louisiana Purchase or we’d be part of France….and I like my deodorant dammit….ooo lah frakking lah! Gitmo. ‘Nuff said. The explosion of privatized prison for profit which is the REAL reason marijuana is still illegal. But then I read last weekend’s news reports about scandal politics “sweeping Washington.” Give me a damn break. I read, breathed, ate and studied about Watergate and Nixon for years. None of these “incidents” even rise to the level of the third-rate burglary and bugging of the Democratic National Committee’s offices at the Watergate Hotel by three [...]

Obama To Tour Oklahoma Tornado Damage Sunday

President Barack Obama will travel to Oklahoma on Sunday to visit families and inspect firsthand the damage left by devastating tornadoes that ravaged suburbs, wiped out neighborhoods and killed 24 people, press secretary Jay Carney announced Wednesday. ### Source: TPM Read more

Johnny Bang Bang’s Gun Emporium – A Sketch From TMFS

President Barack Obama will travel to Oklahoma on Sunday to visit families and inspect firsthand the damage left by devastating tornadoes that ravaged suburbs, wiped out neighborhoods and killed 24 people, press secretary Jay Carney announced Wednesday. ### Source: TPM Read more

Paul Ryan is writing a book

Paul Ryan is writing a book. But don’t expect Game Change. According to a source close to Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican is working with attorney Bob Barnett to release his first major book next year, and it’ll feature a mix of autobiography, political analysis, and policy prescriptions. So far, Ryan has been doing the writing by himself. The early theme of the draft is a broad discussion of American renewal, with an emphasis on the Republican future and the party’s need to articulate what he calls the “American idea.” Behind the scenes, Ryan is worried that the GOP is losing its connection with working Americans, and he has been writing about how the party needs to speak more to those in poverty about empowerment and economic freedom. His recent speeches at the American Enterprise Institute’s Kristol dinner and at Benedictine College have touched on this issue, and Ryan is eager to broaden the argument into chapter form. On a personal level, the book will highlight his childhood in Janesville, Wis., his time as an aide to Jack Kemp, and his rise through the congressional ranks. Kemp, especially, will have a special place in the book, and in many ways, Ryan’s [...]

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Obama approval rating stays high despite bruising week

PushBack Politics

Obama approval rating stays high despite bruising week

For the past week, the White House has dealt with investigations into the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, IRS targeting of tax-exempt conservative groups, and controversy over the Justice Department seizing AP records. The trio of scandals seem to have had little effect on the public’s feelings about President Barack Obama in new polling. msnbc

Friday, 17 May 2013

Colbert Takes On Gohmert’s ‘Asparagus-gate’: ‘How Dare You Cast Aspersions On That Man’s Asparagus!’

PushBack Politics

Colbert Takes On Gohmert’s ‘Asparagus-gate’: ‘How Dare You Cast Aspersions On That Man’s Asparagus!’

Of all the contentious moments during Eric Holder‘s time before a congressional committee Wednesday, the one that stuck out to Stephen Colbert was when Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) exclaimed, seemingly out of nowhere, that the attorney general was trying to “cast aspersions on my asparagus.” Gohmert’s remark was particularly appropriate, in the eyes of Colbert, since cable news pundits had spent the hours leading up to the hearing hyping the “grilling” Holder would receive and previewing the questions he’d be “peppered with.” “Grilled and peppered,” Colbert said. “That explains why Darrell Issa was wearing that ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron.” But, he added, Holder “bit off more than he could chew” when he went face-to-face with “magical talking cantaloupe” Louie Gohmert. Holder challenged Gohmert’s assertion that the FBI wasn’t completely thorough in their investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings, which led to Gohmert’s accusation that the attorney general was trying to “cast aspersions on my asparagus.” “How dare you cast aspersions on that man’s asparagus,” Colbert fired back at Holder. “What is next, sir? Libeling his lettuce? Questioning his quinoa? Arguing with his arugula? Repudiating his rutabaga? Vilifying his vinaigrette before drizzling it on his scandal salad?” “Clearly, nation,” Colbert concluded, [...]

Paul Ryan Hammers Ousted IRS Head Over ‘Misleading’ Remarks, Why Progressive Groups Were Not Targeted

During today’s hearing on the IRS political targeting scandal before the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) hammered recently-resigned acting IRS chief Steven Miller for “misleading” statements previously given to the committee. The former GOP vice presidential candidate also cornered Miller into conceding that progressive buzzwords in organization titles were not at all included among the tax agency’s list of words to target for additional scrutiny. “How can we conclude that you did not mislead this committee?” Ryan repeatedly asked Miller after explaining that the ousted IRS chief had previously said things contradictory to what he has put forth at today’s hearings. The two got a bit heated when Ryan interrupted Miller to “clarify” for him what exactly he was asking. Audible laughter is heard in the background as the congressman berates the IRS chief. Ryan then moved on to the question of whether “progressive” terms were also included in the tax enforcement agency’s list of key words to flag for additional tax-exempt scrutiny. The congressman read off a few organizations approved for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status while including openly-progressive terminology in their names, asking, “If you were concerned about political activity, did you have targeting lists that [...]

Rachel Maddow – Republicans fall quiet in face of Obama deficit success

During today’s hearing on the IRS political targeting scandal before the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) hammered recently-resigned acting IRS chief Steven Miller for “misleading” statements previously given to the committee. The former GOP vice presidential candidate also cornered Miller into conceding that progressive buzzwords in organization titles were not at all included among the tax agency’s list of words to target for additional scrutiny. “How can we conclude that you did not mislead this committee?” Ryan repeatedly asked Miller after explaining that the ousted IRS chief had previously said things contradictory to what he has put forth at today’s hearings. The two got a bit heated when Ryan interrupted Miller to “clarify” for him what exactly he was asking. Audible laughter is heard in the background as the congressman berates the IRS chief. Ryan then moved on to the question of whether “progressive” terms were also included in the tax enforcement agency’s list of key words to flag for additional tax-exempt scrutiny. The congressman read off a few organizations approved for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status while including openly-progressive terminology in their names, asking, “If you were concerned about political activity, did you have targeting lists that [...]

John Paul Stevens: Bush v. Gore Decision Rationale Was ‘Unacceptable’

Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Thursday night that he’s come to the realization that the rationale behind the court’s Bush v. Gore decision that effectively decided the 2000 presidential election “was really quite unacceptable” because it differentiated between so-called “hanging chads” and “dimpled chads.” That distinction, he told a gala event for the liberal watchdog group Public Citizen in Washington, “violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.” All votes should have been considered the same way, he explained. Former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor recently expressed regret that the court had taken up the case at all, and Stevens said he was “pleased to hear” about O’Connor’s shift. The liberal Stevens wrote the dissent in that case. Stevens, who retired in 2010 and is now 93, was introduced as a “rock star” at the event and received applause for holding the record for the most dissents written by a single justice — a whopping 720. Excerpts from his stinging objection to the Citizens United decision were displayed on large posters around the room. The former justice also praised Chief Justice John Roberts as “intellectually honest” and an able jurist, even though the two disagree on most things. [...]

Thursday, 16 May 2013

Obama’s 2009 Attack on SHIELD Law Foreshadowed DOJ – AP Scandal

PushBack Politics

Obama’s 2009 Attack on SHIELD Law Foreshadowed DOJ – AP Scandal

Published on May 16, 2013 President Obama’s attack on the SHIELD Laws and whistleblowers back in 2009 foreshadowed the breaking DOJ AP scandal… This clip from the Majority Report, live M-F at 12 noon EST and via daily podcast at http://Majority.FM

Why Do Americans Continue to Believe GOP Bullshit?

Today’s Liberal Beef? Why do Americans continue to believe such bullshit from their GOP politicians? It appears that the Reinhart-Rogoff battles over their faulty data about government debt have flamed out. Even the inventors of the 90% debt cliff are now anxious to portray themselves of cautious supporters of expansionary fiscal policy. This should mean that sober policy types everywhere can turn to the immediate problem of reducing unemployment with more expansionary fiscal policy. Unfortunately, this does not appear likely to happen. Even though the case against stimulative fiscal policy has been blown to hell, there is little impetus in the United States or Europe to change course. The counter-argument appears to have two sides. First, growth has picked up so that we don’t really need it. Second, we really wouldn’t know what to spend money on in any case. Both of these arguments deserve to be called what they are–bullshit. Why Do So Many People Believe Such Crap? Take the case of why so many believe the federal budget should be managed just like our household finances for example. This old stinking pile of dung is routinely trotted out by politicians looking to give themselves cover when they are [...]

From All In: A look at sexual assaults in the military in 2012.

Today’s Liberal Beef? Why do Americans continue to believe such bullshit from their GOP politicians? It appears that the Reinhart-Rogoff battles over their faulty data about government debt have flamed out. Even the inventors of the 90% debt cliff are now anxious to portray themselves of cautious supporters of expansionary fiscal policy. This should mean that sober policy types everywhere can turn to the immediate problem of reducing unemployment with more expansionary fiscal policy. Unfortunately, this does not appear likely to happen. Even though the case against stimulative fiscal policy has been blown to hell, there is little impetus in the United States or Europe to change course. The counter-argument appears to have two sides. First, growth has picked up so that we don’t really need it. Second, we really wouldn’t know what to spend money on in any case. Both of these arguments deserve to be called what they are–bullshit. Why Do So Many People Believe Such Crap? Take the case of why so many believe the federal budget should be managed just like our household finances for example. This old stinking pile of dung is routinely trotted out by politicians looking to give themselves cover when they are [...]

From The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell: Immigration control’s Magic Kingdom: Should we use Disney’s system?

Texas Sen. John Cornyn argued on Tuesday that the federal government should adopt a similar entry-exit system to the one used by Walt Disney World. Backing the amendment to the bill proposed by Sen. Jeff Sessions, Cornyn contended, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Gang of Eight’s bipartisan immigration bill undergoing markup this week, that if the biometrics system is “good enough for the Magic Kingdom, they ought to be good enough for the United States.”

Is this the best way to share your feelings?

Is this the best way to share your feelings? Yes. Yes, it is. Philadelphia Eagles guard Evan Mathis responds to the recent IRS scandal by urinating (or fake urinating) on an IRS sign. This is how you change the world, people.

White House releases over 100 pages of emails about Benghazi (PDF)

White House Benghazi Emails

Acting commissioner of IRS resigns

PushBack Politics

Acting commissioner of IRS resigns

US President Barack Obama has announced that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has requested and accepted the resignation of the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service in the wake of its handling of requests by conservative groups for tax-exempt status. Obama called the “misconduct” detailed in a report about the IRS response to those requests “inexcusable.” CNN Political Ticker

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

AP, DOJ clash over seriousness of leak that prompted phone records seizure

PushBack Politics

AP, DOJ clash over seriousness of leak that prompted phone records seizure

Justice Department and Associated Press officials clashed Tuesday over leaked classified information that led the government to seize AP phone records, with Attorney General Eric Holder saying it “put the American people at risk” and the news organization’s chief executive insisting it delayed publishing its story until it was assured “national security concerns had passed.” NBC News

House panel set to OK cut in food stamp program

The House Agriculture Committee has begun work on a five-year farm bill that would make small cuts to the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program. The panel is making the cuts to appease conservatives who say the food aid has become too expensive. The legislation would cut about $2.5 billion a year, or 3 percent, to the program, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The legislation would achieve the cuts partly by eliminating “broad-based categorical eligibility,” or automatic food stamp benefits when people sign up for other programs. The farm bill costs almost $100 billion annually and would set policy for farm subsidies, rural programs and the food aid. The House panel is considering the legislation Wednesday, one day after the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version. Source: AP Read more

Read: Deputy Attorney General’s Letter In Response to Associated Press regarding AP records

PushBack Politics

Read: Deputy Attorney General’s Letter In Response to Associated Press regarding AP records

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder faced questions over the Justice Department’s decision to seize telephone records of the Associated Press, a move denounced by critics as intrusion into freedom of the press. Read: Deputy Attorney General’s Letter In Response to Associated Press regarding AP records Photo: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney pauses while speaking to reporters in the briefing room of the White House in Washington May 14, 2013. The White House, under pressure over reports that the Department of Justice tracked Associated Press phone records, said on Tuesday that U.S. President Barack Obama strongly supports the freedom of the press. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque reuters

(VIDEO) Newt Gingrich Is Puzzled By A Smartphone – FUNNY SH*T Must See!

Newt Gingrich, former congressman, space explorer, and fat bastard, tries to figure out what the hell is going on with a smartphone. “What do we call this ?”, he boldly asks.

Tuesday, 14 May 2013

Top IRS official didn’t reveal tea party targeting

PushBack Politics

Top IRS official didn’t reveal tea party targeting

Acting Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Steven T. Miller repeatedly failed to tell Congress that tea party groups were being inappropriately targeted, even after he had been briefed on the matter. The IRS said Monday that Miller was first informed on May, 3, 2012, that applications for tax-exempt status by tea party groups were inappropriately singled out for extra, sometimes burdensome scrutiny. At least twice after the briefing, Miller wrote letters to members of Congress to explain the process of reviewing applications for tax-exempt status without revealing that tea party groups had been targeted. On July 25, 2012, Miller testified before the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee but again was not forthcoming on the issue — despite being asked about it. At the hearing, Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas, told Miller that some politically active tax-exempt groups in his district had complained about being harassed. Marchant did not explicitly ask if tea party groups were being targeted. But he did ask how applications were handled. Miller responded, “We did group those organizations together to ensure consistency, to ensure quality. We continue to work those cases,” according to a transcript on the committee’s website. He added, “It is my hope that some [...]

Leaked Data Could Result in Biggest Tax Evasion Investigation Into Offshore Accounts in History

The investigation into 400 gigabytes of leaked data will be carried out by officials in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. The leaked inside information including records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists expose individuals behind covert companies and private trusts in the British Virgin Islands, the Cook Islands, Singapore and other offshore hideaways. It is believed to be the largest stockpile of secret tax information (400 Gigabytes) ever gathered by media organizations in history. Secrecy for Sale: Inside the Global Offshore Money Maze But the British tax authority claims it has even more data. The total size of the ICIJ files, measured in gigabytes, is more than 160 times larger than the leak of U.S. State Department documents by Wikileaks in 2010. A statement from the British tax office puts the size of the data obtained by the three tax authorities at 400 gigabytes, compared to the 260 gigabytes gathered by the ICIJ. “The 400 gigabytes of data is still being analyzed but early results show the use of companies and trusts in a number of territories around the world including Singapore, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Cook Islands,” the British tax office statement [...]

Friday, 10 May 2013

IRS Apologizes For Targeting Conservative Groups

PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog

IRS Apologizes For Targeting Conservative Groups

The Internal Revenue Service is apologizing for inappropriately flagging conservative political groups for additional reviews during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status. Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS unit that oversees tax-exempt groups, said organizations that included the words “tea party” or “patriot” in their applications for tax-exempt status were singled out for additional reviews. Lerner said the practice, initiated by low-level workers in Cincinnati, was wrong and she apologized while speaking at a conference in Washington. Source: Associated Press Read more

Jason Richwine (the idiot from the pic of the day)

The idiot with the dissertation linking ethnicity and IQ. Here is a video of this guy from 2008 from cspan. He is a racist. He is a smug self-important little racist. I wish that I could have been on his dissertation committee. DU

Thursday, 9 May 2013

US Sen. McCain working on ‘a la carte’ cable TV bill

PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog

US Sen. McCain working on ‘a la carte’ cable TV bill

Senator John McCain is working on a legislative proposal that would, if enacted, significantly reshape the landscape of the broadcast and cable television markets by pressuring cable providers to allow their subscribers to choose which channels they want to pay for. McCain (R-Ariz.) will reportedly introduce his legislation in the next few days, according to The Hill. The Arizona senator was formerly the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and has pushed similar legislation in the past to little effect. McCain’s bill would, in addition to urging cable providers toward a la carte pricing, ban the bundling of broadcast stations with cable channels owned by the same entities. This would, for example, keep Disney from requiring that cable providers pay for ESPN in order to carry ABC. The bill also puts an end to the sports blackout rule, which keeps companies from carrying a sports event if the game is blocked out locally. Source: Apple Insider Read more: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/05/09/us-sen-mccain-working-on-a-la-carte-cable-tv-bill

State Department: We will not retaliate against diplomat’s Benghazi criticism

The State Department is disputing the testimony of one of its senior diplomats, Gregory Hicks, who electrified a congressional hearing by challenging the Obama administration’s handling of the Benghazi raid that left four Americans dead. The State Department rejected Hicks’s claim that he had been demoted, and insisted it would not “retaliate” against him for his outspoken criticism since last year’s raid. Source: The Guardian UK Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/09/state-department-benghazi-diplomat-claims?guni=Network%20front:network-front%20main-3%20Main%20trailblock:Network%20front%20-%20main%20trailblockosition1

Republican Leaders Refuse To Make Appointments To Key Obamacare Panel

The top two Republicans in Congress informed President Obama on Thursday that they will refuse to fulfill their duty under the Affordable Care Act to recommend members of a new board with the power to contain Medicare spending. In a letter to President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) noted their original opposition to Obamacare, reiterated their intent to repeal it entirely, and declared that they would not make any appointments to the Independent Payment Advisory Board. The IPAB is a 15-member panel whose members must be confirmed by the Senate. The President selects three members himself and is required by law to seek three recommendations each from the top Democrat and Republican in each chamber. With Thursday’s letter, Boehner and McConnell refused to make any recommendations. “Because the law will give IPAB’s 15 unelected, unaccountable individuals the ability to deny seniors access to innovative care, we respectfully decline to recommend appointments,” Boehner and McConnell wrote in the letter. Source: Talking Points Memo Read more

Senators defeat border security provision

Bipartisan authors of a sweeping immigration bill agreed to Republican-authored amendments to boost border security, as they tried Thursday to show they’re open to changes to attract more GOP support for their landmark legislation. The bill’s authors also stuck together to defeat a Republican amendment that would have barred anyone from seeking citizenship until the U.S.-Mexico border had been secured for six months. Supporters of the bill charged that the real effect of that provision would have been to delay citizenship indefinitely for the estimated 11 million people living here illegally. The fast-paced action unfolded as the Judiciary Committee convened the first of what’s expected to be two weeks of meetings to plow through some 300 amendments to the legislation backed by President Barack Obama to remake the nation’s immigration laws. The bill would toughen border security, overhaul legal immigration to allow tens of thousands of new high- and low-skilled workers into the country, require all employers to check their workers’ immigration status and create a 13-year path to citizenship for the millions already here. … The vote on the Grassley amendment requiring six-month control of the border before unauthorized immigrants could begin to legalize their status was likely the [...]

Bill Maher- America’s Craziest Congressman, Round-2

Featuring Loony Goehmert and Tennessee teabagger Desjarlais

Wednesday, 8 May 2013

Top Republican ‘Fairly Satisfied’ With White House’s Account Of Benghazi

PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog

Top Republican ‘Fairly Satisfied’ With White House’s Account Of Benghazi

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Bob Corker (R-TN) said Wednesday that he’s “fairly satisfied” with the Obama administration’s account of events that led to the deaths of American diplomats in Benghazi last year. “We need to know were these people culpable or not. If they were, why are they still on the payroll? Other than that, I’ve been able to read all the cables. I’ve seen the films,” Corker told MSNBC. “I feel like I know what happened in Benghazi. I’m fairly satisfied.” He cautioned House Republicans to be “respectful” if they probe the issue further. “Look, if the House wants to have hearings,” he said, “I hope they’re done in a respectful way and hopefully it will shed some light on what happened.” ### Source: TPM Read more

Rick Perry: Being Anti-Gay Is Like Being Anti-Slavery…Right

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Bob Corker (R-TN) said Wednesday that he’s “fairly satisfied” with the Obama administration’s account of events that led to the deaths of American diplomats in Benghazi last year. “We need to know were these people culpable or not. If they were, why are they still on the payroll? Other than that, I’ve been able to read all the cables. I’ve seen the films,” Corker told MSNBC. “I feel like I know what happened in Benghazi. I’m fairly satisfied.” He cautioned House Republicans to be “respectful” if they probe the issue further. “Look, if the House wants to have hearings,” he said, “I hope they’re done in a respectful way and hopefully it will shed some light on what happened.” ### Source: TPM Read more

Gillibrand, McCaskill, Ayote grill military brass over arrest of sexual assault officer (3 videos)

PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog

Gillibrand, McCaskill, Ayote grill military brass over arrest of sexual assault officer (3 videos)

Gillibrand snip- Female senators grill military brass over arrest of sexual assault prevention officer Female senators lashed out at top military brass on Tuesday following a damning Pentagon report on sexual assault and the arrest of U.S. Air Force sex abuse prevention officer. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) pressed the military leaders to explain why unit commanders should have the power to handle the prosecution and investigation of sexual assault cases. “This is a regard in which there is clearly insufficient training, insufficient understanding,” Gillibrand said. “If the man in charge for the Air Force of preventing sexual assault is being alleged to have committed a sexual assault this weekend, obviously there is a failing in training and understanding of what sexual assault is and how corrosive and damaging it is to good order and discipline — and how it is undermining the credibility of the greatest military force in the world. This is not good enough.” She told Gen. Mark Welsh, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, that many female victims refused to report sexual assaults because they had no faith in the chain [...]

Michele Bachmann Is In Talks To Settle Iowa Lawsuit

Sources say she met with lawyers for woman who accused campaign of stealing e-mail list. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann is engaged in settlement negotiations in a lawsuit alleging that senior members of her presidential campaign stole a proprietary e-mail list of home-school families from the computer of an Iowa campaign staffer, according to sources close to the case. The Minnesota Republican reportedly traveled to Des Moines Monday to meet with attorneys for Barb Heki, an Iowa woman who sued the campaign last year alleging the theft of the list, which eventually was used to contact Iowa home-schoolers. Lawyers for Bachmann and the campaign did not respond to requests for comment on the talks. Bachmann’s congressional office also declined to comment or provide an account of her whereabouts on Monday. Heki, the campaign’s former home school coalition director, referred questions to her new litigation attorney, Jeffrey Wright, who also declined to comment. In the past, Heki has sought a public apology from Bachmann, which has not been forthcoming. Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune Full article at link Read more

Rachel Maddow – Politifact sullies fact checking again with inexplicable rating

Sources say she met with lawyers for woman who accused campaign of stealing e-mail list. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann is engaged in settlement negotiations in a lawsuit alleging that senior members of her presidential campaign stole a proprietary e-mail list of home-school families from the computer of an Iowa campaign staffer, according to sources close to the case. The Minnesota Republican reportedly traveled to Des Moines Monday to meet with attorneys for Barb Heki, an Iowa woman who sued the campaign last year alleging the theft of the list, which eventually was used to contact Iowa home-schoolers. Lawyers for Bachmann and the campaign did not respond to requests for comment on the talks. Bachmann’s congressional office also declined to comment or provide an account of her whereabouts on Monday. Heki, the campaign’s former home school coalition director, referred questions to her new litigation attorney, Jeffrey Wright, who also declined to comment. In the past, Heki has sought a public apology from Bachmann, which has not been forthcoming. Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune Full article at link Read more

Rachel Maddow – Adultery, lying OK with SC voters, Sanford elected

Sources say she met with lawyers for woman who accused campaign of stealing e-mail list. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann is engaged in settlement negotiations in a lawsuit alleging that senior members of her presidential campaign stole a proprietary e-mail list of home-school families from the computer of an Iowa campaign staffer, according to sources close to the case. The Minnesota Republican reportedly traveled to Des Moines Monday to meet with attorneys for Barb Heki, an Iowa woman who sued the campaign last year alleging the theft of the list, which eventually was used to contact Iowa home-schoolers. Lawyers for Bachmann and the campaign did not respond to requests for comment on the talks. Bachmann’s congressional office also declined to comment or provide an account of her whereabouts on Monday. Heki, the campaign’s former home school coalition director, referred questions to her new litigation attorney, Jeffrey Wright, who also declined to comment. In the past, Heki has sought a public apology from Bachmann, which has not been forthcoming. Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune Full article at link Read more

Tuesday, 7 May 2013

ELECTION DAY: Sanford, Colbert Busch Poll Shows South Carolina Candidates In Dead Heat

PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog

ELECTION DAY: Sanford, Colbert Busch Poll Shows South Carolina Candidates In Dead Heat

Days ahead of Tuesday’s special election for South Carolina’s open congressional seat, a new poll shows former Gov. Mark Sanford (R) gaining momentum on Democratic rival Elizabeth Colbert Busch, erasing the strong lead she posted in a previous poll. A Public Policy Polling survey released Sunday evening shows the two candidates locked in a virtual dead heat, with Sanford leading Colbert Busch 47 percent to 46 percent. The numbers show a dramatic shift in the race from two weeks ago, when Colbert Busch held a 9-point lead over Sanford in the PPP poll. That poll was conducted after the Republican was accused of trespassing at his ex-wife’s home and was subsequently dropped by the National Republican Campaign Committee. Despite those setbacks, Sunday’s poll indicates that Sanford’s efforts to brand Colbert Busch as a liberal may be helping drive down the Democrat’s favorability with voters in the heavily Republican 1st Congressional District. Read More

Monday, 6 May 2013

Student Debt Not National Debt is Crushing The Recovery

PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog

Student Debt Not National Debt is Crushing The Recovery

For all the talk from the GOP about their fear that our national debt will crush the younger generation under the weight of our American “credit card” debt, the truth is–and has been since the crash during the waning George W. Bush’s disastrous Presidency– the lack of a vibrant economy and the jobs that come with it is the larger looming disaster for our children, not the national debt. Everything I’ve written for the last two and a half years has borne this fact out. What has also been evident is the success of distractions and misdirection that the GOP has relentlessly used to keep the voting public from focusing on the real slight-of-hand they’ve been attempting to keep their “audience” mesmerized. Student Debt not National Debt is the Silent Killer Youth unemployment has reached crisis levels around the world, with almost 13 per cent of the global youth labor force out of work this year, according to the International Labor Organization. But the problem has a distinctive characteristic in the US, where the weak job market has collided with record levels of educational debt – about $25,000 per graduate on AVERAGE. Together, they pose a hazard of enormous proportions [...]

Vendor That Pulled ‘Obama’ Target At NRA Convention Also Sells ‘The Ex’ Target

In addition to making a mannequin target that looks like President Barack Obama, Zombie Industries sells a mannequin called simply “The Ex” — a large-breasted dummy that “bleeds” when shot. At the National Rifle Association convention in Houston over the weekend, Zombie Industries, the maker of “life-sized tactical mannequin” targets, was asked to take down its “Bleeding Rocky Zombie” from its booth. A company worker told Buzzfeed the mannequin was pulled for looking too much like Obama. Other mannequins made by Zombie Industries include a clown, a terrorist, and a Nazi. The only female target appears to be “The Ex,” which sells for $99.95. “In addition to the Ex Girlfriend Zombie, we currently sell 15 male zombies, 5 animal zombies & 2 aliens… to discriminate against Women by not having them represented in our product selection would be just plain sexist,” the company states on its website. ### Source: TPM Read more

The Reason You Feel Like You’re Making Less Income? You Are

If you’re like me and it feels like you’re working harder and making less these days, there’s a very good reason for that. You are. Wages of working Americans– just like the overall effect of government cuts during an extremely fragile recovery–are being wrung out like an old wash rag; and it’s accommodating our economy’s dying a slow death while poli-tricksters squeeze every drop of blood and every dollar of our wages they can from every working person in our country. Since Americans like visual aids so much, take a gander at the chart below. It shows total US wages as a proportion of total US GDP — a number which continues to hit all-time lows. On the other hand, corporate profits as a percentage of GDP are hitting new all-time highs. In case you are wondering, this is why the stock market seems so erratically out-of-touch with what the average American is feeling. Income Trends Show Destructive and Financial Trouble for Your Children— NOT the National Debt It’s astounding how Americans get wrapped up in the day-to-day distractions offered up by profit-motivated network pundits, bought-off politicians while we sit back and obsess about new smartphones for the kids and [...]

Obama speaks of civic duty in Ohio State commencement speech

PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog

Obama speaks of civic duty in Ohio State commencement speech

President Barack Obama delivered the commencement address at Ohio State University on Sunday on the one-year anniversary of the day he kicked off his 2012 re-election campaign at a rally on campus. “You have been tested and tempered by events that your parents and I never imagined we’d see when we sat where you sit,” Obama said. “And yes, despite all this – or more likely because of it – yours has become a generation possessed with that most American of ideas: that people who love their country can change it for the better.” Photo: President Barack Obama waves alongside Ohio State University President Gordon Gee during the school’s spring commencement ceremony in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday. (Jason Reed / Reuters) NBC News

Saturday, 4 May 2013

(VIDEO) Larry Flynt Supports Mark Sandford! Promises to ‘Stand Erect’ in Support of ‘Sex Pioneer’ Mark Sanford LOL

PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog

(VIDEO) Larry Flynt Supports Mark Sandford! Promises to ‘Stand Erect’ in Support of ‘Sex Pioneer’ Mark Sanford LOL

Larry Flynt Supports Mark Sandford! Promises to ‘Stand Erect’ in Support of ‘Sex Pioneer’ Mark Sanford Republican congressional candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), who abandoned his post in 2009 to visit Argentina with his mistress, received an unexpected endorsement from porn publisher Larry Flynt on Tuesday. That might be good grist for his Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, but it’s also good for “Hustler” magazine proprietor Larry Flynt, who published a two-minute endorsement speech on Tuesday hailing Sanford as a “sex pioneer.” “His open embrace of his mistress in the name of love, breaking his sacred marriage vows, was an act of bravery that has drawn my support,” Flynt says in the video. “My endorsement has not been an easy decision for me,” he continues. “Even though Mark Sanford has emerged as a sexual leader, he is a liar. He lied to his staff, he lied to his wife, he lied to his children and he lied to the people of South Carolina. But despite his journey down the Appalachian Trail of deceit, I support him for exposing the hypocrisy of traditional values. The liar has exposed the greater lie.” Read More at Raw Story

Thursday, 2 May 2013

RNC Ad Shows Obama With Newtown Mom

PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog

RNC Ad Shows Obama With Newtown Mom

Just making sure we’re on the same page: Republicans are blocking gun reform, but now they are criticizing President Obama for not passing it? The Democratic National Committee is fuming over a Republican National Committee ad called “First 100 Days,” which shows Obama consoling the mother of a victim of the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting—but criticizes him for not passing gun reform in the wake of the massacre. The RNC insisted that it used a clip from an ABC News package, with an RNC spokesman tweeting, “I don’t think we control ABC.” It’s just another instance of the high-stakes fight over gun reform, coming two days after New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte was confronted at a town-hall meeting by the daughter of the Sandy Hook Elementary School principal, who was killed in the shooting. The Hill

Steven Spielberg’s “Obama” PART 2

PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog

Steven Spielberg’s “Obama” PART 2

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Daughter Of Newtown Victim Confronts Sen. Ayotte At Town Hall Over Gun Vote, Storms Out After Hearing Answer

PushBack Politics - Live Political Blog

Daughter Of Newtown Victim Confronts Sen. Ayotte At Town Hall Over Gun Vote, Storms Out After Hearing Answer

The gun control debate has only gotten more heated in the wake of the Senate’s rejection of any proposed measures last week. One Republican already feeling the heat for her no vote is New Hampshire senator Kelly Ayotte, who was confronted by the daughter of a Newtown victim during a town hall event earlier today. Erica Lafferty directly asked Ayotte in a public forum why she prioritized the concerns of gun store owners over people like her mother who were gunned down at Sandy Hook. Lafferty brought up how Ayotte had voiced her concerns about an undue burden the Senate legislation would have on gun store owners, and asked the senator-point blank why “the burden of my mother being gunned down in the hall of her elementary school isn’t as important as that.” Ayotte sympathized with Lafferty’s desire to stop massacres like Newtown from happening again, but said that the Senate bill addressed background checks, which Ayotte pointed out was not an issue in Newtown, but did not to her satisfaction adequately address mental health treatment. She touted other areas where she and her colleagues could find agreement on, and differed with members of her party who expressed displeasure with [...]

Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)