Month: June 2009

Evolution of a Rightwing Tweet

Trish
Rubio’s twitter profile pic

Love twitter, hate twitter, or just wish people understood the difference between status updates on facebook and tweets, and didn’t post the identical thing in both places. But. Whatever you feel about twitter, you have to admit that something very brief can provide huge insight.

Take Marco Rubio for example, or should I say marcorubio? The only guy not scared of running against Charlie Crist in a Republican primary in Florida for U.S. Senate is exploring his inner Iranian freedom meme on twitter. In successive posts on Father’s Day, you can watch him home in on how best to slam Obama, strike the proper note of patriotism and far rightwing zealotry, and applaud fatherhood. It’s not an easy job, but I think he’s done it.

First, there was this.

#May God bless those fathers in Iran who are speaking out in order to protect their childrens future. #iranelection #tcot #sayfie44 minutes ago from TwitterFon

A good start, but we’re missing the “terrorists have won” sentiment that Republicans so enjoy.

#An American govt afraid to speak out for freedom is exactly what the terrorists wanted to accomplish. #sayfie #tcot #iranelection #tehran36 minutes ago from TwitterFon

That’s better, but not overtly insulting to Obama and the Democrats.

#American govt may be afraid to speak out in support of Iranian freedom but the American people are not! #sayfie #iranelection #tehran #tcot32 minutes ago from TwitterFon

Almost perfect. Let’s just think about it a little more…Hey! Guns!

# I have a feeling the situation in Iran would be a little different if they had a 2nd amendment like ours. #sayfie #tcot #nra20 minutes ago from TwitterFon

Now you’re tweeting, Marco! Way to make that Charlie Crist guy look like a wuss!

Clueless Florida Republicans ‘Celebrate’ Juneteenth

Buck Banks

The Republican Party of Florida is at it again, showing its stupidity and insensitivity toward African Americans. How? By trying to morph into a celebration what was actually a crime against slaves. At the same time, they are trying to align themselves with the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln, a radical band of reformers and abolitionists whose Congress overrode the veto of white supremacist President Andrew Johnson to pass civil rights laws only to see them overturned by an “activist” Supreme Court.

Is Juneteenth something to celebrate? Certainly not. However, it is absolutely something to acknowledge

Here’s another example of the Republicans trotting out a black party member to show America that Mr. Lincoln’s party is still a great place to be black. Hey, Michael Steele, how are you celebrating Juneteenth?

Here’s the latest product from nimrod Jim Greer and his merry band of dolts:

Representative Jennifer Carroll, Chairperson of the Republican Party of Florida’s African American Republican Leadership Council, and RPOF Chairman Jim Greer today released the following statement regarding “Juneteenth,” a celebration recognizing June 19, 1865, the day the last American slaves learned that they were free:

“‘Juneteenth’ is a celebration of the day when the last remaining slaves received word that President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation, resulting in their freedom. As the Party of Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party of Florida is built on the foundation of freedom, and this principle is as important to us today it was so many years ago, when President Lincoln helped to found the Republican Party as the anti-slavery party,” said Representative Carroll. “Over 140 years, we have championed these convictions. From the Civil Rights laws of the 1860s to the landmark 1954 decision in Brown vs. the Board of Education, which called for the end of segregation in public schools, the Republican Party has always been an advocate for civil rights.”

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The Week of Bad Asbestos News

Buck Banks

An Environmental Protection Agency declaration and a Supreme Court ruling were two major stories about asbestos that made headlines this week — neither of them good news.

Wednesday the Environmental Protection Agency declared a public health emergency in and near Libby, Mont., where decades of asbestos contamination from a vermiculite mine has left hundreds of people dead or sickened from asbestos-related lung diseases.

They are just two more stories about American corporations’ greed and irresponsibility, and — only tangentially — the people they harm

It was the first health emergency ever declared under the Superfund law, the 1980 statute that governs sites contaminated or threatened by hazardous substances. The Libby site, formerly owned by W.R. Grace & Co., was designated a Superfund priority in 2002.

In the case of the Supreme Court ruling, the court decided for Travelers Companies Inc., one of the largest U.S. property and casualty insurers, saying a lower court erred in overturning the approval of the company’s nearly $500 million settlement of asbestos-related litigation.

The settlement also barred new lawsuits against Travelers stemming from its relationship with Johns Manville Corp.., which had been the country’s largest miner of asbestos and a major manufacturer of asbestos-containing products. The 7-2 vote basically indemnifies Travelers against any future claims for injury or illness caused by Johns Manville asbestos products.

To gain some insight into these stories, Pensito Review interviewed Richard Moyle, national awareness coordinator for the Mesothelioma Cancer Center at Asbestos.com about the significance of these two asbestos-related stories. The Mesothelioma Cancer Center at Asbestos.com is a one-stop resource on all asbestos issues ranging from occupational exposure to mesothelioma doctor locations and treatment options. The center also provides legal information.

Pensito Review: Asbestos has suddenly gotten a lot of media attention because of the Supreme Court’s finding and the EPA’s declaration. Is the mainstream media getting it right about the potential dangers and health effects of asbestos?

Richard Moyle: I obviously haven’t seen all of the stories from the news media, but yes, the articles I have read on the situation seem to be pretty accurate. Basically, all you need to know about asbestos products is that they are generally not harmful unless disturbed or deteriorated in any way.

For example, if you have asbestos insulation in your home, it doesn’t pose a serious danger so long as it stays in good condition and remains behind the walls. If a hole is punched through a wall of a home containing asbestos insulation it could damage the asbestos and send the microscopic fibers into the air where they can then be inhaled or ingested.

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Look Out, Jeb Ahmadinejad

Trish

“This guy, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I mean, he claims victory and he is very unpopular…And the danger politically of this, he could ruin the political career of his brother, Jeb Ahmadinejad. You got to be careful.”

— David Letterman, discussing the Iran election during a monologue

And Those Sins Are…?

Trish

“Most Americans look at this as a personal situation.” Graham let out a laugh and said: “I’ve got plenty of sins that I’m not going to share with anyone else.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is widely rumored to be gay and in the closet, as quoted by Politico. Graham said Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) should not have relinquished a leadership position in the Senate after being exposed as an adulterer despite his previous high-profile support for a fundamentalist agenda.

GOP Sen. Ensign, Gay Marriage Opponent, Outs Himself As an Adulterer

Jon Ponder

Yesterday, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., the fourth-ranking member of the Senate leadership, admitted that he had an affair with a staffer, whose husband also worked for him.

Ensign, an evangelical Christian and vocal moralizer against gay marriage, was said to be planning to run for president in 2012. He will also be up for reelection to the Senate that year.

Ensign was separated from his wife in December 2007 when he began the affair, reportedly with Cynthia Hampton, a campaign staffer whose husband Dough worked on Ensign’s Senate staff:

[Cynthia Hampton] served as the treasurer for Ensign’s reelection campaign and for his leadership fund, Battle Born PAC. According to people familiar with the matter, Ensign’s affair with Hampton took place between December 2007 and August 2008. FEC records show that she ended her affiliation with the two committees in early 2008.

Hampton is married to Douglas Hampton, who, according to Senate records, served as Ensign’s administrative assistant in his personal office from November 2006 to May 2008 — around the same time Cynthia Hampton left Ensign’s committees.

Politico also reports that Ensign may have come forward about his adultery because the Hamptons were trying to extort money from him.

Citing an anonymous source, the AP reports that Ensign also had an extramarital affair in 2002.

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Quotes du Jour

Buck Banks

He has no credibility left.

— Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), quoted in the Las Vegas Sun in 1998, urging Bill Clinton to resign after he admitted an extramarital affair.

I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions.

— Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), admitting he had an extramarital affair with a member of his campaign staff who was married to an employee in his Senate office. Ensign has been testing the waters for a possible presidential bid in 2012.

Video: Maddow and Dean on Obama Admin’s Gay Slurs in Defense of Marriage Act Brief

Jon Ponder

In the video above, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow interviews former DNC Chair Howard Dean — who, as governor of Vermont, was also the first governor to legalize civil unions — about the homophobic language used by the Obama Justice Department last Thursday in its brief in support of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Hateful formulations in the Obama brief, according to Maddow, include comparing gay relationships with incest and pedophilia, as well as the entirely false claim that marriage between one man and one woman is an ancient tradition:

  • Consensual same-sex marriage between two adults is comparable to “marriage of uncle to niece and “underage marriage.”
  • The government needs to preserve the “traditional form of marriage” which is an “age-old societal institution.”

In fact, polygamy, not monogamy, was the age-old practice among Old Testament figures, notably including Abraham, father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Transcript:

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Scenes from the Parade: Los Angeles Gay Pride 2009

Jon Ponder

I’m not a parade-goer by nature, but the Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade — with its marching bands, loudspeakers and thumpa-thumpa disco trucks — passes so close to our house in West Hollywood that our large spotted cat Zig hides under the bed for the duration.

This year, there were two draws — one for me and one for my spouse, Page. For me, I figured that if San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newswome, who is running for governor next year, was going to be walking past my house, it wouldn’t hurt to go have a look-see. It’s been years — decades — since a politician got my attention the way he has.

(For the record, the last candidate who truly interested me was Rep. Patricia Schroeder who ran for president for about 10 minutes in 1988. I’m not saying I’m good a picking winners, but on substance and the issues, Newsome is on the money now, as Schroeder was then. And on the charisma scale, he’s right up there with Pres. Obama.)

Page is a fan of Chelsea Handler, host of E! TV’s “Chealsea Lately,” and her sidekick, Chuey, who were attending as the parade’s grand marshals.

Finally, after 22 of days straight without seeing sunshine — known in these parts as “May gray” and “June gloom” — it was at least occasionally sunny on Sunday morning, so we ventured out.

Here’s a bit of what we saw as we walked west along the parade route:

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