Day: January 28, 2009

Why the Republicans Better Support Obama’s Stimulus Package

Buck Banks

Remember how everybody likes to describe the Democratic Party as behaving like a circular firing squad? Well House Republicans appear to be taking careful aim at both feet by threatening to oppose President Obama’s proposed economic stimulus package. The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder makes a pretty compelling case for why the GOPers should wise up and lay off:

Over a 48 hour period when 100,000 job layoffs have been announced, Hill Republicans have decided to take a stand against the stimulus.

Now — President Obama’s approval rating is about 70 percent;

Congressional approval is still around 20 percent;

After the election, Democrats still have a 9 point lead in generic identification.

The public approves of the stimulus plan by a very large margin — the numbers vary with the wording of the poll question, but it’s at least a plus 40 percent.

Obama is the most talented political figure of our generation — Boehner and McConnell are, uh, less talented.

Obama’s got the megaphone, they’ve got …

Squat, frankly. Ambinder makes the further point that the GOP continues to call for tax breaks instead of spending increases. Of course their tax breaks are not aimed at those of modest means, but at the wealthy. If they continue to cleave to tried-and-failed Bush-onomics, they will get steamrolled by the people-backed Obama-nomics. And pity the fools (or not) when the mid-terms roll around in 2010.

Sarah Palin Just Won’t Go Away

Buck Banks

sarahpac.jpg

Former vice presidential candidate and governor of Alaska Sarah Palin has created a political action committee named — are you sitting down? — SarahPAC. On the Web site, which features some beautiful panoramas of Alaska’s snow-topped mountains and a kind of disturbing image of Palin who, by the look on her face, is up to something, Alaska has been moved from the neighborhood of Russia to the center of the Lower 48. Indeed, the entire Midwest is obliterated by an Alaska-shaped hole.

What’s that message? That Midwesterners and Alaskans share a common vision that is Palinesque? Or does it say that Palin is in charge of a state that’s a third the size of the rest of the states put together? Or is it just a weird, unsettling graphic?

Although the site is slim on info about what SarahPAC is up to, indeed, it seems t be aimed mainly at capturing e-mail addresses and contact info, it probably won’t surprise you that SarahPAC is anthropomorphized into a thing that believes stuff:

SarahPAC believes America’s best days are ahead. Our country, founded on conservative principles and the fight for freedom, must confront the challenges of the 21st century with integrity, innovation, and determination.

SarahPAC believes energy independence is a cornerstone of the economic security and progress that every American family wants and deserves.

SarahPAC believes the Republican Party is at the threshold of an historic renaissance that will build a better future for all. Health care, education, and reform of government are among our key goals. Join us today!

Overall, my takeaway from the site was: CREEPY!

Please, someone, make SarahPAC go away …..

Quote du Jour

Buck Banks

Drinking to excess is what separates us from the Greeks. Being drunk is what separates us from the beasts. And what’s more, drinking makes me happy. Not drinking makes me unhappy. Which means if I do as I’m told by Gordon Brown, I’ll be sad all the time.

— Columnist Jeremy Clarkson, in the Times of London

Hate Moves to Facebook – Anti-Gay Group Seeks Friends

Jon Ponder

Wildmon

Don Wildmon, the leader of the Mississippi-based, virulently anti-gay group, the American Family Assoc., joined Facebook recently, and has sent an email blast to his followers urging them to sign up so that they can use the social networking platform as an outlet for propagating hatred and intolerance of gay people.

“I have joined Facebook. Please join me on Facebook and become a friend of AFA,” reads the email’s headline. In the body, Wildmon explains what Facebook is and hints at how his followers can use it to promote the homophobia agenda:

Every day new technologies are emerging on the Internet. For several years now Internet “social networking” has been the preferred choice of many for keeping in touch with friends and family. From Yahoo! 360 to MySpace to Facebook, people of all ages are enjoying quick, easy, and inexpensive ways of communicating with others near and far. And best of all it’s FREE!

I have joined Facebook. I hope you will join, too, and become a friend of AFA. Facebook allows users to send and receive emails, add comments, post photos and videos, share links, and join groups or causes. You can also learn about the people you meet or would like to meet. And you can network with like-minded people concerned about America’s moral decline. Once signed up, you can invite your family and friends to visit or join your homepage. You can also search the entire Facebook site to see if relatives, friends, acquaintances, and classmates are already members. Facebook is informative, fun, and easy to use. There simply is no reason not to join!

Take Action!

It’s likely that most Facebookers are not familiar with the AFA, which is among the wealthiest of the groups that raise money based on gay-hate mongering. In fiscal year 2006, the last year for which figures are available, it claimed net assets of $37 million. The AFA generates almost all its revenue in advertising campaigns designed to raise the specter of hatred of gay people, mostly among less educated, low-income whites.

The AFA is known for its “off with their heads” approach to boycotts. It even targets companies that exercise free speech — and free enterprise — by marketing to gay consumers. The list of companies boycotted by AFA is a who’s who of American brands, including 7-Eleven, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Airlines, American Girl, Blockbuster Video, Burger King, Calvin Klein, Carl’s Jr., Clorox, Crest, Ford, Hallmark Cards, Kmart, Kraft Foods, S. C. Johnson & Son, Movie Gallery, Microsoft, MTV, Mary Kay, NutriSystem, Old Navy, IKEA, Sears, Pampers, Procter & Gamble, Target, Tide, and Walt Disney Company.

The group is not just opposed to gay marriage, it even attacks companies that provide partner benefits for their employees:

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