February 2013 - Page 9 of 12

Nine out of 10 Americans Support Background Checks for All Gun Buyers

February 7, 2013 Jon Ponder

91%

Percentage of Americans who support background checks for all gun buyers, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.

Voting Level in 2012 Was Average

February 7, 2013 Jon Ponder

129,058,169

Number of votes cast in the November 2012 presidential election. The eligible population of voters is 221,925,820, so the percentage who voted was 58.2 percent, making the turnout exactly in the middle of the previous 17 elections — better than eight but worse than eight.

Federal Deficit Continues to Shrink under Obama

February 7, 2013February 7, 2013 Jon Ponder

Washington Post:

The federal budget deficit will drop below $1 trillion for the first time in President Barack Obama’s tenure in office, a new report said Tuesday. The Congressional Budget Office analysis said the government will run a $845 billion deficit this year, a modest improvement compared to last year’s $1.1 trillion shortfall but still enough red ink to require the government to borrow 24 cents of every dollar it spends.

This is news you’ll never see reported on Fox.

MSNBC’s Liberal Hosts Question the Obama Administration’s Drone Strike Program

February 7, 2013February 7, 2013 Jon Ponder

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

During the presidency of George Bush, Fox News operated as an adjunct to the White House political office (or was it vice versa?). That’s why, if there were Fox hosts who had concerns about the many nefarious activities of the Bush administration — breaking the international anti-torture treaty that Ronald Reagan signed or deliberately betraying the covert identity of a CIA specialist in the WMD black market, for example — they rarely, if ever, voiced their criticisms on air.

I don’t watch Fox 24/7, so I can’t say that it never happened, but if it did, questioning Bush-Cheney policies was never given the high-profile airing that concerns about the Obama administration’s drone strike program have been given by liberal hosts on MSNBC this week. This is notable because it upends the meme in the political media — of which Andrew Sullivan is a prime exemplar — that Fox and MSNBC are just obverse and reverse on the same coin.

[…]

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The Sundered Pundit

February 6, 2013June 23, 2015 Buck Banks

As a pundit he was foolish and reckless,
And Dick Morris’ predictions were feckless.
So for talent so lacking
Fox News sent him packing,
And now the right wing network’s left “Dick-less.”

h/t to Buzzfeed

Knowing Another Boy Scout is Gay Will Turn Your Son Gay Too

February 6, 2013 Trish

The biggest problem will be a wave of boy-on-boy sexual activity on campouts and other overnight trips…Truth be told, there are scouts and leaders who are gay. But they have to be appropriately private and discreet about their sexuality and not “loud and proud.” Imagine openly gay men kissing and snuggling around the campfire in front of young boys.

John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council, apparently a haven for homophobes. Stemberger made the remarks in an editorial in USA Today, which claimed he was an Eagle Scout and scoutmaster. Something tells us that Stemberger has already spent quite a bit of time imagining openly gay men kissing and snuggling around the campfire. Please note: Stemberger was allowed to be an Eagle Scout, but that gay kid in California wasn’t.

Projected Deficit Falls Below $1 Trillion

February 6, 2013 Buck Banks

$845 billion

Amount the Congressional Budget Office is projecting the budget deficit will be in fiscal year 2013 — the first time it has forecast a budget gap below $1 trillion under President Obama, The Hill reports.

Majority of Americans Support Proposed Immigration Reforms

February 6, 2013 Buck Banks

2/3

Of Americans favor each of five measures designed to address immigration issues — ranging from 68% who would vote for increased government spending on security measures and enforcement at U.S. borders, to 85% who would vote for a requirement that employers verify the immigration status of new hires, according to Gallup. More than seven in 10 would vote for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants now living in this country.

Scott Prepared to Buy Governorship — Again

February 6, 2013 Buck Banks

$100 million

Amount Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) is preparing to spend to defend his Florida governorship, which would be the most expensive re-election campaign in state history, Politico reports.

Insiders Divided on Nature of GOP’s Problems

February 6, 2013 Buck Banks

57%

Of Democrats chose “policy prescriptions” as the area in which Republicans need the most improvement, while Republicans were far more divided, picking messaging as the top problem at 33%, the latest National Journal Political insiders poll finds.

Month: February 2013

Nine out of 10 Americans Support Background Checks for All Gun Buyers

91%

Percentage of Americans who support background checks for all gun buyers, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.

Voting Level in 2012 Was Average

129,058,169

Number of votes cast in the November 2012 presidential election. The eligible population of voters is 221,925,820, so the percentage who voted was 58.2 percent, making the turnout exactly in the middle of the previous 17 elections — better than eight but worse than eight.

Federal Deficit Continues to Shrink under Obama

MSNBC’s Liberal Hosts Question the Obama Administration’s Drone Strike Program

The Sundered Pundit

Knowing Another Boy Scout is Gay Will Turn Your Son Gay Too

Projected Deficit Falls Below $1 Trillion

$845 billion

Amount the Congressional Budget Office is projecting the budget deficit will be in fiscal year 2013 — the first time it has forecast a budget gap below $1 trillion under President Obama, The Hill reports.

Majority of Americans Support Proposed Immigration Reforms

2/3

Scott Prepared to Buy Governorship — Again

$100 million

Amount Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) is preparing to spend to defend his Florida governorship, which would be the most expensive re-election campaign in state history, Politico reports.

Insiders Divided on Nature of GOP’s Problems

57%

Of Democrats chose “policy prescriptions” as the area in which Republicans need the most improvement, while Republicans were far more divided, picking messaging as the top problem at 33%, the latest National Journal Political insiders poll finds.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“One woman at a rally in New Jersey told me last week that she was ‘nauseously optimistic.’ That may capture a lot of people’s last-minute jitters.”

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), quoted by Axios, on what Democrats feel ahead of the midterm elections.

“I think Congress made a mistake not protesting turning the Rose Garden into what looks like the entrance to Liberace’s bathroom.”

— Former President Bill Clinton, quoted by The Wrap.

“Boy, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. It feels like a real desperation play to me, because it has got zero basis in the law.”

— Republican election law expert Ben Ginsberg, quoted by Politico, on the Trump administration’s effort to invalidate Alaska’s election results.

Numerati

3,824

$1.4 billion

-35 points

31%

63% to 38%

KFF Poll: “With the 2026 midterm campaigns in full swing and early voting about to begin, there is a wide enthusiasm gap between partisan voters, with Democratic voters 25 percentage points more likely than Republican voters to say they are ‘more motivated’ than usual to vote (63% vs. 38%).”