Oh, this is outstanding:

That "money = free speech" assertion

Oh, I do love this man:

It has been said that freedom isn't free. Today, we have placed a sizable down payment.

-- Stephen Colbert, after receiving approval from the Federal Election Commission to form his own "Super PAC" to mock the Supreme Court's decision to allow unlimited corporate donations to political action committees

What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander...
~~~

Oh, they've GOT to be kidding...

Did she really say this?

What would make someone be so full of hate... that they would want to see that person destroyed?

-- Sarah Palin, former vice-presidential candidate, responding to her celebrity critics

I think this is where I say, "Pot, meet kettle."
~~~

Someone I really miss

This man:

There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want a party that will stand up for working Americans.

---Paul Wellstone

Me too.

But we don't seem to have one.
~~~

Well, I certainly wouldn't admit it...

This:

Everything I needed to know I learned in Iowa.

-- Michele Bachmann, Republican Representative from Minnesota, addressing voters in Waterloo, Iowa, on the eve of her official presidential-campaign kickoff; Bachmann was born in Waterloo
~~~

Really disgusting headline

This one:

After Taking A $10 Billion Bailout, Goldman Sachs Announces It Will Outsource 1,000 Jobs To Singapore

Here's a little bit of what the article says:

Less than three years after receiving $10 billion in bailout money from American taxpayers, Goldman Sachs informed its employees recently that it will fire 1,000 workers in the United States and elsewhere, shifting their jobs to the cheaper Singaporean labor market.
....
The move to shift 1,000 jobs to Singapore is part of an overall effort by Goldman Sachs to cut $1 billion in operating costs over the next year. However, Goldman is firing American workers at a time of record profits for the company, which raked in $2.7 billion in profits in the first three months of 2011 alone.

What I want to know is why aren't this people denounced as unpatriotic? Even un-American?

Now listen up all you "conservatives" out there. THESE are the people you don't want to raise taxes on?

Sheesh.
~~~

Oh, oh, oh. Truly excellent:

Something about stupidity

Take a look at this headline:

Why Do People Believe Stupid Stuff, Even When They're Confronted With the Truth?

Here's how it gets started:

The Misconception: When your beliefs are challenged with facts, you alter your opinions and incorporate the new information into your thinking.

The Truth: When your deepest convictions are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger.

How's that for weird?

The article explains it.
~~~

Sunday art blogging

Artist: Mary Cassett

Image from Wikimedia Commons

All you tax haters, listen up!

I want to call your attention to a piece called "102 Things NOT To Do If You Hate Taxes". Here's the beginning of the list:

1. Do not use Medicare.
2. Do not use Social Security
3. Do not become a member of the US military, who are paid with tax dollars.
4. Do not ask the National Guard to help you after a disaster.
5. Do not call 911 when you get hurt.
6. Do not call the police to stop intruders in your home.
7. Do not summon the fire department to save your burning home.
8. Do not drive on any paved road, highway, and interstate or drive on any bridge.
9. Do not use public restrooms.
10. Do not send your kids to public schools.
11. Do not put your trash out for city garbage collectors.
12. Do not live in areas with clean air.
13. Do not drink clean water.
14. Do not visit National Parks.
15. Do not visit public museums, zoos, and monuments.
16. Do not eat or use FDA inspected food and medicines.
17. Do not bring your kids to public playgrounds.
18. Do not walk or run on sidewalks.
19. Do not use public recreational facilities such as basketball and tennis courts.
20. Do not seek shelter facilities or food in soup kitchens when you are homeless and hungry.
21. Do not apply for educational or job training assistance when you lose your job.
22. Do not apply for food stamps when you can’t feed your children.
23. Do not use the judiciary system for any reason.
24. Do not ask for an attorney when you are arrested and do not ask for one to be assigned to you by the court.
25. Do not apply for any Pell Grants.
26. Do not use cures that were discovered by labs using federal dollars.
27. Do not fly on federally regulated airplanes.

And, of course, there are more. 102 in all.

Stuff to think about.
~~~

Friday cat blogging!

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Very, very, very excellent snark

This:

I apologize for my mistake. To not do so would be irresponsible ... that would undermine the very integrity and credibility that I work so hard to pretend to care about.

-- Jon Stewart, TV host, after nonpartisan fact checker PolitiFact declared his statements about Fox News viewers false
~~~

Absolutely fascinating

I didn't know half of this stuff (it's about cheap, safe, eco-friendly cook stoves for developing countries):

Small - both beautiful and eco-friendly

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Are you at all familiar with the "tiny house" movement? I think it's very impressive indeed. Mind you, although I have lived in very small spaces in the past, these days I really appreciate having a bit more space (especially with my four animals). But I have great respsect for those people who manage to get rid of most of their stuff and, thereby, hugely reduce their ecological footprint.

Here's a blog dedicated to the movement:

Tiny House Blog

~~~

The importance of context

First of all, here's your headline:

Jon Stewart Was Right About Fox 'News' Viewers Being the Most Misinformed Citizens

Next, I want to offer a comment that was made to the article:

My father used to tell me this story: A group of visitors to the Museum of Natural History were shown a triptych painting of a caveman, covered by a curtain. As the curtain was opened, with the left and right of the canvas still covered, it revealed a hostile, slathering savage with fire in his eyes and a stone spear extending menacingly from his hairy hands. The crowd gasped and later reported having feelings of being threatened by the man. The curtain, however continued to open revealing a raging sabretooth cat on the left and a frightened woman and child cowering behind the caveman on the right. That story stuck with me because it was my father's way, a liberal civil liberties lawyer from the Eisenhower 50s, of explaining to look closely and then look again even closer to find the truth. I don't need to tell you how Fox News would manipulate this same "picture"---in fact, they give the news this type of short shrift everyday and anyone can observe it happening a dozen times an hour on their "fair and balanced" network..

What a vivid and effective illustration.
~~~

That wall of separation

It's been said that we are all entitled to our own opinions but not to our own facts. This is so wearying. I well remember when fundamentalists were adamant about the separation of church and state. It's hard to understand how that changed so much:

I completely agree with the points made UNTIL the gentlemen made fun of people's concerns about being micro-chipped. I think that is a very sinister idea indeed - whether it's the "mark of the Beast" or not.

~~~

Sunday art blogging

Artist: August Macke

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Oh, what a headline

Here you go:

Michele Bachmann Makes Dubya Look Good

Did we ever think it was possible?

It's a short opinion piece. Just click through and read the whole thing, okay?
~~~

A man of integrity

And a Republican to boot:

I think I'm doing the right thing. It's the appropriate thing — and if the public respects that, I'm grateful. If they don't, then I move on.

-- Roy J. McDonald, New York State Republican Senator, indicating that he would vote to legalize same-sex marriage in New York; his vote brings the senate within one vote of passing the bill

He has my complete respect on this one.
~~~