Yes.

Hell, yes.

Signs made by grown-ups

Why isn't this completely obvious to everyone?

~~~

I tremble for my country...

Un-freakin'-belivable.  And people like this vote. God help us.


~~~

Well, there you go...

Sigh. (I'm doing that a lot these days, it seems.)

~~~

Indeed

I could wish this would go viral. But, then, the American populace as a whole is not educated enough to recognize the reference. (Sigh.)

One way of looking at last night's debate

I found this on Facebook:

Sherry Davis (from ‘Stop Willard Mitt Romney in 2012’ FB group) - Auntie Charm says, and I agree: "I think that tomorrow and days after everyone will acknowledge Mitt’s many, many, many layers of lies. The 'talking heads' will see things differently soon. If President Obama responded the same way Romney did he would look 'un-Presidential' and would be labeled “the angry Black man” and there would be more talk/issues about that. I believed that our POTUS defended his policies and explained them. Romney was very erratic - almost like someone on drugs. He was so rude, hyped and even his eyes looked weird and he was undisciplined with a weird smirk - that's not impressive to me. Romney came across as kind of a bossy asshole who doesn't give a shit about explaining himself or listening to anyone. I do not think that Romney won."

Hmmmm.....

And which Republican was it who had the temerity to call President Obama "lazy"????

Why not vote Republican?

Satire alert! Satire alert!



~~~

Delightfully funny and on point!

But if you're (shall we say) "delicate" about language, you might not like it...


~~~

Violent religious extremism

The following came today in a email from the Sojourners folks:

Religious extremism will not be defeated by a primarily military response to it. Ample evidence proves such a strategy does not work and often makes things worse. Religious and political zealots prefer huge military responses to the threats created by Islamic extremism. 
... 
The shock-and-awe strategy of military might simply has not worked. Fundamentalists actually flourish and win the most new recruits amidst overly aggressive military campaigns against them.

It seems kind of obvious to me.

Not so much to those determining our foreign policy, however.
~~~

Something about airplane windows....

I'm actually embarrassed for the Republicans.

About the national debt

It's number 9 here that I wish more people realized. Maybe you have to be an old lady like me for this to be obvious.

(Click to enlarge)

~~~

Wow!

This is only thirty-eight seconds long so please listen. The way this lady ends her statement is so rich!

 
~~~

The difference

Yes, I know. Both the parties are "owned" by corporate interests. Nevertheless there is a REAL difference here:

Indeed.

You know, when I first read what Romney had said about the 47%, I didn't believe it. I thought someone had made it up. A few minutes later, I realized it was real. This is really, really hard to believe. To say he should be ashamed of himself is putting it mildly.

True. So true.

When will the ordinary person wake up and realize this?

A really good question

Honestly, I don't see how the Republicans somehow captured the perception that they're more patriotic than the Democrats. I think it's appallingly unpatriotic to be willing to see America go downhill just so they can defeat Obama.

So, so, so important

Whenever anybody asserts that there's really no difference between the parties, that they are both corporately owned, I reply with these three words: The. Supreme. Court.

Really, people. I so agree with this graphic:

Do look at this

It's been aptly said that we're each entitled to our own opinions but not our own facts!

The Big Dog speaks

This really sums it up, doesn't it?‎

"In Tampa, the Republican argument against the President's re-election was pretty simple: we left him a total mess, he hasn't cleaned it up fast enough, so fire him and put us back in." 

 - Bill Clinton 

~~~

Hmmm....

Isn't this an interesting observation?

The American Taliban

Just watch it. Please. Devote six minutes and eleven seconds to the best description of what has happened to the Republican Party I sincerely think you will ever, ever hear.

Yup.

I may have posted this before.

It bears repeating.

Something that ought to be obvious

How about it, people?

Excellent point

I wonder if Romney is EVER going to release those returns.

Very interesting speculation

I had never heard of Stericycle before. I'm glad I know about it now.

 

Pretty good, people; pretty good

I'm really sick of Republican obstructionists having the gall to blame Obama for not getting enough done.

Imprint this one on your memory

I wish someone could help me comprehend why this is so hard for some folks to understand.

The last fiscal conservative

This really points out some serious reality!

The data on gun control laws and gun violence

None of this is hugely surprising but it's really worth watching if only to reference the facts when people bring up the Norway shooting.

 

Are we ready for this, ladies and gentlemen?

Because, if the Romney/Ryan ticket is elected, this is what's coming.

Excellent point

This man is so very insightful.

Headline of the day

My goodness, this is interesting:

AYN RAND ABSOLUTELY HATED RONALD REAGAN

Who knew?
~~~

That ticket....

Read it. Think about it. Please.

Romney's running mate

I just got the following email: 

The news just broke. Mitt Romney chose Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate.

A President Romney would be devastating for women and families, so it's no surprise he'd pick Paul Ryan. Ryan rammed his radical budget plan to decimate vital programs for seniors through Congress -- and did it on the backs of the women and families, like our grandmothers, who need these programs the most. And that's just the beginning.

Click here to see five of the worst things you need to know about Paul Ryan's record.

Paul Ryan has a vision of turning the clock back decades for women, from dismantling Medicare and Social Security to denying coverage of birth control and cancer screenings for women across the nation. 

We have a stark choice this year. We can either make 2012 an historic year for women, or we can let the Romney/Ryan ticket wage its very own War on Women from the White House. 

The fight ahead is clear: if we want to re-elect President Obama and elect the women who can hold Romney, Ryan, and the rest of the far right accountable, we need you with us. I know that there's no stronger barricade in the War on Women than the EMILY's List community, and together, we will win. 

Thank you for everything you do. 

Take care, 
Stephanie Schriock 

President, EMILY's List 
 ~~~

Ha!

Well, this is a good point.

What is a fact?

This is a wonderfully articulated definition:

"In science, 'fact' can only mean 'confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.' I suppose that apples might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal time in physics classrooms." 

-- Stephen Jay Gould

US author, naturalist, paleontologist, & popularizer of science (1941 - 2002)
~~~

How can this possibly be right?

Definitely something to think about

Sunday art blogging

Artist: Martinas Angel 

Image from Wikimedia Commons 

~~

Another thought to ponder

I've been thinking about this lately, as it happens. It's a sobering thought.

Something VERY worth pondering

One that needs to be spread far and wide:

Well, there you go....

Sunday art blogging

This is by Andrew Stevovich. You can find it over on Wikimedia Commons.

Best snark all day!!

Oh, this is so rich:

Excellent

This is true. I fact checked it:

Summing things up rather nicely

(Click to enlarge)

~~~

Something to ponder -- really

Good grief; good, good grief!

Undoubtedly

Definitely the headline of the day

A friend of mine from Colorado called the following to my attention.

Tax Cut, Cold Cuts 


Here's part of what it says: 


"President George W. Bush's original rationale for cutting tax rates in 2001 was to get rid of a sizable budget surplus at the end of the Clinton Administration. Remember? 


"President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Republican Congressional leaders swore up and down that tax cuts would pay for themselves, even though such claims were disputed by the U.S. Treasury Department and Congressional Budget Office. 


"Pushed into law through the same budget reconciliation process used to pass President Obama's Affordable Care Act in 2009, the tax cuts were programmed by Congressional Republicans to expire in ten years to limit their ultimate price tag. So, how does the scheduled expiration of Republican tax cuts now become an Obama tax increase?"


There's more and it's really good. I'd like to recommend that you click through and read the whole thing. ~~~

Something not very well publicized here:

Oh, is this rich or what?

Has Virginia gone insane????

Think about it, people:

Double standard

Here's your headline for the day:

First Lady Brings ‘Inappropriate’ Message to Florida Schools

Take a look:

The Miami event with the First Lady was held in a public high school auditorium, rented through the usual process that anyone would go through to rent the space during non-school hours. The event’s purpose? To recruit volunteers for the Obama campaign to help get out the vote.... 
[B]oard member Carlos Curbelo sent a letter to the school board’s attorney saying it is “inappropriate” and “sends the wrong message” for the Obama campaign hold a political event at the school. Curbelo has worked as a Republican strategist, the newspaper noted.
The use of public schools whose only focus should be to educate our children for political gain is downright wrong,” Diaz de la Portilla said in a statement provided to the [Miami] Herald. “Don’t these liberals have boundaries? Our schools are places for learning, not places for politicking.”

School children were not present. Hey, it's July! School is not even in session. And anyway, there's this:

The funny thing is this — when former First Lady Laura Bush actually went on campaign events held at public schools during the school year, talking to elementary school children, sometimes even with her husband,with the express purpose of bolstering George W. Bush’s re-election and fundraising efforts? Totally kosher and not a peep from anyone (at least that I could find with a relatively quick Google search).

Remember what we used to say about this sort of thing? IOKIYAR (It's OK if you're a Republican.)

Disgusting.
~~~

Why isn't this obvious to everyone?

~~~

Lest we forget

Look. I think draft dodging all by itself is understandable - even if it's not particularly honorable. But to be a draft dodger and then beat the drums of war so that OTHER people have to fight and die is simply reprehensible.

Completely and utterly contemptible

That "greatest nation" myth

I found this on facebook and it merits wide dissemination, I think:

"America is not the greatest nation in the world. Maybe we were at one time. Maybe we could be again but we need to tell the truth about the ways in which our nation is not the shining city on the hill of our dreams. We have replaced our war on poverty with a war on the poor. We spend more on the ineffective war on drugs than it would cost to make college free for low-income families. We wage war on foreign nations that pose no threat while telling ourselves we cannot afford to provide health care to the sick in our own nation. To ever change these unacceptable circumstances we must first be honest about them." 

 --Dr. Roger Lee Ray, Pastor of Community Christian Church in Springfield, MO
~~~

Two Ideas of government

By the great silver-tongued orator himself. Do not dismiss Bryan because of his opposition to evolutionary theory. He was a great progressive who had problems with evolution mainly because it was even then being used to justify a "survival of the fittest" social policy which he believed was gravely immoral (as do I).

"There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that if you just legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, that their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous their prosperity will find its way up and through every class that rests upon it." 

 -- William Jennings Bryan
~~~

Yup.

Lest we forget...

Seems appropriate for this Fourth of July...

(Click to enlarge)

~~~

Not at all surprising

What has happened to us?

I shared this over on my facebook page but I believe it belongs here as well.

(Click to enlarge)

~~~

Let's think good and hard about this one

I've offered this quotation before here on "Child of Illusion". It's time for a repeat:

Great pun!!