The "cash mob" movement

I think this is really, really wonderful.

Some real family values

Yes. Let's go "back"!! :-)

Scathing

And understandably so. It's worth watching.

“Is there really something to quibble about in how powerful a bullet is when it is heading toward a six-year-old at the speed of 3200 feet per second? What kind of desperate, cornered rat would dare to mention that the Sandy Hook shooter could have used a more powerful bullet? Could have what? Done more damage? Made the bodies of six-year-olds even more difficult to identify?"

   
~~~

He demands a plan...

...and so do I.


~~~

Truly a game changer

Joe Scarborough is a conservative.

"Obama derangement syndrome"

Oh, good grief. Please watch it.

Honestly!

Of course. it's fine with Bush and Reagan did the same thing....

Something I just learned...

I had not come across this passage (by John Tyler, tenth president of the U.S.) before today:

“The United States have adventured upon a great and noble experiment, which is believed to have been hazarded in the absence of all previous precedent — that of total separation of Church and State. No religious establishment by law exists among us. The conscience is left free from all restraint and each is permitted to worship his Maker after his own judgment. The offices of the Government are open alike to all. No tithes are levied to support an established Hierarchy, nor is the fallible judgment of man set up as the sure and infallible creed of faith. The Mohammedan, if he will to come among us would have the privilege guaranteed to him by the constitution to worship according to the Koran; and the East Indian might erect a shrine to Brahma, if it so pleased him. Such is the spirit of toleration inculcated by our political Institutions.”

So, it's not only Thomas Jefferson who understood the Constitution to be establishing a "separation of Church and State."

Of course, I don't see how the First Amendment and Article VI ("no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust in the United States.”) can reasonably be interpreted any other way.
~~~

Oh, here we go again...

with this idiotic "war on Christmas" nonsense.

 

Are we really civilized?

Countries still having the death penalty are in red.

(click to enlarge)

~~~

Yes, yes, yes.

Did I say yes??? I'm saying it again. Yes.

(Click to enlarge)

~~~

Something to think about

In my humble opinion, that is:

~~~

Headline of the day

Please take a look. This is so, so true:

America Didn’t “End” Slavery After the Civil War -- We Simply Exported It

Here's a brief excerpt:

The recent fires that killed 112 workers in Bangladeshi sweat shops making garments for Wal-Mart and other American retailers show how we, today, are frankly more hypocritical and dishonest about slavery than was Jefferson himself. 

As are those Libertarians who argue that the Bangladeshis were “willing workers,” when poverty is so severe in that country that working, chained into a firetrap factory, is essential to survival itself. To call the working conditions of much of the developing world anything less than slavery is to ignore the power relationships that keep workers behind fences, locked 24/7 in often-violent dormitories, and the companies that string nets outside windows to reduce worker suicides. 

I've actually heard people who think of themselves as having values and a conscience say that they can't justify NOT buying cheap imported stuff -- even when they know full well that workers are exploited and mistreated.
~~~

An important question, IMHO

And it's a question I have as well:

Perspective

Interesting, don't you think?  :-)

~~~

Analyzing the Republicans' loss

This is intriguing, actually. Mind you, Cenk Uygur is engaging in some pretty strong schadenfreude in this but listen beyond it, okay?



~~~

Quotation of the hour

In my humble opinion.

"They outspent us, they outlied us, they made it harder for us to vote, and they tried to make our candidate into a Kenyan, Muslim, Socialist. We won anyway. 

"They can deal with it." 

-- Dave

This "Dave" is the administrator of The Pragmatic Progressive Page over on Facebook.
~~~

Happy Days Are Here Again!

Oh, the relief!


~~~

Really sweet

I think you'll enjoy this brief video:

   
~~~

Yes.

Just so you'll know!

Inspiring, actually

Do you think those right wingers who think that money is everything could ever say something like this:

Not really surprising

But the hypocrisy does get to me.

Well, there you go...

This is undoubtedly what it's all about.

(Click to enlarge)

~~~

This is for real

I hope and pray people THINK.

Good grief.

How is it that this has become even a question of late? The fact that the president even needs to state it this way makes me almost despair. (Shaking my damn head here.)

Oh, that party of family values again...

And, for the umpty-eleventh time, it's not the sex, it's the hypocrisy. It's not the sex, it's the "conservative" judgment of other people that is so reprehensible (while expecting a pass for their own behavior).

Dinesh D’Souza Resigns Presidency of The King’s College

"D’Souza came under fire Tuesday when World magazine revealed that he was engaged to a 29-year-old woman while still married to his wife of 20 years. D’Souza and Denise Odie Joseph allegedly shared a hotel room at a Christian conference in September, and D’Souza introduced her as his fiancee." 

D'Souza, by the way, is a well-known conservative who has lately been making a practice of bashing President Obama. He used to debate Christopher Hitchens about the existence of God.

You know, if you're going to be judgmental about others, you've got to be impeccable in your own behavior. (And who, really, can manage that?)
~~~

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