US Senate Bill Would Let Feds Read Your Email Without a Warrant

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Sen. Patrick Leahy

Nov. 20, 2012 - This is very disturbing. As if we have not had enough erosion of privacy under the Obama Administration, now comes a proposal in the U.S. Senate to allow warrantless monitoring of your email. The bill is an amendment to H.R. 2471, a House bill that would make video privacy regulations less restrictive. The House of Representatives approved H.R. 2471 late last year.

"Back in September," reports TechDirt, "we wrote about how Senator Patrick Leahy had introduced a really good bill for ECPA reform. ECPA (the Electronic Communications Privacy Act) is an incredibly outdated bill concerning (as it says) the privacy of electronic messages. It was written in a time (the mid-1980s) before everyone had email, let alone everyone used web-based, cloud-stored email. And thus, it has weird provisions, such as considering that messages stored on a server for more than 180 days are "abandonded" and thus subject to very little privacy protections. And that's just one of many, many problems with ECPA, which treats all kinds of messages differently."

CNET reports that is "has learned that Patrick Leahy, the influential Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, has dramatically reshaped his legislation in response to law enforcement concerns. A vote on his bill, which now authorizes warrantless access to Americans' e-mail, is scheduled for next week."

Images, Video: Palestinian Savages Drag Body Through Gaza WIth Motorcycles

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Crazed savages drag a suspected spy behind motorcycles
in Gaza. Photo credit: EPA  Source: vosizneias.com

Nov. 20, 2012 - Below are some shocking images and videos of brutality by Palestinians against fellow Palestinians (click to enlarge). Six men were suspected of being spies for Israeli, and "were dragged through the streets of Gaza City and executed in front of a chanting mob today as Israel warned Palestinians to evacuate some areas of the territory in apparent preparation for a ground invasion," reports The Daily Mail (UK).

"Witnesses said the six were taken to an intersection in the north of the city," The Daily Mail story continues, "where they were summarily shot for providing intelligence that helped Israel pinpoint key figures in Hamas and the Islamic Jihad targeted by their warplanes."

CNN's Anderson Cooper's Instagram photo

The suspected spies were murdered in Gaza City's Sheik Radwan neighborhood. There was no trial. No real justice. Just brutal murder and a horrific ritual through the streets.

"Hamas Aqsa radio quoted a security official," says The Daily Mail, "as saying the men had been 'caught red handed' with 'hi-tech equipment and filming equipment to take footage of positions.'

"Gunmen chained the body of one of the alleged collaborators to a motorcycle and dragged it throughout the main streets of Gaza City in a warning to others who 'betrayed' Palestinians," says The Daily Mail.  Post continues below video:

(More videos below...)

Photo: Reuters

An Associated Press reporter "saw a mob surrounding five of the bloodied corpses shortly after the killing. Some in the crowd stomped and spat on the bodies," reports The Times Of Israel. "A sixth corpse was tied to a motorcycle and dragged through the streets as people screamed, 'Spy! Spy!'"

"Witnesses said a van stopped in the intersection," says that AP/Times Of Israel report, "and four masked men pushed the six suspected informers out of the vehicle." One witness, an 18-year old man, said the gunmen forced the accused to lie face down in the street, then shot them. A 13-year-old witness said the men were killed one by one, "as he mimicked the sound of gunfire."

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

One of the images here is an Instagram photo posted to Twitter today by CNN's Anderson Cooper (above). He is reporting live from the embattled Gaza Strip, populated by Palestinians, where Israeli rockets are pounding known positions of Hamas. (See Cooper's video report below.)

Some people on Twitter criticized Cooper for posting the photos, accusing him of pro-Israel bias. His comebacks on Twitter are worth a look. (I must say that, even as a long-time critic of CNN, I find Cooper's reporting from Gaza to be fairly well balanced.)

Hamas is the ruling power in Gaza. Israel is targeting Hamas positions in response to nearly a week of unprovoked rocket attacks on Israel.

CNN's Cooper was not the only reporter to post photos of the barbaric body draggings.

"There is broad consensus among Palestinians that informers for Israel deserve harsh punishment," says another AP report, "and it is rare to hear someone speak out against killings of alleged collaborators. Such public killings have been carried out in the West Bank and Gaza since the first intifada — or uprising — against Israeli occupation in the late 1980s."

Photo: AP  Source: bigstory.ap.org

In other words, the Palestinians have no respect for civilized law, human life or decency. It might be useful to remember that Palestinians have no problem with teaching their very young children to become suicide bombers.

"Human Rights Watch and other international rights groups have condemned such extrajudicial killings," notes AP.

How About a Coronal Mass Ejection With Your Thanksgiving Turkey?

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CME on Nov. 20, 2012 at 8:54 a.m. EST. Image Credit: NASA/STEREO

Nov. 21, 2012 - Will your post-Thanksgiving Day festivities be ruined by a solar flare? Maybe, possibly, because a sizable flare (video below) on the Sun shot off a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) yesterday and it's headed straight toward Earth. The flare occurred on Nov. 20, 2012, at 7:09 a.m. EST and is expected to strike our planet on Friday, Nov. 23.

"Not to be confused with a solar flare," notes NASA, "a CME is a solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and can reach Earth one to three days later. When Earth-directed, CMEs can affect electronic systems in satellites and on Earth."  NASA says that the coming CME could cause a geomagnetic storm, but it will probably not be strong enough to disrupt satellites, power grids or electronics.

According to NASA, "the Nov. 20 CME left the sun at speeds of 450 miles per second, which is a slow to average speed for CMEs. CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when CMEs successfully connect up with the outside of the Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. In the past, CMEs of this speed have not usually caused substantial geomagnetic storms. They have caused auroras near the poles but are unlikely to cause disruptions to electrical systems on Earth or interfere with GPS or satellite-based communications systems."

So, enjoy your turkey and don't worry about all that deadly stuff hurtling at you through space. In fact, you might even enjoy a beautiful sky show.



"Rapid growth from Active Region 11618 produced a moderate Impulsive M1.4-Class Solar Flare at 06:56 UT Today," noted SolarWatcher on YouTube, "this followed two filament eruptions which were both in earth facing positions. A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is expected to impact the earth in sometime November 23rd and may spark a G1 or G2 class geomagnetic storm will be possible. more news shortly."

REP. JESSE JACKSON JR. HAS RESIGNED

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Image source: TrueNewsUSA

Nov. 21, 2012 - What a nice Thanksgiving gift: U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. has resigned from Congress. Crain's Chicago Business is reporting this hour that a spokesman for U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said, “We have received the (resignation) letter” from Jackson. Jackson's offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C., have not responded to Crain's requests for comment. Jackson was the U.S. Representative for the Second District of Illinois, also known as "the Rottern Borough."

"For 17 years I have given 100% of my time, energy and life to public service," Jackson wrote in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner as reported by USA Today.  "However, over the past several months, as my health has deteriorated, my ability to serve the constituents of my district has continued to diminish."

It's not true, of course, that Jackson has "given 100%" of his time to public service. As his own resignation letter indicates, "the past several months" have seen Jackson AWOL from his congressional duties.

Assuming that he was actually sick - and not playing games with the federal authorities who are investigating him - Jackson should have resigned before he was reelected on Nov.6. He undoubtedly knew well before the election that he would have to resign, but stayed in to qualify for pension and benefits. He has left his constituents (most of whom are apparently idiots) without representation and now with a looming special election to replace Junior.

Also in Jackson's resignation letter: "I am aware of the ongoing federal investigation into my activities and I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators, and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone." (Chicago Tribune) The Trib also has Jackson's full resignation letter.

Is it just coincidence that Jackson resigned the day after ABC Chicago reported that "a former top aide to Jesse Jackson Jr. says she had to flee Chicago because of harassment by the Jackson family?"

Or is today's resignation part of a plea deal that Jackson made with the feds? A report by CBS Chicago on Nov. 12 said that the "former U.S. attorney representing embattled Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is negotiating a plea deal with the federal government," and that the plea deal "would end Jackson’s 17-year career as a congressman representing Chicago’s South Side and suburbs."

Prediction: Jackson is going down and sooner or later will serve a federal prison sentence.

There is no statement about the resignation on the nutty now-former congressman's website, nor on his Facebook page, as of 4:05 PM EST.

Chinese Sex Scandal: Dim Sum a la Carte

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Nov. 27, 2012 - You think American politicians are kinky? Feh! They're Boy Scouts compared to many politicians around the world. Take, for example, this guy: Lei Zhengfu, a Chinese official who as recently exposed in a sex scandal that involved blackmail attempts against him.

A steamy sex tape is part of the plot, and it's gone insanely viral over the past few days.

The girl, the sucker, the video (asiaone.com)

Lei Zhengfu gained international infamy, reports The Epoch Times, "after a sex video in which he was involved surfaced online," and that video "has shed light on the usually secret machinations of minor Party officials and shady developers, and shows how corrupt cadres are punished when the political winds shift."

The report also notes that "Lei Zhengfu, former Party secretary of the Beibei District of Chongqing.... was by all accounts a bit player in Chinese politics. He was sacked on Nov. 23 after a sexually explicit video with him in it emerged online."

To make all of this more interesting (and complicated), Lei Zhengf is connected by scandal to disgraced Chinese official Bo Xilai. Bo was a major player. A member of the Chinese parliament, he was involved in scandals that include homicide, bribery and much more. Bo lost immunity from prosecution when he was expelled from parliament on October 26 (video, left).

The whole thing started before Lei became the secretary of Beibei District, when he was the Party chief in Dianjiang County, also in Chonqging. "He saw to it that all construction projects in the county were overseen and approved by his brother, Lei Zhengkui. Some builders didn’t like this, among them the boss of the young woman who was offered to Lei," reports The Epoch Times. "This boss, one of the largest local builders, in 2006 trained up a number of good-looking young women to sexually bribe officials, while also secretly videotaping the episodes. He figured that after the bribe, the videos could be used for blackmail."

Elites Going Into Overgear Waving Around The Fiscal Cliff To Frighten American Workers

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If someone-- whether a Fox anchor, a Republican Big Business shill, a New Dem corporate whore or even President Obama-- uses the words "fiscal cliff" in a way to terrorize lo-info Americans about a manufactured faux-"crisis," they are, at best, being disingenuous. A couple weeks ago we saw how medieval French elites used the exact same tactics the exact same way to get free French peasants to give up their liberty and embrace serfdom for themselves and their families... for centuries. Right now, our elites here in America are trying to demolish the progressive agenda embodied in FDR's New Deal, a program that conservatives have always fought against. It's not unexpected from Republicans and their media stooges like the obnoxiously brainless harridan whining at Raul Grijalva in the CNBC clip above. The tragedy is that Obama and so many Democrats are just as culpable and seem just as willing to sell out the working families they have grown so distant from. There are too many millionaires in Congress-- way too many. Democrats should be demanding retirement ages drop to make room for new workers and so that older people share in the wealth they have helped create but that a few rich families have gobbled up. As for cost of living adjustments to Social Security-- they should rise, not fall; purchasing power for seniors has eroded drastically-- and it isn't all the Republicans' fault. As for Medicare, why not do what really makes sense and open it up to the whole population-- remember the public option-- to get spiraling healthcare prices under control? Plouffe equating normal working American families with Republican lobbyists like Grover Norquist is not helpful. Our elites are clearly failing us.

Grover-- not dead yet

Obama is putting pressure on Republicans to buckle under to the Grand Bargain he and Boehner have cooked up, while going directly to the American people and asking the to back his plan to sell themselves out. Word is seeping out, slowly that the whole Fiscal Cliff meme is a gimmick meant to stampede the public into acquiescing in their own demise. The war industries and the wealthy caused the budget deficits and nearly wrecked the entire economy. The political elites whose careers they finance don't have the guys to make them pay for it and they're trying to squeeze it out of an over-squeezed middle class. It's time to say NO!

You're going to be hearing the phrase "fiscal cliff" a lot over the next few weeks: The phrase has emerged as a shorthand way to describe the combination of tax hikes and spending cuts set to start kicking in at the end of the year. Lawmakers are now feverishly negotiating over how to keep many of those spending cuts and tax increases from kicking in-- to keep from what is often described as "going off the fiscal cliff."

Yet if no deal comes, the nation won't actually be going over a metaphorical cliff. The word cliff implies an all-or-nothing situation-- once you go over a cliff you plummet to earth. There's no going back.

But the situation the nation faces is not like that. The so-called "fiscal cliff," in fact, would be more accurately described as a "gradual fiscal slope." Though that admittedly doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

There are two parts to the so-called fiscal cliff. The first is the scheduled expiration of the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 under President George W. Bush, the payroll tax holiday enacted under President Obama, and a host of other tax breaks. The second is $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs that are looming due to a 2011 deal that resulted from House Republicans' reluctance to raise the debt limit.

...But here's the thing: If the nation goes over the cliff-- but then lawmakers work out a deal in, say, late January - it will not be nearly as bad as all that suggests. It's true that many of us would see slightly more money coming out of our paychecks at the start of the year, but lawmakers could retroactively reverse the tax hike once they work out a deal. (You'd then effectively get a bonus in your next paycheck.) Since both parties agree that the Bush-era tax cuts should be extended for the vast majority of Americans, it's unlikely that most of us would end up taking a serious hit over the long run.

The spending cuts, meanwhile, are phased in gradually-- which is why the "slope" metaphor makes more sense than the "cliff" one. It's not as though $1.2 trillion would suddenly disappear from the economy at the end of the year: The cuts, while undeniably significant, are set to be phased in over a decade. In addition, there are budgetary maneuvers that can be taken to at least somewhat soften the blow of both the tax hikes and spending cuts. Certainly, total inaction on the "fiscal cliff" over the long term would likely have a deeply negative impact on the economy. But if a deal comes in January or February, after the deadline-- as it well could-- the structural damage could be relatively small.

"We're not going to fall off the edge of the earth at the beginning of next year," said Ed Yardeni, president and chief investment strategist for institutional investor advisory Yardeni Research. "When you fall off a cliff you die. So it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that's what we're facing here."

What would happen on Jan. 2, when the fiscal measures are scheduled to kick in, without a deal? Most households facing higher taxes would see a relatively minor hit to their income. That could weaken demand and constrain spending in the short term, but it's unlikely to push the economy off some sort of proverbial ledge. And some of the tax increases wouldn't be felt for months. For instance, taxpayers newly subject to the alternative minimum tax, which tends to affect upper-income households, wouldn't pay those increased taxes until they file their returns in April.

For the broader economy, meanwhile, the incremental reduction in people's purchasing power would be far smaller than the full revenue increase the tax increase would generate over the entire year.

Many Democrats hate the "fiscal cliff" metaphor because they feel that they have more leverage to negotiate if the year-end deadline comes and goes without a deal. If and when taxes go up in January, Democrats would be in a position to put forth what is now a tax cut for 98 percent of Americans-- and Republicans would face the prospect of opposing a major tax cut if they refuse the deal. (The GOP wants to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the highest earners as well, something Mr. Obama strongly opposes.) The doomsday notion that America is poised to go off a cliff at the end of the year creates more pressure on Democrats to come to a deal before January, which would seem to help Republicans.

Senate liberals-- though not real liberals like Bernie-- are starting to buckle under GOP pressure to raise the Medicare eligibility age. There's a plan floating around that leaves it in place for blue collar workers but raises it for office workers. And meanwhile, the #2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin (D-IL)-- usually regarded as an accurate reflection of what Obama wants-- and Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT) assert that, "despite the rhetoric" to placate Obama supports, "the White House is floating cuts behind the scenes." In GOPland Boehner and Ryan have embraced one of the very worst of the Wall Street Blue Dog-types, Erskine Bowles as their wedge against working families. Boehner and Ryan, despite the message from the election, are demanding cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and Bowles also favors draconian cuts against working families.

The visit comes at a time when top Republicans believe the negotiations over avoiding the fiscal cliff have become dangerously unbalanced, just weeks before the $600 billion in tax hikes and automatic spending cuts are set to slam the economy.

For Republicans, there has been too much focus put on specifying tax loopholes to close and on Democratic demands for tax-rate increases, and not enough on the liberal refusal to match GOP concessions with spending-cut specifics.

By associating themselves with the centrist Bowles, whom some in the business community had hoped would be named the next Treasury secretary before he ruled that out this month, the GOP can paint Democrats as being out of the mainstream.

...[T]he GOP is looking closely at a proposal that Bowles unilaterally made to the failed 2011 deficit supercommittee.

That proposal included only $800 billion in revenue-- on top of revenue from economic growth-- instead of the $1.8 trillion in Bowles-Simpson.

Bowles also laid out $300 billion in additional discretionary cuts; $600 billion in healthcare savings, including raising the Medicare eligibility age; $300 billion in savings from other mandatory programs such as federal retirement or farm programs; and $200 billion from revising the way inflation is calculated for tax and entitlement benefits.

Shelley Capito Isn't The Only Conservative Being Targeted By Lunatic Fringe Teabaggers

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West Virginia Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a career-long tool of the mining industry, has already announced that she's running for the West Virginia Senate seat currently held by Jay Rockefeller in redder and redder West Virginia. (Rockefeller, who will be 77 in 2014 has been long thought to be on the verge of announcing his retirement.) The Tea Party and the far right extremists in the GOP seem unhappy with Capito's announcement.

Interestingly, Capito's ProgressivePunch vote score for the 2011-12 congressional session is identical with defeated Tea Party fave Allen West's (4.76 out of 100). And 107 Republicans have had more progressive voting records this session, including Tea Party favorites Ron Paul (TX-35.94), Justin Amash (MI-26.57), Tom McClintock (CA-17.29), Raul Labrador (ID-12.11), Mick Mulvaney (SC-11.78) who is being pushed by teabaggers to challenge Lindsey Graham, Paul Broun (GA-11.42), who is being pushed by John Birchers to challenge Saxby Chambliss, Joe Walsh (IL-10.77), Jason Chaffetz (UT-9.30), Rob Bishop (UT-7.57), Connie Mack (FL-7.49), Tim Huelskamp (KS-7.04), Tea Party Queen Michele Bachmann (MN-6.77), and even Louie Gohmert (TX-6.75)!



All the crazy extremist groups that helped the Democrats win difficult Senate races by winning primaries for out-of-the-mainstream fanatics like Christine O'Donnell (DE), Ken Buck (CO), Todd Akin (MO), Richard Mourdock (IN) and Sharron Angle (NV) are already attacking Capito as "too liberal." Radical right Club for Growth and Jim DeMint's lunatic fringe group, the Senate Conservatives Fund, are leading the way. DeMint's Executive Director, Matt Hoskins: "Congresswoman Capito is not someone we can endorse because her spending record in the House is too liberal. If Republicans in West Virginia want to save their country, they need to find another candidate with the courage to say ‘no’ to more spending and debt.”

Standing history on its head, Club for Growth spokesman Barney Keller, claimed that “Our point is simply that the formula of party bosses picking big-government Republican nominees has not proven successful.” The Club blames the GOP bosses for nominating Establishment hacks who lost this year-- Rick Berg (ND), Heather Wilson (NM) and Denny Rehberg (MT).

When PPP surveyed West Virginia in October, 2011, they found Rockefeller very vulnerable, particularly to Capito:

2012's not looking great for West Virginia Republicans on the picking up a Senate seat front but 2014 might provide more promise. Jay Rockefeller's approval rating is 47/41, ok numbers but unimpressive compared to Manchin. And he would trail in a potential bout with Capito by a 48-44 margin. Rockefeller does worse against Capito than Manchin does across the board but the disparity is particularly large with GOP voters-- they support Capito by only a 43 point margin over Manchin (64-21), but would give her a 68 point advantage over Rockefeller (80-12). Rockefeller and Manchin are pretty similarly popular with Democrats but when it comes to independents/Republicans the disparity is wide.

Manchin, who voted with Republicans more frequently than any Senate Democrat other than now retiring Ben Nelson, won reelection over teabaagger John Raese 61-36%. On the same day, Obama was obliterated by Romney by a similar margin, 62-35%. Astoundingly, Obama lost every single county in the state, even the most Democratic counties. Machin won every county but 3, Grant, Preston and Doddridge.

Funny how the most popular Republican up for reelection anywhere in the country, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, is especially hated by the radical right. If you watched the Rachel Maddow video above, you saw how wrong the clueless Beltway conventional wisdom media types have the post-election, "chastened" GOP. If anything, the radicals who control the party, have been driven insane and are more radical and more extreme than ever! And yesterday TPM explained how the far right RINO hunters are out stalking mainstream conservatives again. "After two disappointing election cycles," wrote Benjy Sarlin, "Republican leaders demanded that conservative groups end their war on electable primary candidates or risk handing the Senate to the Democrats in 2014. This week, the groups delivered their reply: 'Nuts!'”

The West Virginia race is exactly the kind of juicy pickup opportunity that Republicans blew in recent cycles by nominating subpar candidates. Already some in the party are feeling déjà vu.

“The last time Republicans elected a senator in West Virginia was 1956,” former Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) told TPM. Davis, who used to char the NRCC, said, “Shelley Moore Capito is their only hope of electing a Republican senator and a conservative this cycle. So the fact that you have some groups opposing her I think explains why we are in the minority in the Senate.”

Conrad Lucas, chair of the West Virginia GOP, told TPM that while the state party wouldn’t interfere with the primaries, Capito was an unambiguous recruiting coup.

“She’s clearly the most popular Republican in the state-- by far-- and is a very strong candidate,” Lucas said. He added that her critics on the right were “not representative of West Virginia” where Capito’s reputation within the party is sterling.

Both the NRSC and Karl Rove’s American Crossroads are considering a more active rule in 2014 to protect their favored candidates against extreme or inexperienced primary challengers. Capito could be a test case for this new approach if her critics on the right recruit a challenger.

The GOP’s RINO hunters-- the enforcers of ideological purity who have helped drive out more perhaps general election-friendly Republican candidates in past cycles-- say they’re ready to go to war with Rove and the NRSC if necessary.

“Going forward, our focus will be on supporting good candidates and of course, we hope that we are not going against the NRSC or any other groups involved in the election process,” Amy Kremer, chair of Tea Party Express, told TPM. “However, we will not waiver on our principles in choosing candidates to support and endorse.”

Tea Party Express has a history of upsetting the Republican establishment. The group backed Christine O’Donnell’s Delaware Senate run in 2010 and got behind Richard Mourdock’s primary challenge of Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) this year. Kremer said it was “way too early to make any decisions on what races we will be involved in during the 2014 cycle,” and declined to weigh in on Capito other than to say she was “aware” Capito had launched her campaign.

Social conservatives say they’re ready to fight Republican attempts to ostracize them after the 2012 cycle as well. Over the weekend, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) became the latest top Republican to express concerns over the social issue debate, saying the GOP should “leave the issue alone” when it comes to abortion rights.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List, told TPM her side isn’t going to take talk like McCain’s sitting down. If social conservatives need to fight off the Republican establishment in a brutal primary, so be it. Dannenfelser blames the problems the GOP had with its social message on fear among Republican candidates when it came to talking about abortion and other topics. Had Republicans been more proactive on social issues, they never would have been stuck “on the defensive,” she said. Dannenfelser said her group will go to war with Republicans who try to back candidates unwilling to engage on social issues.

“To the extend that they want to repeat what we just saw in this election, yes, we will be insisting ‘do not proclaim a truce ahead of the [general] election again.’ That’s what we just saw,” she said. “So if the truce gets proclaimed again then, yes, there will be a very lively argument.”

In the days since Nov. 6, most of the focus has been on how the GOP needs to moderate in order to improve its performance in 2014 and beyond. But with Capito kicking off the next cycle with her announcement Monday, the conservative groups who’ve successfully dominated Republican politics recently made it clear they’re not going away without a fight.

Imagine lunatic fringe candidates like John Bircher Paul Broun or anti-Choice sociopath Karen Handel unseating arch conservative Saxby Chambliss on Georgia. Or Joe "You Lie" Wilson taking on prominent GOP closet case Lindsay Graham. And speaking of Republican closet cases, Miss McConnell is likely to draw a teabaggy opponent as well. If Susan Collins doesn't retire-- she promised she would-- she will certainly have some crazed teabagger running against her in the Maine GOP primary. It's important for Democrats to have viable candidates lined up... just in case. No one thought Blue Dog Joe Donnelly would have any chance to beat Richard Lugar, but right-wing radicals saved his career by replacing Lugar with Mourdock. It's a model teabaggers and neo-fascists intend to replicate everywhere.

Yo, Chinese Communist Party: They were only KIDDING about Kim Jong-Un being the sexiest man alive

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“[Kim Jong-Un] has that rare ability to somehow be completely adorable and completely macho at the same time.”
-- The Onion's "style and entertainment editor,"
Marissa Blake-Zweibel
"No doubt the women of Beijing are swooning. After all, if you squint really, really hard, you might see a slight resemblance [between Kim Jong-Un and] George Clooney — in that they are both sentient humans."
-- WaPo's Al Kamen, in "China takes the Onion's bait"
by Ken

This one definietely comes from our You Can't Make This Stuff Up Dept.

Anyone who has tried his hand at satire knows there are built-in pitfalls. The most obvious one is that so many real-world human behaviors are so outlandish as to defy exaggeration. The classic example is soap operas, but another whole category is modern-day right-wing pols. How do you satirize already-cartoon-conceived characters like John Boehner and Jim DeMint, or

Or, for that matter presidential candidates of the "stature" of Young Johnny McCranky or Willard Inc.? What was the David Letterman line about Young Johnny -- that he's like the cranky old guy who chases kids off his lawn? Once you've made that connection, how do you take seriously anything that comes out of his mouth? And as for Willard, well, what're you gonna do? Make up stories about how he traveled with the family dog caged on top of the car pooping diarrhea down the sides? (Yes, I'm talking about you, Gail Collins.) Or how the great love of his wife's life is a dancing horse?

A special version of this satirical glitch occurs when the satirist's wild exaggerations turn out to be only too believable. The folks at The Onion run into this problem a lot, and as Al Kamen reports in his Washington Post "In the Loop" column, it's happened once again on an international scale.

China takes the Onion’s bait

by Al Kamen

Looks as though sarcasm is easily lost in translation — or easily ignored. The online version of the People’s Daily, the official organ of China’s Communist Party, lauded a story from the satirical news site that named North Korean dictator Kim Jong Eun 2012’s “Sexiest Man Alive.”

Not realizing — or perhaps not caring — that the Onion was being cheeky, the People’s Daily ran a 55-page photo spread to accompany the story, which it quoted thusly: “With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman’s dream come true.”

No doubt the women of Beijing are swooning. After all, if you squint really, really hard, you might see a slight resemblance to George Clooney — in that they are both sentient humans.

It’s not the first time a foreign news outlet has fallen for an Onion spoof. An Iranian news agency this fall reprinted an Onion story about a poll finding that rural white Americans would rather vote for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than President Obama. The news site later apologized for getting duped — but insisted that Ahmadinejad could beat Obama in a popularity contest.

Over at The Onion, are they stricken with remorse and issuing desperate apologies? Not at all. Here's the original item with "UPDATE":

Kim Jong-Un Named The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive For 2012 [UPDATE]

NOVEMBER 14, 2012 | ISSUE 48•46

The Onion is proud to announce that North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un, 29, has officially been named the newspaper’s Sexiest Man Alive for the year 2012.

With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman’s dream come true. Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper’s editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile.

“He has that rare ability to somehow be completely adorable and completely macho at the same time,” Onion Style and Entertainment editor Marissa Blake-Zweibel said. “And that’s the quality that makes him the sort of man women want, and men want to be. He’s a real hunk with real intensity who also knows how to cut loose and let his hair down.”

Added Blake-Zweibel, “Ri Sol-ju is one lucky lady, that’s for sure!”

With today’s announcement, Kim joins the ranks of The Onion’s prior “Sexiest Man Alive” winners, including:

2011: Bashar al-Assad
2010: Bernie Madoff
2009: Charles and David Koch (co-winners)
2008: Ted Kaczynski
2007: T. Herman Zweibel

The Onion’s commemorative “Sexiest Man Alive” issue will be available on newsstands everywhere this Friday and contains a full 16-page spread on Kim.

UPDATE: For more coverage on The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive 2012, Kim Jong-Un, please visit our friends at the People's Daily in China, a proud Communist subsidiary of The Onion, Inc. Exemplary reportage, comrades.

[Note: I've inserted WaPo's AP link for the People's Daily story. Was it part of the joke on The Onion's part to include a bum link? -- Ed.]

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Rahm's Greatest Hit Has Done All The Damage He Can As A Congressmember-- Now He's Ambling Off To K Street: Heath Shuler DC's Latest Revolving Door Lobbyist

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Sleazy lobbyist Heath Shuler-- the ultimate lame duck

If you're a DWT regular, I don't have to tell you who North Carolina Blue Dog Heath Shuler is. We've been following him with trepidation since Rahm Emanuel plucked him away from Tennessee Republicans to run as a North Carolina "Democrat" in 2006. Since then he racked up a dismal 37.93 critical vote score from ProgressivePunch, even worse than the other two North Carolina Blue Dogs, Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissell. Shuler, an anti-Choice, antigay, anti-immigrant bigot has voted more frequently with Boehner than with Pelosi and has consistently been one of the Blue Dogs allowing Boehner and Cantor to call their extremist right-wing proposals "bipartisan."

But conservative Republicans in the North Carolina state legislature weren't satisfied that Shuler voted like a Republican; they wanted a real Republican. So last year they gerrymandered his district in such a way-- removing most of bright blue Asheville-- to make it very difficult for him to win again. Rather than accept the challenge and go out like a man, Shuler-- who just days earlier had been talking about running for governor and senator-- decided he had had it with politics. He applied for a job as a college gym teacher but wound up announcing this week-- while still serving as a congressman-- that he would be the chief lobbyist for American's biggest utility, Duke Energy. Over the years, he has served their interests slavishly.

“Heath is well known in Washington for working with leaders from both political parties and for bringing people together in his district in Western North Carolina,” said Keith Trent, a vice president with Duke Energy's regulated utilities. Citing ludicrously lax House ethics rules, he chuckled that Shuler would not be “actively lobbying” for a whole year but would jump into the fray right after the cooling off period. Duke's interests lie in coal, natural gas and nuclear energy and in undermining the EPA-- all things that come naturally to Shuler.

When Shuler first ran in 2006, Duke's PAC gave his opponent, crooked banker/incumbent Charles Taylor, $7,000. But when Shuler managed to beat him in a Democratic wave election, Duke was more than happy to buy the easily bribed Shuler off immediately. In the very next election cycle, Shuler got a $5,000 check from Duke's PAC and the following year he got another $3,000. This year, before he announced he wouldn't be running again, they had already given him $1,000. Shuler is Big Energy's kind of congressman, consistently putting their predatory, anti-family agenda above the interests of his own constituents. His career in Congress may have been short but he had already scooped up $70,000 in legalistic bribes from energy companies by the time he signed on as a Duke lobbyist.

Yesterday, investigative journalist Lee Fang, looked into the scandal of Shuler accepting the Duke lobbyist job right in the midst of his attempts to defund social programs for working families. Here's the video of him and Zaid Jilani interviewing Shuler when he was still kind of trying to keep the negotiations secret about his lobbying job:

Though Shuler has already accepted the position with Duke Energy, he is still helping to lead a bipartisan coalition, along with Representative Mike Simpson (R-ID), to deal with the “fiscal cliff.” Shuler has promised an “all options” approach, one that will undoubtedly affect his soon to be employer. Duke Energy benefits from a host of tax subsidies, so much so that Citizens for Tax Justice found that the company paid an effective tax rate of negative 3.9 percent from 2008–10 while making over $5.5 billion in profit.

...Thousands of former congressmen, federal regulators and staff regularly head to K Street to collect high-paying salaries, often from businesses that have benefited from their actions in government. There are dozens of high-profile examples of this form of corruption, from former Senator Tom Daschle to former Representative Billy Tauzin, all securing multimillion-dollar paydays from industries they cultivated while in office. A new report shows how military contractors routinely court retired generals, some with wide sway over weapon purchases, with lavish paydays.


The sum of this dynamic is that people in government have much bigger incentives to sell out to industry, even when doing so hurts the public interest. While it seems likely in some cases, behind the scene job negotiations for officeholders become little more than bribery; we haven’t seen federal prosecutors too eager to prosecute this type of corruption. Part of the problem is actually cultural. In Washington, the sell-outs, the men and women who make the most money as industry hacks, are the winners. From high society tabloids like Washington Life to the Beltway media, those who spin through the revolving door are adulated and celebrated.

Maybe that’s why Shuler seemed so certain of a gleaming post-congressional career path.

House Parties Pick Their Leaders

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This was the post I had written for this morning before Barbara Lee, who knows how to count, dropped out; very disappointing. I think the post is still worth running. The progressive battle against the New Dems is far from finished... even if this skirmish was lost.

The House Democrats are so proud that, for the first time evah, a majority of their caucus is made up of women and minorities. In fact, today one of the very best women members, who is also one of the very best minority members, Barbara Lee-- and from the biggest state with the most Democrats in the House (by far)-- is running for Caucus Vice Chair. She is widely expected to lose-- and to lose to a male whitebread figure of old line politics and eye-averting corruption, Queens County, NY Democratic Machine boss Joe Crowley, a longtime anti-Choice bigot who was caught undermining Wall Street reform-- his pockets bulging with K Street checks-- in the House Ways and Means Committee hearings. Are the Democrats hypocrites over that whole diversity thing? Well, sure. They have to pick between the angels and Satan... and they're going for Satan.

Tuesday night they were all getting a good chuckle while Rachel Maddow made fun of the Republicans-- in the video above-- for appointing 19 committee chairs who all... look very much like Joe Crowley. Except Rachel never mentioned Crowley. She castigates bad Republicans-- and she does it better than anyone (she's our era's Walter Cronkite)-- but she leaves the bad Democrats for someone else to castigate. And who, exactly would that be? It sure isn't Chris Matthews; he celebrates and lionizes bad Democrats... the badder the better. Fox? No, all Democrats are bad Democrats over there. Bad Democrats get a pass.


Tuesday the Republicans picked their horrid cast of characters as committee chairs-- people who get the free reelection passes from Steve Israel and it's mostly a reshuffling of the mess from the current session-- Paul Ryan, Buck McKeon, Mike Rogers, Darrell Issa, Fred Upton, Dave Camp... with a sprinkling of "new" chairs who are, for all intents and purposes, perfectly interchangeable with the old chairs: Michael McCaul, Ed Royce, Jeb Hensarling, Pete Sessions, Lamar Smith... Today, as the New Dems seek to cement their control of the Democratic caucus, the Dems pick their own committee top dogs (ranking members rather than chairmen because of Steve Israel's failure to win back the majority).

One of the most watched spots is Foreign Affairs, where this session's ranking member, Likudist Howard Berman, was defeated for reelection by Likudist Brad Sherman, who wants the Foreign Affairs slot but is up against a New Dem (and Likudist), Eliot Engel, for the same slot. The Republicans are teaming up with the New Dems to back Engel, who they recognize as a pushover and who favors the kinds of job-destroying "Free" Trade deals Sherman opposes.

The voting is by secret ballot-- so we'll never know who backed the good guys and who backed the good guys-- although here's a partial list of the Democrats who Crowley bribed this year (although he's been running for the job for 6 years so it really is just a very partial list).

Joe Crowley would fit in seamlessly; Barbara Lee... not so much

Eric's Poetic Probing

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[Written May 29th]
Today began inbrilliant color as David, Dennis, and I woke up early to watch the sunriseagainst the background of Buvumu Islands. The three of us made the 25-minutehike along the shore of Lake Victoria, through the village of Katonga, and upthe rocky incline to the center of Lingira Island, this time unaccompanied byJack and Simba, our canine companions who almost always follow at our feet andstubbornly refuse to ever waiver their protection. The narrow alleyways betweenthe mud huts of Katonga were already bustling with people when we passedthrough.  Both mothers and childrenpaused their chores and watched curiously as we walked, but replied and smiledwarmly when we greeted them in Luganda. Following a few young boys herdinggoats along the path outside of the village, the three of us diverted and cutthrough the thick brush that halos the island’s raised center. Contrary to ourinitial thoughts, we made it to the top of the hill with time to spare. Davidand Dennis found comfortable seats on large rocks protruding from the ocean ofoluwanyi, the tall grass that covers the top of the island. I, on the otherhand, found a seat less comfortable on a forgiving termite mound, but luckilythe termites must not have minded. Soon the painted sky gave way to amagnificent Ugandan sun, which immediately saturated the landscape around us inlight. I have never seen clouds quite like these. We sat there in a silenceaccompanied only by the hum of a lake fly cloud some ten million strong, and feltthe waves of heat begin to bake the ground.
Today alsomarks the first of our work with the Water Kegs. The first couple kegs will beless assembly and more experiment as we work together to tweak and perfect thedesign to best fit the needs of the people. We plan to build 100 filters, buthave enough that we can experiment with different local materials andtechniques. In addition to the actual filter assembly, we are preparing to goout into the camps to survey the people’s habits and understanding of humanrights and water sanitation. The results will hopefully help to illuminate thespecific needs of the community in regards to our goals for the water filters.Titus, the chairman of Lingira Village, is very excited about the project—hisopinion is crucial for its success.
Everyonesends their hellos and well wishes. Jeebale.
Eric

Eric's Poetic Probing #2

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Precedingthe numerous stories and perspectives we each intend to post in the comingweeks, I’ve taken the liberty to post one of the many poems I wrote while inUganda. Enjoy.
Eric

Untitled #1
Wood boats long line
the muddy shore,Each bow pointing regally
towards horizonless Lake Victoria.
Men called kinyamas for their strength,
in uniform blue,
carrying women and children
to and from each boat.
Even a suited businessman,
riding a kinyama’s shoulders, avoids walkingthrough the mud.But for a traveler like me,
who wouldn’t want a piece of Victoria
fastened to their feet?

Rashida Manjoo women's rights lecture

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"After the Violence: The Dream ofAnother Reality"Thursday, September 20, 6:30 pmVandeBerg Auditorium, Pyle Center, 702Langdon St.Free and open to the public
"A native of South Africa, Manjoo is an internationallyrecognized lawyer, teacher, and advocate who has worked to advance women’srights and human rights around the world. She serves as an Advocate of the HighCourt of South Africa and associate professor in the University of Cape Town’sDepartment of Public Law."
More info here:http://international.wisc.edu/blog/index.php/2012/08/24/mildred-fish-harnack-lecture-to-feature-womens-advocate-rashida-manjoo/

WEAC and DPI = Sexualization of Wisconsin's Schoolchildren

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Time for concern.


If you are not aware of the campaign to sexualize minor children in some of Wisconsin's public schools, you might want to scroll through the items posted below such as:
1)  WEAC's $325,000 donation to Defeat the One Man-One Woman Traditional Marriage Amendment in 20062)  WEAC's support for Planned Parenthood's Sex Ed Mandate last Session3)  WEAC's opposition to the Pro-Family/Parents' Rights bill this Session to repeal Planned Parenthood's Mandate4)  Internal memos sent through the Capitol about what is happening at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction which is headed by Tony Evers.5)  An email that was forwarded to us from a member of the American Family Association about an incident that took place in the Shawano School DistrictTaxpaying parents, are these the values you want taught to underage children with your tax dollars?

Transparency in Wisconsin's School Districts. What's YOUR District's Rating?

To contact us Click HERE
Our West Bend School District received a "D" for lack of transparency with information concerning:

• TAXES
• MEETINGS
• CONTRACT
• AUDITS
• PUBLIC RECORDS (ouch!)
• BACKGROUND CHECKS (double ouch!)

Unfortunately, this is the norm across the board. (Only four districts receiving anything higher than a D.) If our kid came home with a report card that had D's in every subject, justified it by saying it's what everyone else got, that wouldn't sit well, would it?  Same goes for this report card. We can do better.  We should do better.
What did YOUR school district get?  Click HERE to find out!

Video: Obama Commits Treason With the Muslim Brotherhood

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Nov. 23, 2012 - New video accuses Obama of treason (watch it below). It was uploaded today by Western Journalism to YouTube. The WJ article notes the following:

We witnessed another one of Barack Obama’s oddities with the Muslim Brotherhood. The first anomaly was when Obama was almost giddy when the Muslim Brotherhood president of Egypt, Mohammed Morsi, ascended to power. The Muslim Brotherhood had openly called for the destruction of the United States “from within”, most recently apparent in Muslim Brotherhood front groups like CAIR calling for the purging of any training materials within the FBI and CIA that “offended” Muslims. Barack Obama of course dutifully complied.

The most recent oddity, however, is Obama calling on Morsi to “broker a truce” between Hamas and Israel. Hamas has fired on average one thousand rockets per year at Israel from the Gaza strip; and for eight days, Israel did something that they should have done a decade ago: fight back.

Keep in mind that the Muslim Brotherhood is the parent organization of Hamas. Keep in mind that, like Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood has called for the annihilation of Israel. So for Obama to call on Morsi to “broker a truce” is ridiculous.

Black Friday Spending Way Up, Cyber Monday Next!

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Nov. 25, 2012 - Your trip to see the relatives for Thanksgiving was stressful enough. Then you subjected yourself to the insanity of "Black Friday" shopping frenzy, which continued for days as "Black Friday Weekend."

Tucked into that was "Small Business Saturday." It was a crazy weekend, but a happy one for many merchants. Record high sales are being reported, a reflection of stronger consumer confidence perhaps. "According to IBM US shoppers once again took advantage of early promotions this holiday season," reports Socialnomics, "driving a 17.4 percent increase in online sales Thanksgiving Day. This increase set the stage for 20.7 percent growth on Black Friday.The biggest surge came from mobile consumers, with sales reaching 16.3 percent, led by the iPad. This data is the result of cloud-based analytics findings from IBM."

If the crazed storming of the gates at Victoria's Secret (see video below) is any indication of consumer sentiment, a lot of retailers will be in the black by mid-week. Of course, there were the fights and embarrassingly bad conduct by some shoppers (video below), but most deal seekers did behave.

If you were out of town, your trip back home was tiring. You rehashed arguments with your in-laws in your aching head the whole way back. Don't relax yet, because the insanity goes on...

Here comes "Cyber Monday," the continuance of the holiday consumer mania that has the nation firmly in its grip.

Cyber Monday is when merchants that sell online via the Internet hope consumers will shop from the comfort of their homes or offices.

Cyber Monday 2012 promises to be huge, too. As of Sunday afternoon, online sales already smashed records, boding well for tomorrow's cyber shopping.

Relax!

"According to comScore, which tracks online spending, online sales rose 26 percent to $1.04 billion on Black Friday compared with a year ago." reports Equities.com. "On Thanksgiving, online sales rose 32 percent from last year to $633 million. And online sales on Black Friday were up 26 percent from the same day last year to $1.042 billion. It was the first time online sales on Black Friday surpassed $1 billion."

Have fun shopping online tomorrow, but be careful. If you stayed away from the malls because you feared a crazed mob scene, don't forget that shopping on the Internet has its risks too. You'll find some  good advice for safe cyber shopping DecodedScience.com.

Your next big worry: What to do with the Thanksgiving Day leftovers. Don't stress over it. Here are a few tasty suggestions. 

Steven Crowder Video: The Truth About Marijuana!

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Dope suckers. photo credit: usnews.com

Nov. 26, 2012 - Steven Crowder brings his humor and wit to a fact-filled examination of marijuana and the controversy surrounding the legalization of marijuana in a new video (below).

The video, uploaded today, goes from serious to hilarious. A doctor give some intersting facts about marijuana, and we are also treated to some funny interviews with odd people who, uhm, seem experienced in the use of marijuana. Pass the Cheetos, dude.

WEAC and DPI = Sexualization of Wisconsin's Schoolchildren

To contact us Click HERE
Time for concern.


If you are not aware of the campaign to sexualize minor children in some of Wisconsin's public schools, you might want to scroll through the items posted below such as:
1)  WEAC's $325,000 donation to Defeat the One Man-One Woman Traditional Marriage Amendment in 20062)  WEAC's support for Planned Parenthood's Sex Ed Mandate last Session3)  WEAC's opposition to the Pro-Family/Parents' Rights bill this Session to repeal Planned Parenthood's Mandate4)  Internal memos sent through the Capitol about what is happening at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction which is headed by Tony Evers.5)  An email that was forwarded to us from a member of the American Family Association about an incident that took place in the Shawano School DistrictTaxpaying parents, are these the values you want taught to underage children with your tax dollars?

Transparency in Wisconsin's School Districts. What's YOUR District's Rating?

To contact us Click HERE
Our West Bend School District received a "D" for lack of transparency with information concerning:

• TAXES
• MEETINGS
• CONTRACT
• AUDITS
• PUBLIC RECORDS (ouch!)
• BACKGROUND CHECKS (double ouch!)

Unfortunately, this is the norm across the board. (Only four districts receiving anything higher than a D.) If our kid came home with a report card that had D's in every subject, justified it by saying it's what everyone else got, that wouldn't sit well, would it?  Same goes for this report card. We can do better.  We should do better.
What did YOUR school district get?  Click HERE to find out!