Tough on China

I now belatedly turn my attention south of the border, to the Circus of Clowns known as the Presidential Election, just 10 days away.

Of all the abject foolishness that’s been offered up by the GOP campaign, it would be hard to isolate a more sadly self-beclowning buffoon than Romney supporter, Birther and Attention Whore Donald Trump.  When he’s not screaming about “the Birth Certificate”, Trump bellows about “getting tough on China” because its currency manipulation makes life difficult for American industry.

The other night on Letterman Trump was predictably railing about kicking Chinese ass, when some shirts and ties from his signature clothing line were brought out:

Shirts made in Bangladesh:  $69.50 (marked down to $46.99)

Ties made in CHINA: $65.00 (marked down to $34.99)

The look on Trump’s face at getting completely and utterly busted:

Priceless.

The sliming of Shirley Sherrod

I have said it many times over the last couple of years, and unfortunately I’m sure I’ll have occasion to say it again: something rotten is happening in the frenzied nation to our south.  For the most recent proof, look no further than this week’s systematic sliming of an innocent and honourable public servant, Shirley Sherrod.

American politics, a blood sport to say the least, has always been entertaining to observe from afar.  But thanks to glaringly dishonest citizen *cough* ” journalism” and a TV channel that does shit-mongering and character assassination with the enthusiasm of a pack of hyenas falling on a dying antelope, it’s become something much uglier.  That the Fox Channel does its vile and shabby work in the guise of “News”, completely without the rigours of journalistic integrity applied by even the dumbest, low-tier blogger, makes it a shit-stain on the once-proud profession of journalism.

And speaking of dumb bloggers, how about this “Breitbart” character who got the ball rolling on the sliming of Sherrod on his blog, uh, “Big Douchebag” I think it was called?  Not just a clown and dolt but a low-rent dung-peddler and genuine human scum of the first order, with the brains of a tree toad and the morals of a hammerhead shark.  An amateur hit man who uses spliced and diced video to do the execrable, and thanks to a malleable media, he’s just good enough at it to pick a few scabs off the American psyche.

It’s well past time that these brainless bullies were stood up to and sent slithering back under their scum-ridden rocks.  Olbermann’s Special Comment last night about nailed it:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

UPDATE: Sue the living shit out of him, Shirley.

The year of yelling dangerously

So who was the classless douche that yelled “baby killer” at Bart Stupak?  Nobody seems to know, and predictably, nobody has the parts to own up to it.

A tweet that went out last night saying it was California Rep. George Radanovich has been recanted by the tweeter, but not before it was added to his Wiki page (via Gawker):

That has since been scrubbed and Radanovich has denied being the Baby Killer Guy.    GOP Rep. John Campbell has admitted it was a Republican, but only said that it came from the row behind him where Texas Republicans usually sit.  To me it definitely sounded like a southern accent.

If I were to speculate (because it would be irresponsible not to), I’d bet it was probably that nutbar who was at the teabagger protest the other day, claiming that demons had invaded the capital, and that he “brought an abortion” to the protest with him (whatever that means).

If these fetus fetishizing whackjobs are so proud of their “principled” stand against abortion, why is nobody coming forward to admit he was the Great American Hero that yelled “Baby Killer” at the hapless Bart Stupak?  Fess up, clowns!

UPDATE: “Old Yeller” was Texas Republican Randy Neugebauer.  Supposedly he was talking about the bill, not about Stupak.  Oh sure.  Because “baby killer” isn’t a routine aspersion fetus fetishists cast against doctors, women, or anyone else who won’t do things their way.  (h/t fern hill in the comments)

Tone-deafness & bigotry: lifestyle choices

Mark has news from the great state of Iowa about a couple of Republican legislators proposing a bill that would remove gay and lesbian students from those protected under anti-bullying legislation (the Safe Schools Act).  Their rationale?  Stand back!  Because protecting such students from bullying might lead to (sound effects: thunder) gay marriage.

Well, GASP!

The two vicious, brainless turkeys pushing this bill must have been told to do so by the voices in their heads — they obviously didn’t get the idea from their constituents, who are more concerned about puppy mills and payday loans than (yawn) gay marriage:

The Des Moines Register conducted a poll of Iowans asking, “The state Legislature can address large and small issues during the course of the session. For the following issues, please tell me if you think the issue does or does not deserve the Legislature’s limited time.” Banning gay marriage did not make the cut; only 36% thought it was worth the time discussing.

Not only was it not deemed worthy of legislative time, of the six issues that Iowans were questioned about, addressing gay marriage concerned them the least. Iowans were more concerned about payday loans and puppy mills than they were about whether same-sex couples married.

Iowa is one of the few states with marriage equality, a ban having been struck down by the state Supreme Courst last year.  The Republicans’ attempts to get it re-banned have been an epic fail, thus the sleazy attempt to chip away at gay rights from another direction — by throwing students under the 1958 International Harvester bus.

Keep pushing that outdated, knuckledragging bigotry, GOP: that’ll bring young people to the party in droves.  Duh.

Nelson 60th vote for US Health Care bill

This is quite the reversal from just a couple of days ago, when Nelson said that even if he gets all the anti-abortion language he wants in the bill, he still wouldn’t vote for the bill because of cost concerns (which could have been alleviated by the public option he voted against, but never mind that).   You have to wonder what kind of payola changed his mind on this:

Senator Ben Nelson’s announcement moments ago that he will vote to end debate on the Senate health care bill puts Dems within striking distance of the first major progressive legislative achievement of the 21st Century, even if the legislation is deeply flawed.

But Nelson also issued a stern threat, designed to put House liberals on notice: If you change the bill in conference, I reserve the right to sink it later. Translation: Don’t even think about trying to add a public option or Medicare buy-in, and don’t even think about putting your grubby hands on my abortion compromise.  [..]

Nelson just now announced that he would support the bill, after having reached a deal on abortion with the following details:

(1) ensure that no public funds will be used for abortion;

(2) mandate that every state provide an insurance plan option that does not cover abortion; and

(3) gives each state the right to pass a law barring insurance coverage for abortion within state borders.

In short, the Senate bill would give individual states the right to ban abortion coverage within their own insurance exchanges (why do fetus fetishists hate the free market?).  Compared to the draconian Stupak Amendment which seeks to mandate the same thing nationally, this is an improvement.

And how do I know it’s an improvement?  Because the fetus fetishists are furiously foaming at the mouth and calling Nelson a “sellout” who is throwing feti under the bus.  It would appear that their evil plot against womens’ reproductive freedom has been *somewhat* thwarted.  (This is still bad, but it’s less bad.)

UPDATE: SHRIEEEK!   NO!!  All ur uterus are belong to Stupak!

The sleazy face of scientific denialism

The climate change denialist “movement” is led by many sinister, squalid and opportunistic creeps, but one of the sleaziest is Christopher Monckton.  A business consultant and former Tory policy advisor with a political philosophy that seems to be equal parts Thatcher, Goebbels and the Pope, Monckton refers to himself as “Lord” although he’s never been a member of the British House of Lords — he is what’s known as a “hereditary peer” in one of those old aristocratic British families (rumours of inbreeding and insanity in the British aristocracy are just irresponsible speculation, I think?).   He achieved notoriety in the 80s with his warped views on AIDS/HIV:

“…there is only one way to stop AIDS. That is to screen the entire population regularly and to quarantine all carriers of the disease for life. Every member of the population should be blood-tested every month … all those found to be infected with the virus, even if only as carriers, should be isolated compulsorily, immediately, and permanently.”

Monckton went on to become a vehement critic of climate change science and spokesman for the well-funded flat earth denialist movement.  His attitude towards environmentalists is summed up in this slide from a speech he gave to the Minnesota Free Market Institute a couple of months ago:

A shout-out to the teabagger wing!

Naturally Monckton’s been among those denialists hanging around Copenhagen like a bad smell during the Climate Change summit. This week one of his speeches was interrupted by a group of young climate change activists, who he smeared as “Hitler youth”.  Want to see some slime?  Here’s a video of Monckton later justifying his remarks  to the young activists, and repeatedly calling them Nazis — (and doesn’t apologize even to one kid who says he’s a Jew):

Ugh.  I certainly admire the restraint of those young people in dealing with that sanctimonious asshole.   And what’s up with denialists and “the last 15 years”?  It’s no wonder serious people refuse to debate them — they should be dismissed out-of-hand, the same way scientists do to proponents of “creation science” when they clamor for debate.

UPDATE: Surprise — denialist claims have been Fact Checked and found wanting.

UPDATE II:  Who are you people?

(via DeSmogBlog)

If we’re taking collections

… to expedite the departure of those who are embarrassed to be Canadian:

…Some day I may write a more thoughtful response to your confession that you are embarrassed to be a Canadian. In the meantime, I will be delighted to throw in 133 dollars for your application for immigration to any country that is willing to have you.

…let’s not forget about the ones who hate Canada:

No, really:

(in response to:)

Unless embarrassment trumps hate, I assume we can look forward to Adler’s outraged article and emigration fundraiser… soonest!  (Or is this yet another one of those “IOKIYAC” things?  There are so many, it’s hard to keep track.)

Nice soup kitchen ya got there

… be a shame if anything happened to it:

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn’t change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

Under the bill, headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians.

Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city.

What would Jesus think was more important — making sure the poor don’t starve or die of exposure, or making sure that the couple working in the soup kitchen could be discriminated against?

Why does Jill Stanek hate America?

Giggle giggle teehee, drool gibber snort slobber:

What are we to make of Nurse Stanek and her gang of spittle-flecked, foaming-at-the-mouth fetus humpers rooting against America right along with shitheads like Osama Bin Laden?   Just one more thing they have in common with the Taliban, I guess.

Hey Bina: Here’s one for Wanker of the Week

You just had to know this was coming, and now it’s arrived.  The right-wing demonization of murdered census worker Bill Sparkman begins:

Notorious homophobe Dan Riehl pre-emptively asks if Sparkman was a gay child predator, because he had an adopted son. He has no other evidence at all.

No, really:

Once again, right-wing douchebaggery sinks to a sleazy, slimy, shit-encrusted new nadir.

UPDATE: Really.

UPDATE II: Here’s last week’s Wankers of the Week in case you missed it.

Update II on racist scumbag Troy Dale West

Even in the wilds of deepest darkest Jo-ja, racist woman-beaters and child terrorizers sometimes have to answer for their loathsome, savage actions:

A man accused of screaming racial slurs while beating an Army reservist in front of her daughter outside a restaurant in Morrow, Georgia, was jailed and held without bond Wednesday after being indicted on felony charges.

Troy Dale West Jr., of Poulan, Georgia, is facing one count of aggravated assault, two counts of battery, two counts of disorderly conduct, false imprisonment and cruelty to children for allegedly beating Tashawnea Hill outside a Cracker Barrel restaurant on September 9, according to a Clayton County Court online docket.

West had been arrested on misdemeanor charges following the incident, but Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson took the the case to a grand jury asking for more serious charges. (emphasis mine)

That’s more like it:  none of this “misdemeanour charges and bonded back on the street in hours” horseshit — as of this morning, West’s mail is being redirected to the county jug.  There he’ll await trial, after which he’ll hopefully move into more permanent lodgings.   Bye-bye, dickhead!

(h/t democommie in the comments)

Update on racist douchebag Troy West

Y’all remember Troy West, the entity possessing the Y chromosome that technically makes him a man, who (allegedly) beat the living piss out of an African-American woman while cursing and screaming racist epithets at her — all while the woman’s horrified 7-year-old daughter stood by.  Now one of Troy West’s relatives, a cousin or a douche-in-law, has offered his 1/2-a-cent’s worth about who might have been at fault for the attack.

The interview was short because he was late for his Klan meeting.

Scenes from Post-Racial America

Unbelievable, just un-fucking-believable.

And this happened in Georgia, of all places — Jimmy Carter’s home state.  What was it he was saying yesterday?

UPDATE: Authorities think this may be a hate crime… MAY BE???  Good grief.

(h/t Jesus’ General)

Two men shot dead in Michigan

UPDATED (2:10pm)

There were two weird and seemingly senseless murders in the Owosso area of Michigan early today.

One was an anti-abortion activist known around town as “The Abortion Sign Guy”, who was shot in front of a school (yes, that’s where they parade their idiotic signs these days, in front of schools), true name James Pouillon:

An anti-abortionist has been shot dead in front of horrified teenagers as they arrived for school.

The man, identified locally as Jim Pouillon, was shot and killed outside the Owosso High School in Owosso, Michigan, at about 7.30am local time today as schoolbuses dropped youngsters off for class.

…and the other is being reported as Mike Fouss, who was shot in his office not long after Pouillon:

Owosso Police Chief Michael Compeau said it appears the Shiawassee County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a second homicide this morning that may be related to the shooting that occurred in front of Owosso High School.

The police have a suspect in custody and say the murders are related, but haven’t enlarged upon that.  Although it remains to be seen if Pouillon’s killing had anything to do with his anti-choice activism, that’s not stopping the usual suspects from implying otherwise and even analogizing it to the murder of Dr. George Tiller:

In the wake of the tragedy, Fr. Pavone of Priests for Life told LifeSiteNews.com that he hoped to see “a strong expression of indignation from the pro-abortion community, just like there was a strong expression of indignation form the pro-life community at the killing of Dr. Tiller.”

Nice try, but thanks to an extremely public social networking platform, we got to see the real “indignation”.

Unless Mr. Pouillon was subjected to decades of harassment and was the target of an escalating and unrelenting pro-choice hate campaign that culminated in his summary execution, there’s no basis for analogy.  And not that Father Douche would give a flying fuck, but it’s an insult to Dr.Tiller’s memory that his death, nothing less than a political assassination, would be compared to this tragic but sadly not atypical act of violence.  But hey, might as well strike while the iron’s hot and the body’s still warm, eh?

Because that’s the real goal, isn’t it?  To minimize one murder  (not to mention the ongoing threats to abortion providers) by playing up another.  They’ve been humping this one for months, with phony and fabricated “threat” claims (some so obviously false it’s ridiculous), and now they have a corpse to parade around.

Sorry fetus fetishists.  It’s too bad that both of these guys were killed — and if Pouillon was targeted by some batshit crazy pro-choicer expressly because of his anti-choice activism, other pro-choicers will join me in *strongly denouncing* it.  As much as I disagree with moronic fetus porn displays, I’ve been vocal in my support for the right to be a “moran” (to the chagrin of some of my readers, who are Anti-Moranitarian Extremists).

But that’s where it ends for me:  I’m not playing the false equivalence game with the memory of a pro-choice hero.

UPDATE: According to the NYT, it appears that Pouillon may indeed have been targeted because of his anti-choice activism.  (Link via Lindsay Beyerstein, via Pogge.)  Primarily it seems to be because the shooter didn’t like Pouillon displaying graphic pictures in front of a school…?  And shooting someone in front of a school is so much better?

Although I obviously denounce this brutality, I stand by my remarks about  false equivalence.  This was done by someone clearly unhinged who acted in complete solitude.  It was not the culmination of a decades-long campaign of hate, harrassment and circular reinforcement of the same, directed against the victim.  Out of respect for all the dead, people should avoid making such analogies.

UPDATE 2 (2:30pm):  The shooter apparently had a third target that he never got to, a realtor.  Three targets, motives totally unrelated.  So this was not a politically-motivated crime — rather, some nutcase went off the deep and decided to go around shooting people who’ve pissed him off for various reasons.

My condolences go out to the loved ones of both victims, and particularly to Mrs. Fouss, who is going through treatment for brain cancer.  Stay strong.

UPDATE 3 (2:47pm):  JAB brings up an interesting point.  I’ve read a lot on this story today, but I have yet to see anyone claim that Mr.Pouillon reaped what he sowed by being out there protesting: only that, agree or disagree, it was his right to do so.  As it was Dr.Tiller’s right to perform a legal medical procedure.

So I suppose in that way there is an analogy to be made.

More douchebaggery from Donohue

Shorter Bill Donohue:   “Not all the priests raped little kids, so SHUT UP, rape victim!   You’re hysterical!“

If you feel the need to shower after listening to that clip, you’re not alone.

Unfortunately for Donohue, the Catholic church itself doesn’t agree with his sentiments.  Neither do a lot of Catholics.

(via pharyngula)