US POLITICS SPRING 2011: Let's just call off this country.

photoshopping ned's nipples in there was a bridge too far imo

...indeed.

just for the record, those are weiner's nipples, enlarged!

man, every time i photoshop nipples i reaaaally regret it!

What was actually going down while people were wasting time thinking about Anthony Weiner's penis. 16 Democrats voted yes: Rep. Jason Altmire (D, PA-04), Rep. Dan Boren (D, OK-02), Rep. Jerry Costello (D, IL-12), Rep. Mark Critz (D, PA-12), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D, TX-28), Rep. Joe Donnelly (D, IN-02), Rep. Tim Holden (D, PA-17), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D, OH-09), Rep. Dale Kildee (D, MI-05), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D, IL-03), Rep. Jim Matheson (D, UT-02), Rep. Mike McIntyre (D, NC-02), Rep. Colin Peterson (D, MN-07), Rep. Nick Rahall (D, WV-03), Rep. Mike Ross (D, AR-04), and Rep. Heath Shuler (D, NC-11). Not sure what the bill's chances are in the Senate, don't believe the president will veto but if it came to that & he did then I will immediately donate to his reelection campaign, this bill & 95% of the shit going on in reproductive rights this year are a God damned shame.

...and we've got this here little skirmish in Libya too.

did someone post a link to k-lo's hilarious pro-santorum column today

dude is gonna run the most hilarious campaign of the cycle

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, June 7, 2011 1:24 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

oh man I was hoping she'd resurrect the Santorum thing.

Obama says the terrifying words on the debt-ceiling talks: "It's going to require compromises on both sides."

Not sure what the bill's chances are in the Senate, don't believe the president will veto

What makes you say that Obama won't veto? Everything I've read indicates he will. For instance.

jeez, blame the messenger. the public's understanding of economics is totally upside down. i've got no idea what to do about that long term. but something has to be done about unemployment in the short term

― goole, Monday, June 6, 2011 3:30 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

feeling really depressed about this this morning!

You should be depressed. Public votes against its own interests, (bigger) idiots get elected and do more damage, at best lesser idiots get elected back into office in a few years to clean up some of the mess, while of course perpetuating many of the same mistakes. Because they had popular support, don't you know. I mean, the number of Bush policies Obama has inexcusably extended - from massive tax breaks to unjustified no-end-in-sight military action in middle eastern countries - is depressing, considering he could have taken the opportunity at every turn to at least try and educate the public on the merits of a different approach. Change, if you will.

considering he could have taken the opportunity at every turn to at least try and educate the public

As usual Obama and the Dems have lost the message war--the Republicans have convinced many that the the stimulus was a failure despite stats showing well, it was a partial success. While some economists say it should have been bigger, I have also read some say it should have better targeted, but that Obama let Congress craft it in a selfish I'll help my district way.

Also, good riddance to Chicago economist Goolsbee who just left the White House--he kept advocating to just let the economy and the markets work. He and Geithner's middle of the road policies have not helped Obama look like a leader on the economy. Goolsbee was against helping out the auto industry.

Obama and the Democrats in Congress should be repeating over and over again that a return to Bush economic policies won't work (even if Republicans insist that 3 years into the Obama administration it's no longer valid to blame Bush)

some say it should have better targeted, but that Obama let Congress craft it in a selfish I'll help my district way

^ i agree with this. O had any opportunity to lead right out of the gate, but kind of pussed out imo. and now it's widely viewed as a massive failure.

What makes you say that Obama won't veto? Everything I've read indicates he will. For instance.

would love to be surprised!

One beatiful gift that the GOP has handed the Dems: the Ryan plan is a failure in the eyes of the public. Where are the DNC-funded ads?

in NY - 26

And stubborn David Brooks though is still fighting for the Ryan plan in the NY Times, re-stating it via half-truths so that he can spell out the argument as Republican will drive down Medicare costs via the market while Dems want to try to lessen Medicare costs via a panel of 15 evil federal government bureaucrats, and this won't work and will cause Medicare to fail. I imagine the rest of the Republican world is making or gonna try to make the same argument until they can change the public polls on this. The public originally supported the stimulus plan too.

We'll see if this works:

Senate Democratic leaders are attempting a balancing act on Medicare — by showing openness to containing the program’s ballooning costs but still drawing the line at cutting benefits.

The gambit is aimed at convincing voters that Democrats take the need to reduce the deficit seriously but will protect seniors more than Republicans — a message Democratic leaders think will help them retain their Senate majority against tough odds in 2012.

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/56_134/Democrats-Thread-the-Needle-on-Medicare-206213-1.html

by showing openness to containing the program’s ballooning costs but still drawing the line at cutting benefits.

funny, i think "obamacare" already did this

Republican will drive down Medicare costs via the market

uh

It's David Brooks repeating Republican cliches but he thinks its more than that because he gets to appear on PBS and NPR

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/251740_2002136126508_1036715824_2304030_4935456_n.jpg

Today's the 10th anniversary of the Bush Tax Cuts. Good times

so many jobs created!

so much good shit happened in 2001

(srsly, nothing but Arizona beating the Yankees)

for some of us that was a bad thing

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/06/10th-anniversary-bush-tax-cuts

Stuff we know that Obama should be talking about today, but won't.

perhaps he should lay a wreath somewhere and say "Never forget"

He can land at the Treasury department on a jet, speaking in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner.

so breitbart is basically announcing to the world that he is blackmailing at sitting congressperson? is this legal?

The Washington Post ran a profile piece on Tim Geithner today that was slanted in a he's an adult pushing sensible cnetrist methods way, but it contained bits that have me detesting Geithner even more, and wishing that Ms. Romer was still working for the Obama Administration:

Geithner would hold his views close, but occasionally he would get frustrated. Once, as Romer pressed for more stimulus spending, Geithner snapped. Stimulus, he told Romer, was “sugar,” and its effect was fleeting. The administration, he urged, needed to focus on long-term economic growth, and the first step was reining in the debt.

Wrong, Romer snapped back. Stimulus is an “antibiotic” for a sick economy, she told Geithner. “It’s not giving a child a lollipop.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/geithner-finds-his-footing/2011/05/24/AGY0CSLH_story_2.html

“Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) plans to attend a Glenn Beck rally in Jerusalem.”

NO RETURN TO THE FAILED SLASH AND CUT POLICIES OF THE PAST

“Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) plans to attend a Glenn Beck rally in Jerusalem.”

this sentence is the most malevolent free-form haiku ever written

a highlight of Greenwald's column lambasting the drooling of Chris Matthews &co over Weiner 'scandal': Salon's popup ad for MSNBC

gotta pay the bills somehow

McArdle is pathetic.

I think his constituents should decide whether he stays or not.

He's not my representative or friend, ergo I really don't care.

from thinkprogress.org

Meanwhile, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has vocally called for Weiner’s resignation. But this has led many to questions if Priebus is exploiting the scandal for political gain by holding Weiner to a standard the GOP didn’t apply to their own members embroiled in scandal, especially Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) who admitted in 2007 to patronizing a prostitution ring. Vitter remains in the Senate to this day and easily won reelection in 2010

but he's a republican. what's a little something something among good old boys? weiner? he's gotta go!

@chrislhayes Christopher Hayes

.@joshtpm was thinking Spitzer and Vitter should record an "It Gets Better" video.

kinda mystified that this happened...?

Schumer is such a douchebag

I know I know, NEWSFLASH

holy crap!

Even with the defeat, the vote represented a remarkable come-from-behind lobbying campaign by banks to recover from the drubbing they took during the anti-Wall Street atmosphere that pervaded last year. The debit card measure, sponsored by Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, passed last year by a 2-to-1 margin after little debate and no hearings.

can you be drubbed by an atmosphere?

or 'during' one, exactly

an atmosphere is roughly 23 days iirc

"atmosphere" = popular outrage fadde into memory

Schumer's SOLE constituency is Wall Street and the major banks. I'd run against him if there weren't photos of me floating around.

photos of you and Giuliani, presumably

the state in which i go to school has had a pretty good year: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/nyregion/democratic-rule-remakes-connecticuts-legislative-face.html

huma abedin is pregnant