Dierdre Scozzafava Quits

Scozzafava was the Republican candidate for NY-23, chosen by the Party, endorsed by 11 county party heads, endorsed by the news paper and was the likely winner in this heavily Republican district. But then Conservative Party nominated Doug Hoffman -- doesn't live in the district but is a tea bagger favorite. The Republithugs starting supporting him over Scozzafava.

Chris Kelly says it best:

.. . a traveling freak show of evil creeps who want to use a misguided mediocrity to jerk around the people of upstate New York for shits and giggles.

To Glenn Beck, Gary Bauer, Sean Hannity, Michele Bachmann, Michelle Malkin, Dick Armey and, yesterday, like the churning of milk bringing forth butter and the wringing of the nose bringing forth blood, to Sarah Palin's Facebook page.

It's like Commissioner Gordon lit up the batshit signal.

He also has the support of the Club for Growth, the National Review, the Weekly Standard and Human Events. Or, as Sarah Palin puts it:

And best of all, Doug Hoffman has not been anointed by any political machine.

She's still got it.

He hasn't just been anointed by a political machine. He's been kidnapped by drifters.

So in the face of these crazies Scozzafava, the Republican candidate for the open 23rd District seat in New York, suspended her campaign.

Red State is doing a victory lap saying that either Republican must join the tea baggers or be purged.

I hope the voters vote in their best interest and don't let themselves be led by these thugs.

Rush Limbaugh

Why is a bunch of rich white men keeping another rich man out of their private club a news story? It's been 2 days now and there are no signs of the coverage letting up. So Rush Limbaugh was uninvited to join a consortium of rich men buying the Rams -- so what?

Joe Scarborough for the last two mornings blames Rev Sharpton. Rush blames the media and 'liburrels'. As if the media, liberals, or Sharpton have ANY influence on rich clubby white men! Why would the NFL insiders listen to public conversation on anything they did? For GAWD sakes they re-hired Michael Vick! They couldn't care less what the public thinks -- only if it can turn a profit. Obviously they thought Rush's money and presence in their club had no value or they would have been falling all over themselves to include him in their little rich boy's club.

Can we talk about something important now?

Scarey People

What is wrong with these people?


I'm getting afraid. Why is anarchy preferable to voting for them?

hat tip to our friend David Weinert over at Crooks and Liars.

Nobel?

I agree completely with Andrew Sullivan's reaction to this morning's announcement of Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize:

I've had some coffee now. Reading through all the reactions... there are two obvious points: this is premature and this is thoroughly deserved.

Both are right. I don't think Americans fully absorbed the depths to which this country's reputation had sunk under the Cheney era. That's understandable. And so they also haven't fully absorbed the turn-around in the world's view of America that Obama and the American people have accomplished. Of course, this has yet to bear real fruit. But you can begin to see how it could; and I hope more see both the peaceful intentions and the steely resolve of this man to persevere.

This president has done a huge amount to bring race relations in this country to a different place, which is why the far right has become so vicious in attacking him and lying about him. They know he threatens their politics of division and rule. He has also directly addressed the Muslim world, telling some hard truths, and played a small role in evoking a similar movement of hope and change in Iran, and finally told the Israelis to stop cutting their nose off to spite their face.

I like Shimon Peres' statement, reprinted in a useful compendium of world reaction at the Lede:

“Very few leaders if at all were able to change the mood of the entire world in such a short while with such a profound impact. You provided the entire humanity with fresh hope, with intellectual determination, and a feeling that there is a lord in heaven and believers on earth.” Mr. Peres, who won the peace prize with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat in 1994 following the Oslo Accords, added: “Under your leadership, peace became a real and original agenda. And from Jerusalem, I am sure all the bells of engagement and understanding will ring again. You gave us a license to dream and act in a noble direction.”

Right now, we do not know where that direction will ultimately lead. We do know that we were facing a spiral of conflict that, unchecked, could have taken the world to the abyss. I see this prize as an endorsement of his extraordinary reorientation of world politics, and as an encouragement to see it through. In the midst of our domestic battles, and their ill-temper (from which I have not been immune lately), this is an attempt to tell us: look up for a moment, see how far we've come in pivoting away from global conflict, and give this man a break for his efforts and the massive burden he now bears.

And, in the darkness that still threatens, know hope.

This is aspirational and I'm grateful that the International community is with us.

Radioactive Scat

For those who think Nuclear power is the way to go to reverse global warming -- get alod of this article in the Seattle PI:

An estimated 50 million gallons of liquid wastes from Cold War plutonium-production processes -- laced with radioactive cesium and strontium salts -- were dumped in a 13.7-square-mile area south of central Hanford's 177 underground radioactive waste tanks. That dumping ended more than 40 years ago.

Similar dumping happened at a two-square-mile site in north-central Hanford.

Jackrabbits routinely burrowed into those sites.

They found the salt, liked it, and licked it.

Later, they pooped it, leaving slightly radioactive scat all over the ground.

The clean up just began this week. Meanwhile this poop has blown in the winds, entered the water table, rinsed into the Columbia River.

Also meanwhile across the River, giant windmills turn to produce power with no side effects of radioactive scat risk. We need to stop even talking about nuclear power.

Money Honey Dumb as a Stump

I've always considered Maria Bartiromo a pretty version of a get-rich-quick huckster with just a better time slot on TV than the other infomercials. She cares about one thing and one thing only -- the stock market. It's good news to her when people get laid off because stock will go up. It's great news if they off shore jobs because stock prices will go up. She sucks up to corporations and fawns over CEO's and lets them lie and do puff pieces on her "Closing Bell" show even just days before their companies implode or charges are filed on the CEO's -- who can forget her relationship with Todd Thompson of Citigroup, interview on Lehman Brothers last year, Ken Lewis on how their acquisition of Countrywide was a good thing, or with John Sauro of North American Mortgage. I always assumed that if people are smart enough to play in the stock market that they should be smart enough to see through her "Money Honey" persona.

But somehow last year Bartiromo started thinking she was a real commentator -- WOW! SHE IS DUMB!! Last year, conveniently just before the election in late September, Bartiromo hosted a special on the "Hunt for Black Gold" -- featuring Sarah Palin with her "drill, baby, drill" strategy. Bartiromo never challenged her -- it was definitely a puff Republican support piece. She has lied about Obama almost incessantly since -- he promised no earmarks, wants to tax small businesses, Obama gave AIG the bailout. But since then, she's been out and about more -- I don't care about "The View" pieces and some of the other soft stuff. But she pretends to be a serious commentator and she obviously doesn't have a clue. Last month it was the goof about Medicare on the Carlos Watsons' show:

At one point, Bartiromo was critical of the government-managed health care system in the United Kingdom. "How do I know the quality [of health care in the United States] is not going to suffer" with a public option? she asked.

Rep. Weiner reminded her that there already is government-managed health care in the United States -- namely, Medicare, the system created for Americans 65 years and older -- and that patients with Medicare report very high satisfaction rates.

Bartiromo's response to this argument was a true head-scratcher. In a mocking tone, she pressed the congressman: "How come you don't use it [Medicare]? You don't have it. How come you don't have it?"

Rep. Anthony Weiner, who turns 45 this week, tried to walk Bartiromo through it. "Because I'm not 65." But she was insistent. "Yeah... c'mon!" she exclaimed, laughing incredulously.

But before that she kept repeating that Health Care Reform was going to cost us over a trillion dollars over 10 years. I chucked both of these statements to her blind allegiance to supporting the stock value of her health care provider corporations.

This morning, she branched out to other topics, with equal idiocy. Tim Dickinson from Rolling Stone was on Morning Joe to talk about his newest article called The Lie Machine on who is behind the birthers, deathers, tea baggers. Bartiromo was on the panel and her "salient" point was that Democrats do it too. She thought she really got Tim when she accused "Who's behind "Move On"?!" WOW! Read much, Maria??

It was a really eye rolling moment. She should be required to do just a little research before she's allowed to open her mouth on her own without a script.