GOP aide investigated for voter fraud

Here's yet another of the many reasons why, if a Republican wins an election in Wisconsin, you can't trust the results.

Some nobody who serves as a Republican legislative aide in Wisconsin is now under investigation because she intentionally voted in the wrong city in 2 elections. Ironically, she is an aide to a lawmaker who cosponsored a right-wing bill designed to suppress voting.

The aide was caught bragging on right-wing website Facebook about voting in the wrong place. Oops.

That's the GOP's future, everybody.

(Source: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/article_ede5d49e-8272-11e0-a6e0-001cc4c03286.html)

"Waaaaaaaaaah! You cheated!" (more Freeper Madness)

I decided to take a gander at the dying Free Republic today to see what the Whine Time Players have been up to. But I didn't get very far before I almost fell off my chair in laughter at one of their predictably idiotic proclamations.

Are you ready for it?

According to a Freak Rethuglic regular, the big, mean libs are rigging elections by counting friendly urban areas last. This user declared:

"One of the biggest problems we've encountered with Dems' trying to steal elections is the old tried and true method of releasing vote counts in large, urban areas last so as to 'discover' just the right amount of votes it takes to turn an election."

Projecting again, conservos?

What that user describes is exactly what Republicans have been doing for years. The only difference is that GOP vote counters in right-wing suburban areas release their vote totals last.

The first time I noticed this was in 1988. I was only in high school, but I could see it in plain sight. When DuPage County was the last to report in Illinois, and it provided Bush's whole margin of victory in that state, I didn't even need to have somebody tell me it was rigged. That was an instant red flag. (In fact, Illinois had already been called for Dukakis.)

For pity's sake, what county do you think prompted the recount in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election? Here's a hint: It's not Douglas County.

The Freepers' bogus claim that the Democrats count liberal urban areas last so they know how many votes to "discover" is a clear case of projection. They know the Republicans are counting suburbs last, but they want to preempt anybody who points it out - even though I'm not the only person who's blogged about it.

In many cases - such as that Wisconsin election - it's demonstrably true that right-wing suburban counties either report last or they find last-minute "errors" that change what's already counted. In other words, the Freeper person lied.

Who are they gonna blame for being caught projecting when even somebody getting interested in elections for the first time can figure out the truth without anybody even pointing it out? The Greens?

Lawn Chair Quarterback: "When Congresscritters Attack"

Right-wing Louisiana congressman John Fleming. A weird one indeed.

Fleming is one of the most hated federal lawmakers in this bruised and battered land. His website encouraged parents to place their kids in abusive teen "rehabs", and he required employees at the Subway sandwich shops he owns to give campaign literature to customers.

Now he's on the attack!

In recent months, Fleming has lashed out at folks who give his self-published book bad reviews on Amazon. In the process, he's made an utter spectacle of himself.

I wouldn't be surprised if John Fleming comes here and starts attacking me in the comment section. But if he comes here, I'm not going to stand here and argue with the idiot.

Our latest 'LCQ' shows what it's like when morons in Congress go on the attack...

Oregon meth fatalities soar 22%

All the yapping control freaks who want to start requiring a prescription just to buy cold medicine can kindly slam their gizzards tight now.

After Oregon became the first state to require a prescription, the state has now experienced a staggering 22% increase in the number of meth-related deaths. New statistics from the Oregon State Medical Examiner's office show that the number of meth fatalities last year was the most in at least a decade.

What do the right-wingers who supported the prescription law have to say about this? They say it's the fault of other states, most of which don't have this law. Well, Oregon does have this law, and that's the state where the number of meth-related deaths soared 22%. So the drug warriors lose their argument. Big surprise.

Why do "small government" right-wingers like Hal Rogers support this law?

Texas may give bailout for yachts

So THIS is what the Tea Party movement is fighting for!

You know the fascist war on the poor is back in full swing when we see stories like this. Only this time, people see it for what it is.

A Texas House committee has now approved a special tax break - also known as a bailout - for owners of yachts. It was approved on a party line vote, with all Democrats opposing this handout, and all Republicans favoring it.

I'd love to see anybody try to defend this wastage - especially after Republicans who supported the tax break also backed major cuts in services like schools and nursing homes. Wait, they already have tried coming up with an excuse. Their reasoning is that if they don't approve this bailout, yacht owners will just flee to Florida - which already gives handouts to yacht owners.

Well, Florida does a lot of crazy shit. I didn't know that gave the other 49 states the license to mimic it.

If this passes, I wonder which congressional Republican will propose the same thing on a national level. Remember the Bush handout for Hummers?

Taxpayers pay for everything the yacht crowd does. For some of these individuals, in order for them to feel loved, they need to be coddled by the government. They feel entitled to lifelong benefits, and the rest of us are sick to death of paying for them. Most people I know make at most $200 a week and don't complain, yet some drug-addled right-wing billionaires in Texas want something for nothing.

I blame the rise of the extreme right for the fact that they even want it. What ideology ran the government for 28 years and gave them what they wanted then? I'm not alone when I say I've had my fill of paying for their luxurious lifestyles.

They wanted a class war, didn't they?

(Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/02/texas-house-panel-approves-tax-break-for-yachts)

DEA balloon explodes over city

An entire city was placed at risk all because the prohibitionists are so scared of people having a plant. But anybody who disagrees with risking the public's lives for this nonsense gets called a druggie.

The Aerostat was a blimp-like balloon placed by the DEA to float over Arizona because they thought it would fight drugs. This helium-filled craft was costly.

But now the Aerostat has broken loose from its tether and exploded over the city of Sierra Vista. Pieces of the balloon landed in the streets and in people's yards. The incident narrowly missed killing local residents. (Thankfully it used helium instead of flammable hydrogen like similar balloons use.)

The DEA wasted the taxpayers' money on this shit, only to end up almost killing innocent people?

America lets corporations buy elections and pay off the media for favorable coverage of their candidates, but it's so paranoid about a plant that it endangered thousands of lives with this boondoggle?

(Source: http://www.kvoa.com/news/anti-drug-balloon-goes-down-in-sierra-vista)

Man gets life for pot

Operation UNITE is writing Louisiana's laws now too?

A 35-year-old Louisiana man must spend the rest of his life in prison all because he just received his fourth marijuana conviction. This is a man who had most of his life still ahead of him, and now his future is dashed by a bloodthirsty War on Drugs. Not only that, but a child is now growing up without his dad.

This outrageous sentence was recently imposed by Judge Raymond Childress in St. Tammany Parish. (Where else? Also, as a side note, that's the parish where I accidentally spilled Mountain Dew down inside a motel TV.)

While a man serves life for marijuana, murderers and serial rapists get out of prison after only 5 years at most.

Where's the "small government" types to protest this sentence? The taxpayers are paying to keep the man in prison, you know.

(Source: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/05/fourth_marijuana_conviction_ge.html)

From the man who gave us Michael Mukasey...

We all know the no-fly list is a Bushist Bible, but now Congress wants a no-ride list too?

Despite the no-fly list's failures, which include listing people who have absolutely nothing to do with terrorism, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) is demanding a similar list to bar people from riding Amtrak. This list would be cross-checked with the error-filled no-fly list.

Schumer is the guy responsible for foisting Michael Mukasey upon us, so who's surprised? I think it's time for a primary challenge.

Hey, here's an idea that makes just as much sense. How about a no-walk list, since being a pedestrian is a form of travel too? Or better yet, how about if we just pass a law requiring everybody to just lock themselves at home 24/7?

(Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/08/us-security-trains-idUSTRE7472CF20110508)

Lawn Chair Quarterback: "Viaducts Are Cool"

As an aspiring civil engineer, I know viaducts are among the niftiest developments in human history.

But did you know that the Waldvogel Viaduct in Cincinnati - a structure I may have photographed more than any other - is about to be torn down and replaced? It's true, it's true, it's all true! Most highway features - including this viaduct - were never intended to handle endless volumes of heavy SUV's, and the Waldovgel has endured irreversible wear that could have been avoided. Make no mistake: The Waldvogel Viaduct was done in by misuse.

A new viaduct is scheduled to rise in its place in 2014.

Our latest 'LCQ' sings the praises of viaducts - particularly the Waldvogel. I mean that literally. It really does sing! We've got a #1 smash hit on our hands, methinks!

Windfall for school in cheerleader case

When you think the Evil Empire can't get any lower, it always does.

Background on this story: A cheerleader at a high school in Silsbee, Texas, accused a basketball player from her school of rape. The player went on to be convicted of assault for this incident. Despite this conviction, the school let him play on the basketball team anyway. (I guess forced drug tests don't catch convictions for violent crimes.)

Sometime later, at a school basketball game, the cheerleader refused to cheer for the player who had attacked her. Because of this, she was kicked off the cheerleading squad.

She sued the school for removing her from the squad. Outrageously, courts sided with the school. On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to hear her appeal.

All of that was bad enough. But now a federal appeals court has ordered the cheerleader to pay the school's $45,000 legal tab.

You read that right. A teenage girl who was brutally attacked, and then further humiliated by the school because she wouldn't cheer her attacker, is being forced to pay the school $45,000. Annual per capita income in Silsbee is less than $20,000. They're making a 16-year-old girl work for over 2 years just to pay a school that violated her rights?

Another judge for the impeachment block, I guess.

As with the Supreme Court's recent verdict overturning an award for a Louisiana man imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit, this is one of the meanest court rulings in modern times. Also as with that ruling, there's not even any legal basis for it.

In the end, the cheerleader was punished far more severely than the player who was convicted of assaulting her. The assailant only got a small fine and community service. But the victim (in addition to suffering the original crime) was subjected to additional humiliation by the school AND had to pay the school $45,000.

And so, a brand new low has been reached in right-wing viciousness.

(Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cheerleader-must-compensate-school-that-told-her-to-clap-rapist-2278522.html)

How the Old West dealt with highway robbery

I think a few points are in order here about standards.

Yesterday, as you know, a major crime was committed against me, and I'm not the only victim. Countless other people have also fallen prey to this computer virus that disguises itself as a Microsoft security package - which has forced each victim to spend tens of dollars just to keep using their computer.

I removed this virus within the day - but a crime was committed, and it's no different from highway robbery.

Some choose to live in denial. Because of the decline in society's standards during the hard frost of 28 years of rightist rule, some are skeptical of calling a crime a crime. But I will call it a crime, but that's what it is. It's trespassing, fraud, and possibly identity theft and more.

How did the Wild West deal with highway robbery? Do you honestly think they would have put up with this shit? Think the old Hubba Bubba commercials with the Gum Fighter. If the Gum Fighter's stagecoach was robbed, do you think he'd stand there, laugh it off, and ask, "What's the crime?"

No sirree!

The Gum Fighter is a model of Western gentlemanliness. He's a fair man, and he wouldn't resort to waterboarding. Rather, he'd grab the perps by the shirt and fucking hang them. He probably wouldn't even say a word until after he was done - because his action would speak for itself. And none of the other townsfolk would disagree that the robbers were criminals.

If you think I'm big on making evildoers toe the line, I'm a softy compared to the Gum Fighter's contemporaries. If computers had existed in the Old West, anybody who sent out a virus that makes people pay to keep using their computer would learn right quick that their first offense is their last.

The real wusses are those on the right who won't even investigate viruses.

Now can we have our country back?

Osama bin Laden's death closes a chapter in history. President Obama took only 2 years to catch him, when Bush couldn't do it in 8 years. (Hell, Bush didn't even fucking try.)

I hope that with this chapter closing, we can also slam the book shut on the police state that America became. Although the fastest growth in the police state occurred before 9/11 under the Contract With America (and its expansion of the War on Drugs), 9/11 provided new pretexts for it.

Whenever 9/11 was cited as an excuse to violate basic rights, it was a surrender to the terrorists. Those who surrendered are guilty of treason.

With bin Laden dead, can we end this bullshit now?

Shouldn't ALEC be among the first to end its crap? Right-wingers are crying about us having too many entries lately exposing ALEC, but I've yet to find any bills on ALEC's "model legislation" list that would seem to have states opt out of the Patriot Act or Real ID.

Virus fraudster outsmarted

Well, well, well, and well, what have we here?

Turns out that expensive security package I got earlier was itself a virus disguised as the Microsoft security feature. Here's some details about it:

http://www.malwarehelp.org/fake-windows-security-center-analysis-and-removal-2009.html

Long story short: I was able to detect and kill the virus early in the day. Whoever uploaded it had thunk they had fried my machine for good, but they've been left in the dust. The only thing I seem to be out is a 2-digit sum of dough, and I WILL get that back once I dispute the charge on my credit card.

Of course, this is still partly Microsoft's fault, because Microsoft's built-in security feature didn't detect this virus like it's s'posed.

And I will see to it that whoever sent out this virus pays dearly. They fucked with the wrong guy. I know that I could personally rip their head clean off their shoulders and be grinning the whole time.

Do not fuck with me. Ever.

Microsoft just scammed me out of tens of dollars

I guess Bill Gates thinks I'm comprised of money like he is.

Earlier, I was at my computer, when several Windows Security boxes came up saying my computer was infected. Windows Security automatically ran a scan and found 32 viruses.

This program offered to fix the viruses - but only if I paid tens of dollars for a license for the full version of Windows Security.

When I say tens of dollars, I mean more than $10 but less than $100. Still, it's more than I have budgeted for the next couple weeks. And I had no choice whatsoever. I wasn't allowed to open any browser until I got rid of the viruses. (Then again, why would I want to?)

If Windows Security finds viruses, the correct thing for Windows Security to do is fucking get rid of them. Not make me pay a 2-figure sum just to keep my computer from getting hosed. That's extortion. I paid hundreds for the computer, and I don't expect to have to keep paying huge sums just to make it last more than 4 years.

When garbage like viruses get on my computer, I want them gone. End of story.

And I don't know where the viruses came from or why I was targeted. Maybe this is like the Swen virus that targeted progressive lists and destroyed my old Windows 98 machine. The Bush regime never lifted a finger to catch who was behind that.

I have my own suspicions about why I was targeted this time, but the real point of this entry is Microsoft's insistence at squeezing money out of folks just to get rid of viruses.

Osama bin Laden dead

They just said it on the news. No other details are available.

ALEC takes away affordable housing

Are there still any doubts that ALEC - the Far Right's self-anointed shadow legislature - is for big government? Certainly not if you believe that small government means maintaining local autonomy.

I notice that one of ALEC's "shadow bills" is called the Rent Control Preemption Ordinance. I knew right away what this is, and another website has what appears to be the bill's brief text:

http://www.newcoalition.org/Article.cfm?artId=6253

ALEC is out there yelling about "states' rights!", but their support of states' rights only seems to apply when the states run roughshod over the powers of the cities. You never hear ALEC talking about cities' rights. ALEC's bill would specifically bar cities from enacting ordinances to rein in high rents. Not only would ALEC's bill outlaw direct rent control, but it would also prohibit cities from having any policy that has the effect of keeping rents reasonably low.

At least 2 states have enacted a law that copies ALEC's bill almost verbatim.

Lovely. So ALEC is out there intentionally driving up housing costs just for the purpose of keeping the poor out of entire states. ALEC isn't just a shadow legislature for the rich. It's for rich folks who harbor such bias against the poor that they don't want them coming anywhere near.

And ALEC got its way on this issue in at least 2 states. They're an influential little bunch, and I'm exposing them.

ALEC demands workplace drug testing

ALEC sure went to the wrong town for its convention, didn't they?

All because they happened to choose the one major city I could get to within a reasonable timeframe, I've been encouraged to familiarize myself with what ALEC does. And now the genie's out of the bottle, and it ain't going back in. ALEC coming to Cincinnati may very well be the undoing of the entire right-wing legislative agenda - because I don't let up.

Rotten luck for them, huh?

I happen to notice that one of the "model bills" on ALEC's agenda is what it calls its Workplace Drug Testing Act. ALEC's website doesn't provide the text of its bills to anybody except members - but I knew a bill with a name like that couldn't possibly be good if it comes from ALEC.

I was right. A different right-wing website has the bill's text:

http://www.heartland.org/custom/semod_policybot/pdf/6336.pdf

ALEC's "model legislation" would allow employers to drug-test any worker any time they want. It doesn't matter what the worker's job is, or how safety-sensitive their position is. Any employees could be tested - whether they're fast food cashiers, top executives, or anybody else.

Perhaps even worse, this bill would shield employers from litigation arising from drug testing policies. It even protects them from being sued for defamation if they blab the results of a worker's drug test everywhere.

Um. Why is ALEC claiming to be for smaller government if it backs bills like this? Simple. It's another example of right-wingers' ongoing habit of calling things the exact opposite of what they really are. ALEC is a shadow legislature for not just big government but GIGANTIC government.

I'd be willing to bet that ALEC is also behind the recent flurry of bills to require a drug test to get government aid. Supporters of these bills keep arguing that because people who have jobs get tested, why shouldn't those who are out of a job? (Never mind that it's already been ruled unconstitutional.) Well, whose fault is it that people get tested at work? It's ALEC's fault, judging by their workplace drug testing bill.

If only ALEC would support bills to weaken intrusive workplace drug testing instead of expanding it, the unemployed wouldn't be tested less than those with jobs. In other words, ALEC's allies are complaining about a matter that ALEC helped cause.

I'm sure you can fill an entire book with examples of ALEC's penchant for social and economic engineering. This entry is just a start.

Details of ALEC's embarrassment

Yesterday, as you know, the book-burners from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) came to Cincinnati for one of their secret gatherings. This prompted a protest against ALEC on Fountain Square - right across the corner from the swanky hotel where ALEC was being housed.

As ALEC hashed out authoritarian right-wing "model legislation" that is sure to be introduced in a statehouse near you, I participated in the rally against ALEC that drew roughly 300 people. I was amazed at the turnout we got, considering our event received almost no prior mention by The Media (even though The Media covers every detail of the Tea Parties).

We attracted precisely one - count 'em, one - counterprotester. A hapless oaf wrote right-wing slogans on cooler lids, mostly supporting Ohio's union-busting S.B. 5. He spent the next half-hour skipping rope with a stupid smirk on his face. People mostly just ignored his idiotic display, and he left early.

Also, an operative wearing an ALEC lanyard and a suit and tie bipped along and started arguing with an anti-ALEC protester.

The best part of our demonstration though was when we marched around the block where ALEC's hotel was. We made about 4 or 5 marches around this block, loudly chanting and beating a drum throughout. Unlike the Tea Parties, however, we obeyed pedestrian crosswalk signals and didn't block traffic.

As we held our march, the guy who argued with us on Fountain Square was now standing at the hotel entrance with other ALEC peeps. I had a sign that said "GO HOME, ALEC" - but if you looked very closely, the "ALEC" portion said "tALECban." I waved the sign at the ALEC operatives each time I passed them. They were close enough to read it in full too.

This sign highlighted some important points. Firstly, ALEC had the nerve to come to Cincinnati where their brand of politics is no longer welcome. (They think it's still 1990.) Secondly, ALEC is truly representative of the American Taliban, as they support gobs of social engineering bills that clutter America's statehouses.

Does ALEC get the message yet that the public doesn't want their stupid ideas? Granted, we don't know exactly what their "model bills" say, because they're so secretive that the text of these bills is available only to members. But I can tell what some of these bills are just by the names. I've become well-versed in the misleading names right-wingers give to their ideas, so ALEC would have to work mighty hard to fool me. (If I had to guess, I would say their so-called Methamphetamine Reduction Act is the bill that would require a prescription to buy cold medicine.)

Now that ALEC has become familiar to me, I'm going to be keeping a lynx-like eye on what it does, and I will welcome attempts locally to fight these legislative terrorists.

So get ready, folks.

Lawn Chair Quarterback: "The Humiliation Of ALEC"

The protest against the ALEC fascists took place today in Cincinnati, and I was there to enjoy it all! I'm talking about the American Legislative Exchange Clowncil - a secret society of far-right operatives that crafts right-wing legislation. Suffice it to say, ALEC walked right into this one, and now ALEC is probably regretting even showing their stupid faces.

I'll have more about it here later, but our latest 'LCQ' focuses on some of today's anti-ALEC doings:



I didn't do an 'LCQ' last week because I was in Georgia. That would have been the same day Fred Phelps's right-wing cult threatened to protest against a military funeral in my area (in my hometown, no less) - but I wasn't home to keep an eye on them. But the Westboro crew was too chickenshit to even show up.

Kentucky right-winger bolts GOP

Kentucky Democrats are cheering this story, but - as a registered Green - all this does for me is drive home the belief that the Democrats have become nearly a facsimile of the GOP.

Right-wing State Rep. Wade Hurt has announced that he's switching his affiliation from the Republicans to the Democrats. This grants the Democrats a 59 to 41 edge in the Kentucky House.

I guess Hurt - a longtime Louisville GOP activist - saw the writing on the wall, because Republicans aren't exactly becoming a popular cause in Kentucky. On the other hand, Hurt is so right-wing that why would the Democrats even want him? He's even listed among the cosponsors of the failed bill that would have required drug tests for not only welfare but also Social Security and veterans' benefits. I guess the Democrats allow stances like this because they're just as wussified as I suspected. The fact that the media calls Hurt a "moderate" proves that the press is teetering on the brink of exiting the fact-based world - and it again moves the center of debate rightward.

What's particularly outrageous is that Hurt won his seat when a judge barred the Democrats or any other party besides the Republicans from fielding a candidate. As in the Soviet Union, voters were told who to vote for, as Hurt was the only candidate. Now that he's switched parties, this makes it much harder for a progressive Democrat to win the primary and get elected to this seat. (Hurt's district is so heavily Democratic that the Democrats are almost sure to win when the GOP machine doesn't ban them from running a candidate.)

(Source: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110422/NEWS0101/304220085/Jefferson-County-GOP-House-member-switching-Democrats)

Message for the Westboro cult

Stay the hell out of Highland Heights, will ya?

I knew my hometown would have to deal with Fred Phelps's cult sooner or later just like every other American city, and the Phelpsies are just damn lucky they're doing it at a time when I can't keep an eye on them.

NKU allows these losers on campus, but they pulled out all the stops to keep me away? I know America is supposed to have broad protections for free speech, but if the Topeka Taliban gets to enjoy these protections, why doesn't anybody else?

Obama fights adviser ban

For 15 years, the Democrats' modus operandi has been to cave to Republicans at a daily clip - when the Democrats aren't stinking up the joint on their own by being too right-wing. But in recent days, President Obama seems to have found an issue where he wants to be a winner.

Last Friday, Obama quite rightly announced he's going to ignore parts of the new spending package that would ban certain presidential advisory posts - advisers that the pop-up media so ignorantly refers to as "czars." Good for him. (Does the media even know what a czar was?)

Congressional Republicans had added language to the bill that would abolish advisers for health care, climate change, urban affairs, and manufacturing. But Obama stood up and said he's not complying with the ban. So tough toilets, Congress.

The 3 branches of government are supposed to be coequal. The legislative branch does not get to run roughshod over the White House's power to enforce the law - especially when legislators bargain in bad faith. Separation of powers means what it says.

Given the Constitution's framers' wariness about demagoguery, do you really think they'd give the legislative branch more power than any other branch? In aggregate, the legislative branch has seen more corruption since 1995 than each of the other 2 branches - and that's even with 8 years of Bush (perhaps the king of corruption) in the executive branch. Congress has one duty that's just as important as lawmaking: It has the duty to hold its tongue - and let the rest of our representatives do their jobs.

Congress has no business calling itself the sole arbiter of what's in the public interest.

(Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53342.html)

Census marketing fail

Despite deliberate undercounts of Democratic areas in the censuses of 1990 and 2000, Republicans of course cried that they were the real victims. According to them, they always are, no matter how much evidence to the contrary there is.

Even though right-wing manipulation of the census ran rampant in the last 2 censuses, operatives at the Census Bureau in 2010 were all ears for bogus right-wing complaints that the census undercounted Republican areas. So the Census Bureau launched a marketing campaign for conservatives only.

After a marketing survey showed that NASCAR's fan base was much more conservative than the general public, the 2010 census became a primary sponsor at several NASCAR races. Officials even had the census logo painted on a NASCAR car.

This also highlights a paradox that seems to define NASCAR. If NASCAR is as working-class as everybody thinks, why is it so right-wing? Among folks I know, the working class is the most vocally opposed to the Republicans' rule. (Hardly surprising, considering the GOP's ongoing war on workers.)

How effective was the Census Bureau's right-wing outreach? Not very, considering that Republican areas (with some exceptions) seem to be bleeding population now that the census results are being released. One wonders if the apportionment would be even less favorable to the GOP if the Census Bureau had put forth as much effort marketing the census to Democratic areas as it did to Republican areas.

(Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/28/AR2010022803364.html)

Benton Harbor occupation not new

In one of the most notorious attacks against democracy in America of late, right-wing Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan has appointed a "financial manager" to take over the operations of the city of Benton Harbor. This unelected manager promptly stripped Benton Harbor's elected city commission of its powers. Starting tomorrow, the only powers that the city's elected leaders will have will be to begin and adjourn meetings and approve the meeting's minutes. They will not be permitted to hold votes on anything.

This is nothing short of a coup d'etat, and Benton Harbor's citizenry and elected officials need to defy it.

Much of this coup was motivated by Republicans' desire to take Benton Harbor's beach and build an exclusive, private golf course on it - even though state statute and common law say beaches are public property.

But is this brand of martial law completely new in modern America? Perhaps you don't recall Bush's doctrine of "preemption" that imposed his will on states and cities. Is there much difference between what's going on now in Benton Harbor and what went on all over the country under Bush?

If more states had complied with Bush's Real ID, that wouldn't be any less martial law than the rogue occupation of Benton Harbor is.

(Source: http://www.wsjm.com/Benton-Harbor-EFM-Suspends-Voting-Powers-Of-City-C/9633751)

Not-so-smart ALEC

Looks like we've got another protest coming up!

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a secret society of right-wing lawmakers and other cretins. They coordinate fascist legislation in statehouses from coast to coast. I'll bet you anything they were behind the welfare drug testing and pseudoephedrine bills. In fact, they were behind Arizona's racist S.B. 1070. ALEC is like a shadow legislature that allows only right-wingers to serve.

The tax-exempt ALEC - which is backed by corporate giants - has also tried to repeal consumer protection and anti-pollution laws. In short, ALEC writes much of America's legislation these days - and they do it at secret gatherings.

ALEC-allied thugs have also tried to intimidate critics. When one historian investigated ALEC on his blog, the Wisconsin Republican Party tried harassing him with bogus FOIA requests.

Next week, ALEC is conducting what it calls its Spring Task Force Summit. Guess what city it's going to be held in? Why, they're coming to the city that now seems to be America's convention leader: Cincinnati, of course.

Welp, they really stepped in it, didn't they?

According to ALEC's stupid website, their summit is going to be on April 28-29 (Thursday and Friday) at Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza. It's going to include lawmakers from all over the country - traveling at taxpayer expense. And folks are already planning a protest against the little dictators who comprise ALEC:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/07/964328/-Slave-LaborALECJoin-us-in-Cincy-April-28-30th-for-a-protest-and-Workshops

More info:

http://seeyouincincinnati.com/

The protest against ALEC is scheduled for noon on April 29 (Friday) on Fountain Square - rain, snow, or shine! Health permitting, I hope to be there!

Budget deal restores private school bailout

Private school vouchers have long been championed by the extreme right, because (like the welfare drug testing bills) they embody the worst of social and economic engineering. But whenever vouchers are the subject of a referendum in any state or city, they're always soundly rejected by voters.

The public doesn't like this program, OK? Understand? This program drains money from public schools, and it attempts to build a rightist nation on the backs of disadvantaged children.

In fact, it's a taxpayer-funded bailout of private schools that quite frankly aren't hurting for money. Hate to sound brash, because I'm such a nice and swell guy - but the truth has to be told.

About a decade ago, a right-wing Congress imposed a voucher program on the District of Columbia. This program was unpopular among D.C. residents, it helped ruin the city's public schools, and it failed to improve students' academic performance. The Obama administration and city officials later ended this boondoggle.

But the new budget "compromise" restores D.C. vouchers. Congressional Republicans DEMANDED vouchers' restoration - and Obama complied, because that's what Democrats these days do. They comply with every GOP order no matter how outrageous or irrational.

For the budget deal to cut spending is one thing. Lots of folks are already angry about what was cut. But restoring vouchers only spends more money. It doesn't cut the budget at all.

How can you have a deal to cut the budget, when it actually increases spending on a failed, unpopular program? That's not what I call thrift. In short, the Republicans held the entire country hostage just so they could reinstate vouchers.

Nobody is angrier about this than D.C. residents. It's not just that their public schools are being ignored, but also that they had no voice in the decision. Republicans in Congress are imposing a social and economic agenda on the city - while the city is the only place in America except outlying territories that is denied a voting member in Congress. Taxation without representation? Nobody knows more about that than the District's citizenry.

The GOP has turned the city and its children into a laboratory for social experimentation. I live in an inner city, so I find it to be condescending and an attack on me as well as on D.C. Our children were not put on this planet to be pawns of political extremists.

D.C. statehood. An idea whose time has come.

(Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53322.html)

A nice man gave me free firewood

Yesterday - as I was keeping an eye on the Tea Party losers - I damn near choked on some big league right-wing chew!

I'd just arrived across the street from the teagaggers when I was confronted by one of the rally's 20 or so useless participants. Turned out he was Bill Johnson, a Republican candidate for Kentucky Secretary of State (an office that recently flipped from Republican to Democratic by will of the people).

And he must be the most ridiculous politician in the world. He actually asked for my vote - when everybody ought to know by now there's not a chance in hell I'll vote for him.

If Johnson had stayed around me any longer than 30 seconds or so, he would have had heard quite an earful. I was about ready to tell him that his whole party stinks.

Meanwhile, he gave me one of his slick campaign pamphlets, which does nothing but underscore his extremism. As Johnson brags in his campaign literature about being a "Reagan Republican", he also touts his support for requiring voters to display a photo ID when they vote. This makes Johnson look like a fool on several fronts. For starts, I've been voting for 20 years, and I've been carded every time, so it's not like he's advocating anything new. For another, he's fighting a fabricated crisis just to win votes.

It's a dog whistle to energize the fascist base. In the past few years, the media has generated much noise about alleged voter fraud that they claim hurts the Republicans - while real election fraud that benefits the GOP is ignored. Anybody who believes this appeal is an idiot, a meth-head, and a racist. It's kind of like when the elder Bush attacked Michael Dukakis for his ACLU support. That attack appealed to people who didn't even have the capacity to vote responsibly.

Long story short: Bill Johnson is a demagogue who lacks ideas.

His campaign pamphlet will make a nice addition to my firewood stash, compost heap, or toilet paper stockpile.

Lawn Chair Quarterback: "Death By A Thousand Yawns"

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to spend the next 10 minutes of your life boring you to tears.

I actually expected the fascist Tea Party today to be a pretty big event. Not huge by any means. But I expected it to be about on par with the one a year ago (when they got heckled during their march around the IRS building).

If I knew the turnout would be just 20 whiners in Colonial-era hats instead of the usual 50, I would have stayed home and worked. I like work, and I'm a busy guy. But keeping an eye on morons like those who make up the Tea Party movement is really part of my job, so I'm not crying (unlike the teabaggers who cry because they have to pay taxes like everybody else).

A boring, lifeless Tea Party produces a drought of material for our latest 'LCQ'. I expected to have loads of material by the end of the event, but instead I had to puff out this episode a bit. In this installment, I'm bicycling home from the Tea Party and talking about what little there was to talk about:

Fascists & fascists & fascists & less fascists

Today was the huge, colossal, gigantic Tea Party rally in Covington, Kentucky.

Yes, the one that drew all of about 20 people.

Seriously. This Tea Party was so wimpy that the entire thing fit under one picnic shelter. Some of our protests against Pathway Family Center drew at least as many people, if not more - despite not being publicized beforehand. But I was standing across the street (along with several counterprotesters) to keep an eye on the Tea Party crybabies, and I saw it all!

Oh, and the title of this entry? It's from that makeshift grave marker the Tea Partiers set up that said "TAXES & TAXES & TAXES & MORE TAXES." Yes, the one that fell over soon after the rally began. I don't know if they set it back up, because this event was so pathetic that I just went home halfway through it.

Long story short: You could hardly hear a word the speakers at this event said. I guess their sound system didn't need to be that loud to reach 20 people. One of few things they said that I could actually hear was when they said we supported gun control. That's a lie. We don't support it.

I also caught bits and pieces of the later harangue in which a speaker tried to claim (falsely) that the Constitution was based on conservative Christianity.

In other words, the usual lies meet a shrinking audience.

Soap operas replaced with nonsense

I'm not a big soap opera fan, but come on!

If a network is going to cancel 2 long-running and highly rated daytime dramas, they should at least replace them with something else that might be at least watchable. But in today's climate of corporate media, that's too much to ask, I guess.

I was shocked today to discover that ABC is canceling 'All My Children' and 'One Life To Live'. The cancellation of the former is particularly shocking, for I'm actually somewhat familiar with 'All My Children' because my mom has watched it regularly for 40 years.

The real outrage is what ABC is replacing these 2 soaps with. One of ABC's 2 new shows is about "health and lifestyle transformations", and each week will deal with one woman's 5-month weight loss regimen.

Really??? Like there aren't enough shows like that already???

Is ABC just completely out of its fucking mind? (Yes.)

One thing is for absolute certain: The new shows aren't going to get the ratings 'All My Children' has. That's an outright guarantee. You can't replace the entertainment of a long-running soap with a facsimile of the zillion weight-loss shows that already fill the airwaves.

I bet ABC gets gobs of hate mail about this! Viewers have already announced their intent to boycott ABC entirely. One apologist for ABC said the only people who are upset are middle-aged women. But I'm a man, and I think ABC's decision is plumb stupid.

It never ceases to amaze me how people in charge of TV and radio outlets make such idiotic decisions yet keep their jobs. It's like having Waiter Grover in charge. Meanwhile, nobody else has been able to find a damn job for 10 years.

(Source: http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/14/all-my-children-one-life-to-live-canceled)