The LSOS are at it again…
Posted by Michelle Moquin on April 10th, 2012
…doing what they do best….lie, Lie, LIE.
Good morning!
Hey, Etch A Sketch Conservatives: Time to Resurrect Some Honesty
A spring awash with Etch A Sketch conservatives, camera-wielding GOP con men and a bogus deficit reduction budget from House Republicans shows that for the right, wrong is justified when it achieves the desired results.
A perfect example of this political philosophy is the work of James E. O’Keefe III, a right-wing, unsupervised, unaccountable, self-appointed and self-styled “investigative journalist” who has violated federal law, lied about his identity and deceitfully cut and pasted video to destroy what he perceives as liberal institutions.
Oddly for the party that claims conservative Christians as key constituents, O’Keefe’s misbehavior is celebrated by GOP talking heads — the likes of Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. That encourages copycats. The New York Times last week told the tale of one. John M. Howting, a bungling video scam man, sees himself as an O’Keefe apostle.
Honorable journalists abide by an ethics code forbidding lying to secure a story. For them, the end does not justify the means. By contrast, for O’Keefe and today’s Etch A Sketch conservatives, the end they want vindicates any scheme to secure it. Deliberate lying, cynical deceit, cut-and-paste deception — all of that is rationalized by conservatives to get their way. It’s a lovely escape clause they’ve written for themselves from that annoying Judeo-Christian thou-shalt-not-lie commandment.
O’Keefe wannabe John M. Howting tried clumsily to trod in his disgraced mentor’s footsteps, lying about his name, who he represented and his intentions in a failed effort to discredit a couple of what he perceived to be liberal New York community groups.
O’Keefe had better luck. This right-wing rebel without a conscience lied about his name, who he represented and his intentions in successful efforts to manipulate some targets into saying stupid stuff, which he surreptitiously recorded. His deceptive and distorted films destroyed ACORN and damaged other groups he considered progressive. Despite O’Keefe’s liberal use of the Commandment escape clause, he became conservatives’ golden boy.
Among right-wing talk show hosts who urged their conservative Christian listeners to praise the con wasBill O’Reilly, who said O’Keefe should be awarded a Congressional medal. Not so worshiping were federal prosecutors who charged O’Keefe with misrepresenting himself in an attempted phone hacking at the office of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. O’Keefe pleaded guilty. And not so revering was the California state attorney general who determined that O’Keefe’s sliced-and-diced video misrepresented the actions of ACORN workers.
Conforming to the conservatives’ philosophy of wrong-is-right-if-the-right-benefits is GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Like a Judas, he betrayed his own health insurance program.
Romney contended that requiring everyone to get health insurance — known as the individual mandate — was good when he was governor of Massachusetts and signed Romneycare, which includes it. As Congress considered health care reform, Romney repeatedly said Romneycare should be the model for the nation. But later when conservatives blasted the individual mandate in Obamacare, Romney sold out his Massachusetts plan, saying an individual mandate was not good for the nation.
Similarly, in 1994 during Romney’s failed campaign for U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy’s seat, Romney and his wifeattended a Planned Parenthood fundraiser and she donated $150 to the group. But now, in pursuit of the vote of the anti-abortion Christian right, Romney no longer likes Planned Parenthood so much, promising:
“Planned Parenthood, we’re going to get rid of that.”
Are those switches adorable little flip-flops or calculated lying? The comments of a chief Romney aide, Eric Fehrnstrom, show they are calculated. A reporter asked Fehrnstrom how Romney would appeal to crucial middle-of-the-road voters in the fall after taking such hard right positions in the spring to win the primary. Fehrnstrom compared the campaign to an Etch A Sketch:
So, basically, tell the conservative Christian primary voters one thing. Then tell the mainstream general election voters something else. This is the campaign of the GOP frontrunner, the party’s likely standard-bearer. This is who most Republicans voted for.
It makes sense really. Apparently Republicans don’t expect the truth. Look at the Ryan budget. He calls it the Path to Prosperity. The nation went down this road of tax cuts for the rich and program cuts for the middle class before, under Bush II, and it was a one-way road to increased income inequality. Voodoo trickle-down economics is a path to prosperity only for the already prosperous.
Congressman Paul Ryan contends his budget is a deficit-buster, that it would shrink the deficit to 1.2 percent of the gross domestic product by 2022 — which is exactly the same place where the country would be if it did nothing, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. In addition, the cumulative 10-year deficits under Ryan’s plan would be $200 billion higher than just doing nothing. No busting going on there.
The GOP wants conservative Christian votes so badly it’s willing to break those set-in-stone rules conservative Christians revere. Frankly, it’s surprising this behavior doesn’t make conservative Christians cross. Republicans might consider resurrecting respect for the 9th Commandment if they want to avoid a Christian right inquisition into their Etch A Sketch positions.
***
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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April 10th, 2012 at 7:01 am
Zen Lill, what has gotten into you? That was a write I could have made myself. You told ole Steveno a thing or two. But what you really said to women was what I loved.
Oh, and to my peeps whose men have been baggering them because I and my ilk frightened off Howie tell them they can kiss my ass, your men not you, of course.
I’ll liet the rest of you speak for yourselves.
Alycedale
April 10th, 2012 at 7:02 am
Republicans have been bullsh*tting and slinging mud for as long as I can remember. The Dems are not blameless, but they look like freaking saints compared with the blatant falsehoods the GOP tell every day like it’s nothing.
They have realized they will not win on their on platform, and have taken up a strategy that is 100% lies and slander.
April 10th, 2012 at 7:12 am
Whatever was dredged up from the Marianna Trench, the US navy is pulling out all the stops as during their annual Exercise Citadel Pacific.
Naval installations throughout the U.S. Pacific command area, which includes the Marianas, Hawaii, Japan and Singapore have added special exercises designed to keep secret the transportation of the stuff and to protect it from interception of any kind.
So, what’s up Howie, if you are back from your Galaxy explorations?
Mike
April 10th, 2012 at 7:21 am
Surprising Memory Booster
When you think about nicotine, it’s likely that negative words like “addiction” and “cigarettes” come to mind.
But what if I were to tell you that there’s a new use for nicotine that actually may be beneficial to the brain…and that it might not be so dangerous?
A new study shows that the substance may help improve memory in certain people. So I did some digging to find out what all the buzz was about…
WHEN YOUR MIND SLIPS AWAY
There are some people who have severe memory loss, such as people suffering from Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, but far more people experience a less severe form of memory loss called mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
MCI is more than just everyday forgetfulness—it’s the stage between normal forgetfulness and the onset of dementia (though not everyone with MCI will develop dementia).
MCI might include, for example, having trouble with everyday problem solving (such as balancing a checkbook), forgetting recent conversations or occasionally struggling with hobbies you once enjoyed because you can’t remember the steps.
There are no drugs that are proven to help MCI, but a researcher at Vanderbilt University’s Center for Cognitive Medicine in Nashville recently made an interesting find:
The nicotine in the patches that are currently used to help people quit smoking seem to help improve memory in people with MCI.
ONE STIMULATING SUBSTANCE
The researchers enrolled 67 seniors (average age 76), all of whom were current nonsmokers with MCI. They were given a series of memory and cognitive tests.
Then half of them started wearing nicotine patches (one 15-milligram patch for 16 hours each day) for six months, while the other half wore placebo patches.
The study was “double blind,” so neither the participants nor the researchers working directly with them knew which patches contained nicotine.
When the subjects were given memory tests again after six months, the patients receiving nicotine showed improvements in memory on several tests, while the placebo group did not show improvements on any tests (and sometimes showed declines).
For example, on one particular long-term memory test, the nicotine-patch group improved by 46%, while the placebo group declined by 26%.
The researchers aren’t sure whether the memory improvements seen in the nicotine group lasted longer than six months—and if so, for how long—because the subjects weren’t followed for more than six months, but future studies will attempt to answer that question. T
he study was published in the January 2012 issue of Neurology. To find out why nicotine may have had this effect, I called Paul A. Newhouse, MD, director of the center and the lead author.
THE POWER OF THE PATCH
Dr. Newhouse noted that nicotine stimulates parts of the brain that act as receptors of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that is linked to attention, which is important for learning and memory.
In Alzheimer’s patients and in those with advanced dementia, there tend to be fewer receptors, but in patients with MCI there are more, so the researchers thought it might work…and it appears to.
Now what are the risks, you may be wondering?
From what Dr. Newhouse found in this study (and from what other studies about the effects of the patches have shown), there aren’t many.
None of the participants developed an addiction to nicotine, including those who were former smokers, although it is possible that long-term use of nicotine patches could lead to addiction.
A few had mild nausea and dizziness at first—much like you would when smoking for the first time. The only noticeable side effect was weight loss, which isn’t a surprise as nicotine is an appetite suppressant.
It’s also possible that users could require higher and higher doses of the nicotine for it to continue to be effective, which would increase risk for side effects.
The 15-mg dosage might seem high (a cigarette contains roughly 1 mg of nicotine), but with the patch, the nicotine is delivered at a slow, steady rate throughout the day, and lesser amounts are absorbed through the skin than through smoking. And there’s no known cancer risk with the patches.
Nicotine patches are available over-the-counter, but Dr. Newhouse stresses that you shouldn’t start using them just because you think that you’re forgetful.
Why? For one, larger studies need to be done to prove whether the nicotine is as helpful as this initial study makes it seem—Dr. Newhouse calls the early results “encouraging,” but that doesn’t make them definitive.
Two, if you aren’t suffering from MCI, putting on a nicotine patch can actually lead to too much stimulation in your brain and make it hard to concentrate.
And three, you shouldn’t self-diagnose your cognitive function—because you might be dealing with something more serious than you realize.
“Consult a physician or get evaluated at a memory clinic before trying a nicotine patch or any form of treatment,” said Dr. Newhouse.
In the end, this will be interesting research to watch. It might just be that, though smoking is bad for you, a nicotine patch could do some good.
Source: Paul A. Newhouse, MD, director, Center for Cognitive Medicine, and professor of psychiatry and Jim Turner Professor of Cognitive Disorders, department of psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, both in Nashville.
April 10th, 2012 at 7:30 am
Ronald Reagan their poster child for Lying sack of shit politicians started the tell any lie depending on who you were trying to influence. He is the god of their Voo Doo Economics.
Ruby
April 10th, 2012 at 7:30 am
Holder is a fraud as an attorney general. The left is power mad. Thank you o’keefe for once again coming to the aid of your country. You sre an imperfect hero.
April 10th, 2012 at 7:36 am
Michelle, the republicans don’t have to worry about any revolt from the Christian Right because of their violating one of the 10 Commandments.
The Christian Right has no claim to any real religious values. They are racists, bigots, and will support anyone who mouths whichever religious edict being given them at the time.
Those that aren’t out right hypocrites are idiots. The rest are tiny penises men who will follow any sect that tells their ignorant women that god made man the boss of them.
Diego
April 10th, 2012 at 7:39 am
You liberals should perhaps take a bit of your own advice.
The media subscribes to a “code of ethics” that keeps them from identifying who they are? Except, when they don’t evidently.
The Food Lion scandal. The “exploding” pick-up truck by NBC. And numerous “hidden camera” interviews and investigations in which someone was “tricked”.
O’Keefe isn’t the first to use the tactic, Gerard, nor will he be the last. He may be the first, however, to use it on a Democrat protected racket like ACORN. Oh, and BTW, the California AG is a Democrat, so small wonder she might take offense at O’Keefe.
It’s easy to criticize a Republican budget as well, isn’t it Gerard? Especially when the Democrats haven’t introduced one in over 3 years now, and the two that Dear Leader Obama have offered went down to 97-0 and 411-0 respectively, in defeat.
So, Romney’s political postion on abortion has changed? Funny, you didn’t mention that AlGore’s postition changed as well before he ran as VP on Clinton’s ticket, did you? Oh yeah, Big Al the environment’s pal was all pro-life up to then.
And I could go on and on about the AFL-CIO’s lies on right-to-work legislation, their shadow involvement in the Occupy movement, and how they want every worker to be able to “make up their own mind” about unionizing. But then, Gerard, you already know those lies don’t you?
April 10th, 2012 at 7:41 am
“Deliberate lying, cynical deceit, cut-and-paste deception”
You’ve obviously not been introduced to the 11th, 12th and 13th commandments that have been included in special bibles for conservative evangelicals.
They include the removal of those awkward bits such as camels and the eye of a needle and loving thy neighbour etc. You can get one online at http://www.convenientchristianity.com ;)
April 10th, 2012 at 7:47 am
A common cause in America should be transparency from Congress and a return to a democracy that works for ALL the citizens.
The GOP does not offer that, the candidates have shown they are more interested in defeating Obama than talk about how they will achieve their “more of the same” agenda.
We all know how, more deceit, less transparency and deregulations that only help Wall St. The option is clear, we are the 99% and our common cause is to protect our democracy from the fraudulent practices of free unregulated markets .
April 10th, 2012 at 7:54 am
KE, the Unions did not hide their involvement in the Occupy movement. That was the lie the republicans made trying to claim the TEA Party was a grass roots invention.
The AFL-CIO openly supported the Occupy movement that questioned the democracy-killing wealth accumulation and power of the 1 percent.
Actually Michelle term Etch A Sketch is just a different play on your Lying Sack of Shit classification. Once again you are at the forefront of the political and social winds.
Continue to lead.
Donna
April 10th, 2012 at 7:58 am
The Right can put an end to their hated Unions in this country. All they have to do is pay the workers a decent wage and give them good working conditions.
But that would make sense only if the Right was against low wages and bad working conditions rather than the ability of the workers to organize against those conditions.
Kathleen
April 10th, 2012 at 8:00 am
GOP has been hired by ALEC and Koch brothers to promote their selfish agenda (cheap plentiful labor so they can make even more $) long ago.
All GOP representatives are being ruled by Grover Norquist who openly says that if they don’t obey his rules they don’t get re-elected.
In other words, the Republican politicians have long been bought and paid for, and those who vote for them are so poorly educated that they don’t even know how to switch their TV channels from FOX (faux) TV
So what can you expect from them?
April 10th, 2012 at 8:06 am
The Sleep Cure for Blood Sugar Balance
If you (or someone in your family) has diabetes and you do your best to manage your blood sugar levels throughout the day, yet your levels often are still curiously high, a new study has shed light on why that might be the case.
Getting poor-quality sleep at night may be secretly sabotaging your blood sugar—even when you’re doing everything right!
And this is a recipe for diaster.
So I called study author Michelle Perfect, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology, disability and psychoeducational studies at The University of Arizona in Tucson to find out more.
A CHICKEN-AND-EGG CONUNDRUM
This study was done on kids with type 1 diabetes, but as you’ll see later, this news about sleeping applies to all types of diabetics of all ages.
The study: Fifty children ages 10 to 16 with type 1 diabetes were compared with a matching number of similarly aged kids without the condition.
Participants underwent a home-based sleep study for five nights, wearing equipment that measured their blood sugar, sleep stage (one of four stages ranging from light to heavy), speed of breathing and heart rate.
Parents and children also answered questions about topics such as mood level and amount of daytime sleepiness. School records were obtained to analyze grades. And the kids and their parents were told to administer insulin as they normally would.
The findings, which appeared in the January 2012 issue of Sleep, were intriguing. Children in the control group (no diabetes) spent 19% of their sleep time in deep sleep, while children with diabetes spent only 15% of their sleep time in deep sleep.
Sleep apnea—a serious condition that causes dangerous pauses in breathing during sleep and awakenings during the night and that heightens risk for heart attack and stroke—was experienced by about one-third of the children with diabetes.
Compared with the control group, the diabetics were more likely to have high blood sugar, which was expected, said Dr. Perfect, since very few kids achieve perfect glucose control.
But interestingly, the diabetic kids with sleep apnea had much higher blood sugar levels compared with diabetic kids who did not have sleep apnea.
So that raises the question—does poor-quality sleep cause blood sugar irregularities, or do these sugar fluctuations lead to troubled sleep?
It could be either or both, said Dr. Perfect, who didn’t set out to answer that question and told me that more research needs to be done to figure out the answer.
There are theories supporting both angles. For example, prior studies from other research teams established that not getting enough deep sleep causes the brain to release less of a chemical that helps stabilize blood glucose levels.
But on the other hand, Dr. Perfect told me that if you have diabetes, you may sometimes need to get up in the middle of the night to check your blood sugar, so having diabetes may also cause more sleep disturbances, though that wasn’t specifically analyzed in this study.
It’s also possible that poor blood glucose control—such as not administering enough insulin at the proper times—could lead to sleep problems.
TIPS FOR SOLID SHUT-EYE
When I asked Dr. Perfect whether these findings might apply to adults with type 1 diabetes and anyone with type 2 diabetes, she said that her findings support what other studies on type 2 diabetics and sleep have found—the better your sleep, the better your blood sugar control.
So people of any age with diabetes should pay close attention to how well they’re sleeping and should ask their family members to keep an ear out for lots of snoring or gasping while sleeping—a sign of sleep apnea, which is dangerous and would require immediate attention from a doctor.
Dr. Perfect advises diabetics of all ages to ask themselves the following questions…
—Most of the time, do I feel refreshed when I wake up?
—Am I easily awoken during the night?
If the answer to these questions is “no” and then “yes,” then Dr. Perfect advises that you talk to your doctor, because it may mean that you’re not getting enough deep sleep.
There isn’t any quick trick that can make you sleep deeply throughout the night, but you can be more diligent about ensuring good sleep habits—including minimizing light and noise in the bedroom…
abstaining from caffeine and stimulating activities such as exercising or Web surfing near bedtime…and keeping your bedroom a little cooler than the rest of the house.
Quality sleep is important for everyone—and, it seems, even more so if you have diabetes.
Source: Michelle M. Perfect, PhD, assistant professor, school psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson.
April 10th, 2012 at 8:32 am
There is so much corruption going on, we need a lot more heroes like James O’Keefe!
Keep up the great work, James!
April 10th, 2012 at 8:34 am
Romney will say anything to get elected. And when placed in a position in giving his real views on any subject he usually just punts.
He will be George Bush, II. Just the way many in the GOP like it, another puppet to do their dirty work.
April 10th, 2012 at 8:39 am
I think you need to redefine your definition of what a hero is. Does this miserable excuse for a human being really deserve hero status given his penchant for lying, deceit and a general attitude of donig whatever he wants as long as he gets what he wants? Yeah, some hero.
April 10th, 2012 at 8:46 am
SB you are absolutely correct. Can you believe what Romney told Dmitry Medvedev a few weeks ago about being able to be more “flexible” with the Russians regarding our national defense after the election?
I also remember how in ’08, Romney committed to cutting our annual deficit in half by the end of his first term, only to grow it more than anyone in history?
Romney is such–. . . wha? . . . you mean that was our current President that said those things?
Well, I heard Romney wanted to undermine 200 years of legal precedence in strongarming GM and Chrysler bondholders to giving up their rightful and legal positions in front of Unions in the order of payment priority. Lucky he wasn’t elected, or that would impact corporate bonding rates for years to come because you never know when another crooked Republican President will try something like that agai—. . . oh, that actually happened? And it was our current President that did that, too?
How the hades does our current President stand a snowball’s chance in hell of being reelected? Do people really not pay attention to what is happening in Washington (and Chicago)?
April 10th, 2012 at 9:20 am
If my brothers are any indication it will be very difficult for Obama to get the white male vote. They are dems or they were before Obama. Now they use every excuse to claim they are not voting for Obama because of his race.
They literally intimidated by this handsome, intelligent black man. If mom or one of my sisters or their wives mention Obama they get up and leave the room.
They can’t think for being ruled by their penis envy hatred. My sister in-law said Louis refused to allow her to put replace the portrait of Bush with the new President Obama in their home.
During the Bush years he constantly complained about having to replace Clinton’s picture with Bush. But he explained to their children that this was a democracy and that is what made our country different and strong. We accept and respect the President elected by the people even if we didn’t vote for the choice.
But when Obama was elected he refused to allow a tradition that has been a part of his family for generations to continue, hanging the newly elected President’s portrait over the Fireplace in the livingroom.
The hypocrisy is not lost on his four children aged 14 through 22. Three see it as racism and bigotry. The eldest boy says dad has a point.
White men are just too afraid of sexual competition with black men.
Rose
April 10th, 2012 at 9:43 am
Etch a sketch, love it, that’s exactly what they do when they speak, speak then erase the parts they either didn’t mean or the party didn’t like and start again…pretty pathetic. The GOP is very short on candidates so they’ve got to do whatever they can to build this one up, Romney running the US show is a scary prospect….
HI Misch : )
Alycedale, I laughed when I read your comment. It’s funny, if people like what I say or they perceive it to be ‘right’ then suddenly ‘I’ve’ changed, if you don’t like what I say suddenly I’m under fire for male approval seeking and you can ‘expect that from Zen Lill’ – questionable if you stop and think about that. & hmmm,…the fact is: I seek approval re: my opinions from no one, I just do what I do, think what I think, feel what I feel and attempt to report any of it here from an energetic/vibrational/feeling place, often I’m not vehement enough in my delivery and then I get the slamming…I’m good at handling the critiquing, we all have an opinion. It hasn’t and won’t change who I am, though I will credit this forum for supplying a microcosm of the world so we can all see how like/unlike we are in our manner/culture/customs/principles/etc…it never ceases to amaze me in that regard.
…and btw, Steverino deserved that and any female going to see the movie (and I might) keep in mind it is written by a man for women bc it is perceived that we want a relationship more than they do, by all my assessments, that seems to be a 50/50 proposition now, women don’t want to cater to a man or keep up her side of the deal when men are busy thinking of themselves first, oh all that and most males still think women should do the lion’s share of house work as well, (such a deal!). Dudes, stop acting like your god’s gift bc frankly, 90% of you are not and the other 10% are too busy living it to care how they’re perceived, they’re busy pleasing and being pleased…
Luv, Zen Lill
April 11th, 2012 at 8:07 am
The lies are all comming from Conservative Republicans, and they know it.
They are desperate now, knowing that their War on Women has alienated over half of the voting electorate, and now that Obama has a 20 percentage point lead over them in the polls.
They are resulting to the same old lies, smears and obstructionist rhetoric that they managed to use to great success in stealing the Presdency from Al Gore, who won the popular vote and in convincing the 2010 electorate to send them back to the federal and state legislatures and governor mansions.
The result is an undisguised attack on OTWs and women.
April 11th, 2012 at 8:10 am
Al, how are you doing? Is the body healing well? Hope it isn’t too difficult for you.
Linda
April 11th, 2012 at 8:18 am
Good Tuesday morning to you. We have a great story that hasn’t received a lot of attention in the media from David today. The Labor Department, along with the Obama administration, plan to drastically alter the way federal contractors should do their hiring. It’s a must read down below.
Bob Maginnis’ analysis on the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise in Egypt is live today. The National Security Council says the radical Muslim group has a ‘prominent role’ to play in Egypt’s political future. Bob looks at the ramifications and how it all could play out.
In the race for the White House, it seems Michigan independents are shifting to Romney, bolstering his chances in that battleground state. It is early, but the former Massachusetts governor has closed the gap on President Obama according to the latest poll in that state.
Also – a new study has found that the health care law will add $340 billion to the deficit. I’d imagine those independents in Michigan aren’t going to be happy about that, and maybe Mr. Romney will close the gap even more there and other states where independents are a key voting block. The story on the new study is in our around the web section.
That’s all from us here, have a great Tuesday.
-Adam
April 11th, 2012 at 8:24 am
Another Tsunami is threatening Indonesia. I saw people running and crying and others screamed “God is great” as they poured from their homes or searched frantically for separated family members.”
Seriously? God is great for potentially creating another massively destructive tsunami? Oh yeah, religion is such a wonderful thing lol.
I’d rather Howie’s idea of God(s). Beings that created this stuff and then promptly forgot about what they did so they can enjoy the drama.
Cool
Doug
April 11th, 2012 at 8:28 am
Michelle, Fox won a lawsuit so they could lie to their viewers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Akre. That should get the entire network a place in your Lying Sack of Shits Club.
But what cracks me up is the fact that their viewers know this and believe them anyway.
Wow, how stupid does someone have to be to believe the lies of fox, apparently not much from what I can see….
Belinda
April 11th, 2012 at 8:31 am
Belinda, you have the nerve to criticize the largest, most popular cable news network this country has ever seen!
Like I said if you want lies tune to MSNBC, one of the smallest, least popular cable networks in the country.
You should reconsider where you get your news. Fox is not the only network to watch. There are others.
April 11th, 2012 at 8:33 am
Just because there are a lot of couch potatoes with tiny reasoning skills sitting around listening to fox, says nothing at all.
April 11th, 2012 at 8:34 am
If government would get out of the way of a truly free enterprise system, you could see major improvements…….Your a genius!
You noticed how well things went when they reduced the government oversite of Wall Street and you figure if we can just do that with all business’s we would be screwing our heads on strait. Friggen genius I tell ya.
April 11th, 2012 at 8:36 am
Valeria, logic and common sense just went over your head, and you missed. Fox is the largest, most popular cable news channel, and only one of the many channels that I receive information.
Then I decide for myself what I want to believe based on my moral and ethical standards. If there are any ignorant couch potatoes it is the liberal/regressive/socialist/marxist/communist mentality sitting around waiting for big government to give them something that real workers pay for.
Pay attention. You’ll learn something.
April 11th, 2012 at 8:39 am
Actually, It’s you MM who should “pay attention.” Then “you’ll learn something.” Like fox lies, a lot.
I don’t know what your moral compass tells you but your common sense needs a tune up too.
April 11th, 2012 at 8:42 am
WM, Nope! Not a genius; just logical. To be sure, government regulators were not doing their job allowing mismanagement of those firms. Just as oil company regulators were not doing their job allowing the BP oil spill.
Much of both situations could have been prevented with quality people in regulatory positions.
Here’s a short lesson in History. Our Wall Street problems started in 1977 when Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act.
Then organizations, like ACORN, threatened banks if they did not make loans in areas where the borrower was not qualified. Banks sold these loans to Fannie and Freddie; thus, eventually creating financial problems for Fannie & Freddie.
To compete Wall Street banks started accepting those bad loans, too. Our economic growth during the later Clinton years and the early Bush years was mostly on borrowed money.
So many people were spending money they did not have, and business was good. When the economy slowed it had devastating results; thus, perpetuating itself. Y
ou, and Obama can learn much from history, especially economic history.
April 11th, 2012 at 8:42 am
WM, Nope! Not a genius; just logical. To be sure, government regulators were not doing their job allowing mismanagement of those firms. Just as oil company regulators were not doing their job allowing the BP oil spill.
Much of both situations could have been prevented with quality people in regulatory positions.
Here’s a short lesson in History. Our Wall Street problems started in 1977 when Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act.
Then organizations, like ACORN, threatened banks if they did not make loans in areas where the borrower was not qualified. Banks sold these loans to Fannie and Freddie; thus, eventually creating financial problems for Fannie & Freddie.
To compete Wall Street banks started accepting those bad loans, too. Our economic growth during the later Clinton years and the early Bush years was mostly on borrowed money.
So many people were spending money they did not have, and business was good. When the economy slowed it had devastating results; thus, perpetuating itself. Y
You, and Obama can learn much from history, especially economic history.
April 11th, 2012 at 8:45 am
MM, sure you’re right, if businesses could just get rid of those restrictive air & water & ground pollution mandates by the EPA, free enterprise in this country could REALLY COMPETE with the smog-choked skies & cancer-causing rivers of China & other third world countries, not to mention the profits that could be made by major corporations when they implement $2.00 an hour wages!
Yeah, that sounds like the way to encourage the growth of the American Dream for the top 1%! And AN AMERICAN NIGHTMARE for everyone ELSE!
Hey wait a minute! Wasn’t it a Republican President that ended slavery? I wonder what he’d think about people who claim to be from HIS party trying to re-instate SLAVERY & ROBBER-BARONS?
I’m waiting to hear you guys start touting the ECONOMICAL BENEFITS OF A “COMPANY STORE!”
April 11th, 2012 at 8:47 am
Kellog, logic and common sense just passed over your head, too!
There is a place for government, but our government has gotten too big, too intrusive, and too regulatory taking away some of our individual freedoms.
Why do you think so many states are suing the federal government over various mandates?
April 11th, 2012 at 8:49 am
MM, that’s pure BS. Not one of those alleged “GOP jobs bills” had one thing to do with jobs.
Every one of them was a blatant attempt to gut a safety or health regulation, eliminate a fee, a child-labor prohibition, the minimum wage, worker-comp protections, etc, etc, etc, each time claiming with no evidence that the regulation, rule, fee, or restriction was a “job killer.”
For the GOP, the secret to creating jobs is more discrimination against workers, less safety for workers, a more toxic environment, crookeder banks, crippled unions, and more incentives to offshore competitors.
Must be, because that’s 100% of what you’ve proposed.
April 11th, 2012 at 8:50 am
DT, I’m assuming that you have read 30+ bills the House has sent to the Senate so that you know the “GOP jobs bills” had nothing to do with jobs. I doubt it.
You are listening to left wing biased news reports that few other people regard as credible. You must be the only viewer MSNBC has!
April 11th, 2012 at 8:57 am
Ok let me get this straight the republican plans are:
Cut Food Stamps
Cut Planned Parenthood
Cut Medicaid
Cut Medicare
Cut Unemployment
Make all abortions illegal
Make all contraception illegal
Who is going to raise all of these children? Some who will be born with both physical and mental problems? Hello, who is going to raise these children, where will the healthcare come from?
April 11th, 2012 at 8:59 am
MM, I don’t own a TV but I do read. If you can read the posts on Michelle’s blog, you have the wherewithal to read the bills.
You don’t have to read every word of those GOP bills; in 30 seconds each you can see the only thing about them that has to do with jobs is the word “Jobs” that was added to the title just to fool people like you.
April 11th, 2012 at 9:03 am
Too bad you can’t get this kind of honesty from the white anchors on “Today.”
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At least one former “Today” alum was not impressed with the show’s decision to bring in Sarah Palin as a co-host last week.
Bryant Gumbel, who led the show for fifteen years and returned to “Today” for its sixtieth anniversary reunion show, told Howard Kurtz that he was “embarrassed” by the move.
April 11th, 2012 at 9:05 am
DT: Good for you for not owning a TV.
That ‘tube’ is one of the many things that has helped destroy the family and family life.
I read also, and I read other blogs, not just Michelle’s. That’s why I read Michelle’s to get a different perspective on events in our country and world.
I could listen only to Fox, and read only the Daily Caller, but I don’t do that. I do not listen to MSNBC because of the hate filled rhetoric on that channel.
There are many different opinions about the ‘Jobs’ bills discussed in the House. That’s why we need to read so we know what’s in those bills, unlike so many of our representatives that vote for or against a bill without reading it.
You should get yourself out of the liberal gutter and think for yourself.
April 11th, 2012 at 9:12 am
MM, you are everything that this article says about people like you,http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/07/conservative-politics-low-effort-thinking_n_1410448.html?ref=mostpopular,
You just don’t think, you are just told what to believe and that is the way you like it, because that is so much easier then thinking for your self.
The fact the you read REDSTATE shows that you don’t believe in facts at all, and it shows in your comments.
If you really thought about it, it would mean that you are voting against yourself and your own best interest, and why would you do that to yourself, it just seems stupid…..
April 11th, 2012 at 9:17 am
A CUP OF SUNSHINE? COFFEE DEFENDS AGAINST DEPRESSION
Here’s news that may bring smiles to the faces of coffee lovers. A large new study suggests that drinking caffeinated coffee is associated with a lower rate of depression.
Since other studies have already noted links between coffee drinking and potential protection against type 2 diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and several types of cancer, one might be tempted to say that there are sufficient “grounds” to say that coffee’s health benefits are plenty potent.
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston examined the health data of nearly 51,000 women (average age 63) who were taking part in the Nurses’ Health Study, an ongoing examination of nurses and their health habits.
At the start of the Harvard study, all of the participants were considered “depression free” (no diagnosis of depression from a doctor, no antidepressant use and no severe depressive symptoms per the Mental Health Questionnaire).
Every two years, the women were asked to provide information on their caffeine intake as well as whether or not a physician had diagnosed them with depression or prescribed them an antidepressant.
The study collected data for 10 years — making this one of the few studies to ever look at the long-term effects of caffeine. Among participants, 82% of the caffeine consumed came from coffee and 13% and 6% came from tea and soft drinks, respectively.
What the researchers discovered: The more caffeinated coffee women drank, the less likely they were to become depressed over the course of the study.
For example, women who drank four cups a day were 20% less likely to become depressed than women who drank one or fewer cups a week, and those who drank two to three cups a day had a 15% lower risk.
Women who drank decaffeinated coffee were no more or less likely to be depressed than women who drank no coffee at all, which leads the researchers to believe that caffeine itself might explain the link.
It’s important to note that a “cup” was defined as 150 milliliters, which is about five ounces — less than half the size of a 12-ounce “tall” at Starbucks.
And the researchers aren’t sure if taking your coffee black, with sugar or with milk will make a difference, since those details weren’t studied. The findings were published in the September 26, 2011 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
To try to figure out the answer, I spoke with Michel Lucas, PhD, RD, one of the Harvard epidemiologists who conducted the research.
He told me that previous studies have linked caffeine (found in coffee or anything) with the release of dopamine and serotonin, neurotransmitters in the brain that are associated with enhancing mood temporarily.
But exactly why caffeine may deflect depression over the long term hasn’t yet been pinned down.
And, the coffee study may come as a surprise to many people who connect caffeine consumption with a spike in anxiety — which often goes hand-in-hand with depression.
“A high level of caffeine can increase jitters and nervousness in some people, and could therefore potentially cancel out any mood-enhancing benefit that the caffeinated coffee may bring,” said Dr. Lucas.
And since our reactions to caffeine vary greatly by individual, he added, it’s important to know your limits. “Some people drink three cups of caffeinated coffee in one day and find that they can’t sleep and have anxiety, while others can drink six cups a day with no such effect,” he said.
While this finding may be reassuring for people who drink coffee, Dr. Lucas said it doesn’t mean that if you don’t drink coffee, you should start. This study shows only an association between caffeinated coffee and a low risk for depression — more research needs to be done to see if there is a cause-and-effect relationship.
But if you like coffee and it makes you feel good — this is yet another reason to enjoy your morning cup(s) of Joe!
Source(s):
Michel Lucas, PhD, RD, an epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston.
April 11th, 2012 at 9:18 am
This is all very good conversation politically. But what about the aliens?
Someone write in before this blog loses its Alien connection.
Kent
April 11th, 2012 at 9:23 am
April 11, 2012• Vol. 7, No. 15
Some Get Rich Off Taxpayers in Obama’s Greenback Energy Program
by Newt Gingrich
Dear Fellow Conservative,
Under the Obama Energy Department, a lot of people are winning big by losing the taxpayers’ money. In the government-sponsored green energy industry, working Americans have effectively handed millions in salaries and bonuses to executives of companies on the road to bankruptcy.
At the most famous failed solar company, Solyndra–to which the Obama administration gave a $530 million loan guarantee–several executives were making nearly half a million dollars a year, including large bonuses taken in the months before the company filed for bankruptcy. For them, the failed endeavor was extremely lucrative.
Solyndra was hardly the only taxpayer-backed firm that paid big bonuses while stumbling to bankruptcy, however. As ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity recently uncovered in a report, Beacon Power, which received a $43 million loan guarantee, paid bonuses of about $260,000 to three individuals before going bankrupt last year.
Another company, Ener1, the recipient of a grant worth $118 million, paid its CEO a $450,000 bonus. In January, it, too, filed for bankruptcy.
Supposedly, the Department of Energy approved these loans to foster an industry which the market didn’t come close to supporting. Certainly most Americans, if they knew about the program at all, did not imagine leaders at these startups paying themselves millions in taxpayer dollars.
In 2009, after bailing out many of the country’s financial institutions, President Obama made executive compensation a major political issue, proposing rules to limit it for firms that had received the taxpayer money.
He observed that “what gets people upset — and rightfully so — are executives being rewarded for failure. Especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers.” He said these words just weeks before his administration made its half-billion dollar commitment to Solyndra.
Later that same year, President Obama demanded executives at AIG return their bonuses, asking “How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?”
I have a couple questions of my own.
Why isn’t the President just as concerned about the looting of failed energy startups at taxpayer expense?
Why isn’t he demanding that executives at Solyndra and the other bankrupt green energy firms return their bonuses, since we were keeping those firms afloat with gigantic and unjustified loans?
In truth, the real scandal goes far beyond bonuses and salaries. Many of these companies were dependent on an enormous amount of government support all along–far more than just a little boost to get them going.
Two numbers give you a sense of the scale of the bad energy bets the Obama administration is making. Several weeks ago, in my newsletter on the transition to liquefied natural gas as a less expensive source of fuel, I reported that Chesapeake Energy had invested more than $150 million to build a national network of LNG truck stops–an investment by a private company to be supported by genuine demand.
President Obama, on the other hand, is putting taxpayer money into dozens of risky ventures. Last week yet another green energy firm, Solar Trust of America, declared bankruptcy after having received a $2.1 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy.
That loan guarantee is more than the value of Regal Entertainment, the nation’s largest chain of movie theaters, and about the value of HSN, the Home Shopping Network. It’s one heck of a loan for a startup. And it put taxpayers on the hook for 14 times the amount Chesapeake invested in its far more viable project to build a nationwide natural gas highway.
Of course, there could be a lot more where all this came from. The Energy Department’s current loan program has approved nearly $35 billion in total–more than $110 from every American citizen. Feel like you’re getting your money’s worth?
Your friend,
Newt
April 11th, 2012 at 9:26 am
Howie, once again your predictions are right on.
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BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — A tsunami watch was issued for countries across the Indian Ocean after a massive earthquake hit waters off Indonesia on Wednesday, triggering widespread panic as residents along coastlines fled to high ground in cars and on the backs of motorcycles.
Some were screamed “God is great” as they poured from their homes. Others, separated from relatives, cried as they ran frantically through the streets.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the 8.6-magnitude quake was centered 20 miles (33 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor around 269 miles (434 kilometers) from Aceh’s provincial capital.
The tremor was felt in Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia and India. High-rise apartments and offices on Malaysia’s west coast shook for at least a minute.