Some Brief Thoughts For Thursday Afternoon

- Scott Brown continues to disappoint the Tea Baggers that heralded his coming as the opening salvo of a grand revolution. Too bad for him that his stance on DADT is that it should be repealed.

- I'm almost certain that conservatives know the difference between "rationing" and opting not to offer a specific drug for a specific form of late term cancer because, to put it bluntly, simply does not work.

- Conservatives love to pretend to "follow" the teaching of Jesus. To that end, it's no surprise that someone like Bill O'Reilly would invoke Christ in a poorly constructed piece designed to further the narrative that poor people are poor simply because they want to be.

- Perhaps it's just me, but I am of the belief that elected representatives are - in part - sent to Washington to ensure that proper funding is directed to legit projects in their states/districts. Certainly, there is the chance of abuse - and it has occurred before - but if you're going to be "anti-earmark", you might want to be sure that your name isn't attached to any.

- The new "open internet" proposal - a watered down version of the initial Net Neutrality proposal - is naturally being met with a stern warning from Senate GOP members. I'm still of the opinion that the original language remain and that people that don't understand the very basic concept of Net Neutrality should sit this one out, as they are simply making themselves look even dumber than normal.

A Thesis Drafted From Ignorance

Tony Perkins continues to amaze. How can one man who never served in country in uniform be so certain on the issues of openly gay men and women in the military?



There's a small part of me that actually believes that there will be those who currently serve in the American military that would opt not to re-enlist, or even go AWOL, if DADT is repealed. How would conservative media outlets and people like Perkins and the FRC receive them? Would it be seen as a new form of "patriotism". Considering how the modern conservative movement defines the word, I'm guessing that I'm not too far off the mark in postulating that.

David at Crooks and Liars has more.

And speaking of "patriotism", do people like Perkins - and whomever this blitheringly ignorant clown he's speaking to is - think that only straight men and women are capable of having such a deep connection with their country that they would be willing to lay down their lives for it? My guess is yes.

Some Thoughts For Your Evening

- Sharon Angle is positioning herself to be probably the biggest Tea Bagger on the planet. She favors everything from abolishing income tax to shutting down the Dept. of Education. Considering she has the backing of The Tea Party Express and Club For Growth, there's going to be a lot of money behind this woman. The next step will likely be a debut on Fox"News" where her ability to memorize the more fringe talking points will be tested. Let the background checking begin.

- Conservatives hate when they are in a position where they have to answer for the administration(s) they championed as "saviors for America" are actually culpable in tragedies for this country. They hate it so much that they refuse to answer such valid claims. This is no different when it comes to the well recorded history of impropriety of the Bush era MMS. Accountability - conservatives love to preach it but rarely ( if ever ) practice it.

- It will never cease to be funny - conservatives shouting that they demand action from the Obama administration and when there is action they engage in a collective whine that would make even the most grizzled of daycare workers scream in blood curdling horror. So, when Obama laid out some serious action regarding deep water drilling rigs, guess what happened?

- You would think that in the mostly advanced world that we live in today that Democrats would have evolved along with many of us in the liberal/progressive movement. This, however, simply isn't true, and the upcoming vote on the repeal of DADT is going to prove this. It appears that some House Democrats simply don't want to talk about repealing DADT. Far too many Dems are really good at talking a big game and not following through. They are almost as much trouble as the Republicans we have to deal with.

- Indoctrination and the modern conservative movement are quite comfortable bedfellows. Well, when it comes to indoctrination people into the "Christian lifestyle". Michelle Bachman, a very vocal opponent of Obama speaking to school kids via a video, is all in favor of military chaplains preaching at non-religious events.

Some Thoughts For Your Morning

- When reading something like this you get a much clearer picture as to why this is aptly referred to as Bush's oil disaster. After all, when your administration is allowing a regulatory body to shirk their duties, then you bare the lion's share of responsibility when a dangerous practice like off-shore drilling goes horribly wrong.

- I appears that we are close to an end of DADT. It wasn't until I became quite politically minded about my country that I started to ask this question - why would anyone deny a person to serve their country? After all, from my perspective at least, the implementation of this absurd law was one of the low points of the Clinton administration. And many of those that whole heartedly supported this law either never served in the armed forces or have a seriously canted perspective of what "patriotism" means.

- I'm not about to claim that all Republicans are guilty of sedition, but one has to but look back just a few years at the more reasoned and logical complaints of liberals/progressives against the Bush administration and realize that they pale in comparison to the level of vitriol and hate leveled at Barack Obama. Sedition? On the part of some, quite possibly. Ignorance? 100% across the board.

- Fox"News" loves the editing bay at the studios. They do their best to make Bill O'Reilly look like his brainstem is fully attached at least half the week. Palin can barely exist on her own outside of the Fox"News" environment without being heavily edited so it's a given that she needs it. But what Fox really loves to do is edit footage of Democrats in order to make a hamfisted point that their easily lead fanbase will accept as the gospel truth. This is no less true for what has recently been done to Obama when he gave the commencement speech at West Point.

- I can recall when AIDS was first spoken about in the media. I was quite young and didn't really comprehend that this was about to become a health issue of global proportions and that America was sitting idly on their hands while people died. I guess that South Carolina favors that stance again.

Gays Would Allow A Terrorist Victory

That essentially the argument that Missouri State Representative Gary Nodler offered while debating the repeal of DADT.

Nodler at one point suggested that being openly gay in the military "in and of itself" could be grounds for a sexual harassment complaint by another serviceman, and characterized Don't Ask Don't Tell as a way to accommodate gays' service "in a way that doesn't create a hostile workplace."

He later said allowing gays to serve openly could represent a "cultural affront" to societies in which the U.S. military is active, "so you would create specific geopolitical strategic dilemmas for the U.S. military -- specifically in the war in Afghanistan."

To which Schissel replied, "Your argument holds no water in the fact that we currently have women serving in the military. The Taliban are no great fans of women doing anything other than staying at home."

This isn't that suprising, as Republicans are all to eager to politicize terrorism and the continuing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. But Nodler's ignorance on the matter shines just as brightly since gays are already serving in the armed forced - a point that echoes Schissel's statements regarding the reality of women currently serving as well.

While Nodler is denying he ever made such a statement, this situation provides further context to John Brennan's claims that the GOP uses the spectre of terrorism as a political weapon.

Questioning Professinalism

And that's exactly what conservatives that are opposed to repealing DADT are doing - telling everyone that those that serve in the military aren't professional enough to handle serving with someone that is openly gay.

From Sprigg to Perkins to Retired Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis - these men are making it crystal clear that they believe the members of the military lack professionalism.

Even John McCain is taking this route.

The ignorance and fearmongering surrounding this issue isn't surprising, and that is a sad fact to have to realize.

Then again, we are talking about the party that has let it's fringe take over since last year.

It's All About Communication

I'm wondering if there is any tension now in the McCain household(s) after Cindy posed for this



...and John McCain said this?

Does "Mavericky-ness" work on your wife?

But guess who else is siding against McCain now.