The Ledes

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Washington Post: “ John Amos, a running back turned actor who appeared in scores of TV shows — including groundbreaking 1970s programs such as the sitcom 'Good Times' and the epic miniseries 'Roots' — and risked his career to protest demeaning portrayals of Black characters, died Aug. 21 in Los Angeles. He was 84.” Amos's New York Times obituary is here.

New York Times: “Pete Rose, one of baseball’s greatest players and most confounding characters, who earned glory as the game’s hit king and shame as a gambler and dissembler, died on Monday. He was 83.”

The Ledes

Monday, September 30, 2024

New York Times: “Kris Kristofferson, the singer and songwriter whose literary yet plain-spoken compositions infused country music with rarely heard candor and depth, and who later had a successful second career in movies, died at his home on Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday. He was 88.”

~~~ The New York Times highlights “twelve essential Kristofferson songs.”

The Wires
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Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

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The Commentariat -- July 24, 2012

** "Mayberry, R.I.P." Frank Rich looks over the apocalyptic literature heralding the End of American Exceptionalism & does a very nice job of demonstrating how his old colleagues Tom Friedman & David Brooks -- among many other Very Serious People -- are evah-so-polite racists. "That [Obama's] unlikely rise has somehow been twisted into a synonym for America's supposed collapse over the past four years may be the most disturbing and intractable evidence of our decline of all." ...

... Helene Cooper & Richard Oppel of the New York Times: "President Obama directed a sharp assault on Mitt Romney's foreign policy credentials on Monday, as the weekend political truce that followed the shooting rampage in Colorado dissolved into the more familiar political punch and counterpunch. President Obama directed a sharp assault on Mitt Romney's foreign policy credentials on Monday, as the weekend political truce that followed the shooting rampage in Colorado dissolved into the more familiar political punch and counterpunch."

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Senate Republicans will press this week to extend tax cuts for affluent families scheduled to expire Jan. 1, but the same Republican tax plan would allow a series of tax cuts for the working poor and the middle class to end next year.... About 13 million families would see their tax refunds reduced, and some would see their taxes increase.... In all, the Republican plan would extend tax cuts for 2.7 million affluent families while allowing tax breaks to expire for 13 million on the bottom of the income spectrum, tax analysts say. ...

     ... AP Update: "A standoff with Congress that results in the January expiration of wide-ranging tax cuts would mean 114 million families would see average tax increases of $1,600 next year, the White House says."

The GAO on More Stupid Republican Tricks. Report (pdf): "GAO estimated that delays in raising the debt limit in 2011 led to an increase in Treasury's borrowing costs of about $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2011. However, this does not account for the multiyear effects on increased costs for Treasury securities that will remain outstanding after fiscal year 2011. Further, according to Treasury officials, the increased focus on debt limit-related operations as such delays occurred required more time and Treasury resources and diverted Treasury's staff away from other important cash and debt management responsibilities." CW: those Tea Party jerks wasted a lot of your money with their grandstanding obstructionism. Via Adam Sorensen of Time.

Hope Yen of the AP: "The ranks of America's poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net. Census figures for 2011 will be released this fall in the critical weeks ahead of the November elections." CW: One thing nostalia crowd forgets about Mayberry: folks were dirt poor. Another thing: they could get out of Mayberry by attending low- and no-tuition state colleges that made them eligible for good jobs. Not any more.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The Justice Department is investigating Pennsylvania's new voter identification law, a letter sent to the state government Monday indicates.... It's the first sign of interest by the federal government recently in a voter ID law in a state that is not covered by the pre-clearance requirements of the Voting Rights Act."

Greedy Bastards. Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times: "... in what has become a test case in American labor relations, Caterpillar is ... seeking steep concessions from its workers even when business is booming. Despite earning a record $4.9 billion profit last year and projecting even better results for 2012, the company is insisting on a six-year wage freeze and a pension freeze for most of the 780 production workers at its factory [in Joliet, Illinois]. Caterpillar says it needs to keep its labor costs down to ensure its future competitiveness. The company's stance has angered the workers, who went on strike 12 weeks ago." CW: as I recall, President Obama has pointed to Caterpillar as a big success story. Let's hear him weigh in on the side of the workers. Thanks to Victoria D. for the link.

Quote of the Day. Politicians go to the N.R.A., Democrats and Republicans, and they basically read a script, which is not much different from a hostage video. -- Steve Schmidt, GOP strategist

Ron Brownstein of the National Journal: "... gun control is now overwhelmingly unpopular among the portions of the white electorate Obama is least likely to win anyway -- and maintains solid majority support among the Americans most likely to actually vote for him." ...

... CREDO has a petition asking Obama & Romney to urge Congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban. You can sign it here. ...

... OR, forget gun control. How about bullet control? Via Andrew Rosenthal, who has a good post on the subject:

Juan Cole, who is an actual expert on Middle East politics: "There is a figure in the Federal government that has suspicious ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Muslim fundamentalist movement that began in Egypt in 1928. It is Michele Bachmann." Cole makes the connections.

Presidential Race

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Mitt Romney will set the stage on Tuesday for a weeklong trip abroad with a tough speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in which he accuses President Obama of allowing devastating defense cuts and of failing to stop leaks of classified national security secrets."

     ... Story has been updated; new lede: "Mitt Romney set the stage on Tuesday for a weeklong trip abroad with a tough speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in which he accused President Obama of allowing devastating defense cuts and of failing to stop leaks of classified national security secrets."

Obama's latest appeal to undecided voters:

... BUT. Susan Page of USA Today: "Despite concerted Democratic attacks on his business record, Republican challenger Mitt Romney scores a significant advantage over President Obama when it comes to managing the economy, reducing the federal budget deficit and creating jobs, a national USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds. By more than 2-1, 63%-29%, those surveyed say Romney's background in business, including his tenure at the private equity firm Bain Capital, would cause him to make good decisions, not bad ones, in dealing with the nation's economic problems...."

Christopher Rowland & Callum Borchers of the Boston Globe: "Mitt Romney promised 'complete transparency' when he took charge of the scandal-plagued Salt Lake City Olympics, a pledge that included access to his own correspondence and plans for an extensive public archive of documents related to the Games. But some who worked with Romney describe a close-to-the-vest chief executive unwilling to share so much as a budget with a state board responsible for spending oversight. Archivists now say most key records about the Games' internal workings were destroyed under the supervision of a staffer shortly after ... Romney had returned to Massachusetts." ...

... CW: NOW watch Maggie Haberman of Politico make a positive out of "Secret Mitt." He's just so darned modest & reserved, he would never boast about himself. Aw, shucks. Or how about, people think his religion is weird, he did a lot of ruthless stuff at Bain, he spents lots of tax money on his secret Olympics, he did librul stuff as governor & he's a tax dodger whose main policy position today is a bigger tax dodge for him & his. What's not to like?

"You Didn't Build That." John Distaso of the New Hampshire Union Leader: "In the Mitt Romney campaign web and television ads that received national attention last week, a blunt Jack Gilchrist of Gilchrist Metal Fabricating in Hudson [N.H.] tells President Barack Obama that he, his father and his son -- and not the government -- built his company. But as it turns out, Gilchrist did receive some government help for his business, albeit a long time ago."...

     ... Via Greg Sargent. Sargent notes this remark from Gilchrist: "Defense business is a good way to help the economy. But the President wants to cut the crap out of the defense budget." "That," says Sargent, "would appear to mean that the star of Romney's ad believes federal spending -- on defense, at least -- is good for the economy. That would make him a 'weaponized Keynesian,' i.e., someone that does believe federal spending creates jobs and is good for businesses, but will only say so when it concerns defense." In talking to Gilchrist, Sargent learned that the guys also acknowledges roads & bridges help the economy, but, um, he just doesn't think we should spend any more on them. CW: What's this? I've got mine? When you parse the GOP "philosophy," it almost always turns out to be nonsensical. ...

     ... Jake Tapper of ABC News has more in a post titled, "Star of Romney 'My Hands Didn't Build This' Ad Received Millions in Government Loans and Contracts." Here again, you see the perversity of the GOP "philosophy." Gilchrist says of the government largesse: "As far as I'm concerned, I'm getting some of my tax money back." It's never "welfare" or "socialism" when they're getting government assistance, because they deserve it. It is bad when somebody else -- especially if the somebody else is a person of color -- is getting aid. ...

     (... AND when they flame out spectacularly, upending their employees' lives and costing the taxpayers millions, well, it's the government's fault. I'll bet Martha Coakley knows who Curt Schilling is now. Via Adam Sorensen.) ...

... Greg Sargent: "Senator Scott Brown has just released a new Web video ... tying Obama's remarks to [Brown's Democratic rival Elizabeth] Warren's and painting them as vaguely anti-American.... Brown, apparently taken with the plaudits Romney has earned from the right for lying relentlessly about Obama's quote, has now done the same.... The Republican argument -- Romney's argument -- is partly that Obama's active ill will towards business owners and entrepreneurs is helping stall the recovery, so you should replace him with a president who wants people to succeed." ...

... Ed Kilgore of Washington Monthly on Romney's blackmail campaign. CW: as Kilgore illustrates, this is an old trick: the GOP claims that business leaders will purposely kill the economy if Democrats take the White House & Congress. ...

... Steve Benen: "If President Obama and Elizabeth Warren genuine oppose the free market -- they don't, but if they did -- why do Mitt Romney and Scott Brown have to lie [by editing Obama's words to change their meaning]? Shouldn't the truth be enough?" ...

... Stephanie Cutter of the Obama campaign:

     ... Here are Obama's original remarks:

BUT with talented, informed supporters like this, how can Romney lose? --

      Keep your wig trimmed!

Local News

Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration, already drawing attention for its focus on secrecy, has now begun editing his record as New York attorney general, sending aides to the state archives to remove key documents from public view." CW: President Cuomo? No, thank you.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Msgr. William J. Lynn, the first Roman Catholic official in the United States to be convicted of covering up sexual abuses by priests under his supervision, was sentenced to three to six years in prison on Tuesday." Philadelphia Inquirer story here.

New York Times: "The New Orleans Police Department and the United States Department of Justice on Tuesday are expected to announce a sweeping agreement to reform the city’s scandal-ridden police force." Times-Picayune story here.

Reuters: "Prime Minister David Cameron's ex-media chief and Rupert Murdoch's former UK newspaper boss are to be charged with phone-hacking offences in the most significant development in a scandal that has rocked Britain's establishment. Prosecutors said on Tuesday Andy Coulson, who was Cameron's communications chief from 2007 until January 2011, and Rebekah Brooks, who was courted by a succession of prime ministers including Cameron in her role as Murdoch's UK newspaper chief, would be charged with offences linked to the hacking." ...

     ... New York Times Update: "After a year of furious controversy over the widespread phone hacking by one of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspapers, British prosecutors brought criminal charges on Tuesday against eight of the most prominent figures in the scandal, including Andy Coulson, who was Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief at 10 Downing Street until the scandal forced his resignation last year."

AP: Dianne Feinstein, "the Democratic leader of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Monday that the White House appears to be responsible for some leaks of classified information.... The California lawmaker said she was certain that President Barack Obama, who receives a daily intelligence briefing, isn't disclosing secret information, but she was uncertain about others at the White House."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (11)

Frank Rich's piece is marvelous. Ought to be required reading for...

July 23, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

Thank you, CW, for mentioning low cost (or free) college. Many years ago, when I went to a state university, it cost me $104 a semester in tuition. A full time summer job at minimum wage paid $840. The tuition at that very same university is now $5100 per semester, and that summer job pays $2900.

I worked my way through college because it was possible. It's not possible any longer. And many high schools have all but eliminated their "learn a trade" programs. My local school district had 800 applicants for 125 openings.

What are the kids to do? The choice looks like Mom's basement and a job at Mickey D's or obscene student loans. We are eating our own young and blaming them for it.

July 24, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterSuze

At least some of the mainstream media actually spent a week or two calling on Romney to release his tax returns. It's important that we keep the pressure on the MSM to stay with this issue: after all, shouldn't we know whether a man who claims to be able to revive the economy for the benefit everyone, is a tax cheat who manipulated loopholes, used tricky accounting and offshore tax havens to pay a lower tax rate than the majority of Americans?

July 24, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterCalyban

Hey, that video "Mitt Romney, a Hero in My Mind" is priceless. It's bound to go viral.

July 24, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

Re: Man playing with his organ by the banks of a babbling brook. For fucks sake man, put your organ away. Here's how insensitive of a lout I am; I have never, ever respected a man that plays with his organ by the riverside. In the privacy of your own home, sure, but not out in nature; what about the trout? So, please, cover the organ, zip the lips and the world will be a better place.
PS. Hey asshole, all the real heros are dead; that's why they're heros. Dumbfuck.

July 24, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJJG

The link to a USA Today story about a poll showing Willard the Rat’s power as a master of the economy and a job creator, by 2 to 1 over the president, is yet another lazy, by the numbers piece of “journalism” that unfortunately piles on with all the other slovenly, indolent, cliché ridden rag jobs littering the pop landscape and successfully occluding the real issues.

I’m not sure some of these “writers” (stenographers is more like it) are actively involved in an attempt to muddy the waters while they loll around the edges of those dull, murky pools, leaking out their iron deficient prose in support of weak, rote thinking, but such intellectual lethargy and eighth grade level writing combine into an opaque gelatinous mass of anemic journalism the contribution of which to the national discourse can only be measured in negative integers.

The opening sentence is a giveaway. We are informed up front that Obama’s ATTACKS against Romney are fruitless at dissuading the public from their belief that Romney will prove a much more effective manager of the economy due to his expertise as a businessman. First, since when do requests for truth and openness from a candidate constitute attacks? When does telling the truth constitute an attack? So right away the article paints Obama as somewhat helpless and desperate, unable to shake the public’s faith in Romney’s superior economic plans. No mention is made of the fact that Romney has unveiled not a single iota of an economic plan. No mention that Romney himself has been engaged in actual attacks bolstered by a blizzard of lies repeated ad nauseum without even cursory attempts to determine their truth value.

Next I’d like to see how these poll questions were phrased. An intelligent, curious, and halfway decent writer would want to know as well because it matters. Also I would like to have seen the writer mention something along the lines of there being no correlation between running a vulture capital operation and actually creating jobs by building and running a real business, not a parasitic cyst on the back of the nation’s economy. Also there is an equal correlation between running any kind of business and managing a government: none. A decent reporter would have provided some context and background because reports on polls can be notoriously obtuse and lacking in both.

Nothing of the kind is forthcoming. Instead, it’s just a by the number recounting of someone else’s review of the polling numbers.
This is despicable stuff. And the fact that it’s published in McPaper and touted as actual “news” is even more heinous. But this sort of intellectual dishonesty goes on every day.

Romney lies, Gallup polls, pundits pun, writers regurgitate, and the only thing we learn is what sharp manipulators or supine, torpid writers hand us.

I realize that online sites are desperate for content in this day of a never ending news cycle, but at least make some attempt at intelligence and have some respect for readers and your obligation to the nation.

July 24, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Having been deeply depressed by the argument being repeated about 100 times on NPR today that we have guns and we are always going to have guns and if we eliminate guns the determined will switch to IEDs or fire or nuclear bombs, I think I have come up with something of a solution and have moved from depression to acceptance.

First, do we all agree that given our situation we are bound to have another massacre in a school, hospital, sports event, McDonalds, church or movie sometime relatively soon? Some damn fool is going to bring his (or her) Glock and start pumping holes in us. Well, not to worry! Here is the answer….I call it the Louie Gohmert Solution.

As we pass through the lobbies of our public buildings, there will be bins of Glocks. Everyone must take one. In Florida and Texas, everyone must take two. (I’m pretty sure there is no law against this and the NRA will be thrilled about the rise in gun sales.) We can all now be reassured that while the crazed killer may kill two or three of us, THERE WON’T BE A MASSACRE! (You have to kill at least four adults, or three adults and one child before it is classed as a massacre. Smaller numbers are just classified as “incidents”.) He is sure to be brought down by one or another crack shot in the audience. And who knows…maybe your grandma could even be the one to get off the lucky shot.

You know what I’m looking forward to? When they implement the Louie Gohmert Solution at the next joint session of Congress.

July 24, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterHaley Simon

Latest Romney lie. And it's a BIG one. In the background I hear music from Schubert's song cycle, Die Schone Mullerin, particularly from the song "Wohin" the accompaniment of which mimics a fast running stream, reflective of the never ending gush of lies from Romney's filthy, smirking mouth.

So Romney today goes before the VFW convention and screams his patriotism to them, voice breaking, pounding his silk clad chest, no doubt his well coiffed 'do a tiny bit askew in keeping with his imitation of patriotic outrage, declaiming about the "Obama" cuts to the military budget.

Does this scum-sucking pig of an asshole never tire of lying through his teeth?

The imminent cuts to the Pentagon budget are the result of Republican intransigence. They decided to bite the poison pill and hoped that no one would notice that it was their doings that triggered, or will trigger, cuts in the military's budget, NOT Obama. But what does accuracy or truth or honor matter to a Fucking Rat Bastard Scumbag??????

Nothing. He'd feel worse about lying to his wife's fucking dressage team.

This guy is beyond--far, far, far beyond redemption of any kind. He is a Mormon Faust and he deserves the same outcome: his soul to burn in eternal fires for his sycophantic, oleaginous pursuit of fame.

Wait and see if any--ANY--news organization explains the lie, explains that any cuts in military budgets are the direct result of Romney's party's decision to fuck Americans in order to let him win an election. And here he is--a no good, slimy, feces-encrusted, piss-stained pig of a candidate blaming someone else for the machinations of his own party, the party of NO and goddam NO and NO fucking way EVER will we let a black man beat us again.

Will any have the balls to deconstruct this Slimy Pig Rat's latest lies?

What do you think?

(My self-imposed moratorium on cursing has been momentarily curtailed by Romney's latest brass plated lies, made at the top of his lungs!! WHERE WAS THIS FUCK WHEN VETERANS WERE FIGHTING IN VIETNAM???????? HE WEASELED HIS WAY OUT OF SERVING!!!!!!!!!! JUST LIKE MOST REPUBLICANS!!! GOD DAMNED FUCKING HYPOCRITICAL BALL LICKERS....EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!!!!!!!!!)

Smirking son of a bitch. I hope his tiny, gold encrusted, useless, flaccid pecker falls off if it hasn't already.

(Apologies for being so over the top but I can only take just so much. I wish Obama felt the same!!)

July 24, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Akhilleus, I think I shall copy and paste your rant somewhere where I can read it from time to time–––those times that I feel so fucking furious that I want to spit nails––and after bathing in your venom I can emerge white washed and refreshed, ready to face more "Slimy Pig Rat's lies" hoping to see those tiny, gold encrusted peckers from all who are complicit in these prevarications to fall off, one by one.

Never apologize for passion.

July 24, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Akhilleus, I enjoy your blistering commentary immensely and look forward to reading it every day. Please don't stop! I love people who have the balls to tell it like it is.

July 24, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterTommy Bones

To all of my Reality Chex friends and our leader, Marie: I have had it with the Fourth Estate. (Actually, I have "had it" for many years.) But I am now over the top, and Akhilleus has spouted my scatological venom for me, so I can put my trash mouth to bed--at least for the time being.

I can no longer watch Tee Vee, except for Rachel Maddow--and her "best new thing of the day" makes me creepy. She is a brilliant muckraker, but a young soul--and feels she must do "infotainment!" At least, I am glad to know she, as do I, suffers from intermittent melancholy, which renders her mute. I like her sometime replacement, Ezra Klein too. He was in fine form tonight. I expect him to be fired from WaPo any day now! And Chris Hayes is terrific. That is why he has a 7AM time slot on Saturday and Sunday. No chance any body will watch him--unless they record.

So...all this carrying on is to say that I am getting completely dispirited with the 2012 election. Not just the White House, but the Congress and local elections. My quite decent Congressman here in Oregon is running against a nationally financed Tea Partier who is to the right of Ron Johnson (that asshole who beat Russ Feingold in Wisconsin).

And the beautiful little community I live in on the Oregon Coast is suddenly, it seems, full of Tea Partiers. Since the recession and the building of lower cost housing near the highway, we are becoming over-run with flag-waving-know-nothings--many from California. HUH? I am considered the Queen of Evil here, because I advocate for not using herbicides nor drowning raccoons--and, in fact, have been able to establish a moratorium on both. But I have been wearing my Obama 08 jacket while gardening in my wonderful meadow garden, and there have been several complaints to our BOD by people strolling by about THAT WOMAN. What have we come to? Our media are lost, and our people even "loster." Have they all overdosed on Kool Aid, or is there an aura of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island holdings that have put Hoi Polloi in a trance.

I am worried, very very worried, that MittWitt is going to win in November, and we will be toast. And Netanyahu will be the first guest to spend the night in the Lincoln Bedroom. Eeeeeek!

Thanks for listening. ):

July 25, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterKate Madison
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