Kerfuffle

Never underestimate the value of a good copy editor and the importance of proofreading. FAIL!

Well done, Green Bay Press-Gazette!  Well done, indeed.  I hope the Packers perform just as well as the guy who proofs your front page.

 

"If they all vote, and you don't, they win and everyone loses."

Indeed, the party of corporate America seems to have created an interesting franchise in the Tea Party.  It's essentially a wholly-owned subsidiary of the GOP, just like it's promotional partner FOX News.  And one has to give them credit where credit is due:  once again they are playing  low-information (or, frankly, low intellect) voters for fools as they sway them toward voting against their own best interests.  Kind of a recurring theme.  Of course, they found something that works (along with obstructionism), and they are sticking with it.  I guess it's the best strategy given they don't really have any new ideas to move forward, only plans to regress, repress, and widen the income gap (see 2001-2008).

[h/t Political Carnival]

Florida House candidate Greg Brown caught by hidden camera stealing opponent's lawn signs. Probably not the TV coverage the campaign was hoping for.

For all the infotainment and amusement to be found withing the high-profile races for US Senate and House seats, nothing beats some good old-fashioned asshattery from local political candidates.  Like Greg Brown, a primary candidate for a house seat in Florida's District 1, who was caught along with his wife on a hidden infrared video camera as the two stole (or just "took down," depending on whose story you go with) a bunch of his opponent's yard signs.

From the Pensacola News Journal...

The video shows District 1 candidate Greg Brown and his wife, Jennifer, removing Doug Broxson's campaign signs.  The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office is investigating whether a crime was committed.

The campaign shenanigans happened Saturday night when Broxson's son, Jason Broxson, hid an infrared video camera, often used by hunters to track game, in some bushes at state roads 87 and 89, north of Milton.  Minutes after the camera was deployed, the Browns happened by and removed the signs. Jason Broxson [the candidate's son] hid in some bushes and watched as the couple took the signs.

"Honestly, we just got lucky that he happened to show up right then," said Kevin Brown, Broxson's campaign manager. "Lord only knows the odds of that."  Kevin Brown, who is not related to Greg Brown, said the camera was set up because Broxson was having problems with his signs being stolen and vandalized.

:::

When contacted by phone Monday afternoon, Greg Brown said he and his wife did nothing wrong by removing Broxson's signs from property owned by a Brown campaign supporter.  He said he saw his opponent's signs on a vacant lot owned by Don Dewrell, 69, of Holt after leaving a political rally in Jay on Saturday night. He said he and Dewrell previously agreed that he'd be the only District 1 candidate allowed to put signs on the property.

Brown told the reporter he didn't do anything wrong, and maybe that's true in a legal sense.  But he sure looks like a schmuck in the video.  And when he admonishes his wife for leaving fingerprints on a sign she left on the ground, that seems to suggest he did, at the time, think this may not be exactly legal.

Whether or not Brown and his wife broke any laws, you have to wonder, people of Florida's House District 1, if this is the guy you want to be your next state representative.  Watch and decide.  Meanwhile, the rest of us can watch and either laugh of just roll our eyes. 

Yep.  Asshat. 

[h/t Taegan Goddard via Kos]

Apparently, there is a side effect of the Arizona ethnic cleansing law that I failed to consider...

Uh huh.

[cartoon by Brian Farrington]

Clever. And actually quite true

                    [h/t Silly Rabbit at DK]

One of the things I am thankful for: We still have Sarah Palin to laugh at. Bless her heart; she brings so much joy and laughter to me also too

Indeed, Sarah Palin is the gift that keeps on giving.  And like all good things, sometimes one can just have too much also, you bet.  I have one conservative friend who likes to advance the opinion that I am afraid of Ms. Palin whenever i make light of her. apparently ignorance and shallowness  "You really fear her, don't you?" TR wrote on my Facebook page a few weeks ago.  Umm, no.  Hardly.

It's become a conservative meme:  Democrats really fear her; they are obsessed with her.  While I doubt the first part of that thought, I reluctantly agree that liberals do seem kind of consumed with the half-term-then-quit former Alaska governor.  I can't speak for everyone, but my fixation is due to the fact that she is so fucking hilarious.  Not intentionally, mind you, but she is a walking cartoon.  Unfortunately, she is also a sad commentary of how we seem to pick candidates in this country these days.  To hell with gravitating toward someone who is really smart, since it would appear that intellectualism and competence are bad words (at least in Republican circles).  People cite Palin as being "real" and "for liberty" and "of the people."  Oh my fucking god are you fucking kidding me?  Really?  That's your basis for seeing her as a viable candidate?  Wow.

Fortunately, she is still easily duped.  During the book-signing tour this week, the Canadian version of The Daily Show, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, sent a "correspondent", in character to interview Palin.  While her handlers detected a rouse, Madame Palin herself didn't. she just saw another press opportunity...

So, yes, I do have a slightly unhealthy fixation on Sarah Palin.  I admit it.  I can't help it... she's such a fucking dolt.  As the comedians like to say, the jokes just write themselves.  I am thankful this Thanksgiving that in these troubled times, we have Sarah Palin to laugh at.

You betcha.

Two idiots join forces with a Sharpie to earn dumbest criminals of the week award

Out of Carroll, Iowa comes the story of two would-be robbers who seemed to be without masks.  But they had a black permanent marker.

Matthew McNelly and Joey Miller, c'mon down!  You're on the national news wire for being complete dumb-asses!  Your mothers must be so proud of you.  And it's a pretty safe bet that you won't be getting those Mensa certificates anytime soon.

"They were being dumb and, combine that with alcohol, and it was the perfect storm," Carroll Police Chief Jeff Cayler told CNN.

"I've been chief here almost 25 years, been with the department 28½ years and I've seen a lot of things that make me laugh and weird things but this was probably the best combination of the two -- strangely weird and hilariously funny all at the same time."

Read the AP story here.

Another look at today's Republican faithful... Now with extra crispy ignorance!

Nice to see the disciples of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage credit their leaders by name.  Oh, the stupid!  It burns!

Honestly, the gullibility of these people would be amusing if it were not so pathetic.  Not to mention frightening.  Wow.

Images of some core constituents of today's Republican Party faithful. Ever the Klasy ones

When I was a kid, my parents were regular suburban Chicago Republicans.  So when I was old enough to vote, I started out that way too.  There were things I thought (wrongly, in hindsight) were good about Ronald Reagan, and even GWH Bush.

As I became more politically aware, I realized that while there may have been some good things about the GOP, they were long gone.  The Republican leadership recognized that too, and really turned up the volume on their "Southern Strategy" of building a base around mostly southern, mostly fundie-Christian voters.  You know, the people who claim to put God and American first, but vote only on a narrow list of issues based on their creative interpretations of the Bible.  They seem to generally be less educated, more bigoted, and tend to vote against their own best interests often.  It seems that, unwittingly and without hesitation, they vote in favor of corporate America and against the people of America.

As anyone paying attention knows, that seemed to stop working for them in 2006, and really tipped over in 2008.  And now, those who remain under the spell are freaking out.  How else can you explain shit like this:

Or this:

And Klassy gentlemen like this guy...

Wow.  I mean, WOW.  These are the people who have taken over the Republican party. I am tempted to describe them like this...

JR at DK (who had a similar idea for a post while I was writing this one) collected a few photos that further tell the story in all it's scary and pathetic detail.  As he said in his post, take a look in the mirror, Republicans:

 

Yes, as they showed us with Bill Clinton, hating someone is a reason enough to impeach them.

 

Not wanting to be Corporate America's lap dancer means you must be just like Hitler.

 

The words "sick fuck" as a modified noun come to mind.  What an asshole.

But let's look at a root cause for this behavior.  These people are racists. 

 

And they are teaching their children to be racists too...

Teaching your kids to hate.  How is that a family value?  Oh, right.  It isn't.

If you are a Republican, and you don't like what you see, you can do something about it.  Work to retake your party.  Or, like many already already have: run away.  Run far, far away from these hateful, narrow-minded troglodytes.  If you do like what you see, well, keep it up.  I'd like nothing more than to see the GOP continue to shrink away.

What's so amazing to me is how these "real Americans" are played for the patsies they seemingly are happy to be.  They don't even realize that the so-called grass roots efforts going on right now to disrupt town meetings held by Congressman across the country are bought and paid for by Big Insurance and Big Pharma, and being organized and implemented by lobbying firms.  They even have detailed instructions (leaked memo pdf) on how to disrupt meetings and act like asshats...

– Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: “Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington.”

– Be Disruptive Early And Often: “You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep’s presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early.”

– Try To “Rattle Him,” Not Have An Intelligent Debate: “The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions.”

Talk about being corporate tools.  But these people are too ignorant to even get that.

You know... morons.

[props to JR for some of the links.  Great minds think alike.)

Is this a sign of a failing educational system here in Wisconsin... or just shoddy work by people too disinterested to care about quality?

It's not exactly a ringing endorsement of your sign company when you make to order a highway sign under state contract, only to misspell three out of the four words.  Misspelled words include Business ["Buisness"], Rothschild ["Rothschield"] and Schofield ["Schofeild"].

Ah, oops.

David Vieth, Director of the Bureau of Highway Operations for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, was quick to point out that this was the fine work of the Decker Supply Company of Madison, and as such that firm would be replacing the sign at company expense.  Vieth was kind enough to not bash the contractor when he commented, “We all make mistakes.  But for most of us, they’re not put up for all the public to see.”  Following the CYA manual, Vieth also noted that all the words were spelled properly in the DOT paperwork.  ("Phew!")

I can see how maybe one of the town names may have been botched, as they are not common words (even though "field" is reasonably common in and of itself).  But "Business" is a word that is pretty common, no?

The sign was actually installed by Arbor Green, Inc. of Portage.  I gather their motto is "We don't read 'em, just install 'em." 

Kudos, Decker Supply and Arbor Green for this fine FAIL!