Weekly Roundup, April 14-22, 2012

by Blueberry T

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Senator Scott Brown,(R)MA

I couldn’t resist including sunnyjane’s excellent post on Senator Scott Brown, from my own state, Massachusetts.  Senator Brown likes to portray himself as Everyman, driving a pickup truck and wearing a barn jacket; but he never was Everyman.  He was elected to Ted Kennedy’s seat due to a perfect storm of circumstances.  Brown tapped into the emerging faux rage and real money of the Tea Party, pulling in major donations which he used effectively to build the regular-guy image and portray Attorney General Martha Coakley negatively.  His wife is a well-known reporter for one of the Boston networks, so he had solid media connections from the get-go.  The campaign was very short, and was interrupted by the holidays; by the time (early January) that Coakley and others realized the dynamic of the race had shifted, it was too late.  So, we’re stuck with him for now.  He continues to portray himself as a moderate, but as sunnyjane points out, he votes at least 80% of the time with the arch-conservatives, but plays “maverick” just often enough to claim the moderate label among those who aren’t paying close attention.  In addition to the votes mentioned in this post, he voted for the Blunt Amendment to allow employers to dictate employees’ health care choices and supported Keystone XL.  He is very well-funded by Wall Street in his current campaign against Elizabeth Warren (although she is raising more money from individual contributors). 

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Dusty’s Soapbox

Dusty has Willard Rom[o]ney’s number.  As everyone with a pulse must know by now, he constantly changes his position because he doesn’t really have a moral compass or convictions other than worshipping the almighty dollar, and is constantly trying to be someone that he is not.  Mr. Etch-a-Sketch.  He used to be pro-choice and progressive, but now he’s anti-choice and severely conservative.  Later, he’ll probably pretend to be moderate.  Ironically, he is lambasted for “gaffes” that are candid moments when he actually tells the truth:  he has rich friends like NASCAR owners; is building a house with an elevator for cars; likes firing people; doesn’t worry about the very poor; his wife drives two Cadillacs; $360K isn’t very much money to him; and he and Ann are just like you and me.  I know, right?  Dusty gives Bristol Palin and a few others a piece of her mind as well; enjoy!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Four years agotoday: The Reckless Ride

Patrick’s post reminds us of Sarah Palin’s completely implausible story of the birth of Trig.  In a nutshell: she claims that, knowing she was carrying a baby with Down Syndrome and a heart defect, and that she had 2 prior miscarriages, 4 prior births and was 44 years old, five weeks before her due date, with amniotic fluid leaking (we’re up to 7 risk factors) and experiencing contractions, rather than going to a nearby hospital to be checked out, she chose to gave a political speech, then took two four hour flights, bypassing two more hospitals with neonatal units (one where her doctor had privileges and could easily have met her), so that she could have a “delivery” at Mat-Su Regional Health Center, a hospital that does not do high-risk deliveries, not even twins.  (How much inanity can be fit in one sentence?)  Of course, minor details like when and where Trig was born, who called the doctor and what she said, whether she was really having contractions or not –  these details change depending on which version of the tale she is telling.  Was it reckless negligence or a complete fabrication?  If these were the only factors, there might be a choice – but the photos and other circumstantial evidence prove that babygate was indeed a brazen hoax.  Lidia17’s brilliant video includes key images, along with the Sarah’s own convoluted, contradictory, incredible story.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Resisting the GreenDragon

Sunnyjane’s important post highlights the right-wing’s crusade against environmentalism.  Back in the day, environmentalism was bipartisan; in fact, the first Earth Day and enactment of landmark environmental legislation (eg Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act) occurred during Richard Nixon’s presidency.  More recently, Republicans supported ideas such as “cap and trade,” which would set limits on carbon emissions that can be traded, thus bringing market forces to bear on air pollution abatement – until President Obama was elected, that is.  Then, suddenly, “cap and trade” became dirty words for prior supporters like Sarah Palin and John McCain and many others.  Instead, there is all-out stonewalling of environmental initiatives to address air and water pollution, and a holy war against not only environmentalists, but also EPA.  The oil industry controls the Republican agenda and politicians even more blatantly than under Bush.  Now, eschewing links that had developed between Christians and environmentalists (over that pesky biblical “stewardship of the earth” thingy), right-wing Dominionists are actively demonizing the environmental movement.  The set of DVD’s really is titled, “Resisting the Green Dragon.” (I thought the title was a joke at first, but no.)  From the DVD listing:  “Why Christians should resist the environmentalist movement… it covers a variety of topics---including environmental myths, global warming, how "going green" leads to poverty, and more.” 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day, Politicalgaters!  Did you know that Rupert Murdoch considers wind turbines to be “ugly”?  I guess he doesn’t live within view of a coal-fired or nuclear power plant, because then he would really know “ugly.”  (Of course, as sunnyjane noted, he could just look in the mirror.)  Plus, if he lived near these plants, he would breathe “ugly” every day at coal-fired plants and run the risk of Fukushima-like radiation disaster near nuclear plants.  Personally, I think he should live in these locations near power plants, since he prefers them as power sources.  But, I guess he figures those ugly views are only for peons and “crappy bloggers.” Kathleen also had some great information about the progress Germany is making with wind power (20%!!) and about reductions in bird deaths from wind power.  In addition to the reduced rotational speed of the new-generation turbines, some research related to a wind turbine near me found that shutting off the lights that illuminate the wind turbines at night greatly reduced bird and bat mortality.  (Apparently insects were attracted by the lights, and birds and bats were attracted to the insects.  There are still red lights on the turbines themselves to signal to airplanes, but these are not a problem.)  This is an area right on the Atlantic flyway, a major bird migration route, so there was a lot of concern about bird deaths; thankfully, it is not a big problem.

Some Comments and Links:  (I am still behind so didn’t get to read all the comments; I’m sure I missed some gems!)

Older_Wiser:  No, Mittens, everyone doesn't "envy" you--they simply want to be treated fairly and your agenda doesn't qualify for fairness, either.  Do you really think your record of eliminating jobs here in the US and shipping companies overseas to qualify for tax breaks and cheap labor really resonates with sensible voters who think for themselves and are suffering, whose children are unsure if they even have a future?  How many average Americans do you think can put $100M in a sheltered trust for 5 kids and still have plenty of money to maintain the kind of lifestyle you live, much less afford to send their kids to college for 4 yrs and beyond on their own with the knowledge they will inherit a fortune?

Comeonpeople:  You know what?  I was just thinking that  the Romney's reckless treatment of their dog Seamus, all those years ago, has gotten more national scrutiny than Sarah & her doctor's treatment of Tri-G 4 years ago.  I think that really says a lot.

ProChoiceGrandma:  It always struck me as a highly unusual choice of words when Sarah used "logistics" to describe the "birth" of Trig.  But "logistics" fits right in when you are staging a faked presentation, making sure all the actors are in their place and know their lines… 

Psalm023:  Lydia17 did a great job!!  In the audio, where Sarah answers the press, her voice is so overly sickening sweet, a little girl voice, speaking at low volume, like she's speaking to a child.   That is one of her manipulation techniques to deceive everyone listening.  It gets the desired result of disarming everyone, which discourages them from asking any more personal questions.  Compare that innocent-sounding voice to Sarah's normal everyday raspy loud Fox News voice.   When she's cornered it's all soft and sweet, and when she's overbearingly confident, it's harpy mode. 

JCos:  No disrespect to Tri-G, but wasn't Palin's special needs gift from God meant to teach her valuable life lessons?  So why is she still a hot-headed, short tempered, ignorant, selfish, lazy, greedy bitch?

Jame:  Murdoch? Interested in things that kill birds? Since when? He is pro-pesticide, pro-herbicide, pro-chemical of every sort. THOSE are the biggest bird-killers in the world, bar none.   The only birds Murdoch is concerned about are all the 'canaries' who might be willing to 'sing to the authorities' in his phone-hacking case, in exchange for a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Cheeriogirl found this on the Rom[o]ney’sIranian oil investments, conveniently left off their 2010 tax returns. 

HonestyinGov pointed out this NYT article onALEC:  

Here is Jon Stewart's take on the GOP umbrage over the War on Christmas vs. the War on Women.  

Congrats to sunnyjane and sunnyjack, and Mr & Mrs TBB on their anniversaries!

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Kathleen promised you some pictures from little Nathan which she took during her trip to Scotland - here we are: