Green Eagle

It's time for another dose of madness: Pam Geller, Atlas Shrugs: "Breaking: Kadahfy calls for Jihad against Switzerland " Boy, that really scares me. Grant Swank, Renew America: "Obama is the most exemplary Muslim on the planet" Well, thanks, Grant, for that compliment. At least he's an exemplary Muslim. Joseph Farah, World Net Daily: "Does this sign reveal Obama's birthplace?" Actually, I don't think so. After extensive analysis, Green Eagle has determined that this is a cheesily photoshopped version of the following photo: World Net Daily: "Watching clock: Democrats talk nearly twice as long as Republicans" Those dirty rats. They'll stoop to anything. Hogan, Red State: "Last night, while most Americans were watching the Olympics, Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) was standing strong for the American people on the floor of the United States Senate." Standing strong for the American people by preventing an extensio...

For my second historical clarification, I would like to talk about something most people have never heard of- the "depression" of 1920. If you do a google search for this, you will find dozens if not hundreds of right wing posts about this phenomenon, all basically agreeing with the following Glenn Beck claim, which led me to deal with this issue: "Glenn then warns of the coming Economic Holocaust. The worst is far from over and warning bells are sounding. Beck returns to the blackboard and writes out numbers fro m the 1920 Depression. Caused by policies of the Wilson Administration, conditions were far worse that year than now, even worse than the first year of the Great Depression. But, it was short lived, thanks to Calvin Coolidge. Taxes were lowered from a top rate of 77% to 25%. Federal spending was slashed in half! By 1923, the economy was booming. The Roaring 20s saw an expanded middle class. Hoover, a Progressive, made the Crash of ‘29 worse with excessive spe...

From the L.A. Times: "A former Ku Klux Klansman convicted in the 1964 slayings of three civil rights workers is suing the FBI and Mississippi's attorney general. Edgar Ray Killen says the FBI conspired to suppress his rights to "defend his society and culture." Good luck on that one, buddy.

Newt Gingrich, speaking about health care legislation today, demonstrating his deep commitment to democracy: "the United States is not going to tolerate a group of people trying apply kind of a Hugo Chavez majoritarian rule in the Senate." Rule by the despotic minority? That's okay I guess. But only a Communist dictator would support majority rule. The American way, Republican style.

Here's some news: "Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Chris Dodd, D-Conn., have introduced a constitutional amendment to reverse the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, which allows corporations and unions to spend unlimited money on independent political expenditures." How about this for the wording of this amendment: "Corporations are not persons, and anyone who ever thought they were is an idiot."

From Frank Gaffney, no stranger to teh insane, and therefore a respected neocon: "Can This Possibly be True? New Obama Missile Defense Logo Includes a Crescent The Obama administration’s determined effort to reduce America’s missile defense capabilities initially seemed to be just standard Leftist fare — of a piece with the Democratic base’s visceral hostility to the idea of protecting us against ballistic missile threats. A just-unveiled symbolic action suggests, however, that something even more nefarious is afoot. Now...we have another possible explanation for behavior that can only be described as treacherous and malfeasant: Team Obama’s anti-anti-missile initiatives are not simply acts of unilateral disarmament of the sort to be expected from an Alinsky acolyte. They seem to fit an increasingly obvious and worrying pattern of official U.S. submission to Islam and the theo-political-legal program the latter’s authorities call Shariah." Well, here it is- the offending lo...

I turned the health care summit on. I think I lasted five minutes. If anyone managed to make it through more, and heard anything worth repeating, please let me know.

From Reuters: "The massive stimulus package passed last year to blunt the impact of the worst U.S. recession in 70 years created up to 2.1 million jobs in the last three months of 2009, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday. The package boosted the economy by up to 3.5 percent and lowered the unemployment rate by up to 2.1 percent during that period, CBO said." As I have said before, the truth is not that the stimulus didn't work, the truth is that Republican stewardship of our economy, along classic conservative lines, left the country in far worse shape than anyone realized. Yet you will continue to hear, all over our alleged media, Republican claims that the stimulus was a failure, without any challenge to their lies. This is how Republicans regain their electoral competitiveness- with the blatant collaboration of the press. What's more: " The package is likely to have the greatest impact this year, according to CBO. It is expected to ...

From CNN: "Two-thirds of Americans think that the Republicans in Congress are not doing enough to cooperate with President Obama, according to a new national poll. But a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, released Wednesday, also indicates the public believes the Democrats should be the ones to take the first step toward bipartisan cooperation and they want the Democrats to give up more than the GOP to reach a consensus" Here is the result of the disgusting reporting we get in our country. Two thirds of the country recognize where the problem for government gridlock lies, but the endless press blabbering about the need for "bipartisanship" from Obama and the Dems has convinced them that it is the majority party's duty to bend to the will of the minority; even though those who really watch the political scene know that ninety nine percent of the problem comes from an intransigent, traitorous Republican party that has utterly abandoned its responsibility to parti...

I thought I would try being a little more fact-based for a change, and I would like to start with something brought up by a commenter- the 1939 nonaggression pact between Hitler and Stalin. It has become part of accepted conservative cant that this action demonstrates that Hitler and Stalin were both the same; this notion has enjoyed renewed popularity as part of the contemptible notion that Hitler was really a left winger, currently a major right wing talking point (i.e. lie.) It was in pursuit of this notion that it was cited here. I don't think most people really know much about this pact, and I want to relate my understanding of what really happened. As the thirties drew to an end, Stalin was becoming more and more suspicious of the intentions of his allies, Britain and France. Chamberlain and Daladier's disgraceful betrayal of Czechoslovakia gave Stalin reason to doubt that he could count on their commitments. As it became crystal clear that Hitler's next move woul...

They're still out there, working as hard as they can to make themselves look like total idiots. And that kindly Green Eagle is happy to lend them a hand: First, this piece of interesting news: "The daughter of a man who crashed his small plane into an Internal Revenue Service building called her father a hero for his anti-government views" Isn't this just a logical extension of the violent attitude fostered by Teabaggers? Expect to see more of this sort of thing in the near future. Now, on with the wingnuts: Confederate Yankee: "Conspiratorial Crank Wins CPAC Presidential Straw Poll" Yankee, who do you have that isn't a conspiratorial crank? Confederate Yankee: "So Bishop's defense is going to claim paranoid schizophrenia, even as it admits that the real trigger wasn't mental illness, but the arrogance and sense of entitlement Bishop acquired along with her Harvard degree." I guess that explains George W. Bush, too. John Hinderake...

"Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate's top Republican, "promised Sunday morning that he and his members will attend President Obama's health care summit on Thursday 'ready to participate’ but said the Democrats are being 'arrogant' by refusing to scrap their legislation and start over" It is arrogant for Democrats in the Senate to pass legislation with 60 votes, and then not throw it out the window when Republicans object. Democracy, Republican style.

Digby has such a talent for putting things in the most direct manner possible. I shouldn't be surprised that she managed to put things in perspective with a single chart: But of course, it's all Obama's fault. Let's be clear about this: the pale blue band, about 5% of the deficit, is Obama's (very necessary, unless you want a depression) contribution. The rest is the gift to the American people from the Republican party. Despite the endless abuse that Democrats suffer when they try to point this out, it's about time that they begin to say this every time they get in front of a microphone. Unless they want to let the Republicans rewrite history as usual.

From Daily Kos: "Joe Lieberman didn't campaign for John McCain in 2008 because he's a selfish, whiny, unprincipled back-stabber. According to the new book Game Change , he did it because the Democrats hurt his oh-so-tender feelings" And health care for millions of people is held hostage to this one man's tantrums. That's our Senate today.

The wingnuts are feeling their oats today, and where they go, Green Eagle follows: Town Hall: "The third and final day of the conservative political action conference is off to a hot start, and Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck are getting ready for their big speeches coming up soon!" Oh boy! I can hardly wait! Honey, bring in the popcorn. Ken Blackwell, Town Hall: "The blogs have been having a lot of fun with Vice President Joe Biden’s latest gaffe. The veep claimed that the U.S. would be the world economic leader “throughout the twentieth century.” That's a gaffe? We would have been if it weren't for you crooks. Interesting that it wasn't a gaffe to claim that the war in Iraq would be over in six weeks. Jillian Bandes, Town Hall: "Where Are Conservatives Going?" To hell in a handbasket. Guys, just make it fast, please. And now, Green Eagle's award for Ominous Sounding but Completely Meaningless Headline: Dave Poff, Red State: "Barack O...

I don't know why this sort of thing drives me so crazy. Here it is again, from that malicious jackass, Joseph Farah, at World Net Daily: "fascism is often portrayed as a "right-wing" ideology, when, in fact, it is far left." This is of course a total, utter lie. The great Fascists of history clearly regarded themselves as being on the right, allied with other right wing elements, and constantly attacked the left. "Mussolini was beloved by the left and practically defined fascism." Utterly false. He was hated by the left, and did everything he could to destroy them. Because most Americans know nothing about Mussolini, Farah can get away with this lie relatively easily, but the willingness of so many on the right to believe the following is much harder to swallow: "Hitler was embraced by the Communist Soviet Union, until he betrayed Stalin's non-aggression pact." This is more than a lie- it is an evil attempt to rewrite history. Hitl...

A couple of headlines from Talking Points Memo this morning: Obama To GOP On Health Care Summit: Come Here In Good Faith Cantor: GOP 'Will Say No To The Health Care Bill' It's funny that no one in the press demanded that Bush act in a bipartisan manner when he was ruining the country, even though anyone with a brain knew what the consequences would be. But Obama has to go through this useless Kabuki show in order to get anything done, even with huge Congressional majorities. Otherwise he risks being ripped apart by the "press." And don't even start with the psychologizing of our Washington journalists. This always happens to Democrats, and it never happens to Republicans. How long will it take for people to get it? This is about rich people (i.e. Republicans) owning our media, and twisting the truth to their own ends. Without their assistance in spreading the Republican pseudo-reality, Reagan would never have beat Carter, Bush would never have been ab...

News today that Harry Reid has stated publicly that he will support a public option health care reform, through reconciliation. This will be amazing if it turns out to be true, but unfortunately we have all become familiar in recent months with just how little Harry Reid's support amounts to. On the other hand, there seems to be a growing willingness among Democratic Senators to do just that. Leaving aside, for a moment, the fact that it is about time that the United States joins the entire rest of the industrialized world in striking a fair balance between corporate profits and the health of its populace, it sure would be a wonderful thing to see the looks on Republicans' faces when it dawned on them that they could have had a far weaker law, if they had just stopped being such intransigent dicks, and took the Senate bill that was passed last fall. Too good to be true, probably. Green Eagle is such a dreamer.

Dana Milbank at the Washington Post, perhaps setting out to prove that David Broder is falling behind the times in flinging partisan garbage at Democrats: "In hiring Emanuel, Obama avoided the mistakes of his Democratic predecessors, who first gave the chief of staff job to besotted loyalists" Democratic predecessors? DEMOCRATIC predecessors? Dana, I guess it didn't take you long to forget a guy by the name of Karl Rove, huh? There's a loyalist, and terminally corrupt in the bargain. I don't remember you taking exception to him. Oh, no, it's only wrong for a Democrat to have a chief of staff who is loyal. Far better to have one who sells him out to Max Baucus and Blanche Lincoln and Olympia Snowe every time victory is within reach. For Republicans, it's okay to employ people who cheat and lie and smear to get their way, bringing about a near depression in the process. But God forbid Democrats should hire aides who actually believe in the Democrat...

Here's an amusing comment from some God-forsaken wingnut blog: "It seems that snow wasn't the only thing piling up on the White House lawn last week. President Obama met with a trio of self-annointed black leaders; Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP, Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, and the omnipresent Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action League." Self-annointed? Weren't they elected to be leaders by their organizations, two of which have a decades-long record of public service? What exactly makes them "self-annointed?" The fact that they don't agree to shout out Republican party-line drivel at every opportunity? I guess they are nothing like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, who were annointed by God. Or at least Rupert Murdoch. What a bunch of dicks there are in the world.

I've got to clear the decks here for tomorrow's avalanche of adulation over the "Mount Vernon Statement" (see below) so here is what the right has been blathering about the last few days: First I'd like to spend a little time on the greatest synthetic scandal of the year, "Climategate," in which climate scientists reveal themselves to be unprinicpled liars. The latest involves supposed statements of one Phil Jones, which have been totally discredited, not the least by Mr. Jones himself, who says that he never believed or stated any such thing. That doesn't slow down the right wing lie machine, however. Here are seven articles from one website, Pajamas Media, covering this nonexistent, fabricated scandal: "Climategate: Not Enough, Phil — Skeptics' Careers, Lives Have Been Endangered...Phil Jones came clean? Wake me when the death threats stop." "Per a Phil Jones interview with the BBC, confirmation that the temperature record of...

Get ready for a shattering breakthrough in political ideology! A group of top Conservatives have just issued a call to a new order for our country! This document, destined to stand along the Constitution, the Gettysburg address and the pilot of "My Mother the Car" as seminal statements in our history, is called the "Mount Vernon Statement; although I am not sure why, as the people at Mount Vernon refused to allow it to be used for this cheap political stunt. Anyway, that makes it a good start for Conservatives- they're lying before they even get past the title. Well, for your elucidation, here it is- the conservative blueprint for our future, printed here in its entirety, with a few random jeers from Green Eagle. Mount Vernon Statement We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding. Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide...

We can always count on the Reverend Grant Swank to keep us informed about the issues of the day. Today, he turns his massive intellect, recently employed revealing that Obama is a Marxist Muslim Jihadist, toward the issue of climate science. Don't you just know that his comments are going to be so helpful to us? Well, let's just dive right in- the sooner started, the sooner finished: "Let the Creator be in charge of climate." Not that he's doing that good of a job of it these days. But then, having power and then governing with complete incompetence- that's the Republican way, right? And God is a Republican. If I've learned anything from Reverend Swank, it's that. "Mortals are playing God when they move into changing climate and moving continents and sludging taxpayers and kissing up to unbelieving loudmouths and passing legislation that will gouge Americans and so forth." Well, except that we are trying to prevent the climate from cha...

As Reported at Daily Kos: "Dick Cheney video clip from This Week: I think the proper way to deal with [the underpants bomber] would have been to treat him as an enemy combatant. Rachel Maddow: That would be a lot more convincing if you‘d ever done that yourself when you had the chance." Too bad she will never get a chance to say it to his face. The rest of her reply is great, too. And by the way, if you missed her demolition of Glenn Beck last night, over his lies about her, you missed another treat.

From Yahoo, this report about Evan Bayh, one more "Democrat" we can do without quite nicely, thank you: "Bayh argued that the American people needed to deliver a "shock" to Congress by voting incumbents out en masse and replacing them with people interested in reforming the process and governing for the good of the people, rather than deep-pocketed special-interest groups." Of course, did we ever hear this dick talk about replacing incumbents when the Republicans were in control and riding roughshod over Democrats? Remember that this guy is the son of a former Senator and would be a big fat nobody if his father had been a plumber or an electrician- just like George W. Bush. And wouldn't this be a better country if privileged brats like Evan Bayh could be made to disappear from our government? Good riddance, asshole, and please find a way to take the other corrupt "centrist" Dems with you.

Here's Holy Joe Lieberman, whining again, from another great story at Talking Points Memo: "...it turns out one reason he so fully embraced Republican Sen. John McCain during the presidential campaign is that none of his fellow Democrats asked for his help." Right. And why might that be: "But more importantly, Lieberman's loyalty (to McCain) and defiance of the Democratic party led McCain to want him as his running mate. McCain came so close that his team was already attempting to smooth the waters for nominating a pro-choice former Democrat at the Republican National Convention. But in mid-August, Karl Rove told McCain aides it would be an awful idea... Rove phoned Lieberman Aug. 24 and pleaded with him to decline the offer. "[Y]ou may be the only person who can save McCain from himself," Rove said to Lieberman, according to the book." Just the man that a Democratic presidential candidate would turn to for help, huh? Someone who was consult...

From TPM, the following account of her behavior after she killed her brother: "She then ran with the gun down the street apparently looking for a getaway car. In that search she reportedly threatened two others -- one in an attempt to get him to stop his vehicle (presumably so she could take it) and another at an auto repair shop where she was rifling through a collection of keys trying to steal a car." So the police decided that her shooting her brother was accidental. Why wasn't she charged with attempted carjacking (a very serious felony), assault with a deadly weapon and attempted car theft? You know, in California, there is a law: "use a gun, go to jail." Maybe not in Massachusetts, but can a person really commit several violent crimess and just walk away from it all, just because her mother is connected with the police? This woman had a very violent past, and a major part of the responsibility for the three dead people in Alabama lies with the authori...

From Talking Points Memo , this question: "Is Evan Bayh Running for President?" What, in a bid to become the Democratic Fred Thompson?

From an article about the Alabama professor-murderer: "On Sunday, Mr. Anderson firmly defended his wife in an interview at their home in Huntsville, saying that she had been completely cleared in the pipe bomb case and that her brother’s death had been accidental." Oh, okay then. I buy that. I guess we all have been suspected at one time or another of murdering a sibling, or sending someone a pipe bomb. Nothing to raise red flags there. Well, at least Professor Anderson can take pleasure in the fact that she has now most certainly earned the lifetime tenure she sought. Not at a state university, no, at another state institution.

Joe the Plumber, on John McCain, without whom he would still be an unlicensed plumber scraping together a living in Ohio: "I don't owe him shit. He really screwed my life up, is how I look at it." i.e. made him a ton more money than he would have ever had otherwise, made him famous, and made him idolized across the country (admittedly by a group primarily composed of, uh, retards) as a qualified expert about national affairs. So, if you ever wonder just how greedy, self-important and oblivious teabaggers really are, just take a look at one of their great heroes.

An unusually annoying collection of lies from the right today, I think: Erick Erickson: "I am hearing from multiple, prominent people that the Republicans in Washington are seriously thinking of caving and having an on camera sit down with Barack Obama even though their pre-conditions for a meeting will not be met. Why? Unless Barack Obama is prepared to unleash the free market to drive down health care costs — a sign he could only send by rejected the pre-existing plans, which are filled with government growth and mandates — there is no point to meet with him." Ah yes. Unless Obama agrees to give up in advance, there is no point in meeting with him. Republican thinking in a nutshell. Do what we want or go to hell. Neo-Neocon, Pajamas Media: "...hating Palin is a bonding exercise: a way to signal one's own tasteful judgment." No, it's a way to signal one's own grasp of reality: we don't really want to turn our country over to ignor...

Here's the right wing global warming scandal of the day: "Top Climate Scientist Admits Man-made Global Warming Is a Farce– * Data for vital ‘hockey stick graph’ has gone missing * There has been no global warming since 1995 * Warming periods have happened before – but NOT due to man-made changes Finally, one of the chief scientists at the center of the “Climategate” scandal admitted this weekend that there has been no significant global warming in the last 15 years ." You can read all about it here, here, here, here, and probably at another trillion right wing websites, if you bothered to look. Funny how they all hopped on this story the same day. Green Eagle will stick his neck out here: Anyone want to bet how long it will be before this story turns out to be a total lie? Update: Well, that didn't take long: "... the Daily Mail , has taken another body blow with the paper publishing a false story claiming that Phil Jones had admitted that...

I can't believe it, but I am about to report positively on something I just read at Town Hall: "Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday belittled Dick Cheney's criticism of the Obama administration's commitment to fighting terrorism as either "misinformed or he is misinforming" and said the Iraq wasn't worth it because of "the horrible price" paid. Biden accused Cheney of not listening to what's going on around him and trying to rewrite history." You go, Joe. It's about time that someone in the Obama administration started telling the truth. I want to predict that this is not the last word that we are going to hear about this from the wingnuts, and that the rest of it is not going to be pretty. It will turn out that it is okay for Cheney to tell the most malicious lies about the current administration, but that it is treason to criticize a former (Republican) Vice President.

So I am reading an article at the CNN website about the professor at an Alabama university who killed three of her colleagues in a faculty meeting, and I found the following in the comments: "THIS IS ANOTHER TRAGEDY IN THE U.S.A. THEY ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE OUT OF CONTROL BECAUSE THE PRESSURE ON THEM BY THE ABUSE ON TAXES" Now, I know there are people who think I am oversimplifying things when I insist that all modern Conservatism is about is "cut my taxes," and that all the rest is nothing but window dressing to fool the gullible. And I know you can't generalize too much from one ignorant loon on the internet. But still, could you hope to find a better example of right wing "reasoning?" Update: But wait! There's more! From Jim Hoft, at Gateway Pundit: "Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit: "Socialist Professor Amy Bishop Who Killed 3 Profs Yesterday Shot & Killed Her Brother in 1986 " So, not only is this murder caused by high taxes, it...

Here's a story that won't surprise you: "A political coalition led by one of the Iraqi prime minister's fiercest critics temporarily halted its campaign Saturday for next month's parliamentary elections after a number of its candidates were barred from running. The Iraqi National Movement, led by former Shiite premier Ayad Allawi , suspended campaigning for three days while it attempts to negotiate the return of dozens of its candidates, said spokesman Haydar al-Mulla. The back-and-forth political wrangling over the ban on more than 450 candidates for the March 7 vote has threatened to undermine Iraq's political stability, worrying U.S. officials that it could throw the credibility of the elections into question and undo security gains." The "credibility" of the election. That's a laugh, huh? And once again, let us all give a quiet vote of thanks to George Bush and Dick Cheney, for bringing democr...

Dan Quayle (remember him?) on Fox news, transcribed by Talking Points Memo, where you can see the video if you'd like: "They're gonna go to budget reconciliation, which I believe would set a very bad precedent, because essentially -- if they could do it, and I don't know if they can do it, but if they could do it -- what you have done, effectively, is to take away the filibuster in the United States Senate," Quayle said. "So, therefore, you have 51 votes in the House and 51 votes in the Senate. That is not what our Founding Fathers had in mind. That is not the constitutional process." How do I lie to you? Let me count the ways: 1. "That is not what our Founding Fathers had in mind." From an recent article in Time Magazine (this information is easily confirmable lots of places:) "The filibuster, long seen by its proponents as a necessary check on power and by its critics as a frustrating waste of time, has been around since th...

"WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Life Evaluation Index reached a new high of 50.3 in January, pushing past the 50.0 threshold for the first time since Gallup and Healthways began tracking well-being daily." This story featured the following graph: Gee, I wonder what happened around the beginning of 2009 that started this line back on its upward course? Of course, we are still going to hear from the mainstream media that Americans hate Obama and Democratic rule, and they are abandoning the Democrats in droves. Because truth is what the Republicans say it is, and that's the end of that story.

From the New York Times: "PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The police in El Salvador have begun an investigation into whether a man suspected of leading a trafficking ring involving Central American and Caribbean women and girls is also a legal adviser to the Americans charged with trying to take 33 children out of Haiti without permission. When the judge presiding over the Haitian case learned on Thursday of the investigation in El Salvador, he said he would begin his own inquiry of the adviser, a Dominican man who was in the judge’s chambers days before." I guess I am not jaundiced enough to follow this story to its logical conclusion, but if it turns out to be true, we could be on the verge of hearing one of the sickest tales in modern history. Even Green Eagle isn't quite ready to think about what a can of maggots may have been opened by these people's arrest.

This article from Talking Points Memo made me smile- a little: "President Obama said tonight he went to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to say he would use recess appointments if Republican senators failed to release their holds on his nominees. Obama said he spoke to McConnell (R-KY) Tuesday about the tactics used by his caucus, leading some GOPers to release their holds. "This is a rare but not unprecedented step that many other presidents have taken. Since that meeting, I am gratified that Republican senators have responded by releasing many of these holds and allowing 29 nominees to receive a vote in the Senate," Obama said in a statement released tonight by the White House. " See, like we always heard, it doesn't take that much to make a bully run off the schoolyard crying. Obama and the Senate Dems have the power- it's about time they used it. They stood by for eight years while the Republicans ran over them and created the mess our coun...