Green Eagle

Yeah, I just can't resist. Remember the delightful Tina Stone, the sole female patriot arrested in the recent federal onslaught against the Hutaree? What in hell is a hutaree anyway? But I digress...in case you've forgotten, here she is: Mmm yes. This woman sure seems angry about something. Did her old man forget to fix the bathroom sink again? Or maybe he has been violating his Christian oath by lusting after Lynne Cheney. But there I go, wandering off again. Well, apparently, Tina fell for some bogus chain e-mail about Obama relocating Hamas members to the United States, and left this comment in some God forsaken corner of the web: "I'm peeved,,, when people in this country is getting kicked out of there homes everyday and our government passes a bill to spend more then 20 billion dollars to bring Hamas here and supplies them with food and homes that just wrong." And it would be wrong, wouldn't it, if it were true? Listen, girl, maybe they will ha...

Via Digby, Eric Boehlert asks this question in a well worth reading column today: "It's a chilling prospect, but one that seems more and more plausible: What if Fox News actually wants mob violence?" What if? What if all of them on the right want mob violence? You know, it's worked for them before: The Sturmabteilung were nothing but a mob, whose violence became so unsettling that it led the senile President Hindenberg to make Hitler Reichschancellor in the vain hope that it would stop his terrorism. This was one of the worst political miscalculations in history, and we should learn from it that we cannot give this kind of behavior any latitude whatsoever. I know that there are a thousand right wing websites out there calling liberals brownshirts and Nazis. There is only one difference between them and me: As usual, as a liberal, I am telling the truth. They are just telling one more fascist-enabling lie. If you think those Hutaree morons are as bad as it ca...

This story from the Washington Independent , via Americablog: "Palin Left Alaska With Debts Equal to 70 Percent of Its GDP ...a higher ratio than Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, India, the Philippines or Uruguay." Boy, couldn't she do wonders for our country if she were president. Sarah Palin could make George W. Bush look good in comparison. But they love her, don't they?

Well, I think the buggering little boys thing has just about gotten terminally out of hand in the Catholic church, now that the Pope is clearly involved. And they are thoroughly screwed. Since their nineteenth century decision that the Pope is infallible, it is pretty difficult to force him out if he doesn't want to go. And who would want to go, what with the great houses, the pretty dresses and all? And since he never has to go out in what the rest of us would call public, he can really isolate himself from our contempt. Anyone who followed this guy's career before he became Pope knows that human decency was never his strong point, so I don't think we can count on his conscience to suddenly manifest itself. Well, I'm sticking my neck out here, but this is my prediction: Unfortunately, I believe that Pope Benedict is soon going to suffer a totally unexpected "heart attack." I can't see any other way for the Church to sweep all of this back under the r...

Before I dive in, let me mention what the right doesn't want to talk very much about today- the Hutaree terrorist cell. Most of them just ignored it, and the couple of sites that did post on it pretty much rejected any connection between themselves and these guys. What else could you expect? There was one major exception: Confederate Yankee, who has often made it into Wingnut Wrapup for his belligerent commentary has been very forthright about these people and the danger that groups like this pose, and I want to thank him for his honesty. Now, on with the lunacy: Laura Hollis, Town Hall: " More “Hateful” Propaganda from the Left" As usual, this can be roughly translated as "they dared to tell the truth about us." Allen Hunt, Town Hall: "For the past few years, Pew surveys have shown that 12% of Americans believed Obama was a Muslim. For some reason, according to a recent Harris poll, that number has now skyrocketed to about 33% of Americans. What is d...

It figures. A bunch of right wing idiots are arrested for planning to kill policemen and already the wingnut blogs are filled with talks about Waco and Ruby Ridge. I'm not going to waste time going over the clear facts about these two events. Let me just state the plain truth: Ruby Ridge is about a bunch of dicks that shot at federal agents and got more than they bargained for. Which is what anyone who shoots at a federal agent trying to serve a legal warrant should get. Waco was a government mistake. You know what the mistake was? Being unable to believe that a bunch of people who called themselves religious would burn their children to death before they would come out to answer charges for a relatively minor crime. Sad to say, we know better now. Both of these incidents were the result of a combination of stupidity, viciousness, and a steady diet of right wing lies and hatred. You might as well get ready for more of this sort of thing. The political right has moved so far...

And here they are, the terrorists arrested this weekend: Are you surprised by the, uh, how shall I put this, homogeneity of these patriots? No, you're not surprised? I do sort of wonder if these eight people, between them, could provide a total IQ of 120. Not that I'm judging a book by its cover. Wait, I am judging this book by its cover. And I'm right too. So there.

Michael Steele spent $1900.00 at "Voyeur West Hollywood, a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex." There just is no end to the sexual deviance of Republican officials, is there? No words on earth could make this guy and his party bigger jokes than they already are.

From the Washington Post: "The last decade was the warmest on record , according to a report issued Thursday by the World Meterological Organization. The United Nations' agency findings echo the recent findings of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which concluded the period from 2000 to 2009 was the warmest since modern temperature record keeping began in the 1850s." This item was followed by several dozen comments by ignorant climate deniers, repeating their tired, worn out lies.

The indictment of the Christian terrorists arrested over the weekend (see post below) has been unsealed. Via Talking Points Memo, here are a couple of excerpts: "NINE MEMBERS OF A MILITIA GROUP CHARGED WITH SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY AND RELATED CHARGES Six Michigan residents, along with two residents of Ohio and a resident of Indiana, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade and FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena announced today. According to the indictment, Hutaree members view local, state, and federal law enforcement as the "brotherhood", their enemy, and have been preparing to engage them in armed conflict. The indictment further alleges that the Hutaree planned to kill an unidentified member of local law enforcement and then attack t...

From a right wing comment on a Yahoo story about the Christian Militia arrests today: "Obviously Dragon is ignorant of the meaning of democracy. The United States constitution creates a representative republic. The root word of democracy is demagogue." You can't make stuff like this up.

Just to continue with the theme of the post below, here is a story about what is quite possibly the stupidest lawsuit in recorded human history, filed by the "Southern Legal Resource Center." "Current Cases National Origin for Confederate Southern Americans Don Curtis Terrill, an employee at the US Department of Labor, wanted to participate in a 1998 government sponsored "Diversity Day" celebration by entering a booth celebrating his heritage as a Confederate American. The Department of Labor responded by saying that there was no such thing as a "Confederate American." Mr. Terrill filed an EEOC complaint charging national origin discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. National origin is defined by the EEOC as the PLACE where your ancestors came from. Mr. Terrill's Ancestors came from the Confederate States of Virginia, Georgia and Texas - places, which. at the time, were not part of the United States. Our litigation sought to expan...

It's time for us to focus on this truth. Here are the bottom seventeen states in health (this list from Forbes: ) 34 Alaska 35 Indiana 36 Florida 37 North Carolina 38 Missouri 39 Texas 40 Arkansas 41 Kentucky 42 West Virginia 43 Georgia 44 Tennessee 45 Nevada 46 South Carolina 47 Louisiana 48 Alabama 49 Oklahoma 50 Mississippi Notice anything about this list? If you need help figuring it out, here is a map of red states and blue states, with these states marked with an X: Blue States 0 Leaning blue 2 Leaning red 8 Red States 7 Just to add insult to injury, except for Texas and Nevada, all of these states are net tax receivers from the federal government. Yes, fellow blue state residents, as I have pointed out before, we are paying to keep these neanderthals afloat economically, while they do everything they can to see to it that the United States is the worst country it can possibly be. And think how much better off we would have been if we'd just let the rotten Confede...

Via Atrios, this cryptic article: " The FBI conducted raids Saturday night in Washtenaw County and Lenawee County in an investigation involving members of Hutaree, a Christian-oriented militia group based in Lenawee County, AnnArbor.com has learned." Because nothing says "Christian" like dressing up like soldiers and running around in the woods. If you care to learn more about these idiots, here is their website. It has other features that really remind me of Jesus- a camouflage backing, and a section of advice about buying guns. Boy, no matter how stupid your group is, there are some people who will fall for it. Update: From Fox News, of all sources: "Seven people have been arrested for allegedly selling pipe bombs in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, Fox News has learned. The arrests and raids in Michigan and Indianapolis are related to alleged militia activity in the region, but are not related to international terrorism. There is not a current...

Well, here we go again. The wingnuts have been pretty cranky the last couple of days- I can't understand why, since they just won a tremendous victory by tricking the Democrats into giving the American people a better medical care system. Here's a selection: David Limbaugh, Town Hall: "The Democrats' corrupt, sleazy and undemocratic methods to cram socialized medicine down our throats were only exceeded by the horrifying substance of the bill itself. But the bell has rung on round one. Round two begins, and we'd better come out swinging." How can you, when you are already out cold on the mat? David, here's some advice for you: Just collect the money for the job that your brother bought you, and keep your mouth shut. Really, it would work out better for all of us. Paul Greenberg, Town Hall: "Have you ever seen a more gleeful bunch of politicians than the Democratic leadership of the House as they prepared to ram the health-care bill or bills int...

If you weren't entirely sure whether the hate-maddened harpy Pamela Geller has finally gone totally off the edge into certifiable psychotic delusion, consider this item from her website today: "It's increasingly clear who's the power behind Obama's gangsta throne. George Soros provides the money, but Andy Stern and SEIU provide the muscle. And by the Democrats' blatant signaling to their purple-shirted men in the street, it's clear they have already planned and coordinated their next crime spree. Gibbs and Andy Stern wear matching purple bracelets The bracelet is kind of a signal to tell Stern that the administration has it under control and ObamaCare will be delivered. Just a few more Democrats need to be shown the Chicago way." As has been widely reported after someone asked Gibbs about it, the purple bracelets are in honor of a little girl they both know who is fighting cancer. But no, according to Pam, it is some kind of secret signal of a huge, ...

Did anyone notice that President Obama delivered a massive nuclear arms reduction treaty with the Russians today? No, I didn't think so. The press was too busy worrying about the bullet which was not fired into a window in Eric Cantor's office.

TPM comments on a story that has been on the edges of the news: "David Frum, the conservative pundit and former Bush White House speechwriter, has left his longtime perch at the American Enterprise Institute -- and some observers wondering whether the move was triggered by his recent criticism of the GOP." These "think tanks" like AEI, the Heritage Foundation, the Hoover Institute and so many more, are nothing but ways that the corporate right has of directing large salaries toward anyone willing to spew their lies. All it takes for a long-time right wing propagandist to be thrown off the bus is a single incident of criticism directed toward the Republican party. This will serve as a lesson to all others who are on their malicious gravy train to keep their mouths shut if they ever think of telling the truth. Via these propaganda mills, the right is able to take a professor earning $80,000 a year or so, and pay him a salary of several hundred thousand, plus get...

Having spent a reasonable amount of time in Jerusalem and the adjacent areas of the West Bank, I get the feeling that there is a lot of misunderstanding on both sides on the issue of "settlements" in the Jerusalem area, and I would like to write about what I think I know. I want to say first of all, that nothing I have to say here is in any way intended to be a defense of Benjamin Netanyahu, who I have always believed to be an American-style right wing warmongering demagogue more like Newt Gingrich or Tom DeLay than anyone Israelis are used to seeing. To explain my viewpoint, I would like to refer to a couple of maps of Jerusalem. You may need to click on them to see them properly, as they have a lot of detail. The first map I would like you to see is this one, from the early 1880's The colored parts represent the old city, lying behind walls which had enclosed relatively the same area since the first century A.D. As you can see, as late as this time, only a hundred and...

What do you think?

Yes indeed, a particularly nasty jackass by the name of Chuck Baldwin, over at Renew America has written a post entitled "Dates that Destroyed America," and I was not even aware that America had been destroyed, so I thought that ignorant people like me might like to know what those dates might be. Just so you aren't tempted to think that the aforementioned Chuck Baldwin is just some ignorant cracker, he is described as follows:

I don't have a reason in the world for this post. So there. Update: Okay, point taken. Here's one of my favorites, Crosscut Saw:

Denial- We're going to whip your asses in November, and then watch us take that insurance away from all those kids and sick people, who hate you for giving them medical care. Anger- You filthy Muslim commie bastard, we're coming for you and we've got guns! Or at least bricks to throw through your window. Well, at least a really angry e-mail. Bargaining- Please God, you strike them dead, so I don't have to leave my computer room. That way, I can sit here and really tell them what patriotism is all about. Depression- Oh no, Democratic Fascists have destroyed our wonderful country. It's all over now. Just like they did before when they passed social security and medicare and most of all when they did away with slavery. Acceptance- Hey, I kind of like not having to worry about what will happen if I get sick. I'm sure glad the Republicans fought so hard to pass this bill.

News today that ten Democratic members of Congress have had to ask for increased security as the result of post-health care legislation threats from right wingers. Also, Republican Senators, in a fit of pique, have used some sort of arcane rule to shut down all committee hearings and other business being conducted by the Senate today. Good work, guys. That's mature of you. Now, hereere's a sample of the great "movement" that is sweeping the country courtesy of Thom Hartmann, who broadcast the audio of it this morning. The drooling right-wing pig who made this video disabled embedding, so I can't put the video up, but I urge you to click here and take a look at it: Well, I guess we can take some comfort in the fact that their Kristallnacht so far seems to consist of a few bricks through windows, a cut propane line, calling people names, and a bunch of macho posturing; let us all hope that the rest of these loons are as incapable of doing anything beyond malici...

Jimmy Carter, in remarks today: "Hamas leaders want peace and they want to have reconciliation not only with their Fatah brothers but also eventually with Israelis to live side by side, with two nations, both sovereign nations recognized by each other and living in peace" Here are a few excerpts from the Hamas charter: "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." "The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. " "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors." "After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they w...

Well, the right wingers are finally getting wound up again, after what appears to be a couple of days of deep depression as they fleetingly realized that their huge majority of racist, greedy Americans apparently didn't exist. Here they go: Kevin Glass, Town Hall: "Vulnerable Dems Now on Shakier Ground...Many liberal pundits have claimed that this health care vote won't matter come September. They'll be shocked to find out that the American people have a longer memory than they were hoping for." You're dead right, Kevin- the American people are going to have a long memory about this. Just like they do for Medicare, Social Security and the minimum wage. Don't come crying to us when you finally figure out what that means for you. Dan Perrin, Red State: "Late Saturday night I began to get “a bad feeling” about Stupak." I.e. a bad feeling that Stupak was going to do the right thing? Boy, that must have been tough. A Republican never likes to ...

Whatever else happens, at least we still have Orly Taitz to kick around. From TPM: "...now comes Orly Taitz, who in a new federal court filing argues that the bill violates her "right" to practice dentistry...The challenge comes in the form of an amended complaint in a Birther case in district court in Washington, Taitz v. Obama , that challenges the president's citizenship." Green Eagle thanks you, Orly. While your fellow wingnut lunatics have stumbled recently in their effort to keep us all amused, we know we can always count on you.

Yes, I spent the last two days collecting right wing "comments" on the passage of health care, with the anticipation that it would provide an amusing Wingnut Wrapup. It didn't. It has been the same lies and venom as always, with a touch of desperation and despair thrown into the mix. Everybody on that side of the fence wants to get in on the picnic, and not one of them has an interesting, or even amusing, thing to say. I decided to not bother you with it- you've heard it all so many times before.

I can't resist posting this picture of a Republican press conference this morning, which comes from AP, and I have already seen on a couple of other websites: I guess people just don't really care that much about their belligerent posturing over the health care bill. Who could have ever thought that Americans would actually not rise up in fury, demanding vengeance because the Democrats gave them health insurance protection?

I am having a problem with a childish little right wing troll. He has degenerated to just posting things calling me a fascist, etc. Forgive me for the numerous deleted comments on my blog the last few days- believe me, they are a lot less annoying than what I removed. I can't figure out an easy way to ban this jackass, or I would. If anyone knows how to do it (something a basically internet-ignorant person like me could handle) please let me know. Thanks .

Who said this? "The discoveries of healing science must be the inheritance of all. That is clear. Disease must be attacked, whether it occurs in the poorest or the richest man or woman simply on the ground that it is the enemy; and it must be attacked just in the same way as the fire brigade will give its full assistance to the humblest cottage as readily as to the most important mansion. Our policy is to create a national health service in order to ensure that everybody in the country, irrespective of means, age, sex, or occupation, shall have equal opportunities to benefit from the best and most up-to-date medical and allied services available." Trotsky? Hitler? Mao Tse Tung? Here's a hint for you: I have been listening to Hugh Hewitt for the last few minutes, as he is begging, begging his listeners to send money to the RNC. He broke to a commercial, and as the run-in to his current segment, he played the Winston Churchill speech about fighting them on the b...

From Yahoo: "WASHINGTON – Sen. John McCain says Democrats who championed the historic health care bill that passed the House haven't heard the last of the issue, predicting reprisals at the polls and in the courts. Interviewed Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," McCain repeated House Republican assertions that the transformative legislation amounts to a "government takeover" of health care." Excuse me for being so blunt, but who gives a flying fuck what John McCain has to say about anything? Isn't it time that we see the last of this malicious, power hungry liar? Just asking. But Wait! There's More! McCain speaks again: "There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year," McCain said during an interview Monday on an Arizona radio affiliate. "They have poisoned the well in what they've done and how they've done it." There has been no cooperation since the Dems took back Congress...

Via TPM , we now know who yelled "baby killer" at Bret Stupak on the floor of the House last night. Here he is, Texas Republican Representative Randy Neugebauer: Real cute, huh? Here's the voting record of this fat pig: Voted NO on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007) Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005) Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005) Voted YES on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004) Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortion except to save mother’s life. (Oct 2003) Voted NO on modifying bankruptcy rules to avoid mortgage foreclosures. (Mar 2009) Voted NO on additional $825 billion for economic recovery package. (Jan 2009) Voted NO on $60B stimulus package for jobs, infrastructure, & energy. (Sep 2008) Voted NO on regulating the subprime mortgage industry. (Nov 2007) Voted YES on...

Can one headline possibly prove everything the Conservatives ever said is a total crock? From Yahoo: "Health care companies pull stock market higher" Good for a laugh, huh?

219 to 212. Not one Republican vote for it. And now, Green Eagle's comment on the Democrats' victory over the dignified, mature, fact-based campaign of the Republican party, aimed at protecting insurance company profits: Yes, Republicans, you could have gotten a much better deal for your greedy businessmen last December, if you hadn't been such a bunch of lying, obstructionist pigs. As Thomas Friedman once observed, "suck on this one." The Democratic party proved something tonight which is overwhelmingly important: Yes, we can defeat the greedy rich if we stick together. Now it's time for lots more victories like this. And yes, Green Eagle had lots of fun making this graphic. Update: Oh God. The bill hasn't been passed for five minutes, and the Republicans are up there screaming out their nauseating garbage about abortion. These people have not a shred of respect for our national institutions, and care about nothing but getting their own way. There...

Well, they are frothing at the mouth at the anti-American idea that insurance companies don't have the right to rape us every day. That's just not Republican. Believe me, this is just a small sample: Carol Platt Liebau, Town Hall: "Ultimately, the question for the Stupak block is this: Are you really pro-life, or not? Let's pray these congressmen remain firm in their resolve to stand up for the unborn babies." Stand up for the unborn babies. By denying health care to millions of living people. Real pro life there, you monster. Austin Hill, Town Hall: "Is President Obama At War With America? If a frontal assault on the foundational principals and values of American life can qualify as being “at war” - then yes, Barack Obama is in combat with our country." Luckily for us, the notion that Obama is in "a frontal assault on the foundational principals and values of American life" is a psychotic delusion. I.e. Republican party line. Joseph C....

I am watching the house debate on the health care vote this morning. How can it be, in this country, that, once again, the Republican party has been able to reduce a debate on one of the most important issues facing this country, to one more endless malicious yammering about abortion, their most pervasive, pernicious form of pandering to their ignorant, intolerant base? Is there nothing on earth important enough to interrupt their attempt to twist the government to their own ends? This sick issue has nothing, nothing, NOTHING to do with the matter before the congress. Let's have enough of this pandering to the worst among us, and do what the American people need to have done.

I just thought you might like a peek into the future of this country being brought to you by the right. What follows is an article from a couple of months ago, from the Denver Post, about the city of Colorado Springs, home of organizations like Focus on the Family and other right wing hate factories, and one of the most conservative cities in the country. Here is how these people choose to run their community: "More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled. The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter. Neighbors are encouraged to bring their own lawn mowers to local green spaces, because parks workers will mow them only once every two weeks. If that. Water cutbacks me...

Digby, right as usual: "They're losing their thin veneer of civilization... I have it good authority that there's a lot of this coming over the phone lines..."nigger" being the preferred epithet. At the end of the day, plain old bigotry and racism is what this frothing frenzy against health care is all about. And in their frustration at not getting their way, their white supremacist slips are showing: This is not a spontaneous uprising of disaffected citizens who are angry about bailouts. This is the base of the modern Republican party, same as it ever was." As usual, when Digby speaks, you don't need to add a thing.

I saw a link to this post from Think Progress. It's from last September, but well worth reading: "At the How To Take Back America Conference... conservative speaker Kitty Werthmann led a workshop called “How to recognize living under Nazis & Communists.”... Werthmann explained how universal healthcare, an Equal Rights Amendment, and increased taxes were telltale signs of Nazism. Werthmann also warned the audience: "If we had our guns, we would have fought a bloody battle. So, keep your guns, and buy more guns, and buy ammunition. [...] Take back America. Don’t let them take the country into Socialism. And I refer again, Hitler’s party was National Socialism. [...] And that’s what we are having here right now, which is bordering on Marxism. " Get ready, folks. I am becoming increasingly convinced that we are not getting out of this mess without something really ugly happening. This is a sign from today's teabag rally in Washington.

As we at last seem on the point of limping through the minefield of health care reform, it is time to start looking ahead, to the next mega-tantrum the Republicans are going to throw to stop the Democrats from healing our ailing country. This one may come over the laughably named "No Child Left Behind" act, one of the more malignant remnants of the Bush administration. As is my practice, I want to look at this act in light of my belief that everything the Republican party does has a single purpose: to benefit the rich at the expense of the rest of us. That is why, obviously, tax cuts for the rich have always been the Republicans' answer to every economic problem facing the country, despite the crucial role they payed in precipitating the 1929 stock market crash. Let me note that the alternative in this case is to assume that George W, Bush and Dick Cheney actually cared about poor children, an idea so ludicrous that I think we are safe in rejecting it out of hand. But ...

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – "Dominican police have arrested a fugitive who acted as the lawyer for U.S. missionaries accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children. Jorge Puello initially served as the group's legal adviser and spokesman but authorities later said he was wanted for trafficking women and children in the U.S. and El Salvador." And exactly what plans did these "Christians" have for the kids they kidnapped? On second thought, I think I'd rather not know. And now this: "Dutch officials have reacted with anger and bemusement to the claim by a retired American general that their nation’s soldiers failed to prevent the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 in part because the presence of gay troops in the Dutch military had depleted the force’s mor ale." Mm hmm. That sounds like sound military reasoning to me. I suspect that Hitler had a similar view of things on, say, April 27th, 1945. And in religious news: "The German archdiocese...