Green Eagle

In the wake of their colossal humiliation, the birthers have tried on about a hundred different fantasies to argue away their disgrace.  None of it, however, comes close to embodying the mixture of malignant distortion and unrestrained viciousness to be found in right wing ideology, than the following piece from Alan Keyes, former Republican presidential candidate and proprietor of Renew America, one of the nation's most widely read right wing websites.  Here's a sizable sample of the sick thinking that is the specialty of the right:  "On Wednesday this week, after refusing the simple request for several years; after expending several million dollars in lawyer's fees to battle anyone who dared pursue it, Barack Obama finally gave in and released what purports to be a copy of his full and complete birth certificate." A.  The "several million dollars" story is a long discredited lie.  B.  Notice the "what purports to be," referring to a docume...

From a new source to me, a website entitled Too Much-A Commentary on Excess and Equality.   Here's the gist of what it says: "(Andrew) Mellon, a Pittsburgh financier, began his dozen years atop Treasury in 1921. He rated, at the time, as one of the world’s richest men. One of the most determined, too.  Mellon came to Washington as a man on a mission. That mission: to slash federal income tax rates on his fellow rich — and himself, of course, too. He succeeded.  In 1921, America’s richest faced a 73 percent tax rate on income over $1 million. By 1925, Mellon had maneuvered that top rate all the way down to 25 percent.  Andrew Mellon’s 1920s handiwork would eventually pour $72 billion, in today’s dollars, into wealthy pockets and set the table for the wildest speculative bubble Wall Street had ever seen. That bubble would burst into the Great Depression — and impoverish, in the process, tens of millions of Americans." There is a single caus...

And here it is!  How could Green Eagle Resist? Yes, it's the Special Birth Certificate Edition of Wingnut Wrapup!  So, now that President Obama has made total fools of Orly Taitz, Joseph Farah, Donald Trump and the majority of the Republican party that claims to believe Obama was born in Kenya, rather than  be forced to recognize a black president, what do you think their response is?  Well, you don't have to wonder, because Green Eagle is about to bring you the evidence!  Isn't that kind of him? Let's kick this off with the most spectacular sample of right wing reaction you are ever going to see, Orly Taitz' appearance on Lawrence O' Donnell's show yesterday.  Believe me, this is spectacular- don't miss it: Wasn't that fun?  Now, on to the rest- all collected within ten hours of Obama's release of his birth certificate: Erick Erickson, Red State:  "Hillary Clinton Wins. Obama Proves He Wasn’t Immaculated." Oh, so the whole t...

In case anyone doubts that "birtherism" is anything but a form of racism, used by white people who want to deny that a black man is their President, consider the latest garbage from new king of the birthers (sorry, Orly, you're fired,) Donald Trump: "Donald Trump is upping the ante against President Barack Obama's legitimacy, raising questions on Monday night about how the president was admitted to two Ivy League schools. Trump openly questioned how Obama, who he said had been a "terrible student," got accepted into Columbia University for undergraduate studies and then Harvard Law School. "I heard he was a terrible student, terrible," Trump told the Associated Press in an interview, a claim he's made in the past but one he doubled down on by suggesting he's probing that area of the president's life. "How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard? I'm thinking about it, I'm certainly looking into i...

...the currently so popular lie that the American Revolution was All About Jesus , you might like to know that: "The American Revolution was actually a low point in American religious adherence. Sociologists have shown that no more than 20 percent of the population in 1776 belonged to a church." This, from a great article in the Washington Post , linked to above, entitled "Five myths about church and state in America."  If you enjoyed this fact, you will like the rest of the piece also.

Will no one rid us of this maggot , and the press' love of him? "John McCain (R-Ariz.) yesterday became the highest profile U.S. official to visit Libya since international military intervention began, and gave a hearty endorsement to the rebels fighting the Gadhafi government.  It was just 18 months ago that McCain traveled to Libya and cozied up to Gadhafi, visiting with him at the dictator's home in Tripoli, shaking his hand, and even bowing a little to Gadhafi. The point of the meeting was for McCain to discuss delivery of American military equipment to the Libyan regime." There is no end to the degradation that this man will descend to.  And yet the press still turns to him at every opportunity, to lap up more of his self-serving lies.

I haven't been posting lately.  It's because I just can't think of anything I could possibly say that could do anything to turn the nation from its race to destruction. We need two functioning parties to run this country, and one has run so far off the rails that it has turned into a monstrosity.  In pursuit of the interests of the rich, it has now descended to the most degraded attacks on the poor and the middle class.  In the last couple of weeks, we have had the likes of this: "Under a new budget proposal from State Sen. Bruce Casswell, children in the state’s foster care system would be allowed to purchase clothing only in used clothing stores."  and this: "Minnesota Republicans are pushing legislation that would make it a crime for people on public assistance to have more $20 in cash in their pockets any given month. This represents a change from their initial proposal, which banned them from having any money at all." Vicious, heartle...

Via Yahoo: "NEW YORK – Former chief U.N. nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei suggests in a new memoir that Bush administration officials should face international criminal investigation for the "shame of a needless war" in Iraq. Freer to speak now than he was as an international civil servant, the Nobel-winning Egyptian accuses U.S. leaders of "grotesque distortion" in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, when then-President George W. Bush and his lieutenants claimed Iraq possessed doomsday weapons despite contrary evidence collected by ElBaradei's and other arms inspectors inside the country." Do you think that the needless murder of a million people in a mindless war of aggression will receive as much attention from the American press in the next few weeks as the issue of whether Bill Ayers really wrote Obama's autobiography? One more reason our country is now hurtling toward dictatorship.

Well, birtherism seemed to be dying, but now it is back stronger than ever.  We've got an idiot in a toupee running on top of the Republican pack, on nothing but the birther issue, Michelle Bachmann is pushing the limits again, and even Jerome Corsi, Mr. Swift Boat himself, is publishing a book on the subject. My readers will know that I have followed this totally bogus "issue" continuously.  In my opinion, it is absolutely no accident that it is coming back, and here is why.  The Repubican party has decided once again that only doom lies ahead for them if they try to fight an election campaign based on issues, or based on their past performance.  So they have determined to do everything they can to see to it that the 2012 election turns into a sick side show, concentrating on nothing but the most nonsensical and irrelevant claims, with a good helping of pure racism thrown in.  They are counting on the mainstream press to aid them in this effort by devoting en...

Well, it's about time, huh?  Here's a load of garbage from the right: Katie Pavlich, Town Hall:  "New Tone: Anti-Tea Party Protester Yells Profanity at 14-Year-Old Girl " The horror!  One person used a dirty word.  It's a national scandal far worse than this, from a Republican official, which is nothing but an innocent joke, and not racist at all: Tabitha Hale, Red State:  " Barack Obama’s EPA Doesn’t Care About Jobs...The EPA has admitted that they don’t even consider jobs when they do their economic analysis. No really. They don’t even think about the potential impact on unemployment." Let's see if I can explain this to you, Tabitha.  You see, the EPA exists to protect us from being poisoned by big business.  That's its job.  Do you think they ignore things like that because someone might lose his job?  No, of course you don't.  Like every other paid Republican liar, you don't give a damn about anything but how much money rich ...

Well, Green Eagle has just been too lazy to bother with politics the last few days.  He has just been looking out his window: and playing with his new toy: So, yeah, Obama said some nice things lately.  Until I see some sign that he intends to do what he says, I'm not impressed.  I'll spend my time trying to learn Five Long Years.

I don't give a damn any more what this guy has to say.  No matter what it is, it always turns out to be a cover for another sellout. I care about what he does, and at this point, that isn't giving me much of a good feeling.

Social security, medicare, medicaid, civil rights legislation, protections for workers from the worst depradations of the rich- these are the gifts the Democratic party has given the American people, and they are the reason why the Democratic party deserves to exist.  That is why I will never support anyone who agrees to destroy them, no matter what party he belongs to. Now, here is what Obama knows perfectly well:  Social security has absolutely nothing to do with the budget deficit; medicare functions on an overhead one tenth of what private insurance costs; without control on them, the rich will succeed in endlessly destroying our economy and then forcing the rest of us to pay the price. Yet he is apparently willing to sacrifice any and all Democratic achievements in order to pander to an ignorant and apathetic segment of the populace known as the "independents,"  thus buying into the Republican core belief that that the American public will vote for whoever lies to ...

For 525,000 Euros, you could be living here, about 10 miles from Montepulciano, and 5 miles from Lake Trasimeno. Wouldn't this be a nice place to sit and watch the United States devolve into a third world dictatorship?  Since that's what we are living through, we might at least be somewhere where the food is good, and people have learned to spot a fascist when they see one. How's your day going?

Barack Obama has all of the appearance of being one of the stupidest persons in history to be president of anything.  Either that, or he's a totally corrupt criminal who is also a phenomenally talented liar. I could be wrong, but I don't think so.

A little story to churn your stomach, from The Washington Post: "President Obama this week will lay out a new approach to reducing the nation’s soaring debt, proposing reductions in spending on entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid...(David Plouffe)said that though Obama does not think Social Security liabilities are a primary driver of the nation’s deficit and debt, the president would be open to discussing that, too...." I promise you, Barack, if you go there you will never get one second of support from me again.  And guess what? I believe there are millions of Democrats like me who have some sense of decency too, and won't support a man who is a sellout to the rich, no matter what party he belongs to.  You claim to admire FDR, but you apparently don't have a clue about what he did to create a country that worked for the middle class for fifty years, until it was dismantled on behalf of the greedy rich.  We now see you as a weak, indifferent failure.  Tak...

I just read that Obama is looking good for reelection. Great.  Four more years of slightly-less-than-totally-abominable. I guess that's all we deserve any more.

Time to run this again: If you 're interested, you might like to read this article from Daily Kos this morning, which also features this graphic, and which explains in some detail how Bill Clinton created the largest budget surpluses in the history of the country, and how the Republicans under George Bush deliberately turned them into the largest deficits in history, by stealing the money and giving it to the rich. As a minor sidelight, I'd like to point out that Clinton created his surpluses through something called the "Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act," a neutral name if ever there was one; Bush destroyed the economy through something he chose to call the "Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001." Economic growth indeed.

To another excellent example of the mainstream media's sellout of the country to the rich, this one from John Cole, via Atrios.

From whom else? . A small sample follow, but  this is a great summation of the situation, and you should read it in its entirety. "... the G.O.P. plan turns out not to be serious at all. Instead, it’s simultaneously ridiculous and heartless...Republicans have once again gone all in for voodoo economics — the claim, refuted by experience, that tax cuts pay for themselves....the proposal calls for spending on items other than Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — but including defense — to fall from 12 percent of G.D.P. last year to 6 percent of G.D.P. in 2022, and just 3.5 percent of G.D.P. in the long run. That last number is less than we currently spend on defense alone" Which, of course, they won't agree to cut in any way.  So as any sentient person could have predicted, the whole thing is a malicious lie, like all Republican economic proposals. There's only one small thing I disagree with Krugman about, and it's when he says this: "So the pundit...

Some depressing news from Salon: "Liberty University, the evangelical private Christian school founded by dead apartheid-supporting bigot Jerry Falwell, received $445 million in federal financial aid last year. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, by the way, received $420 million from the federal government." Food stamps, no.  Nauseating, vicious right wing lies, yes.  Did any Democrat, during the course of the party's latest budget collapse, draw their own line in the sand, and state openly that they would not vote for any budget bill that included a penny for this evil institution?  I guess Republicans are allowed to pretend they are acting on some kind of principles (even though we all know they are a pack of corrupt criminals who don't give a damn about right and wrong) but Democrats have given up on the principle thing altogether.  Obama's Democratic party seems to be operating on the basis of "vote for me- see, I don't believe in anything....

Crooks and Liars has a post today about a study tracking violence by State.  Here is something I noticed about the results:  Seven of the ten most violent States voted Republican in 2008, and eight of the ten least violent States voted Democratic. Boy, I bet you are surprised about that, huh? And for another not so surprising result of the study: "The institute also found that peace has a major impact on the economy. If the U.S. had that same level of peacefulness as Canada, there would be a positive economic effect of over $361 billion, and it would generate 2.7 million jobs." There's not really much to say about things like this.  We all know they are true, but apparently there is nothing we can do about  them.

They didn't love: "Sen. James Inhofe still supporting Gbagbo in Ivory Coast and says he has proof election results are wrong...and he called the French murderers for stepping in and trying to help sort the situation out." The nation's most powerful climate change denier is also quite a dictator denier too.  He claims that Gbagbo is a man of the people, and the French are over there, for some reason, slaughtering thousands.  Well, there really are no words to describe how contemptible this sort of thing is, but it apparently doesn't bother a large segment of the American people to see one of their political parties supporting tyrants decade after decade.  The Dems aren't all that much better, but at least they have the self respect to show a little shame about their behavior.  As far as Republicans are concerned, no one counts if they are too poor to chip in to the Keep Republicans in Power fund.

This news, from the New York Times: "Glenn Beck to End Daily Fox News Program...His departure was jointly announced in a statement on Wednesday by Fox and Mr. Beck’s company, Mercury Radio Arts. The statement did not specify an end date for the show, called “Glenn Beck,” which has been telecast at 5 p.m. on Fox News since early 2009. Mr. Beck’s contract with Fox ends in December." Of course, the Times can't let it go without giving Beck a little wet kiss on the way out the door: "Mr. Beck is a hugely popular figure on Fox News, averaging 2.2 million viewers each weekday, though his ratings have fallen somewhat in the last year." In this case, "fallen somewhat" being a loss of over a third of his watchers in the last six months- something which, in the case of Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann would be described as a catastrophic collapse, proving that they speak for no one. This is a phenomenon we are all too familiar with, most notably in the ...

I've been really busy at work, which has cut down on my ignorant carping here at Green Eagle, but there's always time for the wingnuts, right?  Here's a load of their "wisdom" for the day: Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit:  "Predictable. Pelosi Responds to Ryan Plan With Her Usual Poison" And what is that poison?  According to Jim, it's this twitter: "The GOP Ryan budget is a path to poverty for America's seniors & children and a road to riches for big oil" Thus, we get another lesson in something we know all too well:  To the Republicans, truth is poison. Bryan Fisher, Renew America:  "Hey Libs: listen to yourselves: beheadings are your fault" Believe me, you don't want to know the idiotic logic that led Bryan to claim that.  Well, here's a sample: "conservatives blame, you know, actual perpetrators for their crimes, meaning we don't blame Pastor Jones" But, of course, a few sentences above, ...

From the AP: "GENEVA – The depletion of the ozone layer shielding Earth from damaging ultraviolet rays has reached an unprecedented low over the Arctic this spring because of harmful chemicals and a cold winter, the U.N. weather agency said Tuesday. The Earth's fragile ozone layer in the Arctic region has suffered a loss of about 40 percent from the start of winter until late March, exceeding the previous seasonal loss of about 30 percent, the World Meteorological Organization said. The Geneva-based agency blamed the loss on a buildup of ozone-eating chemicals once widely used as coolants and fire retardants in a variety of appliances and on very cold temperatures in the stratosphere" Do not look at the man behind the curtain.  He is not really there. Who are you going to believe, anyway, a bunch of scientists or the Koch brothers?

From The Guardian: "As he sheltered in the basement of his presidential palace surrounded by forces loyal to his rival, Alassane Ouattara, the UN said that it had received calls from Gbagbo's three top generals – the head of the armed forces, the head of the police and the head of the elite republican guard – offering to negotiate terms for surrender in return for guarantees of safety." How about this for terms:  A quick shot to the back of the head, and we won't let the crowds drag you through the street for three or four hours first. I think that's just about fair.

Well, take your pick:  McCain, Lieberman or Graham: "In the Senate, those demanding even harsher prosecution of the Libya war include the three amigos. John McCain, warning that "the blood of Americans is on Qaddafi's hands," has called for arming the insurgents, whom Joe Lieberman has praised as "freedom fighters." Linsdey Graham wants to know why we don't just take out the Libyan leader like Reagan tried to do: "Who would be mad at us," he pressed Pentagon chief Robert Gates yesterday, "if we dropped a bomb on Qaddafi?" Here's the curious thing about their hawkish swagger: In August of 2009 — not even two years ago — McCain, Lieberman, Graham traveled to Tripoli to shake the bloody hand of the freedom-depriving dictator they now want to assassinate... the three amigos had a chummy visit with the Qaddafi clan: Lieberman expressed delight at the thaw in U.S.-Libyan relations...the Connecticut independent praised Libya as a...

How about this? "(The Florida Senate Budget Committee)  voted to slash health care spending for transplant recipients and other "medically needy" patients with catastrophic illness but who lack sufficient insurance coverage." Not only were there no death panels in the Obama health care reform bill, but the very Republicans that screamed this lie so loudly would have been perfectly happy if there had been.  So happy in fact that they are enacting death panels themselves.

Well, folks, here's a special "treat!"  It's an entire Wingnut Wrapup from one single website!  It's one I just stumbled across, and I have to say that its author, one Bobbi Lea, is a busy little beaver when it comes to spreading the hate.  There's so much  really astounding information to learn from Bobbi, so let's just dive right in: "No More 'Way of the Jungle' For White, Christian Children - Saggy Pants For Arkansas School Kids OUT " Saggy pants. Arkansas ranks 44th in education among the states.  It's comforting to see them concentrating on what's really important to their children. "8 United Nations Servants Killed As Afghans Protest Quran-Burning In Jew Controlled U.S." Bobbi doesn't have much to say about the racist right wing Christians who actually burned the Quran.  Oh no, they're not at fault at all.  It's the Jews. "Saudi Royal Family Conceal Their Jewish Origin" Bet you'...

Well, here's something to ponder when you consider what the American people really want. Last week, there was another national tea party in Washington.  The event was promoted for several weeks, and featured  Representatives Michelle Bachmann and Mike Pence, heroes of the teabag movement.  Here's a picture: And yes, as usual here at Green Eagle, this picture shows the largest number of people I could find, not surprising for an event that drew a crowd described by numerous sources as in the dozens.  The dozens, at a national march!  And yet this farce was reported in numerous major publications, most of which carefully avoided being too specific about how many people showed up. Now, here is another event from this week, which interested the media far less: This is a crowd of several thousand that showed up to protest Republican attacks on working people, in the State of New Hampshire, which has a population of under a million and a half.  Needle...

The list of abuses perpetrated by the Republicans, who scream every day that only they care about our constitution, grows by the day.  Here is the newest chapter: "The House narrowly passed legislation on Friday that calls for a House-passed FY 2011 spending bill to become law should the Senate fail to approve a spending bill by April 6...The bill, H.R. 1255, was approved over bitter Democratic opposition in a 221-202 vote in which no Democrats supported it, and 15 Republicans opposed it." "Several Democrats argued that the measure is unconstitutional" Several Democrats "argued" that it is unconstitutional to declare something a law when it has only been passed by one house of congress?  Does that imply that someone could seriously "argue" that such a thing just might be constitutional?  Have we reached such a state of craven corruption in our country that 221 members of Congress could without shame vote to support this illegal, dictatorial...