Green Eagle

From Daily Kos , an excellent summation of the position which six years of screeching for impeachment of a centrist President has left the Republican party: "Don't call Obama a tyrant. When you call Obama a tyrant wingnuts want to impeach him When wingnuts want to impeach Obama Dem voters get motivated to vote in off year elections. The GOP really has two choices here, either shitcan the looney impeachment talk OR admit that Obama isn't the lawless tyrant hell bent on destroying the constitution that they've painted him as for the last 5 or 6 years. But the GOP can't do either of those things or their rabid teabagger base would throw them out faster than you can say Eric Cantor. Whereas Obama can now continue to rope-a-dope these schmucks to his hearts content . Don't want to pass a real immigration reform bill that addresses a clear pathway to citizenship? I'll just get my pen and my phone. There is an Executive Order for that. ...

That would be Kentucky, and I was just about struck dumb by these two maps (something that, as you know, rarely happens to Green Eagle) showing just what Obamacare has meant to Kentucky.  This is via Daily Kos and Leo Weekly in Louisville.  Things like this need to be spread, because they show just what a bunch of malignant monsters Republicans are: The decrease in the rate of the uninsured in Kentucky is astounding, and particularly so in places like Harlan County, one of the most intense anti-Obama places in the country.  This is what the Republicans in Congress have been working for years, almost single-mindedly (other than the phony scandals) to take away from the American people. Democrats all over the country should be shoving this down Republicans' throats, but that just wouldn't be polite, so I guess they will just curl up in a corner and lose in November.  Believe me, it's not Libya or executive orders that make Republicans want to get Obama out ...

Just a brief note:  Today is the 100th anniversary of the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Serbia, starting World War I.  On August 4, a week later, Germany, the Austrians' ally, invaded Belgium, drawing France and England into the war. And thus we entered the modern world.

Just a brief comment, but I'm a little puzzled by the panic over the ruling by a Federal District Court about Obamacare last week. The court seemed to have decided (by a 2-1 majority, the two justices being of course two more examples of the pollution of our court system by corrupt right wingers) that Obamacare subsidies are only allowed for State exchanges and not the Federal one that exists in those many States whose voters have decided to stab themselves in the back by electing Republicans to run things. Well, we all know that it is very likely that this ruling will not stand, but what would happen if it did?  The States that voluntarily participated in the Affordable Care Act (the Democratic States) would continue as they are into the foreseeable future, while those States that rejected participation due to spite and political animus (the Republican States) would see millions of their residents stripped of access to health care.  Over a few years, we would see the heal...

Mark Davis, Town Hall:  "Gaza, Ukraine, Border Crises Have Roots In a Weakened America...(Obama's) stewardship of America’s decline is a prime cause of Mideast turmoil, Russian adventurism and a porous southern border." And restless leg syndrome. That's Obamas's fault too.  Here's some more incisive opinion from Mark: "...even George W. Bush, who kept us safe with a war taken to the enemy after 9/11, supported a ridiculous “two-state solution” that hastens to grant Palestinians a nation well before they show any aptitude for non-terrorist self-governance..." He kept us safe after 9-11.  AFTER 9-11.  After the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.  He gets a pass on that one. See, 3000 dead Americans on American soil just wasn't Bush's fault, but an airplane shot down halfway around the world by people who we have absolutely zero control over was clearly Obama's fault.  Because he is weak- which apparently consists in not squanderin...

The problem we always run into in talking about the Middle East is that there is so much long-standing misinformation about the subject that it requires an extreme effort to discover the truth.  This is not a one-sided situation.  I remember being taught, when I was growing up, that all of the Arab residents of Israel who left in 1947 did so voluntarily, at the urging of their political and religious leaders.  We have long since learned that this is only partially true; that a significant number were driven out by hostility and threats from Jews. The same is far more true on the other side.  The greatest success at this maneuver has been getting the world to swallow the whole notion of a "Palestinian" people, an ethnic group whose claims stand against those of the Jews, but which was never heard of before 1967.  This has enabled them to portray the Jewish migration to Israel as a specimen of colonialism, an easily sold fabrication which flies in the face of th...

I want to get my two cents in on Bibi Netanyahu.  And let me start out by saying that he disgusts me the same way that Bush and Cheney and Reagan and McCain and Gingrich do.  More about this later. I first noticed Netanyahu in the early nineties, and he seemed immediately familiar to me- a self-serving demagogue cut from the same cloth as the American guys I mentioned above.  But the Israelis couldn't see that, and for a historical reason.  Israel is not an old country.  Up until Netanyahu, all of the high ranking members of Israeli governments had participated either in the fight to establish the State, or in the struggle to build a society from nothing.  And as with our founding fathers, this left even the most deplorable of them, like Sharon, with a commitment to the welfare of Israel that overrode their lowest motives.  Not so with Netanyahu.  He cared for no one but himself, and was willing to advance in Israel the same right wing cant that...

This news just in: "Washington (AFP) - Back in 2012, the Sun erupted with a powerful solar storm that just missed the Earth but was big enough to "knock modern civilization back to the 18th century," NASA said." What, the Sun is a Republican?

Every time we hear the claim that Palestinians use their own civilians as sacrificial victims to prevent Israelis from fighting back against them without the inevitable worldwide condemnation, the claims pour in that it is nothing but lying Israeli propaganda. Well, this statement, from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, should put an end to that: "Today, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip. As soon as the rockets were discovered, UNRWA staff were withdrawn from the premises, and so we are unable to confirm the precise number of rockets. The school is situated between two other UNRWA schools that currently each accommodate 1,500 internally displaced persons. The Agency immediately informed the relevant parties and is pursuing all possible measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school. UNRWA will launch ...

Congressman Steve King, one of the most unrepentant racists and immigrant haters in Washington, held an anti-immigration rally this past weekend: I know this is getting boring, but as long as the Mainstream press treats the teabaggers, the anti-immigrant racists, the Bundy Ranch would-be terrorists, and all the rest of the right wing haters as a significant movement in this country, I'm going to keep showing the truth. And what is the truth?  This supposed movement is largely a creation of rich people like the Koch Brothers, who over the years have spent tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars manufacturing the illusion that large parts of the voting public support whatever the rich guys want. Apparently, this was one of a number of immigration "protests" held across the country this weekend; all of them were busts, attracting at most 40 people, as few as 3.  Yet we are held hostage by this mirage of a movement, because it suits the mainstream press and the Rep...

With Republicans now furious that Obama won't send weapons to the Ukraine to use in its fight against Russia, and a number of them actually demanding that we send American troops to the region, I would like to point out the following:  Woodrow Wilson worked for two and a half years to keep the United States out of World War I, and it wasn't a tough fight because hardly anyone else over here wanted to be in the war either.  Finally he had to call for war.  And what was the provocation that drew us into World War I?  It wasn't the sinking of the Lusitania, it wasn't the violation of Belgian neutrality, it wasn't the attacks on our merchant fleet, it wasn't the damage done to our allies.  It was the discovery of Germany's attempts to get Mexico to go to war against the United States: "On (March 1st) in 1917, the text of the so-called Zimmermann Telegram, a message from the German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, to the German ambassador to Mexic...

Here is a song which illustrates the state of Palestinian pop music so well.  It comes from a site called MEMRI ,  which follows Arabic TV and provides excerpts with translations. I found this site through Infidel753, who has a much more frightening excerpt of a speaker at a rally in Gaza.  I urgently encourage you to click on the link and listen to this evil, perverted man- it's only a couple of minutes long, but it should dispel any doubts you should have about who are the bad guys in the Middle East. Any way, all things considered, when it comes to music, I'll stick with Buddy Guy. That doesn't have a thing to do with the subject- I just needed it to get the other one out of my mind.  Because after that, I've got the blues too.

Just a few months ago, when Republicans thought Vladimir Putin was the greatest leader on earth? The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , The Daily Show on Facebook , Daily Show Video Archive How's that going for you guys now?

Courtesy of Daily Kos, here's an interesting chart: As you can see, gun deaths in the United States are inching up to the point when they may exceed motor vehicle deaths in the fairly near future.  Apparently, they already do in 14 States. The article points out that government regulation has massively reduced motor vehicle deaths.  Of course, we are not allowed to have that sort of thing for guns, because FREEDOM!!!

Oh, not Al Qaida, of course.  Not the Russians or the Chinese.  No, they're attacking that Mooslum Communist Barack Obama.  This time it is about his failure to prevent an abominable act committed by a rebel group halfway around the world.  What exactly Obama did that caused this to happen, or what he could have possibly done to stop it, is as unknown as the Republican substitute for Obamacare, which they have been promising for six years now, but it doesn't stop them from raving on, does it? I was going to compile a list of some of the more asinine attacks the Republicans made on Obama, starting the day after the downing of the Malaysian jetliner over Ukranian territory, when no one really knew jack about what had happened.  And boy, there was plenty there- the whole pack of them attacked on cue, as is usual with Republicans.  But what's the point?  You all know perfectly well what they are going to have to say.  So I thought I would just conte...

Green Eagle loves conspiracy theories- particularly when he makes them up all by himself.  So a Malaysian airliner seems to have been shot down over the Ukraine.  Every scrap of talk I have heard so far revolves around suspicion of the Russians or Ukrainians. You know what?  Remember a few months ago when a Malaysian airliner disappeared altogether?  Well, here's another one gone.  Think that's just a coincidence?  Well, you will have to prove it to me.

Bye bye Johnny I hope you won't mind my turning away from politics for a minute.  I'm a very big blues fan, and just wanted to note the passing of Johnny Winter.  The above song doesn't display as much of Winter's unbelievably fast lead work, for which he was so famous (although there is some pretty hot lead playing later in the cut,) but it's a great song, and suits the mood of the day, I think.  I love the switch from the country style at the beginning into the very electric shuffle at the end. Winter's work was less well known than a lot of other people's playing, I think, although everybody knows who he was.  If you've never heard him, give this a try, and then maybe find a little more on YouTube.

Let's get this latest wheelbarrow of fertilizer out there: Guy Benson, Town Hall:  "Officials: ISIS Terrorists May Target Europe and US Homeland, Threat 'Extremely High' Surprise! Not a single one of these "officials," nor what agency they work for is mentioned in this article.  How do these guys get away with this over and over again?  Is the country that filled with willing suckers? Town Hall:  "Question: Is President Obama the “Most anti-Woman President Ever”? Really.  I  mean, is he?  Well, here is the answer: "I’ll spell it out plainly as I can: Obama is the worst president for women because he has systemically lied to them. He has brazenly campaigned as their champion, even as he seeks to make them wards of the state, forever dependent on government largesse in the form of food stamps and free birth control." Forever dependent on having food to eat and medical care.  That's what makes Obama the worst President in histor...

Well, I am still wound up about the situation in Israel, and I want to make the following comment.  This post is motivated by the fact that every encounter between Israel and the Palestinians, and every peace proposal demands that the Israelis, having seized land from their enemies as a result of being attacked, must give every square inch of it back, and that the intransigent descendants of the "Palestinians" who lived within the territory that is now Israel must be granted an unconditional "right of return."  As with so much involving Israel, it is strange that much of the world seems to demand things of Jews that it would never demand of anyone else.  The most abominable slaughter in the Sudan or Congo go virtually unnoticed; wholesale ethnic killing in Syria or Pakistan seems just fine with people; but let the Israelis build a wall or some houses and the act instantly decried as an abomination.  Even fighting back against endless attacks is characterized by fa...

I've been thinking a lot lately about World War I, it being the hundredth anniversary and all.  One thing that has been on my mind is the introduction of the routine use of poison gas by the Germans.  Until that happened, the use of gas in warfare was considered an abomination, and most use of gas is still considered a war crime.  But the Germans opened a Pandora's box that apparently can never be closed again; just as with torture, there is always a Dick Cheney waiting in the wings who is willing to stoop to anything, no matter how degraded, to get what he wants.  In a way, this is the most lasting damage that the Germans did in World War II: licensing a previously unacceptable form of behavior, and thereby permanently degrading all of civilization.  We are now very likely witnessing something similar happening.  We are all familiar with the horrific damage that accidents at nuclear power plants like Fukushima or Chernobyl can potentially cause.  Y...

We have this news from Israel today: "Three rockets were launched at Dimona in southern Israel on Wednesday afternoon. The Iron Dome intercepted one rocket before it could land, while two other rockets landed in open areas. Dimona is the location of Israel's nuclear reactor... Hamas claimed responsibility for the rockets, stating that it had been attempting to hit the nuclear reactor.  Militants from Hamas's Qassam Brigades said they had launched long-range M-75 rockets towards Dimona." The above is from the Jerusalem Post, not necessarily the most trustworthy source, but a quick Google search will convince you that it is being reported all around the world, by Reuters, Haaretz and many news sources across the political spectrum. To understand what a threat this represents, take a look at a map of Israel: You can find Dimona near the bottom end of the Dead Sea.  It is about 60 miles from Jerusalem, 30 miles from Jordan and 50 miles from Egypt.  In fact ...

There is a new right wing claim that is spreading like wildfire around the Republican world.  As my readers know, these things are usually an opportunity for me to engage in little but ridicule.  This one is different, and I want to disucuss it at some length, because of the potentially serious repercussions of allowing it to go unchallenged.  As far as I can tell at this point, this story originated with a Republican congressman from Virginia, Bob Goodlatte, who had this to say recently:  "The "9-0 decision last week was the 13th time the Supreme Court voted 9-0 that the president had exceeded his constitutional authority." This claim has now spread to many right wing sources of information.  The following are only a few. Here's the innocuous sounding Business Insider on the subject: "Since January 2012, the Obama administration has suffered at least 13 unanimous defeats in cases it argued (not counting cases in which it filed an amicus brief), ac...

"The 10 Most Overrated Disney Animated Films" ‘Drunk Driver’ Hits Cop Directing Traffic At Accident Scene" "Nurse sent to prison for sex acts with corpse" "Daily Caller's Top Ten Patriotic Country Songs" All of these were featured stories today at the right wing blogs I cover for Wingnut Wrapup.  Here's a story that didn't make the cut at any of them: "May job growth greater than for any month since Bill Clinton was President." Just not important enough, I guess, to warrant a mention.  Of course, a story about a corpse may be more important to people who are brain dead.

Well, of course the supposed explosion of children escaping from Central America and trying to make it into the country is Obama's fault, right?  Here's a sample of the current Republican cant on the subject, contained in an e-mail that I (for some unknown reason) got from Rand Paul: "President Obama turned an already bad situation into a debacle. Due to his lawless executive orders, a crisis on our southern border exploded as tens of thousands of immigrant men, women, teenagers and even children streamed across our border and illegally entered our country." So, a situation that has been going on for decades is suddenly Obama's fault. Let me make this clear to anyone too ignorant to know the truth about things:  Illegal immigration into the U.S. from the impoverished Central American countries is one more species of blowback- the price we are paying for a century of exploitation of these nations on behalf of United States business interests.  Have you forgo...

Digby:  "Are we really talking about sending children back to hell to appease a bunch of xenophobes?" Answer:  Yup.

I have determined that I am not going to cover the right wing gloating about the two corrupt Supreme Court decisions yesterday.  I bet you are just fine with that.