Green Eagle

Well, Mitt's speech, which the New York Times described as "delivered in a treacly tone with a strange misty smile on his face suggesting he was always about to burst into tears," and which contained (as usual for this disingenuous liar) almost no specifics, is now history.  Here, for your edification is the total of everything Mitt had to say about job creation, of course, with Green Eagle's helpful translation into English: "I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs."  The CBO estimates that the economy will produce 12 million new jobs on its own by 2016.  So Mitt has a plan to do the same thing Republicans have done for the last two years to create jobs: nothing. "Paul Ryan and I have five steps. First , by 2020, North America will be an energy independent by taking advantage of our oil, are coal, our gas, our nuclear, and renewables. " I.e. doing away with regulations on the energy industry, and savaging the environment and Ameri...

I don't think anybody is paying any attention. Update:   Courtesy of Mastercynic, this piece of urgent news: "Honey Boo Boo' Ratings Top the Republican National Convention Here Comes Honey Boo Boo , TLC's controversial reality show about a self-proclaimed "redneck" family and their Toddlers and Tiaras daughter, hit another ratings high Wednesday night. The TLC series hits another high in its fourth episode, nearing 3 million viewers and topping cable news and broadcast network coverage of the RNC among adults 18-49." I think that just about says it all.

Well, I see that the press has uniformly described the group of soldiers that plotted to kill the President (see below) as an "anarchist militia." I have been following the militia movement off and on since its inception in the eighties, and I must say, I have never heard of a "militia" that wasn't right wing.  So, I'm going to stick my neck out here, and in absence of any real information about this group, make the following prediction: the mainstream media, having collaborated with Republicans a couple of years ago to shout down the very idea that right wing terrorists could possibly be a threat, are going to do everything they can to disguise this group's real ideology, which, as with all militias, is hard right wing. By the way, if it is any indication, it now appears that the leader of this "anarchist" militia attended the last Republican convention.

I'm just going to repeat this story from the British MSN website verbatim: "US troops plotted to kill Obama President Barack Obama was the target of an assassination plot by US troops (© AP) Four US soldiers plotted to assassinate Barack Obama and overthrow the government, a court has heard. Prosecutors in Georgia said they formed an anarchist militia within the military. One, private Michael Burnett, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and gang charges in the killings last December of former soldier Michael Roark and his girlfriend, 17-year-old Tiffany York. Burnett said that Roark, who had just left the army, knew of the militia group's plans and was killed because he was "a loose end." Prosecutor Isabel Pauley said the group bought 87,000 dollars (£55,000) of guns and bomb-making materials and plotted to take over Fort Stewart, bomb targets in Savannah and Washington state, as well as assassinate the president." And of course, the Obama a...

Can anything be more ludicrous than this claim by Karl Rove, of all people? "Rove: Obama Discouraging Voting This November" Yes, in a year when the Republican party nationwide has openly and unashamedly devoted itself to keeping as many Democrats from being able to vote in November, Rove has the unmitigated gall to claim that it is Obama who is discouraging people from casting their ballots.  And how does he explain that? "Political pundit and former presidential adviser Karl Rove tells Newsmax that President Obama’s re-election tactic is to discourage voting this November by making Romney “unpalatable” to voters who don’t want to vote for the incumbent." Yes indeed, it is an unforgivable offense on the part of Obama to make Romney "unpalatable to voters."  It is a dirty trick for Obama to point out the obvious fact that his opponent doesn't belong within a thousand miles of the White House. There is just no end to the shamelessness of the Re...

Those trusty scientists at World Net Daily offer their utterly rational explanation of the causes of Hurricane Isaac, in a wonderful display of right wing scientific thinking.  Read, and be amazed! "WND EXCLUSIVE Did GOP, Obama actions prompt Isaac? Author links hurricane to policies toward Israel TAMPA, Fla. – Could Hurricane Isaac’s disrupting of the Republican convention here be tied to recent policy decisions by the GOP leadership and Barack Obama? That question is being raised by Bible prophecy expert William Koenig, whose book, “Eye to Eye: Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel,” links catastrophic hurricanes hitting the U.S. with changes in policy toward Israel." Of Course!  Why didn't I think of that!  It explains so much! "Koenig points out that on Tuesday, the day Isaac formed as a tropical storm, the Republican platform committee voted to add a “two-state” position pertaining to Israel for formal convention approval. But former Sen. Jim T...

You may have heard about the guy that killed someone at the Empire State Building today.  Ho hum, another murder...but there is one thing that interested me about this story: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - An out-of-work fashion designer fatally shot a former co-worker near the Empire State Building on Friday and was then killed in a blaze of gunshots by police, stunning tourists and commuters outside of one of New York's most popular landmarks. Nine bystanders were wounded, possibly all of them by police bullets..." Nine wounded by police, shooting in broad daylight.  Now, imagine that this shootout had taken place, say, in a dark movie theater in Colorado, and that the people who returned fire were not trained policemen but violent, infantile jackasses living out their fantasy of being Dirty Harry. Boy those people that want to see lots more idiots wandering around with loaded guns (read Republicans) are really on to a good thing here, right?

It's only one poll, but I guess we can let ourselves hear positive news once in a while: "The advantage Republicans held among seniors in 2010 has been completely decimated. Across these Republican districts, incumbents now hold just a two-point lead with voters over age 64—a group Republicans won by 18 points in 2010.  Not surprisingly, the leading factor in this shift away from the GOP is Paul Ryan’s war on Medicare." And yes, this poll is from James Carville, who I never trust too much, but we can dream, can't we?  Without a major lead among seniors, Romney has as much chance of winning in November as the guys in the Coliseum had of beating the lions.

The day after repudiating Representative Akin's ignorant and malicious comments about rape and pregnancy, the Republicans have announced the abortion plank in their platform: " Tampa, Florida (CNN) – Republicans drafting their party's official policy platform on Tuesday ratified a call for a Constitutional ban on abortion that makes no exceptions for rape or incest. The vote to endorse the party's long-standing opposition to abortion and support for a "human life amendment" took place at a meeting of the GOP's official platform committee in Tampa, the site of next week's Republican National Convention." What a wonderful move forward.  Their position is not "women can't get pregnant from rape," but the eminently understandable "okay, women can get pregnant from rape, but we don't give a damn."  Good work, guys.

I'm going to provide this without detailed comment, but if you want to see how far the mainstream media will go to help Republicans spin their lying narrative about Obama, check out this one article, a fact-check from The Atlantic of this week's cover story in Newsweek, about why, supposedly, Obama shouldn't be reelected. It will perhaps astound you to know that, when asked, Newsweek confessed that they do not have anyone to fact-check their own articles, instead relying on the writers to do this on their own.  Well, read the article and see what the result of that policy turns out to be.  It is hard to believe you could find this many right wing lies in a post at World Net Daily o r Renew America, let alone a supposedly revered mainstream publication.

We have heard a great deal of coverage of the lunatic who worked at a gay counseling center who went into the building housing the Family Research Center (a SLPC certified hate group) and SHOT A GUARD IN THE ARM!!!!!  Here's another story from the last few days that was of no interest to the mainstream press: "Suspects in Louisiana deputy shootings tied to ‘sovereign citizen’ movement Police say at least two of the seven suspects arrested for the fatal shooting of two Louisiana sheriffs deputies last Thursday are connected to the anti-government “sovereign citizen” movement. According to WBRZ-TV, 28-year-old Kyle Joekel and 44-year-old Terry Smith had identified themselves as part of the movement, which was classified as a domestic terror group last year by the FBI. Joekel and Smith, along with several members of Smith’s family and other associates, were arrested following an ambush on authorities in LaPlace, Louisiana, about 25 miles west of New Orleans. Deputies Br...

I know I'm harping on the same subject these days, but here is the latest devastating takedown of Paul Ryan, from Paul Krugman.  Just a small sample: "What Mr. Ryan actually offers, then, are specific proposals that would sharply increase the deficit, plus an assertion that he has secret tax and spending plans that he refuses to share with us, but which will turn his overall plan into deficit reduction.  If this sounds like a joke, that’s because it is. ...self-proclaimed centrists are always looking for conservatives they can praise to showcase their centrism, and Mr. Ryan has skillfully played into that weakness, talking a good game even if his numbers don’t add up.  The question now is whether Mr. Ryan’s undeserved reputation for honesty and fiscal responsibility can survive his participation in a deeply dishonest and irresponsible presidential campaign." As usual, every line of this piece is worth reading, so go read it.  It will be time well spent...

As a sidelight to my comment below on Paul Ryan, and the mainstream press's willingness to trumpet this absolutely party line Republican tax slasher as the economic demigod of the modern era, I give you David Brooks babbling away at the New York Times last year, courtesy of Welcome to Pottersville 2 .   His comments are almost insufferable, but this is a great demonstration of what happens when the press tries to "balance" the analysis of Paul Krugman, or even the snark of Maureen Dowd with some conservative committed to nothing but pushing the same old Republican lies: "What they lacked was courageous political leadership — a powerful elected official willing to issue a proposal, willing to take a stand, willing to face the political perils. The country lacked that leadership until today. Today, Paul Ryan, the Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee, is scheduled to release the most comprehensive and most courageous budget reform proposal any o...

Well, we all know in advance, don't we, the line that the mainstream press is gong to take about Paul Ryan.  He is the brilliant intellectual policy wonk who has done the math, who really understands the economics of the Federal budget; he is the bold, brave leader who is willing to put forth a carefully developed plan to solve the problems of our runaway deficits (which were of course caused by profligate Democrats.) And this is what we hear, from all sides.  The press is so desperate to find reason and balance on the Republican side of the aisle that they are going to push this fantasy from now until election day, despite the truth that is staring them in the face. So, let's take a look at the basics of the Ryan plan: 1. Ryan's original plan (supported by virtually all Republicans, including Mitt) vastly slashes taxes on the rich, including doing away with all capital tax gains- a move which would have left Mitt Romney with a Federal tax burden for 2010 (the only year...

As usual, a brilliant comment: "So, let me clarify what I believe is really going on in the choice of Paul Ryan as VP nominee. It is not about satisfying the conservative base, which was motivated anyway by Obama-hatred; it is not about refocusing on the issues, because R&R are both determined to avoid providing any of the crucial specifics about their plans. It is — as Jonathan Chait also seems to understand — about exploiting the gullibility and vanity of the news media, in much the same way that George W. Bush did in 2000." And as usual, I recommend that you click on the link and read the rest. As I have now said several times, the Democrats could crush the Republicans with ease in any electoral contest; what they cannot do is beat the unholy alliance between the Republicans and the Press which is a fact of life in American politics today.

The "Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund Inc."  Just go read the article.   It's making me too sick to my stomach to even think about it.

Take a look at this 49 seconds of Mitt Romney speaking today: And what prompted this particular specimen of disingenuous outrage? Well, this: "Vice President Joe Biden sparked a campaign commotion Tuesday, telling an audience in southern Virginia that included hundreds of black voters that Republican Mitt Romney wanted to put them "back in chains" by deregulating Wall Street." That's it. This is from a candidate whose party has spent the last three years accusing Obama of being a Communist, a Muslim terrorist, Satan, the Antichrist, a gay man who murdered his lover, a sleeper agent programmed to destroy the United States, a foreign born traitor, and endless other lying smears.  This is from a candidate whose entire campaign has consisted of lies about Obama, extending to fraudulently edited film clips on several occasions that made Obama seem to say the exact opposite of what he really said.  This is shaping up to be a real orgy of ugliness.  God ...

As an excuse for the mainstream media's constant coddling of Republican candidates, we hear over and over again that they want elections to be "horse races" because the American public won't focus on a race unless it seems to be close.  Well, I have never been satisfied with that explanation, but in this case, I think there may be an even more compelling narrative for the next three months, which will really interest low-information American voters.  That would be watching the smug rich bully getting the bejesus kicked out of him.  In this narrative, Romney plays Biff Tannen, to Obama's Marty McFly. We'll see, but I think there are some signs that the press (or at least some small part of them) isn't willing to serve as the willing handmaidens to the people who want to usher in eight more years of depression.

Let me start out with a quote from Americablog: "I will say that the level of vitriol, and outright lies, coming from the Romney folks, and the Republicans generally, have started to make me wonder if the GOP isn't already in panic mode about November election. " I'm not ready to go there yet.  In fact, I must confess that, having grown up as a Cleveland Indians fan and never believing they were going to win even when they were up seven runs with two out in the bottom of the ninth (who says childhood psychological trauma can't scar you for life,) if Obama gets 420 electoral votes, I won't believe he won until about December 15th.  But that's just me.  On with the fun: Katie Pavlich, Town Hall:  "Team Obama Already Freaking Out Over Ryan Pick" If by "freaking out," you mean jumping for joy.  Remember Sarah Palin's joke about "what's the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom?  Lipstick..."   Well, you...

And nobody came?  Here's something I find rather interesting: It's an image from Yahoo of the top ten stories that people are looking at today.  Notice something, or should I say someone, missing from the list?  Newt and Hillary and Gramps McCain are on there, but not Paul Ryan.  You know, the choosing of a vice presidential candidate is one of the biggest political stories of the entire campaign.  The selection of Sarah Palin, as insane as it was, electrified people.  Not this guy.  The main feeling I get from watching the news the last two days, is that virtually no one cares.  Will he give Romney a bump in the polls?  Yeah maybe a couple of points for a couple of days, then it will be back to "where are your taxes?"  Mitt has squandered his vice presidential pick, just like he squandered his trip overseas, his supposed business advantage and everything else.  The right wingers will never really like him and, frankly, never wi...

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And into waters inhabited by one very hungry shark from Wisconsin.  Well, I certainly can't resist writing about this.  After all, Green Eagle specializes in mean-spirited sarcasm, and that is (in my opinion) the only attitude that makes any sense here. Of course, let me preface these remarks with my usual caveat:  The Republicans still have their billions in unregulated corporate money, and depending on how low they go when using them, we could still end up with this execrable fool as our President. So Romney was bullied by a few days of right wing pressure into selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate.  Here is what he has accomplished in the most important move of his Presidential campaign: First, he has demonstrated to the world that he is a man at once gutless, and lacking in any kind of principle other that a craven attempt to advance his own interests.  He has willingly capitulated to the pressure of a long out of control radical base, regardles...

After spending several months running a campaign against Obama which has consisted almost entirely of telling lies about him, Tough Guy Mitt, who can be so strong when other people's jobs are at stake, seems to be close to tears concerning his own would-be job.  Here's Mitt today: "Romney To Obama: Please Stop Attacking My Business Record, Taxes Mitt Romney, battered by Democratic attacks over his Bain Capital record and taxes, is calling on President Obama to agree to a truce over his business career. “Our campaign would be — helped immensely if we had an agreement between both campaigns that we were only going to talk about issues and that attacks based upon — business or family or taxes or things of that nature,” Romney said... Romney said he would prefer the campaigns “only talk about issues,” and claimed that “our ads haven’t gone after the president personally" So, here's the English translation of the above:  Romney, after claiming that his busines...

Here's something that will make you sick to your stomach: "For secretary of state, most advisors interviewed for this article said that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is under serious consideration at the top levels of the campaign." Man, if Obama is still searching for something that will energize Democrats, this would sure be it.

The way straight to the end of any hope that the American people will be capable of maintaining a place in the industrialized world, other than at the bottom, with Indonesia, El Salvador, et. al. This story, from Mother Jones, has gotten a lot of attention, but it is so down Green Eagle's alley that I cannot resist commenting on it.  Louisiana, under that great American Patriot and former exorcist, Republican governor Bobby Jindal, has pretty well decided to abandon the foolish notion that it is the responsibility of citizens in a democracy to provide an adequate public education to all children, and has decided that it is a far better idea to collect money from the taxpayers and pretty much give it away to anyone far right enough or "Christian" enough that comes along with their hands out, claiming they are starting a "school." Deanna Pan, at Mother Jones, has kindly compiled a list of fourteen things that are taught in the textbooks used by many of these ...

In my daily search for wingnut idiocy I have been a little surprised about the virtually total ignoring of the Sikh shooting.  I wonder why that might be.  Now, finally, the dam is starting to break, and the result,  from Bryan Fischer, one of the Catholic Church's most disgusting defenders, should surprise nobody: "Fundamentalist Christian radio host Bryan Fischer says that the white supremacist who massacred six people at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin must have been a liberal...On his Tuesday American Family Association radio show, Fisher said that Wade Michael Page could not be connected to the tea party because he had threatened to leave the country if (Herman) Cain was elected president." It's been some time since I have talked about one of the most constant characteristics of the American right- their absolute incapacity to take responsibility for the negative results of anything they do.  And of course, since their actions are based on a hate-filled and ludicr...

Man, the political scene in the United States these days has degenerated into such a boring round of Republican lying that I can't bring myself to write posts that won't accomplish a thing except annoy my few readers.  Well, in the meantime, here's one more glance into Republican thinking, starting with this comment about the campaign: Victor Davis Hanson, Town Hall:  "100 Days is a Long Time" Panicking, what? Michael Barone, Town Hall:  "Partisan Divide: Eggheads Get What They Wished For " Eggheads?  Eggheads?  Where do these people get this stuff?  From Archie comic books from 1957?  Listen, you've got to come up with something better than eggheads if you want that sort of thing to work.  How about Islamocommunist fascist terrorists?  What?  You've tried that one too?  It didn't work either, except among ignorant racists who were going to vote for you already?  Man, you are sunk. Ben Shapiro, Town Hall:  "The D...

Once again, I want to strongly recommend an article to you.  This one is an interview by Leslie Thatcher, an editor at Truthout with Mike Logfren, a Republican Congressional staffer for thirty years who finally became so disgusted that he quit his position.  I don't believe that I have ever read anything which sums up, in such a small space, what I believe to be true about the political situation in the country today.  Here are some excerpts: "The primary purpose of the GOP these days is to provide tax breaks and other financial advantages (such as not regulating pollution and other socially costly externalities) to their wealthy donor base. All the rest of their platform, all the culture wars stuff, is simply rube bait..." "Since the GOP is loath to tell the public in straightforward terms what their economic agenda is, and the media are not exactly forcing the GOP's hand, and, finally, the people are operating in a knowledge deficit, Republicans respond by...

By which, of course, I mean to destroy democracy in this country once and for all.  I urgently recommend that you read this short piece at Mother Jones, which I found via Digby.  The following chart is a sample of what you will find there: I repeat that it has been the intent of the five corrupt Republican justices to accomplish just this.  It is, in fact, the intent of all Republicans (except of course the really stupid ones who think that, if they just elect a Republican president, they too will be worth billions real soon) to see to it that 2,000 families or so run this country, and that all of the rest of us are reduced to the status of helpless peons who are forced to live with whatever scraps they care to throw our way, or else starve to death in a ditch somewhere.  Maybe we'll win this election.  Maybe we'll win the next one.  But these people know perfectly well that in the end we cannot stand up in the face of this mockery of a democratic sy...

Congressman Steve King: "We went down into the Library of Congress and we found a microfiche there of two newspapers in Hawaii each of which had published the birth of Barack Obama. It would have been awfully hard to fraudulently file the birth notice of Barack Obama being born in Hawaii and get that into our public libraries and that microfiche they keep of all the newspapers published. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some other explanations on how they might’ve announced that by telegram from Kenya." Yes, that's the explanation of the announcements of Obama's birth in Honolulu papers:  They got a telegram from Kenya claiming that someone was just born in Hawaii and they went right ahead without a second thought and printed it. This is just one more piece of evidence that Republicans don't really believe a word they are saying, and don't really give a damn whether anyone else does, either.  They are going to run things their way whenever they get the chan...

The Wingnuts have been such a bunch of whiners lately, that Green Eagle has been neglecting his duty to plunge into the depths of their idiocy.  However, we'll try to get back on track today. Let's start out with the results of a poll from National Review Online about Mitt Romney's recent trip abroad: I could almost finish this whole column right here, but on we go: Mike Adams, Town Hall:  "My Speech to the NAACP...I believe your organization is no longer necessary and is on the balance harmful to race relations in America" Well, thanks for your opinion, Mike.  Of course, you also believe that democracy, freedom and the middle class are  "no longer necessary and is on the balance harmful to race relations in America."  I guess we should just all give up and go home.  Here's another laugh line from Mike's imaginary speech: "The main reason you need to vote for Mitt Romney is that such a vote would do much to end racism in your org...

In one simple graph , courtesy of The Atlantic: Not much else to say, is there?  And yet tens of millions of working class Americans are going to vote for Romney, convinced that he is going to cut their taxes.