- Biden's Fake Interview With the Wall Street Journal Regarding Russia

Vice President Biden gave an interesting, to say the least, interview to the Wall Street Journal. And Gibbs had to deal with it later of course.

The Spoiler T-Shirt (or at least the print of it)

A good friend of mine forwarded me the below print from a t-shirt. Can you name all the movies that the spoilers are from?

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- The Gift That Keeps on Giving

or alternate title, what more do "birthers" want, the above was issued by the State of Hawaii, and says that this document is evidence of birth in any court proceeding. Oh wait , I forgot, they can explain this away too, this document was obviously forged and planted by an Obama operative or operatives; or this conspiracy involves dozens of people dating back to the President's birth or; someone traveled back in time and altered the birth records to show he was born in the USA; or Hawaii wasn't really a state when he was born there because their admission into the Union was unconstitutional or; [insert any explanation other than the most simple].

First, I' m addressing this only because of the attention it's received from mainstream media. Moreover, for all those that say "the media" has a left bias I guess you don't include Fox News
 and CNN as "the media".

I don't have much of an opinion regarding the "birthers" quest to kill their own personal windmills other than it reminds me, as it reminds others, of other fairly recent conspiracy theories. Let's not forget about the 9/11 conspiracy theory that in some way the Bush administration ordered the attacks on the towers or the conspiracy theory that the Clintons somehow orchestrated the death of Vince Foster. Case in point, one of the original leaders of the "birthers" is attorney Philip J. Berg who filed lawsuits on behalf of 9/11 conspiracy folks.

For whatever reason it seems that usually the party out of power has to deal with a fringe movement that advances a theory that flies in the face of the evidence presented to date. And those in the fringe movement focus on that theory with a tunnel vision that stops them from reasonably evaluating any evidence that rebuts their beliefs. They cannot accept that sometimes the simple, straight forward explanation is in fact the true one.

Lastly, like many other recent red herrings for the GOP dating back to the campaign(Obama is Muslim, he's anti-American, he pals around with terrorists, Obama doesn't wear a flag pin, Obama is a socialist/communist) here's the GOP's problem: The GOP's numbers are dwindling so they have to try to appease this group because, let's face it, they don't have many "groups" left in their party right now.

So, here's another conspiracy theory for you from yours truly: The Dems are letting this "birther" conspiracy theory fester because they know the GOP has to deal with these wingnuts and the Dems don't. Why address a non-issue that's hurting your opposition's base and not yours?

Sidenote: Wanna go down the rabbit hole further? What if McCain had been elected, would there have been anti-McCain birthers(note, McCain was born in 1936 in what at the time of his birth was the U.S. controlled Panama Canal Zone on a military base)? I'd have to say, "you betcha!"

Side-sidenote: The National Review, one of the most, if not the most, conservative periodicals going today has even written that the "birthers" are wrong.

- Update Re: Palin's Farewell Speech

Someone forwarded this to me. I swear I did not see the below until this morning. This is Shatner reciting, as poetry, the same part of Palin's farewell speech that I excerpted (see my earlier post below):

- Palin's Farewell Speech

I didn't write or draw anything this time, good or bad, about Palin's speech making ability. But, here's a snippit from the full transcript of her farewell speech from this past Sunday:

"And getting up here I say it is the best road trip in America soaring through nature's finest show. Denali, the great one, soaring under the midnight sun. And then the extremes. In the winter time it's the frozen road that is competing with the view of ice fogged frigid beauty, the cold though, doesn't it split the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs? And then in the summertime such extreme summertime about a hundred and fifty degrees hotter than just some months ago, than just some months from now, with fireweed blooming along the frost heaves and merciless rivers that are rushing and carving and reminding us that here, Mother Nature wins. It is as throughout all Alaska that big wild good life teeming along the road that is north to the future. That is what we get to see every day. Now what the rest of America gets to see along with us is in this last frontier there is hope and opportunity and there is country pride."

If you think I'm taking the above out of context please watch all of her speech:

Don't forget her resignation speech.

And don't forget that she has a book coming out.

- The Below Is Self Admittedly a Complete Rip Off of a Dave Chappelle Stand Up Routine*

I'm sorry but, the story of African-American Harvard Professor Gates being arrested at his home made me think of this bit from Chappelle's routine. Here's the latest on the incident specifically regarding the "911" call and caller.

*The above cartoon is paraphrased from Dave Chappelle's awesome stand up from years ago on HBO called Killin' Them Softly. (also please note, the "intruder" was not drawn to resemble Prof. Gates of Harvard and the cops were not drawn to resemble the arresting Officers Crowley and Figueroa.)

- ON VIDEO: Schwarzenegger With a Knife, as Governor, Addressing the Public, Seriously!

I didn't think I'd ever write this but, I guess Governor Rick Perry, his hair and secessionist talk in my home state of Texas, at least for now, is at least equally as crazy as Governor Schwarzenegger of California, with his freakin' knife, talking to the public about some crazy money making ideas on a twitter video that he put out:

Seriously, you freakin' cannot make this stuff up! I'm not sure I want any chief executive to start any address to anyone on any video to involve him or her wielding a knife. Of course CA did elect a former movie action star whose best work is...I don't know you tell me. Idiocracy here we come!

What does this portend politically? Here are my prophesies:

1) State of the Union? Sure. In between UFC matches!

2) Visiting dignitaries from foreign countries wanna talk to our President? They'll have to sit through the Wrath of Khan drinking game first!

3) Senate debates? Senate arm wrestling!

4) Presidential debates? No! PRESIDENTIAL DEATH MATCHES! THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(that's all the Idiocracy ideas I could come up with based on this video off the top of my head. If you have any other Idiocracy ideas based on the above clip email me at: contact@politicalthoughtsnow.com)

- Another Racist GOP'er? You Be the Judge

From Wonkette: Another GOP member, a Dr. David McKalip, is the latest GOP'er to send out what in my humble opinion is a racist email with the subject line "Funny Stuff" to a tea bag organization's listserve on Google. Daily Kos doesn't pull any punches about what it thinks of the email or what should be done about it. Unfortunately for him (and fortunately for us and his non-white patients) one of the recipients of his email decided to forward it to a media outlet. He's admitted that he sent the email. But, when pressed about whether the email was racist he ended the interview. This guy is not uneducated, he's a freakin' neurosurgeon. He's very much a public figure in that he's written at least one anti health care insurance reform editorial for the St. Peterburg Times, helped found an anti-health care insurance reform organization, and is a member of the American Medical Association's House of Delegates. Below is the picture from the email he sent:

Rivera Cubist Portraits in Dallas

The above are a couple cartoons I did very quickly last night about the Rivera Cubist Portrait exhibit at the Meadows Museum at SMU in Dallas.

Our Pets: Houses, Part 4

next Our Pets

Our Pets: Houses, Part 3

next Our Pets

- What Did He Say?

Our Pets #35: Houses, Part 2

next Our Pets

Our Pets #34: Houses

next

EPISODE XV (15): THE BOB NEWHART SHOW VS. NEWHART

(the below may not make a lot of sense if you haven't been keeping up. Click here for"Episode I".)

Palin Passing the Ball

In her resignation speech she did reference basketball, here's that part of the transcript from that speech:

"Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me - sports... basketball. I use it because you're naïve if you don't see the national full-court press picking away right now: A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket... and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can WIN. And I'm doing that - keeping our eye on the ball that represents sound priorities - smaller government, energy independence, national security, freedom! And I know when it's time to pass the ball - for victory."

What's the Deal With SciFi Movie Dates?

I always wonder why those that make/write scifi movies/stories feel compelled to include a date certain in the not too distant (or distant, whatever the case may be) future when their story takes place. If you look at the list on the poster below there are some great movies by some great writers/filmmakers but, they all include a specific date when their movie/story takes place. First, to "date" their futuristic stories seems strange in and of itself. Moreover, when the story was supposed to take place in 2001, for example, and I'm watching it in 2009, the storyteller loses the some of the ability to persuade me to suspend reality, that's just me though. Why would the scifi writer not just say that the story takes place "in the (not too distant) future"? Or better yet, not mention the date at all?

The below is from danmeth.com. It's a poster showing scifi movie dates, including those that have come and gone and those still down the road:

Sanford & State

What the 4th of July Means To Me

First, Welch vs. McCarthy (yes, that McCarthy during the "McCarthty Hearings"), one of the darkest times in our nation. Note, that bullies sometimes have to be punched in the nose, albeit rhetorically in this instance. And, this is what you get when you mess with a seasoned, articulate attorney. The "have you no decency sir speech" that essentially killed McCarthy's witch hunt:

And sometimes it takes a larger than life person. On a much more minor note, sometimes the superstar (in this case a wealthy, reclusive, arguably mentally unstable one) has the wherewithal to do that which others won't or can't. Don't get me wrong, it's not nearly as important or impressive as the above but, in my estimation, him speaking this way as a private citizen to a Senator of the United States of America is just damn cool and, more importantly right. Regardless of my thoughts, here's Howard Hughes standing up for himself and his employee. The "no, I don't think I will" speech that, in large measure, helped expose and end another witch hunt:

What does the 4th of July mean to you? I appreciate the revolution and fight for theretofore un-enumerated rights. Part of that fight meant that an ordinary citizen could stand up to our government and say, "you're wrong". "Don't tread on me."

These clips reflect, at least somewhat, what the 4th of July means to me. Watch them please, pass them along please, so that no one ever forgets that sometimes you just have to say, "that's wrong, this is wrong, you're wrong," and thankfully we live in a country where a person can say that to the government.

(unwarranted rabbit punch: a million guesses, which party both the questioning Senators belonged to?)

Palin Does A Non-Fox News Interview!

Of course it was with Runner's World. What does she reveal? Nothing really, except that she fell while jogging during the campaign. What do you expect, Runner's World isn't exactly a hard hitting news organization. Want to hear what Sarah Palin's eye glasses have to say about the fall?

FOX News Is #1 In Cable News! (But What Does That Mean?)

Fox News has all the top 10 viewed cable news shows in the 2nd quarter of this year. But, if you look at the numbers this dominance is not all that dominating and probably doesn't worry too many Dems. Just take Fox News' most viewed show, believe it or not, the O'Reilly Factor. It draws about 3.2 million viewers per show. Here's why I don't think that's a significant number:

1) Those viewers probably don't change much, meaning, I would bet that mostly the same 3.2 million viewers tune in night in and night out. And I bet a lot of those viewers watch all the Fox News shows back to back to back. Just a guess.

2) I would guess that it's an older, conservative crowd watching Fox News. I know, I'm really going out on a limb there. That's just me, making wild, crazy assertions like that.

3) I think younger folks (and by that I mean under 45) get their news from a wide variety of sources and aren't married to just one news source. I would bet that many Fox News viewers only watch Fox News and go to Fox News online, if they're online at all. Why? Remember the media, according to many a conservative, is all liberal except for Fox News, which gives a "fair and balanced" news report.

4) The numbers have spiked recently for Fox News, probably because many ultra-conservatives are fearful that Obama's election signaled the beginning of the "end times" and they wanted to know where to go to be saved, so where else would they turn to but Fox News. Seriously though, I think the spike could possibly be explained by Obama's election in that it galvanized a passionate, albeit small, segment of the population that see his election as, at the very least, a very bad thing.

5) That's right I said small segment of the population. Even O'Reilly, their most viewed talking head, only gets about 3.2 million viewers. It's all about perspective. There are well over 300 million people in the USA today and that number is growing. O'Reilly draws about 1% of the population a night. 1%! And guess what? The USA's population is not growing because there are more and more old, conservative white people. What are the other 99% watching? What do they think about Obama? Or politics in general? Do they think about politics at all or only when there's a presidential election? The other 99% are probably watching CSI or American Idol. Or here's a crazy thought, they may not even be watching TV at all. I know weird but, there are people like that.

And hey, Jon Stewart gets about 2 million viewers a night, so that seems to fairly balance out Fox News' numbers a bit.

Rep. Michele Bachmann Cries "Tyranny"!

Not only has Rep. Bachmann (MN) claimed that Obama's environment bill is tantamount to "tyranny," but she also wanted to remind those who listen to right-wing radio that Thomas Jefferson thought, "having a revolution every now and then is a good thing." Jefferson, of course, was talking about armed revolution immediately after our independence from Britain. That was certainly a different time. It was not a time and place like today where people are killing those with whom they disagree, like certain doctors, those at armed forces recruitment centers, or those at Holocaust museums. One would like to think that Rep. Bachmann wouldn't fan flames on the far fringes of the right, fires that apparently are already burning well enough on their own. But, that would assume that Rep. Bachmann thinks. And that's an awfully big assumption.

Side note: This is not the first time Rep. Bachmann has made wild, sensational, unsubstantiated allegations apparently in an attempt to keep her name in the media and especially among the far right ring media. For example, during last year's election cycle she sounded like she was channeling the ghost of Joseph McCarthy.

FYI Re: Twitter

If you didn't know already, PTN is now linked to twitter: http://twitter.com/PTNBlog

Also, I'm getting updates from the following twitter accounts:

http://twitter.com/GovPerryshair (from Gov. Rick Perry's hair)

http://twitter.com/RushsCigar (from radio entertainer Rush Limbaugh's Cigar)

http://twitter.com/PalinsGlasses (from Sarah Palin's eyeglasses)

Article Critical of Palin = GOP Infighting

Update: There's already fallout from Purdum's Vanity Fair article about Palin inside the beltway among GOP operatives as detailed in this Politico.com article. This seems to be more of the GOP circular firing squad that convened immediatly after the presidential election last year.

Somewhere, Rahm Emanuel is smiling.

What Type of Person/Politican Is Palin?

Palin doesn't do interviews with the non-Fox-news-media, at least not since some not-so-great interviews she did during the campaign. Nevertheless, in a fascinating article about Palin from Vanity Fair, Todd S. Purdum takes a shot at giving us some insight into the Palin political playbook. To paraphrase from the article in part: she is polarizing, she takes things personally and can be vindictive, she seems to take pride in her own lack of experience and her own ignorance on certain topics and lastly, you are either with her or against her.

The article made me think of her this way: to some voters out there I'm sure she's the type of lady they'd want to have a beer with, maybe even go hunting with. Remind you of anyone, maybe a recent, former governor of Texas?

Tosh's Hilarious Fake Interview With Heidi & Spencer

From Tosh.0 on Comedy Central, Tosh "interviews" these two morons:

Tosh.0	Thurs, 10pm / 9c
Heidi and Spencer Interview - Extended
www.comedycentral.com
Daniel Tosh Miss Teen South Carolina Demi Moore Picture

Late Night Comedians Re: Gov. Sanford & His Affair

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So Dick Cheney Is Writing His Memoir

(Fake) Chapter Titles of Dick Cheney's Memoir:

Chapter 1: How I Got My Nickname "Dick". It's Probably Pretty Close to How You Think I Got It

Chapter 2: How To Not Serve in the Military But Act Like You Did

Chapter 3: How the Constitution Really Works: The Vice President Is in Charge

Chapter 4: How To Defend Your Administration's Legacy

Chapter 5: How To Commit Treason & Get Away With It: See Valerie Plame

Chapter 6: Enhanced Interrogation Techniques That I Enjoy

Chapter 7: Who Am I Kidding, It's Torture, And I Love It And I Don't Care Who Knows

Chapter 8: How To Open and Run a Prison Outside the USA and Outside the Purview of USA Laws

Chapter 9: How To Make a Scary Face: Try to Look Like the Penguin From Batman

Chapter 10: How To Make a Decorated Military Veteran Look Bad: See What I Did to Colin Powell

Chapter 11: How To Make Your Old Company Millions: Ensure That It Doesn't Have to Bid Against Anyone Else For Government Contracts

Chapter 12: Al Qaeda & Iraq: There's a Link There, I Just Know It, Intelligence Be Damned

Chapter 13: Friends I've Shot In the Face (That You Know Of)

Chapter 14: How to Stay Alive: New Human Heart Each Full Moon

Chapter 15: How to Not Fade Away Gracefully

Drunk History, Vol. 1

More Nixon Tapes Released

Who knew there were more but, additional Nixon tapes were recently released.

"You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference." - Nixon, blaming the media, in part, for his loss of the race for California Governor in 1962

THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED

...the Iranian revolution is also being blogged & YouTubed, but, not televised by independent news organizations, thanks to Iran's "democratically" elected government.

THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED

...at least the Iranian revolution(if this is indeed the beginnings of a revolution) or, at the very least, unrest is being tweeted, as well as being blogged & YouTubed. But, it's not being televised by free and independent news organizations thanks to Iran's "democratically" elected government.

"Marionette"

Chad Vader

This hillarity's from blamesociety.net. And this is just part 1:

Can You Spare Some Change?

DC vs. Marvel Says Happy Fathers' Day

More Greatness From Failblog.org: Brett Michaels Fail

Maybe this is why Poison and Brett Michaels shouldn't have appeared on the Tony Awards show:

More Comedic Stylings From President Obama at the Radio-TV Dinner

Then, John Hodgman had the unenviable task of speaking after the President, he did OK though:

President Obama Channels His Inner Karate Kid on this Fly

Really?!?!? You're Really Going to Photoshop a Crowd Picture, Really (Government Controlled) Iranian Media?!?!?

The Iranian controlled news organization released the below pro Ahmadinejad rally photo that was apparently photo shopped to make the crowd appear larger.

First of all, this might have worked during the cold war if it had been the Politburo releasing an altered pro Chernenko rally photo in the 1980's but, it's not the 1980's and it's not like Iran hasn't tried this before. Iran released a photo shopped image of a missile launch just last year.

"I Ran So Far"

The crisis in Iran reminded me that sometimes a little levity during an otherwise serious moment is a good thing. Some years ago SNL's Andy Samberg, with some famous help, made this hilarious music video about Iranian President Ahmadinejad's visited to the U.N. in New York. Enjoy.

Rahm Emanuel's (Fake) Reaction to New Polls About the GOP*

*Two polls came out last week that showed the poor state of the GOP. The first Gallup poll showed that 38% of Republicans had a an unfavorable view of their own party. The second Gallup poll showed that when asked to name a leader of the GOP 10% of Republicans said Rush Limbaugh and another 10% said Newt Gingrich. Those two had the largest percentages of anyone named by Republicans polled. Apparently, Gov. Palin was not mentioned by even 2% of Republicans surveyed. Surely Rahm Emanuel is pleased.

More DC vs. Marvel

First, parodies of the new movies, in order "Drag Me to Hell", "Up" & "The Hangover":

And then an old fashioned Marvel(Deadpool) vs. DC(Watchmen-Comedian & Rorschach)

More Unabashed Racism from GOP Members

From Wonkette:

First, there's a facebook post by a low level (bottom feeding) GOP nobody, Rusty DePass-former state senate candidate-, regarding an escaped lowland gorilla. This stupendously racist moron wrote, “I’m sure it’s just one of Michelle’s ancestors — probably harmless.”

Second, and not to be out done, another low level GOP moron, Sherri Goforth, sent an email "picturing" the 44 presidents with this image attached:

Neither DePass nor Goforth have unconditionally apologized. DePass said he was making reference to the First Lady's stance on evolution and is sorry if anyone took it the "wrong" way. Right, sure that's what he meant by the comment. And I have some ocean front property in Oklahoma that maybe this idiot is willing to buy if he actually thinks anyone is dumb enough to accept that lame reasoning behind his comment. Goforth would only say that she was sorry that she sent it to the wrong email list. Whoops, she meant to only send it to other like-minded racist imbeciles. Brilliant apologies. Mr. DePass and Ms. Goforth are standing behind, or rationalizing or making excuses and generally not apologizing for their racist vitriol. Wow.

It's just another example of more shockingly, "make me speechless" racism that is unfortunately still alive and well.

Mr. DePass' contact information is at his real estate firm's website. His phone number is 803.255.8609. His email address is wdepass@wilsonkibler.com . The website for his failed state senate campaign is http://www.peoplefordepass.org/ .

Ms. Goforth is actually employed by a Republican state senator in Tennesse, namely Dianne Black. Senator Black's website is http://www.dianeblack.com/. Senator Black's government website is http://capitol.tn.gov/senate/members/s18.html.

Senator Black can be emailed at sen.diane.black@capitol.tn.gov .

The phone number to Senator Black's office, where Ms. Goforth works, is (615) 741-1999.

Tony Romo's (fake) Facebook Page

(click on the fake facebook page to enlarge)

Letterman-Palin Questions & Answers

Or, alternate title, Thoughts For Food.

Question 1 :

Was Letterman's joke about Palin's daughter (getting knocked up by A-Rod or attracting Elliot Spitzer) in poor taste no matter which daughter it was about?

Answer : Yes

Question 2:

Should A-Rod be pissed about the joke?

Answer: Probably, but he's still recovering from far greater hits to his reputation.

Question 3:

Should Spitzer be pissed about the joke?

Answer: See the answer to question 2, plus, Spitzer's probably just happy people are still talking about him and maybe even thinks he's still relevant.

Question 4 :

Do I believe Letterman meant the joke to be about the elder (18 years old) Palin daughter and not the younger (14 year old) daughter?

Answer : Yes, maybe, probably, I don't know.

Question 5:

Would you be surprised if an underage daughter of Gov. Palin's was pregnant out of wedlock?

Answer: See Bristol Palin

Question 6 :

Has this has helped Letterman's ratings?

Answer : Yes

Question 7:

Does Letterman mind that this has helped his ratings?

Answer : Yes, in that he didn't mean the joke to be about the 14 year old. Maybe. Probably. Kinda.

Question 8:

Did Gov. Sarah Palin put her pregnant (at the time) daughter Bristol, with her boyfriend (what's his name again?), in the public spotlight and thus in the media's cross hairs by parading both of them on and off the stage at the Republican National Convention?

Answer : Yes

Question 9:

As Gov. Palin espouses, does abstinence only sex education work for America's youth?

Answer: See Bristol Palin.

Question 10:

Would President Obama have been elected President, or even won the Democratic nomination for President, if one of his young, underage daughters had been knocked up out of wed-lock?

Answer: See Bristol Palin and her mother, the non-Vice President and still Gov. of Alaska Sarah Palin.

Some Deity's Grumpy...

(*this is a redo of a previous cartoon updated with word ballons, enjoy.)

God 2 guys two guys achoo sneeze

Here Lies the Whig Party...

Or, alternate title, Digging In Their Heels or Digging Their Own Grave?
Dick Cheney GOP Newt Gingrich Rush Limbaugh Whig Party dig grave

There Are Racists Outside of Texas, Somehow That Doesn't Make Me Feel Any Better

From the blog Wonkette: Check out this sexist and racist idiot (if you're going to be one, why not be the other just for good measure) in New York. He's actually a school board president! No, not in New York City, he apparently lives in the part of New York state that's akin to the rural area in the movie Deliverence. I can hear the banjo playing now.

Conan's Fake Clip of Biden Speaking to Sotomayor

*I couldn't stand mixing the sports and non-political silly stuff here on PTN, it just didn't seem to fit at all. That's not to say there isn't silly stuff here on PTN, it's just always politics related. So, all the sports and non-political silly stuff will now be located at the newly revived FYVPBlog (for your viewing pleasure blog). I'm learning as I go and just trying to figure out what works best and makes the most sense. Again, I'm sorry for the change up.

Super Heroes "Simpsonized"

From warmingglow.upprox.com:

History Is Written By the Victors?

The 65th anniversary of D-Day yesterday got me thinking, and that's never good. I was and still am after all a student of history. Others, I am sure, have illustrated this more clearly but...

In retrospect, with most, if not all, the facts now known regarding Iraqi armaments (lack of WMD's) and Iraqi ties (lack thereof to Al Qaeda) the USA invasion of Iraq after Al Qaeda's attacks on September 11, 2001 is analogous to a hypothetical USA declaration of war/attack on China after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.