- Hi I'm a Dem (Obama) & I'm a GOP (Cheney), Part 3

(been busy, the below seems timely given the Attorney General has opened an investigation into treatment of detainees. It was originally posted a while back.)

Click here for part 4 of "I'm a Dem and I'm GOP".

- Birther Leader is a Loon

Here is an excerpt from an Esquire article by John H. Richardson detailing the other things that Orly Taitz, attorney, real estate agent, dentist and the defacto leader of the birthers believes to be true:

Goldman Sachs runs the treasury.

Obama is a puppet.

There's a cemetery somewhere in Arizona where they just dug 30,000 fresh graves, which wait now for the revolution.

Baxter International — a major Obama contributor — developed a vaccine for bird flu that actually kills people.

Google Congressman Alcee Hastings and House Bill 684 and you'll see that they're planning at least six civilian labor camps.

Google an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about train cars with shackles.

The communist dictator Hugo Chavez way back in 2004 purchased the Sequoia software that runs our voting machines and the mainstream media won't report any of it — not even Fox because Saudi Arabia bought a percentage of Fox in 2007.

If she believes all the above then, of course she believes Obama was born in Kenya. She can probably also tell you how we never went to the moon, where Elvis is currently living and how the Royal Family killed Princess Di. You tell me if you think she has a grip on reality.

- New Details on Cheney's "Scorched Earth" Memoir

It seems if people are going to knock down Mr. Cheney he's going to bring others down with him, specifically President George W. Bush. Using legalese phrases like, "the statute of limitations" on his secrets have expired, Mr. Cheney has let fly new details about his memoir (the announcement of which was previously discussed here on PTN).

It looks like Mr. Cheney felt like his old BFF W. stopped hanging on Cheney's every word during their second term. Cheney, as he is accustomed to doing, apparently talks/writes out of both sides of his mouth calling W. soft and at the same time independent. I would guess Cheney thinks W. was soft when W. wouldn't start a third war in Iran. And W. was independent when he stopped listening to Crazy-Old-Man-Cheney (seriously, doesn't Cheney remind you of the bad guy in any number of Scooby Doo episodes - can't you see him saying, "I would have gotten away with invading Iran too if it wasn't for you kids and your internets and elections!").

So, to get back at W., Cheney's going to air all their dirty laundry (I hope). Oh Mr. Cheney, for being 197 years old you sure seem to act like a mean-spirited, jealous, petty 7 year old.

Here are some of my recent posts/cartoons regarding Crazy-Old-Man-Cheney:

- The Most Terrifying Man in the World

- Hi, I'm a Dem & I'm a GOP

- Chapter Titles for Mr. Cheney's Memoir

- Grassroots?

(or alternate title: It's Health Insurance Reform not Health Care Reform)

I know the above is mean. It is what it is.

It's health insurance reform, not health care reform, we are debating about. Let's be clear about that. No one's arguing we should change/reform the way we train our doctors and nurses in America are they? You see, most people have no problem with the health care they receive. The problem occurs when people don't have access to health care because they don't have health insurance. So what is being contemplated is health insurance reform.

Don't let the wingnuts frame the debate. Who likes health insurance companies? Not many. If you frame the debate as reforming health insurance there's a chance of convincing those on the fence that we actually do need health insurance reform. President Obama has tried to frame the issue as such. Others need to do so as well. The Dems, including Obama, have done a terrible job of combating the misinformation out there to date. Just remember, we're debating about health insurance reform, not health care reform.

Want to read more on the lies regarding health insurance reform? Click here.

By the way, guess who wants no health insurance reform at all? If you said health insurance companies and fake GOP "grassroots" groups you get a gold star.

And let me ask some other questions:

Why is anyone listening to Palin and her "death panels" nonsense? What's funny is that the provision Palin is mischaracterizing most likely will not be in the final bill. This is Palin remember? She's the one who reads all the periodicals, sees Russia from Alaska, and quit her job. Maybe she doesn't understand that any health care provider makes decisions as to what care they'll pay for. Does Palin think insurance companies don't have actuarial tables read by insurance agents that decide who receives what care and when? Would those be "Insurance Agents of Death" according to Palin?

Speaking of health insurance companies...are health insurance companies out to give you the best health care they can?

Or are health insurance companies, like any insurance co., in the business of collecting premiums and denying claims/benefits in an effort to maximize profits? (To quote from the greatness that is The Jerk, "Ahh, it's profit deal.")

Government backed health care like Medicare, Medicaid, health care for our armed forces and those in the Senate and House of Representatives is a good thing right?

But, offering a viable, government backed option to the roughly 50 million Americans without health care is bad? Really? Really?

And I'm tired of hearing about how much it's going to cost from Blue Dog Democrats and GOP'ers. How much did we spend (are we still spending) in Iraq again?

And where do all those folks yelling at the town hall meetings get those papers in their hands? Who's funding this "grassroots", town-to-town, bus tour called "Hands Off Our Health Care"? Where are the hard hitting journalists investigating who exactly is funding this bus tour? (FYI, unlike some other bloggers, I, in no way, consider myself a journalist.)

"Hands Off Our Health Care" sure sounds like something an insurance company would say doesn't it? Maybe someone should look into that. Just a thought.

Check out their ride:

- Part 5: HI I'M A DEM (RAHM EMANUEL) & I'M A GOP (RUSH LIMBAUGH)

For more on Rush's comments regarding Obama click here.

To view the first "I'm and Dem and I'm a GOP" cartoon click here.

In case you don't get it (and I'm sure you do), this is a take on the "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" computer ads.

- GOP TARGET PRACTICE

Email Your Elected Officials and Let Them Know How You Feel About an Issue

Email you Congressperson (you need your full zip code, ie, 12345-1234, if you don't know it click here to get it.)

Email you Senators

Email the President

I live in Dallas, Texas so:

For State of Texas issues email your State Senator or State Rep. by following the links here. Email the Governor of Texas here.

For Dallasites regarding municipal issues email the mayor, your council member or the whole city council by following the links here. (Not sure who your council member is? Click here for a map of the districts.)

You should let your elected officials in Washington D.C. or your state or your town know how you feel on issues important to you, no matter what side of any issue you're on. Imagine how tedious it was in decades past when you had to actually write a letter, address an envelope and take said letter to a mailbox. Now with this marvelous invention called the internet you have no excuse. And if you don't think they or their staff read emails you're wrong. They're in the business of getting elected so they take their constituents' emails very seriously. Click on the links above and email your elected officials and let them know what you think on any issue you'd like. Pass this along to others so they can too.

- New Local News Website Launched

DallasSouthNews.org is up and running. It's a non-profit site that focuses on a myriad of things local, state and national. It pays particular attention to issues relevant to South Dallas, as you may have been able to infer by the title of the site and web address' url.

Yours truly has been asked to contribute to DallasSouthNews.org. Of course, I will still post first here on PTN. And, don't worry, I'll still post whatever I want, when I want here on PTN. It'll be up to those at DallasSouthNews.org to decide what content they choose to use from here at PTN.

So congratulations to DallasSouthNews.org on its launch.

Again, please check out DallasSouthNews.org for another angle on the news if you get a chance.

- New Local News Website Launched

I'M A DOG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw this "user submitted" video on Tosh.0 and it cracked me up, it really, really made me laugh alot. Alot. I don't think you understand. I laugh every time I watch it. I'm not quite sure why:

- Coulter on Dobbs & "Birthers"

More on Coulter & Geraldo's thoughts on Dobbs' "birthers" coverage.

- Newsworthiness in "Lou Dobbs Land"

Here's more on Dobbs.

- Latest Video From Autotune the News

Mets' Last at Bat Against the Red Sox, Game 6, '86 World Series, as Seen on "RBI Baseball" on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

I know the video is long but it's worth it to hear Vin Scully announcing the RBI Baseball version of this classic:

- At Least Modern Day Unions Just Go On Strike In the USA

After a manager threatened to layoff 30,000 workers at a Iron/Steel plant in China some of the workers severely beat the manager then refused to allow him medical treatment. He subsequently died from his injuries. China then decided to not take over the company.

At least nowadays, in the 21st century, unions in the U.S. just go on strike.

- Part 4: HI I'M A DEM AND I'M A GOP

Part 5

Bolton advocated, on Jon Stewart of all places, of a first strike against Iran. As I remember is we used to have folks He's forgotten MAD. Some folks " I only want one government to have nuclear weapons." That's what Bolton said on Jon Stewart. Wow.

- 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