- The Man Behind The Curtain in Wisconsin
- Rather surprisingly, Fox News tells us what Nazgul Walker tries to achieve in Wisconsin, and that is the end of the Democratic Party.
- Indefensible
- [Obsidian Wings - Doctor Science]
Yesterday President Obama ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act. In honor of the occasion, I decided to read the copy of What Is Marriage? by Robert George (and two male grad students) I'd downloaded when I saw various people talking about it as a serious, intellectual defense of the DOMA position. Robert George is a Princeton politics full professor who is supposed to bring the big guns in conservative thought, a guy who can argue for natural law like a latter-day Aquinas. Or so they tell me.
- Glenn Beck Turns Against "The American Dream"
- On February 24, Glenn Beck said "most likely you don't know what the American dream is," that it is actually a progressive invention of the 1930s, and that it is currently being used by communists, unions, and other assorted bogeymen to cloak their radical intentions behind a term that is "warm and cuddly like bunny rabbits." Oddly, Beck himself previously embraced "the American dream" as have former President Bush and congressional Republicans.
- Qaddafi invokes Phony Al-Qaeda Threat as he Massacres Protesters
- [Informed Comment - Juan]
Muammar Qaddafi continued to be little more on Thursday than the mayor of Tripoli, but he bared his fangs with murderous attacks on protesters in the vicinity of the capital..
And, note to Col. Qaddafi: Al-Qaeda is not a mass movement and cannot put people in the streets.
- Interactive Transparency: The Power of Volunteering
- In partnership with the Hyundai Elantra, we're aggregating and visualizing the number of hours people work and the causes they work for so that we can see the collective power of participatory philanthropy. Click on the image above to see how many people have pledged to do good so far, and tell us how you volunteer.
- Flashback: Paul Broun (R-GA) Compared Obama to Hitler Shortly after 2008 Election
- [Firedoglake - Blue Texan]
It should come as no surprise that Paul Broun wouldn’t angrily dismiss the question, “Who’s going to shoot Obama?” — because I believe he was the first elected Republican to publicly compare Obama to Hitler.
- Bernie Sanders: End Game for Wealthiest in America is the Destruction of Social Safety Nets and of the Middle Class
- Cenk Uygur asked Sen. Bernie Sanders how we mobilize workers on a national scale and not just in Wisconsin and a few other states where we're seeing these protests. Bernie didn't have a direct answer for Cenk but laid out what the stakes are if we don't.
- Mr. President, Time To Put On Your Walkin’ Shoes
- "If American workers are being denied their right to organize when I'm in the White House, I will put on a comfortable pair of shoes and I will walk on that picket line with you as president of the United States."
– Barack Obama, quoted by Slate, while making a campaign speech in 2007…
If he were a Republican, he would simply say, "I made a campaign promise and I have to keep it."
Mr. President, just this once, I actually want you to think like a Republican. Keep your promise — and don't apologize for it.
- It’s Time to Reform Three Strikes
- [Calitics - David Onek]
…under Three Strikes, Curtis Wilkerson of Los Angeles was sentenced to life for petty theft of a pair of socks; that Shane Taylor of Tulare was sentenced to life for simple possession of 0.1 gram of methamphetamine; or that Greg Taylor of Los Angeles was sentenced to life for attempting to break into a soup kitchen to get something to eat.
…the majority of those put away for life under Three Strikes – over 4,000 people total – committed a minor, non-violent third strike. These non-violent third strikers will, according to the California state auditor, cost the state at least $4.8 billion over the next 25 years – almost $200 million per year.
- Wisconsin in California?
- [Calitics - Brian Leubitz]
Ever heard of the Little Hoover Commission? Well, chances are that you haven't, as really, it is nothing more than a glorified think tank. And, really, if we're looking for cuts, well, how about the Little Hoover Commission. But nonetheless, they have Sacramento buzzing with their latest suggestion.
…what the Little Hoover Commission is recommending here is abrogating our contractual requirements to our state workers, bargained for in good faith.
- Wingnuts and Your Uterus
- [Booman Tribune]
I think a lot of anti-choice men are really misinformed about the realities of human reproduction…
[When miscarriages occur], women start having to ask questions like: What should I do if my practitioner tells me I've lost the pregnancy but I still haven't passed the tissue? and What is curettage like? And it might surprise to learn that curettage is a lot like having an abortion…
Now, if you were overjoyed to be pregnant one minute and then having your uterus scraped with a spoon-shaped instrument the next, you might be feeling a little traumatized.
But [according] to Republican ideology, any non-menstrual bleeding should be treated as a potential crime scene.
- Coordinated Pushback
- This Saturday, we will stand together to Save the American Dream. Be sure to wear Wisconsin Badger colors—red and white—to show your solidarity.
- State legislators, please stop inciting violent bigots. Please.
- The issue here is that a lot of white people hate Mexican immigrants and people of Mexican descent. They often hate with a burning, obsessive passion. And bills like this, even if they don’t pass, send the signal that their bigotry is shared by people in authority, and some of them will feel emboldened by this to do really awful and violent things.
…That quote was in reference to Shawna Forde, who murdered a man and his daughter, and wounded his wife (American citizens, not that it should matter, but just adds another level of understanding of what happened) just because they were Hispanic… People like Forde are emboldened when they see people in power signaling support for their virulent hatred.
…This bill is built on eliminationist ideas, especially the assumption that the mere presence of an undocumented worker in the sight line of federal level politicians will upset them so much they decide to take action…
[In case it needs to be said: I don't agree with every word of everything I link to. Signal boosts are awesome! --L.]
The Of interest (Fri, Feb 25th, 11am) by Lee Salazar, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Terms and conditions beyond the scope of this license may be available at leesalazar.com.