Tuesday, August 21, 2012

I'm Back, What'd I miss?

Team Chaos spent the last few days on the Redneck Riviera, so posting was a bit spotty.  So what happened while I was purposely not paying attention?

Well, we lost Phyllis Diller.
That's kinda depressing.
One of the last of the old showbiz legends.





Some more right-wing gun nuts killed more people which, of course, prompted absolutely no one to propose that maybe we ought to try and keep lunatics from getting military-grade assault weapons. Or at least, no one in a position to do anything about it has proposed such an idea.


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 Brandon Nielsen and Jeremy Triche were killed in the ensuing shootout. Two more deputies were wounded.

A colossal asshole from Missouri said a disgusting thing about rape:


GOP Senate Candidate: Victims Of ‘Legitimate Rape’ Won’t Become Pregnant

By Zack Beauchamp on Aug 19, 2012 at 3:37 pm
Senate Candidate and Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) told a local television station on Sunday that “legitimate rape” rarely produces pregnancy because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Akin cited conversations with unnamed doctors for the bizarre claim.

I don't know what is more stunning, the naked misogyny  or the blatant use of absurd junk science.

So, obviously a lot of people were offended by this gross claim, so Akin went ahead and made it worse:

Akin Clarifies ‘Legitimate Rape’ Comments: Women Make ‘False Claims’ About Being Raped

By Igor Volsky on Aug 21, 2012 at 1:56 pm
AKIN: You know, Dr. Willke has just released a statement and part of his letter, I think he just stated it very clearly. He said, of course Akin never used the word legitimate to refer to the rapist, but to false claims like those made in Roe v. Wade and I think that simplifies it….. There isn’t any legitimate rapist…. [I was] making the point that there were people who use false claims, like those that basically created Roe v. Wade.
 

Because, you know, pregnant women will do anything for a free abortion! Why else would they get themselves all knocked up, if not to grab a free ride on the abortion-a-whirl?

Of course, the delegation from Wingnutistan is rushing to Akin's defense:

what he said was medically correct. And nobody has the full video, he gets cut off. Sorry, don't believe the spin. 

Who is Chris Loesch? I don't know, but I'll bet you every cent I have that he's not a fucking doctor! Because even I know that what Akin said, besides being disgusting, is absolutely NOT medically correct.



And whichever moron writes the blog "Instapundit" had this gem to add:

 

August 19, 2012

BY THE TIME I NOTICED THIS STORY, IT WAS OVER, but Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” remarks pale in comparison with Whoopi Goldberg’s.

Yeah, candidates for the US Senate should definitely be held to the same standards as  hack comedians.
And of course, raving idiot Steve King (R-His Own Ass) had to jump in:


Rep. Steve King on the Campaign Trail

Posted: Aug 20, 2012 6:27 PM EDT By Heather Leigh

"Todd Akin is a strong Christian man, with a wonderful family," King said.

Yes, his family would have to be saints to put up with an ass like Akin.

King supports the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act."  It would ban Federal funding of abortions except in cases of forcible rape. Right now, Medicaid also covers abortions for victims of statutory rape or incest - for example, a 12 year old who gets pregnant. Congressman King says he's not aware of any young victims like that.

"Well I just haven't heard of that being a circumstance that's been brought to me in any personal way, and I'd be open to discussion about that subject matter," he said.

Yeah, that's a pretty scientific sample size, there. People who have brought up their  experiences with sexual abuse to Steve King have a zero percent pregnancy rate, so that should pretty much settle that. On a similar note, I personally don't know any millionaires, so I'm pretty sure they don't exist and giving them tax breaks is therefore pretty pointless.  Oh, also, Mr. King? Remember this?
In explaining himself, King argues that animals have more rights than fetuses, and suggests that
liberals have so devalued life, that a man can rape a young girl, kidnap her, force her to undergo an abortion across state lines, and then “drop her off at the swingset….and that’s not against the law in the United States of America.” 


TBS had softball legend Michelle Smith announcing a baseball game which naturally brought out the assholes:

  1. Who is woman calling the baseball game on TBS? Hope the house is clean and shirts have already been ironed...
    J H Williamson
    2 days ago
  2. jwilliams310
    Why is there a woman calling this Dodgers-Braves game on TBS?? #thisisnotaleagueoftheirown
    James Williams
    2 days ago
  3. Mark_uhhhhh
    @MLB_TBS Listening to a woman commentating on a baseball game is worse than having my nuts in a vice grip. She's clueless about the game.
    Mark_a_licious
    2 days ago
  4. JLuc34
    Ew why is there a girl announcing baseball on tbs
    Johnny Lucarelli
    2 days ago
  5. K_Train08
    Come on now...TBS has a girl announcer for the braves game and she's talking about softball.... #notokay #dontcare
    Kane Markley
    2 days ago
  6. KMO_its_NBD
    I am sorry TBS, I just can't listen to a woman commentate a baseball game...even if she is a former softball player. Ditch the chick
    Kevin Moran
    2 days ago
  7. humblyreturning
    This softball talk on #TBS is a joke. I am no chauvinist but get this woman to stop talking during the #Braves game. Is this a sick joke?
    Joshua Henderson
    2 days ago
  8. Nolan_Banales15
    There's a woman color analyst announcing the Dodgers/Braves game on TBS. #whatthehell
    Nolan Banales
    2 days ago
  9. Tylercutchall
    @bbarbz I found a commentator worse then the Nats... this bitch on tbs doing the braves game is terrible
    Tyler Cutchall
    2 days ago
  10. bbarbz
    @Tylercutchall the fact that it's a woman doing the broadcasting was all I needed to hear to know she's horrible
    Brandon Barber
    2 days ago
  11. jeff_poor
    Dear TBS: Why is there a woman in the broadcast booth of #Braves/Dodgers talking about Title IX and how to throw a softball? #TBSfail
    Jeff Poor
    2 days ago
  12. japplegate8
    I hope this is the last time #TBS puts this woman on TV. I bet your ratings are suffering.
    Josh Applegate
    2 days ago
  13. AlexanderKarlis
    I'm sorry but this woman announcer on @TBS is a fucking idiot. She's so simple minded and naive
    Alex Karlis
    2 days ago
  14. nocturnoll
    There's a woman commentator on tbs sunday baseball #whatsthisworldcomingto
    El Nollo Loco
    2 days ago
I will make another wager, here. I will bet that Michelle Smith knows more about baseball than all of these Twiitering troglodytes combined.


What else?
Oh, Hank Williams, Jr is still a slobbering, racist disgrace to his late father's legacy:


From a review of Hank Williams Jr.'s show at the Iowa State Fair on Friday night:

Following the song "We Don't Apologize For America" a chant of "USA, USA" broke out amongst the crowd. Williams smiled, telling the crowd that he was their mouth piece and adding:

"We've got a Muslim president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the US and we hate him!"

The cheers that followed were loud and enthusiastic.
 Wait, the beer-drinking, pork-eating Muslim hates what now? Farming? Where the hell did that come from? I mean, obviously, he hates the USA, the nation which has chosen to elect him to its highest post. Why wouldn't he hate the US? And the military, sure, why else would he briong them home from Iraq if not to better express his hatred of them all up-close and personal? But farming? He hates farming? Why, because he really dislikes food? I don't even. . . I. . . I mean. . . Jeezus, Hank, you're making the rest of the teabggers seem almost rational.

 Oh, and some Ohio Republican idiot accidentally said this out loud:

“I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter-turnout machine,” said Doug Preisse, chairman of the county Republican Party and elections board member who voted against weekend hours.
PlunderBund (http://s.tt/1lc3w)
 
So, that's at least some of what I missed. I think I was a lot happier not knowing.


Posted by at 2 comments:

Friday, August 17, 2012

Asshole of the day: Mark Ewing

They breed a very special kind of asshole in Wasilla.

Via HuffPo:

Mega-Gaffes From Another Wasilla Republican

Posted: 08/16/2012 4:54 pm

 But soon [Mark] Ewing distinguished himself. . . After talking about cutting the operating budget, he cited education as one of the problems.

"We are spending millions and millions of dollars educating children that have a hard time making their wheelchair move and, I'm sorry, but you've got to say, 'no' somewhere. We need to educate our children, but there are certain individuals that are just not going to benefit from an education."




GIFSoup 


After his comment in the debate was published in The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, he received a lot of email. He doubled down on a local right wing radio show stating:
"Actually, you know, that was a response that isn't politically correct. But I'm going to use a quote from Jack Nicholson and that is, 'most people can't handle the truth.'"




That's not what I said!




Then he went on to insinuate in Facebook posts (now deleted) that he'd been misquoted by The Frontiersman

Aah, the Wasilla two-step! "I said that, I'm proud I said that, but I didn't say that and how dare you say that I said that!"

A comment on the op-ed, appearing to be from Ewing, stated that he'd "checked the Wasilla Chamber website and realized the words in the paper were mine and I should have made that point clear and apologized to the Frontiersman... and also to the public. It was a poor decision on my part to not remember what I said used to describe children with special needs. I know now that what I meant to say and what I said were completely different and after reading comments from a broad parental base that all children can learn regardless of their handicap I am not against teaching special needs children and clearly not trying to hurt any students or parents that have a child in that situation. This election is not worth my creditably or using a bone headed remarks that may hurt others..." (sic)
 
And a new twist, the "I said that but what I meant was the opposite of what I said."
Sarah Palin would be proud.
Posted by at 2 comments:

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Despicable Idiot Joe "The Plumber" advocates murder



'Joe the Plumber': 'Put a fence on the damn border and start shooting'

PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- The man nicknamed "Joe the Plumber," during the 2008 presidential campaign told crowds in Prescott the solution to securing the border is putting up a fence and shooting at illegal crossers.
He first made the remarks Friday night at a campaign event for Republican state lawmaker Lori Klein, who is now running for a state House seat in District 1. 
"For years I've said, you know, put a damn fence on the border, going to Mexico and start shooting," Samuel "Joe" Wurzelbacher told a crowd at a fundraising dinner.

 image

He reiterated the comments the following day at a "Patriot Rally" with Klein, saying: "I'm running for Congress. How many congressmen or people running for Congress have you heard, put a fence up and start shooting? None? Well you heard it here first. Put troops on the border and start shooting, I bet that solves our immigration problem real quick."

 

Because sneaking in to the country is obviously a capital offense.

Despicable.
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels:

Soledad O'Brien has had enough of this bullshit

Soledad O'Brien has had enough of being lied to.

(via STFU Conservatives)

sarahlee310: The chairman of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s national steering committee on Tuesday angrily shouted for a CNN anchor to “put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead” after she tried to fact check Republican claims about Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) plan to overhaul Medicare. CNN’s Soledad O’Brien pointed out to Romney surrogate John Sununu that the candidate’s plan would turn Medicare into a voucher system much like the budget proposal offered by his vice presidential pick, Paul Ryan. […] “I understand that this is a Republican talking point because I’ve heard it repeated over and over again,” O’Brien observed. “These numbers have been debunked, as you know, by the Congressional Budget Office. … I can tell you what it says. [Obama’s plan] cuts a reduction in the expect rate of growth, which you know, not cutting budgets to the elderly. Benefits will be improved.” “Soledad, stop this!” Sununu shouted. “All you’re doing is mimicking the stuff that comes out of the White House and gets repeated on the Democratic blog boards out there.” “I’m telling you what Factcheck.com tells you, I’m telling you what the CBO tells you, I’m telling you what CNN’s independent analysis says,” the CNN host explained. “Put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead when you do this!” the frustrated surrogate shot back. “You know, let me tell you something,” O’Brien said. “There is independent analysis that details what this is about. … And name calling to me and somehow by you repeating a number of $716 billion, that you can make that stick when [you say] that figure is being ‘stolen’ from Medicare, that’s not true. You can’t just repeat it and make it true, sir.” (via Romney surrogate to CNN host: ‘Put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead’ | The Raw Story) I blogged about this earlier, but good journalism deserves all the light we can shine on it.

he chairman of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s national steering committee on Tuesday angrily shouted for a CNN anchor to “put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead” after she tried to fact check Republican claims about Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) plan to overhaul Medicare.
CNN’s Soledad O’Brien pointed out to Romney surrogate John Sununu that the candidate’s plan would turn Medicare into a voucher system much like the budget proposal offered by his vice presidential pick, Paul Ryan.
[…]
“I understand that this is a Republican talking point because I’ve heard it repeated over and over again,” O’Brien observed. “These numbers have been debunked, as you know, by the Congressional Budget Office. … I can tell you what it says. [Obama’s plan] cuts a reduction in the expect rate of growth, which you know, not cutting budgets to the elderly. Benefits will be improved.”
“Soledad, stop this!” Sununu shouted. “All you’re doing is mimicking the stuff that comes out of the White House and gets repeated on the Democratic blog boards out there.”
“I’m telling you what Factcheck.com tells you, I’m telling you what the CBO tells you, I’m telling you what CNN’s independent analysis says,” the CNN host explained.
“Put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead when you do this!” the frustrated surrogate shot back.
“You know, let me tell you something,” O’Brien said. “There is independent analysis that details what this is about. … And name calling to me and somehow by you repeating a number of $716 billion, that you can make that stick when [you say] that figure is being ‘stolen’ from Medicare, that’s not true. You can’t just repeat it and make it true, sir.”
(via Romney surrogate to CNN host: ‘Put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead’ | The Raw Story)

You know, CNN has been looking for a new identity, maybe this could be it. Maybe they could be the network that calls a lie a lie. Maybe CNN could be the network that doesn't call baldfaced lying "the other side of the story." Maybe they could be the network who is biased in favor of the truth. Ms O'Brien has even provided them with a good new slogan:

CNN: You can't just repeat it and make it true.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

2012 Closing Cermonies, a couple of thoughts

I may be the only one, but I thought the opening ceremonies for the London games were a total train wreck. But they got the Ms Saigon effect by closing with Paul McCartney, so no one seems to remember the stupid choreography


Kungfulincolns_medium



Or the top-hatted men patting the grass like it was a puppy's head, then nodding contentedly as if lawn-petting were some sort of accomplishment.

No one remembers Kenneth Brannagh strutting amongst the working men as if to represent, what, the Industrial Revolution's giving rise to the wealthy industrialist douchebag?




And everyone forgets how incredibly irritating the two young people sending texts and IM's to each other while living in a house constructed of VH1 pop-up video was.

Sure, there were a couple of cool moments, like forging an Olympic ring out of molten iron, and the salute to the National Health, and Rowan Atkinson. But then there was an inflatable Voldemort and a gaggle of Mary Poppinses who completely neglected to fight him, and the whole thing was just awful.



So the closing ceremonies seemed like a good effort to right the many wrongs by concentrating on a salute to British pop music.

But then, no Stones. If you have a Beatle headlining the opening, you ought to have at least one Rolling Stone do the closing. Are you telling me that SNL can book Mick Jagger but the Olympics can't? And where was David Bowie? They played "Fashion," but would it be too much to ask that he show up to sing it himself? They did have some good musical guests, like Madness and the Pet Shop Boys, but you're touching on England's synth-pop masters and no Depeche Mode? And Annie Lenox is great, but how do you not take this opportunity to re-unite her with Dave Stewart?
You can't get Led Zeppelin back together, or Pink Floyd, or the Smiths, but the Spice Girls? Was anyone excited about a reunion of unemployed disposable pop tarts?

And speaking of disposable pop acts, why, when you are saluting bands from the Who to ELO, why in the world would you include lightweight flavor-of-the-month acts like One Direction or Jessie J? And it's not bad enough that this Jesse J person, who is I guess some sort of singer, appeared singing her own trash, but to have her join Brian May on stage to sing QUEEN? Where the fuck does she get the balls? Of course, that atrocity is nothing compared to the crime against humanity of trotting out talentless, obnoxious alleged comedian Russell Brand to do "I am the Walrus." If you felt earthquakes in London yesterday, that was rock and roll legends spinning in their graves.

 

Seriously, this nothing is going to do "I am the Walrus?" It was sacrilege enough to hear him covering Gene Wilder. Russell Brand taking on the Beatles? That would be like if we had the Olympics here in America and had Dane Cook come out to sing Hank Williams. Or Carrot Top do Gershwin. Or have Micheal Winslow make trumpet noises to the tune of "So What." 





There's no fucking excuse for that. Seriously, if anyone reading this is from England, can I ask you? Is having produced Russell Brand something of which England is proud? Why would they trot him out onto this international stage?

Also, if you feel the need to pat tribute to Oasis, why not get a good band to cover them? I get why you wouldn't book Oasis themselves, they might not show up, or they might show up drunk and punching each other, but the singer from that "beady eye" band was just horrible. You got the Kaiser Chiefs to cover the Who. Why not someone good to cover Oasis? And as long as you're having younger bands stand in for older bands that couldn't make it, could no one do T. Rex? Inexcusable.

And how do you not include the Kinks?
Or Elvis Costello?
Or Robert Smith?
Or Mick Jones? Between the Clash and B.A.D. Mick Jones has made a hell of a contribution to the pop music of the latter half of the 20th Century.
Why not Morrisey?
Or Richard Thompson?
Or The Buzzcocks?
Or who was more influential than Wire?
Bryan Ferry was. Where was Bryan Ferry?
Hell, for that matter, why not A Flock of Seagulls? And sure, laugh all you want, but they made a hell of a lot more impact than Jesse J or whoever that rapper was that I never heard of and no one will remember next year.

And where the hell was U2? How could you not get Bono to show up for this kind of international good will event?
Where was Rod Stewart? Why not have a Faces reunion?

And what about Elton John? If Roger Daltrey wasn't going to sing "Pinball Wizard," why not have Sir Elton? Isn't he the one who sang it in the movie?

Damn right, I was!


Where was Van Morrison?
What about Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck?

I mean, if you had to maybe bump the salute to women who look pretty on runways, or people who beat on trash cans for a living to fit in Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page jamming on one stage, orthe Davies brothers performing together again, or Ozzy Ozbourne rejoining Black Sabbath, I think we could have forgiven you.




Posted by at 5 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)