they work for us we owe them nothing

happy solsitice

no compromise????

look the republicans experienced a landslide victory how do you NOT compromise??

problem was nobody listened to us

We need to find a way to get our message to the people

okay i'm repeating myself..to make a point

aGnostic means i dont know and you dont either

this is the republican party??!

i am afraid of americans

what will it take?

am i alone in my rage???????!!!

I stumble out to get my paper this morning, noticing there is still snow covering
a portion of the front lawn making it impossible to use my lawnmower to pick up leaves
(I'm way to lazy to use a rake)
I bend over exposing my plumbers butt to pick up my morning news paper
and what to i see?
well this
so now every time i fly if i ever fly again and if i do i want it to be to leave and never return after reading this
so if i go to the airport i have to submit to rape every time i fly?
am i alone in my rage?
am i a prude, a nut
does civil liberties or privacy mean nothing to people any more?
are we just sheep?
SAY SOMETHING! the silence is deafening
BBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAH BAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

bring out your dead

are we dead yet???

click on the cartoon to make it bigger

you think you have it rough? just be glad you dont live in some socialist hell hole like france

Showdown Alaska! Miller -vs- Murkowski

This is shaping up to be quite a spectacle.

For those who haven't been following, Joe Miller, a TeaParty favorite, won the R primary in Alaska for the US Senate race, ousting incumbent Murkowski. Murkowski, unwilling to accept such ignominious defeat, started a campaign to encourage write-in votes. Come election day, lo and behold, Miller got a whopping 34% of the vote, his D opponent reaped a paltry 24%. The drama is that nearly 41% of the ballots were for a write-in candidate.

Presumably, many of those write-in votes are for Murkowski. Miller is fighting tooth and nail, of course. He and his supporters are arguing that any misspellings of Murkowski's name disqualify those ballots from being counted. Do you see the hypocrisy of such an argument coming from a Tea Party darling?

This is the "party" that railed about "taking our country back" and respecting the will of the people. However, it seems that the majority of the citizens of Alaska don't want Miller. Even if all of those write-in votes are for Spider Man, the majority of the state does not want Miller in office.

Obviously, someone has to serve in the position (debatable, really). If it turns out that Murkowski did not receive enough write-in votes to win, then of course the position should go to the candidate who did get more votes. However, in light of the high-ideal rhetoric constantly regurgitated by the TPs, I would expect a candidate who actually cared that the will of the people be heard would take a more reasoned approach to the vote count.

Instead, Miller has taken a hard line position that all votes not spelling out Murkowski's name completely and correctly be discarded. No matter whether the intention is clear or not. In essence, Miller is advocating that the voice of up to 41% of the electorate be potentially discarded. So desperate is Miller for this Senate seat that he may be willing to use the court to get him there on his whopping 34%.

If these people truly cared about the voice of the people, they would advocate that all votes be counted toward the candidate they were clearly cast for, regardless of the outcome. Losing the election should be less of a tragedy in their minds than the possibility that 41% of the citizens who bothered to vote have their voice ignored. But such is clearly not the case. This is why I am convinced that the Tea Party and their Republican high-jackers are hypocrites and liars, desperate for power and control, integrity be damned.

As long as there is injustice, whenever a Targathian baby cries out, wherever a distress signal sounds among the stars, we'll be there. This fine ship

As long as there is injustice, whenever a Targathian baby cries out, wherever a distress signal sounds among the stars, we'll be there. This fine ship, this fine crew. Never give up... and never surrender.

liberal elitist rant

Call me a "Liberal elitist" call me a Marxist America Hater if that is what you think? You are too stupid to matter. I 'm not a successful millionaire..I managed to make it through graduate school, never really made it in the REAL world.But I look at this bonehead nation swinging between extremes and wonder..what are they thinking? They claim they did not expect Obama to be
so "Socialist" will they complain 2 years from now they did not expect the tea party extremists they put into power to be such
FASCISTS?! wake up america..big loses are expected..and the democrats haven't done a good job..but does anyone know what they are unleashing? Maybe they will catch on..but by then? it will be too late..
would you like to see what too late looks like dumbo tea bagger?

REMEMBER

Google Sites & JavaScript Problem - Google Sites Help

Google Sites & JavaScript Problem - Google Sites Help

Well this answers a lot about using Google Sites as a development platform. They provide absolutely huge functionality, but you don't have the control offered by JavaScript to deliver custom functionality. Still by knowing where the limitation are, Google Sites are hugely useful for building standard landing pages and basic collaboration as long as you don't need a custom solution.

It looks like the best bet is to straddle the world of Microsoft and Google when it comes to cloud development.

the mad tea party

The Revolution Will Be Distributed: Wikileaks, Anonymous And How Little The Old Guard Realizes What's Going On | Techdirt

The Revolution Will Be Distributed: Wikileaks, Anonymous And How Little The Old Guard Realizes What's Going On | Techdirt

If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. George Orwell

If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever.
George Orwell

Did Sarah Palin desecrate the American flag?

Watch this video around 1:30 Sarah signs an American flag. I'm pretty sure she was clueless that is is a no-no. She is not aware that a slaughterhouse might not be the best backdrop for an interview so this is not too surprising.

whoever invited me to moderate over at live journal?

thanks but no thank i posted this on a christian website over at lj a few years ago?
not really welcome there anymore, thanks just the same..

get mad

just because you find it unfashionable does not mean it will go away

response from the radicAL CENTER

mr happy choose

hold on to you mouse ears

dont make excuses there are no excuses for this

can you dig it baby?

because just because

propaganda or truth?

Donald Duck Meets Glenn Beck in “Right Wing Radio Duck”

It is some of the best well made propaganda I have ever seen…We are looking into this gentleman and this incredible propaganda against me – Glenn Beck


Description:
This is a re-imagined Donald Duck cartoon remix constructed from dozens of classic Walt Disney cartoons from the 1930s to 1960s. Donald’s life is turned upside-down by the current economic crisis and he finds himself unemployed and falling behind on his house payments. As his frustration turns into despair Donald discovers a seemingly sympathetic voice coming from his radio named Glenn Beck.

scarlet letter?

these people are dangerous they are the CHRISTIAN TALIBAN

this does not apply to you only those that hate you

Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them. - Samuel Butler

Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.
- Samuel Butler

Obama to Tie GOP to Tea Party?

Obama to Tie GOP to Tea Party?
Is President Obama finally going to bring some fire to the midterm elections? White House political advisers are considering running national ads that would tie Republicans to the Tea Party movement, warning unenthusiastic Democratic voters that putting the GOP back in power this fall would be dangerous. But the Democratic campaign committees in the House and Senate are opposed to the move because it would further nationalize the election, something they want to avoid in a time of high unemployment and low presidential popularity. Supporters of the ad buy, which would likely air on cable TV, say it would redefine the debate, showing how high the stakes are with the nomination of very conservative Tea Party candidates. The White House is denying the Times story; but the Times is standing by it.
Read it at The New York Times

watch this this women is insane..help us

this is why i'm proud my great great grandfather fought with uncle billy

birds of a feather.. they flock together..in the cuckoos nest

today were going after atheists

we kill we jail and then we claim to be free...its called doublespeak

He's poor, mentally disabled, and his newbie lawyer botched his sentencing. But at 6 p.m. EST today, this convicted killer will be executed. Brendan Kirby on death row's special-needs inmate.

death in alabama
Winston sank his arms to his sides and slowly refilled his lungs with air. His mind slid away into the labyrinthine world of doublethink. To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them… - (Orwell, New American Library, 1981, p35)
jail them hang them tell them they are free

they are only for the rich

Was Sending Summers to China a Mistake? President Obama has just sent National Economic Council Director Larry Summers to China for the second time

Was Sending Summers to China a Mistake?

President Obama has just sent National Economic Council Director Larry Summers to China for the second time this year to get relations with China back on track. But just like the earlier mission, this one is a mistake that makes the U.S. look weaker, argues The Daily Beast's Gordon G. Chang. There will be claims of progress, of course, but we're unlikely to see any real forward movement in the core issues to be discussed: China's undervaluing of its currency by as much as 40 percent and its increasingly close ties to Iran, not to mention the "three Ts" of Taiwan, Tibet, and trade. The countries' goals are irreconcilable and leaders refuse to have honest talks, even in private. And the U.S. is pursuing counterproductive tactics, criticizing China's behavior and then rewarding it with official visits. The Chinese will see Summers' trip as yet another American Apology Tour, writes Chang.

Read it at The Daily Beast
oh baby just you shut your mouth

just how insane is the tea party?

Democrats Plan Political Triage to Retain House

WASHINGTON — As Democrats brace for a November wave that threatens their control of the House, party leaders are preparing a brutal triage of their own members in hopes of saving enough seats to keep a slim grip on the majority.


In the next two weeks, Democratic leaders will review new polls and other data that show whether vulnerable incumbents have a path to victory. If not, the party is poised to redirect money to concentrate on trying to protect up to two dozen lawmakers who appear to be in the strongest position to fend off their challengers.
NYT

'Mexploitation' Invades the Movies

'Mexploitation' Invades the Movies

Each week, The Daily Beast scours the cultural landscape to choose three top picks. This week, Machete bloodies up the box office, Archie Comics gets its first gay character, and Smigly is the new cartoon poster boy for the recession.

Summer wouldn't be complete without a gratuitous bloodfest—and Machete, by Grindhouse director Robert Rodriguez, certainly fits the bill. Danny Trejo jumps in the titular role as an undocumented immigrant caught between Mexican drug lords who are after him in the south and American politicians who want to deport him in the north. Machete's a "baaad-assss," as Trejo calls him, an ex-Mexican federale who goes on a killing spree in this sort-of satire that touches on the recent immigration crisis, complete with Robert De Niro as an overeager politician who calls immigration "an overt act of terrorism." The Daily Beast's Bryan Curtis writes that director Robert Rodriguez "takes America's panic over its southern border—the jitters that historian Ricardo Romo once called a 'Brown Scare'—and runs wild with it." It's racking up good reviews across the board and may just be the first film ever to subtly combine politics and AK-47s.

de ja vu

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!





Oil Sheen Spreading From Rig Explosion

We hope the judge who overturned President Obama's moratorium on offshore drilling feels pretty bad: A mile-long oil sheen is spreading from the oil platform that exploded off the Louisiana coast earlier on Thursday, according to the Coast Guard. It's unclear whether the sheen is from fuel that was on the platform or from a leaking oil well undersea. The Associated Press says it was not currently producing, meaning that technically it was a "platform," not a rig. One person was injured when the platform, which is owned by Mariner Energy, exploded 100 miles off the Louisiana coast. It's in shallow water—340 feet, as opposed to the 5,000-foot deep Deepwater Horizon well.

Read it at Associated Press
what the heck is a sheen?

The Peace Talks Charade Despite promising a fresh start in the negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians,

The Peace Talks Charade

Despite promising a fresh start in the negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, President Obama has set the process back to where it was three years ago under President George W. Bush, argues The Daily Beast's Reza Aslan. Certainly, Obama hasn't lost his confidence, promising to settle all the toughest issues that have plagued leaders for decades, such as East Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees' "right of return," and the final borders of a Palestinian state. With his self-imposed one-year deadline, Obama thinks he can do it with one hand tied behind his back. "I recognize that those of us in the media who want peace for Israel and dignity for Palestine are supposed to gush enthusiasm and feign optimism every time a U.S. president gathers the Israeli and Palestinian leaders together in the same room," Aslan writes. "But it's hard to be optimistic when we have been using the same playbook for decades and have not come one inch closer to a peaceful resolution."

Read it at The Daily Beast

in other related stories secret agent man

peace talks

well its about time, that all i have to say..

okay yes i played with this for HOURS

say it again

eye of the tiger..it aint over til the fat lady sings

time to take off the gloves

little green footballs

well in my day it was little pink houses..but thats another story..

59 Percent: say Palin Can't Be President

59 Percent: Palin Can't Be President

Sarah Palin may be on a hot streak with her congressional endorsements, but this ought to take some of the wind out of her sails: 59 percent of Americans think Sarah Palin is not fit to be president of the United States, according to a new 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll. Meanwhile, 26 percent say they think she would be an effective commander-in-chief. The poll also shows Republicans splitting 47-40 on the question of whether Palin can lead the country. Those numbers should be comforting to liberals, but another question is upsetting: 76 percent of respondents said Mel Gibson's recent misogynistic and racist tirade won't affect whether or not they'll see his movies.

Read it at Vanity Fair
59%

Glenn Beck's Hypocritical Revival Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and a crowd of thousands descended on the National Mall

Glenn Beck's Hypocritical Revival

Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and a crowd of thousands descended on the National Mall in Washington yesterday where politics took a backseat to calls of "restoring honor" back to America. After taking flak for scheduling the rally on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech, Beck made the gathering more about religion, saying "We've got to go to God Bootcamp." He also stuck back at what he sees as a divided America: "There is growing hatred in the country. We must be better than what we've allowed ourselves to become." But Beck can't profit from fear and division all week during his radio show and then try to denounce them one Saturday, writes The Daily Beast's John Avlon. If he wants to get the "poison of hatred" out of the country, he'll first have to apply the standard to his own televangelism as well.

Read it at The Daily Beast
i'm afraid of americaines



Number of Women in Congress Could Fall

While many pundits have decided that the 2010 midterms could mark "the year of the woman," this November is actually shaping up as quite the opposite. For the first time since 1978, the number of women serving in Congress is poised to drop. Currently, women hold 90 seats in Congress, with 69 of them in Democratic hands and 21 belonging to Republicans. But after November, as many as 10 of those could be replaced by men. Among the notable female candidates in danger are Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Betsy Markey of Colorado, and Patty Murray of Washington. Women have historically done better in years dominated by Democrats, but the GOP is insisting that its likely success in November will not hurt the cause. "The 2010 candidate recruitment class is a formidable one, and that includes a number of top-tier female candidates who will likely be called 'congresswoman' after November," said a spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee.

Read it at Los Angeles Times

and on your way back to the kitchen get me a beer

Cato, a Tragedy

"It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

Glenn Beck's Festival of Fools s

Glenn Beck's Festival of Fools

Glenn Beck has organized a huge rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. this weekend, which he has titled "Restoring Honor"—a name so deeply bland that we're forced to search for some deeper, hidden meaning, argues The Daily Beast's John Batchelor. But the real trick is that Beck's event might be about nothing. The rally falls on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, but analysts should look to Karl Marx to understand it: "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce." When Beck speaks of history, of the sun setting on our shining city, of "the fire of truth," he's not actually talking about history, threatening violence, or analyzing politics. He's entertaining. "I think of him now and again as Quasimodo Lite," Batchelor writes, "a deaf bell-ringer swinging from the Notre Dame of Fox, a man who is eager to confess his own unsightly warts—"I've screwed up most of my life"—and who is also heroically delighted to be our slightly stooped "Pope of Fools," because this accidental role, in this Festival of Fools called 2010, wins the cheers of the crowd." It's easier for us to debate the motivations of this stunt artist than to talk about the real issues facing us in these jobless, deflating times.

Read it at The Daily Beast
i'm afraid of americans

Nettleton Middle School Segregates Students: Only Whites Can Run For President (UPDATED: School Ends Policy)

Nettleton Middle School Segregates Students: Only Whites Can Run For President (UPDATED: School Ends Policy)
excuse me ? wasn't this settled during reconstruction?

Alaska's GOP Civil War Lisa Murkowski may not give up without a fight:

Alaska's GOP Civil War

Lisa Murkowski may not give up without a fight: The Daily Beast's Shushannah Walshe has learned that former Republican Alaska state legislator and vocal Sarah Palin-critic Andrew Halcro is commissioning a poll to gauge Murkowski's chances if she runs for Senate as third-party Libertarian candidate against Palin-endorsed Joe Miller. GOP pollster David Dittman will conduct the poll this weekend. "I think [Murkowski's] got to get out there because I think in a wider open field with a weak Democratic candidate and the other choice being Joe [Miller] on the extreme, I think Lisa has a shot and she has money in the bank and she has name-recognition," Halcro said. When asked about the survey, Joe Miller wrote in an email, "There already was a poll. It's called a primary." While ballots from Tuesday's race are still being counted, Miller maintains the lead.

Read it at The Daily Beast runlisarun

How the Stimulus Is Changing America

How the Stimulus Is Changing America

The debate over President Obama's $787 billion stimulus bill has been mostly about whether it has saved jobs—and most economists say it has—but that's not the only thing it aimed to do: The bill was also designed to help advance several Democratic goals—a green economy, computerization of the health-care system, education reform, and scientific research. Time magazine says, "Any of those programs would have been a revolution in its own right," and that the stimulus "may be [President Obama's] signature effort to reshape America."

Read it at Timestimulus

if you are gay or care about gay rights or right wing theocratic fascism lookie here

Recently the discussion drifted to which is worse
islamic fascism
or christian totalitarianism
i feel a almost owe some an apology
to say radical intolerance
dangerous tyranny does not exist in the christian world
is a complete delusion
the zealots are out there in the evangelical world and they are dangerous

With Joe Miller's upset of Republican Lisa Murkowski

With Joe Miller's upset of Republican Lisa Murkowski all but certain, Shushannah Walshe investigates how he decided to challenge one of the state's top political families—starting at Palin's resignation
hey joe

and in other news
look this program in my opinion is the backbone of the new deal
and everything civilized that remains of American society
social security goes
and our culture and the values WE support
will be destroyed

Murkowski May Lose Senate Seat

Murkowski May Lose Senate Seat

Alaska's Republican senate primary was an upset even before it was over, writes The Daily Beast's Shushannah Walshe. Incumbent Lisa Murkowski was supposed to hold on to her job easily, but as the vote tallies started coming in, the race turned into a nail-biter. Is it all thanks to Sarah Palin? Palin endorsed Tea Party favorite Joe Miller over Murkowski, daughter of Alaskan icon Frank Murkowski, whom Palin beat for the Republican nomination for governor in 2006. The move looked to be part of a personal feud, but now it looks like political savvy. If Miller pulls through—he's ahead 51 to 48 percent with 76 percent of precincts reporting—the victory would be Palin's biggest coup to date. Late last night, she tweeted that a win would be a "miracle on ice."

Read it at The Daily Beast A Palin Upset?

oy vay

NEW YORK – Pundits claim Jews are abandoning the president. But the truth is, he remains more popular with Jewish voters than any other ethnic group, save blacks. Eric Alterman on the perpetual myth of the Jewish rightward shift.
Times columnist Charles M. Blow was apparently light on ideas for his weekly column the other day and so he decided to wade into the “Is Obama Good for the Jews” waters. He should have stayed on dry land.
The thing about Jews is that you can find one willing to say just about anything. Do Jews support the Park51 Community center? Yes, they do. Do they oppose it? Sure. Do they oppose Israel’s settlement policy? Absolutely. Do they support it? Damn straight they do.
On what authority does Blow have it that most American Jews decide their vote purely on the issue of Israel, or that Obama’s policies toward Israel are particularly unpopular with Jews?
To make his case, Blow turns to John Bolton, one of the most radical members of the Bush administration who has called for an Israeli attack on Iran the day before yesterday at the latest. When Bolton calls Obama’s June 2009 Cairo speech “most radical anti-Israel speech I can recall any president making,” he is probably not trying very hard. George H.W. Bush and James Baker were much tougher on Israel than Obama was, or could imagine being. And Ed Koch, well, come now. The former New York City mayor is so crazy in matters relating to the Tribe, he once demanded that the U.S. boycott France (and Woody Allen). And is it really news that Rep. Mike Pence, the Republican Conference chairman, told the Christian Broadcasting Network, “I believe the Obama administration is the most anti-Israel administration in the modern history of the state of Israel and our relationship with her.” I think it would be news if he didn’t. The people who are complaining about Obama at the top of their lungs are, like Bolton, largely the ones who didn’t want him elected in the first place. You can find 31 or so of them collected here.
Casting a slightly wider net, Blow cites the Pew Foundation’s recent survey that Jewish Republican support now “stands at the highest level since the data have been kept,” though he doesn’t say when that was. The figures presented only go back to 2006, when everybody’s support for Democrats was way higher than it is today. Blow insists that “This is no doubt a reaction, at least in part, to the Obama administration having taken a hard rhetorical stance with Israel, while taking special time and care on our relationship with the Muslim world.’"
Oh, really? Well, I doubt it. Barack Obama, like pretty much every Democrat before him, remains more popular with Jews than with just about any other ethnic group in America, save blacks. His approval rating among Jews, steady in the low 60s, is about 15 percent higher than it is with the goyim. Neoconservatives have been predicting a Jewish turn toward the Republicans since George McGovern only got about two-thirds of the Jewish vote—that’s right, only two-thirds—and yet it never happens. (See for instance, “Milton Himmelfarb, “Are Jews Becoming Republicans?” Commentary, August 1981. Having lost patience, they started complaining about what Irving Kristol not so fondly called “The Political Stupidity of the Jews.”) Even so, on what authority does Blow have it that most American Jews decide their vote purely on the issue of Israel, or that Obama’s policies toward Israel are particularly unpopular with Jews? Blow may be without doubt on these points, but he is also without any reliable evidence.
According to a spring 2010 survey conducted for J Street, the “pro-peace, pro-Israel” American Jewish lobby, American Jews support the policies undertaken by the Obama administration on Middle East peace by margins of three or four to one, depending on how the question is asked. They are pretty much evenly divided about whether it’s a good idea for the U.S. to openly criticize Israel—as Obama has done in response to the Netanyahu government deliberate thumbing its nose in America’s eye over settlement policy—with a small plurality of 40 to 44 percent agreeing “that the United States should publicly express our disagreements and request Israel to change certain policies.”
• Douglas Schoen: Why Obama's FailingBlow falls back on the columnist crutch, leaning on Times reporter Helene Cooper, who noted, “It remains unclear whether Mr. Obama’s latest outreach will reassure American Jews and the general public in Israel, where Mr. Obama’s approval ratings have plummeted.” Yes, all things futuristic “remain unclear,” particularly when one refuses to define one’s terms. Amazingly, Blow, like Cooper, does not appear to distinguish between American Jews and “the general public in Israel” even though the two are citizens of two entirely different countries, only one of which Obama is president. Second, Blow pretends that the issue at stake is Jewish votes, but adds, cryptically, that “their influence outweighs their proportion.” Interestingly, Blow does not bother stating why. I don’t disagree, of course, but I don’t see the point of playing footsie about it either, unless you happen to work for Abe Foxman.
The fact is one can make a case that Obama is a great president for Israel and for American Jews just as easily as one can make the opposite case. One can even do it on the very terms these “pro-Israel Jews” use to define the terms of the debate. He was just about the only world leader anywhere to go along with Israel’s crazy argument for why it had to raid a peaceful aid mission to Gaza and ended up killing nine people, for one. And as The Wall Street Journal reported last week, “U.S. military aid to Israel has increased markedly this year. Top-ranking U.S. and Israeli soldiers have shuttled between Tel Aviv and Washington with unusual frequency in recent months. A series of joint military exercises in Israel over the past months has included a record number of American troops.” Even AIPAC is on board, at least when asked a direct question. Asked for a comment by Think Progress, spokesman Josh Block said, “Clearly the Obama administration remains deeply committed to the U.S.-Israel alliance, and supporting aid to Israel and deepening our military cooperation is just one aspect of that.” Does Charles Blow really want to go to his grave being more “pro-Israel” than AIPAC?
Look, it’s Obama’s job to prod and push Israel toward peace, no matter how recalcitrant the right-wing government there might be. It’s good for Israel, which needs peace more than anything, and it’s good for America. As Gen. David Petraeus told Congress in March, the continuing conflict is a key driver of instability and anti-Americanism in the region. It is therefore in the interest of U.S. national security that the conflict be resolved.
Last week Obama succeeded, somehow, in convincing the Palestinian Authority to agree to restart peace talks without agreeing to any of their demands whatever. Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator, told the Times: “Abbas wanted a clear reference to the 1967 lines; instead he was given 12 months to continue making his case in the hopes that the Americans will intervene decisively.”
Far more worrisome for all of Israel’s well-wishers than this alleged conflict with Obama is the fact that, as Blow accurately (this time) notes, “Recently, the Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg and the Israel Project, a nonprofit in Washington, conducted a poll that they said found American support of Israel was dropping like a rock.” Maybe the problem is less in Washington than in Jerusalem. After all, it’s Israel that needs America’s support to survive, not the other way around, boychick.
Eric Alterman is a professor of English and journalism at Brooklyn College and a professor of journalism at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is the author, most recently, of Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Restoring America's Important Ideals.
Get a head start with the Morning Scoop email. It's your Cheat Sheet with must reads from across the Web. Get it.
For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.

islamophobia???

The Other 'Ground Zero' Mosques

It's not just downtown Manhattan: Across the country, planned Islamic centers are provoking protests and ugly discourse. In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, proposals for a 52,900 square-foot Islamic center for the longtime Muslim community there led to signs in the town square saying "Keep Tennessee Terror Free." Such debates have popped up elsewhere across the country, as when a Florida church planned a Quran burning. In the state, mosques have been defaced by graffiti, and even politicians have joined in, with one gubernatorial candidate calling the religion a "cult," and another renting a billboard to broadcast the message, "Defeat Universal Jihad Now." Televangelist Pat Robertson pondered a Muslim takeover of the U.S. on his show Thursday, and wondered if local politicians could be bribed. More puzzling, Muslims in Murfreesboro say their neighbors showed kindness and understanding in the weeks after September 11.

Read it at The Washington Post

i'm afraid of muslims

What the Troop Withdrawal from Iraq Means

What the Troop Withdrawal from Iraq Means

As U.S. combat operations finally cease in Iraq this month, much is being made of the withdrawal's significance. But while the country's presence in Iraq is more invisible, the U.S. is still robustly engaged in Iraq. The Daily Beast's Louise Roug, who lived in Baghdad between 2005 and 2007, notes that although Iraq has seen a cultural resurgence and in some instances has proudly embraced its own security forces, there are still problems with which the nation will have to contend—namely, how to deal with the Arab-Kurd fault-line and Al Qaeda-affiliated groups and other radical operatives. As for America's on-the-ground and strategic involvement with the nation's affairs, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Affairs said this week, "We're not disengaging from Iraq; our engagement will increase. It's just the ratio of military versus civilian engagement is changing." The U.S. will keep an embassy in Baghdad, as well as two consulates and two other "embassy branch offices" in strategically crucial areas.

Read it at The Daily Beast
The man I saw, facedown in a ditch near the Tigris River, was not a victim of death squads (as I first thought) but a reveler who had had too much whisky.(well i'd say that is progress!

oh yeah i'd ban it

does a slave choose to wear chains?

WikiLeaks Founder Wanted on Rape Charges An arrest warrant has been issued in Sweden for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on suspicion of rape.

dont worry the charges have been withdrawn since like today, its all a farce to intimidate this man

WikiLeaks Founder Wanted on Rape Charges

An arrest warrant has been issued in Sweden for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on suspicion of rape. Assange has responded the claims on Twitter, tweeting, "the charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing." The charges were first reported by a Swedish tabloid, and officials later confirmed "media reports that a foreign citizen has been arrested in absentia," but didn't name Assange, an Australian citizen, by name, Police said in a statement, "The arrest refers to two separate events, one complaint of molestation and one complaint of rape… The person is arrested in absentia, as there is a risk that he could obstruct the investigation." The tabloid said prosecutors confirmed Assange was the target. WikiLeaks tweeted that, "We were warned to expect 'dirty tricks.' Now we have the first one." It added that no one from the group has been contacted by the police. Assange has angered many Western governments by posting top secret documents about the war in Afghanistan that their militaries say put troops and Afghan civilians in harm's way.

Read it at Associated Press
bunch of swedish meat balls

wake up

man is a religious animal

The Palin Twitter Backlash

The Palin Twitter Backlash

Sarah Palin has irritated many in the Twitterverse before—for her use of the word "refudiate" or calling feminists a "cackle of rads." But this time her post in defense of Dr. Laura Schlessinger's use of the N-word is having real political ramifications. This has stoked considerable ire, especially among black Republicans, several of whom told The Daily Beast's John Avlon that Palin is not cut out to be a serious Republican leader anymore. Trouble began when Schlessinger used the N-word 11 times and told a radio caller "don't marry outside of your race." Palin swept to Schlessinger's defense, tweeting: "Dr. Laura: don't retreat... reload!" and that Schlessinger would be "even more powerful & effective w/out the shackles, so watch out Constitutional obstructionists." Conservative columnist Deroy Murdock responded to The Daily Beast: "Sarah Palin's tweets resemble something scribbled by a ninth-grade cheerleader. Is it asking too much for a reputed American political leader to communicate in complete sentences?...Even worse, she deploys her vacuity to defend an acerbic talk-show host who just detonated herself."

Read it at The Daily Beast
golly did i just use the n werd? goshamighty

ginger says :

Nearly one in five Americans now incorrectly believes that President Obama is a Muslim, evidence of growing confusion among the population about the president's faith.

not muslim

because i am

By KARL RITTER, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 4 mins ago STOCKHOLM – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Wednesday the U.S. Army has expressed will

By KARL RITTER, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 4 mins ago
STOCKHOLM – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Wednesday the U.S. Army has expressed willingness to discuss the online whistleblower's request for help in reviewing classified documents from the Afghan war and removing information that could harm civilians.
"This week we received contact through our lawyers that the General Counsel of the U.S. Army says now that they want to discuss the issue," Assange told The Associated Press by telephone.
There was no immediate comment from Washington.
WikiLeaks has asked the Pentagon for help in reviewing the documents to purge the names of Afghan informants from the files. Last week, U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said he was not aware of any effort by department officials to contact WikiLeaks.

on this day in history, AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS

China's Economy Pushes Past Japan's

China has surpassed Japan as the world's second-largest economy behind the United States, according to government figures. Tokyo said early on Monday morning that Japan's economy was valued at $1.28 trillion in the second quarter. China's economy, meanwhile, came in at just under $1.33 trillion. "This has enormous significance," said Nicholas Lardy, an economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "It reconfirms what's been happening for the better part of a decade: China has been eclipsing Japan economically." China's economy, for the rest of the year, is expected to grow at about a rate of 10 percent, adding to a three-year run of double-digit growth.

Read it at The New York Times
oh baby just you shut your mouth

socialist!

Are eccentric candidates hurting the GOP?

Fri Aug 13, 8:09 am ET
New York – Reinforcing an election-year trend, Republican voters in this week's Colorado and Connecticut primaries chose "offbeat" candidates over those anointed by the national party. The "deeply unusual pool" of GOP nominees, says Alexander Burns at Politico, now includes "a former professional wrestling executive, a libertarian ophthalmologist, and a man who thinks bicycle use could empower the United Nations." GOP strategists fear that these eccentrics will hurt the party in November, but Republican pollster Whit Ayres says Americans are "attracted to people who want to radically change the status quo." What's the risk factor? (Watch Gov. Ed Rendell call GOP candidates "cuckoo")
These loons might sink the Republicans: "The GOP's foray into...wackiness" could save the Democrats this fall, says Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post. In Connecticut, Republicans have nominated a Senate candidate, Linda McMahon, who "once climbed into a professional wrestling ring and kicked a man in the crotch." With such jokers on the ballot, Republicans would be "foolish" to think a "sweeping win in November is guaranteed."
"GOP candidates unpredictable and wacky"
GOP candidates aren't crazy — that's the liberal media talking: This talk of wacky Republicans is just liberal "spin," says Don Surber at the Charleston, W.V., Daily Mail. Tea Party candidates like Ken Buck in Colorado are winning because they're offering voters something that's in short supply in Washington — a heartfelt commitment to limited government. With deficits skyrocketing, Democrats can't beat fiscal conservatives in a debate, so instead they're trying to paint the entire crop of GOP insurgents as "crazy," with the help of their lapdogs in the press, of course.
"JournoList’s fall campaign"

"Offbeat" or not, these extremists are unelectable: These candidates aren't winning because they're colorful political outsiders, says Steve Benen in Washington Monthly, but because they're positioning themselves at the far Right. Linda McMahon spent a fortune convincing voters her GOP opponent was "too moderate." Bicycle-conspiracy theorist Ken Buck won for the same reason. In this anger-filled election year, Republican voters want extreme Right-wingers, no matter how unelectable they are.

lunatic fringe

Napolitano Defends 14th Amendment

Not every politician from Arizona is crazy: Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano rejected on Friday Republican calls to amend the 14th Amendment so that the children of illegal immigrants would be denied American citizenship. "Any talk of amending the Constitution is just wrong," she said in a White House press briefing. Republicans like House Minority Leader John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have said Congress should look into changing the Constitution.

Read it at The Hill
Napolitano Defends 14th Amendment

Michael Moore on GM's New CEO General Motors is installing a new CEO after posting a $1.3 billion quarterly profit.

Michael Moore on GM's New CEO

General Motors is installing a new CEO after posting a $1.3 billion quarterly profit. But Michael Moore, writing exclusively for The Daily Beast, says most American CEOs don't want to improve the economy—and hiring isn't around the corner. And what's true for GM is true for the country, he says: The government stepped in with trillions of dollars in cash and guarantees to keep Corporate America from collapsing due to its own stupidity, short-sightedness and greed—but GM has only hired back 2,000 workers in America. What the bottom line says, Moore argues, is that the entire business world has figured out how to make huge buckets of money without hiring us to work for them.

Read it at The Daily Beast
so are we all

What Hillary Would Do For Obama's Ticket The only way President Obama can win reelection in 2012 is with Hillary Clinton on his ticket,

What Hillary Would Do For Obama's Ticket

The only way President Obama can win reelection in 2012 is with Hillary Clinton on his ticket, The Daily Beast's Tunku Varadarajan argues. After a difficult two years and perhaps two more with a Republican Congress, Clinton is the administration's best unsullied heavy-hitter. Obama needed the all-American Joe Biden in 2008 for his folksy charm. But now Obama needs someone who has even more appeal in Middle America. Enter Clinton, who has struck a tone of "hard-nosed, understated dignity, of no-nonsense professionalism, of a pant-suited determination in telling contrast to the panty-waist in the White House," Varadarajan writes. Whatever happens to the Democratic Party over the next couple years, Clinton could hold it together. And her place on the ticket would be historic to boot.

Read it at The Daily Beast
stand by your women

the republican party is insane and hypocritical

its NOT that I am so left wing
i'm not
not really
i'm kinda in the middle compared to many
the problem is the republican party
liars hypocrites and lunatics
perhaps now the republican party is the last refuge of a scoundrel
no?
just read this
HYPOCRITE
i mean imagine if bill clinton had abandoned his sick wife? theyd be calling for blood

Last Night's Big Win for Obama After embarrassing losses earlier this year, yesterday's primaries were a big win for President Obama

Last Night's Big Win for Obama

After embarrassing losses earlier this year, yesterday's primaries were a big win for President Obama, argues The Daily Beast's Mark McKinnon, former strategist to Bush and McCain. In Colorado, Sen. Michael Bennet fought off a primary challenge from former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, who was endorsed by Bill Clinton and ran a harshly negative campaign. Obama backed Bennet, and the gamble paid off—it's a huge psychological victory, and one that will have other candidates calling on the president to campaign for them again. On the Republican side, ex-prosecutor Ken Buck beat former treasurer Jane Norton, a win for the Tea Party, but perhaps not for the GOP in this purple state. Norton would have had crossover appeal, so now Democrats have the advantage in the general election. Georgia's governor's race was a showdown among 2012 contenders, with Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin endorsing Karen Handel while Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee endorsed the apparent winner, former Rep. Nathan Deal. Across the country, Democrats nominated mostly insiders, while Republicans nominated mostly outsiders. November's outcome will be decided based on whether the insiders are too inside or the outsiders are too outside.

Read it at The Daily Beast
it aint over till the fat lady sings

Ted Stevens, 1923-2010 It has now been confirmed:

Ted Stevens, 1923-2010

It has now been confirmed: Ted Stevens, the former senator from Alaska, died in a plane crash on Monday night near Dillingham. The 87-year-old served in the Senate from 1968 until 2008, when he lost amidst a corruption investigation that was later thrown out. There was initially much confusion over; he was the longest-serving Republican in Senate history. Five of the plane's nine passengers died. In 1978, Stevens survived a plane crash that killed his first wife.

Read it at Associated Pressted is dead thats what i said

what is this?

seriously what the heck is this?
this is why i hate partisan politics
both sides are so petty and try to make something of nothing
to discredit the other side
anything but deal with issues
petty bullsh*t
i'm sick of it
i get it
we think she is dumb
we hate her
but dont we diminish ourselves when we stoop to being petty ourselves?
or am i wrong here?
say something.

U.S. Urges Allies to Crack Down on WikiLeaks

U.S. Urges Allies to Crack Down on WikiLeaks

The U.S. is pushing Britain, Germany, Australia and other allied Western governments to consider opening criminal investigations into Julian Assange, the nomadic founder of WikiLeaks, and to limit his international travels. Obama officials tell The Daily Beast's Philip Shenon that they feel Assange has overplayed his hand, alienating foreign governments that might otherwise be sympathetic to his crusade, and that his quest is a real and serious threat to American national security. The Justice Department is considering a wide range of charges against Assange for his leaking of more than 70,000 classified documents about the Afghanistan war, and they want other countries to do the same—their soldiers are just as much at risk.

Read it at The Daily Beast truth is there is something terribly wrong with this country isnt there?

Rand Paul's College Kidnapping Never underestimate the weirdness of Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul:

Rand Paul's College Kidnapping

Never underestimate the weirdness of Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul: An anonymous female source tells GQ that in 1983, when Paul was a student at Baylor, he and a friend kidnapped her. "They knocked on my door, and then they blindfolded me, tied me up, and put me in their car," she says. "They took me to their apartment and tried to force me to take bong hits. They'd been smoking pot." Later, they tried to force her to worship a god they called "Aqua Buddha." According to GQ, Paul was part of a secret society called NoZe that mocked Baylor's prevailing Christian culture. Reached for comment, Rand Paul's campaign did not deny the charges.

Read it at GQ
crazy rand paul

the worst movie ever

this is probably the least political thing i have posted
and a lot of them arent really they are just rubbish that floats through my addled brain
but i feel very strongly about this
i love film this isnt the place to talk about it but i always do
because i think film speaks volumes about culture especially our culture
i think i have found the worst movie i have ever watched
and i have seen plenty
corny boring vacuous saccharin filled insincere and just downright stupid
its why people hate holly wood
oh and if you insist on watching a good movie
heres one of fellinis better ones

Vive Les Nukes - thats right we're copying the french now

So who has the cleanest air and the cheapest electricity bills in the industrial world?
A very bright progeny of one of my siblings was lecturing me on the evils of nuclear power, and how terrible it is for the environment . Well it is dangerous, but guess who seems to have gotten it right?
Thats right, isn't that annoying?
I'd be interested in anyones response to these videos, and commenting on the pros and cons of
nuclear power, merci.

Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

thanks to ginger

US district judge in San Francisco on Wednesday overturned California's Proposition 8, the 2008 voter-approved ban on gay marriage.




The ruling, which will certainly be appealed, follows a closely watched trial on the constitutionality of the state's prohibition of same-sex marriage that many expect will eventually be decided in the US Supreme Court. A decision there would result in a landmark ruling on one of the most contentious social issues of our time.
christian science monitor

Gates, Buffett, and 38 Other Billionaires Make Donor Pact Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have convinced 38 other billionaires to give away half

Gates, Buffett, and 38 Other Billionaires Make Donor Pact

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have convinced 38 other billionaires to give away half their wealth to charity. Gates and Buffett started "The Giving Pledge" earlier this year; it's a campaign to get the richest people to donate to the charitable causes of their choice, either before or after their death. Others taking the pledge include Michael Bloomberg, Barry Diller, Larry Ellison, T. Boone Pickens, David Rockefeller, George Lucas, Ted Turner, and Ronald Perelman. The U.S. has about 400 billionaires; the 40 who've made the pledge are worth more than $230 billion combined.

Read it at MSNBCyou cant take it with you