It's good that we've moved on from the morons

BRITISH scientists have developed the world’s first stem cell therapy to cure the most common cause of blindness. Surgeons predict it will become a routine, one-hour procedure that will be generally available in six or seven years’ time.

The treatment involves replacing a layer of degenerated cells with new ones created from embryonic stem cells.

A Tea Party Hero Punks a Bunch of Zero's

The turnout was puny, those who attended were pathetic, but one guy sure got it right and he made the phony tax protesters look like fools!

His name is 'Sinfonian' and his blog is, Blast Off!

Did you catch how stupid those in the crowd were? Great job, Sinfonian. The response of the sheep in attendance is fucking priceless!!

So how did some of the other phony tax protests turn out?

I like pictures and I like visual contrasts;

St. Louis 'Tea Party' 4/15/09

Barack Obama goes to St. Louis
Tea Party turnout? Not so much.

And, he wrote it

"The Constitution of the U.S. forbids everything like an establishment of a national religion" - James Madison

Then
And now


h/t, The Political Carnival

Like a violin ...

AIG's campaign contributions over the last 18 years;

Democrats - $4,685,600 - 50%

Republicans - $4,636,839 - 50%

They still love us ...

(CBS/ AP) American flags were set on fire Friday to chants of "no, no for occupation" as followers of an anti-U.S. Shiite cleric marked the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war.

Fighting them where they actually are

WASHINGTON — President Obama and his national security advisers are considering expanding the American covert war in Pakistan far beyond the unruly tribal areas to strike at a different center of Taliban power in Baluchistan, where top Taliban leaders are orchestrating attacks into southern Afghanistan.

According to senior administration officials, two of the high-level reports on Pakistan and Afghanistan that have been forwarded to the White House in recent weeks have called for broadening the target area to include a major insurgent sanctuary in and around the city of Quetta.

Mullah Muhammad Omar, who led the Taliban government that was ousted in the American-led invasion in 2001, has operated with near impunity out of the region for years,

GOP's "small government" talk is hollow

Federal spending stood at about $1.9 trillion in 2000, when Democrat Bill Clinton ended his presidency. In his final year in office, Bush proposed to spend $3.1 trillion for fiscal year 2009. President Obama's budget proposal for fiscal 2010 is $3.6 trillion.

Nor can Republicans blame a Democratic Congress for being responsible for these trends. Much of the expansion took place between 2002 and 2006, when Republicans controlled both Congress and the White House. The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes was writing about "big government conservatism" back in 2003.

Brought to you by ...

Duh ...

Obama bans 'downer' cows from food supply

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration on Saturday permanently banned the slaughter of cows too sick or weak to stand on their own, seeking to further minimize the chance that mad cow disease could enter the food supply.

So in other words... it took this long to figure out we shouldn't be eating cows that are too sick to walk?

Now that certainly is, 'change' I can live with!

The loonie bastards have Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and this total nutcase, Glenn Beck.

These weirdos need to be exposed and soundly defeated.

GO AIR FORCE!

An American fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone as it was flying over Iraq, U.S. military sources in Baghdad tell Danger Room.

Whoa ...

Open Letter to the Republican Traitors (From a Former Republican)

Dear Republican Leaders: The Republican Party has become the party dedicated to sabotaging the American future. Check out the sermon I just delivered about the Republican Party on CNN when being interviewed by D.L. Hughley -- and/or read on.

You Republicans are the arsonists who burned down our national home. You combined the failed ideologies of the Religious Right, so-called free market deregulation and the Neoconservative love of war to light a fire that has consumed America. Now you have the nerve to criticize the "architect" America just hired -- President Obama -- to rebuild from the ashes. You do nothing constructive, just try to hinder the one person willing and able to fix the mess you created.

I used to be one of you. As recently as 2000 I worked to get Senator McCain elected in that year's primary. (McCain and Gen. Tommy Franks wrote glowing endorsements regarding my book about military service, AWOL.). I have a file of handwritten thank you notes from Presidents Ford, Reagan, Bush I and II. In the 1970s and early 80s I hung out with Jack Kemp and bought into his "supply side" myth and even wrote a book he endorsed pushing his ideas.) There's more, but take it from me; my parents (evangelical leaders Francis and Edith Schaeffer) and I were about as tight with -- and useful to -- the Republican Party as anyone. We played a big part creating the Religious Right.

In the mid 1980s I left the Religious Right, after I realized just how very anti-American they are, (the theme I explore in my book Crazy For God). They wanted America to fail in order to prove they were right about America's "moral decline." Soon after McCain lost in 2000 I re-registered as an independent in disgust with W. Bush. But I still respected many Republicans. Not today.

How can anyone who loves our country support the Republicans now? Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley and Ronald Reagan defined the modern conservatism that used to be what the Republican Party I belonged to was about. Today no actual conservative can be a Republican. Reagan would despise today's wholly negative Republican Party. And can you picture the gentlemanly and always polite Ronald Reagan, endorsing a radio hate-jock slob who crudely mocked a man with Parkinson's and who now says he wants an American president to fail?!

With people like Limbaugh as the loudmouth image of the Republican Party -- you need no enemies. But something far more serious has happened than an image problem: the Republican Party has become the party of obstruction at just the time when all Americans should be pulling together for the good of our country. Instead, Republicans are today's fifth column sabotaging American renewal.

President Obama has been in office barely 45 days and the Republican Party has the nerve to blame him for the economic and military cataclysm he inherited. I say economic and military cataclysm because without the needless war in Iraq you all backed we would not be in the economic mess we're in today. If that money had been spent here at home on renovating our infrastructure, taking us toward a green economy, putting our health-care system in order we'd be a very different situation.

As the father of a Marine who served in George W. Bush's misbegotten wars let me say this: if President Obama's strategy to repair our economy, infrastructure and healthcare fails that will put our troops at far greater risk because the world will become a far more dangerous place. So for all you flag-waving Republicans who are trying to undermine the President at home -- if you succeed more of our troops will be killed abroad.

When your new leader Rush Limbaugh calls for President Obama to fail he's calling for more flag-draped coffins. Limbaugh is the new "Hanoi Jane."

For the party that created our crisis's of misbegotten war, mismanaged economy, the lack of regulation of our banking industry, handing our country to rich crooks... to obstruct the one person who is trying to repair the damage is obscene.

Just imagine where America would be today if the 14 to 20 million voters -- "the rube base" who slavishly follow the likes of Limbaugh -- had not voted as a block year after year thus empowering the Republican fiasco. We would have a regulated banking industry and would have avoided our current financial crisis; some 4000 of our killed military men and women would be alive; over to 35,000 wounded Americans would be whole; we would have been leaders in the environmental movement; we would be in the middle of a green technology boom fueling a huge expansion of our economy and stopping our dependence on foreign oil, and our health-care system would be reformed.

After Obama was elected, you Republican leaders had a unique last chance to send a patriotic message of unity to the world -- and to all Americans. You could have backed our president's economic recovery plan. Since we all know that half of our problem is one of lost confidence and perception, nothing would have done more to calm the markets and project resolve and confidence than if you had been big enough to take Obama's offered hand and had work with him -- even if you disagreed ideologically. You had the chance to put our country first. You utterly failed to rise to the occasion.

The worsening economic situation is your fault and your fault alone. The Republicans created this mess through 8 years of backing the worst president in our history and now, because you put partisan ideology ahead of the good of our country, you have blown your last chance to redeem yourselves. You deserve the banishment to the political wilderness that awaits all traitors.

Frank Schaeffer

AIG

One main goal of the revamped rescue plan — now totaling $162.5 billion — is to help boost AIG's financial position by, among other things, reducing the interest it pays the government on its loans.

WTF?

As many as 18 soldiers killed themselves in February, Army officials announced March 5.

Of the 18 cases in February, two are confirmed as suicides and 16 others remain under investigation. About 90 percent of such pending cases typically are ruled suicides.

Seventeen of the soldiers were male; one was female. Of the deaths, 14 occurred in the U.S. and four overseas.

Last month’s numbers are higher than the previous February, when 11 soldiers’ deaths were confirmed as suicides.

This February’s number represents a slight drop from as many as 24 suicides in January. Of the January deaths, 12 have been confirmed as suicides and 12 are suspected.

The January total was the highest monthly toll for the Army in nearly 30 years.

20 million my ass!

'Premiere Radio Networks, Limbaugh's national syndicator, estimated last year that 3.59 million people were in Limbaugh's audience during an average quarter-hour of his program, based on a review of Arbitron's piecemeal data about hundreds of stations.'

Have you wondered why Limbaugh's biggest sponsors are Lumbers Liquidators and Oreck Vacuum?

They're so pathetic

'Tea Party' anti-stimulus protests are corporate front

Bushed!

"The person most pleased with our foreign policy is Osama bin Laden," Ron Paul went on. "He said, 'I'm going to get you to come over here and we'll fight you on our sand, and we will do what we did to the Soviets.' ... He said he will do the same thing, he will eventually bankrupt this country."

"So yeah," Paul acknowledged. "We want to get rid of a bad guy in Iraq -- we did. But ... another one million Iraqis got killed. Believe me, they weren't all terrorists. ... But nevertheless, it pleased Osama bin Laden."

Hey Barack, over there!

WASHINGTON - With two missile strikes over the past week, the Obama administration has expanded the covert war run by the Central Intelligence Agency inside Pakistan, attacking a militant network seeking to topple the Pakistani government.

The missile strikes on training camps run by Baitullah Mehsud represent a broadening of the American campaign inside Pakistan, which has been largely carried out by drone aircraft. Under President Bush, the United States frequently attacked militants from Al Qaeda and the Taliban involved in cross-border attacks into Afghanistan, but had stopped short of raids aimed at Mr. Mehsud and his followers, who have played less of a direct role in attacks on American troops.

First, Obama needs to direct our Generals to attack al-Qaeda and secondly, George Bush didn't do squat in Pakistan until candidate Obama criticized him for giving Musharaff a pass and called for "at least two additional brigades" of troops to Afghanistan over a year and a half ago on the campaign trail.

We've wasted 7 1/2 years in Afghanistan. Find those we went there for in the first place and then get the fuck out!

Where'd we hear that bullshit before?

When Republicans vote 'no', fortunately, our country prospers!

"I believe this will lead to a recession next year. This is the Democrat machine's recession, and each one of them will be held personally accountable."

That quote was from Newt Gingrich in 1993 when just like this week, every single Republican in Congress voted against Bill Clinton's Deficit Reduction Act of 1993.

Four consecutive budget surpluses, 22 million new jobs and 4% unemployment. Democrats do accept being 'held personally accountable'.

You're welcome!

That man wasn't a Republican

"The legitimate object of government is to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they can not, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, by themselves."




Come on Abe, what happened to that old bootstrap thing, you wimp!

Abraham Lincoln, the original RINO.

Happy Birthday! Born on the same day

Vatican buries the hatchet with Charles Darwin

200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth

The Vatican has admitted that Charles Darwin was on the right track when he claimed that Man descended from apes.

And Abraham Lincoln, too
Bells tolled, wreaths were laid, speeches intoned and banjos picked to mark the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth in a Kentucky log cabin.

Isn't that a lot?

Some reporters were unhappy with their treatment at President Obama’s news conference Monday. Many correspondents from major outlets — who normally have front row seats — did not. Former correspondent Helen Thomas — who lost her front row perch when she became a columnist — was back in first class and was one of only 13 reporters allowed to ask a question.

Only 13?

Uh...what was that again, Ari?

O’REILLY: George Bush came in with a list of guys he was going to call on?

FLEISCHER: Yes, I used to prepare it for him. I would give him a grid, show him where every reporter is seated. And there are some reporters, you know, in that briefing room, you can imagine, Bill, you get a lot of dot coms and other oddballs who come in there. They’re screened.

O’REILLY: Like the Huffington Post. Now it gets called on.

FLEISCHER: And I used to seat them all in one section. I would call it “Siberia.” And I told the president, “Don’t call on Siberia.”

Take, for example, case of Jeff Gannon, the male escort-turned-White House correspondent for the right-wing news outlet Talon News. The White House press office granted Gannon access to the White House under an assumed name and with no background check. Once Gannon got in the door under Fleischer’s watch in 2003, he was called on by Bush at a press conference in January 2005. Gannon lobbed Bush a softball:

GANNON: Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the U.S. economy. … Yet in the same breath they say that Social Security is rock solid and there’s no crisis there. … [H]ow are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?

Still ain't over that northern 'payback'

“What we are dealing with today is the greatest power grab by the federal government since the war of northern aggression,” Stevenson said, R-Webb City, referring what Southern states called the North’s attempt to end slavery in the 1860s.

The remark caused a sudden gasp heard throughout the House’s chamber.