Choosing up sides...Tamron Hall smacks down another bully.

The Mitt Romney bully story is striking a nerve no matter what the right wing wants you to believe. It's something like #4 on Google search right now- for a number of reasons.
Many of us behaved badly as teens. Lots of us can blame our bad behavior on drugs or alcohol- and even more of us were on the receiving end of some pretty hateful stuff. I believe there's a process that helps humans grow into fully formed adults. Some of us remain works in progress, despite our age- but the operative word here is progress. The part that creates the change in outlook and behavior happens when we allow ourselves to look at, and feel responsibility for the hurtful things we've done. Sometimes this never happens, and behavior never changes. Parties causing the harm live in a constant state of denial. That's what Mitt looks like to me. I don't see or hear empathy or compassion when I hear him speak, whether it's denying a bullying incident, talking about firing people, or not caring about poor folks. I hear a cold, calculating corporate kind of guy who can hand out pink slips and sleep like a baby because it was a good call for his shareholders. I hear a guy who thinks it's his 'turn', and doesn't comprehend the difference between sitting in the corner office and holding the oval office. He doesn't get that he can't fire the American population when they don't fit into his short-term plan. I hear a guy who thinks we'll work for him, not the other way around. I hear a guy who tries to sound remorseful for past bad deeds, but never seems sorry about a wrongdoing, he only seems sorry he got caught. I know it's presumptuous, but I see the kind of bully who would have folded like a pup tent if someone with some character stood up to him, and called him out.
The bullying report has brought forth a flood of emotions for a lot of adults. Some are re-living the horrors of being victimized, some are dealing with the guilt of callously causing anguish to others; some are simply feeling empathy. The right wants you to have none of this. They want to push this under the carpet and tell you it doesn't matter. They're used to getting their own way. That happened on MSNBC today- on Tamron Hall's show, when she delivered an epic smack down to Tim Carney, who came on to defend Mitt Romney. Here's a link to Huffington Post, which has video.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/11/tamron-hall-tim-carney-mic-msnbc_n_1510311.html
It felt good to watch. It felt like a couple of things were happening; Tim Carney is a guy who is used to calling the shots; when he attempted to spin and not answer her questions, she wasn't having it, and took control away from him. If David Gregory, Chuck Todd or any of the news talking heads had this kind of backbone, we'd be better off. If any of the network media had the courage to shut down the interview as soon as a subject refuses to answer the questions they agreed to pre-interview - we would have fewer bullies, and a population not filled with so many low information voters.  Go Tamron!

The Importance of Sunscreen

Arizona Governor, Immigration/ Reproduction Expert & part-time beauty consultant,  Jan Brewer

New Jersey Tanning Booth Mom

Get the max SFP.I simply cannot stress this enough.

Pastor Sean Harris could be the anti-christ.

If I were a believer, I'd be praying for a big clap of thunder and a bolt of lightening to take out the lousy piece of sneeze Pastor Sean Harris; who thinks that folks ought to beat the 'gay' out of their kids.
Someone must have been pretty cruel to him when he was young- but that doesn't excuse the potential for child abuse he's advocating.
Where to begin...I hope Child Protective Services for Cumberland County, NC has an eye on the members of his 'church', mostly because anyone who is backward enough to listen to an idiot like Pastor Sean surely can't have the brains to make sure their kids aren't out playing in traffic or drinking bleach. Plus they're most likely in danger of having the crap beaten out of them if they don't happen to 'fit' their designated gender, according to the scripture according to Pastor Sean.
I'm sure he'll dance around and retract this, or say it's not what he meant, or say he was joking, or some other load of fiction. We know what's really going on. Like all homophobes, Pastor Sean is probably yearning for a same-sex partner, and the thought scares the bejezus out of him. He's too emotionally damaged to deal, so he lashes out at innocent kids.
If I hear one more phony Christian sniveling about how their religious rights are being trampled on, I might have to take Pastor Sean's advice on them. Let's see how far that goes.
Pastor Sean, you're an ass. Pastor Sean's congregation, you're bigger asses for not escorting him off his pulpit when he suggested you treat your most precious children in such a hideous way. 
There is nothing Christian, or holy, or spiritual or acceptable about any of this. You all need help.

Smart Guys telling it like it is...Republicans are the problem.

Great Washington Post Editorial...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/2012/04/27/gIQAxCVUlT_story.html

Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein explain it so well, but the topic gave me a migraine.

You click the link, I'll go take a pill.

Is it just me...or do you see it, too?

If I had to decide who is more trustworthy, between these two, I'd go with the Muppet any day. And by Muppet I mean Guy Smiley. Right now I'm thinking that I'd like to have some of whatever those guys at MSN who authored Today's First Thoughts "Strengths On Display" put in their coffee this morning. Their reality is much more colorful and full of fantasy than mine- there was so much make -pretend in what they wrote,you'd think they were talking about Guy Smiley especially when you get to the part about Mitt 'delivering one of the best speeches of the cycle', which although isn't saying much, still gives him a pass on being a big lying liar. Last night's speech following his primary wins was full of fiction. Mitt fell back on recycling the fib about the President apologizing for America,(debunked as were the economic stats he used) and yammered on about Mom and Dad who never thought they'd be on food stamps. He fails to mention that Mom and Dad would most certainly need assistance if they worked for a company that Bain Capital gutted, and also forgets that he's perfectly fine on the issue of drastic reductions to food assistance programs. It's time for Democrats to stand up and start calling out the food stamp bullshit- you know, those phony statements like "I saw my cousin's sister's aunt's nephew's friend in the grocery store and he was buying lobster for his dog and paying for it with food stamps." The RWNJ's are always full of these fictional tales about system abuse...the circumstances and locales change but the demonizing stays the same. 

My message to anyone who has a story like this is, "No, you didn't. You're making shit up, or repeating something you read some knuckle-dragger comment, or heard on Faux News. You're exaggerating, or flat out lying. BTW,  If you are in the grocery store, and paying that much attention to what people are buying and how they are paying for it, (you 'd have to get up close and personal to know what kind of card they swipe through the reader at the check outs) then you need to mind your business, because you don't know anyone else's circumstances. And take two steps back, because you're in someone else's personal space.

I digress. My whole point is that Mitt Romney spread around a whole bunch of hooey last night, and it's only going to get worse. The economy will improve with fewer Republicans in charge, not more.

We had years to observe what the failed Republican policies of unfunded wars and tax breaks brought us. The kids at MSN who wrote First Thoughts completely overlooked Mitt's sit-down at the picnic table with the Repo's in Penn last week; where Mitt was told outright they'd rather pay a little more in taxes than suffer more education layoffs. He didn't engage them at all, and appeared stiff and uncomfortable. Clearly, those Repo voters hadn't been vetted well enough to have a sit-down with the candidate.  If anyone who is sober enough to stand up straight seriously thinks that our economy would be better, not worse with more Republican strategies in place, then I say, you've just proved another Romney lie from last night's speech. The one where he said, "We're not stupid." If you believe he's credible, that's exactly what you are.

Poor Ted Nugent. He could die or go to jail!

Seriously...it's Ted Nugent. Today he told the NRA (besides some really hate-y shit about chopping off heads) that he could die or go to jail if President Obama is re-elected.
I'm OK with that. Really, I am.
Frankly, there would be a brief period where some suck-ass AM stations play his songs for about 20 minutes, then everyone would forget about him. He's just that important in this patchwork quilt of America. I think I'll keep my money on the President.
But, if you're so inclined, you NRA guys should maybe try the 'clap for Tinkerbell' thing for good old Ted. Cause he's about as much of  a tough guy as Tink. I saw him today,  he's definitely fluffier, and without waving his weapon in your face, he's about as tough as a garden gnome.

Hey, Mr. Booker...Thanks for that.

Since Newark, New Jersey's Mayor, Corey Booker did such an amazing and heroic job running into building on fire to save a neighbor,
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/13/newark-mayor-cory-booker-saves-neighbor-from-burning-building/
maybe the GOP should try and get him to try and help with their continuing crisis of 'pants-on-fire' candidates.
Can anyone imagine Chris Christie or even Donald Trump doing what Mr. Booker did?
The difference between being a character and having one. Way to be a hero, Mr. Booker.