Too Progressive

Seems the popular Cash For Clunkers program has been suspended. Why? Because it was working so well, and programs that work both scare and perplex Congress!

The government plans to suspend its popular “cash for clunkers” program amid concerns it could quickly use up the $1 billion in rebates for new car purchases, congressional officials said Thursday.

UPDATE: Okay, I was wrong. The New York Times is reporting that the program has actually exhausted it’s funds, thus it has been suspended. If that is the case, hopefully Congress will allocate more money for the program.

Oh hey there, it’s been awhile! Anyway, here’s why former part-time Alaskan Governor and full time crazy lady Sarah Palin will never be our President!

Because I’m tired of hearing about the Mexican Bacon Flu, especially since it’s pretty clear that both the WHO and CDC have no idea which way it will go, I’m just going to point out a few key points to take away from that other news story that will forever be remembered in “on this day in history” segments (ha ha just kidding, it wasn’t that important). I speak, of course, about Meghan McCain’s latest simulated feud with someone as equally unimportant as she is the new 9/11 in New York. VIA NYT:

The mission on Monday, officials said, was set up to create an iconic shot of Air Force One, similar to one that was taken in recent years over the Grand Canyon.

When President Obama learned of the episode on Monday afternoon, aides said, he, too, was furious. Senior administration officials conveyed the president’s anger in a meeting with Mr. Caldera on Monday afternoon.

I guess the visionary artist and/or dimwitted codger who came up with the idea just really, really wanted the photo to be totally authentic and did not want a horrible asterisk to forever stain copies of the photo, history books and Wikipedia noting the image of the plane was “simulated.” Plus, they obviously just figured it was a good opportunity to celebrate a belated April Fools Day by simulating a terror attack.

Also (and I’m talking to you James Young), it’s important to note that the President had no prior knowledge that the Air Force was planning to use the plane for such a stupid activity.

Not for the simple fact that DHS put out a report warning about possible homegrown terror from right wing extremists groups. Not because the report warned that these nutty people might try to recruit returning war vets, but because she has now apologized to veterans groups for telling the truth.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano apologized Thursday after some veterans groups were offended by a department report about right-wing extremism.

The report said extremist groups may try to attract veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also said extremists also may use the recession and the election of the nation’s first African-American president to recruit members.

The American Legion was among those who objected to the report’s mention of veterans.

“I think it is important for all of us to remember that Americans are not the enemy. The terrorists are,” the American Legion’s national commander, David K. Rehbein, said in a letter to Napolitano.

Napolitano apologized on CNN on Thursday morning.

Uh, so basically she’s apologizing because these veterans groups were too stupid to read the report? The report that DID NOT ATTACK VETERANS, BUT SIMPLY SAID THEY (THE AFORE MENTIONED VETERANS) MIGHT BE THE TARGET OF RECRUITING EFFORTS BY RIGHT WING EXTREMIST/TERROR GROUPS. Wow, Democrats really are a bunch of sissies. If I was her I would have just told them to fuck off.

I’ll happily await your forthcoming inane/stupid comment, James Young.

mi⋅nor⋅i⋅ty [mi-nawr-i-tee, -nor, -mahy-]
noun, plural -ties, adjective
–noun
1. the smaller part or number; a number, part, or amount forming less than half of the whole.
2. a smaller party or group opposed to a majority, as in voting or other action.
3. a group differing, esp. in race, religion, or ethnic background, from the majority of a population: legislation aimed at providing equal rights for minorities.
4. a member of such a group.
5. the state or period of being under the legal age of full responsibility.

–adjective
6. of or pertaining to a minority.

Republicans had poor showings in the past two elections for a reason.

Future Senator Mark Warner will deliver the keynote speech at this year’s Democratic National Convention in Denver.  Via The Associated Press:

Placing Warner in the national spotlight could help boost his campaign in Virginia, where he is trying to win the Senate seat of retiring Republican John Warner. Obama is also campaigning hard in Virginia, a state that Republican George W. Bush won in the last two elections but one the Obama campaign thinks could turn to the Democrats.

“Mark Warner is the future of the Democratic Party, and putting him on Tuesday night with Hillary Clinton is exactly right move for Obama,” said Arora, who shut down the VoteBoth.com effort two weeks ago under the assumption that Clinton would not be picked. “They highlight Senator Obama’s vision and leadership qualities.”

In 2004 the keynote speech was given by Barack Obama.

Well, apparently “bombing for peace” really is the mindset of the world’s ignorant and unenlightened (and here I am thinking it was just one half of a snarky anti-war slogan).  In giving what may be one of the most inane statements I’ve ever heard, Moscow’s number two diplomat in the United States, Alexander Darchiev reveals Russia’s reason for invading Georgia during an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer:

“Again, our goal is to force adventurous Georgian leadership to peace.”

And on that note, the main stream media and McCain campaign surrogates are all over Barack Obama for spending time with his family this week in Hawaii while the conflict between Georgia and Russia escalates.  In typical MSM and Republican party fashion they almost always fail to mention that both campaigns have already issued statements condemning Russia’s actions.  Also, speaking of vacations let’s not forget that President Bush, the poster boy of the Republican party vacationed (as he’s been known to do during times of crisis) in China during the first few days of conflict between Russia and Georgia.  On top of that, I’d also like to suggest to the MSM and McCain surrogates that perhaps they should inquire as to why George Bush was unable to convince his BFF Vladamir Puttin (aka Pooty Poot) into working towards a cease-fire.

On a completely unrelated note (except that it once again involves the MSM), I just wanted to take a moment to remind folks that what a politician does in his sex life should not be part of the vetting process for our elected leaders, especially compared to the judgement they will use and the policies they will put in place to better our society and solve the problems facing our country, our people and our planet.  While I certainly feel for Elizabeth Edwards and in no way condone John Edwards’ behavior, his (and any other politician’s) sex life is in no way going to help or hinder my access to affordable health care, affordable education and cleaner, more affordable energy.  After all, let’s not forget that if a politician’s infidelity mattered in the overall scheme of things, John McCain would not be a sitting senator or a candidate for president.

Republican party poster boy George W. Bush holds up the American flag the wrong way at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China:

In the words of Keith Olbermann, “everything looks perfect from his point of view.”

Not like it’s a big surprise or anything.  David Donnelly, Director of Campaign Money Watch does make an excellent point, though:

According to the group’s analysis, 124 fundraisers have raised money for both Bush and McCain. These former Pioneers and Rangers have raised a minimum of $25.95 million for McCain’s presidential campaign, the analysis found.

“Senator McCain has been working hard to distance himself from an unpopular president, but he is relying on the same network of big money donors and fundraisers in his run for the White House,” said David Donnelly, Director of Campaign Money Watch. “Given that McCain and Bush have both pulled water from the same well, it’s hard to see how he would pursue policies other than those that have handsomely rewarded Bush’s donors over the past eight years.”

“I am an illiterate that has to rely on my wife.” - John McCain

It’s supposed to be funny.  It’s supposed to be witty.  It sometimes plays on the dimwitted people it’s making fun of.  That having been said, can everyone (especially Democrats, because we’re smarter than this) please cease with the calls for boycotts and chemical warfare against The New Yorker over a satirical image (pictured right) that appears on the cover of the magazine’s current issue.  Please?  Seriously, when I first heard about the “mass outrage” over this, the first thing I thought of was the woman (seen below) who stood in front of McPherson Square metro last Summer protesting after an article in The Onion claimed that the U.S. planned to re-hang Saddam Hussein.  Are you all really that dimwitted?

Let’s at least call it what it is, shall we? For the third straight month the nation saw a net-loss of jobs (a quarter million since the beginning of the year, to be exact) bringing the national unemployment rate to 5.1 percent.

Nearly a quarter-million jobs have been lost nationwide since the beginning of the year, the Labor Department reported yesterday, reflecting the deepening recession in manufacturing and construction and a pullback and cost-cutting by retailers, temporary agencies and other businesses.

Average wage growth of 3.6 percent in the past year continued to fall behind the 4.3 percent inflation rate, setting workers further back as they grapple to pay for food, fuel and other necessities.

Ugh! Bushenomics continue to run America right into the ground.

Governor Kaine has put a moratorium on all executions in Virginia pending a supreme court ruling on the constitutionality of lethal injections. It’s time for Conservatives to pick a side. They cry and holler over stem cell research and a women’s right to choose but they’re all for murder and “playing God” when it comes to the death penalty. So which is it?

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine ordered the moratorium on Tuesday in delaying the scheduled April 8 execution of Edward Nathaniel Bell until July 24.

It is the 30th such stay of execution nationally since September, when the Supreme Court agreed to hear a Kentucky case that challenged the constitutionality of lethal injections. Other executions are not being scheduled pending the ruling, expected in late June.

“That’s the pattern all over the country–dates are not being set,” Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said Wednesday.

Since the Supreme Court allowed states to reinstate capital punishment in 1976, 1,099 executions have been carried out in the United States, including 98 in Virginia, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Only Texas has carried out more executions, at 405.

Not like he’ll listen, but they tried again anyway:

Behind the Pentagon’s closed doors, U.S. military leaders told President Bush Wednesday they are worried about the Iraq war’s mounting strain on troops and their families. But they indicated they’d go along with a brief halt in pulling out troops this summer.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff did say senior commanders in Iraq should make more frequent assessments of security conditions, an idea that appeared aimed at increasing pressure for more rapid troop reductions.

The chiefs’ concern is that U.S. forces are being worn thin, compromising the Pentagon’s ability to handle crises elsewhere in the world.

Oh this is rich. In a speech earlier today outlining his foreign policy positions John “INSANE” McCain is calling for a new “League of Democracies” to advance so called “western values” (bigotry, hatred, 100 to 10,000 years of glorious war in Iraq, etc. etc.) and also said he wants to explore a new free-trade agreement with the EU.

“We have to strengthen our global alliances as the core of a new global compact — a League of Democracies — that can harness the vast influence of the more than 100 democratic nations around the world to advance our values and defend our shared interests,” McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, told the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.

I realize this story is a few days old, but in light of Hillary Clinton speaking out against Barack Obama’s pastor recently, I think it’s definitely worth reading, rereading and passing around.

There’s a reason why Hillary Clinton has remained relatively silent during the flap over intemperate remarks by Barack Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. When it comes to unsavory religious affiliations, she’s a lot more vulnerable than Obama.

You can find all about it in a widely under-read article in the September 2007 issue of Mother Jones, in which Kathryn Joyce and Jeff Sharlet reported that “through all of her years in Washington, Clinton has been an active participant in conservative Bible study and prayer circles that are part of a secretive Capitol Hill group known as the “Fellowship,” aka the Family. But it won’t be a secret much longer. Jeff Sharlet’s shocking exposé, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power will be published in May.

A great video from Ben at NLS in support of WakeUp Wal Mart:

[Earlier: How Wal Mart is short changing Virginia & Look what Wal Mart and the Bush administration are doing for America]

Uhh, this is a little strange, to say the least:

Older White House computer hard drives have been destroyed, the White House disclosed to a federal court Friday in a controversy over millions of possibly missing e-mails from 2003 to 2005.

The White House revealed new information about how it handles its computers in an effort to persuade a federal magistrate it would be fruitless to undertake an e-mail recovery plan that the court proposed.

“When workstations are at the end of their lifecycle and retired … the hard drives are generally sent offsite to another government entity for physical destruction,” the White House said in a sworn declaration filed with U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola.

The White House claims it does not know of any missing emails and that they are “looking into the matter” (I guess that’s kinda like when Scott Peterson was out looking for his missing wife that he had already murdered, huh? Just put on a show to try and maintain your innocence?). Since it has been widely reported that the Bush administration has done a terrible job of keeping records and archiving these type of materials, it’s time we stop giving them the benefit of the doubt and start asking some tough questions.

I’ve seen a lot of talk (and confusion) about this in the blogosphere over the past couple of months, and I think I have a pretty good handle on what exactly will happen and what you have to do to receive your check so I wanted to post a bit of information, including how to find out exactly how much you will receive! According to a Reuters news report from yesterday the IRS will begin issuing payments on May 2 and expected to complete the first round on July 2. Payments will be issued based on the last two digit’s of the taxpayer’s social security number and you must file a 2007 tax return to receive a payment.

More information after the jump, including where to go to determine how much you qualify for!

Senator Jim Webb is “profoundly concerned” about the resignation of Admiral William Fallon and says the sudden resignation raises concerns about whether or not the Bush administration considers or even tolerates dissenting views.

“I know a little something about resigning,” said Webb, who resigned as Navy secretary in the 1980s to protest cuts in shipbuilding. “Those are not easy decisions to make. And I would also point out that this administration is not an administration that has tolerated dissent from our military leaders.”

Webb took to the Senate floor to speak about the resignation and pointed out that Fallon was the third Middle East region commander to express concern with the Bush administration’s Mid East policies.

“This is a region that is in chaos all the way from Lebanon to Pakistan, as we well know,” said Webb, a freshman Democrat. “And we need the advice and the contributions of global thinkers. Adm. Fallon is one of them … . So I am profoundly concerned that Adm. Fallon has decided to take this measure, and I’m hoping that we can hear from him in a more specific way in the future.”