This day and every day, thank a veteran

And don’t just say “Thank you” (though every veteran I say it to appreciates it)… Back up your gratitude by helping one of any number of veterans’ causes that help us civilians do our small part to honor the sacrifices they made on our behalf. Here are but a few:

Hire Heroes USA: “To provide job placement services to our disabled veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, Hire Heroes USA relies on the support of individuals and corporations. With one in four veterans returning home with a service-related disability, there has never been a greater need for mentoring and employment programs to help our soldiers lead productive civilian lives, take care of their families and establish new careers.”

SALUTE, Inc.: “dedicated to increasing awareness and support of issues facing active military personnel, veterans and their families and to provide financial support through advocacy and fundraising. … It is truly our mission to “HONOR THE SERVICE AND REMEMBER THE SACRIFICE” of the men, women and families of our U.S. military personnel.“

Wounded Warrior Project: “Your generous, tax deductible donation to the Wounded Warrior Project enables us to help the thousands of wounded warriors returning home from the current conflicts and to provide assistance to their families.  As the number of wounded steadily increases, so do the needs of these brave individuals.”

Honor Flight Network: “Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill.”

Newt Gingrich “damages America’s safety” by ignoring immoral and un-American activities, Updated

Really Newt? You think Speaker Pelosi needs to resign because she said the CIA lied when all the evidence points to … the CIA appears to have lied by ommission?

Pelosi clearly said she was never told directly and specifically about the Bush-approved torture that the CIA was engaging in — specifically simulated drowning (aka, “waterboarding”). The CIA has never said they told her that specifically and cannot produce any evidence that she was ever told of anything more than “enhanced interrogations” (whatever that made-up phrase means). None of your Republican colleagues who were supposed to have been in those meetings have said that they witnessed her being told.

Can’t you just admit, Newt, that all the GOP is doing is talking in circles about the fact that Nancy Pelosi was never actually told what was going on despite the fact she, as the then-Minority Leader, was supposed to have been informed … and you and your fellow pachyderms are trying to spin it to sound like she’s the one lying.

Does your Republican colleague Minority Leader John Boehner need to resign now too? He just admitted the CIA lied to Congress on another matter.

How about Pres. Obama’s new head of the CIA, Leon Panetta? He didn’t lie that we know of but his letter defending the Agency and its people, while strident and defensive, never actually stated outright that the CIA didn’t lie to Nancy Pelosi (she wasn’t Speaker of the House at the time in 2002, and Panetta wasn’t CIA director then either).

In fact, the CIA’s own records from back then are so ambiguous and incomplete that they could’ve been telling Congress about giving the Gitmo detainees some donuts for all we know. Even Newt’s fellow Republicans like Rep. Pete Hoekstra admit the CIA’s documents are incomplete. (Hoekstra, unlike Gingrich, is actually in Congress.)

Does Republican Hoekstra need to resign because his admission that the CIA docs are incomplete has “damaged America’s safety” and “made America less secure by sending a signal to the men and women defending our country that they can’t count on their leaders to defend them.”

And you can’t really demand a resignation from the guy who was head of the CIA at the time because he’s already gone.

Update: Republican Porter Goss, who was in the same CIA briefings as Pelosi back in 2002 and late became CIA chief himself, won’t go on record to unequivocally state what the CIA told Congressional leaders at the time. Sure, he’s been doing what he can to spin the GOP’s talking points and mud over the real crux of the matter — Pres. Bush’s immoral torture policies — but he can’t bring himself to say that the CIA actually told he and Pelosi what the Republicans keep implying they might’ve been told.

Does the disgraced former Republican Speaker think Mr. Goss should double-dog-dare resign from whatever cushy speakers’ circuit gigs he has now, just cuz Gingrich is in a pitchforks and torches kinda mood? (End update.)

So, Newt, what are you yapping about?

Or are you really just trying to avoid talking about the fact that torture is immoral, illegal and un-American? Presidents from George Washington to Ronald Reagan worked to stop torture — Washington as a general in battle overseeing prisoners of war; Reagan as president when his Dept of Justice put a stop to police torture.

So why, Newt Gingrich, while you’re trying to sell your books and get ready for a quixotic 2012 run for the White House … why can’t you bring yourself to talk about the real topic: Bush and Cheney’s illegal and immoral un-American activities?

We as a nation are better than the terrorists but you wouldn’t know it from the way the Republicans are acting now or were acting back then by sanctioning such depravity. Washington and Reagan are both rolling in their tombs at the thought of it.

Update 2: Hilzoy points out that much of what Gingrich is claiming about the Gitmo detainees is flat-out false. So now who’s lying? Maybe Gingrich will demand that his own resignation. He can resign from public appearances so as to avoid further embarrassment when the media does its job and calls him out on his lies… Oh, wait. That ain’t happening anyway so why would he feel embarrassed about lying so much in the first place?

Rep. Mark Kirk promotes gun violence weeks after Pitt cop shooting

Congressman Mark Kirk is my Representative in Washington. He’s a decent guy in person but apparently enjoys speaking out of both sides of his mouth a bit too much – saying one thing in public and another when he’s trying to rally his base of conservatives.

This being the week taxes are due, the other day he expressed his ire with Gov. Quinn’s proposed income tax increase by saying:

Congressman Mark Kirk is standing by his earlier comments that Illinois residents “are ready to shoot anyone who is going to raise taxes” as much as Gov. Pat Quinn is proposing.

Last week a right-wing extremist shot 3 cops in Pittsburgh.

Shot them dead. Three police officers who were just doing their jobs. Dead.

Shooter Richard Poplawski was upset about a bunch of crackpot conservative conspiracy theories after getting pumped up on the violent, eliminationalist rhetoric of conservative pundits.

And now my Congressman is echoing those thoughts and, rather than admitting his egregious failure, he’s adamantly standing behind his incitement to snipers. We expect that sort of proselytizing about assassination fantasies from conservative pundits who make a buck off stirred up emotions – consequences be damned – but from a supposedly “moderate” United States Congressman?

Mr. Kirk, words have consequences. Three families in Pittsburgh will be among the first to tell you that you should already know this.

PS: How does this square with Rep. Kirk’s supposedly moderate stands on gun control? …It doesn’t.

Godwin’s Law invoked at Chicago Teabagging Party

This astroturfer with the pre-printed poster at today’s Chicago PR stunt is beyond-the-pale. And just a few rows back from someone flying a Gadsden flag? Don’t tread on me, indeed.

Methinks someone spiked their chamomile. Either that or hot tea doesn’t help soothe Obama Derangement Syndrome.

Conservative protester makes light of the Holocaust

How is it that conservatives keep (laughably) claiming that they’re not somehow promoting extremist violence and hatred with their acid-tongued hyperbole?

No wonder right-wing ideologues are shooting cops in fear of the non-existent conspiracy theories which are being peddled by conservative partisans. I wouldn’t wanted to endure what Hitler did to Jewish people during the Holocaust either, if I were to actually believe this conservative protester’s spittle that is.

And just think… all this astroturfing and conservative whining is a direct result of the Obama Stimulus Package which included the biggest middle class tax cut in American history.

(h/t bsmechanic)

Ill Reviewers may divorce due to Hawkeye judges

O, the tyranny of it all. Maybe they’ve got a point about that tyranny thing … except I think maybe the Ill Review editor needs to look in the mirror instead of the courtroom to find the tyrannosaur.

Say, isn’t the Illinois Review editor also “unelected”? No Love Boats for Ill Review anytime soon.

Woot! We’re saved!

Pixie dust and ice cream

Dilbert would be proud. The only thing missing is “More cowbell!“

(h/t Washington Independent, with commenter Ambergris getting the Golden Mouse award for the day)

Quick, Look Over There!

Seeing as how “Blago” has been impeached and out of office for about two months now, you’d think the Republicans’ silly “B3 BLOGGINONBLAGOBLOG” blog would’ve folded up its yellow tent even despite Blago’s own self-aggrandizing use of conservative radio shows.

Alas, the silliness ensues with today’s edition of the GOP-B3 site taking aim at something they call “Blagojevich Democrats”. While it’s clear their intent isn’t to remind voters of the fact that legislative Dems impeached Blago, using such a syllable-laden catch phrase like that may eventually backfire by  serving to remind voters that Democrats did take the lead in impeaching their disgraced guv whereas “Ryan Republicans” (and “Bush Republicans” for that matter) sat on their hands in the face of wanton corruption and unethical mismanagement.

Even more strange is that the Republicans are complaining that a bill sponsored by a conservative Republican State Senator is instead somehow an evil Demoncrat plot to get the state GOP to actually …gasp… have an election for its party leadership (something the Dems already do).

Given their obviously hypocritical whining about direct elections (see, Burris, Sen. Roland), the B3 GOPers don’t have much of a leg to stand on whilst complaining about their own party’s elections, or should I say lack thereof?

If the Republicans don’t like SB600, they ought to talk to the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Chris “CPA” Lauzen (R).

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PS and semi-related: For all the complaining hypocritical conservative partisans do about “secret ballots” in the workplace with regards to the Employee Free Choice Act it’s not surprising to learn that (A) secret ballots are still safe (even the conservative Wall Street Journal acknowledges that) and (B) the Republican National Committee itself actually forbids secret ballots in its own Republican internal elections.

Go figure.

Two Sides to Every News Story

The media can’t both want Pres. Obama to have no sense of humor and have a sense of humor while discussing his plans to eliminate the Bush Recession.

…Who said the media was “liberal”? (Oh, that’s conservatives who usually say that. Go figure.)

Navel gazing

First the Prez skips the media’s self-referential laugh-in “Gridiron Dinner” over the weekend and the media attacks him for having a sense of humor during his 60 Minutes interview the next night.

Then he skips asking the “big” media any questions at last night’s prime time presser … and the media whines.

It may be too late for the media to realize it, but the reason the traditional news industry (newspapers, tv, etc) is in such decline is twofold. First, there is less actual news content in today’s media (witness the recent Chicago Tribune extreme makeover). And second, there is less actual news content in what is left.

A bloggy mash-up

Been darn busy lately so not too many posts. But, I logged into WordPress this morning and cracked up when I saw that the top two “haut” posts are, in this order:

Thousands of the Faithful Flock to Island Church to see the Face of Jesus in a Seat Cushion at The Lonesome Mongoose

and

‘Kiss my fat ass,’ says Meghan McCain at CNN’s Political Ticker.

Enjoy…

Stay outta trouble

Both my grandpa and my good buddy Pat Botterman tended to say “Stay outta trouble” instead of “goodbye” – always with a wink. I lost both of ‘em last year (and my Nana… any my wife’s cousin… and way too many other friends and family).

It still hurts like hell.

Somebody call Reynolds Wrap

That missing truck full of tin foil has been found.

Happy tea bag day, or something. It’s weird to see conservatives planning protests against tax cuts but alas, such is modern partisanship, eh?

PS tea drinkers, much of this doesn’t actually exist … it’s really just a figment of Rush’s boil. Read the dang law before drawing your posters lamenting the con partisans’ pretend mice pork.

(Why do conservatives feel a need to lie about this stuff? Are they hoping lying will bring out more people to toss Lipton in the river before it gets dyed green in two weeks? Are they embarrassed because it turns out they apparently don’t believe in putting Americans to work and giving the middle class tax cuts?)

My fellow Americans, congrats on your raise

Republican leader John Boehner thinks every American makes more than $250,000.

Umm, no, dear John. Us little people work our tails off for quite a bit less than that which is why Pres. Obama promised that 95% of working Americans would see a tax cut, not a tax hike.

By the way, John, Pres. Obama has already delivered on that promise and you and every one of your Republican friends voted against that tax cut for 95% of America.

That means you’re not just a liar but also a hypocrite… and you’re a Republican. Better watch out or those nouns may become synonymous, Rep. Boehner.

No wonder even the very conservative, very Republican governor of Utah has said that the GOP guys in DC are wacky and to be ignored.

Lazy and Idle

Apparently, hard-working Americans who’ve seen their jobs shipped overseas or dry up due to corporate greed run amok are “lazy and idle” (at least according to conservative partisans like our dear friends at Ill Review).

I wonder how that attitude is working out for them at the ballot box.

IL-66: Rep. Walker Attacked by Nat’l GOP Committeeman

It’s clear that newly-minted State Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Hts.) has the Republicans’ attention down in Springfield.

Unfortunately, it’s also clear the elephants are still all-too-willing to twist facts and omit truths while attacking him. Didn’t they learn anything in the wake of his win, in which he took over a seat that had been Republican for decades after the State GOP splattered him with every speck of nasty gutter-level muck they could scrape up and resorted to literally trying to paste over his good name?

The booby prize of the week goes to the still relatively new GOP National Committeman for Illinois, Pat Brady, who took over for Bob Kjellander. Why the state’s National Committeeman felt Rep. Walker was important enough to attack is known only to him, but important enough Mark must be.

So what was the attack?

Mr. Brady declared that a vote to put one of a number of politcally-motivated resolutions the Republicans were tossing up — HR 93 in this case — to a committee was somehow lending “support to Roland Burris” and he singled out Rep. Walker even though a total of 67 Dems, including several Dems who were sponsors of the resolution, voted to put the issue in the committee’s jurisdiction.

The rationale behind referring HR 93 (and its companion HR 92) to the Rules Committe is clear. Both resolutions were placed in Rules on almost straight party-line votes because the State House has other matters to attend than debating the hows, whats, and whys of telling the US Senate what to do with itself. It’s not as if we aren’t facing a massive state deficit, ballooning health costs, crumbling infrastructure and whole host of other more pressing matters than the latest Burris soap opera.

The fact that the Illinois Republicans’ National Committeeman targeted a single Democratic State Rep while using House Republican Organization letterhead clearly demonstrates that whatever the ’sounds good’ language of these resolutions is, the ulterior motive was purely political mud-slinging.

It would be as if the House Dems turned out an inflammatory press release lambasting State Rep. Sid Mathias for missing the very same vote Pat Brady complains about. Did Rep. Mathias miss the vote? Yes. But he has a very clear and reasonable explanation (he is in Israel with US Congressman Mark Kirk). But the H-DEMs didn’t do that, even though they targeted Sid last year, because to do so would be petty and pointless political opportunism — just like Mr. Brady’s diatribe.

And besides, Mr. Brady’s press release carries an outright lie in its opening paragraph with a cute turn of phrase:

Voting in lock-step with Illinois Democrat Leaders, newly-elected State Representative Mark Walker opposed a House Resolution on Thursday that urges the US Senate to take swift and immediate action to address the mounting concerns surrounding Roland Burris’ appointment to the US Senate. Walker’s vote to support Roland Burris is troubling in light of the recent news outlining potential perjury and play-to-play allegations, said Illinois’ Republican National Committeeman Pat Brady.

Sending a politically-motivated, time-wasting resolution to the committee where it should be debated is hardly “support” for Burris, let alone “opposition” to the resolution itself. It’s simply a move to put the resolution where it belongs so that other pressing matters can actually be worked on.

More to the point, Rep. Walker hardly “supports” our junior Senator and has publicly called for Roland Burris to resign his Senate seat immediately. That, of course, means the conservatives’ lies about Rep. Walker are so much bunk.

I suppose that sort of principled call to action is to be expected from a fellow who carried a petition opposing Todd Stroger while he was going door-to-door campaigning for office and who also publicly called for the former governor’s ouster on the campaign trail. Indeed, just like all but one State Rep, one of Mark Walker’s first votes literally on the day he was sworn in was to re-instate the impeachment panel and impeach then-Gov. Blagojevich. But, far be it from the Republican National Committeeman to consider such things when a weak attack needs to be sent out on a Friday afternoon.

Pat Brady’s scurrilous press release was dutifully picked up by our friends over at the conservative echo chamber Illinois Review (who don’t have the best grasp on honesty or reality themselves), though in Ill Review Editor Fran Eaton’s defense she did point out up-front that Rep. Walker wasn’t the only one voting on HR 93. Unfortunately, she did not include info explaining that this wasn’t actually a vote “opposing” action against Sen. Burris nor a demonstration of “support” for him. (Again, several Democratic sponsors of the resolution also voted to put it in Rules.)

Such is life when all the Republicans seem to have left are smoke and mirrors. To borrow a phrase from Mr. Brady, “that’s troubling and wrong.”

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Full Disclosure: I’ve known Mark for a number of years, have worked with him on various local efforts and I endorsed him and supported him as a volunteer during his campaign.

(c/p at Illinoize)