It Wouldn't Cost Him A Dime!

Charles Lane knows best:

If Obama and Congress were really as serious as they say they are about reducing unemployment, they would at least be willing to discuss rolling back last July’s minimum wage increase. It would create some jobs for those who need them most, and it would not cost taxpayers a dime. Yes, those who get hired at a reduced minimum wage would have to work for less. But at least they'd be working.

At least they'd be working!

What Do They Have In Common Again?

Little Wingnut Ben Shapiro wrote this:

President Obama fulfills the three requirements to receive the approval of the black community: he is black; he is not currently having sex with a white woman; and he is liberal. And he receives the lifelong and unwavering loyalty of the black community for it.

By contrast, the black community hates another prominent half-black man. This half-black man happens to be a political independent who has sex with white women. His name is Tiger Woods.

When the Tiger story broke, folks like Instaputz were wondering who'd be the first to somehow connect Tiger with Obama in a story. Naively, I thought there was no way that could happen.

Gimme a U!

Shorter Verbatim Gary Graham: The War of Words — Why We’re Losing:

Are we pussies – or are we Americans? 

Overwhelming Evidence

Phil Plait:

This has become so politicized it’s hard to know what’s right and what’s wrong. I personally would be thrilled to find out the Earth isn’t warming up. I’d like my daughter to grow up on a planet that isn’t on the fast track to environmental disaster. But I have no stake in the claim scientifically either way; I don’t cling to AGW because of political bent or any ideology. I think global warming is real because of the overwhelming evidence pointing that way.

I’ll note that some people are still upset by my use of the term deniers. Again, to be clear: a skeptic is someone who uses evidence and logic to reach a conclusion. A denialist is someone who will say or do anything to deny an issue. I stand by my definition. There are actual global warming skeptics out there — and I would not only support their efforts but praise them — but what I see on the web and in the comments overwhelmingly is denial, not skepticism.

(Emphasis in the original)

I also like this point.

In conclusion: I called this a non-event because it has no real impact on global warming science or our understanding of it. Of course it has a huge impact, politically. But that’s because the ideologues out there have seized on this and made as much noise as they can, so in that sense it is an issue — an issue of how political science has become, how easy it is to disrupt the process, and the effect this has had on the scientists themselves. This issue won’t go away any time soon, but we need to focus on the signal, not the noise.

We can be irritated to hell by the misunderstandings and willful ignorance and distortions. But public perception of science is still a real issue - and an important one to work on. I work in educational science media production, ie. scientific outreach, which is the same process as will be needed to confront nonsense like this, just shifted a little bit away from the insanity end of the scale. We may roll our eyes at this silliness, but it's still part of the overall goal of informing the public about what science is, why it is done, and why its conclusions are relevant.

Odd

Want to see what thought processes of a climate change denialist look like?

Here's John Hinderaker:

The debate over "climate change" is odd, in that the climate changes constantly, and always has. Like most natural processes, maybe all, the climate never stands still. The Earth is always getting either warmer or cooler. At various times in the past it has unquestionably been warmer than it is today, and also colder--as when the place where I am typing was buried beneath ice a half-mile thick. That being the case, the fact that global temperatures have risen a bit during the last couple of decades is hardly a shock.

This is the same guy who posts photos of snow 10 times a year to disprove global warming.

I'm sure climate scientists will appreciate the helpful advice that "the climate never stands still."

Fozzy

Waka waka waka!

As for the president, Palin joked that she was looking at a magazine cover of Obama and Chinese president Hu Jinato during an airplane flight. A nearby passenger stated, "Hu's the Communist," she related.

And, Palin said, "I thought he was asking a question."

Emotional Gratification

Earlier today, I said this over on my twitter account:

Shorter Right: until the day Obama leaves office, we will fault everything he does and says, as well as things we imagine him to think

Now Brad at Sadly, No takes it a bit further in addressing a Charles Krauthammer "But He Didn't Sound Like He Liked War Enough!" post:

And this is why the neocons will never warm to Obama, no matter how many wars he eventually decides to start. It’s a personality thing, really — Obama likes to give off the air of someone who makes decisions only after careful deliberation and weighing the costs and benefits. The neocons, however, only respect fellow travelers who get funny feelings in their pants when they think about war, people who really get off on the idea of watching other people get blown up. For them, war isn’t merely an act of national defense but an emotional gratification and a validation of their personal strength.

To be fair, I can sympathize with them in some ways. When I used to play StarCraft back in the day, I’d really enjoy sending in a platoon of siege tanks to blow up Zerg encampments. But mercifully for the rest of the world, I learned to get out my primordial thirst for blood through computer games and not through becoming a member of the American foreign policy establishment. If only I’d applied to work at the American Enterprise Institute instead, I could have made quite a name for myself. What could have been and so forth.

Humans Are Malleable

Can you imagine if you got your information about the world from someone who writes shit like this?

Muslim Barack Hussein Obama was quick to tell the public not to jump to conclusions regarding Army psychiatrist Muslim Nidal Malik Hasan's killing spree.

One Muslim must protect another Muslim. Obama must protect Hasan.

It is the same in Afghanistan. Muslim Obama is bound to protect US Muslim militia from killing Afghan Muslim killers. What restrictions then will Obama put on troops newly sent to Afghanistan? When will the public find out about them?

The author, Grant Swank, is just about the nuttiest of the nuts.

It is a crazy Oval Office and Americans are reaping the mob hysteriacs who pushed a Muslim into the White House.

Ramadan means more to him than the National Day of Prayer.

Allah means more to him that the Christ of his hoax Trinity United Church of Christ.

The Koran means more to him than the Bible as America's Christian heritage spiritual guide.

Fellow Muslims mean more to him that American citizens.

Fort Hood murderer stands out in bold relief as the evident example of Obama's split personality.

French Health Care

During 6 years from 2001 to 2007, I lived in France where I payed taxes like everyone else and benefited from certain acquis sociaux. Specifically, I paid into and participated in social security, which in France refers not only to retirement and disability benefits but also access to a public health care system. I'm not yet of the age to receive retirement benefits but I did receive plenty of health care while living in France.

Here are a few of my experiences

1) When I first received my Vie Privée et Familiale visa which allowed me to live and work in France, I was invited for an appointment in a governmental building on the outskirts of Paris for a medical exam. Similar to the health screening which takes place in the Unites States, it is in the best interest of the French government to ensure that new arrivals are not bring in disease. The experience was surreal. A dreary concrete building near the highway. Long lines of men, waiting to get chest x-rays and to read eye exam charts. Cold floors and less than welcoming civil servants.

2) To oversimplify, the public health coverage handles around 75 percent of medical costs, perhaps even more. In order to cover the remaining 25 percent people buy into a private "complementary" insurance which reimburses the rest. The run-of-the-mill complementary insurance cost me 30 euros a month. 30 euros a month!! At the same time, several times a year in amounts indexed on my revenu, I paid into a caisse de securité sociale, an organization responsible for managing the input and output of social security funds.

3) Although my health needs were not great, I did require a few surgeries to remove some cysts in my eyelids caused by an allergic reaction. Quickly and simply, I was able to make appointments with several eye specialists. Each visit was cheap, often times reimbursed entirely by my public coverage. When it became clear that I need the cysts to be lanced, the operation took place in less than 1 week at one of the best hospitals in Paris and cost me nothing.

4) Once I fell ill with a high fever and violent vomiting. As weak as I was, my girlfriend and I thought it best not to wait until the next day. She called a 1-800 number (or the equivalent thereof). Within the hour, an experienced doctor came to our apartment on a house-call. He looked me over quickly, gave me a shot, and told me to get some sleep. After being reimbursed, I believe I paid 35 euros for this service.

Now, I am just one person who navigated the system in one singular way. These experiences are just anecdotal, but I feel inclined to shared given all the mud slinging we hear on TV and over the airwaves as a result of the debate on capitol hill.

Stomach-Churning

David Neiwert, on Rove saying "It took [Obama] 80-some-odd days to do this, it took us 50-some-odd days to remove the Taliban from power after 9/11":

There's a special stomach-churning quality to watching the people who created one of history's great clusterf--ks telling the people saddled with the job of cleaning it up that they're doing a crummy job.

Tentpole

Justine Bateman on Mister Rogers:

He gave my childhood a tentpole.

Why LGF Parted Ways With The Right

I never knew Little Green Footballs back during the shrub years, but I've been enjoying watching him discover the crazy in the Right.

And in Why I Parted Ways With The Right he provides an powerful, concise enumeration of just why.

1. Support for fascists, both in America (see: Pat Buchanan, Robert Stacy McCain, etc.) and in Europe (see: Vlaams Belang, BNP, SIOE, Pat Buchanan, etc.)

2. Support for bigotry, hatred, and white supremacism (see: Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Robert Stacy McCain, etc.)

3. Support for throwing women back into the Dark Ages, and general religious fanaticism (see: Operation Rescue, anti-abortion groups, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, the entire religious right, etc.)

4. Support for anti-science bad craziness (see: creationism, climate change denialism, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, James Inhofe, etc.)

5. Support for homophobic bigotry (see: Sarah Palin, Dobson, the entire religious right, etc.)

6. Support for anti-government lunacy (see: tea parties, militias, Fox News, Glenn Beck, etc.)

7. Support for conspiracy theories and hate speech (see: Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Birthers, creationists, climate deniers, etc.)

8. A right-wing blogosphere that is almost universally dominated by raging hate speech (see: Hot Air, Free Republic, Ace of Spades, etc.)

9. Anti-Islamic bigotry that goes far beyond simply criticizing radical Islam, into support for violence and genocide (see: Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, etc.)

10. Hatred for President Obama that goes far beyond simply criticizing his policies, into racism, hate speech, and bizarre conspiracy theories (see: witch doctor pictures, tea parties, Birthers, Michelle Malkin, Fox News, World Net Daily, Newsmax, and every other right wing source)

And much, much more. The American right wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff.

I won’t be going over the cliff with them.

Yeah, but besides that, how is the modern Right? ^_^