Obama Goes To GOP Lions’ Den – And Mauls The Lions

Obama went to visit the House GOP members today, and they played silly politics while he did his job. He took them on and make them look foolish, so much so that FAUXNews stopped airing the discussion 20 minutes before it ended.

This is what I voted for.

This is what an American President looks like confronting the racists, bigots, do-nothings, and traitors who live only to oppose him.

Damn good job Mr. President.

In Memoriam: Literary Passings

Wow, it has been a bad couple days for book lovers and those who value freedom and integrity.

I read this morning that J.D. Salinger has passed. Here is his obit at The New York Times and over at the BBC, plus a post over at Powell’s Books.

A really odd cat, but definitely one of our more free-spirited Americans.

Of more personal import is the death of Howard Zinn (obits at The New York Times and The Washington Post, plus the Powell’s Books entry).

I’ve enjoyed Zinn’s work on pushing the stories of real Americans to the forefront of our history. More importantly, his work has been critical in making sure we don’t whitewash our history or gloss over the hard parts, or even the bad decisions. If you have only been taught Texas conservative Talibangelical/Luddite BS, you know nothing about the history of this nation, warts and all. It is a damned shame too many of our students and only getting the sanitized version.

He didn’t report it either: he lived it, fighting during World War II (and losing the taste for war) as well as being a force for chance for change during the Civil Rights era). In this age of Tea Baggery and people proud of their stupidity, we need people like Zinn more than ever.

Leahy Slams Alito For ‘Under Oath’ Testimony To Committee

The problem with conservatives is that they often make oaths or promise things and then conveniently forget it when the moment comes to be ethical or just keep their word. Senator Patrick Leahy calls out Samuel Alito for basically lying to Congress during his confirmation hearings.

Why this is relevant today of all days is that Justice Alito went all Joe Wilson last night and broke decorum by editorializing during the State of the Union speech. Check it out:

What a turd. You are supposed to be above party bickering. That said, given said body’s response to weigh in on, much less ever bother to hear, Bush v. Gore pretty much says everything you need to know about the current Supreme Court.

Steve Inskeep Must Have Lockjaw : NPR

If you feel the need to grimace while being amused by hypocrisy, this is the interview for you.

In it, NPR’s resident NeoThug basically gets on his knees and services The Orange Man, John Boehner.

Other than bearing that asshole’s children, I am really not sure what other service Inskeep could have done for him. And I am really, really, REALLY tired of NPR giving the GOP an open mike to air their bullshit without even once questioning their words, motive, intent, or honesty.

Seriously, it’s always, “let’s criticize the Dem plan without even the courtesy of a sound byte” and then give the conservative point of view without filter, analyze, or even the obvious outright “you’re kidding me, right?” response it usually deserves.

Want to know why I still refuse to donate to NPR and kinda want to kick myself for doing so? Start with Steve Inskeep.