Oh My

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-probe-of-petraeus-triggered-by-e-mail-threats-from-biographer-officials-say/2012/11/10/d2fc52de-2b68-11e2-bab2-eda299503684_story.html

There is nothing like a sex scandal to start a second term.  The Petraeus affair gets stranger and stranger.  I heard Ronald Kessler, who wrote The Secrets of the FBI, (so he must be a credible source, right?), say that what triggered the investigation, were emails that kept mentioning under the table.  According to Kessler, the FBI was concerned about corruption and under the table deals, not hot steamy monkey sex under the table.  Now according to the Wapo, the trigger was the harassing emails sent by the foxy Paula B.  I have to say I had a weird feeling about her when she appeared on the Daily Show.  I hate to sound like an old fuddy duddy, which in fact I am, but she brought the sleeveless trend to a whole new level, with not just her finely toned arms showing, but most of her upper body.  She not only gave a slightly creepy accounting of her relationship with Petraeus, but was such a shameless boaster that I started wondering why she didn't mention winning the Nobel Prize...Oh right, she didn't.  Of course the media is going to focus on the What did the President Know and When Did He Know It meme.  As though if the American electorate had known that David Petraeus was schtupping his mistress, they would have turned to Romney.  I don't think so.  Petraeus was so revered by everyone and was brought to national attention by W, that I don't the voters would then decide to vote for Mitt.  I have never been a big fan.  I was against the war in Iraq and thought that Petreaus was a Bush toady.  I will never forget his editorial in the Wapo in September of '04, which was basically an endorsement of Bush. 
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49283-2004Sep25.html
I don't want to gloat about his downfall - I am too busy gloating about the Romney and the gas bags who were sure he would win.  I feel badly for his wife, who stayed home, looked after the kids, while her husband traveled the world and was fawned over by all.

Good Bye Turd Blossom or Perhaps Another Good Thing to Come Out of the Election

http://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/gop-denial-2012-11/

Frank Rich has an excellent column about the blindness of the Republicans leading up to the election.  The whole time that the Romney campaign or their surrogates went on about the internal polls showing a Romney landslide, I would either worry that they knew something I didn't, or think they were trying to create the illusion that he was winning, so that if they manage to steal or suppress enough voters, they could then chant I told you so, and would give them cover if they were able to drag any election dispute into court.   It honestly never occurred to me that they might actually believe what they were saying.  Rove and Co. have built up such a reputation for genius, albeit evil genius, that I assume that everything done or said is a cynical manipulation for amassing more wealth and power.  In other words, it never occurred to me that theyactually believe any of the shit that comes out of their mouths.  Maybe the so called Wise Men of the Republican party really don't believe in evolution or science, or what we in the reality based community, regard as objective truth.  Prior to the election, I was a terrible weak kneed tremble chin, who had to check Nate Silver, oh about every time I possibly could, to be soothed by his well reasoned analysis of all the polls, but I was not running a campaign.  How could the Romney people not know that they were in deep, deep trouble?  They not only convinced themselves that he would win the electoral college and would surely win the popular vote.  Not all the ballots have been counted in some very blue states, so Romney's percentage of the vote is likely to go much further down, and imagine what the totals would have been if the Northeast hadn't been crippled by Hurricane Sandy.  It is hard to think about schleping to the polls if you haven't had heat, hot water or housing.  Romney's percentage is creeping downward to the 47% level.  How fitting is that?  So much for the genius of Karl Rove. 

Let the Carping Begin

I stopped blogging when Scott Brown won his Senate seat, saying I was done with politics. The voters of Massachusetts had effectively spat on the grave of Teddy Kennedy, electing a frat boy because he drove a truck. I turned away, sort of, or at least was marginally less obsessed.  So instead of reading every blog, I read just a few, and watched ESPN, where everybody cares deeply about unimportant things, and where they spend hours having circular arguments about the same subjects over and over and over.  I found it restful.  My daughter told me on election night, when Brown went down to defeat, that I had to start blogging.  I told her I have little to say, which is sadly true.  I am currently entertaining myself watching the GOP full of blame about everything except their horrible and unpopular ideas (hmmm... are they really ideas??? or just code words to elicit fear???  Their basic platform is that the American people are so stupid, that they can be manipulated to vote against their interest by fostering resentment and suspicion.)  It is nice to see that the money people are furious that they coughed up so much money for so little.  What I found mystifying is that Romney supporters were surprised at the results.  Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the election was called and how decisive the victory was.  I thought the Repugs had caused so many road blocks and disenfranchised so many voters, and made it sooooo hard to vote, that it was going to take a long time to determine the outcome.  Imagine, if voting were easier how much larger the margin would have been.  The one blot on election night was Tweety, aka Chris Matthews, who earlier in the week had given an impassioned endorsement of Obama.  After Obama's victory speech, which I thought was gracious, moving and pitch perfect, Tweety could not stop harping on the fact that he hadn't thanked Bill Clinton or made a bigger deal about other Democratic victories.  Now I consider myself exceptionally partisan, but boy do I think that would have been a BAD idea.  Of course, if Chris has an idea he never gracefully lets the idea go, despite everyone else on the panel disagreeing.  His post first debate swoon but the more liberal pundits was not helpful to the dems.  My son in law loves the Rev.  Al, who was true blue throughout and wouldn't say one critical thing about Obama's debate performance.  Note the word "performance," with all the swooning, no one ever said Obama said stupid things or lied that night.  I know he went on to really disgrace himself later in the evening regarding his comments about what a blessing hurricane Sandy was, and although Matthews can be very annoying, I am not sure I want him off the air.

Are They Really That Desperate?

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/nj_gov_chris_christie_criticiz.html

It is quite appalling watching Chris Christie fulminate about the evil teachers of New Jersey. He thinks everyone hates teachers - they don't work nine to five, they get to loaf all summer, their health insurance policies say that they and their families have free health insurance for life (if true, my husband plans to move to the Garden State), etc. He is gloating that more than half the towns voted against school budgets. In fact I am amazed that so many towns voted their budgets through. Having lived in a few small towns, I am acutely aware of how many residents that don't have children or whose children are out of school, feel no need to fund schools and seem to hate children. After all, according to them, when they were in school, there were forty five children in the class and they suffered no ill effects, which is debatable if you ask me. Often chool budgets are one area that locals have some control over, so there is often mean-spirited, contentious debate. It has been quite heartening seeing the support that teachers are getting from students, or should I say drug mules. Christie is now being touted as a possible GOP candidate for president, which I find pretty strange. Christie is a total political hack who used his US attorney's office for political gain. He filed corruption charges against Menendez right before election, charges that evaporated after his re-election. Christie was a terrible candidate, not to mention completely physically hideous and only won because voters hated Corzine. He just started his first term, and the very suggestion of Christie as a candidate smacks of desperation. Now where have I seen a first term GOP governor picked for higher office, and how did that work out?

My husband asked me to explain the Chris "The Count" Chocola, so I guess a little background is necessary. Aside from allegations about the energy money he received, his list of mentors and friends is a who'se who in GOP corruption. He counts among his BFF Tom Delay, the disgraced Bob Ney and Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who is currently doing hard time. "The Count" lost his re-election bid because of the stink that came out of his office.

Friendship and Morality, Republican Style

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/committee-spending-crests-1-mi.html

Charlie Crist is getting a fine dose of Republican payback. With all the whining about the importance of bipartisanship, the fact that Crist said positive things about Obama when his state was awarded a heap of stimulus money, doomed him with his party. That famous maverick, John McCain has backed Rubio, even though Christ delivered Florida for him in the primary season and was considered a potential VP. Hell, Crist even got married. No matter that Rubio, who establishment Republicans are flocking to, has been in the news lately because of corruption. And Crist is supposed to listen to the disgraced Count Chocola about what he should do with money sent him by Republicans? The Count is hardly someone that one should listen to about matters of morality. Among other transgressions, he was the one who accepted large sums of money from energy companies and refused to penalize them for price gouging. If you wait long enough, anyone, even the most disgraced, is recycled and is born anew in the Republican Party. I bet if Spiro Agnew were alive, he would be pontification on Fox News.

The Art of the Shameless

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/25/AR2010042501065_2.html

Lindsey Graham has a pretty peculiar reason for stomping away from a proposed press conference about a climate change bill with his best Joey Lieeeeeberman - immigration reform is going to be discussed in the Senate. Never has Lindsey seen such a cynical ploy!!! No, he is not talking about his behavior - he is talking about the Dems talking about immigration. Now what party's actions have pushed the need for immigration reform into people's faces? What state has become the shame of the country for its asking the populace to carry papers to prove citizenship. What party does the esteemed governor from Arizona belong to? Jan Brewer, a fine graduate of Glendale Community College (OK, that was a really snotty comment, but I couldn't resist) bears a striking resemblance to Connecticut's own Linda MacMahon and who is a model of coarseness. But let us take Graham's complaint of face value, so you think the environment is so important, that is should be the first thing on the Senate's agenda, and when it isn't you won't let it be discussed at all? That doesn't make any sense at all, unless you consider that ole Lindsey must be under tremendous pressure from the loonies in his own party to end this bipartisan nonsense and come back to the fold. Of course this is the same fold that welcomes so called Tea Party member, William Gheen who demanded that Graham confess that he is gay and being blackmailed by or in the thrall of the studly Joe Lieeeeeberman. Personally, I think finding Lieeeeeeberman attractive, either physically or intellectually, is worthy of blackmail. But to do something like that to distance oneself from such allegations would a shameless political ploy! Oh, where have I heard those words?

A Penny for the Guy

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/04/23/republican-governors-pay-homage-to-guy-fawkes/#ixzz0lxs6HqRc

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/04/have-conservatives-gone-mad/39417/

As if we needed proof that the Republicans are bat shit crazy, but this is pretty amazing. It is pretty astounding that they are taking Guy Fawkes as their hero because he tried to blow up Parliament in 1605. I know that V for Vendetta glamorized Fawkes, but this clearly shows their tenuous grasp of history or reality. I wonder what the Brits think... I don't think Ron Paul and his ilk realize that every November 5th, children all over England burn Guy Fawkes in effigy. My father was a man of great ingenuity and enthusiasm, and when we lived in a small English Village, he took Guy Fawkes Day as a personal challenge. The village got together to burn all the Guys. Most Guys are rather primitive, but my father dressed our Guy in some of his old clothes and wired the Guy so that he would writhe in pain as the he burned. The villagers thought this was a bit over the top, saying things like "Oh these Americans, taking our simple holidays and making a mockery." This amused my father a great deal. Somehow, it seems strange that the Republicans are so eager to control government, the very government that they seem to want people to blow up. You would think they would learn something from the past. Is Timothy McVeigh a hero to the Republican Party? After all, he blew up a government building. They are truly a party with out thought.