Just one more Sean Hannity Special, and we'll prove that Global Warming is a Hoax

Here is Hinderaker again, predicting the end of global warming:

This could be the last nail in the coffin of the global warming alarmists: NASA data show that the amount of heat that the Earth has been losing into space, from 2000 to the present, is far greater than the alarmist models predicted.

[…]

What is important about this most recent finding, reported in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing, is that it cuts straight to the bottom line. If not as much heat is being trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere as the alarmists’ models posit, that is the ultimate proof that those models are wrong:

[…]

If these data hold up, the alarmists and their political supporters will owe the realist scientists one of the biggest apologies in the history of science.

One day later, and the story has been debunked.

Turns out that Hinderaker had gotten worked up about a blog post written by a federalist society guy and former wingnut welfare queen from the Heartland Institute. Heartland, by the way, is a wingnut welfare outfit that turns tricks in the climate science denial game while in bed with Exxon and others. Want to know where all the out of work former tobacco industry “scientists” went? Why, they’ve turned up at wingnut welfare outfits like the Heartland Institute. No? Yes its true!

Fast Forward one year from now and Hinderaker will still be predicting that the next Sean Hannity Foxnews Special will expose Global Warming as a hoax. Fast forward two years from now and it’ll be the same. Fast Forward 5 years and……nevermind.

What can you do?

Dispatches from the wingnut-O-sphere - The Sorry State of Red State Blog

Exhibit One:

Some stuff can't be made up. You need real wingnuts to do it.

How many pages is the Boehner debt ceiling Bill?

I wonder if the Bill is too long for some Tea Party Republicans to support. As I recall, 3 pages was the ideal page limit for any new law. So I checked and it turns out that the Boehner Bill is a whopping 57 pages long! Who wants to read anything with that many pages.

Maybe this is the reason he is have trouble convincing Teabaggers to vote for it. My advice to Boehner is to reprint the bill using tiny font. If he is clever enough, he’ll make it fit on 3 pages. Who knows it may trick a couple of them and get some more votes.

I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!

The Wicked Witch of the North Weighs in on the Debt Ceiling

Out here in proverbial politico flyover country, we little folk are watching the debt ceiling debate with great interest and concern. …… I respectfully ask these GOP Freshman to ……. remember us “little people” who believed in them, donated to their campaigns, spent hours tirelessly volunteering for them, and trusted them with our votes. This new wave of public servants may recall that they were sent to D.C. for such a time as this. ..…

All my best to you, GOP Freshmen, from up here in the Last Frontier.

Sincerely,

Sarah Palin

P.S. Everyone I talk to still believes in contested primaries

Suicide Primaries for all!

It is time to shut down the GOP. It does not work anymore. It is broken and cannot be fixed. Shut it down now.

Now God is Against the Debt Ceiling Vote

Time to Shut down the GOP:

Boehner and his fellow House leaders didn’t go down without a fight Thursday night, engaging in hours of intense meetings with individual Republicans and small groups to try to pile up votes. In the end, they decided to try again in the morning.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, a conservative Texas Republican, emerged from Boehner’s suite of offices Thursday evening — which include Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s space — and said he is a “bloody, beaten-down no.”

Adding even more drama to an already chaotic evening in the Capitol, several members of the South Carolina delegation retreated to an ornate, secluded chapel adjacent to the Capitol Rotunda to pray on the issue.

Asked whether divine inspiration might hit during prayer, Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), a freshman from Charleston, replied: “Divine inspiration already happened. I was a ‘lean no,’ and now I’m a ‘no.’”

Dozens of reporters and photographers massed outside the entrance to Boehner’s second-floor suite of offices Thursday evening to watch the procession of rank-and-file lawmakers, before moving down to the first floor where McCarthy’s office served as the nerve center for the remainder of the night.

As hours slipped away and pizza boxes emptied, a handful of other undecideds and Republicans opposed to the bill also flowed into McCarthy’s suite, with Boehner joining the session. Among the holdouts were Flake, Trent Franks, Mo Brooks (Ala.), Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.), Rick Berg (N.D.) and freshman Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.).

This Should Surprise Nobody. The House GOP Freshman, DesJarlais, who once held himself hostage at gunpoint for three hours is a no vote on the Boehner Debt ceiling bill. What can Boehner do to convince this guy to change his mind? What could anyone do? If he was just holding himself hostage you could tell him to pull the trigger. But the gun is not to his head this time.

GOP showing some signs of Life

Maybe there is some hope yet:

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan's open defiance of Speaker John Boehner's efforts to solve the debt-ceiling crisis could cost the Urbana Republican his safe seat in next year's election.

Two Republican sources deeply involved in configuring new Ohio congressional districts confirmed to The Dispatch today that Jordan's disloyalty to Boehner has put him in jeopardy of being zeroed out of a district.

"Jim Jordan's boneheadedness has kind of informed everybody's thinking," said one of the sources, both of whom spoke only on condition of anonymity. "[…]

Hostilities between Boehner and Jordan, whose districts abut each other, broke out into the open this week as the speaker struggled to line up votes from tea party conservatives in the House for his plan to raise the debt ceiling while cutting as much as $3 trillion over the next decade.

Jordan, a tea party favorite who chairs the 170-plus member Republican Study Committee, has stymied Boehner's efforts to raise the debt ceiling. On Wednesday, the rift exploded when it was discovered a key aide to the committee sent emails to conservative groups urging them to push undecided Republicans to vote against Boehner's plan.

The undermining of Boehner was the last straw for Statehouse Republicans controlling the redistricting process in Ohio

This is what Political Parties are supposed to do. There should be a price for stabbing the Orangeman Speaker in the back. If the GOP can’t man up to put Jordan in his place, it will be another sign that it just needs to be shut down.

To hell with it, shut it down anyway.

On Debt Ceiling Kamikazes or perhaps Terrorists

It is the ultimate nuclear option, creating a bigger bang than abuse of the filibuster in the Senate. If this Republican ploy succeeds, this nuclear option can be deployed again on other issues–surgical nuclear strikes directed at the funding of individual government programs and agencies. (Indeed, if she were less scrupulous, Pelosi could have used a debt ceiling vote to force President Bush to defund the war in Iraq.)

And so, here we are. Our nation’s economy and international reputation as the world’s presiding grownup has already been badly damaged. It is a self-inflicted wound of monumental stupidity. I am usually willing to acknowledge that Democrats can be as silly, and hidebound, as Republicans–but not this time. There is zero equivalence here. The vast majority of Democrats have been more than reasonable, more than willing to accept cuts in some of their most valued programs. Given the chance, there was the likelihood that they would have surrendered their most powerful weapon in next year’s election–a Mediscare campaign–by agreeing to some necessary long-term reforms in that program. The President, remarkably, proposed raising the age of eligibility for Medicare to 67.

The Republicans have been willing to concede nothing. Their stand means higher interest rates, fewer jobs created and more destroyed, a general weakening of this country’s standing in the world. Osama bin Laden, if he were still alive, could not have come up with a more clever strategy for strangling our nation.

Jokeline via Lamestream Media

Sad but true. Using radical tactics to force changes that cannot be obtained through normal channels is the definition of Terrorism.

The Tea Party’s tactics, holding the nation and the world’s economy hostage in order to force reckless economic changes are tantamount to terrorism. And the GOP is near powerless to do anything about it.

It is time to shut down the GOP. It does not work anymore. Just admit the terrorists have won and burn the damn thing to the ground.

Are Teabaggers out of Control?

It is a hard to come to a different conclusion

Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California, gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal in which he suggested that he might further the conservative agenda through an occasional compromise. That provoked a tirade from Rush Limbaugh, which then produced a torrent of angry e-mails and phone calls to Issa's office. Issa quickly and publicly apologized to Limbaugh and promised only opposition to Obama. Multiply that example a thousand fold, and you have the daily dynamic of Congress.

The inmates run the asylum. Time to shut down the GOP. It does not work properly, anymore. Shut it down.

Wingnuttery Alert In Effect

This is a Normal Red Alert

Remain Calm – Go about your Business

White House to announce New Fuel Economy Standards tomorrow.

Months of speculation and discussions involving the Obama administration’s new fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks will end Friday.

According to White House officials, President Barack Obama on Friday will hold an event in Washington, D.C., to announce the next round of a coordinated national program to improve fuel efficiency for Model Years 2017-2025 cars and light-duty trucks

“This program, which builds on the historic agreement achieved by this administration for Model Years 2012-2016, will result in significant cost savings for consumers at the pump, dramatically reduce oil consumption, cut pollution and create jobs,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney in a statement released today.

For some reason, cars that get good gas mileage scare the bejesus out of Wingers.

Be on the look out for elevated levels of wingnuttery tomorrow as these new standards become official. Remember, if you stay away from the internets, the terrorists win.

Walsh a Welcher?

The Leading advocate on skipping out of paying the Nation’s bills, also does not pay his own bills. Why is this unsurprising? The Lamestream Media is reporting that court filings claim freshman Rep. Joe Walsh's (R-IL), the most Hardcore Teabagger in the House, owes over 100,000 in child support to his ex-wife.

I believe the next logical thing for Walsh to take up would be Family Values and defending Traditional Marriage.

The Most Expensive Tea Party in History

If Tea Party Republicans are successful and the United States is pushed into default lowering our credit rating, they may have staged the most lavish Tea Bagging Festival imaginable:

A decision to cut the government’s credit rating would likely increase Treasury rates by 60 to 70 basis points over the “medium term,” raising the nation’s borrowing costs by $100 billion a year, Terry Belton, global head of fixed-income strategy at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said on a July 26 conference call hosted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. It could also hurt the rest of the economy by increasing the cost of mortgages, auto loans and other types of lending tied to the interest rates paid on Treasuries.

100 Billion Dollars a year!

I tell you that the Republican Party is broken. No functioning Political Party should allow itself to be taken over by a lunatic fringe out to prove a symbolic point at the cost of 100 Billion per year.

Shut down the GOP. Do it now.

Romney Capped at 23% - Operation Batshit Holding for the Moment….

……but tenuously.

Operation Batshit, i.e, Karl Rove’s plan to pollute the GOP presidential field with as much crazy as possible in order to dilute the effect of the crazy vote appears to be working for Romney for the moment.

I still think they need more Crazy in the field for this to work. It is hard to see how Romney can pull this off with only 23% of the Vote.

Perhaps the 10 Commandments Judge will finally throw his hat in the ring. He should be good for 2% of the vote or so. Every little bit helps.

Teabagging Group Issues Fatwa Against Boehner

The Teabagger Outfit in question is “Tea Bag Nation” run by a fella’ called Judson Phillips:

If you read the blogs on Tea Party Nation, you know any mention of John Boehner is going to be followed almost every time by the words, “the freshly laundered white flag of surrender.”

Given Boehner’s background, you would think he would be right up there with the Tea Party. Instead of being the best Speaker in the last century, which he could have been, he has turned into a total disaster. What is wrong with Boehner?

Much like the French Army, Boehner surrenders early and often. Our country deserves better and the conservative movement cannot take any more of this. We must act.

When the GOP first came into power in January, they promised $100 billion in cuts for this year. Then that number kept shrinking until very rapidly the GOP saw a TeaParty revolt. Boehner then turned around, gave lip service to supporting budget cuts and then gave us a budget cut for this year of not $100 billion but $352 million.

By any standards, that was an epic fail.

Now Boehner is in the process of surrendering again. He is surrendering not to Obama, but to the status quo in Washington. The House passed Cut, Cap and Balance, which would cut $111 billion from the budget. It would cap spending and set a good course for the future.

Now, Boehner has set a new plan that would only cut only $7 billion. Even the wishful thinking of his plan was shot down by the Congressional Budget Office which said even over ten years his budget would not save that much money. In fact, the savings were so low that Boehner has had to pull the bill to rewrite it.

Boehner has no real interest in solving the problems this country faces. He might have been a decent Speaker of the House in another era where he just needed to manage legislation for a Republican President. Unfortunately for us, Boehner is a big government Republican. He worships at the altar of massive spending.

We need a Speaker who is a leader. We need someone with courage and vision. Boehner has none of those qualities. He is not a leader. The Daily Caller today quoted a senior GOP staffer who compared John Boehner to a used car salesman.

John Boehner simply wishes to be the manager in chief of the welfare state. His vision of the GOP and the Speakership involves golfing, drinking and not rocking the boat.

America is at a crisis point. Many of the credit ratings agencies are not only concerned about America defaulting on the debt, but many have also expressed strong concern about the unmanageable size of America’s debt. They have concerns about America’s uncontrolled spending. John Boehner only seems concerned about his next cigarette break.

America cannot stand a lack of leadership. We have that from both the White House and the Senate, who have not proposed any plans. We cannot have a lack of leadership from the GOP controlled House of Representatives, which is exactly what we have with John Boehner.

Boehner must go

And it goes on and on.

Now if these Teabagging Outfits were serious about debt and deficit, I suggest they take a page from House Republican Freshman Scott DesJarlais’ play book. DesJarlais once held himself hostage for three hours with a gun in his mouth. That teabagger is a serious negotiator.

Tea Bag Nation can issue manifestos from air conditioned offices, big deal, but are they willing to step up and go all in like DesJarlais?

Thought not.

Losers.

Debt Ceiling Debate Explained

If you think the Tea Party Wing of the GOP is acting irrationally with regards to pushing the United States into default, you just don't understand the Tea Party.

Let me explain.

Within the conservative movement, there are factions who believe that the Grand Old Party has not adhered to true party ideology. This lack of adherence is primarily because true party ideology (i.e., Free Market Fundamentalism), is phony and is a construct designed by the Establishment Wing of the GOP to fool voters (especially the Tea Party) into believing there is a simple solution for every complex problem, i.e., Tax Cuts and Deregulation at home and recently Preventive War abroad.

After years of sermons on Free Market Fundamentalism, “Wingnutopians” or more commonly known as “Teabaggers" have come to believe that perfection of society, the freedom of mankind and ultimately the creation of a Utopian Society can be obtained through Free Market Fundamentalism.

Prior to achieving Free Market Fundamentalism, it is believed that a “Cultural Consciousness” must be obtained by Real Americans (members of which are sometimes referred to collectively as "The Wingnutariat".

This is required because many members of the Wingnuttariat do not realize their true interests lie with Free Market Fundamentalism. Over time it is inevitable that they will reach this realization. Class Cultural Consciousness is a stage of history which will come naturally when the Chains of Moderation (i.e., the welfare state provided through Liberal Constitutional Democracy) becomes so intolerable that the Wingnuttariat rises up in revolution and overthrows the State. After the revolution of the Wingnuttariat occurs, Free Market Fundamentalism will be the natural result and will lead to free and unfettered markets, the freedom of mankind and ultimately Wingnutopia on Earth where all is good, just and right.

The number and magnitude of outrageous outrages needed to move the Wingnuttariat toward Cultural Consciousness will come only as the Chains of Moderation virtually destroy the Free Market and Free Enterprise. The time needed to run this natural course of history and to spawn the revolution of the Wingnuttariat leave many Wingnutopians unwilling to wait for the revolution to naturally occur. Impatient with the pace of history, some Wingnutopians desire to bring about Free Market Fundamentalism directly by dramatic measures.

Thus, many from the Tea Party Wing of the GOP believe that it is possible implement true Free Market Fundamentalism into practice through direct action such as by forcing the United States government into a default by blocking extension of the debt ceiling. By pushing the United States into default, a market based natural equilibrium will result that allows participants to pursue their own financial self-interest with no or little restraint or regulatory oversight thereby maximizing individual freedom, and accordingly economic growth and societal progress (as defined by the Free Market).

And in this way, a Free Market Paradise will be engineered and Society Perfected based on the Free Market Almighty and (various parts of) The Bible, Allah willing of course.

See Tea Party Republicans have a plan. It may be a crazy plan, but it is a plan.

If it feels good, do it – Opposing the Debt Ceiling

I catch a whiff of Sexism and / or Elitism from the heretics at FrumForum:

In addressing the need to “fundamentally restructure our economy,” does Bachmann take it upon herself to buckle down, roll up her sleeves, and work toward a solution? In her severe disappointment with the leadership of Speaker John Boehner, does she show herself to be a capable and adroit legislator by proposing alternatives that can earn the support of the Tea Party Caucus?

The Congresswoman of course has done neither of these things, declining to fulfill the responsibilities of the office to which she was actually elected. Instead, she continues to reveal herself to be a politician of both little accomplishment and low character, a back-bench heckler content to make jejune comments on the campaign trail.

In asserting that she herself would not vote to raise the debt ceiling, Congresswoman Bachmann said, “My colleagues will have to come to their own conclusion.” Where the Congresswoman herself is concerned, “conclusions” are increasingly easier to draw.

Some people are Mean. This is true, but of course some people are crazy and Ms. Bachmann is one of 'em.

Where did the Deficit Come From?

Another Chart:

The Tea Party is really mad about the last 2 arrows.

Establishment Types Trying to rein in the Tea Bag Rump

First, Sleepy Fred Thompson:

Accept the victory and move on.

As someone who understands the pressures and difficulties you have been going through, I want to say, “Congratulations.” You won, and so did the country.

[…]

My friends, within the next few days, all of this will have happened. I respectfully suggest that you rake in your chips, stuff them in your pockets, and tell the dealer to deal the next hand.

“Is this the best deal we could have obtained?” you might ask. I suggest that you don’t run the risk of finding out.

And next Quasi-Social Darwinist Rep. Paul Ryan:

The Budget Control Act takes an important step in the right direction by cutting $1.2 trillion in government spending over the next decade. Critically, it does this without resorting to Senator Reid’s gimmicks and without imposing the president’s preferred tax increases on American families and the struggling economy.

This bill is far from perfect. We still have a long way to go toward getting the key drivers of our debt — especially federal health-care spending — under control. But considering that House Republicans control only one-half of one-third of the federal government, I support this reasonable, responsible effort to cut government spending, avoid a default, and help create a better environment for job creation.

Still there is no guaranty that 217 House Republicans are willing to vote for the Boehner plan.

Dispatches from the wingnut-O-sphere – Powerline Blog Edition, sigh

The Guy Who Thinks Global Warming is Hoax perpetrated by tricksy scientists and once called George Bush a Genius just wrote this about President Obama’s appearance on TV last night:

The President was the Obama we have all come to expect: hyper-partisan and divisive, to a degree I have never seen in any other chief executive. And I go back to Eisenhower. His talk was full of transparent lies. And Obama is an economic illiterate, which has resulted in most Americans writing him off as a failure. A plurality of Americans regard him as a terrible president. So one wonders whether anyone was listening to him tonight with an open mind.

Obama’s performance was, in my view, awful. Why? Because, as the president has revealed himself to be inept on one issue after another, the lingering question has always been: is he, nevertheless, some sort of political genius? After all, his one undoubted talent is fundraising; he is the greatest money-machine in the history of American politics.

Blogger John Hinderaker

Let us look back 10 years and see how we got to this point economically. As the internets tell me, 10 years ago, George Bush inherited a 6 Trillion Dollar projected Surplus which turned that into 6 Trillion in debt 10 years later. What the hell happened:

According to a recent C.B.O. report, [the Bush tax cuts] reduced revenue by at least $2.9 trillion below what it otherwise would have been between 2001 and 2011. Slower-than-expected growth reduced revenue by another $3.5 trillion. Spending was $5.6 trillion higher than the C.B.O. anticipated for a total fiscal turnaround of $12 trillion. That is how a $6 trillion projected surplus turned into a cumulative deficit of $6 trillion.

Add in the unpaid for wars that Bush didn’t win and the unpaid for Medicare Drug Benefit and you have a real mess. So if one is talking about economic illiteracy, it should also be noted that President Obama inherited an economic disaster that was largely constructed during the Bush Administration. So if Obama is economically illiterate, as Hinderaker puts it, what does this sad fact tell us about the fella’ that called George Bush is a genius? It tells us that he needs help. Living inside the bubble of right-wing counter-culture does this to you.

Dispatches From The wingnut-O-sphere – Talk About a Shotgun Wedding

In today’s episode, Armstrong Williams pines for Sharia Law. Can the Taliban be far off:

An utterly riveting cable TV show called “Love Crimes of Kabul” follows the stories of Afghan women who have been imprisoned for breaking strict Sharia law [em-mine] governing sex outside of marriage……….

In one fascinating episode, a young woman has become pregnant while unmarried. Her parents turn her in to the authorities in disgrace. …………….. Her lover is also charged and awaits trial in a neighboring jail.

As the episode develops, the parents attempt to negotiate a quick wedding. ….. if she does not get married she faces the prospect of raising her child in prison — and when she gets out she would have no viable options for marriage…... After a series of negotiations……. the handcuffed couple gets married in family court just before they are set to face trial.

The judge hears the case. ….. He concludes that they are guilty. However, he notes, the strength of the family unit is a fundamental value in Islam……….. and urges them to return home to raise their family in earnest. He sentences them to time served………. The families are happy because their honor has been restored.

Let’s pan to America circa 2011. A young unmarried woman has a child out of wedlock. Nothing happens. The father abandons her and the baby girl. He is not held accountable. The young lady is poor, has trouble raising the child alone, and therefore neglects her. The toddler goes missing. ……. Eventually the toddler’s decaying corpse is found in the woods….. The woman is charged with murder…... Her winning defense is that she lied about the "accidental" death of her child because of the trauma of sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her own father. She is acquitted by a jury of her peers.

Which outcome would you rather have? A dead child or a strong young family supported by the community?

Do I have to pick?

If Armstrong wants to take his family and immigrate to Afghanistan and trade places with the Afghan family he writes about, I’m sure they’d accept his offer in a heartbeat. It’d be fine with me, too. Take him, please.

But seriously, the wingnuts need to make up their minds about sharia law. Is it the greatest threat to America ever or worth a try? Logically, you can’t have it both ways, but with the wingnut-O-sphere we know that is not true. In the wingnut-O-sphere, nationalized Romneycare or center right health insurance reform equals the death of freedom while “strict Sharia law governing sex outside of marriage” might be super awesome. Who knew it?

Wingnuts. Can’t live with them and can’t round them up and send them off to an imaginary FEMA Anti-Obama dissident camp, either. Sometimes I wish you could, because there are some real deserving wingers out there, but you can’t….because these camps don’t exist. I blame President Obama for this. This is yet another example of how he has disappointed me.

Seriously you can’t make this shit up.

[h/t – Armstrong Williams]

Life Under Teabagger Rule

This is a sign of what was coming after the 2010 midterms. John Boehner is afraid to say the word “compromise” on 60 Minutes because teabaggers do not like the word.

J. BOEHNER: We have to govern. That's what we were elected to do.

STAHL: But governing means a -- compromising.

J. BOEHNER: It means working together. It means find...

STAHL: It also means compromising.

J. BOEHNER: It means finding common ground.

STAHL: OK, is that compromising?

J. BOEHNER: I made clear I am not going to compromise on -- on my principles, nor am I going to compromise...

STAHL: What are you saying?

J. BOEHNER: ... the will of the American people.

STAHL: And you're saying I want common ground, but I'm not going to compromise. I don't understand that. I really don't.

J. BOEHNER: When you say the -- when you say the word "compromise"...

STAHL: Yeah?

J. BOEHNER: ... a lot of Americans look up and go, "Uh-oh, they're going to sell me out." And so finding common ground I think makes more sense.

NARRATION: Stahl reminded him that his goal had been to get all the Bush tax cuts made permanent.

Stahl: So you did compromise.

Boehner: I've, we found common ground.

Stahl: Why won't you say you're afraid of the word.

Boehner: I reject the word.

NARRATION: One reason is because half of his new members are Tea Partiers who think compromise is a dirty word - even when it comes to raising the national debt limit, which Boehner has said the new Congress will have to deal with as adults to keep the federal government from defaulting.

Stahl: Are you gonna play the adult card with your caucus if they disagree with you?

Boehner: Probably.

Stahl: Sounds like…

Boehner: I'll have my moments, I'm sure.

Stahl: But it's sounds like a put down. Sounds like they're children. And you're going to have to…

Boehner: No, no.

Stahl: …treat them as children.

Boehner: No! And I think we're on a pretty short leash. If we don't deliver what the American people are demanding, they'll throw us out of here in a heartbeat.

We are still waiting for Boehner to play the adult card with his children. This is another example that shows that the Republican Party is broken. It didn’t raise its children properly. Now that the children are in grown up positions they are unable to function in society properly. Many of them may end up in a FEMA camp due to this lack of care in their upbringing. The GOP is to blame.

I say that it is time to shut down the GOP. It is broken and beyond repair. Just shut it down and be done with it.

The Re-education of David Brooks

Looks like the Teabaggers got ahold of Bobo. After initially blaming Tea Party Republicans for holding the country’s economy hostage in debt ceiling negotiations, Brooks has recanted. Today this is all Obama’s fault again.

Alas, the dream of a Grand Bargain died Friday evening for three reasons. First, it was always going to be difficult to round up the necessary Congressional votes....Second, the White House negotiating process was inadequate....Third, the president lost his cool.

....There has been an outbreak of sanity since Congress took control....This should be a humbling moment for the White House, and maybe a learning experience. There are other people who have been around Washington a long time. They know how to play this game.

His column today seems reminiscent of recantations of Commies past. I can picture Brooks reading the following statement, too –

“When I said Communism was stupid, I was ill and may have been temporarily insane. I am better now and fully appreciate just how awesome Communism is. I apologize for succumbing to illness and for temporarily losing my wits. I hope my comrades will forgive my weakness.”

Welcome back to the Team Brooks.

Tim Pawlenty is Pathetic and Weak and he reads my blog……..

……. I think.

The other day I criticized Tim Pawlenty and his wingnuttery as pathetic and weak surmising that he was so far down in the polls that it was time to start making shit up:

Welcome to the Modern GOP, son. If you can't bring the wingnuttery, the base won't want anything to do with you. My advice: Dust off the Obamneycare line and start taking shots at Willard and the death of Freedom. Why not call Mitt Romney the Father of Death Panels? Give them red meat.

Being from Minnesota, he could start talking about Border Control and the Canadian Menace. There could be terrorist training camps up there or worse, United Nations Military Bases. Make some shit up, it doesn't matter what - but just do it fast.

Apparently, the former mayor of Saskatoon reads my blog because he decided to make some shit up:

"When President Bush left office there was a $500 billion deficit. Now it's about $1.5 trillion under President Obama's watch. He tripled the deficit of this country. He looked the American people in the eye in March of 2009 after he knew full well about the wars, after he knew full well about the economic collapse, after he knew full well about the Medicare Part D prescription drug expansion, and he looked the American people in the eye and said, 'I will reduce the deficit in half in my first term,' and then he...tripled it.

That's one of his many broken promises, one of his many false statements. And he needs to be held accountable for it."

Actually, Obama inherited the last Bush Budget which ended up at $1.8 Trillion. You see a new President’s budget does not start on the first day he takes office. The Government’s fiscal year ends September 30^th. The President’s first budget starts then at the earliest. Here is how Politifact described it:

According to projections in the Obama administration's proposed budget , released at the end of February, the yearly deficit would go from $1.75 trillion in 2009 to $533 billion in 2013 and $570 billion in 2014. So obviously, by the administration's estimation, the deficit would be cut well more than half whether you measure it until the end of Obama's first term (four years), or five years out.

The Congressional Budget Office projections — released a month later — were not as optimistic. The CBO, a nonpartisan arm of Congress, projected the 2009 deficit at $1.8 trillion, and forecast it would taper down to $672 billion in 2013, then to $749 billion in 2014. Still, even those numbers support Obama's assertion that he'd halve the deficit.

I know that wingers are very concerned about the deficit and the national debt…….when a democrat is president. Other than that, they really don’t care about it. It is tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires that they care about.

I look at this statement by Pawlenty as “Grade C” winguttery, because you can easily prove that it is wrong. To get back in the game he needs an “A Game,” i.e., he needs to cook something up that is hard to prove or disprove.

Think Sarah Palin’s Death Panels traveling in black helicopters at midnight, something like this would be good. Or how about imaginary lines of Canadians waiting to pour over the Minnesota border to receive free Obama Care, why not try something like that? Tea Party Visionary Dan Maes used a UN plot to take over Denver to win the GOP nomination for Governor in Colorado. Sure he only got 11% of the vote in the general election, but he won the party nomination.

The point is that he needs to stop being such a wimp and step up his game.

Loser.

Why Teabaggers are deeply unserious people who should be mocked and belittled at every turn

This.

Tea Party Protesters are outraged at President Obama over spending, but were supportive of his predecessor:

Keep in mind, Bush was fiscally irresponsible in decent times while President Obama is trying to navigate through disastrous economic conditions.

The Persecution of Sarah Palin, Continues…….

….just like it always does. Now people in Real America are avoiding her propaganda piece documentary film as Tickets Sales Plummet in Week Two of the film:

With its Sarah Palin documentary "The Undefeated" increasing its playdates by 40 percent this weekend, only to watch box office revenue decline by more than 63 percent, distributor Arc Entertainment announced Sunday that the film will soon be available on pay per view.

The movie played in 14 Tea Party-friendly locations this weekend -- up from the 10 in which it opened last week -- but grossed just $24,000.

Starting September 1, subscribers to DirecTV, Dish Network and Time Warner can see the true Horatio Alger story of an Alaska woman's rise from self-described "hockey mom" to gubernatorial dropout to conservative cable news bastion talking head, all in the comfort of their own home.

This proves that

media has conducted a vindictive and mean-spirited campaign against Poor Sarah. I predict that the Meanness will not stop.

Dispatches from the wingnut-O-sphere – Cut Cap and Teabag

From RedState Blog Honcho Erick Erickson

Cut, Cap, and Balance failed in the United States Senate with four votes shy of 50. The vote was 51-46 to table.

Hold the freaking line.

You only need four votes in the Senate to have a majority.

You do not need Plan B. You do not need to negotiate.

You do not need to play Washington politics as usual. That got us to this point.

You have a plan that 2/3 of the American public supports. You have a plan that lets the President raise the debt ceiling.

That sounds like a compromise to me.

Hold the line. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Don’t deal.

Fight on.

Seems that Erickson has forgotten about the McConnell Rule. If there is anything I learned from the 111^th congress is that it takes 60 votes to do anything not 51. Also Erickson has forgotten about the US Constitution. A constitutional amendment takes 67 votes not 46.

From a quick calculation it would seem that Erickson has come up way short in his vote count. I know Teabaggers hate science and math but these are skills that come in handy. One should pay attention in Middle School.

And as far relying on a poll that show 2/3 of Americans support cut cap and tea bag, there are other polls that show a consistent 2/3 of Americans want tax increases to address the deficit. And if you give folks a choice between tax increases to help supply ammunition to our the brave troops serving in war zones or Cut Cap and Balance, I don’t think Erickson will do that well with public opinion. This is a problem because this is about what Cut Cap and Teabag requires.

It is tough being a winger.

Dispatches from the Rebellion

The Debows Review, 150 years ago this week, offers this old timey conservative, dare I say Burkean, defense of slavery:

Society is a whole, composed of many essential and necessary parts, and the whole becomes deranged when one of its great and necessary parts is destroyed. It is a series of subordination, a social chain and when one link is broken, all the chain’s destroyed. Domestic Slavery is an important and necessary link in that chain, and all society flies out of gear when that link is destroyed or removed.

If our theory be not true, how comes it that faith predominates with us, and infidelity, in its every form, rages elsewhere?

There is a single form of infidelity, and that is a disbelief in the Bible, to which we intend to confine our remarks for the present, and to attempt to show that the South adheres to Christianity, because the institution of slavery accords with the injunctions and morality of the Bible; and that all free society must reject the Bible if it approve its own institutions and disapprove slavery, because slavery is not only instituted and justified by the Christian God, but, much more, because Christian morality can be practiced only in slave society.

The Future of Our Confederation

Slavery was deeply ingrained in southern society. Protecting, promoting and spreading slavery was the proximate cause of secession. The literature of the period is laced with these themes. Try as one might, you can't get very far away from these themes.

No Surprises Here

The Foxnews is not interested in scandals anymore? Now if Black Panthers were involved, that might do it.

If I had a brother in Jail and another one in Georgia, I believe I’d have to bust the one out of Georgia first…..

…..you really wouldn’t have any other choice.

House Republicans from Texas are certainly a bad group. Henslaring, Gohmert, Barton, what’s his name and the other guy stand out the worst of a very bad lot from Texas.

However I’m not sure that they are worse than those Republicans who call Georgia their home. Case in point is FEMA Camp follower Paul Broun (R-GA). How batty is Broun? His conspiracy theory talk about the President’s desire to use an imaginary Gestapo-like security force to create a Marxist and/or Fascist dictatorship, his belief in the birth certificate conspiracy, his belief that global warming is a Hoax (weather forecast shows a heat index of 108 degrees in Atlanta today) and his bizarre suggestion that the Federal response to the gulf oil spill was deliberately poor in order to justify a scary new tax all qualify him as one of the most unhinged in congress. So with the looming debt crisis, Broun is sure to have some, shall we say, unorthodox ideas about responding to it. And he doesn’t disappoint.

Instead of a plan to raise the debt ceiling, Paul Broun has introduced legislation to lower the debt ceiling.

Today, I introduced a unique bill that goes in a completely different direction than everything else we’ve been hearing out of Washington. It would force politicians to start practicing what they’ve been preaching by lowering the debt ceiling from $14.3 trillion back down to $13 trillion. Admittedly, this is not your run-of-the-mill kind of law, but it would make it imperative for Congress to think outside of the box and come up with ways to pay off a portion of our debt while drastically cutting back spending.

Admittedly this is not a sane idea, Broun should have said instead because if Broun had his way, the full faith and credit of the United States would be as worthless as confederate money. You know what would be particularly useful in the chaos that follows the implementation of the Broun legislation– a Gestapo-like security force that is what. Such a force would be very useful. Broun you are on notice.

Sanity is not a prerequisite for the NRO, they’ll post anything. Nor is sanity a prerequisite to be elected to congress from Georgia. Just look at Broun. I’d definitely bust the brother out of Georgia first.

Probationary Liberal David Frum Outlines an Escape Plan

Now that the teabagging set has painted itself into a corner while holding the country hostage over the debt ceiling negotiations, is there a way out?

Comrade Frum says maybe:

Good news: the situation is not hopeless. House Republicans have been pressing for a vote in the Senate on the Cap, Cut, and Balance plan. On Saturday they will get that vote. The vote will lose – but even if it passed the Senate, it would still fail of ratification in the states, so no harm done. Advocates of Cap, Cut, and Balance can plausibly tell their supporters they have accomplished everything that can be accomplished.

So that’s the first step to an exit.

The next step to an exit comes from understanding Republican red lines.

One valuable element of this debt-ceiling exercise is that it has helped Republicans to rank their priorities.

Holding the line on taxes is first, deficit reduction only second.

Okay. We can work with that! Instead of a “grand bargain” including tax revenues, this weekend’s project is to dress up a “petty bargain” without tax revenues to look like a grand bargain.

It would be helpful if Democrats and the president would complain forlornly about the pain of the budget cuts in the petty bargain. The goal is to make the House Republicans feel like winners as they back away from the confrontation. Sorry Democrats, your role is to portray yourselves as losers. It’s a small price to pay to save the country.

If it works, great, but it won’t fool the most unwashed unrepentant teabaggers. There are not enough United Nations guards in the world to stand watch over the keyboard of these poor miserable sons of bitches. There will be howls across the wingnut-O-sphere and the internets will burn.

Same shit – Different Day.....

......and the beat goes on.

Lamestream Media Elitists Write Stuff like this. To me there appears to be more than just a whiff of sexism and elitism here:

The Tea Party has discarded Sarah Palin in favor of a new icon: Michele Bachmann.

The incense and hallelujahs once heaped upon the Martyr of Wasilla have been redirected to the Saint of Waterloo. As with Palin too, the Bachmann-mania seems likely to prove both embarrassing and temporary. Before it subsides, we thought it might be a useful service to future generations of Republicans to preserve some of the most effusive statements – in hopes of inoculating this party against recurrences of this form of delusion in the political cycles to come.

~ a heretic at Frum Forum

I don’t know about this, the teabag laced portion of the GOP base seem to conveniently forget about past embarrassments. Anyone remember a fella’ by the name of George W Bush? Wingers were pretty hot and bothered over him at one time. I remember Peggy Noonan writing that - watching Bush in action was like seeing the hand of God at play….in a good way. Today, far from begging for forgiveness in every column, Noonan still prattles away with WSJ pieces dispensing the same sort of drivel recalculated for a new day. Same shit for a different day. I suspect that is how it will always be under wingnut rule.

Uber-Liberal Blogger Andrew Sullivan is Mean

Palin as Hitler?

If you think Michele Bachmann has supplanted her in the minds of her cult followers, you are sorely mistaken. Among Republican leaners, Romney is at 26 percent but Palin remains second with 18. Palin beats Romney handily when it comes to who"best understands the problems of people like you", loses to him on experience, but equals him on values and issues. On issues and values, Palin's support is double Bachmann's.

But she's not running, couldn't win, la-la-la-la-la. If the Republican radicals decide to destroy the American economy in order to save it in the debt crisis, and Obama simply cannot survive the depression that follows, Palin is poised. It's all so very Weimar.

This is funny not because I approve of Hitler comparisons, but because you know that Palin keeps score about the Mean things Liberal Bloggers write about her. Of course there is a chance that Palin, won’t understand the Weimar Republic reference. This is possible, too.

Of course this is what right wingers said about the pending Obama Administration and the need for the Wall Street Bailout. Paul Ryan was one of these wingers who justified his vote in favor of the Bailout.

A Whiff of Sexism and Elitism here, maybe......

........or is it desperation setting in.

Poor Tim Pawlenty just can't seem to catch a break and after he wimped out on calling out Willard Romney for "Obamneycare" to his face, wingers just don't seem to respect him.

When You are at 2% in the Polls, Desperation or Elitism sets in:

In an interview Wednesday, Pawlenty was more direct and pointed about his fellow Minnesotan, suggesting that Republicans would be irresponsible to make Bachmann the nominee.

“Certainly the party, for the good, has become more conservative — but it hasn’t become reckless,” he said when asked whether the GOP has become so radicalized in response to Obama they they’d nominate an insurgent like Bachmann.

Yet even as he confidently predicts that she’ll fade, it’s plain to see that Pawlenty is frustrated over her rise and the hardening conventional wisdom that she has him on the ropes. The former governor evinces an aura similar to the classic Saturday Night Live sketch where Jon Lovitz as Michael Dukakis turns to the camera and, after Dana Carvey as George H.W. Bush has just babbled through a debate answer, said: “I can’t believe I’m losing to this guy.”

Pawlenty friends say he’s privately exasperated that, after rising from campaign driver to prosecutor to state House leader to governor, his presidential ambitions could be snuffed out by somebody who attained national stature without ever paying similar dues.

Welcome to the Modern GOP, son. If you can't bring the wingnuttery, the base won't want you. My advice: Dust off the Obamneycare line and start taking shots at Willard and the death of Freedom. Why not call Mitt Romney the Father of Death Panels? Give them red meat.

You are from Minnesota, start talking about Border Control and the Canadian Menace. There could be terrorist training camps up there or worse, United Nations Military Bases. Make some shit up, it doesn't matter what - but just do it fast.

Loser.

Judd Gregg agrees, Teabaggers should be locked up

Well maybe he didn’t expressly say that they should locked up, but it is pretty close:

Former Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) says Social Security checks will need to be halted before House Republicans will agree to a deal to raise the debt limit.

A deficit hawk and former Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Gregg turned down an offer from President Barack Obama to be his Secretary of Commerce.

Now an analyst with Goldman Sacks, Gregg said on a conference call this morning that there is a better than 50 percent chance that Congress will not reach an agreement before August 2nd.

Gregg said that if that were to happen, it “would put the blame on the Republicans,” saying House GOP’ers are the biggest obstacle to a deal.

“In the Senate, you’ve got a center of 40 members who are willing to sign on to something dramatic AND you have the President endorsing it — that’s good news. We have agreement on the problem and a resolution,” he said.

“BUT the House is nowhere near an agreement. The Gang of Six plan will not come to fruition in the next few weeks — maybe not even until the next election. The best thing that could happen is that a special committee might be set up to continue to work on the Gang of Six agreement. Ultimately, it won’t affect the debt ceiling debate in the short-term.”

Gregg added that he wasn’t any more optimistic about the “last-ditch” plan put forward by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

“The McConnell-Reid is too political; people say it’s a fallback, I think that’s wishful thinking.”

Wallstreet, listen up, these are your guys, you funded ‘em. Make sure they go away real soon.

Yes Teabaggers are NUTS…..

…..to put it politely. Many unwashed tea party patriots claim that it would be no big deal if the Federal Government defaults on its debt because there would be enough to pay the salaries of soldiers, social security for Seniors, interest for Bond holders and medicare/Medicaid.

But that is about it. McMeghan lists some of the things that wouldn’t get funded in a default:

Let's think through what would happen if we tried to use this plan:

• You just cut the IRS and all the accountants at Treasury, which means that the actual revenue you have to spend is $0.
• The nation's nuclear arsenal is no longer being watched or maintained
• The doors of federal prisons have been thrown open, because none of the guards will work without being paid, and the vendors will not deliver food, medical supplies, electricity,etc.
• The border control stations are entirely unmanned, so anyone who can buy a plane ticket, or stroll across the Mexican border, is entering the country. All the illegal immigrants currently in detention are released, since we don't have the money to put them on a plane, and we cannot actually simply leave them in a cell without electricity, sanitation, or food to see what happens.
• All of our troops stationed abroad quickly run out of electricity or fuel. Many of them are sitting in a desert with billions worth of equipment, and no way to get themselves or their equipment back to the US.
• Our embassies are no longer operating, which will make things difficult for foreign travellers
• No federal emergency assistance, or help fighting things like wildfires or floods. Sorry, tornado people! Sorry, wildfire victims! Try to live in the northeast next time!
• Housing projects shut down, and Section 8 vouchers are not paid. Families hit the streets.
• The money your local school district was expecting at the October 1 commencement of the 2012 fiscal year does not materialize, making it unclear who's going to be teaching your kids without a special property tax assessment.
• The market for guaranteed student loans plunges into chaos. Hope your kid wasn't going to college this year!
• The mortgage market evaporates. Hope you didn't need to buy or sell a house!
• The FDIC and the PBGC suddenly don't have a government backstop for their funds, which has all sorts of interesting implications for your bank account.
• The TSA shuts down. Yay! But don't worry about terrorist attacks, you TSA-lovers, because air traffic control shut down too. Hope you don't have a vacation planned in August, much less any work travel.
• Unemployment money is no longer going to the states, which means that pretty soon, it won't be going to the unemployed people.

There is no doubt about it. Teabaggers like Joe Walsh (R-Ill) are criminally insane. They should be institutionalized, preferably in FEMA run Facilities receiving Socialized Medical care during their visit. If it were up to me I'd round them all up.

What life inside the Bubble Looks Like

The Lamestream Media reports.

"Ross dashed after Bachmann, repeatedly asking whether she had ever missed a House vote due to a migraine. She ignored him. Ross pursued her into a parking area behind the stage. Her aides grew alarmed. When Ross made a beeline for the white SUV waiting to carry Bachmann away, two Bachmann men pounced on him, grabbing and pushing him multiple times with what looked to me like unusual force. In fact, I have never seen a reporter treated so roughly at a campaign event, especially not a presidential one. Ross was finally able to break away and lob his question at Bachmann one more time, but she ignored him again."

Sounds like Joe Miller’s Sovereign Citizen Security Force has found new work. But seriously, within Right Wing Counter Culture, reporters are potential enemies and must be dealt with as such.

Tim Pawlenty is a Pathetic Loser….

…..is what wingers must think.

Look at how bad the alternative to Willard Romney does in this NBC/WSJ national poll GOP primary voters.

The Former Mayor of Saskatoon is just at 2%:

Mitt Romney - 30% (+0)
Michele Bachmann - 16% (+13)
Rick Perry - 11% (+3)
Ron Paul - 9% (+2)
Newt Gingrich - 8% (+1)
Herman Cain - 5% (-7)
Rick Santorum - 3% (-1)
Tim Pawlenty - 2% (-2)
Jon Huntsman - 2% (+1)

Operation Batshit appears to be holding according to this poll.

Oh, those Teabaggers

Our Sad State of Affairs

Wingnut Meltdown Alert In Effect

This is Double Red Alert

(Be Wary --- Avoid Fringe Websites --- Turn off AM Radio)

From the Lamestream Media:

Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown said Thursday he had signed a bill that will require public schools in the state to teach students about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

The bill, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, will also require teachers to provide instruction on the role of people with disabilities.

"History should be honest," Brown said in a statement.

"This bill revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books. It represents an important step forward for our state, and I thank Senator Leno for his hard work on this historic legislation."

Something else for the Tea Party to complain about.

Bachmania Ascendant

A new Public Policy Polling poll shows the mounting dangers of the Bachmann surge. Without Poor Sarah in the race, she takes a narrow lead against Romney:

Michele Bachmann - 21%
Mitt Romney - 20%
Rick Perry - 16%
Herman Cain - 11%
Ron Paul - 9%
Newt Gingrich - 7%
Tim Pawlenty - 5%
Jon Huntsman - 3%

If Palin runs, Bachmann falls to second place at 16 percent, with 20 percent for Romney. This poll demonstrates the need for more Crazy in the race because if the crazy vote consolidates behind Bachmann (or one of the lesser crazies), the GOP is doomed.

The Education of David Brooks

With the Debt Ceiling Meltdown in site and Republican’s endorsing Cut, Cap and Teabag as an ultimatum, Poor Brooks is coming to the table a little late:

[L]et us pause to identify the people who decided not to seize the chance to usher in the largest cut in the size of government in American history. They fall into a few categories:

The Beltway Bandits. American conservatism now has a rich network of Washington interest groups adept at arousing elderly donors and attracting rich lobbying contracts. For example, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform has been instrumental in every recent G.O.P. setback. He was a Newt Gingrich strategist in the 1990s, a major Jack Abramoff companion in the 2000s and he enforced the no-compromise orthodoxy that binds the party today.

Norquist is the Zelig of Republican catastrophe. His method is always the same. He enforces rigid ultimatums that make governance, or even thinking, impossible.

The Big Government Blowhards. The talk-radio jocks are not in the business of promoting conservative governance. They are in the business of building an audience by stroking the pleasure centers of their listeners.

They mostly give pseudo Crispin’s Day speeches to battalions of the like-minded from the safety of the conservative ghetto. To keep audience share, they need to portray politics as a cataclysmic, Manichaean struggle. A series of compromises that steadily advance conservative aims would muddy their story lines and be death to their ratings.

The Show Horses. Republicans now have a group of political celebrities who are marvelously uninterested in actually producing results. Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann produce tweets, not laws. They have created a climate in which purity is prized over practicality.

The Permanent Campaigners. For many legislators, the purpose of being in Congress is not to pass laws. It’s to create clear contrasts you can take into the next election campaign. It’s not to take responsibility for the state of the country and make it better. It’s to pass responsibility onto the other party and force them to take as many difficult votes as possible.

All of these groups share the same mentality. They do not see politics as the art of the possible. They do not believe in seizing opportunities to make steady, messy progress toward conservative goals. They believe that politics is a cataclysmic struggle. They believe that if they can remain pure in their faith then someday their party will win a total and permanent victory over its foes. They believe they are Gods of the New Dawn.

He forgot Teabaggers – the unwashed miserable sons of bitches that are running the asylum now. But I guess they are not to blame; they're just following orders.

I tell you that the GOP is broken as a functioning Political Party. Poor David Brooks, having spent a career serving it, is just coming to grips with the fact that the inmates are in charge and are unwilling to play nicely. Instead of mercilessly beating down idiotic GOP talking points like tax cuts raise revenue or that torture is OK if you change the definition of the word torture, Brooks has been running cover – enabling the spread of the bullshit to the unwashed teabagging masses. Now that the inmates who’ve bought party propaganda hook, line and sinker are running the place, Brooks is disappointed to learning that these people are unwilling to act as respectable and reasonable people. Teabaggers, and responsibility? Not a chance.

This is hardly surprising after all the Tea Party Protest Movement started just a month and a half into the Obama Administration largely over the fact that Obama was unable to clean-up the Trillions in Red Ink the last Administration handed him…….. during an economic meltdown………overnight! When Obama took office the last Bush Budget was running at 1.3 Trillion Dollars in Deficit with projected structural deficits as far as the eye could see. And teabaggers were not mad at the folks the made the mess, but at the guy trying to clean it up. It was like watching an arsonist taking shots at firefighters while responding to a fire with the teabaggers siding with the arsonist and blaming the fire department for the blaze at the same time.

This was not a serious movement. Yet Brooks and the rest of respectable conservagentsia said little and now are mad.