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05 Jun 2011 11:06

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Politics: Herman Cain fawns over himself in the third person

  • That’s what I think connects with people, Herman being Herman. And you notice, Herman enjoys life — I can smile, I can have a sense of humor, I’m being Herman.
  • Herman Cain • Speaking about himself in first-person and third-person in the same sentence as part of a fawning New York Times piece on his rise as a 2012 GOP candidate. The crux of the piece: His voter recognition is still low, but the Republicans who know him absolutely adore him. He’s a dark-horse candidate, kids — the Howard Dean of this election cycle. Speaking of Howard Dean, did you hear this crap he said about Sarah Palin having a chance at beating Obama? *facepalm*  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jun 2011 02:32

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Politics: Weinergate devolves into flood of conspiracy theories

  • Anthony Weiner‘s got a lot of problems this week, but they’re sorta inflated. First off, the story is kind of at a point where fatigue is very high. However, despite technical evidence, including a very obvious yFrog flaw that would’ve made it easy to post a rogue tweet on Weiner’s account, the congressman’s performance this week has proven to be a complete liability, giving conservatives enough rope to hang him with. (By the way, just wanted to point out — we discovered the @PatriotUSA76 angle 15 hours before DailyKos broke it.) But at this point, only the die-hards are really, truly following this story. One of them, by the way, is a reporter for Mediaite — Tommy Christopher. We criticized Mediaite for their aggressive coverage Thursday but will give some credit today. You guys did some good work that deserves praise. More info:
  • useful Mediaite’s piece on Dan Wolfe (@PatriotUSA76) makes the strongest argument yet of Wolfe building a Wiener conspiracy … around underage girls. Daily Kos looks really bad in the piece, by the way.
  • crazy Not long after Wolfe deleted his Twitter account, the blog Ace of Spades HQ posted a screed on why he’s “irrelevant” in the scheme of Weinergate using a kinda-convoluted poker metaphor. Hrm.
  • crazier Have any patience left? You might lose it after reading the “interview” a conservative blogger did with Wolfe — essentially a long, unedited chat log. Take an Adderall before reading this; you’re gonna need it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jun 2011 20:07

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Politics: Chris Christie’s controversial chopper convoy costs Christie cash

  • $2,151.50 the out-of-pocket cost the New Jersey governor will pay for his helicopter flight to his son’s high school baseball game … which kinda looks sort of wrong
  • $1,232.29 the amount the state Republican party will pay for the leg of the journey from the game to a donor event, where Iowans tried to get him to run for president source
  • » But he says he doesn’t use it much! Since the governor took office in 2010, he says he’s only used the chopper 33 times — a level he describes as the “most judicious” of any recent governor. He was trying to also prevent state troopers from speeding down the highway. We have a suggestion for you, Chris Christie: You have three things on your schedule you need to be at. Instead of trying to cram so much in, pick two.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jun 2011 15:08

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Politics: Piper Palin would prefer a media-free family vacation

  • Thanks for ruining our vacation.
  • Piper Palin (daughter of Sarah, age 9) • Making a comment to a photographer during Sarah Palin’s massive bus tour. This strikes a rather awkward contrast, because media attention is precisely the intended effect of this tour as far as Mama Palin is concerned. (Seriously, did she not tell her what was going on?!?) Though we hope it’s obvious, we’ll strenuously make it clear that this isn’t intended as yukking it up at the expense of a young, innocent girl — we frankly can’t imagine what it would be like growing up in such a publicly prominent family, and one that does have its share of disgusting things written about it on the internet. There is something very emotionally evocative, rather, at the thought that the media attention which is basically the lifeblood of Sarah Palin’s career, political or otherwise, seems to be rankling her daughter, who just wants a nice vacation. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jun 2011 14:21

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Politics: The San Francisco Giants say “It Gets Better”

  • A wonderful step: The San Francisco Giants have become the first professional sports team to join the “It Gets Better” campaign, with the release of this video. With this, the Giants are leading a charge in baseball similar to the Phoenix Suns in the NBA, meaning LGBT fans everywhere can now ask why their team hasn’t followed suit — likely the absolute best way to get more franchises on board with this message, and affect positive change. Incidentally, this isn’t the first time the Giants have set the example on a progressive social issue; back in 1993, they were the first team to give proceeds to AIDS research with “Until There’s a Cure” day. Enormous thanks to Barry Zito, Matt Cain, Sergio Romo, Andres Torres, and Hensley Meulens for doing this. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jun 2011 12:33

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Politics: Recalled Wisconsin State Senator: Let’s hope Dems are “sleeping”

  • We’ve got tons of government workers in my district — tons. From La Crosse to Prairie du Chien and to Viroqua and to Ontario and to Hillsboro, you can go on and on and on. We have to overcome that. We gotta hope that they, kind of, are sleeping on July 12th — or whenever the (election) date is.
  • Wisconsin State Sen. Dan Kapanke • Expressing fear that he might get recalled due to the fact that his district has a lot of public-sector union workers in it. A secret recording caught Kapanke saying this along with a few other things. He noted in the clip, taped last week at the Cedar Creek Golf Club in Onalaska, Wisc., that two other state senators were in serious danger of losing their seats, too, and offered up this harbinger: “If they gain control of the Senate, it might be over for us. Because redistricting will play a role, as you know, and we lose that power.” Well, that doesn’t sound optimistic, does it? (h/t ThinkProgress) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jun 2011 02:30

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Politics: Palin not popular in Obama states, swing states, McCain states

  • We have now polled on Palin’s favorability in 31 states. Voters in all 31 of those states have a negative opinion of her.
  • Public Policy Polling’s Tom Jensen • Palin’s support has always been miles deep but inches wide; even so, the results of PPP’s polling really paint a dire picture of her electoral prospects. Alaskans disapprove of her by a twenty five-point margin; not a huge surprise, as constituents generally don’t like when their governors quit mid-term for no good reason. But in McCain states, she faces a sixteen point deficit, and West Virginia, which “likes” her the most, still dislikes her by six percent. If she runs, it’ll be a really steep climb. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

02 Jun 2011 01:47

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Politics: Republican budget plan falls flat with the public

  • Is it just us, or was Paul Ryan foolish to start using the word “Mediscare” to describe the Democrats’ opposition to his plan? Because when you hear “Mediscare,” you don’t think, “Oh, the Democrats are just trying to scare me. I’m sure the Ryan budget is perfectly innocuous.” No; you think, “Oh no! Someone’s trying to take my Medicare away, and I’m scared!” Anyway, this is a shocking, rare PR victory for the Democrats, so let’s let them cherish it for the ten minutes it’ll take before they inevitably blow it and do something stupid. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jun 2011 16:11

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Politics: Eric Holder will do whatever it takes to get more of “The Wire”

  • I want to speak directly to Mr. Burns and Mr. Simon: Do another season of “The Wire.” That’s actually at a minimum… If you don’t do a season, do a movie. We’ve done HBO movies, this is a series that deserves a movie. I want another season or I want a movie. I have a lot of power, Mr. Burns and Mr. Simon.
  • Attorney General Eric Holder • Giving voice to the innermost hopes and dreams of “The Wire” fans everywhere. Holder was at an event featuring members from the revered HBO series, which used clips from the show to illustrate the perils children face in areas rife with drug abuse, when he made his forthright demand. We second this wholeheartedly! Also, for all we know, this could be a message from the top —  President Obama himself has made his love for the series known (his favorite character is Omar). source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 May 2011 19:09

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Politics: Blagojevich defense: Prosecution is “making faces” (no really)

  • We just ask that they stop making faces while he’s testifying.
  • Lauren Kaeseberg, defense attorney for Rod Blagojevich • Complaining to the presiding Judge James Zagel that the prosecution team was making faces and having animated discussions during the testimony of ex-Governor Blagojevich. The defense’s argument would seem to be that the prosecution, who directly face the jury, might be swaying opinions with their reactions. Prosecuting attorney Reid Schar said he’d be mindful of it, but that he didn’t believe they had been making any unusual faces during the testimony — Judge Zagel, similarly, agreed to “watch the government very carefully,” but said he didn’t notice anything. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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