I’m thinking Frank was anticipating the advent of Faux News.

“That’s right folks, don’t touch that dial…”

While Frank had caustic commentary about politics, he – above all – was a musician. Here’s a HQ performance from 1988 in Barcelona of Frank’s instrumental “Watermellon In Easter Hay” – enjoy!

(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

Well, yesterday – over at MinnPost – Eric Black took a look at Lewis’ rant, too – in a post entitled “Jason Lewis’ wrong and exaggerated arguments about freedom”. And it’s well worth the read — so go read it! Here’s a teaser:

Everything the right likes can be phrased as a form of “freedom,” as in freedom of the rich from paying higher taxes, freedom of corporations from government regulation, freedom to pollute, freedom of those with almost unlimited resources to use those resources to influence elections, freedom of the wealthiest 1 percent to accumulate any damn portion of the society’s wealth and income without shame, freedom to overthrow foreign governments (but only in order to bring freedom to the oppressed of those nations) and a few other important freedoms that you can think of on your own.
(more, here)

One area Eric Black pokes a big hole in Lewis’ rant is the wingnut right’s fixation on “the Founders” and their alleged anti-tax views. Again, Reagan said “Facts are stupid things” and wingnuts like Lewis prove it on a regular basis. That’s why I stuck that picture of ol’ Ben Franklin and that quote up there – ripping “money manipulators”. OK, that quote was probably misattributed to ol’ Ben. Be that as it may, Ben was a wise man indeed and – IMNSHO – would be standing with today’s Occupy Wall Street protestors; protesting today’s dishonest monetary system.

Eric blows a hole in Lewis’ misuse of Federalist #21. I like the following quote from the second paragraph of Federalist #2:

“Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers.” — Publius (John Jay), October 31st, 1787

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Only a fool would believe what GOPers say – and what their apologists, like Jason Lewis and Katherine Kersten, write.

Noted GOPer apologist Jason Lewis is simply an example of: “You Couldn’t Trust The GOP Then, You Still Can’t Now, And Tomorrow Won’t Be Any Different.”

(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

“(H)ow many more gay people does God have to create before we ask ourselves whether or not God actually wants them around?” — Mn State Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-St. Louis Park

That quote by Rep Simon is literally going around the world. As of this posting the following YouTube has gone viral, and been seen 170,938 times.

(Direct link to YouTube)

The best story (IMNSHO) about Rep. Simon’s comments is from a Star Tribune Editorial Writer, John Rash. From it:

With all the action, breaking through the capitol cacophony – let alone the cultural clutter in today’s media – is rare. When it does happen, it’s all too often due to a legislator saying something inflammatory, or inane, or both.

Yet in a measured, calm tone, testimony from Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-St. Louis Park, about a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Minnesota, has made a splash nationally.
,
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Which goes to show that even in today’s showboat society a quietly expressed idea can still make meaningful noise.

Indeed. And once again, from that “noise” –

“(H)ow many more gay people does God have to create before we ask ourselves whether or not God actually wants them around?” — Mn State Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-St. Louis Park

(crossposted at MnProgresiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

Best Buy shareholders may need to be patient. Dunn and his crew bet wrong on consumer appetite for 3-D and Internet-ready televisions, which led to a weak holiday season. That, combined with a hasty retreat from some foreign markets and a gloomy outlook for next year, have helped send Best Buy’s stock price to a two-year low on Friday.

In Wall Street’s estimation, Best Buy is neither learning from the challenges it faces nor changing fast enough. (Strib.com)

Here’s the question Best Buy CEO Brain Dunn asks, in the story:

“The question we’re asking is, ‘What can we do for our customers that nobody else can?’”

Say, Mr. “My Compensation Has Gone Up The Last Three Years”? Here’s the question you SHOULD be asking:

“The question we’re asking is, ‘What are we doing to our customers that nobody else is?’”

And I can answer that question, pal – you used corporate dough to fund a political candidate that – quite frankly – pissed off a whole bunch of your customers – me included.

From ABCNews.com:

Target, Best Buy Angers Gay Customers By Making Contribution to GOP Candidate
Companies Say They Are Supporting Minnesota Candidate’s Stance on Jobs, Not His Anti-Gay Views

Say, Mr. Dunn? You want to give your OWN dough to political candidates (and you have – including Ol’ Smokescreen, Norm Coleman) – hey, knock yourself out.

But you give CORPORATE dough to groups supporting/opposing candidates, like Best Buy did supporting Tom “Get Over It” Emmer, and you’re risking your company’s reputation/bottom line.

I haven’t stepped foot inside of a Best Buy since last summer; same goes for Target. I did stop a few times at Holiday Gas Stations this winter but I bought as little as possible.

Here’s that question Mr. Dunn and the rest o’ Best Buy’s Brain Trust should be asking: ‘What are we doing to our customers that nobody else is?’”

Wall Street should be asking Best Buy that also.

For those upset with what’s happening in Wisconsin, it’s worth noting that Koch Industries, based in Wichita, Kansas, is a privately held, industrial conglomerate. It is involved in everything from fertilizers, raw materials and refineries to cattle, forests and consumer products. In Minnesota, it owns Flint Hills Resources, which operates the Pine Bend Refinery in Rosemount, Minn.

In 2005, Koch bought Georgia Pacific, the huge forestry and wood products company that produces everything from plywood to cleaning supplies, drywall to towel dispensers, office papers to toilet paper. Among Georgia Pacific’s brands:

• Angel Soft, Quilted Northern and Soft ‘n Gentle toilet paper

• Brawny, Mardi Gras and Sparkle paper towels

• Dixie plates, bowls, napkins and cups

• Mardi Gras napkins and towels

• Sparkle, Vanity Fair and Zee napkins

Koch also owns Invista, which manufactures more than a dozen widely known fibers and fabrics found in clothing and household goods. Among Invista’s brands:

• Coolmax, Cordura, SolarMax, Supplex, and Thermolite fabrics

• Polarguard synthetic insulation

• Antron and Stainmaster carpet fibers

• Comforel, Lycra and Tactel fibers

• Dacron fiberfill

(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

Katy quotes a couple o’ TV reports in her column; one of ‘em is Green Bay’s Faux Noise “Fox News” WLUK-TV. No point fiskin’ that; as discussed here, what’s the point?

Katy also quoted a story from Milwaukee’s WTMJ-TV – a NBC affiliate. Here’s what Katy cherrypicked from it:

“Meanwhile, hordes of protesters surged into the Capitol, muscling past police, kicking in doors, damaging windows and shouting “This is democracy looks like!” and “Whose house? Our house!”

Here’s what the story said, but Katy isn’t interested in “facts” – she’s interested in wingnut demagoguery:

Police held their positions at the Capitol for a time after the vote, but more and more protesters found a way in. Police believe some climbed through windows, Donovan said. He initially said protesters broke windows and door handles, but later backed off that statement, saying he wasn’t sure that was true. (emphasis added)

Cop says he isn’t sure reports of broken windows and (as Katy claims )-”kick(ed) in doors” are true; Katy uses story as source and claims it IS true.

Katy uses a source – Milwaukee’s WTMJ-TV – to make a claim, when the source clearly demonstrate Katy is simply makin’ (stuff) up.

Katy should be ashamed, but – as she has clearly demonstrated here and Here and Here and HERE and…. well, I could go on and On and ON….

Kersten has no shame.

That’s why Katy Kersen is today’s example of why reasonable people cannot reasonably believe anything a GOPer says.

Katy is also just another pathetic example of You Couldn’t Trust The GOP Then, You Still Can’t, And Tomorrow Won’t Be Any Different.

(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

I read the column in the Strib’s Dead-Tree Edition; it was in the Crime “business+money” section. And it was a good one. Shoulda been in the Op/Ed section, but hey – at least it was in print. So I went to StarTribune.com to get the link; couldn’t find it – even after a site search.

Fortunately, the Strib did have a link at the end o’ the dead-tree edition; I found Al Lewis’ column here.

Preparing To Sacrifice
By Al Lewis

Shared sacrifice follows every disaster. It’s only a matter of deciding who shares it.

“We’re asking shared sacrifice from a lot of people,” Michigan’s Republican Gov. Rick Snyder said last week. “These are difficult times.”
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Americans prize individualism. We worship the free-market ideal of every man for himself, at least until history’s most successful union — the chummy CEOs’ and board directors’ guild — needs a bailout. Otherwise, collectivism is for wonky, union-loving liberals. And cops.

Notice Wisconsin’s governor did not have the courage to strip police, fire and emergency workers of their collective bargaining rights. People still have the right to collectively bargain in the Dairy State unless they are those robber-baron teachers. (more, at wsj.com)

Let’s look again, at what Michigan’s GOPer Governor said:

“We’re asking shared sacrifice from a lot of people.”

Here’s what Michigan’s GOPer Governor didn’t say:

“And our Boardroom Base is included among those we’re asking to join in our shared sacrifice.”

That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is all you need to know about today’s GOP – today’s GOP is protecting the Boardoom at the expense of the middle class. Al Lewis’ column should have been in the Strib’s Op/Ed section; should be available on the Strib’s website. It’s not. At least it was in the dead-tree edition.

(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject; comments welcome there)

While Gaddafi went on Libya State TV (why not? He owns it) to channel the ghosts of Baghdad Bob and Tom Emmer, ol’ “Baseball Bat” Walker chose to go on Faux Noise Fox News (why not? The GOP owns it) to peddle similar camel dung: Sean insHanitty Interviews Walker: Walker Claims Credit for 10,000 New Jobs And Lower Unemployment

Hey – “Baseball Bat” Walker’s makin’ that claim all over! Like, just last week – in Hudson, WI:

MnPP: Walker Claims Credit for 10,000 New Jobs And Lower Unemployment

Speakin’ o’ other claims Ol’ Baseball Bat is makin’ that aren’t true:

Politifact.com: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says out-of-staters account for “almost all” in Madison protests” - FALSE.

Hey – who the (cheney) does Ol’ Baseball Bat think he is – former Gov. “TBag” Pawlenty??!?

TBag’s court cases don’t turn out so swell – for Timmy. Ol’ Baseball Bat’s only been in office for FAR too long since January, and already this:

WSJ: Judge Blocks Union Law

The first installment of this Strongman Report series was subtitled …”Today’s Example of “Republicans run on the platform ‘Government doesn’t work!’ – and once elected, they prove it.”. Graphics and links for previous installments in this series follow!

(Strongman Report – 08 March 2011)

(Strongman Report – 05 March 2011)

(Strongman Report – 01 March 2011)

(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

Because the “event” wasn’t “public” – unless you’re a rightwingnut that picks ‘n chooses which part o’ the Constitution you support, and believe pro-democracy protestors don’t have the right to peacefully assemble on puplic property anymore. Fox9 Noise “News” continued that meme after the event:

Walker spoke at Empire Bucket (1360 Livingstone Road, Hudson) at 1:55 p.m. The event was open to the public, and was attended by supporters and protestors alike. (myfoxtwincities.com)

Apparently, to Fox9 Noise “News” — “open to the public” means “stand on the street behind police barricades.” Whatever – the point is reasonable people have good reason to figure that what’s on Faux Noise isn’t quite accurate – but it is “right”!

Once inside, Ol’ “Baseball Bat” Walker spoke to a couple dozen employees. It seemed that they weren’t really thrilled to be seeing/listening to him – we’ll get to that. I had a video camera (it’s not the best, but hey – on a blogger’s salary, at least I got one!), and I simply had to stop taping to send a tweet:

Yep! That’s what Ol’ Baseball Bat Claimed!!! Here’s the exact quote (with a YouTube of it!):

“We did all these things in the first four, five weeks in office. So we got active right away and sent a clear message. The good news even in talking about it in November and December about what we were going to do and then doing it, we’ve already seen success. Last Wednesday we announced numbers statewide for the first month of the year. The private sector created more than 10,000 new jobs in the state of Wisconsin. More than 10,000 new jobs. Much better than the national trend. Much better than nearly every other state across the country. On top of that we saw our unemployment rate go down to 7.4%” — Governor Scott “Baseball Bat” Walker (R=Rightwingerstan) (emphasis added)

Seriously, you can’t make that stuff up. “…numbers statewide for the first month of the year…” Say what??!? So those 10,000 new jobs – AND lowered unemployment – are the result of what Ol’ BaseballBat simply TALKED about, in November and December 2010 – BEFORE he took office??!? Let’s look!

(direct link to YouTube)

TheUpTake.org was there, they have video too:“Scott Walker Opponents Outnumber Supporters 300-8 in Hudson Today”.

Now, at the end of Ol’ Baseball Bat’s talk to the employees, you may have noticed something; I sure did – which resulted in this tweet!

The videos clearly show “no standing o’s” for Ol’ Baseball Bat inside, and protesters clearly outnumbered those duped by the republiCons. When I got to Hudson, I counted 7 there that were blinded by the “right” ( 2 or 3 carried printed signs prepared by “AmericanMajority”) – and when I walked down the line after Ol’ Baseball Bat skeedaddled, I counted 8.

Here’s a sign that tells those opposed to Ol’ Baseball Bat exactly what they need to do:

And Hudson GOPer State Senator Sheila Harsdorf might be recalled, too – along with 7 other Wisconsin GOPer State Senators…

…just don’t expect to see any accurate reporting from Fox9 Noise “News” about it.

(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

Advocates Discuss Wis. Bill Debacle : MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

To no surprise, GOPer Ben Golnik starts out by telling a whopper: “unprecedented.”

Yeah, “right.”

A quick google search of “lincoln illinios legislature walkout” – and there, on the first page, from CNN:

Wisconsin legislators aren’t the first to walk out, leave town
February 18, 2011 | By Phil Gast, CNN

This week’s bitter budget showdown in Wisconsin isn’t the first time state legislators have fled a state, left a building or refused to show when votes were called.

The “Killer Ds” and the “Texas 11,” for example, skedaddled from Texas in 2003 to prevent consideration of a redistricting bill.

In 1839, a young Abraham Lincoln, serving as a Whig in the Illinois House, jumped out of the building in a futile bid to prevent Democrats from getting a quorum to vote on a banks bill. (CNN.com)

The northern part of the Whig Party morphed into today’s Republican Party; Lincoln went on to become a Republican President. Not only is the walkout by Wisconsin’s Fighting Fourteen NOT unprecedented, there IS a precedent by the very Party GOPer Golnik was there, last night, to represent.

I don’t know why, but it is: reasonable people cannot reasonably believe anything a GOPer says. Today’s GOPers are ready, able, and perfectly willing to smile at a camera and lie through their teeth.

And they certainly cannot expect Fox9 News to follow up and let their viewers know GOPer Ben Golnik started out with a whopper, can they?

(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

From the #YouCantMakeThisStuffUp Dept…. while Gaddafi declared a tax cut…

2:41pm Libyan state TV announces wide-ranging tax cuts. It says:

The general public committee has decided to reduce customs on basic commodities to zero per cent and to reduce customs on all other commodities to only five per cent. It also decided to remove all consumption and production taxes.

… Madison.com reports that “Walker’s budget slashes tax credits that aid poor:

Low-income taxpayers in Wisconsin would lose hundreds of dollars in tax credits a year under Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget — at the same time the governor wants tax cuts for businesses and investors to boost jobs.

Thanks to the eagle-eyed and dedicated reader that sent that tip in!!!

In other news of note concerning Scott “Baseball Bat” Walker, who dreams of treating the least amongst him worse than Gadaffi:

Walker’s Latest Mea Nota Culpa, via the Wisconsin State Journal.

The Daily Page: “A former GOP aide to Senate Republicans: You can beat Walker”

Via the Green Bay Press-Gazette: “(GOP) Sen. Cowles: Republicans have to be “flexible” on collective bargaining negotiations”

Via DailyKos: “Wisconsin recall update: 15% of signature goal reached”

And finally, Faux Noise’s @MikeTobinFox still hasn’t posted a new tweet, ever since the news came out he’s a KochWhore SpokesTool “typical Fox Reporter”.

Send tips/suggestions for the next “Strongman Report” to: TwoPuttTommy@mnprogressiveproject.com …

(05 March 2011 Strongman Report, here)

(01 March 2011 Strongman Report, here)

(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)