←
→

Wednesday Reads: Strange Coincidences

Posted: February 22, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: 2012 presidential campaign, Banksters, birth control, fundamentalist Christians, Global Financial Crisis, Iran, U.S. Politics, War on Women | Tags: , , , , |50 Comments »

Abruzo Italy vintage travel poster

Good Morning

Yesterday was a sort of strange day for Santorum of the Frothy. I don’t know if it just was the typical reaction to the new front runner…but it was like some people suddenly realized this guy…this is not my kind of guy.

Rick Santorum defends Satan comments

Santorum told roughly 200 supporters at a rally here that when candidates veer from “very structured, very ordered events,” voters believe they have to “worry about everything he says.”
“No, you don’t, because I’ll defend everything I’ll say,” Santorum told the applauding crowd, pledging to “tell you the truth about what’s going on in this country.”

Santorum didn’t specifically mention the four-year-old speech from Ave Maria University in Florida, from which the Satan comments came, or a number of other statements on the campaign trail that have raised eyebrows in recent days, including remarks that some say called into question President Barack Obama’s Christian faith. Questions have also arisen over comments Santorum made that appeared to compare the Obama presidency to the rise of Nazism before World War II and remarks about prenatal testing.

Asked about the Ave Maria speech by reporters following the Phoenix rally, Santorum called the question “a joke” and “absurd.”

“You know … I’m a person of faith. I believe in good and evil. I think if somehow or another because you’re a person of faith you believe in good and evil is a disqualifier for president, we’re going to have a very small pool of candidates who can run for president,” Santorum said.

Santorum said questioning whether he believed Satan was attacking America was “not relevant.”

“Look, guys, these are questions that are not relevant to what’s — what’s being discussed in America today. What we’re talking about in America today is trying to get America growing. That’s what my speeches are about, that’s what we’re going to talk about in this campaign,” Santorum said.

“If they want to dig up old speeches of talking to [a] religious group, they can go ahead and do so, but I’m going to stay on message and I’m going to talk about things that Americans want to talk about, which is creating jobs, making our country more secure, and yeah, taking on the forces around his world who want to do harm to America, and you bet I will take them on.”

I am not sure that this is really a defense of his Satanic comments…

“Ronald Reagan did it. He called the Soviet Union an evil empire and the media went wild,” he said. “How dare you, how dare you ascribe terms like good and evil to regimes? Because Ronald Reagan told the truth, he didn’t sugarcoat it. He went out and called it the way it was. He went out and promoted the values of our country.”

It all seems so comic…doesn’t it?  Hmmm….what could be causing Santorum to act this way?  Could it be….Satan?

Uh…okay then…good luck with all that.

One thing is funny about these last remaining GOP candidates, they all seem mentally ill. We all know people who are like these dudes, they are the ones who you avoid when their name pops up on caller id. They are the guys you make excuses to when invited over to their house on game day. Lets face it…they are the people who you never feel quite right about. The kind of guy who is described by neighbors to local news stations after the police tape has been put up around his house as, “He was weird, I always knew it would end up this way. There was just something not right about that guy…”

There were some other revelations yesterday that did not involve frothy dick, check it out. Pet abuse seems to run in the Romney family. Seamus Was Not The Only One! – The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan – The Daily Beast

Screen shot 2012-02-21 at 12.41.11 PM

That is from the cross-country travel blog of Craig Romney and friends in 2009. It’s a pet fish that didn’t fit into the crammed truck used for the road trip. Inquiring minds immediately want to know. Did it eventually travel inside the truck? Did they strap it to the roof and have it constantly sprayed with water? Did they just suspend it from the bumper, Clark Griswold style, because it enjoyed the view? Here’s Craig’s caption – and, no, I am not making this up, Gail, I promise:

our fearless sidekick. this fish has cheated death more times than i can remember

Wow, there is a sadistic quality to that comment.

There is something wrong with these people.

The rest of today’s links will be quick ones, because glancing at the clock, I see it is 6:40 am and this post should have been published 10 minutes ago.

Virginia Delays Ultrasound Vote I wonder if it could have anything to do with the “optics” of these transvaginal ultrasounds. Jon Stewart Explains Ultrasound Law To GOP: ‘A TSA Pat-Down In Your Vagina’ 

Nuclear Inspectors Say Iran Mission Has Failed –  did we really expect anything less?

Iceland Provides Blueprint for How to Deal With the Financial Crisis Hang on…isn’t this the country that refused to bail out the banks?

Icelanders who pelted parliament with rocks in 2009 demanding their leaders and bankers answer for the country’s economic and financial collapse are reaping the benefits of their anger.

Since the end of 2008, the island’s banks have forgiven loans equivalent to 13 percent of gross domestic product, easing the debt burdens of more than a quarter of the population, according to a report published this month by the Icelandic Financial Services Association.

So does the story end there? Did the people revolt and the banks give in, leading to a lower standard of living or some financial disaster or something? No. Debt deleveraging successfully brought back the Icelandic economy.

The island’s steps to resurrect itself since 2008, when its banks defaulted on $85 billion, are proving effective. Iceland’s economy will this year outgrow the euro area and the developed world on average, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates. It costs about the same to insure against an Icelandic default as it does to guard against a credit event in Belgium. Most polls now show Icelanders don’t want to join the European Union, where the debt crisis is in its third year.

The island’s households were helped by an agreement between the government and the banks, which are still partly controlled by the state, to forgive debt exceeding 110 percent of home values. On top of that, a Supreme Court ruling in June 2010 found loans indexed to foreign currencies were illegal, meaning households no longer need to cover krona losses.

We’ve heard in this country for the past several years of housing crisis that principal forgiveness rewards bad actors and causes moral hazard, and that we can’t do that to the poor, put-upon banks. Well guess what? Debt write-downs work. They generate a wealth effect among the population, and they help to end balance-sheet recessions and bring about economic growth. What’s more, Icelandic home values came back, just 3% off their September 2008 pre-crisis level. You can take the example of Iceland or you can take the example of the rest of Europe. It’s your choice. But the facts reveal that austerity is counter-productive, while debt forgiveness is extremely productive.

And those Icelandic banksters?

P.S. Here’s another element of the Icelandic comeback: they are actually prosecuting the people who caused the crisis:

Iceland’s special prosecutor has said it may indict as many as 90 people, while more than 200, including the former chief executives at the three biggest banks, face criminal charges.

Larus Welding, the former CEO of Glitnir Bank hf, once Iceland’s second biggest, was indicted in December for granting illegal loans and is now waiting to stand trial. The former CEO of Landsbanki Islands hf, Sigurjon Arnason, has endured stints of solitary confinement as his criminal investigation continues.

Since there has been a lot of talk about “lady parts” this next link is about another organ that most of the GOP dumbasses also lack.

Study: Women Can Be Missing Symptoms Of A Heart Attack

Chest pain is considered the hallmark symptom of a heart attack, but patients can also experience other kinds of pain, and in some cases, none at all. That’s especially true for women, and they can be missing the symptoms.

Researchers say younger women have a greater risk of dying from a heart attack. A new study in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that may be because their warning signs are often very different.

Lalina Franklin was having neck and jaw pain. She had no idea she was on the verge of a severe heart attack .

“You think of some really bad pain in your chest and collapsing. I wasn’t having any pain at all in my chest,” Franklin said.

New research shows 42 percent of women under 55 do not feel chest pain during a heart attack. And hospitals often don’t diagnose those women properly until it’s too late.

Symptoms to look out for:

“They might have other symptoms like jaw pain, back pain, shortness of breath, nausea, fatigue and simply sweating. All of these things could be a heart attack,” Steinbaum said.

Steinbaum says for any woman noticing those symptoms, getting help immediately could be critical.

And lastly, if you think there has been a lot of decisions made lately that seem beyond our control, my suggestion is to round up all the misogynistic religious right wing righteous jackasses, you know the “usual suspects” and put them in a rocket heading in the direction of this particular black hole. Because it would probably the only way to send these “good Christians” to hell where most of them belong. Cosmic Hurricane: Black Hole Has 20 Million MPH Winds

Scientists have measured the fastest winds yet observed from a stellar-mass black hole, shedding light on the behavior of these curious cosmic objects.

The winds, clocked by astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, are racing through space at 20 million mph (32 million kph), or about 3 percent the speed of light. That’s nearly 10 times faster than had ever been seen from a stellar-mass black hole, researchers said.

“This is like the cosmic equivalent of winds from a Category 5 hurricane,” study lead author Ashley King, of the University of Michigan, said in a statement. “We weren’t expecting to see such powerful winds from a black hole like this.”

I think that we have been seeing a display of these forceful winds coming from the mouths of the GOP for a long, long time.

Okay, that is it…the post is late enough already. What you all reading about today?

About these ads

50 Comments on “Wednesday Reads: Strange Coincidences”

  1. Minkoff Minx says:
    February 22, 2012 at 6:50 am

    Sorry this post was late, here are some links that I wanted to put in the post, but didn’t have time to write about them:

    From the French Quarter to Napoleon Avenue, New Orleans celebrated a joyous Mardi Gras | NOLA.com

    Santorum In ’95: ‘I Was Basically Pro-Choice All My Life, Until I Ran For Congress’

    Prior to entering public office, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum was a self-admitted pro-choice Republican unwilling to dabble in the cultural conservative politics that now defines his presidential campaign, a review of old campaign documents and interviews shows.

    This past week, the Pennsylvania Republican-turned-GOP primary frontrunner made a number of eyebrow raising statements meant to demonstrate an uncompromising posture on social issues. He’s questioned President Obama’s theology, argued that prenatal testing is a form of eugenics, and stated his opposition for contraception funding.

    His campaign has insisted that these are side issues, but when pressed during an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday morning, Santorum’s top spokesman Hogan Gidley exulted in his boss’ consistency on such topics.

    “I mean, that’s who he is,” Gidley said. “He doesn’t have to tack to the right on social issues like Mitt Romney because he actually firmly believes those things.”

    Janice Voss: American astronaut – Obituaries – News – The Independent

    The Nasa astronaut Janice Voss, who first worked for the US space agency as a teenager and flew five shuttle missions in seven years, died of breast cancer on 6 February at the age of 55. Voss flew four missions in the 1990s before a flight to the International Space Station in 2000. Nasa said that she was one of six women to fly in space at least five times.

    I will see if I can find more on Janice Voss for the evening news reads…

  2. Minkoff Minx says:
    February 22, 2012 at 6:53 am

    Wow, I just saw this: BBC News – Journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik ‘die in Homs’

    On Tuesday, Marie Colvin said the bombardment of Baba Amr had been “unrelenting

  3. Minkoff Minx says:
    February 22, 2012 at 8:07 am

    Now this is getting ridiculous. The Maddow Blog – GOP shuts down Sandra Fluke (again)

    There was, however, an unexpected twist yesterday afternoon. The Democratic Steering & Policy Committee’s hearing will be held in the House Recording Studio, in order to help broadcast the event, except in this case, it won’t be seen by anyone outside the room. According to House Dems, the Republican-controlled Committee on House Administration has refused to allow the hearing to be televised.

    In other words, the House GOP blocked Sandra Fluke from testifying at a hearing last week, and now they’re apparently blocking the public from hearing Sandra Fluke’s testimony at another hearing this week.

    And what is it, exactly, about Fluke’s perspective that has Republicans so concerned? The law student wants to share the story of a classmate who lost an ovary due to an ailment that could have been treated with birth control.

    Here’s a video of Fluke, sharing a perspective the House GOP apparently doesn’t want you to see:

    video at the link.

    • Pat Johnson says:
      February 22, 2012 at 8:13 am

      I wonder if Nancy Pelosi is still satisfied that she took “impeachment off the table” now?

      What she did was clear the decks for these evil doers to control the dialogue and shut down the dissent when better time could have been put to use by the Dems in holding them accountable.

      Since they saw the “chink in the armor” they proceeded to steamroll their agend and this is another example.

      • Minkoff Minx says:
        February 22, 2012 at 8:56 am

        I got two words for Nancy…Stupak Agreement.

        Any complaints from Pelosi should have these words pointed out to her.

        I tell you Pat, all of this steamrolling is really pissing me off.

      • Boo Radly says:
        February 22, 2012 at 10:19 am

        Nancy has been in office/politics a vey long time. She knew exactly what she was doing and must be satisfied. All incumbents have seen this ‘trend’ and apparently welcome it.

    • peggysue22 says:
      February 22, 2012 at 10:35 am

      Of course, they don’t want this young woman to speak because she’s speaking for her generation and she’s speaking as a WOMAN for other women. We can’t have a real live person, the sort affected by these Dark Age policies, giving voice to reason. Putting a face to the debate is too dangerous. It might actually sway opinion, make these lawmakers look as small and backwards as they really are. We have Rick Santorum preaching about Satan to the electorate! It’s beyond ridiculous. I hope he and his pathology get chewed up tonight during the debate.

      The one thing that made me laugh was the Stewart line on the Virginia probe bill: ‘It’s like a TSA pat down of your vagina!’ Too funny, even when the subject is not.

      Good roundup, minx!

  4. Pat Johnson says:
    February 22, 2012 at 8:10 am

    There is another debate tonight on CNN at 8pm.

    Let’s see if they are asked questions regarding statements that the president is anti-American and whether or not his “Christianity” is sincere.

    Mitt is just an empty vessel, willing to do and say anything he feels will earn him a vote.

    Newt is just so thoroughly corrupt and untrustworthy that whatever he says is suspect.

    Paul is just out there.

    But Rick is one hundred percent insane. When you start inserting the devil into your statements then you are one step closer to Fred Phelps as far as “doctrine” is concerned.

    And this ladies and gentlemen, is your current GOP leaders representing the most radical members of this party going state by state. There are just so many more of them out there that are just like them.

    Turning corporations and zygotes into “people” is a clear sign that these people are not fit to lead.

    I feel like I am watching an out patient therapy session for the disturbed.

    • Connie, Orlando says:
      February 22, 2012 at 4:13 pm

      Decisions, decisions. Watch the 4 stooges & develop an ulcer or watch Nature on whales & dolphins but switch to 30 Rock to watch (and cry) about poaching of rhinos & get angry when Brian Williams interviews Charles Murray. NPR has had him on quite a bit recently, guess because he has a new book. Usually there’s nothing I like on Wednesday night.

  5. Connie, Orlando says:
    February 22, 2012 at 8:47 am

    Rachel Maddow had a great piece on Virginia’s governor. REALLY SCARY! http://video.ca.msn.com/watch/video/radical-religious-politics-a-life-long-mission-for-virginias-mcdonnell/17yj77lbn

    • Minkoff Minx says:
      February 22, 2012 at 8:59 am

      Connie, watch the Jon Stewart video, it really puts it into perspective.

      Stewart began a second installment of “The Punanny State,” his series on the intrusive abortion law proposed in Virginia. He joked that “Transvaginal Ultrasound” sounded like a nifty fusion jazz band before describing the actual procedure. For that sort of intrusive medical act, however, he was honest to the audience: “I don’t really have a joke here, I just thought I’d tell you.” The good news? You don’t have to watch the video of the inside of your uterus on the screen! “Virginia could have made you watch the image, like in the dystopian classic Clockwork Orange.”

      Stewart then tried to find some equivalent on the right of an intrusion into one’s body where the government should not be allowed, and found Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell vocally opposing TSA pat-downs. “This is like a TSA pat-down inside their vagina,” Stewart explained, outraged that to the state, “it’s not rape, it’s a regional quirk.”

      Yup, that wand is cold…

      • Connie, Orlando says:
        February 22, 2012 at 9:04 am

        I usually catch Jon the next night at 6. I’m old & have trouble staying up late on a “school” night. (snark) Jon Stewart, IMHO, is the ONLY one out there calling it as it is. He cuts no one any slack. He & his team get it & pass it along to his viewers. Colbert’s been damn good lately too.

        • Minkoff Minx says:
          February 22, 2012 at 9:08 am

          Connie, I tried to watch the maddow video but it would not work for me…I looked for a transcript but MSNBC doesn’t have one yet. It looks like an interesting video indeed.

          • Connie, Orlando says:
            February 22, 2012 at 9:22 am

            Google Maddow + Virginia governor. That’s how I found it.

            BTW, The Diane Rehm Show is discussing the VA ultrasound law now. And, Chris Matthews last night (ARGH!) had 2 women discussing this, one from the Susan B Anthony list. She was a complete idiot & Chris was dumber than ever. It is hard to believe he’s married & ever had sex. He kept referring to the procedure as a sonogram. I don’t think he can say the word vagina.

      • bostonboomer says:
        February 22, 2012 at 11:29 am

        Matthews never even explained that the procedure isn’t a normal sonogram but one in which the woman’s vagina is penetrated–all the way into the uterus. He must have seen the diagrams on line.

        • Connie, Orlando says:
          February 22, 2012 at 11:35 am

          As a good Catholic boy, he probably couldn’t bring himself to look at the pictures & risk excommunication. I can’t believe there was a time when I really liked his show. It’s almost too long ago to remember that.

  6. boogieman7167 says:
    February 22, 2012 at 10:03 am

    wait isn’t all this coming from the people who are running on less government interference and small government ?

  7. janicen says:
    February 22, 2012 at 10:07 am

    I had to share this. So there’s a lively comment thread going on at the WaPo on the article about the Virginia and the forced ultrasound bill. I posted this comment…

    janicen1
    9:42 AM EST
    The GOP, which became hysterical over the idea of single payor, universal healthcare because, “…the government will be making healthcare decisions rather than our doctors!!!!!” now wants to legislate a medical test that politicians have deemed necessary. This is getting crazier and crazier. In order to win elections, politicians have ramped up anti-abortion rhetoric to such a degree, that people are actually considering having the government order an invasive test against a patient’s will, that contributes nothing to the welfare of the patient. To call this Orwellian is an understatement. Small government indeed.

    I got one response, and this is it…

    mahatchma
    9:53 AM EST
    An informed electorate is necessary for democracy to work – Unlikely to ever be true in the USA since so many are either locked into generational political leanings, or just plain dumb.
    If you don’t care about human life, then enjoy yours whilst it exists. Question, if it is OK by your “standards” to murder a fetus, why is it wrong to murder any other human later in life?

    Doesn’t that seem to be a thinly veiled death threat? I mean, “If you don’t care about human life, then enjoy yours whilst it exists” I mean, geez. These people are effin crazy.

    • boogieman7167 says:
      February 22, 2012 at 10:46 am

      janicen saying that these people are crazy in an understatement

    • bostonboomer says:
      February 22, 2012 at 11:22 am

      Wow. Unreal.

    • ralphb says:
      February 22, 2012 at 11:59 am

      Yes, they are nuts. To be somewhat cold about it, up until some point in the process that fetus is just a contiguous lump of cells. It’s doesn’t seem different than the removal of a tumor then.

      • bostonboomer says:
        February 22, 2012 at 12:36 pm

        If something has no awareness and can’t feel pain because it has no nervous system, it just isn’t a “person.” But these people value something that looks like a tadpole more than an adult woman.

    • dakinikat says:
      February 22, 2012 at 12:16 pm

      I have no idea why people don’t see the difference between a fetus in various stages/embryo/zygote and a baby. There’s a distinct difference in development for first term v. third term fetus. It’s like confusing scrambled eggs with fried chicken.

    • janicen says:
      February 22, 2012 at 1:06 pm

      I just looked at it again, and they took the death threat comment down. Now let me go lock my doors.

      • Minkoff Minx says:
        February 22, 2012 at 2:08 pm

        That was so disturbing Janicen, I am glad they took it down but it does not change the fact that your life was threatened. That is terrifying.

      • northwestrain says:
        February 22, 2012 at 9:59 pm

        I’m been thinking about that threat — I hope that the threat was forwarded to law enforcement type agency. That sure looked like a threat against your life.

        Male stalking of women on the internet is common — and apparently legal. Which is why many women need to use screen names and other protection. The internet hides a bunch of misogynist extremists — especially on feminist topics.

      • janicen says:
        February 22, 2012 at 10:22 pm

        It also seems weird to me that it just disappeared. All day long comments had been deleted with a message left behind that the comment was deleted by a moderator because it did not comply with the terms of use, blah blah blah, but this comment was there and then later it was gone.

  8. bostonboomer says:
    February 22, 2012 at 11:26 am

    I just remembered that today is Ash Wednesday. We’ll know how devoted a Catholic Rick Santorum really is if he has ashes on his forehead at tonight’s debate.

  9. bostonboomer says:
    February 22, 2012 at 11:52 am

    The Amy Bishop trial is supposed to start next month. That should be interesting.

    http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/02/accused_uah_shooter_amy_bishop_9.html

  10. Sara says:
    February 22, 2012 at 12:00 pm

    Off topic
    What happened to your links to other blogs.

  11. ralphb says:
    February 22, 2012 at 4:30 pm

    EXCLUSIVE: The Memo that Larry Summers Didn’t Want Obama to See

    And Obama never saw it. Summers is even more responsible for the initial economic screw ups of the administration than I had thought previously.

  12. ralphb says:
    February 22, 2012 at 4:37 pm

    Obama ties Romney with Arizona

    Arizona is a great microcosm of how Barack Obama’s reelection prospects have improved over the last 3 months. When we polled there in November his approval numbers were atrocious and his prospects for winning the state in the general election didn’t look very good. Now he’s getting more popular, the Republicans are getting less popular, and he appears to have a decent chance there.

    Say what?

  13. janicen says:
    February 22, 2012 at 4:43 pm

    McDonnell blinked. A little.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/mcdonnell-no-need-for-women-to-undergo-invasive-ultrasounds-before-abortion/2012/02/22/gIQA6CniTR_blog.html?hpid=z1

←
→