Posts by GottaLaff

GottaLaff is a regular blogger for Cliff Schecter's Blog

McCain Campaign is Stacking Townhalls
Posted by GottaLaff , The Political Carnival on June 13, 2008 at 5:00 AM.

Somebody's nose must be growing... and it's Pinocchio Sidney McWhichWayIsUp:

After reporting that the McCain campaign held a townhall with Democrats and Independents, Fox's Shepard Smith admitted that the McCain campaign had done no such thing. "We have now received a clarification from the campaign and I feel I should pass it along to you. The McCain Campaign distributed tickets to supporters, mayor Bloomberg, who of course is a registered republican, and other independent groups."

Oh-h-h, so that's what happens to J Sid's memory after he eats recalled tomatoes.

Wait.. this just in: Oliver Willis, I can hardly hear you over that crowd snoring in the background! There hasn't been a mass drugging, has there? Is this the work of terrorists? Hold on, I'm getting a picture on my iPhone... and... why... everyone there is awake! And... I can barely make it out... it's a little grainy... they're entirely white!

Right now John McCain is doing a “town hall” meeting being broadcast by Fox News (The Official Network of McCain ‘08, Home Of The Terrorist Fist Bump) and it’s a mighty amazing trick the McCain camp is pulling. Somehow they’ve gone to the most diverse city in America (New York City) and are seemingly unable to find minorities willing to attend.

That's some story! Did you manage to grab some shots of the event? What a scoop! Good work, Oliver! Stay safe.

House Report: Abramoff's White House Connections
Posted by GottaLaff , The Political Carnival on June 9, 2008 at 2:02 PM.

Wow. Am. I. Surprised.

A House panel on Monday released a proposed report saying that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff “influenced some White House actions.”

The proposed report, compiled by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said, “Abramoff and his associates had access and influenced some actions at the White House.”

The document states that the probe was “limited by potential Fifth Amendment claims by several White House officials and Abramoff lobbyists and the committee’s accommodation of Justice Department concerns.”

I am showing an enormous amount of self control right now. I am not screaming. I am not sticking forks into my eyes. ::deep breath:: So. How often did Abramoff talk to Bush?

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Reid: Lieberman's Chairmanship is Safe
Posted by GottaLaff , The Political Carnival on June 5, 2008 at 2:30 PM.

I think you'll agree, this is a classic "Huh???" moment:

It didn't go over well among Democrats when Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, who has backed John McCain for president, criticized Barack Obama on Israel just one day after Obama's historic nomination clinching victory.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says Lieberman's committee chairmanship "I'm not about to threaten anybody," Reid told reporters Thursday afternoon. "... Joe Lieberman is an important vote for this caucus."is safe and Lieberman remains an important vote for Democrats.

There must be a reasonable explanation. There must be. Counting to 10. 1... 2... 3...

Indeed, in a Senate divided 51-49, Lieberman's vote on virtually every other issue outside of the war in Iraq can be critical. Reid pointed out that the Democratic budget resolution would not have passed Wednesday without Lieberman's vote. Lieberman has called himself an "Independent Democrat" ever since he lost the Connecticut Democratic primary in 2006 — a loss largely attributed to his support of the war in Iraq.

On Wednesday in the Senate chamber, Obama very publicly cornered Lieberman and had a direct, but not heated, conversation in the corner of the chamber.

Some Democrats have speculated that a greatly expanded Democratic Senate majority would allow Reid more leverage to yank Lieberman's chairmanship as punishment for supporting McCain, but there is no such movement afoot, Reid says.

There better be, because when I get to "10", I look like this:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

The End of the Hummer Era?
Posted by GottaLaff , The Political Carnival on June 3, 2008 at 2:31 PM.

CNN: The average price for gasoline is $3.98 a gallon.

The New York Times is reporting that GM is closing four plants:

Responding to a consumer shift to more fuel-efficient vehicles, General Motors said Tuesday that it would stop making pickup trucks and big S.U.V.s at four North American assembly plants and would consider selling its Hummer brand.

The moves, announced Tuesday by the company chairman, Rick Wagoner, will slash 500,000 units from the automaker’s overall production, and pave the way for increased investment in smaller cars and passenger vehicles. Within three years, he said, trucks will account for less than 40 percent of the vehicles that G.M. produces in North America, down from about half today.

Mr. Wagoner said that rising gasoline prices had forced a “structural shift” by American consumers away from truck-based vehicles built by G.M.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Is Obama Ahead in Pennsylvania?
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog on April 2, 2008 at 3:06 PM.

An outlier or ….?

Barack Obama 45
Hillary Clinton 43

Barack Obama has taken the lead in Pennsylvania, a remarkable turnaround after trailing Hillary Clinton by 26 points in a PPP poll in the state just two and a half weeks ago.

Obama’s steep rise could be a reflection of a growing sense among Democratic voters that a continued divisive nomination process will hurt the party’s chances of defeating John McCain this fall. An Obama upset in Pennsylvania would be virtually certain to force Clinton out of the race.

Obama has his customary large advantage with black voters (75-17) and is keeping it relatively competitive with white voters (49-38)

He leads across all age groups except senior citizens and balances Clinton’s 10 point lead with women with his own 15 point lead with men.

Pdf version here, with details.

Home page of PPP here.

H/t: Commenter David G.

80-Year-Old Church Deacon Arrested for Refusing to Remove His Anti-War T-Shirt
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog on March 31, 2008 at 3:09 PM.

He's 80, but he was wearing the wrong tee shirt. One must never wear the wrong tee shirt. That's just unacceptable. Especially if one is at the mall:

An 80-year-old church deacon was removed from the Smith Haven Mall yesterday in a wheelchair and arrested by police for refusing to remove a T-shirt protesting the Iraq War.

Police said that Don Zirkel, of Bethpage, was disturbing shoppers at the Lake Grove mall with his T-shirt, which had what they described as "graphic anti-war images." Zirkel, a deacon at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Wyandanch, said his shirt had the death tolls of American military personnel and Iraqis - 4,000 and 1 million - and the words "Dead" and "Enough." The shirt also has three blotches resembling blood splatters.

That is disturbing! Especially if you're one of the 4,000 Americans or 1,000,000 Iraqis who died.

Police said in a release last night that Zirkel was handing out anti-war pamphlets to mallgoers and that mall security told him to stop and turn his shirt inside out. Zirkel refused to turn his shirt inside out and wouldn't leave, police said. Security placed him on "civilian arrest" and called police. When police arrived, Zirkel passively resisted attempts to bring him to a police car, the release said.

Good lord, he sounds dangerous. Hide the kids!

But Zirkel said he was sitting in the food court drinking coffee with his wife Marie, 77, and several others when police and mall security officers approached and demanded they remove their anti-war T-shirts.

Drinking coffee? In an anti-war tee shirt?? What do you want to bet he was not wearing a flag pin?!! Don Hussein Zirkel, this'll teach you not to dissent! America's not about that! America's about nodding in agreement and saluting the Chimpenfuhrer.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Bill Richardson: "I'm Not Going to Stoop to Carville's Level"
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog on March 31, 2008 at 6:10 AM.

Bill Richardson had a couple of good comebacks for the Clinton campaign:

Barack Obama supporter Gov. Bill Richardson, D-New Mexico, responded on Sunday to controversial comments by James Carville, saying that he would not “stoop to Carville’s level.”Carville, a Hillary Clinton supporter and former strategist for her husband’s 1992 presidential campaign, compared Richardson to the Biblical figure Judas in an interview with the New York Times last week. When later asked whether his comment was accurate, Carville made no attempt to apologize, saying that it had “the desired effect.”

“I haven’t gotten into the gutter on this. And you know, I’m not going to stoop to Carville’s level. I barely know the guy in the first place,” Richardson told Bob Scheiffer on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Carville reminds me a little of Floyd in my comic strip. You haven’t met him yet, but I describe him here.

And about that whole question of loyalty:

“I think loyalty to the nation, loyalty to the party is a lot more important than personal loyalty,” he said. “I owe the Clintons a lot. I served in the president’s cabinet. That loyalty is to President Clinton. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to for the rest of my life be in lockstep with whatever they do.“

What? No loyalty oath? Who do you think you are, a Democrat?

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Hillary's Donors, Lies and Videotape
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog on March 28, 2008 at 2:22 PM.

A fellow blogger at Bang the Drum is working with the list of Hillary’s extortionists donors I posted, and has added to the story about the threatening letter sent to Nancy Pelosi. Here are excerpts from her e-mails and the relevant post (first the e-mails):

I have a question for you on these donors. Can any of them be linked back to LinkTV? I ask because a post from Link TV just appeared on the Huffington Post which is a clip from a 2/6/08 interview that Al Jezeera TV did with Barack Obama's Kenyan grandmother (step grandmother actually). Being Al Jezeera, they take great pains to link Obama's Muslim past, which will play wonderfully with O'Reilly and Faux news.

I can find ties between David Michaelis (a LinkTV board director) and Hillary Clinton, directly and also through his wife. What I'm wondering is if any of these donors also link up with Michaelis or his wife, Clara Bingham.

I found a site that connected some of them via Norman Hsu. I’m not sure it helped, but then I got another e-mail:

LinkTV’s board of directors was the hardest to find, and that’s because they don’t have one — Internews is their board, and Internews is, quite frankly, all Republicans. Talk about wolves in sheeps’ clothing!

So you have donors threatening Pelosi, and one who doesn’t sign onto the letter decides to drop a video onto Huffpo suggesting that Obama is Muslim, while they hammer on the opposite side with Jeremiah Wright so that they can have it both ways.

And from the post “Worms, Trojans, and Clinton“:

The first item in my news feed this afternoon was this clip of an Al-Jezeera interview with Barack Obama's Kenyan step-grandmother. Lots of mentions of his "Muslim family" origins, nice shot of his father's headstone (who shares his name) and of course, much pride from step-grandma about how a 'native son' has made good in America.

None of it is bad. None of it paints Barack Obama in a negative light. On its face, it's all light and sweetness. Sort of like that helpful popup window telling you that there might be a virus on your computer. But when you click on that helpful message, it infects your computer with an insidious virus, worm or trojan …

The plot sickens…

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Don Siegelman to Be Released from Prison
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog on March 28, 2008 at 4:14 AM.

Gather ’round, kiddies! It’s story time! Paddy, sit still! Bucky, stop pulling Kirsten’s hair! Clancy, L.A.Dave, put your wallets away, Eve is sneaking up behind you! Addington, do I have to take that Hillary bumper sticker away from you? You know how it annoys Fernando. Mainsailset, sit between them please. Settle down, everyone. Okay? Okay. Where was I? Oh yes… Once upon a time, there were …

...a series of cases in which it is alleged that the Justice Department brought charges to advance the political agenda of the Republican Party, and not for proper law enforcement purposes. The case surrounding Alabama Governor Don Siegelman is the centerpiece, and is still reckoned by most observers as the most overpowering case for prosecutorial abuse so far.

And guess what, kids! Karl Rove was involved! Yayyyy!

Now, boys and girls, there was a very, very important question that has never been answered:

Was the convicted charge a crime?

And what a question it was! Especially because there were partisan Republican political histories of both the prosecutors and the judge in the case! Can you say par-ti-san? I knew that you could. This is such a long story, I’ll let one of you give a Show and Tell Powerpoint about it next week, or just read this to us.

Gosharootie, what next? This!

Nearly two months after being ordered by an appellate court to explain his reasoning, a federal judge wrote Wednesday that he won’t allow former Gov. Don Siegelman out of prison while appealing his conviction because he doesn’t believe the conviction will be overturned.

Well guess what, children!

Former Gov. Don Siegelman will be released from prison, after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals granted him an appeal bond, the lead prosecutor in the case said.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Obama Speaks Out on Faith, His Church and His Pastor Rev. Wright
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog on March 14, 2008 at 3:06 PM.

Quick notes: Richard Wolffe was interviewed by Randi Rhodes:

Wolffe: Regarding the Obama/Wright matter. Obama wrote about it for Huffington Post.  He's made himself pretty clear on this.

[Here is an excerpt from a different interview that HuffPost linked to:]

Obama: This is a pastor who is on the brink of retirement who in the past has made some controversial statements. I profoundly disagree with some of these statements.

Q: What about this particular statement?

Obama: Obviously, I disagree with that. Here is what happens when you just cherry-pick statements from a guy who had a 40-year career as a pastor. There are times when people say things that are just wrong. But I think it's important to judge me on what I've said in the past and what I believe.

Obama's exclusive Huffington Post piece is here. Please read the whole thing. Excerpt:

Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue.

Because these particular statements by Rev. Wright are so contrary to my own life and beliefs, a number of people have legitimately raised questions about the nature of my relationship with Rev. Wright and my membership in the church. Let me therefore provide some context.

Randi: Tell him, Richard, to say: Religion is a private matter, where you go to church has nothing to do with how I lead the country.

Wolffe: That would be hard for him to say. He says the Democrats haven't done a good job in the public square, politicians shouldn't be led by their religious leaders, but he recognizes that faith is a motivating factor for most people and Democrats should be respectful of that. Religion and politics aren't completley separate. He's not saying his faith should be imposed on others, either.

The angry clips of Wright: The context is, the Trinity United Church of Christ is a white denomination... You're more likely to be embarrassed than intimidated, more likely to get hugged, they're a bunch of hippies.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

NY Times Reporter to McCain: "Why Are You So Angry?"
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog on March 7, 2008 at 2:43 PM.

Tsk, tsk, John Sidney Hussein McPain, temper, temperrrrr. Maybe you just need a nap. Perhaps Fredhorn Leghorn can give you a few pointers.

Senator John McCain grew agitated Friday with a New York Times reporter who asked about his 2004 conversation with then-Democratic nominee John Kerry about McCain possibly running as Kerry's vice presidential nominee.

Doesn't take much to get him to lose his cool, does it? I wonder how cranky he'd be if the phone rang at 3 a.m.... or what he's like with telemarketers.

Elisabeth Bumiller: Can you describe the conversation?

McCain: Pardon me.

EB: Can you describe the conversation?

McCain: No, of course not. I don't describe private conversations.

EB: Okay. Can I ask you -

McCain: Why should I? Then there's no such thing as a private conversation. Is there (inaudible) if you have a private conversation with someone, and then they come and tell you. I don't know that that's a private conversation. I think that's a public conversation.

EB. Okay. Can I ask you about your (pause) Why you're so angry?

McCain: Pardon me?

EB: Nevermind, nevermind.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Did Clinton's Campaign Darken Obama's Skin?
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog on March 5, 2008 at 5:44 AM.

There's a controversy brewing that I just heard on the Thom Hartmann Show as I drove in to work. I will direct you to the sources and let you see for yourself. Since I am at work, unfortunately I cannot take the time to research this any further.

First, the original source:

First, I will allow all of you to look at both the debate clip and the campaign commercial. Sen. Obama's response to the question at the debate comes at about the 4:40 mark. Watch them both and see if anything seems a bit askew.

Youtube Debate Clip

Clinton Campaign Commercial

Call me crazy, but it certainly appears to me that Sen. Obama's skin tone is significantly darker in the Clinton campaign commercial. Watch it again and see if you agree.

Now, as most of us know, one of the ways in which to demonize a person of color is to make them appear darker than they are. By this twisted logic, somehow being more black makes you more threatening.

One of the first times I distinctly recall this issue being brought to the forefront was the Time Magazine cover picture of O.J. Simpson after his arrest. Time was heavily criticized for darkening the shade of Simpson's skin in the cover photograph. [...]

UPDATE:A few of the comments have properly pointed out that the entire Clinton commercial is in darker tones. It has also been pointed out that darker tones are often used to subtlety demonize political opponents.

Both of those points are well-taken. However, is there or should there be a double standard when one of the candidates is a person of color--i.e., is it OK for a white politician to darken or distort the image of another white politician in a commercial, but not a black candidate?

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Rush Limbaugh Wants Obama "Bloodied Up", Encourages Listeners to Vote for Hillary
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog on March 4, 2008 at 1:14 PM.

Limpbaugh is such a class act, isn't he?

"We need Barack Obama bloodied up politically. It's obvious that the Republicans are not going to do it, they don't have the stomach for it," Limbaugh continued. "As you probably know we're getting all kinds of memos from the RNC saying we're not going to be critical. Mark McKinnon of McCain's campaign said he'll quit if they get critical over Obama. This is the presidency of the United States we're talking about. I want our party to win I want the Democrats to lose."

He's encouraging today's voters to go for Hillary.

"I want Hillary to stay in this...this is too good a soap opera," Limbaugh told fellow conservative talk-show host Laura Ingraham on Fox News Friday. [...] He also said Clinton is more willing than the Republican National Committee and John McCain's campaign to criticize Barack Obama.

Does this kind of campaigning work? Or this kind? The answer should be "no", but unfortunately, negativity works, and we all end up losing.

****

UPDATE:

I guess voters are a little weary of a president who has the intellectual horsepower of a domestic turkey.

According to a new Fox News/Washington Times/Rasmussen reports poll out today, Republicans like Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) nearly as much as they like McCain. The survey -- of likability -- isn't indicative of whether they'd vote for Obama over their own nominee -- but it could suggest problems for McCain down the road, should Obama become the Democratic nominee.

Equally troubling for Republicans is that the survey showed that party supporters think Obama is smarter than McCain.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan to Testify About Torture, Abuse
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog on March 3, 2008 at 8:59 AM.

It's about time they were heard and respected for it:

This year, from March 13 to 16, about 300 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, gathering for a second Winter Soldier conference, in Silver Spring, Maryland. Organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) it will make up the largest gathering ever of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Their mission? To tell the story of the war in the terms of those who have actually lived it.

"This is a moment when veterans won't let anyone else speak for us," said Aaron Hughes, an Iraq veteran who initiated the new Winter Soldier effort. "We hear from the pundits, we hear from the politicians, we hear from the generals, but we don't hear from the soldiers who've walked the streets, who've been there and know what it's about. We're the ones who can bring out the cruelties and dehumanization in US foreign policy."

How much column space will the corporate media give to this? You can stop laughing now.

Panels and testimony will be grouped into 12 categories, including killing and wounding noncombatants, mishandling of dead, torture and abuse, sexual assault, discrimination in the military, destruction of civilian property, veterans' benefits issues and GI resistance.

Some testimonies will address acts of large-scale violence and human rights violations, while others will zero in on incidents that are often overlooked, such as racism toward Iraqis, sexual harassment of civilians and the military's waste and destruction of environmental resources.

O'Brien hopes that, through the medium of veterans' firsthand accounts, the public will gain new insight into the concrete abuses perpetuated by what may seem to be abstract foreign policy decisions.

Can't get much blunter than that, now, can ya?

"When we say, 'this is what we saw, this is what we were ordered to do,' patterns emerge. The patterns show that what the US is doing in Iraq is immoral and in many cases illegal."

More on the flip:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Mukasey Lets Bolten and Miers Off the Hook
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog on March 1, 2008 at 7:09 AM.

We expected nothing less from the guy who can't figure out if waterboarding is torture or just a minor annoyance... unless it's done to him:

Attorney General Michael Mukasey refused Friday to refer the House's contempt citations against two of President Bush's top aides to a federal grand jury. Mukasey said White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential counsel Harriet Miers committed no crime.

So can I refuse subpoenas too? Not that I've ever been subpoenaed, or would be, should be, could be, shall be, or expect to be subpoenaed...

As promised, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she has given the Judiciary Committee authority to file a lawsuit against Bolten and Miers in federal court.

"The House shall do so promptly," she said in a statement. [...] "The American people demand that we uphold the law," Pelosi said. "As public officials, we take an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect our system of checks and balances and our civil lawsuit seeks to do just that."

I didn't realize we still had a system of checks and balances. On the other hand, I know we have a system of checks... and they all go out to Big Oil and Enormous Pharma. And last time I looked, I noticed that we do have a system of imbalances. And a White House full of the unbalanced.

Mukasey said Bolten and Miers were right in ignoring subpoenas to provide Congress with White House documents or testify about the firings of federal prosecutors.

And then there's the political angle, and what an angle it is!

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »