Some things are better left unlearned...

I never should have read this:

Big fun with programmable road signs
Source: polizeros.com
The fine folks at i-Hacked tell you how to make an ADDCO portable sign say whatever you want. Not that you should because, of course, that would be wrong.

/evil grin

Forbes: People Cons wish Libs gave a damn about

Yeah, there are a couple of people on that list that merit being there, even if they are Reagan Republicans or moderate conservatives, and a couple of other people that might even be considered liberal. Anyways, the rest - the overwhelming majority of them - are a bunch of gas bags and media failures that are influential amongst other gas bags and media failures that liberals don't pay attention too other than to kick for their stupidity on a daily basis.

It is pretty much Forbes conservative's wet dream of what they wished influenced liberals:

Barack Obama's inauguration was the formal point at which the reigning ideology in Washington changed from "conservative" to "liberal." We use those terms without apology, as they are used in American political discourse.

Broadly, a "liberal' subscribes to some or all of the following: progressive income taxation; universal health care of some kind; opposition to the war in Iraq, and a certain queasiness about the war on terror; an instinctive preference for international diplomacy; the right to gay marriage; a woman's right to an abortion; environmentalism in some Kyoto Protocol-friendly form; and a rejection of the McCain-Palin ticket.

In Depth: The 25 Most Influential Liberals In The U.S. Media

In recognition of the role played by the media in our national debate, Forbes.com nominates, here, 25 of America's most consequential liberal journalists and media personalities.

Most of the people on that weak list had little to do with driving the last couple of elections and nothing to do with liberalism.

Irrational Lampoon

If you play "yes we can" backwards it sounds like "nuke U.S.A." The real reason the right wing thinks he is not American is because they found a message hidden on one of the campaign song album covers: "bur ac i5 code"... They are all certain it is really his until-now unknown evil twin, Barry "the communist" Obama, from Kenya that is currently occupying the White House - just so you know where the name Barry really comes from.

ERrRrRP! Excuse me: The voice in my head now tells me that No Quarter - in conjunction with Red State - will provide proof of all of this right after the 2012 elections.

Palin's 15 Minutes Ticks Off Right Wingnuts

Via the far right wing Newsmax, it appears even the wingnuts are tiring of Sarah Winky Palin's never ending quest to become relevant:

Palin is fueling the stories she condemns by talking about them instead of ignoring them, said Janis Edwards, an associate professor of communication studies at the University of Alabama and an expert on women candidates. One of Edwards' classes monitored Palin's role in a project called "The Palin Watch."

Palin "does seem to have ambitions, and this is one way of staying in the public eye," Edwards said.

The governor's complaints about the media assure continued coverage, said Lisa Burns, associate professor of media studies at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn.

"The media interest will wane. I think it already has," Burns said. "I have to wonder if this is something she's doing to keep her name out there."

When your own side is writing stories that are calling you out for your hypocritical attacks on the media you have jumped the shark. And though I must admit, Winky, we did thoroughly enjoy the comedic value you brought to the news cycle in your 15 minutes... Even down to your very last brain-emptying flatulated sputter of hollow charges:

Tick - Tick - Tick - Tick - Tick - Tick -
Time's up, Dingaling!

The Illegal Spying Whistle Blower Express...

Has just left the station:

A former NSA analyst is confirming to [Keith Olbermann] what so many "tinfoliers" already believed:

The NSA is listening, watching and reading communications from citizens, people in the United States with no security threat, rhyme or reason, at least none that would allow such an intrusion into the lives of your common citizen. No surprise to many, but it does surprise me the beans are being spilled on prime time right now.

This is without FISA, warrants or with any other Constitutional protections.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Yes... They were spying on journalists, as many people speculated.

More to come tomorrow on Countdown.

Expect this to be the first in a long line of whistle blowers to come forward with information on specific crimes committed by the criminal Bush administrations. They no longer have worry about retribution from the most corrupt administration to ever seize power in the USA.

And getting run over by this freight train of truth will be poor little Oxy-Rush:

Earlier today, President Obama issued his first set of executive orders. One of these orders instructs “federal agencies to handle requests for information from the public and press under the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] with an eye toward disclosure, not refusal.” The order reportedly returns to “pre-Bush administration policies” regarding FOIA.

In response to the “new standard of openness,” conservative talker Rush Limbaugh said that he fears that the more open FOIA rules will make it easier for Bush to be held to account for any misdeeds he committed as president:

LIMBAUGH: What I’m afraid of is that what Obama did with this executive order is actually make it easier for the media to go get Bush documents. Because you know Pelosi and some of the guys over in congress are talking about war crimes trials and charges and so forth. […]

What I’m afraid of is what Obama’s done here is made the gathering of the information for this kind of stuff– This is not American. This is not America. This is not what America does. We don’t– This is Banana Republic kind of stuff.

Oxy-Rush can't handle the truth getting out and I really think he may be smoking bananas.

[update] Via AMERICAblog, just an update on the journalists suspected to be targeted by illegal spying:

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann interviewed a former National Security Agency analyst tonight. The analyst says that, under the ruse of making sure that the NSA did NOT target American media and journalists, they actually collected information on every communication those journalists and media organizations had 24/7.

This is extremely complicated stuff, and appears to be a rather significant story. Ironically, we had reported back in 2005 on this very issue, asking whether the Bush administration was spying on American journalists. At the time, there was a specific question as to whether CNN's Christiane Amanpour was a subject of inquiry. At the time, CNN's David Ensor dismissed the story, saying that he had a contact in the intelligence agency who "looked into it" and said, nah, it's not happening, don't worry. Yes, because I'm sure the NSA would tell David Ensor if they were spying on him. Anyway, seems Mr. Ensor may get to do a follow-up story.

Internet Censorship Act DEAD!

Via EFF, thus ends one of their oldest and longest running cases and causes:

In a victory for online free speech, the U.S. Supreme Court today refused to hear the government's appeal of a July 2008 ruling holding the Child Online Protection Act of 1998 (COPA) unconstitutional and enjoining COPA's enforcement. The case was brought by the ACLU, EFF, and a coalition of plaintiffs.

Today's decision marks the end of the road for COPA, a federal law that violated the First Amendment by imposing civil and criminal penalties on commercial website operators that publish sexually explicit material without also using credit card authentication or other technological measures to verify viewer age and block access by minors.

...snip...

COPA was passed after the Supreme Court struck down its predecessor, the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA), in its landmark decision ACLU v. Reno, the first Supreme Court case to apply the First Amendment to online speech.

Get your civil rights...

Hotlinked off the White House website, and sure to make many a right wingnut head explode, it seems that civil rights are all the rage:

CIVIL RIGHTS

"The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen -- they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted; whether their civil rights would be protected by their government; whether justice would be equal and opportunity would be theirs.... We have more work to do."

-- Barack Obama, Speech at Howard University, September 28, 2007

President Barack Obama has spent much of his career fighting to strengthen civil rights as a civil rights attorney, community organizer, Illinois State Senator, U.S. Senator, and now as President. Whether promoting economic opportunity, working to improve our nation's education and health system, or protecting the right to vote, President Obama has been a powerful advocate for our civil rights.

• Combat Employment Discrimination: President Obama and Vice President Biden will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. They will also pass the Fair Pay Act, to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
• Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: President Obama and Vice President Biden will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation, expand hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act, and reinvigorate enforcement at the Department of Justice's Criminal Section.
• End Deceptive Voting Practices: President Obama will sign into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote.
• End Racial Profiling: President Obama and Vice President Biden will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice.
• Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support: President Obama and Vice President Biden will provide job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling to ex-offenders, so that they are successfully re-integrated into society. Obama and Biden will also create a prison-to-work incentive program to improve ex-offender employment and job retention rates.
• Eliminate Sentencing Disparities: President Obama and Vice President Biden believe the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated.
• Expand Use of Drug Courts: President Obama and Vice President Biden will give first-time, non-violent offenders a chance to serve their sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior.

Support for the LGBT Community

"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."

-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007

• Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.
• Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
• Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
• Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
• Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
• Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
• Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, President Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.
• Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. President Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

Tengrain makes me laugh:

"I promise you, Chimpy did not have it updated before he left."

Defining an Insane Senator...

Repeating the same failed rhetoric and expecting a different result:

"We have to have a remnant of the Republican Party who are recognizable as freedom fighters," Mr. DeMint said. "What I'm looking to do as a conservative leader in the Senate is to identify those Republicans, and even some Democrats, and put together a consensus of people who can help stop this slide toward socialism."

The scary ol' bogyman of socialism. Doesn't the dufus know why so many of his fellow idiots were swept out of Washington? I can recommend some good therapy for your problem that will have the same result for ya there DeMint...


And, at least, my way we don't have to listen to your whiny-assed propaganda and lies.

This hour has 22 minutes...

22 minutes into the Obama presidency and the failed wingnuts are already blaming Obama for Iraq?

I believe you'll find Goldfarb and his disciples of extreme ignorance among these Americans:

The White House has a Blog...

Via Crooks and Liars, I am trying to imagine what it would have looked like under the criminal bush administration?

THE BLOG:

TUE, JANUARY 20, 12:01 PM EST

Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov

The first post on WhiteHouse.gov.

TUE, JANUARY 20, 12:01 PM EST

A National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation

President Barack Obama's first proclamation.

TUE, JANUARY 20, 12:01 PM EST

Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy and Serving America

The President, Vice President, and their families attend service events in Washington on Martin Luther King Day, one day before Inauguration.

TUE, JANUARY 20, 12:01 PM EST

Read The Inaugural Address

The full text of President Obama's Inaugural Address.

TUE, JANUARY 20, 12:01 PM EST

The Whistle Stop Tour

Following the same route that Abraham Lincoln rode 150 years ago, President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Dr. Jill Biden made their way to the inauguration on a whistle stop train tour that wove its way from Philadelphia through Delaware and Maryland on its way to Washington.

We have yet begun to fight...

I was over at The Field Negro's Blog - reading how he was going to live up to his promise of running through the streets of Philly nekid if Obama won - Anyways, I did have a little suggestion for him:

"To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high."

It is an inscription on the wall of the dressing room of the Montreal Canadiens and is often used as rallying call for sports teams up north. It is taken from the poem "In Flanders Fields".

You might want to consider carrying a torch on your run, my friend. There is a lot of talk kicking around the news and the Blogs about the historic nature of this day. How this is such a huge positive change. But there is still a lot to do, and a lot of different battles that we all have ahead of us.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields

The poppies referred to in the poem grew in profusion in Flanders where war casualties had been buried and thus became a symbol of Remembrance Day. The poem is part of Remembrance Day solemnities in Allied countries which contributed troops to World War I, particularly in countries of the British Empire that did so.

The line is appropriate for everyone, liberal activists pushing for change, minorities and Black activists that still have a long way to go... Everyone that has been on the outside looking in at the dismal failures in American politics.

Yeah. I am stoked for change. And I have a dream too.

The real fights are just about to begin and the real challenge is to keep the torch burning as we move forward.

This is the end of the bush years. The worst president in the history of the USA.

The end of the worst government ever to enter into power in Washington, D.C.. Power hungry fools with a reckless disregard for the needs of the people.

The end of the of the neoconservative reign of terror. Modern day Jacobins that use terror to instill fear in the American population.

We have begun the change. And started to live up to the possibilities of so many dreams.

But it is, still, only the beginning.



[update] Via joesaho at MLN, How appropriate for this post:

The Bushes Depart | 12:56 p.m. The helicopter steps are folded up. The blade begins to rotate. The Obamas and Bidens are standing still, holding each other’s hands, as they watch the helicopter rev up. We now have lift-off; the Bushes have left the Capitol at 12:55 — almost half an hour ahead of time. The Obamas wave.

The helicopter is swinging out over the Mall first instead of heading directly to Andrews. Surely the Bushes can’t hear the crowd below, but the chant is one that sports fans jeer to the opposing team: “Na Na Na Na/Na Na Na Na/Hey Hey Hey/Good-bye.”

A cheer that started at the old Forum in Montreal. :)