GOP Senator John Ensign Is in BIG trouble -- and Tom "Senator NO" Coburn could be, too

We finally found a way to shut up Mitch McConnell. Ask him about John Ensign:

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) repeatedly refused to answer questions Friday about a New York Times report that embattled Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) negotiated a cover-up of his extramarital affair with a campaign staffer, with his friend Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) serving as a financial intermediary.

At a Friday morning news conference, McConnell faced a barrage of questions from reporters about the Times's 4,000-word front-page investigation suggesting that Ensign may have improperly used his office to aid his mistress and her husband, who had been one of Ensign's top Washington staffers. Asked if Ensign could still be effective, McConnell said, "Sen. Ensign continues to serve," and said he does not have "any observations to make about the Ensign matter."

And, the extreme right-wing pain-in-the ass Tom Coburn is right in the middle of it:

Sen. Tom Coburn said Friday that he acted as a go-between earlier this year for discussions about whether Sen. John Ensign would pay millions of dollars to his former mistress and her husband.

Coburn, R-Muskogee, said he relayed a proposal for a financial settlement to Ensign from an attorney and that Ensign rejected it.

Coburn claims he was "communicating," not "negotiating." Got that?

Also, here's the link to that 4,000 word article in the New York Times. Seems like a lot of people, including Ensign and Coburn, are in a lot of trouble. Read More......

Anti-Jewish book burner plays the victim

Oh please. Whatever fool (or fools) thought this person even deserved to be in the running for such a job should be sent packing as well. Let them all climb back under the rock where they came from.

Since he lost a high-profile bid to become the head of the United Nation's cultural agency, UNESCO, Egypt's culture minister and his supporters have been beating the nationalist drums, proclaiming him a victim of a Jewish conspiracy aiming to undermine their country.

The message has been embraced and amplified by many in the Egyptian media who, like a large number of their fellow citizens, have a deep distrust of Israel and reject normal relations with the Jewish state even though the two countries made peace over 30 years ago.

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Greek left ahead in polls, national election tomorrow

What's interesting is that the election is hinging on the economy, and while the right is promising to cut the federal budget, the left is proposing a massive stimulus package. Sound familiar? Read More......

US falling further behind on Internet speed tests

It really is embarrassing. And the Republicans are focused on killing Chicago's chances at the Olympics, and holding Tea Parties to protest the fact that we didn't go into another Great Depression. Read More......

Conservative conference attendees cheer US defeat

Anything to hurt the black president.

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Reich: September job loss would have been 2X without stimulus

That's an interesting figure. Democrats should be talking about this every single day. It's the only way to get the message to sink in - the stimulus worked. Repeat it. Every. Single. Day. It's what the GOP would do. Read More......

I think they left out the word "boy"

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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Jew, not a Jew?

Jew!!!! Read More......

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

I'm heading out for a run shortly. The Marine Corps marathon is three weeks from tomorrow, so I'm starting to taper. Training has thrown off my Saturday blogging morning schedule for the past few weeks. After my run, I'm heading to Maine. My family is holding a fundraiser for the No on 1 campaign tomorrow, so I'll be there. Carlos is staying in D.C. with Petey. But, we're all heading to Maine for the last week of the campaign to do get-out-the-vote.

The very talented Tim Beauchamp, a.k.a. cowboyneok, has provided us another of his poems for some Saturday morning zen. Check out "Puma":

Puma

Hunter... hunted
Predator... prey
It happened
in this way.
Sleek, silken skin
enticed me
I had seen you
in the jungle
before
Sinewy taut body
Way you moved
Graceful with intention
You were on
to my scent
Obsessed by your eyes
Deep brown
Impenetrable by day
at night
Blaze amber
Your soul escaping
I hunt for you
I want...
a piece of your soul
Consume the warm glow
in death's moment
Closer when pierced
by strange orchids
many times
Craving for more
essence
enlightenment
urges me
impels me
to raise my weapon
to you

-Timothy Beauchamp

Now do some threading.... Read More......

Chicago - Make Me Smile

There's something about a band that includes an awesome horn section. I know that Chicago the city isn't really American city according to the wingnuts, but heck, they do their best.

After a fantastic bike ride along the Marne (east) last weekend, this morning I'm meeting up with my biking fanatic friend to head out west. I'm still just a beginner (after a twenty plus year absence) so the 55K last week was a bit tiring but excellent fun. Today should be about 35K but with a few hills. Tomorrow is the 5K walk (or 10K run) in Paris to raise money for the breast cancer charity. Read More......

Rio 2016

What a strange series of events this week. The Olympics are practically meaningless to me thanks to the constant doping and hyper-commercialization but I can see why many find it interesting. When Paris "lost" I was thrilled because the last thing the city needed was more tourists. During the 1998 World Cup, thieves from all over were in town and everything was too crowded. Even still, it was incredible to watch the right wingers take so much glee in pounding Obama before and then celebrate after the decision to award Rio de Janeiro. It will always be about the extreme hatred for them.

All of that said, it really was a happy day for Brazil to win this event. It's hard to imagine that this is the first time the Olympics have been awarded to a Latin American country. Give credit to Lulu for winning over the IOC and advancing Brazil to this stage. It's been a few years since I was last in Brazil and I hope that the personal safety problems have been resolved but it's not as though the US is any prize in that category. Tokyo obviously would have been the winner if safety was the issue.

From the US perspective, you have to wonder about the US Olympic committee. Delivering the fourth out of four should raise questions and you wonder how much worse it would have been without Obama visiting. The Hail Mary rarely works. Another serious question that this raises is how the US treats foreigners.

Between the absurd tax that Congress is slapping on to foreign visitors and the generally horrible interrogations when arriving, maybe people don't realize what an unattractive destination the US has become. I've watched it myself and have been floored with how nasty and aggressive US immigration can be compared to other countries. I've entered around 50 countries across six continents and can say the US is near the bottom. Nobody is asking for the US to drop safety procedures, but really, entering the US is a miserable experience for many. That needs to change.

In the end, winning the Olympics may not be the end all, be all that Brazil thinks but if that's what they want, more power to them. It's nice to see a change and why not let Lula celebrate with his country? Good luck to them and hopefully the new location will give the Olympics a new boost. For now, hats off to Brazil for delivering a great pitch and energizing their country. Well done. Read More......

WTF?

Someone in Wisconsin was either clueless or funny. Maybe some of both. On Wisconsin! Read More......