Twitter thou hast become Evil

Question for the Afternoon

Okay folks, who is wackier?  Any why?

A. Ron Paul

B. Michele Bachman

C. Rick Santorum

D. Newt Gingrich

E. Mitt Romney

Extra points will be given for compelling explanations for the crazy of the candidate.

Ron Paul did not Disvow

Fifteen years ago Ron Paul did not disvow his newsletters… anyone surprised?  Anyone?  Perhaps that is the reason that few followers show up at his events for the Iowa caucus. 

In fact, there are more media at his campaign stops then actual supporters. But a small room highly covered with reporters and cameras creates the image of popularity and enthusiastic followers.

    

But that does not make Ron Paul a truly popular candidate…

That's entertainment

There's little in politics more entertaining than Newt Gingrich's belief he is an expert on all things.

“I’m an amateur paleontologist,” Gingrich said. “I spend a lot of time looking at the Earth’s temperature for a very long time. I’m a lot harder to convince than just looking at a computer model.”

Actual paleontologists, you know, those who are not just interested in dinosaurs as "Jesus Horses", strongly disagree.

Would someone have been there to ask the "Amateur Paleontologist" about evolution.

And now officially Happy New Year

Since yesterday it was made apparent that the NFL is now so strong it can systematically delay traditional New Year's Events by its very existence.

And apparently make Green Bay backup QBs millions of dollars.

Joining the cutting edge...three years after it was the cutting edge

Look who has joined the Twitterati:     Yes, and he has a lovely phone manner.  

The thing that is telling is that everything that comes out of Santorum's mouth, including the "and" and "the" is full-on nutter. But what matters to the supplier of FoxNews is that it is repeated the same way and constantly.

The other day a friend summed up this requirement of the Republican Base as suffering from the Dunning-Kruger Effect, making poor decisions and unable to recognize they are doing so.

And maybe Republicans are more prone to that problem...although it does seem an affliction of both Parties.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Go Frothy

Santorum just compared himself to a turtle...which should make you wonder about "Senator Man on Dog" but something interesting...if rather off-putting...is oozing forth:

...the four-day results don’t reflect just how quickly momentum is shifting in a race that has remained highly fluid for months. If the final two days of polling are considered separately, Santorum rises to second place, with 21 percent, pushing Paul to third, at 18 percent. Romney remains the same, at 24 percent.

Why is everything about Santorum a double-entendre?

Yeah, right

Mr. "I just call balls and strikes" but only the latter for non-businesses feels the need to defend the "honor" of his fellow travelers.

Roberts said his colleagues were jurists of "exceptional integrity and experience" whose character and fitness have been examined during a rigorous appointment and confirmation process. "We are all deeply committed to the common interest in preserving the court's vital role as an impartial tribunal governed by the rule of law," he said.

...if he doesn't say so himself.

Banned Words of 2012™: The Final Cut

I did a crappy job of updating the list throughout this year. In fact, I did a crappy job of blogging this year, too. I'm not going to bore you with excuses and explanations, though. I am, however, going to outsource at least part of the Banned Words of 2012™ list. This list is a good start, although:

(a) I would just like to point out that both Baby Bump and Amazing made our list a long time ago,
(b) I've never heard the word "Trickeration", and
(c) I am A-okay with "Occupy" (the word and the movement) staying around and thriving throughout the new year, and
(d) I would add the following:

1. Foodie (Shut up and eat.)
2. Grand Bargain (If Bob Kerrey runs for that seat we'll never hear the end of this phrase.)
3. These (Are these as ubiquitous where you live as they are here in New York?)
4. Tweet (No one cares about your Tweets.)
5. Like (You can't, like, ban, like "Like" enough, like times for me, like.)

Happy New Year, Hegemaniacs.

Banned Words of 2011™
Banned Words of 2010™
Banned Words of 2009™
Banned Words of 2008™

Reading is Fundamental: 2011 Edition

A selection of books I read this year below. Tell me what you read and and would recommend for 2012 in comments.

1. The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman




2. Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher




3. Nebraska: Stories, by Ron Hansen




4. A Drinking Life, by Pete Hamill




5. About a Boy, by Nick Hornby




6. Impatient with Desire, by Gabrielle Burton




7. My Antonia, by Willa Cather




8. The Indifferent Stars Above, by Daniel James Brown




9. Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, by Ayelet Waldman




10. On Persephone's Island: A Sicilian Journal, by Mary Taylor Simeti




11. Imagining Argentina, by Lawrence Thornton




12. David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens




13. Howards End, by E.M. Forster




14. Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer




15. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, by Helen Simonson




16. Homer and Langley, by E.L. Doctorow




17. Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson




18. Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay




19. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood




20. Open City, by Teju Cole




21. A Man Called Intrepid, by William Stevenson




22. Heliopolis, by James Scudamore




23. Mr. Peanut, by Adam Ross




24. Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class, by Owen Jones




25. The Fall of Rome & The End of Civilization, by Bryan Ward Perkins




26. Just Kids, by Patti Smith




27. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon




28. Envy: The Seven Deadly Sins, by Joseph Epstein




29. Against Love: A Polemic, by Laura Kipnis




30. The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta




31. In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson




32. Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld

"I was born a poor black child"

This mash up of a bunch of rich white guys (the balance of them upper middle class to filthy rich from the beginning) talking about their poor, deprived, childhoods is fictionally hilarious.

So, you going to move?

Rick Perry is in favor of self-disqualification:

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry said Friday he would like English to be made the national language of the United States, agreeing with a frustrated voter who railed over the presence of multiple languages in everyday American life.

Yes, kiss the ass of a bigoted Iowan who hates a Mexican Restaurants menu.

Awwwww

Is there anything more special than a new North Korean leader's first insane statement?

"On this occasion, we solemnly declare with confidence that foolish politicians around the world, including the puppet forces in South Korea, should not expect any changes from us,"

So, more shitty monster movies, fewer lights.

Sheet (metal) for Brains

I don't think so.

Thatcher was many things (many of them not good) but she was capable and sentient.

Going out to the same organ grinder tune she came in with

Yes, she's a "victim"... of her own stupidity.

Signs you are too crazy for crazy people:

Bachmann’s own Iowa chairman, state Sen. Kent Sorenson — who just hours earlier had appeared with her at a campaign event — suddenly turned up onstage at a rally for Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) and announced that he was ditching her. She fired back with an accusation that Sorenson “personally told me he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the Paul campaign.” Then came another twist: Wes Enos, Bachmann’s political director, contradicted his candidate, saying in a statement that Sorenson’s switch “was in no way financially motivated.”

Classy in any language

Oh Rupert, could your companies be any more assholish?

Fox Latin America has apologized for a poll on whether Jews killed Jesus Christ that one of its staffers put on a Facebook page promoting the National Geographic Channel's Christmas special.

What's a little slander, privacy invasion, abetting and maybe a little treason if not the cost of doing business?  

Rupert Murdoch's News International is thought to have prepared a legal fund of £100m to settle civil litigation actions brought by victims of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal ahead of a High Court showdown in the new year.

And get them settled before trial which can often be a tad messy:

High Court trials hold the potential to reveal more details of wrongdoing by NOTW and deliver further damaging publicity about the invasiveness of hacking and the distress of victims.

Oh those British doling out punishment for wrongdoing by large companies. So unbecoming of a capitalist country. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

A bunch of randy harlots

One thing about the GOP-base in Iowa, they'll sleep around...until they think they've hit the slump buster.

Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum moved to third with 16 percent of the vote, after months of campaigning in the state seeing little traction.

Santorum makes Newt Gingrich look likable and Michelle Bachmann look slightly less insane. The Obama campaign couldn't be happier.

Why not just make him a NASCAR driver

I really do think for Mitt Romney it's all about the giggles he gets when he hears the words "Supported by the Chubb Group". Mitt Romney: I'll Put Ads On Big Bird

They're neck-to-neck as they circle the drain

The latest Iowa Republican poll is out trying to predicting a the caucus, a process of people often coalescing around their second choices -- in this case, the person who hates gay people who have abortions the next most intensely.
And what does it show?

Twenty-five percent of people questioned say if the caucuses were held today, they'd most likely back Mitt Romney, with 22% saying they'd support Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. Romney's three point margin is within the poll's sampling error.

And what's more, Rick Santorum's support has tripled in the last few days, leading to a most unfortunate headline.

 I'll bet it is. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

It's not a dream

Just sitting in the airport terminal in Arizona waiting to be returned to snowless Des Moines. They have Airport CNN on, like regular CNN with less comfortable seating, the anchor just talked to two political reporters standing below the Iowa Capitol Building after comments about the lack of snow and wished them a "white caucus".

Of course, if you've ever been to a GOP caucus in Iowa, you've got yourself the whitest caucus imaginable..

Well, he and Liberace did share a tailor

Canadian performance artist Don Cherry: via here.

Gluehorses battle for 3rd Place

The latest Iowa Poll shows the caucuses will be Beyond Thunderdome.

Oh no, the worst Democrat in the Senate is leaving

The man who never met a Republican talking-point he didn't adopt, from unemployment assistance to killing the public option is retiring.

Democrats on Tuesday lamented Sen. Ben Nelson's decision to retire rather than seek a third term in Nebraska, fearing the move sets up Republicans for an easy and crucial victory in their effort to reclaim control of the chamber next year.

And somehow he jeopardizes the Democrats ability to keep the Senate...and do nothing at all with it. Oh no. If only there was a really white douchebag knight on a white steeds flaming bag of horse manure to keep the world safe for inanity?

Mission about to be accomplished. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]