Liberal Media Bias

Posted on 04/23/2012 at 3:30 pm by JM Ashby

According to the Pew Research Center, the liberal media is completely in-the-tank for President Obama Mitt Romney.

While a friendly press in the tank for President Obama may fit nicely into the right’s narrative of liberal bias in the press, a new study from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism shows that of all the presidential candidates during this election cycle, President Obama has had the least favorable coverage by the news media. Since January, presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney has actually enjoyed twice as much positive coverage as President Obama.

The media’s interest in covering Mitt Romney more favorably than President Obama is in ratings. It’s about keeping viewers attached to their television sets. Because few people are entertained by a one-horse race.

You could say the media has turned the presidential campaign into the biggest reality show ever conceived. One which every network has a right to broadcast. And what’s a reality show without a little fake controversy and suspense?

In related news, the recent polls which gave Romney a two point lead have magically reversed themselves.

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The Troops, The Chickenhawks and How Ted Nugent Dodged the Draft

Posted on 04/23/2012 at 2:34 pm by Bob Cesca

My Monday post for The Daily Banter is up. Read and RT often.

Ted Nugent, on the other hand, is a raging chickenhawk in every sense of the word. He’s probably the worst kind of chickenhawk, actually. Not only is he loudly pro-war, but he dresses up in military garb; he criticized — and even talked about assassinating the commander-in-chief while troops are in harm’s way (reminder: conservatives have called this kind of talk unpatriotic, anti-American and treasonous); and, worst of all, he appears to have avoided the Vietnam draft on four occasions.

Continue reading…

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Mach 20

Posted on 04/23/2012 at 1:42 pm by Bob Cesca

DARPA, the makers of nightmarish herky-jerky Terminator robots, also made an unmanned vessel called the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, that traveled for 3-minutes at an astonishing Mach 20 — 20 times the speed of sound — before its skin peeled off.

That’s 13,000 miles per hour.

The flight test was conducted last August and the Pentagon just now released the results. 13,000 miles per hour.

I wonder what Yeager thought of it. Probably didn’t like the “unmanned” part.

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Another Win for Keynesian Economics

Posted on 04/23/2012 at 11:42 am by Bob Cesca

Here’s some wonk for you. Ugo Panizza and Andrea Presbitero have determined that the national debt slows economic growth — sounds like a win for fiscal conservatives and budget hawks. But the reason for the slowed growth is, yes, the budget hawks who cut spending. Suzy Khimm from Ezra’s place summarizes further:

…high debt levels aren’t directly responsible for the economic slowdowns that typically accompany them. Instead, the economy can slow because high debt often prompts policymakers to impose fiscal austerity measures that can hamper the economy, particularly one that’s already in recession.

We also have to remember that many of the current austerity-driven conservatives are only pushing for debt and deficit reduction because they’re trying to sabotage the economy and, subsequently, the president.

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Regarding the Whole Osama/Obama Thing…

Posted on 04/23/2012 at 9:23 am by Bob Cesca

In his latest item, New York Times Public Editor Arthur Brisbane asked the question, “Who is the real Barack Obama?” and wondered whether the president has been vetted enough.

Ah yes.

Is he a socialist? Is he a terrorist Manchurian Candidate? Who is this mysterious president we’ve had for nearly four years?

By the way, the infamous viral email from 2008 that started the whole Birther movement was titled, “Who is Barack Obama?”

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A Mitt Romney Flashback

Posted on 04/23/2012 at 7:17 am by Bob Cesca

Remember this?

You stay classy, Mr. Romney.

The 2008 election was insane. This one will be worse.

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Morning Awesome

Posted on 04/23/2012 at 6:00 am by Bob Cesca

Gerry Rafferty – “Baker Street”

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National Secrets

Posted on 04/22/2012 at 6:30 pm by JM Ashby


Artist – Jimmy Magulies

In other news, Governor Mitch Daniels has good advice for Mitt Romney on appealing to women and Hispanic voters.

And by “good” I mean terrible.

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War Against Women: Tennessee Edition

Posted on 04/22/2012 at 11:39 am by Bob Cesca

Harming an embryo might soon be a criminal offense in Tennessee:

Tennessee has long had a law that allowed prosecutors to charge someone for harming a “viable fetus” — defined as about the 32nd week after conception — when someone kills or assaults a pregnant woman. Last year, lawmakers expanded that definition to apply to any fetus.

Now, they’re looking to criminalize harm to embryos, the cells that are formed before a fetus develops eight weeks after conception. Proponents of the bill say it would clarify last year’s expanded fetal harm bill, but critics say it will be difficult to prosecute because some pregnancies end naturally at that stage.

Don’t hurt that embryo — unless it develops into a baby and is birthed into the world. Then it’s on its own. No healthcare, no social safety net. Nothing.

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Bad Idea Jeans

Posted on 04/22/2012 at 9:11 am by Bob Cesca

If you make assassination threats against the commander-in-chief of the U.S. military, you should probably expect that you won’t be invited to perform for the military.

After catching the Secret Service’s attention with some inflammatory remarks about President Barack Obama, Ted Nugent has been removed from a concert lineup at a prominent military base.

Fort Knox’s June 23rd concert was originally scheduled to have Nugent as the headliner. On Tuesday, Nugent said that he would be “dead or in jail by this time next year” if President Barack Obama is re-elected.” Forty-eight hours later, changes to the concert lineup were in the works.

And regarding this context, it doesn’t hurt to point out how Ted Nugent avoided the Vietnam draft. Hint: it involves meth and poop.

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Morning Awesome

Posted on 04/22/2012 at 6:00 am by Bob Cesca

Rush – “The Weapon” Live

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What Recession?

Posted on 04/21/2012 at 7:30 pm by JM Ashby


Artist – Monte Wolverton

In other news, Jeb Bush says Romney should pick Marco Rubio for VP, not him.

Of course Rubio already said he would turn down the job even if Romney personally asked him.

It’s Romney fever!

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Add Animal Poaching to the List…

Posted on 04/21/2012 at 6:25 pm by JM Ashby

…of reasons Ted Nugent belongs in a padded cell.

Nugent has settled with federal prosecutors for illegally killing a black bear in Alaska.

Activist and musician Ted Nugent has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors admitting he illegally shot and transported black bear in Southeast Alaska two years ago, according to the agreement.

Nugent, 63, launched an arrow at a black bear while on a bow-hunting trip with friends in Tongass National Forest in May 2009. Federal prosecutors say he wounded the bear, attracted to the hunters by a bait station. Nugent’s lawyer says the arrow grazed the animal and it scampered off alive.

Whether injured or merely scratched, the bear got away. Nugent shot and killed another bear four days later. Then he put the scenes on TV. [...]

Nugent and the prosecutors now agree: The second bear was shot illegally. By striking the first bear and killing the second, Nugent exceeded his bag limit for Game Management Unit 2. Transporting the illegal second bear off federal property — in a boat called the El Dorado — amounted to a misdemeanor violation of the Lacey Act, the law that prohibits the sale and transport of illegally harvested wildlife and plants, among other things.

Of course this makes him an ideal Republican spokesperson, and until Mitt Romney says more than just “both sides should be civil,” I have no qualms with attributing Nugent’s antics to the party.

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Chart of the Day

Posted on 04/21/2012 at 5:00 pm by JM Ashby

No one is donating to Mitt Romney.


(via TPM)

The unitemized donations are donations made by people like you and I who typically give anywhere from 5 to 25 dollars at a time, and they only account for roughly 13 percent of Romney’s haul.

The Obama campaign had $102 million on hand at the end of March. The Romney campaign had $10 million.

One reason, among many, for the discrepancy in total cash on-hand is the amount of money that is being poured into Karl Rove’s Crossroad PAC.

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Who Saw This Coming?

Posted on 04/21/2012 at 3:40 pm by JM Ashby

Earlier this week Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University announced that Mitt Romney would speak at this year’s commencement and, just as predicted, students at the arch-Christian academy are not unanimously in favor of the idea because they don’t consider Mormons to be “real” Christians.

Liberty University students and alumni are accusing the Christian school of violating its own teachings by asking Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose adherents are called Mormons, to deliver its 2012 commencement address.

By Friday morning, more than 700 comments had been posted on the school’s Facebook page about the Thursday announcement – a majority of them decidedly against the Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr.’s invitation, citing that the school had taught them Mormonism isn’t part of the Christian faith.

“I can’t support Romney and I am happy I decided not to walk (in the commencement) this year,” wrote student Josh Bergmann. “Liberty University should have gotten a Christian to speak not someone who practices a cult. Shame on you Liberty University.”

Janet Loeffler, a 53-year-old freshman at Liberty, expressed her anger at the decision when contacted by CNN. She also sent a copy of the page of the freshman textbook “The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics” which includes the passage, “Mormon doctrine stands in stark contrast to Jewish and Christian monotheism, which teaches that there is only one true God and that every other ‘God’ is a false god.”

This is the part where the aspiring Christians of Liberty University realize that they’ve been played by their elders who are not at all concerned about Romney’s religion.

They’re only concerned with money and power, and Mitt Romney is perhaps better suited than anyone to deliver the gospel of free-markets and white privilege. To pervert religion for the purposes of attaining more money and power.

I almost feel a shred of pity for them. Almost.

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