For about 3 to 4 hours tonight, Scott Brown must have been hating Joe Sudbay

Check out the top search result in Google, for a good 3+ hours earlier this evening, when you typed in "Scott Brown," the Republican running for Kennedy's Senate seat in Massachusetts. None other than Joe's post about a Scott Brown rally attendee yelling "shove a curling iron up her butt!" about Democratic challenger Martha Coakley. That'll teach Brown to accept the support of Teabaggers and hate groups.

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Research proves that cats know how to manipulate us

In our household, Nasdaq began "talking" to us years ago to ask for a bit of attention, or sometimes an extra nibble or two. (Well OK, maybe more than just a nibble.) Sushi eventually caught on and has mastered the "crying for his life" production. When he goes at it, you could swear that his life will end in two seconds if he doesn't get whatever he wants at that very second. Anyone who has cats probably already knew that this was an effective method of manipulation. Once again, cats own us, but how can you resist such cute, fuzzy friends? Read the rest of this post...

At rally with Scott Brown, supporter yelled 'Shove a curling iron up her butt!' about Dem challenger Martha Coakley

Via Hotline On Call:

Standing on a platform in front of the truck he has often touted in his stump speech and campaign ads, Brown was in high spirits as he addressed a crowd of more than 100 supporters. The crowd responded enthusiastically as Brown made his case against AG Martha Coakley (D) -- even interrupting frequently to make Brown's case for him.

"I'll tell you what," Brown said, using a megaphone to address the crowd. "There's negative campaigning, and then there's malicious campaigning."

"She's malicious!" a man in the crowd cried out. "She's a phony!" shouted another. "Shove a curling iron up her butt!" a third man interjected a few moments later.

Shove a curling iron up her butt? For Christ sakes, who yells something like that at a political rally? That Scott Brown's got some nasty supporters.

Don't for a minute think that Brown isn't sending a sexist message here. "Malicious" is a code-word, (wink wink) hence the "curling iron" reference. Massachusetts has never elected a Democratic woman to a federal office. Never.

And, that truck of Brown's, which has become a symbol of his phony campaign, caught the attention of the President today. Last week, we learned that Brown is taking the side of the big banks by opposing the bank fee proposed by Obama last week. At a rally in Boston, Obama said Brown "decided to park his truck on Wall Street." Yes, Brown did. Blue Mass Group has coverage of the Obama/Coakley rally.

Also, Obama's "advisers" should shut up. This race isn't over. And, if Coakley does lose, there will be plenty of blame to go around -- and a lot of that blame lies in the West Wing of the White House that refused to campaign for Coakley when we already knew the race was perilously close. It's really very weak and extremely petty of the Obama "advisers" to be doing CYA spin while Coakley, her campaign and DSCC are working their asses off to overcome the anger of the electorate and deliver a victory on Tuesday. Read the rest of this post...

Ugandan Author of 'Kill Gays' Bill coming to DC for Nat'l Prayer Breakfast with Obama

Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin reported last night that David Bahati, the author of the "Kill Gays" bill is planning to attend the National Prayer Breakfast, sponsored by the Fellowship Foundation/The Family, on February 4th. President Obama is also expected to attend that breakfast.

If "The Family" wants Bahati at its event, that's their choice. Bahati's presence sends a message that his views are condoned by the event's sponsors. If he's there, Obama can't attend. It's that simple. Nor should any other member of Congress or Administration official.

More at AMERICAblog Gay. Read the rest of this post...

Scott Brown denies suggesting, on camera, that Obama was born out of wedlock

Brown's campaign just denied Brown saying exactly what he said, on camera. Here's the denial:

He doesn’t believe that. This is more desperate campaigning from Martha Coakley. When she isn’t calling for higher taxes, she’s making things up about Scott Brown.

Coakley didn't make anything up at all. Here is what Brown said:

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FBI uses photo of Spanish MP to make updated bin Laden poster

NOTE FROM JOHN: I put the FBI photo of what bin Laden might look like today, 2009, next to the photo of the Spanish member of parliament that these idiots used to create the "new" bin Laden. If I worked at airport security, I would absolutely think the Spanish MP was bin Laden, after what the FBI just did. What an incredibly stupid, negligent thing to do. Look at the hairline, they actually took his hair, exactly, and the wrinkle in his forehead.

This should make travel a lot easier for Gaspar Llamazares. BBC:

A Spanish politician has said he was shocked to find out the FBI had used his photo for a digitally-altered image showing how Osama Bin Laden might look.

Gaspar Llamazares said he would no longer feel safe travelling to the US after his hair and parts of his face appeared on a most-wanted poster.

He said the use of a real person for the mocked-up image was "shameless."

The FBI admitted a forensic artist had obtained certain facial features "from a photograph he found on the internet."

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Pat Robertson voodoo doll for sale on ebay -- proceeds to Haiti relief

This ought to really make Pat's day. One hundred percent of the sale prices will go to the Haiti relief charity.

Finally! What you've all been asking for! A one of a kind, handmade PAT ROBERSTON VOODOO DOLL.

After an exclusive deal with devil, we are finally able to bring black magic into your very own home! The lucky winner of this auction will attain the soul of Televangelist PAT ROBERTSON in a handheld figurine comprised of the finest straw, cloth, and other organic natural materials!

Ever wanted to cause Pat Robertson a massive headache? give him back pain? jab him in the crotch? Of course you have! Well then BID NOW to own your very own physical representation of the dark, dark soul of Pat Robertson.

Accessories included with the doll are Pat's very own "HOLY" BIBLE and BAG OF MONEY taken from real Americans! WOW!

Make sure you read the Q&A; at the bottom of the ebay posting, it's fabulous. Read the rest of this post...

Top Teabagger is mad: Don't call us 'an offensive sexual slur'

The teabaggers don't like being called teabaggers. Yesterday, via email, I got a press release from one of the leaders of the teabagging movement, David Webb, the "Co-Founder Tea Party 365, Inc." Webb is steamed at Senator Chuck Schumer:

The senior Senator from New York has joined the ranks of Janeane Garofalo, Bill Maher, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews in insulting Americans who exercise their rights in a Democratic manner. These stalwarts of Liberalism claim to uphold fiercely the rights of all, unless you hold a position that does not suit them. Massachusetts residents have legitimate policy concerns about Martha Coakley and a 1st Amendment Right to voice them.

Senator Schumer stated in an official email "Martha Coakley is running to fill the rest of Ted Kennedy's term, and her opponent is a far-right tea-bagger Republican." The accurate definition of "tea-bagger" or any derivation is an offensive sexual slur referring to the placement of a man's testicles on a woman's chin. One can only wonder how the women in Senator Schumer's offices, residents of New York or any woman who interacts with the Senator feel about his public and official use of such an offensive sexual slur in referring to American citizens he is elected to represent.

Who knew the teabaggers were so thin-skinned? And, I don't think Webb's definition is quite "accurate."

Samantha Jones explains it here.

This press release reads like it was inspired by Andy Cobb's teabagger video:

Of course, Webb's reaction also means we must only refer to the teabaggers as teabaggers. Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

There's really only one topic: Haiti.

George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will be on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and FOX. They'll be joined by the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Southern Command, Lt. General Ken Keen, and the head of the US Agency for International Development, Rajiv Shah.

The full lineup is here.

On the political news front, Obama will be heading to Massachusetts this afternoon to campaign for Martha Coakley. The election is Tuesday. Read the rest of this post...

Classic Santana

The video quality is poor but it's a great live edition. Read the rest of this post...

Senegal offers free land to Haitians

This is not an offer you see every day.

Senegal's octogenarian President Abdoulaye Wade told a meeting of his advisers that Haitians are the sons and daughters of Africa, because the country was founded by slaves, including some believed to have come from Senegal.

"The president is offering voluntary repatriation to any Haitian that wants to return to their origin," said Wade's spokesman Mamadou Bemba Ndiaye late Saturday following the president's announcement.

"Senegal is ready to offer them parcels of land — even an entire region. It all depends on how many Haitians come. If it's just a few individuals, then we will likely offer them housing or small pieces of land. If they come en masse we are ready to give them a region," he said.

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China's e-commerce leader strongly supports censorship

Yahoo! is making some sort of support for Google's decision to ignore the censorship laws but Yahoo! owned Alibaba calls it "reckless." Again, it's nice to see Google come around though many - myself included - remain suspicious of their recent support of a censorship-free position. State controlled censorship and other distasteful business acts such as arrests, bribes and low quality are a fact of life when doing business in China. That sounds a lot more "reckless" but what else is a leading internet business going to say in China if it wants to stay in business. Can the West finally admit that the Olympics were a sham and that they didn't change anything? This is the price that any western business will pay if they want to attempt to do business in China.

China's e-commerce giant Alibaba turned on major shareholder Yahoo Inc. on Saturday, calling the American company's support of Google in its standoff with China "reckless."

Google has promised to stop censoring its search results in China, threatening to pull out of the country altogether if it can't operate an unfiltered search engine. Yahoo has said it was "aligned" with Google's position, though it's not clear what that means.

"Alibaba Group has communicated to Yahoo! that Yahoo's statement that it is 'aligned' with the position Google took last week was reckless given the lack of facts in evidence," Alibaba spokesman John Spelich said Saturday. "Alibaba doesn't share this view."

How many other Western businesses will suddenly wake up and complain about censorship and rigged business once the bubble bursts? Read the rest of this post...