HorsesAss.Org

2014

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Here are my blogging resolutions for 2014:

  • I’ll post more content than just “Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza” and “Drinking Liberally” this year.
  • I’ll make every effort to avoid posts about Fibonacci sequences or Taylor series expansions.
  • I’ll only blog professions of love to genuine offspring.
  • I will not use the term “cephalonomancy” in a blog post this year. Period.
  • I’ll scrap the draft about wetbacks with body parts the size of cantaloupes.
  • I won’t blog about degrees of legitimacy regarding rape or about fecundability following rape.
  • I’ll ALMOST shut down HorsesAss until Goldy agrees to getting lower internet connectivity, more limited resources, and crappier response time. Because FREEDOM!
  • I’ll avoid uncomfortable sexual posts referring to unlubricated ass-fucking or the extra-plentiful quantity of pussy I have to eat at home.
  • Oh…and I’ll avoid smoking anything while in a drunken stupor. Not even for the free munchies.
  • I won’t write about a certain co-blogger’s pteronophobia
  • I’ll refrain from commentary about dynasties, Dynasty, ducks, ducts of any sort, or even about about how to “die nasty.” Nuh-uh. Not gonna do it. Wouldn’t be prudent!
  • I’ll eschew hackneyed clichés like “hackneyed clichés” and “Happy New Year!”

(Yup…it’s another open thread.)

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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Young Turks: Edward Snowden declares, “Mission Accomplished”.

White House: Favorite GIFs of 2013.

Top ten things FAUX decided will lead to the “Wussification of America” in 2013 (via Media Matters).

Newsy: Poll finds 113th is the worst Congress ever.

Maddow: The Koch brothers now funding & “polluting” Florida State University:

Michael Brooks and Michelle Goldberg: The Right’s war on “White trash” the the poor.

Holiday Residual:

David Pakman: Obamacare signups soar.

The GOP’s most terrible Christmas gift.

Sam Seder: Why don’t we have universal health care?

Young Turks: Alan Turing is pardoned.

How the conservative media treated women in 2013 (via Media Matters).

Newsy: NSA phone metadata collection ruled unconstitutional and then ruled constitutional.

Women to watch for 2014.

Sharpton: Cartoon combatant Sarah Palin defends racist ‘Duck Dynasty’ star.

The Jibjab 2013 Year in Review.

Pontificating on the Pope:

Sam Seder: The Tea Party is just the Republican base.

Why a “do nothing” congress? Republican nutjobbers blame Obama.

Photos found from photographer killed in Mt. St. Helens blast.

Lawrence O’Donnell: The “teaching moment” in Duck-Dynasty racism and homophobia.

Matt Binder: After children die in tornado, GOP still blocks tornado shelters by cutting taxes.

David Pakman: Congress ends least productive year in recent history.

Sharpton: The “bully bridge politics” of N.J. Gov. Chris Christie.

Climate Change Chump Change:

Lawrence O’Donnell: Debate about opting out of health insurance:

Sam Seder and Cliff Schecter: A trip to the Creation Museum.

Young Turks: Tea Party happily uses poster mocking them in popular video game.

Newsy: Obama looks ahead for 2014.

David Pakman: 13 states raising minimum wage in 2014.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Troubled bridge over waters

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In recent Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganzas, I’ve posted a couple of videos discussing the growing scandal for G.O.P. “pretty boy”, Gov. Chris Christie. The scandal is about alleged political retribution that resulted in delays for, perhaps, hundreds of thousands of drivers by jamming up the George Washington Bridge.

The scandal that started out looking like “meh” (to me) seems to be getting worse by the day, and recently took another serious turn.

The question is whether this is Gov. Christie’s Katrina or merely Christie’s Benghazi. Either way, popcorn stocks should be trending upward for the foreseeable future.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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Cillizza: Who do Americans blame for the economy?

Jon: Then…who is conservative enough?

Sharpton: The Wingnutosphere’s new punching bag—pajamaboy.

2013 Remembered:

Jon on John Boehner.

Thom: Here’s the Jim Jones Kool-Aid the GOP is Serving:

Stephen reads Sen. Ted Cruz’s coloring book.

Michael Brooks: Chris Christie is the biggest political gimmick in America.

Thom: Boeing vs. Machinists.

David Pakman: Marco Rubio signs up!

Steve Kornacki : Which U.S. President had the worst 5 years ever?

Stephen on Duck Dynasty stuff (via Crooks and Liars).

Spyin’

Why divest from fossil fuels?

Mark Fiore: Jesus rebranded.

Obama holds a presser.

Jon says goodbye to John.

Thom: Are Obama haters worse than Bush haters?

Maddow: FLASHBACK to when ‘Hoosier-Daddy’ Rep. Dan Burton claimed Clinton murdered WH aid.

Top 10 Races of 2014 (continued):

Pap and Ed: Republican voter fraud witch hunt continues.

Daily Show: Hunger USA.

American Minute: Selfies and handshakes.

David Pakman: Colin Powell calls for universal health care.

White House: West Wing Week.

Immigration advocates warn of political fallout.

Winter Holiday Themes:

Sam Seder and Digby: How blogging changed progressive politics.

Pap and Ed: Republicans fear the teachings of Jesus.

Young Turks: FAUX’s Duck Dynasty Hypocrisy.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

FAUX News and voter fraud fraud

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FAUX News’ Eric Shawn engages in a bit of fraud about voter fraud yesterday in an article headlined Non-citizens caught voting in 2012 presidential election in key swing state.

The article points out that Ohio’s SOS found that “17 non-citizens illegally cast ballots in the 2012 presidential election,” and then claims that “[t]he alleged crime would be a notable case of voter fraud in a key swing state.”

Oooohhh…17 votes in a key swing state! That must be bad.

Or not. First, calling isolated cases of illegal votes by individuals “voter fraud” is bullshit.

The term “fraud” suggests an illegal act designed to ensure a particular election result. An individual has almost no chance of ever changing the outcome of an election with an illegal vote. Doing so requires: (1) a perfect 50-50 “legitimate” election outcome, (2) casting an illegal (and, therefore, decisive) vote, and (3) not getting caught. The first is exceedingly unlikely in any election, the last becomes decreasingly likely as the outcome approaches a tie—because of recounts and the scrutiny that comes with legal challenges to a close election.

The term “election fraud” should be limited to cases where multiple illegal votes are cast, and unless it is an election official manipulating the election machinery, election fraud by illegal votes would typically require cooperation among a fairly large group of people. With a large enough conspiracy, an election could, potentially, be swayed—but the chances of the conspiracy being uncovered also goes up with the number of people involved.

The FAUX News article goes on to state, “President Obama beat Mitt Romney in Ohio by just 2 percentage points in November 2012.” Oh. My. God. Clearly, those 17 votes were important.

Slate’s David Weigel points out the REAL fraud going on here:

Did you catch that, how Shawn pivoted from the number of total votes to the percentage of votes? Why would he do that? Without reading his mind, I’d guess it’s because the actual Ohio margin between Obama and Romney last year was 166,272 votes, and Shawn wants to keep his readers as ignorant as posssible. Seventeen votes represents 0.0003 percent of the total of ballots cast for either Obama or Romney in the state, and 0.01 percent of the margin.

Reporters who are brighter and less dishonest than Shawn have come away from the Husted data with a different take. There was, according to [Ohio SOS Jon] Husted, no plot to steal votes or fake votes in the 2012 election. The noncitizens who voted had driver’s licenses, so basic voter ID laws wouldn’t have stopped them.

The voter fraud illusion continues with a favorite slight of hand used by the voter fraud alarmists: a switch away from illegal or fraudulent votes to messiness in the voter rolls.

Husted also found that 274 non-citizens remain on the voting rolls.
[…]

As part of Ohio’s efforts to clean up the voting rolls, election officials discovered that more than 257,000 dead people were still listed as active voters.

In addition, election authorities note they have drastically reduced the number of duplicate registrations, from 340,000 in 2011 to just four this past November — and that more than 370,000 Ohio voters who have moved have been contacted to update their voting information.

It doesn’t seem like much of a conspiracy that 257,000 dead people have failed to remove themselves from the voter rolls. What about the duplicate registrations and the ones where voters have moved and not updated their registration?

Here is a relevant anecdote. Some of you may remember “Mr. Cynical” who dumped his little nuggets of wisdom in the HA comment threads for many years. Mr. Cynical was deeply “concerned” about voter fraud in Washington. I know who Mr. Cynical is and where he used to live in Washington state. Even two years ago—several years after he moved out of state—Mr. Cynical was still listed on the voter roll in the Washington county in which he no longer resided. Apparently HA’s own voter fraud concern troll was engaging in a little election FRAUD!!!11!1!!

Or maybe not. I used to check his registration periodically to see if he actually voted. He didn’t. It seems he simply forgot to cancel his registration in Washington until he became an “inactive voter” and was eventually purged.

I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of those duplicate and “moved” registrations result from the “nefarious” act of people forgetting to cancel their registration when moving.

If only there was some way of automating the process of transferring voter registration for voters who move. In fact, there is.

The National Voter Registration Act, enacted in 1993, has a provision that requires state’s license registration agencies to forward license address changes to county election boards in order to keep their voter roles clean. So, at least, moves within the state should be cleaned quickly.

Ohio was a bit sluggish in compliance with the law:

This month [May, 2013], the [Ohio] secretary of state’s office began distributing change of address information from driving records to county boards of elections at least twice a week. That information can then be used by the county boards to update addresses for registered voters.

Effectively sharing that data is a component of the voter registration act. Despite being law since 1993, Ohio was not in compliance with that requirement.

Much of the messiness in the Ohio voter roles is a consequence of taking 20 years to comply with the National Voter Registration Act.

Rather than pointing this out, FAUX News uses the numbers to insinuate a sense of chaos in our electoral process. To my mind, that make them co-conspirators in Karl Rove’s voter fraud fraud.

Drinking Liberally — Seattle

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DLBottleTonight is our last meeting of the year, so please join us for a pint of wassial or ale at this holiday edition of the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally. We won’t be meeting for the following two Tuesdays (Christmas eve and New Years eve).

We meet tonight and every Tuesday evening (well…with a few holiday exceptions) at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Our normal starting time is 8:00pm.






Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out one of the other DL meetings over the next week.

Tonight the Tri-Cities and Shelton chapters also meet. The Lakewood and South Seattle chapters meets this Wednesday. For Thursday, the Spokane and Tacoma chapters meet.

With 212 chapters of Living Liberally, including eighteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting near you.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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Sugar’s sweet (and bipartisan) subsidy.

The Handshake Heard around the Wingnutosphere:

Top 10 races for 2014:

The Republican’s 12 Days of Congress.

Stephen: Walmart and college graduates.

Mark Fiore: I’m an internet company, I’m the government.

The Baby Bargain:

Absurdity Today: This BAD SANTA leaves lumps of coal in your lung instead of your stocking..

Young Turks: Plane crash launches new Birfer conspiracy theories.

Ask the White House: Immigration Reform.

David Pakman: Mostly White people show up at Rand Paul’s event for Black people.

Remembering Mandela:

An inside look at the Washington Governor’s mansion.

WA bar owner will sue state if patrons not allowed to smoke cannabis in members only room.

Mental Floss: 26 interesting facts about beer.

Holiday tour of the Washington Governor’s Mansion.

The rap spoof video that pisses off Karl Rove.

The politics of landing Boeing.

Cillizza: The gun bill loophole you need to know about.

Ann Telnaes: McCain compares Obama to Chamberlain.

More Skirmishes in the War on the War on Christmas™:

Chris Christie’s bridge scandal explained.

Yes…the bipartisan campaign that rocked Washington.

Young Turks: Satan is causing trouble in Oklahoma.

Maddow: Senate Republicans engage in 4 days of obstructionism:

Stephen: Huckabee’s 12 days of ObamaCare (via Crooks and Liars).

This Week in the Republican War on Women™:

Sharpton: The Republican Grinches who are stealing Christmas.

White House: West Wing Week.

Young Turks: Elian Gonzalez grows up…and Cenk tells an AWESOME story.

Pap and Sam Seder: The unrelenting war on the poor.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

UW President Michael Young is an Embezzler

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UW President Michael Young just got a raise to $570,000 . But, under his hiring agreement, he would receive an additional million in “deferred compensation” if he stays through 2016.

Presumably, all this compensation is based on Young’s “fitness” to serve the lofty role as a University President. In creating that contract, the Board of Regents inherently expressed a belief that Young has the temperament, wisdom, and values to lead the state’s premier institution of higher learning—to serve as the state’s intellectual commander-in-chief, if you will.

But given his recent public statement, it’s a façade. Rather than serving as a thoughtful steward of our state’s intellectual life, he has succumb to FOX News style truth-is-whatever-makes-me-feel-redeemed punditry.

And that makes him an embezzler—after millions of our tax dollars.

I know, I know, that doesn’t sound like he is an embezzler in the classic sense. I mean, it’s not like he is actually stealing money he isn’t entitled to. And, granted, he really does have a contract for his salary. But hear me out….

You see, I used to believe that accuracy and truthfulness in describing things like “embezzler” were an important part of being a writer, thinker, and all-around good citizen. But, I’ve recently learned that intellectual honesty isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve learned that sometimes it is okay to be incendiary to get people’s attention.

Where did I learn how to avoid being encumbered by truth? Why…from President Young, himself!

Last week, Young claimed that Washington State’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) plan is “a strange program—a Ponzi scheme, essentially.” (ST link).

The statement is entirely inaccurate. GET is nothing at all like a Ponzi scheme. Calling it a Ponzi scheme defies the actual definition of a Ponzi scheme.

Such a statement coming from the U.W. President is absolutely stunning! Is it now okay for a University President to, essentially, lie to the citizens of the state. Is it moral for Young to belittle 150,000 families by suggesting they have invested in “vaporware” for their children that is really just the opposite (i.e. guaranteed)? Is it right for a University President to besmirch a functioning program that is the only sure financial path to a college education for many middle class Washington families?

Through a spokesperson we learn that Young’s use of “Ponzi scheme” is “a handy quip to explain what he perceives as the financial fragility of the GET program.”

The Seattle Times’ columnist Danny Westneat takes Young to task over his misleading words:

“No, GET is not like a Ponzi scheme, not at all,” said state Treasurer Jim McIntire, when I asked him about Young’s comment. “I would hope that what was going on here is that he misspoke.”

GET, or Guaranteed Education Tuition, is factually not like a Ponzi scheme, except in the most superficial ways. For starters, it’s an open book. Last month it got an “A” risk rating from the state actuary. It has $2.5 billion invested, in federal bonds and equity funds, that last year returned a healthy 16 percent.

Westneat’s “most superficial way” is, essentially, that there is investment and, therefore, risk—you know, like any insurance program, any retirement plan, loans, layaway, venture capital, real estate purchases, or even just investing in a college education. They’re all fuckin Ponzi schemes because someone is taking some kind of risk. Hell…by this definition even Young invested in a Ponzi scheme when he agreed to deferred compensation, because there is some chance he will not last until 2016. Man…what a gullible bozo to fall for that old Ponzi scheme!

But to be fair, we should hear Young’s side of the story. Westneat to the rescue:

“It’s incendiary, I admit,” Young said when I called him. “But this can be a real go-along to get-along community. You have to be a little incendiary around here to get people’s attention.”

Young said the GET program, because it’s a defined-benefit plan (it pledges to pay no matter what happens to the investments), is a ticking time bomb. He compared it to Detroit going bankrupt in part due to its crippling defined-benefit pensions.

“It’s 100 percent predictable that this is going to go south,” Young said. “It might be fine now, but let’s have this conversation six years from now. It’s going to need an infusion of capital to prop it up.”

That’s not what the state actuary predicts. But I can’t say who’s right.

I see…it’s because Detroit. Nevermind that there are 20,000 cities in the U.S. and the vast majority have not been crippled by defined-benefits pensions. There is a reason that Detroit went bankrupt, and the root cause isn’t the pension obligations!

So, that’s why I can say he is an embezzler. Not because he has stolen any money. He’s fine right now but, hey, let’s have this conversation two years from now. I’m just sayin’. And, it’s okay to be “just sayin’” in an incendiary way, because I’m just trying to get people’s attention. Think of it as a handy quip to point out the fragile position that Young put himself and the University in.

Thanks to President Young, truth be damned, we can all behave like FOX News pundits!

Drinking Liberally — Seattle

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DLBottlePlease join us this evening for some politics over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet tonight and every Tuesday evening at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Our normal starting time is 8:00pm.




Can’t make it tonight? Check out another Washington state DL over the next week.

The Tri-Cities, Bellingham, and Vancouver, WA chapters also meet this evening. On Thursday the Bremerton chapter meets. The Centralia chapter meets on Friday. And next Monday, the Aberdeen, Yakima and Olympia chapters meet.

With 212 chapters of Living Liberally, including eighteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting near you.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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Cillizza: Obama speech looks past policy to legacy.

Ann Telnaes: Boehner thinks the House is working hard.

Where hate and love come together: Westboro Mingle:

Sam Seder: Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) “This Christmas give the gift of me to your children.

Remembering Nelson Mandela:

Moment of Clarity: Fracking, wooden tables.

An anthem for the end of Hannukah.

Ann Telnaes: Cardinal Dolan thinks gay marriage is about marketing.

Jon: Minimum wage debate.

American Moment: On climate change.

G.O.P. Autopsy, Obstruction, Lying and Denial:

Kimmel: Is George W. Bush losing it?

Random Rush: “ObamaCare is forcing people to get divorced!!!!!!

Rob Ford…The Movie.

Young Turks: Driving while Black…with a White girl.

Nia-Malika Henderson: Women left behind in the economic recovery.

Drone Nation:

Stephen interviews Denver Post’s pot editor.

Daily Show: Why the media is ignoring Wall Street scandal.

Rep Jim McDermott (D-WA-07) explains ObamaCare and why it’s so important.

Thom: ALEC’s 2014 extreme agenda exposed.

Moment of Clarity: Why you are a slave.

Pope Commie!

White House: West Wing Week.

Sam Seder: Bill-O the Clown defends us against the War on Christmas.

Mental Floss: 30 game changing video games.

Roy Zimmerman: Notes from the road

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Drinking Liberally — Seattle

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DLBottlePlease join us this evening for a round of political prognostication over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

We meet tonight and every Tuesday evening at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Our normal starting time is 8:00pm.




Can’t make it tonight? Check out another Washington state DL over the next week.

The Tri-Cities chapter also meets tonight, and every Tuesday night. The Lakewood chapter meets this Wednesday. For Thursday, the Spokane and Tacoma chapters meet. And on Friday, the Enumclaw chapter meets.

With 212 chapters of Living Liberally, including eighteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and three more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting near you.

Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza!

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Zina Saunders: Factory farm super bugs.

Pap: wealthy CEOs fighting retirement benefits.

The lost SNL audition tapes.

Obama: Immigration reform.

The Horrors of Affordable Health Care for Everyone:

Chris Hayes: FAUX News’ racist ‘Knock-Out Game’ fear mongering & stereotyping.

Dennis Trainor, Jr: Going postal to save the post office.

Lawrence O’Donnell: Palin’s & O’Reilly’s sorry explanation of Obama’s “socialism”.

The Seattle divestment forum.

Maddow: Billionaires’ bad day as new rules rein in nonprofits (via Crooks and Liars).

Thom: Will Republican treason take down Obama?

Holy Economics:

The Rob Ford calendar.

Red State Update: Podcast 54.

Young Turks: Domestic oil production up 50% under Obama.

Pap: McDonalds offers financial advice for underpaid employees.

Georgia court lists “slave” as possible occupation on website.

This Week in the Republican War on Women™:

White House: West Wing Week.

Greenman: Rhymes with Smokey Joe.

Thom and Pap: The Media’s war on Obama.

Obama: The economy.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Preparation for self-failure

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Republican anarchists didn’t like everything about the shutdown they forced last October. No…it wasn’t the fact that important things like food and aviation safety programs were put on hold. It wasn’t that poor people were going hungry or that “essential” government employees were working but not receiving their paychecks. It wasn’t that untold numbers of applications, hearings, meetings, consultations, and enforcement actions were delayed, sometimes causing damage beyond repair. It wasn’t that scientific research and medical trials were being harmed (sometimes irreparably). It wasn’t that the taxpayers paid for, and lost two, weeks of productivity from millions of government employees.

It wasn’t the $24 billion in damage they caused to the U.S. economy. Oh, well.

Nope…it wasn’t about any of that. It was because…Veterans. And national parks.

“Why were veterans turned away from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial?” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., asked Wednesday….

“Why were members of the Americans’ finest generation in their 80s and 90s turned away and told they could not visit what would be undoubtedly in many cases their last time at those monuments?” Issa asked. “Why were private businesses and nonprofits operating near park land shuttered?”

Because YOU SHUT DOWN THE GOVERNMENT, you stupid fuck!

Republicans were caught unawares. And then, even with their best efforts, they were unsuccessful in shifting the blame of their own obstructionism to the Black guy in the White House.

What to do for the next government shutdown that could happen again after January 15th? Plan ahead!

The Provide Access and Retain Continuity (PARC) Act, which has 17 Republican co-sponsors, would allow states to keep national parks operating in the event of another shutdown and would make them eligible for reimbursement by the federal government. (During the shutdown, six states entered into a similar agreement.)

That’s right…Republicans are now planning for their own failure to govern. “Screw all the other negative consequences…we want our shutdowns to be less politically painful.”

Bruce Sheaffer, Comptroller of the National Park Service, isn’t having it. He delivered a solid smackdown to G.O.P. obstructionists:

We have a great deal of sympathy for the businesses and communities that experienced a disruption of activity and loss of revenue during last month’s government shutdown and that stand to lose more if there is another funding lapse in the future. However, rather than only protecting certain narrow sectors of the economy…from the effects of a government shutdown in the future, Congress should protect all sectors of the economy by enacting appropriations on time, so as to avoid any future shutdowns.

[…]

[Planning for failure] “is not a responsible alternative to simply making the political commitment to provide appropriations for all the vital functions the federal government performs.”

In other words…DO YOUR DAMN JOB!

Fucking assholes.

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