GOP chairman Michael “Honest Injun” Steele has called on Harry “Light-skinned Negro” Reid to resign as Senate majority leader over an idiotic comment. Talk about the pot calling the kettle … well, you know.
Category: Deep political thought
Will he or won’t he? Hey, I’ll drink to that
With Interior Secretary Ken Salazar saying thanks, but no thanks, John Hickenlooper is said to be polling slightly behind Scott McLobbyist in the Colorado gubernatorial race — even though the Denver mayor hasn’t officially entered the race yet.
That said, what’s not to like about a guy who opened a couple of brewpubs — Wynkoop in Denver and Phantom Canyon right here in Bibleburg? Would you rather have a publican running the state or some roundheeled Big Energy mouthpiece who keeps a mattress strapped to his back in case he needs to assume the position on a moment’s notice?
Meanwhile, it’s Friday and instead of bellying up to some elegant bar I’m up to my oversized keister in various labors for VeloNews — whose absentee landlords still have yet to offer me a reasonable contract for 2010, eight days into the New Year — and Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, whose management knows better than to pester me with such nonsense. Revising badly written legalese that is to freelance journalism what Shanghaiing was to naval recruitment leaves me fulminating and unfunny, qualities one does not desire in a humorist for hire.
And finally, to another matter: Any of you folks out there know much about Austin, Texas? A cycling buddy is contemplating a move there and wants the inside scoop on the joint. I haven’t been there since I was a sprout living on Randolph AFB outside San Antone, so as usual I am less than informed. Your assistance would be appreciated.
Ritter’s a quitter
Colorado’s Democratic governor, Bill Ritter, is expected to drop out of the hunt for a second term tomorrow. Did he jump, or was he pushed? This must give Repuglican Scott “McLobbyist” McInnis a boner, assuming anything can, other than a fat sheaf of greasy bills left on the nightstand by whomever he bent over for the night (or hour) before.
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper seems to be the beneficiary here, according to the prevailing political wisdom. Which, with five bucks, will get you a cup of coffee. More as it develops.
• Late update: Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) are both hitting the silk, too. Shit, I can hear Traitor Joe Lieberman rubbing one off from here.
• Even later update: In case you have any doubts about whether McLobbyist is part of the “we make our own reality” bunch, check out this from Westword’s Patricia Calhoun. Dude wants to run Colorado and doesn’t even know where it is.
Dummy of the Day
Our first Dummy of the Day for 2010 comes to us courtesy of The New York Times, in a report on the millions of Americans whose sole “income” consists of food stamps.
The NYT reported collecting income data on food-stamp recipients in 31 states, accounting for about 60 percent of the national caseload. “On average,” the NYT said, “18 percent listed cash income of zero in their most recent monthly filings. Projected over the entire caseload, that suggests six million people in households with no income. About 1.2 million are children.”
And what, pray tell, would Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.) do to solve the problem? Why, repeal all corporate and individual income taxes, payroll taxes, self-employment taxes, capital-gains taxes, estate taxes and gift taxes — and replace it with a revenue-neutral personal consumption tax, the “FairTax.”
Quoth Linder: “We’re at risk of creating an entire class of people, a subset of people, just comfortable getting by living off the government. You don’t improve the economy by paying people to sit around and not work. You improve the economy by lowering taxes so small businesses will create more jobs.”
Yeah, that’s just what Isabel Bermudez is doing. When she’s not just comfortable getting by living off the government, sitting around and not working, this victim of the housing bubble distributes résumés by the ream and supports two daughters on no cash and food stamps.
“I went from making $180,000 to relying on food stamps,” she told the NYT. “Without that government program, I wouldn’t be able to feed my children.”
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Dummy of the Day: John Linder. I hope he was better at pulling teeth out of rednecks’ jawbones than he has been at pulling his own head out of his ass.
Moe, Larry, Curly, Pete, Jim and Michele
Feh. Another in our apparently interminable series of gray days. It’s too early in winter to see all this dirty snow and ice piled up all over the place, thanks to a stretch of subfreezing temperatures. It reminds me of Weirdcliffe, only with more horses’ asses than horses.
Speaking of which, it’s fine to see the Repuglitards continuing their craven buffoonery, slavish toadying to corporations and shameless pissing in the political sandbox. If a guy has to be stuck inside, it’s nice to have some entertainment. There are more than three stooges on the national stage as 2009 limps to a close, to be sure. Just check out Kevin Drum’s capsule look at the past two weeks in politics, and don’t miss Mother Jones‘ list of “Capitol Hill’s Most Unhinged Republicans.”
The unfunny part is, of course, that some of our fellow Americans think this lot should be running the country.
Mad Blog Media 