Green, News, Politics
Climate Bill FAIL: Democrats Abandon Crucial Carbon Tax Legislation
Travis Walter Donovan :: Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 7:31 pm
Democrats have given up on key legislation in combating climate change after a fruitless year-long struggle on Capitol Hill. While not necessarily a surprise, the resignation still comes as a huge disappointment.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that it was impossible to achieve the required 60 votes needed to pass the bill through the Senate. Republicans have vehemently opposed the proposed legislation for its cap-and-trade regulations, which would charge power plants and other major polluters a carbon tax based on their emissions. MORE »
News, Political Stuff, Politics, Twitter
WWSD? Elucidifying ‘Refudiate’: An Open Letter by Sarah Palin
Elisabeth Dickson :: Monday, July 19th, 2010 5:00 pm
My fellow liberty-loving, equality-respecting, multiple firearm-owning American patriots,
Hi there! Many of you liberal types have expressed disdainment and constervation over my usage of a certain “fake” word. I am referring, of course, to the word “refudiate,” which I used in the following Tweet: “Ground Zero mosque supporters, doesn’t it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate.” Many of you Chomsky-readin’, Lady Gaga-lovin’, cornhole-pokin’ blue staters have used this word as an opportunity to mock me, taunt me, and cast Aspergers on my intelligence. And many of you remain unsatisfied by my attempts to justificate the usage of this word when I later Tweeted that “Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. English is a living language. Got to celebrate it!” MORE »
News, Politics
Sarah Palin’s Refudiate Tweet Deeper Than Dialect
Andrew Belonsky :: Monday, July 19th, 2010 12:30 pm
Sarah Palin has been catching flack for using the word “refudiate” in a Tweet about a potential mosque at Ground Zero. For a woman with a string of gaffes, this comes across as just another of her many mistakes, and opponents are celebrating the former governor’s “stupidity.” They shouldn’t.
People should stop picking on Palin’s word choice for two reasons: first, her self-defense actually indicates a relatively intelligent reading of the English language, and, second, grammatical critiques distract from the issue at hand.
Opinion, Politics
Big Brother Gets A Little Too Real
Nick Nicoludis :: Thursday, July 8th, 2010 4:30 pm
I used to be one of those weird kids in high school that believed the government is monitoring everything everyone does. I’ve somewhat grown out of that phase, but in light of the NSA’s announcement of the “Perfect Citizen” program, old paranoid feelings are starting to rise up in me again.
The point of the Perfect Citizen (Big Brother) project is to protect America’s vital infrastructure from cyber attacks that could possibly knock out our electricity grid or nuclear power plants, but I’m still wondering what that has to do with being a perfect citizen. MORE »
News, Political Stuff, Politics, Shit Going On In The World
Julia Gillard Loves Clothes, Hates God: A Rundown of Australia’s New PM
Elisabeth Dickson :: Thursday, June 24th, 2010 4:26 pm
Julia Gillard was elected prime minister of Australia on June 24 at 9:00 AEST, twelve hours after leading a party revolt that ousted former PM Kevin Rudd from office. Gillard, 48, is the first female prime minister, as well as the first unmarried PM, in Australian history. As prime minister, Gillard pledges to cancel advertising campaigns for mining companies that are funded by taxpayers’ money, as well as pursue a shelved carbon emission trading plan that would require Australian polluters to buy permits for every ton of gas produced. MORE »
Politics
British Prime Minister Calls Voter Bigoted
Colm McAuliffe :: Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 12:00 pm
One of the most important aspects involved with being on the campaign trail is that of meeting and greeting voters. Clinton and Gore were legendary for their charm but over in Britain, the beleaguered Prime Minister Gordon Brown has taken a whole new angle on proceedings, this morning denouncing a woman he met as ‘bigoted’ with his subsequent apology only serving to fuel the debate which has claimed the gaffe as a disastrous for Labour’s hopes for re-election.
Comedy, Politics
The Abomination That Is “Right To Laugh” From Kelsey Grammer’s Right Network
Amy Rose Spiegel :: Friday, April 23rd, 2010 6:10 pm
My pal Nicodemus did a really thorough send-up of Kelsey Grammer’s boring Republican pet project, The Right Network. In it, he brought to my attention what must be one of the worst things to ever try and pass itself off as comedy. The upcoming program “Right to Laugh” will soon debut on the so-called “network,” which is online-based. It bills itself as comedy from “both sides of the aisle,” but as Nicodemus pointed out, “This show is neither funny, nor does it give perspectives from ‘both sides of the aisle’…unless that aisle runs between a Baptist Church and the RNC headquarters.” As you can imagine, it’s horrifyingly bad, as well as funny in every way except the ones the creators intended it to be. Take a look if you have a high tolerance for painfully bad jokes. MORE »
News, Opinion, Politics
Kelsey Grammer & The Right Network: Let The Slander Begin
Nick Nicoludis :: Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 4:00 pm
Major media too liberal for you? Fox News not have enough Obama bashing or staunch right-wing banter? Well, Kelsey Grammer has the solution: Right Network. The website, soon to become TV channel (most likely to be hosted on-demand or on mobile phones) boasts its ‘for the people’ stance, which really means it’s for people who even Dick Cheney would say are taking neo-conservatisim a little too far. The TV channel/website clearly tries to align itself with the sentiments of Tea Partiers across America, and Kelsey Grammer within the promo video (view after the jump) catalogs a confusing and seemingly random list of “things that just aren’t right” according to the “pro-America”, “pro-military” network. MORE »
Books, Politics
Folks, Let’s Help Glenn Beck!
Danielle Johnsen :: Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 5:39 pm
Yes, you read that correctly. I want to help the $32 Million “average joe” pick out the book cover for his latest thriller. The partiot every man talk show host will soon add political thriller novelist to his many titles with his upcoming book, titled ‘The Overton Window‘. And he needs YOU! MORE »
Politics
Barack Obama At His Snarkiest Is Still Pretty Tame
Amy Rose Spiegel :: Friday, April 9th, 2010 4:30 pm
Sarah Palin shoots her mouth off a whole hell of a lot for someone without much to say. She’s constantly taking potshots at basically every movement the President makes, most recently saying Barack Obama and his nuclear policies are akin to a schoolchild saying “Punch me in the face, and I’m not going to retaliate.” Right, because trying to make sure that nukes are used responsibly and only in times of dire need is cowardly. MORE »
Politics
“Ew, Haitian Cooties!” Bush Wipes Them Off On Clinton’s Shirt
Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 3:50 pm
The ever-gracious President Bush wipes his hand off on President Clinton’s shirt after shaking hands with a Haitian man. Really? Really.
Politics
Ann Coulter Completely Misunderstands The Meaning Of The Phrase “Hate Crime”
Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 2:45 pm
On Monday, Ann Coulter made a speaking appearance at the University of Western Ontario. At this event, she told a 17-year-old Muslim girl to “take a camel” if she didn’t already own a “flying carpet” as an alternative to more conventional air travel, which she doesn’t believe Muslims should have the right to use. Sensible, right? Uh, wrong! MORE »
Politics
When Biden Swears, Why Is It Such A Big Fucking Deal?
Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 12:55 pm
Joe Biden was probably pretty preoccupied yesterday, what with the passage of the “historic!” health care reform and all (seriously, every news source ever, can’t you think of even one other word besides ‘historic’ to describe Obamacare? Work on this, please). So it was pretty understandable when his excitement got the better of him and he accidentally used some dirty language when congratulating President Obama as he signed the bill into law. As he went to embrace Obama at the end of a celebratory speech, he murmured, “This is a big fucking deal,” and the crowd went, and continues to go, wild. MORE »
Opinion, Politics
Affordable Health Care for America Act Signed into Law
Johnny Sanford :: Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 2:00 pm
Today, President Barack Obama signed into law the most sweeping Health Care Reform bill to ever be seen in the United States. Known as the Affordable Health Care for America Act, it’s hard to tell the exact ramifications such a bill will have without reading the 2000+ page bill itself. People are divided on the issue because the mega phone has been handed to the Republicans, and they’ve used their rage to call it “socialist,” bandied about the idea that it included “death panels,” and screamed that it was being crammed down our throats. But what does the bill include? And why have 12 states decided to challenge the bill as unconstitutional?
MORE »
Politics
The Insanity of Americans
Colm McAuliffe :: Monday, March 22nd, 2010 3:43 pm
It’s very difficult for us non-Americans to fully comprehend the American health debate. How is it possible that the richest country in the world is caught up in this ridiculous state of affairs? It seems clear that many Americans have long been in favor of healthcare reform, at least in theory. Previous polls show the majority have supported extending insurance cover - until they are presented with a bill for doing so. The idea of increasing taxes and curbing benefits ensures that attitudes harden rapidly.
