Showing posts with label Palin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Palin. Show all posts

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Unsexy, Unpopular and Unflattering Political Cartoons - 3 Apr 2010

From Denny: Politics and the economy sure are wearing on people. On top of that all these new sex abuse scandals in the religious sector has people hopping mad and the cartoonists along with them.

Religious Sex Scandal Cartoons

Then there is the bombardment from the negative conservatives in this country: Conservative Republican politics joined at the hip with talk radio and flooding the airwaves with lies, deception and hate propaganda. There statistics are that 91% of talk radio is conservative hate talk and only 9% is progressive or liberal. So, who do you think is winning the war on "the hearts and minds" of the average guy? Hmmmm, a lot of weak minds out there who can't resist being programmed to believe obvious lies.

Yet with the bondage sex club scandal and other sex scandals from the national Republicans people actually are still funding these guys - to do it again! Where does the negativity, emotional stupidity and enabling end?

The same could be said of the Catholic Church. Well, at least one piece of good news in Europe. Austria is a country that has been rife with sexual abuse and pedophilia for centuries. When I visited there I certainly heard plenty from local Austrian women about how much they hated Austrian men, especially the fathers, brothers, uncles and cousins who abused them. It was shocking to hear just how much it was tolerated.

In light of the current garbage spewed out by the Catholic Church to enable the pedophile priests there is a Bishop of Vienna, Austria, who challenges that notion. He is demanding validation and healing for the abuse victims and a change of course in the Church. Well, at least one man has the courage to stand up against the establishment.

Follow him for the next few months and it will be interesting to see if he gets recalled to Rome and stripped of his authority. Hopefully, that won't happen. He represents those good priests who are doing right by their authority and looking out for the people and children. Unfortunately, Pope Benedict's arrogant refusal to purge the Church of this true perversion of goodness - which is evil by any definition - tarnishes the reputation of the quality priests doing good work.

The Pope's constant defense of "The Business" rather than attention placed upon true spiritual development is driving people away from God. What the frustrated, disappointed and angry people should be doing is walking away from organized religion that is corrupt like the current Catholic Church. These abuse charges are nothing new and have continued for centuries, helping to cause the Protestant Reformation.

Looks like the Catholic Church as we know it is now toast. On a spiritual level, the Church has already fractured and broken off. Expect the "Roman" part of Catholic Church to disappear from the title except in Italy. Things will evolve into each country's centralization of the Church, each country or continent with its own Pope. Rome as the center of the religious world to govern one billion church members is cooked. Put a fork in them because they are done. God has been trying to discipline them for the past 50 years and each time they spit on Him. When you spit on little children you are spitting on God in my book.

Moving on to President Obama's waning popularity it was to be expected with the long drawn out drama from this health care mess of which the Democrats did an horrendously bad job of selling to the public. Too much foot dragging, not enough countering of lying media and not enough factual information put out there on a continual basis as the legislation was fought. If the Democrats had any sense they would have mobilized all the liberal and progressive bloggers.

The CBS polls in regard to the President's popularity as well as other issues do tend to poll older Republican voters as opposed to fewer Democrats. The CBS demographic is elderly and older Baby Boomers. I'd like to see an NBC poll as NBC News is more female oriented and a cross section of ages. You often discover gross misrepresentation from the media when you go to read the internals of the polls - how the questions were framed. It's obvious the questions were set up to predict a particular outcome to please who was bank-rolling the poll. That fact explains why two polls about the President's popularity produced strikingly different results.

In spite of that, President Obama needs to get a grip on his weak campaign to constantly court and therefore enable the Republicans to screw over the middle class in this country. That is the heart of the anger in this country - how the Republicans so broke our government and economy and continue to defend those criminal actions that our lives continue to have surprise problems hitting us from every angle.

Now President Obama proposes extra oil drilling off American shores? Is he allowing them to go for the continental shelf? Has the Democratic Party so quickly forgotten the damage done to Louisiana, especially New Orleans, by the oil and natural gas companies? It's the very reason for the excessive flood damage from Hurricane Katrina. And now you are going to allow the same damage up and down the Atlantic coast? Are you crazy???

Oh, by the way, Mr. President, did you at least broker a good deal for the middle class from the oil companies and Wall Street to quit artificially inflating prices at the gas pump? Do you know how to play political hardball and slam back the serve to Big Business? Big Business and Wall Street are lucky I didn't become President because I would be hell on wheels with Speaker Pelosi looking like the sweetness Tooth Fairy.

Mr. President, you are simply not "leading from the front" and taking the best care of the American people. Get on the job and quit talking about an "A" game and get serious about walking the talk. And, if you don't know how to get more bills passed in the Senate, go seek out former Senator Tom Daschle who does understand. Quit allowing the tail to wag the dog, start barking and take a bite out of these nasty junkyard dogs who are killing the soul of the American people. There is no simply no excuse for the fact that Speaker Pelosi passed 291 bills and the Senate passed only one. Take care of the American people; quit talking and start doing.

The Republicans have never been the answer for America when it comes to quality of life or good government. The Democrats had better not sit down on their laurels thinking what they have done so far is enough. In my book you are still far behind the starting line without much of anything to show for your time in office.

The public is justifiably angry they have an unresponsive government, slow to react on major issues. You can't keep up a two front war and expect the public treasury to continue to bail out the economy every time. You passed weak credit card legislation and for the past 18 months the Big Banks have raped the wallets of the American people, good accounts along with the bad. Big Banks continue to take cheap money from the federal government and plunk it down on their bottom line, refusing to even fund car loans for the average person or help small businesses. Your mortgage loan relief fizzled because you did not pay attention to details and administer it correctly.

You took 15 months before you finally worked up the nerve to decide to finally fill needed government positions as recess appointments. How can you work without a government in place? What or who are you afraid of - what the whining Republicans might say? Who cares what they say about anything? They are going to lie about it every time. They have already been found in lie after lie.

Insurance companies continue to raise premiums beyond the average person's ability to pay. They even have the nerve to crow on the rooftops about how the current health care law will not set back their profits. CEOs on Wall Street continue to receive billion dollar bonuses. Where is the change, Mr. President? Where is the change?

You have no time to waste before the November elections, Mr. President. Get busy and lasso Big Business. While you are at it it's time to break up the Big Banks into smaller regional banks. If you are unwilling to break up the monopoly banks then nationalize the rat bastards because they are doing no good to the economy and no longer truly serving the people. You could also allow the smallest banks the same borrowing privileges as the current monopoly banks enjoy and you will see a lot of the middle class's issues melt away quickly. America needs positive change.






Yet more weak minds spreading violence and think it's funny:





















































Health care:





President Obama and foreign affairs:






















Senator Ted Kennedy who championed health care but did not see it pass in his life time:





The religious sex scandal mess:














NASA helping Toyota find their car problems:





U.S. Post Office in dire straits and cutting back services:





The flunking state of Education in America:





A teacher who pushed against a corrupt and lazy public educational system of low expectations and little teacher effort to graduate and develop some of the best minds in the country today:





How the average American is feeling right now:











And from our endearing beloved Vice President Biden who has a tough time minding his funny words making important moments funnier:





















Crazy Tax Season:


















President Obama's waning popularity:






And someone far less popular than the President:
















*** ALSO over at Dennys Funny Quotes blog:

Religious Sex Scandal Cartoons

Funny Marriage Quotes

Funny Surfing Peruvian Alpaca


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

GOP Sex Scandals, Republicans in a Mess, Obama Foreign Policy and Popularity Polls, Psychic Faces Beheading - News Headlines 1 Apr 2010

RNC Mailer Includes Phone Sex Number: (CBS) The bad press keeps coming for the Republican National Committee.

Fresh on the heels of a scandal over a nearly $2,000 charge to the RNC at a bondage-themed nightclub comes word that a fundraising mailer the organization sent out included a phone number leading those who called to a phone-sex line offering "live, one-on-one talk with a nasty girl who will do anything you want for just $2.99 per minute."

Politico has the story. The phone number included on the mailer is a 1-800 number that points callers to a different number offering a chance to chat with "real local students, housewives and working girls from all over the country." (You can listen to the call here; for mature ears only.)

The RNC said the situation arose because the vendor who made the mailer mistakenly used the 1-800 prefix instead of the correct 202 prefix. It did not tell Politico how many copies of the mailer were sent out.

While the phone sex number is the aspect of the mailer that will garner most of the attention, it was an isolated mistake; more pernicious in the eyes of many critics is the mailer itself, which was designed to resemble a census form.

The phone sex line was only discovered, in fact, because one of the people who received the mailer called the number to complain to the RNC about the fact that its fundraising solicitation looked like a government document.





Sarah Palin, Tony Perkins Back Away from RNC After Topless Nightclub Incident: (CBS) Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins are the latest prominent conservatives to distance themselves from the Republican National Committee in the wake of revelations the group spent nearly $2,000 at a topless, bondage-themed nightclub.

"This latest incident is another indication to me that the RNC is completely tone-deaf to the values and concerns of a large number of people from whom they seek financial support," Perkins wrote in his most recent "Washington Update" newsletter. "I've hinted at this before, but now I am saying it--don't give money to the RNC. If you want to put money into the political process, and I encourage you to do so, give directly to candidates who you know reflect your values."

Perkins, a major figure among Christian conservatives, also chastised the RNC for hiring prominent lawyer Ted Olson to represent the committee in a campaign finance case. Perkins is critical of the decision because Olson is one of the lawyers fighting to overturn Proposition 8 in California (the ballot initiative that banned gay marriage).

Meanwhile, Palin has asked the RNC to stop advertising that she will attend a RNC fundraiser at the upcoming Southern Republican Leadership Conference, according to Politico. An invitation for the event lists Palin, as well as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, as "invited speakers."

Palin "will not take part in any RNC fundraiser in New Orleans" during the SRLC, an aide told Politico, though it is unclear whether her decision is tied to the nightclub incident.

The RNC's spending gaffe has prompted other high-profile conservatives to speak out against the group, including prominent GOP donor Mark DeMoss who said on CBSNews.com's "Washington Unplugged" yesterday that the RNC "squandered... a moral authority" by spending money inappropriately.

When the news first broke of the expenditure at the topless nightclub, Penny Nance, president of the conservative public policy group Concerned Women for America, released a statement saying, "This kind of behavior is not appropriate for national leaders that our children should be able to look up to as role models, and that our daughters could be working for."

Some analysts say that the incident, coupled with other recent RNC missteps, could hurt the RNC's fundraising.

"It's seen as a reflection of an organization that's not being run well," Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC and a former Republican political operative, told Hotsheet.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, the RNC will soon have to compete for donations with a new group called American Crossroads, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The group aims to raise $52 million from wealthy Republicans and corporations for an independent campaign to help GOP candidates this November. The organization is spearheaded by former RNC Chairman Mike Duncan and former RNC co-chair Joanne Davidson, while former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie and former White House adviser Karl Rove are serving as informal advisers.





Psychic May Face Beheading in Saudi Arabia: (CBS) Lebanese TV Psychic Could Be Beheaded for Witchcraft if Saudi Leaders Don't Intervene, Lawyer Says. The lawyer of a Lebanese TV psychic who was convicted in Saudi Arabia for witchcraft said Thursday her client could be beheaded this week and urged Lebanese and Saudi leaders to help spare his life.

Attorney May al-Khansa said she learned from a judicial source that Ali Sibat is to be beheaded on Friday. She added that she does not have any official confirmation of this. Saudi judicial officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

A Lebanese official said Beirut has received no word from its embassy in Riyadh about Sibat's possible execution. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The Saudi justice system, which is based on Islamic law, does not clearly define the charge of witchcraft.

Sibat is one of scores of people reported arrested every year in the kingdom for practicing sorcery, witchcraft, black magic and fortunetelling. These practices are considered polytheism by the government in Saudi Arabia, a deeply religious Muslim country.

Later Thursday, a dozen people demonstrated near the Saudi embassy in Beirut's western neighborhood of Qureitim. Four of the men wore masks to look like executioners and carried a wooden gallows with a cloth bag hanging from it.

One of the men carried a small banner that read in Arabic: "Don't kill."

Al-Khansa said she has called upon Saudi King Abdullah to pardon Sibat, a 49-year-old father of five. She also says she is in contact with Lebanese officials about the case.

She added that Sibat did not make predictions in Saudi Arabia and was neither a Saudi citizen nor a resident in Saudi and therefore should have been deported rather than tried there...





Pentagon Throwing Money at Unlikely Allies: (CBS) $50 Million Allotted to Georgia, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia for Help in Afghanistan. The Pentagon is pouring millions of dollars into equipment and training for its smaller partner nations in the Afghanistan war, a new effort that could encourage some countries not to abandon the increasingly unpopular conflict.

The money comes from a $350 million Pentagon program designed to improve the counterterrorism operations of U.S. allies.

While the funding cannot be openly used as an enticement for NATO nations to either send troops to Afghanistan or keep them in the country, the budding initiative sends the message that those who commit to the counterinsurgency fight could be rewarded.

The U.S. is committing more troops to Afghanistan to beat back a stubborn Taliban-led insurgency - and watching in dismay as allies, including Canada and the Netherlands, look to pull troops out of the 8-year-old war or remove them from combat duties.

Roughly 87,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan now, and about 100,000 are expected to be in place by late summer...

Defense officials tell The Associated Press that the initial aid package aimed at six small countries - Georgia, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - is about $50 million and will be distributed almost equally among them...

Those six countries account for fewer than 1,300 troops in Afghanistan. Most of the money will buy equipment for those forces, the defense officials said, but troops will also receive critical instruction on how to detect and counter roadside bombs as well as other training.

"It's not bribery," said Rick Nelson, a counterterrorism expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "But at end of the day, we're asking these allies to join us and we want them to be valuable partners. And some lack the resources to be partners in ways we need them to do so..."





U.S. Sees Talks with Syria as a Priority: (CBS) Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on Thursday met with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) who is seeking to thrust Damascus's support in Middle East peace efforts in yet another sign Washington is determined to engage a country it long treated as a rough state.

Washington's ties with Damascus have been strained by Syria's three-decade alliance with Iran and U.S. allegations of meddling in the affairs of its eastern neighbor, Iraq.

Syrian support for Lebanon's Shiite group Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which rules Gaza, have also proved a stumbling block.

President Obama this year appointed a new ambassador to Damascus, ending a five-year hiatus. Washington recalled its ambassador in 2005 following the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri. The killing was widely blamed on Syria, which has roundly denied any involvement.

"Let me just say that I am convinced, and it's why I come back here, and it's why I am engaged in this effort. I am absolutely convinced that carefully calibrated diplomacy, that if that is what we engage in, that Syria will play a very important role in achieving a comprehensive peace in the region and in putting an end to the five decades of conflict that have plagued everybody in this region," Kerry told reporters after a three-hour meeting with Assad.

"That's our hope, that's our challenge, and we're committed to continue to work at it," said Kerry, who arrived earlier Wednesday from Lebanon for a two-day visit.

Kerry's visit is the latest by several American officials. He separate talks later in the day with Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Moualem. Syria is a key to the Middle East conflict because Damascus hosts the leaders of Hamas and supports Hezbollah, an anti-Israeli Shiite group. Also, Syria and Israel have been embroiled in a dispute over Shebaa Farms, a tiny, well-watered slice of land that Syria and Lebanon say is Lebanese territory that is occupied by Israel.

"Assad renewed Syria's stance for achieving just and comprehensive peace and underlined the importance of the U.S. role in support of the Turkish role in the peace process," a Presidential spokesman said, adding that the Syrian leader warned against Israel's "grave practices in the occupied Palestinian territories and from the dangers of the Jewish State's rejection of peace requirements."

A summit of Arab leaders over the weekend ruled out renewed Palestinian-Israeli peace talks unless Israel halts all settlement building, particularly in annexed Arab East Jerusalem. The U.S. has been exerting efforts and had offered a plan to launch four-month proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians. However, these efforts failed amid Israel's insistence to continue with settlement construction.

"Syria is an essential player in bringing peace and stability to the region. Both the United States and Syria have a very deep interest, a mutual interest in having a very frank exchange on any differences that may exist, but also on the many, many agreements that we have about the possibilities of peace in this region," said Kerry, who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He suggested that Washington's decision to send an ambassador to Damascus was evidence that engagement with Syria was a U.S. priority at the highest levels.





Obama on "Troublesome" Talk Radio


Harry Smith asks President Barack Obama about whether he is aware of the amount of anger directed at him over the air waves.



Watch CBS News Videos Online


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!