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GOP Senator: Lindsey Graham Is a "Bro With No Ho"

by VenettaHeist Posted on June 11, 2015

Mother Jones

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After announcing he’d have a “rotating first lady” if elected to the White House, forever bachelor Sen. Lindsey Graham is taking some heat from fellow Republicans. But not for the reasons you might think.

“Did you see that?” Illinois Republican Sen. Mark Kirk said on Thursday, caught forever by a hot mic. “He’s going to have a rotating first lady. He’s a bro with no ho.”

Kirk’s comments, recorded by Huff Post’s Sam Stein, are relatively innocuous. What could possibly be wrong with two male Republican senators in their fifties using words like “rotating” and “ho” to describe their non-game. Compared to them, Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” looks positively respectful.

Meanwhile in the real world, Graham is “dying” for the debate on abortion rights with his push for a 20-week abortion ban. Slaying it with the ladies, Lindsey.

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GOP Senator: Lindsey Graham Is a "Bro With No Ho"

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Chuck Schumer Is Not Working the Refs Very Well

by MairaSiler Posted on June 10, 2015

Mother Jones

This is kind of fascinating:

After almost six months in the minority, Charles E. Schumer says Senate Democrats aren’t afraid to be obstructionists, detailing a strategy of blocking appropriations bills and other Republican agenda items until they get what they want….Schumer (D-N.Y.) said they are joining with President Barack Obama behind a plan to try to force Republicans to the negotiating table over everything from domestic and defense spending to highway funding and international tax reform.

….The White House-backed plan to get Republicans to support more spending for domestic programs by blocking floor consideration of appropriations bills was developed in a series of closed-door meetings held over the course of several weeks.

….To maintain their leverage, Democrats have decided to block all spending bills starting with the defense appropriations measure headed to the floor next week. Durbin told reporters on Tuesday that there is also no ruling out a blockade of program authorizations, like upcoming votes on highway funding.

It’s not the substance of Schumer’s comments that’s fascinating. By now, even the checkout clerks at the local Safeway know that Democrats plan to obstruct everything and anything. It’s time for Republicans to get a taste of their own dog food.

No, what’s fascinating is that Schumer is so open about it. As I recall, ever since 2009 Republicans have adamantly refused to ever publicly admit that this was their strategy.1 And there was sound thinking behind that. The rules of objective journalism prevent reporters from just flatly attributing something to a party unless they have a party leader on the record fessing up to it. So instead they have to tiptoe around the subject, or quote liberal activists accusing Republicans of obstructionism, or something like that. This leaves things a little fuzzy or “controversial” in a lot of people’s minds, which means they never really accept the whole obstructionism story. Hey, maybe each individual filibuster really is a matter of principle.

But if a party leader just comes out and admits it, then that’s that. No one will ever believe that Democrats are being principled because Schumer has already given the game away. Republicans were obstructionist, so we’re going to be too.

That’s a mistake. It may seem dumb to keep up a pretense that everyone knows is baloney, but there really is a reason for it. It won’t fool all the people all the time, but who cares? It will handcuff the press, and thereby fool some of the people some of the time. That’s worth a lot.

1This is why President Obama keeps talking about “working” with Republicans and “finding common ground” even though he knows perfectly well by now that this isn’t going to happen. He knows the press has to report it regardless of whether they think he really believes it. This means people see it on the news, and some of them will continue to believe that this is what he’s trying to do.2

2Which, admittedly, he is trying to do in a few special cases. But not many.

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Chuck Schumer Is Not Working the Refs Very Well

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I’m Against Easy Voting For All. Some People Just Aren’t Competent to Vote Rationally.

by EvelyneFrith Posted on June 8, 2015

Mother Jones

Ezra Klein notes today that the argument against making it easier to vote is often very simple: it’s not a good idea to make it easy to vote:

If that sounds a bit odd to you, then read Daniel Foster’s argument against Clinton’s idea, which lays the objection bare: “the people who can’t be bothered to register (as opposed to those who refuse to vote as a means of protest) are, except in unusual cases, civic idiots.” And who wants civic idiots choosing our next president?

For a rejoinder, read Slate’s Jamelle Bouie, who writes, “You get better at voting the more often you do it. Relatively uninformed voters in one election might become highly informed voters a few cycles later. More participation could make us a more engaged country.”

I have a quarrel with both sides in this argument. In a modern democracy, we don’t try to decide which voters are highly informed and thus “worthy” of voting. You can vote if you have an IQ of 200 and you can vote if you’re a nitwit. The reason is simple: the decisions of the state affect both voters equally. Everybody gets to vote because everybody has a stake in the outcome.

This is not the way it’s always been, of course. In early America only white male landowners could vote, because others were thought incapable of properly exercising the franchise. (That was the official excuse, anyway.) But even then, there was also an argument based on engagement with the state. White male landowners were thought to have a real stake in the decisions of the government, and therefore would vote their interests more intelligently.

Both those things have changed over time. Everybody is now acknowledged to be capable of voting in their interests, and everybody is now acknowledged to have a stake in what the government does. That’s the argument for making it easy for everyone to vote. It doesn’t matter if this means we’ll get more voters who don’t read National Review or can’t name the Speaker of the House. What matters is that all these voters have just as big a stake in what the government does as you or I do. And if they have a stake, we should make it easy for them to vote.

Of course, no one really cares about this. The real argument for making voting easy is that it will increase the number of Democratic-leaning voters. And the real reason for making voting hard is that it will lower the number of Democratic-leaning voters. Everyone knows this. Sadly, all the other high-minded arguments for and against are just kabuki.

As it happens, my own guess is that highly engaged voters probably vote more stupidly than people who live normal lives and don’t even know what GDP is, let alone whether it’s gone up or down under the current occupant of the White House. If I had my way, anyone who shows an actual interest in politics—all of us who read and write this blog, for example—would be deemed obviously neurotic and forbidden from voting for dog catcher, let alone president. People like us would get to rant and rave and publish op-eds, but only people who are bored by us would actually get to vote. Any objections?

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I’m Against Easy Voting For All. Some People Just Aren’t Competent to Vote Rationally.

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Yet Again, Congress Is Too Scared to Assert Its Warmaking Powers

by Eloise74Kurnfy Posted on June 4, 2015

Mother Jones

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Our Congress is really a piece of work when it comes to national security. In 2011, President Obama announced that he could go to war against Libya without congressional approval. Congress hemmed and hawed, but in the end was unable to agree to do anything about it. Two years later members of Congress were vocal about Obama’s lack of action against Syria when it was revealed that the Assad regime had been using chemical weapons. Obama eventually responded and asked Congress for approval to take military action. Congress did nothing. Now we have yet another war, this time against ISIS, and Obama asked for congressional approval months ago. Result: nothing. Members of Congress would rather be free to lambaste Obama on the campaign trail than to actually commit themselves to a strategy.

So now what? HuffPo’s Jennifer Bendery reports that Rep. Barbara Lee (D–Calif.) added a clause to the 2016 defense spending bill stating that “Congress has a constitutional duty to debate and determine whether or not to authorize the use of military force” against ISIS. It passed, but only barely. Steve Benen is acerbic:

Right. So, the Obama administration launched airstrikes in August 2014. The president called on Congress to authorize the mission in December 2014. Obama devoted part of his State of the Union address to this in January 2015. The White House even sent draft legislative language to Capitol Hill in February 2015.

And in June 2015, a committee was willing to endorse a non-binding measure that said Congress really should, someday, do something to meet its constitutional obligations.

That’s it. That’s as far as lawmakers have been willing to go.

Indeed, much the committee didn’t even want to even go this far. When Barbara Lee urged members to support her proposal, the committee chairman held a voice vote and deemed it defeated. When Lee insisted on a roll call, it passed 29 to 22, overcoming Republican opposition. (All 22 “no” votes came from GOP members.)

In other words, nearly half the committee wasn’t even willing to go this far.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Congress. Makes you proud to be an American, doesn’t it?

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Yet Again, Congress Is Too Scared to Assert Its Warmaking Powers

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Is Marco Rubio This Eccentric Billionaire’s New Pet Project?

by ChristiNTA Posted on May 26, 2015

Mother Jones

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An eccentric billionaire with a sculpted goatee and a penchant for daredevil feats, Larry Ellison isn’t quite Tony Stark, but he’s close. The founder of software giant Oracle partly inspired Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man character. And like Stark, he’s made a hobby of championing fanciful ventures. According to Politico, Ellison has found his latest challenge: getting Marco Rubio into the White House.

Ellison will hold a June 9 fundraiser for the Republican senator at his Woodside, California, estate that will feature a $2,700-per-person VIP reception and photo op with the candidate and a dinner for supporters who have raised more than $27,000 for Rubio’s presidential campaign. It’s not an official endorsement, but having the world’s fifth-richest person in his corner would be a coup for Rubio, particularly as his fellow Floridian Jeb Bush gobbles up donations from the Sunshine State’s wealthiest Republicans at a record pace. Ellison, 70, is worth an estimated $54 billion. (His income in 2013, when he was still Oracle’s CEO, broke down to about $38,000 per hour.)

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Is Marco Rubio This Eccentric Billionaire’s New Pet Project?

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Colombia considers unleashing caterpillar army to attack cocaine crops

by PiperFunnell Posted on May 22, 2015

green4us

Inside of a Dog – Alexandra Horowitz

The bestselling book that asks what dogs know and how they think. The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human. Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draws a […]

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis – Instaread

PLEASE NOTE: This is a  summary and analysis  of the book and NOT the original book.  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis   Inside this Instaread: Summary of entire book, Introduction to the important people in the book, Key Takeaways and Analysis of the Key Takeaways. […]

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Cesar Millan’s Short Guide to a Happy Dog – Cesar Millan

After more than 9 seasons as TV’s Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan has a new mission: to use his unique insights about dog psychology to create stronger, happier relationships between humans and their canine companions. Now in paperback, this inspirational and practical guide draws on thousands of training encounters around the world to present 98 essential lessons. Taken together, they will […]

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White Dwarf Issue 68: 16th May 2015 – White Dwarf

White Dwarf 68 rolls in on crushing tracks – the Kataphron battle servitors are here, dead flesh, unthinking, automaton minds, and barrel-loads of the Adeptus Mechanicus’s most destructive weaponry. We’ve got a first look in New Releases, Paint Splatter and full rules for using the Kataphron Breachers and Kataphron Destroyers in your games. Elsewhere we’ve […]

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The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of […]

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Codex: Imperial Knights (Enhanced Edition) – Games Workshop

Thundering across the battlefield, the towering walkers known as Imperial Knights scatter the foes of the Imperium with booming battle cannon shots and roaring swings of their massive chainblades. The Knights are piloted by proud and deadly warriors of ancient cultures, each one part of a noble family whose lineage can stretch back to before […]

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The Cannabis Grow Bible – Greg Green

The definitive guide to growing marijuana just got better! Greg Green’s original Cannabis Grow Bible set a new standard for handbooks on cannabis horticulture and established Green as the leading authority in the field. Green’s comprehensive and professionally presented work on how to cultivate superior cannabis struck a chord with beginner, amateur and professional growers […]

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White Dwarf Issue 67: 09th May 2015 – White Dwarf

Conqueror protocols, engaged! White Dwarf 67 strides forth like an automata of death – well, of weekly hobby goodness – but beside it the Kastelan battle robots, the real mindless machines of death and destruction. What are these relics of an age ancient even by the standards of the Imperium? We’ve got the knowledge you’re […]

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Following Atticus – Tom Ryan

After a close friend died of cancer, middle-aged, overweight, acrophobic newspaperman Tom Ryan decided to pay tribute to her in a most unorthodox manner. Ryan and his friend, miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch, would attempt to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire’s four thousand- foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. […]

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Colombia considers unleashing caterpillar army to attack cocaine crops

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This Is Actually the First Tweet @POTUS Ever Sent, Back in 2008

by MadgePiddington Posted on May 19, 2015

Mother Jones

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A social-media frenzy greeted President Barack Obama’s announcement on Monday that he had “finally” joined Twitter with a verified @POTUS Twitter account. Of course, the president has long used the official @barackobama handle, run by his political group Organizing for Action (followers: 59.3 million), with the sign-off “-bo.” But what was new, we were told, is that this account will be pure Barack Obama—a personal account, all his own. The White House says the president “launched” the @POTUS account from the Oval Office:

By the end of Monday, that tweet had been shared and favorited hundreds of thousands of times, and generated hundreds of news articles welcoming the “Tweeter-in-Chief.”

But it turns out that this is not the first tweet sent from the @POTUS Twitter account, according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. The first tweet preserved in the archive from the @POTUS account is a mysterious message about someone named “Roy”:

Who is Roy? What did he do to POTUS? Internet Archive

According to the tweet’s time stamp, it was sent on March 11, 2008. It reads: “wondering what Roy got me into now.” Twitter started in 2006. This tweet was sent while George W. Bush was still in office.

At the time, the @POTUS account only had one follower. The archive has not preserved who that solitary follower was, but @POTUS was soon to gather another three: By the end of January 2009, @POTUS was broadcasting to four followers.

But then, sometime between 2009 and September 2013, the account went silent, and was locked down to outside viewers. This message appeared in various languages across the archive’s 37 “captures” (as of Monday night). In English: “Only confirmed followers have access to @POTUS’s Tweets and complete profile.” Click the “Follow” button to send a follow request.”

Who is Roy? And what mischief did he create for @POTUS? We may never know. But in the meantime, Mother Jones has reached out to the White House with a variety of questions, including:

  1. Who owned and ran the @POTUS Twitter account prior to the White House?
  2. When did the White House come into possession of the account?
  3. Did any money change hands to get the account?
  4. Was Twitter involved in ensuring access to the account?
  5. Who is Roy?

We will update this post when we hear back.

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This Is Actually the First Tweet @POTUS Ever Sent, Back in 2008

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Obama Finally Joins Twitter

by SilkeMUXAcj Posted on May 18, 2015

Mother Jones

After years of being bound to the occasional “-bo” sign-offs on the official @barackobama Twitter account (run by his political group Organizing for Action), President Barack Obama finally got his own personal account today!

The official word from the White House informs us the new account will serve as a way for the president to “engage directly with the American people, with tweets coming exclusively from him.”

The shiny new @POTUS handle describes Obama as a “Dad, husband, and 44th President of the United States.” One probable mistake, though: He left his DM’s wide open.

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Obama Finally Joins Twitter

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This Is the Perfect Response to Fox’s Racist Theory About Michelle Obama’s Time at Princeton

by SterlinH09 Posted on May 13, 2015

Mother Jones

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Over the weekend, Michelle Obama delivered a passionate, candid commencement speech to the graduating class at Tuskegee University, Alabama, in which she addressed the daily slights of racism she has endured throughout her life. From Saturday’s ceremony:

We’ve both felt the sting of those daily slights throughout our entire lives. The folks who crossed the street in fear of their safety, the clerks who kept a close eye on us in all those department stores. The people at formal events who assumed we were the help. And those who have questioned our intelligence, our honesty, even our love of this country, and I know that these little indignities are obviously nothing compared to what folks across the country are dealing with every single day.

It was a powerful speech, and naturally, the folks at Fox News were not happy. Fox News contributor Angela McGlowan on Tuesday suggested the speech was yet another example of the White House dividing the country on issues of race, asking, “Why didn’t the first lady share the reason why she got into Princeton was probably because of Affirmative Action?”

“The reason why she became an associate at a law firm was probably because of diversity, they needed a woman—not saying that she wasn’t qualified—but they needed a woman, and a woman of color,” she said.

Comedy Central’s Larry Wilmore was not having it. In a segment on the Nightly Show, he fired back: “When a coke-snorting, alcohol-guzzling son of a CIA director DUI’s his way into Yale and ultimately into the Oval Office because his daddy’s was in both places, that’s affirmative action.”

George W., we hope you’re watching.

Watch the full segment below:

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This Is the Perfect Response to Fox’s Racist Theory About Michelle Obama’s Time at Princeton

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The Jeb Bush Adviser Who Should Scare You

by MariZssppgvc Posted on May 13, 2015

Mother Jones

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Last week, Jeb Bush, the all-but-announced GOP presidential candidate, stirred up a fuss when he privately told a group of Manhattan financiers that his top adviser on US-Israeli policy is George W. Bush. Given that Jeb has tried mightily to distance himself from his brother, whose administration used false assertions to launch the still highly unpopular Iraq War, this touting of W.—even at a behind-closed-doors session of Republican donors—seemed odd. But perhaps more noteworthy is that Jeb Bush has embraced much of his brother’s White House foreign policy team. In February, the Jeb Bush campaign released a list of 21 foreign policy advisers; 17 of them served in the George W. Bush administration. And one name stood out: Paul Wolfowitz, a top policy architect of the Iraq war—for the prospect of Wolfowitz whispering into Jeb’s ear ought to scare the bejeezus out of anyone who yearns for a rational national security policy.

Wolfowitz, who was deputy defense secretary under George W. Bush, was a prominent neocon cheerleader for the invasion of Iraq. He was also the top conspiracy theorist in the Bush-Cheney crowd. As Michael Isikoff and I reported in our our 2006 book, Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War, Wolfowitz, prior to the Iraq War, was a champion of a bizarre theory promoted by an eccentric academic named Laurie Mylroie: Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, not Islamic extremists such as Al Qaeda, was responsible for most of the world’s anti-United States terrorism.

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The Jeb Bush Adviser Who Should Scare You

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