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First Amendment Follies

Jen Sorensen
© Jen Sorensen

Hey you, citizen, shut up!

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Late Night Political Humor

“Tonight is our 100th episode. To celebrate, people sent us flowers and a big cake – which I immediately passed on to Rob Ford and Chris Christie. We couldn’t have done it without them.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Of course, we’re not the only ones celebrating. President Obama turned 53 years old today. Obama blew out his candles and made a wish. But when he opened his eyes, he was still president.” – Jimmy Fallon

“It is our president’s birthday. It’s also the birthday of NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon. Jeff Gordon and President Obama are very different, of course. One’s a guy who spent his whole life turning left and is hated by NASCAR fans. And the other one? Jeff Gordon.” – Craig Ferguson

“Happy birthday to President Obama. He turned 53 today, if you believe the birth certificate.” – Seth Meyers

“Happy birthday to President Obama. He turned 53 today, according to his birth certificate. The truth is he’s actually 55 years old but Congress blocked his last two birthdays.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“President Obama is turning 53 while his face and hair are turning 68. Congratulations to all three of them.” – Seth Meyers

“Tonight President Obama blew out the candles on the gluten-free broccoli and carrot loaf from Michelle, and then cried himself to sleep. She did let him smell a piece of cake.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“Congress wanted to surprise President Obama on his birthday so they passed a bill.” – Seth Meyers

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Spotty Posts

I’ll be on the road for a week, so posts might be a bit spotty. Get out and enjoy the last month of summer!

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Late Night Political Humor

“Yesterday the House of Representatives voted to sue President Obama for abusing his executive powers. Experts are calling this a meaningless political stunt that’s a huge waste of taxpayer money, while Congress is saying, ‘Yep. That’s what we do.'” – Jimmy Fallon

“The House voted 225-201 to sue President Obama. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Congress actually passed something.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Congress is now getting ready to take a month off. From what?” – David Letterman

“Congress will take the whole month of August off. From what, exactly, I don’t know.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“Today marks the last day before Congress takes its summer recess. They’re taking five weeks off. Five weeks. I hope they can get used to doing nothing.” – Seth Meyers

“When Congress adjourns for the summer. It’s a tradition that dates back to a time when Congress actually did things.” – Bill Maher

“Members of Congress need to recharge their batteries for another year of gridlock.” – David Letterman

“Congress is about to head off on their August recess, which seems appropriate. Adults go on vacation, children go on recess.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“Sometimes you wonder about these guys in Congress. Are they there at all?” – David Letterman

“A new study says that Republicans are more religious than Democrats. But I don’t think that includes President Obama praying every day for his term to end.” – David Letterman

“Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told reporters that despite her age she does not plan on retiring and is likely to remain on the court for a while – after which she was immediately traded to the New York Knicks.” – Seth Meyers

“North Korea has opened a summer camp where kids from around the world can swim, play volleyball, and learn about the country’s culture. It’s the first camp in history where kids tell ghost stories to feel safer.” – Jimmy Fallon

“I read that PETA is now saying they’ll pay off people’s water bills if they agree to go vegan for 30 days. Or in other words, you can get PETA to pay off your water bill if you can lie for 30 days.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is facing criticism for accidentally showing the phone numbers of his supporters in a new campaign commercial. In response, people said, ‘No biggie — I gave him a fake number, anyway.'” – Jimmy Fallon

“Right now, available only in San Francisco, is an app where you can get marijuana delivered right to your door. Whoever pairs this with a pizza delivery app probably will get the Nobel Prize.” – Jimmy Kimmel

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How’s that Working Out for Ya, Kansas?

In 2010, former ultra-conservative Senator Sam Brownback was elected governor of Kansas. Then, with massive help from the Koch brothers (who are headquartered in Wichita), he engineered a Tea Party takeover of the legislature, which became the most conservative state legislature in the nation by purging virtually all of their moderate Republicans (the Democrats having been long vanquished).

With hard right conservatives in full political control of the state (and declaring that the reason that the GOP lost the presidency in 2012 was because Romney and the Republicans were not conservative enough), they implemented the right-wing experiment to end all experiments. The GOP may have been unable to push their agenda at the national level, but, by God, they were going to show what they could do to establish their conservative utopia in Kansas!

So what happens when the right-wing conservative fringe gets complete, unfettered control to try things their way?

They did exactly what hard-line social conservatives have been saying they wanted to do: they slashed funding for education by the largest amount in the state’s history (including eliminating arts programs entirely), and waged war against teacher’s unions. They privatized Medicaid and refused the ACA Medicaid expansion, leaving a large swath of the poor without health insurance. They defunded Planned Parenthood and enacted one of the strongest anti-abortion laws in the country (declaring that life begins at fertilization, and requiring doctors to warn their patients that abortions can lead to breast cancer, which is false).

Brownback welcomed religion into the state government, even writing the words “JESUS + Mary” at the top of the anti-abortion bill when he signed it. They passed gun laws that declared that Kansas did not have to observe federal gun laws under its “sovereign” status, prohibited all county and city governments from regulating firearms and ammunition, and allowing schools to arm teachers and principals.

And they also did exactly what hard-line fiscal conservatives have been saying they wanted to do: They cut taxes. Well, they cut taxes for the rich, and actually raised taxes for the poorest 20%. Brownback hired Arthur Laffer as a consultant on tax policy (you may recall Laffer as Reagan’s lead proponent of supply-side, trickle down economics, now discredited). The legislature then passed a state budget that even many Republicans balked at because it was too austere, which converted a previous $500 million budget surplus into a stunning $267 million deficit (state governments cannot run a budget deficit, unlike the federal government).

Laffer told more than 200 people at a small-business forum in Kansas that there is a war among states over tax policy and that nowhere is that revolution more powerful than in Kansas. He said Kansas’ tax cuts and political shifts will produce “enormous prosperity” for the state.

So how are things going so far? Did the Koch brother’s libertarian dream pan out?

Well, the draconian spending cuts inhibited growth in the state. While other states have recovered from the Bush recession, the Kansas economy has lagged behind. In May, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the bond rating for both the state and for its transportation department, citing “Kansas’ relatively sluggish recovery compared with its peers” and worrying about “an underfunded retirement system for which the state is not making required contributions.”

Not surprisingly, Brownback’s approval rating is so low he is in grave danger of losing re-election. Recently, more than 100 Republicans endorsed Brownback’s Democratic opponent for the governor’s seat, even though mass defections like this are rare in state politics.

Kansas is just the latest victim of the triumph of ideology over reality. Will we ever learn?

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The cure is worse than the disease

Adam Zyglis
© Adam Zyglis

The Republicans have still not given us their promised alternative to Obamacare. And it is very unlikely they ever will. In fact, I think about the only thing they have consistently promoted that is not already in the ACA is tort reform, which they claim will lower the cost of malpractice insurance to doctors by reducing frivolous lawsuits. Oh the hypocrisy.

UPDATE: Jon Stewart makes the same point:

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Late Night Political Humor

“In Washington the House passed a bill today to go forward with a lawsuit against President Obama. Who says Congress can’t get anything done? They’re suing the president.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“President Obama is facing repeated calls for his impeachment because of the immigration crisis at the border. But yesterday House Speaker John Boehner said that in fact Republicans have no plans to impeach the president. Which got weird when Obama was like, ‘Damn’.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Boehner said Republicans have no plans to impeach President Obama. They were like, ‘We’re too busy trying to figure out how to impeach Hillary.” – Jimmy Fallon

“That lawsuit against the president is ridiculous – unless they do the trial on ‘Judge Judy’. Then I’m all for it.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“The FBI has captured a man accused of sending over 500 letters filled with white powder to President Obama. The FBI said he was a disillusioned middle-aged man who felt beaten down and powerless at work, and the guy who sent the letters was kind of a mess, too.” – Seth Meyers

“The New York Times published an editorial calling on the federal government to legalize recreational marijuana. They don’t really care about weed, it’s just the only way they can keep selling papers.” – Jimmy Fallon

“The New York Times published its first of a six-part series that calls for federal legalization of marijuana. You remember newspapers, those things we used to read before BuzzFeed asked us which sandwich we were.” – Jimmy Kimmel

“The New York Times came out in favor of marijuana legalization. Apparently, someone told them that marijuana users are really into ‘buying papers’.” – Seth Meyers

“The Times said the government should legalize marijuana because the current laws against weed are useless and outdated. Then they said, ‘You know, like a newspaper.'” – Jimmy Fallon

“The Times editorial board argued, after weighing the pros and cons, that the scale tips in favor of legalizing marijuana nationwide. You know how long it’s going to take people to finish The New York Times crossword puzzle NOW?” – Jimmy Kimmel

“The TSA is offering a $5,000 reward for the best idea on how to speed up airport security lines. So far the best idea is making a line for people who know what they’re doing and another line for people who have never been to an airport before.” – Jimmy Fallon

“I have always been a huge fan of Sarah Palin. She’s a strong leader with a proven history of selflessness. I mean, in the midst of her 2008 campaign, she took the time to help out a struggling senior with severely impaired judgment.” – Stephen Colbert

“The Times is reporting that Montana Sen. John Walsh plagiarized at least 25 percent of his master’s thesis in grad school. Walsh totally denies it and said, ‘I am not a crook’,” and ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.'” – Jimmy Fallon

“It’s Arnold Schwarzenegger’s birthday. Arnold celebrated quietly at home with his friends and his families.” – Craig Ferguson

“According to the Centers for Disease Control, the largest single transmission of deadly germs is a handshake. You’re lucky, because the most popular form of greeting here in New York is the middle finger.” – David Letterman

“Supporters of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have released a new font in the style of his handwriting. Although I’m surprised he wrote anything by hand since he was so used to dictating.” – Seth Meyers

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Guns N Roses

US District Judge Myron Thompson ruled yesterday that a 2013 Alabama state abortion clinic law is unconstitutional. Thompson ruled that the law’s requirement that abortion doctors have admitting privileges at hospitals in the same metropolitan area where they do abortions is an undue burden on womens’ right to abortions, because it would force the closing of three of the five clinics in the state, leaving only the clinics in Huntsville and Tuscaloosa.

But the best part is that the judge’s opinion made a brilliant analogy that is sure to piss off conservatives: Suppose the state or federal government passed a new restriction on who could sell firearms, and it resulted in only two vendors being able to stay in business, one in Huntsville and one in Tuscaloosa. “The defenders of this law would be called upon to do a heck of a lot of explaining – and rightly so in the face of an effect so severe. Similarly, in this case, so long as the Supreme Court continues to recognize a constitutional right to choose to terminate a pregnancy, any regulation that would, in effect, restrict the exercise of that right to only Huntsville and Tuscaloosa should be subject to the same skepticism.”

If you want to see how much this pisses off conservatives, read the comments on the article linked at the top of this post.

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Late Night Political Humor

“U.S. intelligence now says that the Malaysian flight was definitely taken down by Russian separatists. But those Russians, they stick with that Soviet propaganda shit. Putin said today ‘no, it’s because one of the passengers turned on their cell phones. Either that or Pussy Riot shot it down.'” – Bill Maher

“There’s a twelve hour cease fire in the Middle East; otherwise known as reloading.” – Bill Maher

“The Palestinian leaders have called for a Day of Rage. In Los Angeles we also have a day of rage; that is when you’re trying to drive when Obama is in town.” – Bill Maher

“But you know what? Hollywood liberals, they are still crazy in love with him. Even when his motorcade turns the freeway into a parking lot, they’re like, ‘That was the most inspirational traffic jam ever. The way all the cars came together…'” – Bill Maher

“They are really debating the firing squad right now. Of course there are a lot of people on the other side who say this is cruel and unusual. Cruel and unusual? This is America. What’s more usual than getting shot?” –Bill Maher (on the debate over the death penalty and botched executions)

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Business is Booming

Ted Rall
© Ted Rall

Despite the economic recovery, 35% of Americans have debts and unpaid bills that have been reported to collections agencies. That’s because most of the recovery has been funneled to the richest. But at least there is one business that is booming.

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Benghazi!

The House Intelligence Committee, which is led by Republicans, has concluded that there was no deliberate wrongdoing by the Obama administration in the 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

So, does anyone believe that Fox News will actually shut up about Benghazi now?

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Late Night Political Humor

“Yesterday, a judge said that Obamacare is an acceptable substitute for state-run health insurance. He actually said that, ‘It’s just like Domino’s being a substitute for Pizza Hut.’ Then, Americans said, ‘Well, either way, it’s taken you guys way longer than 30 minutes to deliver it, so give us our free healthcare.'” – Jimmy Fallon

“A judge wrote an opinion today in favor of Obamacare, saying that getting healthcare from the state or federal government is the same as ordering from Pizza Hut vs. Domino’s. I’m not sure I agree. THEIR websites always worked.” – Seth Meyers

“Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced plans to send 1,000 National Guard troops to increase security. If you really want to slow down the flow of illegal immigrants, send the TSA.” – Seth Meyers

“Instead of us sending troops down to the border, we just do what you do when you run out of candy on Halloween. Let’s turn off the lights and pretend America’s not home. So the kids move on to the next house – Canada.” – Stephen Colbert

“A new investigation found that people are using fake ID’s to sign up for Obamacare. I’m sorry, but today’s teenagers do not know how to party.” – Conan O’Brien

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Immigration Irony

An amazing story is unfolding in Washington. Just before the start of the August recess, the GOP wasn’t able to come up with the votes to pass even their tremendously watered down immigration bill to clean up the humanitarian crisis at the border caused by the influx of children from Central America. So the Republican leadership cancelled the vote. And Congress started to go home for the August recess (mostly to campaign for the upcoming elections).

Then they realized that by canceling the vote, Republicans would likely be blamed for the mess in the upcoming election. So they called everybody (including some Congress-critters who were already at the airport) back to The Hill. But conservatives are still unwilling to compromise.

So here’s where the irony happens. Tired of conservative Republicans blocking even halfhearted responses to the crisis, the GOP leadership then issued a statement calling on Obama to take steps on his own to address the border issue, without congressional approval:

There are numerous steps the President can and should be taking right now, without the need for congressional action, to secure our borders and ensure these children are returned swiftly and safely to their countries.

Yes, they hypocritically did this with a straight face, just one day after voting to sue him for doing exactly the same thing they are now asking him to do.

It only took a few minutes for the White House to respond with a tweet: “By pulling their own bill, the House GOP once again proves why the President must act on his own to solve problems.”

And then a longer statement:

The President can’t do as much as Congress could do in terms of addressing some of these problems, but we’re gonna figure out what exactly the law will allow the President to do and we’re going to do as much as possible within the confines of the law to address a problem whose solution Republicans in Congress continue to actively block.

Even Republican members of the House were bewildered. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) said “Look, you can’t say on the one hand that the president is overreaching by acting without legislative authority and direction and then refuse to give him legislative authority and direction in another area.”

It seems that it was only recently that people were talking about the GOP taking over the Senate and increasing their majority in the House, but even the massive gerrymandering they did after the 2010 census can’t save them from shooting themselves in their collective feet.

I guess we can say that this borders on idiocy.

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Why This Gridlock is Different

NBC has an interesting article “A New Kind of Gridlock: Why Congress Is More Broken Than Ever“. I’m usually skeptical about articles like this, because we are always seeing people claim that things are getting worse, when in general, things are actually getting mostly better. The number of wars is going down, tolerance for other races and sexual identities is going up, we are getting rid of stupid victimless laws, like the ones that were putting people in jail just for smoking marijuana.

But the article does make a good point. Here’s the first paragraph:

Yes, Congress has typically been divided over ideology (liberal vs. conservative) or geography (North vs. South, big states vs. small ones). And, yes, partisan flare-ups in the summer of an election year are hardly new. But here is why this Congress appears more broken than past ones: It can’t even seem to do the small, bipartisan things anymore. Case in point is the legislative dysfunction surrounding the responses to 1) the unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, and 2) reforming the VA hospitals across the country. Almost every member — Democratic or Republican — said the situation at the border was a humanitarian crisis that needed a response. But passing emergency spending (between $2 to $4 billion in aid) has become such a difficult lift, and looks less likely by the day. Last month, every member of Congress said VA hospitals needed to better serve veterans, and the Senate (by a 93-3 vote) and House (426-0) passed legislation to reform these hospitals. But they’ve been unable to come together in a conference committee to reconcile the two bills. Folks, we’re not talking about overhauling the nation’s health-care system, enacting comprehensive immigration reform, raising taxes, or changing entitlement programs — all of which have sparked fierce ideological battles in the past. We’re talking about the small stuff, actions that either have near-universal support or that cost relative drops in the federal budget. That’s why this gridlock is different.

And indeed, even the Wall Street Journal is pointing out that as Congress adjourns for the entire month of August, they have accomplished almost nothing so far.

As an executive at a public affairs firm put it “We’ve reached the point in Washington where compromise is the equivalent of collaborating with the enemy,” thanks in part to election-year dynamics. “You’ve got everybody jockeying for position and they’d rather have issues than solutions.”

When did win-win become a filthy word in Washington?

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Late Night Political Humor

“I saw that Hillary Clinton visited the headquarters of Twitter and Facebook yesterday. Hillary would also have visited LinkedIn, but she already knows what job she wants.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Today, Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Egypt and had to pass through a metal detector before he could meet with officials. Which is ridiculous. Everyone knows he’s made of wood.” – Seth Meyers

“Happy birthday to England’s Prince George, who turns 1 today. The prince’s first birthday party was a little different. His bouncy castle was an actual castle. And the pony rides were on Camilla.” – Craig Ferguson

“Queen Elizabeth’s horse tested positive for morphine and a mix of other powerful drugs. Sources say the queen is in denial. She thinks someone confused her horse’s urine sample with Prince Harry’s.” – Craig Ferguson

“You can tell this drought is getting really bad. Today at lunch, my waiter asked if I wanted a glass of water or a future for my children. I took the water.” – Conan O’Brien

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