fox news elects john mccain!

reeeeeaaaallllllly? fox news polls find mccain making a comeback? no! really?
come on EVERY OTHER MEDIA OUTLET, get with it!

Alan Colmes Grows Some Huevos

Sean Hannity was probably thinking, "Who let this guy on the show? Oh, is this the guy who's name comes after mine in the title? Isn't he supposed to be doped up on morphine so he can't cause any problems?"

(This link was first brought to my attention by wonkette.com and created by News Hounds)

even MORE of that LIBERAL slant

Pretty awesome that this didn't get picked up by most of the major news networks ...

Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.

Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

and its come to this ...

... so is that NANCY '08? RON JR '08?

Are conservatives so enamored with the man that they won't believe he's dead?

Because from what I've seen, the rest of the family isn't as bad as Ol' Ronny

In an April 2003 interview, Reagan (Ronald Jr.) said, "The Bush people have no right to speak for my father, particularly because of the position he's in now. Yes, some of the current policies are an extension of the '80s. But the overall thrust of this administration is not my father's – these people are overly reaching, overly aggressive, overly secretive, and just plain corrupt. I don't trust these people."

holy christ, is it 1890?

3 Pennsylvania teens charged in fatal beating of immigrant

WHY DOES THE PRESS LOVE OBAMA SO MUCH, AND HATE OUR FREEDOMS MORE!?

The Media has LIED LIED LIED TO US!!!!!!! They interviewed a registered college Republican and then typed out on the teevee screen that he was a MEMBER of the USC Young Republicans! THE LIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I've never met him, heard of him, talked with him, nothing," USC College Republican president Ben Myers told ABCNews.com.

Myers said he's infuriated with CNN, and argued his group is attracting a lot of support on campus.

this is the TOP story under Google News "US" section right now.

and to put this into perspective
Fox's Shively falsely suggested Obama has been a Christian for only "two decades now"
Fox News calls Michelle Obama "Obama's baby mama"
"A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab?"
Liz Trotta: Osama, Obama, they should both be killed
Michelle Obama: Angry Black Woman
Obama: Madrassa Schooled Muslim

teh immigants! they made me late!

more conservative wankery, this time from our friends at numbersusa.com.

this is one of the funniest things i've seen from our friends across the aisle in a long time. seriously, check out this "graph" ... its so scientific and official looking!



the numbers don't lie people.
look, if you don't buy it, check the sources! they're clearly labeled at the bottom!
everyone knows that 1970 was the final year immigrants to america could be converted to our glorious way of life, by now the islamo-fascists have taken root in EVERY COUNTRY OUT THERE! and have indoctrinated all people to their FREEDOM HATING WAYS! believe when i say canada is a powderkeg waiting to go off!

don't be tricked!
people, if this graph is accurate (and i have no reason to believe it's not) within our lifetimes we will see a sweeping takeover of our nations government by ILLEGALS who will flaunt their illegal status until THEY become the majority, and us TRUE AMERICANS become the minority. that being said, DO NOT TRUST THE IMMIGRANTS WHEN THEY OFFER YOU FREE BLANKETS AND "FIREWATER"

and remember, sick of the traffic sprawl (i'm pretty sure you can't use those two words like that) and congestion? BLAME TEH IMMIGANTS!

this has been a public service announcement from "The New Project for America to Get Ahead in a Century of New American Progress"

it is a grand ol' party, ain't it ?

i don't care anymore, the current GOP sucks. its supporters, officials, and pundits are the most hateful, small-minded, bigoted individuals in this country. i can sympathize on some GOP views on fiscal policy, but that's about it. that being said, lets look back at how awesome the GOP has rocked the house lately ...

"All's going to be right with the world when the great prophet from Chicago takes the stand, and the world leaders who want to kill us will simply be singing ["Kumbaya"] together around the table with Barack Obama," Cunningham continued." ... that from bill cunningham, the enigmatic conservative radio host and all around american-style douche bag. he hates the media! and accused the new york times of pushing obama's agenda as well as calling down every other news outlet for unfairly portraying poor bush jr and cheney as bad guys! awww. well, look, when your jesus-god-baby-president has an approval rating 19%, maybe you should stop pointing fingers and start wondering "why?". oh, but mostly... just shut the fuck up.

i know this is weeks old, but i feel it got swept under the rug due to the primaries. its (yet another) shining example of closeted pervs hiding within the GOP ranks in order to appear moral. it's rep rober mckee of marlyand! and guess what! he loves teh child pornos! so much in fact that he was executive director of "Big Brothers Big Sisters" (a child mentoring program) and sponsored bills such as "Child Protection From Predators Act" and a bill to collect DNA from other sexual goof-balls! nice work robby, he must be glad that his diligent efforts to keep our children safe worked so well.

whoa. this is starting to get into a level of conspiracy theory even i'm uncomfortable writing about with sincerity. however, the sources are all cited, "seem credible" and lead to one very disturbing conclusion that many of us know, but don't want to admit. that republican "think tanks" and "advisers" are calling alot more shots then we ever thought. from the supreme court to your local tv.

vote vote in the moat

i'm being bad today and not voting ... i know, way to set an example, but i moved last year and didn't update my voter registration info so i'm still registered in my old neighborhood which is no where near a train, and a pain to get to on the bus. ya see, i thought when i renewed my drivers license they would also update stuff like that, but i guess not ... i work till 6 and the polls close at 7 ... plus i have rehearsal at 8 ... so get off my back already, god! plus, we all know the Big B.O. got chicago on lock, and thats who'd get my vote ... bros before hos .... ya heard !?

helpful links ...

chicago board of elections
cook county board of elections
the best man for the job
the best woman for the job
there's some other guys running too i heard, but i'm pretty sure they're a bunch of backward-thinking hate/war-mongering fundamentalists, so they get no love.

courtesy of pimpernel who can't post at the moment
rules for the illinois primaries

an open letter to bogardus

Dear Bogardus,

While the image you posted is "intriguing" in the purest sense of the word, it is neither amusing nor poignant. First off, your thesis states no citation whatsoever! It will not be hard to dismantle the proposed hypothesis which I will summarize for you, as you provided none. "That in early 2006, internet instances of "anal fisting" (from here on AF) increased roughly 500% while internet instances of "ass to mouth" (from here on, ATM) stayed on track." In this case, an "internet instance" is limited to web searches and news articles. Now, one might make the obvious conclusion that in January of 2006, Samuel Alito was sworn in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. This was of course hastened by the leaving of Sandra Day O'Connor, who we all know, loved the ATM. With yet another conservative on the grand stand, it would seem obvious that the country was doing as much internet research on AF as they could, to be prepared for when Bush's judges repeal Roe v Wade, Brown v The Board of Education, the 13th amendment, et. al. However, I offer a different suggestion to the increased interest in AF. A quick "Google Trends" search of simply "fisting" shows the same trend as "AF" does.¹ The correlation isn't obvious yet, until one starts to think in a slightly more abstract way about "fisting". First, the increase in the evangelical movement seen in America through 2005 and 2006 might have led to this increased presence, as is evident by this Christian's account of the "Fist of Might". As the shroud of mystery is raised, we see a trend amongst the conservatives to address fisting straight away, perhaps intimidated or intrigued by the prospect. Well, whatever the real reason, I just wanted to get that image off the front page when you first click to the blog ... bogardus, comon now! save that kinda stuff for a forum or something, lets try to keep the 13-year-old-sex-is-funny-jokes to a minimum and WTF humor also to a nill ... or if you must, at least make it ironic, or point out how idiotic it is ... please, pretty please, pretty pretty please ... with an LOLCAT on top ...

Yours truly,
Driznastic

ps I'm not saying that "trend" isn't weird, it is ... very weird ... and disturbing ... something i could have lived without ...

and ...

we used to spit on the one in our neighborhood, but these fine folks have decided to do something creative with their hatred of Hummer H2s.

also ...


champale? champaign malt liqour!? where have you been all my life!?
i tried that line on my girl once, that guy had better luck apparently

Who is Mike Huckabee?

Besides having a decidely un-presidential name, who is this man? Sure, he's got some nice endorsements, but where does he stand on these (not so) talked about issues? So, let's go straight to the source . . . .

Here's the one that caught my eye: taxes. So he says he wants to do away with the IRS and all income/payroll taxes. So where would the government be getting the revenue to provide for things such as Social Security, Medicare and also pay for the ever expanding cost of Iraq and Afghanistan?

Answer: The Fair Tax! (If you're too lazy to read the article, it's basically a federal sales tax.)

Ok, so we get that it's fair or it wouldn't be called the Fair Tax. Just like the Patriot Act was the essential act of patriotism, right? (Sorry, too early in the post to start getting snarky.)

To determine if it really is fair, lets see what the consequences of the Fair Tax would be:
All revenue previously acquired by the Feds by the IRS would have to come from the federal sales tax. What does this mean?

The amount you pay in taxes will no longer be determined by how much your total income is, but by how much you spend. For example, if an household makes $50k a year and another household makes $200k a year and they both spend $50k that year, they'll be taxed for the same amount. Household 2 would end up saving that $150k a year without any tax implications.

I pay sales tax at the store everyday, so what?

Well, the intention is to encourage people to save money and invest it rather than spend it on the house built of golden steel or the diamond car with the platinum wheels. (Yeah, that's a mean sousaphone in the back.) There are two problems with this: 1) when a household cannot afford to save or invest; and 2) there are already tax incentives to save and invest.

When a Household Cannot Afford to Save/Invest
Say a household brings in an income of the poverty level. Under the Fair Tax, the household would receive a check from the federal government each month for the amount of taxes they would pay if they spent their entire income. Every household receives a check for the taxable amount of the poverty level, regardless of their income. The problem is, however, that until they receive that check, they're being taxed. So, for simplicity of math's sake, let's say that the poverty level is $20k and the tax rate is 30%. (The 30% tax rate is what is suggested by Fair Tax proponents, but opponents suggest that it will need to be 34% to equal the same amount of revenue brought in by the government.) Each month they'd be taxed as they make purchases and have to wait for their refund check so they can get by. Essentially it'll create a lower class that is dependent on receiving their tax reimbursement check to get by. Any problems receiving this check could have dire consequences, especially since 30+% is such a large percentage.

Oh yeah, and this whole system would create a RIDICULOUSLY HUGE bureaucracy to mail out checks to every household, figure out who is in what household, when someone has moved, when someone has died, etc. And they'll have to keep this going every single month. I'm guessing that'll be pretty expensive for the taxpayers.

There are Current Save/Invest Incentives
If you have an IRA, 401(k) or any similar defined contribution plan with your employer, you are already taking advantage of some of the tax advantages offered to individuals to encourage saving for retirement as well as encouraging investment of these funds. The money deposited into your 401(k) account is withdrawn from your paycheck before being taxed and deposited in your own personal account where it gains interest without being taxed. It is only taxed when you retired and take the money out of your account.

Now, if you have a Roth 401(k) or a Roth IRA the Fair Tax is pretty much the worst situation. You've already paid your taxes, probably cause you thought that the income tax rate at the time you were going to withdraw your retirement funds would be higher than they are now. Well, with the Fair Tax, the rate would be 0.

As for investing, currently money made through investments are subject to a lower tax rate than ordinary income. Money made through the sale of investment properties are subject to the capital gains tax.

So the Fair Tax is different than the Income Tax. Does that make it bad?
I'm going to say yes. Most people make their money the old fashioned way: getting their ass to work and getting a paycheck at the end of the week. All that money you've saved up (if there is any) has already been taxed by the IRS. If we get this fantastic Fair Tax, as soon as you spend that saved money, you'll get taxed again. And you'll probably get taxed at a higher rate than you did when you first made that money.

The Fair Tax Double Tax
Say you're just some dood who makes his $45k a year. You try to be good and have been squirreling away a little here and little there, trying to get that sweet sweet house in the 'burbs you've always dreamed about. According to the 2007 IRS tax rates , about 25% of your money has already been taken through income taxes by the IRS. Now that you've saved up your 20% of that $200k house, you're ready to make a downpayment. Oh, but wait. The Fair Tax is gonna charge you a 30% take on that downpayment. So get ready to cough up another $60k for that house. Yeah, you've already paid your dues to the IRS, but tough crapola. Thanks Fair Tax!

How has the Fair Tax worked so far?
So former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee thinks the Fair Tax is a much better way to generate revenue for the government. So how has it worked for Arkansas? What's that you say? Arkansas still has an income tax? Maybe it was the AK legislature. What's that you say? Huckabee actually raised income taxes in his state? Makes you wonder why he's trying this grand experiment with the whole country when he wouldn't/couldn't do it with Arkansas.

Conclusion
This post is getting long, but I think you get the point. The Fair Tax is pretty whack. Sure, no one likes the IRS or paying taxes. Sure, paying income tax can be pretty confusing. But it works (kind of). Do you really want to roll the dice with our countries finances? Especially since we're now running a ridiculous deficit? Is this really a good idea or a ploy to get votes?

One thing is for sure though: the duty free section of the airport would be the most popular place to shop!

For some reference sites:
A Pro-Fair Tax Site
An Anti-Fair Tax Site

paultard-o

if you read wonkette, you know what it is ... the kind of person who thinks ron paul would make a really really great president.

i hope this is a joke ... even if it is, i still don't get it

ron paul: racist.

man with monkey in love with ron paul ... the video is set up as a joke, but its much sadder/funnier then intended when you realize how much work went into covering this guys house with everything "ron paul" ...

this has got the stank of a farker all over it ... still, i concur ...

stay up to date ... wonkette's continuing coverage of all things paultardish

and now for something completely different

the art of spam

and

LOLTAPIRs ... yeah, i know ... but ... tapirs!

and again ...

why japan? WHY!?

a rare unaltered photo of the one called "ron paul"