Baron Dave Romm
Zero Tolerance For Republicans
By Baron Dave Romm
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Watch short and idiosyncratic videos on Baron Dave's You Tube Channel
Recent political essays
Bartcop-E 9/6/10 featuring The Campaign Begins
Bartcop-E 9/13/10 featuring Campaign 2010: Returning the Favor
Bartcop-E 9/13/10 featuring Campaign 2010: Returning the Favor
Bartcop-E 9/20/10 featuring Campaign 2010: In Karl Rove's Face
Bartcop-E 9/27/10 featuring Campaign 2010: Why You Should Vote Democratic
Bartcop-E 10/4/10 featuring Campaign 2010: Grading On A Curve
Bartcop-E 10/11/10 featuring Campaign 2010: Bullet Points
Bartcop-E 10/18/10 featuring GOTV: Cell Phone Tree
Tea Party Republicans are insane
I'll try not to repeat too many links from previous columns, but really, Tea Party Republicans live by The Big Lie, and they will die by The Big Truth.
Dem repeatedly attacked for being of Arab descent salon.com 10/22/10 (click through the ads). The insane teabaggers can't tell an American from a Kenyan, and here can't tell a Christian from a Muslim. Not only are they wrong, they scream loudly. To be a conservative these days, one must believe lies and not believe the truth.
Buck's reprimand was no youthful indiscretion Denver Post 10/18/10. Even ultra-right-winger Bob Barr has a problem with CO Senate candidate Ken Buck.
Tea Party Republicans are not conservative, they're throwbacks: NY-18: Lowey's challenger opposes interracial marriage and school integration; supports eugenics The Albany Project 9/20/10
Rape-Nuts Al Franken proposes getting rid of the old "it's OK if you get raped" clause in government contracts, but 30 Republicans object. Video of Jon Stewart and The Daily Show from 10/14/09. I have talked about this before, but it bears repeating: 30 Republican senators put partisan politics ahead of concern for rape victims.
Salon.com's continuing This Week In Crazy
Year of the Nutjob The New Republic 9/14/10.
Tea Party Republicans are religiously insane
Three Tea Party videos all voters should see Angle displays racial bewilderment, O'Donnell shows constitutional ignorance and Miller exposes his inner thug. Salon.com 10/19/10 (click through the ads for videos).
Jesus: Soft on defense. Wrong for America Washington Post 10/21/10 Satire (or merely holding a mirror to "faith-based" extreme right Christian candidates) from Valerie Elverton Dixon, former teacher of Christian Ethics. I usually phrase the admonition: Jesus was a liberal. Why aren't you?
Tea Party defends climate pollution as the Lord's will climateprogress.org (my brother's blog) 10/21/10
Heartland Pervert, Christian pastor televangelist edition: Bishop Eddie Long Denies Sexual Abuse as Plaintiffs' Lawyer Promises More Evidence ABC News 9/22/10, though I had my pick and choose of various insane Christian Pastor stories. (Not even counting Catholic priest pedophile stories).
Aside: While I don't want to tar an entire evangelical movement with a few pervs, and I hate to rely on Wikipedia for anything, it's clear that merely claiming to be "born again" does not mean that you are in any way acting for G_d's wishes. Indeed, those who claim to be the mouthpiece of G_d all too often are the sinners they warn about. Once again, what a conservative says is the exact opposite of reality. List of Christian evangelist scandals.
The so-called "Religious Right" are moral relativists.
Tea Party Republicans are violent
House GOP Candidate Says Revolution "On The Table" Keith Olbermann on Daily Kos 10/21/10.
Initial headline: FBI investigates toxic powder sent to Arizona congressman CNN Justice 10/22/10. Later headline updated to "FBI: Powder in package sent to Arizona congressman is 'nontoxic'". I guess the two swastikas made a poor first impression.
Anti-Abortion Extremists Distribute "Wanted" Posters for Abortion Providers alternet.org 10/21/10 with video from Rachel Maddow's 10/20 show.
"Violence is coming": Glenn Beck's long history of violent rhetoric Media Matters 10/11/10. A long history of the conservative media's inflammatory orations.
The Party of No Credibility JL Bell 4/22/10 (and salon.com) "American right-wing leaders are responding to complaints about their adherents' insults, threats, and acts of violence by claiming that such problems occur on the left as well. Of course, they don't dare to compare and quantify such behavior." Internet Rumors about Bush were largely true, Rumors about Obama are more numerous and hardly ever true.
WI Sen Breaking: Shocking New Video of Committee Hearing Where Johnson Killed the Child Victims Act Jud Lounsbury on Daily Kos 10/21/10
Tea Party Republicans lie under oath and are never held accountable
Rep. Peter DeFazio Investigating Impeachment For Chief Justice John Roberts Huffington Post 10/22/10 on Federalist Society judge apparently having lied under oath re: the Citizens United case.
And speaking of conservative Supreme Court Justices who lied under oath: Lillian McEwen breaks her 19-year silence about Justice Clarence Thomas Washington Post 10/22/10. "When Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during his explosive 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Thomas vehemently denied the allegations and his handlers cited his steady relationship with another woman in an effort to deflect Hill's allegations. Lillian McEwen was that woman." Will Thomas' wife apologize to Anita Hill? Seems unlikely: Republicans are not just liars, they're proud that they lie.
These people lie to cover up their own drunken comrades. Buesgens attended event as Emmer representative on day of DWI arrest Minnesota Independent 9/22/10, "Buesgens spoke at a tea party event as a representative of the Emmer campaign the same day he was arrested. He then attended an event that night sponsored by Republicans in Wright County..... In 2002, his statehouse candidacy lost the support of the Republican party after revelations of a sexual assault in 1987. He blamed alcohol."
The Tea Party Movement is wholly funded by special interest money
Inside Sharron Angle's fundraising mega-haul salon.com 10/18/10 (click through the ads)
Just a Google search on Koch Funding Right Wing as of 10/24/10. This is a huge story, largely ignored by the conservative news media.
Tea Party Republicans don't believe in Democracy
Republicans Ramp Up Voter Suppression Machine: Justice Department Involved FDL Newsdesk 10/20/10.
Voter Suppression in Wisconsin, Courtesy of the GOP and Americans for Prosperity Crooks and Liars 9/22/10
A continuing reminder to be vigilant for GOP voter suppression, voter fraud and in general right wing dirty tricks. You can't trust them, the right feels entitled to cheat.
Voter Suppression 2010 Style The Democratic Strategist 9/27/10
Ending on a positive note for Democrats
Texas: No Enthusiasm Gap? Swing State Project 10/22/10. "These numbers indicate that the advantage in Republican counties in Texas compared to Democratic counties is very slight". Other early polling results, generally favoring Democrats or showing them even, recounted on The unpredictable election Steve Singiser's Daily Kos diary of 10/24/10.
Jerry Brown's lead doubles in a month; little change in Senate race LA Times 10/24/10
Commit to Vote Challenge inspiration from barackobama.com
Okay, once again a few links burgeoned into a much larger list with a dash of research. Everyone vote, call up your friends with no land line and urge them to vote, and get excited. The home stretch is what counts the most.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog maintains a Facebook Page, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. A nascent collection of videos are on Baron Dave's YouTube channel. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
President Obama: It Gets Better (whitehouse.gov)
roger ebert's journal: Your new age, and mine
Most events called "psychic" do not take place at all, but only seem to. All the events we can perceive take place in a rational universe governed by physical laws. They can be explained by human thinking and do not require a supernatural loophole.
Michael Moore: Michigan Blues
I have a rule of thumb that's served me well my whole life: whenever corporate executives begin talking about how they support "free markets" and "competition," check to see if you still have your wallet.
Matt Miller: GOP's anti-Obamacare strategies set to backfire (The Washington Post)
If you want a glimpse of the confused shoutfest that will consume politics after Republicans win big on Nov. 2, look no further than the drive to have President Obama's health-reform law declared unconstitutional, which got a boost this week when a Virginia judge said he'd render a verdict this year. Coming atop a Florida judge's decision to let a constitutional challenge move forward there as well, the news had conservatives cheering. What the right fails to grasp is that "success" in court will undermine the private-sector health care Republicans cherish.
Jim Hightower: A SPEAKER LOBBYISTS WOULD LOVE
… if the GOP wins control of the House in November's elections, … Boehner will become House Speaker, giving him the power to move the corporate agenda - running right over over working families, consumers, the environment, and the rest of us. Indeed, lobbyists for Wall Street, big insurance corporations, and drug giants are drooling at that prospect.
Bill Press: The Year of the (Crazy) Woman (Tribune Media Services)
Ah, 1992. "The Year of the Woman." We remember it well. And how proud we were. To see the number of women in the U.S. Senate triple: from two to six. From California, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. From Washington State, Patty Murray. From Illinois, Carol Moseley Braun. Joining Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.
DONNA M. LUCEY: Brother from the 'Richmond Planet' (neh.gov)
It played out like a John Ford Western-the hero packing a pair of pistols and walking the streets of the dusty town in search of justice and the man who'd threatened his life. But instead of John Wayne in the lead role, the protagonist in this real-life case was a courageous, twenty-two-year-old, African-American firebrand named John Mitchell Jr. As editor and publisher of the African-American weekly newspaper the Richmond Planet, Mitchell was not content to sit in his office-actually, his boardinghouse attic quarters, which doubled as his newsroom at that time-in the face of injustice.
"The Hellhound of Wall Street" By MICHAEL PERINO: Reviewed by Felix Salmon
An unsung hero of the Depression.
Taylor Swift's Solo Act (wsj.com)
With her third album "Speak Now" dropping Monday, the country star talks about criticism of her singing voice, writing at 3:30 a.m. and ex-boyfriend dreams.
Randy Lewis: "Taylor Swift: the next chapter" (latimes.com)
Expectations are high for her third album, 'Speak Now.' Unlike her first two records, she wrote all these songs herself. So the thoughts and feelings are pure Taylor.
Chuck Norris: Top 7 Rules for Eating (creators.com)
7) Splurge once in a while. Reward yourself for running a good diet race. I'm not talking about with junk food, but with snacks that are healthy substitutes, e.g., air-popped popcorn, dark chocolate, health food bars, nuts and fruit and yogurt desserts. Those are just a few ways to reward yourself for eating well. I'm sure your local health food store has an array of healthy snack alternatives.
Charlyn Fargo: Fat Kids, Thin Kids: Can Society Help? (creators.com)
The latest statistics show that 32 percent of children (ages 2 to 19 years) are overweight or obese. And the same data confirms that obese children are more likely to develop adverse health outcomes later in life, according to the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, October 2010. The article urges all of us to push strategies to reverse the trend.
David Bruce has 39 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $39 you can buy 9,750 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
Hubert's Poetry Corner
"James Byrd's Body: Truth Marches On"
Out of hiding on/or about November 9, 2010?
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Call it as ya See it' Edition...
The 2010 Mid-term Elections. No media intro or links are needed, I'm thinkin'...
We all know what's at stake here... So, gaze into yer Crystal Ball, break out the Ouija board, shuffle the Tarot cards, read yer tea leaves or just take a wild-ass guess and make yer prediction on the outcome, if'n ya dare...
The Democrats will:
1.) Retain the majority in both the House and the Senate
2.) Lose the House, but retain the Senate
3.) Retain the House, but lose the Senate
4.) Worse case scenario... and you know what that is, dagnabbit!
Predictions will be posted the morning of November 2nd.
... and may The Force be with us!
Send your response to
wrote:
replied:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
BadtotheboneBob
'Big Dog'
Clinton: Bernero is best choice to lead Michigan
Former President Bill Clinton said there is no question that Virg Bernero is the best candidate to be Michigan's next governor. "You have a uniquely qualified person here," Clinton said at today's rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit. "If he loses, you lose."...
Clinton: Bernero is best choice to lead Michigan | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
Remember my 'Union backs Snyder instead of Bernero' Poll? Well, the Detroit Free Press which historically has been very liberal, politically and socially, has endorsed... Yup... That's right...You got it...
BAdtotheboneBob
Thanks, B2tbBob!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast day, rainy night.
Apologize For Accidental Copying
"South Park"
The creators of "South Park" have apologized to the makers of a CollegeHumor video for using dialogue from the Web short for an episode of the Comedy Central show that ran Wednesday.
The "South Park" episode "Insheeption" and the CollegeHumor video "Inception Characters Don't Understand Inception," which was posted online in August, both parodied the complex language and theories of the hit film "Inception." The two projects featured the exact same line, "Sometimes my thoughts of my dead wife manifest themselves as trains," as well as other similar wording.
Matt Stone explained the gaff to the New York Times Friday, saying that when he and co-creator Trey Parker couldn't get hold of the actual movie for reference they turned to the Internet and mistakenly thought the dialogue used in the CollegeHumor video were taken directly from the Christopher Nolan picture.
Stone told the Times, "It's just because we do the show in six days, and we're stupid and we just threw it together. But in the end, there are some lines that we had to call and apologize for."
"South Park"
Web Startup Helps Artists
Bln.kr
Artists these days no longer wonder whether they should be using the social Web to interact with their fans. It's now a matter of how.
Using Facebook or Twitter or MySpace as a one-way megaphone is no longer enough. The power of online social networks is in establishing a two-way conversation. But when there are thousands of voices on the other end of that discussion, staying engaged can be a daunting task.
Thankfully, a host of new companies are emerging to help make sense of it all, offering services like digital content distribution, feedback aggregation and traffic reports. One of the more recent startups catching the industry's eye is Chicago-based Bln.kr.
The company launched in May 2009 as a link-shortening service for Twitter similar to Bit.ly, but for music files. Since then, the service has reoriented its focus toward helping artists, particularly amateur and emerging acts, to harness the value of fan feedback.
Participating artists who establish a Bln.kr account can connect it to such online profiles as Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and YouTube, and manage them all from one place. That enables them to upload a track through Bln.kr to embed the song into all of their other social network profiles.
Bln.kr
Gameshow Makes It All Better
Afghanistan
His country might be at war, but Afghan gameshow host Rahim Mirzad reckons his daily helping of fun and laughs is just the relief his audience needs -- and the chance to become a millionaire doesn't hurt.
In a rundown warehouse studio on Kabul's dusty outskirts, Mirzad presents the "Treasure" -- "Ganjina" in Afghanistan's Dari language -- gameshow, where prize money of up to one million afghanis ($21,000) is on offer, a fortune in one of the world's poorest countries.
"In Afghanistan after 30 years of war, we had no gameshows, no big television programs like this. This is fun," said Mirzad, a former journalist. "When they see how emotional people are and how they react, it lets them forget everything."
Producers say the show is popular but risqué for Afghanistan, where conservative Muslim clerics have in the past sought to ban foreign soap operas seen as a corrupting influence running against Islamic principles.
Afghanistan
Louis XIV Descendant Sues
Versailles
A Palace of Versailles defence group and a descendant of the man who had it built, Louis XIV, are seeking an injunction against works by Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami being shown there.
"It's about translating into judicial terms the debate and opposition that have been raised by exposing Murakami works," Arnaud Upinsky, president of the Versailles Defence Coordination, said of the show that opened September 14.
The 48-year-old Japanese artist's hugely popular work evokes the look of "manga" comic books, depicting often giant characters in multi-coloured metal, fibreglass and acrylic, currently set against the palace's rococo splendour.
The suit is being brought by prince Sixte-Henri de Bourbon-Parme in defence of "respecting the chateau and ancestors" while the "people", represented by seven visitors, are suing to defend the "right to access to heritage."
Versailles
Tightening Privacy Leash
Google
Google Inc. is tightening its privacy leash on employees in an effort to ensure they don't intrude on people while the Internet search leader collects and stores information about its users.
Besides promoting longtime employee Alma Whitten to be its director of privacy, Google said Friday that it will require all 23,000 of its employees to undergo privacy training. The company also is introducing more checks aimed at making sure workers are obeying the rules.
Google's tougher privacy measures appear to be a response to recent breaches that have raised questions about the company's internal controls and policies.
In the most glaring example that indicated the company didn't have a good grasp on what its workers were doing, Google acknowledged in May that one of its engineers had created a program that vacuumed up potentially sensitive personal information, including e-mails and passwords, from unsecured wireless networks while Google cars cruised neighborhoods around the world. The vehicles were dispatched primarily to take photos for Google's online mapping service, but they also carried equipment to log the location of Wi-Fi networks.
Google
Unsealed Church Docs Show Abuse
Diocese of San Diego
Attorneys for nearly 150 people who claim sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests made nearly 10,000 pages of previously sealed internal church documents public Sunday, revealing at least one previously unknown decades-old case in which a priest under police investigation was allowed to leave the U.S. after the Diocese of San Diego intervened.
After a three-year legal battle over the Diocese of San Diego's internal records, a retired San Diego Superior Court judge ruled late Friday that they could be made public. The records are from the personnel files of 48 priests who were either credibly accused or convicted of sexual abuse or were named in a civil lawsuit.
The 144 plaintiffs settled with the diocese in 2007 for nearly $200 million, but the agreement stipulated that an independent judge would review the priests' sealed personnel records and determine what could be made public.
The files show what the diocese knew about abusive priests, starting decades before any allegations became public, and that some church leaders shuffled priests from parish to parish or overseas despite credible complaints against them.
Diocese of San Diego
Restricts Social Sciences
Iran
Iran has imposed new restrictions on 12 university social sciences deemed to be based on Western schools of thought and therefore incompatible with Islamic teachings, state radio reported Sunday.
The list includes law, philosophy, management, psychology, political science and the two subjects that appear to cause the most concern among Iran's conservative leadership - women's studies and human rights.
"The content of the current courses in the 12 subjects is not in harmony with religious fundamentals and they are based on Western schools of thought," senior education official Abolfazl Hassani told state radio.
Hassani said the restrictions prevent universities from opening new departments in these subjects. The government will also revise the content of current programs by up to 70 percent over the next few years, he said.
Iran
Settlement Reached
'Cake Boss'
The Learning Channel's "Cake Boss" won't have to change his name after all.
An agreement has been reached between a Seattle software company and cable channel, which airs the reality series "Cake Boss" featuring Carlo's City Hall Bakery in Hoboken, N.J.
A federal judge in Washington state had temporarily barred the show from using the name. Masters Software of Seattle has been selling business software for bakery owners called CakeBoss since 2007, before the reality show went on the air.
An attorney for Masters says that under an agreement between the parties, "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro can use the name on the show and Masters can still use it for its software and other items.
'Cake Boss'
"Not A Fan" Of President
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood told Katie Couric during a CBSNews.com interview that President Barack Obama is doing what he can to stay in his job, but that he's not actually "governing."
Eastwood supported Obama's Republican challenger John McCain two years ago, but the politically active actor is no right winger. He backed California Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, for example, during the recall campaign that eventually led to Republican Arnold $chwarzenegger being elected.
Eastwood, though, is laying low compared to others in Hollywood who don't support Obama. Kelsey Grammer recently launched RightNetwork, for example, and Jon Voight has been speaking at Tea Party rallies.
And then there's Clint Howard, Ron's brother, who stars in two online commercials: one that trashes Obama's tax policies, and a newer one from writer-director David Zucker that goofs on Sen. Barbara Boxer's famous "I-worked-so-hard-to get that-title" comment.
Clint Eastwood
Investor Sues
Bible.com
A shareholder of Bible.com Inc sued the company's board members, accusing the ordained ministers of failing to profit from the "goldmine" potential of the namesake Internet property, according to a lawsuit.
James Solakian filed the lawsuit in Delaware's Chancery Court against the board of Bible.com for breaching their duty by refusing to sell the site or run the company in a profitable way.
The lawsuit cites a valuation done by a potential purchaser that estimated bible.com could be worth more than dictionary.com, which recently sold for more than $100 million.
The company's business plan stated "it is the goal of the board of directors of Bible.com to become very, very profitable," according to court documents. The business was also to be governed in accordance with Christian business principles.
Bible.com
Major Tourist Attraction
Berlin
"Hitler and the Germans," an exhibition in Berlin's German Historical Museum which investigates the society that created Hitler, has seen more than 10,000 visitors walk through its doors since opening on Friday.
Ravi Nair, a 73-year-old Indian visitor, said: "I had to queue for about an hour but it was worth it. The exhibition should help people in democratic countries realize that their vote is very valuable."
Rudolf Trabold, a spokesman for the museum, said Hitler and the Germans was so popular because it was "the first exhibition to explain how a man who lived on the margins of society for 30 years, in Vienna's men's hostels, could become an almost mythical leader of the German people.
There has been widespread concern in the German media that the exhibition could become a magnet for neo-Nazi admirers of Hitler, but Trabold said that although there had been some right-wing extremist visitors, they had not caused any problems.
Berlin
Thousands Released In British Countryside
Baby Spiders
Thousands of baby spiders bred in a kitchen will be released into the British countryside this week in a bid to revive an endangered species, a government biodiversity agency said Friday.
Some 3,000 baby fen raft spiders reared by ecologist Helen Smith will be let loose in the Castle Marshes nature reserve in Suffolk, eastern England, according to Natural England.
The fen raft spider is classed as endangered in Britain and can be found at only two sites in England and one in Wales.
The spiders are large -- the body of an adult female can be as long as 23 millimetres (0.9 inches) -- with distinctive white, cream or yellow stripes across the abdomen.
Baby Spiders
Weekend Box Office
'Paranormal Activity 2'
Fear has taken hold at the box office with a $41.5 million debut for scary movie "Paranormal Activity 2," according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Paranormal Activity 2" did nearly half its business on Friday, following the pattern of many fright-flick franchises, which often draw big crowds on opening day then drop off sharply. The movie took in $20.1 million Friday, with receipts falling to $13 million Saturday and $8.4 million Sunday.
Paramount also had the No. 2 movie with the stunt comedy "Jackass 3D," which opened in first place the previous weekend. "Jackass 3D" pulled in $21.6 million, down sharply from its $50 million opening.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Paranormal Activity 2," $41.5 million.
2. "Jackass 3D," $21.6 million.
3. "Red," $15 million.
4. "Hereafter," $12 million.
5. "The Social Network," $7.3 million.
6. "Secretariat," $6.9 million.
7. "Life as We Know It," $6.2 million.
8. "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," $3.2 million.
9. "The Town," $2.7 million.
10. "Easy A," $1.8 million.
'Paranormal Activity 2'
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