The Hollywood Liberal

Late Late Night FDL: Ball and Chain
Big Mama Thorton with Buddy Guy — Ball and Chain or Janis Joplin with Big Brother and The Holding Company — Ball and Chain, 1967, Monterey.

Big Mama Thorton with Buddy Guy — Ball and Chain, 1970,

or

Janis Joplin with Big Brother and The Holding Company — Ball and Chain, 1967, Monterey.

What’s on your mind?

?

Good thing this wasn’t Maricopa County
A terrorists incompetence is only saved and helped by general ignorance. Exhibit A, the Times Square would-be Bomber.

New information about the Times Square bomber is being revealed including, as usual, his rank incompetence; even after all that “special training” in Pakistan.  The incompetence of most terrorists is the most under reported aspect of their existence. But if that was reported on we might not be so easily frightened into ceding the Bill of Rights away. It also can be combined with rank bigotry to win a primary, right John McCain?

Meanwhile, if the guy who thought he could blow up propane tanks had tried something in Phoenix, the Nissan Pathfinder of Death Moderate Inconvenience would still be double-parked. Why? Because Joe Arpaio and crew would still be busy hassling the immigrant who reported suspicious activity:

…the man who first noticed the smoking Nissan Pathfinder and sought help is also Muslim, a Senegalese immigrant

That man is Aliou Niasse. The classic American story right?

Of course it is, but this being America, there is already a dispute about who was first between Mr. Niasse and two other street vendors. Somewhere Mark Burnett is ready to cast all three and Sully Sullenberger in next year’s ‘Apprentice‘ where Donald Trump will tell them how much more heroic he is.

?

Early Morning Swim: Rachel Maddow Slams Joe Lieberman — “This is America”
More on this, here.

More on this, here.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is planning to introduce a bill that would allow the government to take away citizenship from Americans who join foreign terrorist organizations.

The proposal would amend current law that bars American citizens from fighting for foreign armies at the price of losing their citizenship.

“I think it’s time for us to look at whether we want to amend that law to apply it to American citizens who choose to become affiliated with foreign terrorist organizations, whether they should not also be deprived automatically of their citizenship and therefore be deprived of rights that come with that citizenship when they are apprehended and charged with a terrorist act,” Lieberman, who helms the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said on Fox News.

Note the word, “foreign.” So under Lieberputz’s law, Tim McVeigh keeps his citizenship — but Jose Padilla doesn’t. Great.

?

Proceed With Caution

By Mike Luckovich

Related Entries

• May 3, 2010 Obama and Leno Yuk It Up at White House Press Bash
• April 29, 2010 Racial Politics, Tea Party Style

Dan Coats: Indiana Senate 2010 Election BREAKING News
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)- Voters in North Carolina and Ohio kept their incumbents and those in Indiana turned to an old Capitol Hill hand — Republican Dan…

Military Transportation Used By Members Of Congress, Even For Local Travel
Members of Congress routinely travel on Defense Department airplanes to far-flung corners of the world, but it turns out they sometimes request military transport to…

Al Eisele: A Gun-Toting, Pistol-Packing, Rifle Looney From Manhattan Takes on the NRA
One of the most interesting responses to my post on Timothy McVeigh came in a letter from Jim Coyne, an old classmate with an intimate knowledge of firearms. His response is thoughtful and thought-provoking, to say the least.

“Drill more”: Fox News figures respond to environmental catastrophe by calling for more drilling

In the wake of the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, several Fox News hosts and contributors have responded by calling for a continuation — and in some instances, an expansion — of offshore drilling.

Fox hosts and contributors respond to drilling catastrophe by calling for drilling

Perino suggests continuing “very safe” offshore drilling. On the May 3 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, Fox News contributor Dana Perino said that we have “very safe offshore oil drilling,” adding, “look how much is down there, if it was safe and we were able to harness it.”

Palin posts Facebook note titled “Domestic Drilling: Why We Can Still Believe.” In a note posted to her Facebook page on April 30th, Fox News contributor Sarah Palin wrote: “I repeat the slogan ‘drill here, drill now’ not out of naiveté or disregard for the tragic consequences of oil spills — my family and my state and I know firsthand those consequences. How could I still believe in drilling America’s domestic supply of energy after having seen the devastation of the Exxon-Valdez spill? I continue to believe in it because increased domestic oil production will make us a more secure, prosperous, and peaceful nation.”

Fox News has long history of aggressively advocating for offshore drilling

As Media Matters has noted, Fox News has fervently advocated for offshore drilling. Its activism has includled promoting Sarah Palin’s “drill, baby, drill” mantra and pushing myths suggesting that drilling is environmentally safe. Notably, Glenn Beck has repeatedly touted offshore drilling, including claiming that “if you really cared about the environment, you would let us drill for our own oil,” and Newt Gingrich is the author of Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less: A handbook for slashing gas prices and solving our energy crisis (Regnery Press, 2008).

Paying For The Oil Spill: A Guide To Who’s On The Hook
TPMmuckraker’s guide to who has to pay for the cleanup of the Gulf oil spill — and for damage to the economies of the coastal states.

Cuccinelli Probe Of Climate Scientist Blasted As ‘Witch Hunt’
An investigation by Ken Cuccinelli of a climate scientist who was caught up in last year’s “Climate-Gate” flap is being likened to a “witch hunt” — even by global warming skeptics.


Ken Cuccinelli - Climate change - Environment - Michael Mann - Global warming

Did Times Square Bomb Suspect Almost Get Away?
Did the suspect in Saturday night’s failed Times Square bombing attempt come close to getting out of the country before he could be apprehended?

Oil slick triples in size in three days, landfall in FL imminent
A preface here, to any readers on my mailing list who find this article on the bartblog before my Examiner page: I apologize for the email exchange yesterday with that right-wing douche bag, Ashford Schwall. He will no longer be a part of the mailing list, since his mama apparently failed to teach him manners […]

Obama Urges Vote for “a Democrat” in Hawaii
President Obama recorded a robocall urging Hawaii voters to choose a Democrat in the upcoming special House election, as Democrats grow increasingly alarmed that Charles Djou (R) could win the seat, the Honolulu Advertiser reports.

The only problem? There are two Democrats splitting the vote in the three way race — Ed Case (D) and Colleen Hanabusa (D) — and Obama doesn’t specify which one he prefers.

Ben Smith: “The call is also a mark of how handcuffed Democrats are in a race that features two Democratic candidates and one Republican. Obama hasn’t officially endorsed either — though the White House considers former Rep. Ed Case the stronger of the two — and the robocall merely encourages a ‘crucial’ vote for ‘a Democrat’ for help with ‘our agenda for change.’”

The special election is on May 22.

Internal Poll Shows Critz Leading Burns in Special Election
Mark Critz (D) “has captured a burst of momentum” in special election to succeed the late Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), according to his own internal polling, Politico reports.

Critz now leads Tim Burns (R) by eight points, 44% to 36%.

However, Critz’s poll “runs counter to the results from several other recent public polls” which show Burns leading.

The special election is on May 18.

Break up the Big Banks and End the Oligarchy on Wall Street
We are living in a Wall Street oligarchy if Congress won’t allow a vote on breaking up the banks.

We are living in a Wall Street oligarchy if Congress won't allow a vote on breaking up the banks.

Frank Rich on Being the ‘Poster Boy’ for Attacks from Right-Wing Media
The New York Times columnist explains why he he thinks Arizona’s racial profiling law is the latest example of the rage of 2010.

The New York Times columnist explains why he he thinks Arizona's racial profiling law is the latest example of the rage of 2010.

"Hey Dad, Why Does This Country Protect Billionaires, and Not Teachers?"
Something is really screwed up when we award billions to Wall Street elites for doing things we don’t comprehend, even as we lay off teachers by the thousands.

Something is really screwed up when we award billions to Wall Street elites for doing things we don’t comprehend, even as we lay off teachers by the thousands.

School for Disabled Forces Students to Wear Backpacks That Deliver Massive Electric Shocks
A rights group has filed a report and urgent appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture about outrageous school rules.

A rights group has filed a report and urgent appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture about outrageous school rules.

Why Arizona Isn’t Crazy, Just Wrong
Spend some time in Arizona, and you may come to see why so many of its residents support a law that has outraged the nation.

Spend some time in Arizona, and you may come to see why so many of its residents support a law that has outraged the nation.