The Hollywood Liberal

What’s a little war mongering between earnings reports?
Funny how those dangerous states aren’t really dangerous enough to be deprived of Slim-Fast?

weapons of mass destruction via sampitech at flickr.com

Well, I see our foreign policy has really learned it’s lessons…and that lesson is how much of this profit goes to the Caymans?

Despite sanctions and trade embargoes, over the past decade the United States government has granted special licenses allowing American companies to do billions of dollars in business with Iran and other countries blacklisted as state sponsors of terrorism, an examination by The New York Times has found.

All in the name of profits…oh sure, maybe some GE machinery parts get caught through now and again, but really this is about making sure states we call the axis of evil are not deprived of the greatest of our natural resources…

the law, pushed by the farm lobby and other industry groups, was written so broadly that allowable humanitarian aid has included cigarettes, Wrigley’s gum, Louisiana hot sauce, weight-loss remedies, body-building supplements and sports rehabilitation equipment sold to the institute that trains Iran’s Olympic athletes.

It’s almost as though all that posturing about how evil some state is, is just posturing.

Hard to believe, huh?

?

Holiday Foreclosures

By Gary McCoy, Cagle Cartoons

Related Entries

• December 24, 2010 Obama’s ‘Evolving’ Position on Same-Sex Marriage
• December 23, 2010 Christmas Present

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

By Brian Fairrington, Cagle Cartoons

Related Entries

• December 24, 2010 Obama’s ‘Evolving’ Position on Same-Sex Marriage
• December 23, 2010 Christmas Present

U.S. Allowed American Companies To Do Business With Blacklisted Nations
Despite sanctions and trade embargoes, over the past decade the United States government has granted special licenses allowing American companies to do billions of dollars…

Joe Miller Considering Whether To Continue Legal Fight: ‘We’re Obviously Rational’
JUNEAU, Alaska — Republican Joe Miller plans to decide Monday whether to continue his legal challenge to Alaska’s U.S. Senate race or stand back and…

Paul Abrams: FOX Slams “Rudolf/Reindeer” Song for Promoting Social Justice
In an emergency Christmas eve memo, FOXNews executive producer Bill Sammon instructed his anchors not to include “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” among the victims in…

Mark Morgan, U.S. Army Ranger, Named #3 Pastry Chef In The World
A U.S. Army Ranger recently claimed bragging rights as one of the top three pastry chefs in the world. When this tidbit of information leaked…

US Diplomats Avoided Allen Stanford Long Before His Arrest
Long before the feds got him, corrupt Texas financier Allen Stanford was persona non grata in the circles of U.S. diplomats, according to cables released by WikiLeaks.

Md. Investigators Raid Home, Office of Alleged Robocaller
Investigators for the Maryland prosecutor last week raided the home and office of Julius Henson, the man on the payroll of former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R-Md.) who was allegedly behind controversial robocalls on Election Day which told mostly Democratic voters not to bother going to the polls.

Barbour Has History With Modern Incarnation Of Segregationist Group He Praised
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has a history with the Council of Conservative Citizens, a descendant group of the Citizens Councils. But so do state Democrats.

2011: Haley Barbour Announces He’s Running for President in San Francisco?

Obama Studies Reagan and Clinton
President Obama’s vacation reading list includes President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime by Lou Cannon and The Clinton Tapes by Taylor Branch, according to Fox News.

He’s also expected to read “a novel or two.”

Bipartisanship Breaking Out?
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) told MSNBC that he expects the next six months to be an unusually productive time in Congress.

Said Schumer: “My prediction: The next sixth months will be more like the lame-duck, where there was a lot of productivity, than like the previous two years, when there was a lot of dart-throwing.”

Obama Prepares for Staff Shuffle
President Obama “is planning the first major reorganization of his administration, preparing to shuffle several positions in the West Wing as he tries to fortify his political team for the realities of divided government and his own re-election,” the New York Times reports.

“The president is studying how to maximize the power of the executive branch, advisers said, seeking insight from veterans of previous administrations and fresh advice from business leaders to guide the second half of his term.”

“He is reviewing the restructuring plan during the holidays, aides said, and intends to make the first announcements in the opening days of January.”

How I Gave Up Christmas and Saved My Sanity
Yes, Virginia, there is a sanity clause: Give Christmas the heave ho-ho!

A Provocative Blueprint for Peace in the Mideast
Author Ilan Pappé recounts the growing support of introducing a one-state solution into the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks from his book with Noam Chomsky.

Working in the Shadows: A Year Undercover in the Jobs Most Americans Won’t Do
An award-winning writer immersed himself in work at the bottom of the scale in terms of pay, rights, and working conditions. Here’s what he found.

Flippant Journeys Around the Globe with ‘The VICE Guide to Everything’
MTV’s new show offers a Gonzo alternative to MSM coverage of the world’s most dangerous places. But to what end?

An Iranian human right lawyer facing death
The courageous Teheran lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is in solitary confinement and on hunger strike. It would be nice if Hugo Chavez, Lula, or other friends of the Islamic Republic of Iran took up her cause. Paging Sean Penn….

Manchin Chooses Family Party Over the Nation’s Business
I have seen Senator Joe Manchin out on the holiday party circuit in Washington and did have a very full conversation with him about DADT at one particularly high powered evening — but parties are not the same as voting…

Outgoing Georgia Gov. Perdue Advises GOP To ?Maintain The Golden Rule? On Immigration
This past November, Nathan Deal (R-GA), a conservative former congressman, won Georgia’s governorship. Throughout his campaign, Deal vowed to crack down immigration. When Arizona implemented its draconian immigration law he promised to “work to pass and sign similar legislation.” He came out in favor of changing the 14th amendment to deny the U.S.-born children of […]

This past November, Nathan Deal (R-GA), a conservative former congressman, won Georgia’s governorship. Throughout his campaign, Deal vowed to crack down immigration. When Arizona implemented its draconian immigration law he promised to “work to pass and sign similar legislation.” He came out in favor of changing the 14th amendment to deny the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants citizenship long before it was even popular.

Along those lines, Deal’s predecessor — outgoing Gov. Sonny Perdue (R-GA) — shad some words of wisdom to share with the GOP. The Associated Press reports:

Perdue said his party needs to avoid “a gang-type mentality” that could be harmful to those “who want the American dream.”

“The Republican Party needs to be very, very careful that it maintains the golden rule in its rhetoric regarding immigration policy,” Perdue told The AP.

Perdue said the GOP needs to ensure that “people of color and people who are not U.S.-born” feel welcome. “And I think that’s the challenge of the Republican Party.”

“(Immigration) is a very emotive, emotion-filled topic that I think sometimes gets us out there where our hearts really aren’t,” Perdue said.

Perdue is likely concerned about the fact that the foreign-born share of Georgia’s population rose from 2.7 percent in 1990 to 9.4 percent in 2008. Almost 35 percent of those immigrants are naturalized U.S. citizens who can vote. The new census data shows that, in Georgia, the share of the Latino population has grown by nearly 50 percent since 2000. It may have not been enough to stop someone like Deal from taking office; however, in a close election their voting power could tip the scale.

Finally, Perdue is not exactly a saint on immigration himself. In fact, he once stated, “It is simply unacceptable for people to sneak into this country illegally on Thursday, obtain a government-issued ID on Friday, head for the welfare office on Monday and cast a vote on Tuesday.”

Election board: Emanuel can run for Chicago mayor
CHICAGO — Rahm Emanuel is a resident of Chicago and eligible to run for mayor, city elections officials ruled Thursday, removing the primary obstacle to the former White House chief of staff’s bid to lead the nation’s third-largest city.

Activists press Obama to work for gay marriage
Having signed into law a repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay service members, President Obama now faces pressure from his allies to move on a much tougher and divisive issue: gay marriage.

Susan Solomon: Working to save the planet from environmental harm
Senior scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)