The Daily Drift

Hey, wingnuts, yeah we're talking to you ...!  

 

The Truth Be Told is read in 203 countries around the world.

 
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Today is - No Socks Day
 

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You Loved Obama’s “Anger Translator”

Now Watch The Hilarious Rehearsal.

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Non Sequitur

Exciting Ideas Driving Progressive Organizing

There is a lot of great thinking about policy that is driving progressive movement organizing right now.

Exciting Ideas Driving Progressive Organizing

Klobuchar, Tester reintroduce bill to require states to allow voter registration on Election Day

Allowing citizens to register to vote on Election Day is a smart idea that boosts turnout and makes things easier for the most mobile Americans. It has been tested for problems for decades in the pioneering states of Maine, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Fraud is almost non-existent and implementation costs are minimal. And Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jon Tester (D-MT) want it to be a nationwide practice. To that end they have reintroduced the Same Day Registration Act, an amendment to the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Jordain Carney reports:

“The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy," [Klobuchar] said in a statement. "We should be doing everything we can to foster this right." Tester added that the legislation could help combat "voter disenfranchisement."
"States that continue to deny folks access to the polls on Election Day are fueling voter disenfranchisement,” Tester said. “Voting is a cornerstone of our democracy and we should make every effort to increase voter participation and allow more folks to have a say in their representation.”

Quite right. We should make every effort. Not allowing people to register to vote on Election Day suppresses turnout. 

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Americans Flock To Bernie As Sanders Announces He Has 175,000 Volunteers For Presidential Bid

Not only is Sen. Bernie Sanders raising millions of dollars, but he announced that he has over 175,000 volunteers pledged to work for his presidential campaign.

Sanders made the announcement on The Rachel Maddow Show, “I had the feeling, Rachel that there was a strong undercurrent of support, and when we announced on Thursday, we sent out an email on website berniesanders.com. We got 35,000 responses in terms of contributions, and 100,000 people indicated on the first day alone that they wanted to sign up and work on the campaign, and those numbers have gone up in the last few days. I feel really good about that.”

Maddow asked, “You have 100,000 people who have pledged to volunteer on the campaign already?”

Sanders answered, “No, actually, we have 175,000.”

Later, Sen. Sanders added, “I think the main thing is Rachel, is that we have a message that is resonating all across this country. And that is, the income and wealth inequality in this country is grotesque. Ninety-nine percent of all new income goes to the top one percent. The top one-tenth of one percent owns as much wealth as the bottom ninety percent, and meanwhile, the middle-class in this country continues to disappear. I think people want a candidate who is prepared to take on the billionaire class and say you know what, this country belongs to all of us, and not to a handful of billionaire families.”

Within the mainstream press, there was an immediate dismissal of Sen. Sanders as a legitimate candidate, but Bernie Sanders is legit. The American people are putting the Senator from Vermont in a position to mount a credible challenge to former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. The more money and volunteers that the Sanders campaign can gather, the longer he will be able to stay in the race.

Bernie Sanders’s candidacy is going to allow Democrats to discuss the issues that matter most to them. Even if Sanders remains a long shot to win the Democratic nomination, his candidacy has been and will continue to be beneficial to both the left and the Democratic Party.

Unlike the long shot pretenders that have been entering into the Republican race, Bernie Sanders has real popular support. Sanders supporters have already raised millions of dollars, and now they are springing into action to help their candidate.

Hillary Scandals Flop As Clinton Extends Her Lead Over All Republican Candidates

A new NBC News poll reveals that the Republican attempts to stop Hillary Clinton have failed as the Democratic frontrunner leads every Republican presidential candidate.

According to NBC News:

In the new NBC/WSJ poll, Clinton’s favorable/unfavorable rating stands at 42 positive, 42 negative (even) – down from 44 percent positive, 36 percent negative in March (+8).

Still, that break-even rating exceeds the fav/unfav scores for Republicans Marco Rubio (22 percent positive, 23 percent negative), Scott Walker (15 percent positive, 17 percent negative), Rand Paul (23 percent positive, 28 percent negative) and Jeb Bush (23 percent positive, 36 percent negative).

….

And looking ahead to the general election, Clinton leads Bush, the former Florida governor, by six points (49 percent to 43 percent); Rubio, the Florida senator, by another six points (49 percent to 43 percent); and Walker, the Wisconsin governor by 10 (50 percent to 40 percent).

The Republican presidential candidate in the poll who comes closest to Clinton is Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., 47 percent to 43 percent.

Republicans have thrown almost everything that they have at former Sec. of State Clinton in an attempt to derail her presidential campaign before it gets up to full speed. The Benghazi conspiracy theory has gone nowhere. The “scandal” over Hillary Clinton’s emails has done virtually nothing, and the attempts to attack The Clinton Foundation have come up empty.

The problem that Republicans refuse to confront is that elections represent a choice, and Hillary Clinton remains the favored candidate when she is matched up with any of the 2016 Republican hopefuls. Clinton remains more popular than any of her potential Republican opponents because what the Republican Party stands for is very unpopular. Hillary Clinton remains the strongest candidate in either party.

Clinton’s favorability ratings have been dinged by the combination of the Democratic frontrunner’s low-key campaign rollout combined with the barrage of ginned up Republican scandals that the media has been pushing as 2016 election news. Republicans have a serious problem because none of their candidates are popular. Clinton’s opponents have thrown everything they’ve got at her, and the result was nothing but failure.

President Obama’s approval rating is increasing, and Hillary Clinton is still rolling along. 2016 is already showing hints of looking like 2012. If this trend continues, Democrats may have a lot to look forward to in 2016.

Religio-Wingnut Rick Wiles is Fascinated by Obama’s Privates

You know the religio-wingnuts, well some of its male leaders, have got nothing when they start worrying about Obama's presidential package…

Back in 2009, based on something he’d heard on Fox News, Rush Limbaugh went off on one of his (perhaps Oxycontin-induced) flights of fantasy and claimed that President Obama wanted to “mandate circumcision” to prevent the spread of HIV. Politifact.com gave that one a well-deserved “Pants on Fire” rating.

Now Pastor Rick Wiles of 'Trunews' (a lying site), who was one of those offended by President Obama mocking Michele Bachmann at the White House Correspondents Dinner, has referred to Obama as the “uncircumcised Philistine in the White House.”

Yes. It’s time for foreskingate.

Last week, Mr. Obama’s adoring, obedient, subservient, lapdog news reporters gathered at the White House for the annual Correspondents Dinner. This is the event where Mr. Obama and news reporters gather to applaud each other. During Mr. Obama’s speech, he belittled former congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who recently warned that Mr. Obama’s foolish appeasement of Iran could lead to World War Three. Listen to Mr. Obama mock Michele Bachmann’s dire warning and mock biblical last days prophecies.

I realize most American pastors and evangelists are afraid to denounce the uncircumcised Philistine in the White House, but I’m not afraid of him. I’ll read to Mr. Obama some scriptures from the holy bible that he so often mocks. Sennacherib was an evil king just as Barack Obama is an evil president. Sennacherib led the people into sin against dog, just as Obama is leading people into sin against dog.

I’ll skip right over the part where Wiles and all the others who were offended fail to follow Jesus’ directive and turn the other cheek.

I’ll even ignore the part where Sennacherib was an Assyrian, not a Jewish king. His name means “Sîn has increased the brothers,” but Sin is the moon goddess, not old testament-style sin. To the extent Sennacherib may have sinned, I applaud him, because in the bible, free choice is sin.

HOWEVER, a couple of other questions immediately arise: One, why is Rick Wiles so interested in the president’s junk? And two, if he is uncircumcised, how would Wiles know?

I hope the pastor doesn’t pose a threat to national security by trying to sneak a peek into the White House bathrooms, right before he enters reparative therapy for his interest in another man’s private parts.

I really do think this is one of those instances in which the questioner is telling us far more about himself than he is hoping to expose about the president.

This is not the first time Republicans have shown their fascination for Obama’s presidential package, of course. Back in the same year Limbaugh charged Obama wanted to circumcise everybody, birthers implied Obama himself wasn’t circumcised.

That’s right. Maybe they failed to share notes with Limbaugh, but they somehow got the oh so clever idea that by demanding to see Obama’s junk, they would be able to determine whether or not he is actually an American.

And christian – see the comments here – because, you know, they don’t get circumcised in Kenya (and apparently only Muslims get circumcised?). Don’t expect any of this to make sense.

Which all just goes to show, if Germans love David Hasselhoff (and they do), white men (and some white women) are way too fascinated by black men’s genitalia and the, um…”apparatus” of white power, so to speak.

I don’t want to suggest some men are underpowered ::cough:: Rick Wiles ::cough::

I don’t even want say the birther crowd is represented by some of the dumbest people on earth, but these people are some of the dumbest people on earth. That includes Rush Limbaugh and Rick Wiles.

Obama has not and did not mock biblical prophecy. He mocked Michele Bachmann. And if Rick Wiles ought to be criticizing anyone it is Michele Bachmann for acting as a false prophet, against which the Bible warns. But then, of course, Wiles would also have to condemn himself as a false prophet.

All this may be moot of course, this whole Foreskingate thing, because if Wiles is right, a big space fireball is going to make us all crispy critters if the Supreme Court rules in favor of marriage equality.

My last question, and I am almost afraid to ask it is this: Are they going to be that interested in Ted Cruz’s package? After all, he wasn’t born in America either. Do we need to start asking of Ted Cruz, “Do you have the right stuff?”

And no, I really do not want that answered. I both suspect and hope we will not hear any of his opponents say during a debate, “Please proceed, Senator.”

Save it for the ladies, or whoever, Mr. Cruz.

Pentagon Debunks Crazy Republican Conspiracy Theory That Obama Is Taking Over Texas

Republicans like Texas' Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) helped to push a conspiracy theory that President Obama is sending the military in to take over Texas, but the Pentagon has thrown cold water on the GOP’s hysteria.

In a letter, Gov. Abbott directed the Texas State Guard to monitor the military’s training exercise. Ted Cruz said that he sympathized with the conspiracy theorists, “My office has reached out to the Pentagon to inquire about this exercise. We are assured it is a military training exercise. I have no reason to doubt those assurances, but I understand the reason for concern and uncertainty, because when the federal government has not demonstrated itself to be trustworthy in this administration, the natural consequence is that many citizens don’t trust what it is saying.”

After Republicans had given in to the crazy, it was up to the Pentagon to stop the insanity. (via McClatchy DC):

“Operation Jade Helm poses no threat to any American’s civil liberties,” Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said Monday. “Operation Jade Helm is being conducted by Americans – by, specifically, American special forces personnel.”
…
“In every case, extensive coordination has been completed with whoever’s responsible for that land,” Warren said. “In the case of private land, we’ve spoken and made detailed coordination with the patriotic Americans who have volunteered their land for the use of this important training.”

Here is a newsflash for conspiracy loving Texas Republicans. President Obama doesn’t have to take over Texas. You are still a part of the United States of America. Barack Obama is your president. He is the guy in charge. Obama isn’t coming to seize your guns, your land, your Dallas Cowboys foam finger.

The Operation Jade Helm conspiracy demonstrates a problem that is not limited to Texas. The Republican Party is driven by conspiracy theories. House Republicans are currently wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on an eighth congressional investigation into Benghazi. Republicans spent millions of dollars investigating the IRS. There was a years long and party wide obsession with President Obama’s birth certificate.

The rest of the country can’t take the Republican Party seriously, much less trust them to govern when they are being guided by baseless conspiracy theories. No matter who wins the party’s nomination, they could be fatally undercut by the strain of crazy that is running rampant through the GOP.

Shoe

Well, what do you know Sen. Belfry is a Republican

- he has his own designated Liar.

Lindsey Graham: Everything That Starts With 'Al-' In Middle East Is Bad

by Brendan James

Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is not a linguist.

"Everything that starts with 'Al' in the Middle East is bad news," Graham said at a dinner in Boston on Monday with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to investigative journalist Uri Blau.
Graham was referencing the Arabic word for "the."
"Al-Qaida, Al-Nusra, Al-Qaida in the Arab Peninsula," he continued. He went on to discuss U.S. relations with Israel and the Arab world, threatening the funding of the United Nations if it tried to "marginalized" Israel.
Graham has been considering a presidential run, and recently laughed while saying that he has so much pro-Israel funding that he would assemble an "all-Jewish cabinet."
"If I put together a finance team that will make me financially competitive enough to stay in this thing…I may have the first all-Jewish cabinet in America because of the pro-Israel funding," Graham said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Wingnut Candidate Distributes Flyer Urging ‘Erection Day’ Voting

Wingnuts are idiots!

‘Erection Day’ Voting  

Christie Vetoes Anti-Corruption Law

Against all odds, this guy still thinks he's going to get the Republican nomination.

Corrupt Christie Vetoes Anti-Corruption Law

‘Men should be able to veto abortions'

Fox News "Medical A-Team" member and resident quack. Keith Ablow argued on Tuesday that “men should be able to veto women’s abortions.” 

Fox News hack gripes that women want ‘all the control’

 

Antonin Scalia Declares The Constitution ‘Dead’

Lunatic fringe wingnut Antonin Scalia declared that the US Constitution is a dead document, and that we must eliminate all modern society.

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Surprise! State Lawmakers Defeat The NRA

Lawmakers in Oregon passed extraordinarily popular legislation on Monday that closely tracks a proposal that was recently one of President Obama’s top priorities. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t be a particularly surprising news story. This bill, however, involved gun sales, an area where lawmakers appear immune to public opinion.

Surprise! State Lawmakers Defeat The NRA  

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Ban On Dangerous Gay Conversion Therapy

Declining a challenge to New Jersey’s ban on gay conversion therapy, the Supreme Court agreed with the ruling of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of...

Ban On Dangerous Gay Conversion Therapy

Miami Beach cop suspended for punching handcuffed model after new video emerges

"Your lack of judgment and your poor decisions defy your tenure as a Miami Beach Police Officer of 19 years."

Miami Beach cop suspended

Meet The Missouri Town Where Everyone Is Under Arrest

This little town is the epitome of the problems with profit-driven law enforcement.
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Stingy Franchisees Pretend The Government Will Ruin Their Business

Franchisees are upset that the government will regulate their practices of wage theft. It's about time.

Stingy Franchisees