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Saturday, September 19, 2015

The Daily Drift

Welcome to the Saturday Edition of The Truth Be Told.
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Republican Holiday - 
Of course constantly lying is what they do, so today is no special day for them after all ... !
Today is - Big Whopper Liar Day
 
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Jimmy Carter, American Superhero

Jonathan Alterby Jonathan Alter
FILE -- Former President Jimmy Carter in Plains, Ga., Dec. 11, 1996. Carter, the nation's 39th president, said Wednesday Aug. 12, 2015 that he has been given a diagnosis of cancer. "Recent liver surgery revealed that I have cancer that now is in other parts of my body," the 90-year-old said in a statement. (Suzanne Dechillo/The New York Times)

Justice Stephen Breyer Says He Will 'Eventually' Retire

Key word: eventually.
Headshot of Igor Bobic
by Igor Bobic 
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has no plans to step down from the bench anytime soon.
The 77-year-old member of the court's liberal wing discussed his life, legacy and eventual retirement in an interview with CBS's Jan Crawford published last Sunday.
"Do you think about retiring?" Crawford asked.
"Sure," Breyer responded.
"And are you going to any time soon?" she added.
"I will eventually!" he said.
Breyer dismissed the argument made by some liberals urging both him and his fellow Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to step down so President Barack Obama can nominate a like-minded successor before his second term is over.
"We saw this with Justice Ginsburg. So many people are saying, 'Why don't you just step down so President Obama can nominate your replacement?' But Justices don't really think that way, do they?" Crawford said.
"It's not really our job," Breyer answered. "Your job is to treat administrations not as political entities, that you favor some politician or you disfavor another politician. You try that for 21 years. And then you see that whatever instincts you might have had coming to the bench for one political or the other political side diminish."
Read the entire Q&A with Breyer here.

Standing for What the People Want

As His Leads Grow In Iowa And New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders Shows His Foreign Policy Chops

bernie sanders meet the press middle east
Bernie Sanders is building on his leads in Iowa and New Hampshire by showcasing his knowledge of foreign policy, and his peaceful path forward for the United States.
According to the latest CBS News battleground tracker polls, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has increased his leads Iowa and New Hampshire to ten and twenty points respectively over Hillary Clinton. Sanders now leads Clinton 43%-33% in Iowa and 52%-30% in New Hampshire. The poll tells a different story in South Carolina as Clinton leads Sanders 46%-23%, and Sanders has the lowest growth potential will only 11% of those polled saying that he would be their second choice in South Carolina.
His success in the polls has led to Sanders beginning to broaden the scope of his campaign. On Meet The Press, Senator Sanders discussed his view of how to handle the Middle East.
Sanders said, “I think clearly the now is not who is at fault. The issue is now what we do, and what we do is bring the region together. Countries like Saudi Arabia, which has the third largest military budget in the world. Turkey, other countries are going to have to get their hands dirty on the ground in taking on ISIL. I believe strongly that the U.S., the UK, other countries should be supportive, but I disagree strongly that the United States should have combat troops in that area. I fear very much that we will be in perpetual warfare in that region. I do not want to see that occur.”
Senator Sanders was at risk of being labeled a one-note economic populist candidate, but his status as the leader in Iowa and New Hampshire has given him the time and the platform to expand his campaign. The Sanders foreign policy message is going to be very popular with Democratic primary voters who also fear a return to perpetual war in the Middle East.
Bernie Sanders doesn’t have the same kind of foreign policy experience as former Sec. of State Clinton, but he is no slouch in the area of foreign affairs. The Sanders campaign understands that to win the Democratic nomination, their candidate must be well rounded.
A lot can and will change before voters cast their votes in Iowa and New Hampshire, but Bernie Sanders is morphing from an underdog to a candidate who is battling on equal footing with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

‘It was painful'

Bernie Sanders speaks to CNN (screen grab)
‘It was painful': Bernie Sanders tells CNN that the Republican 'debate' was so bad he had to turn it off

Koch Brothers Caught Manipulating Wikipedia to Scrub the Truth About Them

kochbros110114
For all their evil ways and naked ambition, the Koch Brothers are desperate to save their precious public image and depict themselves as “champions of the poor” and “saviors of the world.” Their latest attempts: “whitewashing” all Wikipedia references to themselves and Koch Industries.
It’s something of which the moderators at Wikipedia take a very dim view. Usually, they are on top of such shenanigans – but there is a great deal of material to keep track of, and most of the people who monitor and edit Wikipedia entries work on a volunteer basis. Besides, the moderators and editors of Wikipedia were dealing with the sneakiest, most devious slimeballs on the planet. Were it not for an undercover investigation by some equally devious journalists at Daily Kos, the Koch Brothers’ ongoing efforts to lie about themselves to the public might have continued unchecked.
There were, of course, suspicions. The Wikipedia “Talk Page” for Charles Koch’s biography is replete with critical comments and observations on the article’s objectivity (specifically, the lack thereof). The problem was finding evidence of deliberate tampering: was the poorly-written nature of the article and related pieces due to laziness and slipshod research on the part of the writers, or was there something more sinister going on?
A Daily Kos contributor went into Wikipedia undercover and used the ultimate weapon to expose the Koch’s campaign of whitewashing: a “Truth-Blitz.” The agent attempted to add a section to the entry on Koch Industry, entitled “Legal and Regulatory Events,” which was subsequently removed. Grounds for removal were based on “arcane Wikipedia rules” and claims that the information was “irrelevant.” In response, the Daily Kos team responded with a comprehensive and exhaustive list of well-documented facts.
It turns out that the Koch Brothers and their hired literary whores can’t handle the truth.
The Kochs have been up to these attempts to sanitize themselves in the eyes of the public for many years. Recently, as more and more people become aware of their abominations, the Koch Brothers have become increasingly desperate. They’ve even gone so far as to compare their agenda to the Civil Rights Movement.  Despite their best efforts, however, the sickening truth continues to come out about these latter-day tyrants and bloodsuckers and their willingness to destroy the planet in order to increase their own wealth and power.
Well…as HAL 9000 said, “I’m sorry, Dave.” And, to quote an old TV ad for canned fish, “Sorry, Charlie.”  You two bastards have overstepped your bounds too many times. Thanks to social media, new digital Progressive news outlets and clever and courageous investigative journalists like our friends at Daily Kos, you will continue to be exposed.

Ellen Page on Standing Up to ‘Homophobic’ Ted Cruz, the Celluloid Closet, and Her LGBT Documentary

Marlow Sternby Marlow Stern
The Oscar-nominated actress sat down to discuss her new film ‘Freeheld,’ her journey to coming out, and much more.

Immigration Reform Group Invokes Reagan In Ad Slamming Republican Cabal Nativist Rhetoric

Of John Dillinger and Perry (and Trump et al)

P.M. Carpenter's picture by P.M. Carpenter
There is, it seems to me, an intriguing relationship between political demagoguery and what might be called "populist" crime. The latter doesn't pay, it is said; and when one looks back on the national careers of our most sensational criminals, what is said is true. For all of John Dillinger's fame — which is nearly synonymous with Depression-era criminality — his eminence, if you will, spanned only 13 months. The nationally "distinguished" careers of Baby Face, Pretty Boy, Machine Gun Kelly, Bonnie Parker and the Barrow brothers and others, a mere 18 months. That spree of bank-robbing and kidnapping that have defined an entire American decade was, in fact, rather short-lived.
Their cardinal sin, outside the usual sins? They made themselves a target; they brought forth the focused eyes and superior firepower of officialdom; in going for national headlines, they squandered what might have been long lives of local, nickel-and-dime grifting. Organized crime figures who have made the same mistake, such as John Gotti, suffered similar truncations of their profession. To survive, one lays low, one opts for big froggism in little ponds, one makes only the smallest of splashes.
Likewise, modern demagoguery is defined by McCarthy. Add an 'ism" to his name and one recognizes not merely an era, but the dark art itself. Yet from launch to exile, McCarthy's national career lasted a mere four years. An assassin's bullet ended Huey Long's — which spanned roughly three — but even he understood he could never whip Roosevelt. (Arguably, the most skilled of all American demagogues was "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman; his political longevity, however, was due largely to tending his garden locally, in South Carolina.) These memorable pols were doomed, for they went on demagogic sprees much like Dillinger's and Nelson's and Floyd's criminal sprees — and sprees, by definition, do not endure.
Thus we note that egregious error in perspective committed by political pundit and best-selling co-author of Bush's Brain, James Moore, in August of 2011. Moore predicted with what is now embarrassingly high confidence that Rick Perry "will spawn the ugliest and most expensive presidential race in U.S. history, and he will win." The Texas demagogue's "money, image and support will become overwhelming." His rugged "good looks" and "podium skills … will create a product Americans will want to believe and buy." After dominating the primaries, wrote Moore, Perry will "turn to" another good-looking demagogue, Sarah Palin, as his running mate. In the general election, "unemployed voters in places like Ohio … will vote against Barack Obama. And in the process, they will write the epitaph to set upon the tombstone of history's greatest democracy: Perry-Palin, 2012."
Or not. Perry's political crime spree endured about one-fourth as long as Dillinger's more honestly straightforward endeavor. Perry was assassinated in Rochester, Michigan on 9 November 2011, by his own hand, for the weaponized Rick Perry hadn't the good sense to keep his two-bit grifting local. Although his shot to the head will be remembered as that which done did him in, it is useful to recall, as does the Post's Chris Cillizza this morning, that "Just more than a week before Perry's 'oops' moment, he had given what can only be described as a bizarre speech in New Hampshire. The speech was so odd that Perry was forced to deny, on the record, that he had been drunk." It was over before it was over.
This year, like a banished Charles Luciano, Perry believed he could stage a comeback. He was no luckier than Charlie. So now he's out, again.
The cavernous, conspicuous moral of this story: Bold demagoguery is thrilling, it's captivating, it's headline news; it's also as self-limiting as a Dillinger on the run. More subtle demagoguery, such as that practiced party-wide by you-know-who, can survive for a generation before the jig comes up. But a Perry, a Cruz, a Huckabee or a Trump? For them there's a splash, and then they're gone.

RNC Chairwimp Priebus Tries To Downplay Republican Cabal Infighting

More Popcorn please!

What Mark Twain would have made of Trump

Samuel Langhorne Clemens anticipated The Donald's special brand of madness in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

Trump’s glory days as the butt of Spy’s jokes

Trump Says Overpaid CEOs Are A ‘Complete Joke’

***
Holy Shit! He actually is correct about something! Talk about a blind hog finding an acorn ...

Trump ignoramus rips up Latino protester’s sign at Iowa tailgate event

A Donald Trump supporter allegedly ripped up a Latino activist's sign in Iowa (Twitter)Trump ignoramus rips up Latino protester’s sign at Iowa tailgate event

Walker Punts On Question About Taking On Koch Brothers

Walker Punts On Question About Taking On Koch Brothers

CNN calls out Walker backing Koch ‘special interests’ while defunding Planned Parenthood

“But aren’t the Koch brothers special interests too?” Tapper pressed. “Can you give me an example of one time you took on a conservative special interests?”

Walker: 'I’m The One They Fear Most.'

Walker: 'I’m The One They Fear Most.'
Delusions of Adequacy is more likely!

Walker Tries To Tie Obama To Nonexistent War On Cops

Walker Ties Obama To Nonexistent War On Cops

Wingnuts' False Narrative on Walker Probe Fueling Attack on Election Watchdog

Right Wing's False Narrative on Scott Walker Probe Fueling Attack on Election Watchdog

Christie Brags About Cutting Pensions And Raising The Retirement Age In N.J.

Christie believes promising to cut our social safety nets is going to help win him the Republican cabal nomination.

Christie Freaks At Chuck Todd On New Bridgegate Revelations

Christie got very testy when he was again confronted with the fallout of the Bridgegate scandal on Meet the Press.

George Will: Jindal Only Republican With The 'Kidney' To Take On Trump In 'Robust' Way

5 Wingnut Doozies Last Week

Vicious Wingnut Bashing of Black Lives Matter Is a Dangerous Proposition

‘Everyone benefited’ from putting more blacks in prison for drugs in the 1990s

Ashley Bell speaks for Fox News host Tucker Carlson (screen grab)Fox News hack: ‘Everyone benefited’ from putting more blacks in prison for drugs in the 1990s

The Next Time A Gun Nut Brings Up Switzerland Show Them This

Swiss gun argument.
This wins the internet.
Read more 

Viral Video Of Officer Hugging Suicidal Man Shows Exactly What Policing SHOULD Be

Viral Video Of Officer Hugging Suicidal Man Shows Exactly What Policing SHOULD Be (VIDEO)
This North Carolina cop gets what too many don’t: It’s about compassion, above all else.

Oregon Cop’s Life Threatened After He Turned In Racist Police Chief

White Oregon Cop’s Life Threatened After He Turned In Racist Police Chief (VIDEO)An Oregon cop who turned in his racist police chief is receiving death threats, but he’s still glad he did it.

Are YOU Prepared?

Are YOU Prepared? End Times Nutter Predicts September Apocalypse– Maybe (AUDIO) For several months now we’ve been hearing apocalyptic predictions from the religio-wingnuts.
The batshit-crazy-lunatic-fringe-wingnut-loon Hagee has been flogging his “blood moon” nonsense,...