The Hill:

The Republican congressman who shouted “you lie” at President Obama will sit with a Democrat at Tuesday’s address.

Rep. Joe Wilson (S.C.) announced on his Twitter account Monday he will sit with California Rep. Susan Davis (D) and Guam Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D) when Obama delivers the State of the Union address to Congress.

Wilson is one of dozens of lawmakers who have said they will sit next to members of the opposing party in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), but his decision is notable because of his 2009 outburst at Obama.

During Obama’s address on healthcare to a joint session of Congress in September 2009, Wilson yelled “you lie” at the president for saying that illegal immigrants would not benefit under the then-proposed healthcare reform plan.

Wilson apologized a day after the incident, but not before he kicked off a media firestorm and provoked anger from Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill.

The House voted the next week to formally reprimand Wilson 240-179.

Well, I for one feel so much better seeing that this asshat will now be sitting with Democrats. I now will totally forget that he disrespected the highest office in the land. WE ARE CIVIL NOW. Not like last year when 179 m’effers thought it was completely reasonable to yell at the President during a nationally televised speech and voted that Wilson shouldn’t even be reprimanded. Yup, we civil now.  All it took was the near assassination of a congresswoman…

Sigh.

Talking Points Memo:

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) had an interesting take this weekend on America’s first European settlers, who she said “had different cultures, different backgrounds, different traditions.”

“How unique in all of the world, that one nation that was the resting point from people groups all across the world,” she said. “It didn’t matter the color of their skin, it didn’t matter their language, it didn’t matter their economic status.”

Dear Willfully ignorant White folks:

You can continue to try to photoshop history but there’s a bunch of us who have actually read a book or simply have access to the internet and will continously ask “WTF are you talking about? NONE OF THAT HAPPENED!”

Love,

ejw

After the tragedy in Arizona this past weekend many immediately looked at Sarah Palin due to her actions in the last election cycle when she proudly displayed a map of Congress woman Gifford’s district with cross-hairs because she was on her “hit list.” Although most media outlets specified that obviously Sarah Palin didn’t want Giffords shot, she was part of the “rhetoric” that was amping up America. Sarah Palin decided to respond to that.

Sarah Palin: “America’s Enduring Strength” from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

I wonder does Palin realize that just because she has a flag behind her that doesn’t mean she’s presidential. She calls statements that appropriated blame irresponsible. Yes, Sarah Palin a.k.a Death Panel Jones is now calling statements by others irresponsible. Now true–both liberals and conservatives have tried to make the gunman a product of the other side–but he wasn’t quite as apolitical as Palin claims.

“And they claim that political debate has somehow gotten more heated just recently. But when was it less heated? Back in those calm days when political figures, literally settled their political differences with dueling pistols?”

No Sarah, we’re not talking about then. The early 1800′s also had people owning people. That’s not exactly a time that would be reasonable to compare to NOW. We’re talking about the rhetoric that hit the street right after a certain beige dude got in the White House. We weren’t hearing a lot of “I want my country back” or quotes like “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Yeah, thats kinda recent.

Palin says that the American people have spoken in the last election–just like they spoke 2 years before–which I find very interesting because conservatives did everything in their power to stop Obama and the Democrats from doing anything they planned to do. They didn’t care about the “will of the American people” because then they didn’t agree with their will. But NOW? Oh now we have to listen. We need to open our ears and hear the cries of the PEOPLE.

Right.

“When we say take up our arms, we’re talking about our votes!”

That’s not what a LOT of people are hearing Ms. Palin. People are training–preparing for a conflict–and Republicans approved of such actions because it showed dissent. But now everyone has to make a left on those feelings. Right. Got it.

You know? For a moment I thought “Maybe today will be the day when Sarah Palin makes sense.” I was sadly mistaken.

Republican governor Jan Brewer’s decision to cut all medicaid funding for organ transplant procedures in Arizona has created a de facto death panel that has taken the lives of two people so far.

States across the country are feeling the strain in this bad economy and are cutting funding for services, but Governor Brewer is the only governor in the nation who has decided to save money by letting poor people die

On Oct. 1, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System stopped paying for seven types of transplants that the state’s GOP governor, Jan Brewer, and GOP-led legislature said they could no longer afford. The state faces a projected $1 billion program deficit by July 2011.

They eliminated heart transplants for non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, lung transplants, pancreatic transplants, some bone marrow transplants, and liver transplants for patients infected with hepatitis C. Arizona also restricted coverage of prosthetics, eliminated podiatric services, preventive dental services, and wellness and physical exams for adult Medicaid enrollees.

A former University of Arizona Medical Center patient waiting for a new liver died on Dec. 28 — the second person to die since the cuts went into effect, according to Dr. Rainer Gruessner, chairman of surgery at the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson.

During the year of volatile political fights leading up to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Republicans like Senator Chuck Grassley and former Governor, current publicity hound Sarah Palin (who endorsed Brewer’s 2010 reelection campaign) insisted (re: LIED) that President Obama’s health care bill included “death panels”. Panels of bureaucrats that would decide who was worthy to live and who had to die based on the cost effectiveness of their care. But you will not find any of them going after Arizona’s ACTUAL death panels.

You could argue that the money just isn’t there; Arizona is facing a billion dollar budget shortfall. But keep this in mind: Governor Brewer spent millions of dollars on algae research and repairing the roof of a sports arena.

As we prepared ourselves for the ridiculousness that was proposed by the newly elected Republicans of the 112th congress–the reading of the Constitution in full–some were wondering how far they were willing to go? Although many conservatives and tea partiers look at the Constitution as an infallible piece of awesomeness, others remember a key section within it that was a little less than the spectacular rainbow laden orgasm that they pretend it was. Perhaps three fifth’s less.

‘Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.’

Oh dear. That’s awkward.  

In this ridiculous piece of theater that house conservatives drummed up to appease their Tea Party base, they forgot about the reason why we have amendments. The Constitution and by extension the founding fathers weren’t the saints that conservatives try to make them out to be. They were rich white males. The constitution was written for and by rich white males. Even Justice Scalia as recently as this week said that our amendments didn’t offer equal rights to women. But don’t worry–the Republicans didn’t want to have to deal with the awkwardness of reading about when I would’ve been considered three fifths human. They’ve compromised and read the amendment for that part.

Sigh.

The Constitution isn’t, wasn’t and never will be perfect. Trying to govern by a a few hundred year old piece of paper isn’t going to work. Even as we fix–which we have been doing–it still falls short and doesn’t take into consideration things that will occur. Hell, it didn’t take into consideration the human rights of people that were probably in the next room when it was being written. Governments all around the world are taking better care of their citizens than we do ours but forget that. If it ain’t in this shit right here–this shit right here? Forget it. The Constitution–and America–has to grow with the times (which, again I say, it HAS but it has to continue.) To create the inane resolution that every bill that is now introduced on the floor of congress has to show its basis in the Constitution is absurd. And to allow this farce to continue we once again find ourselves having history Photoshopped because it wouldn’t go over so well sticking by exactly what happened. Reading the document as amended clearly shows the fallacy of forcing the reading of the document in the first place.

My favorite undercover brother is one step closer to making history in the White House.

Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton, the child of a Black father and white mother, has a chance to become the White House’s first Black press secretary after the announcement today that Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will step down in February.

From The Hill:

Gibbs, who will stay on in his current role until early next month, also would not say who might replace him at the podium. Deputy press secretaries Bill Burton and Josh Earnest, as well as Vice President Joe Biden’s spokesman, Jay Carney, have been mentioned as possibilities.

Gibbs, whose tenure at the podium has been marked by intense battles with Republicans, the media and even liberal members of the president’s party, said that after signing on with Obama in 2004, it’s “time for a little break.”

Gibbs, a close friend of Obama’s, will take on a revised role in the private sector, advocating on the president’s behalf on television and in speeches.

Burton regularly fills in for Gibbs, and anyone who follows members of the press corps on twitter knows they prefer Burton over Gibbs combative, pithy style.

Monday’s debate between four candidates in the running for Republican National Committee chair (co-hosted by would-be executioner of dog killers, Tucker Carlson) showed that despite public approval for equality, the Republican party is still not cool with “the gay”.

Even when the RNC had a gay chair, he worked diligently to stop gays from legally being married in the United States.

From Evan McMorris-Santoro of Talking Points Memo:

It seems increasingly clear that embracing some changes in the way gays and lesbians interact with society will be necessary for political viability in the future. That is, unless you’re running to be the next chair of the Republican National Committee. At their debate yesterday, the major candidates running to lead the RNC through the 2012 presidential race pledged to hold the line on gay rights, expressing concern over the repeal of DADT and vowing to keep the Republican Party in the sanctity of marriage business.

The same tired lines, “protecting the sanctity of marriage” and keeping it “traditional” like Bible times. But by all accounts, it’s straight couples who have threatened the “traditional” view and value of marriage as the divorce rate in the US now hovers around 50%. And the GOP has been doing their fair share of sanctum destruction. From Newt Gingrigh’s serial wife-dumping, David Vitter being diapered and sexed up by a woman who’s not his wife, Mark Sanford sneaking off to Argentina to be with his mistress and Larry Craig tap-dancing for dick in an airport bathroom.

As Igor Volsky of The Wonkroom points out, public support for equal marriage is growing. Despite, it seems the GOP, with help from the National Organization for Marriage, will do what it can to insure that candidates for their party understand their role is to deny the rights of LGBTQ Americans.

Whining about “traditional” marriage, stanning over our founding fathers, declaring government can’t do anything unless it was written in the Constitution; Republicans seems to think they can win elections by hanging onto the past. If they keep this up, their party will be just a memory.

Here’s video of the RNC candidates answering the marriage question:

One last thing on this: Just last week GOProud‘s Chris Barron insisted his party was coming around to the idea of equal marriage. Get out while you can Chris, your party doesn’t care about you.

I’m by no means a constitutional scholar but this take on the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia seems a bit off to me:

In 1868, when the 39th Congress was debating and ultimately proposing the 14th Amendment, I don’t think anybody would have thought that equal protection applied to sex discrimination, or certainly not to sexual orientation. So does that mean that we’ve gone off in error by applying the 14th Amendment to both?

Yes, yes. Sorry, to tell you that. … But, you know, if indeed the current society has come to different views, that’s fine. You do not need the Constitution to reflect the wishes of the current society. Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t. Nobody ever thought that that’s what it meant. Nobody ever voted for that. If the current society wants to outlaw discrimination by sex, hey we have things called legislatures, and they enact things called laws. You don’t need a constitution to keep things up-to-date. All you need is a legislature and a ballot box. You don’t like the death penalty anymore, that’s fine. You want a right to abortion? There’s nothing in the Constitution about that. But that doesn’t mean you cannot prohibit it. Persuade your fellow citizens it’s a good idea and pass a law. That’s what democracy is all about. It’s not about nine superannuated judges who have been there too long, imposing these demands on society.

It turns out that Justice Scalia’s opinion that the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment does not prevent discrimination based on sex (or sexual orientation) contradicts precedent and scholarship but hey a little precedent has never stopped Scalia before.  In 2011, this opinion is radical and Scalia is being called out by both the left and the right for this view.

To provide some context, here’s a clip from The West Wing that immediately jumped into my mind when I saw this Scalia headline.  In this clip, a Republican White House staffer (to the Democratic President Bartlett) explains why gender discrimination is protected under the 14th Amendment.  Even fictional Republicans disagree with Scalia.  Figures.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was surprised to hear the president’s voice on the phone. Barack Obama had two things to discuss with Lurie: the redemption of Michael Vick and the alternative-energy plans Lurie unveiled this fall for Lincoln Financial Field.

Michael Vick has been the target of outrage since 2007 when his ‘Bad Newz’ dog kennel was found to be an illegal interstate dog fighting operation. Aware of that a potential wave of controversy was brewing, the White House moved quickly to clarify that the President condemns the crimes Vick committed.

His career is peppered with legal troubles, from marijuana possession to infecting a partner with herpes. However, since finishing his sentence for dog fighting and related charges he’s managed to avoid trouble. The Philadelphia Eagles have given him a second chance, and he’s made the most of it. With Vick’s help the Eagles hold a 12-6 record and there are rumors he’s in the running to be the NFL’s next MVP. That was the bit of “good news”–Vick’s successful rehabilitation–the president was commenting on. Perhaps the president saw it as a teaching moment: use Michael Vick as an example that with a supportive network and effective counseling, recidivism rates among felons can be diminished over time. But this is the American media we’re talking about…”squirrel!”

A lot of the hysterical anger associated with Vick is ridiculous. Some have said he should be banned for life from the NFL. Other say he shouldn’t be allowed to own a pet. Meanwhile, singer/actress Brandy murders a human being, never serves any time and damn near wins Dancing with the Stars. Celebrated actor Charles S Dutton served time in jail for manslaughter. No one stopped him from perusing his career. He wasn’t prevented from acting angry.

But President Obama compliments an employer who hires a felon, allowing him to become a productive member of society, and its news.

One more example of the ridiculousness: Oscar Grant. After being detained for fighting on a BART train, Grant was punched multiple times in the face and kneed in the head by BART police. As he was laying on his belly being handcuffed, officer Johannes Mehserle shot Grant in the back, and stood over and watched him bleed to death. Officer Mehserle killed an unarmed human being and was given a lighter sentence than Vick. The officer who lied to investigators to try and cover Mehserle’s crime? He was given his job back, with back pay.

No word yet if PETA thinks the officers should be allowed anywhere near Black people, or to keep them as pets.

Texas Rep. Leo Berman doesn’t think Obama should be President. Why? Because he’s not Whi…er…not AMERICAN. I know, you’re probably thinking “wait, people are still arguing about the validity of his birth certificate?” The answer: Yes, because some people are idiots. In the video at the bottom of this page Berman goes on to explain that he wants someone to “show him” the proof that Obama is an American.  Anderson Cooper points out there has been statements by government officials who have seen the letter of birth but Berman continues with the “I haven’t seen it” argument…

Um, Mr. Berman? Who the fuck are you?

Why hasn’t someone asked him this question? You’re some old white dude–who frankly I find scary–but outside of that who the hell are you to demand any of this? The arrogance that exudes from the claim of “I haven’t seen it” while being told that all the proper channels have been taken is breathtaking. Because you’ve decided that you don’t particularly like this President now he has to prove to you he’s an American–continuously for 2 years AFTER he’s already been elected? Leo Berman is basically getting all Arizona on our asses and asking Obama to show his papers and trying to past actual legislation to do so. I watched in awe at someone who expects the world to bend at his will for no other reason than he said so.

I haven’t seen it.

Anderson Cooper breaks down every piece of dumbshittery™ that Berman throws up but none of it is good enough. For instance: Obama went to Pakistan 1981. Americans couldn’t go back then so he had to have another passport from another country meaning he’s NOT AMERICAN. Or…it means in 1981 you totally could go to Pakistan and that this smoking gun of theirs is absolute bullshit. So much so that there was a NY TIMES article about traveling there.

If you want to indulge the nonsense you can check out factcheck.org for more info destroying all of ridiculous questioning of President Obama’s birth. Berman claims that this is necessary because Obama is such a radical President. We need to know who he really is! Yes, the same Obama who’s catching nothing but hell  from a lot of Democrats is being RADICAL. Does Berman know what the word “radical” means? Barack Obama is so radical he’s pissed off a ton of liberals/progressives by being all moderate. Do they know that Nancy Pelosi worked really hard to push some of these “radical” ideas through congress? Should we go check her birth certificate? Pelosi sounds like it could be foreign right?

“I believe Barack Obama is God’s punishment on us today…” – Leo Berman

Texas State Rep. Leo Beman