When he criticized Obama for his attacks on private equity. Former Congressman Ford made his comments on Morning Joe.

“I agree with [Booker], private equity’s not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, private equity is a good thing in many, many instances,” Ford told the Morning Joe panel.

As you may recall, Booker told NBC’s David Gregory on Sunday that the president’s attack on Romney’s background in private equity is “nauseating to the American public. Enough is enough. Stop attacking private equity. Stop attacking Jeremiah Wright.” Later in the day, Booker walked back that statement in a personal YouTube video. But former Congressman Ford says he would not have done so.

Video below the fold. more...

Posted by: rdbrewer at 10:21 AM | Comments (111)
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The media has two modes of bias:

If something that hurts Obama can be spun in such a way as to negate its impact, they may report it-- with the spin, of course.

If something that hurts Obama is impossible to spin, then they ignore it entirely and hope no one hears about it, or that anyone who hears about it takes the press' silence as meaning the story has been debunked.

For example: The fact that Wright says an Obama crony offered him $150,000 to stop preaching until after the 2008 election. It can't be spun, so it simply gets embargoed.

The economy is a tricky thing for the press-- they can't ignore it, since it is on everyone's mind. Which means they'll have to spin it-- even if such spin is sort of absurd.

With that in mind:

Is GOP trying to sabotage economy to hurt Obama?

By CHARLES BABINGTON | Associated Press – Sat, May 19, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Are Republican lawmakers deliberately stalling the economic recovery to hurt President Barack Obama's re-election chances? Some top Democrats say yes, pointing to GOP stances on the debt limit and other issues that they claim are causing unnecessary economic anxiety and retarding growth.

The latest Democratic complaint came after House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that when Congress raises the nation's borrowing cap in early 2013, he will again insist on big spending cuts to offset the increase. Boehner, R-Ohio, continues to reject higher tax rates, which Democrats demand from the wealthy.
That led Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to say Boehner is virtually assuring another debt-ceiling crisis as bad or worse than the one that shook financial markets nine months ago.

Intriguingly, apparently the AP has a major scoop that they aren't reporting for some reason. The AP seems to know it as a fact that Republicans know that Obama's prescription of borrowing and spending is precisely the right course for the economy (look at the wonders it's done for Greece!), but are refusing to do what they know will help the economy.

It couldn't be, for example, that Republicans think that further massive spending into bankruptcy will sink the country or anything.

No, AP knows (and yet knows this without explicitly saying so or providing evidence for their secret knowledge) that Republicans think Obama's spending plans are awesome, but is refusing to do awesome things just to hurt Obama.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:43 AM | Comments (149)
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Finally.

This lawsuit is about one of America’s most cherished freedoms: the freedom to practice one’s religion without government interference. It is not about whether people have a right to abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception. Those services are, and will continue to be, freely available in the United States, and nothing prevents the Government itself from making them more widely available. But the right to such services does not authorize the Government to force the University of Notre Dame (“Notre Dame”) to violate its own conscience by making it provide, pay for, and/or facilitate those services to others, contrary to itssincerely held religious beliefs. …

If the Government can force religious institutions to violate their beliefs in such a manner, there is no apparent limit to the GovernmentÂ’s power. Such an oppression of religious freedom violates Notre DameÂ’s clearly established constitutional and statutory rights.

The First Amendment also prohibits the Government from becoming excessively entangled in religious affairs and from interfering with a religious institutionÂ’s internal decisions concerning the organizationÂ’s religious structure, ministers, or doctrine. The U.S. Government Mandate tramples all of these rights.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:22 AM | Comments (392)
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Jeopardy's a right-wing propaganda machine lately.

Another idiot exposed.

[This is ace. I'm having trouble with my usual login so I'm using this one.]

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:29 AM | Comments (199)
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I opted for the search instead of the big scanning machine at the airport yesterday and the TSA agent was really nice about it.

She made me wait a long, long, time, then f*cking clucked her tongue at me while she was talking about me- right in front of me- to her coworkers.

Then, when she finally decided to do her job, gave me a raft of sh*t that began with "Why don't you want to go through the machine?"

I thoroughly enjoyed her attitude and condescending talkdown, and especially the shitty looks of disdain. I also was pleased to have to hold my tongue because this unpleasant person has so much power over me that she can make me miss my flight if I piss her off, and she's obviously already halfway there.

Can hardly wait until this person is in charge of my healthcare.

So here's another Open Thread for your Monday pleasure.

Posted by: LauraW at 05:56 AM | Comments (267)
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Monday? How'd that happen again so quickly?

Posted by: andy at 03:19 AM | Comments (252)
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Fair warning - Wednesday is the third anniversary of the Infamous Memorial Day ONT. So gird your loins and start preparing your cocktails. And alibis.

Also: Dragon currently eating the Sun. As long as you have made the proper sacrifices there's no need to be alarmed.

So Where Do Babies Come From?

Well based on this chart the answer seems to be September.

And after doing a little advanced calendar math it's clear there's a whole lot of getting' jiggy going on around Christmas. And Easter weekend.

(thanks to Dan Collins)

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:35 PM | Comments (902)
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Update: Livestream below the fold.

Or just make a hole in a piece of paper and look at the shadow. Even if you don't live in the path of totality, you can still see most of the sun eclipsed. Unless you're on the east coast, in which case the sun sets before it starts.

You can also see it in the dappled light underneath a tree.

• Or stay on the couch and read this article.

• NatGeo: How to See a 'Ring of Fire' Today.

Open thread. more...

Posted by: rdbrewer at 03:17 PM | Comments (255)
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Via the Breitbart Empire:

A YouTube video uploaded on Monday afternoon apparently shows a schoolteacher from the Rowan-Salisbury school district in North Carolina informing a student that failing to be respectful of President Obama is a criminal offense. Breitbart News has uncovered that the student is a high school junior, and that the teacher is apparently one Tanya Dixon-Neely.

The logic on display here is amazing, and by "amazing" I mean truly frightening.

One student says, “Didn’t Obama bully someone though?” The teacher says: “Not to my knowledge.” The student then cites the fact that Obama, in Dreams from My Father, admits to shoving a little girl. “Stop, no, because there is no comparison,” screams the teacher. Romney is “running for president. Obama is the president.” (emphasis added)

Ummm ... what?! No wonder Johnny can't think.

And for those of you playing along at home, there's some helpful clarification of the left's ruleset here.

Not a bully: Teacher who shouts down a student for stating an indisputable fact about Obama.
Bully (and homophobe): High-school kid who cut off a high-school hippie's hair in the '60s.

Got that?

Video (well, mainly audio) below the fold. more...

Posted by: andy at 10:45 AM | Comments (459)
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Well, looks like I posted a list a bit too soon. There have been some interesting developments in just the 24 hours since we last visited the race, and these are making Walker's survival even more likely:

1- Major Endorsements
Yesterday, the largest newspaper in the state, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, came out and endorsed Governor Walker in the recall fight, bringing the focus back to square one on recall/not recall. The newspaper did endorse him in 2010, but has grown increasingly critical of his policy positions, and was not expected to even endorse this time. Their argument in backing Walker in the recall will probably evolve into the biggest excuse by liberals and Democrats when (as it looks likely) Walker survives the recall itself. It is a fair point though: you don't recall someone because you hate their policies. We have elections for that. Recalls should be held when a gross violation of the responsibilities of an elected office have occurred. The fight to successfully recall an official is always an uphill battle, regardless what polling might say at its onset. Eventually, people have to decide if the process is being used wisely, regardless the personal popularity of the recall-ee. The MJS endorsement is a rare instance of actual impartiality, asking its readers to look at the recall itself, it's intents and reasoning, as opposed to personal opinion on the Governor. When the straight facts are looked at, the recall looks like an expensive temper tantrum by those out of power.

Also, the Milwaukee Police Association endorsed Governor Walker as well, rebuking Mayor Tom Barrett in the process and setting up an example of the second thing in today's list:

2- Tom Barrett Being Himself

As you may have heard, a ceremony honoring fallen heroes was held Tuesday.
Governor Walker attended. The mayor did not. Why? He was busy sucking up to unions for a last minute cash flush. What makes this worse was his on-the-record explanation for where he had been, obviously in conflict with the truth:

Newsradio 620 WTMJ's John Mercure caught up with the Mayor Thursday and asked where he had been during the events. The Mayor and his staff couldn't remember where they were at the time. "I was working. I wasÂ… I'll have to get back to you about the specifics," the mayor told John.

The Mayor's campaign never got back with specifics. But we've now learned about his appearance in Oshkosh.

Video proof of him being at the union meeting here, h/t to Moe Lane at Redstate.

Beyond the terrible optics this generates, it destroys a tired lefty meme about Walker. "He's never in the state, always campaigning for himself elsewhere." Well, Mayor Barrett one-upped the Governor here by passing an expected showing at an honorable ceremony in a desperate bid for cash.

Walker's defenders can kick off this news week with another credible attack on the mayor, putting Barrett yet again on the defensive when he desperately needs the Governor to be on the hot seat.
***
Don't let the growing sense of Walker surviving make you complacent. He still needs help, he still needs your financial support, and he still needs your vote. The media is starting to spin the shift and the presumed result already to minimize any further electoral implications of a Walker victory. The larger his win, the harder it will be for most to believe the Blue Wall isn't cracking.

Hashtag #AOSHQDD and follow me on twitter for the latest polls projections and election news.

Posted by: CAC at 09:35 AM | Comments (64)
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