Daily Loaf

For much of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic (and especially for wimpy Floridians), it’s been a particularly brutal winter. But for global warming skeptics, the record-breaking snowfall was an excuse to gloat.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky quipped, “Where’s Al Gore when we need him?” and reportedly burst out laughing when he was asked about the odds of cap-and-trade legislation getting through the Senate this year. South Carolina GOP Senator Jim DeMint tweeted that “It’s going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries ‘uncle,’” and Rush Limbaugh called it another nail in the coffin for “the whole global warming thing.”

But Lonnie Thompson, an acclaimed professor at Ohio State University who served as an adviser for Gore’s 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, says nobody should be making such rash judgments based on one particular weather cycle.

Speaking to CL after giving a presentation at USF’s School of Global Sustainability conference last week, Thompson said the fact of the matter is that it’s winter, and weather variability is at play. “If you look at this part of the world, it was cold in December here, but at the same time… it was 42 degrees and raining in Greenland.” Read the rest of this entry »

Record -breaking snowfall in some corridors of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states have led global warming skeptics to have a field day in the past week.

On Tuesday, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky quipped, “Where’s Al Gore when we need him?” and reportedly burst out laughing when he was asked about the odds of cap-and-trade legislation getting through the Senate this year.   South Carolina GOP Senator Jim DeMint tweeted that “It’s going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries ‘uncle,’” and yesterday Rush Limbaugh called it another nail in the coffin for “the whole global warming thing.”

But Lonnie Thompson, an acclaimed professor at Ohio State University who served as an adviser for the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, says nobody should be making such rash judgments based on one particular weather cycle. Read the rest of this entry »

I told myself I would resist the urge to write about not-governor Sarah Palin this week, I really did.  Even though she keeps “rearing her head” in the news cycle, to me she still feels like yesterday’s funny papers.  But in the wake of the big week she had, I’m going to make an exception and kick a dead horse around a bit here.

First, let’s address Tard-Gate: After Rahm Emanuel used the phrase “fucking retards” to describe some fellow Democrats he saw as uncooperative, Palin called for his resignation.  Okay — she has a special needs child; I can see how that would be an issue close to her heart.  Maybe for once she isn’t just engaging in political posturing, I told myself; maybe he truly offended her (to his credit, Rahm did apologize in video format).

But then she bends over backwards to defend Rush Limbaugh using the exact same insult, minus the “fucking.”  It seems that was acceptable — “I agree with him,” she noted, because “those people are kooks.”  She may also have left it alone, because as Mike Steele knows: If you go against the leader of the G.O.P. he’ll feed you to his audience of demented neo-con zombies like so much bloody entrails.  And Republicans fear losing that voter bloc the way they fear Americans receiving affordable health care.

Even Meghan McCain dubbed Palin’s hypocrisy on Tard-Gate “exactly what’s wrong with politics today” before going on to claim that Palin “will continue to turn off young voters, and anybody who says different is smoking something.”  That girl is rapidly becoming my favorite Republican (and not just because she’s a stone-cold fox).

What's that, Meghan? Vote Republican? Well, ethically I can't see how OKOK I'LL DO IT

Next up is Sarah Palin’s keynote speech at the Tea Party convention.  Never mind all of the logical problems with that.  Never mind that most tea party-goers don’t seem too happy with Democrats OR Republicans, and YET their keynote speaker is last year’s G.O.P. VP candidate (I thought it was supposed to be a 3^rd party?).  Forget all about the fact that the whole movement is supposed to be about fiscal conservatism, and that was hardly mentioned by anybody.  I heard a lot of Obama-bashing, evangelical-boosting, and anti-immigrant rhetoric that at one point seemed to call for a revival of Jim Crow laws, but I didn’t hear any ideas about how to cut the deficit.  This was the RNC Part Two: same talking points, same old broken-ass, retarded ideas.  And forget that this “grassroots” movement of the common people was charging folks five-hundred-fifty-fucking dollars to attend their convention.

All of that horseshit is of secondary comedic value to me, because Palin actually wrote down some talking points on the palm of her hand, much like a 14-year-old cheating on a civics test.  Because apparently, that’s much better than a teleprompter.  The ink on her hand actually reminds her to “lift American spirits,” which could either be a reminder to boost the nation’s morale, or a reminder for her to drink only locally-distilled bourbon.

Though it’s long been clear to many observers that the Tea Party is an Astroturf organization funded by Dick Armey and other high-level GOP operatives, that fact is actually becoming clear now to some of the Tea Partiers themselves, who are now actually protesting their own protest movement — which is itself only about a year old.  It should be clear to all now that this has never been about cutting the deficit.  If it had been, the Tea Party phenomenon would have cropped up when a (supposedly) evangelical Commander-in-Chief sent the deficit into the trillions with unconscionable spending on vast social engineering projects overseas.

The third and ballsiest bit of the half-governor’s amazing trifecta was her unambiguous admission on Faux News Sunday that she would consider a run for president in 2012.   She even had the sack to equate her quitting as governor because the job got too hard as a “win.”  Everyone was being a dick to her, so she quit — and that’s leadership.  By that standard, Obama should just make some whiny noises about the opposition, step down next week, then claim “victory.”

I still kind of want the old girl to make a run for the White House — because I still have a measure of faith in the American people, and I feel that even they will see through the shit that Sarah is shoveling at them.  But then again maybe they won’t, because after all a lot of them are fucking retarded.

In her single most high-profile speech since her national debut at the Republican National Convention, Sarah Palin blasted President Obama and gave homage to the Tea Party movement on Saturday night at their first national forum in Nashville.

Palin scored a direct shot 30 seconds in when she welcomed the C-SPAN television audience, saying at least they hadn’t been denied access to this event vs coverage of any health care negotiations, a slam at what Obama has admitted in recent weeks has been a less than successful attempt at transparency.

For 40 minutes, Palin delivered a folksy, sassy, snarky attack, lightened on occasion to pay homage to the Tea Party movement  (by which she was paid $100,000).  Attempting to take the attention off herself and onto the nascent political force (and as well as deliver another shiv to Obama), Palin said:

“This is about the people, and it’s bigger than any one king or queen of a tea party, and it’s a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter.” Read the rest of this entry »

On Wednesday night, the Tampa Bay History Center hosted a special birthday celebration for former Tampa Congressman Sam Gibbons.  The longtime Democrat, who served in Congress representing the Tampa area for 34 years, has just turned 90.

Moments before the ceremony was to begin, Gibbons sat down to talk with CL.  In the second part of our interview, we began by asking Gibbons about something we found curious about his record.  That is, how he had voted for the 1965 Voting Rights Act, but against the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  Gibbons said that he worked with members supporting the civil rights legislation.  “They were so glad to have somebody from the South that was working with them. When we got to the final vote, they just said,  ‘Sam, you just wait and if we don’t need your vote, just vote no, because we want you to come back.’  So I had helped them with the amendment process, and that’s what they were worried about.  They were afraid that people would amend it to death on the floor and they wouldn’t have anything when they came to the final vote…They knew they would have plenty of votes for the final vote and they did.”

But in 1966, Democrats paid a steep price for those progressive pieces of legislation, and many Democrats were swept out of office.  Gibbons remembers that time vividly.  “There is no doubt in my mind that the Civil Rights Act disturbed a lot of people in the Democratic Party.  There were lots of Republicans that voted for that Civil Rights Act.  But they were not principally from the South and that’s what happened.  The South really went Republican after that.”

Regarding working with Ronald Reagan, Gibbons agreed with the proposition that the era of his rule swept back much of the progress the country had gone through in the 1960’s and 70’s.  “Reagan was a charming, interesting fellow, ” he acknowledges.  “And I worked with him, particularly on international trade issues because he was good on international trade issues, and I needed all the help I could get on that area.”  He adds, “It wasn’t extremely popular, let’s put it that way.”

Gibbons has always been a leader on trying to normalize relations with the (Raul) Castro-led Cuban government, always a hot topic in Florida politics. Read the rest of this entry »

Orlando area Democrat Alan Grayson has a bulls-eye on his chest.

The outspoken freshman Representative was in Hyde Park in South Tampa on Saturday, at a fundraiser hosted by attorney Tom Scarritt and his wife Linda.  He says he’s halfway to his goal of raising $2 million for his re-election race this fall.

Grayson outraged Republicans last year when he accused the GOP of having a health care plan that  “If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly.”  Such comments have thrilled  progressives who support health care reform, but also set off the wrath of conservatives nationwide.

The Orlando area Congressional race he won in 2008 was the first time a Democrat had captured that seat in 44 years, and the GOP wants it back.

That’s why they’ve been desperate to find a viable candidate to take him out.  Grayson says his real opponent is the Republican National Committee, saying, “They’ve said that I’m their #1 target for next year, and a lot of people are rallying to my defense.”

Read the rest of this entry »

After seeing Tiger Woods win AP Athlete of the Decade in light of his recent controversy and Serena Williams win the AP Female Athlete of the Year with images of her berating a line judge still fresh in our minds, I thought to myself, why not have my own awards ceremony? After all, my selections seem just as credible as any other sports pundit’s.

So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I proudly present…. The 2009 McChumpies! Tuxedo not included.

Read the rest of this entry »

Obama at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Allentown, PA

As President Obama gave a speech Friday at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Pennsylvania, the marketing executives at GM should have been furiously taking notes; dangerously misguided our freshman President may be, we must give credit where it is due – he does a hell of a job selling utter garbage to the American people. His celebrity persona has every illusionist in the world green with envy; it’s misdirection in its most effective incarnation, convincing everyone (even those who doubt him) that he has all the answers and that the only way to prosperity is to support his agenda.

His entire recovery plan is like a twisted, Bizzaro-World version of the Cash-for-Clunkers program; loads of cash are thrown away, but instead of getting a shiny new car, we get a clunker of an economy, so ravaged by poor decision making that the slightest drop in unemployment is seen as a godsend. I’m talking, of course, about the .2% drop in unemployment for the month of November, which probably has nothing to do with the Holiday season. Probably.

Read the rest of this entry »

Well, it’s election day in St. Petersburg.  Foster or Ford?  Danner or Schmiege? Kornell or Rouson? We’ll mercifully know by tonight who’ll be governing St. Pete post Rick Baker.

There are state and local elections throughout the country, some said to have national implications.  I know Rush Limbaugh said  the other day that Barack Obama has a massive ego, but that still doesn’t mean that these races are necessarily about the President.

And the most interesting story of the day is that Lakeland State Senator Paula Dockery will be entering the race for the GOP nomination for Governor.

Download the report here

There will be no runoff election in Afghanistan this weekend (I know, we were all looking forward to the revote between Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah).  Karzai’s in, but what, if anything, will this mean for the U.S. interests?  Reportedly President Obama will meet at least two more times with his advisers on the strategy going forward.

As those discussions continue, the  young State Department official whose resignation was made public is getting  lots of face time.  Matthew Hoh appeared this morning on The Today Show, and yesterday on CNN

St. Pete Times/Miami Herald/Bay News 9 released a series of polls over the weekend, and it’s policy more than policy-makers that is most provocative in those results.

And on Sunday talk, Fox News gave Rush Limbaugh a platform for the first half of their one-hour program yesterday.  Too bad nothing interesting came out of it, other than the odious comment that President Obama’s appearance at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware last week was nothing more than a publicity stunt, according to Rush.

Most interesting was Joe Lieberman on CBS, saying he’d rather have nothing happen with health care reform than to allow for a government-run public option.

Download the report here.

Dede Scozzafava officially suspended her campaign

Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava has officially dropped out of the race for New York’s 23rd Congressional district. Earlier this week, I reported that Conservative Party challenger Doug Hoffman was becoming increasingly popular due to his strong conservative values, especially against Scozzafava, whose record in the New York Assembly has been consistantly liberal.

Now, it appears as though the pressure put on by GOP figures such as Jim DeMint, Fred Thompson, and Sarah Palin, as well as media power plays like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, has forced her out of the race. This clears the way for Hoffman, who already was polling with nearly half of the district’s Republican support.

Read the rest of this entry »

Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate for NY's 23rd Congressional District

As President Obama’s approval rating continues to slip, it is clear that he will face a much tougher race for re-election in 2012 than he ran last year. It’s like an overdue pregnancy; it’s been nine months, but he has yet to deliver. The markets are still fragile, and the dollar is going down while unemployment numbers are going up. Toss in our sky-rocketing debt and indecisive action in Afghanistan, and it starts to look like Obama isn’t the savior he was made out to be.

One can criticize the policies of Bush, but at least The Decider actually made decisions. Recent polls from a number of sources all show one undeniable trend  — the American people do not think we’re headed in the right direction.

Such a difficult time for Obama, and one might be under the impression that support for Republicans is on the rise. This isn’t exactly the case; CNN reported that approval for the GOP has hit 36%, down nearly 5% from the last poll taken in the summer, and almost at the same point it was in the last few months of Bush’s time in office.

Discontent with the major parties seems to be a growing phenomenon. Millions have attended “tea parties” all over the country, and the philosophy and wisdom of the Founding Fathers is a recurring theme in today’s political arena. Ordinary people are demanding that something be done; they demand accountability, fiscal responsibility and the protection of our most basic freedoms. Partisan bickering and the corruption that plagues Washington has made the American people feel alienated.

As a result, there has been a re-emergence of third candidates. Not long shots like Ralph Nader or Pat Buchanan, whose presidential runs seem futile, but viable and credible candidates with a fair share of support.

The press has taken notice. Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman is running for New York’s 23rd Congressional District, a seat up for grabs since Rep. John McHugh was appointed Secretary of the Army. Hoffman, a notable New York accountant, has shown favorable numbers in the polls at around 23%. This number is expected to grow as Hoffman continues to receive nationwide attention, thanks to interviews with Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin.

His conservative principles have earned the endorsement of powerful Republican figures, including Fred Thompson and Sarah Palin, even against the GOP’s own candidate. Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava, a Republican with an endorsement from ACORN, has a liberal voting record and a platform that isn’t a far cry from the Democratic contender’s.

Hoffman isn’t the only third-party candidate to raise eyebrows; in Florida’s 2nd Congressional District, Modern Whig Party candidate Paul C. McKain has entered the arena in a bid for the seat occupied by Democrat Allen Boyd. McKain, a former firefighter and businessman, has gained a great deal of support among the Republican base as well as the conservative wing of the Democratic Party.

McKain promises to restore true citizen participation in government, pledging to act as a representative of the people, as intended by the Constitution, not as a mouthpiece for special interest groups. In a district where Democrats are a powerful majority, McKain fights an uphill battle, but it’s a battle that he believes he can win.

And with the growing discontent among American voters, it’s possible that he will.

Tom Bortnyk is a columnist for the political blog Informed Dissent.

After last night’s brawl following the controversial St. Petersburg City Council vote on vacating the sidewalk of BayWalk, St. Pete for Peace says they’ll demonstrate tonight.

The Public Service Commission today rules on whether to impose a $200 million front end hit to ratepayers in the state.

And the Wall Street Journal blasts the National Football League for rejecting Rush Limbaugh.

Also in the news, as Congressional Republicans continue to criticize President Obama for ‘dithering’ in his deliberations regarding a new strategy and troop levels in Afghanistan, now comes word that there’s a good chance that there will be a run-off in the disputed presidential election there.

That report comes as the deaths of 4 Americans in Afghanistan are announced today.

Oh, and Florida’s unemployment rate is now at 11%.

Download the report here.

Rush Limbaugh is getting more pushback in his purported bid to purchase the St. Louis Rams.  The Commish, Roger Goodell, a good corporate man if there ever was one, didn’t sound too enthusiastic about the possibility of the man with talent on loan from god being part of a group that buys its way into the National Football League.

As we recounted yesterday, several players and the head of the Players Association have already responded critically to the possibility of Limbaugh becoming part of the league.

Most of the articles written in the media in the past few days go back to Rush’s previous brush with the league, when ESPN hired him as a commentator for the 2003 season.  He lasted less than half a season after claiming that Philly QB Donovan McNabb was never really that good of a player, but more a wish fulfillment of “politically correct” white reporters.

But it shouldn’t take others to observe that the NFL players — who are the game — are 65% black, and Limbaugh has made racially divisive statements about blacks his entire career.  Who could forget his enthusiastic playing of the song “Barack, the Magic Negro” in 2008?

Indianapolis owner Jim Irsey said yesterday that he couldn’t consider voting for Limbaugh.  He  remarked:

”When there are comments that have been made that are inappropriate, incendiary and insensitive … our words do damage, and it’s something that we don’t need.”

By Catherine Durkin Robinson
PoHo contributor
Catherine Durkin Robinson is a handful, creating quite a scene over at Out in Left Field.

“Isms in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an ism, he should believe in himself.”
– Ferris Bueller

What if white, country-boy Kanye West had interrupted African-American, R&B singer Taylor Swift? Would this switcheroo have changed public sentiment after their now-infamous interaction at the VMAs?

I doubt it.

The only difference – Kanye West would have been called a racist and a bigot, his behavior used as evidence that we still have a long way to go.

Well. We can call him a racist anyway. And still agree that we have a long way to go.

My question is – who cares?

Read the rest of this entry »

Jon Stewart and Rachel Maddow aside, Democrats aren’t always known for their sense of humor. But the Dems are taking full advantage of the Republicans’ latest wave of Rush-worship.

Echoing RNC Chair Michael Steele’s toadying apology to His Rushness, the Dems have created a web page — “the Secret Republican Apology Machine” — where you can mad-lib your own apology to Limbaugh. The New York Daily News quotes from a statement by Jennifer Crider, communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, whose site houses the page, imsorryrush.com:

“If you’re one of the growing number of Republicans who need a quick and easy way to apologize to Rush Limbaugh after you cross him, look no further than ImSorryRush.com… Even if you’re not a Republican, this new site gives you the opportunity to apologize to Leader Rush just like the elected Republicans did.”

Here’s a compelling animation of the U.S. Airways Hudson River crash. Stay tuned for the end, where the passengers are revealed to be the cast of The Sims.

• Michael Steele apologizes to Rush, making Limbaugh the defacto leader of the Republican Party.
• R.I.P. The Dow Jones Industrial Average.
• Is this a Depression? What the hell is a “Depression,” anyway?
• How dangerous and out of control was the Bush Administration?
• Where in the world is Hillary Clinton?
• “Scientists make HIV strain that can infect monkeys.” What did the monkeys ever do to us?
• New iMacs today?
• The Bucs learn a thing or two about Karma.

The day after Barack Obama became our president-elect and delivered a moving, eloquent speech in Chicago, I decided get myself all riled up and read some right-wing rants. It worked:

After Obama’s big night, conservative pundit Michelle Malkin was her usual bitter self.

This jerk is predicting everything but doomsday under Obama (including a smug prophecy that there will be another terrorist attack on the U.S.)

McCain supporters at his Arizona rally already think the sky is falling.

And even though McCain lost, you gotta figure Rush Limbaugh must be feeling pretty darn good right about now.