In Defense Of Mark Sanford

Republican party leader and degenerate drug addict, Rush "Oxymoron" Limbaugh, defended Governor Sanford's leaving the country and cheating on his wife--Obama made him do it.

"This is almost like, 'I don't give a damn, the country's going to Hell in a handbasket, I just want out of here,'" said Limbaugh. "He had just tried to fight the stimulus money coming to South Carolina. He didn't want any part of it. He lost the battle. He said, 'What the Hell. I mean, I'm -- the federal government's taking over -- what the Hell, I want to enjoy life.'"

"The point is," he added, "there are a lot of people whose spirit is just -- they're fed up, saying to Hell with it, I don't even want to fight this anymore, I just want to get away from it."

So, terrified of being teabagged by a huge Mandingo stimulus package and thereby feeling impotent and self-conscious, the Governor just said "Fuck it," it, presumably being Maria in Argentina.

It's all about the man, keeping you down, Argentina way.

Aye caramba!

Sanford

Another Republican caught screwing someone besides his wife or the American people. Fix News is on the case though, and labeled Governor Sanford as a Democrat.



One wonders how the pallid peoples of the Republican base of South Carolina will cotton to the idea of cross-breeding with a Latina instead of a good hometown American woman. The fact his presser was on hump day is just a coincidence.

Iran

Clearly we should

Shower them

With Freedom Bombs

Getty Images via, and apologies to, Driftglass

Leave Meghan McCain Aloooooone!

She bravely entered the den of liberalism and admitted she was catching a lot of shit for it. Nonetheless, they treated her like a whetstone to sharpen their knives.

Meghan did way yonder better than I would've done when I was 25. I probably would've resembled a potted plant. Begala can't be blamed for taking an opening a truck could drive through, but Meghan does have a message as it pertains to the future of the Republican party. Trying to incorporate current complaints of the Democratic President is not part of it and just turns her into a typical whiny shill opening her up for drubbings like Paul gave her.

Note to Meghan--stick to your heartfelt beliefs as it pertains to the future of the Republican party and avoid trying to critique the opposition. Methinks your plate is overfull.

Hoekstroika

Republican congresscritter Pete Hoekstra gave a new twist to restructuring, when he complained on Twitter, comparing the life and death struggles Iranians are having with Republican Victimhood.

The Pete Tweet:

Iranian twitter activity similar to what we did in House last year when Republicans were shut down in the House.

Not to be outdone, other tweets came in with similar really bad analogies:

Got a splinter in my hand, now I know how Jesus felt.

Someone walked in on me in the bathroom. Reminded me of Pearl Harbor.

Sitting in a chair, feeling a good deal like Stephen Hawking.

More Hoekstroika fun here.

Liberal Media

So the Washington Post fired Dan Froomkin. Apparently, according to Froomkin, his column "wasn't working" according to his bosses. One of the hardest things he did was his job, while keeping his job. That is because, as a political critic, many times he found his columns repudiating the war cheerleaders on the editorial page.

He was branded with the scarlet letter of being a liberal.

Somehow, I missed the part where avoiding foreign entanglements, opposing torture, opposing illegal wiretaps and expecting elected officials to follow the law as liberal positions.

Asking tough questions has become out of vogue for our stenographic press. Press The Meat fellator David Gregory explains the media failure in the run-up to the Iraq war:

"I think there are a lot of critics who think that . . . . if we did not stand up [in the run-up to the war] and say 'this is bogus, and you're a liar, and why are you doing this,' that we didn't do our job. I respectfully disagree. It's not our role"

As an example to Froomkin, David Gregory shows how to question the President prior to going to war:

Q Mr. President, good evening. If you order war, can any military operation be considered a success if the United States does not capture Saddam Hussein, as you once said, dead or alive?

Q Sir, I’m sorry, is success contingent upon capturing or killing Saddam Hussein, in your mind?

In sales, this is called a choice close. "Do you want the red car or the blue one." One assumes the sale and gives the choice of options as opposed to whether the sale should take place at all, or in the field of journalism, calling bullshit:

Mainstream-media political journalism is in danger of becoming increasingly irrelevant, but not because of the Internet, or even Comedy Central. The threat comes from inside. It comes from journalists being afraid to do what journalists were put on this green earth to do.

What is it about Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert that makes them so refreshing and attractive to a wide variety of viewers (including those so-important younger ones)? I would argue that, more than anything else, it is that they enthusiastically call bullshit.

Calling bullshit, of course, used to be central to journalism as well as to comedy. And we happen to be in a period in our history in which the substance in question is running particularly deep. The relentless spinning is enough to make anyone dizzy, and some of our most important political battles are about competing views of reality more than they are about policy choices. Calling bullshit has never been more vital to our democracy.

[...] Dan Froomkin, recently fired bullshit detector.

Froomkin served an odd function in that he practiced the art of journalism at the Washington Post, and it "wasn't working." He turned into the guest actor of an old Star Tek episode, the one with the different colored suit.

Spock, Bones, Scotty and...Froomkin, beam down to the surface...

Hell, you knew Froomkin wasn't coming back. It was his perverted view that journalists should be skeptical and adversarial to claims made by political figures, and was labeled liberal for pointing out their false claims and radical policies. Reporters are simply supposed to type down what both sides say and run it through a spell check program. Calling bullshit, as David Grogory has told us, "It's not our role."

To get an idea of what Dan Froomkin felt the role of the press was, read this, this and this. Simply put, he didn't believe journalists should be stenographers, much less cheerleaders for politicians. And he was fired.

But the persecuted and largely silenced voice of conservatives, like neocon Charles Krauthammer, neocon Bill Kristol, Kathleen Parker, Glenn Beck, neocon and serial comb licker Paul Wolfowitz (who told congress prior to the Iraq invasion that Iraqi's would be able to finance their own rebuilding. He went on to head the World Bank, where presumably, math was involved. He got fired shortly thereafter) still get published in The Washington Post.

Keep chasing that thirty percent WaPo and see where that gets you.

Sex And Politics

I don't think most people really care about the personal sex lives of politicians. If only some politicians wouldn't be so morally outraged at other politicians pecadillo's, actions like Senator Ensign (R-NV) wouldn't amount to much. But the standard was set during the Clinton administration and the Lewinski affair (aka the Clenis). Not that President Clinton was the first public official to engage in such behavior, but he was the first to suffer a highly-partisan public lynching of a wildly popular President.

At some point, someone needs to call a truce and leave this sordid stuff to a single paragraph AP story. We have more important things to worry about than preachy two-faced sleaze bags.

Right Wing Extremists Terrorize America

Since Obama's inauguration, America has suffered nine attacks from right-wing extremists. Many of these attacks resulted in numerous fatalities from Nazi loving, xenophobic, women hating, racists coked to the gills on white power Aryan victimhood.

After DHS secretary Janet Napolitano released the report initiated during the Bush administration titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," every right-wing pundit in America was outraged. Even though no names were mentioned, curiously these pundits stepped in and demanded an apology, for slandering them personally--a blatant admission that they too, are right-wing extremists.

What is it exactly do we have to fear from these right-wing extremists that have a protective and Semper Fi-ish punditocracy who forced Napolitano into multiple apologies and retraction of the report?

The day after Obama's inauguration, Keith Luke kicks things off with a raping and murderous rampage. His plan was to kill as many "non-whites" as possible before killing himself.

Twenty days later, on February 10, Hitler admirer, Nazi memorabilia collector and serial wife-beater James Cummins was killed by his wife. Police found radioactive "dirty bomb" materials in his home.

Sixteen days later, on February 26, Dannie Baker walks into a townhouse where 14 Chilean students, here legally, were gathered and opened fire. He kills two and injures five, out of fear immigrants are taking over the country.

Thirty eight days later, on April 5, Richard Popalowski, a white supremacist, gun nut and cop killer lay in wait, wearing a bulletproof vest, for police. He killed three officers in the ensuing gun battle.

Twenty three days later, on April 28, Army Reservist, wife-beater, cop killer and Obama hater Joshua Cartwright shot and killed two deputy sheriffs when they tried to arrest him on a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery.

Eight days later, on May 6, racist Jew-hater Stephen P. Morgan guns down, in cold blood, a female Jewish Wesleyan student. He kept a journal where he wrote down his belief that it is, "Okay to kill Jews and go on a killing spree."

Twenty four days later, on May 30, founder and Executive Director of the militant vigilante group Minutemen American Defense (MAD)Shawna Forde along with some thug followers, allegedly did a home invasion where two of the occupants were murdered. Husband and father Raul Flores, along with his nine-year-old daughter were mercilessly gunned down. The wife and mother was wounded in the invasion.

The next day, on May 31, far right extremist Scott Roeder assasinated Doctor George Tiller in church.

Ten days later, on June 10, white-power Aryan nutcase and Jew-hater James Wenneker von Brunn walks into the national Holocaust Museum in Washington DC and opens fire, killing a security guard.

These cannot be brushed aside as "lone wolf" isolated incidents as I am sure the mighty right-wing wurlitzer will try to claim but it is disturbing to watch them attempt to call these right-wing extremists as lefties.

More of these attacks will surely occur, and they seem to be coming with higher frequency. More and more Americans will recoil from such acts, which will further isolate the right wing. And like a stalker, the more you ignore them, the more brazen they will become.

We're in for a long, hot summer.

h/t to Orcinus

Truth Hurts

Apparently someone took offense at me pointing out not all Republicans are racists, but all racists are Republicans. In defense of his dwindling, wingtard party of old white bigoted southerners, he neglected to point out the "southern strategy." From the father of the "southern strategy" Richard Nixon's strategist Kevin Phillips:

From now on, the Republicans are never going to get more than 10 to 20 percent of the Negro vote and they don't need any more than that... but Republicans would be shortsighted if they weakened enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. The more Negroes who register as Democrats in the South, the sooner the Negrophobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans. That's where the votes are. Without that prodding from the blacks, the whites will backslide into their old comfortable arrangement with the local Democrats.

Also, he failed to mention high-powered political operative Lee Atwater, who worked in the Reagan Administration, ran Bush the first's Presidential campaign and went on to control the Republican party as the RNC chair. Here he explains the modern use of code words in dog whistle politics of the "southern strategy."

You start out in 1954 by saying, "Nigger, nigger, nigger." By 1968 you can't say "nigger"—that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [that] you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites.

And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me—because obviously sitting around saying, "We want to cut this," is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than "Nigger, nigger".

I appreciate the history lesson Red put up about the birth of the KKK and how Lincoln freed the slaves and all, but I wonder how he missed the part how the Republican party targeted and actively campaigned to welcome racists? To completely be ignorant of a decades old strategy that continues to this very day is an indicator of stunning incompetence.

Yes, I know I rarely blog these days, as I have a full-time job in the energy sector. Please don't waste energy whining about my "drive-by blogging." Instead, thank me for providing the electricity you use for blogging.

Clingy Losers

Back in the 90's when the Democrats were in control of the Federal Government, a guy tried to crash his plane into the White House. He hit a tree and died on the White House lawn. On another occasion, a guy stuck a gun through the fence at the White House and fired off several rounds before being tackled by civilians. When Newt engineered his "American Revolution" with his "Contract On America" regaining control of the House, fanatical wingnuts seemed to calm down.

Now, after Republican rule over two wars and doubling the size of the Federal Government and debt, Katrina, Schiavo, and just all around dickeadedry, America has turned its back on the fanatical 20 percent that remains of the Republican Party. The anger has risen to a dangerous level and is manifesting itself in recent killings.

Ann Coulter once said "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim."

I think it is fair to say that not all Republicans are racist, but all racists are Republicans.

Hoist By Their Own Petard

Dr. Ed put up an interesting post where he posits all that remain of the Republican party is fanatics.

Ya think?

Well, actually, there are four parts to the Republican Party.

The Corporate Cons. These are the guys who actually own the joint. Captains of Industry and Galactic Scions all. They send their sniveling whelps to the best schools and purchase them elite positions in think tanks who issue relentless opinions that if Pops has to pay taxes or clean up the megatons of daily toxic waste his company spews forth, then all America will die of festering boils. They have color charts and everything.
Now, The Corporate Cons are not a large voting bloc, and probably couldn't get elected coffee pot carrier at the local Ihop. That's just not their job. And they are not Republican or Democratic--the ideology they hold is entirely self beneficial. So who would be a good tool to help them out?

The Neo Cons. These are the lackey's, the lickspittles who carefully crafted a legalized bribery machine to power the military-industrial complex. Actual Congresscritters and Senawhores purchased to enact legislation to benefit their owners--and we are not talking about the American people. But unfortunately they were stuck in the 40 percent range and could never actually achieve power. What savior could they call upon to deliver them to the promised land?

The Theo Cons. About two generation ago it was determined that social issues could be used to push the Republican party over the top. A partnership was formed wherein the religious leaders vowed to deliver votes for the Corporate Cons much like a station wagon is used to deliver groceries. And the sermon on the mount was delivered, that the evil liberal had set upon the good, God fearing Christian, persecuting them, conducting evil that would condemn our great nation to eternal damnation.

Tha assault was relentless. Every month a new group to hate. Welfare queens, abortionists, sodomites, dirty fucking hippies, ad infinitum. Some were repelled by such rhetoric, but many were not. The distillation process left them with the...

Conned Cons. An entire generation or two of millions of people have been indoctrinated into the belief that Democrats and their policies or position are evil. They are akin to the ceramic doll in the back window of an El Dorado Cadillac, heads bobbing up and down to anything Rush or Hannity or Newt (the three stooges of the republican party) says. Intelligent discourse is gone and compromise is heresy. A construct designed wholly by the republican party, like Frankenstein, cobbled out of hate and intolerance, rotten flesh and bad breath, the Conned Cons walk around like the undead, spewing talking points like a right-wing pez-dispenser.

But this Frankenstein doesn't fear torches, he carries them. The three stooges told them to never show weakness by compromise, so they carefully look amongst themselves for non-purist and quickly set upon those they find. So the three stooges and Faux News get great ratings and are doing financially quite well in the free-enterprise system and the market of ideals.

But that succesful rating came at the cost of electoral disaster. Now the teabaggers feel persecuted once again, but they are such mindless drones they don't see their tormentors at the head of the parade.

And The Corporate Cons? Why, they are comfortably fondling the Democrats now.

And so it goes.

Don't Ask Don't Tell

When Don't ask, don't tell was first implemented as military policy during the Clinton administration, I could see the inherent flaws involved. At the time I asked my big brother, an ex-marine (okay, no such thing as an ex-marine--Semper Fi bro) how he felt about gays in the military. Best as I can recall, his answer was somewhat like this:

Say me and another guy are pinned down behind a rock under heavy fire. We have limited ammo, and the other guy is a flaming queer o'sexual and a crack shot. One shot--one kill. Hell I'll kiss him right on the mouth, tongue, no tongue, his choice. Now say the same scenario but the other guy is a homophobe hetero. But he is a titty sucking lightweight, firing into the air, using his weapon like a noise maker, hoping to scare off the enemy.

Now we only have so many bullets. I'll let you draw your own conclusion as to who the first sonofabitch is I shoot.

The point being, in life and death situations you want the best qualified individual standing next to you. In times like that lifestyles are so far down the priority list as to be irrelevant. Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Abortion Doctor Murdered By Far-Right Extremist; Pro-Lifers Rejoice

Updated Below
George Tiller, an abortion doctor, was shot dead in his church Sunday morning by Operation Rescue follower Scott Roeder. Somehow, shooting someone in cold blood doesn't seem all that pro-lifey to me. Right-wing extremists disagree:

Red State:

Killing Tiller was the ethical thing to do

tankertodd Sunday, May 31st at 2:25PM EDT
[...]
I can’t escape the conclusion that killing Tiller was the right thing to do. I am uncomfortable with this conclusion because it’s dangerous. But nevertheless, it was the ethical thing to do. Tiller would have continued to take numerous lives. Nothing was going to stop him. So someone did stop him. And now fewer lives will be taken.
[...]

Operation Rescue founder and far-right extremist Randall Terry:

"George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God.

Current Operation Rescue President Troy Newman tries to distance his organization from the killer:

Scott Roeder has never been a member, contributor, or volunteer with Operation Rescue. Mr. Roeder may have posted to our open blog web site, as have thousands of members of the public, including those with pro-abortion views, but he is not affiliated with this organization.

We deplore the criminal actions with which Mr. Roeder is accused.

However, when Scott Roeder was arrested an envelope on his dashboard with the phone number written on it belonging to Operation Rescue senior policy adviser and convicted abortion clinic bomber Cheryl Sullenger. She claimed she had not spoken with the killer "recently." Sullenger is one of two names listed on the Operation Rescue's press release denying contact with Roeder.

Years of hate speech directed at Tiller for performing a legal medical procedure drove zealots to relentlessly attack the Doctor. His clinic was bombed and Doctor Tiller was shot in both arms. Now he has been murdered in his church.

Probably the biggest spewer of vile invective toward Doctor Tiller is the Supremely Moral phone sex enthusiast Bill O'Reilly who labeled the Doctor "Tiller the baby killer:"

According to Gabriel Winant, Billo first discussed Tiller on February 25, 2005 and followed it up with 28 more shows that mentioned the Doctor. Falafel boy portrayed the Doctor as a killer on the loose and using profits from his "death mills" to purchase political protection by giving campaign donations.

What could possibly go wrong?

What can never be explained to far right-wing extremist pro-lifers bent on bombing and killing are the deeply personal and dreadful choices people were faced with who sought out Doctor Tiller, from Feministe:

I was almost 26 weeks. I showed up for my ultrasound by myself. I was scanned for almost 2 hours. This is when my life forever changed. The scan showed that her little brain was severely calcified, parts were not symmetrical and there was fluid. The doctor took me into a room to talk to me. I told her “please just tell me the truth I need to know.” The Doctor said that she had no idea what this meant but that she felt something was terribly wrong. Within two weeks her brain had gone from “normal” to massive problems. I was sent up to Genetics. The counselor told me that the genetic doctor wanted to talk to me. I requested that they wait until my husband got there. The conversation with this doctor was the same, she felt that something was terribly wrong, but they had no idea what it was. “This looks like the tip of the iceberg” we were told.

The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life was to decide to terminate this pregnancy. This all happened on a Wednesday.

Friday we had to go and talk with some perinatologists. They told us that they had never seen this before and that they could not tell us what the outcome would be. We did not even get a percentage of what her life would be like. They told us that she possibly could die in utero, die shortly after birth, or be a vegetable. They told us that we could wait another two weeks and have another scan and possibly an MRI. How could I go on another day? It killed me to feel her move around inside. This was so awful.

We had another appointment with the doctor that performed the terminations. We were told that with my conditions and the lateness of the pregnancy he did not feel he could give me the care that I required. That’s when we were referred to the Women’s Clinic in Wichita, Kansas.

I was 27 weeks by this point. I was terrified. The moment I met the doctor, all of that ended. He was a wonderful and loving man. I came in on Monday and gave birth to our baby girl on Friday. We were able to hold her after, and say our goodbyes. That doctor will always be in my heart.

This happened two weeks ago and sometimes I feel like this isn’t real. I miss feeling her inside me. I miss singing or talking to her, touching my belly and have her respond. The hardest part now is that I will never get to see her smile or laugh or to watch her grow up A day does not pass that I don’t think of her. I miss her so much.

Recently anchor baby Michele Maulkkkin led the flying monkey brigade assault on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to pull a report identifying future threats possibly coming from right wing extremists and anti-abortionists. Now our lady of concentration camps is calling for civility and warning the left and the corporate media not to politicize this political assasination cheered by right wing extremist theocons who operate outside the law.

Update:
Creepy phone sex enthusiast and serial sexual harasser responds:

When I heard about Tiller’s murder, I knew pro-abortion zealots and Fox News haters would attempt to blame us for the crime, and that’s exactly what has happened. [...]

I see. Bill O'Reilly is the real victim here.

My Coffee With Jane

About three years ago I had occasion to have coffee and conversation with Jane Hamsher, co-founder of Firedoglake, progressive activist and movie producer. She had come to Tulsa to see her ailing mother, who succumbed to her illness. At the urging of the "firepups" (what the commentors at Firedoglake call themselves) I called her up. She invited me up to visit over coffee at a local Starbucks.

I live in Oklahoma City, which is 120 miles from Tulsa, but since I am also a truck driver, the trip is like to the corner store. I tend to be somewhat course having spent twenty years in the oilfield and very little makes me nervous, yet that two hour drive up the Turnpike worked on me. In my line of work I never get to have a conversation with a woman of her caliber--to hell with that--anyone of her caliber. She can be brutal and brilliant on her blog. I had better not piss her off was my main concern.

When she came in the coffee house, I noticed she was wearing the same satiny over sized blue top she was wearing the first time I saw her at YearlyKos in Las Vegas. One of those comfy, light and roomy shirts that could easily become a favorite. Her hair was long back then, and very thick, still slightly damp from a recent shower, and, to me, she seemed very thin. One could use the word fragile, if one was completely ignorant of the force that is Jane Hamsher.

We greeted warmly, got some coffee and on the way to a table she gave a brief recount of her mother, Greta, mixed with smiles and tears. Slowly I led the conversation to other areas, as I felt was my role, to gently ease her pain. I asked her how long she had been involved in politics. She sat up, cocked her head and said "always" and regaled me with tales of hither and yon, clearly enjoying her walk down memory lane of her early activism.

We talked and laughed and generally made good of the time. On two occasions her mood drastically changed. The first one was when she declared, "Another Republican President will change the make-up of the Supreme Court and set back women's rights for a generation. I am not going to let that happen!"

The second one came as we were walking toward the door and she let it be known that she had fought off cancer twice. I was angling for the door, being a proper southern gentleman, to open it for her when she said "I will NOT let it beat me," grabbed the door and snatched it open. Her face had completely changed. Her classic beauty had been replaced by a grim glare fixed in determination.

We parted company, and as surely as I was dazzled, she was probably underwhelmed. Still, I hoped I gave her a brief respite from her deep loss. When she left Tulsa, she headed to Connecticut to primary Joe Liebermans ass. Ned Lamont, a local businessman, was running against Lieberman as an opponent to the war. Rahmbo, then head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was parroting Chuck Schumer, then head of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee urging all their hand-picked Blue Dogs to NOT TALK ABOUT THE WAR!!

Jane led the blogosphere by hanging the war around Joe Liebermans neck, along with all his other "short ride" idiotic positions. When Ned Lamont kicked Liebermans ass in the primary, it sent shock waves through the political glitterati. Suddenly it became okay to oppose a stupid war we shouldn't have started to begin with.

Democrats did not lose a single seat anywhere, and the Republicans were slaughtered. The most dangerous place to be was between a camera or microphone and Rahmbo or Schumer. Stupid shits.

Jane suffered her third bout with cancer. It was a bad one, and yet again she stared the grim reaper in the face and sent the fucker packing. In my neighborhood, she is what we would affectionately call one tough fucking broad.

The Presidential race, for awhile, offered three options. One was a warmonger, one voted for the war, but was now opposed to it and the other was opposed to the war from the start. A nice spread on the options and America chose the non-waffling-non-warmonger. No one could have anticipated...

And now our newly elected Democratic President will choose our next Supreme Court Justice. All I have to say is, "Jane, this Justice is for you."

Specter The Defector And The Incumbency Protection Racket

Long-time Republican Senator Arlen Specter fearing a loss in his states primary switched parties in a desperate attempt to retain power. His vote for President Obama's stimulus package, one of only three Republicans to do so, outraged the far right-wing of the Republican base and their hopes that Obama will fail as President.

The Republican base see this as a victory in their attempt at "purifying" their party of anything resembling reasonable. Other "moderates" of the Republican party should be concerned--both of them. The shock jocks of the right-wing wurlitzer, Rush, Hannity, Coulter, O'Reilly, etc, have captured the base of the right and demonized Democratic policies to such an extent that compromise is an impossibility. This has reduced the Republican party to a regional party limited to primarily the old confederate south.

The search for ratings and commercial success has come at the expense of electoral failure.

Aside from concern trolling for the right and doing a Dr. Phil drive-by psych 101 evaluation of the dwindling Republican party, my concern lies with the Democratic leaders reaction to Snarlin' Arlen's defection.

President Obama has pledged full support for Specter's re-election bid in Pennsylvnia. Harry Reid will allow Specter to keep his seniority in the senate. Ed Randell, Governor of Pennsylvania and master of machine politics, will "clear the field" for Senator Specter, insuring he draws no primary opponent.

Specter would have lost his primary election to a far-right loon backed by Club For Growth, a hard, right-wing party purification organization. The club's President, Pat Toomey, would have been Specter's primary opponent, bringing to bear his entire apparatus in the effort. Toomey probably would've beaten Specter but due to over 200,000 republican voters recently switching to the democratic party, it is very unlikely a hard-right loon like Toomey would have won in the general election.

So if the Senate seat Arlen has now would have went to the Democrats in the very near future, why is the Democratic party promising Arlen a walk? He was in favor of the war in Iraq, the Protect America Act, warrantless wiretapping, telecom amnesty, and every other right-wing authoritarian cultists wet dream.

Primaries are when the voters get to hold their party leaders to account. When party leaders try to short circuit this process, voters should become very concerned. Pennsylvania Democrats should have the opportunity to decide if they want to welcome Specter to the party, or someone else like Joe Sestak. Democrats have a deep bench and do not need, or want to poach from the other side.

The Torture Debate

The current debate over the torture of detainees is whether the previous administration should be subject to a criminal investigation, or is this just a politically motivated "witch hunt" over "policy differences." Most of our political elites, joined by the subjective stenographic and completely compliant press corps, followed the lead of President Obama who called for reflection and not retribution. We should look forward.

First of all, America has over 2 million criminals in prison right now, more than any other country on the planet. "Reflection" and "witch hunt" may be a defense, but it smacks of elitism in the face of the unforgiving nature our criminal justice system offers regular people.

Second of all, it is not within the authority of President Obama to prevent or cause prosecutions of individual cases. He may set priorities, like fraud, pornography, etc. For the executive branch to direct prosecutions for the Attorney General would be "politicizing" of the Justice Department, something the previous administration was roundly criticized for.

As more and more information comes out, the more disturbing the pattern becomes. The "enhanced interrogation techniques" were derived from communist China capturing and torturing Americans during the Korean conflict to elicit false confessions. Military psychologists, Mitchel and Jessen, used these torture tactics to aide our military in SERE training (Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape) .

The White House contacted Mitchell after 9/11 and shortly thereafter Mitchell and Jessen quit the military, set up there own little shop of horrors and became contractors for the CIA.

Apparently the torture program began prior to the Justice Departments Office of Legal Council provided legal cover. Prior to that happening the Bush administration needed a work-around of the Geneva Conventions. This was done by dubbing the detainees "enemy combatants", stateless terrorists who were not signatories to the Geneva Conventions, therefore could not benefit from its protections. The Supreme Court later disagreed with this notion.

Reports coming out now claim the "interrogators" were not seeking information about imminent attacks or locations of bin Laden; they were under great pressure from the White House to establish a link between 9/11 and Iraq, of course which none exists.

Abu Zubayda was waterboarded 83 times in August of 2002. An eyebrow is raised when one remembers that on July 23, 2002, British foreign policy aide, Matthew Rycroft penned the infamous Downing Street Memo which stated:

"There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and [weapons of mass destruction]. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. ... There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action." emphasis added.

Khalid Sheik Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in March of 2003. The invasion of Iraq began on March 19, 2003. Gone were the OLC limits on waterboarding of twenty seconds and 2 pints of water. It was replaced by a gallon and a half of water and what must've been an unending duration.

So, we used torture designed by communists to illicit false confessions to "fix the intelligence" around an invasion of Iraq. It was so effective we had to waterboard 2 detainees 266 times.

This doesn't even address the bashing of heads into walls, keeping someone awake for a week, slapping them around. Clearly and beyond reasonable argument we have engaged in torture, which is a war crime. What is most puzzling to me is the insistance of a two-tiered criminal justice system, where regular people enjoy the full benefit from it, but our political elites are protected from it due to weird and Orwellian defenses like "policy differences" and "witch hunts."

Someone should tell Dick Cheney he has the right to remain silent...preferably someone with a badge and handcuffs.

Deus Ex-Puerto

Dateline--Parodyville, KS
Police kicked down several front doors in a local neighborhood, shackled the occupants and ransacked the residences in a frantic search late last month it was learned yesterday. Not finding what they were seeking, they stripped searched the shackled occupants, beat their heads into walls, slapped them around and gave them "swirly's," a technique described as simulated drowning by dunking someone's head in a toilet and flushing it right before they quit kicking.

Several local civil rights organizations decried the events pointing to the lack of warrants or probable cause in the rude behavior some have described as torture. Members of the lunatic fringe group "Dead People Got No Rights, or Dopes for short (they can't spell) claim the police are just trying to keep us safe.

"They had some reason to kick in them doors, and even if they got it wrong we shouldn't worry about a little spritzer once in awhile," the Dopes said.

Mayor MacCheese, trying to calm the situation, claimed the police acted legally.

"Our city attorney, from the firm of Dewey, Beetom and Howe, has given a permission slip to the local police authorities which makes this legal. Our city attorney was able to roll back local, state, federal and Constitutional Law with this permission slip and the safety of our township owes a great debt to Jay Bybee," the mayor said to a stenographic press corpse.

Enemies Of The State

Occupants of the Executive Branch do not differentiate themselves as individuals and their policies as separate from the state. As elected officials, they have been given the power by the electorate to enact the agenda they were elected upon.

The rub comes in when those who oppose this agenda are viewed as "Enemies of the State."

The Bush administration used their failure to prevent the 9/11 disaster to vastly expand the powers of the Executive branch to monitor groups they deemed "radical." From the Patriot Act to The War In Error to the FISA amendments--all giving vast new super secret surveillance authority to the Executive to monitor Enemies of the State.

Well, it was sold as keeping us safe from terrorists, but when policy hit practice it was discovered the Executive surveillance apparatus was monitoring the radical Socialist organization known as "Amish" and communist sympathizers called "Catholic Workers" and far-left pinko radicals known as "peace protesters and environmentalists."

Left-leaning bloggers sounded multiple warning bells, led by Glenn Greenwald, about the President seizing the power to break the law. Indeed, many of those on the left are calling for investigations and prosecutions to this very day for constitutional violations.

From the right of the blogosphere we were routinely mocked and derided for the claim of trampling on civil rights in the face of a Global War On Terror. We were told dead people have no rights and the constitution is not a suicide pact.

Now we have a new Executive, who unfortunately is defending the prior practices and blocking investigations into these new powers.

The difference is the Enemies Of The State have completely changed. Gone are those subversive "peaceniks" like Amish and Catholics, and environmental wackjobs like Greenpeace and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The creepily named "Department of Homeland Security" has just issued a report to local police forces warning of "growing right-wing extremist activity."

The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in "rightwing extremist activity," saying the economic recession, the election of America's first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias.

A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines "rightwing extremism in the United States" as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.

"It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the warning says.

Naturally, right-wing bloggers are outraged at this and immediately revert to their default position as victim and martyr. Perhaps they feel "rightwing extremism" perfectly describes themselves and their flying monkeys.

The man arrested this weekend for allegedly sending white powder to media figures and other high-profile people may be a big admirer of conservative syndicated columnists Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin, according to a writer interviewed on MSNBC.

When MSNBC host Keith Olbermann -- one of the people who received the white power(sic) allegedly sent by Chad Castagana -- interviewed Radar Online senior writer John Cook yesterday, Cook speculated that "Coulter and Malkin ... sort of present a kind of rhetorical world view where they have their troops out there, and I think he thought of himself as one of their troops and wanted to live up to their standards."

Cook also said: "(W)e should point out the evidence is not conclusive, but -- it's circumstantial, but it's good evidence. It appears that Mr. Castagana was a poster to the FreeRepublic, which, as you know, is an online library of some of the most thoughtful right-wing thinkers out there. And his -- the Marc Costanzo alias that he used, his profile said, 'Ann Coulter is a goddess and I idolize Malkin and (conservative pundit Laura) Ingraham.' And there are a lot of posts that suggest that he's a big fan of Malkin and Coulter."

Bloggers on the right, like Jonah Goldberg, our lady of concentration camps Michelle Malkkkin (who now apparently defends Terrorists Rights) , John Hinderaker, and Glenn Reynolds are all whining about this report more than a loose fan-belt. However, these same individuals were the greatest cheerleaders in defense of the previous administrations claims of extra-legal surveillance authority.

This points out two things in my mind. First of all, these right-wing bloggers are ridiculous and completely unmoored from any fundamental position. Secondly, our surveillance state must be reigned in and violators of the law must be prosecuted.

Nancy Reagan Praises President Obama

The wife of President Ronald Reagan, the political icon of the leaderless republican party, heaps praise on President Obama for lifting restrictions on stem cell research:

[...]

“I’m very grateful that President Obama has lifted the restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research,” she wrote in a statement released shortly after Obama reversed the Bush administration limits. “These new rules will now make it possible for scientists to move forward. I urge researchers to make use of the opportunities that are available to them and to do all they can to fulfill the promise that stem cell research offers."

Nancy Reagan has been an outspoken advocate of stem cell research — and scientists hope that the research could someday lead to a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which afflicted her late husband, Ronald Reagan.

...

Reagan continued, “Countless people, suffering from many different diseases, stand to benefit from the answers stem cell research can provide. We owe it to ourselves and to our children to do everything in our power to find cures for these diseases — and soon. As I’ve said before, time is short, and life is precious.

Will those on the right who are opposed to stem cell research throw Nancy Reagan under the bus?

Criminals Of Wall Street

When a guy who calls himself The Easter Bunny walks into a CEO's office and told him his company was being targeted by a financial media cartel in bed with the Russian and Italian mob, who are part of the biggest fraud in the history of the country, the CEO initially dismisses him as a crackpot conspiracy theorist.

But then the Easter Bunny makes predictions--his company would begin to be traded on foreign exchanges without his permission, easier for short-selling of phantom (non-existent) stock. Smears would be published by the financial community, lowering the value of his stock. The SEC would begin a bogus investigation into his firm and a crooked lawyer would bribe witnesses to file a class-action lawsuit which would further depress his stocks. All of this so a small cabal of hedge-fund managers could profit by short-selling, or betting that his stocks would fall, as they surely would given this full-court press, led by the press of the financial community.

The CEO later admitted that no matter how crazy a theory is, when they make predictions that come true, they tend to have some credibility.

And come true they did. Read the whole sordid story here.

Two things become abundantly clear; this is precisely why us political bloggers, both on the right and left, continually rail against the corporate media--and I will never look at Jim Cramer of CNBC--or indeed that entire network--the same.

h/t dday at Hullabaloo

The Gloves Come Off On The Abortion Debate

Women's rights are a cornerstone to progressive's so imagine my surprise the stunning silence from Oklahoma progressive bloggers in support of the Freedom Of Choice Act. Perhaps they are intimidated by paste eaters like Red Tater and Fried Green Onions with their bellicose rants. For those who are interested I will repost in its entirety the best "Why I'm Pro-Choice" post ever written, by Jill over at Feministe.

I am pro-choice because I believe women’s lives matter. I am pro-choice because I think women themselves are the best people to decide when and if they get pregnant, give birth, and raise children. I am pro-choice because I believe that the right to control your own reproduction is a fundamental right, and is protected both under our Constitution and basic human rights ideals — and I believe that fundamental right includes the right to prevent pregnancy, the right to get pregnant, the right to carry a pregnancy to term, and the right to terminate a pregnancy. I am pro-choice because I believe that if we outlaw a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy, there is no legal argument against forcing a woman to terminate a pregnancy, or disallowing certain people from reproducing. I am pro-choice because I do not believe that anyone should be subject totalitarian laws which impose unwanted occupations on certain classes of people. I am pro-choice because I don’t believe that women should be legally compelled to maintain another life at the expense of her own wishes, her body, her health, or even her life. I am pro-choice because I don’t believe that women’s bodies should be used against our will. I am pro-choice because I believe that compulsory pregnancy and childbirth is immoral, cruel, and flies in the face of basic notions of freedom, liberty, and human rights. I am pro-choice because I believe that forcing women to carry pregnancies against their will is involuntary servitude. I am pro-choice because I believe that children should be wanted, their entrances into the world joyous occasions — that they should never be considered punishment. I am pro-choice because I want women to be physically and emotionally healthy. I am pro-choice because I don’t believe that pregnancy should be a punishment (or, as anti-choicers say, a “consequence”) of sex. I am pro-choice because I realize that my rights to birth control, to have children, to make my own decisions, to be a fully autonomous human being all hinge on my very basic ability to decide when and if I reproduce.

I am pro-choice because I trust women.

I am pro-choice because reproductive rights are far more than abortion, and because I want to see us live in a true culture of life — one where men, women and children are truly valued, and where pregnancy doesn’t turn a woman into a second-class citizen.

I am pro-choice because those who attack abortion rights don’t plan on stopping there — they’re also going after contraception, science and even sex itself. And they’ve got a whole lot of political capital.

I am pro-choice because I see what places look like when “pro-life” policies are the rule of law. I see it again and again and again.

I am pro-choice because I see what places look like when abortion is safe, legal and available, contraception is accessible, and sex is considered natural, normal, and something we should take responsibility for, not be ashamed of.

I am pro-choice because “pro-life” policies kill and maim women. I am pro-choice because abortion rates are no higher in countries where abortion is legal than in countries where it is outlawed — but countries where abortion is legal see lower maternal mortality rates, lower infant mortality rates, greater economic prosperity, and greater gender equality.

I am pro-choice because women who live in the developing world account for 95 percent of the world’s illegal abortions, and I believe that access to safe health care should not be contingent on where you happened to be born. I am pro-choice because the countries with the lowest abortion rates — Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland — have liberal abortion laws, good health care, comprehensive sex education, and accessible and affordable contraception.

I am pro-choice because many countries where abortion is illegal or highly restricted have significantly higher abortion rates than we have in the United States, and astronomically higher rates than we see in Western Europe. Some of those countries include Brazil, Chile, Bangladesh, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, and the Philippines.

I am pro-choice because of the number of women hospitalized after unsafe illegal abortions in these countries:
Bangladesh: 71,800
Brazil: 288,700
Chile: 31,900
Colombia: 57,700
Dominican Republic: 16,500
Egypt: 216,000
Mexico: 106,500
Nigeria: 142,200
Peru: 54,200
The Philippines: 80,100

I am pro-choice because 80,000 women die every year from complications from illegal abortion, and hundreds of thousands more are injured.

I am pro-choice because the risk of dying from abortion is far higher in countries where abortion is illegal than where it’s legal.

I am pro-choice because illegal abortion is the cause of 25% of all maternal deaths in Latin America, 12% in Asia, and 13% in sub-Saharan Africa.

I am pro-choice because I will not go back.

I am pro-choice because if Roe is overturned, abortion will be illegal in many states. Even with Roe in place, states like Georgia are considering legislation which would impose life in prison or the death penalty as punishment for women who have abortions and doctors who perform the procedures.

I am pro-choice because I don’t believe we should criminalize women and doctors for exercising reproductive freedom.

I am pro-choice because seeing the impact of abortion rights on a country’s prosperity, gender equality and overall well-being is apparent simply by looking at a map.

I am pro-choice because it’s the pro-choice movement that has advocated for policies which actually decrease the need for abortion, and which make it easier for women to have children: comprehensive sexual health education, affordable and accessible contraception (including emergency contraception), pre-natal and well-baby care, social support for pregnant women and women with children, affordable child care, fair pay for working women, supporting pregnant girls, and gender equality. Comparatively, the “pro-life” movement* has no interest in actually lowering the abortion rate; their ultimate goal is sexual control of women, evidenced by their opposition to contraception and their belief that there is only one singular way to live: abstain from sex until heterosexual marriage, and then have as many children as God gives you.

I am pro-choice because I see the positive impact that the pro-choice movement has had in the United States. Women go to college at the same rates as men. We can define ourselves as something other than mothers, or as mothers and something else. Poverty has been cut in half since Roe gave women the right to control their own reproduction. Men can be nurturing too, and are expected to take part in raising their children. Families can be planned. Men have greater choices in their occupations since they aren’t required to be the sole bread-winner. More people have access to education. Women have more power to escape abusive relationships or bad jobs. Parents of both sexes spend more time with their kids than ever before.

I am pro-choice because I care about children — and according to the Children’s Defense Fund, 100% of the worst legislators for children in this country are pro-life.

I am pro-choice because I believe that my body is mine. I want women, girls, men, and children to be healthy, valued, and cared for. I want families to be healthy.
I want to live in a country that values the lives and well-being of all of its citizens.

I am pro-choice because it is life-affirming. I am pro-choice because it is fundamentally just. I am pro-choice because to be anything else is to devalue and harm women, children, families, and my country.

I am pro-choice because my life is worth something.

Happy Roe day.

*By which I mean the fanatical leaders of anti-choice organizations, not the individual people who identify as “pro-life” to mean that they dislike abortion and want to see the abortion rate decreased, but also support common-sense policies like sex education and contraception.

See, posters like Red and FGO feel their judgement is superior to that of women. This is the very definition of sexism and in opposition to progressive principles. Let them have their hate speech and vile ideology--they are ruined and wholly beyond reason. The debate lies with those in the middle and we must not yield the floor to these fanatics.

Red S. Tater Nut And Slut Diatribe

Local Oklahoma blogger and alleged human being, Red S. Tater has revealed himself to be a misogynistic knuckle dragger. This wholly sexist individual demands women be treated as property of the state, completely stripped of the right of self-determination. In Red's world, clearly women are sluts, and men like Red are powerless, and therefore not responsible for being victims to women's wanton desires:

[...]
Are women being forced to get pregnant against their wishes?
Are women being denied contraception?
What about the fact that if "needed" women can even get FREE contraception?
Or is pregnancy an airborne virus that women "get" infected with by attending sporting events where a lot of men are located?
[...]

Wow. Red deceives himself by eliminating any male responsibility in the sexual act. In Red's world, deception begins upon erection, no man can expect to think with two heads simultaneously. Unbelievable.

Leaderless Hivemind Republicans Left Witless And Scrambling

As President Obama throws an entire nation on his shoulder to wrench it out of the ditch of neglect and despair, the creators of the ditch try to decide whether to help push, aim for Obama's hamstring, or merely circle like buzzards from the distance.

Newt, the creator of the language to deride Democrats, calls Rush irrational for wishing Obama to fail.

You’re irrational if you don’t want the new president to succeed because if he doesn’t succeed, the country doesn’t succeed.

Rush may be somewhat perplexed since he merely used the language of Newt to define the Democratic party...

Contrasting Words

Often we search hard for words to define our opponents. Sometimes we are hesitant to use contrast. Remember that creating a difference helps you. These are powerful words that can create a clear and easily understood contrast. Apply these to the opponent, their record, proposals and their party.

abuse of power anti- (issue): flag, family, child, jobs betray bizarre bosses bureaucracy cheat coercion "compassion" is not enough collapse(ing) consequences corrupt corruption criminal rights crisis cynicism decay deeper destroy destructive devour disgrace endanger excuses failure (fail) greed hypocrisy ideological impose incompetent insecure insensitive

intolerant liberal lie limit(s) machine mandate(s) obsolete pathetic patronage permissive attitude pessimistic punish (poor ...) radical red tape self-serving selfish sensationalists shallow shame sick spend(ing) stagnation status quo steal taxes they/them threaten traitors unionized urgent (cy) waste welfare

to create a $400 million empire of dittoheads. Rush's political muscle is questionable, though. Recall how he declared John McCain to be "insufficiently conservative" to be the Republican nominee, yet McCain won in spite of Rush's claim. What cannot be doubted is the loyalty Rush has from his listeners. Political figures who gainsay him are inundated with hateful emails and are driven to apologize shortly thereafter.

Meanwhile the top republican in the House of Representatives, John Boehner, is calling for all things, a spending freeze. Right now, the government is the only one spending and John Boehner wants it to stop. That's like trying to smother a fire with dry grass. Even right-wing hack and self-proclaimed moderate Bobo Brooks thinks that idea is insane.

Go All In

Recently the head of the republican party, Rush Limbaugh, proclaimed his desire for the President of The United States to fail in his efforts to save the economy. Where is the Senate Resolution condemning Rush's desire to turn our nation into The Feudal States of America? The precedent was set when the Senate voted to condemn MoveOn.org's ad entitled "General Betrayus." The non-binding resolution passed 75-25, forcing many Democrats to publicly refute the left-wing organization.

Rush has said many outrageous things in his career as a vile-merchant. His hoping America falls into a Great depression should headline the list of condemnations debated on the Senate floor, and each and every republican, the ones that are left anyway, should be forced to declare on the record if they agree with Rush's opinions. Does the republican party represent the small ceramic dog in the back window of Rush's slimedozer, head bobbing dutifully up and down, or are they capable of independent thought?

On the one hand, they would face the ire of the majority of Americans. On the other, they face the wrath of Rush's 20 million flying monkeys.

Make a resolution. It would be a great moment in popcorn history.

In Support Of The Freedom Of Choice Act

It seems a few Oklahoma bloggers are opposed to this legislation. Steve, over at the Otter Limits, and Dave at Oklahoma lefty are uncomfortable with a bunch of unregulated vaginae running around, and get patted on the head by Red Stater, a hard right-wing wackjob lightweight.

Steve put up a post titled "What The Heck Is FOCA?" and concluded the federal government were stripping away states rights, will be in the business of "promoting" abortions (I can't seem to find the ad budget on this) and "taxpayers should not be forced to fund something we do not believe in."

His conclusions were not validated by any source material whatsoever. Here is some information about FOCA from NARAL, the national pro-choice lobby.

If Steve and Dave and Red are opposed to abortion they have the right to choose not to get one. As far as "states rights" issues, since Roe v. Wade was decided, over 500 anti-choice laws (aka "coat-hanger laws) have been passed since 1995. Seems some women have more reproductive rights than others. I pay taxes everyday for things I do not believe in. A million dead in Iraq comes to mind. This is why we have elections.

We have always had abortion on demand. Sometimes it's legal and sometimes it's not. The law has no affect on how many abortions are performed, but illegal ones kill a lot more women. To oppose this legislation will not slow the number of abortions, it will only kill more women.

Doesn't seem to be very pro-lifey to me.

Called Ugly By Frogs

Beneficiaries of billions in bailouts should not be wagging fingers and whining about irresponsible behavior by people who believed in financial consultants, especially if you are a financial consultant. I speak of course about Rick Santelli, or Sick Rantelli as he should be called, after his rant on CNBC recently. His wild-eyed financial wizard l'il buddy Jim Cramer is even worse.

Both confuse vehemence with competence in the hopes no one requests a margin call. As a homeowner and the proud owner of a 201(k), I, like many Americans have skin in this fight. No matter how loud you screech and catterwaul about "irresponsible homeowners", lenders who make loans that cannot be repaid are guilty of bad risk management.

Where is your ire for the AIG executives, Citigroup conspirators and Lehman Brothers swells who brought us this financial disaster? CNBC is without merit as anything close to wise in these financial times, or any other. As a complete failure, you are not overmatched by AIG, Citi, or even Lehman Brothers. CNBC is the "Fox News" for least informed viewers. If your main complaint is irresponsible people making bad decisions, perhaps they were just taking advice from CNBC.

It is as though CNBC is unaware we now have recording devices.

Pathetic

I question the sanity of those who idolize a degenerate junky who has been divorced three times and travels to countries with rampant underage prostitution with a satchel full of dick dope. Of course I'm talking about the head of the republican party, Rush Limbaugh. Poor dumb bastards.

The Rest Of The Story

It doesn't rain or snow in the oilfield, it just gets muddy.

I've tripped pipe during ice storms, icicles showering the floor when the pipe hit the slips.

We did not stop.

Rigged down, moved and rigged up in blinding rainstorms.

We did not stop.

Watched lightning strike the derrick three times while rebuilding a tail pump.

We did not stop.

Dug ditches around the rig in 110 degree sweltering heat.

We did not stop.

Tripped 47 times trying to fish out wayward collars.

We did not stop.

And yet every day, a little after noon, the oilfield came to a halt.

It was time for Paul Harvey.

We lost him on Saturday.

A doff of the hardhat to you, good sir.

No joy in the oilfields today.