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The State Of The Union, Take #3, Roll ’Em

Hot on the heels of the inability of some of Hollywood’s thin-skinned Wankerati to laugh at themselves (nice one, Ricky), the profundity of American Seriousness will  manifest itself at the annual set-piece SOTU on The Hill this Tuesday. One of the most endearing aspects of the SOTU ritual is its peppering with spontaneous bouts of quick-response standing ovations after Mister President has delivered grateful Americans his best bon mots straight from the heart of his autocue. Applause of the Pop Ups— surely no POTUS could wish for more. Terribly exciting in a pantomimish sort of way, such displays of unrestrained adulation are what modern politicians do when pogo-ing is inappropriate. The gesture of unbridled joy was nailed to perfection by Joey “The Weasel” Lieberman during The Imbecile’s 2006 SOTU performance. Joey, one helluva guy, was a Democratic Senator at the time.   Such twitter-op moments are nowadays pinged around the globe faster than David Helfgott can riff Rachmaninoff .

Despite the US being quagmired in South Asia, the economy still in the hands of the same folks who brayed the nation astray ( “no,no, no, America will never be involved in a GFC”), infrastructure disintegrating, schools strangled for funds many of the population dumbed-down to “rhetoric by slogan”……… during SOTU, Americans are going to be exhorted by their Commander-In-Chief to hang in there for the greatest little nation that ever had the courage to bestow god’s gift of Democracy upon a world of ingrates who happen to be born in locations rich in resources or are of hegemonic significance.

Talking heads will analyse every POTUS utterance with the same breathless anticipation the economic press once paid to each Greenspan sigh. Comparisons will be made with SOTUs past pitched by Mt. Rushmore shortlistees, Kennedy, Clinton, and Reagan. In the land of the diminished attention span, by the weekend very few voters will remember what all the hoopla was about. Unless there is a wardrobe malfunction or some lawmaker cuts a stentorian fart at an inappropriate moment.

When SOTU 2011 is over and done, when all the confetti swept up and when the last legislator has exited The Hill, two unwinnable wars will grind on, 30 million Americans will continue to be spied upon by their govt., the Silent Spring will continue to scream, Gitmo and Abu Grahib and the other non habeas corpus hell-holes will remain open for business, John Boehner will sport a more toned-down tan and a once-great nation will discover that mah-jong can be every bit as fascinating as poker.

1,278 replies on “The State Of The Union, Take #3, Roll ’Em”

Roo always seems to fall down the shithouse and come up wearing gold ear rings.

I suspected that this kind of thing may happen, which means he has enough money to hide whoever is responsible for the hacking scandal.
It was not meant to go this far after they had thrown Mulcare and the royal editor under the bus.
No doubt it is good for the legal process if you have the readies to squash or hide evidence purely by saying we are guilty now here is $2mil now fuck off and leave us alone.
Bet there are lots of crims out there who would love to be able to buy off the victims to save themselves from incarceration.

Roy Greenslade, a professor of journalism at City University London, notes that by making generous settlement offers to the alleged victims of the phone hacking, Murdoch’s News International — the umbrella group for his U.K. news operations — could head off at the pass those litigants aiming to expose a paper trail of evidence that could implicate higher-ups in the News Corp hierarchy. Greenslade writes that “legal eagles” have told him that if the litigants reject the settlement, “they could be declared to be vexatious litigants and even face accusations of abuse of process.” But more importantly, they could also be blocked by “the Part 36 regime of the Civil Procedure Rules.” That rule states that if a claimant receives less from the court than he is offered to settle the case, the claimant becomes liable for trial costs plus interest

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/could-murdoch-keep-a-lid-on-growing-hacking-scandal_1212418

Another senior NoW journo invited to the porrige house.

Detectives investigating allegations of phone hacking by reporters at a British paper belonging to Rupert Murdoch’s News International have arrested a senior reporter as part of the probe.

James Weatherup, 55, is being held on suspicion of conspiracy to unlawfully intercept communications and unlawful interception of mobile phones, detectives said on Thursday (local time).

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/14/3191896.htm

Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott plummets in the polls: DO-Over please.
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Like many of the newly elected Republican Tea Party Governors, polls are not their friends and Rick Scott of Florida has voters very upset and now would choose Alex Sink over him if they had the chance.

Only three months removed from Governor Rick Scott’s (R) inauguration, a majority of Florida voters now say the state is headed in the wrong direction and that, if they could do it all over again, they wouldn’t have elected Scott in the first place, according to a new Suffolk University poll.

Its like a disease spreading through Republican states. This will benefit another Democrat Senator. This time Florida.

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/floridas-gov-rick-scott-plummets-polls-

Jen my PC gave a little wobble on the desk near me and i just thought it was a heavy truck rumbling down the street.
There was no truck though.

All is OK though the MSM are sensationalising it of course.

For Dogs sake hurry up and get these bastards in the witness box and watch them tell their lies.

In a flurry of words, Ms Harris, 33, says: “This is about power and about thinking that you’re above the law and about who we can trust, and fundamentally this is about whether we live in a democracy, or a Murdocracy dictatorship that I never voted for.”……………………………… “The information will come out,” she says. “We’ll have witness statements, we’ll have cross-examination, we will be examining them on the disclosure. When we get to the trial that is going to be the big showdown, that’s when when we’re going to find out what’s happened. There will be no more hiding.” She believes that Rebekah Brooks, News International’s chief executive, and another ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson may be called to give evidence.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/charlotte-harris-nowhere-to-hide-says-the-lawyer-on-murdochs-case-2269242.html

What a great article.

“The real victims of the phone-hacking scandal are the tabloid hacks”

Chances are you’re quite smart. And you probably love to write – or did, once, back then, before . . . before the fall. Now you’re writing nothing but NYAHH NYAHH NYAHH ad nauseum. You use the only brain you’ll ever have to puke out endless gutfuls of cheap gossip or crude propaganda. Half the time you’re wrecking lives and the other half you’re filling your readers’ heads with nakedly misleading straw- man fairytales. Every now and then something might come along to temporarily justify your existence: a political scoop; a genuine outrage . . . but do you build on it? No. You retreat to the warm cave of your celebrity chef shag-shocks and your tragic tot death- porn double-pagers: wasting your life actively making the world worse.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/18/phone-tapping-victims-tabloid-hacks

To be fair, at least the refugee kiddies aren’t forced to wear upside down brown triangles on their sleeves.

“So I anticipate that I will be raising human rights in China as part of these broad and comprehensive discussions.”
~ JG

Altogether now,……………….aaaaahhhhhh!

Perhaps Prime Minister’s Dept. could thoughtfully provide PM with a swathe of colour glossies of the five, six, seven and eight year old children caged behind razor wire fences in Australia’s outsourced gulags…
Strictly on a nudge and wink basis to top level Chinese authorities of course.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/19/3195982.htm

Not this year, gaffy. At my vintage the thrill has gone from tromping around in wet and windy, cold, muddy and rainy conditions. Byron’s only good for old farts in El Nino seasons.

Like the way Tony Windor called Joyce’s bluff, btw. 23% is a monster margin and Tony W. is hardly the former NSW govt. 🙂

The Oval Office. President Obama pops down onto his hands and knees looking concernedly under his desk while cameras record the moment for both posterity as well as for inclusion in all the fun at the upcoming WH Annual MSM guffawfest.

“Nope, nah, can’t see any……there are definitely NOT any Constitutional Scholars under here!”

————————————-~oOo~————————————-

“Bradley Manning to be moved from Virginia to Kansas:

WikiLeaks suspect to be moved to Fort Leavenworth after storm of protest at his treatment in Quantico military prison……….

Many of America’s most respected constitutional lawyers signed a joint letter denouncing Manning’s treatment as unconstitutional and possibly illegal.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/20/bradley-manning-moved-virginia-kansas

Hi all –
Seems ok to tell you lot that have not been well –
some neurological probs … lots of tests including MRI still no outcome. I’m most worried about Motor Neuron Disease and am having Nerve Conduction tests on May 4 , so feels like forever away right now . All other tests have been clear – which is both good and not. Might be nothing too bad – might be something awful.
(- FirstDog is good medicine though. )
Will keep you posted
Jenx

Jen, no point in overly worrying till the May test results are known. Great that they have eliminated other major nasties. Sure, MND is a major league bastard as Lou Gehrig discovered, but you ain’t necessarily got it unless you are experiencing peripheral tingles, involuntary mini-tremors, loss of muscle tone and strength in exremities or are getting a tad unco in a pfo kind of way 🙂 Was reading somewhere about 6 months ago about new info re MND’s aetiology and therfore, treatment. Anyway, if you are clear of AML, suggest you ask the Neurologist to blood test you for ALL the mosquito borne lurgies ,eg. Ross River, Bahma Forest, Denghi etc. after all the water that has been swamping about Southern Oz lately. Makes my heart sing every time I hear that Cooper Creek and the Diamantina are in flood. The Outback is going to be spectacular this Spring.

Thanks Ecky – all blood tests have been done for the above (no sign) and symptoms are as you described so thats why i am worried. fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, it looks like one of Don Farrell’s holy warriors from The Shoppies has gone down in Adelaide.

If the Daily Terror tweeter is correct with his name then another hypocritical religious moraliser has bitten the dust.

According to Wiki this was the Ministers opening line in his maiden speech to Parliament:

“I am a servant of Christ and subject of His reign in history”.

Chin up, Jen! You’ve faced the worst of the worst. What chance some natural condition when you’ve weathered the unnatural force of Sophie M?

“None” I tells ya! 😉

paddy – loved that!
And not even a mention of the Big C.. which just makes it even weirder
😆

Hi all,

Nice to be back reading your posts though desperately hope all will be well with you, Jen.

Have been out of the loop, knocked sideways by a sudden wave of friends diagnosed with cancer. In particular, my closest friend of 30 years, and so I’ve gone into support mode and all else has drifted to the backburner. Even had to cancel an overseas trip we had paid for ages ago.
Am just humbled by the courage and grace writ large.

Have not been up to writing but good to see you are still here 🙂

Megan!!
I have been wondering about where you had got to, and was honestly about to post just that question…
and here you are.
I am sorry you have had bad news with your friends – particularly your travelling buddy. She must be very ill to have to cancel such a long-planned trip.

I have been thinking about how important friendship is , and how my cyber-world friends (read You Lot) fit into my life.
And the answer is In A Big Way.
Daily or at least every few days I make contact with a select group most of whom I know nothing about , but all of whom are real and important to me.
So it is much harder when the people you have actual contact with are struggling…
hope you are ok
J x

Megan, Jesus I’ve missed you. Deeply sorry to hear about the jolting and tragic circumstances that your dear friend(s) and you have had to deal with. Supporting your trail buddy at this time is an act of love and compassion. We already knew you had a monster ticker, Megan.

We’ve been cruising along in Ticsterdom betwixt elections. Expect things will crank up as we get into 2012. But we’re not going anywhere. We’ll always be here for you.

Please allow me the liberty of reaching out into cyberspace to hold hands with you for a mo.

“Supporters of Bradley Manning interrupt Barack Obama to sing a song of protest over the WikiLeaks suspect’s treatment

Here are the lyrics:

Dear Mr President we honour you today,
Each of us brought you $5,000
It takes a lot of Benjamins* to run a campaign
I paid my dues, where’s our change?
We’ll vote for you in 2012, yes that’s true,
Look at the Republicans – what else can we do?
Even though we don’t know if we’ll retain our liberties,
In what you seem content to call a free society.
Yes it’s true that Terry Jones is legally free,
To burn a people’s holy book in shameful effigy.
But at another location in this country,
Alone in a six by 12 cell sits Bradley.
Twenty-three hours a day and night,
The fifth and eighth amendments say,
This kind of thing ain’t right.
We paid our dues, where’s our change?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uhKYQo5AqQ&feature=player_embedded

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2011/apr/22/bradley-manning-song-barack-obama

Jen and Megan,

Hope everything turns out positive for you both, am really sorry to hear these things.

Thanks all – must admit feel like shit … every day I am able to do less than the day before… even gone off wine!
Waiting for further tests is of course the hard part – imagination can do horrid things in the dark of night. But lots of support from friends and sisters so I’m one lucky woman.
Lovely to get such support here too.
x.

Thanks for all your kind supportive words, Ticsters. Sorry I just can’t find the words to write these days.
Jen, have been thinking of you….May 4th must seem an age away. Good to hear you have great support.
Lots of strength and much love xx

Wisconsin Democrats just announced they gathered enough signatures to file a recall petition against Republican state Senator Robert Cowles. This makes a clean sweep of all six Republicans vulnerable to defeat in recalls.

Daily Kos would love to keep the volunteers who made this happen fired up for the recall elections this summer. So, later this week we’re sending them a huge pile of thank you notes.

Please, join with over 10,000 members of the Daily Kos community by writing a short note of thanks to the amazing recall volunteers Wisconsin.

In solidarity,
Chris Bowers
Campaign Director, Daily Kos

The Chaser Boys wrote to the Queen after being banned from covering the Royal Wankfest… 😆

“Chaser’s Chris Taylor says it is an “honour” to be taken off air by the Queen herself.

The Chaser later responded with a light-hearted letter addressed to “the Australian Head of State”, requesting a “stay of execution for our television program”.

“We, like Kate, are commoners, and were looking forward to celebrating her wedding to your exalted grandson with a few affectionate observations,” the letter on The Chaser’s website said.

“To ensure that our coverage was respectful, we were only planning to use jokes that Prince Phillip has previously made in public, or at least the ones that don’t violate racial vilification laws.

“We’ve also filmed a joke about hunting grouse which we think you might enjoy.”

The letter added that Australians “are a simple people who don’t often get to watch that kind of pomp”.

“The last big wedding we had here was Scott and Charlene on Neighbours,” it said, before signing off as “your Majesty’s humble and obedient servants”. ”

:mrgreen:

Canada’s Left Wing New Democratic Party Surges in Polls; Is Electoral Reform Near?
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With less than a week until the the federal elections in Canada, the left wing New Democratic Party is experiencing an almost unprecedented 11-point surge in the polls. (Don’t be fooled by the traditional American use of the word “liberal,” the Liberal Party is a centrist party and the NDP is to their left.)

Does this mean the USA will invade Canada?

More here..
http://elections.firedoglake.com/2011/04/27/canadas-left-wing-new-democratic-party-surges-in-polls-is-electoral-reform-near/

Well guys the Royal Wedding is on TV. All the girls and some guys are watching. I suspect all my neices will be watching. Wishing to be a princess. Oh dear. Never mind. I hope they enjoy themselves. May be I’ll watch the Grand Final Replay again.

By the sound of the crowd. It is a predominately female crowd. Why am I surprised? Not.

All the left/liberal leaning papers Huffington, Guardian, the Age and funnily enough the BBC online lead with the Royals on the front. Tony Abbott will probably say its a plot to keep him off the front of the news. 😆

I must admit Chris, i was a good boy.
Stayed right away from it till the fotty started on TV.

Breaking news. (unconfirmed) Fr9om NYT.
http://www.nytimes.com/
BIN LADEN DEAD, U.S. OFFICIAL SAYS
OBAMA TO MAKE ANNOUNCEMENT
5 minutes ago

Osama bin Laden has been killed, a United States official said Sunday night. President Obama is expected to make an announcement on Sunday night, almost 10 years after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Video Live Soon: Video of Obama’s Speech

Coverage on News 24 from Al Jazeera. Taken out by a drone with 20 other offsiders.

Great speech by Obama. Not taken out by a drone. Soldiers went in and took him out. What will Faux make of this?????

It was 8 years ago today that George Bush announced Mission accomplished. Ironical isn’t it?

The Tea Partiers are asking for the long version of Osama’s death certificate.

Ironical isn’t it?

Quite deliberate IMHO.

Chris given that Obi has been chairing NSC meetings since August last year he has had plenty of time to stage manage the execution date so that he could make the announcement on exactly the same date 1st May.

Kinda like saying, no mr shrub this is mission accomplished.

That news to Seppos will guarantee that he goes to the Whitehouse for a second term.
They will probably change their constitution to give him more as well. They are a funny lot.

Its good to see Faux News covering Osama’s death. It must stick in their throat. 🙂

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