Video: Tommy Thompson asks "who better than me...to do away with Medicaid and Medicare?"

Unlike the James E. O'Keefe edited videos that distorted the truth, Republicans like Tommy Thompson are getting caught with their own words, unedited. They're afraid of speaking like this in public because they know they are highly unpopular. We know that the Republicans want to destroy Medicare and anyone who votes for them, better be clear that destruction is their mission. Read the rest of this post...

273m people can't be wrong about this video (but is it racist?)

I love this video, see below.  Makes me want to dance.  Funny too. The Daily Beast has an interesting analysis about what the video is really about. Before clicking over, what do you think it's about?

More background from MoJo:

If you haven't been following South Korean rapper PSY's meteoric ascent to transcultural ubiquity, allow me to get you up to speed: "Gangnam Style" is now the most-watched Korean pop music video on YouTube, and as of last Thursday, the most-liked of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The song, which currently tops the iTunes charts in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and a half-dozen European countries, just jumped to the 11th spot on Billboard's Hot 100 after debuting at No. 64 hardly a week ago.

Some worry that there's a darker, racist, meaning as to why we find this video fun:

You only have to look at a handful of other Asian and Asian American men that have made any impression in mainstream American music to guess what role PSY fits. Just this year, Korean American Heejun Han made it to the elusive top ten of American Idol and, while his buttery baritone did cut muster, it was his off-stage antics as a hilariously deadpan prankster that the public particularly reacted to. Before Han, the other Asian male that made any particular impact in American mainstream music was William Hung. Yeah.

That’s right: alongside clowns from other mediums like Ken Jeong (and yellow-face disgraces like Mickey Rooney’s Mr. Yunoishi from Breakfast at Tiffany’s), PSY fits right into the mainstream-friendly role of Asian male jester, offering goofy laughs for all and, thanks to PSY’s decidedly non-pop star looks, in a very non-threatening package. Psy doesn't even have to sing in English or be understood because it’s not the social critique offered by the lyrics that matters to the audience, but the marriage of the funny music video, goofy dance, and a rather catchy tune, of which two of the elements are comical and, again, non-threatening.

Maybe. But coming from the "gay child molester out to destroy your marriage and America as we know it" brigade, "funny" and "smart" would be a step up.  That doesn't make it make it right, but I'm also wondering how "wrong" it is as well, in the grand scheme.  I mean, I think Italians, as a rule, are hot.  And Swedes, as a rule, are far calmer than any Greek I know.  Is that stereotyping, or is it true?  And even if there is a kernel of truth, is it wrong to generalize about something even if it's kind of true (e.g., I can generalize about Greeks (my people) all day, and I think I'd be right.)

Oh, and btw, the video might not be funny because he's Asian. It might be funny because he comes off awfully gay.  So the stereotyping might not be racist, it might just be homophobic. (But even if it is, I really like it.)

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The skills that made Romney a successful CEO would make him a terrible president

John reported last night on a new video the Romney campaign released, with Mrs. Romney being interviewed by a Fox affiliate (who else?), titled "Mitt doesn't disdain the poor." (Seriously.)  As Buzzfeed reports, the video was quickly pulled by someone at the Romney campaign who realized that "I am a not a witch (or crook)" videos tend to backfire.  Fortunately Buzzfeed found another copy.

Below is a second video the Romney campaign was thinking of putting out, to show that Mitt doesn't disdain the poor.  For some reason, they pulled this one too.



The video didn't make the cut because Team Romney thought that calling Mitt "your majesty" in public might present problems with swing voters.

Following the recent string of problems for the Romney campaign, I was talking with my wife about how Romney could have been so successful at Bain, while being such a blundering fool as a presidential candidate. At this point, Romney keeps stepping out of one pile of steaming dog dirt and plops right into another. What happened?

There's a good reason there's a shortage of case studies that show successful business people running the country.

The mission of being a partner at Bain, or any large company, is so radically different from managing a country, so it shouldn't be a surprise that Romney's failing at evening running a presidential campaign. Bain's mission was less about creating jobs, and more about enriching Bain. If jobs came (or went) along the way, so be it. But like any other similar company, the goal was always about maximizing payouts for Bain, period.

The mission at Bain was to make money and lots of it. So a cold-hearted focus on money, not people (something that Romney excels at) was an asset, if not a pre-requisite for the job. Romney didn't need to listen to the little people in order to run Bain successfully, and he didn't have to care about them. In the end, it was all about making money for Bain and himself. He called the shots and there was no need to incorporate other views into his plans.

Running for office is completely different. Romney is now showing how little he understands about working with, and listening to, and caring about everyone, even the little people.

Mitt Romney is the least compassionate person that we've seen run for office in a long while, and people can see it, smell it, taste it. Who wants to vote for the guy that you know would fire you in a second if it meant he could make a few more dollars? Hell, Romney fired 47% of the American people the other night in that now-infamous video. Sure, Americans think that something needs to change, but no one thinks they're the problem, and they're certainly not going to vote for the guy who does think that.

Who wants an unsympathetic robot making critical decisions that could have a personal impact on your life?

What person receiving Social Security wants to let a guy like Romney cut those benefits, while giving himself a raise financed by cutting his own taxes even more?

Even worse, Romney is too blind to see that it's the 1% who are doing most of the mooching. But that doesn't compute in Romney's abacus of a mind. His business expertise is clear, and it's not an expertise based on helping others. Romney's Bain experience was all about cashing in for Bain and Mitt.

Don't get me wrong, Romney was damned good at cashing in. And that's exactly why people should be worried about him today. Running a country is radically different than running a company.  People are finally waking up to that reality. Read the rest of this post...

Video: What happens when you take a cat for a walk on a leash

On the bright side, the floor is now clean.

Read the rest of this post...

TSA retaliates against traveler who refuses drink test

So we're clear on this, the TSA is more about theater and towing the line, no matter how ridiculous it may be.

The new policy now is to smile and demand that passengers let their drinks be tested even after passing security -- in other words, while you're sitting at the gate with the drink you got post-security. Failure to allow the happy, smiling TSA to test -- or even showing annoyance at this new intrusion -- will result in retaliation as seen in this video from the Houston airport. The TSA will not tolerate attitude even if someone raises a valid concern.

So is the TSA now admitting that their security system for both passengers and food vendors behind security is lousy and unable to detect danger? With each month, the TSA pushes to new extremes without complaint from the political class.

While traveling through the US the other day, I watched an elderly grandmother being lifted out of her wheelchair and put into a porno-scanner in Charlotte. Maybe some of the lemmings find that reassuring, but I found it to be scary and pathetic. Read the rest of this post...

Video: Americans overwhelmingly want to see Romney's tax documents

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The issue of Mitt Romney's taxes has gone away for the moment, but refuses to go away. If Romney has any hope of winning, he has to follow his father's example and release the documents. It's the American way. Read the rest of this post...

Texas going purple?

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Anyone who followed the DNC last week now knows who Julian Castro is. My initial thought was that while he had an interesting story, how likely is it that any Democrat will have a chance in a Blue State such as Texas? Winning locally is one thing, but statewide in this day and age? There hasn't been a big win there for Democrats in years.

During the convention there was an interesting panel discussion that discussed the impact of Latinos in politics. The discussion included Latino politicians and Latino media. I've spent a bit of time recently in Texas so was interested in hearing about the transformation of that die-hard Republican state. Many expect Texas to shift to a purple state in the next 6-8 years.

It's hard to imagine Texas being competitive again but that day is not too far off. Even with this shift, Texas certainly is not going to be a progressive state such as the Northeast or West Coast. It's better than nothing though even the mainstream Democrats around the country are conservative (corporatists) compared to a few years ago.

One could also argue that Texas Democrats are doing what they need to do in order to win and that they may transform once their position is more secure. Perhaps, but time will tell. Read the rest of this post...

The Pogues - Dirty Old Town

I've had my coffee and after a very long day of travel from Charlotte back to Paris, I'm finally home again. Even better, it's actually sunny and warm here though not miserably muggy as it was in Charlotte.

Compared to the 2008 DNC in Denver, Charlotte did a nice job of organizing. It was relatively easy to get around and everyone was friendly and helpful. The weather was extremely unpleasant (unless you like heat and disgustingly high humidity) but that happens at this time of the year. They had police support from all over the country (lots from Chicago) yet the coordination appeared to be pretty good. Unlike Denver, where you had to walk forever due to the security fortresses, Charlotte was a breeze.

On the downside, Charlotte isn't my kind of city and I found it to be like an overgrown suburb and with the soul and character of a suburb. Nothing really defines the city from what I could see and it was too generic for my liking. Austin, which is somewhat similar in size, has much more character in various neighborhoods, including close to downtown. But hey, there aren't many Austin-like cities out there.

Above and beyond just Charlotte, I was reminded again of the American fixation with police on the street. Compared to the UK or Europe, you see police everywhere in the US. One morning I saw five police cars on the highway during the 30 minute drive. I did wonder if this was South Carolina's local hospitality to the Democrats (our hotel was in SC) but that's another subject. During my ten hour drive from the south this summer in France, I saw one patrol car. For whatever reason, we seem to love seeing police everywhere in the US. Read the rest of this post...

Video: Elizabeth Warren at the DNC - "The system is rigged"

As much as I like Elizabeth Warren, I wasn't sure how good her speech would be but wow, she was fantastic. And yes, the system is rigged and that needs to change.

“Republicans say they don’t believe in government. Sure they do. They believe in government to help themselves and their powerful friends,” she said. “Mitt Romney’s the guy who said corporations are people. No Governor Romney, corporations are not people. People have hearts, they have kids . . . They live, they love, and they die. And that matters.”

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Video: TSA now checking drinks at departure gates

Who doesn't feel safer with this level of security theater? Read the rest of this post...

Aravosis on CNN re: Ryan's lies, Tweetie standing up to GOP racists, and facts having a liberal bias

I went on CNN this morning to talk about the two political conventions, including the topics of the media fact-checkers deciding that Paul Ryan has a difficult time with the truth, and Chris Matthews standing up to RNC chair Reince Priebus' not so subtle racist attacks on the President.

Things got a little heated as the conservative on the panel attempted to shut down any discussion that might differ with her her view that the media is all biased, except Fox - she says they're "real journalists."

And I'm sure Stalin loved Pravda too.

Keep an eye out for the new conservative war on truth talking point that we simply must get rid of "fact-checkers." (You'll note that while the left sometimes disagrees with fact-checkers, the right wants them destroyed.) The fact-checkers did their job and rightfully pointed out that Paul Ryan set a record for lies in his convention keynote.

But a party that basis itself on lies simply cannot permit independent thought, comment, or truth. So the Republican party has waged a decades-long war on the independent judiciary, on the media, and now the political "fact-checkers." On anyone and everyone capable of establishing, or guilty of attempting to establish, an independent truth.

What conservatives don't understand is that the only reason the truth has a liberal bias is because conservatives gave up on the truth years ago, when they realized they couldn't win elections if the public knew the truth about us and about them. They even set up an entire TV network devoted to misinforming the public, Soviet-style.

So keep all of that in mind when you watch this video, and get a first-hand view of how Republicans shut down any discussion and debate that veers from the party lie.

PS I'm loving this comment left by reader Ron Thompson:

If I try to avoid someone who has tried to murder me, I don't think it's fair to say that I have a "bias" against them. The same thing is true of The Truth and conservatives. I think The Truth may have obtained a restraining order prohibiting conservatives from coming any closer to it than a city block. That's why they're never in the same room together. And when they come into contact, as here, it's like matter meeting anti-matter--neither can survive exposure to the other. Problem is, there are millions of conservatives, and only a limited amount of Truth, and we can't use up all of it on minor targets like Jennifer Rubin.

Read the rest of this post...