Why Did We Fight The Civil War? Part 1,728

Have Faith

Perhaps congressional Democrats could stop quaking every time a lunatic opens his/her mouth.

In 2008 People really did say 'Republicans will fool us no longer - as long as the Dems actually challenge them'.

The President too has forgotten this.

Anyway:

A solid majority of Americans don’t want to see Sarah Palin ever become president, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Two-thirds, 67%, said they don’t ever want the former Alaska governor to be president, compared with the 21% who said they would.

While it should come as no surprise that 87% of Democrats said they don’t ever want Palin as commander-in-chief, some 43% of Republicans said the same thing—as well as 65% of independents.

Even 46% of self-identified conservatives said they do not want Palin as president, as well as 44% of those who voted for Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain in 2008.

At 44%, white evangelicals are the largest subgroup supporting Palin as president one day.

Most Alarming Thing That I've Read This Year

Hampstead dachshund saved from onion overdose

"We grilled us some kebabs," Scott Prince said.

A great time was had by all - until one of the kebabs landed on the ground. The Princes' 2 1/2-year-old, 15-pound dachshund, Rommel, rushed in and gobbled down a roasted onion.

Big mistake: In no time, the dog was deathly ill. The Princes had to rush Rommel to the Animal Emergency and Trauma Hospital.

This story ends happily, Rommel made a total recovery. To do so, however, the dog spent several days at the emergency hospital and at Topsail Animal Hospital.

Meanwhile, a quick Internet search showed the Princes they were lucky.
Onions are extremely toxic to dogs in any form: raw, cooked, powdered or dehydrated. Onions contain a chemical called thiosulphate which is harmless to people; however, dogs (and cats) lack the ability to digest it. In a dog's body, it can cause red blood cells to rupture, leading to a potentially life-threatening form of anemia. Eating a little pizza with onions, or a bit of onion might not be harmful, since thiosulphate's effects are dose-dependent. Eat enough, however, and the animal might soon show vomiting and diarrhea.

Many pet owners don't recognize that their kitchens and medicine chests contain dozens of everyday ingredients that might be fatal to cats or dogs.

Consider, for example, sugar-free gum. Many commercial brands of gum, and some candies, contain an artificial sweetener called Xylitol. It's safe for humans, but in dogs, Xylitol can cause a dangerous surge in insulin. Just 3 grams of Xylitol can kill a 65-pound dog, according to the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Lots of people know that chocolate is bad for dogs and cats; it contains a chemical, theobromine, which can overstimulate a dog's heart or cause an irregular heartbeat. Again, the effects are dose-dependent; generally, a large dog will have to eat more than 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate to be affected, but small dogs might die after eating as little as 4 ounces. (Cocoa powder and cooking chocolates are more toxic.)

Not everyone, however, realizes that grapes and raisins are bad for dogs, Tayloe said. The fruit causes kidney failure for reasons that are not clearly understood; however, as little as a single serving of raisins can be dangerous, according to the Animal Poison Control Center.

Macadamia nuts can lead to muscle spasms or paralysis; symptoms have been reported with as few as six kernels, according to veterinary pathologist Dr. Ross McKenzie.

Large quantities of salt can lead to an imbalance in a dog's electrolytes, Dr. Tayloe said.

Human medicines can also be a threat to your pet. Acetaminaphen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is especially deadly for cats, Dr. Tayloe said. Vitamins may contribute to iron toxicity in dogs, and some children's vitamins might contain Xylitol.

Ode To The KennyG of National Politics

Perfect Vs.Good: The Musical

Rolling around the interwebs I found this video used to put our current Heath care debate in perspective.

That it's from the first BWay musical that I saw live (a 'bus and truck' show w/ Joel Grey) makes it all the better.

This clip shows how close one big issue can stop change. It also shows that the issue will bite you in the ass eventually.

BTW: Everybody loves this show, once they see it. You will too.



And yes, that was the old coot from 'Northern Exposure' puncturing some of the Northern Hypocrisy.

Painful, But Progress

Blue Dogs cooperating, as long as we pet them, take 'em on long walks and let them chase after squirrels.

Political Animal

WAXMAN, BLUE DOGS STRIKE A DEAL.... It wasn't easy, but House Democrats took a big step forward today on passing a health care reform bill. Roll Call reported about a half-hour ago:

House leaders, the White House and four Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee reached a deal Wednesday on a health care overhaul. The Energy panel will be resuming a markup of the measure at 4 p.m. with plans to vote on the bill by Friday, according to Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.).

Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), head of the Blue Dog health care task force, said the deal would cut more than $100 billion from the Democratic health bill, increase exemptions for small businesses and prevent the public insurance option from basing reimbursements on Medicare rates.

The details are still a little sketchy on that last point, but it appears the Blue Dogs will let the public option remain in the House bill, so long as HHS negotiates rates with health care providers, as private insurers do. States will be permitted to craft non-profit co-ops, but Brian Beutler noted that they "would be in addition to the public option."

A delayed schedule, however, is apparently part of the deal. Waxman's Energy and Commerce Committee will be able to approve a reform bill this week, but the full House will not vote on reform until after the August recess.

The deal hasn't been endorsed by the entire Blue Dog caucus -- negotiations continue -- but Waxman and the leadership doesn't need all of them, at least not this week. Four Blue Dogs, including Ross and caucus co-chair Baron Hill of Indiana, endorsed today's compromise, meaning there will be enough votes for reform to pass the committee and advance to the floor.

Details of the compromise are still coming together, but it appears the deal includes an exemption from an employer mandate for small-businesses with less than $500,000 in payroll. Brian added that policymakers are getting the $100 billion in savings "by lowering by one percent the rate at which people living between 300 and 400 percent of the poverty level will be subsidized to buy health care in insurance exchanges."

For his part, Ross told reporters, "After two weeks of very long and intense negotiations, I'm proud to report that we've reached an agreement that will allow health care reform to move forward." As for the post-recess vote, he added, "I am confident we'll get health care reform done this year, but let's not rush it."

The Reality Meets Satire

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Womb Raiders - Orly Taitz
http://www.colbertnation.com/
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Tasers

Noteworthy: Taitz's arguments are not the usual paranoid lies. They are profoundly inaccurate claims concerning our constitution.

Taitz demonstrates a level of constitutional ignorance that usually leads to failure of the Naturalization test. In fairness, most of you 'natural born' 'citizens' couldn't score a 'C' on that test.

This is all about the fact that our President is a Democrat (cf. 1993-2001) with African blood.

From The White House

Health Insurance Consumer Protections

View more documents from White House.

Time For You To Take Action

"With nearly 50 million Americans lacking health insurance, and premiums rapidly rising, it's time to address the health care crisis in our country.

"All Americans deserve access to affordable, quality health care -- and today, nearly one-in-six of us don't have it.

"I join Senators Durbin, Leahy, and Schumer in their efforts to pass strong health care reform legislation this year. In particular, I support the creation of a public health insurance option that would foster greater competition in the marketplace, create more choices for consumers, and lead to lower costs and better quality for all.

"Please reform our health care system this year! "

OK Folks, spineless asshat Democratic Senators are planning on making Health Care Reform as meaningful and coherent as a Sarah Palin Policy speech

Click This Link and add your vote insupport of a 'Public Option' - or let Aetna and Blue Cross continue to make your healthcare decisions for you.

Your choice

Need I note that an Illinois Senator is a leader here?

Colbert-ian

Really. What appears to the leftist eye as parody is in fact a rightist paranoid talking point.



Apparently writing for the biggest blogs in the country is 'working in the shadows.

If Only They Could Read

David ('Axis of Evil') Frum continues to write his way out of the darkness ...

It’s despotism when we lose, freedom when we win. We should have more confidence in the people and the country than this. We should also have more charity to our political opponents – who after all are contending with hideous problems bequeathed to them by … by … well suddenly we Republicans cannot seem to remember who preceded Barack Obama in office. To listen to us, you’d think that the bailouts and takeovers started on January 20, 2009, not the previous March. You’d never know that TARP was supported by almost every Republican commentator, including the editors of National Review. Or that Vice President Cheney argued urgently in favor of the rescue of the Detroit automakers. Or that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac enjoyed the backing of Republican as well as Democratic lawmakers.

One bad election converts us from ardent admirers of the American people to glum declinists who can see only a miserable moldering of a once great nation. I should have thought that conservative patriotism was made of stronger stuff.

The History Of Sarah's Over Reach

Gawker maps it all out, with tape.

Even Better Than The Real thing

Goodbye, You Faithful Box of Rocks

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Quitter
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day

Progress!

Impressive for an pro-NRA upstate New Yorker

Senate To Hold DADT Hearings

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York announced Monday that the Senate ARmed Services Committee has agreed to hold hearings on "don't ask, don't tell." The hearings will be the first ever held in the Senate on the military's gay ban since it was instituted in 1993. The House held hearings in the summer of 2008.

“This policy is wrong for our national security and wrong for the moral foundation upon which our country was founded,’” Senator Gillibrand said in statement. “I thank Chairman Levin for agreeing to hold this important hearing. Numerous military leaders are telling us that the times have changed. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is an unfair, outdated measure that violates the civil rights of some of our bravest, most heroic men and women. By repealing this policy, we will increase America’s strength – both militarily and morally.”

Gillibrand had been considering offering an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill that would have suspended discharges for the entirety of the 111th Congress, but she determined that she did not have the 60 votes necessary to successfully attach the measure.

25 Years Ago

Keee-Rist I feel OLD

Let's go crazy／Prince & The Revolution
Uploaded by gaimon5656. - Explore more music videos.

Buh Bye

And so ends Sarah's last week with an offical 'title'.

Why Dentists Are Like Republicans

Both think that your best teaching techniques should frighten small children. This is an actual children's oral hygiene education tool.

I Could Grow To Like This Guy

Pat Quinn Open to Counties Decriminalizing Pot

The Cook County Board voted Tuesday to decriminalize small amounts of the drug in unincorporated parts of the county. But Quinn stopped short of endorsing the plan.

QUINN: I think it's important that counties assess what their law enforcement priorities are. Crimes that are not grievous crimes against persons need to be looked at.

The Cook County measure must still be approved by board president Todd Stroger.

Meanwhile, Quinn says the state needs to review corrections policies, including the early release of some inmates near the end of their prison term. That move could save the state more than $100 million.

The Wu, Da Lego

Wu-Tang Lego: Da Mystery of Chessboxin' from davo on Vimeo.

Not A Surprise

Idiots On Parade

John Sewart watches CNN, unlike Lou Dobbs

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Born Identity
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day

Potted

Slytherin is just not a good influence

'Harry Potter' actor sentenced to community service for growing marijuana

British actor, Jamie Waylett, 19, who plays Vincent Crabbe in the Harry Potter films, leaves the City of Westminster Magistrates Court in London after being sentenced for growing marijuana plants at his mother's home, Tuesday, July 21, 2009. The Harry Potter actor was ordered by the judge to undertake 120 hours of community work after admitting growing cannabis. (AP Photo/Sang Tan) (SANG TAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS / July 21, 2009)

Necessary Viewing

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - A Perfect World
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Mark Sanford

Still The Best

Lily had her yearly check-up yesterday. She continues to hold 'Best Dachshund EVER' title. I can't go anywhere and get the adoration she gets at her doctor's office.

Maybe it's about sharing? We see her here letting neighbor boy Nicki chomp on Mr Squeaky.

Proofed, You Betcha!

From Vanity Fair

Palin’s Resignation: The Edited Version

If you watched Sarah Palin’s resignation speech, you know one thing: her high-priced speechwriters moved back to the Beltway long ago. Just how poorly constructed was the governor’s holiday-weekend address? We asked V.F.’s red-pencil-wielding executive literary editor, , together with representatives from the and departments, to whip it into publishable shape. Here is the colorful result.

Page 1

The rest are here

This Should Make Up For Some Of It

Mr G Baker is (justifiably) worried about lack of updates.

Hope this helps.

Mike with Bruce



And with a band that swings like Mr GBaker:



Has any band made me as consistently happy in the last ten years? No.

Party Time!

As mentioned earlier, this weekend GT12 hosts its annual shindig. Maybe we twitpic. Maybe we don't.

Real Change. Real American.

Wonkette says it all:

After eight years of that alky teetotaler George W. Bush, it’s always a delight to see that your president is man enough to have a beer without turning into some raging drunken elder-abusing asshole. Here is Barack Obama just cold slurpin’ a cold one with his powerful baseball-fan friends.

Bo Reflects

Mr G Baker would never forgive us if we did not note today's NYT column by The First Dog.

My time in the White House thus far has had one driving theme: we all share the same world. There have been those who have criticized my willingness to sniff in an exploratory manner around hostile breeds from foreign lands. But remember, we are all one species, from the tiniest Chihuahua to the mightiest mastiff. I have tried to practice this openness closer to home as well, by spending more time with Joe Biden’s German shepherd puppy, despite our considerable difference in temperament and bite force.

The press likes to play a game where it compares my record with that of other presidential pets. I find that premature and unhelpful. Other presidential pets came to power in different times, and faced different challenges.

Still, I would like to remark briefly upon the pet to whom I am most often compared. Fala came to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in November 1940, and quickly captured the national imagination. But Fala lived in a time when there was an understanding between the press and politicians, and many of his peccadilloes (his habit of eating garbage, his eye for the ladies) were simply overlooked.

By comparison, consider the way that the news media scrutinized Buddy, the Clintons’ Labrador. Before his untimely death by car accident in 2002, Buddy was persistently maligned by rumors that he did not get along with Socks the cat, as if that were his fault. (Cats, need I remind you, are jerks.)

Another Bright Spot In The Republican Party's Stellar Racial History

Think Progress:

Speaking on the House floor yesterday, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) argued that low-income mothers of African-Americans — like President Barack Obama and Justice Clarence Thomas — would have aborted their children, if only the government had agreed to pay for it. To audible boos from his House colleagues, Tiahrt stated:

If you think of it in human terms, there is a financial incentive that would be put in place, paid for by tax dollars, that would encourage…single parents, living below the poverty level, to have the opportunity for a free abortion. If you take that scenario and apply it to many of the great minds we have today, who would we have been deprived of? Our President grew up in those similar circumstances. If that financial incentive was in place, is it possible that his mother might have taken advantage of it? Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court Justice, if those circumstances were in place, is it possible that we’d have been denied his great mind?

Watch it:

Setting aside Tiahrt’s questionable decision to list only African-Americans as candidates for retroactive abortion, Tiahrt also makes the misleading claim that “70% of Americans oppose using public funds for abortions.” In reality, current law allows Americans to pay for abortion through their health plans, and a recent poll shows that 71% of the country supports maintaining the status quo by permitting a public plan to cover reproductive services. Nevertheless, many Republicans are pushing a poison pill amendment that would forbid any plan offered within a national health insurance exchange from providing coverage for abortion services.

Twitterverse Wants Pat's Ass

Twitter was unfollowable after this bout between Rachel and Pat led to non-stop tweets of 'Off With His Head'!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Actually, I think this is a good use of Pat. Letting him have a say on anything else, that's a problem.

What Made Glen Beck Crazy

Running away from this fact:

The Rotten Heart

See? You were right. All Right Wing 'thought' in America is really about the money, not the conservatism.

Politico's bombshell:

Exclusive: Conservative group offers to sell endorsement for $2M

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25072.html#ixzz0LXCLtvb2

The American Conservative Union asked FedEx for a check for $2 million to $3 million in return for the group’s endorsement in a bitter legislative dispute, then the group’s president flipped and sided with UPS after FedEx refused to pay.

For the $2 million plus, ACU offered a range of services that included: “Producing op-eds and articles written by ACU’s Chairman David Keene and/or other members of the ACU’s board of directors. (Note that Mr. Keene writes a weekly column that appears in The Hill.)”

The conservative group’s remarkable demand — black-and-white proof of the longtime Washington practice known as “pay for play” — was contained in a private letter to FedEx , which was provided to POLITICO.

The letter exposes the practice by some political interest groups of taking stands not for reasons of pure principle, as their members and supporters might assume, but also in part because a sponsor is paying big money.

In the three-page letter asking for money on June 30, the conservative group backed FedEx. After FedEx says it rejected the offer, Keene signed onto a two-page July 15 letter backing UPS. Keene did not return a message left on his cell phone.

Maury Lane, FedEx’s director of corporate communications, said: “Clearly, the ACU shopped their beliefs and UPS bought.” Read more:

Now

I think he's gonna do it. If only he weren't the only Democrat with balls.

We have talked and talked and talked about fixing health care for decades. And we have finally reached a point where inaction is no longer an option -- where the choice to defer reform is nothing more than a decision to defend the status quo. And I will not defend the status quo

40 Years

Coolest thing in the world happened 40 years ago this week.

Little Bleat

20 years ago, I went to my first rodeo, in Cody Wyoming. I was quite surprised to see that most of the contestants were High school kids.

The Chicago Tribune looks into the West's version of Pop Warner ball:

Mutton bustin': the Little League of rodeo country
Kids a few years out of diapers 'cowboy up' to ride, or fall off of, sheep -- just like the big boys do with bulls. But in this case, everyone's a champ.

Reporting from Santa Fe, N.M. - It's 30 seconds before his big rodeo ride, and Julian Apodaca looks like he wants to disappear under the wide brim of his white cowboy hat.

He's staring down at his boots, tugging at his lower lip, rubbing at his teary eyes.

Julian's father, a former junior bull-riding champion, has a hand on each of his 5-year-old son's shoulders.

"It's OK, hijo," Vince Apodaca says as somebody plucks the hat off the boy's head and replaces it with a helmet. "Cowboy up, OK? I don't want no crying when you get on there."

This is the world of a little-known but beloved rodeo event where kids a couple of years out of diapers ride sheep just like the big boys ride bulls. Suburban parents put their kids in Little League. In the country, where rodeo is king, parents sign up their kids for mutton bustin'.

Raising The Roof

Definitely Not Lily

An Overview Of Pat Answers

Your First Time?

If you haven't heard this bit from Glenn Beck's radio show yesterday than listen now ... so that you can say that GT12 popped your cherry.

Because you will probably be heaing it for many years to come.

Pat Buchanan's Last Days

The world of white racists is passing ... noisily.

Al's First Confirmation

Why Hate Crimes Bills Matter

Much as I hate them, Hate Crime Bills may be a good/bad option as long as cops can't cope with the homos:

Reason for Texas Bar Raid Revealed

Police records indicate that the raid on a gay bar in Fort Worth on June 28 was prompted by a man's arrest for public intoxication two days earlier, according to WFAA-TV.

Video from a cruiser shows the man being arrested after officers saw him leaving the Rainbow Lounge very intoxicated earlier in the evening. Later that weekend, Fort Worth police officer and agents from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission returned to the establishment for what they called a routine bar check.

In addition, police recordings reveal that on the night of the raid, an officer called for help after he went inside the Rainbow Lounge. His call was prompted by a bar patron who blew a kiss at the officer.

One bar patron, Chad Gibson, received a serious head injury and was hospitalized because of the raid. LGBT activists are calling for an independent investigation.

Reasons For Hope

You can't fool most of the people, no matter how foxey you are.

Poll: Majority of Republicans don't think Palin's qualified for prez


According to a new poll, 33 percent of Republicans believe Sarah Palin has the ability to serve effectively as president.

(CNN) — A majority of Americans think Sarah Palin is stepping down as Alaska's governor for political reasons, according to a new national poll, with a majority of Republicans now saying that they do not believe that Palin would be an effective president.

Only 33 percent of Republicans questioned in a CBS News survey released Monday night say that Palin would have the ability to serve effectively as president. Last fall, 71 percent of registered Republicans felt that way.

"It's unclear whether the change in Republicans' view of Palin is the result of her decision to step down as governor, or whether the GOP rank-and-file felt they had to defend their party's vice-presidential nominee during the campaign but don't feel the same tug of party loyalty today," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Either way, this is bad news for Palin, whose first task in 2012, if she runs for the White House, will be to convince Republican primary voters to support her."

Suing Your Way To The Top

Frank Ricci knows the law!

New Haven Firefighter Originally Hired By Claiming Discrimination
By Brian Beutler - July 10, 2009, 1:26PM

Deserved or not, the biggest political thorn in Sonia Sotomayor's side has been one Frank Ricci of New Haven, CT. Ricci is a firefighter who sued the city claiming reverse discrimination in 2003 after officials there discarded the results of a firefighter's promotion test after the test was revealed to have a disparate impact on blacks and Hispanics.

But flash back, if you will, to January 25, 1995, when, according to the Hartford Courant Ricci was singing the opposite tune: "A decorated firefighter has filed a lawsuit against the city, saying he was not hired because he is dyslexic."

"Ricci, a Wallingford native who now lives in Maryland, was one of 795 candidates who were interviewed for 40 openings. Ricci told interviewers that he has a learning disability, the lawsuit says.

"Fire commissioners have said that although Ricci was qualified, many others also were qualified because they passed the Civil Service examination."

Two years later, that case was resolved. "In a confidential settlement, struck two years later, Mr. Ricci withdrew his lawsuit in exchange for a job with the fire department and $11,143 in attorney's fees."

Ricci will testify against Sotomayor before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week

More Tales Of Classy Johnny Mac and His Band of Rowdy White People

Not So Rogue

Had Gov. Sarah Palin "gone rogue" in last year's presidential campaign when she accused Barack Obama of "palling around" with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers? According to a book out next month -- The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election by Haynes Johnson and Dan Balz -- she was acting on directions from the very top of the McCain campaign, Marc Ambinder reports.

Emails show the McCain campaign had suggested the following line: "This is not a man who sees American as you and I do -- as the greatest force for good in the world. This is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country."

At the event, Palin said this: "Our opponent... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country. This is not a man who sees America as you see America and as I see America."

Morning Joe Will Have To Ignore This

Democrats Maintain Edge in Party Support

Gallup: "The Democratic Party continues to hold a solid advantage in party support over the Republican Party, as 49% of Americans interviewed in the second quarter of this year identified with or leaned to the Democratic Party, compared with 40% who did so for the Republican Party. However, that nine-point Democratic advantage is smaller than the 13-point edge Gallup measured in the first quarter of the year."

G W Bush: Atheist?

Well, by comparison to John Ensign anyway

More here

Fine With Me

Sometimes, I guess, people do get what they deserve.

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A man died after being gored in the neck during the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, the Navarra regional government said Friday on its Web site.

The death would be the first in the running of the bulls since a 22-year-old American was gored to death in 1995.

The latest victim was a Spanish man, Daniel Jimeno Romero, age 27, from the Madrid area who was vacationing in Pamplona with his family, CNN partner station CNN+ reported from the hospital, where authorities identified him.

He was rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest and underwent surgery but died soon after, said the statement from the regional government, whose capital is Pamplona.

Watch man try to scramble away from bull »

Amateur video footage showed the victim falling to the ground toward the end of race, just before the entrance to the bullring, and apparently being gored in the neck.

Artifact Endangerment Alert

UPDATE: The above casket seems to have a one-piece top. In the picture below we see the more typical split top. So, maybe this isn't Till's.

Given how important this very 'box' is to American history, the following just devastates me.

Authorities discover original casket of Emmett Till
Posted: 11:41 AM ET
(CNN) — Authorities discovered Emmett Till’s original casket in a dilapidated garage at a historic cemetery where four people are accused of digging up graves and reselling them, police said Friday.

“There was wildlife living inside of it,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said of the casket, which he said was found in the corner of a garage filled with lawn care equipment and other “piles of things” at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.

“We very quickly came to the conclusion it was the original casket that Emmett Till was buried in,” Dart said.

Till, 14, was killed in August 1955 in Mississippi after he reportedly whistled at a white woman.

His body was exhumed in 2005 as part of a renewed probe into his death. The Chicago Tribune reported that he was reburied in a different casket.

Four people face felony charges after authorities discovered that hundreds of graves were dug up and allegedly resold at the cemetery. Groundskeepers told investigators that Till’s grave was not among them, Dart said earlier this week.

On August 28, 1955 Roy Bryant and his half brother, J.W. Milam, began looking for Emmett Till. They found him at his uncle's cabin. Entering the cabin with flashlights and Colt 45 pistols, they kidnapped Emmett. To teach him lesson, they drove him to a weathered shed on a plantation in neighboring Sunflower County, where they beat and then shot him. Three days later, Emmett’s corpse was pulled from the depths of the Tallahatchie River. It was weighted down by a seventy-five pound cotton gin fan, which was tied around Till’s neck with barbed wire, his right eye hanging midway to his cheek, his nose flattened, and a bullet hole through his head.

Till's mother made the decision to have an open casket funeral. She wanted the world to know what had happened to her son. Fifty-thousand people attended the funeral of Emmett Till.

NY Times, 8/28/05

[T]he photographs of Emmett taken at his open-coffin viewing ... were first published nationally in Jet magazine and shunned by mainstream news organizations but have since become iconic, textbook images of the Jim Crow era. In "Eyes on the Prize," the PBS documentary on civil rights, Charles Diggs, a former congressman from Detroit, called the Jet photographs "probably one of the greatest media products in the last 40 or 50 years, because that picture stimulated a lot of anger on the part of blacks all over the country."

Very Very Very Black Pot, Meet Kettle

Specter Challenges Sestak's Party Credentials

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) called likely primary rival Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) "a flagrant hypocrite in challenging my being a real Democrat" and accused his rival of registering as a Democrat "just in time to run for Congress," CNN reports.

Said Specter: "His lame excuse for avoiding party affiliation, because he was in the service, is undercut by his documented disinterest in the political process."Steve Benen notes "the fascinating aspect to this is that Arlen Specter is questioning someone else's party loyalty. Given the circumstances, that takes some real chutzpah."

Someday, probably soon, Joe Sestak, will need money for his Senatorial Primary challenge to Ancient Arlen. Joe is the real deal. Follow him here.

The Velvet Axe Falls

The Deplorable Peggy Noonan hatchets Sara Poledancer, upper eastside style:

Mrs. Palin has now stepped down, but she continues to poll high among some members of the Republican base, some of whom have taken to telling themselves Palin myths.

"I love her because she's so working-class." She is not working class, never was, and even she, avid claimer of advantage that she is, never claimed to be and just lets others say it. Her father was a teacher and school track coach, her mother the school secretary.

"The elites hate her." The elites made her. It was the elites of the party, the McCain campaign and the conservative media that picked her and pushed her. The base barely knew who she was. ... She is a complete elite confection. She might as well have been a bonbon.

"She makes the Republican Party look inclusive." She makes the party look stupid, a party of the easily manipulated.

Mrs. Palin's supporters have been ordering her to spend the next two years reflecting and pondering. But she is a ponder-free zone.

"The media did her in." Her lack of any appropriate modesty did her in. Actually, it's arguable that membership in the self-esteem generation harmed her. For 30 years the self-esteem movement told the young they're perfect in every way. It's yielding something new in history: an entire generation with no proper sense of inadequacy.

Just One More time With This Idea

Sarah is a Pole Dancer. The guy who picked her to be 'one heartbeat away from the Presidency' is the true traitor. As we have said for years.

Matt Steinglass

McCain is a guy of rather mediocre intellect, little curiosity, and very poor and impulsive decision-making skills. He’s vain and headstrong, and he easily turns opposition over matters of policy or politics into personal vendettas. He became a political commodity in 1973 because he embodied the right-wing working-class value of patriotism under duress at a moment when patriotism and the white working class felt under attack for their complicity in a disastrous foreign war. And he was seized upon by a desperate Republican Party in political free-fall; in the thick of Watergate, the Nixon administration launched him as a political celebrity. He then parlayed that notoriety into a political career a few years down the road. He certainly has a substantial amount of charm and an instinct for playing the press, and he’s hardly the dumbest guy in the Senate. But he is not a responsible or serious person. And to a great degree, when he met Sarah Palin, he probably felt he was looking at a younger version of himself. Which is to say that the “rot” in the GOP, the eagerness to substitute celebrity and resentful pseudo-patriotic gibberish for real political discussion, goes back a lot longer than 8 years.

John McCain: Tail First. Country Last.

Some Deep Shit Here Man

TPM:

The Deeper Questions

There's a lot of salacious back and forth today about the Ensign scandal. But beneath the tabloid headlines there's a critical question that needs to be asked:

Which is more emasculating?

Getting paid a hundred grand by the guy who screwed your wife?

Or being a fifty-something United States senator and still needing mom and dad to cut the check to pay off your mistress and her husband?

Finally, The Truth Is Being Spoken

More than anything else, they want to bang her. A stiff dick has no political conscience:

Steve Chapman (note: Right Wing Nut)

Palin is not alone in using her looks to enchant the Republican faithful. Carrie Prejean went from being a runner-up for Miss USA to a conservative heroine because she came out against gay marriage in her pageant interview -- but also because she wears a bikini well. Ann Coulter would be just another rabid pit bull if not for the long hair and short skirts. Harriet Miers' problem was that she couldn't overcome her deficiencies with sex appeal. When people remain ardent fans of Palin no matter how badly she performs, it's reasonable to wonder what they are thinking. But thinking has nothing to do with it.

How many of YOU know who this person is?:

Rahm Emanuel, Evil Genius

Taking down both Israel

Netanyahu appears to be suffering from confusion and paranoia. He is convinced that the media are after him, that his aides are leaking information against him and that the American administration wants him out of office. Two months after his visit to Washington, he is still finding it difficult to communication normally with the White House. To appreciate the depth of his paranoia, it is enough to hear how he refers to Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, Obama's senior aides: as "self-hating Jews."

"He thought that his speech at Bar-Ilan would become mandatory reading at schools in the United States, and when he realized that Obama gave no such order, he went back to being frustrated," one of his associates said.

At a recent meeting with with Netanyahu, ostensibly about the understandings with the U.S. on the settlements, former prime minister Ehud Olmert was shocked to see the prime minister focusing mainly on the media. "Is this what he called me in for?" a source close to Olmert quoted him as saying.

and Sarah Palin

one of the most interesting aspects of the [Time Magazine] story is how vehemently the Palin camp blames Barack Obama.

From the story:

For Palin, however, these aren't isolated incidents. She believes they grow from the same root, which is too big and too formidable to ignore. "A lot of this comes from Washington, D.C. The trail is pretty direct and pretty obvious to us," says Meg Stapleton, a close Palin adviser in Alaska. Awaiting a flight back to Anchorage from distant Dillingham, Stapleton adds that the anti-Palin offensive seems lifted straight from The Thumpin', which describes the political strategies of Rahm Emanuel, who is now the White House chief of staff. "It's the Sarah Palin playbook. It's how they operate," Stapleton says.

Palin and her Alaska circle find evidence for their suspicions about the White House in the person of Pete Rouse, who lived in Juneau for a time before he became chief of staff to a young U.S. Senator named Barack Obama. Rouse, they note, is a friend of former Alaska state senator Kim Elton, who pushed the first ethics investigation of Palin, examining her controversial firing of the state's public-safety commissioner. Both Rouse and Elton have joined the Obama Administration. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs scoffed at the theory. "The charge is ridiculous," he said. "Obviously there is no effort ... From my vantage point, a lot of the criticism she is getting from others seems to be generated from self-inflicted wounds.

"I just hope to God Rahm Emanuel isn't using taxpayer money to come after Alaska." That's the way they think about it: that these Alaskans filing ethics complaints have been hoodwinked by Obama operatives into wasting the Alaskan government's time and resources.

Not Just Any Cemetery

Chicago Tribune

The scene at Burr Oak Cemetery
An unknown number of graves have been dug up in the historic cemetery over the last several years and the bodies dumped in the rear of the burial ground so the graves could be resold by the cemetery management. Blues music legend Willie Dixon and civil rights figure Emmett Till are among those buried in the suburban Chicago cemetery.

Goddam Elites

Democrats are the party of The Brainypants

Most Scientists Support Democrats

A new Pew Research report on American attitudes toward science finds that 55% of scientists identify as Democrats, while 32% identify as independents and just 6% say they are Republicans. When the leanings of independents are considered, fully 81% identify as Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party, compared with 12% who either identify as Republicans or lean toward the GOP.

No Wonder Hillary Lost

Coulter: "[P]robably a large majority of the hatred for Palin" comes from jealous liberal women in NY

How Many Times Have We All Said This?

No Truth To The Rumor That Marion Barry Will Be Running For IL Governor

One More Thing

The One White Glove?

The first sign of madness.

So Sue Me

You do not get to be called King Of Pop if you made up the title by yourself and for yourself.

And being King of 'Pop' (not 'Soul', Not R&B, Not 'Rock' Not, god help us, 'Cool') is FUCKING CHEEEEEEEZZZZZEEE.

And, hanging with Liza, Liz and 10 year olds? Hopelessly Uncool.

Dying like Elvis? Tedious.

Bringing Vegas Values to the Dance Floor? Unforgivable.

What did he do again?

For The Record

RE: Palin Popularity

RE: Real America

RE: Political Myths

Courtesy Dave Wiegel

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” roiled, as most political shows will today, with discussions of Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R-Alaska) resignation. And as with most discussion of Palin, it featured well-paid New York or Washington-based pundits explaining why the second member of a Republican ticket that lost Indiana, Ohio and Virginia represented “real America.”

“Which vice presidential candidate was taken off the campaign trail and which one was out there drawing thousands of people?” asked Joe Scarborough. Of course, then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) was not “taken off the trail,” and as TWI’s Laura McGann has reported, Palin’s crowds were always overrated. Scarborough’s quasi-co-host Mika Brzezinski followed this up by saying Palin represented “real Americans,” and that some people in “urban America” didn’t get it.

This is fascinating.

In 2004, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) lost the presidency with 48.3 percent of the vote, and no one seriously suggested that they represented “real Americans” or anything else. As Ben Smith reported after the election, at least 79 percent of Americans now live in urban areas; the people with whose opinion Brzezinski is so concerned represent a demographic and political fringe. Famously, the county in North Carolina that Sarah Palin pegged as an outpost of “real America” went for Barack Obama over John McCain, by 18 points.

(a story I have told countless times in the last eight months -GT12)

By every metric, Palin is one of the less popular Republican politicians on the national stage: her ticket even carried less of the vote in Alaska (59.4 percent) than the
Bush/Cheney ticket carred in 2004 (61.1 percent). And yet mainstream pundits insists that she represents more of the country than the people who won the 2008 election. It’s quite extraordinary.

Weak Tea

More Tea Bag Parties on July 4!

Just not too many more. And certainly lots of not as much on th e attendance front

Once We Were The Coin Of The Realm

Thanks Andrew!

Spintria; AE 21, c. 22-37 AD, 3.80g. Buttrey, Spintriae, Num. Chron. 1973, Scene 7. Obv: A man with erect penis reclining r. on his front on a couch, supporting his upper body on his l. elbow and looking back l. at another man who is making love to him; this second man holds the first man's thigh with his r. hand, and the first man holds the second man's arm above the elbow with his r. hand; a footstool and drapery are seen under the couch, and additional drapery hangs in l. background. Rx: Numeral XII within circle of dots and laurel wreath. Ex M&M 79, 1994, 639; ex Sternberg 21, 1988, 532. On less well preserved specimens the figure reclining on the couch could be thought to be a woman, but his sexual organ on our coin proves that he is in fact a man. Our obverse is from a different die than the specimen illustrated by Buttrey, pl. 3, 7. According to Buttrey, p. 60, another specimen like ours combining this scene with the number XII on reverse is in the BM. This is one of the few coins in the Spintria series that shows homosexual intercourse. It is a great rarity of historical significance. Some corrosion on the reverse edge, otherwise EF. A remarkable coin.

The Core Of The Base

Because this is never far from their thinking, I have never considered the Republican Party worth the time of any human.

Let’s check the Wonkette tips …. Ah, here’s one right there at the top of the Inbox. As usual. Because this is what Republicans do: “Racist ‘humor,’ the Internet, and political ambitions don’t mix. Audra Shay, vice chairman of the Young Republicans and the leading candidate to be elected its chairman on Saturday, is now the latest in a growing list of GOP officials learning this lesson the hard way ….”

Shay is just some 38-year-old “Young Republican” gal in Louisiana who was recently endorsed by Bobby “The Exorcist” Jindal to chair that fine youth organization for the under-40 GOP crowd. A fresh face, etc.! And she got one of those Facebook pages, so she could interact with her friends, the Young Republicans. In response to one such comment by a friend — about how You Know Who is a commie Muslin coon illegal alien — Shay typed an honest, simple reply:

You tell em Eric! lol

And later, after Audra sort of half-assed apologized, after getting caught, Eric came back to offer this assessment of, uhm, America?

GT12 thanks Wonkette for putting this all together.