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If there is any one person besides Wayne LaPierre who might be responsible for domestic terrorism in this country, it's Larry Pratt. Blend that persona with a little Alex Jones, and you get a full contingent of right wing nuttery. In this one segment, Pratt claims:

  • Obama is a 'full-bore Marxist' and communist
  • Obama and the Democrats 'had to steal' the last last election with 'barely 50 percent of the vote'.
  • Obama is out to grab every last bit of power he possibly can.

To anyone who is rational, this is so ridiculous it deserves a solid mocking. Someone winning the presidency by 5 million votes is hardly "barely 50 percent" but of course, that message is for the True Believers who say 5 million voters stole the 2012 election because surely America couldn't elect a black guy twice.

Here's the full transcript, courtesy of Right Wing Watch:

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Stupid Right-Wing Tweets: Erick Erickson Edition

Truly awful people. Really all that needs to be said.

(h/t Heather)



Tornado Survivor Finds Her Dog While Being Interviewed

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Via Slate, this wonderful little vignette amidst the devastation:

Let's hope there are more stories like this coming out of Moore, Okla., where people continue to pick through the rubble of their town for family, friends, and pets who managed to survive the massive tornado.

In the video below you'll meet Barbara Garcia, an elderly woman who rode out the storm by taking refuge in the bathroom of her since-destroyed home. Things get good—and may just get a little dusty in your office—at about the 1:35-mark when she discovers her missing dog, shaken but seemingly largely uninjured, in the rubble.

"Well I got God to answer one prayer to let me be OK, but he answered both of them because this was my second prayer," Garcia says, partly to the camera and partly to herself.

And in other good news, the medical examiner has lowered the number of estimated deaths from the monster tornado to 24.



What a preening jackass this guy is.

The tornado damage near Oklahoma City is still being assessed and the death toll is expected to rise, but already Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., says he will insist that any federal disaster aid be paid for with cuts elsewhere.

CQ Roll Call reporter Jennifer Scholtes wrote for CQ.com Monday evening that Coburn said he would “absolutely” demand offsets for any federal aid that Congress provides.

Coburn added, Scholtes wrote, that it is too early to guess at a damage toll but that he knows for certain he will fight to make sure disaster funding that the federal government contributes is paid for. It’s a position he has taken repeatedly during his career when Congress debates emergency funding for disaster aid.

Scholtes points out that Coburn was one of 36 Republican senators who voted against disaster funding for Superstorm Sandy in January.

The bodies aren't cold yet, and Coburn's already putting on his green visor and counting nickels. Not only is this morally offensive, it's terrible economic policy.

But I'm sure this clownery will be called "brave" and "principled" by the village media.



Crossposted from Occupy America

On Tuesday morning, homeowners facing foreclosure and housing rights activists from across the country -- including the Home Defender's League and Occupy Our Homes (an off-shoot of Occupy Wall Street) -- rallied outside the U.S. Department of Justice to demand Attorney General Holder hold the Wall Street Banks that ravaged America’s economy accountable. Dozens of struggling homeowners are prepared to risk arrest in non-violent civil disobedience or set up an ongoing occupation outside the Department of Justice until demands for Wall Street accountability and relief for their communities are addressed.

The action at the DOJ began on Monday, and although they were supported by over 500 allies, the DOJ decided they would rather jail these everyday Americans than step up to help resolve the ongoing foreclosure crisis. Some of those arrested were even tasered -- 17 arrests in all, with two being tasered by police.

WaPo:

According to D.C. police, 17 people were arrested. Ann C. Wilcox, an attorney who represents protesters, said several were tased during the scuffle. A D.C. police spokeswoman said D.C. police were not involved in the tasing. Federal law enforcement officials on the scene declined comment.

Police also closed Constitution Avenue for much of the afternoon, leading to traffic backups downtown.

As of 4:45 pm, about 50 protesters were standing in the street or sitting on the sidewalk, and police were preparing for more arrests. Officers equipped with crowd dispersal agents guarded the entrance to the Justice Department. A police helicopter circled overhead.

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Crossposted from Video Cafe

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Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Friday declared that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would have murdered the participants of the original 1773 Boston Tea Party and and would have "killed off" half of the Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence.

In a 30-minute floor speech to express his outrage over a report in The Daily Caller that said the Department of Homeland Security was "protecting the free speech rights of pro-Shariah Muslim supremacists," Gohmert noted that President Barack Obama's administration had a number of other problems like the recent news that the IRS had scrutinized the tax-exempt status of tea party and other conservative groups.

"Homeland Security has had reports warning their employees about the dangers of people that may be involved in such heinous activity as being classified as evangelical Christians or as being concerned about the Constitution and that people should be following the Constitution, and concerned about people who may have tea party in their name," he explained.

"You know, thank goodness that the IRS was not around to have helped the Founders when they founded the country or otherwise they would have probably shot the Boston Tea Party participants, they would have killed off over half of the signers of the Declaration of the Independence," Gohmert added.

"And this country would have never had gotten started if this Department of Homeland Security had been around to be helpful -- so called -- to our founders."

In referencing the Declaration of Independence and the Boston Tea Party, Gohmert seems to be suggesting that the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security do not have legitimate authority -- similar to the claims the American colonists made against the British empire prior to the Revolutionary War.

(h/t: Twitter/Scott Keyes)



Harry Reid seems to be threatening to almost, possibly, maybe think about invoking the nuclear option on the filibuster again, but he does that all the time. So he's probably just trying to pressure Republicans to quit stalling on some key nominations.

Greg Sargent:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is increasingly focused on the month of July as the time to exercise the so-called “nuclear option” and revisit filibuster reform, and he has privately told top advisers that he’s all but certain to take action if the Senate GOP blocks three upcoming key nominations, a senior Senate Democratic aide familiar with his thinking tells me.

Reid has privately consulted with President Obama on the need to revisit filibuster reform, and the President has told the Majority Leader that he will support the exercising of the nuclear option if Reid opts for it, the aide says, adding that senior Democrats expect the President to publicly push for it as well. “If Senator Reid decides to do something on nominations, the president has said he’ll be there to support him,” the aide says.

Reid is eyeing a change to the rules that would do away with the 60-vote threshold on all judicial and executive branch nominations, the aide says, on the theory that this is a good way to immediately break an important logjam in Washington — without changing the rules when it comes to legislation.

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Mike's Blog Round Up

The Non Sequitur: Jonah Goldberg would have noticed this hypocrisy, if he weren’t such a hypocrite.

We Are Respectable Negroes: A potpourri of anti-Obama racism.

Unqualified Offerings: Come on, Mr. HR man.

I Spy with My Little Eye: Writing with scissors.

FAIR: More on Jon Karl.

Guest post by Batocchio. Email tips to mbru AT crooksandliars DOT com.



Open Thread

SCTV's "What's My Shoe Size?"

PS. Our thoughts are with those affected by the tornadoes this week. Our hearts go out to you.



C&L's Late Nite Music Club With The Doors

Crossposted from Late Nite Music Club
Title: When The Music's Over
Artist: The Doors

R.I.P. Ray Manzarek