Quote of the Day

"I hope my colleagues in New York and New Jersey won't hold my vote against Sandy relief against me now that Texas needs federal aid."

Sen. Ted Cruz

Calling Ted Cruz a hypocrite would be an understatement. Cruz doesn't care about the people that needed aid during Hurricane Sandy. Cruz only cares about protecting his seat. Which explains is sudden love for federal aid being spent on his state of Texas.

Friday Cat Blogging

Someone had the hysterical idea that swimming would be the best way for a cat to lose weight.

CNN Epic Failure of Boston Bomber Arrest Reporting

Talking Points Memo put together this video compilation of CNN reporting that a suspect has been arrested in the Boston Marathon bombings case. CNN was so confident in their reporting they posted it as the lead story on their homepage.

CNN desperately tried to face face on-air when it turned out their reporting was false. The results are painful to watch. I'm guessing that an executive at CNN is going to have Peter King's ass.

Quote of the Day

"As we know at this point, we don't know anything."

Jake Tapper, of CNN, on the Boston Marathon bombings.

Cable news is a place where people are demanded to say stupid things 24 hours a day.

Waste of Space

I agree with Peter Schorsch's assessment that Ernest Hooper should not be given column space in the Tampa Bay Times. I understand that the newspaper wants a columnist to do light entertainment. The problem is Hooper's prose is really bad. Schorsch cites this passage from a Hooper column.

Last paragraph (before his ridiculous sign-off of “That’s all I’m saying” — as if that wasn’t clear already), he writes, “my 11-year-old has taken to making stuff out of patterened duct tape, like flowers, purses and even cardboard-based sandals. Online sites show her how to do it, and she’s giddy about it. … I don’t get it, either.”

I got nothing against Hooper. I'm just amazed that the Tampa Bay Times pays him to phone in columns. It's a good gig for a writer if you can get the job. However, the Metro section should be used by a columnist to discuss problems facing communities in the Tampa Bay area. We don't have enough reporting on matters of crime, economic, environmental, racial and government issues facing local citizens. If the Times wants a light entertainment columnist than they should hire someone whose columns don't read like they were written on the back of a napkin five minutes before deadline.

Dana Perino Gives Hip Hop A Bad Rap

Fox News loves to pander to racists by mocking black people. All this really reveals is how amazingly white and out of touch Fox News is with pop culture. Case in point is Dana Perino's rap. Perino's attemp at hip hop fails on an epic scale. The fact that the rest of the Fox News panel thinks that Perino's freestyle skills are good proves that they have never listened to a hip hop record in their lives.

Quote of the Day

"It's #EqualPayDay, but women still get paid 77 cents to a man's $1. RT to tell #Congress. Pass the #PaycheckFairness Act!"

Barbara Boxer, on Twitter.

Alan Grayson Petition For No Cuts to Entitlements

Rep. Alan Grayson is running a petition for no cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.

Petition: "We Are Against Any and Every Cut to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Not today, not tomorrow, and not ever. No way, no how. Not on your life, and certainly not on mine. N-E-V-E-R. Sincerely, The American People"

Grayson has been quite vocal about not cutting Social Security and Medicare.

Do Nothing Republican Congress

Jonathan Bernstein details the lack of interest in policy by Republicans in the House of Representatives. Bernstein use Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) as an example. Kelly was suppose to craft legislation that would eliminate $380 million in loan guarantees from clean energy companies. Kelly never got around to writing the legislation. Kelly's congressional office explains that the Congressman was too busy being outraged at President Obama.

"It was a priority, and remains an issue of interest. But Mike's efforts shifted when he chose to focus more on holding the administration accountable with regards to [Operation] Fast and Furious. And then when the Benghazi tragedy occurred, that took the cake," said Kelly's spokesman, Tom Qualtere.

Kelly didn't actually do anything of substance regarding Fast and Furious or Benghazi. That doesn't explain why Kelly couldn't multitask. The federal government is suppose to do more than one thing at a time. Kelly's handling of Fast and Furious also doesn't pass the laugh test. Kelly serves on no committee that handles foreign policy.

Republicans make excuses on why they can't write legislation. Last year Sen. Marco Rubio promised to draft an immigration reform bill. Rubio never produced a bill but did find the time to go on a book tour. The 112th Congress was the least productive since the 1940s.

Republicans want to start winning elections again. My question is why? The current Republican Party hasn't shown an interest in governing.

Shocker: Rick Scott Warming Up to Miami Dolphins Stadium Deal

It should come as no surprise that Gov. Rick Scott is leaning towards supporting the Miami Dolphins stadium deal.

I like the fact that the Dolphins are putting up a lot of [the club's] money up," he said Tuesday, the day after the football team inked an agreement with Miami-Dade County. "I like the fact they're committing to stay. I like the fact that there's a referendum. They're fulfilling those obligations. But I haven't seen the return-on-investment numbers, which of course is the biggest thing."

Study after study have found that sports stadiums do not have a major positive economic impact for local communities. A study by economists Brad Humphreys and Dennis Coates for the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute found the financial benefits of sports stadiums overrated.

Our conclusion, and that of nearly all academic economists studying the issue, is that professional sports generally have little, if any, positive effect on a city's economy," Humphreys and Coates wrote in a report issued last month by the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.; The institute commissioned the professors to study the economic impact of a deal proposed by Anthony Williams, the mayor of Washington, D.C.; under terms of the agreement, Major League Baseball would move the Montreal Expos to the nation's capital in exchange for a new, city-built ballpark.

Economist Dean Baim found that taxpayers loss money on sports stadiums. The reason is simple. Taxpayers pay for the construction and upkeep of the sports venues. The owners of the sports franchises keep the profits. Cities do not get a return on their investment. Would you give money to let someone start a business and then let that business owner keep the profits? That is exactly the kind of deals elected officials negotiates with sports franchises.

Scott made the statement that the Miami Dolphins will put up money to pay for the stadium. Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer promised to pay have the cost of the construction of Raymond James Stadium. Glazer later reneged on that promise. Don't count on Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to put up a penny for a new stadium.

Paul Ryan Hearts Ayn Rand

Paul Ryan has tried to distance himself from the wacky views and bad writing of Ayn Rand. The only problem is Ryan shot this video praising Rand. Thank you internet.

Darden Rice Petition Drive

Longtime progressive activist Darden Rice is running for St. Petersburg City Council. Rice is holding a petition drive on April 13. She needs 500 signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Walk to get petitions for Darden Rice!

When: Saturday, April 13, 2013

Time: 9:00 AM

Where: Pinera Bread

1908 4th Street North, Saint Petersburg

The campaign will provide a small breakfast and bottled water for walkers.

Friday Cat Blogging

A lion and tiger cub at the Kowiachobee animal preserve in Naples, Florida. The tiger cub rolls on its back as a sign of submission to the lion cub. It is amazing how big and small cats share the same behavior traits when they play.

Quote of the Day: Kurt Cobain Edition

"At this point, I have a request for our fans. If any of you in any way hate homosexuals, people of a different color, or women, please do this favor for us - leave us the fuck alone! Don't come to our shows and don't buy our records."

Kurt Cobain

Bo Diddley - Who Do You Love

Bo Diddley created the beat that changed music.

Hillsborough County Commission Makes Good Start Against Gun Violence

Commissioner Kevin Beckner got the Hillsborough County Commission to animously approve a $150,000 spending measure to to create a committee to stop gun violence.

Commissioner Les Miller and had a vote on finding out if the county was allowed to implement gun background checks. Commissioner Mark Sharpe was the only member to vote against Miller's proposal. P>

The makeup gun violence study group.

The violence committee approved Wednesday will consist of community stakeholders, Commissioner Beckner and a professional facilitator.

It is unknown what the Hillsborough County Commission will do or is allowed to under law. However, this is a rather surprising development from a mostly Republican commission.

David Stockman: Economic Anarchist

I wonder how much of the comtempt of the federal Reserve from Republican economic policymakers is rooted in the writings of Milton Friedman. Case in point is David Stockman.

A recurring theme of Stockman’s work is that it is precisely these efforts that have sown the seeds for all that ails the economy. He writes in the Times: “As the federal government and its central-bank sidekick, the Fed, have groped for one goal after another — smoothing out the business cycle, minimizing inflation and unemployment at the same time, rolling out a giant social insurance blanket, promoting homeownership, subsidizing medical care, propping up old industries (agriculture, automobiles) and fostering new ones (“clean” energy, biotechnology) and, above all, bailing out Wall Street — they have now succumbed to overload, overreach and outside capture by powerful interests.”

Friedman was highly critical of the Federal Reserve allow the dollar to deflate and not acting fast enough to stop the crash of 1929.

The first bank runs started in 1930. Banks did not have enough revenue to cover businesses and customers withdrawing money. Friedman is correct about the Federal Reserve acting too slow.

Friedman made it popular for conservatives to hate the Federal Reserve. However, Stockman argues that Friedman is wrong. Friedman rightly stated that the Federal Reserves not giving the banks a cash injection in 1929 was wrong. Stockman argues against the selling of Treasury bonds.

“During the four decades since the gold window was closed – the rules of the game have been profoundly altered. Specifically, under Professor Friedman’s contraption of floating paper money, foreigners may accumulate dollar claims or exchange them for other paper monies. But there can never be a drain on US monetary reserves because dollar claims are not convertible. This infernal regime of fiat dollars, therefore, has had numerous lamentable consequences but among the worst is that it has facilitated open-ended monetization of US government debt.” ibid.

Does Stockman actually want to go back to the gold standard? The man has lost his mind.

Hank Paulson, Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke allowed Lehman Brothers to fall. The three even urged Lehman Brothers to file for bankruptcy. The result was an international economic crisis. International financial institutions froze credit after Lehman Brothers fell. Paulson went to Congress to get TARP passed and bailout AIG and the too big to fail banks. Stockman would have let AIG and the banks fail. The result would have been an economic crisis worse than the Great Depression. I am no fan of the way Paulson, Bernanke and Geithner handled the 2008 financial crisis. However, what Stockman is advocating is anarchy.

Charlie Van Zant's Stupid Anti-Abortion Bill

Florida House Rep. Charlie Van Zant is one of the dumbest elected officials in Florida. That is no small accomplishment. In 2009, Van Zant made a bizarre argument for drilling off the coast of Florida.

"God created oil and will create more once we pump what is there."

If we don't drill, China, Argentina and Cuba will so they can fund terrorists." "Drilling will provide more money for Florida than tourism."

None of these statements by Van Zant have any basis in reality. Once all oil is taken from the Eatch it is gone. If Van Zants plans on living until the fossils of current animals and humans turns into oil. I hope Van Zant has a few million years to spare.

The BP spill showed that the oil industry can actually hurt the Florida economy. Tar-stained beaches kept tourists away and hurt real estates sales in Florida.

The United States hardly has stellar relationships with China or Cuba. China gets a great deal of its trade from the United States. Cuba still is paid by the United State for Gitmo. Argentina is highly overstated as a security threat by Republicans. Only Argentina has becoming a giant is producing oil. None of these countries had citizens involved in the 9/11 attacks.

Van Zant is the sponsor of HB 845. The bill would forbid doctors from performing abortions based on the sex of the fetus. Van Zant told The Buzz that Florida has become a "safe haven" for foreigners wishing to have a abortion based on the sex of the fetus. Van Zant provides no evidence of this because there isn't any. I would not be surprised if Van Zant believes his own nonsense based on his idiotic past statements.

This bill isn't even a good way for anti-abortionists to prevent abortions. Not that you would expect Van Zant to come up with something clever. Women will just say that the sex of the fetus has no bearing on wanting an abortion. In Van Zant's mind, his bill is protecting Florida from illegal immigrants sneaking over the border just to come to Florida to have an abortion because of the sex of an unborn child. This is the kind of bullshit people tell themselves when their beliefs don't stack up against reality.

Usher & the Afghan Whigs - OMG

One of the biggest surprises of South By Southwest was Usher playing onstage with the Afghan Whigs. An even bigger surprise is that the idea was Usher's. He is an Afghan Whigs fan.

Votes Coming In For Mark Sanford Race

The early numbers for the South Carolina district 1 Republican primary race has Mark Sanford in the lead. Nothing surprises me from the state that kept sending Strom Thurmond backi to Washington.

Mark Sanford - 12,053

Curtis Bostic - 10,149

Update: AP has called the race for Sanford.

Update: The Fix reports Sanford will appear on Morning Joe tomorrow.

Jordan Peele Does Obama's College Years

I am still amazed at the stupid of Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels decided to keep Fred Armisen as Obama and paased on Peele after his audition. This explains why SNL sucks so bad.

Louie Gohmert Thinks About Animal Sex A Lot

Rep. Louie Gohmert makes the bizarre argument that gun control is like bestiality. Unsurprisingly, Gohmert found a welcoming format with this line of reasoning with Tea Party Unity.

In fact, I had this discussion with some wonderful, caring Democrats earlier this week on the issue of, well, they said "surely you could agree to limit the number of rounds in a magazine, could you? How is that problematic?"

There is no clear place to draw the line once you eliminate the traditional marriage and it's the same once you start putting limits on what guns can be used, then it's just really easy to have laws that make them all illegal.

And I pointed out, well, once you make it ten, then why would you draw the line at ten? What's wrong with nine? Or eleven? And the problem is once you draw that limit ; it's kind of like marriage when you say it's not a man or woman, or four women and one man, or why not somebody has a love for an aminal.

If you wonder why legislation doesn't get passed in Congress, Republicans like Gohmert are the answer. Imagine Democrats trying to be bipartisan on gun control. Gohmert tells Democrats he can't support gun control because it will make bestiality legal. This is the insanity that makes the Republican Party.

Gohmert is a lawmaker that isn't aware. State legislatures have made polygamy illegal in all fifty states. Gohmert may look into Texas law. There is currently no law forbidding man and animal sex. However, any public sex act is against Texas law.

Gohmert seems really interested in animal love. Gohmert supported the the Alaskan oil pipeline as a way for caribou to have more sex. From the Washington Post:

Here's his theory: The caribou very much enjoy the warmth the pipeline radiates. "So when they want to go on a date, they invite each other to head over to the pipeline." he informed his colleagues. It's apparently the equivalent of being wined and dined. And that has resulted in a tenfold caribou population boom, he concluded.

"So my concern now ...if oil stops running through the pipeline...do we need a study to see how adversely the caribou would be affected if the warm oil ever quit flowing?" he asked.

Louie Gohmert spends far too much time thinking about animals having sex.