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The US: world’s policeman or schoolyard bully?

by Bill Maher, The Guardian

Ever since 9/11, it seems America’s just been itching for a fight – and any Muslim country will do. Really, who acts like this?

New rule: 12 years after 9/11, and amidst yet another debate on whether to bomb yet another Muslim country, America must stop asking the question, “Why do they hate us?” Forget the debate on Syria, we need a debate on why we’re always debating whether to bomb someone. Because we’re starting to look not so much like the world’s policeman, but more like George Zimmerman: itching to use force and then pretending it’s because we had no choice. [..]

Since 1945, when Jesus granted America air superiority, we’ve bombed Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Serbia, Somalia, Bosnia, the Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya and Yemen. And Yemen only because the tenth one was free.

How did we inherit this moral obligation to bring justice to the world via death from above? Are we Zeus? It doesn’t make any sense. Our schools are crumbling, and we want to teach everyone else a lesson?

The team of All In with Chris Hayes put out a daily request on Twitter asking their followers to send them the things they find most interesting on the internet. This is their finds for Friday the September 13.

1) Jeffery Alan Wagner’s shirtless campaign ad for Minneapolis mayor;

2) Watch hamster Charlie drive a truck;

3) Check out these classic rocket frog photoshops.

Chris Hayes shares the three most awesomest things on the Internet for September 5: 1) Norweigan duo Ylvis debuts a new single “The Fox” that is sure to give you an unwelcome earworm. 2) A new program called “Wedding Crunchers” allows you to search key words of wedding announcements from the New York Times and chart them. 3) Today, officials at DC’s National Zoo reveal the gender of the new baby panda, and who the panda’s father is.

Each night on his MSNBC show “All In, Chris Hayes shares three things from the internet that are sent to him by his fans.

This Friday’s show: the GOP excuses for their conspicuous absence at the 50th anniversary of MLK’s March on Washington; Patrick Stewart teaching the “quadruple take”; and the scattering of 51 pictures of Nick Cage through a house.

Each night during his evening show “All In“ host Chris Hayes highlights three things from the internet that his viewers have tweeted to him. These were his choices for Friday’s “Click 3”

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford takes down Hulk Hogan

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford defied the odds to beat wrestling icon Hulk Hogan in an arm-wrestling match at Toronto’s Fan Expo this morning.

“I own this town, man!” Ford yelled as he beat the 14-time pro wrestling champ.

The Hulk was scheduled to hold an “uncensored” presser after the match. I’ll let you know if I find the video for that.

11 Untranslatable Words From Other Cultures

The relationship between words and their meaning is a fascinating one, and linguists have spent countless years deconstructing it, taking it apart letter by letter, and trying to figure out why there are so many feelings and ideas that we cannot even put words to, and that our languages cannot identify.

#BATFLECK BACKLASH: On the Web, does Batman’s studio hear you scream?

Indeed, and one most passionately forged by the actor Richard Dreyfuss. Looking closer, we can see his engraving reads: “You read for a part, you feel good about it, you feel confident, then they cast Ben Affleck.”

Zing. By the ghost of “Gigli,” that stings.

Warner Bros. announced shortly before 9:30 p.m. Thursday that Ben Affleck is our new big-screen Batman. Within minutes, Dreyfuss – true to his own trained and brash and passionate style as an Oscar-winning actor – tweeted his artful thrust-and-parry, drawing first blood as the Internet responded to the casting fury that rapidly went by the handy hashtag #Batfleck.

One shakes ones head.

Bill Maher challenges the left’s super rich to get in the game.

August 2, 2013 – (Real Time w/ Bill Maher – New Rules – Going Coup-Coup) – Bill Maher ended his show Friday night with a plea to rich liberals to even out the playing field so it’s not just “rich assholes” supporting the GOP pushing the policies they want all over the country. In particular, Maher singled out how one North Carolina businessman has been able to push his agenda through the state legislature, and with just a hint of subtlety, Maher used the segment as a direct appeal to the artist Jay Z, who, as luck would have it, was sitting right next to him.

Maher shared with liberal America a tale of “proud people in a region where religious freedom, women’s right, and democracy itself hang in the balance”: North Carolina. Maher explained how the state has gone “apeshit” with laws like a ban on Sharia and allowing concealed guns on playgrounds. Although the latter does mean “if your toddler gets knocked down in the sandbox, he can stand his ground.”

And that’s not even including the abortion debate. Maher explained this shift in the previously-“trending blue” state by introducing the audience to Art Pope, another one of the right-wing “rich assholes” throwing their money and influence around to get the laws they want. Maher declared, “It’s no longer our ideas versus their ideas, or even our base versus their base, it’s our super-rich versus their super-rich.”

He hinted to Jay Z that he should buy a state too, but he didn’t end there. Maher made direct appeals to Steven Spielberg, Tyler Perry, and Oprah Winfrey to buy states of their own to at least even the score.

   MAHER: And finally, New Rule, that the only plan we have for immigration reform is a military style surge, that wastes $46 billion for weapons, walls, prison camps and forty thousand armed guards in the desert, it’s not a plan. It’s a war. A war, to replace the wars that are ending overseas.

   Because after our last soldier leaves the wildly successful experiment in democracy known as Afghanistan, we’re going to be dangerously close to not having any wars and down to a mere 660 military bases in 38 countries. Jesus, what are we Switzerland now?

   Sorry Mexicans, but war is what keeps our economy going, so you’re just going to have to step up. The war on terror just got replaced by the war-hay on Jorge. That’ll teach you to take over channels 18-27 on our cable systems.

   Now, don’t get me wrong. I think border security is important and I have no doubt that the Republican plan for turning our southern border into the Hunger Games will put a stop to the number one threat facing America today – illegal cleaning ladies.

   But let’s be clear. This immigration bill has about as much to do with immigration as Sarah Palin has to do with mapping the human genome.

   Mexican immigration to America is now at net zero. That’s the little elephant in the room fact they don’t tell you. They’re not coming any more. Which is not to say there aren’t illegals already here over the last thirty years. 12 million Mexicans did come to America, in three cars.

   But look, if we deport all 12 million people, the continent will tip over. We need to get them in the system, because sooner or later, someone’s going to want to eat some fruit. So, why are we working so hard to make them miserable?

   The immigration bill says that while in America, they have to wait 13 years to become a citizen, learn to speak perfect English, pay taxes, but don’t get to use government services and hope to hell some dumb ass in the neighborhood watch program doesn’t shoot them.

   This bill could say “Mexicans eat paint” and Republican would say “Why not lead paint?”

   Now part of this, of course, is simple prejudice, but the bigger part is that peace and brotherhood is all fine and dandy, but there’s no money in it. Ten years ago, there were 10 thousand border control agents. Now there are 21 thousand. The new bill would up it to 38 thousand.

   Why? Because Republicans hate big government – except for war – which is their version of a stimulus package. Oh, not the bad kind of stimulus that builds schools and fixes bridges. That’s Socialism.

   Building weapon systems no one needs, that’s patriotism. This is about the same folks who frittered away your money on the phoney Iraq war, and the ten years in Afghanistan and the pointless drug war deciding that what this country really needs is yet another phoney war.

h/t Heather at Crooks and Liars

It was three years ago that we at The Stars Hollow Gazette welcomed readers to our park, very liberal place, welcoming all views and discussion, a comfortable place for give and take, discussion, agreement and disagreement. Nothing has changed except that we are older. We are still not shy about expressing our liberal views.

We are still a place for creativity and a place to put your “stuff.” TSHG is a place for music, art, history and sports. We want our readers to be informed and amused, a place to converse. we want to hear what you have to say, to understand and consider other perspectives. We won’t always agree but we want to do so with respect. Very little of what we see and hear is black and white, it is mostly shades of grey, effected by many outside factors that make choices unclear and uncertain. Life is a learning experience and we never stop learning from the world around us and each other.

A lot has happened since July 4th 2010. There have been elections were we witnessed congress change, the White House remain the same and state governments swinging from left to right and back.

We’ve witnessed protests, revolutions and natural disasters, the end of one war, the continuation of another and the start of more on yet another continent.

We watched, not silently, the injustice of our own government in its treatment of its citizens and those of foreign nations, the failure to contain Wall Street and the financial industry or prosecute them for breaking the law.

We have seen the income gap grow, poverty increase, good jobs disappear, public schools under attack, public servants maligned and laid off while the wealthy and mega corporations pay less in taxes.

We saw the Bush tax cuts, now the Obama tax cuts made permanent without any concomitant change in the tax code to offset the decreased revenue in a time when the government should be spending not cutting.

We have seen how our representatives have shirked their duty to oversee the excesses of the executive branch while passing laws that are unconstitutional.

We have witnessed the as the Supreme Court overturned key parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and weaken our protections under the Constitution.

We have watched with joy the overturning of DOMA, clearing the way for our LGBT brothers and sisters to marry in states where it is allowed and have the same protections and benefits as heterosexual couples.

No we are not going away and we will continue to document the atrocities as our friend Atrios has asked us.

As you see from our blog roll, we have new friends and we encourage you to read their blogs.

Last year on this day, our good friends launched Voices on the Square. We wish them a happy anniversary and many more.

We also lost a dear friend and editor, Translator, aka Dr. David W. Smith. You are missed, David.

So, welcome to our “park” and enjoy. We plan on being here for a long time.

Warning the video contains strong language that may not be suitable for young children or the work place

Even from beyond the grave, George Carlin’s message will always be relevant to current events. Take the above clip, for example: Without mentioning him by name, this 1996 clip of Carlin utterly eviscerates Rick Perry and his war on abortion rights by painting a pretty accurate picture of the arguments used by Texas Republicans in their latest reach to massively curb access to women’s clinics in the Lone Star State.

Taken from his HBO special “Back in Town,” Carlin rips apart pro-life conservatives for caring more about life in the womb than after birth:

   “These conservatives are really something, aren’t they? They are all in favor of the unborn, they will do anything for the unborn, but once you’re born, you’re on your own! Pro-life conservatives are obsessed with the fetus from conception to nine months. After that, they don’t want to know about you, they don’t want to hear from you. No neo-natal care, no daycare, no head start, no school lunch, no food stamps, no welfare, no nothing! If you’re pre-born, you’re fine. If you’re pre-school, you’re fucked.”

[..]

“They’re not pro-life. You know what they are? They’re anti-woman. Simple as it gets, anti-woman. They don’t like them. They don’t like women. They believe a woman’s primary role is to function as a broodmare for the state. You don’t see many of these anti-abortion women volunteering to have any black fetuses transplanted into their uteruses, do you? No, you don’t see them adopting a whole lot of crack babies, do you? No, that might be something Christ would do!”