Loud, scattershot, commie-to-kitchen sink bullshit. The modern weapon of choice for conservative movement Republicans when they open their mouths.
Loud, scattershot, commie-to-kitchen sink bullshit. The modern weapon of choice for conservative movement Republicans when they open their mouths.
From Steve Benen at Washington Monthly:
IDIOCY WATCH…. A friend passed along an item from the weekend, with an audio clip of Michele Bachmann chatting with a conservative talk-show host in Minnesota. In the ongoing debate as to which member of Congress is the single most ridiculous, this interview is very compelling evidence that Bachmann is, at a minimum, near the front of the pack.
The whole interview is about 13 minutes long, but it’s worth listening to, if only to appreciate just how truly disturbed some far-right members of Congress have become.
Bachmann “explained” to the host and Minnesota audience:
* ACORN is “under federal indictment for voter fraud,” but the stimulus bill nevertheless gives ACORN “$5 billion.” (In reality, ACORN is not under federal indictment and isn’t mentioned in the stimulus bill at all.)
* many members of Congress have “a real aversion to capitalism.”
* the stimulus bill includes a measure to create a “rationing board” for health care, and after the bill becomes law, “your doctor will no longer be able to make your healthcare decisions with you.”
* the recovery package is part of a Democratic conspiracy to “direct” funding away from Republican districts, so Democratic districts can “suck up” all federal funds. Bachmann doesn’t think this will work because, as she put it, “We’re running out of rich people in this country.”
* the “Community-Organizer-in-Chief” is also orchestrating a conspiracy involving the Census Bureau, which the president will use to redraw congressional lines to keep Democrats in power for up to “40 years.” When the host said he was confused, noting that congressional district lines are drawn at the state level, Bachmann said Obama’s non-existent plan is an “anti-constitutional move.”
There’s no point in trying to fact-check such unhinged stupidity, but I should note that none of this is in anyway grounded in reality. I should also note that we’re not talking about some strange nut screaming on a street corner; this is all coming from an elected member of Congress.
At one point, Bachmann told the host, “We are literally losing our country.”
Congresswoman, you’ve literally lost something, but I don’t think it’s your country.
The scenario of a minority, extreme right-wing government is every Israeli leader’s nightmare.
British terrorist suspects who claim they were tortured in Pakistan were then interrogated by MI5 agents under rules drawn up in Whitehall, a court has been told. story here
Looks a tad familiar, does it not? Wouldn’t it be a fine thing to see the relevant communications between the Bush administration and Blair’s people which, clearly, coordinated legal and political strategies on these matters.
Dame Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5, has accused the Government of exploiting public fear of terrorism to restrict civil liberties.
Her comments came on the same day as a report published by international jurists suggested that Britain and America have led other countries in “actively undermining” the rule of law and “threatening civil liberties” in the guise of fighting terrorism.
In an interview with the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, Dame Stella said that a series of increasingly draconian policies have led British citizens to “live in fear and under a police state”
The 73-year-old said: “Since I have retired I feel more at liberty to be against certain decisions of the Government, especially the attempt to pass laws which interfere with people’s privacy.
“It would be better that the Government recognised that there are risks, rather than frightening people in order to be able to pass laws which restrict civil liberties, precisely one of the objects of terrorism: that we live in fear and under a police state.”
British and French [subs that collided] had enough material to carry out 1,248 Hiroshima bombings