The one percent is unhappy with the Holy Father http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ken-langone-pope-francis

Billionaire Home Depot founder Ken Langone has a warning for Pope Francis.

A major Republican donor, Langone told CNBC in a story published online Monday that wealthy people such as himself might stop giving to charity if the Pope continues to make statements criticizing capitalism and income inequality.

Langone described the Pope's comments about a "culture of prosperity" as "exclusionary" statements that may make some of the rich "incapable of feeling compassion for the poor."

A&E lifted the suspension of Phil Robertson already. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/27/phil-robertson-back-duck-dynasty_n_4509697.html

A&E has lifted its suspension on "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson after less than two weeks.

The reality star was initially suspended for anti-gay remarks he made in a GQ profile that surfaced on Dec. 18.

"Don't be deceived," he said in the magazine's January issue. "Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers -- they won't inherit the kingdom of God. Don't deceive yourself. It's not right."

Last week, A&E stated that it was disappointed in Robertson and put him on hiatus. But in a statement to THR on Friday (Dec. 27), A&E said it was inviting him back. Because no filming took place during his suspension, Robertson will appear in all new episodes of the show.

I am very disappointed in A&E but not surprised

The George Washington Bridge incident that has been reported on by Rachel Maddow and others is not an isolated incident. Christie has a history of making people who irk him pay for their sins http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/nyregion/accounts-of-petty-retribution-reinforce-christies-bullying-image.html?hp

But the gesture would come to seem genteel compared with the fate suffered by others in disagreements with Mr. Christie: a former governor who was stripped of police security at public events; a Rutgers professor who lost state financing for cherished programs; a state senator whose candidate for a judgeship suddenly stalled; another senator who was disinvited from an event with the governor in his own district.

In almost every case, Mr. Christie waved off any suggestion that he had meted out retribution. But to many, the incidents have left that impression, and it has been just as powerful in scaring off others who might dare to cross him.

Now, the governor is dogged by another accusation of petty political revenge. Two close political allies ordered the abrupt shutdown of two local access lanes on the George Washington Bridge in September, gridlocking the borough of Fort Lee for four days. The borough’s mayor said it was punitive because he had declined to endorse the governor’s re-election.

There is a pattern here of Christie taking petty retribution against people who oppose him. That same pattern makes the story about the George Washington bridge a potentially good issue if Christie is the GOP nominee. The leadership of the GOP is already taking steps to eliminate debates and caucuses to try to give Christie the inside track for the 2016 nomination. While the tea party may hate Christie, I can see him getting the nomination because the GOP leadership will be desperate to win. The DNC is doing a good job of developing the facts on this issue in case that Christie is the candidate.

The George Washington Bridge incident that has been reported on by Rachel Maddow and others is not an isolated incident. Christie has a history of making people who irk him pay for their sins http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/nyregion/accounts-of-petty-retribution-reinforce-christies-bullying-image.html?hp

But the gesture would come to seem genteel compared with the fate suffered by others in disagreements with Mr. Christie: a former governor who was stripped of police security at public events; a Rutgers professor who lost state financing for cherished programs; a state senator whose candidate for a judgeship suddenly stalled; another senator who was disinvited from an event with the governor in his own district.

In almost every case, Mr. Christie waved off any suggestion that he had meted out retribution. But to many, the incidents have left that impression, and it has been just as powerful in scaring off others who might dare to cross him.

Now, the governor is dogged by another accusation of petty political revenge. Two close political allies ordered the abrupt shutdown of two local access lanes on the George Washington Bridge in September, gridlocking the borough of Fort Lee for four days. The borough’s mayor said it was punitive because he had declined to endorse the governor’s re-election.

There is a pattern here of Christie taking petty retribution against people who oppose him. That same pattern makes the story about the George Washington bridge a potentially good issue if Christie is the GOP nominee. The leadership of the GOP is already taking steps to eliminate debates and caucuses to try to give Christie the inside track for the 2016 nomination. While the tea party may hate Christie, I can see him getting the nomination because the GOP leadership will be desperate to win. The DNC is doing a good job of developing the facts on this issue in case that Christie is the candidate.

The cohabitation provisions of the Utah law was declared invalid http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56894145-78/utah-waddoups-brown-family.html.csp

Rachel has been covering this story for a while and it appears to have legs. The basics of the story is that two of three lanes to be busiest bridge in the country were closed in Fort Lee, New Jersey on the first day of school. It now appears that this was done by Chris Christie's appointees to punish this town because the mayor refused to endorse Christie for Governor. The person who ordered the closing and then ordered that no one tell the town was a high school classmate of Christie who has resigned.

Today, another Christie appointee resigned http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/nj-official-tied-to-revenge-traffic-jame-reisgns

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) announced the resignation Friday of an official tied to the growing scandal over a traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge last summer.

Bill Baroni, an ally of Christie's who was the deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the bridge, resigned effective immediately.

Other local officials have alleged three lanes leading onto the bridge were ordered closed by Christie's allies because a local mayor declined to endorse the governor's re-election bid. Baroni said the lanes were closed for a traffic study.

Given the fact that Christie is one of the few republicans who could be viable in 2016, it is nice to see that this story has legs. Christie is a jerk and this is the type of stunt that he would pull.

I love this concept. A large number of Texas citizens are being punished due to Rick Perry's refusal to extend Medicaid in Texas. Texans are going to make this an issue in the 2014 elections http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obamacare-medicaid-expansion-political-advocacy

So far, the effort is most organized in Texas, which is also the state with the most people in that Medicaid expansion gap: 1 million. But it's likely to pick up elsewhere as the Obama administration and outside advocates apply pressure to the 25 states that have resisted expansion for the first year.

Texas Left Me Out, the combined effort of several community groups, is a website designed to collect those people's stories and organize them into a cohesive political action constituency. It asks those in the Medicaid gap to sign a petition to stay informed about advocacy events and share their story on the site.

Are they going to turn Texas blue on the backs of people who have traditionally been ignored by Republicans? Are they going to convince an anti-Obamacare stalwart like Rick Perry to buy into the law? That's a tough sell. But they're going to try.

This is a great concept and program. Someone has to let the people being screwed by Perry know about this issue and see if they be mobilized

True the Vote is a racist organization formed by the King Street Patriots. The sole goal of this organization is steal elections by keeping people from voting. I had to deal with this group in 2012 when they sent "poll watchers" to a large number of early voting locations and precincts. I trained and had poll watchers out to combat these idiots and we kept the damage down.

True the Vote is represented by an ex-DOJ attorney who was illegally hired by the bushies (there is no way that this guy was qualified to work for the DOJ) and has been trying to join the Texas voter id lawsuit. The DOJ objected to this intervention on the grounds that these idiots were trying to raise non-issues and confuse the lawsuit. Today the court rejected their request http://txredistricting.org/post/69711832445/court-denies-request-of-true-the-vote-to-intervene-in

In rejecting the request, Judge Ramos held that True the Vote had not asserted a “particularized interest” threatened by the case and that its generalized interests were “adequately represented by the State Defendants.”

To the extent True the Vote had a contribution to make to the case, the court said it could “be accomplished without the necessity of, or burden incident to, making it a party” and that Judge Ramos would “duly consider any motion for leave to file briefing as amicus curiae that True the Vote may feel compelled to file.”

This is good news.

Kesha Rogers just filed to run for the US Senate as a Democrat. http://www.juanitajean.com/2013/12/05/some-creepy-breaking-news/ Her paperwork was handed to the State Democratic Party a couple of hours ago. Kesha has been tormenting Democrats in Texas CD 22 by running in the Texas primary and unfortunately winning due to low turnout and bad candidates. Here are some

I just got word from the best of sources that Kesha Rogers, a Lyndon LaRouche Goofball who wants to impeach President Obama, has filed to run as a Democrat for the United States Senate against John Cornyn.

In case you’re wondering what the LaRouchies are, they are a cult plain and simple, who believe, among other tin foil hat things, that the Queen of Damn England rules the world. Honey, she can’t even rule her family. Around here, they stand in front of the post office all day with big signs saying to impeach Obama. They love, love, love that Hitler mustache thing and think it’s hysterically funny.

Kesha is an African American woman who’s made duplicity an art form. She ran for Tom DeLay’s old seat twice and, of course, lost both times. She campaigns as an Impeach Obama candidate in the white community and a caring, loving black woman in the African American community. She’s slicker than snot on a doorknob

Here is a picture of Kesha with her favorite sign



I also heard that the LaRouchies are running someone for CD22. This will be interesting.

Lamar Smith is an idiot but he is the chair of the House Science, Space and Technology committee. Smith is holding hearings on space aliens http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/house-hearing-aliens_n_4379175.html

With only seven workdays left between now and the end of the first session of the 113th Congress, a full House committee has found time to hold a hearing on extraterrestrial life.

The Committee on Science, Space and Technology, chaired by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), will meet for a hearing called “Astrobiology: Search for Biosignatures in our Solar System and Beyond” for two hours Wednesday to “investigate what methods are being used to determine if any of these planets may harbor life,” according to the hearing charter.

Republicans on the Science Committee may be open to the possibility of alien life on other planets, but Chairman Smith and many of his colleagues are much less convinced that global warming is happening on this one, or that it might be caused by humans.

The republicans on the House Science, Space and Technology committee are idiots and include people who believe in Todd Atkins rape theory and who are against any science dealing with global warming. I wonder if they ran old episodes of the X Files for this meeting