On MLK day, Allen West feels it’s a good time to go after the president. What better way to celebrate a man who asked America to see beyond race than to call Obama a race-baiting opportunist? It’s perfectly fine to do that when you’re Allen.

Mr. President, please don’t play the race card in 2012
Congressman Allen West | Facebook

I was born in the inner city of Atlanta in 1961, when segregation was still rife, at a time when I would have been barred from visiting the very beaches that make up part of the congressional district I so proudly represent.

. . it would be a disgrace if Mr. Holder’s comment is the first salvo in the upcoming campaign to deflect honest assessment of the President’s performance in office. This campaign must be about ideas, policy and the direction of this country, and the President must not hide behind a curtain of so-called racial bias . .

My message to President Obama is this: “Mr. President, your very presence in office demonstrates Dr. King’s dream has indeed come true. But how devastated would Dr. King be to know the Americans who are still fomenting racism at the highest levels are the very people for whom he fought for and died?”

The legitimacy of the attack is enhanced after Allen reminds everybody he’s a victim of racism. Don’t you think? Anyways, if I get West right, the president campaigning like this would be obscene:

“The people on that plantation are upset because they’ve been disregarded, disrespected and their concerns are not cared about” . .

“I’m here as the modern-day Harriet Tubman to kind of lead people on the underground railroad away from that plantation into a sense of sensibility” . .

Allen? Do you recognize yourself?

Some black leaders “are nothing more than overseers over that plantation,” West said, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-house negro) . .

Call me over-sensitive, but I’m getting a whiff of racial politics.

“White liberals have turned over to certain leaders — ‘perceived leaders’ — in the black community like a Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, a Maxine Waters or Barbara Lee, and said, ‘pacify and keep the black community firmly behind us regardless of the failures of our social welfare policies,’” West said.

I imagine Allen will deny he’s playing the race card; conservatives can’t even do that.

I’m the threat because I’m the guy that got off their 21st-century plantation, and they cannot afford to have a strong voice such as mine out there, reverberating and resonating across this country.

He’ll say you’re just angry with him because he’s . . well, black.

Virginia Republican Patricia Phillips is running against Democratic incumbent Mark Herring for the state’s 33rd Senate district seat.

In a recent mailer, she tried to diminish Herring’s patriotism, alleging he didn’t appreciate America’s military people . .

. . by mistakenly featuring a Soviet veteran of World War II. On the sailor’s right hangs the “Order For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR”:

On his left . .

. . the “Medal For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945.” The image likely came from the Monsters and Critics website. They covered the 2008 World War II Victory Day parade in St. Petersburg with a group of photos, including this one:

Caption: A heavily decorated Russian World War II veteran salutes during the military parade at the Dvortsovaya Square celebrating Victory Day in St.Petersburg, 09 May 2008. On May 09 Russia celebrates the 63rd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.

We thank you for your lip service, Patty.

One:

. . [Rick Perry] had hosted family and friends at a West Texas hunting camp that once read “Niggerhead” on its entrance gate. Yesterday on Mike Gallagher’s radio show, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) defended Perry. “Rick Perry is not a racist,” Graham said, saying the Texas governor is the victim of an “intimidation” campaign. “You know if you’re a Southern white guy, it is part of your life,” Graham complained.

Leasing “N*ggerhead” camp. Palling around with the Sons of Confederate Veterans, putting the Confederate flag on Texas’ license plate frames. They hate Rick for his “Southern white guy” way of life.

Sarah Palin says Hank Williams Jr. is the victim of the media’s double standard.

“Hank Williams and what he is going through now, I think it’s a very clear illustration of a greater societal problem and that is the hypocrisy on the left — the liberals who can throw these stones at a conservative and they knowing that they’re not going to be held accountable . .”

So many problems here.

1.) Lack of accountability. Who called attention to Hank Junior’s Hitler quote? Some media person needs to take responsibility for that.

2.) The liberal death grip on ESPN. This hyper-controlling lefty obsession has gone on long enough. Let ESPN make its own decisions from now on, please. Sarah intuitively sensed the problem — there was nothing else the NASCAR network could do.

3.) People running their mouths about Hitler. If you’re an ESPN football viewer and you don’t appreciate some singing meathead likening your president to history’s greatest criminal mass murderer, calm down. It’s Hank Williams’ free-speech right to say so. Period. Stop dragging Hitler into everything already. Good night, god bless.

. . [South Carolina Governor Nikki] Haley is mandating that state workers cheerfully answer phones with the phrase, “It’s a great day in South Carolina.” The normally staid Associated Press couldn’t resist quipping, “Never mind the state’s 11.1 percent jobless rate and the fact that one in five residents are on Medicaid.” She issued the order at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, arguing the phrase will put workers in a better mood . .

Think of the frame of mind it could put callers in, too.

“I got on the phone to find out if I had any benefits left after the Governor slashed my kindergarten job when the voice on the other end told me what a great day it was. I said to my husband: ‘Bob — it’s a great day! Though I’m pregnant, and I no longer have health insurance, and you still haven’t gotten a construction job in a year, today’s great.”

After that, why is everyone still miserable in South Carolina?

No one can find the Governor’s mansion. To burn it to the ground. Ciao . .

Mike Tyson recently had a few crude, juvenile things to say about Sarah Palin’s supposedly having sex with a Black man. Why should we care? Why would almost anyone care, considering it’s Mike Tyson?

Here’s the thing: we wouldn’t. He’s an animal human being, a convicted rapist, riffing on a rumor. Tyson played out a lurid scenario for shits and giggles on Las Vegas sports radio, big deal.

“Glen Rice is a wonderful man,” Tyson said. “He’s a wonderful guy. You want her to be with somebody like [Dennis] Rodman getting up … in there . . Let’s get that donkey in here now. Just imagine Palin with a big old black stallion ripping. Yeehaw!”

I post some of his comments [others are more gratuitous] so you can get the sense of what the pug/clown was trying to do. There’s no sophistication there, no real point of view, there are no politics in them. It was Tyson being, we assume, Mike Tyson.

So why is Tucker Carlson’s Conservative politics site, The Daily Caller, publicizing this sort of locker-room crap? We presume they don’t want to embarrass or denigrate the potential Republican presidential candidate. So why reprint the comments on a well-traveled, supposedly well-respected home for right-wing news and commentary? Why post the audio, additionally?

It’s ‘news,’ he thinks? Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren called Carlson out:

She warns Tucker he can’t “hide behind” the excuse that his website is simply reporting on comments made by someone else. “This denigrates women. He knows that, I know that, you know that,” Van Susteren writes.

“I am suspicious his website is not doing well and this is one quick last breath to create buzz to keep it afloat,” she adds.

I’m not sure Mike Tyson’s stupidity “denigrates women.” But the comments are crude enough that no one would want to be associated with them. So — why did you do it, Tucker? Why’d you feature them on the front page of your site?

Had Tyson used this language to attack virtually any other person in public life, he’d be vilified on the front page of the New York Times. But you won’t read these quotes in the Times. We believe they deserve public scrutiny and condemnation.

Tucker thinks Mike Tyson is a rapist that the public takes seriously. He’s a reasonable enough person that his comments “deserve public scrutiny.” And, in this particular context, obviously, they’re particularly noteworthy. Aren’t they?

Well, I’ll certainly do your bidding, Tucker, as you’re a thoughtful person who runs a serious blog. I condemn Mike Tyson’s statement that Sarah Palin . . “met the wombshifter” . . as your site pointed out. If comments like these aren’t publicized and held up for proper scrutiny, as I’ve just done, they could become associated with the target. Or worse: they could be ignored. Forgotten.

Remember this? Less than two months ago, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley steps forward to state what was already plainly obvious to many people. Republicans are screwing America to gain political power in 2012:

“They know that their formulations, their policies of less revenues and less regulation badly failed our country and plunged us into this recession. So their only way of evening the playing field is to keep the president from being successful in the jobs recovery.”

He contended that key Republican members of Congress, “through their intransigence, cleverly set up a situation for America’s economy to fail, either by needlessly driving us to default, or needlessly driving us into massive public sector layoffs . . I think that they are disgracefully cynical” . .

They were disgracefully cynical, and they continue to be. They are far less American and patriotic than they are power-hungry and selfish, and the result is obstructionism, deepening recession and hopelessness. So if, by some sizable chance, your hopes of getting a better job, or a full-time job, or any job get blown up by one these asses, don’t pretend to be shocked.

This stuff has been going on for months:

Despite 600,000 Public Sector Layoffs, Darrell Issa Says Government Shouldn’t Try To Prevent Teacher Layoffs
Marie Diamond | Sep 12, 2011

. . ISSA: “We did that once. It’s time for us to say states have to step up to the plate. That’s a good example where I don’t think that belongs in this stimulus bill. I don’t think we should be maintaining government workers with borrowed money.”

This from a government worker maintained with borrowed money, naturally. The government’s been running yearly deficits for how long, incidentally? Since the signing of the Constitution, or something? So this is a bullshit argument — what’s the real reason he’d kill the ‘Hire Teachers’ part of the jobs act? This: Darrell Issa will make an unemployed teacher happy by agreeing with Obama when elephants fly.

Cantor Voted For Billions To Rebuild Schools In Iraq, Now Opposes Funding School Construction In America
Judd Legum | Sep 12, 2011

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) voted for over $120 billion to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan, funds that were used to construct and repair schools, roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure. Now, Cantor is opposing President Obama’s proposal to spend $30 billion to modernize 35,000 American schools. Reuters has the story:

“U.S. House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said on Monday he will not support President Barack Obama’s proposal to renovate U.S. schools as part of the administration’s bill to spur job growth. He added that Obama should focus instead on cutting federal regulations that he says kill U.S. jobs…”

So it is okay to borrow money after all? To help educate strangers’ kids on the other side of the planet? But not our children, who badly need classroom repairs, new parking lots and additional teachers. Eric: how about we cut Iraqi government regulations? Then we can spend our own money on our own kids.

Cantor won’t have any part of such a plan. And you know why: it would give Americans jobs. That’s a lethal obstacle for talentless, power-obsessed Conservatives like the majority leader. Note that his lame excuse doesn’t even make sense: ‘red tape’ vs. infrastructure? Huh?

After Promising To Focus On Jobs, Gov. Rick Scott Signals He’ll Reject Billions Of Dollars From Obama Jobs Plan
Marie Diamond | Sep 12, 2011

. . Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) and other GOP legislators in the state are strongly indicating they will reject billions in federal aid that could be used to create jobs in Florida:

. . “’It sounds like President Obama still doesn’t get it,’ House Speaker Dean Cannon said Friday. ‘The answer to the current economic problems is not spending more money’” . .

“A state-by-state breakdown of the president’s plan shows that Florida could stand to receive more than $7.5 billion for schools, roads and other projects. The White House estimates that the funds under the plan would support more than 60,000 jobs in Florida, including those held by teachers, cops and firefighters.”

60,000 jobs. For free. But Florida Republicans are so concerned about something that no one elected them to oversee — the federal government — that they just can’t take the money. Rrrriiigghht. If one of these humble politicians won the lottery, he’d refuse the payout. It, too, comes out of the government’s bank account, of course. What a thrill it is simply to buy a ticket.

There’s no mystery here. Over and over, it’s the same behavior: if the plan creates jobs, any jobs, Republicans will stab it in the heart. They mean to do America harm. They mean to do you harm. And they’re succeeding.

September 10th, 2011. Everybody’s a little nervous about tomorrow, the 10th anniversary of 9/11. As well we should, given Al Qaeda’s preference for big headlines over common terrorist acts.

Intelligence from the Bin Laden strike underscores the wisdom of being wary:

So what is cable television’s leading news network reporting today?

A possible Al Qaeda plot to launch an attack during the 10th anniversary weekend of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is “looking more and more like a goose chase,” a senior U.S. official told Fox News on Saturday. “The threat is looking less and less credible,” the official said, adding that the entire plot as outlined by the source “doesn’t seem feasible” . .

Federal authorities have been questioning all day the credibility of a tip from a previously reliable source that that Al Qaeda had planned to attack Washington or New York, putting though both cities on high alert . .

There’s no way that Fox News would be touting this “scoop” if Bush were president. They would think such a headline reckless and dangerous. With a Republican as president, if Fox even considered printing this, it would end up as something very different: “Officials Still Seeking to Confirm 9/11 Threat.” But with Barack the Democrat running the show, it’s Fox’s job to point out how stupid all this running around is.

And calling the attempt to capture terrorists and defend people a “goose chase”? A single source. One person. Fox tries to bury their partisan bullshit by referring to “Federal authorities,” but they’re flat out lying. See for yourself.

This is Fox News at its worst. If nothing happens tomorrow, then Obama’s an annoying, headless chicken. If, horribly, an attack does materialize, then Obama’s lethally incompetent. It’s a win-win for Roger Ailes, and that’s the actual news, friends.

Wingnut Joe Scarborough, handsome golden retriever granted the full run of MSNBC’s kennel, isn’t exactly the warmonger you figured (chickenmutt? poodlehawk?). Really. Turns out he has the soul to write country style-ish protest songs against the war. Against the war. Really!

Wow. That’s some . . singing? Anyway, while it’s not exactly clear what war he’s against or how he isn’t pandering . . now . . as we’re leaving . . ehh. Hmm. I did see RawStory point out a previously angry Joe Scarborough:

“I’m waiting to hear the words ‘I was wrong’ from some of the world’s most elite journalists, politicians and Hollywood types,” the MSNBC host said in April 2003. “I just wonder, who’s going to be the first elitist to show the character to say: ‘Hey, America, guess what? I was wrong’? Maybe the White House will get an apology, first, from the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd. Now, Ms. Dowd mocked the morality of this war…”

“Maybe disgraced commentators and politicians alike, like Daschle, Jimmy Carter, Dennis Kucinich, and all those others, will step forward tonight and show the content of their character by simply admitting what we know already: that their wartime predictions were arrogant, they were misguided and they were dead wrong. Maybe, just maybe, these self-anointed critics will learn from their mistakes.”

The peaceable disgraces and mistakes are ours. Right. Now meet sobbin’ Geetar Slim:

I sit listening alone
To that message on the phone
He said a prayer then he whispered ‘goodbye’

Now our boy is a man
And I call him when I can
How I hope that he don’t hear me cry . .

Now still I cry
Underneath September skies
Ten years on but my nightmare goes on

In an endless war
Tell me please how many more
Have to die before my sweet boy comes home . .

Aw you got me all choked up. Bawling like Lonesome Joe.

The Obama administration has decided to drop the number of U.S. troops in Iraq at the end of the year down to 3,000, marking a major downgrade in force strength . .

Joe’s ear may be bad, but his timing’s pretty good.