Republican operatives launch group that tries to imitate most Democratic . . . → Read More: If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then us Liberals should be blushing up a storm right now.]]> Seems the Conservatives are envious of some our best liberal websites and are trying very hard to come up with their own versions in a similar image. I wonder if it’ll be as successful as their attempt to ape The Daily Show with Jon Stewart?

Republican operatives launch group that tries to imitate most Democratic groups, blogs

Ben Smith reports in Politico that Republican operatives, and bloggers Michael Goldfarb and Matthew Continetti, are launching a new organization called the Center for American Freedom.

Remarkably they are modeling it on the Center for American Progress, and will have their own blog, imitating ThinkProgress.org. If that wasn’t enough, the Center for American Freedom will also attempt to be like the Center for American Progress Action Fund (which does more political messaging and research), Me…

It’s just a shame all the alternatives are so much worse. It’s disheartening to think the best we can do isn’t all that removed from the worst we have done. When it comes to policy decisions such as this he’s consistently as bad . . . → Read More: To say that Obama continues to disappoint would be a major understatement.]]> To say that Obama continues to disappoint would be a major understatement.

It’s just a shame all the alternatives are so much worse. It’s disheartening to think the best we can do isn’t all that removed from the worst we have done. When it comes to policy decisions such as this he’s consistently as bad as, and too often worse then, President George W. Bush.

Missing portion of Obama Hope poster revealed

From Demand Progress

President Obama just signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law despite startling provisions that will allow the military to indefinitely detain American citizens. It’s a travesty, defying basic principles of justice and due process in perhaps the most extreme respect our nation has ever seen.

Thankfully, several lawmakers are keeping up the fight. Senator Dianne Feinstein has introduced legislation to undo these provisions of the NDAA, in the form of the Du…

Indiana Senator Wants To Fine People For Messing Up The Star Spangled Banner

Submitted by James Morgan

Indiana Republican State Senator Vaneta Becker . . . → Read More: I wonder how long it’ll be before there’s a whole section of the criminal code devoted to Patriotism Crimes.]]> Only a Republican would try to pass patriotism laws dictating what is an isn’t unacceptable displays of patriotism. First up: How to properly sing the Star Spangled Banner. Next: Banning of dissent.

Indiana Senator Wants To Fine People For Messing Up The Star Spangled Banner

Submitted by James Morgan

Indiana Republican State Senator Vaneta Becker wants “performance standards” for the Star Spangled Banner.

Becker of Evansville calls for the Indiana Department of Education to implement specific “performance standards” for the way the anthem is sang and played at any event sponsored by public schools and state universities.

The bill seeks to fine individuals $25 if intentional changes are made to the song.

If you’re at a Colts game, warning: don’t ad-lib.

All the Companies Supporting SOPA, the Awful Internet Censorship Law—and How to Contact Them [Sopa]

Who’s officially on the . . . → Read More: A list of the companies pushing SOPA.]]> Most of these are exactly what you’d expect, but there’s a few that boggle the mind. Why the hell would L’Oreal give a shit about SOPA? Are they worried we’re pirating their hair colors or something?

All the Companies Supporting SOPA, the Awful Internet Censorship Law—and How to Contact Them [Sopa]

Who’s officially on the record backing what could be the worst thing to ever happen to the internet? All of these companies listed below. Don’t take our word for it—this list comes straight from Congress. Just FYI.
If you want to get in touch, we’ve provided a contact list below. Maybe you want to let them know how you feel about SOPA.
SOPA Supporters
60 Plus Association: info@60plus.org
ABC: http://abc.go.com/site/contact-us
Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP): 703-539-ASOP (2767)
Ame…

…but I worry that we’re not. I don’t even know if we can stop it in the face of the money and influence of the big media companies. Though that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

Adam Savage on SOPA: “We’re better than that”

James sez, “MythBuster . . . → Read More: I would like to think we’re better than that…]]> I would like to think we’re better than that…

…but I worry that we’re not. I don’t even know if we can stop it in the face of the money and influence of the big media companies. Though that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

Adam Savage on SOPA: “We’re better than that”

James sez, “MythBuster Adam Savage joins the growing chorus of opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act.”

Honestly, if a friend wrote these into a piece of fiction about government oversight gone amok, I’d have to tell them that they were too one-dimensional, too obviously anticonstitutional.
The Internet is probably the most important technological advancement of my lifetime. Its strength lies in its open architecture and its ability to allow a framework where all voices …

Here’s their list with my notes as to whether or not I’m . . . → Read More: EW.com surveys which shows are popular with Democrats and Republicans.]]> If you’re a member of one of the two predominant political parties in this country then a good guess can be made as to which television programs you like to watch. Or at least, that’s what this survey done for Entertainment Weekly seems to indicate.

Here’s their list with my notes as to whether or not I’m a fan of the show named:

LIBERAL-DEMOCRAT FAVORITES:
– The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report (Comedy Central): As you might expect.

I do watch both of these shows though, as mentioned in the last podcast, I’m a bigger fan of TDS than Colbert.

– 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation (NBC): Literate media-savvy comedies score high among Dems in general, notes Experian-Simmons senior marketing manager John Fetto. “Sarcastic humor is always a hook for them,” he adds. 

Don’t care for either one of these, but then there are very few sitcoms I do care for. The Big Bang Theory being one of them.

– The View (ABC): Shows that skew female tend to do better among Dems, while male-friendly shows tend to do perform higher among Republicans.

Can’t stand The View, but then I’m not really its demographic.

– Glee (Fox)

Fuck no.

– Modern Family (ABC): Last year, the progressive Glee and Modern Family scored surprisingly strong among both political leanings. Among conservatives this year, the shows still do fairly well, but have dropped out of their top ranks.

Nope. Watched one episode. Didn’t care for it.

– It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)

Again, not a huge fan of sitcoms and this one is just strange in a way I don’t find particularly funny.

– Treme (HBO): GOP Kryptonite. Not only a Dem favorite, but so unpopular among Republicans that the report scores the show with a “*”  because not enough conservatives in the study group had actually watched it.

Never seen it because I don’t subscribe to HBO or any of the other premium movie channels.

– Cougar Town (ABC)

Another fuck no. I’m surprised that this show and others like it (e.g. Desperate Housewives) do well at all, but I suppose watching people be shitty to each other, especially rich people, has always been popular.

– The Late Show With David Letterman and The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson(CBS): Dems favor late-night programming, with one big exception that we’ll see below.

Well, one out of two ain’t bad. Don’t watch Letterman anymore. He hasn’t been particularly funny or interesting for years, but I record Ferguson nightly to watch the next day.

Also in the mix: The Soup (E!), Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Adult Swim), Raising Hope (Fox), Saturday Night Live (NBC), The Office (NBC), Project Runway (Lifetime), Shameless(Showtime), Parenthood (NBC), Conan (TBS).

No, sometimes, no, no, no, fuck no, no, no, no.

Of that short list I’ll watch ATH every so often, but I rarely understand it. Probably because I’m old.

CONSERVATIVE-REPUBLICAN FAVORITES:
– Swamp Loggers (Discovery) and Top Shot (History): Gritty documentary-style work-related reality shows on cable index really strongly with conservative Republicans. Swamp Loggers is particularly polarizing.

No and no. Does it surprise anyone that these two shows are hot with Republicans? Rednecks swinging axes and gun owners showing off shootin’ skills. If you could somehow work NASCAR into that mix the orgasms some folks would have would give them aneurysms.

Hmmm….

– The Bachelor (ABC): They also tend to gravitate toward broadcast reality competition shows.

No. And I have to say that I’ve very surprised that this is popular with Republicans given that it seems to be somewhat denigrating of the whole marriage thing.

– Castle (ABC): Ranks fairly high among Dems, too.

I will sometimes watch Castle simply because it has Nathan Fillion in it, but I don’t make a point of it.

– Mythbusters (Discovery)

I’m a huge fan and I find it very surprising the it’s popular with Republicans given i’s very pro-science, anti-bullshit bent. If I had to guess I’d say it’s because they blow shit up on a regular basis and the Republicans sit through all the science-y shit just so they can see stuff explode. They probably watch it with the sound turned off so they don’t accidentally learn something.

– Only in America With Larry the Cable Guy, American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Swamp People (History): If you’re a Republican candidate looking to raise money, put ads on History.

No, no, no, and no. Not at all surprised at the popularity of these shows among Republicans.

– The Middle (ABC): Does well among libs, too. 

Never even heard of it before.

– The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (NBC): “Did you hear about this? Yeah, this is true: Jay Leno is the late-night choice among conservatives…”

Not a fan. Not sure why Republicans would be.

– The Biggest Loser (NBC)

Nope, though not surprised the Republicans like it.

– Hawaii Five-O, NCIS, The Mentalist (CBS): Popular crime dramas — except the left-wingLaw & Order franchise — tend to draw a conservative crowd.

No, no, YES! Again, very surprised The Mentalist is a hit given that the lead-character is big on tearing down people’s delusional beliefs in psychics and other supernatural phenomena.

Also: Dancing With the Stars results show (ABC), Man vs. Wild (Discovery), Auction Kings(Discovery), Wheel of Fortune (syndi), Top Gear (BBC America).

No, no, no, no, and no. Only surprised by Top Gear being popular with them as it’s a furriner show. Granted, it’s a car show, but not of the sort that most Republicans seem enthralled with.

This probably explains why I’m an Independent. I just can’t seem to conform to either party’s expectations.

OK, to be fair, what it says is that not watching any news at all will . . . → Read More: Fox News viewers are less informed than people who don’t watch news at all.]]> We’ve mentioned here on SEB before that studies have shown that watching FOX News will make you stupid. So it probably shouldn’t be a big surprise that there is yet another study that pretty much says the same thing.

OK, to be fair, what it says is that not watching any news at all will leave you better informed than if you watch FOX News. The poll asked folks questions on major news stories such as “were Egyptian protesters successful in their bid to overthrow longtime president Hosni Mubarak earlier this year?” Stuff that, if you’re paying any attention at all, you should know the answer to. The results were that people who weren’t paying attention scored better than people who watched FOX News:

Fairleigh Dickinson PublicMind Poll Shows Fox News Viewers Less Informed on Major News Stories

After controlling for factors like partisanship, education, and other demographic factors, the pollsters found that Fox New viewers were 18 points less likely to know that the revolt was successful than their non-active news consuming counterparts. Fox News viewers were also 6 points less likely to know that the Syrian uprising has yet to succeed.

“Because of the controls for partisanship, we know these results are not just driven by Republicans or other groups being more likely to watch Fox News,” said Dan Cassino, a Fairleigh Dickinson political science professor who took part in the analysis of the PublicMind data. “Rather, the results show us that there is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don’t watch any news at all.”

You don’t think it could be that FOX News is little more than a propaganda loudspeaker for the Republican party that writes its “news” stories to fulfill Conservative talking points regardless of what the reality actually is, do you? How could that be? They’re Fair and Balanced! You know this because they tell you that all the time! Surely they couldn’t say it if it wasn’t true!

In comparison, watching almost anything else resulted in people being better informed:

[P]eople who report reading a national newspaper like The New York Times or USA Today are 12-points more likely to know that Egyptians have overthrown their government than those who have not looked at any news source. And those who listen to the non-profit NPR radio network are 11-points more likely to know the outcome of the revolt against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. However, the best informed respondents are those that watched Sunday morning news programs: leading to a 16- point increase in the likelihood of knowing what happened in Egypt and an 8-point increase in the likelihood of knowing what happened in Syria.

No wonder the Republicans want to kill off NPR. It’s actually informative and a threat to their political agendas as a result.

However, the main point here is simply stunning: If you get your information from FOX News then you are actually increasing your ignorance of the issues and events shaping the world around you. You’re willfully making yourself stupider with every passing minute. You may as well be hitting yourself in the head with a ball-peen hammer as the impact on your IQ would be about the same and it’d probably be less painful to boot.

You’d, quite literally, be better informed by not paying attention at all.

In case you’ve forgotten, here’s a snippet:

The mayor is . . . → Read More: Behold the Power of Prayer: Harrisburg, PA files for bankruptcy protection.]]> Remember back in June when I wrote about the mayor of Harrisburg Pennsylvania, Linda Thompson, announcing she was going to fast for three days and pray like crazy in the hopes that God would provide her with the means of solving the city’s deficit problems?

In case you’ve forgotten, here’s a snippet:

The mayor is going to not eat for three days and pray like she’s never prayed before. Yeah, that’ll probably work. God responds so well to people who starve themselves and beg him repeatedly to do something. Why I’m sure they’ll wake up on the fourth day to find the city’s coffers suddenly overflowing with money from nowhere.

Well it appears that God must hate either Linda Thompson or the city of Harrisburg as they’ve just announced they’re filing for bankruptcy:

Pennsylvania’s capital has authorized a bankruptcy filing, making the city the nation’s highest-profile municipality to acknowledge that it can no longer handle its burdensome debt.

Harrisburg’s city council authorized the measure Tuesday after the government spent the past year and a half trying to find a solution to its $300 million debt crisis.

In the face of a continuing political battle over whether the city should restructure its debts, Harrisburg’s leaders finally capitulated and said the Chapter 9 filing is the only way out of the situation.

via Pennsylvania’s State Capital Seeks Bankruptcy Protection – US Business News – CNBC.

Prayer is really just another name for wishful thinking and the problem with wishful thinking is that reality has a way of crushing it in time. Especially when you try to use it to solve real-world problems rather than, you know, doing something useful.

Perhaps next time the voters in Harrisburg go to the ballot box they should try to elect someone who has a better plan than begging to an absentee God to solve their problems.