World News Korner

Courtesy of the Washington Times:

The Washington Times said Tuesday that it had independently reviewed Mr. Paul’s columns and op-eds and published a correction to his Sept. 20 column in which the senator had failed to attribute a passage that first appeared in The Week.

The newspaper and the senator mutually agreed to end his weekly column, which has appeared each Friday since the summer.

“We expect our columnists to submit original work and to properly attribute material, and we appreciate that the senator and his staff have taken responsibility for an oversight in one column,” Times Editor John Solomon said.

“We also appreciate the original insights he has shared with our readers over the last few months and look forward to future contributions from Sen. Paul and any other members of Congress who take the time to help educate our readers,” Mr. Solomon said.

This article also claims that Paul took "personal responsibility" for the plagiarism however THIS is how he supposedly did it:

Mr. Paul took personal responsibility for the oversights, which he and aides said were caused by staff providing him background materials that were not properly footnoted.

So the staff did it?

It seems to me that either the Washington Post or Rand Paul do not really understand the consept of personal responsibility.

Bottom line the guy is a habitual plagiarist and there is NO reason to trust him on any of this, or excuse his behaviors and being the fault of overzealous staff members.

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Damn! That is just about the most powerful statement in support of a woman's right to choose that I have ever heard.

She is going to make an awesome candidate in 2016.

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From the Mother XXX-Mas's Facebook page:

Tomorrow we will announce the details of our upcoming "Good Tidings and Great Joy" book tour scheduled to start November 12th in the beautifully named Bethlehem, PA. This book is not about isolated trivialities. It's not really just about gingerbread cookies, or stockings hung by the chimney with care, or the big fat man with the long white beard. It's not about one holiday at all. It's about that little baby wrapped in swaddling clothes who arrived long before hope and change became political manipulations. It's about Christ and our ability to worship Him freely. It's about America, and what liberty truly means in our day-to-day lives. It's an empowering message that can change your life and help rebuild what is GOOD in this world! I am beyond excited to share this unique book with you and your loved ones.

I can't wait to hear from you as we apply this positive message to our everyday living and commit to ignoring the "political correctness" that would lead us to do otherwise!

Sincerely,

Sarah Palin

Okay a few things. First the idea of taking "the fat man with the long white beard" out of the equation means taking just about all of the fun out of the holiday. And I have NO idea how she believes this book could "change your life." unless of course it makes you consider suicide due to how poorly written it is.

As for the book tour she is about to announce, well we kind of have a pretty good idea already:

Starting next week, the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate will be promoting her new book, "Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas." Publisher HarperCollins announced Tuesday that Palin's tour will begin Nov. 12 at a Barnes & Noble in Bethlehem, Pa., and end Dec. 7 at a Barnes & Noble in Roanoke, Va.

Similar to previous Palin book tours, she will skip New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and other major metropolitan areas. Stops include military posts in Fort Campbell, Ky., and Fort Benning, Ga.; a Costco in Plano, Texas; and a Wal-Mart in Wausau, Wis.

As you can see my headline was only a slight exaggeration.

It looks like Palin is going to be skulking around the country hiding is tiny venues and military bases for fear of a journalist getting close enough to ask her a question, or to take note of the tiny turnout for her latest attempt to pass herself off as a writer.

Considering how poorly her last book tour went, I can have to imagine that this one will be attended only by Right Wing fanatics, sideshow aficionado's, and escaped mental patients.

By the way perhaps somebody ought to tell her that Jesus was NOT born in Bethlehem, and he was NOT born in December. (You know, if in fact he was born at all)

Oh, but I guess that would confuse the paint chip eaters now wouldn't it?

Update: It looks like the interviews for the book tour have begin. USA Today has asked fro ideas for questions.

Your Qs for @SarahPalinUSA? Interviewing her tomorrow for @USATODAY #CapDown on her new book (Good Tidings/Great Joy), politics & more.
— Susan Page (@SusanPage) November 6, 2013

Have any ideas?

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Mike Michaud's op-ed is courtesy of Bangor Daily News:

When I entered the race for governor, I did so because I love the state of Maine and am tired of seeing it dragged in the wrong direction. There was never any question that it would be a tough race, but I know I have the vision, the experience and the commitment to lead Maine forward.

Once I jumped to an early lead in the polls, I knew it was only a matter of time before individuals and organizations intent on re-creating the uncertainty that led to our current governor’s election three years ago would start their attacks. Already my opponents have tried to blatantly distort my support for a woman’s right to choose and my tireless commitment to our nation’s veterans.

So I wasn’t surprised to learn about the whisper campaigns, insinuations and push-polls some of the people opposed to my candidacy have been using to raise questions about my personal life. They want people to question whether I am gay.

Allow me to save them the trouble with a simple, honest answer: “Yes, I am. But why should it matter?”

That may seem like a big announcement to some people. For me, it’s just a part of who I am, as much as being a third-generation millworker or a lifelong Mainer. One thing I do know is that it has nothing to do with my ability to lead the state of Maine.

“Yes, I am. But why should it matter?” Okay I find this to be all kinds of awesome.

And the fact that Michaud can do this and remain a viable candidate for governor is attributable to the important work accomplished by the LGBT community.

Just ten years ago this would have signaled the end of his candidacy but now it may actually benefit him.

We are getting closer and closer to the day when nobody gives a damn about your sexuality and instead focuses on your character and experience.

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Patrick Stewart is a Boss. pic.twitter.com/gkpPjR3kWp

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 5, 2013

By the way if you have not been following Patrick Stewart on Twitter you are really missing out.

Of course the same holds true for George Takei.

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Much of this article focuses on mistakes the administration made by being too insular for fear of being sabotaged by the Republicans who made no secret of the fact they would do just about anything to keep it from being successful:

Based on interviews with more than two dozen current and former administration officials and outsiders who worked alongside them, the project was hampered by the White House’s political sensitivity to Republican hatred of the law — sensitivity so intense that the president’s aides ordered that some work be slowed down or remain secret for fear of feeding the opposition. Inside the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the main agency responsible for the exchanges, there was no single administrator whose full-time job was to manage the project. Republicans also made clear they would block funding, while some outside IT companies that were hired to build the Web site, HealthCare.gov, performed poorly.

However their vigilance did little to stop the political IED's from being placed along it's path:

Although the statute provided plenty of money to help states build their own insurance exchanges, it included no money for the development of a federal exchange — and Republicans would block any funding attempts. According to one former administration official, Sebelius simply could not scrounge together enough money to keep a group of people developing the exchanges working directly under her.

Bureaucratic as this move may sound, it was fateful, according to current and former administration officials. It meant that the work of designing the federal health exchange — and of helping states that wanted to build their own — became fragmented.

This allowed the Republicans to point the finger at the Obama administration for their ineptitude when it fact they had dammed off the flow of money needed to fully develop the federal exchanges.

I think we all know what their next step was:

A larger number of states than expected were signaling that, under Republican pressure, they would refuse to build their own online insurance marketplaces and would rely on the federal one. The more states in the federal exchange, the more complex the task of building it. Yet, according to several former officials, White House staff would not let this fact be included in the specifications. Their concern, one former official said, was that Republicans would seize on it as evidence of a feared federal takeover of the health-care system.

And there you have it. Strike fear in the administration's heart concerning possible sabotage, block funding for the federal exchanges to cripple them and make them less effective, and then keep Republican run states from developing local exchanges to relieve the pressure and smooth the way for progress.

Instant train wreck.

And the only casualties are the millions of Americans who still cannot get access to affordable health insurance, the millions more who are now being victimized by greedy insurance companies who have kicked them off their health plans only to offer them more expensive ones, and of course the trust of the voting public who naively believed that the politicians they elected would work for them, and NOT simply engage in partisan battles to the detriment of the government and of its people.

(H/T to Jonathon Capehart)

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Palin at last year's Faith and Freedom Coalition

Courtesy of the Tundra Textbook critic's Facebook page:

The politically correct now consider it "Un-American" to protest relegating Christian faith & diversity to the back-burner! Are you ready to stand for faith and freedom, America?! More on this topic to come as I'm looking forward to speaking to the Faith & Freedom Coalition in Iowa this Saturday and launching the tour for my new book coming out next week! It's time to STAND UP, America, and declare good tidings & great joy! It's to our nation's detriment if we shy away from this battle & let the PC police win!

Pimping an upcoming appearance with the Religious Right, flavor it with a little Islamophobia, and post it a week before her new book comes out.

Political pole dancing, pandering, and pimping all in one simple ghostwritten post. So perfectly Palin.

And as can be expected she is completely in the wrong.

Palin links up to an article over at the Daily Caller, reporting on some outrage expressed by Florida parents over a World History book that teaches students about Islamic influences on the world.

Here is how the Daily Caller describes the chapter:

The textbook, called simply “World History,” contains a 32-page chapter fondly devoted to “Muslim Civilizations.” Sections include descriptions of the Koran, the growth of the Muslim empire and the Five Pillars of Islam.

"Fondly devoted." Really evenhanded reporting don't you think?

But here's the thing, even though there is a protest planned for Tuesday, this is an issue that is months old and which the textbook creators have already addressed.

Here was their response from back in August:

We’ve recently heard concerns about a Pearson high school textbook used in Brevard County, Florida, entitled Florida World History. Some have claimed that this text, used in a 10th grade course, is biased towards Islam at the expense of Judaism and Christianity. We’d like to set the record straight.

In Florida, as in other states, Pearson creates custom course materials that align to the state’s specific curriculum standards. Florida’s standards split the world history curriculum into two years of study, in grades 6 and 10. The state’s standards require the sixth grade curriculum start with early civilizations and continue through to the fall of Rome (476 A.D.). In the 10th grade, the state’s high school curriculum begins with the Byzantines (330 A.D.), proceeds to the Early Middle Ages in Europe (500 A.D.) and continues to the present day.

The Florida edition of the Pearson high school World History text aligns to the state’s standards, which require that the high school course includes content on the origins of Islam, while the middle school text details the earlier origins of Judaism and Christianity. The Florida Department of Education approved the Pearson World History programs for adoption and validated that the content in our programs meets the requirements and educational goals of the state.

Hmm, well so much for "fondly devoted." Gee it sounds so much less like somebody is marginalizing Christianity in favor of Islam when it is not written by an Islamophobic douchbag don't you think?

You know it really IS possible for religions to live in harmony with one another. It has been happening in many places, including America, for many, many years.

And it would be nice if people would work to help keep it that way, you know until they finally fade away into the mists of history and join with other barely remembered mythologies.

But hey I guess it doesn't help to sell a book on the war against Christmas and Christianity if you cannot identify the troops gathered on the other side of the battlefield. And really, does it matter if innocent people are caught in the crossfire?

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I actually watched MSNBC quite a lot yesterday and saw this story covered by Al Sharpton, Chris Matthews, and Chris Hayes. But of course it was Rachel's response that I was the most interested in, and of course it was great.

However it must be pointed out that Rand Paul's problem on this subject is certainly NOT simply being driven by one cable news network. If you do a quick Google search of "Rand Paul and plagiarism" you can certainly see that for yourself.

However possibly even more damaging than the fact his plagiarism is sop wide spread and consistent, is his response to having been found out.

You see he is not simply labeling it a partisan attack and loading his dueling pistols, he is also pulling a Sarah Palin and scrubbing the evidence from the internet:

Several transcripts of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s speeches have disappeared from his website. The change was noticed after reports by BuzzFeed, Politico, and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that said the senator had plagiarized in several of his speeches. BuzzFeed also recently reported that Paul plagiarized pages of his book from The Heritage Foundation and from a Cato Institute scholar.

"Plagiarism? What plagiarism?"

You know I NEVER thought Rand Paul had a legitimate chance to win the GOP nomination for president, but if you wanted to know when his very last chance died, it would be right about now.

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