Saturday, August 31, 2013

WTF is wrong with Dave Chappelle?

Rumors of Dave Chappelle 'Meltdown' Go Viral

Did he or did he not have a tantrum while walking offstage? Twitter investigates.


Dave Chappelle (Chad Buchanan/Getty Images)
By Tracy Clayton
(The Root) - Late last night, tweets began to fly from audience members of a Dave Chappelle show in Hartford, Conn.

Though all tweets confirm that Chappelle did, in fact, walk offstage - there is video of him walking off as Kanye's "New Slaves" plays -- details vary among those who claim they were in attendance. 

Some say that Chappelle had a full meltdown onstage; others say he just sat down and read a book.


Many angrily blamed Chappelle for the show's end, referencing his record of walking off stages and off his own hit show. But others, like audience member Mike Wellman, point the finger at the crowd, who they say was loud and unruly and became rude once it was clear that Chappelle was not simply going to regurgitate famed lines from his popular television show.
Based on this account -- and this one by Lesli-Ann Lewis, who wrote about her experience at the show for Ebony -- it sounds as if Chappelle walked offstage for the same reason he walked away from his show: The crowd was only interested in catchphrases and superficial snips. They came to laugh at him, not with him. This is especially easy to believe when you happen upon those in attendance referring to him as a "scum nigger."

There appears to be a pretty clear racial divide in the opinions surrounding the show, generally speaking. Most white commentators seem to view Chappelle's actions as those of a diva throwing a tantrum, while most black observers say he was standing up for himself and protecting his art.
Read more at Colorlines.
Tracy Clayton is a writer, humorist and blogger from Louisville, Ky.
Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Ilford Opens Up a Photo Lab in California, Will Process Your Film by Mail

By D.L. Cade

Good news isn’t always easy to come by in the world of film; more often than not, the stories we run have to do with film being discontinued. But that’s not always the case, and the most recent news out of Ilford should give film lovers something to smile about.

According to Imaging Resource, Harman Technology — the folks behind Ilford — have decided to open up an Ilford lab in California. This means that high-quality black-and-white processing and printing services are now available by mail to all of North America via the Ilford US website.
ilford2
“It has become more and more difficult for black and white film users to have their films processed and printed to a high quality on real black and white paper,” explains Harman Director of Marketing and North American Sales Steven Brierley. And since their successful UK lab has seen a consistent increase in interest from overseas, Harman is “excited to announce that … we can now offer the same service from a base in California.”

The lab is able to work with black-and-white, C-41 color negative and E-6 transparency films in both the 35mm and 120 formats. Prints will be delivered on Ilford photo paper, and turnaround time is only 2-3 days.

Prices start at $16 per roll, with upgrades, enlargements and digital scans costing extra. To learn more or go ahead and place your first order by mail, check out the full press release or head over to the Ilford US website by clicking here.

Image credit: Black & White by DaveBleasdale

GOP leader chose oil industry over MLK marchers

The crowd at the March on Washington anniversary celebration. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
The March on Washington anniversary celebration. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

There are 233 Republicans in the House of Representatives, 46 in the Senate and 30 in governor’s mansions across the country. Guess how many made the effort to appear at Wednesday’s giant rally commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. Zero. Ed O’Keefe reports:
Not a single Republican elected official stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday with activists, actors, lawmakers and former presidents invited to mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington — a notable absence for a party seeking to attract the support of minority voters.
Event organizers said Wednesday that they invited top Republicans, all of whom declined to attend because of scheduling conflicts or ill health.
Democratic congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, weren’t there either, having attended a July commemoration of the march especially for lawmakers — which also included Republican leaders House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia — but the Democratic party was well represented Wednesday by three presidents and a smattering of lawmakers, including civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.

It seems pretty obvious, but if you want to change the fact that your party is viewed skeptically by minorities, and you want to claim Martin Luther King Jr.’s mantel — I’m looking at you Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) – then blowing off the highest profile civil rights event of the year is probably not a smart move, if for no other reason than “optics.” After their losses in the 2012 election, Republicans vowed to make a better effort to reach out to minorities, and just two weeks ago at its summer meeting, the GOP launched a program to attract minority voters by highlighting young “rising stars” in the party.

So what gives? According to O’Keefe, the lawmakers said they “received formal invitations only in recent weeks, making it too late to alter their summer recess schedules.” Republicans had no problem appearing in droves at a hastily organized tea party rally in June, where “[GOP] lawmakers sweltered in a long line waiting to take the stage,” the Wall Street Journal reported. Some weren’t even invited but just showed up hoping to get a chance to speak to the party faithful.

To be fair, Congress was in session then so it was easy for them to merely step outside and into line, but in today’s age, how hard is it to book a plane ticket and reschedule a few meetings? Lawmakers make last-minute changes to their schedules all the time — there is someone in every congressional office whose job is to manage their schedules — so “weeks” seems like enough time to find at least one or two Republicans willing to attend.

So what was did they do instead? Well, Boehner was in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and had no public events scheduled, but he has been headlining GOP fundraisers all this month, so it’s a fairly safe to assume that he was raising cash at the time. Cantor, meanwhile was touring an oil field in North Dakota. The Grand Forks Herald reports:
Cantor, hosted by Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., met with energy industry and community leaders at a crew camp in Williston, toured a drilling site and other oilfield locations in the Bakken and met with North Dakota Petroleum Council members in Watford City.

Cantor praised North Dakota’s approach to energy development and said the country needs to follow the state’s example and adopt a national energy policy.

“I hope to be able to tell the president that there’s a lot for him to learn here as far as energy production here in America,” Cantor said. “North Dakota seems to have gotten it right.”
The North Dakota Petroleum Council, by the way, is a lobby group that represents the state’s oil and gas industry. That’s what Cantor was doing on the day of the march.

“They asked a long list of Republicans to come,” civl rights leader Julian Bond told MSNBC yesterday, “and to a man and woman they said ‘no.’ And that they would turn their backs on this event was telling of them, and the fact that they seem to want to get black votes, they’re not gonna get ‘em this way.” (Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina and the only black member of the Senate, said he was not invited to the march, though leaders say they invited every member of Congress.)

Bond did credit Cantor for trying hard to find a replacement speaker, but, ultimately, the leader was unable to find a single Republican to attend the event.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Assad flees to Iran

By Kevin Brent

Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad and his family arrived in Tehran Aug 28, landing at Khomeini Airport aboard his presidential jet. Iranian foreign ministry sources confirmed this with the Lebanese newspaper a-Nahar.

Accompanying the Assad family was a group of senior Syrian government officials who together with Assad are officially there to hold talks with the Iranian government about a Syrian response to a possible US strike on Syrian WMD assets which is expected to take place in the near future.

As this information made its way into a-Nahar, Syrian Army generals continued their dire warning that if Syria is attacked, ‘Israel will burn’ and that if Syria weakens, ‘certain irresponsible groups’ will be formed that would endanger Israel.

Pres. Assad and his family fleeing to Tehran is no surprise. Iran and Syria have been decade’s long allies since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. The Assad’s are Alawite Muslims, which are an offshoot of Shia Islam which is the predominant Muslim sect in Iran.

Syria under the Assad Dynasty of first Hafez and then son Bashar al-Assad were instrumental in helping Iran build, train, equip and supply the terror army known as Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to threaten Israel. Without Assad in control of Syria, Hezbollah can not survive.

Assad's fleeing likely means a Western military strike cannot be far off. If the strike is limited strictly to a brief missile and air campaign, then Assad could return to Damascus once it’s over. If however, events lead to a sustained campaign and/or a ground invasion of Syria by Turkey, Israel or a coalition of nations then Assad’s departure will be permanent.

The most likely reason for the mass chemical weapons attack in the first place, was that Assad’s Fourth Armored Division was in danger of being overrun and they were the last line of defense in central Damascus. Rebels are likely regrouping for a renewed offensive and if Assad does not have any WMD as an option, then returning to Damascus would mean his capture or execution.

There is now a coalition of 36 nations forming for a strike on Syria including Britain, France, Turkey, Australia and Canada among the more powerful nations. It remains to be seen however, whether the United States will participate.

Pres. Obama has been dragging his feet with US allies eager to strike Syrian WMD delivery vehicles and weapons by insisting on a UN Security Council Resolution on Syria, awaiting a UN weapons inspector report when those inspectors have indefinitely postponed any further inspections; and telling world leaders that there has to be accountability assigned before any strike can be authorized.

The governments of Britain, France and Turkey have indicated a willingness to go ahead without the UN on board and have each called their respective Parliaments in to special session for legislative authorization for the use of force. Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan has taken the further measure of asking the Turkish Parliament for a new mandate with language allowing him to act in Syria without a UN mandate or NATO sanction. The existing Syria mandate required one or the other for anything more than defensive operations.

Pres. Assad fleeing to Iran, and with wife and family in tow along with senior regime cronies, is indication that and attack is forthcoming with or without the United States onboard and that someone has tipped off Assad that the attack is pending.

Representative government, my ass

By woo me with science

America does not support strikes on Syria.

Congress is less popular than cockroaches, and strikes in Syria are less popular than Congress.

These corporate pod people we allowed to slither into office over the past 30 years do not represent us. They rule us. We are hostages at this point, not citizens, when it comes to most areas of policy.

Over and over again, we get the big FUCK YOU from our government. They do whatever the hell they want and they use our money to do it. Our tax dollars poured into surveillance systems aimed at us, private prisons, bailouts for billionaires, assaults on journalism, and now yet another bloody war for profit. Meanwhile, they are replacing our paved roads with gravel, shutting down our children's schools, and dismantling our social support systems.

Our "representative government" is an obscene joke at this point, both parties. WE DID NOT VOTE FOR THIS SHIT. 

XBox One Rumored to Debut Nov. 8th




Microsoft's Xbox One could beat Sony's PlayStation 4 release date by a week, if a leak from Walmart is true.

Kotaku posted a screenshot that it reportedly received from someone who works for a marketing company that handles signage and product placement for Walmart. The screenshot includes a schedule for all the gaming-related midnight launches through the remainder of the year.

The release lineup mentions major franchise game releases for the rest of year, including Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4 and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, along with the confirmed release of Sony's PlayStation 4 on Nov. 15.
walmart-listImage via Kotaku

Since Microsoft has not confirmed this release date (the company only confirms the console will hit shelves in November), this is purely speculation. Release dates listed on retail websites are often incorrect.

In the screenshot, the Xbox One is the only release date listed without "Confirmed" next to it.
Image: Mashable, Chelsea Stark

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Ring of Fire 8/25/13

"Big Pharma's War on Women." Linda Lipsen, CEO of the American Association for Justice talks about big Pharma's penchant for harming female consumers.

"Labor Unions Help Save Lives." Attorneys Mike Burg and Howard Nations talk about recent workplace atrocities around the globe, and how unions could have saved workers' lives.

"Cash Hoarders Devastate Economy." Richard Eskow, host of The Breakdown and senior fellow at the Campaign for America's Future, talks about the top 1% hoarding trillions in cash, and how this affects the income gap in America.

"Your Mortgage Documents Are Fake!" Investigative journalist David Dayen talks about mortgage companies falsifying documents to illegally foreclose on homeowners.

"Senior Citizens At Risk." Attorney Charles Meltmar talks about the rise in cases of nursing home abuse.

NY AG: Trump University a ‘scam from top to bottom’

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Is the NYPD Worse Than the NSA?

By Conor Friedersdorf

The surveillance debate triggered by Edward Snowden's leaks frequently features government spokespeople assuring Americans that the authorities aren't targeting us with their spying activities. Implicit is the notion that if Americans were being targeted, that would be an abuse of power.

In New York City, the debate is different, because there's no doubt about the NYPD's surveillance tactics: They're definitely targeting innocent Americans citizens and legal residents. And that's an ongoing abuse of power, even if comparatively fewer people have heard about it.

We've known for some time that innocent Muslim Americans were ethnically profiled by undercover NYPD officers, causing significant, under-acknowledged hardship in affected communities. Earlier this summer, Charlie Savage reported on four CIA officers embedded within the NYPD, despite the strict rules governing the spy agency's behavior within the United States. And today, New York has published "The NYPD Division of UnAmerican Activities," in which Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman unearth even more alarming details about the NYPD Demographics Unit.
  • Official secrecy defined the program from the start. "Documents related to this new unit were stamped NYPD SECRET. Even the City Council, Congress, and the White House -- the people paying the bills -- weren't told about it."
  • This is straight-up profiling. "They mapped, looking for 28 'ancestries of interest.' Nearly all were Muslim. There were Middle Eastern and South Asian countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Syria, and Egypt. Former Soviet states like Uzbekistan and Chechnya were included because of their large Muslim populations. The last 'ancestry' on the list was 'American Black Muslim.'"
  • Files on New Yorkers were started on the flimsiest of pretexts. "One Muslim man made it into files even though he praised President Bush's State of the Union address and said people who criticized the U.S. government didn't realize how good they had it. Two men of Pakistani ancestry were included for saying the nation's policies had become increasingly anti-Muslim since 9/11. Muslims who criticized the CIA's use of drones to launch missiles in Pakistan were documented."
  • Inevitably, spying was used for purposes other than counterterrorism. "Surveillance turned out to be habit-forming .... Undercover officers traveled the country, keeping tabs on liberal protest groups like Time's Up and the Friends of Brad Will. Police infiltrated demonstrations and collected information about antiwar groups and those that marched against police brutality. Detectives monitored activist websites and copied the contents into police files, including one memo in 2008 for Kelly that reported the contents of a website about a group of women organizing a boycott to protest the police shooting of Sean Bell, an unarmed black man killed the morning before his wedding.
The full story contains a lot more objectionable behavior, and after reading how the undercover officers operate it's easy to understand why the unit would cause Muslim-American mosque attendees, small-business owners and patrons, and students throughout the city to grow paranoid in their daily lives. And defenders of the program are unable to point to even a single case where it prevented a terrorist attack -- in fact, they can't even point to a terrorism-related arrest or prosecution.

Usually, when I write phrases like, "This is how a secret police force with files on innocent Americans starts," I'm issuing a warning about the future. But the NYPD literally started a secret police unit that began indiscriminately keeping files on innocent Americans. This isn't a warning about a slippery slope. It is an observation about ongoing abuse of civil liberties in America's biggest city.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Retro gaming with a Raspberry pi

Using a Raspberry Pi for retro I know, that it’s underpowered for quite a few different emulators. I’m very surprised what you can play on it . When you first buy a Rasberry PI, you will have to download their free os called Raspbian. Then you can sign up to the PI store, so you can download all kind of apps. They have four good classic gaming emulators available, all of them are free downloads: MAME4ALL , PiSNES — Super NES emulator, Pcsx_reARMed — PlayStation1, Atari800 — Atari 8-bit computers (800, XL, XE, etc.)

There’s even an image out there called Retro pi. Someone has done all the hard work for you already. The Raspberry Pi will boot automatically into EmulationStation. This is a program running off a custom SD card called RetroPie that allows you to use a controller to select an emulator and a game without ever touching a keyboard or mouse. After everything’s set up, you’ll be able to navigate and do everything you need to do on the Raspberry Pi from a controller.

What systems can you emulate? A lot of them:
  • Amiga (UAE4All)
  • Atari 2600 (RetroArch)
  • Doom (RetroArch)
  • Final Burn Alpha (RetroArch)
  • Game Boy Advance (RetroArch)
  • Game Boy Color (RetroArch)
  • Game Gear (Osmose)
  • Intellivision (RetroArch)
  • MAME (RetroArch)
  • MAME (AdvMAME)
  • NeoGeo (GnGeo)
  • NeoGeo (Genesis-GX, RetroArch)
  • Sega Master System (Osmose)
  • Sega Megadrive (DGEN)
  • Nintendo Entertainment System (RetroArch)
  • PC Engine / Turbo Grafx 16 (RetroArch)
  • Playstation 1 (RetroArch)
  • ScummVM
  • Super Nintendo Entertainment System (RetroArch)
  • Sinclair ZX Spectrum (Fuse)
  • Z Machine emulator (Frotz)
Some of the more advanced emulators like the Playstation 1 and Neo Geo don’t work as well, but for the most part the older systems work great. It has a quick usb copy option, so just format a usb stick and plug it into the retro pi and wait about minute. It will make the directory for you, plug it in your pc and you can just load your roms to your favorite emulator instead of using ftp.

The other thing I found out when it comes to using the Emulation Station and a PlayStation 3 or Xbox360 controller is mapping out the buttons for each individual emulator, it can be a real headache.

There is an auto config tool for the joysticks, but it does not always seem to work properly when you jump from emulator to emulator. So I would recommend going with a third-party generic usb Super Nintendo controller or make your own fight stick. I think it makes a great  Retro Arcade System, and does not cost a lot of money. Here a few links on how to build a Retro pi:

http://supernintendopi.wordpress.com/tag/retropie/
http://blog.petrockblock.com
https://github.com/Aloshi/EmulationStation

Sunday, August 25, 2013

KY Gov Praise of Obamacare Leaves McConnell, Rand Dumbfounded

By Nicole Belle


Lord love Democratic Governor of Kentucky Steve Beshear. Speaking to a crowd of Kentucky voters at a fundraising breakfast, Beshear took the opportunity to praise the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) to the overwhelming support of the audience and take subtle jabs at those who were opposing Obamacare, which include Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul who were also attending.
Republican Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, also attending, weren’t expecting the onslaught. Jill Lawrence reported, “It was not what anyone expected—least of all Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, who sat stone-faced onstage with Beshear as he unloaded on them without using names.”
Beshear finished with a stab to the heart of GOP’s NoCare, no alternative. “It’s amazing to me how people who are pouring time and money and energy into trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act sure haven’t put that kind of energy into trying to improve the health of Kentuckians,” according to the National Journal.
Ouch. That had to hurt Mitch McConnell especially, who is in a serious fight to retain his seat against challenger Alison Grimes. The National Journal reports that Beshear got very pointed with his criticism:
The governor compared health insurance to "the safety net of crop insurance" and said farmers need both. He said 640,000 Kentuckians—15 percent of the state—don't have health insurance and "trust me, you know many of those 640,000 people. You're friends with them. You're probably related to them. Some may be your sons and daughters. You go to church with them. Shop with them. Help them harvest their fields. Sit in the stands with them as you watch your kids play football or basketball or ride a horse in competition. Heck, you may even be one of them."
Beshear went on to say that "it's no fun" hoping and praying you don't get sick, or choosing whether to pay for food or medicine. He also said Kentucky is at or near the top of the charts on bad-health indicators, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer deaths, and preventable hospitalizations. He said all that affects everything from productivity and school attendance to health costs and the state's image.
"We've ranked that bad for a long, long time," he said. "The Affordable Care Act is our historic opportunity to address this weakness and to change the course of the future of the commonwealth. We're going to make insurance available for the very first time in our history to every single citizen of the commonwealth of Kentucky."
THIS is what I want to see Democrats doing as we near the 2014 mid-terms. Be unapologetic. Put the Democratic agenda in human terms everyone can understand. Push Republicans back on their heels and force them to defend their record.

Take note, Democrats. This is how you do it. 

Friday, August 23, 2013

The Republican Disease Weakens Critical Thinking



Somewhere in the last four or five decades, Republican politicians got the idea in their head that the "R" that was there to identify their party affiliation actually stood for "R" Regressive or "R" Reactionary Rube.

I mean, why is it that every time you hear the loudest, buffoonish diatribe about issues like climate change, stem cell research, education, or religion or damn near anything that demands rational analysis - the buffoon delivering that regressive diatribe is a Republican.

Is it a chicken or an egg analysis that we should apply when we are listening to one more Republican Regressive Rube leaves us dumbfounded with airhead quality opinions about damn near anything that actually requires rational reflection or mature understanding?

Name it -- science or basic narratives about social issues, cultural issues -- why is that character with the big Republican "R" behind their name always the one who leaves us almost breathless as we try to grasp their dullard insight on the topic in question? This past week, for example, one of those Regressive throwback politicians with a big "R" after his name told us that Obama was subverting the will of the American people by trying to expand high speed Internet into every classroom in America.

Michael Grimm, a big "R" Republican from New York was able to lift himself from his knuckles into a fully erect standing position to tell us that the high speed Internet, I suppose, is not good for American students. Seems pretty non-controversial to those of us who stand erect everyday, but genuinely very controversial for a predictable "R" regressive thinker, who again is predictably a Republican leader. I mean, if I had given you those facts and then asked you to guess the political affiliation of the person who made such a remarkable dullard statement, you would have guessed Republican almost 100% of the time without even needing more facts.

Chris Mooney is a hugely talented writer tried that understands that buffoonish big "R" Republican regressive quality. His book, The Republican Brain, questioned why the vast, almost overwhelming, majority of Republicans struggle with issues like Darwin's theory of evolution or global climate change or even Einstein's theory of relativity.

Mooney dug through the Conservapedia, which is the right wing's equivalent of Wikipedia. The creator of Conservapedia is one of Phyllis Schlafly's intellectually and socially disadvantaged home schooled children. The young bone head Schlafly tells the world in his site (for unstable conservatives) that he has proof that abortion causes breast cancer; Einstein was a fraud because his relativity theory questions religion; homosexuality is a depraved mental disorder; Darwin fabricated his research; global climate change is part of the ruse to create a new world order. And it goes pretty much downhill from there.

There was a time when the homeschooled Schlafly dimwit would be summarily dismissed by virtually everyone including Goldwater Republicans as a clownish psycho needing heavy medication. But you know what? Today that crazy crackpot is a respected, even admired Republican spokesperson just like his lunatic mother who is always at the podium in front of massive Republican audiences.

This new Frankenstein mutation of crackpot thinking is who you are if you call yourself a Republican today. It is your brand. It is a contagious infection that chronically weakens progress in science, economics, social or cultural improvement -- It eats away at our ability to even properly educate our children.

It creates a diseased waste around our ability to ever become our best selves. And you need to know if you are one of those Schlafly -quality crackpots still carrying around one of the cards with a big "R" printed somewhere on it -- you help further that disease.

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Rick Perry Quietly Lobbies White House For Obamacare Funding After Maligning It

By Heather



Can you smell the hypocrisy in the air? Sadly, as Lawrence O'Donnell and Ari Melber pointed out in the segment above, if this story gets too much coverage, Gov. Goodhair might use it as an excuse to change his mind and decide to stick it to his constituents rather than accept help for some of the most vulnerable in his state.

Rick Perry Quietly Lobbies The White House For $100 Million In Obamacare Funding:
Politico reported Tuesday evening that Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) administration is in negotiations with the Obama White House to accept about $100 million in federal money to implement an Obamacare Medicaid program to help elderly and disabled Americans.

Perry has been a heated opponent of the health law. He refused to accept $100 billion in federal funding to expand Texas’ Medicaid program under Obamacare, which could have helped 1.5 million poor Texans afford basic health benefits. As recently as April, Perry essentially called the expansion a joke. “Seems to me April Fool’s Day is the perfect day to discuss something as foolish as Medicaid expansion, and to remind everyone that Texas will not be held hostage by the Obama administration’s attempt to force us into the fool’s errand of adding more than a million Texans to a broken system,” said Perry.
Now, Perry is seeking federal dollars for Texas’ Medicaid program anyway.
The Affordable Care Act grants state funding to expand a program called Community First Choice, which aims to improve the community-based medical services available to disabled and elderly Americans. The wildly popular program is administered through Medicaid and could prevent thousands of disabled and older Americans from being uprooted from their homes and into a long-term care facility for their treatments. Approximately 12,000 Texans could take advantage of it in the first year alone.
Perry spokespeople emphasized to Politico that the governor’s support for the program — and the Medicaid funds that make it possible — shouldn’t come as a surprise and doesn’t change his position on the Affordable Care Act.
Perry's been playing politics with the issue forever. There's no reason to believe that's changed, but if he accepts the funding for his state, that's a move in the right direction. It was predicted that a lot of these states that tried to hold out would end up coming around within a few years. Texas looks like they're coming around sooner than many thought they would.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Brandy performs for 40 people in 90,000 seat arena

77126233.jpg

Singer Brandy said to have performed for only 40 people in a South Africa arena that seats about 90,000. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images for BET)

By Nardine Saad

August 22, 2013, 3:57 P.M.

Brandy reportedly played to a nearly empty arena in South Africa this week.

The Grammy Award-winning R&B star was a surprise guest at the Nelson Mandela Sports and Cultural Day concert in Soweto on Saturday, but nearly all of the event-goers were gone by the time she took the stage, according to the Guardian.

The 34 year old "I Wanna Be Down" singer is said to have performed for about 40 audience members in FNB stadium, which has a 90,000-person capacity. Apparently there had been tens of thousands of people attending the earlier rugby and soccer matches, but most of them left while the musical segment — featuring four acts before Brandy — took place.

"Brandy [just] performed to an empty stadium. With the stadium lights on," tweeted Kabomo, a South African musician. "It was late. People didn't know there was a concert after the games. No one knew Brandy was around. Maybe a 40 people audience ... She sulked after two songs and walked off."

Awkward. In the words of Madonna, "The show is over, say goodbye..."



Brandy Best Friend from the self titled album "Brandy"

Video directed by Matthew Rolston

"Best Friend" is an dance-pop song with urban and R&B influences by American singer Brandy. It was written by Keith Crouch, and Glenn McKinney and produced by Krouch for her self-titled debut studio album, Brandy (1994).

The song released as the album's third single in June 1995. With peak positions of number 11 in New Zealand and number 34 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 the song was moderately successful. However, "Best Friend" peaked at number 7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song was also featured on her hit series Moesha, where Moesha and her friend cheerleading in the final scene of the episode "Friends" that aired in the same year.

Chart Position (1995) Peak

New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart #11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #34
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles #7



Brandy, full name Brandy Norwood, usually promotes her appearances on Twitter but didn't mention anything about her South Africa performance on social media either before or after the event. The newspaper site reported that the event's nationally televised broacast concluded just before Brandy's concert too.

On Aug. 20, her official website put up a post that seemed to intend to showcase a video of the performance. However, the actual post had no video and nothing beyond the show's basic details.

Perhaps because of the sparse turnout at the South Africa event, the singer has gone full force promoting her performances on both her Facebook and Twitter accounts. Neither she nor the  concert promoters have made any statements about the event, according to reports.

In recent years — since a 2006 car accident that killed one woman and embroiled the singer in years of litigation — the "Brandy and Ray J" reality star has built up her acting career. The "Moesha" alum has had stints on "90210" and "The Game" and appeared in Tyler Perry's "Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor."

She will next be featured on embattled singer Chris Brown's upcoming album "X." Brown was featured on Brandy's track "Put It Down" from her sixth studio album "Two Eleven," which was released last year.

Joe Arpaio's Cops and Militia Dolts Almost Kill Each Other

8/22/2013

// Posted by Rude One @ 3:30 PM

Of all the shit-eating wannabe tough guys out there, few people can claim to have stepped up to the turd buffet to fill his plate as often as Arizona's Joe Arpaio, sheriff of Maricopa County and noted child molester consorter. When he's not exploiting undocumented immigrants in order to burnish his reputation as the biggest asshole in America, he's suckling at the sour teat of conservative fame, the place where you're worshiped by worthless pissbag-toting Rascal riders and their morbidly obese children in the sidecar. And probably Sean Hannity.





Oh, sure, Sheriff Joe has had himself a grand old time fluffing up the barely sentient cocks of the Minutemen and other militia groups who take it on themselves to "patrol" the U.S. border, looking for Mexicans they can round up as trophies. And the Minutemen? They love ol' Sheriff Joe. They love him for bein' brave enough to say that President Obama ain't Uhmerkan. Gave him a fuckin' award a few years back for arrestin' undocumented workers and makin' 'em stay in tents and wear prison stripes and other shit that have nothing to do with helping anything but Sheriff Joe's ego. They love him because Sheriff Joe, he defends the 2nd Amendment, says he ain't no-how, no-way gonna confiscate people's guns, no matter what that prez'dent says, even though the prez'dent's never said anything about confiscating guns.

So it must have been something of a surprise when one of these armed assholes at the border, thinking some Messicans were about to jump him, pointed his gun and yelled orders at one of Arpaio's deputies. The pure comedy part? When the deputy identified himself, the Minuteman, who we'll call "Cooter," because fuck that guy, said, "You aren’t taking my weapons." Poor Cooter. He never had a chance. Of course they took his weapons. Of course they arrested Cooter.

And, of course, Sheriff Joe made a statement where he said his deputies could have put "30 rounds" in the guy and added, without a hint of his own complicity, that there will be chaos "if you’re going to have private citizens dressed just like our deputies taking the law into their own hands." It's like Jeffrey Dahmer saying that the latest Cleveland serial killer should cut it out.  Cooter, for his part, went full Zimmerman, saying that he was standing his ground. According to his statement, "[H]e had the right to point his rifle at the individual because he had reasonable suspicion to believe a crime was occurring."

Now Cooter faces felony assault charges. And the Minutemen no longer have Sheriff Joe on their side. But the more important lesson here is for every barrel-fellating gun nut who thinks that he can defend himself from the evil government: you can't, Cooter. You just can't. In this case, the deputies of the man the militias thought was on their side disarmed the 2nd Amendment lover and threatened to kill him. Oh, Cooter, it's different facing armed authorities and not poor immigrants. And when you're cornered, you'll surrender without a fight.

Convicted Army private Bradley Manning says he's a Woman

By Associated Press











U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning

FORT MEADE, Md. —  Bradley Manning plans to live as a woman named Chelsea and wants to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible, the soldier said Thursday, a day after being sentenced to 35 years in prison for sending classified material to WikiLeaks.

Manning announced the decision in a written statement provided to NBC's "Today" show, asking supporters to refer to him by his new name and the feminine pronoun. The statement was signed "Chelsea E. Manning."

"As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible," the statement read.

Manning's defense attorney David Coombs told "Today" in an interview that he is hoping officials at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., will accommodate Manning's request for hormone therapy.

Undated photo provided by the U.S. Army of Pfc. Bradley Manning posing for a photo wearing a wig and lipstick.
Undated photo provided by the U.S. Army of Pfc. Bradley Manning posing for a photo wearing a wig and lipstick.

"If Fort Leavenworth does not, then I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure they are forced to do so," Coombs said.

Coombs did not respond to phone and email messages from The Associated Press on Thursday.

Manning's struggle with gender identity disorder — the sense of being a woman trapped in a man's body — was key to the defense.

Attorneys had presented evidence of Manning's struggle with gender identity, including a photo of the soldier in a blond wig and lipstick sent to a therapist.

Meanwhile, the fight to free Manning has taken a new turn, with Coombs and supporters saying they will ask the Army for leniency — and the White House for a pardon.

Even Manning's supporters have pivoted. During the sentencing hearing Wednesday, they wore T-shirts reading, "truth," as they had for the entire court-martial. Hours later, they had changed into shirts saying, "President Obama: Pardon Bradley Manning."

"The time to end Brad's suffering is now," Coombs told a news conference after Manning's sentence was handed down. "The time for our president to focus on protecting whistleblowers instead of punishing them is now."

The sentence was the stiffest punishment ever handed out in the U.S. for leaking information to the media. With good behavior and credit for the more than three years he has been held, Manning could be out in as little as seven years, Coombs said. Still, the lawyer decried the government's pursuit of Manning for what the soldier said was only an effort to expose wrongdoing and prompt debate of government policies among the American public.

The sentencing fired up the long-running debate over whether Manning was a whistleblower or a traitor for giving more than 700,000 classified military and diplomatic documents, plus battlefield footage, to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. By volume alone, it was the biggest leak of classified material in U.S. history, bigger even than the Pentagon Papers a generation ago.

Manning was to return to the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Coombs said, adding that he didn't know precisely when the soldier would leave Maryland. Coombs said he will file a request early next week that Obama pardon Manning or commute his sentence to time served.

Coombs read from a letter Manning will send to the president that read: "I regret if my actions hurt anyone or harmed the United States. It was never my intent to hurt anyone."

Manning said the disclosure was done "out of a love for my country and a sense of duty to others."

The White House said the request would be considered "like any other application." However, a pardon seems unlikely. Manning's case was part of an unprecedented string of prosecutions brought by the U.S. government in a crackdown on security breaches. The Obama administration has charged seven people with leaking to the media; only three people were prosecuted under all previous presidents combined.

Coombs also will work in coming weeks on a separate process in which he can seek leniency from the local area commander, who under military law must review — and could reduce — Manning's convictions and sentence.

Manning, an Army intelligence analyst from Crescent, Okla., digitally copied and released Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and State Department cables while working in 2010 in Iraq. Manning also leaked video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that mistakenly killed at least nine people, including a Reuters photographer.

Manning said the motive was exposing the U.S. military's "bloodlust" and generate debate over the wars and U.S. policy. The government alleged Manning was a traitor who betrayed his oath as a soldier in order to gain notoriety.

He was found guilty last month of 20 crimes, including six violations of the Espionage Act, but was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, which carried a potential sentence of life in prison without parole.

Whistleblower advocates said the punishment was unprecedented in its severity. Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists said "no other leak case comes close."

Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, on Wednesday called Manning "one more casualty of a horrible, wrongful war that he tried to shorten." Ellsberg also was charged under the Espionage Act, but the case was thrown out because of government misconduct, including a White House-sanctioned break-in at the office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist.
Others disagreed.

Gabriel Schoenfeld, a senior fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute think tank and author of the book "Necessary Secrets," welcomed Manning's punishment.

"The sentence is a tragedy for Bradley Manning, but it is one he brought upon himself," he said. "It will certainly serve to bolster deterrence against other potential leakers."

But he also warned that the sentence will ensure that Edward Snowden — the National Security Agency leaker who was charged with espionage in a potentially more explosive case while Manning's court-martial was underway — "will do his best never to return to the United States and face a trial and stiff sentence."

Coombs said that he was in tears after the sentencing and that Manning comforted him by saying:

"Don't worry about it. It's all right. I know you did your best. ... I'm going to be OK. I'm going to get through this."

Fast food strikes go nationwide on Aug. 29th

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Diablo III Expansion Announced: Reaper of Souls

DIABLO® III: REAPER OF SOULS™ UNVEILED

Upcoming expansion to the fastest-selling PC game of all time playable at gamescom
“Death, at last, shall spread its wings over all . . .”

COLOGNE, Germany—August 21, 2013—The defeat of Diablo, Lord of Terror, should have given rise to an age of hope. Instead, it has drawn out a shadowy being of immense power, whose malevolent purpose is yet to be revealed. Announced today at gamescom, Diablo® III: Reaper of Souls, the upcoming expansion to Diablo III, opens a dark and terrifying new chapter in the ongoing conflict over the mortal realm of Sanctuary.

Malthael, the fallen Archangel of Wisdom, vanished after the events depicted at the end of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction®. In Reaper of Souls, he returns as the Angel of Death and seizes the Black Soulstone, which contains the essence of the Prime Evil. It now falls to the players to track down Malthael and stop him before he unleashes irreversible havoc on the world.

Fortunately, a new hero is ready to join the cause and bring Malthael to justice—the Crusader.

Driven by a centuries-long quest to cleanse the corruption blighting their beloved Zakarum faith, Crusaders are warriors of righteousness who have been hardened through relentless, brutal combat with the foul evils plaguing eastern Sanctuary. In addition to wearing immensely heavy armor and wielding a wide range of cruel and punishing weapons, this new playable class in Reaper of Souls uses battle magic to strengthen allies and weaken foes. A natural walking tank, the Crusader adds power and versatility to any party of adventurers.

“From the beginning, Diablo has always been about the struggle between good and evil, and Reaper of Souls explores the darker notes of that conflict,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “This expansion also represents a big milestone in the ongoing evolution of Diablo III, with key enhancements to the core gameplay, along with a new act to experience, a powerful new character class, tons of new loot, and even more end-game options. We think players will love playing Reaper of Souls, and we can’t wait to get it into their hands.”

In addition to taking the story of Diablo III from the legendary city of Westmarch to the unhallowed halls of the Pandemonium Fortress in Act V and introducing the incorruptible Crusader class, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls increases the game’s level cap to 70. Players continuing on with their existing Barbarian, Witch Doctor, Demon Hunter, Wizard, and Monk characters will benefit from an array of fearsome new spells and abilities as they advance in level.

The expansion also accentuates the key features of the Diablo franchise, with a greater emphasis on randomized environments to explore; epic new quests; horrific new monsters to defeat; and substantial updates to the loot experience, enabling players to further customize their characters with new and improved multilevel Legendary items, new Blacksmith and Jeweler item-crafting options, and more.

Diablo III’s Paragon progression system is also being majorly upgraded for the expansion, adding even more end-game character advancement and replayability. Two new game modes—Loot Runs and Nephalem Trials—are being added as well, providing fun and rewarding challenges for players to tackle when they’re not busy saving the world.

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is playable on the show floor at gamescom, and Blizzard will be revealing further details about the expansion at BlizzCon and beyond as development progresses. For further information related to today’s announcement and all the latest news about Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, visit http://www.diablo3.com/reaperofsouls.

With multiple games in development, Blizzard Entertainment has numerous positions currently available—visit http://jobs.blizzard.com for more information and to learn how to apply.

About the Diablo Universe
Widely regarded as a benchmark for the action–role-playing game genre, Diablo (1996) introduced players to the dark, gothic world of Sanctuary and placed them at the center of what would be revealed to be a conflict between the angels of the High Heavens and demons of the Burning Hells over the fate of the world and its inhabitants.  

Diablo II (2000), along with its expansion, Lord of Destruction (2001), and several content patches that followed, took the series to new heights and depths, with an elaborate multi-act story, bold new character classes, and an intricate skill system.

In Diablo III (2012), players return to the world of Sanctuary to again confront the Lord of Terror, supported this time by a vibrant cast of characters who join them in battle and aid them in other ways.

With the upcoming release of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, players will face a powerful new adversary, uncover his dark plan for humanity—and take the fight to him in a desperate bid to save Sanctuary once more.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games.

Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes sixteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Blizzard Entertainment generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” “future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Blizzard Entertainment’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Blizzard Entertainment’s products, competition from the used game market, industry competition and competition from other forms of entertainment, rapid changes in technology, industry standards and consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as real-time strategy, action–role-playing and massively multiplayer online games, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Blizzard Entertainment, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers who can create high quality “hit” titles, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, and the other factors identified in the risk factors section of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. 

Chris Christie, the ‘king of hoodwinking’?

The rising star of the Republican Party is finally beginning to show his cards. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has his eye on the White House.

Ed Schultz speaks on why he thinks Christie is the “king of hoodwinking.” Then, democratic strategist Bob Shrum joins to discuss.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Will There Be a 51st State?

Northeastern Colorado Is Getting Ready to Secede

With Gandhi as a guide, several Colorado counties are looking to become a new state.

August 20, 2013 | 12:14 p.m.
A natural-gas well on a farm near Mead in Weld County, Colo. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

In his last speech to the United States Senate, future short-lived President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis, D-Miss., held up the honor of secession. "This is done, not in hostility to others; not to injure any section of the country, not even for our own pecuniary benefit," Davis declared in January 1861, "but from the high and solemn motive of defending and protecting the rights we inherited, and which it is our duty to transmit unshorn to our children."

Nearly a dozen counties in northeastern Colorado are now ready to take on that high and solemn motive.

On Monday, the city commissioners of Colorado's Weld and Phillips counties voted to approve a ballot measure asking voters if they want to secede from Colorado and create a 51st state. The idea to split from Colorado, which began to take root at a June conference, could include several other counties in the north of the state. Three other counties have already approved the ballot question, and three more will vote on the issue this week.

After the vote, Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway quoted Mahatma Gandhi: "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight for you, and then you win." Commission Chairman Bill Garcia, echoed a more recent leader before voting: "Si se puede—yes, we can." The Weld commissioners were unanimous in their decision to approve the ballot measure.

But why secede? Sean Conway got at this in a June interview on Devil's Advocate with Jon Caldara on Colorado Public Television:



In the interview, Conway cited a general lack of support from the "extremely tone-deaf" state government in Denver, and the stark differences between the more agricultural northeastern Colorado and the "urban electorate." But the biggest issue, for Conway at least, is energy:
The oil and gas thing, is what really, I think, has been setting us off. Although the governor has done some good things in terms of oil and gas, he hasn't, I think, ceded to the environmental extremists out there … our very way of life is under attack.
The latest warning call is a possible fracking ban that has made it onto several ballots this year in the state. But those bans haven't really gotten support from the state government, with the state joining a suit against a ban that's already in effect in July and Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) saying in February, "We've demonstrated again and again [that hydraulic fracturing] can be done safely," and that "we have no choice" but to sue any city and county that passes a ban." But the governor has been open to at least some compromise since then.

There's also, of course, some political issue here. Weld and Phillips counties voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 by a healthy margin, while the state went for Obama 51 percent to 46 percent. The three counties that have already approved the secession ballot measure and the three that will vote on it this week were also Romney territory.

"I know initially you look at this and you say, 'Secession? Creating your own new state? That kind of tends to be a little bit out there,'" Conway said. But he has some ideas for how to get support, particularly from Congress, which would have to sign off on a new state.

His big idea? Puerto Rico. If Puerto Rico (or, Washington D.C.) gets admitted as a new state, that's a likely boost for Democrats. "You can almost make the argument that you're allowing two states in so you don't disrupt the percentages in terms of the United States Senate or House." So, really, forget 51 states. Think 52.

Bill Kristol Now Free to Lie on Every Network

By Heather



I was wondering why Bloody Bill Kristol was showing up on ABC over the weekend and on Morning Joe this Tuesday instead of sticking to Fox to spread his lies, and this explains it.

"Free Agent" Bill Kristol Now Available To Misinform On Non-Fox Networks:
Weekly Standard editor William Kristol announced he no longer has an exclusive contract with Fox News and is now "free to inflict my insights on viewers of the other networks as well." Over the past decade, Kristol's "insights" have included horribly inaccurate predictions about the Iraq War, saber-rattling for war with Iran, dismissing legitimate military scandals, and smearing Democrats.

Kristol Says He's No Longer Exclusively With Fox And Is "A Free Agent"

Kristol: "Now I'll Be Free To Inflict My Insights On Viewers Of The Other Networks." William Kristol told The Weekly Standard, where he's the founder and editor, that he no longer has an exclusive contract with Fox News:
I'm now a free agent. For the last decade, I've had a series of contracts that committed me exclusively to Fox. It was a great run, and I owe a lot to Chris Wallace, Brit Hume, Bret Baier, and the rest of the gang. I of course remain a huge Fox fan and look forward to continuing to appear there. But now I'll be free to inflict my insights on viewers of the other networks as well. So I'll join George Sunday, will go into battle on Morning Joe early next week, and anticipate making the case over the next weeks and months to more viewers in diverse settings. It should be fun. [WeeklyStandard.com, 8/16/13]
Go read the rest of the post for their very long list documenting what we've known forever about Bill Kristol around here as well and his record on being wrong about... just about everything.

If you thought Morning Joe couldn't get any worse, the clip above with the beginning of Kristol's appearance this Tuesday is proof that there's always more room to fall with that show.

MSNBC Finally Does Something Right by Moving Ed Schultz Back To Weekdays

Ed Shultz
Here is the memo from MSNBC’s Phil Griffin:
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM PHIL GRIFFIN
I wanted to share some exciting news with you.
Starting Monday, August 26, “The Ed Show” is moving back to weeknights, now at 5 p.m. ET. “Hardball with Chris Matthews” will move to one, strong run at 7 p.m. ET.
Chris and the “Hardball” team have been the cornerstone of our evening lineup, pulling double duty for us at both 5p and 7p for years. This move will help us enhance the flow of our weeknight programming and concentrate Chris’ audience to one key time period. And this allows us to bring Ed’s powerful voice back to the Monday-Friday schedule. Ed connects with our viewers and I’m happy to have him back five nights a week. I’ve been thinking about making this change for quite a while and I know now is the right time with the right shows.
The full press release is below. My thanks to Chris, Ed, John Reiss, James Holm and the “Hardball” and “The Ed Show” teams.
Enjoy the rest of the summer. We have a lot to look forward to this fall.
PHIL
The fact is Schultz is moving back to weekdays, because Chris Hayes continues to be a total disaster at 8 PM. The move of Hardball to 7 PM is really an attempt to give Hayes a stronger lead in, and a hope that some of the people who watch Chris Matthews will stick around to watch Hayes’s last place in the ratings show. (This move also puts an end to MSNBC’s bullshit excuse that Ed Schultz wanted to move to weekends.)

What this means for those who have been pining for a daily dose of The Ed Show is that your wish has been granted. Schultz has managed to pull about 2/3 or more of Hayes’s audience in a morbid weekend afternoon time slot, so the move back to weekdays was really a no brainer.

The reality is that All In is dying a slow and painful death at eight. All In’s ratings plunge has also destroyed Rachel Maddow’s viewership at 9 PM. Every other show from 5 PM forward on MSNBC weekdays draws more viewers than Chris Hayes. This is a desperate attempt by Phil Griffin to get himself out of the corner that he painted himself into by going “All In.” If Schultz continues to do well, and Hayes continues to struggle, what this move sets up is an eventual return of The Ed Show to 8 PM.

For Chris Matthews this change means that he will finally be able to do a live show when people are home to watch it. The 7 PM replay of Hardball has outdrawn the 5 PM live edition for years, and it made no sense to give one hour of weekday programming to a replay of a show that had just aired two hours earlier.

After a few years of terrible scheduling and personnel moves, MSNBC has finally listened to their viewers and done something right.

As Ed Schultz likes to say, “Let’s get to work.”

MSNBC Finally Does Something Right by Moving Ed Schultz Back To Weekdays was written by Jason Easley for PoliticusUSA.

Uniquely Trustworthy - By Tom Tomorrow


Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Ted Cruz, Canadian-American

The Texas senator is a dual citizen, but only for as long as he wants to be.