enlarge Do you ever have the sense when you read news that there’s an orchestrated effort for the right wing to raise their middle finger high in the face of the Constitution while extolling it? If you don’t, prepare to experience it now. Virginia Thomas. You remember her? The wife of Clarence Thomas, head cheerleader at Liberty Central, foam crown and all? The one whose income Justice Thomas “forgot” to disclose ? That One. After leaving her gig with Tea Party front group Liberty Central, Virginia Thomas has moved on to start up her own lobbying firm, Liberty Consulting, Inc (catchy name, that). According to that raving liberal site (NOT) The Politico , Ginni Thomas is on to the next venture: Now, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, has recast herself yet again, this time as the head of a firm, Liberty Consulting, which boasts on its website using her “experience and connections” to help clients “with “governmental affairs efforts” and political donation strategies. Thomas already has met with nearly half of the 99 GOP freshmen in the House and Senate, according to an e-mail she sent last week to congressional chiefs of staff, in which she branded herself “a self-appointed, ambassador to the freshmen class and an ambassador to the tea party movement.” Interesting that these very same freshmen aren’t admitting to it or had no idea what Politico was talking about when asked if they had met with her. An interesting thing, though — Politico had a hard time finding a freshman who has actually met with Ginni Thomas. “This is the spouse of Justice Thomas?” said a seemingly surprised Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ). “No, I’ve never met her. It’s not something I’ve heard about. And I hang out with a lot of freshman,” he said. I sought info from some high-ranking GOP aides, who also have no idea what this is about. In addition, I have left a message with Ginni Thomas, but I doubt I’ll be any more successful than Politico’s efforts on that front: Reached by phone on Wednesday, Thomas said she was having trouble with the signal, telling a POLITICO reporter: “I would be happy to talk with you, but I really can’t understand clearly what you’re asking, so maybe this is not a good time to talk.” A visit to the website for Thomas’ new venture reveals things I never knew about her. Like how she’s connected to the “center-right movement.” If the Tea Party is “center right”, we’re all screwed. Just emigrate now. The endorsement page includes glowing reviews from Steve King, Donald Rumsfeld, Morton Blackwell, and the ever-annoying Rick Berman. Yeah. Center right. Is it just me, or is there something deeply unethical about the spouse of a Supreme Court justice being paid by conservatives to lobby against things like health care reform, and financial regulatory reform, and just about anything that might be called progress? In some ways, this is even more blatant than Liberty Central was. Liberty Central was astroturf advocacy aimed at ordinary people. This is another hack lobbying firm aimed at shaping legislation toward conservatives corporate persons, not citizens. You know, those people Justice Thomas legitimized in the Citizens United decision? Dave Weigel thinks her situation is a mess . I’m not so sure, but I’d like to think so. He puts it this way: So you can hire Ginni Thomas to help determine whether a bill will pass constitutional muster if it comes before, you know, her husband. And she’s having trouble getting work! It’s quite possible that a combination of media blackout and embarrassing gaffes that echo for weeks (the call to Anita Hill) is not a good way to build a consulting shop. About that drunk-dial late-night telephone call to Anita Hill. It seems to have displeased some conservative donors . Ohhh, can’t have that. But no worries. They’ve already got their bought-and-paid-for justice in place. No need to worry about the spouse, right? Perfectly consistent with the current conservative trend these days to shove women back into their “place” . Perhaps Ginni should spend some time listening to progressive women after playing handmaiden to conservative old men who use women and toss them aside routinely.
Continue reading …Well, isn’t this just cute? If you’ll recall, Ricoh’s CX4 was found to only be “slightly superior” the CX3 that came before it (and the same with the CX2 / CX3 before that ). Fast forward a few months, and it’s the same song and dance all over again… but with different model numbers, of course. The fine folks over at Photography Blog recently put the similarly styled CX5 through its paces, and autofocus aside, it’s essentially the same camera as the CX4. The lone standout feature on the new guy is the Hybrid AF feature, which most certainly improves autofocus times, but critics were quick to point out that the focus time on the CX4 was never really an issue to begin with. In fact, the following line just about sums it up: “The CX5 is virtually indistinguishable from the slightly older CX4 in terms of its design, image quality and feature set, with only the faster AF system to get truly excited about.” Furthermore, the rest of the point-and-shoot world has evolved quite a bit during all of this time, making the CX5 an even less compelling option than the CX4 was during its own launch window. Feel free to hit the source link for the whole shebang, but don’t expect to leave feeling any warmer about that impulse buy you just made. Ricoh CX5 reviewed: only marginally better than the CX4 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 19:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …If you have acne or rosacea, adding skin care products and cosmetics into your daily routine can pose a challenge.
Continue reading …Fox Nation is bashing President Obama for misquoting a Bible verse at yesterday’s National Prayer Breakfast—and the lefty Media Matters is in turn accusing the site of biblical ignorance. “Somewhat ironically, while Fox Nation appears to be positioning themselves as the arbiters of authentic Christianity, they seem unfamiliar with…
Continue reading …Andy Pettitte has officially announced his retirement. He made the announcement during a news conference at Yankee Stadium, where he pitched for 13 seasons in pinstripes. (Feb. 4)
Continue reading …An expert answers questions about preventing and treating rashes you can get from common plants.
Continue reading …Only on Al-Jazeera (almost impossible in the Western, corporate media): Tariq Ramadan and Slavoj Zizek on the future of Egyptian politics: Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Antony Loewenstein Discovery Date : 05/02/2011 00:09 Number of articles : 5
Continue reading …Overall the coverage of the ongoing protests against Hosni Mubarak in Egypt has been pretty good, but it's when journalists get around to offering their analysis that bias has crept in, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell told Fox News's Steve Doocy on the February 4 “Fox & Friends.” Case in point, MSNBC's Chris Matthews comparing the Muslim Brotherhood with the Tea Party movement. “Mr. Bozell, he's shameless, isn't he?” Doocy asked. Matthews is a pathetic parody of himself at this point, Bozell noted, arguing that the former Jimmy Carter staffer uses every opportunity he can to trash conservatives from his perch at MSNBC. Bozell also reacted to journalists like NBC's Richard Engel benignly painting the Muslim Brotherhood as “nice people.” “This is a group that supports Osama bin Laden. This is a group that is agitating for Egypt to go to war next month with Israel,” Bozell noted. Journalists who fail to report their radical inclinations are “useful idiots,” the Media Research Center founder argued.
Continue reading …The Daily Show did a brilliant piece on the Christian Right’s attacks on the Republican Speaker of the House in Texas, Joe Straus — who happens to be Jewish. There was an anti-Semitic campaign to replace him with a “good” Christian, but in the end the hatred failed. Joe Straus survived a challenge to his House leadership Tuesday when colleagues overwhelmingly re-elected him speaker of the Texas House of Representatives . Straus’ two challengers dropped their opposition,but critics insisted on a record vote, which resulted in a 132-15 margin for Straus, R- San Antonio . Three members did not vote. Straus faced intense opposition from several conservative groups who wanted House members to elect a more conservative leader of the 150-member chamber. After his election, Straus credited his colleagues for withstanding “threats, harassment and attempts at intimidation because of the fair and respectful way in which you want this House to operate.” “Division, threats of retribution … attacks on people’s religious beliefs and distortions of people’s records have no place in this House,” Straus said. Here are some of the vile attacks he had to withstand to win. E-mails targeting Texas House Speaker Joe Straus cite his Judaism, rivals’ Christianity Some conservative Republican activists working to unseat House Speaker Joe Straus are circulating e-mails that emphasize his Judaism. Several e-mails have surfaced in recent days that mention Straus’ rabbi and underscore the Christian faith of his leading critics in the House Republican Caucus. “Straus is going down in Jesus’ name,” said one, whose origins were unclear. Straus, R- San Antonio , “clearly lacks the moral compass to be speaker,” said another, written by Southeast Texas conservative activist Peter Morrison . “Both Rep. Warren Chisum and Rep. Ken Paxton, who are Christians and true conservatives, have risen to the occasion to challenge Joe Straus for leadership,” Morrison wrote in his newsletter last Thursday, referring to two Republicans who are running against Straus for speaker. Morrison, asked Tuesday if he intended to signal that Straus is unfit because he is Jewish, replied in an e-mail, “I was simply making factual statements about Rep. Chisum and Rep. Paxton.” Morrison said his opposition to Straus is driven by issues, not religion.Straus, asked his reaction to the e-mails, said in a statement that religious freedom and “the Judeo-Christian values of the dignity and worth of every individual” are key American principles Only the great writers on TDS could take an offensive story like this, make a compelling case of anti-Semitism — and still make us laugh at the same time.
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