Can't win an election with votes? Try intimidation!

Vandals broke windows in the offices of representatives who voted in favor of health care reform. Bart "baby killer" Stupak is receiving death threats on his home phone. The photographs of an Ohio Democratic lawmaker AND HIS DAUGHTERS was published in a newspaper along with an advertisement suggesting that the lawmaker rethink his position on health care. Mike Troxel, an organizer for the Lynchburg (VA) Tea Party posted what he believed to be the home address of Rep Tom Perriello (D-VA). Unfortunately, the address was that of Perriello's brother, which was subsequently vandalized. The address remains on the Tea Party Web site and will remain there until someone gives Troxel the representative's proper home address.

Of course Troxel will not be involved if and when the perpetrators are found. After all, he simply suggested that his followers drop by and express their thanks for Periello's pro- health care reform vote. Fortunately, no one was killed--this time

If we are to use the actions of the anti-abortion activists as an example, this is just an opening salvo that will probably end in blood shed. In 1993, Dr. David Gunn, Pensacola, FL, was the subject of wanted-posters distributed by Operation Rescue. He was murdered by anti-abortion activist Michael Griffin. A year later, two receptionists were killed by followers of Human Life International. The list goes on, but you get the point.

Last year, Catherina Wojtowicz, organizer of the Chicago Tea Party, openly mocked Dan and Midge Hough at a town hall meeting as they recounted the story of how their daughter, Jenny, and unborn child died because Jenny could not afforded pre-natal care. Wojtowicz claims the Hough's fabricated the story.

Tea Baggers are armed, dangerous and attempting the overthrow of the US Government through violence and terrorism. If this were the 1960s, the FBI would be all over them. The Tea Party movement emerged in early 2009 partly in response to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act but their ire knew no bounds once the Republicans lost the presidency and control of the Congress. The consider themselves real Americans and the rest of us as Stalinist Liberals (although Stalin would be surprised and insulted to know that some one considered him a liberal). They claim to support the US Constitution but are dedicated to repealing those parts of the Constitution with which they do not agree.

They are out in force and in a neighborhood near you goaded in part by the Republican Party, still smarting from their election losses and out for blood. Where Homeland Security is when you need them?

What's interesting in that those who advocate violence are rarely those who actually do the violent act. They will never be held accountable. They will never be tried for the murder and mayhem they advocate. They are simply suggesting that protesters take aim at those legislators with whom they disagree, said Sarah Palin, who will be shocked and appalled when some Democratic legislator is carried on it a body bag.

On a lighter note, Rep. Randy Neugebauer claims he was misunderstood when he yelled "baby killer" as Rep. Bart Stupak spoke in favor of the health care bill. Neugebauer clarified the matter by explaining that he was calling the legislation a baby killer not Stupak, for whom Neugebauer has the highest regard. I'm glad that's been cleared up.

Tossed Salad

You'll be pleased to know that unemployed, unlicensed Joe-the-plumber Sam Wurzelbacher has a job. He's taken time out from writing his political biography to shill for VelocityStore.com, one of those stores that sells whatever it is you will need to convert your TV to digital. He will be doing a series of "educational" videos to explain why the conversion is taking place, how to connect the converter to the TV, and where you can get your government handout to help pay for the transition.

When the government started throwing money at failing banks and mortgage companies nobody, but nobody, made an issue of how much money AIG pays in salaries. But auto workers are another matter. For some reason, the New York Times reported, and everyone else is repeating, that auto workers make upwards of $70 an hour. I realize this is the favored mantra of auto industry executives and their conservative friends, but it is as bald faced a lie as a lie can be. These are the same jerks who insisted that the reason the built big trucks and SUVs is because that's what the public wanted and now they are crying poor because nobody bought the crap they were selling. I find this whole thing so personally offensive.

Auto industry executives had the unmitigated gall to fly by private jet to Washington, DC, so that they can beg for a hand-out without having to sit three across in coach--and now they are placing the blame for their failures on the UAW. Give me a break.

For the record, auto industry workers earn about $28 an hours, which is slightly less than workers earn at Toyota. In short, auto worker salaries are average. Now, the Big Three Fat Cat Honchos will tell you that when they say $70 an hour, they include benefits such as vacation, health care insurance, and retirement. But what these miserable liars do not tell you is that when they average out the per hour cost of making a car, they include the pensions of retired workers as well as other costs, you know, like electricity and real estate taxes. So, no, auto workers really do not earn anything near $70 an hour, although it does cost $70 an hour to make a car.

Surely, the Big Three Fat Cat Honchos would love to stop paying retirement benefits, want to reduce health care premium contributions, and would like to roll back salaries to 1927 rates--but what they are not willing to do is to reduce their own multi-million dollar annual salaries or travel by public conveyance to Washington, DC, or make a car that people will want. Oh, wait, I forgot the Chevy Volt is due out in 2010 or maybe 2011.

Meanwhile, like pigs to the trough, AIG is back for a third helping. Do you get the feeling that the entire $700 billion will be spent by the end of the year and where to get the rest of the cash will become the other guy's problem come January 20?

Citicorp CEO Vikram Pandit said that management did a bad thing when it dove willy-nilly into real estate. He even allowed as how he understood why people are so angry. He did not fly to Washington, DC, in a private jet, but he did accept the government's plan to rescue him from the management mess with a timely injection of $20 billion. Pandit also said the error was caused by prior management so apparently he feels no need to resign or reduce his salary or stock options or Christmas bonus. The Saudis are expressing their support by increasing their stake in the bank. If this continues it'll be called Riyadhicorp.

In other news, Ann Coulter's jaw has been wired shut. No word on who or what broke her jaw in the first place or how long we will enjoy the silence. Her book, Guilty: Liberal Victims and their Assault on America, is available for pre-order on Amazon. So, I guess she will be doing the talk show circuit some time in January. Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can.

Sarah Palin is back on the campaign trail. She's in Georgia lending a helping hand to the shuttering campaign of Sen. Saxby Chambliss. You have been warned.

Sarah Palin: Stupid idiot or Idiot savant?

I don't question Sarah Palin's intelligence because she reportedly didn't know that Africa is a continent--it is, after,  a common mistake often made by the average third grader. I'm not upset abut her clothing bill--which  is something that concerns the Republican National Committee and no one else.  I'm not even angry that she is forcing her pregnant teenaged daughter into what seems to be a doomed marriage. I am angry with her because she is a mean-spirited, divisive harridan who thinks the American public agrees wither her--the most recent election results notwithstanding. Sixty-seven percent of Republicans may want her to run in 2012, but the Republicans lost by how many points? And Sarah Palin didn't help.

The Republicans wanted to hold on to the White House in the worst way. They attempted to portray Obama's service on two charitable boards with William Ayers as a life-long friendship with terrorists.  Palin characterized Obama as anti-American and as a shadowy figure that should evoke fear in the rest of us. The harsh rhetoric of the recent election, and Palin's pandering to the lowest common denominator should be remembered, but Americans have short attention spans and are often distracted by shiny objects, such as how much Sarah Palin paid for her wardrobe.

Palin portrayed Obama as an unpatriotic terrorist who is not "one of us," and never once addressed any of the economic issues confronting this country, other than to say that the Democrats mean big government and higher taxes. Although she did suggest that God had a plan for Iraq, although he has not yet revealed it to anyone. She also suggested that criticism of her was unconstitutional, and given the way the Bush Administration has shredded the Constitution, Palin may be right. What scares me most about Palin, and the people like her, is her contempt for intelligence and education. In a way, I understand them, after all most of the people who voted for the Republican Party in 2008 were old, white and undereducated. When Palin said " We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity," only the educated knew that she was quoting Wetbrook Pegler, an American Journalish who supported John McCarthy's fascism and who hated Catholics and African-Americans. Pegler once famously remarked that he hoped some "white patriot" would spatter Robert F. Kennedy's "brains in a public premises."

John McCain was looking for a uterus as a running mate. He had many from which to choose and he chose Sarah Palin. Now she is the darling of the Republican Party. And here we thought that the bad times were in the past.

Vice President Barbie

According to Karl Rove, having a unmarried 17-year-old pregnant daughter makes Sarah Palin more sympathetic to millions of Americans, presumably not  those Americans who would have cast stones had the pregnant daughter been Democrats, or just some body who lived down the street.  Sometime during her "abstinence only" lecture, Palin might have added that having unprotected sex is not the best choice for a child still in high school. Should McCain win, I hope Palin has a clearer line of communication with the military, or with whomever the vice president communicates. "Families are off limited," because the family in this case is White and Republican, can you imagine the field day Palin would have had if the unwed pregnant teen had been Obama's?

The Conservative Right, and maybe the whole right wing, agree with Sarah Palin that birth control is a form of abortion. Sarah Palin does not believe that women should have birth control and she believes that educating girls about condoms is wrong because it prevents them from becoming pregnant. Sarah Palin believes that if you are raped, even by a member of your family, you must prolong your agony by carrying to term and giving birth to a child of that rape or incest. She is also against helping pregnant women in any way. And she now has the power to make these beliefs law. Can you imagine what she will be able to accomplish as vice president or president.

Statistically, John McCain is more likely to suffer some catastrophic illness or die while in office than any of  the other candidates or the incumbent. That means that the United States will have a woman president, who, in this case, is the female version of our current Commander-in-Chief. Statistically, we now have a better chance of having a woman as president. And although Palin has compared herself to Harry Truman, that buck won't stop at her desk. When Harry Truman became president he had served as a judge and a US Senator, he had more than 40 years experience as a public official, a politician, and a businessman. Palin's comparison of herself to Harry is dishonest and uneducated, and maybe designed to attract those who are ignorant of their own history.

The Republican Party seems to think that a female, any female, is enough to attract the votes of disenchanted Clinton supporters. And they think that because they have nothing but contempt for women. Sarah Palin is the female George Bush, she is as sarcastic, she is as mean-spirited, she is as narrow, and she is as dangerous. She is a sideshow that pulls attention away from John McCain 's inability to understand the economic ills of this nation, much less propose a solution. The Republican elite have created a situation in which any criticism of Palin can and will be characterized as more proof of Democratic elitism. The Republicans have thrown Palin to the media wolves in an attempt to draw attention away from John McCain whose answer to our fuel crisis is to increase drilling for more oil--or maybe Palin believes that if she prays hard enough her God will replenish the Earth's depleted fossil fuel sources and all will be well for us and the oil industry.