News Roundup for 4/10/09

Typical red state street scene

-Headline of the day-
"GOP govs get dose of stimulus reality."

Three Republican Governors -- Sarah Palin, Mark Sanford, and Bobby Jindal -- have made a big deal about rejecting stimulus money. Well, some of it anyway. Maybe.

These three took their brave stance of maybe turning down a fraction of the fed money because the stimulus is socialism and the first step on the road to becoming the People's Republic of America or the United Soviet Socialist Republic of America or the United States of Cuba or whatever.

That last line of defense against the creeping commie menace has dissolved, however, leaving a frightened nation to wonder who will save them when it comes to running for president in 2012. According to the report, "All three found that praise from the conservative movement in Washington meant nothing to furious state legislators of both parties. And in the end, along with other conservative Republican governors, the three submitted letters in recent days asking to be eligible for federal funds, a spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget confirmed."

Comrades Palin, Sanford, and Jindal, welcome to Amerika. In fact, you may have had something to do with building it. What was the result of all the Republican freaking out and redefining the word "socialism?"

Only 53% of Americans prefer capitalism to socialism. Mostly because what you guys have been calling "socialism" -- i.e., anything having to do with the economic stimulus -- sounds like a pretty damned good idea. You've managed to convince one helluva lot of people that the stimulus is socialism -- maybe even that socialism is the same as communism -- but not that it's a bad idea.

So now you're all a combination of hypocrite, failed propagandist, and wrong. There's a great campaign slogan for '12. Good luck with that... (Politico)


-Barack Obama wants to light you on fire-
At least, I think that's what Glenn Beck is getting at here. See, Beck told his TV audience of equally paranoid fruitcakes that Obama's going to give "12 million illegal aliens" amnesty (except he's not) and that this makes him really, really mad. To demonstrate his point, he poured a liquid from a gas can all over an actor, then lit a match.

I think it's supposed to be a metaphor -- for what is anyone's guess. Still, it's clear that the nation is doomed.

I think it might just be time to stop referring to Beck as a "recovering drug addict." I don't think he's recovering anymore. (Crooks and Liars, with video)


-Bonus HotD-
"First lady's organic garden concerns chemical firms."

Of course it does.

First lady Michelle Obama planted an organic garden "to promote fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet." So, the Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) wrote Obama a letter, because this whole "organic" thing has them a little freaked out. See, according to the report, MACA " represents agribusinesses like Monsanto, Dow AgroSciences and DuPont Crop Protection" who are "rather less thrilled about the fact that no chemicals will be used to grow the crops."

"As you go about planning and planting the White House garden, we respectfully encourage you to recognize the role conventional agriculture plays in the US in feeding the ever-increasing population, contributing to the US economy and providing a safe and economical food supply," MACA wrote.

Yeah, I'm sure she'll keep all that in mind while she picks her tomatoes.

Next up, a lobbying group for the textile industry gets bent out of shape over Michelle Obama's socks. (The Hill)