Tough Day at the News Bin

It just gets nuttier and nuttier out there. I awaken this morning to the following:

One of those nutjob Republicans, this one from Colorado and not Alabama, refers to the President of the United States a "tarbaby." Name's Doug Lamborn. Remember it. He's worth following.

Vlad (The Impaler) Putin, Russia's paragon of international cooperation, accused the U.S. of being a "parasite" on the world economy. The veracity of the statement is not at issue because he's likely right. Coming from Putin, however, the credibility is instantly as unstable as the mental health of this strutting little Prussian.

Liberal economist Paul Krugman, labor leaders and just about anybody left of one of those Central American potentates is criticizing Barack Obama for being a weak-kneed weenie in the face of the block bully. And I can't but agree. We had all expected and certainly hoped for more from a guy who had so many weapons (starting with good sense) in his arsenal when the fight started. But he left them at home and chose to fight with spitballs while the Repubs were using nukes.


A Tea Party candidate in Wisconsin, Kim Simac, has compared American public schools to the Nazi regime. Not all the crazies are in the Tea Party. It just seems that way sometimes. There's a lot to be fixed in our public schools, but I've seen few of those little cropped mustaches.

Last night, I saw a bumper stucker that said, "Dale Earnhardt for President." Isn't he dead? Have we come to dead guys for president since the live ones are so ... well ... dead?

A guy in Texas was quoted in a newspaper as saying he had strong objections to a photo of two guys dancing together during a gay pride parade because, well, they were wearing cowboy boots with shorts. Mercy.

And finally, a little sanity: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has returned to work to vote on the budget deal. She's the one we need to be looking at for courage and leadership at this moment. She makes everybody else look like George Bush posing with his chain saw.

(Photo: TPM muckraker)