Mitt Romney Debates Himself

Interesting

"Protestants no longer a majority in the U.S."

I think I just felt Hell yawn.

The Battle of Blair Mountain

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ruled that just because you're a citizen of this nation -- or even a citizen of West Virginia -- and you want to preserve an important historic site from destruction via strip mining ("mountaintop removal" coal mining), if you don't have the legally magic status called "standing" you're shit outta luck.

Rather, Blair Mountain and the history it cradles is shit outta luck.

But, hey! Blair Mountain's got thin seams of coal under its trees and dirt, and thin seams of coal are a lot more important than history, and certainly more important than the environment. Three giant coal companies have sixteen times more "standing" than any of you peons trying to save a scrap of earth.

Some days it's easy to agree with Mr. Bumble: “The law is a ass—a idiot."

The Republican Brand

Westgate CEO David Siegel holds his trophy

So the CEO of Westgate Resorts, David Siegel, emails his 7,000 employees, threatening that many of their jobs are at stake if President Obama wins his reelection.

The implicit neo-feudalism of that gesture speaks volumes about an instinct to bully people.

Even better, Mr. Siegel also whines that if Obama is elected, he won't be able to complete his 90,000-square-foot mansion.

So, come on people! Help keep Mr. & Ms. Siegel happy, or clearly, you hate America!

Incidentally, Mr. Siegel and his cantilevered wife Jackie are the stars of a new documentary, "The Queen of Versailles," which has gotten rave reviews.

NC AG Investigating Hospital Over-Pricing

Cool move:

Calling the state’s health care costs artificially high, state Attorney General Roy Cooper said he will examine whether to use antitrust laws or new legislation to reduce them. 

“I’m concerned about this issue,” Cooper said in an interview. “Health care costs are high enough without artificial boosts that could come from lack of competition.”

This will be an official inquiry by a gentleman who can actually prosecute people, and it was fueled by good investigative reporting:

In a joint investigation published last month, The N&O and The Charlotte Observer found that hospitals are routinely marking up prices on cancer drugs two to 10 times over cost. At the same time, hospitals are increasingly buying the practices of independent oncologists, then charging far more for the same chemotherapy in the same office. 

A previous investigation by the two newspapers, published in April, showed that consolidation has given hospitals leverage to demand higher payments from insurance companies. 

That investigation also found that North Carolina hospitals are among the most powerful interest groups in state politics, which could neutralize any push for legislative reform.

Why Jordan Is Demanding a Debate with Tarleton

There's really only one possible explanation when an incumbent office-holder demands a debate with his challenger, as NC House member Jonathan Jordan recently did: he's losing, and he knows it.

While it's very common for a newcomer to challenge an office-holder -- Ron Zerban demands a debate with Paul Ryan, and Joe Rooney demands a debate with Allyson Schwartz, for just two of dozens of examples -- it's not common at all -- not at all -- for an incumbent to demand a debate. It's a glaring sign of weakness.

Challengers are usually not well known. A debate with the incumbent can get them better known in a hurry. In fact, just demanding the debate raises a challenger's profile, and the demand is often released to the press for that reason alone. Conversely, incumbents generally resist debates because they don't want their opponents to be better known. Simple math.

But for a well financed incumbent like Jonathan Jordan to be agitating in the public press for a debate sends a dog whistle: somebody needs to notice me and right now!

And speaking of how Jonathan Jordan has treated public education during his two years in Raleigh, which I believe we were, there's this.

You Can't Argue With a Man Who Ain't There

They held a presidential debate last night, and unfortunately, only one candidate showed up. And the one who did take the podium was some sort of weird doppelganger from Planet I Never Said That. As an act of stunning reinvention, that motor-mouth performance undoubtedly made history.

Meanwhile, there was a gubernatorial debate in Raleigh, and at least Walter Dalton had a working pulse.

DINOs for McCrory

Apparently never satisfied with how much they can stab the Democratic Party in the back (and in the front, the side, the hands, the feet, the pancreas), a couple of General Assembly Democrats (members of the Five Goobers, who notoriously gave the Republican majority their veto override margins to defeat Gov. Perdue during the last two years) are bragging today about being "Democrats for McCrory."

Whatever. These guys haven't been actual Democrats for many years and presumably only hang on to the label because great-granddaddy would roll over and start barfing up cotton bolls if they changed their party affiliation to reflect both their philosophy and their voting histories.

Go in peace. Or go to pieces. We really don't care.

Looking for Voter Fraud?

Here you go.