Paul Ryan’s voting record reads like a heavy-handed caricature of a mean-spirited conservative. Things Paul Ryan is for: Warrantless wiretapping Making the PATRIOT Act permanent Amending the Constitution to prohibit gay Americans from marrying Reducing the waiting period for owning a gun from three days to just one Building a fence along the Mexican border Drilling for oil in ANWR Subsidizing the oil industry Granting Constitutional protection to zygotes (i.e., “personhood” begins at fertilization) Things Paul Ryan is against: Regulating the subprime mortgage industry Allowing gay Americans to adopt EPA regulation of greenhouse gases Funding research into renewal energy Higher fuel efficiency standards The Kyoto Protocol Supporting democracy in Pakistan Giving the UN any money ever Gun registration and trigger locks Increasing the minimum wage Net neutrality Withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan
Pop-upView Separately

Paul Ryan’s voting record reads like a heavy-handed caricature of a mean-spirited conservative.

Things Paul Ryan is for:

  • Warrantless wiretapping
  • Making the PATRIOT Act permanent
  • Amending the Constitution to prohibit gay Americans from marrying
  • Reducing the waiting period for owning a gun from three days to just one
  • Building a fence along the Mexican border
  • Drilling for oil in ANWR
  • Subsidizing the oil industry
  • Granting Constitutional protection to zygotes (i.e., “personhood” begins at fertilization)

Things Paul Ryan is against:

  • Regulating the subprime mortgage industry
  • Allowing gay Americans to adopt
  • EPA regulation of greenhouse gases
  • Funding research into renewal energy
  • Higher fuel efficiency standards
  • The Kyoto Protocol
  • Supporting democracy in Pakistan
  • Giving the UN any money ever
  • Gun registration and trigger locks
  • Increasing the minimum wage
  • Net neutrality
  • Withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan

Source: ontheissues.org

YouTube-famous duo Karmin’s cover of “6 Foot 7” by Lil Wayne. You’ve probably seen it before (they’re YouTube-famous, after all), so why am I bothering to post it?

They’re almost certainly about to be at the center of the next hyper-short Internet Hatefest, since they’re playing SNL tonight.

Gawker’s got an early lead in the petty backlash race (Aside: Hey, Gawker Media, remember when I said we cool now? I suspect that’ll be pretty short-lived.), and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve got the anti-backlash backlash piece already written. (I figure they’ll rely on misappropriated gender-politics for that one, since they’ve already exhausted shameful race-baiting with their current article.)

I’m sure, though, that it’ll be just a matter of hours before the contemptuous parade begins: first with the backlash, and then the anti-backlash backlash, and then the faux-enlightened examination of both the backlash and the anti-backlash, and then Liz Phair shows up to remind us that she used to be awesome and makes kind of a fool of herself, and then the inevitable SNL recursive-parody, and then it’s on to the next one.

But in all of this (let’s face it: completely self-serving and parasitic) braying and shushing and anti-shushing and whatever, we forget about the actual music and careers are hurt and oh by the way Syria’s on fire and Saudi Arabia might be next and Greece is eating itself and America is really, seriously fucked right down to its bones, but we’re going to take time out of that to beat up on a couple of charming, charismatic kids whose only crime appears to be being too happy?

Look: I hate things as much probably more than the next guy, but come on, why don’t we focus it on something that’s worth it, like the mind-boggling and carcinogenic political existence of Rick Santorum or the way the entire GOP establishment is simply lying to us, trusting (not without cause) that we’ll be too distracted by bullshit to notice or care?

It’s like no-one learns anything, ever.

Robert Reich: Why No Responsible Democrat Should Want Newt Gingrich to Get the GOP Nomination

Robert Reich would like to drop some serious (and perfectly correct) doomsaying on every anti-Republican giddy with the notion of a Gingrich candidacy:

I’d take a 49 percent odds of a Mitt Romney win – who in my view would make a terrible president – over a 10 percent possibility that Newt Gingrich would become the next president – who would be an unmitigated disaster for America and the world.

Read the whole thing here. It’s worth it.