Alaska Considering Lowering Drinking Age For Troops

Should there be a lower drinking age for members of the military? Alaska state Republican Rep. Bob Lynn (pictured) wants the troops, many of whom are under age 21, to have the opportunity to hoist a few. And he wants them to have the right to smoke, too. In Alaska the smoking age is 19.

“It’s outrageous that a member of our military can be subjected to the horrors of war but can’t legally have a beer or smoke a cigarette,” Lynn wrote in his blog Monday. “Any soldier who braves military combat and risks their life for our …

Rep. Louie Gohmert: Obama Wants To “Deplete The Military” So He Can Use A Private Army

Congressman Louie Gohmert believes the real reason President Obama took us to Libya is so that he can get rid of our armed forces and put in lace his own private army that was approved in the health care bill.  You see, a viral email said that Obama’s Ready Reserve Corps was the president’s effort to have his own forces, and permitted as part of the Affordable Care Act. In fact, this was an idea originated by Bush 43′s HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and is a corp of public health care professionals ready to spring into action in case of …

An Embarrassing Set Of Candidates

by Stuart Shapiro

I’ve written several times about how the current crop of GOP candidates bodes well for President Obama, virtually guaranteeing his reelection.  However, Joe Klein argues that these candidates are so loony that we should hope that some of the grownups in the Republican Party get into the race.

There are those who say, cynically, if this is the dim-witted freak show the Republicans want to present in 2012, so be it. I disagree. One of them could get elected. You never know. Mick Huckabee, the front-runner if you can believe it, might have to negotiate a trade …

And Now, The Dance Stylings Of… Julian Assange!

It’s only a matter of time before WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is asked to do Dancing with the Stars. A blogger named Seth Sharp, a Yale grad who DJs in Iceland, videoed Assange in December 2009, and sent the video to Kashmir Hill at Forbes.

“Julian was really letting go and all over the dance floor and I was really impressed at his lack of shyness,” says Sharp. ” So I filmed him and took photos. His white hair was also striking since the clientele at the club was usually much younger-looking.”

The video confirms that Assange does …

Based On His “Letter To The Editor,” Bruce Springstein No Fan Of Chris Christie

The Boss wrote a letter to the editor of the Asbury Park Press in response to the article, “As poverty rises, cuts target aid.”

The article is one of the few that highlights the contradictions between a policy of large tax cuts, on the one hand, and cuts in services to those in the most dire conditions, on the other.

Also, you’ve shone some light on anti-poverty workers and analysts such as Adele LaTourette, Meara Nigro, Cecilia Zalkind and Raymond Castro, among others, all of whom have something important to add to the discussion: real information and actual facts …

GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons: Elephant-Blasting Thunder, Fire and Rain

by toma

What did you do on your vacation? Did you kill anything bigger than your house?

GoDaddy’s CEO, Bob Parsons, did (well, not bigger than his house, his mansion, because that’d be a blue whale, and Bob’s in no shape to tread water). He went to Zimbabwe and shot an elephant.

He claims that’s exactly what you, or he, is supposed to do in Zimbabwe when a bull goes rogue, becomes problematic. You blast it. That saves the villagers’ crops, and then they don’t starve. I’ll have to take his word for it as I know next to nothing …

On Thursday’s Radio Show…

• Former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) joins Alan to discuss growing discontent with Republican rule.

• Why do some Republicans think Americans want a government shutdown? We’ll debate it.

• According to one lawmaker, women will fake being raped to get abortions. Alan questions his conservative common sense.

…

Why Michele Bachmann Needs A Photo-Op Manager

This picture says much about what Minnesota Congresswoman and presidential tease Michele Bachmann attracts.  (h/t Dave Weigel)

…

Attention General Electric: It’s Time To Pay Your Bill!

by DCdebbie

While the U.S. budget is going down with the ship of deficit that Bush created with two baseless wars and big government, companies like G.E. have smooth sailing and no accountability.

The company [General Electric] reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.

Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.

Is it not enough that the wealthiest 2% of the nation do not pay taxes proportionate to the rest of hard-working America?

Is it not enough …

Debunked: Muslims Want To Take Over America And Institute Sharia Law

Adam Serwer viewed a report by the Center for American Progress that puts to rest the right-wing scareathon that Sharia law is headed for the United States via a fifth column of American Muslims. The authors of the report, Wajahat Ali and Frank Duss, explain what Sharia law represents.

There is no one thing called Sharia. A variety of Muslim communities exist, and each understands Sharia in its own way. No official document, such as the Ten Commandments, encapsulates Sharia. It is the ideal law of God as interpreted by Muslim scholars over centuries aimed toward justice, fairness, and mercy.…

Louis Farrakhan Defends Muammar Qaddafi

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan warns that America is facing death and destruction because of how it treats “God’s chosen people.” And Farrakhan believes our action against “Brother” Qaddafi is hypocrisy.

The rare press conference was held at Mosque Maryam, the international headquarters of the Nation of Islam on Chicago’s South Side, purchased with a $3 million loan from Gadhafi.

“It is a terrible thing for me to hear my brother called all these ugly and filthy names when I can’t recognize him as that. Even though the current tide is moving against him … how can I refuse …