Enter Discussion Forums

204,337 user registrations and 62,282,378 posts since 2001

Follow @demunderground

Greatest Threads

A Marine's response to the Presidential umbrella umbrage; (Edit) 288 recs : By A HERETIC I AM

Your Sunday LOLcats (dial-up warning) Comfort And Support Edition 156 recs : By SalmonChantedEvening

where the f*ck is the media on this one????? 117 recs : By spanone

Well Lookie Here: 3/28/2012: Judge rules tea party group a PAC, not a nonprofit 87 recs : By kpete

That's just wrong to look so effortlessly relaxed, happy & handsome 63 recs : By bigtree

The Left Column

Segami

MADDOW: Fair Game to DISCLOSE NAMES of Republicans WHO LIED to ABC News

MADDOW: And now, part of the scandal here is a press scandal. You know what? When you get used like this and you end up publishing false information, false quotes, you have to correct it. But the bigger scandal here is not a process matter, not a press matter. There's a very stark fact that somebody in Congress right now, or somebody working for somebody in Congress right now, a staffer, concocted a big lie to try to make the White House look very desperately bad on this Benghazi scandal that they otherwise have not been able to get traction on.

Who told the lie? And a note to my journalist pals who got involved in this scandal. If your source lied to you, they are not actually a source. They are a con artist and you are their victim. It means you don't have to protect them any more. They're not a source.

When you get lied to, when you are a tool of somebody else's deception, when you get lied to, the person lying to you is no longer a source, they are news. Their lie to you is itself news and you can report that news. Republican Congressional offices shopped a false dossier as if it was a White House email. That is a story. The office and the staffers and the members of Congress maybe who did that... that is news. And if you know who it is, you can say so.

Galraedia

Texas Judge Forbids Lesbian Woman From Living With Her Partner

(ThinkProgress) Carolyn Compton is in a three year-old relationship with a woman. According to Compton’s partner Page Price, Compton’s ex-husband rarely sees their two children and was also once charged with stalking Compton, a felony, although he eventually plead to a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespassing.

And yet, thanks to a Texas judge, Compton could lose custody of her children because she has the audacity to live with the woman she loves.

kpete

Reporter To Rumsfeld:"I sorta can’t believe these words are coming out of your mouth 10 years later"

Ryssdal: It’s easier, you say, to get into something than it is to get out of it. And I, I can’t help but wonder where we would be in this country today if you guys had been thinking of that ten years ago.

Rumsfeld: I thought of that when I was President Reagan’s Middle East envoy and we had 241 Marines killed at Beirut (in 1983), at the airport. And I concluded then that the United States has to be careful about putting ground forces in because we’re such a big target. And I also over the years came to the conclusion over the years that the United States really wasn’t organized, trained and equipped to do nation-building. So if you think of Afghanistan…

Ryssdal: …Yeah, wait, hang on a minute. I sorta can’t believe these words are coming out of your mouth, ten years later. So this was on your mind as Iraq was burbling up?

Rumsfeld: Absolutely.

Ryssdal: And yet here we are.

bigtree

Palin tried to play POTUS... and then WaPo posted this pic

tweeted by, ZerlinaMaxwell@ Zerlina Maxwell 4m
I love how @sarahpalinusa tried to play POTUS w/ "most Americans hold their own umbrellas" and then WaPo posted this pic.twitter.com/iJiO9lGqpP

SHRED

Republicans Altered Benghazi Emails, CBS News Report Claims

(HuffPo) One day after The White House released 100 pages of Benghazi emails, a report has surfaced alleging that Republicans released a set with altered text.

CBS News reported Thursday that leaked versions sent out by the GOP last Friday had visible differences than Wednesday's official batch. Two correspondences that were singled out in the report came from National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes and State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

Bill USA

Ezra Klein: The scandals are falling apart

(WaPo) The crucial ingredient for a scandal is the prospect of high-level White House involvement and wide political repercussions. Government wrongdoing is boring. Scandals can bring down presidents, decide elections and revive down-and-out political parties. Scandals can dominate American politics for months at a time.

On Tuesday, it looked like we had three possible political scandals brewing. Two days later, with much more evidence available, it doesn’t look like any of them will pan out. There’ll be more hearings, and more bad press for the Obama administration, and more demands for documents. But — and this is a key qualification — absent more revelations, the scandals that could reach high don’t seem to include any real wrongdoing, whereas the ones that include real wrongdoing don’t reach high enough. Let’s go through them.

Galraedia

Another Obama ‘Scandal’? Nope… GOP Rep Claims Responsibility For AP Surveillance

(Addicting Info) Just when you thought another event was about to be added to the growing list of Obama ‘scandals’ – what with the Benghazi ‘cover-up’ (debunked by a single e-mail), the IRS surveillance of Tea Party-supporting groups (which flame-throwers like Allen West attempted to conflate into ‘conspiracies’ with no success), and the continuing heat on the military for its policies on sexual abuse – the Department of Justice investigation of Associated Press telephone records, widely expected to be another partisan blowtorch, has just been defended by a Republican congressman who claims it was the Republicans themselves who demanded the investigation last year.

Representative Trey Gowdy (R-SC) spoke to Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren about the issue, one libertarians, journalists, and freedom of information advocates all believe demands review and reform, and instead of using it to bludgeon the administration for overstepping (which most of his party, the media, and even the President’s own party are doing), he instead claimed it was the natural evolution of a GOP demand for a probe. From Think Progress:

“Think back a year ago. We had the attorney general and other Department of Justice employees, and we grilled them over national security leaks. And here they are doing what we asked them to do, investigate the leak.”

alp227

FBI seeks source of prostitution, corruption allegations against Sen. Robert Menendez

(WaPo) Months after the FBI began probing allegations against Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), investigators are now looking at whether someone set out to smear him while he was running for re-election last year and then ascending to his new post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to four people briefed on the inquiry.

The scene of federal agents interviewing two of the world’s wealthiest sugar barons, whose business holdings include Domino Sugar, underscores the unusual twists of the saga centered on Menendez, who has been battling allegations that he did special favors for a major campaign donor.

marmar

Elizabeth Warren slams pro-Wall Street bill

(HuffPo) Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Thursday that she will fight legislation in the Senate that would roll back key parts of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, just a week after the package made it out of the House Financial Services Committee with support from fellow Democrats.

"Wall Street’s aggressive determination paid off last week when the House Financial Services Committee reported out several bills to roll back reforms to the derivatives markets included in the Dodd-Frank Act," Warren said in a statement. “I strongly agree with Treasury Secretary Lew’s opposition to the bills. The Dodd-Frank Act put in place a variety of measures that work together as a system to protect consumers, hold big banks accountable, and reduce the risk of future crises. It is dangerous for Congress to amend the derivatives provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act without at the same time taking accompanying steps to strengthen reform and maintain the law’s equilibrium."

ProSense

LOL: White House Mocks GOP’s Obamacare Hashtag (PHOTO)

When Republicans on Thursday sought to highlight their latest repeal effort by encouraging Twitter followers to describe "Obamacare" in three words, the White House decided to get in on the action.

With the GOP-promoted hashtag included, the White House's official Twitter account posted a reminder that the Affordable Care Act still carries the force of law:

Cool

Microscopic crystal 'flowers' build themselves in a Harvard lab - MSNBC Science : By WillyT

Saratoga Teen’s Research Takes Science World By Storm Science : By NBachers

Your Sunday LOLcats (dial-up warning) Comfort And Support Edition The DU Lounge : By SalmonChantedEvening

George Takei Responds To "Traditional" Marriage Fans LGBT : By Xipe Totec

Super-Bright Explosion Seen on the Moon Science : By dipsydoodle

Around DU

Good Reads

Politics 2013

General Discussion

Topics

Places

Latest Breaking News

Yahoo to Buy Tumblr for $1.1 Billion

32 min ago - By JOANN S. LUBLIN, AMIR EFRATI and SPENCER E. ANTE Yahoo Inc.'s YHOO -0.23% board has approved a deal to acquire blogging startup Tumblr, people familiar with the matter said Sunday. Yahoo has agreed to pay $1.1 billion in cash for the company, on ... (WSJ)

FBI Training Accident Kills 2 Agents In Virginia

1 hr ago - VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Two FBI agents have been killed in a training accident in Virginia. A spokeswoman for the FBI's Norfolk office, Vanessa Torres, said Sunday that the accident happened Friday afternoon off the Virginia Beach coast. Torres says ... (AP via HuffPo)

FBI reportedly joins Bachmann campaign finance probe

2 hrs ago - The agency is investigating alleged violations by Bachmann's 2012 presidential campaign BY JILLIAN RAYFIELD The FBI is reportedly looking into allegations that Michele Bachmann’s 2012 presidential campaign committed campaign finance violations, add ... (Salon)

Suspect in NY bias shooting is charged with murder

3 hrs ago - NEW YORK (AP) — The man who police say hurled homophobic slurs at a gay man on a Manhattan street before firing a single fatal shot to his head has been charged with murder as a hate crime. Elliot Morales appeared Sunday in Manhattan Criminal Court. ... (AP)

Fate of LA pot shops left to voters

3 hrs ago - BY GREG RISLING LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles politicians have struggled for more than five years to regulate medical marijuana, trying to balance the needs of the sick against neighborhood concerns that pot shops attract crime. Voters will head t ... (AP)

Obama gets personal about race and manhood in Morehouse speech

5 hrs ago - President Obama on Sunday summoned the graduates of historically black Morehouse College to “transform the way we think about manhood,” urging the young men to avoid the temptation to make excuses and to take responsibility for their families and the ... (Washington Post)

White House defends IRS handling, McConnell asserts 'culture of intimidation'

6 hrs ago - Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said the IRS controversy amounted to evidence of a "culture of intimidation" by the administration. But he and Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., admitted they lacked evidence that the targeting of conservatives was ordered by ... (nbcnews.com)

Pope warns Church against closing in on itself

7 hrs ago - VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis warned the Catholic Church to not close in on itself at a Mass to mark Pentecost Sunday attended by more than 200,000 people, urging the faithful to be open and present in a new and changing world. The Church ... (Reuters)

Syrian army, Hezbollah attack rebels in border town: opposition

9 hrs ago - Syrian troops supported by Hezbollah militants launched an offensive to retake a major town near Lebanon from rebels on Sunday, the heaviest fighting yet involving Lebanese armed group, opposition activists said. At least 32 people were killed when ... (Reuters)

Republicans Informed of IRS Investigation Last Year

10 hrs ago - Much has been made of the fact that senior Treasury Department officials were told about the investigation into the treatment of tea party groups in June 2012 — months before last year’s the Presidential election. Republicans who requested the invest ... (ABC NEWS)

More news...

Malcolm Shabazz killing: Two suspects remanded

10 hrs ago - Two men suspected of killing Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of US political activist Malcolm X, have been remanded in custody in Mexico. David Hernandez Cruz and Manuel Alejandro Perez de Jesus were waiters at a Mexico City nightclub where Mr Shabazz ... (BBC World)

El Salvador gangs say Supreme Court ruling threatens truce

10 hrs ago - The leaders of El Salvador's main street gangs have said a decision taken by the Supreme Court threatens a truce that has saved thousands of lives. The Constitutional Chamber of the Salvadorean Supreme Court declared illegal the appointment of Secu ... (BBC World)

Chinese boat owner says NKoreans detained his crew

11 hrs ago - BEIJING (AP) -- Unidentified North Koreans have seized a Chinese fishing boat and its 16 crew members and have demanded a ransom, Chinese state media and the boat owner say. Owner Yu Xuejun said on a microblog that the boat was floating in Chinese w ... (AP)

Tunisia police clash with Salafists over meeting ban

11 hrs ago - Tunisian police have clashed with hundreds of hardline Islamists whose group was prevented from meeting. Violence broke out in the central city of Kairouan and in the capital Tunis. The government last week said it had barred the Salafist movement ... (BBC News)

Egyptian police block Israel border crossing in fury at kidnapping: sources

12 hrs ago - Egyptian police enraged by the kidnapping of seven of their colleagues by Islamist gunmen in the Sinai Peninsula blocked a commercial border crossing with Israel on Sunday, security sources said. Police have been blocking another border post, the Ra ... (Reuters)

Iran hangs two men for spying for Israel and US

12 hrs ago - Iran has hanged two men convicted of spying for Israel and the US, the authorities there have said. Mohammad Heydari was found guilty of passing intelligence on "security issues and national secrets" to Israeli Mossad agents in exchange for cash. K ... (BBC)

FBI searches apartment in ricin letter case

15 hrs ago - SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Authorities in hazardous materials suits searched a downtown Spokane apartment Saturday, investigating the recent discovery of a pair of letters containing the deadly poison ricin. Few details have been released in the case, an ... (AP, via Yahoo)

$590M-plus Powerball: 1 winning ticket sold in Fla

15 hrs ago - DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — It's all about the odds, and one lone ticket in Florida has beaten them all by matching each of the numbers drawn for the highest Powerball jackpot in history at an estimated $590.5 million, lottery officials said Sunday. The ... (AP)

Book Examines Legal Fights Surrounding Blankenship

18 hrs ago - A new book is taking aim at former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship and his time as the head of the coal company. Author Lawrence Leamer, who has written for The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, and Playboy, was in Charleston this weekend to p ... (WCHS)

North Korea fires short-range missiles off east coast

21 hrs ago - Amid recent fear of a test of North Korea's medium-range Musudan missile, the government launches three short-range missiles in what is believed to be a military exercise. By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times May 18, 2013, 3:49 p.m. BEIJING — North ... (LA Times)

Hofstra Student in Home Invasion Was Killed by Police Gunshot: Officials

22 hrs ago - The 21-year-old Hofstra student who was killed during a Long Island home invasion was shot dead by a police officer as the gunman had her in a headlock and was trying to drag her out of the house, officials said Saturday. Nassau County Police said a ... (WNBC)

Man Fatally Shot in Head in Greenwich Village Investigated as Hate Crime: Police

23 hrs ago - Police are investigating the deadly overnight shooting of a 32-year-old man in Greenwich Village as a hate crime after detectives learned the suspect taken into custody at the scene may have made anti-gay remarks to the victim before pulling the trig ... (WNBC)

Oxbow wins the Preakness!

Yesterday - Oxbow wins. 15-1 odds. ... (NBC Sports)

Chicago Teachers Union begins 3-day citywide march

Yesterday - CHICAGO (AP) — Hundreds of teachers, parents and students took to Chicago's streets Saturday, the first of three days of marches to protest Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to close dozens of city school. The show of force was meant to add weight to a pair ... (San Francisco Chronicle)

Syria's Assad, In an Interview, Suggests Peace Talks are Unlikely to Succeed

Yesterday - BEIRUT, Lebanon — President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, in a rare interview with a foreign newspaper, appeared to dismiss the possibility of serious progress arising from peace talks planned for next month, and to back away from earlier statements by S ... (New York Times)

Republican Accidentally Debunks GOP Narrative at IRS Hearing

Yesterday - Republican accidentally debunks GOP narrative at IRS hearing By Eric W. Dolan Saturday, May 18, 2013 16:22 EDT During a congressional hearing regarding the IRS on Friday, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) inadvertently led the head of the IRS to contradict ... (Raw Story)

Pakistan politician Zahra Shahid Hussain killed in Karachi

Yesterday - Zahra Shahid Hussain was the senior vice-president of Pakistan's Movement for Justice party (PTI), led by former international cricketer Imran Khan. ... The BBC's Shahzeb Jillani in Karachi says Imran Khan has blamed the city's dominant MQM party for ... (BBC)

Witnesses: Car strikes crowd at Va. parade

Yesterday - DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) — Witnesses in southwestern Virginia say a car has driven into a crowd at a parade. Several people appear to be hurt, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately known. The accident occurred around 2:30 p.m. Saturday durin ... (AP)

Pete Santilli, Radio Host: Hillary Clinton Needs To Be 'Shot In The Vagina'

Yesterday - Radio host Pete Santilli made shocking remarks about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, claiming she should be "shot" for being "involved in the killings of American troops." Santilli hosts a show on his website, but says he's "ready to take ... (Huffington Post)

Jindal Says IRS Officials Should Go To Jail For Targeting

Yesterday - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) on Saturday will call for jail time for Internal Revenue Service officials who engaged in improper targeting of conservative organizations. “You cannot take the freedom of law-abiding Americans, whether you disagree w ... (TPM)