This Is Becoming An Alan Grayson FanBlog

Grayson schools No-Nothing Rethugs trying to defund ACORN. When you claim to be upholding the Constitution, you'd better know a little about the document. Or Alan Grayson will flay you like a deer in the north woods. Watch and enjoy.

Alan Grayson Cont'd

When Republicans threw a hissy fit after Alan Grayson attacked their lack of a healthcare plan on the House floor, he defended himself! We need more Democrats like this.

This is his appearance on Leslie Blitzer's show on CNN:



Rachel Maddow's show had a good summary of the entire contretemps, including clips from several Republicans making similar claims on the House floor over the last few months.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A Real Democrat

Alan Grayson (D-Fl) gives a short, pointed speech on the House floor about healthcarereform:



Now that's how you do it. And Baucus, Conrad, Lincoln, Nelson, Carper, alleged Democrats who voted against the public option yesterday? I look forward to contributing to your liberal primary opponents. People who are willing to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, not spineless corporate whores. You're on notice.

Looking Forward to "Capitalism"

After watching Michael Moore demolish Wolf/Leslie Blitzer in this segment, I'm looking forward to his film:

And Now For Something Different

This artist won the 'Ukraine's Got Talent' show (who knew such a thing existed?) with this sand painting. I've never seen anything quite like it.




Telegraph (uk): Sand artist Kseniya Simonova, winner of Ukraine's Got Talent, becomes internet hit

The New Father Coughlin

This is a great video showing the true insanity of Glenn Beck. His crazy rants, shown at 2x speed. Half the time, double the crazy:



This is what all your teabagging friends are listening too. This is the person they are telling you is making sense. Whee!

Anthony Weiner Defends the Public Option - On Fox!

And now, representing the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, wearing the tan suit with a yellow tie, Jon Stewart's former roomate, New York Representative Anthony Weiner! I'll vote for this guy for President. I want someone to fight for what is right. Watch and enjoy.

Eulogy

Ted Kennedy Jr.'s powerful eulogy for his father:

Part 1:

Part 2:


Boston Globe

But today I'm simply compelled to remember Ted Kennedy as my father and my best friend. When I was 12 years old I was diagnosed with bone cancer and a few months after I lost my leg, there was a heavy snowfall over my childhood home outside of Washington D.C. My father went to the garage to get the old Flexible Flyer and asked me if I wanted to go sledding down the steep driveway. And I was trying to get used to my new artificial leg and the hill was covered with ice and snow and it wasn't easy for me to walk. And the hill was very slick and as I struggled to walk, I slipped and I fell on the ice and I started to cry and I said "I can't do this." I said, "I'll never be able to climb that hill." And he lifted me in his strong, gentle arms and said something I'll never forget. He said "I know you'll do it, there is nothing you can't do. We're going to climb that hill together, even if it takes us all day."

Sure enough, he held me around my waist and we slowly made it to the top, and, you know, at age 12 losing a leg pretty much seems like the end of the world, but as I climbed onto his back and we flew down the hill that day I knew he was right. I knew I was going to be OK. You see, my father taught me that even our most profound losses are survivable and it is what we do with that loss, our ability to transform it into a positive event, that is one of my father's greatest lessons. He taught me that nothing is impossible.

Barney Frank to WhackJob: "On What Planet Do You Spend Most of Your Time?"

Excellent job, Barney. Time for the Democrats to stop letting the fringe monopolize the discussion.

Lawrence O'Donnell Needs His Own Show on MSNBC

Republican opposing "socialist" healthcare plan handed his hat by O'Donnell. Fun.

Birther Barbie

Orly Taitz -- screeching Birther Barbie -- must be seen to be believed. Claims to be a lawyer, a dentist and a real estate agent. Law degree from an online diploma mill. Admitted in the great state of California. Wow.

Celebration

I wish more people would approach their weddings with this kind of joy and freedom:

RIP Michael Jackson

The Jackson 5 on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1970, the way I'll remember Michael Jackson fondly, before his life went off the rails.

Torture's Opponent

The best person on TV right now telling the truth about torture is, of all people, Jesse Ventura, former professional wrestler, former governor of Minnesota. Watch him take on torture and the loathesome Sean Hannity:

Big Baby!

The game-winning shot from last night:



The backstory on Glen Davis:

Libertarian Paradise

Funny and topical as Republicans froth at the mouth and call Obama and Dems socialists. Horrors!

Stand By Me

It's weird to wake up and hear that the New York Times is filing papers with the state today so they can close the Boston Globe and lay off all the employees in 60 days. "Just in case" they don't win the negotiations and win deep concessions and layoffs from the employees. So whatever the result, the Boston Globe will be diminished if not dead. Will my boxes of Boston Globes from championships gone past become collector's items for more than one reason?

Thanks a lot, Grey Lady, for buying our hometown paper with lots of debt. Who could have anticipated that debt financing was a house of cards? Bloggers, that's who, and that's one of the things that's bringing down the newspaper industry. Newspapers didn't see the internet as a threat until way too late and never came up with an effective strategy to compete online.

Where will we be getting our news in 10 years? Change is a coming.

Today I heard a piece on NPR about a musical project called "Stand By Me", one of those great, great songs from the Sixties. Watch the video below of the song, sung by street performers, the filmmakers layering artist upon artist as the song progresses. Something I learned about from public radio. Will public radio still be here in 10 years? I have no answers, just questions and a great video.



Playing for Change.com

UConn Women Feted at the White House

There are three other videos embedded above the Hartford Courant article, below; the ceremony, and interviews with Geno Auriemma and Rene Montgomery.

Hartford Courant: UConn Makes White House Visit

WASHINGTON — - Long before he became a candidate, President Barack Obama was a huge basketball fan. Well documented during the presidential campaign, his alter ego is that of a gym rat — a guy with a nice first step, decent jumper and pointy elbows.

And after the ceremony on Monday welcoming the national champion UConn women's basketball team to the White House, Obama decided to prove it. He invited them to the basketball court he had constructed on the White House grounds.

"We played P-I-G, which is a shorter version of H-O-R-S-E," UConn center Tina Charles said. "He beat Maya [Moore], Renee [Montgomery] and myself. He was shooting 17-footers all over the perimeter."

Said Montgomery: "He only missed one shot out of five shots. In 20 years, I'll remember that I could not make one jump shot at the White House. My clothes hindered me. I couldn't extend my arms."

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
HONORING THE 2008-2009 NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS,
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

Impeach Bybee

New ad from moveon.org:

Hillary!

Eff Dick Cheney.