Fracking in PA Story on the 'Daily Show' Courtesy of Briget Shields

Local Pittsburgh fractivist, Briget Shields, spent three hours pitching a producer of the Daily Show -- time well spent!

(With bonus 'heros' vs. 'subs' and 'soda' vs. 'pop.')

Shutdown

Yes, the federal government has been shut down. Here's Jon Stewart's great take on it. The only thing missing from it is the fact that there are enough votes in the House to pass a clean Senate bill. The blame lies with 30 to 60 representatives--call them, oh I don't know, TEA PARTY members--and House Speaker John Boehner who fears them.

  (If you're in Pittsburgh, you can learn more about the Affordable Care Act at this event today.)

I pass this along as someone who lived in NY for 15 years and who wouldn't live in TX for 15 days

Pennsylvania: State of Embarrassment

Greetings from the Great State of Pennsyltucky!

Time was when Pennsyltucky used to only refer to the more rural "T" section of our Commonwealth, the place where guys like this reside. But, after the last couple of weeks, I think that we can agree that we're all Pennsyltucky now:

A Pittsburgh jury refuses to find fault with three police officers in a civil trial for doing this:

to honor student, Jordan Miles, who was simply walking down the block from his mom's house to his grandmother's house (no criminal charges were ever filed against the officers).

Allegheny County's GOP chair and former county executive Jim Roddey makes a joke that anyone who would vote for President Obama is "mentally retarded."

And, The Daily Show mercilessly (and rightfully) mocks our new Voter ID law. Jon Stewart shows the clip of House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) admitting that the new law was created to elect Mitt Romney. He also mentioned that the state's attorneys stipulated that there was no known cases of voter ID fraud in PA. However, he didn't mention that both our Governor and Secretary of State admitted they didn't actually know what's in the new law -- I guess they'd need to rename it Tragedy Central for that...

If you missed it last night, here's the clips:

Stacking the Deck

Bloomberg: "Wall Street Aristocracy Got $1.2 Trillion in Secret Loans at Lowest Rates"

New York Times: "Eric T. Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York, has come under increasing pressure from the Obama administration to drop his opposition to a wide-ranging state settlement with banks over dubious foreclosure practices, according to people briefed on discussions about the deal."

Washington Post: "Corporations pushing for job-creation tax breaks shield U.S.-vs.-abroad hiring data"

Think Progress: Republicans, who favor every and all tax cuts have suddenly found one they can't abide: They're against an extension of the payroll tax holiday -- one that benefits middle and working class Americans.

Indecision 2012 - The Awakening

For my money, the best bit is two minutes in-- the look on Lil Ricky's face is priceless.

Get On Board Lynn's Sanity Express

....

Really want to go to Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity in DC, but don't want to deal with the hassle of getting there? The Pittsburgh City Paper and Lynn Cullen have answered your prayers with Lynn's Sanity Express -- buses and metro passes to the rally leaving from multiple locations in the Pittsburgh area. You can find out all the details here (as well as order your tickets). Hmm, buses with Lynn Cullen, Chris Potter and like-minded folks headed to rally with Jon Stewart -- it's enough to make a tea-bagger weep. (And, don't forget to listen to Lynn Cullen Live at CPTV, Mon-Fri, 10:00-11:00AM.) [If this sounds like a paid advertisement -- it isn't -- I think of it more as a PSA for our readers. ;-) ]

Altmire Ad Makes The Daily Show

A clip from a Jason Altmire (PA-4) campaign ad made it into The Daily Show last night illustrating the point that some Democrats are running as fast as they can from the party (especially from President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi). The bit starts about six minutes in:


The clip is from the following ad where middle-age, rural, white guy says, "I like that Jason Altmire is not afraid to stand up to the President" and white soccer mom adds, "and Nancy Pelosi."


Stewart comments with, "Holy [bleeped "shit"]! Those are the ads that Democrats are running?"

He then asks, "What ads are the Republicans running?" and shows a mock spot of a Republican saying he'll punch Obama in the balls if elected.

Funny, but would anyone be too terribly surprised if, say, a Tea Party candidate actually went with that exact ad? After all, we've already seen Pelosi as a crazed monster being tasered this year.

And, if anyone has a video of the anti Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3) commercial I saw this morning where the heads of Obama, Pelosi and Dahlkemper are superimposed on a line of chorines, by all means, post a link in the comments -- it's over-the-top crazy.
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"Is Fox News a terrorist command center?"

Just watch

Just watch:


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Only in Pittsburgh: A Penguins Rally Breaks Out in the Middle of a G20 Riot (Updated 1X)

Only in Pittsburgh


In the middle of this:


You have this:

On my teevee I could also see a guy waving a replica Stanley Cup.

(h/t to Spork for finding Pens banner photo)


UPDATE: More


(h/t EmptyNetters blog)


(h/t The Big Story blog. Yeah, that's The Daily Show)
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The Daily Show Tracks CNBC's Financial Advice

More tragedy than comedy, but not to missed!


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