INTERNAL FRICTIONS

Hey, GOPers: here’s a good reason to stop bashing all Muslims

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/09/29/american_muslim_terrorism_report
Two new reports shine light on the crucial role American Muslims play in stopping terrorism in the United States . . .

Gotta hand it to ‘em: Repubs force Dems to block Obama’s recess appointments

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/how-game-played

More: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/what_is_she_thinking.php
Louisiana's Democratic senator has put a hold on the nomination of Jacob Lew to be the new director of the President's Office of Management and Budget, even though Lew sailed through committee on a 22-1 vote, is supremely qualified for the post (he held it under Bill Clinton), and we're in the midst of ongoing economic and fiscal crises. . . .

Is Obama’s more aggressive politicking starting to help the Dems?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/29/AR2010092904116.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025897.php

OTOH: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/09/29/republicans_have_huge_lead_among_likely_voters.html

Noblesse oblige?

http://washingtonindependent.com/99106/whitman-accused-of-hiring-mistreating-an-undocumented-housekeeper
Whitman Accused of Hiring, Mistreating an Undocumented Housekeeper

More: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/yet-another-nannygate

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/meg_whitmans_former_housekeeper.php

The kind of people they are

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/loserdom.php
A lawyer in the office of Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox runs a blog on the side dedicated to attacking the openly gay student body president at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Cox's office says it can't do anything about it . . . [read on]

Tea Party = Fox Party

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/09/29/tea_party_gop_base

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/tea-party-takeover.html

CNN considers it a “mystery” that Sarah Palin could possibly have been booed during her scene-stealing appearance on “Dancing With the Stars.” How could it be? We all KNOW that Sarah is a beloved national figure.

Well, fear not – CNN has “solved” the mystery

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/29/mystery-solved-palin-not-booed/

Tensions between Glenn Beck and Fox

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/howard-kurtz/2010/09/breaking_news--beck_speaks.html

Some lies are beyond fact-checking

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/09/the-uselessness-of-fact-checking/

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/09/uncategorized/teachable-moment/

A good time to revisit Harry Frankfurt: http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/articleB5BD6D4417AF444DBD8F9770AA729B26.asp

Bonus item: Sometimes Fate has a very dark sense of humor

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/author-of-more-guns-less-crime-has-ut.html
Author of 'More Guns, Less Crime' has UT speech canceled due to campus shooting

More: http://mydd.com/2010/9/28/shocking-news-about-guns

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

BUCK UP!

Is this the right play?

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/209395
[Obama] It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election. There may be complaints about us not having gotten certain things done, not fast enough, making certain legislative compromises. But right now, we've got a choice between a Republican Party that has moved to the right of George Bush and is looking to lock in the same policies that got us into these disasters in the first place, versus an administration that, with some admitted warts, has been the most successful administration in a generation in moving progressive agendas forward. . . .

We have to get folks off the sidelines. People need to shake off this lethargy, people need to buck up. Bringing about change is hard — that's what I said during the campaign. It has been hard, and we've got some lumps to show for it. But if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren't serious in the first place.

Selections from the interview: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/top-moments-in-obamas-rolling-stone-interview.php

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68R0FE20100928
According to Politico, Biden said they should "stop whining and get out there and look at the alternatives" -- referring to Republican candidates trying to take control of the House of Representatives and Senate from the Democrats.

"So those who ... didn't get everything they wanted, it's time to just buck up here, understand that we can make things better, continue to move forward, but not yield the playing field to those folks who are against everything that we stand for in terms of the initiatives we put forward" . . .

Digby: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/for-record-my-feelings-arent-hurt-and-i.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/strategery-gone-awry.html

Glenn Greenwald: http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/09/28/obama

Kevin Drum: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/obamas-defense

Michael Moore: http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/fine-whine

TPM readers: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/do_progressives_need_tough_love_or_coddling.php

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/politics_--_or_overwrought_personal_drama.php

Lots more: http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/ap-markos-and-aravosis-on-white-house.html

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/biden-liberals-need-to-buck-up.html

http://firedoglake.com/2010/09/29/early-morning-swim-cenk-uygur-goes-off-on-white-house-for-attacking-democratic-base-on-msnbc/

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/dear_white_house_heres_how.html

http://www.slate.com/id/2268983/

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/09/28/has-the-white-house-lost-their-minds/

I agree

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/09/uncategorized/game-change/
[Mark Kleiman] Jim DeMint just handed us a gift by threatening to block all legislation until adjournment. . . [read on]

More: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/09/liberum-veto/

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/28/905936/-Chancellor-DeMint-dissolves-the-Senate

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/28/demint-has-placed-a-stand_n_742175.html

NBC/WSJ poll: enthusiasm gap shrinking

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/enthusiasm-gap-update

Beyond left/right politics?

http://mydd.com/2010/9/28/people-vs

Sigh

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/09/poor-people-are-much-poorer-than-you-think/
Poor People Are Much Poorer Than You Think

http://washingtonindependent.com/98881/income-gap-yawns-to-widest-ever-level-in-2009
The income gap — the disparity in earnings between the wealthiest and poorest Americans — increased to the highest recorded level in 2009, according to the Census Bureau. . . .

After Rahm leaves, this will be the new Chief of Staff

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/09/the-white-house-rouse-style/63668/

Theocracy watch: this doesn’t surprise me at all – you?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/defensive-knowledge.html
John King featured an interesting factoid about religion on his show tonight. Out of 32 questions about various religions posed by a recent Pew Poll , it was the Atheists/Agnostics who got the most right . . .

More: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/09/knowledge-and-privilege/

The Tea Party: nothing new

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/everything-old-new-again

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/09/29/tea_party_no_longer_a_fringe_group.html
71% of Republicans "described themselves as tea-party supporters . . .”

The New Adventures of Old Christine

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/another-school-says-christine-odonnell-did-not-attend.php
Claremont Graduate University tells TPM that Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell did not attend the Southern California school despite listing it under education on her LinkedIn profile. . . .

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/another_christine_odonnell_emb.html
Another Christine O'Donnell embellishment: She misleadingly claims she studied at Oxford

Uh, coincidence?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/palin-slams-rove-on-odonnell-buck-up-video.php
[Sarah! A couple of weeks ago] Palin Slams Rove On O'Donnell: 'Buck Up!'

Heh: Sarah’s shameless self-promotion gets booed

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/scarce/sarah-palin-booed-dancing-stars

Fox News: misinforming America, night after night

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/bitches-brood.html
“The President loves gangsta rap”

More: http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/obama-keeps-telling-truth-about-fox-new
Obama keeps telling the truth about FOX News: "Fox News is 'destructive' to America"

Bonus item: No, Stephen Colbert isn’t the first celebrity to testify before Congress

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/thought-colbert-was-bad-here-are-the-top-five-head-scratching-celebrity-testimonials-on-capitol-hill.php

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/jon-stewart-defends-colberts-capitol-hill-testimony-video.php
[Jon Stewart] "Of course Colbert is more embarrassed than the House of Representatives. Colbert still has dignity and integrity left to lose! You can't embarrass Congress! How could you?"

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

CAT FOOD

Obama’s deficit commission, which my colleagues call the “cat food commission” because that’s what old folks will end up eating if they have their way, was designed to be a bipartisan group of Serious Thinkers who could put together a realistic package of proposals that would bring fiscal sanity back to Washington. Everyone knows the solution has three essential parts: spending cuts, changes to entitlements, and tax reform. Everyone who is honest about finding a solution, that is.

I haven’t blogged much about it – Alan Simpson has been a jerk of course – but now the Republicans are really showing their stripes. They never wanted to deal, and they won’t

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/09/27/rivlin-stars-aligned-for-cat-food-commission-cuts-to-social-security/
Rivlin: “Stars Aligned” for Cat Food Commission Cuts to Social Security

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/09/27/playing-to-type-conservatives-on-cat-food-commission-dont-want-any-revenue-increases/
Playing to Type, Conservatives on Cat Food Commission Don’t Want Any Revenue Increases

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/27/905766/-GOP-Catfood-Commission-members-pushing-for-tax-cuts-for-the-wealthy
GOP Catfood Commission members pushing for tax cuts for the wealthy

Those poor millionaires

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/whining-rich-and-their-high-class.html
[Bill Maher] Another of my favorites, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann said, "I don't know where they're going to get all this money, because we're running out of rich people in this country." Actually, we have more billionaires here in the U.S. than all the other countries in the top ten combined, and their wealth grew 27% in the last year. Did yours? . . . [read on]

Just call it:

http://washingtonindependent.com/98800/the-pledge-to-increase-the-deficit
“The Pledge to Increase the Deficit”

“A Pledge of Lies” http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/27/905704/-A-pledge-of-lies

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025864.php

The pledge they didn’t include: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/white-house-and-kristol-d_n_740572.html
Bill Kristol: Despite Not Being In 'Pledge', GOP Will Privatize Social Security

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025870.php

Another phony debate about a Balanced Budget Amendment? Come on!

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025866.php

What the teabaggers think about the Pledge

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/teabaggers-not-thrilled-with-gop-pledge.html
[Politico] “It’s a mealy-mouthed sop to the tea party movement that is rife with platitudes and little on substance,” e-mailed Andrew Ian Dodge, the Maine state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots national coalition of local groups. “I have yet to see one person who is wholly impressed with it.”

Judson Phillips, founder of the tea party Nation online social network, called it “a nice PR piece, but I don't think it is even showing up on our radar.” Most tea partiers, he said, “are skeptical.”

“The Tea Party-fication of the GOP”

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/the_tea_party-fication_of_gop.html

The teabaggers like to present themselves as insurgents over economic concerns. But in fact the movement is a weird amalgam of generalized resentment, fear, and nativism – with a heavy dose of theocracy mixed in. How else do you explain this?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/adapting_to_the_new_crazy.php
Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry (remember him?) has created a video instructing Tea Party leaders on how to pull their own Koran-tearing media stunts.

Where their money comes from

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/schieffer-allows-tea-party-express-founder

Hey, “the mood of the voters” does NOT mean “the mood of the teabaggers”

http://mydd.com/users/project-vote/posts/poll-is-a-refreshing-corrective-to-media-narrative-of-tea-party-domination

More polls: voters BLAME the GOP for getting us into the mess we’re in, but also favor them as the people to get us out of it. Weird

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/polling_disconnect_of_the_day.html

Is wanna-be Speaker Mike Pence (R-IN) behind the John Boehner affair rumors?

http://blueamerica.crooksandliars.com/jacqrat/did-mike-pence-rat-out-boehner-and-his-mis

What a great Speaker he would be: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025872.php
[Matt Yglesias] "Mike Pence is a moron, and any movement that would hold the guy up as a hero is bankrupt.... I would refer you to this post from September about the earth-shattering ignorance and stupidity of Mike Pence.... [I]t's really staggering. In my admittedly brief experience talking to him, his inability to grasp the basic contours of policy question was obvious and overwhelming." [read on]

Theocracy watch: a new book on C Street

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/09/27/inside_c_street.html
An inside look at the C Street House, the Fellowship residence which "has lately been the scene of notorious political scandal, but more crucially it is home to efforts to transform the very fabric of American democracy."

Nothing is too far any more

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/quackpot-dr-paul.html
Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rand Paul belongs to a conservative doctors’ group that, among other things, has expressed doubts about the connection between HIV and AIDS and suggested that President Barack Obama may have been elected because he was able to hypnotize voters. . . .

A comment on our times: WWE tries to influence the Senate vote in CT

http://washingtonindependent.com/98688/wwe-plans-a-smackdown-for-election-day-in-connecticut

“The Power of Fox”

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/power-fox

More: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/09/27/the_fox_news_primary.html
[Politico] "With Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee all making moves indicating they may run for president, their common employer is facing a question that hasn't been asked before: How does a news organization cover White House hopefuls when so many are on the payroll?"

Desperately wanting to be taken seriously as a news outlet, Fox hosts can’t resist browbeating their guests when they disagree with them

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/in-record-time-fox-host-confuses-taxes-spending-socialism-and-fiscal-responsibilty.php

Bonus item: Interesting – these days you pay a fee for the delivery of your luggage on an air flight. So if the luggage isn’t delivered properly, you shouldn’t have to pay, right? Right?

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/no-baggage-no-refund

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

SQUARING THE CIRCLE

The GOP has managed to do something really impressive: sensing a Ross Perot-like insurgency out there, with a “damn both your houses” attitude toward the two parties, they have managed to co-opt the Tea Party into an insurgent branch OF the Republican party. Big-money funding for the teabaggers from traditional GOP backers has helped.

In a few cases this has cost them, and it has put some really weird candidates into their mix, as they kiss their more moderate and responsible members goodbye. But it will give them a voting majority in the House, and possibly in the Senate. THEN what will they do?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/opinion/27douthat.html

What DOES the Tea Party stand for?

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/09/small-government/
[SF Chronicle] [S]upporters will gather in Marin County today, where they will listen to speeches from affirmative action opponent Ward Connerly and John Yoo, the UC Berkeley law professor and an architect of the Bush administration’s “enhanced interrogation” policy. . . .

Pssst: nothing new in the “Pledge to America”

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/mike-pence-cant-name-single-new-idea-repub
Mike Pence Can't Name a Single New Idea by Republicans in Their 'Pledge'

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/26/john-boehner-earmarks-pledge_n_739530.html
John Boehner Twice Refuses To Say Whether He'd Ban Earmarks As House Speaker

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/boehner-wont-promise-end-earmarks-if-gop-tak

The plan behind the Republican Plan – Digby reveals all

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/boehner-cats-out-of-bag-no-not-that-cat.html

GOPers: dumb – and proud of it

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025853.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025854.php

The incestuous feedback loop between GOP policy and GOP media

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/09/national-review-pre-approving-house-republican-policy-documents/

Gee, maybe this is a reason not to extend them

http://firedoglake.com/2010/09/26/irrefutable-proof-the-bush-tax-cuts-were-a-miserable-failure/
Irrefutable Proof the Bush Tax Cuts Were a Miserable Failure

Wrestling Mama says that a campaign is the wrong time to lay out, you know, where she actually stands on the ISSUES

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025856.php

Hoping for amnesia, part one

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/marsha-blackburn-apparently-hopes-we-forgo
Marsha Blackburn Apparently Hopes We Forgot Her Rant on Social Security

Hoping for amnesia, part two

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/09/27/ilario_pantano_congress
From accused murderer to member of Congress?

The nightmare continues. . .

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/first-hearing-in-armys-afghanistan-kill-team-begins/
Today begins a wrenching legal process: the military trial of five soldiers in the murder of three Afghan civilians in Kandahar earlier this year. Already, there’s a shocking disclosure: there are photographs of the dead Afghans. And if the Army gets its way, that gruesome evidence won’t be public. . . . [read on]

Well, she’s consistent

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/ann-coulter-at-homocon-marriage-is-not-a-civil-right-youre-not-black.php
Ann Coulter doesn't mince words. And even when speaking to a gay conservative organization, GOProud, at their inaugural Homocon party on Saturday night, she apparently wasn't willing to start. . . .[read on]

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/26/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_20_n_739529.html

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/hoyer-colberts-testimony-was-not-appropriate.php

Bonus item: Back to the future

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/us/27wiretap.html
U.S. Wants to Make It Easier to Wiretap the Internet

More: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/wiretapping-internet

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

FIGHT BACK

Is outsourcing jobs an issue the Dems can hit the Republicans with?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/obama-america-is-speaking-out----and-gop-isnt-listening.php

Is high unemployment inevitable?

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/who-will-speak-rich

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/structural-failure/

The GOP is really, really serious about making tough budget cuts. Just ask them. Really

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/rep-kevin-mccarthy-can-t-name-single-progr

As discussed here, “opposition” to health care is of two completely different sorts: people who think it does too much, and those who think it does too little. Guess what?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gSXIViw_RWvU3uweKkhKfhAVGgqgD9IF4ET80
President Barack Obama's health care overhaul has divided the nation, and Republicans believe their call for repeal will help them win elections in November. But the picture's not that clear cut.

A new AP poll finds that Americans who think the law should have done more outnumber those who think the government should stay out of health care by 2-to-1. . . .

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-09-24/get-off-your-asses-liberals
Democrats Should Go to War for Health Care

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025850.php

Karl Rove and the shadow GOP

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/us/26rove.html

The war on judges

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/us/politics/25judges.html
Voters Moving to Oust Judges Over Decisions

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/msm-miss-manners-hint-subtly-at-far.html

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/how-far-right-is-perverting-judicial.html

The GOP keeps pushing the phony Black Panther “issue.” Gee, what’s that all about?

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/waiting-112th-congress

The kind of people they are

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/are-you-stinking-filthy-lib.html
“The filthy libs, socialists, democrats and fellow travelers in America understand, just as did the Bolsheviks in Russia, that, to be victorious over the people, they first had to rid themselves of the opposition. . .

Today, the libs, along with their counterparts in the media, have been so successful that they have actually promoted a black man to the head of the Democratic party as a candidate for President of the United States. . . .” [read on, if you have the stomach for it]

Their patron saint, Rush Limbaugh, has simply taken to calling the President “Imam Obama”

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201009240020

The DC in-crowd is very offended by Stephen Colbert’s testimony before Congress. But . . .

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/beltway-quilting-bee-and-ladies-pearl.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/24/colbert-act-panned-by-rep_n_738402.html

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/bluegal/hardball-chuck-todd-asks-if-colberts-congr

http://twitter.com/DavidOAtkins/status/25439675231
[David O. Atkins] The fact that the DC press corps is more discomfited by Colbert than by Limbaugh says all you need to know.

Still not okay

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/09/25/secrecy
Obama argues his assassination program is a "state secret"

More: http://mydd.com/2010/9/26/obama-the

Dangerously stupid

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/opinion/26dowd.html
[Maureen Dowd] Holy Roddy McDowall.

Christine O’Donnell doesn’t understand why monkeys can’t turn into people right before her eyes. . . . [read on]

Theocracy watch: the new wingnut line is that separation of church and state was a Nazi invention. (Somewhere at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson is rolling over in his grave.)

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/glenn-beck-claims-obama-taking-ameri

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/09/gop-candidate-hitler-church-state/

Is The Orange Man, John Boehner (R-OH), having an affair?

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/09/24/boehner_scandal_rumor

Sunday talk show line-ups

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/the-sunday-show-line-ups-64.php

• ABC, This Week: White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod, Senate Minority Leader MItch McConnell (R-KY), Queen Rania of Jordan.

• CBS, Face The Nation: Senate candidate Marco Rubio (R-FL), Senate candidate Ken Buck (R-CO), Tea Party Express chief strategist Sal Russo.

• CNN, State Of The Union: Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT).

• NBC, Meet The Press: House GOP Conference Chair Mike Pence (R-IN), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Emergency Financial Manager for the Detroit Public Schools Robert Bobb, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.

Bonus item: Nothing is an accident – the lily-white photos in the GOP’s “Pledge to America”

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/09/24/a_no_diversity_pledge.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

YOU BROKE IT, YOU PAY FOR IT

Is it possible they’re so clueless?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/tick-tocking_the_clusterf.php
[Greg Sargent] So why did [the tax cut proposal] fail? According to a very plugged in Senate aide, Senators debating the issue were very aware that the polling was on their side. Yet, paradoxically, this ended up tipping the balance against holding the vote. Senate Dems felt they were already winning on the issue, and in the end they thought a vote risked upsetting a dynamic that was already playing in their favor.

How they blew it: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/tax-cut-tick-tock-how-the-dems-championed-the-issue-before-it-fell-apart.php

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/politically_savvy_senators_wan.html

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/inside-blue-dog-mind

As predictable as the sunrise

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/the_morning_plum_97.html
Dems punted on extending the middle class tax cuts because they were worried that their failure to also extend the high end ones would allow Republicans to blast them for raising taxes.

Now, in a move as predictable as the roar of media attention that greets every Sarah Palin tweet, Republicans are already blasting the Dem failure to act on the tax cuts as ... a tax hike! . . . [read on]

Nothing to see here, move along . . .

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/tea-party-candidates-benefit-from-stimulus-federal-spending.php
Tea Party Candidates Benefit From Stimulus, Federal Spending

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/at-least-24-republicans-lobbied-dept-of.html
At least 24 Republicans lobbied Dept of Energy for stimulus cash

Watch the Repubs squeeze all of Obama’s judicial nominees after the election

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025831.php

On criticizing Obama from the left

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/fierce-urgency-of-defending-obama.html

We’re killing ourselves: 75% obesity by 2020?!?

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/09/obesity-in-international-context/

Another crazy comment from Christine O’Donnell

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025836.php
O'Donnell strongly disagreed, and suggested contraception isn't enough. When the other guest asked, "You're going to stop the whole country from having sex?" O'Donnell replied, "Yeah. Yeah!"

And another: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/another_odonnellmaher_flashback.php

Bonus item: The missing page from the GOP “Pledge to America”

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/thinkprogress-finds-missing-page-from.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025834.php
Many Democrats hoped to demonstrate yesterday that the House Republicans' "Pledge to America" is really little more than a rehash of old, tired, failed, and discredited ideas the GOP has been touting for years.

But leave it to "The Daily Show" to help drive this point home with flair. . . .

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-september-23-2010/postcards-from-the-pledge

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

CAN’T ANYBODY PLAY THIS GAME?

Only the Democrats could turn an opportunity to cut taxes for working and middle class Americans during an economic downturn into a negative. I’m sure the GOP are chortling into their scotches tonight

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/its-official-no-bush-tax-cut-fight-in-senate-til-after-november-election.php
It's Official: No Bush Tax Cut Fight In Senate Til After November Election

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/house-dems-punt-on-upper-income-bush-tax-cuts.php
House Dems Also Punt

This won’t work, guys

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/axelrod-to-tpm-its-the-gops-fault-dems-punted-on-tax-cuts-vote.php
Axelrod To TPM: It's The GOP's Fault

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/white-house-republican-obstructionism-to-blame-for-tax-cut-vote-failure.php
White House: Republican Obstructionism To Blame

More: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/white_house_acknowledges_vote.html

No, this one is entirely the Dems own fault

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/23/904624/-TPM:-House-Dems-unlikely-to-act-on-tax-cuts

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/bush-billionaire-tax-cut-dance.html

The Dems get slammed, deservedly, for this politically suicidal goof

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/what_are_they_smoking.php
What Are They Smoking?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/dear_dems_grow_a_pair_part_973.html
“An epic cave”

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/suicidal.php
Suicidal

http://firedoglake.com/2010/09/24/early-morning-swim-michael-moore-laments-lack-of-democratic-spine-on-keith-olbermann/
Unbelievable

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/criminal_stupid.php
Criminal Stupid

http://mydd.com/users/tarheel74/posts/f-ing-re
"F-ing retards"

Defending the Dems

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/09/politics-and-leadership/self-fulfilling-prophecy-department-the-democratic-punt/
[Jonathan Zasloff] Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid aren’t stupid. They did what they had to do. This was the best of a bad series of choices. . . . [read on]

Sound familiar? After condemning reconciliation as the end of constitutional democracy in America, the GOP decides, gee, it might be useful to them after all

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/what_yglesias_says.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025814.php

The Party of Stop

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/23/AR2010092302709.html
Republicans: From 'party of no' to 'party of stop'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/23/AR2010092306935.html
[Dana Milbank] It took the Republicans just three minutes to violate their "Pledge to America." . . . [read on]

PUH – thetic

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/whistling_past_the_grave.php
Bill Clinton says Dems should present a national platform for the midterm. . .

More: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/democratic-plan

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/09/democrats-credibility-problem/

[NB: Of course, but it’s too late now, kids. Can’t ANYBODY play this game?]

Citizen’s United: the Supreme Court gets its wish

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/us/politics/24donate.html
Hidden Under Tax-Exempt Cloak, Political Dollars Flow

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/citizens-united-after-eight-months

More: http://elections.firedoglake.com/2010/09/22/hill-democrats-whine-about-third-party-campaign-spending-ignoring-their-own-failure-to-act/
With low enthusiasm expected from Democratic base voters and the new flood of money created by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, Congressional Democrats are terrified that they are being dramatically outspent by shadowy, corporate-funded, outside campaigns. Sadly, instead of using their complete control of the federal government to reform this situation, they have taken to simply whining. . . .

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025815.php
DISCLOSE ACT DIES AGAIN

We knew it, but now we KNOW it

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/23/904663/-Surprise!-Cheney-Bush-Rumsfeld-lied-us-into-Iraq
The National Security Archive published the first of a three-part series Tuesday on the Cheney-Bush administration's early plans to invade Iraq. . . .

Secretary of State Powell [knew] three days into a new administration, that Iraq "regime change" would be a principal focus of the Bush presidency . . . [read on]

Ugly

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/karl-rove-odonnell-handled-the-witchcraft-thing-great-video.php
Sarah Palin Drops The H-Bomb: 'Barack Hussein Obama'

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025818.php

Karl Rove has a new crush for Christine O’Donnell

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/karl-rove-odonnell-handled-the-witchcraft-thing-great-video.php

Fragile flower Fox News whines that those mean old lefties are criticizing them

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/waaaah-oreilly-whines-mean-liberals-

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

TAKING THE PLEDGE

The GOP takes the Pledge

“A Pledge to America” http://www.scribd.com/doc/37958976/GOP-Pledge-to-America

Analysis: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/22/AR2010092206707.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/us/politics/23repubs.html

Yes, but just don’t call it “class warfare”

http://blogs.tennessean.com/opinion/2010/09/21/raise-taxes-on-all-%E2%80%94-except-wealthy/
[Arthur Laffer and Ford Scudder] Raise taxes on all — except wealthy

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/gop-presses-pelosi-for-extension-of-even-more-bush-tax-cuts.php
GOP Presses Pelosi For Extension Of Even More Bush Tax Cuts

Joe Miller (R-AK) thinks we should eliminate unemployment insurance to cut govt spending – but he grabbed gummint dollars with both hands when it was his turn

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/anti-government-subsidy-teabagger-in.html

Another GOP hypocrite, Rand Paul (R-KY)

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/bowl-me-over-with-feather-rand-paul.html

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/09/22/rand_paul_aipac_neocons

What is he going to do about it?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/sen_chambliss_office_says_it_was_source_of_faggot.php
Sen. Chambliss' Office Says It Was Source Of 'Faggot' Comment

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/21/903993/-Chambliss-office-drags-feet-on-investigating-source-of-homophobic-slur

Another bill the GOP will block without paying a price

http://washingtonindependent.com/98285/senate-leaders-exchange-barbs-over-disclose-act
Senate Leaders Exchange Barbs Over DISCLOSE Act

More: http://washingtonindependent.com/98256/collins-snowe-face-pressure-at-home-on-disclose-act

http://washingtonindependent.com/98373/senate-battles-over-disclose-act-as-vote-nears

Health care reform starts today

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/health/policy/23careintro.html

Will they/won’t they?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/run_for_the_hills.php
The latest report from Greg Sargent suggests that Speaker Pelosi is getting an earful from members who fear the consequences of holding a vote on an Obama Plan tax cut for middle income voters and are pressing her not to hold any vote at all. . . . [read on]

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/feinstein-crazy-to-take-tax-cut-vote-before-election.php
Some Democrats want to let the high-income Bush tax cuts expire, some don't, and yet a third category thinks touching tax rates right before an election is positively nuts. . . .

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/tax-cut-thursday-dems-from-both-chambers-facing-big-decisions.php
Things are looking up for House Democrats who want to see a vote on the Bush era tax cuts before they adjourn to campaign in the final weeks of the election. . . .

Two lists . . .

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/09/22/the_investigation_agenda.html
Former President Bill Clinton warned that House Republicans would launch "two years of unrelenting investigations" if they took control of the House. Today, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has apparently tipped his party's hand in a new document.

Dave Weigel: "There are two lists: One of oversight totally neglected by Democrats, one of hearings requested by Republicans that never happened. The first list: federal agency performance management, federal emergency management, federal IT systems, federal financial management, the Presidential Records Act, ACORN, Countrywide, food safety, stimulus spending, the SEC, TARP, and "the independence of inspectors general.' The second list: Food Safety, Homeland Security, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Health care reform oversight, stimulus spending, the Minerals Management Service, and Climategate (which Issa's staff calls 'Politicization of Science')."

“Obama’s Wars” – leaks from Bob Woodward’s new book

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/top-5-revelations-in-obamas-wars-secret-armies-terrorist-attacks-and-political-strategizing.php

And the one everybody is talking about: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/09/22/not_a_fan_of_holbrooke.html
The best leaked quote from Bob Woodward's new book, Obama's Wars, is Vice President Joe Biden calling special envoy Richard Holbrooke "the most egotistical bastard I've ever met."

The friendlies

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/09/22/angle_explains_the_power_of_conservative_media.html
[Sharron Angle, R-NV] "Here's the deal: when I get a friendly press outlet -- not so much the guy that's interviewing me -- it's their audience that I'm trying to reach. So, if I can get on Rush Limbaugh, and I can say, 'Harry Reid needs $25 million. I need a million people to send twenty five dollars to SharronAngle.com.' The day I was able to say that [even], he made $236,000 dollars. That's why it's so important. Somebody... I'm going on Bill O'Reilly the 16th. They say, 'Bill O'Reilly, you better watch out for that guy, he's not necessarily a friendly'... Doesn't matter, his audience is friendly, and if I can get an opportunity to say that at least once on his show -- when I said it on Sean Hannity's television show we made $40,000 before we even got out of the studio in New York."

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/angle-explains-how-shes-raised-millions-through-conservative-media-interviews.php

More fake video from Fox News

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/fox-news-edits-clip-make-it-seem-obama-cant-

Problem/solution

Problem: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/cnntime-poll-coons-up-by-16-on-odonnell-in-delaware.php
Coons Up By 16 On O'Donnell In Delaware

Solution: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/christine-odonnell-im-not-doin.html
O'Donnell: I'm not doing any more national TV interviews

Her greatest hits: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/christine-odonnells-greatest-hits-video.php

Bonus item: “Republicans Blocked More than the DREAM Act and DADT Repeal”

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/republicans-blocked-more-dream-act-and-dadt

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/09/22/outrage-finger-pointing-over-stall-of-dadt-repeal/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE DREAM IS DEAD

The oldest legislative trick in the book is to attach amendments for things you want to a larger bill that is hard to vote against – like funding the troops. And the oldest GOP trick in the book is to smash Democrats as being “against the troops” if they vote against these ancillary amendments. You might think the Dems would have learned how to reverse the trick when they’re the ones in charge. But you would be wrong

http://washingtonindependent.com/98206/dream-act-and-dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal-derail-defense-bill-vote
DREAM Act and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Derail Defense Bill Vote

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/senate_blocks_dadt_repeal.php
Senate Blocks DADT Repeal

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025773.php

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/gop_obstructionism_works_part.html

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/we-lost-in-senate-whole-thing-is.html
“A political train wreck”

A tale of headlines

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/21/903947/-GOP-blocks-defense-authorization-in-Senate
GOP blocks defense authorization in Senate

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/21/AR2010092106269.html
Senate fails in attempt to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell'

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/us/politics/22cong.html
Move to End ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Stalls in Senate

What next?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/22/904084/-Let-the-President-invoke-Truman
Let the President invoke Truman

http://washingtonindependent.com/98213/continuing-the-push-for-the-dream-act
Continuing the Push for the DREAM Act

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025775.php

Not many tears will be shed over this

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/wh-makes-it-official-larry-summers-is-out.php
WH Makes It Official: Larry Summers Is Out

Analysis: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/business/22summers.html
Summers Move Lets Obama Alter Economic Team

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/21/903998/-Summers-to-leave-White-House-after-election
Although Bloomberg doesn't note it, another key member of the economic team that will remain in place is Austan Goolsbee who replaced Christina Romer as head of the Council of Economic Advisers. The leak of the news to Bloomberg and the suggestion that a business leader may take Summers place suggest that the administration hopes to downplay any speculation that Summers' departure will represent a major shift in economic policy from the administration. . . .

Whistling in the dark?

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/09/21/losing_house_helps_dems
Why losing the House would be good for Obama

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/21/903871/-Perhaps-Dems-arent-so-doomed-in-2010
Perhaps Dems aren't so doomed in 2010

Maybe: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025764.php

GOP punishes Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) for fighting to hold on to her Senate seat

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/09/21/senate-gop-strips-murkowski-of-her-leadership-post/

Did someone on a Republican senator’s staff send a web posting saying “All faggots must die”? Sure looks like it

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/someone_to_spend_more_time_with_family.php

Christine O’Donnell isn’t ready to face real questioning on a news interview show – but there’s always the warm bath provided by Sean Hannity

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/odonnell-to-hannity-the-media-is-trying-to-paint-me-as-an-extremist-video.php
O'Donnell To Hannity: The Media Is Trying To 'Paint Me As An Extremist'

The last refuge of scoundrels: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/for-odonnell-and-so-many-others-its-sean-hannity-to-the-rescue.php

Heh

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/poll_proves_christine_odonnell.html
Christine O'Donnell is toxic and hurting GOP

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

MEANWHILE

Why does “class warfare” only work in one direction?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/cantor-accuses-democrats-of-class-warfare-in-tax-cuts-fight-video.php
Cantor Accuses Democrats Of 'Class Warfare' In Tax Cuts Fight

Meanwhile: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/lieberman-organizing-against-obama-on-bush-tax-cuts.php
President Obama has been absolutely clear that he wants to see the Bush tax cuts for the top two income brackets expire. So who better to lead the charge in the Senate to see all the Bush tax cuts extended than Joe Lieberman (I-CT).

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/phaser_weapon.php
Can we talk more about how House GOP budget chief Paul Ryan wants to phase out Medicare in addition to Social Security?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/dick-armey-social-security-is-a-ponzi-scheme.php
Dick Armey: Social Security Is A 'Ponzi Scheme'

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/shutting-down-over-healthcare
Apparently Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) is demanding that the GOP leadership sign a "blood oath" to include repeal of healthcare reform in every single appropriations bill next year, even if it leads to a government shutdown. . . .

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/angry-rich-people-are-not-populists
Angry Rich People are not "Populists"

A standard GOP line is that taxes on the top two income brackets hurt small businesses. Here’s the truth

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/chart_behold_the_truth.php
As this chart demonstrates, only 1.9 percent of tax filers with small business income in 2009 fell in the top 2 income brackets, those affected by the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for the rich. . . .

Meanwhile: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/gop-bechtel-pricewaterhousecoopers-and-other-small-businesses-will-see-tax-hike-charts.php
GOP: Bechtel, PricewaterhouseCoopers And Other 'Small Businesses' Will See Tax Hike

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025759.php
'SMALL' BUSINESSES THAT AREN'T ESPECIALLY SMALL

More: http://www.samefacts.com/2010/09/uncategorized/riddle-me-this

Here comes the new GOP Contract on America

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/119717-gop-will-unveil-new-contract-on-thursday-in-va

How the GOP will try to kill health care reform without actually “repealing” it

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/health/policy/21repeal.html

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/after-november

WTF?

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42412.html
The White House is pushing back hard against a New York Times report that the president's political team is considering a national ad campaign that would cast the GOP as taken over by tea party extremists.

The story is “100 percent inaccurate,” a White House official told POLITICO. . . .

[NB: WHAT are they apologizing for?]

Don’t expect Obama to get any credit

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/20/903562/-Recessions-end-officially-dated:-June-2009
Recession's end officially dated: June 2009

More: http://washingtonindependent.com/97934/the-recession-officially-ended-last-june

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025749.php

Well, that’s Colin Powell for you

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/09/19/us_powell_obama
Colin Powell defends Obama

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/colin-powell-critical-of-obama.html
Colin Powell critical of Obama

Follow-up from a terrible story a couple of days ago

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/how-to-spot-a-whitewash-in-armys-death-squad-inquiry
According to Army investigators at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State, soldiers in the 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment of what’s now the 2nd Stryker Brigade hunted and killed Afghan civilians for sport. If this gruesome tale turns out to be true, then it means American soldiers in Afghanistan became something we associate with the worst of all war crimes, something that we’d like to believe simply doesn’t exist among our troops: a death squad.

A small group of soldiers in the platoon, report the Washington Post and the Army Times before it, hatched a plot to target Afghan civilians for death. Three alleged murders occurred between January and May in Kandahar at the hands of the self-described “Kill Team” headed by a staff sergeant in the platoon who apparently boasted of getting away with abuse in Iraq. The motives of the “Kill Team” are unknown at this point, but they appear to be indistinguishable from sadism: we only know about the plot because a private came forward to investigators after “Kill Team” members beat him up — ironically, on suspicion that he was a snitch. This is going to get even uglier: apparently there are photographs of some of the team posing with the corpses they created.

Details surrounding the alleged death squad are subject to dispute and counter-accusation as the Army’s investigation proceeds. But what little is known so far suggests a path for investigators to determine how these alleged war crimes could have occurred — and how observers can spot a whitewash if they don’t follow it. Short answer: look at how their commanders behaved. . . . [read on]

Finally, a vote on repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/20/AR2010092005815.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025763.php

Theocracy watch: “The religious right is a fund-raising operation, not a political operation”

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/religious-right-is-fund-raising.html

Let’s you and her fight

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/odonnell_cited_palin-backed_bridge_to_nowhere_as_p.php
O'Donnell Cited Palin-Backed 'Bridge To Nowhere' As 'Pork Barrel Spending'

Meanwhile: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/christine_odonnells_former_campaign_treasurer_says_obama_is_a_secret_muslim.php
Christine O'Donnell's Former Campaign Treasurer Says Obama Is A Secret Muslim

http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/christine-odonnells-long-history-with.html
Christine O'Donnell's long history with the 'Pray Away the Gay' movement

http://washingtonindependent.com/97946/campaign-watchdogs-odonnells-spending-flat-out-illegal
Campaign Watchdogs: O’Donnell’s Spending ‘Flat-Out Illegal’

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/09/20/christine_odonnell_expenses
Ex-aide: Christine O'Donnell lived off campaign funds

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/09/uncategorized/christine-odonnell-sneak-thief/
Christine O’Donnell, sneak thief

The Washington Post twists facts and logic to try to find something terrible about Obama’s appointment of Elizabeth Warren

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/20/the-washington-posts-deme_n_731488.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

SPLITTING THE PARTIES

NOT smart

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025740.php
There was an interesting item in The Hill last night noting that White House officials, most notably President Obama and Vice President Biden, are "concerned that liberals disappointed with Obama's policies might stay home this November," and are taking steps they hope will prevent a disaster. . . .

Steps like this? http://www.americablog.com/2010/09/about-obamas-recent-comments.html
There's a debate going on as to whether President Obama's recent comments at a fundraiser - where he seemed to criticize liberals - are worthy of note, or simply the standard fare for political fundraiser. Here, first, are the President's comments . . .

More: http://firedoglake.com/2010/09/19/obama-aims-barbs-at-liberals-but-catches-moderates-in-the-crossfire/

A far-right caucus within the GOP? Or fracturing the party?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/09/jim-demint-picking-horses-is-about-more-than-primaries.php
Sen. Jim DeMint says he'd rather be in the minority with a bunch of rock-ribbed conservatives than be part of a ruling group of RINOs. He might just get his chance. . . .

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025738.php

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/disaggregating_the_parties.php

How the outrageous becomes mainstream

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/joe-miller-maintains-unemployment-benefits-a
Joe Miller [R-AK] maintains unemployment benefits are unconstitutional

[NB: Can we get national GOP leaders on the record about whether they agree with their candidate or not?]

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/demint-pretends-he-doesnt-want-dismantle-d
Candy Crowley does her viewers a disservice [NB: AGAIN!] by allowing Jim DeMint to pretend that there's an ounce of difference between his and Sharron Angle's views on what they would like to do with the Department of Education. They both want to dismantle it. You'd think Crowley could have done a little bit of homework before she had DeMint on the air because if she had she'd have known he said this during an interview with David Brody on CBN . . .

Newt Gingrich, playing to the crowd, says we need a law forbidding the establishment of Sharia law over the United States – because, you know, this imminent danger is one of the great threats confronting our nation today

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/09/nr_hits_the_books.php
[NR] I know it's obscure and hidden in the voluminous federal law and Supreme Court Decisions so possibly Newt would have missed it, but there is already fairly well established federal law making it illegal to impose Sharia law on the United States. After an exhaustive search, I found this:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/09/random-thought.html
[Atrios] Exactly why is anything Newt Gingrich says newsworthy?

The FDA once again protects corporate interests over consumer rights

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/18/AR2010091803520.html
FDA rules won't require labeling of genetically modified salmon

David Guggenheim’s new movie on school reform is getting a ton of buzz – not all of it favorable

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rick-ayers-/an-inconvenient-superman-_b_716420.html
An Inconvenient Superman: Davis Guggenheim's New Film Hijacks School Reform

http://nymag.com/news/features/67966/
A debate has been raging over why our education system is failing. A new documentary by the director of An Inconvenient Truth throws fuel on the fire.

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/19/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_19_n_730717.html

The no-show: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/19/sunday-shows-christine-odonnell_n_730790.html
Christine O'Donnell Knocked By Hosts For Backing Out Of Sunday Shows

Bonus item: Defending masturbation

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/this-one-could-make-difference-million.html
Carrying signs reading, “O’Donnell: Hands Off Our Masturbation,” the angry masturbators clogged downtown Wilmington, stopping traffic for blocks. . . .

Harley Farger, a leading Delaware masturbator and planner of the Million Masturbators March, said it was difficult to organize masturbators “because they’re used to acting alone.” . . .

“Our country was founded by rugged individualists,” he said. “And you know what individualists like to do.”

He said that Ms. O’Donnell’s anti-whacking position was “ill-timed,” adding, “In this economy, masturbation is one of the few simple pleasures people still can afford.”

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***