SELECTIVE EDITING

Andrew Breitbart, agitprop peddler and defender of James O’Keefe (he of the infamous “pimp and ho” video) runs a highly edited version of a speech given by a Dept of Agriculture employee (black) in which she seems to say that she denied assistance to a farmer because he was white. Fox and the echo chamber pick it up as the latest outrage of reverse racism . . . but wait . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/everyone_take_a_deep_breath.php
Andrew Breitbart has another notch in his belt: the forced resignation of a black USDA appointee in Georgia who Breitbart has on tape addressing a local NAACP chapter earlier this year and seeming to admit that she didn't give a white farmer all the help she could have because he was white. Or at least that's the story you get from Brietbart's Big Government and from Fox.

But that was enough for the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to issue a statement condemning her remarks, and for the national NAACP to do the same. . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/too_quick_a_trigger.php
[NAACP] We concur with US Agriculture Secretary Vilsack in accepting the resignation of Shirley Sherrod for her remarks at a local NAACP Freedom Fund banquet.

Racism is about the abuse of power. Sherrod had it in her position at USDA. According to her remarks, she mistreated a white farmer in need of assistance because of his race. . . .

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/agriculture_secretary_stands_by_asking_for_sherrod.php
Agriculture Secretary Stands By Asking For Sherrod's Resignation

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/naacp_walking_it_back.php
"The NAACP is conducting an investigation into the recent revelations about the situation with Ms. Shirley Sherrod including attempting to speak with Ms. Sherrod, the farmer in question and viewing the full video." . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/not_looking_good_for_breitbart.php
The 82-year-old wife of the white Georgia farmer who was supposedly discriminated against some quarter century ago by the black USDA official forced to resign this week -- if the video released by Andrew Breitbart's Big Government and re-run by Fox is to be believed -- is now confirming that in fact Shirley Sherrod saved her and her husband's farm from bankruptcy and is a "friend for life." . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/duediligencefail.php
Andrew Breitbart admits he never saw the entire video of Shirley Sherrod's speech, just the edited clips he was sent by a source.

Let that sink in for a bit. . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/watch_it_for_yourself.php
The NAACP has released the video of Shirley Sherrod's speech, the most famous comments by a USDA official since the days of Earl Butz. . . .

I'll have more on this shortly, but Rachel Slajda has watched the entire thing and tells me it contains exactly what Sherrod claimed it would: her using an anecdote from her own life more than two decades ago to illustrate her own path to getting beyond race. . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/ball_in_administrations_court.php
We now know that Andrew Breitbart's selectively edited, Fox-amplified video of Shirley Sherrod is a vicious smear.

Does she get her job back?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/the_big_tell.php
NAACP President Ben Jealous, no doubt swallowing hard, admits, "Next time we are confronted by a racial controversy broken by Fox News or their allies in the Tea Party like Mr. Breitbart, we will consider the source and be more deliberate in responding." . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/way_to_stay_strong_tom.php
[David Kurtz] It's easy to pop Andrew Breitbart in this whole mess, but Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack isn't exactly covering himself with glory. Vilsack was on CNN earlier essentially saying that it doesn't matter whether Breitbart's video turns out to be a bogus smear of Shirley Sherrod. No, Vilsack demanded Sherrod's resignation because the whole episode could open her up to charges of racism in the future and impair her ability to do her job.

So I guess if I were to write that Tom Vilsack doesn't have his people's back and won't even do a cursory investigation before throwing his employees to the wolves, then that could open him up to charges that he doesn't have the confidence of USDA employees and impair his ability to do his job.

The full video: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/watch_full_video_of_sherrods_speech.php

Politico does it

http://www.slate.com/id/2260973/
Last month, Politico reported on the fallout from the mess Gen. Stanley McChrystal had made for himself in his interview with Michael Hastings in Rolling Stone. A day later, the Columbia Journalism Review noticed that Politico had removed two key sentences from its article. . . .

The Washington Post does it

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/casual-factual-distortions-in-the-washington-post-op-ed-page/
Casual Factual Distortions in the Washington Post Op-ed Page

BP does it

http://washingtonindependent.com/92004/bp-alters-photograph-of-command-center
BP Alters Photograph . . .

Craig Crawford gives a little primer on how to read political polls – and its actual message is, most polls you hear about mean NOTHING

http://www.rollcall.com/cqpolitics/dc_decoder/

Part Three

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/secrets-next-door/
The secrets next door . . .

More: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/intel-chief-dont-get-shrill-about-spooks-for-hire/
Intel Chief: Don’t Get ‘Shrill’ About Spooks-for-Hire

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/07/20/11951/
[Emptywheel] I’m beginning to agree with Rayne’s comment of the other day that the only explanation for the length of the WaPo series on contractors is to please the Pulitzer committee. The other most (perhaps more) likely explanation for the style of the piece is that editors have tried so hard not to piss off the security establishment–and to stop short of voicing the conclusions that Dana Priest and William Arkin’s work support–that they’ve turned Priest and Arkin’s work into a bunch of disembodied fluff. . . .

Elena Kagan passes hurdle

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/judiciary-approves-elena-kagans-supreme-court-nomination.php
Judiciary Committee Approves Elena Kagan's Supreme Court Nomination

More: http://washingtonindependent.com/92012/senate-judiciary-committee-endorses-kagan-13-6

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/lindsey-graham-to-support-kagan-plenty-of-reasons-for-a-conservative-to-vote-yes.php
Lindsey Graham To Support Kagan: 'Plenty Of Reasons For A Conservative To Vote Yes'

Now, let’s get to work on Elizabeth Warren

http://washingtonindependent.com/92036/the-left-starts-push-for-warren

http://mydd.com/users/the-media-consortium/posts/weekly-audit-why-elizabeth-warren-should-head-new-consumer-financial-protection-bureau

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/20/warren-to-cfpb-white-house-says-shes-confirmable-management-concerns-appear-misguided/

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/can-elizabeth-warren-run-cfpb

Unlike the U.S., the Brits are asking themselves tough questions about how they got dragged into the Iraq war (thanks to Craig C. for the link)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10693001
Iraq inquiry: Ex-MI5 boss says war raised terror threat

More: http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/07/20/terrorism

Finally

http://www.americablog.com/2010/07/senate-dems-finally-end-gop-filibuster.html
Senate Dems. finally end GOP filibuster of unemployment extension

No, the Repubs don’t really care about the deficit

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/bachmann-pay-for-unemployment-benefits-but-tax-cuts-shouldnt-be-considered-a-cost-video.php
Bachmann: Pay For Unemployment Benefits, But Tax Cuts 'Shouldn't Be Considered A Cost'

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/the-republican-plan-to-increase-deficits-by-repealing-health-care-reform.php
Republicans Plan To Increase Deficits By Repealing Health Care Reform

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024806.php

Great!

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/nrcc-chair-pete-sessions-joins-tea-party-caucus.php
NRCC Chair Pete Sessions Joins Tea Party Caucus

Drill baby drill!

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/florida-gop-smacks-down-charlie-crist-block
Florida GOP Smacks Down Charlie Crist; Blocks Debate Over Offshore Drilling Ban
In addition to being the Party of No, the Florida GOP seems to be the Party of Cutting Off the Nose To Spite the Face. . . . [read on]

***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 TEA PARTY PARTY

Keep digging. . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/the_more_the_crazier.php
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) becomes first member of the House Republican leadership to sign on for Michele Bachmann's new Tea Party Caucus, with a Palinesque "You betcha." . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/tpm_fave_steel_cage_grudge_match.php
Tea party conservatives are not happy with former Majority Leader-turned-lobbyist Trent Lott who ripped the movement over the weekend, saying: "We don't need a lot of Jim DeMint disciples. As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them." . . .

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/gop-choice-tea-parties-or-independents
The GOP Choice: Tea Parties or Independents?

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/its-official-gop-welcomes-tea-bag.html

Their “base”

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/supporters-of-palin-backed-senate-candidate-in-alaska-parade-with-guns-video.php
Supporters of the man Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express want to be the next Senator from Alaska, attorney Joe Miller, have a unique way of letting people know who they'll be voting for in Alaska's August 24 Republican primary -- at a recent rally, they marched behind a giant black Hummer bearing Miller's name and carried assault weapons. . . .

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/tea-partiers-cant-just-paper-over-th
The Tea Partiers can't just paper over their innate nuttiness . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/naacp_1_tea_party_0.php
The NAACP, with one well-timed resolution condemning Tea Party racism, sends tea partiers into paroxysm of racism. . . . [read on]

More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/tea_party_express_mark_williams_king_of_accidental.php
“accidental racism”

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/19/885550/-Mark-Williams-and-the-tea-partys-racism-paradox

Fighting the good fight

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/19/AR2010071901791.html
Obama gets tough on jobless benefits

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/obama-gets-tougher-on-gops-blockage-of-unemployment-benefits.php

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/07/2010-democratic-agenda/giving-the-gop-enough-rope

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/19/885574/-Republicans-react-to-Obama
Want to see the benefits of having President Obama on offense rather than seeking bipartisanship? Look at the Republican reaction to the President's Rose Garden barrage . . .

On the other hand . . .

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/19/dodd_not_sure_warren_could_be_confirmed.html
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) says Elizabeth Warren might not have the votes to win confirmation as head of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, The Hill reports. . . .

http://washingtonindependent.com/91945/klein-cap-and-trade-is-dead
Cap-and-Trade Is Dead

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/19/elizabeth-warren-could-he_n_651759.html
Elizabeth Warren Could Head CFPB Without Senate Confirmation

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/19/warrencfpb-fight-about-bank-exposure/

Don’t ask, don’t tell

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/even-david-gregory-gets-tired-vague-r
They didn't have to be specific; they didn't have to have solutions. All they had to do is say no to anything and everything. Then, effectively paralyzing the majority party from actually getting to the solutions promised to the American people, they can point to the other side of the aisle and say they were ineffectual and didn't help the average Joe and glide right back into the majority again.

And it might have worked, if it wasn't for those pesky Villagers. Because, if you've lost David Gregory and he's actually asking follow up questions to pin you down to an actual answer, well, you've lost a big advocate for your propaganda and spin. . . .

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/pence-agrees-tax-cuts-dont-have-be-pa
I think it's a clear indication that the Republican reflexive obstructionism has reached absurd levels when even Chris Wallace calls you on your crap. . . .

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/the-party-of-nothing
The Party of Nothing

I love this, and the Dems should pick it up: Republicans believe in the Tax Fairy

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024789.php

You knew they’d try this one

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/19/republicans_blame_democrats_for_coming_tax_hike.html
Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, is warning of a massive "Democrat tax hike" coming at the end of this year.

Of course, tax rates are due to rise because the trillion-dollar Bush tax cuts -- passed by a Republican-controlled Congress -- had expiration dates written into law to get around budget reconciliation rules. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024792.php

Making 2010 a referendum on . . . George Bush?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/republicans-democrats-united-2010-referendum-on-bush.php
"We need to go back to the exact same agenda that is empowering the free enterprise system rather than diminishing it," said NRCC chairman Pete Sessions . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/nrcc_no_he_did_not.php
The NRCC denies that its chairman, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), was calling for a return to Bush economic policies. . . .

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/19/quote_of_the_day.html
“I think a lot of people are looking back with more fondness on President Bush's administration, and I think history will treat him well."

-- Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024787.php

Wow

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/national-security-inc/
National Security Inc.

Responses: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/intelcrats-awesomely-bad-pushback-to-top-secret-america
Intelcrats’ Awesomely Bad Pushback

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/07/19/secrecy

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/time-to-rethink-the-implicit-secrecy-bargain/60023/

CNN thinks he’s “mainstream”

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/erick-erickson-failure-to-filibuster-elena-kagan-is-high-act-of-treason/
Erick Erickson: Failure to Filibuster Elena Kagan is “High Act of Treason”

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/conservative-groups-push-senators-to-oppose-kagan-despite-likelihood-of-confirmation.php

Bonus item: (From now on she’s just “Sarah!”) Sarah! says, sure I make up words – so did Shakespeare

http://crooksandliars.com/bluegal/sarah-palin-compares-herself-william-shake

http://mydd.com/2010/7/20/c-is-for-contrafibularity-r

***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.***

SEEPAGE

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/us/19oilspill.html
After three days of encouraging pressure tests, a senior BP official said Sunday that the company’s recently capped well in the Gulf of Mexico was holding up and that BP now hoped to keep the well closed until it could be permanently plugged. But government officials were more skeptical and cited a new potential problem.

That BP plan differs sharply from the one the company and the federal government had suggested only a day earlier, to eventually allow the flow of oil to resume temporarily, collecting it through pipes to surface ships. . . .

Late Sunday, the government ordered BP to step up monitoring of the well after “undetermined anomalies” were discovered on the seafloor nearby. . . .

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIXWYBTpLtSayJtg41LKXpxSxVPAD9H1N4B05
[AP] A federal official says scientists are concerned about a seep and possible methane near BP's busted oil well in the Gulf of Mexico

Both could be signs there are leaks in the well that's been capped off for three days. . . .

http://seepage.notlong.com
[AP] A seep near the oil well that had been spewing into the Gulf of Mexico is adding a new twist to a disagreement between BP and the government over what to do next now that the oil has been capped. . . .

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/18/AR2010071800814.html

Was the new cap designed by a plumber?

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/60552

Feel the earth shake?

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/a-hidden-world-growing-beyond-control/
[Dana Priest and William Arkin] The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work. . . . [read on!]

With every year the gap between rich and poor gets bigger and bigger

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/18/885254/-The-rich-get-richer...

Digby: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/deadbeat-daddy-warbucks-needs-to-start.html
My very favorite unctuous Republican phony, Mike Pence, was dispatched to explain why we must take from the Peter's disabled niece to pay for Paul's unemployment insurance, but we don't have to "pay" for Rush Limbaugh and Paris Hilton's tax cuts. It's not an easy argument to make, but he tried valiantly . . .

Elections 2010: follow the money

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/18/885371/-The-race-for-the-House:-The-money-chase

Here’s a question I’ve been waiting for someone to ask: there may be people like Sharron Angle (R-NV) who really believe the teabagger message. But what about the more mainstream Republicans who have sorta kinda embraced them for strategic reasons, but really don’t share their agenda? What happens if they win?

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/what-happens-after-november

Billboards? Here are some for you, John Boehner (R-OH)

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/john-tiger-boehners-going-to-hate.html

He was a little too blatant about it

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/60559
Teabaggers Kick Racist Mark Williams Out of Tea Party

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024776.php

You read it here first

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024781.php
You're no doubt familiar with it by now. This is the billboard "depicting three leaders: Adolf Hitler (with swastika), Vladimir Lenin (with hammer and sickle) and Barack Obama (with 2008 campaign logo). Over Hitler were the words 'National Socialism,' over Lenin was 'Marxist Socialism' and over Obama was 'Democrat Socialism.'"

The billboard was sponsored by local Tea Party activists, who eventually backpedaled, not because they realized their sign was insane, but because the media coverage made them look bad. The importance is the larger context: "The vile sign ... was a logical expression of a message supported by conservative thought leaders and propagated by high-level Republican politicians." . . . [read on]

Bonus item: The ordinary English language isn’t enough to express Sarah Palin’s expansive mental insights – she needs to invent her own

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/sarah-palin-calls-on-peaceful-muslims-to-refudiate-ground-zero-mosque.php

http://mydd.com/2010/7/19/to-refudiate-or-not-to-refudiate-that-is-the-question

More Digby: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/is-sarah-palin-actually-bushs-plot-to.html
The other day I was just saying to the spousal unit that I thought Sarah Palin had been created by the Republicans to make Bush look smart by comparison . . .

***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.***

POSTED

We don’t see nearly enough of this

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/17/884891/-Obama-blasts-Senate-Republicans-for-obstructing-economic-remedies
Obama blasts Senate Republicans for obstructing economic remedies

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024775.php

http://www.americablog.com/2010/07/krugman-finally-gets-it-right.html

If Mitch McConnell (R-KY) thinks the GOP has got its groove back, I ask, When is a groove a rut?

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/60397

Glass half full?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/17/opinion/17blow.html
[Charles Blow] The president has yet to jolt the economy into recovery, he’s made some unpopular decisions and circumstances have not always favored him. But a presidency is a never-ending series of choices. Seasons change, winds switch directions, bad times don’t last always. . . . [read on]

More background for the upcoming Washington Post series on intelligence contractors

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/07/17/the-intelligence-industrial-complex-prepares-for-war/

Two myths about Social Security funding

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/killing-zombie-lies-and-exploding.html

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/10/882664/-Zombie-Social-Security-lies:-Retirement-age-must-be-raised-because-people-are-living-longer

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/17/884132/-Zombie-Social-Security-lie:-Worker-to-beneficiary-ratio-will-kill-the-system

Teachers or food?

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/07/17/americas-dilemma-teachers-or-food/

I agree with E.J. Dionne here: anything that publicly handcuffs the GOP to the teabagger agenda is good for the Dems – if they’re smart enough to figure out how to exploit it

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/07/are_democrats_chuckling_about.html

Especially with her as the head of it: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/michele-bachmann-nominates-herself-chairwom

Do people really support the NRA agenda?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cliff-schecter/the-nra-protects-a-potent_b_647770.html
[Cliff Schecter] What's truly amazing, though, is how the Washington NRA leadership is always there for the worst among us. Do you want to continue to sell guns to criminals, terrorists, and those not of sound mind through the gun show loophole -- unlike 69% of NRA members and 85% of non-NRA gun owners who support a simple background check at gun shows to prevent this insanity? No worries, NRA Executive VP Wayne LaPierre has got your back! Do you think it's a swell idea to sell guns & explosives to those being actively investigated by the FBI, TSA or DHS? Excellent! Top NRA lobbyist Chris Cox is there to ensure you can continue to hawk your wares to those who can't even get on airplanes because they are being investigated for being members of violent, terrorist organizations -- something 82% of the NRA's own membership and 86% of non-NRA gun owners agree is just plain nuts. . . [read on]

For reasons I can’t explain, the Washington Post publicly accepts attacks against it for not digging deeper into the “New Black Panther Party scandal.” Except there never WAS any scandal

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/andrew-alexander-wingnuts-most-useful.html

Joan Walsh eviscerates the Post: http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joan_walsh/politics/2010/07/17/wash_post_gives_new_black_panther_story_new_credibility

More: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/07/17/ombud-distress/

The scandal that never was

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/adam_serwer_archive?month=07&year=2010&base_name=the_day_the_black_panther_case

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/conservative-bush-appointee-new-black-panth

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024773.php

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/reading-ta-nehisi-coates-is-like-having.html

A thought experiment

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/what-if-tea-party-was-black
What If The Tea Party Was Black?

Running from their past: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/after-racist-post-firestorm-mark-williams-demoted-on-tea-party-websites.php

Sunday talk show line-ups

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/the-sunday-show-line-ups-58.php
• ABC, This Week: Vice President Joe Biden.

• CBS, Face The Nation: Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM), former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ).

• CNN, State Of The Union: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD).

• NBC, Meet The Press: National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (R-TX), Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ), National Republican Congressman Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-IN), Democratic Congressional Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Bonus item: Laurie Anderson!

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/60352



***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.***

DOWN THE DRAIN

Big WaPo series coming up next week on the use of private intelligence contractors, and it’s gonna be good. Everything Dana Priest does is good

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/nations-spies-contractors-brace-for-post-expose/
[Spencer Ackerman] That acrid scent in your nostrils? It’s the intelligence community’s hair on fire. No, not from an imminent terrorist attack, but from an imminent series on the community’s expansive use of contractors since 9/11, courtesy of the Washington Post and PBS’ Frontline. . . [read on]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/internal-memo-intelligence-community-frets-about-washington-post-series/59891/
[ODNI] While we can't predict specific content, we anticipate the following themes:

The intelligence enterprise has undergone exponential growth and has become unmanageable with overlapping authorities and a heavily outsourced contractor workforce.

The IC and the DoD have wasted significant time and resources, especially in the areas of counterterrorism and counterintelligence.

The intelligence enterprise has taken its eyes off its post-9/11 mission and is spending its energy on competitive and redundant programs. [read on]

More: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/previewing-priest-inside-the-semi-secret-world-of-intelligence-contractors/59895/

Get real

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/chart_of_the_day.php
[David Kurtz] I'm not sure it's sunk in yet within the political class (outside of economists) how horrible the prospects are for bringing the unemployment rate back to pre-Great Recession levels any time soon. And by soon, I don't mean November 2010. We're talking more like November 2015 or November 2020. . . . [read on]

[NB: And high long-term unemployment means less tax revenue, less purchasing, and no prospects for economic growth. The cycle continues.]

More: http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/robert-reich-root-economic-anger-and

Who will head up the newly created Consumer Finance Protection Bureau? There’s already a fight over it

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/who-will-obama-choose-protect-consumers

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/15/tim-geithner-trying-to-stop-elizabeth-warren-from-heading-consumer-protection-bureau/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/16/obama-admin-praises-eliza_n_649224.html

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/16/geithner-agrees-warren-exceptionally-well-qualified-to-lead-consumer-protection-bureau/

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/16/assistant-treasury-secretary-michael-barr-elizabeth-warren-extremely-well-qualified-for-cfpb/#

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/16/884876/-The-case-for-Warren-at-the-CFPB

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/16/congress-progressives-roll-out-in-support-of-elizabeth-warren/

Big ideas

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/same_old_song.php
[David Kurtz] Look over the Republican game plan for November and it's hard to tell, absent any outside reference points, whether it's from 1980, 1990, 2000, or 2010.

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/republicans-pull-back-the-veil-on-their-tax-cutting-deregulating-agenda.php

The big lie that tax cuts solve everything

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/meet-the-new-republican-alchemists

http://crooksandliars.com/rj-eskow/drill-gamble-loot-starve-chamber-commerce

Big news

http://mydd.com/2010/7/16/greenspan-on-the
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, whose backing of George W. Bush’s 2001 tax cuts was instrumental in persuading Congress to pass them, said lawmakers should allow the reductions to expire at the end of this year . . .

More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/16/unlike-obama-baucus-democratic-party-greenspan-wants-bush-tax-cuts-to-expire/

Just - plain - crazy

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/boehner-deregulate.php
House Minority Leader John Boehner, fresh out of a meeting with business and trade group lobbyists, announced a new idea this afternoon: A moratorium on all new federal regulations, for a year. . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/dumbest_idea_of_the_year.php
[David Kurtz] Presumably this would halt all the new regs being written to implement health care reform, the ones that will soon be written to implement financial reform, and of course the gazillions or more obscure regulations that are written every day as part of the essential functioning of government.

With everything going on right now, the second highest ranking Republican in Washington wants to basically shut government down for a year. . . .

Where did he get such a stupid idea? http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/republicans-k-street-plan-tax-cuts-and-deregulation-under-future-gop-rule-video.php

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/16/boehner_calls_for_less_regulation.html
But NBC News notes their most recent poll shows the public wants more regulation, not less. . . .

Jay Bybee, sociopath

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/07/16/sociopaths

Rewarding bad behavior

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/16/mark_williams_cnn
Mark Williams pens racist "satire" and CNN invites him back on -- twice

I’m working up a real hatred for this asshat

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/david_vitter_suggests_rachel_m_1.html
On a right wing radio station this morning, Senator David Vitter appeared to suggest that MSNBC host Rachel Maddow only looked like a woman "a long time ago," a crack that was greeted by uproarious laughter from the radio hosts. . . .

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024764.php

By the way, she’s funny too: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38405

Winnable races the GOP will likely lose because of the candidates they put forth

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/15/884668/-CO-Gov:-McInnis-vows-to-stay-in-race,-Colorado-GOP-despairs

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/16/884783/-NV-Sen:-Mason-Dixon-LVRJ-put-Reid-up-by-7

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/quinnipiac-poll-blumenthal-leads-mcmahon-by-17-points.php

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/16/884834/-FL-Sen:-Marco-Rubio-spends-millions-to-go-backwards

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/16/884847/-DE-Sen:-Conservatives-trying-to-make-this-one-interesting

Now it’s official: the GOP has been teabagged

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/bachmann-forming-house-tea-party-caucus.php
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), one of the great stars of the Tea Party movement, has announced that she is forming a new "Tea Party Caucus" in the House of Representatives, with herself as its initial chair. . . .

More: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/16/michele_bachmann_tea_party_caucus

Not everyone thinks this is a good idea

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/the-top-5-republicans-who-think-the-tea-partiers-are-bad-news.php
The Top 5 Republicans Who Think The Tea Partiers Are Bad News

Why was THIS such an intolerable outrage when THE SAME THING is said on Fox News, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, etc, every single day?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/16/AR2010071602855.html

I love the way Fox News schedules coverage defending its own shows, as if this were news itself – but because of the kinds of shows it has, defending them is a full-time job

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/megyn-kelly-wildy-defends-her-attack-ki

Bonus item: Looney Tunes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE_6iJ-lPL4

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/just_keep_her_talking.php
Just Keep Her Talking . . . .

***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.***

SOME GOOD NEWS

Oil spill stopped . . . for now

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/15/884642/-Oil-leak-stopped,-at-least-temporarily

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/07/15/the-wishing-well-is-macondo-the-mouth-of-hell-silenced/

Wall Street Reform passes (after Scott Brown (R-MA) holds it hostage)

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/wall-street-reform-passes-now-its-regulator

http://washingtonindependent.com/91650/senate-passes-landmark-financial-regulatory-reform-bill

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/its-done-obama-to-sign-wall-street-reform.php

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/15/884624/-Wall-Street-reform-passes

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/the-underrated-finreg-bill/

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/with_passing_of_finreg_dems_ar.html

Brown’s delicate act: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/scott-browns-biggest-balancing-acts-side-with-dems-just-enough-for-reelection.php

Good question

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/07/democrats-in-congress/the-dysfunctional-senate/the-cost-of-showboating
[Mark Kleiman] How much better a deal could Harry Reid have gotten on financial reform if Russ Feingold had voted "No" on final passage but "Aye" on cloture? [read on]

Republicans instantly promise to repeal it. This will make an interesting platform for the fall, alongside health care reform and other issues: “give us the majority and we will refight every major political debate of the past two years, in a situation where we CAN’T actually change anything”

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/boehner-wall-street-reform-ought-to-be-repealed.php

http://mydd.com/2010/7/15/wall-street-reform-passes-boehner

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/15/884607/-Boehners-game-plan-for-2010:-Undo!-Undo

P.S. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/15/health-care-repeal-oppose_n_648031.html
Health Care Repeal Opposed By 61% Of Public

Good news/bad news

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/obamas-record
[Kevin Drum] Here's the good news: this record of progressive accomplishment officially makes Obama the most successful domestic Democratic president of the last 40 years. And here's the bad news: this shoddy collection of centrist, watered down, corporatist sellout legislation was all it took to make Obama the most successful domestic Democratic president of the last 40 years. Take your pick.

In any case, I think this probably marks the end of Obama's major legislative agenda. I don't give Congress much chance of passing a climate bill, and after the midterms the Democratic majority will either be gone or significantly reduced, making large-scale legislation just about impossible.

Still, if you're a liberal, this is the best you've had it for a very long time. Whether this is cause for cheer or cause for discouragement is, I suspect, less a reflection on Obama than it is on America writ large.

Good

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/senate-vote-tuesday-unemployment-bene
Senate To Vote Tuesday On Unemployment Benefits After Byrd's Replacement Is Sworn In

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024743.php
[Steve Benen] McClatchy's headline says quite a bit: "GOP: No more help for jobless, but rich must keep tax cuts." That says quite a bit, doesn't it? . . .

Why we can’t have an honest discussion about taxes

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/higher-taxes-on-the-rich-is-the-most-politically-feasible-path-to-deficit-reduction/

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/small-business-dodge

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/the-continuing-failure-of-conservative-elites/

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/conservatives-dont-care-about-the-deficit-5/

Some good news on unemployment numbers

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/07/thursday-is-new-jobless-day_15.html

The Party of No is feeling very good about itself

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/mcconnell-all-that-obstruction-means-gop-got-our-groove-back.php

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/pelosi-republican-obstructionism-is-behind-continuing-unemployment-woes-video.php

The GOP can’t block Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court, but they are still doing all they can to delay and obstruct it

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/15/884443/-GOP-want-Kagan-recusal-on-health-reform

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/15/884653/-Sessions-holds-out-possibility-for-Kagan-filibuster

But its TRUE

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/15/roves_biggest_mistake.html
Karl Rove writes that seven years ago today Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) "fired the first shot in an all-out assault on President George W. Bush's integrity" when he said the Bush administration "put a spin on the intelligence and a spin on the truth" in order to invade Iraq. [read on]

More: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/karl-rove-regrets-not-spinning-iraq-better

Yes, this matters

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/07/15/jay-bybee-admits-cia-had-no-approval-for-water-dousing-diapering/
“Bybee confirmed that a number of techniques reportedly used on CIA detainees were not approved by OLC . . .” [read on]

More: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/07/15/did-jay-bybee-accidentally-admit-that-sleep-deprivation-approval-was-retroactive/

Shameless

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/vitter_blames_liberal_thought_police.php
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) is bitterly denying that he is a birther or even birther-curious and says his remarks over the weekend were taken out of context by the "liberal thought police."

The video of Vitter's original remarks pretty much speaks for itself: "I support conservative legal organizations and others who would bring that to court. I think that is the valid and most possibly effective grounds to do it.”

They are good at this, aren’t they? Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Repubs unearth the old, utterly discredited claim that “felons voting illegally helped Al Franken win in Minnesota TWO YEARS AGO.” But sure enough, they manage to get everybody talking about it again

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/right-wing-howls-felons-put-franken-over-the-top-um-not-really.php

Republicans could gain a huge 30 seats in the House and still not reclaim the majority. Wouldn’t that be seen as a defeat for them now?

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/07/15/4682446-first-thoughts-super-freak-out

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/15/884497/-The-biggest-stumbling-block-for-Republicans-this-fall-is-that-they-are-Republicans

Well, you can look at it that way, I suppose

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/tea-party-leader-mark-williams-says-naacp-p
Tea Party Leader Mark Williams Says NAACP Profits From Racism

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/mark-williams-is-not-obscure-fringe.html

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/15/884644/-How-to-not-dispel-the-sense-that-youre-a-bunch-of-insane-racists

Gee, thanks guys

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/15/884681/-People-say-the-dumbest-things-sometimes
[Politico] The liberal blogosphere grew in response to Bush. But it is still a movement marked by immaturity and impetuousness -- unaccustomed to its own side holding power and the responsibilities and choices that come with that. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024737.php

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/politicos_theory_liberal_blogg.html

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/yet-more-obama-navel-gazing

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/15/politico-obama-loses-by-w_n_647749.html

Bonus item: More from Glenn Beck University (“the only university that’s guaranteed to make you dumber")

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/back-in-the-saddle-a-glenn-tpm-faces-week-two-of-beck-university.php

***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.***

ROME IS BURNING

Stop me if this sounds familiar: Republican works to water down an important bill in exchange for their support, promises to do so, then at the last second announces they will vote against it anyway

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/14/dems-see-hope-without-bro_n_646654.html

http://washingtonindependent.com/91485/scott-brown-is-not-the-missing-piece-in-passing-the-disclose-act

Bad times

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/out-of-options-dems-give-up-on-major-jobs-push-after-weeks-of-gop-obstruction.php
Blame Games: Dems Give Up On Economy After Weeks Of GOP Obstruction

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/goal-obstructionism
The Goal of Obstructionism

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/14/AR2010071406006.html
House Democrats hit boiling point over perceived lack of White House support

http://www.americablog.com/2010/07/as-house-leaders-head-to-white-house.html
Pelosi calls Gibbs 'politically inept'

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/anybody_got_a_plan.php
Anybody Got A Plan?

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/the-damned-democrats/59765/
[Marc Ambinder] They're damned if they do and damned if they don't. That's where I think the Democrats and Obama are today. . . .

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/14/obama_approval_sinks_to_new_low.html
Obama Approval Sinks to New Low

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/14/economy_democrats_polls
The right wants to believe that President Obama's middling poll numbers reflect a broad rejection of his philosophy [read on]

http://washingtonindependent.com/91566/in-dodging-a-budget-vote-dems-take-reconciliation-off-the-table
In Dodging a Budget Vote, Dems Take Reconciliation Off the Table

More: http://www.samefacts.com/2010/07/politics-and-leadership/how-many-times-can-one-say-reconciliation/

Meanwhile . . .

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024727.php
Federal Reserve leaders marked down their expectations for growth and inflation last month, concluding that the economic recovery is proceeding more slowly than they had thought in the spring but that the slowdown did not warrant new policy actions. . . .

http://aei.org/outlook/100971
The Rising Threat of Deflation

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/business/global/12refinance.html
Crisis Awaits World’s Banks as Trillions Come Due

The weak Democratic energy bill – better than nothing?

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/the-democratic-energy-strategy/59705/

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/14/884093/-Reid-has-rough-draft-of-energy-bill

Immigration woes

http://washingtonindependent.com/91536/post-arizona-law-anti-gop-backlash-among-latino-voters-fails-to-materialize
Post-Arizona Law, Anti-GOP Backlash Among Latino Voters Fails to Materialize

http://washingtonindependent.com/91564/latino-voters-who-want-immigration-reform-may-not-vote-if-legislation-doesnt-come-up-this-year
Latino Voters Who Want Immigration Reform May Not Vote If Legislation Doesn’t Come Up This Year

Sharron Angle (R-NV) says she only wants to do interviews with people who let her interject fundraising appeals

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38373

It’s always good for the Republicans. Remember that just a few days ago Angle was whining and screaming and threatening lawsuits if Harry Reid reposted her old website positions, which she is trying desperately to deny. Now that he called her bluff, she says it’s just great to have them reposted – thanks Harry!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/14/sharron-angle-now-glad-re_n_645892.html

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/angle-flip-flops-on-reid-attack-im-glad-he-reposted-my-old-website.php

Reid pulls ahead: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/14/reid_leads_in_new_poll.html

Rand Paul (R-KY): mastering the art of saying nothing in interviews

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/07/14/rand_paul_interview
Rand Paul granted the National Review a friendly interview while he was in town raising money for his little Senate campaign. He doesn't say anything ready-made for an attack ad, but it is the kinda sad portrait of a man openly acknowledging his refusal to say what he really believes. . . .

How can any candidate have a background of trafficking in this kind of thing and EVER hope to have a political future? Only if they’re a Republican

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/14/linda-mcmahon-ct-senate-c_n_646347.html

The enemy of their enemy is their friend?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/in_un_battle_over_gay_rights_group_two_gop_reps_ur.php
Two Republican congressmen are urging other countries -- including, potentially, some where homosexuality is a crime punishable by death -- to vote against an American-led effort in the U.N. to recognize a respected international gay rights group. . .

No conspiracy theory too wacky

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/gop_rep_and_fox_news_agree_hezbollah_infiltrating.php

http://mydd.com/2010/7/14/beware-of

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/14/sue-myricks-latest-conspi_n_646093.html

Defense through offense

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/sigh-game-on-inevitable-naacp-tea-party-war-a-nasty-one-audio.php
Tea Party Leaders: We're Not Racist! The NAACP Is!

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/right-wing-rallies-around-tea-party-after-naacp-condemns-movement-for-harboring-racists.php

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/latest_right_wing_attack_obama.html
Latest right wing attack: Obama only cares about black victims of terrorism

Just another politician

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/sarah_palin_spends_like_the_rest_of_em_consultants.php
Sarah Palin Spends Like A Politician: Consultants And Pals Make Up Bulk Of PAC Payments

Who’s being “divisive”? http://firedoglake.com/2010/07/14/irony-alert-sarah-palin-comes-out-against-divisive-politics/

Bonus item: Never too radical for cable news

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024726.php

http://firedoglake.com/2010/07/14/late-night-the-new-normal/

***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.***

UGLY AMERICANS

Financial reform (after a fashion)

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/reid-rounds-up-60-votes-for-wall-street-reform.php

An energy bill?

http://washingtonindependent.com/91399/as-reid-prepares-energy-bill-emissions-cap-appears-unlikely

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/12/energy-bill-main-components-include-renewable-standard-oil-spill-response/

Ben Nelson, Democrat?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/13/884031/-How-Ben-Nelson-is-hurting-Democrats

Their raison d’être

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/its-unanimous-gop-says-pay-for-unemployment-benefits-not-tax-cuts-for-the-rich.php
It's Unanimous! GOP Says No To Unemployment Benefits, Yes To Tax Cuts For The Rich

The Big Lie of supply side economics

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/quote-day-tax-cuts-pay-themselves

The new Dustbowlers: Need a job? Pack up your family in the old pick-up and move across country

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/heritage-foundation-analyst-unemploym

If you really wanted to reduce abortions . . .

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/07/against-contraception.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024701.php

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/conservatives-moving-to-block-implementation-of-contraceptive-access-provisions-of-affordable-care-act/
[Matt Yglesias] Politically speaking, I think this is the fight progressives have been wanting to have for some time now—something that would highlight the deeply reactionary and anti-woman ideology that drives the main institutional players in the anti-abortion movement. But will it be possible to get people to pay attention? . . .

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/healthcare-reform-and-contraceptives
[Kevin Drum] I wonder how much help we'll get from President Obama? His desire to avoid hot button culture war issues is almost obsessive, and it's unlikely that he'll choose this as a hill to fight for. So it'll mostly be up to HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and my guess is that she'll try to keep the whole thing very low key. . . .

Rand Paul, in his own words

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/13/883938/-Rand-Pauls-monumental-stupidity-%28and-callousness%29

GOP obstruction: working perfectly?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/the_gop_strategy_of_obstructio.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/in-america-winning-isnt-everything-its.html

And this is how they treat their FRIENDS

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/sharron-angle-bob-bennett-has-outlived-his-usefulness-video.php
Sharron Angle: Bob Bennett Has 'Outlived His Usefulness'

[NB: Death panels, anyone?]

More: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/sharron-angle-robert-bennett-hes-outlived-h

Angle: God picked me

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/13/sharron-angle-on-her-camp_n_644823.html

Ugly Americans

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/iowa_tea_party_billboard_compares_obama_with_hitle.php
Iowa Tea Party Billboard Compares Obama With Hitler And Lenin

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/13/883915/-Right-wing-machine-attacks-Michelle-for-focusing-on-childhood-obesity
Right-wing machine attacks Michelle for focusing on childhood obesity

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201007130006
Beck predicts that "out of control" Dems are going to take to streets as "revolutionaries" this fall

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/13/rush-limbaughs-steinbrenn_n_645046.html
Rush Limbaugh's Steinbrenner Eulogy: 'That Cracker Made A Lot Of African-Americans Millionaires'

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/megyn-kelly-threatens-cut-kirsten-power
FOX is actively creating hate based on race in our country again and this clip is a great illustration of that point . . .

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/13/883909/-Eek!-Black-Panthers

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/burrowed-treasure-msm-missing-real.html

Bonus item: Palin rules

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/13/palins_own_rules.html

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/palin-ization-politics

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/13/AR2010071304635.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.***

FACT-RESISTANT

Fail

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/12/environmentalist-fail-why-the-bp-disaster-hasnt-moved-the-needle-on-climate-and-energy/
Environmentalist FAIL: Why the BP Disaster Hasn’t Moved the Needle on Climate and Energy . . .

http://www.americablog.com/2010/07/wash-post-gulf-spill-hasnt-impacted.html
Wash Post: Gulf spill hasn't impacted public policy or public opinion

Let them eat dog food

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/12/AR2010071205144.html
No extension of unemployment benefits in sight for the long-term jobless

The Republican solution

http://all247news.com/sharron-%E2%80%9Cunemployed-are-spoiled%E2%80%9D-angle-slams-opponent-reid/1642/
[Sharron] Angle has angered many unemployed Americans with her earlier stated views on unemployment and unemployment extension, saying that “You can make more money on unemployment than you can going down and getting one of those jobs that is an honest job, but it doesn’t pay as much.

And so that’s what’s happened to us is that we have put in so much entitlement into our government that we really have spoiled our citizenry and said you don’t want the jobs that are available.” . . .

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024674.php
Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett on Friday accused some jobless Pennsylvanians of choosing to collect unemployment checks rather than going back to work . . .

More: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/sharron_angle_flummoxes_report.html

Wall Street never loses

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/11/no-worries-wall-streets-hiring/
[NYT] While much of the country remains fixated on the bleak employment picture, hiring is beginning to pick up in the place that led the economy into recession — Wall Street. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/#38212495

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/safest-street-america

Economics 101: there are two ways to increase the deficit – increase spending, or decrease revenues. The Republicans love to use the deficit as a reason to oppose new spending – but as we saw under Bush, they LOVE cutting taxes, even when it makes the deficit skyrocket

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/kyl-unemployment-insurance-a-necessary-evil-1.php
[Jon Kyl, R-AZ] The second highest ranking Republican in the Senate doubled down on a controversial statement he made this weekend, arguing in greater detail that tax cuts for wealthy people should never be offset by tax increases in other areas . . .

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/07/jon_kyl_gives_away_the_game_on.html
Jon Kyl gives away the game . . .

More: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/republican-philosophy

Waaaah!

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/angle-i-can-no-longer-say-take-out-harry-reid.php
Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee for Senate in Nevada against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, has acknowledged making some changes to her overall tone in the campaign -- most notably dialing back her statements about "Second Amendment remedies" and the need to "take out" Reid. . . .

"As far as a makeover and refining the message, Harry Reid has pretty much forced that when he sound bites me," Angle said. "I have to be very careful about how I phrase things. I can no longer say words like 'take out.' Those have now gone out of my vocabulary because he has misinterpreted what I meant by those words. I don't say 'take out.' I say 'defeat.' It means the same thing. . . .”

David Vitter (R-LA): how low will he go?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/vitter-i-support-birther-lawsuits-video.php
Vitter: I Support Birther Lawsuits

More: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/the_hit_on_vitter.php

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/conservative-womens-groups-mum-on-vitter-scandal.php
Conservative Women's Groups Mum On Vitter Scandal

Yes, anyone who has watched the town halls on health care, the teabagger rallies, and the steadily ratcheting discourse in the Right-wing media (Obama’s a terrorist, he hates white people, etc.) knows that it’s the DEMOCRATS who have made public discourse more “vitriolic”

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/rewritten-history-hill-characterizes-democr

[NB: What planet are they on?]

Say anything

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/bachmann-obama-turning-our-country-into-a-nation-of-slaves.php
Bachmann: Obama 'Turning Our Country Into A Nation Of Slaves'

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024680.php

Rand Paul (R-KY), in his own words

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/rand-paul-in-the-90s-medicare-is-socialism-and-social-security-is-a-ponzi-scheme-video.php

Yep

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/sarah_palin_is_playing_media_f.html
Sarah Palin plays media for chumps

http://washingtonindependent.com/91237/media-matters-cnn-throw-cold-water-on-palins-fundraising-numbers
Media Matters, CNN Throw Cold Water on Palin’s Fundraising Numbers

More: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/2012-what-palin-is-and-isnt-doing/59566/

Theocracy watch: the government is taking away your right to seek salvation!

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/gop-candidate-obama-and-carnahan-want-to-take-away-your-chance-to-find-the-lord-audio.php

The low cost of lying

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/07/11/how_facts_backfire/
Recently, a few political scientists have begun to discover a human tendency deeply discouraging to anyone with faith in the power of information. It’s this: Facts don’t necessarily have the power to change our minds. In fact, quite the opposite. In a series of studies in 2005 and 2006, researchers at the University of Michigan found that when misinformed people, particularly political partisans, were exposed to corrected facts in news stories, they rarely changed their minds. In fact, they often became even more strongly set in their beliefs.

More: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/what-do-facts-have-do-it

Bonus item: The progressives are coming! The progressives are coming!

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/tea-partys-paul-revere-sounds-alarm-and.html
Did you hear the one about the Left's plan to counter the tea-party movement? . . . [read on]

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/co-goper-progressive-liberal-movement-is-a-bigger-threat-than-al-qaeda.php
CO GOPer Ken Buck: 'Progressive Liberal Movement' Is A Bigger Threat Than Al Qaeda

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/americans-not-sure-what-progressive-means.php
Poll: Majority Of Americans Not Quite Sure What 'Progressive' Means

More: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/americans-fuzzy-on-what-progressive-means/

***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.***