PBD - Progressive Blog Digest

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

DARK DAYS

A nation in decline?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/opinion/09krugman.html
[Paul Krugman] The lights are going out all over America — literally. . . [read on]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025112.php
[Steve Benen] It's worth emphasizing that this is all completely avoidable. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/08/a_solution_staring_us_in_the_face.php

They always need an enemy

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/08/09/gop_islamophobia_bush
For GOP, Islamophobia is the new anti-Communism

http://crooksandliars.com/brad-reed/rights-ingenious-campaign-turn-one-billi
The right's ingenious campaign to turn one billion people into our sworn enemies

More: http://www.slate.com/id/2263208/
Islamophobia is on the march. . . .

Once again trashing the workings of government because they can’t control them

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/09/gop-to-introduce-lame-duc_n_675630.html
GOP To Introduce Lame-Duck Prohibition Resolution . . . .

Nobody remembers, nobody cares: http://mediamatters.org/blog/201008030012
Politico’s Jonathan Martin writes up the Right’s fear-mongering about a potential lame-duck session of Congress this fall. . . But Martin didn’t so much as hint at the fact that many of the conservatives currently insisting that it is wildly inappropriate to take up controversial measures during a lame-duck session are more than a little hypocritical. For example, Martin prominently quotes a spokesperson for House Minority Leader John Boehner insisting Democrats should rule out a “a ‘sour grapes’ lame-duck session.” But Martin didn’t mention that John Boehner voted to impeach a sitting Democratic president during a lame-duck session following an election in which the Republicans lost seats in part because of public disgust over GOP efforts to impeach the president. . . . Nor did he mention that Charles Krauthammer, who Martin noted has “sounded the alarm” about a lame duck session, urged the lame-duck House to impeach Clinton in 1998. . . .

[More, from USA Today, Nov 13, 2006] A lame-duck Congress, including the so-called "living dead" who were defeated for re-election, opened today with an ambitious agenda that includes a showdown over President Bush's nomination of John Bolton to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Although the Democrats take charge of both houses of the new Congress starting in January, the Republicans maintain control of the Senate and the House of Representatives until the lame-duck session expires in December. . . .

This year's session could run well into December as Congress takes up a long list of unfinished business . . . Bush last week also called on the lame-duck Congress to pass a controversial warrantless domestic wiretapping bill known as the Terrorists Surveillance Act. . . .

[More, from AP, December 6, 2006] House Republicans abruptly pulled from floor action Tuesday a bill to open a large area of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling after it became clear the legislation lacked the two-thirds vote needed for passage. . . . The drilling bill is one of a string of measures House GOP leaders have readied for this week's "lame-duck" session under an expedited procedure that bars amendments, but also requires a two-thirds vote for approval.

[NB: It took me seconds to Google “Republican lame duck session 2006.” Is it so hard for reporters to tell us how the GOP handled things the last time THEY were in a lame duck session?]

Half full or half empty?

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/08/09/is_the_senate_really_broken.html
Is the Senate really broken?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/the-cant-do-agenda-six-initiatives-the-senate-scrapped-ahead-of-august-recess.php
The Can't-Do Agenda: Six Initiatives The Senate Scrapped Ahead Of Their Recess

The “Nomination Gap”

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/08/09/the-nomination-gap-in-the-justice-system/

http://www.americablog.com/2010/08/two-more-nominations-quietly-die.html

The NYT, like other “mainstream” media outlets, has bent over backwards to give a platform to right wing cranks. Are they really proud of running tortured reasoning like this?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/opinion/09douthat.html
[Ross Douthat] This ideal holds up the commitment to lifelong fidelity and support by two sexually different human beings — a commitment that involves the mutual surrender, arguably, of their reproductive self-interest — as a uniquely admirable kind of relationship. It holds up the domestic life that can be created only by such unions, in which children grow up in intimate contact with both of their biological parents, as a uniquely admirable approach to child-rearing. And recognizing the difficulty of achieving these goals, it surrounds wedlock with a distinctive set of rituals, sanctions and taboos.

The point of this ideal is not that other relationships have no value, or that only nuclear families can rear children successfully. Rather, it’s that lifelong heterosexual monogamy at its best can offer something distinctive and remarkable — a microcosm of civilization, and an organic connection between human generations — that makes it worthy of distinctive recognition and support. . . .[read on]

Critiques: http://www.salon.com/news/gay_marriage/index.html

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/08/douthat-on-gay-marriage/

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025111.php

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/08/marriage-not-zero-sum-game

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/Debating-Ross-Douthat-on-Gay-Marriage-4640

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/21/ross-douthat-i-oppose-gay_n_328924.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/argumentum-ad-douthatem-by-tristero-as.html

“Myths”?

http://www.slate.com/id/2263063/
Five Myths About the Tea Party
[Dave Weigel] 2. The Tea Party is racist.
It's a phenomenon that some activists call "nutpicking"—send a cameraman into a protest and he'll focus on the craziest sign. Yes, there are racists in the Tea Party, and they make themselves known. But Tea Party activists usually root them out. Texas activist Dale Robertson, who held a sign likening taxpayers to a racial epithet at a 2009 rally, was drummed out of that event and pilloried by his peers. Mark Williams, formerly the bomb-throwing spokesman for the Tea Party Express (he once told me he wanted to send the liberal watchdog group Media Matters "a case of champagne" for calling him racist), was booted after penning a parody that had the NAACP pining for slavery.

Liberal critics of the tea party argue that conservative opposition to social spending is often racially motivated. That's not new, though, and it's not the basis for the tea party.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/08/09/tea-party-racism-2/
Analysis: Tea Party Supporters Harbor More Racial Resentment Than Other Conservatives

“Slum tourism”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/opinion/10odede.html

We all did things in college we regret – but some youthful indiscretions reflect something deeper about a person’s values and character, don’t you think?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/09/rand-paul-abducted-female_n_675766.html
Rand Paul ABDUCTED Female Student While In College, Tried To Force Her To 'Take Bong Hits,' GQ Article Alleges

More: http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/rand-paul-kidnaps-female-student-baylor

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/stoner-kidnapping-101-aka-rand-paul-the-college-years.php

Rand Paul threatens to sue: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/rand-paul-camp-planning-court-challenge-to-kidnapping-story.php
"We are investigating all our options -- including legal ones," Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton tells Weigel. "We will not tolerate drive-by journalism by a writer with a leftist agenda." . . .

It should be noted that Paul's campaign has not said the substance of the story is wrong.

Vince McMahon, WWE thug, thinks it’s just terrible that people are using her connection to pro wrestling against his wife, who is running for CT senator

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/vince-mcmahon-stop-using-wwe-to-bash-linda-in-ct-sen-race.php
Vince and Linda McMahon have both appeared on the show, playing fictionalized versions of themselves as the evil multi-millionaire bosses of the company, and even participated in the dramatized violence. For example, Vince was depicted forcing a female wrestler onto her knees and making her bark like a dog, while Linda has kicked a man in the groin -- the latter episode has even made its way into an ad by one of McMahon's GOP rivals, financial commentator Peter Schiff.

Vince McMahon also addressed one controversial scene from 2002, involving a depiction of simulated necrophilia. "If you knew the story line behind it, what have you, you might even consider that black humor, you know, dark humor, which is what it was designed to be," Vince McMahon said. "The question is, is taste -- whether or not things like that are in good taste."

He added: "Guess what? We never did it again."

By “explain” it means “making things worse”

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/co-goper-i-talked-about-un-plot-behind-denver-bike-program-to.php
CO GOPer Skids Trying To Explain UN Bicycle Plot Comments

Think they’ll use this footage on Sarah!’s new show?

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/celebrity-sarah-palin-confronted-citizen-h

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shannyn-moore/sarah-palins-homer-moment_b_675198.html

More: http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2010/08/worst-governor-ever-alaskan-accuses-sarah-palin-of-quitting-her-responsibilities.html
UPDATE: In a note posted on her Facebook page this afternoon, Palin blasted the media for using her "brief encounter" with Gustafson as "another one of their spin operations." She specifically pointed to claims made in some liberal media outlets that Palin and her daughter rolled their eyes when Gustafson told them she was a teacher.

"They claim I -- wait for it -- 'appear to roll my eyes' when the lady tells me she’s a teacher. Yes, it’s come to this: the media is now trying to turn my eyebrow movements into story lines. . . .”

Sharron Angle (R-NV) just hired a new communications director. It isn’t helping

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/angle-theres-nothing-wrong-with-our-health-care-system-video.php
Angle: 'There's Nothing Wrong With Our Health Care System'

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/9/891609/-NV-Sen:-Playing-the-god-card

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/08/sharron_angle_campaign_accuses.html

The Google/Verizon Net policy – danger ahead

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/9/891588/-Net-Neutrality:-The-Google-Verizon-joint-policy

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/08/09/verizon-and-google-announce-joint-broadband-policy/

http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2010/08/google-verizon-want-congress-to-get-off-its-duff/61197/

Bonus item: Conservapedia: an endless source of humor

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/conservapedia_founder_takes_on_the_notorious_liber.php
"The theory of relativity is a mathematical system that allows no exceptions. It is heavily promoted by liberals who like its encouragement of relativism and its tendency to mislead people in how they view the world. . . . See, e.g., historian Paul Johnson's book about the 20th century, and the article written by liberal law professor Laurence Tribe as allegedly assisted by Barack Obama. Virtually no one who is taught and believes relativity continues to read the Bible, a book that outsells New York Times bestsellers by a hundred-fold . . ."

Funnier than The Onion: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/9/891517/-Onion-say,-Conservapedia-do...
"The second law of thermodynamics, a fundamental scientific principle stating that entropy increases over time as organized forms decay into greater states of randomness, has come under fire from conservative Christian groups, who are demanding that the law be repealed."

***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.***

Monday, August 09, 2010

WHEN YOU’RE RIGHT, YOU’RE RIGHT

No more subtlety

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/paul-mcconnell-and-paul-warn-gopers-at-ky-breakfast.php
McConnell, Cantor And Paul Warn GOPers At KY Breakfast: Dems Will Destroy America!

Are the Republicans counting on voter amnesia?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/opinion/08rich.html

“The shadow GOP”

http://washingtonindependent.com/94028/the-shadow-gop-hiding-in-plain-sight

Bob Inglis speaks!

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025097.php

Interesting that the GOP has become increasingly blunt and matter-of-fact about their conscious “party of no” strategy – but the media still can’t quite bring themselves to point it out, and what its consequences have been

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025100.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025103.php

Are you listening, Broder? http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/08/a_question_for_david_broder.html

The Republican way

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/gingrich-admits-cheating-wife-while-t
Gingrich Admits To Cheating On Wife While Touting Family Values During Clinton Impeachment

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/newt-gingrich-prop-8-more-sanctimony
Newt Gingrich On Prop 8: More Sanctimony On the Sanctity Of Marriage

Will GOP radicalism hurt their efforts to retake the House?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025105.php

Head of Family Research Council says judge on the Prop 8 case should have recused himself because he is gay and couldn’t be objective. And obviously, a heterosexual judge could. Interesting precedent. I guess that means that only white judges should judge civil rights cases, only male judges should decide cases on abortion, and only atheist judges should decide cases on religious freedom. Right?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/08/tony-perkins-prop-8-judge_n_674788.html

http://www.americablog.com/2010/08/when-david-boies-destroyed-tony-perkins.html

http://firedoglake.com/2010/08/08/sunday-late-night-conjecture-speculation-and-fears-are-not-enough/

More: http://mydd.com/2010/8/8/ted-olson

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38878
Ted Olson: Same-sex marriage is a conservative value

What you missed if you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/08/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_n_674738.html

Bonus item: The arrow of God? (thanks to DR for the catch)

***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.***

Saturday, August 07, 2010

Friday, August 06, 2010

POLITICS TODAY

Elena Kagan confirmed for the Supreme Court, 63-37

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/breaking-elena-kagan-confirmed-senate

More: http://washingtonindependent.com/93917/elena-kagan-confirmed-to-the-supreme-court

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/senate-confirms-kagan-obamas-second-scotus-pick-approved.php

He said it

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/08/watching-conservatives/john-mccain/mccain-on-mccain
[Mark Kleiman] "Petty, partisan, and disingenuous." That's what McCain said about Senators who vote against well-qualified Supreme Court nominees: just before voting against two of them. [read on]

More from Honest John: http://www.americablog.com/2010/08/mccains-meltdown-over-dadt-and-hate.html

The new Republican ploy: just CANCEL the “lame duck” session of Congress. They’re still elected officials, but there’s something illegitimate about them DOING anything

http://www.slate.com/id/2263033/

Can the Dems turn the Rangel/Waters ethics inquiries into a plus?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/08/dem_strategy_on_ethics_make_le.html

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/jujitsu-dems-will-attempt-to-turn-tables-on-gop-over-ethics-scandals.php

The Boehner Billboard is having its desired effect

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/beat-boehner-billboard-live-and-its-cau

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/boehner-gets-headache-from-excessive.html

The Deficit Commission prepares its report – and we won’t like it

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/08/white-house-deficit-commission-to-present-highly-unpopular-recommendations/

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/debt-commission-eying-mostly-cuts-package/

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/63727

There IS no “Social Security crisis”

http://crooksandliars.com/ian-welsh/social-security-trustees-report-no-socia

No “Medicare crisis” either

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2010/08/trustees_medicare_hospital_fund_extended_12_years.php

The new Republican “jobs bill” – more tax cuts for the wealthy of course

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/republican-jobs-bill-harder-longer-fa

[NB: What deficit?!??]

The “social issues” wing of the Republican party now fights to make economic issues (especially opposition to taxes) a “family values” litmus test

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/08/solidarity-on-the-right/

“Coked-up stimulus monkeys”?!??

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/08/obama_admin_skewers_gop_attack.html

The Macaca Legacy

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/08/05/trackers_are_everywhere.html
[Politico] "Trackers have become the essential campaign tool, exploding in number in part because of the dwindling press corps. News outlets of all sizes have fewer and fewer bodies to send to cover events, meaning campaigns need to gather their own footage of what the opposition is saying and doing on the campaign trail."

"But trackers are also now considered as indispensable as pollsters for campaigns ranging from presidential contests all the way down to city council races. Their value reaches well beyond the research and intel they provide -- they also record footage that might one day turn out to be a viral video, the modern campaign equivalent of a silver bullet."

I agree with this: the teabaggers are a bigger threat to the Republicans than to the Democrats

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/08/05/tea_party_momentum

http://motherjones.com/transition/inter.php?dest=http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/08/myths-and-realities-about-tea-party

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38805

The Right sees an opportunity in the Prop 8 verdict

http://mydd.com/2010/8/5/the-religious-right

http://mydd.com/2010/8/5/the-candor-of-br

Whacked-out reactions: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/i_feel_like_i_dont_live_in_america_the_best_worst.php

http://firedoglake.com/2010/08/05/a-devastating-day-for-the-rights-brave-defenders-of-traditional-marriage/

The new Palin/Fox meme: Obama’s a wimp

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/palin-agrees-hannity-wimpy-obama-not

Some “church”

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/church_carnival_sets_up_shooter_game_with_obama_as.php
Church Carnival Sets Up Shooter Game With Obama As Target

Oh, man. Expect to see a lot more of this kind of sensationalism, especially from Fox (thanks to DR for the link)

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/local/080510-man-kills-friend-drinks-his-blood
Authorities in central Florida have a man in custody they say stabbed a friend to death and then drank his blood.

Mauricio Mendez Lopez is accused of killing Macario Cruz in a house they shared in Bartow. . . .

According to several published reports all of the adults in the home are illegal immigrants.

[NB: OF COURSE they had to add that last line.]

I keep thinking Glenn Beck can’t get any crazier – but it’s like a drug or porn, you keep needing more and more extreme doses to deliver the same buzz. Now, Obama is. . . . LUCIFER

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/glenn-becks-final-swan-dive-deep-end

Target apologizes!

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/08/not_as_simple_as_it_seems.php

More on Google, Verizon, and Net Neutrality

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/08/net-neutrality-begins-crumble

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/63747

Google denies the story: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/google_pushes_back_on_times_report_of_verizon_deal.php

Bonus item: Dr. Pezzi!

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/08/dear-internet-gods.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/05/kevin-pezzi-big-governmen_n_672300.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.***

Thursday, August 05, 2010

PROPOSITIONED

One more step toward a free and open society

http://mydd.com/2010/8/4/proposition-8-in-califro
Proposition 8 in California Ruled Unconstitutional

More: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/breaking-federal-judge-strikes-down-prop-8

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/prop_8_ruled_unconstitutional.php

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/08/04/breaking-news-court-overturns-prop-8-joy-for-marriage-equality/

Analysis: http://www.slate.com/id/2262766

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/08/prop-8-overturned-the-facts-not-the-law-matter/60957/

http://www.americablog.com/2010/08/reactions-to-historic-prop-8-decision.html

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/08/prop-8-unconstitutional-%E2%80%94-now
Prop 8 Unconstitutional — For Now

State aid passes the Senate, no thanks to the GOP

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/04/state-aid-clears-senate-h_n_670440.html

Now to the House: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/pelosi-to-call-back-house-for-key-vote-on-jobs-bill.php
Pelosi To Call Back House For Key Vote On Jobs Bill

Some Dems try to change the filibuster rule – and other Dems block them from doing it

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/behind-the-push-to-end-the-filibuster.php

Meanwhile: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/4/890149/-GOP-filibusters-energy-bill,-then-attacks-Reid-for-not-passing-it
GOP filibusters energy bill, then attacks Reid for not passing it

Smart move: force the Repubs to come out for a deficit-ballooning extension of Bush’s tax cuts for the rich

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/4/890240/-Reid-plans-pre-election-showdown-on-Bush-tax-cuts

The Angry Democrat

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/the-most-outraged-dem-anthony-weiners-greatest-hits.php

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is not working – in fact, for many it is making things worse

http://www.americablog.com/2010/08/huffington-post-investigative-report-on.html

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/04/extend-and-pretend-the-ob_n_668609.html

The Repubs know they can’t repeal health care reform, which is becoming more popular by the day. But they’d still like to destroy it

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/08/defunding-healthcare

There are no Republican moderates any more

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/grassley-agrees-with-having-hearings-on-ending-birthright-citizenship.php
Grassley Agrees With Having Hearings On Ending Birthright Citizenship

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/graham-most-americans-think-birthright-citizenship-odd-are-offended-by-it-video.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025039.php

Like all troubled organizations, the RNC gets serious about its problems – by going after whoever is leaking information about them

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/anon-rnc-source-the-rnc-just-voted-to-investigate-leaks.php

George who? Part five

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/08/are_gopers_achieving_separatio.html

Spreading hate and fear – it’s what they do

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/tea-party-nation-asks-has-an-illegal-immigrant-taken-advantage-of-you.php
Tea Party Nation Asks: Has An Illegal Immigrant Taken Advantage Of You?

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/todays-right-wing-populist-nativism-has.html

“A lie is halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on”

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/poll-27-of-americans-are-birthers----including-41-of-republicans.php
Poll: 27% Of Americans Doubt Obama's Citizenship -- Including 41% of Republicans

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025045.php

Theocracy watch: running for Senator, or Preacher?

http://mydd.com/2010/8/4/sharron-angle
In an interview with TruNews Christian Radio's Rick Wiles back in April, Sharron Angle, the Tea Party extremist who is now the GOP nominee for the Senate in Nevada, touches on her religious views going as far as to claim that government entitlement programs are a violation of the Bible's First Commandment - Thou Shalt Not Have Any Gods Before Me.

"And that's really what's happening in this country is a violation of the First Commandment," said Angle, "we have become a country entrenched in idolatry, and that idolatry is the dependency upon our government. We're supposed to depend upon God for our protection and our provision and for our daily bread, not for our government." [read on]

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38798

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/sharron-angle-lashes-out-reid-over-c

Those wacky Republicans

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/co-gov-goper-maes-hickenloopers-bike-love-is-a-un-plot.php
Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes knows you might think bicycles and bicycle riding are harmless, but beware: "That's exactly the attitude they want you to have."

The Denver Post reports that Maes, a Tea Party friendly candidate facing former Rep. Scott McInnis in the August 10 Republican primary, has come out against a public bicycle program run by the city of Denver. Denver's mayor, John Hickenlooper, is the presumptive Democratic nominee, and a cycling supporter.

"This is all very well-disguised, but it will be exposed," Maes said at a small campaign rally last week, according to the Post. "These aren't just warm, fuzzy ideas from the mayor. These are very specific strategies that are dictated to us by this United Nations program that mayors have signed on to." . . . [read on]

More: http://mydd.com/2010/8/4/unsust

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/4/890219/-CO-Gov:-The-unbearable-communism-of-bike-commuting

Meanwhile . . .

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/08/campaigns/campaign-2010/at-last-a-reasonable-republican/
[Mark Kleiman] Good news: there is one [reasonable Republican], Bob Inglis of South Carolina. Bad news: the teabaggers just beat him 71-29 in a primary. The lunatics are fully in charge of the GOP. Any political strategy that ignores that fact isn't realistic. [read on]

Is it possible that Glenn Beck is getting worse?

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/08/also-hitler.html

Good news for BP: the media has decided that the oil spill crisis is over – i.e., they’ve lost interest in it

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/yea-cnn-says-oil-has-gone-bye-bye-and.html

The end of Net Neutrality?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/technology/05secret.html

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/4/890004/-Why-are-we-still-fighting-about-net-neutrality

Bonus item: Sarah Palin’s “highly choreographed” Facebook postings

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/08/04/what_palin_doesnt_want_you_to_see.html

More Palinology: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/08/04/bonus_quote_of_the_day.html
"Where the hell do they get these names?"

-- Katie Couric, caught in leaked footage from August 2008 as she rehearses a story on Sarah Palin, referencing the names of Palin's children.

***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.***

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

REVISITING “DRED SCOTT”

Timeline of a political goof. The Repubs overreach on the 14th Amendment, then backpedal furiously

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/08/mcconnell_makes_his_choice.php
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has come out in support of congressional hearings into the matter of whether the US Constitution grants citizenship to every person born in the United States -- so-called 'birthright' citizenship. . . .

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/mccain-dodges-14th-amendment-repeal-questions.php
In the final moments of a morning press conference about the stimulus, cohosted by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), McCain asked for one final question from reporters...which happened to be about the 14th amendment and birthright citizenship. McCain abruptly ended the press conference. . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/08/mccain_lets_hold_hearings.php
Reporters chased a dodgy John McCain into the bowels of the Capitol a short time ago to get him to answer whether he supports the GOP's new push on "birthright citizenship."

All McCain would say is that he supports Mitch McConnell's call for hearings on the issue. . . .

http://washingtonindependent.com/93523/mccain-coburn-support-review-of-14th-amendment
There’s a growing chorus, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), saying that Congress should hold hearings on removing the Constitutional provision that grants automatic citizenship to anyone born in America. . . .

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/reid-on-birthright-crowd-taken-leave-of-their-senses-or-their-principles.php
[Harry Reid, D-NV] The authors of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed citizenship to all people "born or naturalized in the United States" for a reason. They wished to directly repudiate the Dred Scott decision, which said that citizenship could be granted or denied by political caprice.

They purposely chose an objective standard of citizenship -- birth -- that was not subject to politics. Reconstruction leaders established a firm, sound principle: To be an American citizen, you don't have to please a majority, you just have to be born here. . . .

Then Reid said of Republicans pushing the issue, "They've either taken leave of their senses or their principles."

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/even-lou-dobbs-isnt-board-republicans-who
Even Lou Dobbs Isn't On Board With Republicans Who Want to End Birthright Citizenship

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/08/mccain_has_second_thoughts.php
[TPM reader] Credit John McCain with a keen sense of irony. Readers may recall that McCain was himself born in the Panama Canal Zone, raising the question of whether he qualified under the Constitutional standard of 'natural born citizen.'

His campaign turned the tandem of Larry Tribe and Ted Olson, whose memo on the matter helped settle the media debate. . . .

It argued, among other things, that:

"If the Panama Canal Zone was sovereign U.S. territory at the time of Senator McCain's birth, then that fact alone would make him a "natural born" citizen under the well-established principle that "natural born" citizenship includes birth within the territory and allegiance of the United States...The Fourteenth Amendment expressly enshrines this connection between birthplace and citizenship in the text of the Constitution."

Questioning the citizenship of our fellow Americans is an ugly thing. I should have thought that Senator McCain, of all people, would have remembered that.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/mcconnell-draws-down-birthright-citizenship-critique.php
McConnell Denies Calling For 14th Amendment Restrictions

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/08/parse-this-statement-from-mccain-on-birthright-citizenship/60882/
Parse This Statement From McCain on Birthright Citizenship

Stop the presses!

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/coburn-mccain-acknowledge-positive-effects-of-obamas-stimulus.php
Coburn, McCain Acknowledge Positive Effects Of Obama's Stimulus

The easiest thing in the world is to take a trillion dollar program and find some disputable expenses – that can then be used to tar the spending as a whole. Both parties do it, but the Republicans do it with style

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/la-na-republicans-stimulus-20100803,0,5737397.story

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025030.php

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/08/the-bogus-mccaincoburn-campaign-against-waste-in-the-recovery-act/

Will the Repubs help states in crisis (even their own states)?

http://washingtonindependent.com/93576/boxer-governors-urge-republicans-to-vote-for-funds-for-medicaid-teachers

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/3/890000/-GOP-Senators-states-face-thousands-of-teacher-layoffs

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025015.php

Don’t hold your breath

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/3/889985/-McConnell-doesnt-want-to-talk-about-the-GOP-agenda
McConnell: GOP will detail election-year agenda in late September . . .

The stealth campaign: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025016.php

Rebranding

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/08/smart.php
[TPM reader] I think you're on to why the "Tea Party" was created, i.e. to give conservatives a way to rally with the Republican brand name in ruins, nothing more. They're the Altria of politics.

The kind of Congress we have

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/08/the-three-day-workweek/
The Three-Day Workweek

More: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/08/congress-and-media

http://mydd.com/2010/8/4/the-dysfunctional

Yes, we . . . . can’t

http://mydd.com/2010/8/3/start-vote-postp
START Vote Postponed by Senator Kerry

http://mydd.com/2010/8/3/reid-pulls-the-plug
Reid Pulls the Plug on Modest Energy Bill

http://washingtonindependent.com/93560/reid-delays-vote-on-oil-spill-until-september-at-earliest
Reid Delays Vote on Oil Spill Until September at Earliest

The anti-Elizabeth Warren forces mount their offensive

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/08/02/barr-bair-tapped-as-anti-warren-forces-make-their-move/

Once a crook, always a crook

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/ensign_registers_legal_defense_fund_as_political_o.php
Roll Call reports today that Sen. John Ensign has registered his legal defense fund as a 527 political organization.

A 527 is tax-exempt, but Ensign must report contributions to the IRS.

As Roll Call notes, it's an unusual move . . .

It’s a demeaning and offensive role, but it’s his role, and he knows how to play it

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/notracist-alan-keyes-coming-to-tea-party-express-rescue.php
Alan Keyes Coming To Tea Party Express' Rescue To Prove It's Not Racist

Glenn Beck, once again, tries to distance himself from the violent extremists he encourages

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/wake-aborted-massacre-glenn-beck-pre

George who? Part four

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/08/03/not-mentioning-bush-for-18-months-leads-to-voters-thinking-gop-has-nothing-to-do-with-bush/

Bonus item: the Boehner Billboard contest has a winner (my favorite, too)

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/its-up-and-boehners-going-to-hate-it.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.***

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

TEA BAGS

The official GOP line is the Laffer Curve: tax cuts decrease deficits by promoting economic growth and increasing tax revenues, even at the lower rates. Uh huh. The secret GOP position is: of course tax cuts increase the deficit, but they’re popular; then you scream about the deficits you helped create to block spending bills, force reductions in government programs you don’t like – and win elections against the “big spending Dems.” It’s all very transparent, isn’t it?

Yesterday, a rare moment of honesty slipped out

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/cantor-admits-bush-tax-cuts-will-add-to-deficits.php

More: http://washingtonindependent.com/93394/cantor-agrees-with-principles-of-basic-addition-admits-bush-tax-cuts-add-to-deficits

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/08/02/cantor-tries-to-change-the-subject-from-taxes-to-job-creation/

Fox News host CAN’T BELIEVE that most people don’t want to extend Bush tax cuts for the rich

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38751

Ten lies: http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/10-republican-lies-about-bush-tax-cuts

Eleven: http://thinkprogress.org/2010/08/02/rove-tax-fantasy/

And they know it

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/greenspan-chides-republicans-pushing
Greenspan Chides Republicans For Pushing To Extend Bush Tax Cuts

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/08/02/stockman_blames_gop_policies.html
Writing in the New York Times, Reagan budget director David Stockman says America's current economic woes are the fault of the Republican party. . . .

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/024999.php
Take this piece from David Klinghoffer, for example. Klinghoffer is not a moderate -- he's a former National Review editor, and currently a senior fellow at a conservative think tank. But surveying his conservative brethren, Klinghoffer sees "a shift toward demagoguery and hucksterism." . . .

Palinomics

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/2/889592/-iPalm-for-Sarah-Palin

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_08/025001.php

Michael Steele thinks he’s doing a terrific job as head of the RNC, plans to seek a second term

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/02/steele-punked-by-journalist-posing-as-gop-donor

Great job, Mike: http://washingtonindependent.com/93296/with-rnc-faltering-funders-look-elsewhere
With RNC Faltering, Funders Look Elsewhere

http://www.americablog.com/2010/08/lack-of-money-hurting-rncs-efforts-to.html
Lack of money hurting RNC's efforts to elect Republicans in the fall

After vowing to take the fight to the Supreme Court, now the governor of AZ admits the immigration law needs to be “tweaked”

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/08/02/brewer-shrinking-from-fight-on-arizona-immigration-law/

More foul Republican pandering on immigration

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/02/mitch-mcconnell-wants-hea_n_667959.html
Mitch McConnell Wants Hearing On 14th Amendment 'Birthright Citizenship'

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/huckleberry-shows-his-supremacist.html
[Lindsey Graham] "They come here to drop a baby" . . .

David Vitter (R-LA), whose own diddling got a free pass and who makes excuses for despicable behavior by his staffers, draws the line . . . at taking a pro-administration position on immigration reform

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/vitter-explains-what-it-takes-to-get-fired-from-his-staff.php
“If somebody on my staff was developing that sort of approach for legislation, they'd be fired. . .”

Mr. Reliable

http://mydd.com/2010/8/2/rand-paul-property-rights
A short article in The Hill points to a longer profile of Rand Paul, the Kentucky Tea Bag candidate for the Senate, in Details magazine in which the libertarian Paul declares that Congress has no business formulating mine safety rules or enacting environmental standards. . . .

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/2/889702/-KY-Sen:-Rand-Paul-says:-dont-give-me-power

Ms. Reliable

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38746
[Sharron Angle, R-NV] “Well, no, no, we wanted [the press] to ask the questions we want to answer so that they report the news the way we want it to be reported and when I get on a show and I say send me money to SharronAngle.com, so that your listeners will know that if they want to support me they need to go to SharronAngle.com. [read on]

We already know that Honest John McCain will do anything, abandon any position or principle, when it suits him politically. And he’s doing it again

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/02/mccains-obama-obsession-m_n_667133.html
McCain's Obama Obsession: Makes Opposition To President His Chief Campaign Pitch

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/08/uncategorized/why-do-republicans-hate-america/
John McCain is holding the confirmation of a new Director of National Intelligence (reported favorably in committee by a vote of 15-0) hostage to some report he’d like to see. . .

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/08/why-mccains-holding-up-clappers-nomination/60806/
Why McCain's Holding Up Clapper's Nomination

“I’m the teabagger candidate!” No, I’M the teabagger candidate!”

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/mccain-and-hayworth-trade-dueling-tea-party-endorsements.php

If you’ve been reading this blog for the past few months, you know the Republican party is at war with itself, cannibalizing their own moderate members, losing elections they could have won because of split voting, and deeply divided over the teabagger agenda and strategy. But, of course, the media story is “Dems in Disarray”

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/08/things_that_make_you_crazy.php

The Tea Party doesn’t trust the Tea Party Caucus

http://www.americablog.com/2010/08/tea-party-leery-of-tea-party-caucus-in.html

Weird. Teabaggers descend on colonial reenactments in Williamsburg, VA, to assert their version of American history

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/tea-partiers-bent-on-ruining-americans-family-vacations.php
"General, when is it appropriate to resort to arms to fight for our liberty?" asked a tourist . . .

Sometimes, the activists appear surprised when the Founding Fathers don't always provide the "give 'em hell" response they seem to be looking for. . .[read on]

The creator of the openly racist “Tea Party Comix” says he doesn’t have a racist bone in his body. He just really hates Obama, you see

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/tea_party_comix_creator_speaks_theyre_not_racist_t.php

The press’s ridiculous moral equivalencies

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/he-saidshe-said-howard-kurtz-takes-it.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.***

Monday, August 02, 2010

DISASTER MOVIE

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/opinion/02krugman.html
[Paul Krugman] I’m starting to have a sick feeling about prospects for American workers — but not, or not entirely, for the reasons you might think.

Yes, growth is slowing, and the odds are that unemployment will rise, not fall, in the months ahead. That’s bad. But what’s worse is the growing evidence that our governing elite just doesn’t care — that a once-unthinkable level of economic distress is in the process of becoming the new normal.

And I worry that those in power, rather than taking responsibility for job creation, will soon declare that high unemployment is “structural,” a permanent part of the economic landscape — and that by condemning large numbers of Americans to long-term joblessness, they’ll turn that excuse into dismal reality. . . .

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/08/our-upcoming-disaster
Our Upcoming Disaster

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/retirement-you-must-be-kidding-worker
Workers Are Emptying Retirement Plans To Stay Afloat

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/01/alan-greenspan-extending_n_666549.html
Alan Greenspan: Extending Bush Tax Cuts Without Paying For Them Could Be 'Disastrous'

The GOP has their talking points – but don’t ask them what THEY would do to fix the economy

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/chris-wallace-asks-john-boehner-about
The American people are tired of the job killing agenda in Washington DC
The spending spree needs to stop
The American people don’t want their taxes are increased
Republicans are offering better solutions
We’re listening to people
It’s pretty clear Americans want change
The American people have been asking: Where are the jobs?
The President’s (and the Democrats’) policies are killing job creation
The President’s (and the Democrats’) policies are hurting the economy
Running up debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren
Let’s stop this wasteful stimulus spending [read on]

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/38734

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/republicans-want-keep-their-bush-tax-cuts

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/trickle-down-on-tarp.html

http://firedoglake.com/2010/08/01/why-do-conservatives-loathe-keynes/

A winning agenda?

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=what_will_a_republican_majority_do_next
[Mark Schmitt] If, as predicted, the Republicans take control of the House, or both houses of Congress, this November, will they: 1) shut down the government? 2) propose massive budget cuts? 3) begin proceedings leading toward impeachment of President Barack Obama? 4) repeal the health-reform bill?

Some leading political-scientist bloggers (notably John Sides at The Monkey Cage and Jonathan Bernstein at A Plain Blog About Politics), along with Matthew Yglesias, have been discussing this question for several weeks, and the scholarly consensus seems to be "all of the above."

But a better question is, what will they do next, after those things don't work? . . .

The Democrats, the Republicans, and race – a historical review

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/1/888775/-A-design-feature

[NB: For more, read "Nixonland"]

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/8/1/889334/-Meet-the-new-victims

They have a plan . . . (Thanks to DR for the link)

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/01/mullen-says-military-strike-plan-iran/
U.S. Has Iran Attack Plan, Mullen Says

A Target on their back

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/target-faces-backlash-for-supporting-tom-emmer-in-post-citizens-united-world.php
The Citizens United case opened the door for corporations to directly spend big money on political campaigns -- and now the Target company is finding that actually doing so is posing a risk in its home state of Minnesota, where the company is supporting Republican Tom Emmer for governor and facing a backlash from the LGBT community. . .

What does he know? Bill Kristol tells Repubs to play it low key on Charlie Rangels’ ethics problems

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/01/bill-kristol-republicans_n_666526.html

Whiny Girl, back at it again

http://firedoglake.com/2010/08/01/sarah-palin-im-hugely-unpopular-because-the-media-which-has-made-me-a-millionaire-lies-about-me/

***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.***

Sunday, August 01, 2010

SPEAKING THE UNSPEAKABLE

What’s the first word you think when you hear the phrase “Tea Party”?

“Diversity,” right?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/diversity-is-in-the-eyes-of-the-beholder-a-day-at-uni-tea.php
It was billed as the most diverse tea party rally ever. For three hours Saturday afternoon, we waited for the diversity to show up. . . . [read on]

More: http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/tea-party-diversity-event-pretty-much

No, Charlie Rangel’s (D-NY) ethics hearing isn’t a “trial”

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/is_it_a_trial.php

Maxine Waters’ (D-CA) isn’t either: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/07/31/a_major_ethics_headache_for_democrats.html

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_07/024984.php

The Republicans’ idea guy

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/07/paul-ryans-medicare-plan/

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/31/889058/-The-intellectually-ambitious-Paul-Ryan

Hard ball

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/gop-sets-record-for-blocking-judicial-nominees
GOP Sets Record for Blocking Judicial Nominees - and Everything Else

More: http://www.americablog.com/2010/07/judicial-confirmations-plummet-under.html

David Broder is positively giddy over the prospect of a Republican takeover in Congress in the fall, because he thinks it will force Obama to be more “bipartisan.” Because bipartisanship is ALWAYS good. You remember all those columns he wrote calling for a Democratic takeover in Congress that would force Bush to be more “bipartisan,” don’t you? Don’t you?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/david-broder-sees-light-at-end-of.html

The “global warming myth” bites us in the ass

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/30/889027/-As-temperatures-soar,-crickets-from-the-right

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/31/888618/-Fasten-your-seatbelts

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/7/31/888456/-Studies-show-dramatic-decrease-in-plankton-as-planet-warms

Andrew Breitbart: Shirley who?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/its-as-if-she-had-no-history-at-all-by.html
[Newsweek] What do you say to people who call you a racist?
Breitbart: Yes. It may be a task that’s so Herculean, but I think it’s a worthy goal to try to open up America to individuals who just so happen to have a different skin color, that they have every right and every freedom to think what they want to think. That’s my battle, it’s my goal.

Can you understand how this has been difficult for her to get caught up in that?
Breitbart: As difficult as it probably was for her, it’s been difficult for me as well, especially to hear her hurl an accusation of racism at me, when my motivation is absolutely pure and is driven by a desire for this country to move beyond its horrid racist past.

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/breitbart-ducks-questions-about-sherrod-at-uni-tea.php

Just say it, Dana

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/30/AR2010073003254.html
[Dana Milbank] It's not fair to blame Beck for violence committed by people who watch his show. Yet Williams isn't the only such character with a seeming affinity for the Fox News host. . . .

Beck has at times spoken against violence, but he more often forecasts it, warning that "it is only a matter of time before an actual crazy person really does something stupid." Most every broadcast has some violent imagery: "The clock is ticking. . . . The war is just beginning. . . . Shoot me in the head if you try to change our government. . . . You have to be prepared to take rocks to the head. . . . The other side is attacking. . . . There is a coup going on. . . . Grab a torch! . . . Drive a stake through the heart of the bloodsuckers. . . . They are taking you to a place to be slaughtered. . . . They are putting a gun to America's head. . . . Hold these people responsible."

Beck has prophesied darkly to his millions of followers that we are reaching "a point where the people will have exhausted all their options. When that happens, look out." One night on Fox, discussing the case of a man who killed 10 people, Beck suggested such things were inevitable. "If you're a conservative, you are called a racist, you want to starve children," he said. "And every time they do speak out, they are shut down by political correctness. How do you not have those people turn into that guy?"

Here's one idea: Stop encouraging them.

More: http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/62790

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/beck-lies-about-oakland-cop-sniper-c

Sunday talk show line-ups

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/the-sunday-show-line-ups-59.php
• ABC, This Week: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

• CBS, Face The Nation: Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, Council On Foreign Relations president Richard Haass, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Mexican American Legal Defense And Education Fund president Thomas Saenz.

• CNN, State Of The Union: Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

• NBC, Meet The Press: Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I), former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA).

Bonus item: Needs more flags

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