More Proof Fox News Isn't News

The backlash after Sunday's talk shows in which David Alexrod and Rahm Emanuel took a shot at Fox "News" for being more opinion and propaganda than news has been on the rise. But here's just more proof.



(H/T Video via Cesca)

Obama Loves States' Rights

This should be a big win for conservative states' rights proponents. Or will they be their hypocritical Republican selves?

The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.

The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.

Douchebag of the Week: Richard Heene

Man, oh man! This has been some week for the Balloon Boy and his camera hogging, questionnaire box having, morning show vomit inducing, attention whoring parents.

Didn't it strike anyone a bit strange that the first thing a father would do, whose boy who has supposedly floated out into space in a homemade weather balloon no less, is to call the local television news before dialing 911? Couldn't any of our intrepid media, with all the "experts" at their disposal have deduced the impossibility of the physics involved in the size of the balloon and the weight of an average six-year old, with or without the vomit? Apparently, the only experts CNN could find were the ones that really knew how to work that fancy-schmancy telestrator, increasing and decreasing the the size of a balloon graphic at the touch of a couple of index fingers.

And how about Wolf Blitzer, who could've had the scoop, an exclusive interview when a kid named Falcon implicated his mom and dad in a hoax for publicity by honestly answering why he didn't come out when they called him. "You guys said we did this for the show." But good ol' Wolfy, probably not paying attention to the answer because he was too busy composing the next question in his pea-brain, completely missed it.

Three days after the world watched a giant balloon fly through the air as a tearful family expressed fears that their 6-year-old boy could be inside, authorities announced what millions already suspected: The whole thing was staged.

Good job, Wolf.

On Sunday, Alderden called the incident a "hoax," adding that investigators believe the evidence indicates that "it was a publicity stunt" by the family in hopes of "better marketing themselves for a reality television show at some point in the future."

The parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, met in a Hollywood acting school and "put on a very good show for us," Alderden said. Authorities know there was "a conspiracy" between them, he added.

The sheriff's announcement included an admission that authorities misled the media on Friday when they said they still believed it was not a hoax. After Falcon's remark on CNN Thursday night, "it became very clear to us at that point that they were lying," Alderden said.

The "nonverbal responses" and "verbal cues" from the children at that moment made it clear, Alderden said.

But in order to get to the truth, "it was very important during this time that they maintained their trust with us." So investigators misled the media while they carried out their "game plan" of gathering the truth.

And they would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for those meddling kids.

Really, Mayumi Heene should also get honorable mention for going along with the shenanigans and having no problem involving the children, but what put it over the top was the big announcement that Richard Heene had, which amounted to a cardboard box that reporters could place questions in. I suppose he's better at scripts than improvisation.

Douchebag of the Week: Richard "Balloon Boy Hoax" Heene.

White House: Fox News Is Not A News Organization

Wingnuts fling feces in 5... 4... 3...





Does any rational person still really doubt this? Fox News has always had a conservative slant which is their right. They're in the business of infotainment and they'll hawk whatever will turn a profit. But "fair and balanced" it's never been. And anyone who says that MSNBC is a liberal equivalent is sorely mistaken. Other than the two straight liberal shows (Countdown and The Rachel Maddow Show) who base their stories on facts instead of lies and distortions, show me the Fox News equivalent of Morning Joe or Hardball? Show me a liberal nutball on MSNBC crying on a nightly basis with leaps of logic on a prop blackboard. Sure, Keith Olbermann can be over emotional, but look for criticisms and factchecking on his show based on what he says instead of how he says it and you'll have a long, hard search.

The White House has every reason to be wary of real news organizations falling into the for-profit, if it bleeds it leads, Fox style of "news" broadcasting. No one says Fox can't have it's opinion, but purposely misleading or distorting facts, or building a segment based on RNC talking points complete with typos is not news.

Dick With A Box

First we had SNL's Dick In A Box skit, and now this.

Richard Heene, whose six-year-old son Falcon was feared to have floated away in a home-made helium balloon on Thursday before being found alive at the home, had earlier on Saturday said he planned a "big announcement".

But the eccentric amateur scientist instead emerged from his Fort Collins house carrying a cardboard box which he asked reporters to put written questions for his consideration.

What. A. Douchebag.

Piano Stairs

I'd be late for work EVERY DAY!

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SURPRISE! (Not.) Balloon Boy Hoax

Falcon Heene: "You guys said that we did it for the show."



When I found out about Balloon Boy, my first instinct after I heard he wasn't on the balloon after it had landed was that he had untethered it, and fearing the wrath of mommy and daddy, decided to hide out. When I found out that these people were on ABC's Wife Swap, my cynical side immediately took over and I thought mom and dad might be attention hounds or that it might be a publicity stunt. Luckily for us, six-year olds are too honest when under pressure, you know, like during a live TV interview.

I wonder if Mr. Heene is going to get a nice, fat invoice for the emergency resources that were used in searching for a child that wasn't lost?

The World Stops When Bizarre Things Happen

How else do you explain the nonstop coverage of today's story about a runaway balloon allegedly with a six-year old boy along for the ride? Once the balloon landed, and no boy was found, the very first thing I thought was that the boy let the balloon go and realizing how stupid it was, decided to hide for fear of getting in major trouble. If I were six years old and did something as asinine, I'd hide too!

The story has a "happy" ending. Despite horrid thoughts and speculation by bearded CNN pundits of a box or basket that was attached to the balloon in which the little fly boy hopped in and eventually plummeted to his death while 10,000 feet high, he was eventually found hiding in his attic, scared shitless of the Major League trouble he would be in.

And yet, hours after the homemade weather balloon landed two counties away sans kid, we were forced to watch speculators and and pseudo-pundits trying to figure out how high the balloon got, if it could handle the weight of a child and the basket he was supposedly in, all while watching the same 30 seconds of footage of the flying balloon, followed by 30 seconds of the balloon landing, followed by 30 seconds of the flying balloon that we'd just seen.

The world stopped while this balloon was in the air. Nothing else was happening. At least not according to the 24/7 news media outlets. And even after the boy was found, they kept talking about it! Nothing happened on the health care front. Everyone forgot to criticize President Obama's trip to New Orleans. Yet we were mesmerized by the balloon story. That silver, mylar, flying saucer shaped balloon put most of us in a trance even when there was NO NEW NEWS to report for hours.

This is the problem with 24 hour news outlets. When does breaking news stop becoming breaking news? Even when the story is long over, it's still "Breaking News" and real news gets ignored. Sensationalism is only sensational when something sensational happens, whether it be the balloon boy, or Natalee Halloway or Anna Nicole Smith or Michael Jackson. I wish someone would let cable news producers in on that little tidbit of information.

Rush Blames Liberal Media For His Racist Views

This is truly classic. Rush Limbaugh, syndicated right wing talk show host and all around asshole, has been dropped from the group of investors bidding for a minority stake in the St. Louis Rams. Doesn't that give you a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling?

Of course, Limbaugh, who has always insisted that liberal and progressive media doesn't have an audience is now blaming liberal and progressive media for his demise. And while yesterday he ranted that he would sue anyone that was maligning him for his past statements he deemed false, he hasn't said a word about it today. I suppose his lawyers made it known you can't deny something you said when there is audio and video evidence.

Imbeciles like Sarah Palin's lap dog, John Ziegler are moaning about Limbaugh's 1st Amendment rights. News flash, Ziegler: Rush can say any damned thing he wants, but that doesn't mean he can't be held accountable for it.

You know, things like,

"I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team."

Or...

"Look it, let me put it to you this way. The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There I said it."

And who can forget...

"What do you spend the money on to fight gang violence? Afterschool program -- don't we already have afterschool programs? Don't we already have -- what do you call it, extracurricular events? Midnight basketball -- I mean, we've done it all. We've taken the favorite sport of gangs, and we put it at midnight to get them on the basketball court."

And this is just pertaining to sports. This doesn't even begin to mention his screeds on President Obama. Such hits as "Barack, The Magic Negro," or "Halfrican-American," or "[I]n Obama's America, the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering" or on the Gates controversy: "Here you have a black president trying to destroy a white policeman."

So now the free market capitalists that conservatives love to espouse so much have decided that their business is too important for them to have a scumbag like Limbaugh ruining their image. Suck on it, Rush.

*Artwork couresty of TheDailyPost-It.com

Dow Closes Above 10,000...

... for the first time in over a year.

Remember this?

March 2nd, 2009 - RightPundits.com: Let’s look at the key dates in Barack Obama’s Administration so far and see what the stock market did around those dates:

November 3, 2008: Obama is Elected

November 3, 2008: 9326.04 Open

November 4, 2008: 9139.28 Close

So far, not that bad, right? However, if investors believed in Obama’s message of hope they would buy, instead of sell, around that time.

January 20, 2009: Obama is Inaugurated

January 20, 2009: 8,279.63 Open

January 20, 2009: 7,920.66 Close

Obama’s inauguration didn’t exactly make investors celebrate. Also note, between Obama’s election and inauguration, the stock market dropped 1200 points. If they believed in Obama, the stock market probably would have inched upward, even in a down economy.

February 17, 2009: Obama signs stimulus package into law.

February 17, 2009: 7,845.63 Open

February 17, 2009: 7,502.59 Close

The stimulus package clearly did not stimulate any investors into buying. Note that as of February 17, there was a 1800 point drop since the election, and a 400 point drop since inauguration.

February 27, 2009: Obama announces budget

Febraury 27, 2009: 7,180.97 Open

March 2, 2009: 6763.29 Close

As of today’s close, Obama has overseen the worst stock market performance in the history of America for a new president. It’s an unprecedented 28% drop from Obama’s election to today. If you don’t believe my numbers, you can check the historical data here.

Today: *criket*...*cricket*... *cricket*

Attention RightPundits.com: As of today's close, the Dow Jones has increased 33% in the last six months (while President Obama was actually in office) since your ridiculous post. Care to credit Obama for that?

Rahm Meeting With Reid About Senate Health Care Bill

This is going to be a very telling meeting.

TPM: At 2:30 this afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will host Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in the first of several meetings presaging the merger of two major health care bills. The foursome is expected to discuss key issues at the heart of the reform process--affordability, Medicare, the public option, revenues--but no decisions are expected today.

The talk has been about Reid and how he'd better not exclude a public option in the bill they are proposing, but just a couple of hours ago I heard Ed Shultz on his radio show saying he trusted Reid and quoting him as saying this on the Senate Judiciary Committee floor:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) joined the push to eliminate the [insurance industry's anti-trust] exemption Wednesday morning, saying at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, “It’s something that should have been done a long time ago.”

As for insurance companies, “There isn’t anything we could do to satisfy them in this health care bill. Nothing,” Reid said. “They are so anti-competitive. Why? Because they make more money than any other business in America today. . . .What a sweet deal they have.”

So it would seem that Harry Reid, being in favor of revoking anti-trust exemption laws favoring the insurance companies, would have no trouble increasing competition and adding a public option to the bill. Unless Rahm helps him changed his mind.

Music Break! Jon Faddis

Here's That Rainy Day

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Jon Stewart is awesome.

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This Is Perfect

Booman (Via Cesca): "Yesterday was probably the most embarrassing day yet for the progressive blogosphere during the short reign of the Obama administration. So, now is probably a good time to just let loose and register my disgust with the movement I've been a part of for the last five years.

If you supported Obama during the primaries, you know who you are and this does not necessarily apply to you. For the rest of you, you spent the primaries either shilling for Clinton and telling us our guy was all talk and no show, or you spent them bitching that David Plouffe wouldn't respond to and obey your emailed wisdom. As soon as he won the presidency, you started bitching about his appointments. As soon as he became president, you started bitching about his messaging, his framing, his agenda, and his lack of deference to your opinion. I want to know where the point was in this process when Obama was supposed to conclude that you were his allies and that you were responsible for his victory. When was he supposed to conclude that he owed you something, or that you had any respect for him, or that you credited his good intentions, or that you understood the myriad responsibilities of the job might mean that your pet issues might have to wait six months, a year, or two years to get to the top of his agenda.

You call him a warmonger, but he gets the Nobel Peace Prize. He ends torture and allows his Attorney General to investigate it, and you call him a torturer. He tries to enact health care reform with a robust public option and you accuse him of seeking every opportunity to sell-out to the insurance industry. He bails out the cratering financial services industry and prevents a second Great Depression, and you accuse him of selling his soul to corporate CEO's. I'm not saying that all of these criticisms lack validity. I'm not saying that people shouldn't advocate for the things they care about passionately. I just want to know where you get the fucking idea that an anonymous White House staffer who gets asked about all this criticism would feel obligated to show you deference and respect."

I've increasingly felt this way for the last few months now, very early on with DADT and DOMA, and now with the health care reform debate. It seems to me that everyone has their billy clubs out ready to pounce on any perceived slight by the White House, whether on the right (which is expected) or the left (which is surprising and depressing).

We're 9½ months into a new administration that started in the deepest of ditches on January 20th. Think about it: you really couldn't get handed something much worse. And despite some of the accomplishments that President Obama and his administration have succeeded on in just 9 months, there's been nothing but the feeling of "it's not good enough, or fast enough" when it comes to a specific issue that any one person can have.

Even now I look into health care debates online where some of the Progressive commenters who support single payer say, "Obama is worse than Bush." Really? Did you just say that George W. Bush could do a better job than President Obama when it comes to health care reform? The guy that cut S-CHIP? That George Bush? The guy who signed Medicare Part D into law without the means to pay for it? Is that the Bush you're talking about? And that's just on the health care front.

All the talk lately was about how Obama had too many balls in the air all at once, but if one of those balls wasn't Medicare for All or repealing DADT immediately, it wasn't good enough.

So yes, I am in agreement with Booman and Bob Cesca. You have every right to voice your opinion and feel passionate about the issues that mean something to you. But if it isn't 100% to your liking or it isn't fast enough for you, just take a deep breath and think about what the alternative might have been.

Meet the new boss, DEFINITELY not the same as the old boss.

Friedman Jacks Off On The Military

I really run hot and cold with Tom Friedman. Mostly cold. I'd like to dismiss him altogether but even a broken journalist is right twice a day, as in the case of his analysis on the current political climate of Obama hate coming from the far right.

But Friedman's latest column in which he suggests that President Obama embarrass the Nobel Committee by accepting the Peace Prize not on his behalf but instead on behalf of all the US military who have ever fought because they are the true peace keepers is a little over the top. Well, it would only be a little over the top if he'd just left it at that. What drives him over the Thelma and Louise egde is going on and on and writing an Obama speech in which the President stands before the US military, drops trou and proceeds to give them all a pearl necklace because of how fucking awesome they are. He then leaves a medal with Alfred Nobel's portrait on the side table and tells them he'll see them in Afghanistan.

Friedman seems to confuse empty Sarah Palin style military rhetoric with anything our President has ever said. That's where Friedman blew it, and his load, on this one.

Your 99th-Percentile Baby: "Too Fat" for Health Care

Posted by Fraulein

This is utterly reprehensible:

Because of his size, Baby Alex was turned down for health insurance. His height and weight put him in the 99th percentile according to CDC guidelines.

This child is four months old and breastfed. Meaning, as every parent knows, that his current size is completely arbitrary. There is no such concept as "obesity" when it comes to INFANTS. He's as big as he's supposed to be. You cannot put an infant on a diet. The "99th percentile" thing means that (going by averages that were probably set 30 or 40 years ago) if a baby's height and weight measure over a certain amount, in theory he or she is larger than 99 percent of the other babies the same age.

When my Peanut was a couple of months old, she measured in the upper percentiles for weight and height. She just ate a ton. She did not appear, visually, to be of a freakish size. She was pretty much the same size as most of the other babies we knew at the time who were a similar age.

This sad situation is just one more reason why health care reform is so desparately necessary. The insurance companies will grab onto any excuse, no matter how pathetic, to deny coverage. This time it's these unfortunate people. Next time it could be you.

Oh, Marge...

Who's idea was this?

Maddow Named Best Talk Show Host in America by UK

No, it's not an official title. But it is interesting that a foreign newspaper would notice.

"...what really endears her to American liberals is the way she takes her job and the authority it gives her seriously. Maddow is less interested in the shouting fests that dominate most cable news and instead favours in-depth interviews with experts who are permitted to show their expertise on air without being interrupted. Hers may be the only show on cable news were feminists come on air to speak their minds without being paired off with belligerent sexists who dominate the conversation by yelling over their points.

But Maddow isn't opposed to fair-mindedness. She often brings on conservatives for the same kind of in-depth interviews, and even when she strongly disagrees, she always gives them a chance to air their views (and generally hang themselves with those views). Her show is the exact opposite of Bill O'Reilly's show. Where he cuts people off for saying things he doesn't like, Maddow digs in deeper."

Suck it, Bill-O.

Alan Grayson Rocks!

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

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

You can contribute to Grayson here.

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**Note: My apologies for the lack of posting this week. My work schedule was such that I didn't have time to read a paper or watch the news, let alone compose a blog post.

Quote of the Day

"The question we have to ask is who has done the most in the previous year to enhance peace in the world. And who has done more than Barack Obama?"

-THORBJOERN JAGLAND, chairman of the Nobel Committee

President Obama's Weekly Address - October 10, 2009

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Obama Wins Nobel Prize, Wingnuts Crap Cages

Anti-Obama all the time. America loses 2016 Olympics and "WOOHOO!" Obama sucks! He couldn't seal the deal! This only proves that the world really hates him. Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize and "WHAAAA?!?!!" Political fallout! What will the right say? What will Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity and *gasp!* Rush Limbaugh say about it?

And I say, "Who gives a shit what the nutballs have to say?" They are preaching to their ever shrinking choir. They will tell their audience of 30 percenters what they want to hear. So why is this any different than any other day, other than the fact that the rest of the reasonable, sane population should feel a sense of pride that their country's leader, only the third sitting President in the history of the nation, should receive such an honor?

When Limbaugh gets himself into such a lather to the point of agreeing with the Taliban, and lumps his audience in with that assertion while calling President Barack "Nobel Peace Prize" Obama a "worldwide joke," and saying it's "a greater embarrassment that losing the Olympics bid," then you know you're on the right track. Really? Winning the Nobel Peace Prize is an embarrassment? How does he rate getting busted with illegal Viagra prescriptions at the airport?

So let them fling their feces. They do it every day. It only proves their simian intellect. What difference does another reason make when every day we sit in a front row seat at the viewing of Glenn Beck dirtying his underpants? Just another a day in the life of the disinformers and the misinformed.

ADDING... Rachel Maddow dissects this situation perfectly.

Obama Derangement Syndrome

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Sotomayor Has Surpassed Thomas Already

When I read the Huffington Post title, "Sotomayor Asks More Questions In An Hour Than Thomas Has In Years," I surely thought it was an exaggeration. Wouldn't you? HA! WRONG!

Does Clarence Thomas really ask so few questions that Sotomayor could beat his total in an hour, you may wonder. Indeed, he does. As the AP reported in February 2008, Thomas had gone 2 years and 144 cases without speaking up during oral arguments. "It is a period of unbroken silence that contrasts with the rest of the court's unceasing inquiries," the AP wrote at the time.

What a wise latina!

Cartoon of the Day

Other People's Sex Lives

Posted by Fraulein

Ever since then-President Clinton was practically burned at the stake by our highly-principled news media for his affair with Monica Lewinsky, I've been fascinated by the pull that this type of adultery story seems to exhibit. I totally understand the concern that a person in a position of power could abuse that position to demand sexual favors from staff members. If that had been the case with Clinton, then yes, my journalistic instincts tell me that would have been a story. But with a willing, adult-age partner, where is the story? A guy cheated on his wife? These things do happen. Dog bites man. Not a story.

I've been reminded of all this in reading the tons of ink spilled on the David Letterman adultery story. Unless I’ve missed something, it doesn’t seem that any of the women Letterman apparently slept with have accused him of demanding sex in return for job perks or promotions or continued employment. Nobody is saying he preyed on underage staffers. So why the hell does anyone care? Did the guy break any laws? If not, why does the media feel inclined to beat this story to death? I guess in this case the answer is the same as it usually is: this story is being over-covered because it’s an easy story to cover. (Our media is nothing if not lazy.) There’s ready-made video with Dave’s noteworthy on-air discussion of the events, in an effort to take control of the narrative from the guy trying to blackmail him. And as much as we love our celebrities in America, we love seeing them beaten down even more. A humiliated celebrity is far better news fodder than a famous person on top of the world.

That said, I find the Associated Press’ hand-wringing in the above-linked story quite interesting. What must Dave do to keep women viewers, the AP wonders? Speaking as a (sigh) middle-aged married woman, I have to say that nothing about this whole thing bothers me, aside from the media’s over-reaction to it. Letterman’s sex life concerns me precisely as much as Bill Clinton’s sex life concerned me back in the 1990s: not one goddamn bit. Why shouldn’t I keep watching Letterman’s show? Don’t I have more pressing things to worry about? How immature am I supposed to be, exactly?

The last thing I want to waste time worrying about is other people’s legal, consensual sexual activities. Period. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. But the media will never admit that most people simply don’t care about this stuff.

Cross-posted at Purple Ink

A Huge SNL Disappointment - UPDATED

I was so looking forward to SNL when I got home from work and it was probably the worst show I'd seen in years. Hell, Ryan Reynolds is hysterical in his movies and he was hosting. And Lady GaGa performing is always going to intrigue me.

So imagine my surprise when I sat there in complete silence with the opening Obama skit. There is Fred Armisen going through a list of non accomplishments.



Yeah, just watched it again. Still not funny. At first I thought maybe I've become so partisan and jaded that it's gotten to the point of laughing hysterically at skits slamming Republicans (the Joe Wilson "You Lie" skit made me chuckle) and being completely unable to laugh at myself when Democrats are attacked. The difference I'm realizing is that they really have to stretch the truth when trying to razz Democrats, but can almost take the GOP verbatim. "It's funny because it's true" isn't just an empty phrase.

The whole point of satire is in the truth behind it. Last week's skit on Thursday's Weekend Update with Obama appearing on every network including MTV and The Food Network was humorous after he'd done the Full Ginsburg for obvious reasons. This one was just completely off base. When you can complete every sentence with an obvious qualifier to discredit the point, it becomes unfunny. For example, "Close Gitmo... in one year." "Get out of Iraq... in 18 months." It just went on and on.

Unfortunately, the "we can attack Democrats too and we will so as not to be called in the bag for Obama" meme was shining right through with that most recent sketch. And as impressions go, Fred Armisen wasn't even trying this time. Maybe his heart wasn't in it because he knew it was bullshit and a crap ass skit.

When the funniest sketch of the evening comes at the end of the show with Lady GaGa and Adam Samberg in identical "bubble dresses" trying to kiss, it's time for the writers to take stock and get back at it.

Adding... Here is a list of accomplishments in President Obama's first eight months provided by Bob Cesca.

UPDATE (7:20pm): Here's PolitiFact's review of the SNL skit.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

With all the talk of Iran and its newly found nuclear facility, President Obama's announcement at the G-20 in Pittsburgh and Iran's agreement to allow inspectors in the country in two weeks, Jon Perr at Crook and Liars takes a stroll down memory lane as a reminder of the last fiasco in Iran and the leadership provided by the greatest of all GOP administrations (as averred by Republicans), the Reagan Administration.

The Iran-Contra scandal, as you'll recall, almost laid waste to the Reagan presidency. Desperate to free U.S. hostages held by Iranian proxies in Lebanon, President Reagan provided weapons Tehran badly needed in its long war with Saddam Hussein (who, of course, was backed by the United States). In a clumsy and illegal attempt to skirt U.S. law, the proceeds of those sales were then funneled to the contras fighting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. And as the New York Times recalled, Reagan's fiasco started with an emissary bearing gifts from the Gipper himself:

A retired Central Intelligence Agency official has confirmed to the Senate Intelligence Committee that on the secret mission to Teheran last May, Robert C. McFarlane and his party carried a Bible with a handwritten verse from President Reagan for Iranian leaders.

According to a person who has read the committee's draft report, the retired C.I.A. official, George W. Cave, an Iran expert who was part of the mission, said the group had 10 falsified passports, believed to be Irish, and a key-shaped cake to symbolize the anticipated ''opening'' to Iran.

The rest, as they say, is history. After the revelations regarding his trip to Tehran and the Iran-Contra scheme, a disgraced McFarlane attempted suicide. After his initial denials, President Reagan was forced to address the nation on March 4, 1987 and acknowledge he indeed swapped arms for hostages:

"A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not. As the Tower board reported, what began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated, in its implementation, into trading arms for hostages."

Of course, the sad saga didn't end there.

Read the whole, fascinating post.

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Shuster Asks GOP Hypocrite Hasner To Denounce All Nazi/Holocast Rhetoric

I'm glad I found this video from yesterday's MSNBC broadcast. Florida State House Majority Rep. Adam Hasner was all ready to jump on the "We Hate Alan Grayson Because He Said Holocaust" bandwagon, but didn't expect to be questioned about other vitriolic statements from members of his own party or denounce Rush Limbaugh's constant use of "Nazi" phrases.

Obviously, Hasner chose not to for fear that he and his helmet hair would suffer the Limbaugh wrath.

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Chicago Loses Out On 2016 Olympics, GOP Cheers America's Loss - UPDATED

America-loving conservatives who were appalled that President Obama would take less than 24 hours out of his busy schedule to travel to Copenhagen and state his case to host the 2016 Olympic Games in Chicago will now probably take umbrage at the failed attempt, while snickering under their breath.

COPENHAGEN — The Olympics were awarded to a South American city for the first time, when the International Olympic Committee voted Rio de Janeiro as the host of the 2016 Games on Friday.

Rio de Janeiro was voted the winner over Madrid in the final round of voting, the I.O.C. having already delivered the an unexpectedly early knockout blow to Chicago, which was eliminated in the first round. Tokyo was ousted in the second.

...Chicago’s bid leaders had worked for nearly four years and spent close to $50 million to bring the Summer Olympics to the United States for the first time in 20 years. Chicago had been considered among Olympic insiders as a favorite to win the Games, along with Rio.

Instead, the I.O.C. delivered a crushing blow to American hopes for the second straight time. New York’s bid was eliminated in the second round of voting for the 2012 Olympics.

Now the President can get back to the task at hand and watch as Republican Senators try giving even more of our tax dollars to the insurance companies while crapping on the public option.

UPDATE (4:15pm): I rest my case. Why does Rush Limbaugh hate America?

Adding... It seems Rush had his widdle feewings hurt by David Brooks.

What I Want For Christmas!

Well who the hell needs the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar when you can have this!

This isn't your average teenage pin-up calendar -- not when the women photographed carry titles like congresswoman and columnist.

On Friday, the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute plans to release its fifth annual Great American Conservative Woman calendar. Demand is already so high for the 2010 run that the institute expects it to sell out, and may order a second printing, according to de facto calendar spokeswoman Alyssa Cordova, the lecture director for the institute.

To hell with you Brooklyn Decker, why do I need you when I can have Michelle Malkin's mug on my wall? So long, Bar Refaeli, I'm making ample room for Ann Coulter's Adam's Apple. Oh, Bay Buchanan... how my loins ache for you. And Carrie Prejean, don't speak. Just look pretty. No, really. DON'T SPEAK.



ORDER YOURS TODAY!

Is There No End To The Bachmann Lunacy?

TPM: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) took to the House floor last night to warn against a provision of the House health care bill, which would authorize non-profit entities to operate health clinics in schools -- which she said would lead to Planned Parenthood "sex clinics" giving abortions to 13-year old girls without the parents knowing about it.

Bachmann said that the bill required the protection of privacy for patient and student records, and asked: "Does that mean that someone's 13 year-old daughter could walk into a sex clinic, have a pregnancy test done, be taken away to the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, have their abortion, be back and go home on the school bus that night? Mom and dad are never the wiser, they don't know any different."

This woman is insane. Let's not worry about Swine Flu epidemics being concentrated in schools, or free vaccines easily available to lower income students. No, this dingbat makes yet anther straw man argument about abortion to rile up her shrinking moronic base.

This is what I meant by "I'm not smart enough to run for elected office." Apparently, my intelligence would blow some members of Congress away. Some combined, even.

Rep. Alan Grayson: GOP Nothing But "Knuckle Dragging Neanderthals"

I never thought I could run for elected office because, as evidenced by my blog, I can be crass, foul-mouthed and generally tend to cast any sense of decorum out the window. (I'm not smart enough either, but judging by the current crop of GOP elected officials, I don't think that's much of a hurdle anymore.)

Now I have new found hope! Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Florida) is my new hero. Not only did he turn the tables on the Republican party's use of "death panels" and "health care reform equals dead people" rhetoric, but he refused to apologize for saying that the GOP Health Care Plan is to "die quickly" if you get sick on the floor of the House. And to top it off, while being interviewed by Rachel Maddow, Grayson added that the Republican party is "utterly unscrupulous. These are foot dragging, knuckle dragging Neanderthals."

Crack open a beer, sit back and watch what I can only dream of doing.

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Our Priorities Are Fucked

I am pissed off. I guess I have been for a little while now but have been trying to organize my thoughts instead of shooting from the hip, hence the lack of posting these last few days.

I've come to the conclusion that our priorities as a country are totally fucked. I know that's been the case for a while now, but it really hasn't been as transparent as it has in the last few weeks where the pushback from the yokels at town hall meetings defending the very insurance companies that are fucking them in the ass on a regular basis and the inane neocon talking points and conspiracy theories have taken root with the so-called leaders of the Republican party boggle the mind.

I say this because I can't begin to comprehend the mindset that doesn't blink at the amount of money we spend as a country on certain things but blow a gasket on the spending proposed for something worthwhile and beneficial to all Americans, like health care.

The Department of Defense budget for Fiscal 2009 is $651 BILLION. $136 Billion of that is used for emergency discretionary spending and supplemental spending. That's extra money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This number doesn't include funds for Homeland Security, Energy Department, FBI counter-terrorism, NASA, Veterans Affairs, interest on debt incurred in past wars or the black budget. That brings the total to somewhere between $859 Billion and $1.16 TRILLION.

We will spend a minimum of $859 billion this year on the defense budget alone but the powers that be in the beltway are in a panic over $90 billion a year to make sure Americans don't die for lack of health care. They are screeching and howling and flinging their poo over spending one tenth of what they spend on the defense budget yearly. Do you see something wrong with that?

Our presence in the Middle East is costing somewhere in the neighborhood of $11 billion a month. Health care reform would cost $7.5 billion a month.

We will spend over $36 billion this year on Homeland Security to insure that there isn't a repeat of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 when 3,000 were killed, but hesitate on spending money to insure people who are uninsured or under insured don't die from lack of health insurance. According to a Harvard medical study released just two weeks ago, approximately 45,000 Americans die yearly due to lack of health insurance. Figure out the math. That's one 9/11 every 3½ weeks.

Congress takes precious time passing resolutions to prevent funding to organizations like ACORN for the approximate $3.5 million it receives yearly for such things as census work or fighting for a higher minimum wage, but doesn't bat an eyelash at the multi-billion dollar contracts held by Lockheed-Martin and Northrop-Grumman even though there are 20 fraud cases pending bewteen them.

So what kind of country do you want to live in? One that takes care of its citizens' health even if we have to pay a little more for it? Or one that spends multiple times the projected health care reform cost to continue being the cock of the walk militarily while losing tens of thousands of citizens to illness in its "protection" of us against "the terrorists." Remind me again how many people were killed by terrorists in the US this year? Just to clarify, I'm not saying we shouldn't spend any money in defense of our country, but you have to wonder when that figure is currently 29% of our budget and rising.

So now you know why I'm pissed after a couple of hours of monkey watching on C-Span.

The Truth vs. Fiction About The Public Option

Rachel Maddow did an outstanding job explaining what's going on in the Senate Finance Committee and the rejection of the public option amendments during yesterday's markup.

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Rockefeller Public Option Amendment Fails

TPM: The final vote was 8-15 with 5 Democrats--Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT)--voting with all Republicans to kill the proposal.

Keep these fuckers in your mind and your wallet for anyone running against them in their respective primaries.

Update (5:15pm):

Schumer's Amendment Fails.

Bob Cesca: Why Baucus Is Full of Shit

Schoolchildren Singing Songs to President...Nixon

Posted by Fraulein

As a follow-up to Carl's post about this week's Douchebag, Michelle Malkin, and her efforts to alert the nation to the dangers of children singing songs about elected officials, I refer you to Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog, where you can view video of kids singing the following to then-President Richard Nixon:

We love you president
Oh yes we do
We love you president
And we'll be true

I'm sure we can expect Malkin's apology any time now. Right?

Douchebag of the Week: Michelle Malkin

This week brought us another non story of children in a school singing a song during President's Week and Black History Month, (yes, back in February) as more wingnut proof of children getting "indoctrinated" to all things Obama. The faux outrage was palpable, but leave it to Michelle "WWII Japanese Internment Was a Good Thing" Malkin to go over the top once again.

It seems that this is becoming a forte for Malkin, who I suppose is not afraid of one certain demographic to malign and attack. Those most vulnerable among us: children. First she posted some college students' phone numbers who were protesting military recruitment at their campus causing them to get death threats. Then she was quick to hunt down Graeme Frost, the 12-year old boy who's struggling family was used as an example in favor of S-CHIP. Yeah, Malkin stalked them at their house and gave us distorted, detailed information of their "lavish" lifestyle, causing wingnuts across the land to fling their poo.

And now Malkin is in a lather over the evil indoctrination of second graders and their brainwashing, sing songs hailing President Obama. She went so far as to do some handy dandy investigative work and name the principal and the school responsible for the brain melting, and guess what? Yep. Death threats. Looks like Malkin's audience actually has a skill.

"The tension at B. Bernice Young Elementary School escalated to such a degree Thursday that the school was placed temporarily on lockdown after its principal received death threats over a YouTube video that showed nearly 20 children being taught songs lauding the president, though back-to-school night events continuing as planned Thursday night at the school."

That would never happen if kids were singing the praises of President Bush, right? And if that were the case, Michelle Malkin would be all over it like stink on shit, right? ...Right?

Actually, no.

"...back in 2006 children from Gulf Coast states serenaded First Lady Laura Bush with a song praising the President, Congress, and Federal Emergency Management Agency for their response to -- of all things -- Hurricane Katrina. The lyrics were as follow:

Our country's stood beside us
People have sent us aid.
Katrina could not stop us,
our hopes will never fade.
Congress, Bush and FEMA
People across our land
Together have come to rebuild us
and we join them hand-in-hand!"

A song about FEMA and Hurricane Fucking Katrina?! That's pretty ballsy. I guess Michelle missed that one. After all, it's not like it was widespread like some movie.

(Via Cesca)


Great job, Malkin. Once again you display your idiocy with such expertise.

Oh, one other thing. About that internment thing? Does Malkin not look in the mirror and realize that she probably would have been swept up in the racial profiling that she defends during World War II? Sure, she's of Filipino descent, but they all look the same, right Michelle?

Michelle "The Child Hunter" Malkin: Douchebag of the Week.


Here's a more impartial take on the story. You form your own opinion.