…and there are always plenty of links, so let’s get started…

POLITICIANS BEHAVING BADLY:

• Representative Gregg Harper’s (R-MS) organization, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, has been recently called “bipartisan” by Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE).  When asked by Polico’s reporter, “What in the world does the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus do,” one might reasonably expect would be an answer along the lines of, “we support the rights and interests of sportsmen, fishermen, and hunters, in Congress.“  What one might NOT expect, was Harper’s response: “We hunt liberal, tree-hugging Democrats, although it does seem like a waste of good ammunition.“  Very nice…very responsible…very bipartisan.
• Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN), known most for conspiracy theories verging on the truly bizarre, has declared that she will not run for the presidency in 2012.  Which makes sense…since she may not even be able to win re-election for the seat she currently holds, as the residents of her district have grown more than a bit weary of her embarrassing statements, and the negative attention they attract.  However, Bachmann did provide an interesting recommendation for who she thinks SHOULD run:  Representative Steve King (R-IA).  That’s right…she’s recommending the man who brought us such hits as being the only vote against a resolution stating that it was wrong to use slaves to build our Capitol,  sponsoring his own resolution “recognizing the importance of Christians and the Christian faith,” and very recently stating that gay rights are a “purely socialist concept.”  Way to really think it through, Michele…he is a winner.
• I guess Republicans just LOVE Twitter.  It’s also being reported…that they love setting up fake Twitter accounts and webpages, where they pretend to be particular Democratic legislators and candidates.  They then use these fraudulent accounts to misinform and offend voters.  Twitter has caught on and is trying to close all the accounts being used by Republicans in this way.  I think I may know why they like Twitter more than actual blogs:  on Twitter nobody expects you to actually use facts and defend your position…you can get away with just blurting out a few words of nonsense.
• The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has put out an ad, claiming that Republicans have wasted over 1,000 hours in the Senate, through exploitation of parliamentary rules and procedures.  The DSCC does little to show how they arrived at this figure…but I would guess that much of what the GOP has fought for in Congress also qualifies as a waste of time.  Need examples? This clip, a spoof on the iPhone commercials, has been making the internet rounds, and I think it nicely sums up the kinds of platforms and positions the GOP is using to distract our attention, delay progress, and otherwise hinder real issues from being addressed:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_IAN081P8I

THE MEDIA -- HACKS, PUNDITS, AND OTHER INVETERATE LIARS:

• A Telling List: Want to see clips of the “Top Ten Distortions Perpetrated By FOX News?“  Well look no further than this link.  It includes such highlights as accusing an Obama czar of condoning statutory rape, editing a clip of Joe Biden quoting John McCain…so that it appeared as if Biden said the quote, editing a clip of Barack Obama so it appeared that he supported a European-style health care system…when he was actually opposing the idea, AND directly repeating, verbatim, GOP talking points as if they were news.  Enjoy…
• Glenn Beck, Part 1: A Hollywood charity is mounting a push to encourage more Americans to volunteer.  Since Obama has also supported volunteerism as important, Glenn Beck could only imagine one thing:  That Obama is using Hollywood…to turn us into Communist China.  No, I’m serious…here’s what he said: “Celebrities are coming together to make it cool to volunteer. Disney gives you a free day at the park. This is all fine, but doesn’t it seem a little bit convenient that all of this comes out now at the same time the Obama administration is calling for it? Obama controls the message through the media he holds in his pocket. Or in his little hand. And soon if you disobey, he’ll just go [Beck slaps his hand]. Now the message will be embedded in television shows. Isn’t this great? Aren’t you proud of what we’re doing? Oh, this certainly is change.“
• Glenn Beck, Part 2: Why is it that every time I write about something Glenn Beck said, I feel the need to also say, “No really…that’s what he said?“  Well, Beck was busy this week providing more ammunition for whomever is filling out the civil commitment papers on him, claiming that progressives/liberals…wait for it…have historically tried to take away everyone’s individual liberties, and could also be called “tyrants” or “slave holders.”  <<Sigh>>…
• Neocon Frank Gaffney has claimed in the past that Obama was some sort of “secret Muslim,” that there is evidence connect Saddam Hussein to 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing (there isn’t, of course, and shame on you if you didn’t know that), that Sarah Palin learned foreign policy just by living in Alaska, that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (but that the media hid this “fact” from us), and that Democratic officials who criticized former President George W. Bush…should be hanged.  I tell you all this…so it will be of no surprise that Gaffney has no more decency than he has sense.  In a recent appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews, he told Ron Reagan…that his father would be ashamed of him:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMOBQZwDMAE

• John Stossel of the FOX Business Channel recently condemned Lou Dobbs’, of CNN, for Dobb’s ongoing “rants about immigrants wrecking America.“  Dobbs has now responded, and rather unkindly: “Fox Business News - their new hire John Stossel -- weighing in with his own brand of myopic idiocy and no information whatsoever sat down with self-described rodeo clown Glenn Beck…what a self-important ass…He doesn’t understand basic economics…He’s just a silly little trick waiting to do some sort of Libertarian flip…Immigrants wrecking America -  I’ve never said anything close to that. As a matter of fact, I embrace immigrants to this country, I welcome them, I want more -- and as a matter of public policy, we need them. In no way am I restrictionist, and to hear this ass continue his act over at Fox News. I just can’t wait until he starts blowing bubbles in the air -- that’s about all he’s equipped to do.“  That’s right Lou, you never said the “immigrants are wrecking America“…oh, except the time you accused them of bringing leprosy here…oh, or the time you claimed they were forming a conspiracy to take back their old national territory…oh, and remember the time you said they were a threat to the entire middle class, and working people everywhere?  Dobbs…before you start trying to play “friend to the immigrant,” and “holier than thou” with John Stossel…you might want to watch some your own clips on YouTube.
• How better to wrap up the “Media Gone Wild” segment of the post, than with an Ann Coulter item.  During her appearance on Joy Behar’s talk show, she stated that all Presidential assassins have been liberals: “As I have not only witnessed in my own life but described in ‘Guilty’, every presidential assassination or attempted presidential assassination was committed by some kind of left-wing loon, communist, anarchist, communitarian, or they had no politics at all.“  Behar attempts to point out that this statement is indefensible and patently false…but Ms. Coulter has never been the one to stop talking so that someone else can point out HOW WRONG SHE IS:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHBR8GYwtiM

COURTESY OF THE PENTAGON AND THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX:

• Apparently, there are at least 220 detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Prison…which have been found to have had no ties to terrorism, 9/11, or to pose any other kind of threat to the United States…but we’re still keeping them in prison.  The Supreme Court is preparing to look at this problem…yet another in a list of how Bush’s use of the military prison conflicts with seemingly EVERY aspect of Due Process listed in our Constitution.  A reminder: the base/prison is technically “American soil” and the Constitution does not say that it applies only to “citizens” but rather to all “persons.”  On a related note, a group called New Security Action, with the support of a number of retired generals and other veterans, has released a series of ads pointing out that Congress should step aside and allow Gitmo, which has come to represent nearly everything wrong about the Bush-Cheney way of thinking, to be closed.
• No surprise: Turns out the Pentagon was engaged in a highly organized program to sell the American people on the Iraq War and other Bush security policies.  Big surprise: Well…it wasn’t so much an “ad campaign” or a “public relations program“…as it was a series of psychological experiments being performed on the American citizenry.  Bonus surprise: One of the chief architects of this program?  He still works at the Pentagon in the same position.  Scully…Mulder…where are you when we need you?
• Most people were a bit surprised at the unmitigated gall of the 30 Senate Republicans who voted against Senator Franken’s (D-MN) bill, which would punish government contractors if they tried to keep employees from reporting rape.  Turns out, they’ve got company -- the Defense Department also doesn’t like the bill…because they would hate to have to do without KBR, Blackwater, and other companies that threaten/coerce/bribe victims of rape to be silent.

THE HEALTH CARE CARNIVAL OF DESPAIR:

• Amidst all the talk about a “public option,” few are paying attention to a development almost as big.  Democrats are very close to being able to strip away the anti-trust exemption given long ago to the health insurance companies, which has allowed them to behave as a monopoly.  Want to know why this is so important?  We know how the free market is SUPPOSED to work…but when a company is allowed to monopolize an industry or a region, then there is no competition to force the company to have fair pricing and offer good service…which leads to our situation today where the health insurance companies have high rates, giant profits, deny service, and mistreat customers.  Also…check out this map.  Yes, it’s disgusting: most states’ residents, RIGHT NOW, only have ONE or TWO insurers that they are ALLOWED to choose from.  “Free Market Capitalists“…are you listening?
• First it was “fat babies.”  Then it was “thin babies.”  Then it was “spousal abuse.”  What new excuse for denying coverage did we find out about now?  Yup…insurance companies, almost all of them, will not allow you to purchase a policy with them if you have been treated for RAPE.  To them…it’s just another “pre-existing condition.“
• The push for the public option is in full swing, and polls show it is working.  More of the public supports it each day, the House is within about EIGHT votes of being able to pass it, and we heard the surprising news today that the Senate may be within TWO votes.  Seriously: TWO VOTES.  Here’s a new ad, featuring Heather Graham, explaining why the option is necessary:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvaJYYeXf70

• Interesting fact courtesy of Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY): 55 of the Republicans opposing the public option because it’s “government-run” or “socialism“…they’re currently ON MEDICARE.  Weiner says, “Even in a town known for hypocrisy, this list of 55 Members of Congress deserve some sort of prize. They apparently think the public option is ok for them, but not anyone else.“  Yes, indeed.

GAY RIGHTS…OR THE LACK THEREOF:

• Wow:  It’s rare that someone actually ADMITS that their argument against gay rights and/or gay marriage is hollow and baseless.  Ross Douthat, conservative columnist for the New York Times, was asked while sitting on a panel for “young, bright, neo-cons” what he thought about gay marriage.  His response:  “I am someone opposed to gay marriage who is deeply uncomfortable arguing the issue in public.“  He explained that his reason for feeling “uncomfortable” discussing the subject, was because his argument against it is purely religious, and that it therefore represents “a losing argument.“  He even went so far as to recognize that because he is embarrassed that he has no real, factual objection to gay marriage…and because he is embarrassed to say what his objection really is…perhaps that means he needs to change his position and support gay marriage.  Wow.  Again…wow.
• Related to the previous item, a mailing sent out in Maine is attempting to persuade residents of the state to vote “Yes” in the upcoming ballot item to prohibit gay marriage.  The reasons that it proposes? I happen to have FiveThirtyEight.com’s summations of the reasons…first, the mailing claims that the new law permitting gay marriage “won’t make gay marriage equal to straight marriage. Instead, it will create a new kind of marriage in which gay people and straight people are equal.“  Well, besides not making much sense…that’s certainly not going to “stir up” too many people.  The second reason it offers: “…we may not have proven any connection between gay marriage and public education, our opponents haven’t disproven the connection, and it’s their fault that the subject came up.“  Impressive…that doesn’t really say anything, does it.  I mean, it sounds like it’s saying something…but then it just…doesn’t.  And third, the mailing offers that, “if gay marriage is upheld, then marriage will exist solely to make people happy.“  Well, it’s hard to see how that’s true…would gay people marrying suddenly make heterosexual marriages “meaningless” and about nothing more than “happiness?”  And hell, I know some people who will tell you that marriage has nothing to do with happiness at all…I’m sure they were just kidding…
• Meet Philip Spooner: Want to hear a86-year-old man…lifelong Republican…and WWII veteran who fought on D-Day…defend gay marriage with all his heart?  Yeah, me too:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrEbJBFWIPk

• Despite the calls from Republicans that protecting gay Americans was the equivalent of protecting practitioners of  pedophilia, bestiality, and necrophilia…the new Hate Crimes Bill has passed.

MISCELLANY:

• The Nation, a well-known progressive magazine, is publishing a “companion piece” to Sarah Palin’s new book, “Going Rogue.”  It’s titled “Going Rouge” and features an almost identical cover, to match the almost identical title.  Some conservatives have complained that this might lead to some people purchasing The Nation’s book by mistake.  Perhaps they’re right…seeing as both books will likely be placed next to each other on a shelve in the “Humor” section…and due to the fact that many of the people seeking Palin’s book might not know how “rogue” is properly spelled.

That about wraps it up for this week in Reality Liberation.  Have a wonderful weekend, and we’ll see you on Monday…

Only four categories this week…but lots of links, so let’s get started…

POLITICIANS BEHAVING BADLY:

• We’ve all been witness to the GOP’s recent “enlightenment” regarding the nation’s debt.  For the last eight years, while they held the reins of Congress, the rampant government spending was “absolutely necessary.”  Now: It’s the equivalent of kicking our grandchildren in the teeth.  Or, as Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) recently put it, it’s the equivalent of “waterboarding” them.  Coburn said, “We’re going to waterboard them.  We’re going to flood them with debt.“  Senator Coburn was referring to a program funding the study of political science, which Coburn claims is not necessary…since people can learn all that they need to know about politics from CABLE NEWS.  It’s suddenly quite obvious where HE learned most of what HE knows about it…
• It’s an established fact that Republicans have had some difficulty adjusting to the “internet age“…perhaps best displayed by the fact that most of them don’t seem to realize that if they say something that directly contradicts what they said one year ago, the clip of both statements will be on YouTube before the day is out.  Want to see a slideshow of the “Top Nine Republican Internet Fails?”  Here you go…
• The number one problem with allying oneself with a minority of loud, activist, ignorant, and unreasonable people…is that you suddenly lose the support of the much larger body of normal, moderate, sane folks.  Want to see what happens if you try to win the moderate people back by behaving like a reasonable human being, open to compromise and the good ideas of others?  Watch here as Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) finds out what happens when the lunatics figure out that you are not really one of them:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP7nCyqMTsE

• Liz Cheney is not quite done fighting her father’s battles…no matter how many times she appears on discussion panels and is identified as having the foreign policy knowledge of a teenager.  Now she has formed the “Keep America Safe” organization, whose mission statement claims to support “an unapologetic approach to fighting terrorism around the world, for victory in the wars this country fights, for democracy and human rights, and for a strong American military that is needed in the dangerous world in which we live.“  Ms. Cheney…first of all, even if we look only at the fact that planes have not crashed into buildings this year, President Obama ALREADY has a better track record than your father had, in terms of keeping the country safe.  Secondly, Obama has succeeded in gaining international allies in the struggle against terrorists…allies that your father helped to alienate.  And third, well, I think the DNC put it best in their response: “Last fall, the American people overwhelmingly rejected a radical foreign policy authored by Dick Cheney that alienated our allies, emboldened our enemies, depleted our resources, distracted our focus and made the nation less secure. The Cheneys lost that debate and their approach was deemed a failure. The Cheneys can continue to focus on securing their sullied legacy if they want to. But, the President will continue to focus on securing the country.“  Exactly.
• Retaining his crown as “King of the Bizarre Analogy,” RNC Chariman Michael Steele said in a recent FOX interview that he feels like…well…health care reform is a “train,” and President Obama is the conductor, and Obama is trying to get all the Republicans to get on board, and Steele sees himself as a “cow on the tracks.“  Ok, sure.
• I mentioned in a previous post, one way that you know that the GOP is focused on simply OPPOSING EVERYTHING is when a number of GOP legislators vote against Senator Franken’s first bill:  a bill protecting rape victims, working for companies with government contracts.  Here’s Jon Stewart, who points out what should be an obvious truth: “If, to protect Halliburton, you have to side against rape victims, you might want to rethink your allegiances.“

• It recently came to light, in part because of the work done by the National Women’s Law Center, that in eight states, insurance companies can and do consider being the victim of spousal abuse a “pre-existing condition” that allows them to deny coverage.  State and Federal representatives from most of the eight states expressed immediate embarrassment and outrage over the situation, and most have already taken steps to remedy the matter. But not Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.).  When the president of the National Women’s Law Center, Marcia Greenberger, appeared before a Senate committee to discuss the issue, Burr thought it appropriate to repeatedly interrupt and otherwise disrespect her:

Greenberger:  If I could get back to your question about the specific examples: they manifest themselves in many different ways. For example, if a woman ends up in an emergency room with cuts, bruises, broken arms, black eyes, typical injuries that result from domestic violence, we know of instances where women are being denied insurance coverage and neither the insurance company…

Burr: My question…

Greenberger: …doesn’t view that…

Burr: …is specifically about North Carolina…

Greenberger: …and I’m trying to answer that…

Burr: …and the insurance commissioner tells me we haven’t had a case. We haven’t had anybody…

Greenberger: Well, I’m trying to explain. First, I think it’s great that he is now explicitly having a rule, which as our report pointed out, didn’t exist before. So that’s really excellent, because of the way insurance companies deal with this issue in particular. They will often deny the coverage of victims and survivors of domestic violence without saying that that’s the reason…

Burr: …I’m just going by your report…

Greenberger: You asked the question about did we follow up and we did.

Burr: Well, I found more information in my one call to North Carolina than I think your report did.

• Again? Representative Bill Otto (R-Kansas) has obviously not been paying attention.  First he puts a video on YouTube titled “Redneck Rap” where he raps (and badly) his various criticisms of President Obama, and about eating opossum, which he calls “the other dark meat.“  This obviously drew allegations of racism (at a minimum it is childish, insensitive, and inane), and eventually the clip was removed from the site.  And now…Otto says he’s going to repost the video, because it was his adult daughters who took the video down, and also because he fears that “People are going to think that this was done by people to shut me up.  I’m getting hate e-mails from Maryland to California, but, hey, that’s part of the game.“  Mr. Otto:  It’s not a game, it’s civil service and YOU are an elected official, jackass.  Next time, listen to your daughters…and try to learn from the lessons of other, like the OTHER Kansas legislator who just recently got in a heap of trouble for saying that the GOP is looking for a “great white hope” to defeat Obama.

THE MEDIA -- PUNDITS, HACKS, AND OTHER INVETERATE LIARS:

• Want the “short version” of the merry war between the White House and FOX News?  Here goes…

WHITE HOUSE: FOX News serves as the propaganda arm of the Republican Party.

BILL O’REILLY: Nuh uh…

MEDIA MATTERS: Umm…it’s pretty obvious, guys…

GLENN BECK: The administration is like the Nazis…and we’re the Jews!

NEW STUDY: Not only is it true, but we found something interesting:  Most of the anti-Obama forces aren’t particularly racist…the only thing they have in common is they all watch FOX News, and because of this…they believe some pretty outlandish sh-t.

• It’s fun picking on CNN’s inability to both perform research and report news.  It’s especially fun…if you’re Jon Stewart of The Daily Show:

• Remember the rather bizarre reactions from some members of the media when Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize?  Well, Rachel Maddow thinks it can all be explained by “Obama Derangement Syndrome:“

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMJuEOaF84o

THE HEALTH CARE CARNIVAL OF DESPAIR:

• By now you’ve heard that the Senate Finance Committee managed to pass the “Baucus Bill.“  You also heard that Republican Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) voted along with the Democrats to send the bill on.  And recently, it may have come to your attention that another Maine Republican, Senator Susan Collins, may also lend her support for the bill.  Well, MoveOn.org, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the AFL-CIO, and the Communications Workers of America would like to remind you:  it’s a CRAPPY bill, that would make a mountain of money for the insurance companies, would change little in the way they do business, and would NOT serve to get all of America’s uninsured the health care coverage that they need.  In fact…any OTHER House and Senate version might just be a better choice.
• Thank you, Captain Obvious: The most ridiculously unnecessary headline in health care reform news comes courtesy of The Washington Post:  “Health Insurers Emerge as Obama’s Top Foe in Reform Effort.” That’s right….”emerging“…as if it weren’t always the case.
• Think only our elected officials are in the pocket of the health insurance industry…but our stalwart media will be there to keep us informed of the truth regarding the health care debate.  Maybe not. CNN contributor, Alex Castellanos…has been revealed to be connected at the hip with America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the monolithic insurance lobby currently (and ferociously) campaigning to kill reform legislation.
• You don’t generally hear about “progressive faith groups,” but the American Values Network aims to change that.  They are currently releasing ads…emphasizing the moral and religious arguments supporting heath care reform.  It’s not a difficult argument to make, and represents one of the best examples of “fighting fire with fire” that we have seen in a long time.
• Is it obvious that former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has a new book out?  Not only has he been making the usual talk show rounds, but he also managed to inject a little sanity into the health care debate.  Of right-wing assertions that the Obama plan represents “socialized medicine” and warrants comparisons to Britain, Canada, and France, Frist said on C-SPAN, “What the Obama administration is doing is not socialized medicine.  Socialized medicine is where the government owns the hospitals, owns the doctors, and decides how people get paid.“  Yes…thank you…finally…is everybody listening?

MISCELLANY:

• In Lakeville, Massachusetts, someone carved a swastika and the word “Obama” into a golf course green.  The course manager believes that someone used either a cleated golf shoe or some other tool to perform the vandalism.  Strange…one would certainly think that America’s golfers have had some extra time to get used to the idea of having a very popular, half African-American leader.
• NEW HERO: Dylan Ratigan hosts the “Morning Meeting” show on MSNBC, and lately has shown to be a tough, bright host…who knows how to play hardball.  In a recent interview with Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Ratigan responded to Donohue’s attempts to claim that free, unfettered enterprise has the solutions to all problems by saying, “unless the government and people like you that lobby to the exemptions that allow banks to [speculate with taxpayer money] get out of the way, we will never have fair play again in this country and we’ll have job creation by virtue of taxpayer theft, which is ultimately destructive, and I would argue, treasonous to this country.“  When Donohue complained that, in essence, it’s harder to spread economic propaganda when the host asks hard questions, Ratigan responded, “Yes, it is.  Especially when you talk nonsense.“
• Oh no they didn’t: The White House decided to take a play out of the “Sarah Palin Media Strategy” book, when confronted with the mounting criticism in the blogosphere regarding the administration’s failure to achieve civil rights goals for gay citizens.  NBC White House Correspondent John Harwood reported, “For a sign of how seriously the White House does or doesn’t take this opposition, one adviser told me today those bloggers need to take off their pajamas, get dressed and realize that governing a closely-divided country is complicated and difficult.“  Caaaarefullll.  Remember the role bloggers played getting Obama into the White House?  UPDATE: The White House would like to disavow those comments…never happened…nothing to see here.

Now what could we possibly add to all that?  As CNN would say, we’ll “leave it there” for now…and see you back here on Monday.

…and it has been a VERY busy couple of days, leaving us with a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get started…

POLITICIANS BEHAVING BADLY:

• The request made a year ago for Sarah Palin’s emails…still unfulfilled by the Governor’s Office, that usually responds to such “public record requests” in TEN DAYS.  The department says that it sometimes takes longer for “complicated” requests…but since we all know that pulling up archived emails is not complicated, some are asking what the delay REALLY signifies.
• Senator Kyl (R-AZ) may have really stepped in it when he mocked women’s need for Maternity Care to be covered by their insurance…saying it wasn’t fair to include it because, in his words: “I don’t need maternity care.”  Not only have ads been run in his state, to make women aware of Kyl’s statements…but now mothers are showing up at his Senate Office in protest.  It certain doesn’t help Kyl and the GOP’s image with women voters, that they voted AGAINST an amendment that would bar companies from getting government contracts…if they pressure female employees not to file harassment claims.
• In an increasingly disturbing trend involving Republicans attempting label Democrats as “enemies” of America, Representative Paul Broun (R-GA) referred to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a “domestic enem[y] of the Constitution.“  Broun wasn’t finished: “When I was sworn into the Marine Corps, I was sworn to uphold the Constitution against every enemy, foreign and domestic.  We’ve got a lot of domestic enemies of the Constitution and one of those sits in the speaker’s chair of the United States Congress, Nancy Pelosi.“  Broun, when you were sworn into the Marine Corps, you were also sworn to obey and respect your Commander in Chief…but that didn’t stop you from calling Obama “Hitler.“  Maybe you didn’t understand your oath?
• Of course, Broun isn’t the only one lobbing insults at Pelosi…the National Republican Congressional Committee said Pelosi should “be put in her place” over her remarks about Afghanistan.  Number of Republican, female legislators and Republican women’s groups willing to declare the statement sexist and inappropriate:  ZERO.  Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)…no.  Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)…nope.  Representative Sue Myrick (R-N.C.)…nuh uh.  Representative Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio)…not a word.  Representative Mary Bono Mack’s (R-CA)…no way.  The list of shame goes on, and on…sad.
• Robert Lowry, the Republican running against Representative Wasserman Schultz in her bid for re-election…well, he thought it would fun at a “shooting event” to shoot at a target, which showed the silhouette of a body, and upon which Wasserman Schultz’s initials had been written next to the head of the target.  First he tried to call it a “joke“…and then later said it was a “mistake.”  You were right the second time Lowry…it’s a big mistake.
• That’s right:  the latest defense bill…the Republicans are voting against it…because it also has provisions that would protect gay people against violence.  Message received: The GOP believes in defending America’s citizens…just not if they’re gay.
• Paul Krugman has written an interesting column about the GOP’s current “politics of spite:”  that they will vote against anything, no matter how worthwhile, if it came from the President or other Democrats.  How else can you explain that THIRTY Republican Senators voted against Al Franken’s bill to punish government contractors who “restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court?“  The Senators who voted against the bill are:

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

THE MEDIA -- PUNDITS, HACKS, AND OTHER INVETERATE LIARS:

• It was a hard week for FOX’s Sean Hannity.  First…former comedian and now noticeably UNFUNNY political hack, Dennis Miller (what happened to you, Dennis…seriously) appeared on the O’Reilly Factor.  After Miller was done poking fun at CNN and MSNBC…he went after Hannity and Beck.  Of course…after that, he kissed O’Reilly’s behind…and Beck’s…and Roger Ailes’…and all the women on FOX…yick.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM3FZtTnQhA

• Next up in Hannity’s “not-so-hot” week…his smear campaign against Kevin Jennings, who President Obama has appointed Assistant Deputy Secretary at the Department of Education for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, was derailed by Hannity’s guest, George Stephanopoulos.  Hannity was, as usual, attempting to misrepresent Jennings as some sort of “lefty-gay-activist-who-is-going-to-turn-all-kids-gay“…but George wasn’t having any of it, and points out that the facts just aren’t on Hannity’s side:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYaZVZKBhW4

• The third “Hannity Fail” came when Hannity decided he had what it took to face off against filmaker Michael Moore’s facts…armed only with his usual assumptions and generalizations:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dptz3PnOPJ8

• Saturday, we wrote about conservatives rejoicing over America’s loss (regarding the Olympics)…simply because it is also a loss for Obama.  We also mentioned that one conservative set aside partisanship and actually wrote a column thanking the President for trying to bring the Olympics (and the resulting pride, revenues, and JOBS) back to our country.  That conservative was talk show host, and former Republican legislator, Joe Scarborough.  So what can we expect when a conservative takes a “time out” to behave like a reasonable, patriotic American?  That’s right…Rush Limbaugh  has decided to pronounce Scarborough a “neutered chickified moderate.“  You have to appreciate that Scarborough, unlike so many other conservatives to face Rush’s wrath, did not back down: “I would be careful if I had put my testicles in a blind trust for George W. Bush for eight years.  So now, I guess what you do to prove that you’re a real conservative, because you weren’t a real conservative over the past eight years, you call the president names.” Yowch!
• As one last item…let’s watch Stephen Colbert mock Glenn Beck’s breathless and weepy fearmongering, as only Colbert can…

THE OVAL OFFICE:

• President Obama…has won the Nobel Peace Prize.  For his work to advance nuclear disarmament, foster better relations with Muslim countries, and to encourage cooperation towards shared goals, Obama has been awarded the most prestigious peace award the international community can bestow.  The citation reads, in part, “Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics,” the citation read, in part. “Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts.“  Two very interesting groups have received this news with disgust and outrage: American conservatives…and Taliban/Al Qaeda/Terrorist organizations.  In fact…Rush Limbaugh went as far as to say, “Our president is a worldwide joke. Folks, do you realize something has happened here that we all agree with the Taliban and Iran about and that is he doesn’t deserve the award. Now that’s hilarious, that I’m on the same side of something that the Taliban, and that we all are on the same side as the Taliban.“  Are you sure that’s what you really want to say, Rush…that you side with TERRORISTS against the PRESIDENT?  Joe Scarborough and his guests voiced a very different complaint…that receiving an “international award” can ONLY be seen as a bad thing.  Scarborough said, “The upside is the Nobel Prize committee that has had suspect selections in the past has just befuddled a lot of people across the world,” and Time‘s Mark Halperin added, “I predict right now that he will find a way to basically turn it down…I think he is going to say, I share this with the world or whatever. I don’t think he’ll embrace this. Because there is no upside.“  Really?  The Nobel Peace Prize?  I mean…really?  You’re going to call receiving it a NEGATIVE event?
• Saturday Night Live chose to use its knack for scathing political satire to point out a more common complaint about President Obama…he just hasn’t done that much.  And given that we still have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Wall Street remains unregulated, we’re told not to expect Climate Change legislations, and they say that Obama will start to fight for gay people’s civil liberties at the “right time“…it seems SNL may have a good point:

THE HEALTH CARE CARNIVAL OF DESPAIR:

• Health Care Reform has a new ally:  former Presidential candidate, and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kansas).  Not only did Dole predict that the bill will be signed in 2010…he explained exactly why Republicans are opposing it: “Sometimes people fight you just to fight you.  They don’t want Reagan to get it, they don’t want Obama to get it, so we’ve got to kill it…Health care is one of those things.  Now we’ve got to do something.“  Dole warned, as other analysts have, that blind opposition to reform will, in the end, help the President politically and hurt the GOP.  As more distinguished GOP leaders from days past come forward and make these assertions…it seems to be having an impact, and there is some word that the GOP might be scrambling to find ways to both save face and vote for the bill.  RedState.com’s Erick Erickson reports,  “I am told quite reliably that in a meeting today on Capitol Hill, Republican Senators began to rapidly move toward concessions on health care because they are afraid they cannot hold their members. Some Republicans are now thinking of supporting a government program.“
• There’s new life in the “public option” and some are calling it the “opt-out public option.”  Details are few, but it appears that it would involve a government-run insurance plan…and states could choose not to allow it in their state.  Democrats and several Republicans seem nominally on board with this, with two primary concerns:  One…is it a “robust” version of the public option, or a watered down one.  Two…how many people will it truly help, if many states choose not to implement it?  The first seems a valid concern, while the second does not.  Our prediction: If states choose NOT to allow their citizens the option to buy affordable public insurance in their state…it will be political suicide for those governors and legislators.  People will leave states that don’t offer it…and will vote out of office the people responsible for not allowing it to be purchased, particularly once word gets out that the people who DO purchase it in other states, are very pleased with it.
• Hilda and Krikor Sarkisyan travelled with friends and supporters to the CIGNA headquarters in Philadelphia to speak to the CEO…and to complain that his company’s actions had KILLED THEIR DAUGHTER.  CIGNA had refused to pay for their daughter’s liver transplant because they said that the completely proven and established surgery was…wait for it…”too experimental.”  CIGNA eventually, following protests, changed its mind, but it was too late for Nataline Sarkisyan.  While there, several CIGNA employees on a balcony decided to show their support and sympathy for the Sarkisyans…by heckling them and making obscene gestures, and eventually the police were called to remove the Sarkisyans from the property.  CIGNA’s HR Director’s response: “I was very disappointed to learn of the behavior of one of our employees when you were at our company’s headquarters.  I sincerely regret this individual’s offensive and inappropriate action.  Please know that he did not represent the views of our company or the views of other employees who work here. We deeply empathize with you and wish you peace and comfort in your loss.“  Sorry…I don’t think one smarmy letter from your company’s HR hack is going to smooth this one over.  To make matters worse, the Sarkisyan’s can’t take legal action:  A 1987 Supreme Court ruling shields CIGNA from lawsuit.
• Still haven’t seen Keith Olbermann’s special on Health Care Reform?  See it here.  Seriously, go watch it now…we’ll wait right here for you to come back.

MISCELLANY:

• Dick Cheney has been noticeably absent from the talk show circuit as of late…most likely because he is about to be under serious investigation regarding his part in the “Valerie Plame Scandal” and his part in authorizing torture, or perhaps because President Obama has now made substantial gains in the area of counter-terrorism.  Liz Cheney, after a few public debacles where defending her father’s ideology served only to make her appear insufficiently informed on all topics, has similarly been off the radar.  But that’s all ok…because there is still ANOTHER Cheney:  Mary Cheney.  That’s right…The latest of the family to grab headlines is Dick Cheney’s lesbian daughter…who is now pregnant, and on the way towards having her second child with her partner, Heather Poe.  Well, since Dick Cheney has come out supporting his daughter fully, and has switched to a “pro-gay marriage” stance, I’m sure that the rest of the conservative community will be totally fine with this.  What’s that?  Oh…maybe not.  Here is just a sampling of the nauseating reactions gathered from the conservative site, the Free Republic, by Pam Spaulding:

“I respect Dick Cheney, but I don’t understand why he is allowing his daughter to take innocent children into her lesbianic home. Can anyone claim that these kids won’t be scarred for life? So sad.

Also repugnant, IMNSHO, is the use of ‘they are expecting a child’ when, for obvious reasons ‘they’ could not POSSIBLY have conceived. It is the slight [sic] of hand that the left does with rediculous [sic] name reversals (like ‘FAMILY PLANNING’) that implies something that in fact does just not happen…

As much as I don’t like it, God will have to sort this out in the end.

Who is the father? Yes, you selfish lesbians, there is ALWAYS a father. Not that the baby will benefit from one. sick.

I wonder if Hallmark makes a card for this occasion? Yathink? Congratulations on your baster bastard?”

• 75 years ago, the Veterans of Foreign Wars erected a cross in the Mohave Desert, to commemorate soldiers who lost their lives in WWI.  The problem:  it’s federal land, and a former National Parks employee (who, it should be noted, is a devout Catholic) says that he has no problems with crosses…he just has a problem with a cross on public land.  Citing the Separation Of Church and State, this employee also points out that the memorial is clearly unfair to soldiers who were Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or who practiced any faith (or no faith) other than Christianity.  It’s a good thing we have nine clear-headed Supreme Court Justices who can settle this easy dispute.  Or….maybe there are only eight clear-headed Justices…here’s Antonin Scalia: “It’s erected as a war memorial. I assume it is erected in honor of all of the war dead.  What would you have them erect?…Some conglomerate of a cross, a Star of David, and you know, a Muslim half moon and star?…I don’t think you can leap from that to the conclusion that the only war dead that that cross honors are the Christian war dead. I think that’s an outrageous conclusion.“  Yes…that’s Antonin Scalia, who holds one of the highest positions in the land…saying that a cross REPRESENTS EVERYBODY.

Let’s hope for a quiet weekend…some of these folks could use a little “quiet reflection time.”  Until Monday…have a great one.