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.

Let’s get started…

THE HEALTH CARE CARNIVAL OF DESPAIR:

• Most people hadn’t heard of Representative Alan Grayson (R-FL) before…but they have now.  In a wonderful, congressional, “oh, no you didn’t” moment…Grayson laid out in simple terms the terrible truth about the Republicans on Health Care Reform:  tens of thousands of Americans are dying because they don’t have insurance…and the Republicans have offered NOTHING but opposition to changing this…therefore, they must just want people to just “not get sick” and if they do…they should “die quickly:“

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-usmvYOPfco

• Of course, the Republican backlash to Grayson’s statements was fast and furious, and they demanded an immediate apology, comparing what Grayson did to the actions of Senator Joe “You Lie!” Wilson…despite the fact that the two events have nothing in common, especially in terms of congressional procedures and policies regarding decorum.  Grayson…complied, but not in the way the GOP expected:  he apologized, not to the GOP, but to the dead and the dying and to their families…he apologized for Congress allowing this to happen.  So far, Pelosi has backed Grayson, along with the rest of the Democrats…and now some Democrats seem to be realizing: “Wait a minute…the GOP really HAVEN’T offered a plan…we should point that out!“  No kidding guys…that one was a gimme.
• Want the very definition of “out of touch?“  House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)…says nobody has ever approached him supporting the public option and he therefore doesn’t think most people support it.  Ummm, John…the majority of people in YOUR STATE support it…the VAST majority of the people in the country support it and would be willing to pay higher taxes to pay for it…and unless you, Snowe, and some of the Democratic Senators who voted against it in the Senate Finance Committee realize that the majority of your constituents want it…well, there will be obvious political consequences come reelection time.

POLITICIANS BEHAVING BADLY:

• Senator David Vitter (R-LA) has some new problems…stemming from his old problems.  It’s been very odd to watch a Senator, busted for soliciting prostitutes, question the morality of Democrats and claim that he and other southern Republicans are the ones representing “true values.“  Perhaps he mistakenly believed that the scandal was behind him…well, “not so” says the Louisiana Office of Disciplinary Counsel.  Apparently (who knew?), soliciting prostitutes just might violate the State’s laws regarding professional misconduct for a lawyer.  The law states that lawyers may be charged with misconduct and subsequently disbarred if they “commit a criminal act especially one that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects.“  Ooops.
• The Health Care bill contains a provision for health clinics to be established in schools, since studies show that access to health services can greatly increase academic performance.  This gave Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) all that she needed to formulate a new “anti-reform” conspiracy theory.  Bachmann tells us…that these would actually be “sex clinics” where kids could go to get ABORTIONS without their parents knowing about it: “The bill goes on to say what’s going to go on -- comprehensive primary health services, physicals, treatment of minor acute medical conditions, referrals to follow-up for specialty care — is that abortion? 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.“  Of course…Michelle only read item (II) under section 2511 of the bill…if she had bothered to read item (I) RIGHT BEFORE IT she would have known that the bills says: “SBHC services will be provides in accordance with Federal, State, and local laws governing-- (I) obtaining parental or guardian consent; and (II) patient privacy and student records, including section 264 of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and section 444 of the General Education Provision Act;“  Your choice: bad reader…or just a liar?
• Governor Sanford of South Carolina…having been asked by both his fellow Republicans and his constituents to resign over his actions regarding the abandonment of his duties to pursue an illicit affair…now asks that the state ethics panel doesn’t release its findings.  I wonder why.  Hear that sound?  It’s the sound of Sanford’s fingernails dragging across the State of South Carolina…clinging on like grim death so that he can stay in office for just a little bit longer.
• The “Republican” brand name?  Not doing so hot…and given the types of things I’m reading and posting each week, this should surprise NO ONE.

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

• FOX’s Sean Hannity is so consistently wrong in terms of his facts and historical data, that Jon Stewart was able to dedicate almost a third of one Daily Show episode…just to pointing out Hannity’s RECENT mistakes.  I submit this clip for your enjoyment and edification:

• Bernard Goldberg, a media critic, usually appears on FOX shows…to DEFEND the network against the constant stream of accusations that they have an obvious, right-wing bias.  So…you can imagine that people were a bit shocked to see him appearing on the O’Reilly Factor, and saying…that in many ways, FOX is to be held responsible for creating this perception, especially when it does things like “promoting” Tea Party protests rather than simply “reporting on” Tea Party protests:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ztDUgCqXSc

• Once again, Shepard Smith, host of FOX’s “The Fox Report” has chosen to speak the truth rather than simply parrot the talking points.  On a recent segment, a guest tried to levy criticisms at the current Health Care Reform proposals…by pointing out that Canada’s single-payer system is less than perfect.  Shepard is quick to point out that it seems like a false and deceptive comparison, since NONE of the bills in Congress propose a single-payer system.  When Shepard’s guest then tries to create a classic “straw man“/”slippery slope” argument…Shepard wasn’t going to allow that either.  Good for you Shep:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzr7Nnxjlfs

• Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), at a recent discussion in front of powerful Washington “movers and shakers,” came right out and said that the “birther” conspiracy theorists are “crazy,” that Obama is certainly not a “closet Muslim,” and that Glenn Beck “is not aligned with any party. He is aligned with cynicism and there has always been a market for cynics. But we became a great nation not because we are a nation of cynics. We became a great nation because we are a nation of believers.“  Wow…could there finally be a Republican who might realize that the votes you get from siding with the extremists…ARE NOT WORTH IT.

THE OLYMPIC FLAME…FIZZLES:

• Even after President Obama flew to Denmark to make the case for the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Chicago…the prize went to someone else.  In a shocking turn of events, Chicago didn’t even make it past the first round of voting…Tokyo would fall in the next round…and at the end Rio de Janeiro won over Madrid the right to host the games.
• In a display that can only be described as exceedingly puerile, conservative commentators/columnists including RedState’s Erick Erickson, Michelle Malkin, and Rush Limbaugh have been, quite literally, CELEBRATING the fact that America will not be hosting the 2016 games…simply because it allows them to claim that “Obama failed at something.“  That’s right: Conservatives are CELEBRATING, during an economic crisis, that America will NOT get the projected $22 billion in revenues, the 315,000 new jobs, and the $11 billion in new income that those jobs represent.  They’re willing to cheer against the best interests of the country…if it means a “failure” for the President.  Remember this, when listening to these same people discuss Health Care Reform, or anything else:  these people would rather America suffers…as long as it denies Obama check in the “win” column.
• While the President was unable to convince the voting members of the IOC to permit the games to be held in America…top White House Advisor David Axlerod is correct at saying there is more involved than the President’s charm.  It’s a well established fact that the IOC is an extremely political body, and that its voting process often produces unexpected results.  In recent years, the IOC has come under increasing pressure to allow the games to be hosted in a country OTHER than the United States, the nations of Europe, and the countries comprising Asia…and preferably a South American country.  Given this pressure, the decision to hand the honor over to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil…starts to make more sense.

PALINWATCH -- HOW CAN WE MISS HER IF SHE WON’T GO AWAY:

• Politico’s recent polls suggest that ex-Governor Sarah Palin is not well regarded among her fellow Republicans, Republican advisors consider her to be “electoral poison,” and many of her former supporters either tired of her during the Levy/Bristol business, or don’t respect her resigning the governorship before completing her term…but there is still a demographic that absolutely LOVES her:  Evangelical Christians, and Republicans living in small, country towns…and of course, there’s some overlap between those two groups.  I don’t think I even need to say anything else on the subject…draw your own conclusions.
• The New York Post reports that Palin’s new career as a “highly paid speaker” is not going so hot…perhaps due to the limited number of people (mentioned in the previous item) who still think she’s “bright” and “adorable.”  In fact, one industry expert told the Post: “The big lecture buyers in the US are paralyzed with fear about booking her, basically because they think she is a blithering idiot…Palin is so uninteresting to so many groups -- unless they are interested in moose hunting.  What does she have to say? She can’t even describe what she reads.“  And as with the previous item…I really can’t think of anything that I need to add to that.
• In a surprise move…perhaps due to her inability to book speaking gigs at $100,000 a pop…it was announced that Palin’s memoir would be released November 17, which is four months ahead of schedule.  The announcement regarding the book’s title generated even more surprised looks: “Going Rogue -- An American Life.“  It seemed strange to some…that Palin would want to reference “going rogue,” as it was a comment that McCain campaign insiders made referring to how Palin’s off-book, off-message, inconsistent, and completely unprepared remarks were TANKING MCCAIN’S PRESIDENTIAL BID.  In other words…it wasn’t meant as a compliment.  Pre-orders for the book suggest very brisk sales, causing some on the left to ascribe to a conspiracy theory that conservative groups and churches must be buying up the books in large numbers to increase the sales figures.  In reality…people just need to realize that not everybody who buys the book necessarily admires Sarah Palin…many will get it just for the likely entertainment value, the same way millions of people each day go out on YouTube and watch people ride bicycles into walls, fall off skateboards, and slip and fall while dancing.
• Want a good laugh?  Here’s Ann Coulter, appearing on Joy Behar’s new show on CNN…asserting that the effect of Sarah Palin’s “death panel” tweet shows that Palin is “a powerful woman” and that people listen to her because she is so “coherent.” Joy…took particular exception to the “coherent” part.  Many more excepts may be viewed here.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBoP08KPHUc

MISCELLANY:

• Remember Valerie Plame?  The undercover CIA agent whose identity was leaked to the press after her husband criticized the Bush administration?  Remember the Bush administration agreeing to “chat” with investigators, but not on the record or under oath…and how Scooter Libby was eventually “volunteered” to take the fall for leaking the information, despite the fact that conventional wisdom suggested it was Vice President Cheney’s idea?  Thursday, a federal judge, against the wishes of both the Bush and Obama administrations, ruled that the FBI’s notes of their interview with Cheney must be publicly released.  This could be embarrassing…on the upside, if Cheney’s statements are embarrassing/incriminating enough, maybe he’ll finally stop appearing on talk shows.  Fingers crossed…
• Just last week, I was criticizing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for not being assertive enough, in terms of getting Senate Democrats to do what’s right and not “what’s best for insurance companies.“  Apparently, Reid HAS grown enough of a backbone to send letters to President Obama and Secretary of Defense Gates…asking them to finally step up and lend their support to the fight to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which is causing highly trained interpreters, war heroes, technical experts, and other brave soldiers/sailors/airmen, to be discharged from the armed services…just for being gay.  Reid wrote, “As Congress considers future legislative action, we believe it would be helpful to hear your views on the policy,” he writes. “Your leadership in this matter is greatly appreciated and needed at this time,” and then goes on to include stories of highly valuable and distinguished soldiers being discharged under the policy.  Obama has voiced his opposition to both DADT and DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act)…but so far his administration has done more to squelch challenges to the various anti-gay rights policies and laws, than it has done to repeal them.  At a minimum, they should be lending their support to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who has been fighting the good fight in the Senate.
• Turns out that the Secret Service’s investigation of the Facebook user who created a poll asking if the President “should be killed,” has identified a juvenile as the perpetrator.  No charges will be filed…but many are missing the obvious topic for discussion:  while the poll may not have represented a viable threat to the President, doesn’t it say something when the tone of our national discourse has become SO irrational, SO violent, SO hateful…that a child asks such a terrible question?  Glenn, Michelle, Rush, Sean, Ann, Bill, and others…won’t you please think of the children?

That’s all from the Reality Liberation Front for this week -- have a good weekend, and we’ll see you on Monday.

DEFLECT -- The Sonia Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings:

• From the beginning, it was nearly a foregone conclusion…even the Republicans commented that Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation was going to happen.  And now it has: by a vote 13 to 6, Sotomayor has been confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee as the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice.  You only get one guess who the 6 “no” votes were.  Despite having the most extensive and impressive judicial record of any Supreme Court nominee in recent history, and despite having a record which shows little or no judicial activism, and despite a record that is as close to “bias-free” as we are likely to see, and despite having fewer cases reviewed and fewer cases overturned than almost every current Supreme Court Justice…Senate Republicans have tried to deflect attention away from other issues by turning the confirmation hearings into a circus replete with accusations of activism, racism, and liberalism.
• Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), ranking Republican senator on the committee…voted against Sotomayor.  Why would a man, who failed his own confirmation hearing due to a history of racist statements and actions, condemn Sotomayor?  Sessions said, “I don’t believe that Judge Sotomayor has the deep-rooted convictions necessary to resist the siren call of judicial activism.  She has evoked its mantra too often.” In other words, despite a long record of faithfully upholding precedent, and her statements that she will continue to uphold precedent…Sessions just doesn’t believe her, despite there being NO evidence to support his conclusions.  All I can say is, Jeff…is a good thing Sotomayor doesn’t make decisions the way that you obviously do.
• Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)…also voted against Sotomayor.  Grassley said, “It seems to me answers to the questions she gave us about that don’t comport with what she actually said or adequate explanation overcoming doubts about her statements,” and added that he is concerned about her understanding of the functions of Congress and the Supreme Court as well as the Separation of Powers.  In other words…he doesn’t really even HAVE a reason beyond vaguely “not liking her answers”…and he is willing to ignore Sotomayor’s established tendency to follow precedent and rule according to the standing law of the land.
• Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ)…voted against Sotomayor.  Kyl’s reasoning was even more inane than Grassley’s: “I did not make my decision quickly. But when we finished the session in which she failed to answer my questions regarding the Ricci case, I knew then she had a very big burden to overcome, because she had just blown it as far as I was concerned.“  So…because he didn’t like her answers on one topic, concerning one case, and arguably a very hard case (details regarding the complex issues involved in the case can be found here), and a case where she ruled in favor of following precedent (the Supreme Court’s overturning of her verdict is a clear example of judicial activism)…he’s going to vote against her.  Jon…it’s called “looking for any excuse” and it’s petty politics at its worst.
• In fact, the only Republican to vote FOR Sotomayor…was Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).  Why?  He said she’s well-qualified…with a mainstream record…has shown she can avoid bias…and that “Her life story … is something that every American should be proud of, and if her selection to the Supreme Court will inspire young women, particularly Latino women, to seek a career in the law, then that is a good thing -- and I hope it will.“  That almost redeems him for some of the BIZARRE questions he asked her during the hearings…and of all the Republican senators mentioned, his comments…match up best with the ACTUAL RECORD.

DISTRACT -- The Gates Arrest:

• In a classic example of “distraction,” Republicans have decided to vociferously condemn President Obama’s statement from his recent press conference, where he said the police officers who arrested Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. behaved “stupidly.”  How much has the GOP chosen to overplay this hand?  Representative Thaddeus McCotter, (R-MI.) has put forth a House Resolution, calling for President Obama to apologize to Cambridge Police Sergeant James Crowley, the officer who performed Gates’ arrest.  Really…?  Michigan is currently suffering 15% unemployment, and McCotter thinks his time is best spent offering up resolutions calling for apologies?  This, Representative McCotter, is the number one reason why you guys don’t get re-elected.  The resolution reads:

  “Whereas on July 16, 2009, Cambridge, Massachusetts Police Sergeant James M. Crowley responded to a 911 call from a neighbor of Harvard University Professor Henry Louis (“Skip”) Gates, Jr. about a suspected break-in in progress at his residence, which had been broken into on a prior occasion;

  Whereas on July 22, 2009, in responding to a question during a White House press conference President Barack Obama stated: “Skip Gates is a friend, so I may be a little biased here. I don’t know all of the facts involved in this local police response incident”;

  Whereas President Obama proceeded to state Sergeant Crowley “acted stupidly” for arresting Professor Gates on charges of disorderly conduct;

  Whereas, as a former Constitutional Law Professor, President Obama well understands that all Americans are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and their actions should not be prejudged prior to being fully and fairly judged by an appropriate and objective authority after due process;

  Whereas, President Obama’s nationally televised remarks may likely detrimentally influence the full and fair judgment by an appropriate and objective authority after due process regarding this local police response incident and, thereby, impair Sergeant Crowley’s legal and professional standing in relation to said incident; and

  Whereas, President Obama appeared at a daily White House Press briefing on July 24, 2009 to address his denouncement of Sergeant Crowley and stated: “I could have calibrated those words differently” but “I continue to believe, based on what I have heard, that there was an overreaction in pulling Professor Gates out of his home to the station.”

  Whereas, President Obama’s refusal to retract his initial public remarks and apologize to Sergeant Crowley and, instead, reiterate his accusation impugning Sergeant Crowley’s professional conduct in the performance of his duties;

  Now therefore be it

  Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

  Calls upon President Obama to retract his initial public remarks and apologize to Cambridge, Massachusetts Police Sergeant James M. Crowley for having unfairly impugned and prejudged his professional conduct in this local police response incident.“

• What makes this “controversy” even more unnecessary…is that President Obama was right.  First of all, we have to set aside the allegations that the police made their decision based on race, simply because there has been no evidence of any kind to substantiate this claim.  So evaluating the arrest on its merits (or lack thereof), here’s the timeline of events, according to the Cambridge police and Sergeant Crowley’s own report:  a 911 call comes in, and the caller mentions that it appears people might be breaking into the Gates residence, or that it might be the home’s occupants…police respond…Crowley radios in that he is talking to “a gentleman, says he resides here” who is being “uncooperative“…Crowley views Gates’ ID, confirms that Gates lives in the house…minutes later Gates is arrested for “disorderly conduct” for what Crowley writes in his report was “yelling.”  What makes Crowley’s decision go beyond simply being “unnecessary” and into the realm of “stupid?“  In Massachusetts…there have been a number of court cases clearly establishing that simply “yelling” at police DOES NOT constitute disorderly conduct.   For example, Commonwealth v. Lopiano, a 2004 decision, and Commonwealth v. Mallahan, a decision from last year, both involved similar incidents.  As the author of this commentary points out, “Arresting someone for doing something that isn’t illegal is pretty stupid.“  Yes, it is.
• Bill Maher was asked on CNN what he thought of the situation.  Here’s the clip (they address the Gates “controversy” after the discussion about the general intelligence level in America):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-lLQHn5GZ0

• On a happier note: President Obama, Professor Gates, and Sergeant Crowley are going to sit down, drink a beer, and discuss the matter.  I love this.  People…all people…even police, professors, and presidents, MAKE MISTAKES.  All people have disagreements and misunderstandings.  BUT…if people can sit down at a table over a round of beers (or tea, or coffee, or fruit smoothies…whatever your preference) and discuss the issues…then there is continued hope for an improved level of human dialogue, with more compassion, more civility, and more decency.

DISRUPT -- The “Birther” Theorists:

• You’ve all heard the ridiculous conspiracy theory by now.  Despite both the short form and long form Birth Certificates being made available, the birth announcement in the local paper, and the verification by the Hawaii governor and the Board of Health of said documents, as well as the doctors’ records of the birth…there are still some people out there who are crying, “Why doesn’t Obama just show us the documents?  He’s not an American citizen!“  And because these people are generally right-wing, fringe conservatives…many Republican legislators want to keep this ridiculous idea alive.  Oh…but most of them don’t want to be interviewed about it, because they know just how ridiculous it makes them look.  FireDogLake managed to catch this on film:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1o1p_ly7Yw

• Some other legislators…are much more shameless and don’t mind publicly stating their support of the conspiracy.  Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said of the birthers, “They have a point…I don’t discourage it.” Sigh…
• However, a clearly disproven conspiracy is beneath even some of Obama’s most strident opponents.  Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) has been extremely outspoken in his opposition to the President’s health care reform plan…but on the subject of the birthers: “I may have disagreements with [the president] on issues, but he is my president, he deserves our respect, and we need forget that nonsense…He is not only a citizen, he is our president.“
• Even BILL O’REILLY admits the rumor is “bogus“…oh, but he defends Lou Dobbs of CNN for discussing the theory and giving it a sense of legitimacy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1zrcXCJzK0

• Of course…the GOP are not the only ones given to ridiculous grandstanding over petty squabbles:  In response to the GOP led resolution to require that all future presidential candidates provide proof of citizenship before running for the office…the Democrats have sponsored their OWN HOUSE RESOLUTION to declare Hawaii as Obama’s “official birthplace.”  Ummm…Dems?  Don’t stoop to their level -- just sit back and watch.

Again, I fault Republicans for playing this game NOW, when there are so many pressing issues that require immediate remedy.  Now, more than ever, it would serve the American public best if they were contributing practical and thoughtful solutions, or even if they would simply contribute sound ideas to improve the Democrats’ solutions.  But as I said…when the necessary leadership, creativity, and dare I say, maturity just aren’t to be found: sometimes the “Three D’s” are the only tools available to keep people from realizing that your political party has lost its way.