VIDEO: Senator Dodd Wants to Know What YOU Think About Healthcare Reform

By GottaLaff



See that video? Did you watch it? Good.

Now go read this. Please.

Then watch the video again. Then be loud and be clear.

I am thinking that this is another opportunity to drive home the message of support for Single Payer!

Have at it right over here:

Senator Dodd asks: Is your health care working? What changes would you like to see? Add your ideas at YouTube's Senate Hub at http://youtube.com/senatehub

Democratic Senators are writing a major health reform bill. Rising costs are hitting families and businesses and now 46 million Americans live without health coverage. We need reform. Respond now with your ideas as the Senate writes health care legislation. You can help.

Go. Now.

How did 100,000,000 women disappear?

Go read Link fixed.

Losing Votes: Jim Moran Will Vote Against the Supplemental

By GottaLaff

Jane Hamsher gives us this:

According to Ray McGovern, Rep. Jim Moran (brother of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Brian Moran) will vote against the supplemental appropriations bill to fund the war in Afghanistan and the IMF. [...]

CQ reports that in order to pass the supplemental, leadership needs to flip 18 of the 51 Democrats who voted against it the first time. But Moran didn't vote against it the first time -- he voted for it.

Bottom line: They're losing votes, not gaining them.

The inclusion of Graham-Lieberman, which would block the release of the detainee photos, coupled with the phone calls people have been putting in to their Representatives, are driving things in the opposite direction.

Jane states the obvious: Rahm won't be happy.

Kagro X (from D Kos) Tweets: This bill really is a crap stew.

I previously posted about the possibility of the Dems blocking the Graham-Lieberman amendment here.

H/t: KagroX

Caught! Man accused of threatening Obama arrested

By GottaLaff

Thankfully, this man has been arrested, as we knew he would be:

Federal agents have arrested the man who went to a St. George bank and allegedly made threats against President Barack Obama.

Daniel James Murray was arrested at 7 p.m. Friday in Laughlin, Nev., by the U.S. Secret Service and Las Vegas police, said Malcolm Wiley, a spokesman for the Secret Service. Wiley said agents and police apprehended Murray in the parking lot of the Riverside Casino without incident.[...]

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah filed a criminal complaint Thursday charging Murray with one count of threats against the president of the United States.

According to a Secret Service affidavit filed with the complaint, Murray talked about the bad state of the economy as he opened a savings account at a Zions First National Bank branch in St. George on May 19 with an $85,000 check from a credit union.

The affidavit says Murray returned May 27 to withdraw $12,698 in cash and became upset when a teller said he lacked the proper identification to complete the transaction. He allegedly said that "if I don't get this money, someone is going to die."

After a bank manager agreed to allow the transaction, Murray allegedly said, "The banking system will fail and people will die," then later, "We are on a mission to kill the president of the United States." [...]

A former neighbor of Murray's, in Rexford, N.Y., where he lived with his parents said Murray appeared to be mentally ill. Leighann Nastasia said Murray used to walk down the street waving his arms, talking to himself. "He wore a cape," she said.

Unfortunately, there's more where that came from. It's only somewhat comforting to know the president is well-protected. I can't help but worry...

D-Day

h/t Oliver for the vid, the brutal story of the aftermath here.

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via. This is one of my favs so far.

Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) kicks off bid to first African American governor of Alabama

I'm liking the fact that the AA's are mixing it up. Looks like he has a good chance. Plus, I really like his smile.

Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) kicked off his bid to become the first African American governor of Alabama, promising to bring jobs to a state with a wounded manufacturing industry.

Davis kicked off his campaign to replace term-limited Gov. Bob Riley (R) in front of a crowd at a major park in Birmingham, the population center of his district. American Idol winner Ruben Studdard, a Birmingham native, sang for supporters, estimated by local media at about 500 people.

(snip)

Davis released polling last month that showed him beating both Sparks and Cobb by more than two-to-one margins. Davis will be helped by the state's heavy African American population, which will likely make up more than 50 percent of the Democratic primary electorate; both Sparks and Cobb are white.

Alabama is one of the nation's most conservative states nationally, but it has elected Democratic governors for much of the 20th century. Three Republicans have served a total of five terms since 1987, but Gov. Guy Hunt (R), elected in 1986, was the state's first GOP governor since Reconstruction.

Video- Hundreds Attend Funeral for Dr George Tiller, OB/GYN

Nice to see so many come out to support his life.

LIz Cheney's Excellent Tee Vee Machine Adventure

By GottaLaff

Bob Cesca gives us the full itinerary, but here's a small sample:

• On the June 4 edition of Fox News' Your World

• On the June 1 edition of CNN's Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull

• On the May 22 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe

• On the May 17 edition of ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos

I wonder if she'll include the Universal Amphitheater on her Big World Tour. Dick Cheney on drums!

Poll-itics: Conservatives Shift in Favor of Openly Gay Service Members

By GottaLaff

Shiftitude:

(click on image to enlarge)

[I]t suggests the political playing field may be softer on this issue, and President Barack Obama will be well-positioned to forge ahead with his campaign promise to end the military ban on openly gay service members with some support from more conservative segments of the population.

"Intense Interrogation"

By GottaLaff

Glenn Greenwald posted an appropriately indignant rant about the euphemistically-called "news media's" refusal to call torture "torture":

In today's New York Times, William Glaberson describes a proposal being circulated by the Obama administration to enable Guantanamo detainees to be put to death upon a mere guilty plea, i.e., without the need for a full-blown trial. The article describes the purpose of the proposal this way:

The proposal would ease what has come to be recognized as the government’s difficult task of prosecuting men who have confessed to terrorism but whose cases present challenges. Much of the evidence against the men accused in the Sept. 11 case, as well as against other detainees, is believed to have come from confessions they gave during intense interrogations at secret C.I.A. prisons. In any proceeding, the reliability of those statements would be challenged, making trials difficult and drawing new political pressure over detainee treatment.

The primary reason to avoid trials upon a guilty plea is to prevent public disclosure of the details of the torture we inflicted on these detainees. Despite that, the word "torture" never once appears in this NYT article. Instead, according to the NYT, detainees in CIA black sites were merely subjected to "intense interrogations." That's all? Who opposes "intense interrogations"?

This active media complicity in concealing that our Government created a systematic torture regime -- by refusing ever to say so -- is one of the principal reasons it was allowed to happen for so long...

He goes on to cite another example from an NPR interview with retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez.

All of this gives me intense indigestion. We should write letters to these various outlets using intense verbiage.

Dear "news media": You suck Dick Cheney. How's that for a euphemism? I hope it wasn't too intense.

H/t: Ryking

Dems may challenge Obama on torture photo release

By GottaLaff

Do I smell an impending torture photo release?

This could turn into a big story, so it’s worth watching: The House Dem leadership is considering dropping a measure from the big war spending bill that would block the release of detainee photos, which could mean parting ways with the White House on a highly sensitive national security issue.

A Democratic aide confirms that the Dem leadership is in discussions with the White House about possibly dropping the Lieberham-Graham amendment from the House version of the war supplemental, which passed the Senate and would empower the President to nix the release of detainee photos for national security.

The Democrats are acting all rough and tough about this, but can't grow spines on issues like "public health care" among other things. Exsqueeze me?

VIDEO NEWSFLASH: Bill O'Reilly... apologizes!

By GottaLaff

Remember this loverly video of Rick Sanchez's smackdown of Bill O'LIElly? Well knock me over with a feather, pigs are flyin', and hell has temporarily frozen over:


From the June 6 edition of Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor

Big Pharma, Big Insurance gaining ground in health care bill

By GottaLaff

This couldn't be any more depressing, infuriating, exasperating, or predictable:

Robert Reich: "I'ved poked around Washington today, talking with friends on the Hill who confirm the worst: Big Pharma and Big Insurance are gaining ground in their campaign to kill the public option in the emerging health care bill."

"Public health care": Fade to black.

Photo-O'-The-Day: Mobbing Vets on D-Day edition

By GottaLaff

Via CNN's Ed Henry on Twitter:

re-posting a favorite #DDay pic from earlier. kids were mobbing vets for autographs. vets were beaming

Awesome. On. A. Stick.

N.Y. man arrested after threatening Sotomayer

By GottaLaff

Way too many threats out there recently:

According to a complaint filed with the Manhattan District Attorney's office, John Zaubler "called 911 and stated that he was going to kill Judge Sonia Sotomayor by blowing her up."

Nice of him to share.

The bizarre complaint charging Zaubler with one count of making a terrorist threat also says that his motive for the assassination was "because he did not want his girlfriend to have to go to prison," although it provides no further detail.

The complaint also states that Zaubler threatened to blow up President Barack Obama.

[...]

He pleaded not guilty and was ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation. Calls to Zaubler's attorney were not immediately returned.

Creation Museum "Scientists" Hilariously Explain How to be Skeptical of Science-- Accept Bible Without Question

By GottaLaff

Your Daily Dose of BuzzFlash:

Creation Museum "Scientists" Hilariously Explain How to be Skeptical of Science, But Accept the Bible Without Question

PhotObama: D-Day edition, the sequel

By GottaLaff

Canadian Normandy campaign veteran Okill Stuart (top, 3rd L) and an unidentified U.S. veteran (top R) gesture to U.S. President Barack Obama after he finished his speech during a D-Day commemoration at the U.S. military cemetery in Collville-sur-Mer June 6

H/t: Dr. President

PhotObama: D-Day edition

By GottaLaff

The name US President Barack Obama is written on a beach near Colleville-sur-Mer on June 6, 2009, during commemorations to mark the 65th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 1944

H/t: Dr. President

Europe Agrees How to Open Door to Dozens of Guantánamo Detainees

By GottaLaff

How did this slip by me? Did you hear anything about this on the Tee Vee Machine?

European countries yesterday agreed terms for taking in dozens of detainees from Guantánamo Bay, boosting President Barack Obama's plan to close the detention camp.

After months of division over whether and how up to 60 detainees could take up residence in Europe, EU interior ministers meeting in Luxembourg agreed security guidelines and a mechanism for sharing information on the detainees.

Agreement means that iIndividual EU states will now be able to accommodate detainees who have been cleared for release but cannot be repatriated for fear they will be killed, tortured or jailed. They could take in "several dozen" detainees, said Martin Pecina, the Czech interior minister, who chaired the meeting. [...]

Yesterday's deal leaves it up to individual countries to decide whether to take inmates. Those that do have to furnish all other EU governments with intelligence information on the proposed immigrant and take account of objections.

More details here.

Mid Day Distraction

Stephen Colbert Reveals His Secret Location

Only Colbert.

Lately, Stephen Colbert has had to crow a little quieter than usual when discussing his show’s coming visit to the Persian Gulf. (The comedian could not say exactly where he would be broadcasting “The Colbert Report,” due to military restrictions.) But The Associated Press reports that Mr. Colbert arrived on Friday at the former Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory in Baghdad. There he’ll tape four shows in front of about 450 US troops. The series, which is being called “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando,” will be shown on Comedy Central starting Monday.

Video- President Obama's Speech At Normandy

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

National Review mocks Newsweek's Obama Love

Too funny. Via Ben.

Video Media Matters: Obama abroad; media conservatives on tour from reality

Studies: Conservatives easier to disgust

In other words, they're pussies.

Liberals and conservatives are often disgusted with one another. No surprise there.

But conservatives are literally the more easily disgusted of the two when it comes to such squeamish things as maggots, questionable toilet seats and the prospect of eating monkey meat. Such sensitivity, it seems, plays a role in their ideology and moral values.

Two joint studies released Friday from psychologists at Cornell, Harvard and Yale universities determined that conservatives are more fastidious about the creepier, smellier side of life reflective of a hard-wired instinct for safety and self-preservation.

LIVE: Obama commemorates D-Day at Omaha Beach with other world leaders

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

Saturday Links

Awww, the scourge of early summer- graduation parties!! Who knew those damn rugrats would actually grow up and make it out of high school?

UK raid uncovers deadly poison stash

Have a block party: Tetris turns 25

Oldest known pottery found in China

Nonprofits turn to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter to raise money, market themselves

Meteors may have brought building blocks of life to Earth billions of years ago

Kids in gangs feel safer despite more risk

Video Weekly Address: President Obama Calls for Real Health Care Reform

Wiretap whistleblower: Bush FBI sent 18 armored agents to search my house

By GottaLaff

Typically BushCo bullying, terrifying payback. One might even call it terrorism:

The Bush Administration’s FBI sent 18 agents in body armor to the home of a man who revealed details of the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program, according to a little-noticed account of the whistleblower published Thursday.

Thomas Tamm, a former Justice Department lawyer in the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review, revealed details of the wiretapping program to the New York Times in 2004. In 2007, FBI agents raided his Potomac, Maryland home.

Tamm wasn’t there. His college-aged son, wife and young daughter were — but their father had never told them of his leak to the Times.

And what did the 18 agents do? Treat the family politely? Nah. Take care to avoid frightening a child out of her wits (are you listening "pro-lifers"?) with guns (that can kill children as well as adults)? Uh-uh. Act in the least bit respectful to their fellow Americans? No way:

“They asked me questions like ‘Are there any secret rooms or compartments in the house’?” Terry Tamm, his son, told Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff last December. “Or did we have a safe? They asked us if any New York Times reporters had been to the house. We had no idea why any of this was happening.”

Abrupt, surprise attack and intimidation are so much more fun. Who needs genteel foreplay? It's more important to scar kids for life and take as long as possible to do that, while brandishing deadly firearms:

“They were all wearing body armor, they were all well armed,” he told the audience, according to Wired. “They asked my kids if we had any secret rooms in the house … or whether I had any weapons. They were in my house for over seven hours.”

“I’m sure before that time my phone was listened to,” Tamm added. My wife “will never feel the same in my house … She really felt that her security had been victimized.”

But the ObamAdministration will come to the rescue... won't they?

After the 2007 raid, Justice Department prosecutors tried to convince Tamm to plead guilty to revealing classified information. He refused. To date, he’s had a criminal indictment hanging over his head — but authorities have yet to charge him with a crime. [...]

Now that President Obama has taken office, however, Tamm seems more likely to elude jail. Prosecutors told the Bush lawyer-cum-whistleblower last year that they’d delay a decision on whether to charge him until this year. It’s unknown whether the Justice Department will continue to pursue a criminal charge.

Dear ObamAdministration: Do the right thing. Love, Laffy

Corporations behind efforts to label Sotomayor ‘racist’

By GottaLaff

Astroturfy frauds-- aka corporations-- would love to see Sototmayor disappear. This is typically deceptive in the slimiest, Rushpublic-iest way:

How corporations are buying the judiciary: Part I

Corporate interests posing as a grassroots conservative group are behind attacks on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, a RAW STORY investigation has found.

The Committee for Justice (CFJ), an astroturf group established by big business in July 2002 to create an appearance of popular support for President Bush’s judicial nominees, is now leading the effort to oppose the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the US Supreme Court.

CFJ’s Executive Director Curt Levey has been sending out press releases and making media appearances to promote the theme that Sotomayor is racist and biased in her rulings, drawing his talking points largely from a speech in which she suggested that when it came to race and sex discrimination cases, it was possible that “a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences … would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

“It’s pretty disturbing,” Levey told The Hill. “It’s one thing to say that occasionally a judge will despite his or her best efforts to be impartial … allow occasional biases to cloud impartiality. But it’s almost like she’s proud that her biases and personal experiences will cloud her impartiality.”

Gee, I wonder what kind of lowlife could have started such a group...

CFJ was created at the urging of former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) – who has himself been plagued by allegations of racism.

Please go here for the rest.

So who's up for a genuine, citizen-driven, grassroots tea tantrum?

Oz. Curtain. Pulled back.

Phil Mudd Out at DHS; Knew about torture program

By GottaLaff

Good. Phil Mudd, the administration’s nominee for undersecretary of Homeland Security for intelligence:

“Today I am announcing that I have decided to withdraw my name from consideration to be the Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis. I know that this position will require the full cooperation with Congress and I believe that if I continue to move forward I will become a distraction to the President and his vital agenda. I would like to thank the President for the honor of being considered and I extend my good wishes to the exceptional men and women of the Intel and Analysis office; these professionals work hard every day to analyze and share information with state, local and federal law enforcement agencies critical to the security of the United States.”

The statement doesn’t contain an explicit reference to the allegation that Mudd had some (unspecified) knowledge about the former CIA enhanced interrogation program, but The Associated Press reported yesterday that’s the basis for the congressional antipathy to his nomination. White House spokesman Nick Shapiro adds:

“The President believes that Phil Mudd would have been an excellent Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis but understands his personal decision and the choice he has made. It is with sadness and regret that the President accepted Phil’s withdrawal from consideration as Phil once again demonstrated his duty to country above all things.”

Note the “personal decision” construction.

Under the circumstances, it's a wise "personal decision".

Fun Facts: Which Republican Congressman hosted "Teen Time"?

By GottaLaff

Did Joe Lieberman teach them the art of betrayal, too?

From the forthcoming CQ's Politics in America:

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) taught Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in separate seminar classes at Yale University.

The first bill that Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) introduced was to name a federal building in Davenport after the man he defeated to win his House seat, Republican Jim Leach.

As a girl, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) slept above stacks of the Congressional Record. Her father, Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., was a Maryland congressman and stored them under her bed in their Baltimore rowhouse.

Rep. Tom Petri's (R-WI) first job was hosting a radio show called Teen Time, a weekly program that made him the Badger State's youngest on-air personality.

Political science professor and now Rep. David E. Price (D-NC) helped judge Rep. Daniel Lipinski's (D-IL) doctoral thesis at Duke University.

Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) was the original lead detective in the Green River serial killer task force. Almost 20 years later, as the King County sheriff, he announced the arrest of Gary Ridgway in 2001.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) took on organized crime as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. A bomb was once found under the hood of his car.

Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) is a former Black Panther who served six months in prison on a weapons charge.

See how much fun Fun Facts can be?

Justice Department To Probe Tiller Killing

By GottaLaff

I should hope so!

The Justice Department has announced an investigation into whether federal crimes were committed in connection with the murder of Dr. George Tiller.

In a press release, DOJ writes that it will probe whether there were violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act or other federal statutes in the case.

The release explains:

The FACE Act was enacted by Congress in 1994 to establish federal criminal penalties and civil remedies for violent, obstructionist or damaging conduct affecting reproductive health care providers and recipients.

Rachel explains:

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

Questions have been raised -- including by us -- about whether the FBI responded aggressively enough to tips about those incidents. And it looks like DOJ is concerned to push back against that criticism. The release continues:

"The Department of Justice will work tirelessly to determine the full involvement of any and all actors in this horrible crime, and to ensure that anyone who played a role in the offense is prosecuted to the full extent of federal law," said Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "We will conduct a thorough investigation that will complement and build upon the fine work of the Sedgwick County District Attorney and other state and local law enforcement agencies."

[...] DOJ's announcement suggests that this is being prioritized as a national matter.

I, for one, am breathing a little easier than I was when the above Rachel Maddow Show first aired (June 3, 2009).

Bay Buchanan: After Assaulting Black Woman, Calling Her 'Nigger,' Epstein Was 'Lynched'

By GottaLaff

Back story here. Pat's sister. 'Nuff said:

Bay Buchanan has once again responded to critics of her karate chopping employee Marcus Epstein. [...]

In the piece she acknowledges both that she knew all along about Epstein's crime and that she nonetheless kept him on staff at both of the anti-immigrant organizations which she chairs--facts which she more or less conceded when I interviewed her earlier this week.

Once a Buchanan, always a Buchanananananan.

She also writes this: "What happened next was a modern day lynching by a faceless, angry, ignorant mob who reveled in the collective assault on their victim."

She's not talking about a mob of masked white karate choppers, but rather of the bloggers and reporter who picked up on the story. [...]

"They had wounded an adversary and drawn blood -- without pausing to ask how so talented a young man could have found himself in such a mess."

All in the family, as they say.

AUDIO-- Numb nuts Steele refers to members of the Obama administration as "numb nuts."

By GottaLaff

Mr. Entertainment:

During his guest-hosting gig on Bill Bennett’s radio show this morning, RNC Chairman Michael Steele commented on the Wall Street Journal report that the Obama administration plans to appoint a “Special Master for Compensation” to ensure that companies receiving federal bailout funds are abiding by executive-pay guidelines.

Paddy posted about that here.

Echoing the common conservative criticism of the Obama administration’s use of so-called “czars,” Steele wondered aloud, “can the people appoint a czar to make sure these numb nuts don’t do what they’re doing?”

Pot. Kettle. Aluminuminum.

Dean's Next Battle: Beat The Conservative Book Industry

By GottaLaff

I think Ellen linked me to this just so she could see the Young Howard Dean photo again:

Howard Dean's appointment to the chair of the Progressive Book Club is being hailed as a major step on the part of Democrats to close one of the few remaining institutional deficits they have with Republicans.

I love that "one of the few remaining" part. Look at us closing the gaps all over the place like that!

For years, progressives have watched with a mix of envy and wonder at the capacity of the conservative movement to nurture and promote its young writers. As the Democratic Party and like-minded institutions have matched their ideological counterparts in other organizational functions, that gap in book promotion has lingered.

Nothing worse than a lingering gap, I always say.

Enter Dean.

That would be "50-State Strategy" Dean, don'tcha know.

"Books are extraordinarily important, even in this day of the Internet," said Dean. "It is the one place where you can have the time, take the length, do the work that you need to do, to fill out the kind of ideas and the kind of framework that you need for a better world. The Progressive Book Club (PBC) was started as an antidote to the framework for a worse world by the conservative book club. They have been saying all kinds of things that bring us back for a long time. Yet their ideas are potent because there hasn't been an organized opposition."

There is now.

The Conservative Book Club has more than a four-decade head start on its progressive counterpart. [...] Organizations like the American Enterprise Institute and Heritage Foundation often buy books in bulk while conservative media outlets host authors on their shows to discuss and promote their work, often pushing books up the bestseller lists. [...]

"I don't think we are there right now," [Democratic strategist Mike Lux] said. "I think progressives really need to get into the idea of helping market progressive media. And not just books, but blogs, radio shows and TV shows, everything. We really don't do a good job of marketing our idea. Conservatives have always been ahead of us. They still are."

That would be because they have their very own cable channel. We don't.

Dean's task is to connect those dots between established Democratic institutions, young progressive authors and sympathetic, or even mainstream media outlets. Initially approached to serve on board, then asked to be the board's chair, he is being asked, in essence, apply a version of 50-state-strategy to the progressive book industry.

Perfect fit. Love this idea. No, more than love... lerve.

H/t: Ellen

Obama Administration Refuses to Cross Picket Line

Very satisfying.

WASHINGTON—Steering clear of a messy labor dispute, the White House on Friday said Vice President Joe Biden and other members of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet have scrapped plans to attend a national mayors’ conference in Providence rather than cross a picket line of city firefighters.

In a statement to The Associated Press, presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said the Obama administration will redouble its efforts to work with the nation’s mayors in other ways. That includes a fresh invitation for the mayors to come to the White House.

Video- Rick Sanchez Rips Bill O'Reilly For Lying About CNN And Murdered Army Recruiter

Water wet, sky blue, O'Reilly lies.

Poll: United States's Reputation Shoots Up Worldwide

Anyone else dead sick of hearing about Ronald Reagan every damn five minutes? I really don't remember him being all that beloved back in the day...

• 25: Percentage point increase in U.S. approval in Turkey between November 2008 and April 2009
• 13: Percentage point increase in France
• 12: Percentage point increase in Belgium
• 11: Percentage point increase in Germany
• 11: Percentage point increase in the Netherlands
• 10: Percentage point increase in Canada

Read more Data Points

Sources: Ipsos/Reuters

Photos- Michelle, Malia and Sasha visit the Eiffel Tower

Look at them tourists! Via.

National Review's Wise Latina Caricature Inexplicably Asian

Offensive in ways not thought of before. Via TPM, h/t Oliver.

Audio- RNC Chairman Michael Steele refers to the Obama administration as "numb nuts."

Methinks the slur is pointed in the wrong direction.

AUDIO-- Steele: Steele On Sotomayor: ‘God Help You If You’re A White Male Coming Before [Sotomayor's] Bench’

By GottaLaff



Way to devolve even further, Michael Aluminuminuminum. Goodness gracious, could he be a "reverse racist"?

The disconnect between Steele’s rhetoric last week and his comments this week shouldn’t come as a surprise. Yesterday, the Hill reported that while GOP leaders are cautioning against harsh rhetoric in public, behind the scenes they are encouraging activists to keep it up.

Additionally, Steele’s fearmongering about Sotomayor treating “white males” differently in the courtroom has no basis in fact. A recent study of Sotomayor’s race-related opinions by SCOTUSblog’s Tom Goldstein found that Sotomayor had “rejected discrimination-related claims by a margin of roughly 8 to 1.” “Given that record, it seems absurd to say that Judge Sotomayor allows race to infect her decisionmaking,” concluded Goldstein.

Maybe Aluminuminuminum should take a peek at this poll.

McHugh hints at repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell

By GottaLaff

Yes please, good move, tantalizing hint-- now move on it

While [Army Secretary] McHugh still intends to refrain from publicizing his own personal view on the issue until his confirmation hearings, yesterday in an interview with Roll Call, he hinted that he believes it’s time to repeal the ban:

“I have no interest as either a Member of Congress or as … secretary of the Army to exclude by some categorization a group of people otherwise qualified to serve,” McHugh told Roll Call.

He noted that the Armed Services Committee has not considered the policy “in any formal way” since 1993. In the meantime, “certainly, the recruiting-age population’s views have changed on that whole matter,” he said.

D.C. couple accused of spying for Cuba

By GottaLaff

Eeks:

Federal officials say a Washington, D.C.-area couple has been arrested and accused of spying for Cuba.

Officials say both are former U.S. government employees -- he from the State Department, she as a Congressional aide.

One official says the spying went on for more than two decades.

We expect to learn more details later today when a federal indictment is unsealed. For now, officials will not disclose the names or any other details.

More than 20 years? That's a whole lot of infiltrating.

Poll-itics: Rush v. Sotomayor edition

By GottaLaff

Via Kos on Twitter:

Rush: well OUTSIDE the AMERICAN mainstream, but well INSIDE the REPUBLICAN mainstream.

That about sums it up. Here's the proof...

Poll link:

(click on image to enlarge)

Stimulus Setbacks for Sanford, Palin

By GottaLaff

I love typing "setbacks" and "Sanford, Palin" in the same sentence:

First Read notes that two conservative GOP governors -- South Carolina's Mark Sanford (R) and Alaska's Sarah Palin (R), both 2012 possibilities -- "appear to have suffered setbacks in their crusades against the Obama stimulus."

After fighting it, the South Carolina Supreme Court ordered Sanford to request $700 million in stimulus funds (intended primarily for the states struggling schools), and Sanford says he'll comply with that request, the Columbia State reports.

Meanwhile, the Anchorage Daily News reports the Alaska Legislature seems poised to override Palin's veto of $28.6 million in stimulus money.

Yeah, Sanford, what good are schools anyway, right?

And Sarah Louise... well, 'nuff said.

Split Decision in 2010?

By GottaLaff

Do we ever stop looking ahead to the next election? It seems we were all over 2010 as of November 5, 2008. Not that there's anything wrong with that:

Charlie Cook says that "absent any national tide" Democrats could lose a dozen or so House seats next year and pick up a seat or two in the Senate.

"Having gained 54 House seats over the past two elections, Democrats now represent 49 districts that GOP presidential nominee John McCain won last year. By comparison, Republicans represent 34 districts that Obama won. Simple arithmetic indicates that in the absence of overwhelming hostility toward the Republican Party, the GOP ought to gain a few, maybe even a dozen or so, House seats."

Key phrase: "in the absence of overwhelming hostility toward the Republican Party". They're well on their way to creating that very thing.

"On the Senate side, the math is a bit different and is not driven directly by the results of the past two elections. In 2010, Republicans will be defending 19 seats, only one more than Democrats will."

Tuh-Weet! Alex Witt hearts Pat Buchanan edition

By GottaLaff

I beg to differ. I have an aversion to "learning" from racists, especially those who have overstayed their welcome on the Tee Vee Machine.

Pat Buchanan, or as bafflingly affectionate Rachel Maddow calls him, "Uncle Pat", offers nothing of value. He is a failed presidential candidate whose credibility rivals Sarah Palin's.

So, Alex, the only thing that punditiot inspires, IMHO, is revulsion.

Quote-O'-The Day: Republicans have sex? edition

By GottaLaff

Rushpublics have sex?

"We'll assume that most of the candidates who ran in 2008 will run again. It's like sex -- once you do it, it's pretty hard to stop."

-- Former Bush media strategist Mark McKinnon handicapping the 2012 Republican presidential field for the Daily Beast.

Mid Day Distraction

Slightly NSFW. Changed to reflect my agreement with rrchapman- I hadn't watched the whole thing and was going by someone else's opinion.

Video- President Obama on Buchenwald: "I won't forget what I saw today."

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

Weekly Ask Fact Check

A sampling of what's floating around in the intertubes from Fact Check.

Q: Did the Obama administration shut down a Georgia ammunition supplier? Is it trying to create an ammo shortage?
A: Georgia Arms still is doing booming business in reloaded military cartridges. The Pentagon quickly reversed a move to stop selling spent casings.

Q: Has Sotomayor written that states have the power to ban handguns?
A: A three judge panel that included Sotomayor issued an unsigned decision saying that the Second Amendment does not apply to states, therefore states can regulate and ban weapons.

Q: Would Sonia Sotomayor really be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court?
A: Depending on your point of view, the late Benjamin Cardozo might be considered "Hispanic."

The Daily Show- UnCheney Our Hearts

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Dick (Uncut)
thedailyshow.com
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h/t Greg.

GOP reveals classified info to score political points

And it feels like a co-ordinated set up from the CIA and Cheney. Go read the whole thing, it's just shameful.

Republicans ignited a firestorm of controversy on Thursday by revealing some of what they had been told at a closed-door Intelligence Committee hearing on the interrogation of terrorism suspects.

Democrats immediately blasted the GOP lawmakers for publicly discussing classified information, while Republicans said Democrats are trying to hide the truth that enhanced interrogation of detainees is effective.

GOP members on the Intelligence Committee on Thursday told The Hill in on-the-record interviews that they were informed that the controversial methods have led to information that prevented terrorist attacks.

Video- Obama visits Buchenwald

Obamas turn down dinner with Sarkozys

Heh, the French are making it sound more like Sarkozy is a dick than Obama snubbed them.

PARIS, June 4 (UPI) -- U.S. President Obama has turned down a dinner invitation from French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris, and French media are calling it a snub.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, plan to spend Friday night at the U.S. Embassy in Paris after a day in Germany, The Times of London reported. On Saturday, they will participate in ceremonies in Normandy marking the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

(snip)

French newspapers and comedians have chosen to take Obama's refusal of dinner as a snub coming on top of Sarkozy's snub of Queen Elizabeth II, the only living head of state to have served in the military in World War II. In a last-minute face-saver, Prince Charles has agreed to join Obama and Sarkozy in Normandy.

"Sarkozy has pulled off a double hit: insulting Queen Elizabeth and exasperating Obama," the satirical weekly Canard Enchaine said on Wednesday.

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Friday Links

Sunny, mild and hopefully no cops will stop me today.

Alaska lawmakers muster votes to override governor on stimulus money

Newspaper runs racy Berlusconi villa pics

Temp work helps mask joblessness among Americans

NY Citations Pile Up On Van With Dead Driver Inside

Wall Street Journal: White House Set to Appoint a Pay Czar
The Obama administration plans to appoint a "Special Master for Compensation" to ensure that companies receiving federal bailout funds are abiding by executive-pay guidelines, according to people familiar with the matter.

The incredible tales of D-Day veterans saved from hail of bullets in Normandy by a picture of a sweetheart and a pair of spectacles

Promoting Israel with a condom

Tenn. Lawmakers Approve Allowing Guns In Bars

Judge: Police may use stun gun to get DNA

NYT: Women Bridging Gap in Science Opportunities
The prospects for women who are scientists and engineers at major research universities have improved, although women continue to face inequalities in salary and access to some other resources, a panel of the National Research Council concludes in a new report.

The Colbert Report- Word: I do, you don't

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - I Do, You Don't
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h/t Heather.

Obama Coordinated Stance Against Israeli Settlements

Finally.

"For the first time in America's decades of jousting with Israel over West Bank settlements, an American president seems to have succeeded in isolating the settlements issue and disconnecting it from other elements of support for Israel," reports Haaretz.

In fact, when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu came to Capitol Hill last month "after being pressed by President Obama to freeze the expansion of West Bank settlements, he was 'stunned,' Netanyahu aides said, to hear what seemed like a well-coordinated attack against his stand on settlements. The criticism came from congressional leaders, key lawmakers dealing with foreign relations and even from a group of Jewish members."

Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post reports an Obama administration official thinks "an arrangement that works" can be hammered out with Israel on the settlement issue.

Video- Obama in Dresden: U.S. Can't Force MidEast Peace

Man charged with threat against Obama

By GottaLaff

I hate news like this:

Federal prosecutors have charged a man with making threats against President Barack Obama after he allegedly told a bank employee in Utah he was on a mission to kill the president. [...]

Murray's whereabouts are unknown. A court affidavit says Murray is from New York and has recently been in California, Utah, Georgia, Oklahoma and possibly Texas.

The U.S. Secret Service says Murray has at least eight registered firearms, the Tribune reported.

The good news? They're obviously all over this. He'll eventually get nabbed, but it's always so disturbing to realize how many deranged nutcases are out there.

East Wing Shakeup: First Lady Gets New Chief of Staff

By GottaLaff

After that whole "Inside the White House" special, where everyone seemed so happy and busy, we discover that there has been a, well, change:

First lady Michelle Obama has replaced her chief of staff, Jackie Norris, with a longtime friend from Chicago, Susan Sher.

The announcement of the East Wing shakeup was made by press release this afternoon without giving any indication of what had prompted the change only a few months into the administration.

Norris, a former top aide to President Obama in Iowa during the campaign, leaves to become a senior adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service, according to a press release from the White House.

Her statement can be found here.

In her own statement, Michelle Obama called Norris a "a colleague and friend since the earliest days" and praised her for building "a strong organization in the East Wing."

But she noted that Sher is "a trusted advisor, longtime mentor and friend dating back to my work at the City of Chicago and later the University of Chicago."