Liberal media, my (bi)as:The Right-Wing Op-Ed Insurgency

By GottaLaff

Oneth again, it'th time to dithpel thome myth-information:

Liberal bias? A Daily Beast investigation crunches the numbers and shows how conservative think tanks have quietly achieved domination over the opinion pages of America’s biggest papers. [...]

[A] Daily Beast review of the archives of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post tells a much different story: Conservative think tanks are pummeling their liberal peers in the race for the most prominent placement on op-ed pages. During the past year, 77 percent of pieces authored by think-tank affiliates came from conservative outfits, 18 percent came from centrist groups, and a tiny 5 percent came from the left wing.

Just for the fun of it, put that info together with what's seeming to (d)evolve on the Tee Vee Machine, specifically this story about MSNBC, Fox, and Richard Wolffe. Keep in mind who the guests have been on The Ed Show (Hint: Tom Tancredeo, Lars Larsen) and The Rachel Maddow Show (Pat Buchanan), among others.

Which think tank takes up the most opinion-page real estate?

The American Enterprise Institute crushes the competition, liberal and conservative, in racking up bylines, scoring 99 of the total 217 pieces published by major think tanks from the third week of July 2008 to July 21, 2009, as shown by a review of the archives of the Times, Post, and Journal. [...]

But it’s important to note that the AEI crowd is not completely confined to the Journal. They also find themselves in the opinion section of the Washington Post more times—16 during the last year—than any other think tank. [...]

Which think tanks does The New York Times seem to crush on?

Unlike the Journal, The Times has no consistent feeder like AEI. The most common partners are fellows from the left-center Brookings Institution, security analysts Michael O’Hanlon and Kevin Pollack, and the centrist New America Foundation, including foreign-affairs expert Peter Bergen.

The Times was generally more resistant to think-tank op eds; in The Daily Beast survey, the Journal had approximately five times more major think-tank bylines than the Times.

This absence may relate more to the approach of liberal policy centers than the direction of the Times. [...]

But when it comes to the byline battles, no matter who is in the White House, Podesta and his allies face an uphill battle. When it comes to influence, conservatives have the broadsheet opinion war won.

So! How's that media push for a public option going?

Sarah the Quitter pressured prosecutors in Johnston case

By GottaLaff

Via The Mudflats, we discover that, while another Palin scandal may interest us on a slow news day, the real story is this one (original post on this here):

And what, in the long run, may be the most important story revealed today is this from The Immoral Minority:

As some of you may know Sherry [Johnston's} court date was moved from yesterday to August 19. The reason for this is that until just now the prosecutors REFUSED to make any kind of a deal, because of pressure they were receiving from the Governor. For some reason Palin was pushing for Sherry to receive the maximum sentence. [snip]

I cannot talk about what kind of deal Sherry may get, but the prosecution has become much more reasonable now that Sean Parnell is our Governor.

Okay, so maybe I should have ignored rumors of a Sarah/Todd split (it was irresistible, widely reported, and I'm only human), but we cannot ignore S the Q pressuring the courts for what appears to be personal reasons.

She just can't stay out of the news, now can she? Maybe she'll Tweet about it.

In case of NRA v. Sotomayor: Sotomayor wins

By GottaLaff

Sometimes holding a gun to someone's head doesn't have the desired effect:

The National Rifle Association's threat to punish senators who vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has been met with a shrug by Democrats from conservative-leaning states and some Republicans who are breaking with their party to support her.

The gun rights group is used to getting its way by spooking lawmakers about the political consequences of defying its wishes. But it never before has weighed in on a Supreme Court confirmation battle. It was cautious about breaking that pattern, and it looks like a losing a fight to defeat President Barack Obama's first pick for the court.

Sotomayor is expected to easily win confirmation in a vote this coming week that could deflate the long-accepted truism in Washington that you don't cross the NRA.

More here.

UK's Iraq probe will include death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly

Now here's some conspiracy theorizing for ya! Bet our media will ignore the whole damn thing, no "looking backwards" for us!

The death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly is expected to feature in the new official inquiry into the Iraq War, on the advice of the Government’s most senior legal adviser.

Attorney General Baroness Scotland has recommended that questions raised by Dr Kelly’s death should be considered by Sir John Chilcot’s inquiry.

The intervention of Baroness Scotland comes after The Mail on Sunday revealed that Mai Pederson, a close confidante of the Government scientist, has written to the law chief.

Ms Pederson, 49, a US Air Force linguist who worked in Iraq with Dr Kelly’s weapons-inspection team, called on the Minister to include the ‘suspicious circumstances’ of his death in the long-awaited inquiry, which will have Tony Blair as a star witness.

Death and Taxes

Pretty damn cool. h/t The Full Ginsburg.

"Death and Taxes" is a large representational graph and poster of the federal budget. It contains over 500 programs and departments and almost every program that receives over 200 million dollars annually. The data is straight from the president's 2010 budget request and will be debated, amended, and approved by Congress to begin the fiscal year. All of the item circles are proportional in size to their spending totals and the percentage change from 2009 is included to spot trends and disproportion.

Video- Ann Coulter Claims There's an Epidemic Of Racial Profiling Hoaxes

Via Heather.

Palin camp denies divorce rumors

By GottaLaff

Come on, we barely got a chance to speculate. Golly, there ya go again, you "so-called journalists", spreadin' rumors:

From Governor Palin's Facebook page:

Yet again, some so-called journalists have decided to make up a story. There is no truth to the recent “story” (and story is the correct term for this type of fiction) that the Palins are divorcing. The Palins remain married, committed to each other and their family, and have not purchased land in Montana (last week it was reported to be Long Island).

Less than one week ago, Governor Palin asked the media to “quit making things up.” We appreciate that the more professional journalists decided to question this story before repeating it.

Meg Stapleton

Sarah the Quitter has asked us to quit, so we will. Although I don't trust Stapleton any more than they trust the source of the divorce story.

The release is in response to a ludicrous rumor being spread by Alaskan CNN stringer Dennis Zaki. Zaki, who previously bought into rumors of Trig Truth, picked up these allegations from the same source - the rabidly anti-Palin, Trig Truth-espousing anonymous blogger "Gryphen" of the blog "Immoral Minority". Gryphen is a friend of Zaki's, along with fellow Team Truth members Shannyn Moore, Phil Munger, and "AKMuckraker" of the Mudflats.

Ohhh, so it's back to guilt by association (Team Shannyn/Mudflats), huh? They've been pallin' around with Gryphen who's been pallin' around with Zaki.

Team Quitter really doesn't seem too fond of two of my favorite bloggers. But, hey, I'm posting this out of fairness to the Quitter camp. But shhh, I happen to admire Shannyn and all those wacky Mudflatters. I'd pal around with 'em if I lived in Alaska.

H/t: Cody

GE's silencing of Olbermann and MSNBC's sleazy use of Richard Wolffe

By GottaLaff

UPDATE: BuzzFlash has more. Please check it out.

Yesterday I posted about GE and Fox exploiting the Olbermann/O'Reilly feud. Glenn Greenwald goes there, too, but then delves much deeper. This is a must-read:

On a very related note: this week, former Newsweek reporter Richard Wolffe was a guest-host on MSNBC's Countdown while Keith Olbermann is on vacation. When Olbermann is there, Wolffe is a very frequent guest on Countdown, where he is called an "MSNBC political analyst" and comments on political news. All of this, despite the fact that Wolffe left Newsweek last March in order to join "Public Strategies, Inc.," the corporate communications firm run by former Bush White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett, its President and CEO.

I posted about that when he made the move, here.

According to the Press Release they issued to announce Wolffe's joining the company:

Wolffe, most recently Newsweek's senior White House correspondent, officially assumes his new position as a senior strategist on April 13, 2009. He will be based in the firm's Washington office, where he will advise several of its top clients. . . .

Public Strategies, Inc. is a business advisory firm that serves a diverse clientele including some of the world's largest and best-known corporations, nonprofit organizations, associations and professional firms. Public Strategies helps forward-thinking organizations assess public opinion and risk, and develops strategies for managing corporate reputation and uncertainty. Much of its practice involves managing high-stakes campaigns for corporate clients, anticipating and responding to crises.

Having Richard Wolffe host an MSNBC program -- or serving as an almost daily "political analyst" -- is exactly tantamount to MSNBC's just turning over an hour every night to a corporate lobbyist. Wolffe's role in life is to advance the P.R. interests of the corporations that pay him, including corporations with substantial interests in virtually every political issue that MSNBC and Countdown cover. Yet MSNBC is putting him on as a guest-host and "political analyst" on one of its prime-time political shows. What makes that even more appalling is that, as Ana Marie Cox first noted, neither MSNBC nor Wolffe even disclose any of this.

[...] Wolffe himself -- when it was previously revealed that he was exploiting his position as a Newsweek reporter covering the Obama campaign to leverage access to Obama in order to write a glowing book about him -- said this:

And [Wolffe] suggested he’s not that different from other reporters in an era in which the business and the profession of journalism have gotten closer and closer.

"The idea that journalists are somehow not engaged in corporate activities is not really in touch with what's going on. Every conversation with journalists is about business models and advertisers," he said, recalling that, on the day after the 2008 election, Newsweek sent him to Detroit to deliver a speech to advertisers.

"You tell me where the line is between business and journalism," he said.

That's who MSNBC is presenting as a host and "political analyst" on one of its news commentary programs: someone who is paid by large corporations to propagandize the public and who explicitly says that "journalists are engaged in corporate activities." Then again, MSNBC itself is censored by its corporate executives to ensure that the parent company's corporate interests are advanced by its "news reporting," so in many ways, Wolffe's sleaze and corporate whoredom are the perfect face for this network.

These dual stories of GE/Olbermann and Wolffe reveal what NBC and MSNBC really are about as vividly as anything since the "military analyst" scandal.

Remember that scandal? Propaganda from the mouths of paid military analysts fed to us about the Iraq War? Greenwald has more:

UPDATE: On Richard Wolffe's bio page at Public Strategies, Inc., the role he plays on MSNBC and NBC News is actually touted to the firm's corporate clients and potential clients:

In addition, Wolffe is an NBC political analyst. He provides political commentary on several MSNBC programs, Meet The Press, and TODAY.

They're basically telling their clients and prospective clients: if you hire us to control and disseminate your political messaging, you'll have someone working for you -- Richard Wolffe -- who has a regular platform on MSNBC and NBC News, where he's presented as an independent "political analyst." [...] How much more blatantly sleazy could that be?

I gave you a few relevant excerpts, but please go read the whole thing here. Glenn Greenwald did some excellent reporting which, with any luck, should open a few eyes.

Not a pretty picture.

Sarah the Quitter quitting First Dude?

By GottaLaff

The Quitter family calling it quits? That's what one report says, a report that relied on multiple sources:

AlaskaReport has learned this morning that Todd Palin and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin are to divorce. Multiple sources in Wasilla and Anchorage have confirmed the news.

The article goes on to say that both S the Q and the First Dude were having affairs, and all that stress led to her First Dude quititude. It could also explain why she's been Tweetless lately.

The Palins were noticeably not speaking to each other at last Sunday's resignation speech in Fairbanks. Sarah ditched Todd right after the speech and left without him.

Noted in the piece: S the Q is ringless, and has been for a couple of weeks. When you quit your ring, you know it's serious.

Apparently, per the article, she bought land in Montana recently, and will move there with her kids. The Lower 48 can hardly contain its collective excitement.

Editor's note: AlaskaReport was the first website to report that Sarah Palin was running for governor of Alaska and the first website to report that Sarah was picked as John McCain's VP candidate.

I feel for the children if this is true. Other than that, I smell Sarah Snarkage in our future... and "less politically correct twitters fly[ing] frm my fingertps outside State site".

Can't wait.

H/t: Tweeters complexsavage and dmiller23

Who funded Michael Steele's RNC chair bid, & how he spent the money

By GottaLaff

Michael Aluminuminuminum got lots of money from lots of the usual sources, and spent lots of it after he got lots of it:

Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele spent nearly $370,000 to win a contentious election in January, aided in part by consultants who rely on the RNC for business.

In filings made late Friday with the Internal Revenue Service, Steele reported spending $369,023 since kicking off his bid for chairman in the fall of 2008, more than any of the other five candidates who sought the chairmanship. [...]

[H]e beat then-South Carolina Republican Party chairman Katon Dawson with 91 out of 168 votes -- a cost of $2,196 per vote.

The former Maryland lieutenant governor and GOPAC chairman relied heavily on close friends, including executives at an oil services company in Nebraska. Everston International Venezuela and Everston Operating Company, which share a P.O. Box in Kimball, Neb., each gave Steele's campaign $25,000. Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer gave Steele $15,000 after endorsing the Marylander's campaign in early January.

Raising money from consultants and friends is not atypical in these races but the amount of money raised caused eyebrows to raise.

A number of contributors included major Washington consulting and lobbying firms, along with political action committees. At least four Republican consulting firms contributed to Steele's campaigns. Jeff Larson, a partner at FLS Connect, gave $2,500 to Steele; his firm handles telemarketing for the RNC and has done hundreds of thousands -- if not millions -- of dollars of business in the last several years.

And Larson, like many contributors, gave his contribution in February, after the chairman's race was over. In fact, the report filed Friday shows Steele raised $43,250 after the race was over, including from Republican bigwigs like Fred Malek. [...]

A source close to Steele said all payments to consultants were to cover expenses, and that no consultant made money off the campaign.

Steele spent much of the money on travel; candidates for RNC chairman made a point to visit voters, made up of a committeeman and a committeewoman as well as each state's chairman, in their respective home states.

Steele spent $83,593 at Moby Dick Airways, a charter plane service that the Republican National Committee used extensively in the years before he became chairman. He also flew on a private plane of Florida businessman Tom Talbot, founder of a lumber company. Steele's campaign committee estimated it spent $22,924 on flights using Talbot's plane.

He also spent heavily on staff and consultants. Three companies owned by Republican strategist Blaise Hazelwood, one of his main advisors and the person who signed the IRS reports, made a total of $68,743 off Steele's campaign.

OnMessage Inc., a firm run by Steele advisor Curt Anderson, made an additional $7,603; South Carolina GOP strategist Jim Dyke pulled in $4,096; and New Hampshire web strategist Patrick Hynes made $14,209.

Hazelwood contributed to Steele's campaign, as did Parish Braden, the chairman's personal assistant who is now employed with the RNC. Hazelwood's, Anderson's and Dyke's firms have all done business with the RNC since Steele became chairman; the three companies have made more than $100,000 combined in Steele's first six months on the job.

Several other staffers, operating as independent consultants, were paid a total of $22,983, according to the reports.

It must be nice to have wealthy friends with private planes.

Liberals will get single-payer vote on House floor

By GottaLaff

This was from last night, but it's worth reminding everyone that we have few good people trying to do good things:

Seeking to dampen liberal anger about deals cut with centrists, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said House leaders have agreed to allow a floor vote on a government-run, single-payer system. [...]

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) offered a single-payer amendment in the Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday, but withdrew it after Waxman said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had promised a floor vote. [...]

"I'm still not sure he has the votes," said Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.). "Some people who said they were a yes are not supporting it."

Legislation creating a single-payer system would be expected to lose, but would allow liberal members to record their support for the proposal. It will also be a tough vote for some Democrats who will be wary of upsetting the liberal base.

Many liberal lawmakers feel that the controversial "public option" that would compete with private insurers is a compromise from single-payer.

In another part of the deal, the House bill would allow the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices and use the savings to lower insurance premiums in the health exchanges that would be established in the bill, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by The Hill.

Another provision calls for finding additional savings through other methods by simplifying Medicare and Medicaid administrative costs.

The cuts sought by the Blue Dogs would remain in place unless the drug negotiation and other initiatives yield savings. But any savings would be used to lower premiums.

Obama: Beer necessities v. GOP leader: Foament discord

By GottaLaff

Because racial tensions in this country are just not that important:

Republican National Committee Co-Chairman Jan Larimer criticized President Obama Friday for his White House meeting with a professor and a police officer, saying the president needs to focus on more important issues.

Then again, when he does focus on all those important issues, he's criticized for focusing on all those important issues: Taking on too much, taking on too little, taking on the wrong issue, not taking on the right issue... What a terrible leader he is! Boy Georgie was so much better.

"We are at war and Barack Obama is talking about beer in the White House," Larimer said at the RNC's Summer Meeting. "And it is wrong. It is not what our country is about."

Yes, that's what this meeting was about: Beer. How did we all miss that? This had nothing whatsoever to do with cuffing a black man in his own house, profiling, mutual (dis)respect, inequality, our country's history, perpetual disparity, simmering hostilities, racial divides, reconciliation, or mending fences.

Of course, Larimer would have been thrilled had President Obama had "stupidly" ignored the corporate media's 24/7 coverage of The S Word and allowed the vitriol to continue. Making an effort to bring folks together just isn't her style.

I need a beer.

Audio- NPR's On the Media targets Dobbs for birther wingnuttery, Betsy McCaughey for "euthanasia canard"

Via Media Matters.

Obama plans Elkhart, Indiana visit Wednesday

I do not ever remember any President giving our state this much attention before. Wonder if I can get close by this time?

ELKHART — President Barack Obama will make a familiar stop next week when he visits Elkhart County, the fourth time he's been here in the past 15 months.

White House officials released few details Thursday, other than the president will be in the "Elkhart area" on Wednesday. More details will be released in the coming days, according to a news release.

(snip)

When asked if Obama's visit could involve an announcement with Electric Motors Corp., a maker of electric vehicles that in May announced it will locate to the Nappanee-Wakarusa area, Morgan said he did not know.

Video- Beck conspiracy theory: “Cash for clunkers” website lets Feds take over your computer

Via Jed.

Video- Michelle Obama meets with families at Va Navy base

The Pentagon channel just kills me.

NORFOLK, Va.—First lady Michelle Obama is calling military families "quiet heroes" and urging the public to support them.

Obama spoke Friday at a homecoming gathering at the Norfolk Navy base in Virginia. She said military families represent the best in our nation, who serve the nation in their own way when their loved ones are deployed.

The first lady suggested that local communities support their military families by helping with carpools, bringing them dinner, helping spouses get a job or keep a job, or providing pro-bono legal or mental-health services.

Video- President Obama's Weekly Address 8/01/09

AUDIO-- Bombshell: Bin Laden worked for US until 9/11

By GottaLaff

Former FBI translator and founder of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, Sibel Edmonds.

When I saw that headline, I had to wonder if this is another one of those exaggerated stories that Commenters pounce on me for. But it's Sibel Edmonds, who usually sounds reasonable and very credible. I report, you decide:

Former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds dropped a bombshell on the Mike Malloy radio show, guest-hosted by Brad Friedman (audio, partial transcript).

Sibel Edmonds on the Mike Malloy Show, hour 1

Sibel Edmonds on the Mike Malloy Show, hour 2

In the interview, Sibel says that the US maintained ‘intimate relations’ with Bin Laden, and the Taliban, “all the way until that day of September 11.”

These ‘intimate relations’ included using Bin Laden for ‘operations’ in Central Asia, including Xinjiang, China. These ‘operations’ involved using al Qaeda and the Taliban in the same manner “as we did during the Afghan and Soviet conflict,” that is, fighting ‘enemies’ via proxies.

As Sibel has previously described, and as she reiterates in this latest interview, this process involved using Turkey (with assistance from ‘actors from Pakistan, and Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia’) as a proxy, which in turn used Bin Laden and the Taliban and others as a proxy terrorist army.

The goals of the American ’statesmen’ directing these activities included control of Central Asia’s vast energy supplies and new markets for military products.

The Americans had a problem, though. They needed to keep their fingerprints off these operations to avoid a) popular revolt in Central Asia ( Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan), and b) serious repercussions from China and Russia. They found an ingenious solution: Use their puppet-state Turkey as a proxy, and appeal to both pan-Turkic and pan-Islam sensibilities. [...]

According to Sibel:

This started more than a decade-long illegal, covert operation in Central Asia by a small group in the US intent on furthering the oil industry and the Military Industrial Complex, using Turkish operatives, Saudi partners and Pakistani allies, furthering this objective in the name of Islam.

[...]

Sibel has famously been dubbed the most gagged woman in America, having the State Secrets Privilege imposed on her twice. Her 3.5 hour testimony to the 9/11 Commission has been entirely suppressed, reduced to a single footnote which refers readers to her classified testimony.

In the interview, she says that the information that was classified in her case specifically identifies that the US was using Bin Laden and the Taliban in Central Asia, including Xinjiang. In the interview, Sibel reiterates that when invoking the gag orders, the US government claims that it is protecting ” ’sensitive diplomatic relations,’ protecting Turkey, protecting Israel, protecting Pakistan, protecting Saudi Arabia…” This is no doubt partially true, but it is also true that they are protecting themselves too, and it is a crime in the US to use classification and secrecy to cover up crimes.

As Sibel says in the interview:

I have information about things that our government has lied to us about… those things can be proven as lies, very easily, based on the information they classified in my case, because we did carry very intimate relationship with these people, and it involves Central Asia, all the way up to September 11.

Summary

The bombshell here is obviously that certain people in the US were using Bin Laden up to September 11, 2001.

It is important to understand why: the US outsourced terror operations to al Qaeda and the Taliban for many years, promoting the Islamization of Central Asia in an attempt to personally profit off military sales as well as oil and gas concessions.

The silence by the US government on these matters is deafening. So, too, is the blowback.

Sadly, this makes sense to me in the most chilling way imaginable.

Your turn.

Liberal Interpretation: Their headlines, my stories

By GottaLaff

Liberal Interpretation

Their headlines, my stories

Mexico shuts Cancun beach, alleges sand was stolen: An enormous kitty litter box was spotted in an adjacent car lot. "Oh please. There are no such things as giant cats!" a testy neighbor declared, as he was walked by his giant Chihuahua.

Skeleton wearing a suit found at Ill. cemetery: "I usually prefer mini skirts," Paris Hilton was overheard saying, "but I wanted to be respectful to all the, you know, hottt dead people."

House panel votes to ban "pay to delay" drug deals: "I usually score, er, put my drugs on layaway so the wife won't find out, okay?" The Boehner snapped after the press dogged him all the way to his car. "F*** this, I should just move to C Street where people know how to keep a secret. Now back off." Minutes later, he was spotted a few blocks away, tucking what appeared to be a small baggie into his pocket as he ducked into a nearby tanning salon.

It just might be time for a Gen. George S. Obama strategy

By GottaLaff

Your Daily Dose of BuzzFlash:

Besides, in the long run that most malevolent political axiom always comes back to haunt: When you're explaining, you're losing. In chess, play nothing but defense against a grandmaster and you'll get your ass kicked every time (against a grandmaster I would anyway, but you get the point); in politics, same strategy, same result, against reactionary grandmasters of splenetic propaganda. They'll box you in and have you thrashing about, just before you drop dead from exhaustion.

That was just a taste. Go here for the entire post.

Do MSNBC and Fox News Have a Deal? Doubtful.

By GottaLaff

I could have left the title as cliffhangy as TVNewser did (they left out the "Doubtful" in theirs), but I'm a softy and couldn't do that to you:

A few weeks ago, a TVNewser reader emailed and wondered:

Fox News lately in their media montages is leaving out NBC News. Take Bill O'Reilly yesterday on MJ death coverage; they showed CBS, ABC, CNN and Fox but not NBC. Is there something going on behind the scenes between NBC and Fox? Maybe a cease and desist order for showing off air?

At the time we asked around, but were told by all sides there was no deal, cease & desist or anything of the sort.

Not if they want to keep their ratings up, there wasn't.

[T]he LATimes' Joe Flint reports talks were had by the chairmen of the companies that own the channels. "News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch and General Electric chief Jeffrey Immelt met up [...] to figure out how to defuse tensions between the two channels." [...]

But Flint reports any "message of peace" has not taken hold.

Keith Olbermann continued to needle Faux Noise, and O'Leilly kept on being his odious little self.

And then there was this week - from Wednesday's NBC & MSNBC coverage of FNC host Glenn Beck saying that he believes Pres. Obama is "a racist," right up until this morning, when Fox & Friends had a bit on the Tonight Show's falling ratings and blaming NBC for "squeezing Jay Leno out" of late night.

Stay tuned... because that's exactly what they want you to do.

VIDEO: Dana Milbank jokes that Hillary Clinton should drink ‘mad bitch’ beer

By GottaLaff

I was not at all unhappy when he stopped being a Countdown punditiot. Justifiably (at 2:35):

Washington Post reporters Dana Milbank and Chris Cillizza regularly do a political commentary video series called “Mouthpiece Theater.”

Wow. Self-consciously "Aren't we witty" delivery much?

Bill O’Reilly to receive ‘Media Courage Award’

By GottaLaff

Know why it's called the "Media Courage" Award? Because it took a whole lot of mustered-up courage for some gofer to convince someone to engrave an award with O'Lielly's name:

The right-wing Family Research Council has announced that at its upcoming Values Voters Summit this fall, the organization will be honoring Fox News host Bill O’Reilly with the first-ever “Media Courage Award.”

FRC President Tony Perkins, who makes a beeline for the Poor Pitiful Bill angle:

Bill O’Reilly has never shied away from denouncing late-term abortions and the handful of doctors who perform them. In the aftermath of George Tiller’s murder, O’Reilly became an easy target for the liberal media who tried to pin some of the blame on Bill, saying he incited the violence by decrying these unnecessary procedures on his show. Despite the unfair allegations, O’Reilly spoke the truth, bringing new light to a gruesome procedure. On behalf of our co-sponsors and millions of values voters, we want to express our gratitude to a culture warrior who uses his national platform to promote life–no matter what the personal or professional costs.

[...] Nothing says courage less than sending your producer to stalk people because they once wrote something critical about you and you’re too afraid to actually call them up and ask them for a response first.

"O'Reilly became an easy target"? Really?

Apparently, not as easy a target as Dr. Tiller was.

Obama's Field Team Targets Blue Dogs' Districts Over Health Care

By GottaLaff

Kill them Blue Dawgs with kindness, community organizers:

As members of Congress head home for an August recess, Barack Obama's former campaign arm, Organizing for America (OFA), is gearing up to target Blue Dog districts with old-fashioned, on-the-ground operations.

This is what we've been waiting to hear. Paddy and I were just talking about OFA, and I thought I'd remembered they were out there, but this is the Big One we wanted to see.

[T]heir strategy has changed dramatically during the last couple of weeks, becoming more pointed: they are organizing canvassing drives and phone banks that specifically target the districts of the Blue Dog Democrats who have been reluctant to support Obama's health care reform. Volunteers are organizing and manning phone banks to call Blue Dogs in other districts or states, and some volunteers are even driving into Blue Dog districts to lend a hand. [...]

OFA volunteers are not calling to complain about the Blue Dogs, though. They're asking constituents to pick up the phone and call the Blue Dogs that represent them and tell them they support Obama's health care reform initiative. They're targeting constituents of Blue Dogs who have supported Obama in the past or indicated that they support health care reform, and they are asking them to mobilize.

Shasta McManus of Tucson, Arizona has been canvassing and phone banking for OFA in Rep. Gabriel Giffords's (D-AZ) district and plans to continue throughout the Congressional recess. McManus says the focus of OFA efforts in Giffords' district is entirely positive, "Gabby is awesome, we love her. But the other side is not going to stop, so we can't either. This is about gathering support, not opposition." [...]

[M]ost Blue Dogs seemed to prefer not having a bill. They want the voters in their districts to see that the process is deliberative, not rushed. Meanwhile, OFA volunteers across the country say it is their job to make sure every Democratic member of Congress has the support they need at home to say yes to health care reform.

So how's it going?

The GOPs' Free Our Health Care Now petition is running almost neck-and-neck with OFA's Health Care Pledge. Both have reportedly topped 1 million signatories.

OFA is not just relying on volunteers. They have staffers in all 50 states, focusing heavily on states like Arizona, Virginia, Texas, and North Carolina that performed surprisingly well in 2008. Efforts in some states, like North Carolina, are reaching a fever pitch as groups on both sides ramp up operations in ways that resemble the battleground state election campaigns from eight months ago.

OFA is even picking up new volunteers who did not get involved during the election but are passionate about health care reform. [...]

On-the-ground organizing may also have more far-reaching effects than just strengthening the President's position on health care. Every person OFA reaches on the phone today is a potential supporter in 2010 and 2012. Every door knocked or volunteer recruited today is a potential recruit in 2010 or 2012. Old-fashioned machine politics may be over, but in a time when the election cycle never sleeps, yearlong organizing in the election off-season is looking like the political mechanics of the future.

If only we could be spared the ads. Enough with the ads.

H/t: Ellen

Commenter responds to Joe Lieberman's Run-On Gitmo Detainee E-mail

By GottaLaff

Before you read this post, please go back to this one, the impossible-to-read e-mail from Joe Lieberman that called for this response from Commenter Chris... who kindly allowed me to post her e-mail response:

It's actually not as bad here as when I opened the email to one solid block of text. I tried to reply to it, but, naturally, the email got bounced back to me.

If I may?

Dear Senator Lieberman and staff,

In reply to your email to me:

1st - The letter you sent me is vitrually unreadable. See below! The lack of attention to detail by your staff is stunning.

2nd - the "at least 74 have already returned to fight with the extremists" is absolutely UNTRUE and you know it - or at least you should know it.

3rd - The "The detainees held in Guantanamo are enemy combatants who were caught in the war on terrorism and have demonstrated a callous willingness to exploit international law, our laws, and basic standards of human decency to advance their cause" is UNTRUE. Many of the detainees were turned in to US forces for the rewards offered. 27 out of 32 who have faced military justices have been ordered released or had charges dropped against them due to lack of evidence, hearsay evidence or use of torture to obtain self-incriminating evidence. Shame on you, a former Attorney General, for continuing the deception of the detainees. I urge you to look at the case of Fayid al Kandari, a Kuwaiti national, being held at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and try to find one shred of evidence that he is among "the worst of the worst".
Moreover, military commissions are extraconstitutional and distinctly unamerican.

4th, and lastly - Your first priority is misplaced. It should not be to protect Americans. Your DUTY, that which you swore an oath to do, sir, is to protect the US Constitution. That duty is something in which you have failed.

Sincerely,

Chris, Concerned taxpayer, Patriotic American, Your constituent and employer

New Deadline Set for Health Care Bill

By GottaLaff

Plan B, C, D.... How about Plan P.O.*:

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) "has set a new deadline of Sept. 15 to complete bipartisan health care talks," Roll Call reports.

"Baucus has told his Senate colleagues that at that point he will move forward with a markup of a health care bill, whether he has a bipartisan agreement to work from."

This is Plan B?

Democrats Prepare Plan B on Health Care

With health care reform sidetracked for another month, ABC News reports Democratic leaders "are quietly preparing for Plan B."

"Under the scenario now being discussed, bi-partisan talks would be aborted and parliamentary maneuvers used to force the bill through with a party-line vote."

Interesting side note: The "Gang of Six" senators involved in bipartisan health care negotiations represent six states with a total of less than three percent of the U.S. population (Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Maine, New Mexico and Iowa).

*Public Option. Or, Pissed Off. Your choice, because choice is what the Dems are all about, right, Blue Dogs? Yeah, right.

Joe Liberman's Big Run-On Gitmo Detainee E-mail

By GottaLaff

Commenter Chris got this e-mail from Joe Lieberman, regarding Gitmo detainees. This is exactly the way she received it:

Dear Friend:

Thank you for contacting me to express your views regarding the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (Guantanamo) and the closure of detention facilities there. I appreciate your views on this serious matter, and I welcome the opportunity to respond. As you may know, the Guantanamo facility has been used as a detention center following the attacks of 9/11 and the war against those who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Although nearly 800 alleged belligerents have been detained in Guantanamo since 2002, only 229 prisoners remain - - the others have been transported to other countries for detention or release or, in very limited circumstances, transferred to the United States for prosecution. Many of the remaining Guantanamo detainees are from Yemen, which lacks reliable prisons and terrorist rehabilitation programs. Negotiations are ongoing to transfer some of the Yemenis to neighboring Saudi Arabia, instead. As many as 50 prisoners have already been approved to be sent for detention in other countries. While some people have advocated in favor of closing Guantanamo, the question remains of what to do with the detainees without endangering our national security. As one of the first acts of his Administration, President Obama signed an executive order pledging to close Guantanamo within a year. As part of this order, the Administration commenced a six-month review of the status of each detainee and what to do with any detainees who cannot be tried but who are too dangerous to release. The President also issued executive orders prohibiting extreme interrogation practices and temporarily suspending military tribunals for suspected terrorists. On May 20, 2009, the Senate passed an amendment to the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-32), restricting the use of any funds to transfer, release, or incarcerate detainees currently detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to or within the United States. Additionally, the Senate approved an amendment requiring a national security threat assessment of every detainee now being held at the prison. On July 20, 2009, the Administration announced it would be extending its original six-month Guantanamo detainee status review for an additional six months, stating that the extension would not interfere with the President's pledge to close the base by the January 22, 2010, deadline. The situation in Guantanamo has long been a highly controversial and politicized issue. The detainees held in Guantanamo are enemy combatants who were caught in the war on terrorism and have demonstrated a callous willingness to exploit international law, our laws, and basic standards of human decency to advance their cause. These extremist Islamist terrorists are committed to attacking America and killing American civilians. It is also critical to remember that, of the detainees released from Guantanamo, at least 74 have already returned to fight with the extremists. As you may know, there was a U.S. Supreme Court decision in Boumediene v. Bush concerning the rights of Guantanamo detainees to file habeas corpus petitions in federal court. On June 12, 2008, the Supreme Court held, in a 5-4 opinion, that aliens designated as enemy combatants and detained at Guantanamo have a constitutional right to file habeas corpus petitions challenging their detention. The Supreme Court also indicated, however, that properly constituted military commissions would provide sufficient protection of detainees' rights. In this year's National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1390), the Senate has created a system of military commissions that fully satisfies the requirements identified by the Supreme Court. The Senate also adopted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and I cosponsored, expressing the sense of Congress that members of Al-Qaida and other terrorists captured on the battlefield should be tried by military commissions rather than in Article III federal courts. As these terrorists are war criminals and not common street criminals, I believe they should accordingly be tried as war criminals, within our military commissions. As our country continues to fight a war against international terrorists, it is my first priority to protect American lives and ideals. With the newly created system of military commissions, established to provide due process and fairness to detainees while also keeping Americans safe, I believe that the Senate has struck the appropriate balance. As the debate continues, I promise to keep your thoughts and views in mind. Thank you again for sharing your concerns with me. I hope you will continue to visit my website at http://lieberman.senate.gov for updated news about my work on behalf of Connecticut and the nation. Please contact me if you have any additional questions or comments about our work in Congress. Sincerely, Joseph I. Lieberman UNITED STATES SENATOR JIL:tcs

Quite the communicator, huh?

By the way, the points he made have been thoroughly disputed by Lt. Col. Barry Wingard.

Video- Dave Letterman: Top 10 things overheard at the Beer Summit

Video- President Obama: 'Economy has done measurably better'

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Young Women Closing in on Gender Wage Parity

I dunno, this along with the no docking/clipping thing is making me quite cheerful today.

Working women in their early twenties are close to catching up to their male counterparts in median earnings, according to Labor Department data. Women in most age groups have made gains since 1979, but full-time working women ages 65 and older have gained no ground in closing the wage gap.

The graph from the Labor Department shows women's weekly earnings as a percentage of men's in 1979 and 2008, by age group.

The gap narrowed for women ages 25 to 34--they earned 89 percent of what men did in 2008, compared with 68 percent in 1979. The ratio for women-to-men ages 45 to 54 jumped from 57 percent in 1979 to 75 percent last year.

Audio- Limbaugh: Cash for clunkers suspended because Obama "doesn't want you to have that much more of your money"

Ooops. House passes $2B more 'cash for clunkers' bill

Thank you to everyone!!

Fundraising is over, done, complete! Thank you to everyone- those that gave, those that cheered us on and those that thought the good thoughts. Hell, I'll even thank the trolls!!

Liveblog: President Obama talks about the economy

By GottaLaff

Paraphrase: GDP reveals economy has done better than expected. Recovery Act is working. We inherited this mess.

I will not rest until every American who wants a job can find one. But we need job growth. Signs of stabilization. Eventually, businesses will grow/hire again. That's when it will feel like recovery. This won't happen overnight.

Inflated profits, maxed out credit cards won't cut it. (paraphrased) We need clean energy jobs...

Boosting economy includes Cash for Clunkers. There were skeptics about this. Happy to report it has succeeded beyond expectations: Increase in showroom traffic. Works so well, we're working to make sure funds won't be exhausted. Encouraging that Rs and Dems are trying to pass legislation today.

Thanks to quick bipartisan responses, we're doing what we can to continue the program. I'm guardedly optimistic about the direction the economy is going, but we have more work to do.

This administration won't rest until the movement we see on the business side will extend to families.

Risky Tweeting

By GottaLaff

Now if only Sarah the Quitter start tweeting again...

We've seen many politicians get themselves in trouble using government email accounts, but now we're seeing those who get in trouble using Twitter.

According to CNN, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) -- who also happens to be a Navy Reservist -- sent several messages using Twitter while on active duty.

"Two questions are raised about these tweets. The first is whether or not Kirk revealed his location when he should not have ('Loose lips sink ships') and the second is whether or not his Twitter account goes against military regulations that state military members are not allowed to update or revise any 'Web sites created before entry on active duty.'"

Loose Tweets sink seats.

Liberals strike healthcare deal with Blue Dogs

By GottaLaff

FYI:

Liberals on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have struck a deal with Blue Dogs that will restore some cuts by finding savings in other places, such as letting the government negotiate drug prices.

The deal would allow the federal government to negotiate drug prices and use the savings to lower insurance premiums in the exchanges that would be established in the bill, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by The Hill.

Another amendment calls for finding additional savings through other methods by simplifying Medicare and Medicare administrative costs.

The cuts sought by the Blue Dogs would remain in place unless the drug negotiation and other initiatives yield savings. But any savings would be used to lower premiums.

The deal is to be structured in three amendments: the Blue Dog amendment and two "unity amendments." [...]

The deal also cut funding to subsidize people who want to join the public plan. That angered more liberal members of the committee, who sought to restore the subsidies. They joined Waxman and the Blue Dogs in announcing an agreement this morning. [...]

Waxman’s committee is the third and final House committee to complete work on a sweeping health reform bill moving through Congress. Both Ways and Means and Education and Labor have passed similar bills.

Chris Dodd to announce he has prostate cancer

By GottaLaff

UPDATE, e-mail from Chris Dodd:

I wanted to let you know that I've been diagnosed with an early stage of prostate cancer.

This diagnosis is very common among men my age. In fact, one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point during their life.

Luckily, a routine test allowed my doctor to catch it at a very early stage, and my prognosis is excellent - we expect a full and speedy recovery.

I want to assure you that I'm feeling fine. As you know, we've been working hard to pass health care legislation and reform our nation's financial system to protect consumers, and that hard work will continue.

After the Senate adjourns at the end of next week, I'll have surgery to remove the cancer. After a week or two of recuperation, I expect to be right back to work.

After all, as a Member of Congress, I have great health insurance. I was able to get screened, seek the opinions of highly skilled doctors, consider all the available options, and choose the treatment that was right for me.

And I know you'll agree that every American deserves the same ability.

We have health care legislation to pass - and an election to win. And I can’t thank you enough for your support.

Sincerely,

Chris

Tweet from CBS:

CBS News has learned CT Senator Chris Dodd has been diagnosed w early stage prostate cancer.

More:

U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd has been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer.

Dodd is scheduled to undergo surgery during the Senate's August recess and said he expects to be back at work after a "brief recuperation" at home. [...]

Dodd, a Democrat, said he feels fine and intends to run for re-election in November 2010. "As you have probably noticed, I'm working some long and hard hours lately,'' he said. "And that will continue." [...]

Dodd is scheduled to hold a press conference this afternoon at 2 p.m. at his Hartford office.

He's currently in some hot water over Countrywide favors. Not a good time for Senator Dodd. I wish him a speedy recovery.

Bill Maher: 'Birthers' must be stopped

By GottaLaff

Bill Maher has a piece in today's L.A. Times. These Friday commentaries are the cleaned-up versions of the end-of-show rants he does on Real Time. If you watch him tonight, see how this written version compares to his on-air one. Excerpts:

For the last couple of weeks, we've all been laughing heartily at the wacky antics of the "birthers" -- the far-right goofballs who claim Barack Obama wasn't really born in Hawaii and therefore the job of president goes to the runner-up, former Miss California Carrie Prejean. [...]

And there's nothing anyone can do to convince these folks. You could hand them, in person, the original birth certificate and have a video of Obama emerging from the womb with Don Ho singing in the background ... and they still wouldn't believe it.

Which raises the question: Why, in this country, is it always the religious right that won't take anything on faith? [...]

This flap might be a deluded right-wing obsession that is a total waste of time, but so was Whitewater, and look where that ended up. [...]

And once these stories get out there, they're hard to stamp out because our media do such a lousy job of speaking truth to stupid. [...]

Clinton got impeached and Kerry got destroyed in large part because the media didn't have the guts to say, "This is nonsense."

Lou Dobbs has been saying recently that people are asking a lot of questions about the birth certificate. Yes, the same people who want to know where the sun goes at night.

And Lou, you're their new king.

That's why it's so important that we the few, the proud, the reality-based attack this stuff before it has a chance to fester and spread. This isn't a case of Democrats versus Republicans. It's sentient beings versus the lizard people, and it is to them I offer this deal: I'll show you Obama's birth certificate when you show me Sarah Palin's high school diploma.

I edited out a lot of the funny parts. Please go read the rest here.

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Cash For Clunkers Extended

I love the way the wingers try to make such a smashing success into a total failure.

The White House says the Cash for Clunkers program will be extended through the weekend even though the program has already burned through its $1 bilion dollar budget.

Charlottesville car dealers report a surge in business due to the enormously popular program that gives consumes thousands of dollars to use as a down payment on a fuel efficient vehicle.

The White House says car buyers who make a deal before the end of the weekend will be eligible for the rebate.