Random American Historical Fact

Did you know that the "Pledge of Allegiance" was written by a "socialist"?

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), a Baptist minister, a Christian socialist, and the cousin of socialist utopian novelist Edward Bellamy (1850-1898). Bellamy's original "Pledge of Allegiance" was published in the September 8th issue of the popular children's magazine The Youth's Companion as part of the National Public-School Celebration of Columbus Day, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's discovery of America, conceived by James B. Upham.

Bellamy's original Pledge read, "I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

Here's the "Bellamy Salute" that was intended to be used when reciting the pledge.



Isn't it interesting what happens when you know the history behind many of the things in America.

A Brief Observation On Palin's "Motherly" Behavior

We all know by now how much of a media whore Sarah Palin is. To be fair, politicians of all stripes crave the spotlight of the media once they get their first taste of "coverage". But Palin is a rare creature with unique ways of manipulating her life - and those of her family - in order to garner more attention than most. Of course, having the entire cast and crew of Fox"News" practically salivating each and every time you open your prattle-box of a maw doesn't hurt either.

The part that troubles me is her use of Trig. He's her most precious set-piece in the family. This isn't to say that she doesn't love him, but does this woman take the time to consider the very real fact that she is using a child with Downs to promote her own political career?

Case in point, this picture:



Ostensibly just a mother and her toddler going to or coming from the SUV caravan or heading out to some presser with family in tow. But does she have to hold Trig that way.

Again, perhaps this is just me, but look at her. Does she know no other way to hold her child other than face-forward? Oh, that's right - the people need to be reminded that you are the mother of a special-needs child. Right. Have to keep up the image, otherwise the people will start to look in another direction.

Certainly, toddlers are resilient and can be bent in canted angles ( always away from mommy's hair though ) or trussed-up by their legs, armpits, and neck if they have to be.

We get it Sarah, Trig has Downs, stop exploiting him. But don't expect everyone to believe that you struggle as most do. Not everyone has the luxury of being in a position where they can afford a staff to help out. But we should all remember this - family is "off limits".

As an aside, here's an intersting tidbit about Palin writing an email as God. No, seriously:

When Trig was born, Palin wrote an e-mail letter to friends and relatives, describing the belated news of her pregnancy and detailing Trig’s condition; she wrote the e-mail not in her own name but in God’s, and signed it “Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father."

Shorter Ed Morrissey

Energy Czar hasn’t read cap & tax, either:

Don't ask if we've read the bill - we haven't. I'm just a blogger and they're just TV hosts, you actually expect us to read all that? Are we going to? Hell no!

They've Figured It Out

State Rep. Sally Kern ( of the wingnuttiest Republican affiliation in Oaklahoma ) has introduced a resolution in the state legislature that puts the full brunt of blame for the recession on "debauchery".

No, seriously:

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

If only there was no porn, no gays, a president that favored talking to an invisible man in the sky. If only there was a land where there was no divorce, no drug abuse, and no sexual predators. Wouldn't the world just be peachy-keen.

After all, none of those vile things are perpetrated by conservative Republicans.

Suicide By Enumeration

It's been said by so many that it has become quite cliche - be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. In this particular instance, this tried and true statement revolves around the Glenn Beck's favorite conspiratorial wet-dream-fantasy-girl Michelle Bachman.



Considering that the census data taken every two years is used in a variety of ways, it is to Bachman's interest that all within her district fill theirs out. Why, you ask?

An editorial in the Star Tribune highlights Bachman's conspiracy laden political career and what it will likely get her if her wishes do, in fact, come true.

The 2010 census will likely determine whether Minnesota loses one of its eight U.S. House seats; population determines seat allocation. Political experts agree that a few thousand people not filling out census forms may be all it takes for the state to lose a congressional advocate in the nation’s capital. If Minnesota were to lose a congressional seat, Bachmann’s district appears to be candidate for absorption. Bachmann has been careful to say that she’s willing to tell the census how many people live in her household, the basic information that will determine whether Minnesota keeps a congressional seat. But that’s a message that’s easily lost in her fear-mongering; Beck didn’t help when he pantomimed flushing census documents down the toilet.

If Bachaman convinces enough people in the 6th district in Minnesota to not fill out their census forms, then not only will she be out of a job, but they will lose federal money for a variety of projects, their fire department, police forces, and schools.

Keep it up Michelle - you're doing a fantastic job.

More from Think Progress

He's Judge, Jury, And Executioner In His Mind

Naturally, this reactionary response was predictable.



Thankfully Limbaugh is not a Judge, as he has relative sense of judicial precident or the power that the Supreme Court has verses the 2nd District Court of Appeals.

In following precedent , Sotomayor ruled accordingly with the Ricci case:

New Haven’s decision to toss out test results after a promotion test was administered is not unprecedented. Indeed, in the 1984 case Bushey v. New York State Civil Service Commission—decided eight years before Sotomayor became a judge—the Second Circuit considered a nearly identical case. Just like in Ricci, in Bushey white applicants significantly outperformed minority applicants on a promotion test, and the employer in Bushey responded by adjusting minority scores upward to render more non-whites eligible for promotion. The court upheld this rescoring of minority applicants, explaining that employers are allowed to “voluntarily compl[y]” with civil rights law by reconsidering tests that have an adverse impact on minorities.

Because Bushey has never been overruled, it is considered a binding precedent in the Second Circuit, and Judge Sotomayor was required to follow it when her panel was called upon to decide Ricci. To do otherwise would mean ignoring the law in order to benefit a sympathetic plaintiff—exactly the kind of “judicial activism” Buchanan accuses progressive judges of engaging in.

The US Supreme Court, however, is not bound within the same constrictions has the 2nd Distric Court of Appeals. Today, the Supreme Court set their own precedent in a 5 to 4 ruling.

Limbaugh's cacauphonus blathering isn't without an echo.

Today, Texas Republican Senator John Coryn issued a statement in which he claimed that all 9 justices were "critical" of Sotomayor:

Today's decision is a victory for evenhanded application of the law. Saying the earlier decision was 'antithetical to the notion of a workplace where individuals are guaranteed equal opportunity regardless of race,' the Supreme Court saw the case for what it is: a 'race-based decision' that violates federal law. And while the Justices divided on the outcome, all nine Justices were critical of the trial court opinion that Judge Sotomayor endorsed."

Being this close to the 2010 election cycle, Sonia Sotomayor, as well as the Ricci case, is going to be a much used talking-point within the conservative caves of the Republican party. However, an overwhelming majority of Americans believe that she should be confirmed:

Sonia Sotomayor enjoys broad public support for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, with large majorities of Americans rejecting the notion that her sex, race or ethnicity play a negative role in how she decides cases as a judge.

Sixty-two percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say Sotomayor should be confirmed, among the highest levels of support for a high court nominee in polling data back to Robert Bork in 1987. The only numerically higher was 63 percent initial support for Clarence Thomas, which fell when his nomination turned controversial.

Whereas the inflamatory rhetoric applied by the likes of Rush and Fox"News" are going to play well to the conservative base, it's not going to help them with centrist Republicans who feel that the party is leaning more towards the "white is right" mantra.

Milbank's Panties In A Twist

I do detect a shade of jealousy.



But beyond that, I think this is one of those defining moments when a member of the old media set ( Milbank ) can't seem to wrap his head around the notion that Pitney has more journalistic moxie than he does.

Going back to many of the questions that were asked during that presser, Pitney's question was head and shoulders above everyone else there. And the meme that he was "planted" and that somehow Obama knew what question was coming is nothing more than a ham-fisted diversion from the very real fact that bloggers are replacing establishment media as a credible source of information.

Apparently, after Pitney and Milbank's back and forth, Dana had something to say to Nico:

The only thing that surprised me was when Dana turned to me after our initial sparring and called me a “dick” in a whispered tone (the specific phrase was, I believe, “You’re such a dick”). Howie Kurtz wrote on Twitter that he didn’t hear it, which is understandable — he was doing the lead-in for the next part of the segment on the ABC White House special. But it happened (I urge Howie to watch the video of the panel during the ABC intro) and it was frankly pretty odd.

So, he's a "dick" for giving Milbank a sound spanking on national television? He's a "dick" for doing a job that Milbank seems to lack the will or even the ability to do?

More from Think Progress.

So Obsessed With The Constitution That He Doesn't Even Know When It Was Written

I missed this little gem on Friday.

Sen. Jim DeMint, the overtly eager and reactionary Senator from South Carolina, is just another in a long line of conservatives that get their constitutional facts complete wrong.

He has issued a pitch for his reelection bid in 2010 that revolves around the constitution, the year 1776, and the amount of money that he would like to raise.

I can’t do all this alone. That’s why I launched my Club 2010 team of Internet activists to help propel my re-election campaign. Just last week we received $5,000 from donors giving $17.76. I trust that conservative activists are willing to stand behind the ideas I’ve been pushing in Washington, so I’ve set a loft (sic) goal of raising $17,760 in $17.76 increments over the next five days.

Of course when people make their living as a politician, there are bound to be some verbal slip-ups, gaffes, and foot-in-mouth moments. But if you are a representative of the party that claims to be about "country first", limited government, and appreciation of what the founding-fathers had done, don't you think you would have the desire to do a little fact-checking?

In Senator DeMint's case, I suppose that the desire to get your message out first overrides the ability to be correct.

More from Alex Koppelman

Considering that this is part of DeMint's reelection campaign, one has to wonder what his state, and those that are considering reelecting him, have to say about this.

It's probabaly a fair assumption that no Republican in the state is going to have any qualms with DeMint's comments simply because they sound good. This is one of the foundations of the conservative movement and the Republican party - say something about your country that sounds good and back it up with a gimmick that will entice people to follow you around like a celebrity. We saw this with the "tea-parties" earlier in the year ( and word is that there's going to be more on July 4th ) and conservatives loved the idea.

Will this rhetorical mistake have an adverse effect on DeMint? Not at all. It's always the ones that say they know their history most and love their country most that have no relative sense of either country or history.

Conservative Media Suddenly Concerned Over "Indoctrination"

Joshua Rhett Miller of Fox"News" writes about a grade school ( K-8 ) where children of the 2007 class had created a mosaic. This particular piece of art seems to be drawing the ire of "concerned parents and community members".

Symbols of communism and marijuana and a prediction that "capitalism will fail" aren't exactly the sort of end-of-year messages you'd expect from an eighth grader.

But that's precisely what some students at the Black Pine Circle School, a private school in Berkeley, Calif., chose to include in their "Class of 2007" mosaic.

The symbols, which are prominently displayed outside the school, have prompted questions about the appropriateness of images like a hammer and sickle and a marijuana leaf on school grounds — and have led critics to say they are blatant proof of political indoctrination of young children.

That's right, a private school. A school where tuition for one year ( 10-month session ) costs more than $17,000 dollars.

Aren't the Fox"News" crowd always calling for "school choice" and "vouchers for private schools" and the like? Yes, they are. Only they want indoctrination on the other end of the spectrum.

The topics of choice at Fox usually support anti-governent stances, promote irrational fear of the new Fox versions of "socialism" and "fascism". They give guests a platform to promote racial divisiveness and misinformation on climte change, health-care, the economy, and the education in America.

This is the most widely watched cable news network in America. Fox"News" thrives off indoctrination. Of course, all those that are watching do watch for various reasons and may not watch for long. Still, you get my point.

It would be interesting to talk to the families of the students that made this mosaics. It's fair to say that indoctrination starts at home, not at school.

Suck On Their Sticky-Sweat-Icy-Balls

With Burger King, who's ads have been increasingly sexual in a more creepy way, Hardees tends to go for the straight-forward approach. Although the Carl Jrs. end of this franchise consistantly equates burgers with cheap, tarted-up whores, this commercial has its own unique, and comical, approach.

Exceptionalism In The Conservative Mind : A Case Study In Soccer

Conservatives sure do have a way with making themselves out to be the elitist snobs that they claim Democrats are.

As someone who didn't play soccer growing up, but had a dad who did and whose own kids played as well, I can say unquestionably that it is the sport in which the team that dominates loses more often than any other major sport I know of. Or, to put it more bluntly, the team that deserves to win doesn't. For some soccer-loving friends, this is perfectly okay. Indeed, they will argue that it's a healthy, conservative reminder of how justice does not always prevail in life.

Gary Schmitt, writing on the AEI blog ( The American ) is attempting to use the game of soccer - and by extension, it's massive popularity in the rest of the world - to pain the picture that America kicks ass because it doesn't do everything like the rest of the world.

What Schmitt has essentially done here is to make himself look like a blithering buffoon and conservatives as a whole look xenophobic to a sport that is actually far more popular in the US than he knows.

To conservatives, it's fun to knock on other countries. From the French, the British, Chinese, Asians, et al, they are the but of innumerable jokes from the right-wing groups within American society. Not because they or their culture are backwards or they are ill-educated, it's because it is always en vogue for conservative Republicans to make fun of or declare "bad" things and people that they don't understand.

This Woman Is Still The Only Senator Representing Minnesota

Ever since Glenn Beck got his show on Fox"News", the network seems more eager than before to promote rampant conspiracy theory than ever before.

Michelle Bachman - quite possible the nuttiest person next to the Mad Hatter - was on Fox recently to discuss the 2010 Census with stereotypical "pretty-blonde-girl" Megyn Kelly. But there was a problem with their analysis.



Bachman has previously discussed her abject fear of ACORN with Glenn Beck, as well as her assumption that the long-form ACS ( which is going to only be distributed to approximately 0.0028% of Americans ) and the 2010 Census. Now, she's meshed all three together in her mind and convinced herself that if she fills out the census that someone's going to come to her home and take her away.

Nevermind that ACORN isn't even conducting the 2010 Census. Nevermind that Bachman and Kelly on attempting to make their audience believe that the ACS and the 2010 Census are the same - which they aren't. The questions that Bachman is expressing fear over have been in place for quite some time.

Think Progress details some of these.

Most importantly, the questions that Bachmann is so concerned about — questions she suggests might somehow lead to internment — are not new questions (not to mention they frequently overlap with information given to the IRS every year). Census questions on race have been asked since 1790; home language since 1890; rent since 1880; and income since 1940. The Census has asked what kind of heating fuel heats Americans’ homes since 1940.

Here's her and Beck going on into their little delusional, fantasy-world.



The 2010 Census has a FAQ as well as a page on how their data is protected.

It's this same abstract, illogical, blathering that creates a fear within people that leads to some nutty things. It's not a grand leap of rational thinking to assume that some person, quite possibly in a staunchly conservative region of the US, is going to assault a census taker - should that person be so amped-up with Beck and Bachman's rhetoric.

Here's a simple question for Bachman, Beck, and Kelly - did they have this much of a problem with the 2000 Census?

Morning Musical Musings

Please pardon the blatant alliteration.

I enjoy discovering new music - particularly music that is creating in unusual and interesting ways.



( h/t to Batocchio )

Micheal Jackson: The Spirit That Still Lives

I have to be blunt in my opinion of Micheal Jackson.

His true spirit died some years ago. There have been far too many controversies, speculations, and bizarre moments in he mans life to equate now with then.

But let's remember the man that was back when rather than the shadow that struggled these last years.

In The Name Of Cause And Country

Ann Coulter has quite a way with insisting that everything positive ( or moving towarad something positive ) is due to George W. Bush's policies.



Strange that she would discount any and all words from Obama when her party was practically falling over themselves because he didn't speak the words at the exact moment they thought he should.

But the part of this video that made me do the proverbial spit-take was her insistance that the protestors in Iran are standing up for themselve is because they see Muslims living in freedom in Iraq.

Really?

This bizarre line of reactionary reasoning is not only worthy of the collective laughter of both Iraq and Iran, but utterly dangerous for the Republican party. Well, dangerous in the sense that some will start to see through the blatant lies and misinformation. But will it be enough? Probably not.

Ann Coulter doesn't help her party by saying such things. Those that hang on her every word will still be hanging there long after she has gone. But she also doesn't hurt her own bottom line. She's paid to be an untethered nutcase. And she's good at it.

But what of her's and Hannity's continual declaration that any and all Americans should shout from the streets at any and everything done in the name of their country. They will never admit it, but there have been many things done "in the name of America" that aren't something that we should all be proud of. Of course, neither Coulter nor Hannity are willing to accept this as the fact that is truly is. America is America, warts and all. You either understand the history of your country or you will be condemned to a life of ignorance.

It's So Obvious, I Can't Help It

I'm sure Gov. Sanford was singing this from time to time until he got caught. Perhaps not.



And most people are opting to post the song about Maria from West Side Story.

Your AOL Hotseat Poll

Hacking Accountability

For those that even bother to read or listen to Michelle Malkin - I must admit that she is one of my guilty pleasures. There's something bizarrely fascinating about watching and reading a woman who seems on the verge of spontaneous combustion on a daily basis - you might remember her purse-lipped outrage at Sarah Palin's personal email account being "hacked".

But now there's news that soon to be former Governor Mark Sanford ( no, he's not a Democrat, no matter what the Fox"News" chyron might tell you ) had his emails to and from his Argentine love-toy intercepted. Copies of those emails were given to South Carolina's State paper and subsequently published.

This portion of the story gets a tad more interesting from here.

The State didn't just happen upon these emails over the last week or even month. They've had them since December. In fact, several reporters were sent copies of the emails.

I'm inclined to agree with Anonymous Liberal - why aren't people asking questions about how the emails got to where they are?

But how would someone have obtained these emails? These were highly personal emails between Sanford and his Argentine mistress, neither of whom is likely to have wanted them published. And if it wasn't one of them, that really only leaves two possibilities: unauthorized access or official interception. The latter is obviously the most troubling possibility, and I hope that someone looks in to this further, if for no other reason than to rule that out.

It's not clear from the story whether Sanford was using a personal web-based email account (like gmail or yahoo) or his official state account. If the former, then I suppose just about anyone determined enough could have hacked into his account by guessing his password, the same way someone broke into Sarah Palin's personal email account during last Fall's presidential campaign. If it was a state account, then there probably needs to be an official investigation.

If Sanford had used his government email account, wouldn't there have been record of every correspondance? If so, sending dirty notes to your mistress in South America probably wouldn't be the best thing to do. Of course, we are talking about the man that skipped out on his kids on Father's Day, didn't tell anyone where he was going, had his staff lie to everyone about it, and then - upon getting caught - essentially asked the media to leave him alone. Not the brightest crayon in the box, so there's not telling what he used his government account for.

However, if these emails were generated using a personal account, then someone must have been looking for something to pin on the Governor. His wife, perhaps? She did know of the affair prior to Sanford's return. Maybe she was trying to figure out who it was. The likelihood that it was a political opponent is valid. Too many speculations really.

Back to Michelle Malkin.

She railed continuously against Gawker and the alleged "hacker" until the issue was beyond dead.

Whereas Palin's account was "hacked" and it was discovered that she was using a personal account to conduct "business" - which is a big no-no - Sanford's emailing was used in a shody attempt to conceal his extra-marital activities. The one unifying factor is that in both cases, someone "hacked" the account and distributed information that the owner probably didn't want coming out in the first place.

Where is Malkin's fist-clinching outrage now? Sanford was part of her crowd: Conservative, Anti-Stimulus, Family Values, pretty much anti-Obama on everything.

She sings a new tune now:

It’s the only fitting word for a man who abandons his wife and four sons on Father’s Day weekend to indulge his “overdrive” on an Argentinian fling.

Mark Sanford: Bastard.

I'll give her the "bastard" point, but that's just the easy route to take. Be as loud as you can in order to remove all trace of your support of a man that got caught. I believe the phrase she uses in "under the bus".

I'm sure that Malkin has her own particular point of view on what her marriage means, what her relationship with her husband and children are as it relates to her career. But if she is going to lambast someone for "hacking" Palin's account, shouldn't she express that same concern over the "hacking" of Sanford's account?

It's a rather interesting think to consider, but perhaps only to me. Who knows.

The only other thing that comes to mind in relation to this is why sit on the emails for so long? Sanford's behavior of late, and his turn in the political spotlight, suggest that he wasn't concerned about being caught. His trip to Argentina was a very bold move, but perhaps that wasn't anything more than desperation.

I'm sure there will be more to this story.

The Sanctity Of Marriage

You knew it was coming.



Yeah, Mark, the media are just going to drop this now that you are the second GOP member in less than a month to admit to an affair.

For all this talk about protecting marriage from "the gays", seems like marriage should be protected from Republicans.

And, like all Republicans who are overtly eager to get let their voices be heard when someone on the opposite side of the aisle gets caught, Sanford had some words to say about Bill Clinton and Congressman Bob Livington. I'm sure those words are haunting him right now.

The bottom line, though, is I am sure there will be a lot of legalistic explanations pointing out that the president lied under oath. His situation was not under oath. The bottom line, though, is he still lied. He lied under a different oath, and that is the oath to his wife. So it’s got to be taken very, very seriously

Sanford on Livingston, CNN, 12/18/98

We ought to ask questions…rather than circle the wagons for one of our tribe.

Sanford on how the GOP reacts to affairs, New York Post, 12/20/98

I think it would be much better for the country and for him personally (to resign). I come from the business side. If you had a chairman or president in the business world facing these allegations, he’d be gone.

Sanford on Clinton, The Post and Courier, 9/12/98

The issue of lying is probably the biggest harm, if you will, to the system of Democratic government, representatives government, because it undermines trust. And if you undermine trust in our system, you undermine everything.

Sanford on Clinton, CNN, 2/16/99

And as if on cue, the chyron on Fox"News" during the press conference had something interesting to say about Sanford.



More from Think Progress.

Truth In Advertising

Would you like fries or an apple-pie with your cock sandwich?

Evangelical-Christian Quote Of The Day

Well, you know I told you one time that the bible talks about two kinds of Jews. One is called the Synagogue of Satan. They're the ones putting out the pornographic literature. They're the ones putting out these obscene films.

Billy Graham during a conversation with Richard Nixon about anti-semitism.

CBS was doing a piece on the new Nixon tapes and they highlighted this part, only they edited out Graham's own anti-semitic stance.

Liberal media bias? Really?

Conservative Quote Of The Day

There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white, or a rape/

Richard Nixon.


So, in Nixon's mind, rape was equivalent with an interracial marriage. Sort of makes one wonder what modern conservatives have to say about this.

Paging Pat Buchanan......

Those Damn, Dirty, Bloggers

While watching the presser yesterday, and upon hearing Nico Pitney actually asking a relevant question - submitted to him by a protester in Iran, I knew that Fox and the establishment media would wet their collective panties.



How dare the Huffington Post give a voice to the Iranian protesters. It's that fucking liberal media bias.

Dana Milbank came right out whining in a column in the Washington Post:

yesterday's daytime drama belonged primarily to Pitney, of the Huffington Post Web site. During the eight years of the Bush administration, liberal outlets such as the Huffington Post often accused the White House of planting questioners in news conferences to ask preplanned questions. But here was Obama fielding a preplanned question asked by a planted questioner -- from the Huffington Post.

The only problem with Milbank's "plant" meme is that Pitney has been covering the Iranian protest to a much greater degree than most of the mainstream media. His communications with those protesters, and the resulting question that he asked the President, provided more context and greater journalistic value than any other question posed - especially Major Garrett's "what took you so long" nonsense.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it.

Malkin had to chime in:

The question itself was unobjectionable and Obama’s response was so bland and rambling I don’t remember it.

But what was noteworthy was Obama’s embarrassingly obvious and patronizing coordination of the question. I have no love for the HuffPo people (and vice versa), but really, was such schoolmarm-ish hand-holding by the White House necessary?

Micheal Calderone took issue with this as well, but seems to be walking back his manufactured outrage via a few updates:

In what appeared to be a coordinated exchange, President Obama called on the Huffington Post's Nico Pitney near the start of his press conference and requested a question directly about Iran.

Reporters typically don’t coordinate their questions for the president before press conferences, so it seemed odd that Obama might have an idea what the question would be. Also, it was a departure from White House protocol by calling on The Huffington Post second, in between the AP and Reuters.

And Fox"News" was fully ready to cover for Garrett's pathetic bumbling:



The establishment media, primarily those within the conservative realm, have nothing but utter contempt and hatred for bloggers - unless they are willing to tow the line they are given.

But what is most revealing about this non-story is the very real fact that Nico Pitney did a far better job as a journalist than anyone else at the presser. All those that are prattling on and on about him being a "plant" are simply pissed off that he asked a tougher question than any of their people did.

And as to the accusations that Obama knew the question that was going to be asked, that is patently false. He simply knew that it was going to be about Iran.

What people don't realize about bloggers is that they are Americans, with voices that should be heard just as much as anyones. Most of them are of the age to vote, and have done so in larger numbers than in previous elections. They have a knowledge of the political landscape in this, and other countries and use every opportunity to let everyone know. If you only listened to the voices of the establishment, conservative, media you would start to think that a blogger isn't even human.

But it wasn't even Nico Pitney that was asking the question, it was an Iranian fighting for the very freedom to speak out that far too many hear want to crush.

On A Sidenote....

On most days I wouldn't really care about or consider the validity of anything that Kelly Clarkson says. But this is just plain funny.



Yes, people laughing at the momentary misery of others ( that was essentially brought on by their own rank stupidity ) is actually quite commonplace. We laugh at men getting round-housed to the crotch on a daily basis - that is, if you watch America's Funniest Videos. This is no different.

The whole situation reaks of comedic value. A man who's name is practically the name of a pseudo-celebrity whore was punched by a man who is in a band named after my least favorite vegetable.

I'll pass on speaking about Clarkson's apparent desire to be the new centerfold in XL Girls magazine.

Major Garrett Just Got Major Pwned

In which Fox"News" hack Major Garrett completely wastes an opportunity for a valid question in favor of staying on message with what Hannity, Malkin, O'Reilly ( et al ) have been saying over and over and over and over.............



I'm sure his secretary gave him a hug when he got back to the office, tail tucked between his legs.

On twitter, Malkin called Obama's response "snippy". Perhaps she's not used to someone giving answers that reflect what actually happened and how they really feel. She just as bad as Garrett.

The View From Her Book Is Pretty Much The Same

Hasselbeck is being accused of plagarism and the person representing the author of the book she ripped from, Susan Hassett, warned her it was coming:

....in which Susan claims she sent Elisabeth a book called "Living with Celiac Disease" back in April of '08. Thirteen months later, Susan says Hasselbeck published the same book with a new title: "The G Free Diet-A Gluten Free Survival Guide." Yes, the title sucks.

Susan compares chapters and lines. Here are some highlights.

Susan's Book Chapter 1: What is Celiac Disease?
Hasselbeck Chapter 2: What is Celiac Disease?

Susan's tips: "Shop in the outer isles of the supermarket."
Hasselbeck's tips: "Food in the outer isles of the supermarket."

And the comparisons go on and on.

Sean Hannity's surely going to come running to his favorite girl's defense. And I'm certain that all the members of the right-wing peanut gallery are going to chime in about how this is a "manufactured controversy" and that Hasselbeck is being "target" because she's a woman, a conservative, blah blah blah blah.

In her defense, everyone in her party says and writes and does the same thing ad infinitum. It's as if they are one personality, a collective, like the Borg.

Ok, that's the only Star Trek reference you'll likely find here. I promise it won't happen again.

But what of the other books that are written about Celiac Disease? Don't they all essentially say the same thing? What about medical websites - are they at risk of being called out for their use of someone else's text and thoughts? That's ultimately for a jury to decide should someone attempt to file suit.

And since Susan Hassett has, the odds are in her favor. It's not a crime to write a book on simular subject matter by any means. However, when your chapters and passages are practically mirror images, then you're just not exercising any sort of original thought.

Do you think she'll cry in court to try to get the judge to have pity on her?

Hiking Up Some Speculation

Not to put a perverse spin on Gov. Mark Sanford's "hike" that he is allegedly on, but isn't it strange that this man didn't tell anyone where he was going?

The mystery surrounding his whereabouts was solved late Monday when a Sanford spokesman said he was hiking along the Appalachian Trail.

"I apologize for taking so long to send this update, and was waiting to see if (we had) a more definitive idea of what part of the trail he was on before we did so," Sawyer said in an e-mail to reporters.

Even his wife, Jenny, said she did not know where he was, The Associated Press reported, according to The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina.

The man didn't tell his wife and didn't spend father's day with his 4 kids. That must have been some important hiking that had planned.

Macswain @ Leftfield brings up some interesting points in regards to hiking the Appalachian Trail:

As one who has been on numerous backpacking trips - mostly of the 2 or 3 night variety (once even on the Appalachian Trail) - let me tell you that a 4-5 night backpacking trip is a major undertaking that requires planning and preparation. Also, even though I’m not a Governor of any State, I always left my planned itinerary with someone in the event I was needed in case of emergency or got lost.

Certainly, there are a thousand variables that would make this particular situation either complete innoccuous or one of the more shady things that a sitting governor could have done.

Since the governor has been in the spotlight of late in regards to his attempted rejection of Federal Stimulus Money, surely he would realize that such a prolonged absence from the state he is charged with governing ( without prior notice to his staff or family ) would bring about more media attention than he might at first consider.

And what are some things to consider. Was he alone? Is he with another woman - a man - a boy perhaps? Is he really hiking? Did his kids take back his Father's Day presents? How much bugspray and toilet paper did he take? Who knows.

As an aside to this story, the stimulus money that Sanford fought to refuse is going to be going to what is apparently his preferred "walkabout" spot:

In late April, the U.S. Department of Interior said that $750 million in stimulus cash would be spent on more than 750 projects at national parks across the United States. The total included $650,000 for enhancing the Appalachian Trail.

There's also been some talk about Sanford "Going Galt". For those that aren't familiar with the reemergence of the phrase that describes what Ayn Rand's protagonist in "Atlas Shrugged" did, it means that a "wealthy" person removes themselves from society in order to prevent the "poor" from enjoying the things they produce.

To that, I would ask what in the world Sanford has produced that I or anyone could possibly enjoy?

Michelle vs. Michelle

Has anyone else noticed that since being booted as a fill-in host on O'Reilly's program that Malkin has become increasingly more and more - how does she put it - unhinged?



Despite Malkin's hamfisted efforts in showing that Michelle Obama had something to do with the AmeriCorps IG, she, the President, and the White Housenot involved in firing Gerald Walpin.

The firing "would not have played itself out" were it not for the fact that the board raised concerns about the IG, Gerald Walpin, after the May 20 board meeting, a board member told TPMmuckraker. The board member added that the White House had no role in encouraging the board to make the review request, calling it "completely board-initiated." The White House had cited the request from the board in its letter to Congress explaining the reason for Walpin's firing.

But would you or anyone expect Malkin to approach her subject matter any other way that with her continually mouth-agape prattling? If there is one thing that she is at least moderately good at, it is connecting two divergent dots in order to validate the voices in her head that continually tell her she is right and everyone is wrong.

I'll play devil's advocate for a second and postulate this - what if Walpin was fired for "political" reasons? Would this be any different than the mass AG firings by the Bush administration? If true, this wouldn't make it any better, but Malkin's whinge and shriek doesn't lend the story any credibility.

Pleading Ignorance And Rationalizing Infidelity

In the interest of fairness, I don't like Bob Beckle - at all.

He's one of the multitude of "Democratic Party" voices on Fox"News" that are little more than milquitoast shils who are more than willing to half-ass their opinions and let the "stars" have their day.

In this clip from Monday night's Hannity program, Beckle attempts to get Sean to say that Republican Senator John Ensign should resign because of an affair he had with a married staffer.



No officer, I didn't know I was driving 20 miles over the limit. Oh, don't you recognize me, I'm Sean Hannity - from Fox"News".

Of course, Hannity would probably get off without even a warning because the cop would more than likely be a fan.

But isn't this a classic example of a so-called "journalist" feigning ignorance in order to keep from admitting that someone within the party that he unflinchingly champions is a rank hypocrite, an adulterer, and should be fired.

Hannity claims that he doesn't know his positions. Oh, really?

On Ensign's own website, there is a section called - of all things - Ensign On The Issues.

In a 2004 press release, also posted at Ensign's website, he stated his position on marriage:

Marriage recognizes the ideal of a father and mother living together to raise their children....Marriage is the cornerstone on which our society was founded. For those who say that the Constitution is so sacred that we cannot or should not adopt the Federal Marriage Amendment, I would simply point out that marriage, and the sanctity of that institution, predates the American Constitution and the founding of our nation. Marriage, as a social institution, predates every other institution on which ordered society in America has relied.”

Seems to be in line with what people like Hannity espouse.

Chris Cillizaa wrote in the Washington Post of Ensign's calls for another Senator to resign when allegations of "extra-marital" issues were brought up:

Ensign has been a leading conservative among Senate Republicans, playing a key role in demanding the resignation of Larry Craig in September 2007. Ensign called Craig a "disgrace" after he was arrested in June 2007 in an airport men's restroom on disorderly conduct charges. Craig resisted the calls from Ensign to resign but retired from the Senate last November.

Not only that, but Ensign came out against Clinton after the Monica Lewinsky dust-up:

I came to that conclusion recently, and frankly it’s because of what he put his whole Cabinet through and what he has put the country through....He has no credibility left.

Think Progress highlighted the Senator's positions on marriage, the Clinton scandal, as well as his stance on the "standard" which members of both houses of Congress should be judged:

There's too many people that paint with a broad brush that we're all corrupt, we're all amoral. … And having these kinds of things happen, whether it's a Republican or Democratic senator — we certainly have had plenty of Democratic scandals in the past — we need people who are in office who will hold themselves to a little higher standard.

But Ensign got shuffled to the back-burner by Hannity. If he had come through with his supposed bid for the Presidency in 2012, we might have been hearing Hannity talk about how Ensign's affair wasn't such a big deal. After all, Sean has excused others for no less of a sin:





All this hypocrisy kind of makes one wish that Hannity would get caught in an affair with someone that he claims to despise but secretly has burning desires for - like Nancy Pelosi or one of the women from Code Pink. It would probably end up being Ann Coulter though. Wonder who would want to be the "bottom"?

Shorter Gov. Rick Perry

In Texas, Gov. Perry Crows About His Endorsement by Palin

Sarah Palin is goddess that walks among humans. There's no one like her in the GOP or the conservative movement. Well, that is until Limbaugh calls me and then - well, I have to put on the knee-pads and break out the grape-jelly and syrup when I visit him. But Rush aside, Palin just brings so much success and honesty and she's got these great legs and.....excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom for about 2 minutes, can I call you back?

Someone Needs A Dictionary

Via Think Progress



Here's Pat Buchanan speaking at the "English Only" event.

Judge Sotomayor is up there at school in New York, she gets a scholarship to Princeton, she’s graduated with all these big honors and awards they said she never won. What’s she doing there in the summer? They said her adviser told her to read children’s classics so she can learn English better. How do you graduate number one in Princeton if you’re in the summer and you’re reading Rumpelstiltskin and Snow White? [laughter] [...]

Ah, the irony tastes so sweet.

Isn't it interesting that those that champion things like the English language, the constitution, or even basic science are always the ones that screw it all up?

She's 60 Today

Really.



These are her best roles, imo.

Lions For Lambs
A Prairie Home Companion
Angels In America
Adaptation
The Hours
Dancing At Lughnasa
Postcards From The Edge
Manhattan

Of Gimmicks, Indoctrination, And Children

In any case where a child has not put themselves into the media spotlight, or their family hasn't put them there, I would say that talking about them is off limits.

That being said, which one of these kids do you think has been coached endlessly with Right-Wing talking points?



Don't you just love the way that Doocy feels he has to explain what mini-Hannity was saying to the 11-year-old that just graduated from college.

Notice how the other kids were calm, honest, and forthcoming with their responses - even though they seemed compeltely disinterested with the questions given - while Krohn was practically auditioning to replace Glenn Beck or O'Reilly. This is what right-wing indoctrination does to children.

It's True, But We Shouldn't Mention It

There are times where I really want to like Meghan.

But here's her problem - she has good intentons, but she continuously comes off as the stereotypical "blonde" when it comes to political discourse.

If she is truly passionate about "bi-partisanship" ( which I think will never be possible ) then she needs to own her convictions - if she really has any.

There are a ton of variables holding this woman back.

She's going to be inextricably tied to her father for the rest of her life. Sure, she loves him like any daughter would - no one is discounting that. But her own point of view is going to be overshadowed by John McCain no matter what she says.

She seems to think that she can move through her socio-political and personal life on the very fact that she is John McCain's daughter. Once she is able to shed that image and that arena of thought, she'll be better off. Should she abandon her faimly? Not unless their own actions are making life unbearable. But, how unbearable can a life been when your family is filthy fucking rich?

And that's a huge anchor for Meghan. She's part of the "elite" in America, whether she will admit it or not. At times, she'll attempt to connect with people but ultimately fall flat on her face when she says something remarkably stupid. Much like she did when she addressed the Log Cabin Republicans:

I am proud to join you in challenging the mold and the notions of what being a Republican means. I am concerned about the environment. I love to wear black. I think government is best when it stays out of people's lives and business as much as possible. I love punk rock. I believe in a strong national defense. I have a tattoo. I believe government should always be efficient and accountable. I have lots of gay friends. And yes, I am a Republican.

Wow, what "mavericky" rhetoric - what power of conviction. Black, tattoos, AND gay friends. Awesome.

The point is that Meghan needs to step it up, prove to the world that she isn't that image that many think she is.

Get A Job You Slackers

A hopefully soon to be former State Rep. Cynthia Davis (R-MO) seems to think that hungry kids are just too lazy to get a job and don't really need help.

Via Think Progress.

Who’s buying dinner? Who is getting paid to serve the meal? Churches and other non-profits can do this at no cost to the taxpayer if it is warranted. [...] Bigger governmental programs take away our connectedness to the human family, our brotherhood and our need for one another. [...] Anyone under 18 can be eligible? Can’t they get a job during the summer by the time they are 16? Hunger can be a positive motivator. What is wrong with the idea of getting a job so you can get better meals? Tip: If you work for McDonald’s, they will feed you for free during your break. [...] It really is all about increasing government spending, which means an increase in taxes for us to buy more free lunches and breakfasts.

Ah, the spectre of "government spending".

So as long as some church can do it and she doesn't have to be associated with helping hungery children, then that's just fantastic. Typical.

According to Missouri Child Labor Laws, a 16-year-old can be employed, but there's far more variables to the equation than Davis seems to be willing to admit.

Granted it's an old data-set, but the 2000 US Census states that there were just over 12.6 million children under the age of 16 in the state at that time. The number could be slightly more or less 9 years later.

The point is that Davis is willing to tell the children under 16 of Missouri that she can't be bothered with helping make sure you don't starve to death. She might as well have said "let them eat cake".

I'm Really Looking Forward To Hearing Her Say It

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!!"

The Voice Of The People

( H/T to Stranahan )

And this is something that people don't realize - the voters are the ones with the power.

Granted, there are voices within the voting populous that will blindly echo all the misinformation surrounding healthcare because they lack the bone-marrow will to read, do research, ask th basic questions that make up a national debate on anything.

They are more than willing to be lead rather than have their own voice.

Why are so many in Washington unwilling to help the people and the country that they are charged with representing?

Although it is an overlty simplistic way of looking at it, it's the people that have healthcare - that can afford it, that have a stake in the opposition - against those that don't. It's about people with comprehensive healthcare - that we pay for - attempting to decry a system that works for them.

When you are inside the box, lacking perspective of what is happening in the outside world, your ability to understand it is lost.

At It Again

Jib Jab takes on Obama.

If you watch this and think it's funny, you are officially a Socio-Marxi-Commu-Fascist that worships Satan and eats small bunnies for breakfast.

The Rationale Of Corporate Greed

I know many people that have downloaded music.

The broader question should be "who hasn't"?

But when a Federal court issues a fine of nearly $2-million dollars because you downloaded 24 songs from the internet, what does that say about not only the RIAA, but our system of justice?

A federal jury Thursday found a 32-year-old Minnesota woman guilty of illegally downloading music from the Internet and fined her $80,000 each -- a total of $1.9 million -- for 24 songs.

Illegal downloads of musical files will cost a Minnesota woman $1.9 million, a jury has decided.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset's case was the first such copyright infringement case to go to trial in the United States, her attorney said.

Attorney Joe Sibley said that his client was shocked at fine, noting that the price tag on the songs she downloaded was 99 cents.

She plans to appeal, he said.

So, a man can - provided he has enough money - get away with manslaughter and only spend 30 days in jail, but a person cant' buy a copy of some overly produced pap by Gwen Stefani without fearing that they'll be fined more money than the average cost of a home in my state?

I'm fairly sure that, of all the "artists" whom Jamie had tracks from aren't seeing any downturn in their revenue stream because of this. Although, copyright law is a law that has been enforced for a long time. The only problem with this decision is that it is pure overkill.

The Audacity Of Commercialism

Honestly, until I saw Lost In Translation, I didn't realize the amount of "actors" that were so willing ( or at least gave the appearance thereof ) to whore themselves out to soda companies, tampon manufacturers, microwave meals, and people that make tiny cars powered by goose vomit.



( h/t to Agitprop )

Seder's On Site Reporting

It's not exactly the crowd that one would find protesting in Iran, gathering at Bonnaroo, or even at a Palin rally, but Sam Seder of Air America was there. He braved the multitudes of the media and managed to find the "tens" of people that were lambasting comedy that they thought would bring about rape, horror, and anti-Fox"News" rule across America.



In terms of the woman that quotes Mitch Hedberg, I find it rather funny that she thinks teen pregnancy is on par with buying pens that are far to expensive. But that's just me.

And Shopping At The Gap Will Make You Gay

( h/t Cesca )

This reminds me of type of nonsense printed in those "Turmoil In The Toybox" type books that the fundies would try to pass out to the parents when I was in grade-school.

Just As Bad As Doing It Herself

Tennessee state senator Diane Black (R) didn't fire her blatantly racist staffer after distributing an email to the "wrong list of people", she got a strongly worded letter.

A letter? Nice going Diane.

Also, does the GOP in Tennessee ( or throughout America for that matter ) keep a "correct list" of people that require racist materials?

Here's the letter's text.

June 2, 2009

Sherri Goforth
5 LP
Nashville, Tennessee 37243

Dear Sherri,
This is a follow up to confirm our conversation regarding the state email policy. First, as we discussed, email communications are for state use only and should not be used for purposes outside of the guidelines established. Also, as we discussed, no communication that is derogatory regarding any minority should be sent from this office or that employee will be subject to termination of employment with my office. I know you take this policy seriously and I am confident that you will abide by the policy. Your service to my office and the legislature has been commendable with the exception of this incident and I look forward to working together in the future within these guidelines.

Sincerely,
Diane Black

Classic Doocy

( h/t Wonkette )

Does Fox"News" Consider Bloggers Legit Media Now?

Griff loves the "do you believe in the 1st Ammendment" line.

It will be interesting to see how Fox plays this out, if they even bother using Griff's footage.

But You Already Knew That

Depending on how their language is parsed, it does tend to become increasingly more and more difficult to seperate the lies from the misinformation and what few facts are actually being presented.

However, the rank hypocrisy is spread wide-open like a cheap hooker and smells just as bad too.



Having aired multiple pro-Republican and pro-Bush mini-docs, the hue and cry from Fox"News" has no merit what-so-ever.

And in terms of having access to the White House, Fox"News" practically lived there for 8 years.

The likes of Bill O'Reilly, Chris Wallace, and many others have either conducted interviews or shot footage from within the White House during the Bush era.

For me, the connection between Fox and the Bush administration can be seen the clearest in their hiring of Tony Snow as White House press secretary.

But all this is a given. Well, for anyone that has the ability to see past the spin, conjecture, and patent falsehoods that are peddled by Fox"News" day in and day out.

This Will Not End Well

She's been the new "Joe The Plumber" ever since the Miss USA pageant, so can she have a clever nickname too?

She's not going away, and it won't be without a fight.

The former Miss California's lawyer, Charles LiMandri, is going on the offensive against state pageant organization and director Keith Lewis, claiming to E! News that Lewis plotted Prejean's downfall by knowingly sending her lists of events and opportunities that were beyond the typical expected duties.

Typical duties?

Granted, I know little of what it takes to be in teh "pageant-class" - other than being "enhanced", vacuous, have the ability to be coached into doing and saying almost anything, and be virtually devoid of any individuality - but why is this even an issue anymore?

If she didn't win Miss USA because of her beliefs, then it's Perez Hilton, as well as the other judges, that are at fault. But, there's a much larger point to all this....

WHO ---- REALLY ---- CARES!!!!

For all intent and purpose, what is the point of being Miss America, Miss Universe, or even Miss Midwest Kettle-corn Princess? Does this somehow open the door to other, more lucrative, job possibilities?

It's all about outer, faux, beauty and speaking and glittering generalites that mean nothing.

This woman is willing to waste the court's time by suing?

You know, the more that I hear from Prejean, and her mouth-agape fanbase ( read: Fox"News" ) the more that I'm intrigued by how this is all going to end.

Joe "The Non-Plumbing-Gimmick" Wurzelbacher faded into obscurity not long ago. No bang, no catasrophic outburts in public with a 1-1/4" socket-wrench, no women coming forward saying that he fathered any children, no gay sex scandal, nothing.

Something tells me that Carrie is getting in WAY over her head now.

We will soon see what happens.

Teh Ghey Sexor Caused Me Brain-Pan To Itch

This story out of West Bend, Wisconsin is just the type of nonsense that Bill O'Reilly would love to showcase on his Fox"News" show:

There is a little dustup going on in the town of West Bend, Wisconsin. The local bluenoses noticed that there are books that discuss human sexuality in the library — and some of them are even written for teenagers! Teenagers, of course, never think about sex and have no interest in the subject unless some vile prurient publication stirs them up, so the crusaders for purity are stridently demanding that these books be removed from view.

One particular target of their fury is a book by Francesca Lia Block, Baby Be-Bop, which commits the sin of writing positively about young gay men and negatively about gay bashing. A group called the Christian Civil Liberties Union has filed suit over the book, since it exists at the library, and they don't like it.

One would think that you couldn't use the term "Civil Liberties" in conjunction with "Christian", but it seems they feel their "liberties" are in danger. Not only that, but they are filing suit and claim that their "emotional" and "mental well-being" were damaged.

The Milwaukee branch of the Christian Civil Liberties Union (CCLU) has filed a legal claim that says a book that is available in the West Bend Community Memorial Library is offensive.

Robert C. Braun of West Allis, Joseph Kogelmann of Milwaukee, Robert Brough of West Bend and the Rev. Cleveland Eden of Milwaukee, representing the Milwaukeebased group, filed the claim with the city of West Bend clerk's office.

Named in the claim are the city of West Bend, Mayor Kristine Deiss, the West Bend Library Board and Library Director Michael Tyree. The group is seeking $30,000 per plaintiff, Deiss’ resignation and a racist book be removed and publicly burned or destroyed as a deterrent to repeating the offensive conduct, the claim states.

I find it hard to believe that a group of "elderly Christians" were at the library one day and suddenly fell over in a seizure brought on by a book simply sitting on the shelf.

Did they read it? Was it encoded with some hidden message that, when read, caused the reader to have this sudden urge to kill?



And what of all the other books in the library that discuss sex? Why they don't count. It's perfectly alright to have books - some written by " respectiblepeople" - that talk about "straight sex".

The logic, or lack thereof, of this group decrying the use of taxpayer money for this book baffling. Where do they think they are going to get their $30K for each "victim".

( h/t to Yellow Dog )

Raping With Your Mouth

I'm certain that all of Palin's pals over at Fox"News" were hoping that this protest was going to be massive in scope. It wasn't:

A crowd of 15 protesters upset with the late night comic held signs and occasionally shouted as they stood across the street from Letterman's studio.

But they were often hidden from view by the more than 35 members of the media there to cover the protest, and out-shouted by a few very vocal counter-protesters.

Yes, the media and non-affiliated crowd outnumbered the protesters. No doubt this was because of the massive, liberal, bias that was eminating from within the Ed Sullivan Theatre.



Seems that there were some "tea-baggers" that infiltrated the Letterman protest.

I haven't laughed this hard all year.

Having discussed Letterman - and by extention, comedy as a whole - with several co-workers, the discussion ultimately turned to the likes of Don Imus. Even though Imus' racists speech and Letterman's comedy are two divergent things, there was a large portion of people that I spoke with that believe that Letterman should face the same fate.

But this is far from over. John Zeigler has his hands in the pie too. He loves to beat a dead horse until his knuckles are bloody or he drives people crazy with his punch-drunk blathering:

...the Los Angeles talk radio host behind the group firedavidletterman.com told The Times that Letterman's apology falls short.

"I'm glad he's acknowledged we're right," said John Ziegler, a creator of the film "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted" and who this month began a new show on KGIL. "I think it's a good first step in the right direction, but I don't think it's enough." Part of the problem, he added, is that Letterman made a "horrendous attempt at an apology" last week, when he devoted several relatively light-hearted minutes to the controversy, invited Palin on his program and repeated the joke.

People are still watching though. Letterman saw a huge uptick in viewers after his apology:

Monday night, when Mr. Letterman offered his extended apology to Governor Palin and her family, he had his best night yet in the continuing late-night competition against NBC’s new “Tonight” show star, Conan O’Brien. In preliminary national ratings, Mr. Letterman pulled in 700,000 more viewers than Mr. O’Brien Monday night, 3.9 million to 3.2 million, his biggest margin yet over his new competitor. Mr. Letterman routinely trailed the former “Tonight” host Jay Leno by a million viewers or more.

Of course, this doesn't mean that all that were watching him accepted the apology or even like the show. People are drawn to controversy, even when it's highly manufactured.

I'm guessing Embassy Suites will be coming back to The Late Show soon enough if Dave's ratings continue to rise.

Shorter Ed Morrisey

Damn those people that we hired!

You know, people would stop thinking that we are racist if we quit hiring people that are racist who feel comfortable to do all sorts of racist things that would normally be caught and exposed in order to prevent everyone from thinking that we are racist. But, since it wasn't the senator who got pegged at the racist, then it's all ok and we can talk about her racist staffer all we want - even though this was a racist email sent out to people she felt comfortable sending it out to from the senator's office. I'm not racist, I just speak for a party that hires people that advocate racism.

A Film I Never Thought I Would See Made

Upon seeing this at Love Train, I had this bizarre urge to call my old college girlfriend, who had read the book three times and made me read it - which I am quite thankful for.

In 1992 and 1993, members of the group became connected with a series of crimes, starting with the arson of the Fantoft stave church on June 6, 1992, although the book mentions that there had previously been a "small, ineffectual fire at Storeveit Church.". Church arsons continue but with a steady decline up until the year 1995. (The cover of Lords of Chaos shows a "19th Century Swedish church in flames").

An interview in a Norwegian Newspaper given by Burzum founder Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes, also a member of the Helvete group, leads to a media outrage condemning the arsons as acts of Satanism. On August 21, 1992 Bård "Faust" Eithun of the band Emperor murders a homosexual man in the Olympic Park in Lillehammer. He is subsequently convicted of this crime and sentenced to 14 years in prison (of which he subsequently serves nine years before being released in 2003). On August 10, 1993 Aarseth is murdered by Vikernes, who receives a 21 years sentence for the murder and several cases of arson related to the church burnings.

More here

"Twilight" allum Jackson Rathbone is slated to play the roll of Varg Vikernes:

It's all a long way from Robert Pattinson making goo-goo eyes at Kristen Stewart, and one fears for the mental health of young Twilight fans who might be drawn to Lords of Chaos because of Rathbone's participation.

There are som rabid "Twilight" chicks here in my town. I'm just wondering how long it will take for some uber-conservative wingnut to attempt to block the release of the film?

Considering Rathbone is playing the lead, look for some backlash in the near future.

According to IMDB, Chaos will be directed by Japanese poet and filmmaker Sion Sono - known for his disturbing and controversial subject matter.



From Blabbermouth:

Making his English-language debut with "Lords Of Chaos" will be hot Japanese director Sion Sono.

Stuart Pollok of Los Angeles-based Saltire Entertainment, Ko Mori of Eleven Arts and Oh Jungwan of Korea's Bom Productions are producing the film, which starts shooting in Norway in mid-September

Promotion, according to the article, was in full swing at Cannes last month. They are certainly ambitious about this one.

Apparently the real Varg is not pleased.

See you at the movies next year.

The Fringe Is On The Prowl

Either that, or they are willing to accept ANY advertisers on their websites.

Check out this screen-grab from HotAir.

The mind recoils in horror when one considers what thoughts are runniing through Ed Morrissey's head.

Family values, indeed.

Economic Quote Of The Quarter b/w Fox"Business" Craziness

Brad DeLong ( Department of Economics, U.C. Berkeley ) seems to think that it wasn't enough:

Had I known last November what I know now, I would then have been pushing federal fiscal stimulus at $800 billion rather than $400 billion per year.

Would you rather listen to someone that is an economist, or would you rather listen to this guy:

Misrepresented Data Seems To Make Them Feel Better

The Fox"Nation" has a highlighted story around a poll by Gallup that appears to show that "conservativism" is the dominant ideology in America.

Thus far in 2009, 40% of Americans interviewed in national Gallup Poll surveys describe their political views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal. This represents a slight increase for conservatism in the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seen in 2004. The 21% calling themselves liberal is in line with findings throughout this decade, but is up from the 1990s.

While looking at the figures from the particular perspective can provide supplication for those that are railing against the Obama adminstration, perhaps even validating their silly, little, tea-parties, the numbers tend to shift when the data is more detailed in your polling sample.

In this [ State of American Political Ideology ] study, however, the electorate is broken down using a more expansive five-point scale of political ideology that reflects the variety of approaches people ascribe to today. Employing this more calibrated measure, 34 percent of the country identifies as “conservative,” 29 percent as “moderate,” 15 percent as “liberal,” 16 percent as “progressive,” and 2 percent as “libertarian.” After moderates are asked which approach they lean toward, the overall ideological breakdown of the country divides into fairly neat left and right groupings, with 47 percent of Americans identifying as progressive or liberal and 48 percent as conservative or libertarian. The rest are unsure or scattered among moderate and other approaches.

You can see the full, detialed, report from American Progess here.

See which demographic you fall into. Take the quiz

I scored in the "very progressive" catagory. It's a rather interesting quiz.