Lojack for Illegals?

Cenk Uygur breaks down the insane concept put forward by Pat Bertroche, an Iowa Republican who is running for the House of Representatives, of microchipping illegal immigrants. You know, like dogs.


One thing Cenk left out of his criticism of this, because the sheer stupidity and inhumanity of the idea speaks for itself, is that the Pat Bertroche's idea quite simply will not work.

"We don't retire at 50 with a pension"

A truly repugnant email from an anonymous, and clearly bitter, Wall Street warrior has been picked up by the blogs. If this really is the mentality taking hold on Wall Street then the president and his administration is doing a better job than I ever dreamed.

This is my favorite part:

Go ahead and continue to take us down, but you're only going to hurt yourselves. What's going to happen when we can't find jobs on the Street anymore? Guess what: We're going to take yours. We get up at 5am & work till 10pm or later. We're used to not getting up to pee when we have a position. We don't take an hour or more for a lunch break. We don't demand a union. We don't retire at 50 with a pension. We eat what we kill, and when the only thing left to eat is on your dinner plates, we'll eat that.

See here, the joke's on you creepy Wall Street bulk email guy--what's left on my plate is tasty-looking shrimp loaded to the gills with Texas tea. Just wring it out over your engine block and enjoy.

By the way something, we don't retire at any age with a pension. You Reaganites saw to that. So, if you think the middle class is a rose garden, you're in for a big surprise, douche.

West Wing Rewind--CJ Cregg Meets the Cartographers for Social Equality

What if the map of the Earth you have inside your head is laughably wrong?

Charlie Crist Goes Rogue

Fresh off his crowd pleasing veto earlier this month of a Republican bill that would have tied teachers' pay to the performance of their students on standardized tests, Florida Governor Charlie Crist will likely announce tomorrow that he will run as an independent for the US Senate, bypassing a primary contest with Republican opponent Marco Rubio, who has a huge lead over Crist in primary polls and the backing of the same sorts of ultra-conservative big money organizations, such as the Club for Growth, that drove Arlen Specter to switch to the Democratic Party.

Rubio still leads in three-way polling, but Crist isn't far behind and he hasn't really started wooing moderates the way he will now that he's going to commit to this course of action. Anything that makes it harder for Rubio to win works for me. I would obviously prefer to see inevitable Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek's numbers will improve and he'll win the seat, but if, by election day, the polls make it clear that it's a two-man race between Crist and Rubio, then I'll do what I have to do--vote big orange, then take a shower.

Did Germany Try to Kill George and Laura Bush?

Dubya isn't the only one coming out with a book this year, his wife Laura's book is coming out next month. According to the AP, some of the choice material regards Mrs. Bush's fairly wild assertion that she, president Dumbshit, and several staffers MAY have been poisoned. This possible poisoning may or may not have taken place during a G8 summit in Germany. Instead of, you know, dying, the first couple and their staff fell ill. After a Secret Service investigation, doctors said they all had a virus.

Let's see, instead of attributing this illness to the fact that people often get sick, she implies that Germany poisoned them. Did Angela Merkel herself drop what she hoped would be a deadly dose into their vegetable soup? Was it only their hyper-immune American physiology that allowed them to survive this assassination attempt?

The AP quotes Mrs. Bush as saying, "We never learned if any other delegations became ill, or if ours, mysteriously, was the only one." This may be the most disturbing part of this whole thing. So, you're telling me that there was enough suspicion that the Germans or some rogue non-state actor (like a chef with a deep distaste for Cowboy diplomacy) poisoned the president of the United States, his employees and his wife, that there was a Secret Service investigation, but no one got the Director of National Security on the line to find out if the intelligence community could possibly find out if any other world leader--real high profile people--were getting cold sweats or hacking up mung? We don't know at a moment's notice if Pooty Poot is running a fever? I somehow find that disappointing, given what we spend on intel.

Mrs. Bush also criticized Democrats for calling her husband "an incompetent leader" and a "loser" says that such insults were "uncalled for." Well, maybe I'm being too technical over here, but I would submit to the former First Lady that those insults were very loudly called for. People all over the blogosphere and the biosphere were calling for those kinds of insults. Maybe calling him a "loser" wasn't the most appropriate insult, seeing as how he did "win" two elections. But "incompetent leader" is not even an insult. It's an apt description that the Texas board of Education will surely strain itself to rid from future history text books.

Bill Frist Digs the Healthcare Reform

Former Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a medical doctor, is all about the health care bill (h/t Wonk Room). So much so that he's going around talking about how proud he is of this administration. What is with these people? When Frist, who seriously has issues, was Leader, he was one of the least liked politicians in the country while ranking very high on the list of corrupt politicians. He always toed the party line. So what's with the sudden Barack-love? What's the angle here?

A commenter at The Wonk Room follows the money, and quickly unearths several reasons that Dr. Frist is so excited:

Dr. Frist will cash in for the fourth time on HCA’s going public. Private equity underwriter (PEU) KKR plans an HCA IPO in the near future.

As for increased costs KKR’s buyout of HCA and Triad’s sellout to CHS added over $2 billion in interest expense. White House Health Czar Nancy Ann DeParle made over $1 million from Triad’s sale.

What happened as PPACA neared the finish line? PEU’s signed deals to buy out major safety net providers in Massachusetts and Michigan. Three years under Mass health reform couldn’t save Caritas Christie from hell hound Cerberus Capital.

Dr. Frist’s son works for The Carlyle Group. An Axelrod also worked for Carlyle but disappeared after their downsizing.

Dirty Tom Daschle, also a PEU, has his hands all over PPACA. Of course Dr. Frist likes it. It sets up the For-Profiteers.

I'm not real sure what all that means, but it sounds pretty plausible to me.

Remember, if it weren't for severe debacle build up, he would have been one of the front runners for the Republican nomination in 2008. Debacle after debacle--like this one:

Feelings Are Going to be Hurt By This

Letterman does seem fairly eager to jump back on Jay Leno here, but why not? Any response Jay Leno gives is going suck because it's going to be given by Jay Leno.


Now, just install that ejector seat for Mr. Phil and we're set.

So It's Come to This

I am watching a debate unfold on Facebook right now between a friend and one of her friends that started off about the new Arizona law requiring police to stop illegal looking people. It has now degenerated into a ridiculous, reductive proclamation about who stole who's land from the Mexican-American War back to the original passage of the arctic land-bridge.

Dave Anthony at Stop All Monsters posted this image:


Here's Rachel Maddow with more:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

We Have Nothing to Fear But Aliens

The smartest person ever says that if we cross paths with aliens, they'll probably be total assholes that will slaughter all resistance en route to draining our resources.

I thought that trying to find a job was a problem, now I got the Borg bearing down on me. Thanks Hawking. Thanks a lot!

More Importantly, How Much Does it Cost?

CNN's Barbara Starr reports on a secret military vehicle, the X-37B, that some believe is designed to take out enemy satellites.


Whatever the intended uses of the X-37B, the secrecy surrounding the project is fueling waves of speculation and mounting distrust. Some suspect that the project amounts to nothing more than a means of handing over billions of taxpayer dollar to the private sector with little in return.

Go Fuck Yourself--A Blog Post in Three Acts

Act One

INT. TV STUDIO--NIGHT

Act one opens on our main character, Daily Show host JON STEWART, who has taken the phrase "Go Fuck Yourself" to new levels of greatness.

After blasting Bernie Goldberg (off) with it earlier this week, Stewart busted out The Go Fuck Yourself Choir and went to work on the extremists who have been threatening Matt and Trey from South Park for not doing anything like showing a depiction of Muhammad on TV, which they already did many years ago.

Act Two

INT. RADIO STATION--DAY

Enter the former Vice president of the United States--a thick slab of sith man/machine named RICHARD CHENEY, eyes sweeping side to side, on the make.

Who's that he's talking to? My god, it can't be, but it is... former SNL mainstay DENNIS MILLER, who is in the latter stages of his own second act--reinvented as a right wing radio host. Miller emits a few phony YUCKS to ingratiate himself to the dark lord.

They do an interview as the song "Cheney's Got a Gun" by Bob Rivers fades.

MILLER: (referring to the time in 2004 when Dick Cheney told Senator Leahy "go fuck yourself" on the floor of the Senate) On the list of things I should thank you for--almost kicking Patrick Leahy's ass.

Cheney fake LAUGHS with Miller a bit.

Cheney: You’d be surprised how many people liked that. That’s sort of the best thing I ever did.

Cheney laughs like the Penguin from the 60's Batman TV show as we

DISSOLVE TO:

Act Three

EXT. ICE STATION TANGO--DAY

A few penguins mill around the entrance to the heavily fortified ice station LAUGHING like Dick Cheney, former VP of the United States.

IN THE ICE STATION--DAY

THE STATION AGENT works feverishly at his blogging station in the IST Control Center.

STATION AGENT: Computer, pull up the greatest video in the history of the internet!

COMPUTER: Working... Onscreen.

THE END

Can I Get a Ruling From the GOP, Please

No less than two Republicans, one a state representative and one a candidate for Senate, have suggested that the way to go on heath care reform is to barter for it.

I know how strong the temptation is for a liberal blogger such as myself to take that fact and imply that this foolishness is a part of the Republican Party's agenda. I know their economic ideas have taken a pounding in the wake of the slow death of the middle class, but I am quite certain that they do understand the advantages of a cash system, seeing as how they have benefited so greatly from that system.

So, can we please hear a loud chorus of Republicans denouncing this idiocy so we can move forward with this whole monetary thing we've got going? That would be great.

Darkhorse Surges in British Campaign

Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, now leads in a three way race for Prime Minister. Andrew Sullivan has more. Howard Dean offers his advice to Clegg. Yearrrgh!

Krugman Talks Reform With Maddow

Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman, talked with Rachel Maddow about the state of financial reform.

Weak Sauce, Bill O

My good friend (and the hardest working author in all of digital publishing), David Derrico, sent me this comical clip of Bill O'Reilly making a complete ass of himself by claiming no one on Fox News said you would go to jail if you violated the health care mandate. Roll it!

Bill's an old guy who made his bones when you could lie about anything you wanted to and no one could really call you on it because there was no internet, but Bill O has to know better than this by now. We're pretty deep into the internet era here.

Medium-Sized Brother--Cupons, Laptops Used for Surveillance

As a former cashier, I just can't use coupons. Even after all these years as a non-cashier, coupons retain their association with customers that would hand me a stack of poorly clipped newspapers right in the middle of a rush. So, I hadn't given much thought to the concept of internet coupons until Senior IST Researcher Russ Weiss at our Midwestern office sent me this article from StlToday:

A new breed of coupon, printed from the Internet or sent to mobile phones, is packed with information about the customer who uses it. While the coupons look standard, their bar codes can be loaded with a startling amount of data, including identification about the customer, Internet address, Facebook page information and even the search terms the customer used to find the coupon in the first place.

And all that information follows that customer into the mall. For example, if a man walks into a Filene’s Basement to buy a suit for his wedding and shows a coupon he retrieved online, the company’s marketing agency can figure out whether he used the search terms “Hugo Boss suit” or “discount wedding clothes” to research his purchase (just don’t tell his fiancee).

(more)

After the Bush years, we should be conditioned to know that if someone can somehow violate your privacy in exchange for money or power, they will. So, while these creepy coupons are way out of line, they don't surprise me.

What would have surprised me if I were still capable of being surprised was that a Philadelphia school district issued laptops to high school students, then used the webcams in the laptops to take pictures of the students. The computers took 56,000 webcam photographs and screen shots. The lawyer representing the school district concedes that students were likely photographed in their homes. The district claimed it activated the tracking software to find 80 missing laptops over the last two years. The only problem with that story is that the student who filed suit was photographed 400 times during a 15-day period, some times when he was only "half-dressed." Oh, and he never reported his laptop lost or stolen.

Meanwhile, Jim--whom they are watching--at Irregular Times explains why intel experts that predict terror attacks on "the homeland" will happen in testimony to Congress result in the further erosion of privacy and civil rights.

Comcast Someone, Kelsey Grammer to Catapult RightNetwork

UPDATE: Thanks to Simon at Bloggasm for emailing to tell me that Comcast's VP of Corporate Communications has a post up on the company's blog that calls reports that Comcast is "an investor in, or partner of the Right Network" inaccurate.

Gigantic cable company Comcast and washed up actor Kelsey Grammer are among the backers for the next wave in propaganda, the RightNetwork, a new network (basic cable channel) that purports to focus on entertainment with "Pro-America, Pro-Business, Pro-Military sensibilities." This is all code for teabaggery 24/7. This is a bad sign for people who are suspicious of Comcast's purchase of NBC and for people hoping for a Cheers reunion they could feel good about. Why is it that when right wingers start up TV channels they go for the throat and when left wingers start TV channels we get whatever Current TV is.

By the way something, the downtrodden teabaggers make more money than the rest of us. Gots better educations too.

Lightning Round--Bumper Sticker Madness, Resistance MP3, Two Beckys?, More...

The Unbearable Banishment: Check out the whacked messaging on this smooth ride.

Resistance MP3: If you want to hear the voice of the left, not the moderates the American media calls the far left, but the actual left, check out this web site's massive lecture archive.

MyDD: With Haley Barbour in the race, and he's feeling it, the field for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination goes from absurd to sublime.

Nightbird's Fountain: Yep, Rush linked the Icelandic volcano eruption to health care reform.

The Guardian UK: Why we should fear volcanoes, just not this one, which is small potatoes compared to other eruptions in the last couple of centuries. In fact, an 1783 Icelandic volcano was a factor in the French Revolution.

Huffington Post: It's frustrating that every day I see at least three completely insignificant, front page stories taking up precious space on one of the most influential sites on the web. But every now and then, one of those stupid stories manages to entertain me, and I feel cheap and dirty. The story in question is the one called, "The 13 Most Ridiculous Sitcom Mysteries Of All Time." The one that caught my eye was titled, "Roseanne, The Two Beckys." Now, like any kid who grew up in that decade, I knew that there were two Beckys, but what I did not know, because by the time the show made it to a 9th season I actually had a life, the show brought back the original Becky and they sent the replacement Becky packing. There was also a period of time when the writers kept both Beckys around just to fuck with the audience. I find this fascinating. Thank you Huffington Post.

Can You Ruin Something That's Already Terrible?

There's a story hitting the wires today that pits two things I deeply distrust against one another--futures markets vs. the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Anyone paying attention to gas prices that go up as demand drops knows the fucked up nature of oil futures. I despise the MPAA because they constantly make horrible decisions.

In a move that brings a bad idea to a completely dysfunctional industry, a government panel has legalized futures trading on motion pictures. For their part, the MPAA and the Hollywood studios want that decision overturned. The ability to short sell anything seems like a bad idea, but a bubble in the film industry likely wouldn't be big enough to bring down the economy the way housing, oil and tech bubbles have. But... a film industry bubble could be big enough to bring down the film industry, which could be nice. There's no guarantee what manner of film industry would rise from the ashes, but seriously, could it be worse than what we have now?

I've also read people expressing the concern that movie producers might try to intentionally make a crap movie loaded with expensive star power and special effects, then purposely tank the movie Producers-style with a shit director, bad script, flawed casting and poor marketing. Of course, Hollywood has been doing all that across the board since the 80s and have descended to all new lows in this century. So I say, go ahead, producers, do your worst--you may just forge a new line of classic films on accident that have the lovely side-effect of ruining you financially.

Most likely, however, this decision will not stand. Senator Blanche Lincoln, who knows her political situation is precarious, has been born again hard when it comes to financial reform. She has a bill in the works that would ban movie futures as part of a broader derivatives bill she is writing. Nice to see Lincoln finally on the right side of an issue. Even if it keeps Hollywood alive and sucking.

Crist Vetoes So-Called Merit Pay Bill Passed by Florida Republicans

Charlie Crist vetoed a rotten piece of legislation that would tie teachers' pay to student test scores.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed a controversial, first-in-the-nation merit pay-plan today that tied teacher pay to student test scores, in a dramatic conclusion to an issue that drew howls of protest from educators and parents across the state.

Crist called the merit-pay bill "significantly flawed" and criticized how it was "sped through" the Legislature with little time for input from educators. He said it had many provisions that worried him, just as they had upset teachers, parents and school administrators.

"We must start over," Crist said.

"I veto SB6 because this bill is contrary to my firmly held principle to act in the best interests in the people of Florida," said the governor, speaking to a packed room of reporters.

Crist said he understood why teachers were upset because they could have lost their jobs based on criteria the bill did not spell out or for factors, such as a student's home life, that were beyond their control. He said the bill had "deeply and negatively impacted the morale" of educators across the state.

Educating a child, as Hillary Clinton once pointed out, takes more than teachers. This is a big victory for teachers who have enough problems without having their pay contingent on the percentage of the job that rests with the parents.

Popular opposition swept through the state since the Republicans in the state legislature passed the partisan bill. The president of the Palm Beach County teachers union, Robert Dow, grudgingly praised Crist for listening to the people and vetoing the bill. Dow, who could benefit from hiring a good writer, said, "The governor is known for being a good looking man, but he hasn't looked this good in a long time. I'm not surprised. The opposition to this bill was so overwhelming."

At any rate, it's nice to see the teachers kicked the Republicans' ass all over the state after this craven bill--the next step on Jeb Bush's plan to destroy public education in Florida--passed. More on Jeb Bush's plans for Florida here.

Inside the Fox News Imagination

Jon Stewart takes apart Fox News for attributing a ridiculous motive for the desing of the recent Nuclear Summitt logo. Rather than coming up with some wild, suggestive conspiracy theory linking the President to Muslims by saying all those words together a bunch of times, someone on the Daily Show staff called the White House and asked them where the design came from. I'm sure you'll be shocked and/or horrified by the real answer. It was an homage to the Bohr model of the atom. Of course, that's not going to get anyone worked up into a pro-insurance company secessionist frenzy now will it?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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Tough Times

These are hard times for Exxon. Their earnings are at their lowest point in 7 years. You want to know how bad it's gotten for Exxon? Well, in 2008, their CEO Rex Tillerson made $23.9 million in total compensation. Last year, however, he only made $21.7 million.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Comes Dangerously Close to Breaking Omerta

I guess going ahead and saying Bush was a moron is reserved for Putin at a time of his choosing.

Time for an Ambush, Ice Station Style

Bill O'Reilly sent one of his goons to ambush former VP Al Gore, who was on his way to lunch and unwilling to play ball.

Even though this blog has only existed for four years, I've been trying to get Bill O'Reilly to come on this blog for eleven years. Since he won't do it, I had to go out and get this picture of him:

I will now launch a fierce round of questioning at the picture.

Mr. O'Reilly, Jay Allbritton, Ice Station Tango, are you embarrassed that you bother people who have more important shit to do than talk to your lackies?

Mr. O'Reilly, Mr. O'Reilly, does your temper problem stem from the fact that you just care too damn much?

Mr. O'Reilly, Mr. O'Reilly, while I have you here, could you do it live for us, just once? You know, to play us out? Mr. O'Reilly? Mr. O'Reilly?

Lightning Round--Clear Channel, Troll Reviews, Democracy in the UK, Conan to TBS, Five Dollar Friday, More

NY Post: The nation's largest radio station owner and the harbinger of the beast, Clear Channel, continues to face financial oblivion.

The Bugle Podcast: In the latest episode, John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman get excited by the upcoming general election in the UK. Meanwhile, over at Popnography, they have a clip of the man who would be the next PM of the UK, David Cameron, has to tap out after receiving difficult questions about gay issues in a magazine interview.

David Derrico: Independent author David Derrico looks into the addled minds of the hostile troll book reviewers that walk and mutter to themselves amongst us.

TV by the Numbers: Conan is going to be on TBS in the fall. That's fairly surprising, but I don't think that the TV station he's on matters as much as what he winds up doing with his web presence. The true genius of this move is that no one will expect him to compete with Letterman or Leno, but if he does win on TBS, he looks like the biggest genius ever. Meanwhile, Conan's little buddy, Andy Richter visited Jesse Thorn for another adventurous episode of The Sound of Young America.

A Tiny Revolution: Five Dollar Friday is a brilliant idea. The time has come.

In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade?

On this weekend's episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, guest Chris Rock compared President Obama to boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard. The comparison was based on the premise that that no matter how bad either of them are being beaten up in a fight--political or boxing--their confidence never waivers and they always manage to win. Rock impersonates a badly beat up Leonard who tells his corner he will win despite the fact that his eye is hanging out and his jaw is in the third row.

The Sarah Palin Network

Tina Fey was back on SNL last night giving Sarah Palin ideas.

Spaceballs: The Blog Post

Hope you're all having a nice Saturday, in lieu of staring down the apocalypse, here's a clip from Spaceballs.

So What's the Democratic Equivalent to This, CNN?

I look forward to watching our friends at the equivalency-between-the-parties-network, or CNN as everyone else calls it, try to say that the RNC's misuse of their donor's cash happens over the DNC too. What's the lesbian bondage bash equivalent? Not that I have the slightest problem with lesbian bondage stuff but I don't think it reflects what Republican donors expect their money to be spent on.

But wait, there's more. I like the way that St. Pete Times political editor Adam C. Smith crafts the lead of his piece about a finance director for Republican state House campaigns and the $1.3 million AmEx bill that was amassed on a card after it was given to her (ht @UtahSavage):

She was a 25-year-old junior staffer when the Florida Republican Party gave her an American Express card.

That's almost the same exact beginning as Journey's "Don't Stop Believing". What could possibly go wrong?

Over the next 2½ years, nearly $1.3 million in charges wound up on Melanie Phister's AmEx — $40,000 at a London hotel, and nearly $20,000 in plane tickets for indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom, his wife and kids, for starters. Statements show thousands spent on jewelry, sporting goods and in one case $15,000 for what's listed as a month-long stay at a posh Miami Beach hotel, but which the party says was a forfeited deposit.

The credit card records, obtained by the St. Petersburg Times and Miami Herald, offer the latest behind-the-scenes look at extravagant and free-wheeling spending by the party touting fiscal restraint. Not only did certain elite legislative leaders have their own party credit cards to spend donors' money with little oversight, but Phister's records show these leaders also liberally used an underling's card — without her knowledge, she says.

She says she didn't know. I wouldn't be surprised if that is the case. In an e-mail, Phister claims that "over that period of time, there were multiple instances when the card was used to make purchases that I had no knowledge of, and I did not regularly review the monthly credit card statements which I understand were sent directly to the Party's accounting office."

So which is worse for the RNC? Do they lack the institutional control to know when over a million dollars is being misused? Or, did the plan to misuse the money originate at a higher level? In either case, this is a really meaty story that only an institution as hopeless as the American media could possibly ignore.

"I Don't Want to Get Sucked Into Facebook..."

This week's Facebook-themed South Park was legend...



Yoohoo, down here! ...dary!

We're not just doing this for money. We're doing it for a shit load of money!

A recent Forbes profile of Glenn Beck reveals that Beck is not in the politics business, rather, he's in the entertainment business. His business, called, Mercury Radio Arts, made $32 million between April 2009 and March 2010.

Forbes breaks it down:

• $13 million a year from books and magazines
• $10 million from radio
• $4 million from digital (a newsletter, GlennBeck.com and merchandise)
• $3 million from speaking engagements and events
• $2 million from his Fox News gig

If you have some crowded theaters you would like to pay Mr. Beck to yell "Fire!" in, he could maybe blow a fart as he does it, so he could classify that under entertainment, and that would push his earnings even higher, so send him an email if you want in on that.

Coburn's Comments Draw Predictable Response from Olbermann

Rupert Murdoch's face will always incite a visceral reaction deep inside my liberal innards. We have a history, Rupe and I. Oh, I don't know him personally, but his little media experiment has consistently spewed misleading propaganda to the detriment of American culture and the prosperity of the American middle class. He's out there blowing his crap again talking about how bias everyone else is.

This we all know. It sunk in long ago. I railed against this three-card monty act writ large for years. How Keith Olbermann thinks his nightly exposes on Fox and their malevolent talk radio progeny qualifies as news has become a sad side effect of the Fox phenomenon--even brilliant talents willing and able to tell the truth who have been given a huge platform have been sucked down into the mud with their preoccupation with the lying competition.

So, when something kind of interesting happens that might be read a crack in the shell of this bestial media syndrome, Republican Senator Tom Coburn's calm assertions to a room full of supporters that Nancy Pelosi is nice and not to believe everything you hear on Fox, there's Keith, with his shit-eating grin and tragically unfunny shtick, seemingly determined to do everything he can to suck the poignancy out of this potentially watershed moment.



Hey, Keith, how about this, do food fight politics for half the show and then use the other half of the show to raise the dialogue just a smidge? The time you have to tell important stories is invaluable. Yet, all you seem to do, with some remarkable exceptions, is continue to tell one story over and over.

Save Michael Steele

In the aftermath of... well, everything he's said and done since becoming RNC Chair, Michel Steele is facing a great deal of opposition from inside and outside of his party. Any Democrats that are actively trying to oust Steele--stop! Rising Hegemon commenter jimmiraybob wrote, "[H]ow do we save Michael Steele? He may be in real trouble this time. I would regret his loss to the Democrat cause."

This isn't just about Steele's many public humiliations. This is also about the fact that he is shitty at his job. Last month the Democratic Party, believed by many to be on the verge of being swept out of their massive Congressional majorities, out raised the GOP by more than $2 million.

We have to save this guy.

Luckily, word about the circus Steele's running over there hasn't fully penetrated, so, maybe there's hope.

Jorge Rodriguez, Young Turks Make Frontier Fifty

Congrats to SoFloRadio talk host Jorge Rodriguez (archives here) for making Talker's Magazine's Frontier Fifty list of internet webcasters (not podcasters, mind you). Rodriguez is a stalwart of Miami radio. He filled in for radio legend Neil Rogers for over a decade while Rogers took copious, well-earned vacation time. Since Rogers went off the air last year, Rodriguez brought a team of radio survivors, including the incomparable Joe Castello (archives here), to the internet with the foundation of SoFloRadio.com. Two other SoFloRadio talents, Sir Darryl and Radio Dan, also made the list. Castello, running just about the best show anywhere, was, sadly, overlooked.

Also on the list were longtime IST favorites The Young Turks and former South Florida and Air America radio host Nicole Sandler, who is by far the best fill in host for Randy Rhodes since Sam Seder and Marc Maron used to do that kind of thing.

Darkhorse?

C-SPAN asked the critically acclaimed Republican governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, who has a great DJ name, if he would run for president in 2012.

Here's his artful response:


...which I interpret to mean, "2012? I'll be there, man!"

I know next to nothing about Daniels, which, in my opinion makes him the frontrunner among Republicans in 2012.

If that doesn't work out, I hear there's an opening over at The Coast, 97.3 FM where it's 79 degrees along the coast... here's "Do That To Me One More Time" by Captain & Tennille...

Now Watch This Backhand

By writing a fairly cogent analysis of why CNN blows, one that I would deem worthy of a competent undergraduate, I declare Ross Douthat the smartest conservative pundit in the land.

John McCain Lives in a Flash Sideways

David Waldman blogging on D-to-the-Kos asks, "What's the point of anything, anymore?" That is a really great question. Weldman asks it in response to John McCain telling Newsweek's David Margolick, "I never considered myself a maverick."

What the fuck is this T-shirt based on?

Didn't we all live through this? Why did I write this post? And this post?

Shister--Shuster In Shitter at CNN

Apparently, when you work for one cable network and you do a pilot for another network, there's a high likelihood that an executive from the network you work for is going to take a giant shit on you. That is exactly what TVNewser's Gail Shister is reporting happened to MSNBC's David Shuster after Shuster pimped himself out to CNN. He filmed a pilot for the false equivalency network and now, according to Shister, Shuster may be forced off the air until his contract is up in December. No word on whether his mechanical jaw can withstand that much inactivity.

Despite trying to be Keith Olbermann, Jr., Shuster's bland, lifeless style seems to fit in better with the other corpses at CNN, as long as he can manage to keep from disparaging Chelsea Clinton, bad move dude, he should be back on the air in no time to deliver a very small ratings number to an ultimately dissatisfied network executive.

By the way something, if you're thinking the only reason I wrote this post was so I could write "Shister" and "Shuster" all over the place, you're absolutely right.

Patently Absurd Headline Theater

Check out this headline from the AP:

Pope's immunity could be challenged in Britain

The word "could" covers a lot of ground. The Pope could sell the Vatican and donate all the money to charity like Jesus would do immediately if he ever saw that place, but that's not going to happen. The idea that any country is going to arrest, or even indict, the Pope is complete rubbish. I have no idea what the AP could be thinking other than "here's a cheap way to get people to click on a link".

Lightning Round--Jobs Report, LL Cool On Palin, Bush Puts His Hot Air Behind Wind, Marc Maron talks to Bob Odenkirk, More

Rising Hegemon Attaturk contemplates the scene that would unfold if the Bush Administration had received the jobs report that came out today indicating the most job growth since 2007.

Shakesville LL Cool J is hard as hell to get as a guest when you're Sarah Palin, so Fox just pretended he was her guest.

Andrew Sullivan How's that whole Erick, son of Erick acquisition working out for CNN? Andrew looks into it.

WTF Marc Maron has an extended sit down with the legendary Bob Odenkirk.

Treehugger George W. Bush spent 8 years as president tilting at windmills, so why not become a proponent of wind energy? Whatever, man. Whatever.

Still On Notice, but No Longer Dead to Me

Bill O'Reilly did a very good thing. He's picking up the legal tab for the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, who died while serving in Al Anbar province in Iraq. Snyder's dad sued Westboro Baptist Church members for making a fiasco out of his son's funeral. A jury awarded him nearly $11 million dollars for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The U.S. Court of Appeals, however, overturned the verdict. Then, shit got real--the court ruled that Mr. Snyder would have to pay $16,500 to cover the legal fees of the church members.

Mr. O'Reilly, not only am I willing to temporarily bury the hatchet on this one, I'm giving your right wing, arrogant ass the vaunted Icee Award, because this is an incredibly good use of your monumental wealth. Thank you.

I Know What Happened Here

A lot of people are wondering what the heck is wrong with Georgia Representative Hank Johnson, who sounds totally ripped as he s l o w l y explains that he's worried that sending 8,000 troops to Guam will capsize the island.



I know what happened here. This guy probably takes Lost literally. The military official--I didn't catch his name or rank--just needs to explain to him that as long as Ben or Locke refrain from turning the Donkey Wheel everything will be fine.

By the way something, a more realistic concern is that the island may eventually sink due to rising sea levels caused by global warming, which has been known to happen from time to time.

UPDATE: (via TPM) According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Johnson's office said the Democrat is a "tremendous deadpan -- and that he was using a facetious metaphor."

Let's Get Ponderous

The blog Overthinking It has an extended disquisition on why it's probably not a good idea to have amateurs running the government. Something that may be worth re-posting in 18 months when we're even more up to asses in Sarah Palin than we already are.

In an age where everyone is looking for a way to make everything more brief, it's nice to see someone doing long form, stream of consciousness stuff. Of course, I don't have time for that kind of thing, but good for them. If you want in on it, the fine people at Overthinking It take submissions in case you have some convoluted take on something or other.

They also do a fun, live webcast every Sunday that can be podcast here.

If You Think The Census Is Bad Now

Check out the 1790 version:

1. Name of head of family
2. Number of free white males 16 and up, including heads of families
3. Number of free white males under 16
4. Number of free white females including heads of families
5. Number of all other free persons, except Indians not taxed
6. Number of slaves

Probe even deeper into the 1790 census here. To see how the conservatives are tea partying their way into being an underrepresented majority go here.