14295 items (14295 unread) in 13 feeds
The SubGenius Hour of Slack Podcast
(60 unread)
Landover Baptist 60 Second Sermon Podcasts
(34 unread)
Out There
(71 unread)
Daily Show Videos
(278 unread)
Crooks and Liars
(4668 unread)
AlterNet.org
(3947 unread)
Disinfo.com
(2178 unread)
KKKristian Gay Agenda
(361 unread)
From a few years ago. Al Franken is still doing this fabulous schtick (Hey! Does this talent make him too elitist/educated to be Senator?) at fundraisers for his Senate campaign. Go Al!
SITE UPDATE: Harry Shearer, actor and comedian extraordinaire, will be here at C&L for a live chat on Friday, August 8th at 1:00 pm Eastern/10:00 am Pacific to discuss his latest satirical album Songs of the Bushmen.
Bella Luna from Mr. A-Z
I love the lyrics, in my mind, this is much more like poetry set to music than a song.
After all the stupidity and charade surrounding the GOP’s attack on Obama –including this lampooning by Stephen Colbert — for proposing a common sense approach to increasing fuel efficiency, McCain is forced to admit that it’s a pretty good idea.
The surprise came during a telephone town hall meeting McCain held on Tuesday with voters in Pennsylvania.
“Obama said a couple of days ago says we all should inflate our tires. I don’t disagree with that. The American Automobile Association strongly recommends it,” McCain said.But he kept up his broad criticism of Obama on energy: “I … don’t think that that (inflating tires) is a way to become energy independent.”
Would that be another flip-flop, McSame? Contrary to the Team McCain attacks, Obama never suggested that properly inflating your tires and keeping your engine tuned alone will make us energy independent. But as is always true with the Republican distortion machine, facts and context never get in the way of a good smear… even when the attacker admits that the target of the smear was right all along.
There are more Colbert/Stewart videos on the campaign available at Indecision ‘08.
WASHINGTON — Alice Rocchio is an office manager at the New York headquarters of the Hess Corp., drives a 1993 Chevy Cavalier and lives in an apartment in Queens, N.Y., with her husband, Pasquale, an Amtrak foreman.
Despite what appears to be a middle-class lifestyle, the couple has written $61,600 in checks to John McCain’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee, most of it within days of McCain’s decision to endorse offshore oil drilling.
A former FEC official said that it’s possible that the Rocchios had the means to make those hefty contributions — their first reported donations to a federal campaign. But the official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that their donations also could trigger a complaint or otherwise catch the eyes of the agency’s enforcement staff, tasked to ensure that companies or wealthy individuals don’t illegally circumvent contribution limits by using employees or other third parties as “conduits” for cash. Read on…
TPM has been all over this story and it now appears that the Rocchios aren’t the only ones who are under the microscope for questionable donations to McCain and the RNC. And is it a coincidence that only a week after donations from a major American oil company low level employee, Flip Flop McCain changes his attitude on off-shore drilling? On top of that, in a TPM update, the Rocchios are renters and that their donations exceed the median household income for the area they live in.
Late Update: There’s a bit of dispute over whether Flushing, Queens, should be described as “middle class” or “lower middle class.” It turns out that the median household income in the Rocchios’ zip code is $58,069. Read on…
When the Norman Hsu story broke, Hillary Clinton was pounded day after day by the media, so we should expect them to be all over this story — right? Perhaps Keith Olbermann will run with this story and give it the national scrutiny it deserves.
What else can be added about the sorry state of the Republican brand?
Separately, six Republican senators have decided to skip the GOP convention.
Sens. Ted Stevens of Alaska, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine all face tough re-election campaigns. Two others, Wayne Allard of Colorado and Larry Craig of Idaho, are retiring.
Granted, Ted Stevens will most likely be in court fighting to keep his butt out of jail, but it’s pretty obvious why Smith, Dole and Collins want to stay as far away as possible from George Bush and the rest of their party. Hell, Gordon Smith is even running ads in which he touts his relationship with Barack Obama. What does it say about the GOP when it’s most vulnerable members can’t get far enough away from its leaders?
Indeed, after President Bush decided not to call Congress back into session after the GOP charade over gas prices on the House floor, John Boehner is now ripping him as “Beijing George” and accusing him of throwing House Republicans “under the bone-dry bus” on his way to the Olympics in China. How stupid do these people think we are? They spend eight years enabling Bush’s worst transgressions, and then they coordinate a fake, stupid and cynical stunt and expect everyone to forget they are in lock-step with Bush? Seriously? Wow.
Download | Play 
Download | Play (h/t Bill W)
Some idiot got access to press credentials and got into an Obama campaign rally yesterday in Berea, Ohio and began heckling the candidate, demanding he say the pledge of allegiance. Obama handled it perfectly by quieting the crowd and calling the guy’s bluff by leading the crowd in reciting the pledge.
A man sneaks into the press area at a presidential campaign event, interrupts him with heckling and attempts to make him look unpatriotic, and how does FOXNews frame the story? Obama SKIPPED the pledge of allegiance! He hates America, don’t you know.
Since when is the pledge of allegiance required to be recited before all campaign events?
Rachel Maddow appeared on”Countdown” last night to talk about John McCain’s joke(?) about entering his wife in a topless beauty contest, and hit on an important point: in order to compete with Barack Obama’s rock star appeal, the McCain camp has decided to find places where large people gather for other reasons and bask in the unwarranted limelight.
Download | Play Download | Play
OLBERMANN: Also, maybe a somewhat serious point contained in all this malarkey; on stage at Sturgis, he referred to the—preferring the roar of the 50,000 Harleys to 200,000 Germans cheering in Berlin. But in doing that, did he not underscore the fact that those 200,000 Germans in Berlin actually showed up to hear Barack Obama speak, but the 50,000 bikers on the roar of their Harleys, they had shown up at Sturgis not to see John McCain, but to see Kid Rock, Kelly Pickler and a bunch of female wrestlers and other women not wearing tops?
MADDOW: This is a critical and basic difference between the John McCain campaign for president and the Barack Obama campaign. Barack Obama creates large crowds when he gives speeches. John McCain‘s campaign has just figured out to find out where there‘s going to be a large crowd for another reason and to hope to slip their candidate in between other acts.
I guess you can’t really blame McCain. When your opponent draws tens of thousands of people who genuinely want to hear him speak, and you have trouble filling the dining room of a Sausage restaurant, you have to find ways to compensate. It’s just ironic that they attack Obama’s celebrity appeal yet try to emulate it any way they can.
Is there some sort of prize being given to the reporter who can best spew Karl Rove talking points about Obama? I mean, even without a secret ballot, you gotta give the trophy to David “White House” Gregory:
GREGORY: Yet, Jay, you know that conservatives are beginning to make an argument here about Obama, that he’s famous for being famous, that he’s a light weight, that he’s presumptuous, that he’s self-absorbed, and that there’s something mysterious about him. All this talk about whether it’s weirdness or that you can’t quite nail down what his core is all about, is to say there’s question mark above this guy’s head. Until you get that answered, you have to vote for the guy you know and trust. That’s McCain.
Download | Play Download | Play (h/t Heather)
Rachel Maddow almost succeeds in talking over the prevailing windbags in this segment, but is barely able to get a word in as the gentlemen swoon over the McCain We All Know So Well. But Rachel? Nevermind the nine houses and the five hundred dollar shoes, what about the anti-choice platform plank and the foul-mouthed temper? We’ve only just begun to know all about that…
Download | Play Download | Play (h/t Heather)
I don’t know that the revelations from Ron Suskind’s new book The Way of The World are truly bombshells, so much as confirmation of what we in the liberal blogosphere have always said: the Bush administration wanted to go to war in Iraq and were willing to do whatever they had to to sell it to the American people.
But what is key to me is that there is very little left to which people like Nancy Pelosi can hold on to claim that there is no proof of criminal wrongdoing on the part of the White House. John Dean–no stranger to impeachment proceedings–has been saying that this administration is worse than watergate for years. On Tuesday’s Countdown, he confirms that Suskind’s findings absolutely signal impeachable offenses on the part of the administration and why it is critical that Congress find their spines and pursue it:
OLBERMANN: The big picture question. As I‘ve been saying, you saw enough in Bush in malfeasance by the end of 2003 to have titled that book “Worse than Watergate.” Suskind says in his that just the Iraq part is worse than Watergate. Do you concur with his assessment?
DEAN: Well, I do and I base mine largely on the excessive secrecy which he has only added more detail and information about and the consequences of that secrecy. And, of course, in Watergate, nobody died as a result of Nixon‘s so-called abuses of power nor was anybody tortured. So, we‘re playing in a whole different field and on a different level. So, I think he is right, it is worse.
OLBERMANN: The devil‘s advocate question in this one, John, is-the Bush administration ends in six months, presumably-why is simply, you know, getting the shovel, the historical shovel out and covering this up with as much clean and sanctified dirt as we can not enough? Why is forgetting this man and his presidency not enough?
DEAN: Keith, I think it‘s more than a devil‘s advocate question. It really is the central question in the 2008 campaign. If we have another Republican administration, we‘re going to see more of the same that this sort of material that‘s revealed by Suskind.
Full transcripts below the fold, including Olbermann’s exclusive interview with author Suskind
In our fourth story on the COUNTDOWN: The book‘s assertions would obviously destroy deniability for the president and would constitute criminal wrongdoing worse than Watergate.
As noted by Mr. Suskind in his book, “Under a 1991 amendment to statutes that created CIA and that govern its actions. There is a passage that reads no covert action may be conducted which is intended to influence United States political processes, public opinion, policies, or media.”
Suskind adding, “The operation created by the White House and passed to the CIA pertains to the White House‘s knowingly misusing an arm of the government, the sort of thing generally taken up in impeachment proceedings.”
Let‘s turn now to Nixon White House counsel John Dean, author, of course, of “Worse than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush” and a columnist for FindLaw.com.
John, always a pleasure. Thanks for your time tonight.
JOHN W. DEAN, FMR. NIXON WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Thank you, Keith.
OLBERMANN: Before we broaden out, that CIA statute that he cited, is Suskind right, is the violation of that, (A), did it happen; (B), is that by itself an impeachable offense?
DEAN: Well, I think, if indeed it did happen, there are some real problems. I don‘t think people are looking at it too narrowly or Suskind is when I read his book. What happens when you tie that with a criminal conspiracy statute, 18 USC 371, which nailed countless people in Watergate for misusing the agencies and departments of government-that‘s where they‘ve got a problem.
That‘s where Nixon had a problem for telling the CIA to block the FBI for part of the Watergate investigation. Yes, it was obstruction but it was also defrauding the government. This is their real problem with that statute. This may be why some of these people are having second thoughts about being on the record with Ron.
OLBERMANN: Well, once again, as we know, history repeats itself. Suskind has tapes. And the tie between Watergate and this is-is deniability, plausible deniability or the lack thereof. In your opinion, if this book is accurate, if the allegations are correct here, are the links clear enough about the president on the specific issue of knowing criminality?
DEAN: Well, what I‘ve read so far, no. It looks like Cheney has been very effective in setting up his deniability and always being the failsafe for Bush. And as they start waterboarding the vice president, which isn‘t too likely, he is the man that the trail ends right there, as it did with Scooter Libby, for example.
OLBERMANN: The big picture question. As I‘ve been saying, you saw enough in Bush in malfeasance by the end of 2003 to have titled that book “Worse than Watergate.” Suskind says in his that just the Iraq part is worse than Watergate. Do you concur with his assessment?
DEAN: Well, I do and I base mine largely on the excessive secrecy which he has only added more detail and information about and the consequences of that secrecy. And, of course, in Watergate, nobody died as a result of Nixon‘s so-called abuses of power nor was anybody tortured. So, we‘re playing in a whole different field and on a different level. So, I think he is right, it is worse.
OLBERMANN: The devil‘s advocate question in this one, John, is-the Bush administration ends in six months, presumably-why is simply, you know, getting the shovel, the historical shovel out and covering this up with as much clean and sanctified dirt as we can not enough? Why is forgetting this man and his presidency not enough?
DEAN: Keith, I think it‘s more than a devil‘s advocate question. It really is the central question in the 2008 campaign. If we have another Republican administration, we‘re going to see more of the same that this sort of material that‘s revealed by Suskind.
Those people have been well-implanted-as we learned from the testimony on the record and the inspector general‘s report of what‘s happening in the Department of Justice-this is really true throughout the government. These people are there, that mentality is there. And if there isn‘t a serious change of parties controlling the top of the government, we‘re going to see much more of this.
OLBERMANN: John Dean, the author of “Worse than Watergate” and “Broken Government,” giving his assessment of Ron Suskind‘s reporting tonight, an extraordinary thing as it is. Great thanks, as always, John.
DEAN: Thank you, Keith.
With Blitzer:
BLITZER: All right, a serious charge. Can you cite one legislative accomplishment that Senator McCain produced during those 26 years in Washington, in order to achieve energy independence?
ROMNEY: Well, I’m not a historian that goes through all of the pieces of legislation John McCain has worked on.
Mitt’s not a historian. Gotcha! Hey Mitt—did you miss the talking points memo?
Now the high comedy begins:
But let’s talk about one piece of legislation that’s pretty relevant, and that’s the Bush energy plan, which Barack Obama voted in favor of. And John McCain looked at and it said, it’s so larded-up with tax breaks and special incentives to oil companies and gas companies, John McCain voted no on that piece of legislation.
Romney throws George Bush under the bus. That is too much. It’s a calculated move that McCain will take because he’s backed almost everything Bush has done.
Update: Democrats.org:
And speaking of not being a historian, don’t ask him for his opinion on anything because Mitt Romney ain’t a lot of things.
Romney-McCain: Not the Kind of Leadership We’d Want, Either
Romney on Sanctuary Cities: “I’m Not a Mayor.”
Romney on Immigration Proposal: “I’m No Legislator.”…Keep reading…
CPD:
First presidential debate
Friday, September 26
The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Miss.
Jim Lehrer
Executive Editor and Anchor, The NewsHour, PBSVice presidential debate
Thursday, October 2
Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Gwen Ifill
Senior Correspondent, The NewsHour, and Moderator and Managing Editor, Washington Week, PBSSecond presidential debate (town meeting)
Tuesday, October 7
Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn.
Tom Brokaw
Special Correspondent, NBC NewsThird presidential debate
Wednesday, October 15
Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y.
Bob Schieffer
CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent, and Host, Face the Nation Read on…
It’s a safe bet that Lehrer will be the most balanced of the moderators, although Ifill should fit nicely in the town hall format and keep it real. Brokaw loves him some GOP talking points and is there any doubt Schieffer will revive his hit job on Gen. Wesley Clark? After enduring dozens of debates during the primary season, four sounds like a great number. At least Stephanopoulos and Gibson weren’t picked…
Today is the anniversary of the day Harriet Miers handed George Bush an intelligence memo entitled, “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.”. Ultimately, Bin Laden’s determination was more successful than George Bush’s intelligence. As of this writing, Bin Laden remains at large. [Never Forget logo by Tengrain.]
And let us not forget how seriously then National Security Director (now Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice took that report:
Interesting that the Hamdan conviction falls on this anniversary.
I really didn’t intend to return to the whole “tire gauge” nonsense, but let’s do one more. This one’s amusing.
After Barack Obama noted that routine auto maintenance can improve fuel efficiency, John McCain told a group of voters, “[Obama] suggested we put air in our tires to save on gas. My friends, let’s do that, but do you think that’s enough to break our dependence on Middle Eastern oil? I don’t think so.”
And what is enough to break our dependence on Middle Eastern oil? My friend Jed discovered the answer: Turning off our lights a little sooner.
What’s wrong with this? Nothing in particular. In fact, it’s probably about as sensible as what Obama said about inflating our tires and getting regular tune-ups.
The difference is, Dems didn’t spend a week getting “giddy” about using lightbulbs as a political prop and insisting that McCain’s entire energy policy is composed of turning off the lights.
Update (Blue Gal): Don’t miss C&L reader Plisko1’s YouTube, an excellent push-back on the whole tire gauge thing. We’ve got talented readers!
Following up on the Ron Suskind bombshell in his new book, I think the Medal of Freedom winner, you know — the Slam Dunk King — wouldn’t forget this kind of information.
SUSKIND: What we now know from this investigation is that a secret mission was conducted in which a British manager, intelligence agent, met with the head of Iraqi intelligence in a secret location in Amman, Jordan. And what the Iraqi intelligence chief told the British-and essentially the Americans, because we’re all in this together-is that there were no WMD in Iraq. And what that meant is that we knew everything that became so obvious by the summer after the invasion. And the president made a decision essentially to ignore that intelligence…
NPR: We have called key players in Ron Suskind’s account…George Tenet says the Iraqi failed to persuade, and a White House spokesman adds that any information the Iraqi may have provided was, quote, “immaterial.”
Jonathan has much more in the post.
Osama bin Laden’s alleged driver, Salim Hamdan, has just been convicted on five counts of supporting a terror organization. Considering that the Pentagon planned on holding him indefinitely regardless of the verdict, does it really matter all that much?
Download | Play Download | Play
CNN:
A U.S. military jury found Osama Bin Laden’s former driver guilty of five counts of material support to a terror organization in the September 11, 2001, attacks.
In a split verdict, jurors found Salim Hamdan not guilty of conspiracy to aid a terror organization, in this case al Qaeda.
The trial is being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility where he is being held.
Prosecutors allege that Hamdan, who was picked up in November 2001 in Afghanistan, overheard conversations about 9/11 and had other information that showed he was part of Osama bin Laden’s inner circle and aided and abetted the attacks.
Hamdan faces life in prison and his lawyers are already planning to appeal.
The National Security Network weighs in:
HAMDAN VERIDCT: We Waited Seven Years For This?
“Today’s verdict does little if anything to advance American security. The entire process raises fundamental questions about the administration’s disregard for our constitutional values and may well do America more harm than good in the court of world opinion. It took seven years for the Bush administration’s military commissions system to get its first conviction for a crime that is regularly prosecuted in federal court. And when it did, it was a driver who even the administration acknowledges did not participate in the planning or execution of any terrorist attacks. Surely there is a better way to protect America and bring terrorists to justice while adhering to the constitutional values that have kept us safe and strong for 200 years.”
Our Future: Seventeen months ago, Rick Perlstein wrote an essay predicting exactly how the 2008 campaign would go down. Turns out the only thing he didn’t predict was the Paris Hilton reference.
Tomgram: Thomas Frank on Washington’s Lords of Creation
collateral: The next crisis to hit our sinking ship of state may be a pension fund debacle that, had we stuck to a sensible tax policy, could have been avoided.
Mock, Paper, Scissors: The MPS Guide to GOP vice presidential candidates. In a handy print-out and keep format for further reference, it brings you the Pro, the Con, and the Baggage for each of the whispered candidates!
earthfamilyalpha: Change I Can Believe In
OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Morning Martini, Conservative Truths, Montreal Simon, WTF Is It Now?!?
See Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Ad and more funny videos on FunnyOrDie.comSee more funny videos at Funny or Die
Scary that she sounds smarter than the guy who has been in the Senate for 20+ years.
I’ll see you at the debates, bitches.
Once again, House Republicans are on Capitol Hill during the August recess, and once again, they are holding something of a sit-in, giving spirited speeches about coastal drilling for tourists and congressional staffers who happen to pass by the charade.
Yesterday, however, there was a bit of a twist in the Republican rhetoric. Far-right lawmakers actually believe they’re affecting the market by talking to each other.
House Republicans on Tuesday said their protest of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) decision not to allow a vote on expanded offshore oil drilling has helped lower gas prices.
Heading into a third day of speeches in the near-empty chamber, Republicans acknowledged that the average price of gas and oil has declined in recent weeks. But they claimed credit for part of that reduction.
“I think the market is responding to the fact that we are here talking,” said Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) at a joint press conference with other GOP lawmakers. “I think the market realizes this kind of pressure from Congress may, in fact, lead to a change in policy.”
The Republican members did not answer questions about whether they would take the blame if gas prices go up again.
Yes, House Republicans are hosting a very sad little photo-op on the Hill, and some of them are willing to argue, out loud, in public, that simply by talking to each other about drilling, they’re able to bring the price of fuel down.
If you told me that Speaker Pelosi’s office was paying these clowns money to make House Republicans look ridiculous, I’d be tempted to believe you.
Keep in mind, they’re not the only unhinged Republicans claiming magical rhetorical powers. There was also this item two weeks ago.
John McCain — whose campaign launched an ad this week blaming Barack Obama for high prices at the pump — said Wednesday President Bush’s new push for offshore oil drilling deserves the credit for the recent drop in crude oil prices.
“In case you missed it, soon as the President announced that we were going to end the moratorium on offshore drilling the price of a barrel of oil went down $10,” the presumptive Republican nominee said at a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania town hall.
So, to hear McCain tell it, Bush was able to bring down the price of a barrel of oil simply by making a symbolic gesture.
I knew McCain and his GOP cohorts were slipping from reality, but this is just sad.
Talking to tourists and empty White House gestures do not, in our reality, lower the price of oil. It’s no wonder Republicans are so bad at governing — they’ve obviously flunked Economics 101.
Oil prices kept falling Tuesday, sinking as low as $118 a barrel on growing concerns that a U.S. economic slowdown and high energy costs are curbing consumer demand for gasoline and other petroleum products. […]
A day after plunging as much as $5 a barrel in a dramatic sell-off, crude continued its downward trend Tuesday as traders sold oil contracts on the belief that prices are still too high in relation to demand and have further room to fall. […]
“The market psychology has finally shifted,” said Stephen Schork, an analyst and trader in Villanova, Pa., adding that “$4-a-gallon gasoline has clearly killed demand.”
On Monday, the Commerce Department said consumer spending after adjusting for inflation fell 0.2 percent in June — the biggest drop since February — as shoppers dealt with higher prices for gasoline, food and other items. Oil prices also fell after Tropical Storm Edouard did not severely disrupt oil and natural gas output in the Gulf of Mexico.
The dollar’s gains against the euro also contributed to oil’s decline Tuesday. The euro fell to $1.5467 from the $1.5587 it bought late in New York trading Monday, making oil and other commodities less attractive to investors seeking a hedge against inflation and dollar weakness.
It’s called supply and demand. Maybe Republicans have heard of it.
