Where's the Outrage?

Roland Martin, CNN commentator, has been suspended for tweet. He has not been suspended for anything he said on air but instead for homophobic comments that he made during the Super Bowl in a tweet. Martin should’ve known better. We live in an odd society. We want people to be provocative. We want people to push the limits and push the edge. In order to get a following on twitter you have to do that. Some guy got millions of followers just by the provocative title shi# my father said. (Yes, he even got a television show out of it.) Yet, being provocative which you out there. You’re always at risk of stepping over the line. When you step out of line you get smacked down. He got smacked.

TP compares what Roland did to what conservative Dana Loesch said. There is no comparison. Yet, here’s what TP wrote:

It’s the second time in a month that CNN commentators have come under fire for controversial comments: Dana Loesch recently cheered reports of members of the United States Marine Corps urinating on the bodies of dead Afghans and suggested that had she been present, she would have joined in. But while Martin apologized and will experience an indefinite suspension, CNN and Loesch refused to apologize for her remarks, and she’s remained on the air.

The clear difference between the two cases? A sense that CNN’s audience was offended. GLAAD, which keeps a careful eye on defamation against gays and lesbians in the media, moved quickly to call for Martin’s dismissal and to track the network’s response to the incident. CNN got the message that its own constituents were upset, and that it would suffer consequences — or at least a lot of annoyance — if it failed to act.

Loesch’s comments on the other hand, offended human rights advocates and decent people everywhere. But that’s not the same as running afoul of an organization with a well-established plan to respond to these kinds of events and a well-worn path to media outlets who would cover and amplify their response. While Loesch’s comments were reprehensible, there was also no organized group who was likely or able to hold CNN accountable for her words, and for continuing to let her appear on-air without penalty.

Tags: Media by ecthompson md
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Congress is on the wrong path. Several major websites are standing up to tell congress NO.

From Wikipedia:

Imagine a World
Without Free Knowledge
For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. Learn more.

Contact your representatives.

SOPA and PIPA represent two bills in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate respectively. SOPA is short for the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” and PIPA is an acronym for the “Protect IP Act.” (“IP” stands for “intellectual property.”) In short, these bills are efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by foreign web sites, but, in our opinion, they do so in a way that actually infringes free expression while harming the Internet. Detailed information about these bills can be found in the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act articles on Wikipedia, which are available during the blackout. GovTrack lets you follow both bills through the legislative process: SOPA on this page, and PIPA on this one. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the public interest in the digital realm, has summarized why these bills are simply unacceptable in a world that values an open, secure, and free Internet.

From Google:

Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.
Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.

Tags: Congress, Media, Senate by ecthompson md
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Why is it that some Republicans try to out-hate everybody? It’s not that they have cornered the market on hate. That would be an overstatement. Instead, there are some who seem to go out of their way to be nasty, testy and downright anti-American. Mike O’Neal, a Kansas legislator, sent out an e-mail that basically said that he hoped that Obama’s children and wife would be fatherless and husbandless. What the heck this this about???? (He sent Psalm 109, which states in verses 7-9, “When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.”)

Donald Ainsworth just appears to be an old curmudgeon who has knee-jerk reactions when he hears things. Unfortunately, he drives for Greyhound and kicked 13 people off the bus because they were “associated with” the Occupy movement. As far as I know, they weren’t being disruptive and didn’t violate any of the Greyhound rules. I don’t get it. I guess this is why he was labeled the WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD.

Tags: Countdown by ecthompson md
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This is a great episode of the Bill Moyers Show from April 2010. So, what would Martin Luther King think about our society more than 40 years after his death? We must remember why Martin Luther King was in Memphis. He was starting the Poor People’s Campaign. It is time for us to pick up where King left off. We need a Poor People’s Campaign.

Tags: Bill Moyers, Poverty, Race by ecthompson md
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Perry - Pakistan [ 0:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In high school, you knew that there were some teachers who were going to call on almost every student in the room and therefore you had to be ready. These debates are exactly the same thing. You have to be ready. Rick Perry simply is not ready. I don’t know if he can remember what he’s been told. It is mind boggling how awful he has been in these debates.

So, you’re on Fox news and you getting softball questions about foreign policy. These are questions that you have been thinking about for the last six months. If you haven’t thought about these questions, why are you running for president? Rick Perry gets a softball question about what to do if a terrorist organization gets a hold of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. This is a nightmare scenario that the intelligence community has been talking about for over a decade. This is easy.

First, the right answer – If a terrorist organization gets a hold of a nuclear weapon, we have to approach the problem from multiple different areas. First of all, I’m on the phone with the director of the CIA and the director of National Intelligence. What do they know and what are our options? Secondly, I’m on the phone with the current president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari. What does he know? While I’m on the phone with him, we are coordinating a conference call with the presidents/Prime Ministers of Britain, France, Germany, India and we’re patching in the NATO commander. There will be several more calls over the next several hours. We need to have a strong, muscular coordinated response that secures the nuclear weapon or destroys it. It is clear that there are some factions within the Pakistani army and the Pakistani special intelligence forces that sympathize with the Taliban/Al Qaeda. We want Pakistan to know that they’re a sovereign country, but we also want them to know that we are going to take a strong and aggressive approach to this problem. There’ll be no negotiating with terrorists. The terrorists who have taken this nuclear weapon will be hunted down and captured or killed. We’ve proven that we have the capability and capacity to do this in Yemen (Anwar al-Awlaki) and with Osama bin Laden.

This is the right answer. This is the answer that plays well both with the Republican and Democratic audience.

What Rick Perry said was the wrong answer. What is he talking about regarding F-16 sales to India? I find it interesting that he mentions that the Obama administration did not sell F-16s to India but somehow he forgets to mention that the Obama administration has negotiated the sale of F-35s, one of our most sophisticated jets. How is the selling F-16 fighters to India going to do anything to secure a loose nuclear weapon in Pakistan? What you saw was Rick Perry in panic mode. Basically, his mind pulled up what ever he could remember about Pakistan. Admiral Mullen said something about a terrorist group. He remembered this and spewed it on stage. He remembered something about fighter jet sales to India. He said whatever came to his mind (unfortunately, nothing that came to his mind) and answered the question anyway. Fail!

Tags: Elections, Military, Party Politics, Rachel Maddow Show by ecthompson md
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Several readers have asked me to look at what Jon Stewart had to say about Rick Perry’s brain freeze fart (this is the nicest word that I could think of). Jon Stewart does a masterful job on this. Instead of taking on Perry directly, he takes on the whole Republican field. He presents reasons why Romney will get the Republican nomination. They all have major flaws. As usual, every one of Stewart’s observations has some truth in it. Then he gets to Rick. Damn, this is funny. Enjoy.

Tags: Elections, Party Politics, The Daily Show by ecthompson md
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• If you quote Pokémon in your summation speech at a presidential debate does that make you a joke?
• If you put out a tax plan that seems to be based on a computer game (SimCity) does that make you a joke?
• If it seems that you are refusing to learn some of the issues that surround foreign-policy, does that make you a joke?
• If you put out a campaign ad with the main subject is smoking, does that make you a joke?
• When does a candidate become a joke?

Rachel Maddow summarizes Herman Cain’s campaign and asks this question:

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Tags: Party Politics, Rachel Maddow Show by ecthompson md
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This is always entertaining. Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly. Funny. Thoughtful. Worth a watch.

Tags: The Daily Show by ecthompson md
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There seems to be some ATF fallout from a operation called Fast and Furious. I’m still not sure of all the details but the US attorney in Phoenix has resigned and the ATF director has been reassigned. There’s something fishy here.

There’s a nice article in the New York Times about how this recovery missed Main Street. I would add that the problem with our economy is that the last 10-15 years of economic growth have been largely been based on credit and the availability of credit. To quote that old Smith Barney commercial, we have to start making money the old-fashioned way – we have to earn it. America is slowly switching over from a credit-based society back to a cash-based society. This is going to take some time. In spite of this, I will stand up and say again that we need jobs and we need jobs NOW.

On Sunday, Colin Powell was on Face the Nation. In a very nice and diplomatic way he told former Vice President Dick Cheney to stuff it.

There have been several occasions in which Ron Paul has stepped out on the limb only to have the limb break and fall off. As everyone knows Ron Paul is an antigovernment crusader. In the wake of the terrible disaster which struck the East Coast and New England, Ron Paul thought it was wise to highlight that there is simply too much dependency on FEMA and the federal government.

Watch the Video:

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Once again, the mainstream media almost missed the story. On Sunday you could feel the mainstream media almost start to cry that Hurricane Irene was not more powerful and more destructive. They wanted to see devastation and suffering. On Sunday and Monday we began to see stories about how New York City was saved. Then, late Monday we began seeing stories of flooding in Connecticut. This was followed by more stories about devastating flooding in Vermont. This was followed by more stories of millions of people without power. All of a sudden, the mainstream media had the disaster that they were looking for. Although it would be easy for me to bash the mainstream media, I would like to focus on the millions of people who need help. This is a time when we need to quit bickering and help our fellow Americans. We need to pretend, at least for a while, that we paid attention in church/synagogue/temple. Currently the death toll sits at 43. Several cities in Vermont are completely cut off from surrounding communities because roads and bridges have washed away. It’s time for us to help these Americans now. We need to figure out how to pay for the help… Later.

Update: Glenn Beck is receiving mediocre ratings with his new network. What do you do if you have mediocre ratings? Instead of trying to be a better reporter/announcer/guru for conservatism just say outlandish stupid stuff.

The state of Nevada goes after Bank of America/Countrywide for deceptive practices and fraudulent loans. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

PG&E gets excoriated for being a large American corporation. Remember, large American corporations care about profits and nothing else. The explosion outside of San Francisco which killed eight people and damaged 38 homes was basically caused by negligence by PG&E. My question is how many more American homes and lives are at risk because of the large corporations have decided to cut costs at our expense?

Finally, over Nine million views of this video reminds me of how crazy we really are. Nine million views of Taylor Swift and her wardrobe “malfunction.”

Tags: Domestic Issues, Economy, Environment, Party Politics, Rachel Maddow Show by ecthompson md
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• Whether you think stocks are overvalued or not, the last several weeks have been downright ugly on Wall Street. Yesterday, Wall Street lost over 400 points. This morning, stocks opened sharply lower in Europe. Personally, I think we need to expect more volatility and a general downward trend on Wall Street until Washington and Europe decide that austerity is not going to get it done. We need to spend money to get out of this disaster. We need to put people to work.
• Inflation indicators are ticking up. But, with gasoline prices falling, inflation should stand check with the rest of the year.
• Another bank failure, this time in Maryland.
• RE/MAX announced a 12.7% drop in home sales for July.
• It appears that the Justice Department is investigating some of the shenanigans that Standard & Poor’s “may have been involved in” in writing those mobile mortgage securities. It appears that there will was some sort of internal debate at Standard & Poor’s. Some analysts wanted to downgrade the ratings. This could get interesting.

• Allen West continues to prove that he may be the most delusional Congressman in Washington.
• Of course, while we’re thinking about delusional, we would be remiss if we did not add Michelle Bachmann to the list. She believes that Americans fear the rise of the Soviet Union.
• Rick Perry continues to position himself further and further to the right. Yesterday, he mentioned that evolution was a “theory that’s out there.” He went on to say, “In Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution in our schools. Because I figure you’re smart enough to figure out which one is right.” The stupidity of the statement cannot be underestimated. If you believe that time in the classroom is precious, why would you teach something that you know is wrong? Implicit in Rick Perry’s statement is that it is obvious that one of these “theories” is wrong. Why would you waste time teaching students something that you “know” is wrong?
• Bank of America is cutting 3500 jobs.
• Comparing and contrasting Rick Perry and Mitt Romney with regard to their “jobs plan” seems to be a little like sewing eyelashes together. There doesn’t seem to be much substance there but the Washington Post tries anyway.
• The president is slowly, very slowly putting together a new jobs plan. Personally, I think we made a major stimulus to the economy. I think the president needs to put together not one or two but five different jobs plans. Each plan should total somewhere around $300 billion. The total package should be around $1.5 trillion. This total package equals approximately 12% of our GDP. The whole economy needs to be overhauled. The government needs to support the economy while it’s being overhauled. We need to get rid of the huge backlog of houses. This would stabilize home prices. We need to switch from a credit economy, where everybody spends more than they have based on credit, to a more cash-based economy where we actually have money left over and can save.

What stories are you following today?

Class Warfare. Raising on taxes on the rich is clearly class warfare.

Tags: Domestic Issues, Party Politics, The Daily Show by ecthompson md
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• Yesterday, Romper Room (this used to be an old kid show that aired in the mid-’50s thru the mid-’90′s, but I like it has a nickname for the mainstream media) spent a lot of time talking about the Ames straw poll in Iowa. First of all, several things about the Ames straw poll are clear. This straw poll sort of predicts who’s going to win the Iowa caucus. It has approximately a 58% predicting power. Winning Iowa does not guarantee winning the national nomination. So, I guess, congratulations are in order for Michele Bachmann. She had a narrow victory in the straw poll over Ron Paul.

From CNN:

1. Michele Bachmann: 4823 votes
2. Ron Paul: 4671
3. Tim Pawlenty: 2293
4. Rick Santorum: 1657
5. Herman Cain: 1456
6. Mitt Romney: 567
7. Newt Gingrich: 385
8. Jon Huntsman 69
9. Thaddeus McCotter: 35

Tim Pawlenty throws in the towel

• Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was a longshot, to say the least. He had a plainness that is common in the Midwest. Unfortunately, it makes it hard for you to get noticed. He’s been polling terribly in national polls and did terrible in the Ames straw poll. Remember that he’s been running for president for more than two years. He simply never got traction because he never seemed to go after the Tea Party vote. He tried to present himself as sane and rational. In the Republican debate, he went after Michele Bachmann (the opposite of sane and rational). He tried to point out her obvious hypocrisy but it was too little, too late. He is out of money. His campaign is out of steam and he has thrown in the towel.
• Finally, the Ames straw poll does tell us a little bit about the Republican field. There are several candidates who are not getting any traction whatsoever. Rick Santorum, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich all together barely broke 20%. Newt Gingrich has spent a lot of time in Iowa and for him to come out with 2.3% of the vote is awful. I don’t think he’s running for president. I don’t think he is running for vice president. I think he’s running to convince Republican donors that he is still relevant. I have no idea why Rick Santorum is running. He’s going to do poorly in Iowa. Can he do better in New Hampshire? Can he do better in the bellwether state, South Carolina? As long as Michele Bachmann remains in the race, I don’t see how Rick Santorum is going to get any traction. They’re both scrambling after the far right and the Tea Party. She grabs the spotlight, which means that he is left standing in the dark. It seems to me that Herman Cain is running for 2016. I think he will stay in the race in spite of his poor showing. I suspect that he will limp through New Hampshire and South Carolina. He will begin to spend more more of his own money. When you’re rich, you can do a practice run for the White House that costs you $5-$10 million.
• Texas Governor Rick Perry has gotten into the race. He announced in the friendly southern state of South Carolina. While his speech was a yawn-fest (see video below), Rick Perry has proven to be a savvy politician in Texas. Whether you like him or not, whether you think that he is stupid or not, this guy knows how to press the flesh. Popular Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson tried to charm Texas voters into voting for her and not Rick Perry in the last gubernatorial election and well, Rick Perry is still governor. I think that Rick Perry has positioned himself as friendly with the Tea Party crowd and also friendly with the Republican establishment. This should make Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney extremely nervous.

This is a video of Rick Perry announcing that he’s running for president. Warning, he seems to have the ability to link one cliché after another, after another, effortlessly. If you seize after you heard more than three or four clichés in a row, take your medication before watching this video:

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Let me say this, there’s been some discussion in the media (here, here and here) about some fallout between Rick Perry and George W. Bush. I don’t know whether there has or hasn’t been a fallout. I do know that Rick Perry owes his political career to George W. Bush. I do know that Rick Perry is using the George W. Bush playbook for politics. When George W. Bush lost his election for the House of Representatives, his take-home lesson was never to let anyone out “God” him. Since that election, George W. Bush never lost the evangelical Christians. Rick Perry’s prayer rally in Houston, Texas was his attempt to shore up the evangelical Christian vote. He tried to make the prayer rally about Christianity. He tried to appear nonpartisan. Rick Perry is using George W. Bush’s political playbook. In the media, he’s going to try to distance himself from the former president. In reality, he has completely and totally embraced his philosophy. Why shouldn’t he? His philosophy continues to work, at least in Texas.

Tags: Elections, Media by ecthompson md
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Great segment from Jon Stewart. Is this right? Did we tell 9/11 rescuers that we would pay for all of their illnesses except for cancer? Really? That’s so wrong, I can’t even begin to tell you.

Tags: The Daily Show by ecthompson md
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Really, really busy at work. It is trauma season. Here’s today’s roundup from Steve Benen:

• If Speaker Boehner’s budget bill were to somehow reach the White House, President Obama would veto it.

• That probably won’t matter, since the Boehner bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today, can’t pass the Senate. (If it fails to pass the House tomorrow, this is a moot point.)
• Dems will try to ensure the Boehner bill doesn’t manage to pass thanks to support from a few Blue Dogs: “House Democratic leaders will be whipping votes against a GOP plan to raise the debt limit and slash federal spending, the office of Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the minority whip, said Tuesday.”
• Still trying to clean up the Republicans’ FAA fiasco: “Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee filed legislation Tuesday that would fund the Federal Aviation Administration without cutting grants for rural air service, which has produced the hold up that led to FAA workers being furloughed.”
• A downgrade in U.S. debt would automatically add $100 billion to the deficit that Republicans pretend to care about.
• Making it harder for those without jobs to get a job: “Hundreds of job opening listings posted on Monster.com and other jobs sites explicitly state that people who are unemployed would be less attractive applicants, with some telling the long-term unemployed to not even bother with applying.”
• In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker (R) is forcing voters to get ID in order to participate in an election and making it harder to get ID.
• On a related note, Katrina Vanden Heuvel takes a closer look at the GOP’s “state-by-state crusade to disenfranchise voters.”
• Pat Buchanan apparently thinks alleged mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik has some worthwhile ideas. How Buchanan remains a pundit in good standing baffles me.
• Senate Republicans refused to allow a vote on Goodwin Liu’s judicial nomination. Gov. Jerry Brown (D), however, wants him on the California Supreme Court.
• The Wealth Gap: “The wealth gap between whites and minorities has risen to a historic high, according to new census data analyzed by the Pew Research Center, as the collapse of housing prices more severely affected the net worth of African American and Hispanic households.”
• Boehner said President Obama blew up the Grand Bargain talks by moving the goalposts. Even Republican sources admit the Speaker’s lying.
• Kaplan Inc. sure does get sued a lot.If this were fiction, I’d consider it too far-fetched. Alas, it’s real: “A revenge plot so intricate, the prosecutors were pawns.”
• Remember when House Republicans vowed to the nation, “We will fight efforts to use a national crisis for political gain”? It was in the 2010 “Pledge to America” platform. In fairness, I suppose I should note they never promised they wouldn’t create a national crisis for political gain, so maybe this doesn’t count as a straight-up broken promise.

Tags: Budget, Congress, Education, Media, Obama administration, Party Politics by ecthompson md
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• John Brennan, President Obama’s terrorism advisor, said something really stupid about no collateral damage from predator drones. For some reason, Glenn Greenwald has taken him seriously. Anything that includes man has to include some amount of error. We are not perfect. I don’t care how diligent we are at looking at photos and reviewing intelligence. We can still make errors. Just today, as I was walking out of the Biltmore estate a very nice gentleman offered my condolences since “my wife fell.” Nope, my wife did not fall. (I was actually walking with my mother, but no biggie). We make mistakes all the time. This is one reason why we should be out of the war business.
• If anybody really thought that Bruce Ivins was the mastermind behind the anthrax deaths, I have some oceanfront property to sell you. The case was just too neat. Investigators found this weird guy who was clearly awkward around women and for some reason that made him not just the suspect but the prime suspect in the multiple anthrax deaths which took place in 2002. They never had a good motive which tied everything together. As a matter fact, I really didn’t have enough evidence to tie everything together. It looks like the Department of Justice has decided that the evidence looks kind of shaky also.

• I’m really tired of extremism being wrapped in a nice pretty package and sold to the American people as mainstream. Deciding to default on America’s debt is extremism. Deciding not to negotiate to balance the budget is extremism. I understand that the President has decided to embrace the Draconian ideas of the Gang of Six or Gang of Seven in the Senate. Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security represent a pact that we’ve made with ourselves. This is not a treaty that we’ve made with Russia or China or some other foreign nation. Instead, this is a promise that we’ve made to the American people. It is a promise that was made to ourselves. If you want to figure out some way to make these programs more efficient and therefore cost less, I’m all for that. On the other hand, if you’re going to be cutting benefits that go to seniors and the disabled, I’m strongly against that. As a matter fact, as an American, I believe that we should keep our promises. Dismantling these programs is anti-American.
• Representative Allen West said some very childish and inflammatory things about Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz. He says that he’s apologized. Right now I want to say something about adult behavior, but I’ll keep that to myself.
• Maxine Waters is in big trouble.
• I know that Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell are working on some sort of compromise measure that will lower the debt by $3.7 trillion over 10 years and will also raise the debt ceiling. I have little hope that such a broad compromise will come out of such a divided Congress. Top Republicans are running away from this plan as fast as their little legs can carry them.
• If you need a generalized update on what’s going on in the Rupert Murdoch/News Corp. scandal you can find a brief update and a small blurb on who’s who – when – who did what right here.

Tags: Budget, Economy, Media, Obama administration, Party Politics by ecthompson md
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Emptywheel is live blogging. NY Times is live blogging. The Washington Post is live blogging.

From Emptywheel:

I’m livetweeting the Murdoch hearings–follow along @emptywheel.

The highlights thus far are:

MP Watson kept refusing to let James Murdoch answer questions for his father. At one point, Watson said, “Your father is responsible for corporate governance and it’s revealing how little he knows.” The only question Watson asked James–which he didn’t really answer–was “I’d like you to tell me whether you told your father” about one of the settlements.

In a key exchange, Watson asked Rupert, “Mr. Murdoch, at what point did you find out criminality was endemic at NotW?” Rupert answered, “Endemic is a very wide word.”

In other exchanges, Rupert was stumped. On at least two occasions, he took more than 10 seconds to answer a question.

Another MP made a big deal about Rupert going through the back door of the Prime Minister’s residence. Rupert explained, “I was asked. I just did what I was told.” At one point, James tried to interrupt to explain the special politics of Murdoch going through the back door. Then finally, Rupert said (this is not quite a direct quote), I went through Mr. Brown’s back door many times.

Then he asked the big question:

Mr. Murdoch: Do you accept that ultimately you are responsible for this whole fiasco? Rupert: No.

Tags: Media by ecthompson md
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• Well, it is nice to see the big man under the microscope. Murdoch gave the time-honored excuse that he knows nothing. The excuse sounded much better coming from Schultz.

• A lot of conservatives would like us to believe that Ronald Reagan did nothing besides cut taxes. This is not true. This is not even close to being true. Reagan raised taxes just after his big tax cut. It was the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982.
• WE really don’t pay that much in taxes. That’s the problem. Yes, there are some individuals that are overtaxed. I think that small businesses making between $50,000 and $500,000 have too much paperwork and tax stuff to keep up with. They can’t easily hire some dude to keep up with all of the taxes and regulations that they are forced to comply with. This is completely different for big business.

We are the blue line near Mexico and Chile.

• Austerity will not work by itself. It simply will not. The IMF has written a paper explaining why austerity will not work.
• Mitt’s big donors don’t have endless wealth.
• The fight for Wisconsin is really getting under way. This is one of the most important election cycles in the last 20 years.
• It is Obama’s duty to prevent an economic meltdown. He has to use every tool in his toolbox, including the 14th amendment. Bill Clinton agrees.
• One of Tiger Woods’ mistresses has reportedly returned $10 million in hush money. Seriously. She had been given enough money to keep her and her family secure for the rest of her life, but she returned the money. Money isn’t everything, but in this economy where jobs are here today and gone tomorrow you can’t or shouldn’t simply assume that you can make it on your own. I wish her luck. I suspect that there is a book deal and a reality show on the horizon.

Tags: Domestic Issues, Media by ecthompson md
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One of the things that I really, really dislike about Washington is stupid stuff like this. I understand that some in Congress don’t like what the President is doing in Libya. Okay, if you don’t like what the President is doing then get some of your friends in Congress to vote to defund the Pentagon. Or you can pass a new law which would stop all military action in Libya. Don’t waste time with a resolution that has no teeth. Don’t waste time. Focus on stuff that isn’t simply symbolic. Focus on the economy. Focus on jobs!!!

Tags: Congress, Military, Obama administration, Rachel Maddow Show by ecthompson md
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Keith Olbermann is on now.

• Keith starts with Libya. It is interesting that he started with this topic. Whether you like our action in Libya or not, you must admit that we should have the debate. The Obama administration is trying to avoid the debate. I have argued that we don’t have debate in this country any more.
• First Guest – Michael Moore
• His second story was on the Supreme Court throwing out a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart. (good analysis here) He then discusses Justice Clarence Thomas’ conflict of interest with him and his wife receiving money and expensive gifts. I can’t stand Clarence Thomas. I’m very biased against him and therefore, I don’t like to talk about him. He makes me nauseated. Anyway, Keith brings back John Dean to discuss these issues!!
• Worst Persons in the World is back!

I have nothing against Lawrence O’Donnell. I think that he is very knowledgeable. He simply isn’t compelling TV. I want someone with a little bit of an edge. Keith has that edge.

Tags: Countdown, Media by ecthompson md
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Jon Stewart spent some time on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. I’m not sure why he decided to go on Fox. He has done it before and come out on top. He and O’Reilly have locked horns on a couple of occasions but Fox News Sunday was different. I watched the whole interview and came away with nothing. Steve Benen, the Political Animal, watched the interview and came away with this -

He (Jon Stewart) was explaining that he, as a comedian, doesn’t deserve credibility in political media, and it’s ultimately the result of “the disappointment the public has in what the news media does.”

Chris Wallace rejected the premise, arguing that Fox News viewers “aren’t the least bit disappointed” with what their preferred network does. Stewart’s response was an important one.

“In polls,” Stewart said, in a surprisingly angry tone, “who are the most consistently misinformed media viewers? The most consistently misinformed? Fox. Fox viewers. Consistently. Every poll.”

Wallace then changed the subject.

I suppose I can’t blame the host for that, because what Stewart said happens to be true. Fox News’ minions “aren’t the least bit disappointed” with what the Republican news network provides, but they’re not actually learning anything about current events or the world around them.

The quantifiable evidence is overwhelming. Eight years ago, just six months into the war in Iraq, the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland found that those who relied on the Republican network were “three times more likely than the next nearest network to hold all three misperceptions — about WMD in Iraq, Saddam Hussein was involved with 9/11, and foreign support for the U.S. position on the war in Iraq.”

As Ben Armbruster noted a while back, “An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll out [in 2009] found that Fox News viewers were overwhelmingly misinformed about health care reform proposals. A 2008 Pew study ranked Fox News last in the number of ‘high knowledge’ viewers and a 2007 Pew poll ranked Fox viewers as the least knowledgeable about national and international affairs.” [Read more →]

Tags: Media, Party Politics, The Daily Show by ecthompson md
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I’m personally sad to see anyone subjected to a ridiculous media frenzy like the one that has surrounded Anthony Weiner. The stupid, insane and pornographic questions that have been shouted at him are revolting. Yes, he was wrong to lie to everyone about his twitter account. Yes, he was right to resign. I understand that Democrats are spineless by nature so they turned on Congressman Weiner like nothing that I have seen in the last 10 – 15 years. Republicans should have simply been quiet. They have embraced John Ensign, who has probably broken the law. They have embraced David Vitter, who should have been thrown out of Congress for hanging out with prostitutes. Now, I understand that neither Ensign or Vitter have been charged with anything. That doesn’t matter. Isn’t there a standard that can be applied to everyone in Congress? If your private cell phone number is found in a Hooter’s Rolodex, you should resign. If you force your best friend’s wife to have sex with you repeatedly because you have their whole family dependent on your generous handouts, you should resign. If you are a “family values” politician and you have been found grossly violating those values, you should resign!

I think that Anthony Weiner was a very strong Democrat. He stood up for what he believed in and explained the liberal viewpoint, extremely well, on national television. This man is very strong. I think that he will be back. He will shake this and come back stronger. I think he should have stepped down for lying to everyone. I know that politicians lie as often as the rest of us breathe air but that doesn’t matter. There should be a bond that exists between the voters and the elected. Weiner broke that bond, not by sending pictures to women, but by lying. In a couple of years, he should run for office again. I know that I’ll support him even though I’m not from NY.

Strong Dems are hard to find.

So, now what? First, the media needs to cover real news. Anthony Weiner texting women isn’t news. The fact that Republicans have actively and proudly stated that the United States of America should default on its debt, now that’s news. This is ridiculous talk that jeopardizes everyone’s standard of living, except the very rich, here in the real world. Why isn’t that being covered with this type of frenzy. What aren’t the media yelling questions like – “Congressman, do want to see America become a 3rd world country?” “Congressman, if we default on our debt and China and Russia simply quit buying American debt, then what? How does that help America today and tomorrow?” “Congressman, are simply too stupid to understand that defaulting on our debt would throw our economy into a depression type tailspin that will take decades for us to recover from, is that what you want?” Can someone send a memo to our 4th branch of government and tell them that they are screwing up, again?

Tags: Party Politics, Rachel Maddow Show by ecthompson md
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