A Liberal's Hit List: Jul 22, 2009

Fox's Collection of Talking Anuses Claim Obama Says He Never Read Health Bill

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

By Media Matters

Echoing the Heritage Foundation's Foundry blog, the Drudge Report, and Rush Limbaugh, Fox News hosts Sean Hannity, Neil Cavuto, Steve Doocy, and Brian Kilmeade advanced the false claim that President Obama stated during a conference call that he has not read or is not familiar with provisions in the House health care reform bill. In fact, Obama did not make such a statement.

In the comments to which the Fox News hosts were referring, Obama was responding to a blogger who asked him to comment on a claim made in a July 15 Investor's Business Daily editorial -- which Media Matters for America has noted is false -- that the bill, in the blogger's words, "will make individual private medical insurance illegal." Obama responded, "You know, I have to say that I am not familiar with the provision you're talking about."

On the July 21 edition of his Fox News show, Hannity claimed Obama "continues to push the August deadline even though a conference call earlier today made it clear that he hasn't even read key provisions in the bill." Hannity also asserted that Obama is "not reading the bill too closely." Hannity then played audio of Obama stating, "I am not familiar with the provision you're talking about," falsely claiming that Obama was responding to a question "about a provision in the House bill."

On the July 21 edition of Your World, Cavuto did not challenge Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) when he claimed that Obama "doesn't even know what's in it, and he's admitted it."

And on the July 22 edition of Fox & Friends, Doocy claimed that Obama was asked "about one particular part, section 102," when he stated, "I am not familiar with the provision you're talking about." Kilmeade later stated, "[S]o I thought, OK, 102 -- it's over 1,000 pages. So it's no big deal. Maybe we are demanding too much."...(Remainder.)

The Ignorant Baby Jesus Blatantly Lies in Saying Mayo Clinic "Slammed" Obama Health Proposal

By Media Matters

During the July 21 edition of his Fox News show, Sean Hannity falsely claimed that the Mayo Clinic "slam[med]" President Obama's health care plan -- which Hannity referred to at one point as Obama's "nanny state, cradle to the grave, womb to the tomb, nationalized health care socialized system." In fact, the Mayo Clinic did not criticize Obama's health care proposal. In a June 16 statement, the clinic criticized the House bill for "fail[ing] to use a fundamental lever -- a change in Medicare payment policy -- to help drive necessary improvements in American health care," but subsequently applauded the administration's suggested revisions to the House bill to address Medicare payment rates.

Teasing a discussion of the Mayo Clinic's criticism, Hannity falsely claimed that the clinic "slams the president's proposal." In a subsequent tease, Hannity stated: "The president has been praising the Mayo Clinic's model of health care but wait until you hear what they have to say about his nanny state, cradle to the grave, womb to the tomb, nationalized health care socialized system." He then introduced the segment by asserting, "President Obama has made no secret of his admiration for the Mayo Clinic," then aired footage of Obama praising the clinic. Hannity concluded: "It turns out the feeling is not mutual," adding, "Mayo Clinic officials voiced fierce opposition to the health care scheme cooked up by Congress."

In fact, Obama shares the Mayo Clinic's concern about the need to address Medicare payment rates. In a June 2 letter to Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Max Baucus (D-MT), Obama listed several proposals to reform Medicare, including "reducing overpayments to Medicare Advantage private insurers; strengthening Medicare and Medicaid payment accuracy by cutting waste, fraud and abuse; improving care for Medicare patients after hospitalizations; and encouraging physicians to form 'accountable care organizations' to improve the quality of care for Medicare patients." Obama also proposed "giving special consideration" to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to "identify and achieve additional savings." Obama said the commission "could be a valuable tool to help achieve health care reform in a fiscally responsible way."...(Remainder.)

Fox's Insane Morning Lie-Fest Advances Plethora of Health Care Reform BS

HHS Secretary Sebelius Corrects Scarborough's Lies That Obama Didn't Read Health Bill

James Carville Slays Liz "Demon Spawn" Cheney's Support of Birther Nonsense

Fox's Own Josef Mengele, Dr. Marc Seigel, Lies About Rationing and Eugenics in Health Care Bill

DICK Morris Spread His Lies & Says Health Care Reform Will Deny Care to Elderly

The Ignorant Baby Jesus Lies to Claim "Watchdog Group" Estimates Obama Spending at "$23 trillion"

Lou Dobbs and the Canard Over President Obama's birth

James Rainey
Los Angeles Times

Lou Dobbs had David from Freeport, N.Y., on the line, the caller musing darkly about President Obama "rushing all these programs through by whatever means," knowing he will soon be exposed as a fake, a fraud, a . . . Kenyan.

At that point, a scrupulous radio host had three options: (A) hit the kill button (B) laugh and hit the kill button or (C) offer some push-back against the fantastical notion that Barack Obama was born on foreign soil and thus serves -- illegally -- as the Oval Office's first resident alien.

Instead, Dobbs chose the maximum complicity-minimum integrity route, or (D): "Certainly your view can't be discounted," the host said.

So it went over the last week, with the bloviating interviewer offering the (nominal) credibility of his syndicated radio show, which airs on dozens of stations, and the CNN television brand as a platform for assorted wing nuts, whose conspiracy fulminations about Obamahad previously been most virulent in the more disreputable reaches of the Internet.

The subject fits neatly with Dobbs' nativist, immigrant obsession. And the cable demagogue, already well behind Fox News, has got to find some way to keep from sagging behind even traditional cable television laggard MSNBC.

Cooler heads at CNN put some distance between themselves and their once star host, with fill-in Kitty Pilgrim using a segment of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" on Friday to provide a substantially more skeptical look at the Obama-made-in-Africa claims.

Pilgrim introduced the topic of Obama's alleged foreign birth as she sat in for Dobbs that night, calling it "the discredited rumor that won't go away."...(Remainder.)

Fox Nation Asks if the "Health Care Debate" is "a Showdown Between Socialism & Freedom"

Dr. Maddow Slays CNN's Right-Wing Hate-Merchant Dobb's Birther BS

Palin's Resignation: The Edited Version

By Vanity Fair

If you watched Sarah Palin’s resignation speech, you know one thing: her high-priced speechwriters moved back to the Beltway long ago. Just how poorly constructed was the governor’s holiday-weekend address? We asked V.F.’s red-pencil-wielding executive literary editor, Wayne Lawson, together with representatives from the research and copy departments, to whip it into publishable shape. Here is the colorful result.

Michele Bachmann Opposes Public Option Because it's "Cheaper!"

By slinkerwink
The Campaign Silo

Crazy right-winger Michele Bachmann from Minnesota, in her floor speech, issued a litany of talking points against the public option, and said that the public option would be far cheaper than private insurance. And that's a bad thing? Apparently it's a bad thing for Michele Bachmann and her legion of crazy fans.

"Approximately 114 million Americans are expected to leave private health insurance. Why? Their employers will drop the insurance because the taxpayer-subsidized plan will be 30 to 40 percent cheaper. This action will collapse the private health insurance market, and then the Federal Government will own the health provider game."

The rate of those without insurance has increased 20% in Minnesota since 2007. Today, that's now 550,000 without health insurance in Minnesota, which brings the percent to about 11% of the entire state's population. Michele Bachmann doesn't care about her uninsured constituents when she's working to kill the passage of health care reform to protect her private insurers, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, which controls 50% of the state market, and Medica, which controls 26% of the state market.

Michele and other Republicans, including the Blue Dogs, don't want the public option to be competitive against private insurers in order to bring down monthly premiums to make health care affordable for Americans. They'd rather have the status quo continue so they can keep on banking all the cash from Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealth, Aetna, and other insurers into their campaign coffers.

This is what the calls for "bipartisanship" and "more time" from these Republican and "centrists" are all about--to kill health care reform for the murder-by-spreadsheet industry....(Remainder.)

Socialist Health Plan? In Norway, Obama's Plan Not Even Close

By George Lakey
Common Dreams

If Michael Steele and the Republicans really believe that President Obama is proposing a socialist health plan, they need to get out more.

I've just returned from a research trip to Norway, where their universal health system really is socialist. It's also much less expensive than the current U.S. system, so maybe the Republicans would like it if they checked it out. The non-socialists in Norway support it because it works so well, especially compared with "the bad old days" of private medicine, when even the doctors' association advocated for socialized medicine as the only affordable way to make quality care available to all Norwegians.

One reason Norwegians like their system is that it's pro- economic innovation because it's not tied to the employer. Norwegians are free to change jobs for more challenging opportunities, or try their wings as entrepreneurs, because they don't have to worry about insurance - it's with them wherever they go. Economist Jonathan Gruber of MIT is one of many economists who believe that U.S. employer-tied health insurance is a drag on progress. But Obama's plan accepts the status quo even though it might not be affordable.

Norwegians like their system because it cuts red tape. The patient-doctor relationship isn't complicated by multiple insurances; if you need care, you get it as a matter of right. No bills to pay, no plans to juggle, no worry about your dependents, and no worry about your becoming a burden to your children.

Because Norwegians are practical, they enjoy saving money for quality health care. On a per capita basis, Norwegians spend $4,763 per year, and cover everyone, while U.S.'ers spend $7,290. By various standards of health quality, like life expectancy or rate of preventable deaths, Norway does better than the U.S. One key measure is physicians per capita: the U.S. has 2.43 physicians compared with Norway's 4 doctors per 1,000 population, even though Norway spends a third less of its Gross Domestic Product on health care than the U.S. does. (These numbers are from Bruce Bartlett, Forbes magazine columnist who was a former U.S. Treasury Department economist.)...(Remainder.)

DeMint Falls Into Obama's Trap: "We've Got to Stop the President"

Maddow Eviscerates Fox Host Who Wants Taliban to Murder Captive American Soldier

LGBT Civil Rights Movement: Part 2-Learning from History

By David Mixner
DavidMixner.com

History can be a double-edged sword. Many of us get so mired in our own personal experiences from the past that we color our ability to see the future. Others ignore them so much they fail to make their path easier by the lack of knowledge from the past. However, there is much to learn from the history of human nature and behavior, the formation of values and principles and the ability to create change. There are clearly defined common threads throughout the history of great struggles for liberation that offer us great lessons for our journey for freedom today.

The most important lesson is that people with clearly defined values and principles are the best agents of change. Those who are willing to negotiate or compromise beyond those values and principles often find that they merely face more demands for them to compromise again. Individuals who know 'the line in the sand' and refuse to compromise are often instigators of great change. The tough part in looking back is knowing what is 'practical' and what is sheer stubbornness.

What the history of movements has taught us is that there is clearly no 'one way' or 'one person' that will enable the change. Even the most successful progressives have had deep failures and serious periods of doubt. In the end, sheer courage in the face of great opposition won the day.

The easiest place for us to look into the past is the epic struggle by African-Americans for their freedom. For two centuries, they threw off the yoke of slavery, fought separate but equal, overturned "Jim Crow" laws, won important battles in the 1960's and ended up today with an African-American President. Let's be clear that we do not view our journey as identical to that movement. None of us have had the physical horrors of slavery nor the brutality of a Klan-driven oppression. However, the greatest compliment that can be paid to that heroic struggle for freedom is for it to inspire the oppressed around the world - to honor it by seeking wisdom, knowledge and strength from it....(Remainder.)

Glenn Beck Yells, “I Am Sick And Tired Of Hearing People Tear This Country Down!” While Launching A Hatefest Against Obama Administration

By Ellen
News Hounds

Glenn Beck was in a patriotic fervor at the beginning of his Fox News show yesterday (7/20/09), as he shouted during his "The One Thing" segment, "I am sick and tired of hearing people tear this country down!" But within minutes, that super patriot who loves his country so much he'd cry for it was tearing down President Obama as "dangerous," accusing him of wanting the country to fail, and "remaking America… into a place that's a whole lot crappier." With video.

Before his stirring statement of loyalty, Beck had been on a rant in which he mocked Obama by showing off an insulting bobble-headed dashboard doll of the President and emitting a hammy movie-villain's laugh. "I'm afraid. You should be afraid, too," Beck said. He later attacked Obama for "remaking America… into a place that's a whole lot crappier, kind of a hybrid between France and Venezuela;" accused him of "taking the beacon of freedom and turning it into an apologetic hey-what-can-you-do-for-me wannabe European spread-the-wealth socialist wonderland." Beck also mocked Nancy Pelosi with a witch voice.

But Beck was not through laying his love on this country. Two segments later, in an unbalanced segment with guest John Bolton, Beck said about Hillary Clinton's trip to India, "The apology tour just continues. I can't take it any more."

Bolton didn't wait until his first sentence was finished before launching his own attack on the Obama administration, saying, "They always blame America first."

After Bolton predicted that Obama's presidency is about to crumple, Beck said, "I tell you, this guy is dangerous," Beck said, meaning Obama. "He's never lost before. He won't understand it… I mean this guy is practically an imperial president now."

"America-loving" Bolton went on to allege, "Our commerce secretary is negotiating for the Chinese."

Beck spoke up with his sincere-patriot voice. "I'm a guy who on Election Day said, 'Look, he is my president now. I don't agree with him… but he is my president, etc., etc."...(Remainder.)

The Pig-Man Says "Obama is Showing Signs of Being Unhinged." Well if Anyone Knows About Being Unhinged.

The Pudgy Baby Jesus LIES that Health Care Bill Will Ban Private Insurance

By Media Matters

During the July 20 edition of his Fox News program, Sean Hannity falsely claimed that "if we look at the provisions of the bill, it's pretty astounding. For example, if you're not -- if you don't have private insurance the year that this bill is passed, you can't get that later on from your employer." In fact, section 311 of the tri-committee House health care reform bill allows employers to meet coverage requirements by offering employees "coverage under a qualified health benefits plan (or under a current employment-based health plan (within the meaning of section 102(b))) in accordance with section 312."

From section 311 of the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009:

SEC. 311. HEALTH COVERAGE PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS.

An employer meets the requirements of this section if such employer does all of the following:

(1) OFFER OF COVERAGE. -- The employer offers each employee individual and family coverage under a qualified health benefits plan (or under a current employment-based health plan (within the meaning of section 102(b))) in accordance with section 312.

(2) CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS COVERAGE. -- If an employee accepts such offer of coverage, the employer makes timely contributions towards such coverage in accordance with section 312.

(3) CONTRIBUTION IN LIEU OF COVERAGE. -- Beginning with Y2, if an employee declines such offer but otherwise obtains coverage in an Exchange-participating health benefits plan (other than by reason of being covered by family coverage as a spouse or dependent of the primary insured), the employer shall make a timely contribution to the Health Insurance Exchange with respect to each such employee in accordance with section 313.

The Pig-Man Repeats Drudge & Heritage Talking Points About Obama's Knowledge of Health Bill

By Media Matters

On July 21, the Drudge Report, the Heritage Foundation's blog The Foundry, and Rush Limbaugh all falsely claimed that during a July 20 blogger conference call, President Obama, in Limbaugh's words, "admit[ted] he doesn't know" what's in the House health care bill. A blogger asked Obama to comment on a claim made in a July 15 Investor's Business Daily editorial -- which Media Matters for America has noted is false -- that the bill, in the blogger's words, "will make individual private medical insurance illegal." Obama responded, "You know, I have to say that I am not familiar with the provision you're talking about." In fact, as even the Heritage Foundation blog post to which Drudge linked made clear, there is no provision in the bill outlawing private health insurance. Nonetheless, Limbaugh again flogged the July 15 IBD editorial and falsely claimed that the House bill "[w]ill make individual private medical insurance illegal. It will. It will."

In a July 15 editorial, which Limbaugh has previously highlighted, IBD falsely claimed that the House tri-committee health care reform bill includes "a provision making individual private medical insurance illegal." The editorial later stated that the "provision would indeed outlaw individual private coverage." In fact, the provision to which the editorial referred establishes the conditions under which existing private plans would be exempted from the requirement that they participate in the Health Insurance Exchange. Individual health insurance plans that do not meet the "grandfather" conditions would still be available for purchase, but only through the exchange and subject to those regulations....(Remainder.)

Is “Birther” Thread on Fox Nation Deliberate Lie or Unintentionally Inaccurate?

By Priscilla
News Hounds

When US soldiers, fighting in Iraq, advocated withdrawal from Iraq, Rush Limbaugh accused them of being "phony soldiers." Because decorated war veteran Democratic US Representative John Murtha criticized the way the Iraq war was being handled, the GOP right wing said that he was a traitor and Ann Coulter said he was a candidate for "fragging." But now we have US Army Major Stephan Cook, who is trying to make a federal case that he does not have to obey Army orders to redeploy because Barack Obama is not a legitimate president because he was not born in the USA. In the bizarro and very hypocritical world of right wing politics, Cook is seen as a hero to all those patriotic Americans who just can't accept that we have an African American Democrat in the White House. Hence, the "birther" movement which creates the kind of rhetoric that, if used against a Republican, would elicit cries of "treason!" So we shouldn't be surprised that Fox Nation is fully on board with the "birthers" whose belief that Barack Obama is not a citizen has been debunked – something you won't see on Fox Nation. But in the case of today's Fox Nation "birther" lede, what isn't being presented is an updated report that seems to indicate that this Fox Nation headline and story is wrong. Will we see a correction?

Cook had the right to refuse to redeploy but that hasn't stopped him from proceeding with a lawsuit claiming personal damages and demanding who knows what due to his pursuit of an issue based on the newest and hottest conspiracy making the rounds of the droolosphere. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is old school. Forget the "staged" moon landing. Move over 9-11 "Truthers" – the "birthers" are here to show that the first African American president of the USA is not qualified to be the president because he was born in Kenya (and "adopted" in Indonesia?!). It's perfect for the rabidly right wing base (pretty much the totality) of today's GOP as it challenges the political legitimacy of Barack Obama while bringing out all the racists from whatever rock they've been hiding under during the repressive years of Civil Rights. So, one isn't surprised to see another "birther" thread (here, and here ) on Fox Nation – this one linked to an article about how Cook is trying to continue with his lawsuit which has been joined by two retired military personnel. Righties don't like whiners and those who file "frivolous lawsuits;" but because it's a "birther" involved, it's all good. Now what do you think the full mooners would have said if Colin Powell joined a suit challenging the SCOTUS decision in 2000 which put George Bush in the presidency despite his having lost the popular vote. Funny, I don't remember this type of visceral hatred among liberals, bordering on suggestion of armed insurrection, after Bush was inaugurated!...(Remainder.)

Abortion Seen Through the Eyes of the Rightwingoverse

By Tom Tomorrow
Salon.com

The Out of Touch Baby Jesus Whines About Drudge's Ham Lie

By Ellen
News Hounds

When was the last time multimillionaire Sean Hannity actually shopped in a grocery store - 1985? On last night's (7/20/09) Hannity, he attacked the Obama administration for purchasing ham for food banks and soup kitchens at a cost of about $1.50 per pound. "By the way," Hannity sneered, "the ham (the government has paid) $1.50 for? It actually costs only 79 cents in most grocery stores." Oh, really? Either Hannity hasn't set foot in a grocery store for a good 20+ years or we'd love to know where he shops.

A check of the prices of ham at Food Emporium, in New York City, for delivery in the 10036 zip code, which is where News Corp resides, shows that the cost of ham ranges from $6.99/pound to $9.99/pound.

In case that's too upscale, I also checked Kroger in La Porte, Indiana. They have Oscar Mayer chopped ham on sale this week at $2.49, for a pound, with a purchase of 10 qualifying items. Otherwise, the sales price is $2.99 with a shopper's card....(Original.)

Washington Times & Fox Nation Falsely Suggest Mayo Clinic Critical of Obama Heath Proposal

By Media Matters

In a July 21 article, The Washington Times reported that the Mayo Clinic is "joining the growing chorus of critics the Obama administration is trying to fend off as the debate intensifies from Capitol Hill to Main Street" and that "White House aides did not have a response to the criticism from the Mayo Clinic, which Republicans exploited." The article later stated: "Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, used his Twitter feed to spread the Mayo Clinic statement, adding: 'They are right.' " A Fox Nation headline also falsely claimed, "Mayo Clinic Rebukes Obama's Rationing," and linked to a NewsBusters post, as well as the Times article. In fact, in the statement to which the Times and NewsBusters referred, the Mayo Clinic did not criticize Obama's health care proposal. Rather, it criticized the House bill for "fail[ing] to use a fundamental lever -- a change in Medicare payment policy -- to help drive necessary improvements in American health care," and the Obama administration has itself proposed reforms to Medicare payment policy.

In a June 2 letter to Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Max Baucus (D-MT), President Obama listed several proposals to reform Medicare, including "reducing overpayments to Medicare Advantage private insurers; strengthening Medicare and Medicaid payment accuracy by cutting waste, fraud and abuse; improving care for Medicare patients after hospitalizations; and encouraging physicians to form 'accountable care organizations' to improve the quality of care for Medicare patients." Obama also proposed "giving special consideration" to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to "identify and achieve additional savings." Obama said the commission "could be a valuable tool to help achieve health care reform in a fiscally responsible way."

Subsequently, White House budget director Peter Orszag stated in a July 17 statement that "one of the most potent reforms is a change in the process of health care policymaking: empowering an independent, non-partisan body of doctors and other health experts to make recommendation about Medicare payment rates and other reforms." And in a July 17 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Orszag proposed creating a nonpartisan Independent Medicare Advisory Council (IMAC), which would "have the authority to make recommendations to the President on annual Medicare payment rates as well as other reforms."...(Remainder.)

Fox & Friends Has Less Than Lucid Discussion of Hate Crimes Bill—But What Else is New?

By Priscilla
News Hounds

The conservative right wing, particularly the Christian right, hates "hate crime" legislation. There is the bogus talking point that it will prevent their beloved pastors from preaching – well – hatred towards homosexuals. They also think it will provide protection for pedophiles – something featured on both Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity's shows. The Matthew Shephard Hate Crimes bill, passed by the US Senate 63 to 28, expands the current federal hate crime definition to include sexual preference as criteria for crimes carried out on the basis of race, religion, and national origin. As it represents another defeat in the ongoing right wing, which waged an aggressive campaign against this bill, I was curious about how Fox, the mouthpiece for the American right wing, would handle this obviously great event; as "People for the American Way" said to "be on the lookout for intensified rhetoric and lies from the Right about this good bill." Not surprisingly, Fox&Friends provided a platform for the "intensified rhetoric and lies" with its segment titled "Hate Crime Controversy, Could Amendment Encourage More Crime." I was surprised, however, that the approach taken on yesterday's Fox&Friends segment wasn't religious – it was just bizarre!

Fox News chyrons, posed as a question, frequently are – minus the question mark – right wing talking points hence, the first chyron, "Senate's Hate Crime Amendment, Could It Do More Harm Than Good?" While noting that the new bill "expands" the definition of "hate crime," Steve Doocy didn't say that the bill was expanded to include sexual orientation. Doocy asked if this bill could "make it harder to prosecute terrrrrists." David Rittgers, introduced as legal policy analyst and former army special forces officer, who opposes the bill, was the only guest and he was full of rightwing talking points about the bill starting with "we already criminalize violence…dragging the ideology of the perpetrator into the courtroom gives them a bigger platform for their ideas…" Doocy and Kilmeade did not note that Rittgers is a policy analyst for the conservative Cato Institute. Rittgers reiterated the idea of the "platform" in citing the Holocaust Museum and recruitment center shooting as acts of "lone extremists and domestic terrorists." He did not mention domestic terrorist Scott Roeder who shot Dr. George Tiller. The chyron read "New Bill, More Harm Than Good?" Kilmeade said that "on the surface" the bill seems fine; but asked Rittgers to elaborate on the problem as he "peels it through." Rittger claimed that we already have laws for prosecuting those who harm other people. What Rittger didn't mention is that this new bill provides federal assistance when local law enforcement is reluctant to pursue crimes perpetrated on the basis of hate. Rittger's "platform" argument would also hold true for the other categories of "hate crimes;" but nowhere in the discussion (except for a vague statement at the beginning) was the fact that this amendment expands the definition to sexual orientation mentioned. Rittgers' contention that the amendment is an "aids program for domestic extremists" seems strange when we already have a category of hate crime which includes attacks based on religion. As such, one would assume that jihadist types wouldn't be attacking anyone based on sexual orientation....(Remainder.)

Traitorous Ralph Peters on Fucktard O'Reilly Changes His Tune on Captured Soldier

Lying Sack of Dog Mess Beck: Health Care Reform is Socialism & "Raping the Rich"

Unbelievably Imbecilic Beck Claims Community Organizers are Socialists!

Rick Sanchez Shows '61 Honolulu Advertiser "Birth Announcement"

Walking Abortion Rationale Limbaugh Claims Abortions are Victories for Liberals

Money-Grubbing Whore Limbaugh Wants a "Slut Surcharge" in Health Care Bill

Unbelievably Moronic & Porcine, Breitbart Calls Obama an Indonesian Teenage Girl

Cretinous Glenn Beck Tries, & Fails, to Rationalize His Radio Freak-Out on Fucktard O'Reilly

The Main Stream Media Greatly Misrepresents Cost of TARP

By Media Matters

In recent days, some media have cited Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Plan (SIGTARP) Neil Barofsky in reporting that the total cost of the bailouts could be $23.7 trillion. By citing that misleading figure, which includes programs that have been discontinued and those that have not been utilized, media have grossly distorted the risk to taxpayers, as Think Progress noted.

Indeed, in a July 21 article, The New York Times reported that "in the report accompanying his testimony, Mr. Barofsky conceded the number was vastly overblown" and includes "estimates of the maximum cost of programs that have already been canceled or that never got under way." Moreover, as Floyd Norris wrote for the Times, the figure "also assumes that every home mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac goes into default, and all the homes turn out to be worthless."

Media focusing on the "potential federal government support" figure of $23.7 trillion include:

During the July 20 edition of his Fox News show, Beck claimed that "the inspector general for the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program says that, you know, it was going to be like $3 billion -- or trillion. And then it was going to be $9 trillion. It looks like now it's only going to be $23.7 trillion to bail out the financial companies for TARP. Just -- but that's only just -- I mean, it's only almost $24 trillion."
During the July 20 edition of his CNN show, Dobbs claimed that "Politico today reported all the government bailouts, loans, and rescues could ultimately cost taxpayers a staggering $23 trillion. That number comes from Neil Barofsky. He's the special inspector for the Treasury's TARP program. Twenty-three trillion dollars is nearly double the annual size of this nation's entire economy, $14 trillion."

Totally Feckless Lou Dobbs STILL on the Insane Birther Bandwagon

Sonia Scherr
Hate Watch at SPLC

CNN’s Lou Dobbs rarely lets the facts get in the way of defaming immigrants, so perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us that he has also jumped on the “birther” bandwagon by suggesting that President Barack Obama has yet to prove he’s a U.S. citizen.

“The first thing is to determine whether or not his birth certificate is valid,” Dobbs said on the July 15 edition of his radio show. “And what I don’t understand is why that has not been released and given over to the public record.”

That wasn’t a throwaway comment, either. As Media Matters for America documented, Dobbs repeatedly questioned the authenticity of Obama’s birth certificate last week on both his radio show and television program. In doing so, he aligned himself with a far-right fringe movement that claims Obama hasn’t shown he is eligible to serve as president. The so-called birthers have filed numerous (thus far unsuccessful) lawsuits questioning Obama’s citizenship.

Problem is, Dobbs’ own colleagues at CNN have refused to give credence to the suggestion that Obama wasn’t born in Hawaii. CNN.com called it a “debunked theory” in a June 11 report, and CNN contributor Dana Milbank mocked it during the Dec. 8 edition of CNN’s Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull, according to Media Matters. And, on Dec. 5, CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin called the questions about Obama’s eligibility “total bull.”...(Remainder.)

Chris Matthews Takes on Lunatic Birther Rep John Campbell

By dday
Crooks and Liars

Chris Matthews highlighted this nutcase birther at a town hall with Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE), questioning Obama's citizenship and forcing a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. It's unfiltered crazy in action. In the 1990s, the media took these fringe scandals regarding Bill Clinton and gave them a platform and some credibility, seeping them into the mainstream. You can draw a through-line from the out-there lies of the extreme right like the alleged murder of Vince Foster and the Clinton impeachment. Some in the media, like Lou Dobbs, continue to do that today, legitimizing the birther movement. And several far-right Congressmen have co-sponsored a bill to require Presidential candidates to provide proof of US citizenship. Today on Hardball, Rep. John Campbell, who thinks Atlas Shrugged is non-fiction, tried to dodge the issue by claiming that this is merely a technical bill to ensure Presidents meet the requirements of office in some official capacity, but Matthews was having none of it. He called it a "crazy proposal" and tried to peg down Campbell on whether or not he believed Obama was an American citizen. It took him all of 10 minutes to finally say he believed Obama was.

MATTHEWS: Congressman, nice try. But what you're doing, it's a nice try, and I'm laughing with you only to this extent, because I know it's a nice try. What you're doing is appeasing the nutcases. As you've just pointed out, this won't prove or disprove whether Barack Obama's a citizen. By the way, let me show you his birth certificate. That's the way to deal with this. Mail this birth certificate to the whacko wing of your party, so they see it and say, "I agree with this, it's over." [...] you're verifying the paranoia out there. You're saying to the people, "That's right, it's a reasonable question whether he's a citizen or not."

Campbell squirmed and shuffled, first saying that Obama was an American citizen "as far as I know," (Matthews responded: "As far as you know? I'm showing you his birth certificate!") and then eventually saying "I believe he is."...(Remainder.)

Obama Administration Rolls Back Bush-Era Rules on Mining & Forests

By Eliza Strickland
Discover Magazine

In one week, the Interior Department has issued two bold new rules that reverse decisions on mining and old-growth forests that were made during the Bush administration. In the first ruling, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Monday called for a two-year “timeout” on new mining claims on nearly 1 million acres near Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona [Los Angeles Times]. That directive overrides the Bush-era decision to open land near the park to uranium mining claims.

The moratorium on new mining claims near the Grand Canyon will give the Interior Department time to study the environmental effects of mining in that area; the department then has the option of banning mining there for 20 years. Grand Canyon Superintendent Steve Martin has said previously that he was concerned that uranium could get into the watershed and affect the fish in the Colorado River at the bottom of the gorge — and the bald eagles, California condors and bighorn sheep that depend on the canyon’s seeps and springs [Los Angeles Times].

In the other ruling issued last week, Salazar announced that the Interior Department is dropping controversial plans to dramatically increase logging in western Oregon’s forests, some of the nation’s densest carbon stores. The move scraps a Bush-era decision to rezone 2.6 million acres of Bureau of Land Management forests, which would have tripled current logging production and opened old-growth forests to clear-cutting [Climate Wire]....(Remainder.)

Sen. Sam Brownback: We Don't Want Man-Beasts of She-Fishes!

By Joe
Joe.My.God

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), upset about all those centaurs ravaging the Kansas plains, has submitted a bill banning the creation of animal-human hybrids. From the hilarious Jeff Vrabel:

Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and the dark side of Neptune and 2008 presidential candidate for exactly 24 minutes (less time than Fred Thompson, just in case you were worried that was impossible), introduced legislation banning the creation of terrifying-sounding ANIMAL-HUMAN HYBRIDS, such as mermaids, or Perez Hilton. “Creating human-animal hybrids, which permanently alter the genetic makeup of an organism, will challenge the very definition of what it means to be human and is a violation of human dignity and a grave injustice," Brownback said, adding, "A PLANET WHERE APES EVOLVED FROM MAN?" Needless to say, this story has caused about 80 percent of political bloggers to lose their Red Bulled minds in near-hysteric glee, though nearly all of their joke-posts were decorated with an image of the Little Mermaid, which doesn't do much to deny the obvious suspicion that people who spend their lives sitting in front of a computers would read "human-animal hybrid" and immediately think "hot shirtless teen mermaid" (a phrase which, incidentally, is going to send this column's Google hits into FREAKING ORBIT).

Won't somebody please think about the furries?...(Original.)

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