Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the 2011 Senate of the Corporate States of America. Photo courtesy of Mr. Eric B.

Open thread below...

Big money is the root of most all our political problems, that's no secret. Without a fight, the SCOTUS' ruling on corporate campaign spending this week could spell the end of citizen involvement in national politics -- so it comes as somewhat of a surprise that one of the first voices in the fight against big corporate money flooding into Washington D.C. would be a group of CEOs?

WASHINGTON – Dozens of current and former corporate executives have a message for Congress: Quit hitting us up for campaign cash.

Roughly 40 executives from companies including Playboy Enterprises, ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's, the Seagram's liquor company, toymaker Hasbro, Delta Airlines and Men's Wearhouse sent a letter to congressional leaders Friday urging them to approve public financing for House and Senate campaigns. They say they are tired of getting fundraising calls from lawmakers — and fear it will only get worse after Thursday's Supreme Court ruling.

"Members of Congress already spend too much time raising money from large contributors," the business executives' letter says. "And often, many of us individually are on the receiving end of solicitation phone calls from members of Congress. With additional money flowing into the system due to the court's decision, the fundraising pressure on members of Congress will only increase." Read on...

The linked AP article goes on to say that the letter was sent by an organization called Fair Elections Now, which is dedicated to passing the Fair Elections Act. The FEA was sponsored by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin.

Could some of this be a PR move by some of these corporations to lessen potential public backlash? Perhaps. Either way, the push back against the complete corporate takeover of our government must be loud and relentless.

There is nothing like seeing close up pictures of a planet millions of miles away to make you feel like a tiny blip in the universe. This is a hi-res photo of Mars found here.

Very open thread below...

Republican politicians and pundits have been doing their level best to rewrite history, glossing over the disaster that was the presidency of George W. Bush. Now, in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, The Heritage Foundation's Jim Roberts suggests that President Obama needs to reach out to none other than Dubya himself to tackle the relief effort:

The U.S. government response should be bold and decisive. It must mobilize U.S. civilian and military capabilities for short-term rescue and relief and long-term recovery and reform. President Obama should tap high-level, bipartisan leadership. Clearly former President Clinton, who was already named as the U.N. envoy on Haiti, is a logical choice. President Obama should also reach out to a senior Republican figure, perhaps former President George W. Bush, to lead the bipartisan effort for the Republicans.

One word -- Katrina. George W. Bush is the absolute last human being on earth I would chose for the job and WTF says this has to be a "bipartisan" effort? The Republican Party stands firmly against every single thing President Obama and the Democrats do, therefore there is no reason for a single one of them to be involved in the relief effort. Why give them the photo op, when they'll just turn around and stab the president in the back?

Roberts finds a way to further politicize the tragedy by making references to Hugo Chavez and insisting that the U.S. military must corral the dirty Haitian victims to "prevent any large-scale movement by Haitians to take to the sea in dangerous and rickety watercraft to try to enter the U.S. illegally."

For many areas of the U.S. and other areas of the globe, this winter has brought some brutally cold temperatures and plenty of snowfall. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had to endure the "So much for global warming" comments from our more gullible and lesser educated friends and family.

Well, legendary artist Peter Frampton decided to risk Facebook Suicide by posting reality-based global warming messages on his page -- and now faces the wrath of the deniers in the process.

It all appears to have started on January 9th of this year when Frampton posted "What is this - global colding?" and from there, things started heating up.

Ever the well-spoken gentleman, Peter responds with dignity:

Mr. Frampton, who is working on a new CD at the moment, says that people have abandoned him on Facebook and other sites because he is intelligent enough to understand that global warming is a reality. If you use Facebook and would like to show your support for him, you can do so here. Stick to your guns, Peter!

Illinois Republican Andy Martin is about as slimy as they come. He gleefully accepts credit for starting a nasty smear campaign against President Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign, and continues to ramp up the hate as he runs for a seat in the U.S. Senate:

Andy Martin, a noted conservative dirty trickster, put out a spot on local radio in which he pushes a "solid rumor" that fellow Senatorial aspirant, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), "is a homosexual."

"I helped expose many of Barack Obama's lies in 2008," the ad goes. "Today, I am fighting for the facts about Mark Kirk. Illinois Republican leader Jack Roeser says there is a 'solid rumor that Kirk is a homosexual.' Roeser suggests that Kirk is part of a Republican Party homosexual club. Lake County Illinois Republican leader Ray True says Kirk has surrounded himself with homosexuals."

The seedy spot seems to take a page out the Karl Rove playbook -- in which allegations of homosexuality are pushed by innuendo and 'simple demands for the truth.' In a statement to a local Illinois station, the Kirk camp vehemently condemned and denied its content.

In a stunning move, the Illinois Republican Party has denounced Martin and his tactics. Maybe Republicans is learning?

The Illinois Republican Party disavows the statements made today by Mr. Andrew Martin in his statewide radio advertisements. His statements today are consistent with his history of bizarre behavior and often times hate-filled speech which has no place in the Illinois Republican Party. Mr. Martin will no longer be recognized as a legitimate Republican Candidate by the Illinois Republican Party. Read on...

Last Sunday Republican Jim DeMint appeared on Fox News and used the alleged Christmas Bomber issue to attack President Obama and the TSA because the agency's screeners might *gasp* unionize.

As it turns out, DeMint was really trying to deflect attention away from the fact that he voted against TSA funding earlier this year and has put a hold on Obama's nominee to head the department - hampering the agency's ability to put leadership in place:

As Republicans seek to put the blame for the widespread perception of ineptness at the Transportation Security Administration on the Obama administration, Democrats are arguing that Republican legislators bear part of the blame and that they're politically vulnerable on the subject.

Perhaps the largest impediment to change at the agency: South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint has a hold on the appointment of a TSA chief, over his concern that the new administration could allow security screeners to unionize.

DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton responds: Democrats have only themselves to blame for not having a confirmed TSA administrator. President Obama waited 243 days in office before making a nomination and Harry Reid has been too busy trading earmarks for votes on health care to schedule debate on the nominee. This is an important debate because many Americans don't want someone running the TSA who stands ready to give union bosses the power to veto or delay future security measures at our airports. Read on...

Senator DeMint is playing political games with funding and an important appointment to an agency tasked with keeping American travelers safe. You can find his contact information here if you would like to ask him to remove his hold on the TSA appointment so the agency can get down to business.

Breaking? Not so much, but since I'm in the holiday spirit I thought I would give our readers the gift of laughter. As our UN Ambassador, John Bolton did almost as much damage to our reputation around the world as his boss, George Bush. Besides being wrong about just about everything, he was also a huge supporter of our former Vice President, Dick Cheney. So, it comes as no surprise that he penned this glowing, fact-free, delusional fluff piece -- proclaiming Dick Cheney -- Conservative of the year: (warning - link goes to Human Events)

In Washingtonian “inside the Beltway” terms, the most amazing aspect of former Vice President Dick Cheney’s new clout is that he is achieving it the old-fashioned way: talking about public policy. He is not running for President or any other office. He has not formed a PAC or a D.C. lobbying firm. He is not dishing on former colleagues, not spreading gossip, not settling scores. He is, instead, writing a memoir about his extensive career in public service, and giving occasional speeches and interviews, mostly on national and homeland security policy, long his central focus.

If you're feeling brave and looking for some extra laughs, click through to the original article and check out the comments. I'll start you off with #1 from commenter "Square Root":

The simple reason Dick Cheny causes angst to the ACLU atheist, heathen, pagan conglomerate is because he is so fearlessly honest. Conservatives such as he and Sarah Palin, threaten, by the power of their veracity to undermine those who must bribe fellow politicians in their last ditch effort to pass a government health care scheme that is rejected by 61% of Americans.

It is only a matter of time before these enemies of the people will fall on their own swords. Their bag of dirty tricks is nearly exhausted. They can not win on merit. Read on...

Original cartoon from Matt Bors. It is a shame that messages this brutal have to come in the form of humor, but the word has to get out there somehow.

Open thread below...

When Congressman Joe Wilson shouted out "You Lie!" during one of President Obama's speeches earlier this year, Fox News ran cover for him and helped turn him into a right wing hero. When Senator Al Franken followed Senate procedure and told Joe Lieberman that his time was up, they tear him to shreds, making crass, childish and personal insults. Video and more from Media Matters:

During the December 18 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, hosts Steve Doocy, Gretchen Carlson, and Brian Kilmeade repeatedly attacked Sen. Al Franken -- calling him "uncivil," a "newbie," and "an angry clown" -- for denying Sen. Joe Lieberman extra speaking time on the Senate floor. The Fox & Friends hosts ignored that, in fact, Franken, Lieberman, and Majority Leader Harry Reid all stated on December 17 that Franken was following Reid's orders not to grant any speech extensions.

But Franken, Reid, Lieberman say Franken was following request not to grant extensions

Franken: "I really just had no choice." Minnesota Public Radio reported on December 17 that "Franken says Majority leader Harry Reid ordered all senators who presided today to keep speeches to their ten minute limits and not grant any extensions" for senators of either party:

Franken says he wasn't trying to slight Lieberman and in fact supports the amendment to the health care bill Lieberman was discussing. Read on...

The right loves a good nontroversy. Senator John McCain was so outraged by the incident that he couldn't hold back that nasty temper of his, calling it unprecedented and outrageous. As it turns out, he was completely off the mark and out of line. In fact, he's done the same exact thing himself.