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Things didn't go quite according to plan when CNN's intrepid reporter Wolf Blitzer asked one of those cliché questions reporters always seem to ask survivors of natural disasters.

WOLF BLITZER: “You’re blessed. Brian, your husband is blessed. Anders is blessed… I guess you got to thank the Lord, right?”

REBECCA: *Shrug*

WOLF BLITZER: (Insisting) “Do you thank the Lord for that split-second decision?”

REBECCA: “I–I’m actually an atheist,” (Awkward laughs) “We are here and you know, I don’t blame anybody for thanking the Lord.”

WOLF BLITZER: "Of course not."

Perfect.

Scandal Fatigue: n. A condition whereupon suffers "can't F'ing BELIEVE these partisan, government and/or corporate media pricks are crying victim to actions they themselves have been guilty of for the last 40 years and FLOODING the airwaves with this crap when there are REAL scandals out there to cover and actual work to be done."

Sufferers of Scandal Fatigue often exhibit tell-tale symptoms such as the sudden uncontrollable urge to rant, either publicly or by audibly grumbling to oneself; increased anxiety; and a strong desire to self-sooth by watching internet cat videos. In severe cases, suffers may start to believe that Meet The Press is a balanced national conversation. Seek immediate attention if Fox News starts sounding rational.

Luckily today there's a cure: fast-acting Absurdity Today with Julianna Forlano. Taken weekly alongside your regular dosage of independent media, and Real Time/ Daily Show/ Colbert Report /Viewpoint regimen, Absurdity Today can arrest your symptoms in under two minutes.*

Side effects include increased mirth, feelings of well being without dampening the desire or ability to be an active participant in democracy, spontaneous laughter but not in the crazy way, and a sense of community.

Watch this video to see if Absurdity Today is right for you!

*These statements have not been approved by the FDA probably because they are true.

Somehow, I'm not all that surprised that we went from this hopeful news on Ed's show in February to this crashing disappointment in May. We can say that in this case, the bad guys clearly won -- assuming, of course, that you believe sick people have the right to know what they're ingesting:

On May 16, the Obama Interior Department announced its long-awaited rules governing hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") on federal lands.

As part of its 171-page document of rules, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), part of the U.S. Dept. of Interior (DOI), revealed it will adopt theAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) model bill written by ExxonMobil for fracking chemical fluid disclosure on U.S. public lands.

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Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called on Tuesday for an investigation into oil price manipulation. He also proposed a 30-day deadline for federal regulators to use emergency powers to curb excessive speculation in crude oil markets.

“We must do everything that we can to make sure that oil and gasoline prices are transparent and free from fraud, manipulation, abuse and excessive speculation,” said Sanders, a member of the Senate energy committee.

Over the past five months, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline has gone up by more than 41 cents. The price hikes come at a time when U.S. oil inventories reached a three-decade high while demand for gasoline is lower than four years ago when prices averaged less than $2.30 a gallon.

Sanders spoke about rapidly rising gas prices during a Senate floor speech on two amendments he proposed to the farm bill.

“The skyrocketing cost of gasoline and oil is causing tremendous hardship to the American consumer, small businesses, truckers, airlines and fuel dealers. In fact, as we struggle to claw our way out of this terrible recession, high oil and gas prices are enormously detrimental to the entire economic recovery process,” Sanders said.

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I sure hope Jack Lew got the message loud and clear. Senator Elizabeth Warren is not going to allow him to mollycoddle banks the way Tim Geithner did. In Wednesday's Senate hearing, she asked him a few pointed questions intended to send a very straightforward message.

Warren began by speaking about a string of scandals that emerged as a result of the continued existence of "too big to fail banks." Despite this evidence and the fact that many officials have admitted the dangers to the economic system posed by big banks, Warren noted that various members of President Barack Obama's administration have appeared unwilling to prescribe concrete measures to address them. She then pointed specifically to a quote from a Treasury official during former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's tenure that suggested the department had been instrumental in scuttling an earlier bipartisan amendment that would have enacted restrictions on "too big to fail."

About those banks considered "too big to fail"? Warren put Lew on the hot seat.

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Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Tuesday lashed out at fellow members of Congress for looking into how technology giant Apple is able to avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report on Monday detailing how Apple had used a network of offshore shell companies in recent year to avoid paying taxes.

At a committee hearing on Tuesday, Paul was livid that Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked to testify.

"I'm offended by a $4 trillion government bullying, berating and badgering one America's greatest success stories," the Kentucky Republican told the committee. "Tell me what Apple has done that is illegal?"

Paul added that he was also "offended" that that the IRS would "bully" tea party groups.

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The worst Senator in a body replete with really bad and odious senators tells us why Tornado relief is different than Hurricane relief.

Via WaPo

In the wake of the devastating tornado in an Oklahoma City suburb, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) rejected comparisons between federal aid for this disaster and the Hurricane Sandy relief package he voted against.

That was a “totally different” situation, Inhofe told MSNBC, arguing that the Sandy aid was filled with pork. There were “things in the Virgin Islands. They were fixing roads there and putting roofs on houses in Washington, D.C.”

“Everyone was getting in and exploiting the tragedy that took place,” he said. “That won’t happen in Oklahoma.”

Ramona's Voices: Six things media personalities could and should avoid when covering a disaster.

Rumproast: Coburn the compassionate.

Not the Singularity: When conservatives don’t get climate science, part 3,461.

A Taxing Matter: Times letter writers seem to get the IRS "scandal."

West Coast Stat Views: Affinity cons and the looting phase in education.

Guest post by Batocchio. E-mail tips to mbru AT crooksandliars DOT com.

I sure am gonna miss Bill Hader, who is leaving SNL. Here he is in a YouTube from last year (not work safe).

Open thread below...

Lights Out

Got a favorite from the fifties?