via The Carpet Bagger

I hesitate to criticize Hugh Hewitt's Weekly Standard articles, not because they're awful on the merits, but because it’s practically a blogging cliché. It’s almost too predictable to bother. Hewitt's latest, however, was too offensive to ignore....read on

Indeed, the piece is filled with ad hominem attacks against Americans United and it's director, the Rev. Barry Lynn. (Like too many conservatives, Hewitt finds it easier to make personal attacks than persuasive arguments.) Hewitt's argument follows a certain child-like reasoning: Lynn is bad, Lynn is presenting an argument, therefore the argument is bad.

It's a shame Hewitt didn't think this through a little more. It's not Lynn and Americans United who have gone after the Air Force Academy; it's current and former cadets who’ve been the victim of discrimination and are looking for help. It’s not “hearsay” if the cadets have seen — and been the victim of — the harassment fist hand....

This is an important story, but as usual Hewitt is incapable of sustaining an intelligent argument...whoops...I started an ad hominem attack...Steve is right. It is pretty easy to do.

Jon Stewart clocked another four-bagger last night, ripping Fox for its nutso attacks on President Obama's newly announced nuclear-weapons reduction policy:

Stewart: So here's where we're at: We're at the point now that the by far No. 1-ranked news network in this country no longer feels the need to accurately report what a policy document says in black and white. And once you free yourself from the fetters of fact shackles -- or fackles -- in the present day, you'd be amazed at what you can do to the facts from the past.

He then goes on an extended riff pointing out that what Obama's trying to achieve is precisely in line with what Ronald Reagan said he hoped to achieve as well -- while the Foxheads trot out Reagan as proof of Obama's weakness.

No wonder everyone gets their news from The Daily Show. It's the only place you can find out what's really going on.

And you can laugh at it too!

How to Speak "Tea Bagger" by Mark Fiore. (Sorry, video not embeddable here.)

See more of Fiore's work on his website and/or YouTube channel

The Carpet Bagger has this report....I'll have the video shortly...

(Update): Jeff Goldstein refutes Steve's claims...

Judd has the latest from the ABC's Note: "special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, by all accounts a no-nonsense guy, disagrees. He continues to actively pursue the case and appears to be increasingly focused on Karl Rove.

'ABC News has learned that one was Susan Ralston, Rove’s long-time right hand. The other, per ABC News’ Jake Tapper, was Israel “Izzy” Hernandez, Rove’s former left hand (and now a top Commerce Department official). It isn’t clear if either had been asked to testify before last week.

The Carpet Bagger Reports says: Bush claims he can't ask Rove about the leak: Bush said yesterday, in response to a question about Rove's role in the scandal, "Why don't you wait and see what the true facts are?" My only response is this: why don't you, Mr. President, find out what the true facts are, and we won't have to wait anymore.

Craig Crawford : "It's time for Novak to quit pretending he's a journalist and come back from involuntary vacation as what he really is: an ideological flak artist..read on."

Ezra Klein writes: Novak waits for what the cat drags in, then dedicates his column to dragging it back out. He's not a Krugman, a Brooks, or a Will, his columns aren't arguments or advocacy. Instead, they're transcripts. Whatever scuttlebut, rumors, hearsay, and smears Novak receives during a week are tossed in, and, lo and behold, a column comes out...read on

The Carpet Bagger Report writes it's the Katherine Harris Make-up: Clearly, Bob Novak's temper-tantrum was one of the more bizarre spectacles we've seen on CNN in a while, but as my friend Phil noted this morning, it wasn't the only odd thing Novak said yesterday...read on

The Carpet Bagger Report has some rude news for the Circus Clowns who want to have the Ten Commandments tattooed on our asses:

...these guys should be careful what they wish for. The Summum religion has sued the city of Pleasant Grove for the right to display the other set of laws they say Moses brought down the mountain....

Steve further states: "A lot of people seem to believe America needs more religion in its "public square." The Summum agree. The religious majority, however, have considered their requests and responded, "Uh, we didn't mean you guys."

Judging the Bush gang by the company it keeps

The Carpet Bagger Report: I heard from a friend of mine on the Hill that Claude Allen, a White House domestic policy advisor and Bush confidant, was on James Dobson's radio program the day after the Focus on the Family chief compared stem-cell research to Nazi experiments.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has the right idea here: he's written to Allen to demand an explanation. Among other things, the senator writes:

It is shocking that the President's top domestic advisor would participate in such a program after these horrendous remarks by its host. Not only did you participate in the program, but you showered Dr. Dobson with praise, stating "It is such a privilege to be on your program… thank you for your leadership on so many issues that are important to the family and our nation."

Dr. Dobson deserved not praise, but repudiation, for his malevolent remarks....read on

Usually Pat Robertson likes to do business with evil dictators, so why all the fuss about Chavez? It's all in the green. Here's the low down on Pat and Chuck from the Carpet Bagger Report on 6/9/06 here and on 7/10/04 here . The AUSC has an article linking Taylor to al-Qaeda. (middle of the page)What a nice man that Taylor is right Pat?

The Carpet Bagger Report tells us that the W.H actually had a whole weekend of prior knowledge.