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I generally don't watch Fox News; it's bad for my blood pressure and health. Further, my husband got tired of me looking for something to throw at the TV. So I leave the Fox viewings to other members of the team. But I happened to be flipping channels and caught this exchange on The O'Reilly Factor and it had me reeling from the Wonderland topsy-turvy nature of it. Dave already discussed this clip a little.) In contemplating Rush Limbaugh being dropped from the group looking to purchase the St. Louis Rams. Juan Williams, for whom no conservative can do wrong, predictably defends Limbaugh, saying that all of Rush's statements do not constitute racism, but comedy. Seriously.

But then it took a turn into weirdness:

The Washington Times reports on the entire back-and-forth that continues this afternoon. While discussing “Barack The Magic Negro” song that Rush Limbaugh played, Williams and Ballentine, both African American, disagreed on whether that was “racial”.

Just before the end of the segment, Ballentine said, “You can go back to the porch, Juan. You can go back. It’s ok.”

He was almost gleeful while bragging about it on Twitter: “ok howd i do u hear me tell jaun back to the porch lmao” he wrote, among several other comments. Today, he wrote, “You gotta love how now Iam the racist LMAO gotta love the washington post and the GOP.”

The Times also has a clip of his web radio show, and he wasn’t remorseful in any way:

Now if you want to take what I said about Juan Williams as racial, you go right ahead. All I said was he could go back to the porch. I didn’t call him a house negro. I said he could go back to the porch. Now if you took it as such, that means you took it as such.

I think we've gotten to a weird, non-reality-based place when two African-American men on Fox News Channel look at and/or trade racial slurs and then argue they're not racial.

But then again, weirdness and non-reality is par for course for FNC. After all, the media channel that operates as a propaganda arm for the GOP, hires Glenn Beck and keeps him on no matter how embarrassingly stupid and wrong he is and yet fires a liberal commentator for "having a reputation of defending cop-killers and racists"m, apparently for defending Van Jones. Or for example, publishing the results of the internal poll they took of an imagined mano a mano between FNC and the White House.

From the internals of the new Fox poll:

The Obama administration is criticizing FOX News Channel for its coverage of the administration. If the disagreement between the Obama administration and FOX News Channel continues, who do you think will come out on top?

Administration 39%

Fox News 43%

Breaking: Fox finds more think Fox will defeat the White House! I wonder if this will persuade the White House communications team to drop its crusade.

I don't think Fox can even convince themselves they're a credible news organization anymore.

On the campaign trail, John McCain likes to brag that he went after corrupt uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff as some sort of high-minded reform crusade. Well, according to a new book by Boston Globe reporter Gary S. Chafetz, McCain's war against Abramoff was motivated more by revenge than any sort of noble principle.

Politico:

A new book released the day after Sen. John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination attacks one of his trademark political successes: his investigation of now-jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff in 2004 and 2005.

“The Perfect Villain: John McCain and the Demonization of Lobbyist Jack Abramoff,” by former Boston Globe freelancer Gary S. Chafetz and put out by small independent publisher Martin and Lawrence press, aggressively puts forth the case that McCain’s investigation into Abramoff wasn’t the high-minded reform crusade he has made it out to be on the campaign trail, but rather was pure political payback.

ThinkProgress has more.

Read the transcripts of his upcoming radio show as he tries to quash the controversy he caused. There's too much here to comment on. Updated

Focus on the Family:

Dobson: Why would I not do that? Because it was a confidential conversation and I've had a long-standing policy of not going out and revealing things that are said to me in confidence. That may come from my training as a psychologist, where you hear all sorts of things that you can't go out and talk about.

I have a question. Aren't you breaking your code by revealing that you had a conversation with Rove in the first place?

Also this whopper:

Dobson: I think it’s a mistake and maybe even an ethical problem for people to do that—to go out and brag about being a player on the national scene, maybe to make themselves to look important. You know, I just wish that didn’t happen like it does and I certainly didn’t want to be part of it.

Dobson just loves to talk about how important he is. On This Week, he bragged about trying to take Arlen Specter down. If that doesn't tell people that you are a "player" what does?

He goes on to say that all these other great candidates were too terrified to go through the confirmation process because it's so vicious (new GOP Talking point). I guess Harriet Miers isn't the most qualified pick, she's the one with the most guts.

Newsie8200 from Daily Kos has a new blog: Penndit: TMV has a great article about another insane Peggy Noonan column and Deep Throat. Jesus General has a new letter to Arnold called: Fighting immigration, one maid at a time. Ezra Klein: So Do I get Ben Stein's Money Now? Jesse Taylor: Faking Something About Sex That Doesn't Let You Brag At The Bar James Wolcott: One-Man Wrecking Crew.

It's Not Like We Pay Attention Or Anything...

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Holy monkey clit grape shitter!! Did someone just flush journalistic responsibility down the toilet? I'm ready to riot.