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You see, people get mad when there's 10% unemployment and a quarter of mortgages are underwater. They get even angrier when they see their government bail out the gigantic financial institutions that got us into this mess in the first place. And furthermore, they get super-duper-wicked-pissy-forever mad when the government decides to spit directly into our faces and tell us that we've entered a glorious Recovery Summer.

And when people are this angry at their government, they simply don't give a damn how crazy the opposing party is -- they're gonna vote for them anyway. David Brooks, in a rare insightful column, makes this point well:

This doesn’t mean that the Tea Party influence will be positive for Republicans over the long haul. The movement carries viruses that may infect the G.O.P. in the years ahead. Its members seek traditional, conservative ends, but they use radical means. Along the way, the movement has picked up some of the worst excesses of modern American culture: a narcissistic sense of victimization, an egomaniacal belief in one’s own rightness and purity, a willingness to distort the truth so that every conflict becomes a contest of pure good versus pure evil.

The Tea Party style is beginning to replicate itself in parts of the conservative world. Dinesh D’Souza’s Forbes cover article, “How Obama Thinks,” contained the sort of untethered assertions that have become the lingua franca of this movement. Obama got his subversive radicalism from his father’s grave, D’Souza postulated: “He adopted his father’s position that capitalism and freedom are code words for economic plunder.” The fact that Newt Gingrich embraced this offensive theory is a sign of how severely the normal intellectual standards have been weakened.

But that damage is all in the future. Right now, the Tea Party doesn’t matter. The Republicans don’t matter. The economy and the Democrats are handing the G.O.P. a great, unearned revival. Nothing, it seems, is more scary than one-party Democratic control.

Here's the analogy I'll use:

Let's say you've found that your spouse has been secretly cheating on you for years on end without your knowledge. Your first instinct is to head down to the nearest dive bar and hook up with every sleazy person you can find, all the while relishing the angry revenge you're taking on your wayward partner. Sure, you know that the people you're shacking up with seem to scratch themselves a lot and some of them seem to have severe mental illnesses, particularly the one that keeps mumbling about the coming onslaught of sinister mice people. But that's not important, see, because you've been wronged and this is your time to seek righteous vengeance.

Two weeks later, of course, you're itching all over and rushing to the doctor to get an STD Value-Pack treatment.

So America, what I'm trying to say is this: I understand why you want to boot out the Democrats and I understand that you don't care who you have to vote for. But dudes, you're gonna wake up with crabs. Just be ready for it.

MSNBC: Los Alamos whistle blower silenced by beating?

Tommy Hook has a pending lawsuit against the University of California alleging whistle-blower retaliation. He had been scheduled to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee later this month about alleged financial irregularities at the nuclear weapons lab.

"They left him in the parking lot for dead," Hook's lawyer, Robert Rothstein, said Monday at a news conference.

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I think this answers Buchanan and Liddy's question.

I recently had a political conversation with a few friends and family members, most of whom are Republicans, and it was nothing short of exasperating. I thought that some of them had progressed over the past few years, but I now know they still have a long way to go.

After George W. Bush was installed in 2000, I told all of my Republican friends and family that not only would he be an abject failure, but that he would take us to war in Iraq and our economy would be in ruins by the time he left office. I was chastised for years after, but I never gloated as time went by and I was sadly proven right. Dubya and his party ran our country into the ground and I thought that many of those conservative friends and family had come around -- but as it turns out, not so much.

Just minutes into the aforementioned discussion, it became painfully clear that the right-leaning narratives put out by our corporate media had indeed sunk in and they had bought into them hook, line and sinker -- and most of these folks admitted they can no longer stomach Fox News so I knew they were getting their talking points from the likes of CNN and other non-Fox media outlets.

No matter what the topic, from health care reform to Wall Street, and no matter how many points we agreed on or how many facts I laid at their feet, someone would invariably turn to me and dismissively say "Yes, but you're so left wing that you..." or "This is a center-right country, and you're so far left that..." In each case I asked them to explain -- please give examples of what makes me, or anyone, "left wing." The only thing they could come up with was deficits! Pelosi and Reid! Beyond that, it was because I didn't hate people like Al Gore and Howard Dean and I watch Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow, and EVERYBODY knows they are really "far left."

Head. Smash. Desk.

The irony of it all is that in the end, we agreed on about 90% of everything we talked about. Old habits die hard and they couldn't let go of the old targets they were trained to hate by the right wing media. In their minds, any policy or legislation that comes from Democrats with no support from the right is just far left and that can't be good. We ended up agreeing to disagree ... on all the issues we agreed on! I'm sure I'm not the only one who has suffered through these kinds of skull-numbing experiences so if you've found yourself in the same position, please feel free to use this post to vent.

(Note: That's not me in the picture...at least on the outside.)

Capital Eye: Desperate to get of the hook for their serial lawlessness, the telephone utility industry spent at least $31.4 million lobbying in 2007.

Needlenose: What if they built a "Rule of Law Complex" and nobody came?

BOT! The blood thinning drug Heparin has been recalled due to contamination. FDA inspectors last week found quality-control problems at the Chinese factory, a facility the agency had never before inspected - in violation of its own rules.

Bad Astronomy: Possible McCain running mate

MyDD: Speak for yourself.

HOLY CRAP: And this is why it's called "Holy Crap"...Christian Candidate Quiz Bowl...Prayer Brawl...More Bush Family support of Rev. Moon...Rediscovering or revising Islam?...Fringe-dwelling fundie threatens Obama...Critics question White House's Faith-Based report....Jefferson Bible...This is good news...Buckley's Big Mistake...The man McCain is ‘very proud' to be associated with...The Bible can mean anything you want...Darwin strikes again!

Jimmy Kimmel played a clip last night from the Tyra Banks show "America's Next Top Model," which featured a contestant named "Danny." She called herself an uber-conservative-republican-hardcore baptist.
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Danny: I don't like gay people. I don't like Muslims. I don't like abortions. I don't like anything liberal. But, other than that-I really like to get along with people...

Kimmel: How delightfully, refreshingly crazy...

Maybe she can hook up with Jesus General's new "Hannicatch of the week." (hat tip Russell)

John McCain set up by the NY Post

McCain wrote an op-ed piece for the tabloid newspaper from NY that added a title to his column that he found quite ofensive.

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Matthews tried to get him off the hook by saying:

Chris: ..and I know you don't write headlines, but--you don't like this headline?

McCain: I think it's outrageous.

John McCain disagrees with the ammendments to draw down the troops. The headline makes it seem that McCain is saying Republicans and Democrats are in league with the terrorists and insurgents.

Why wouldn't McCain write his own headline? Why did Ruppert play him like that? What's the saying? When you lie down with dogs you get...

The idea that President Bush ran on a specific agenda that included privatizing Social Security strikes me as little more than preposterous. And I am surprised to see Hook accept it so uncritically. Yes, he did mention it during the campaign -- just enough to allow his supporters to say now that he didn't spring it on the public without ever having mentioned it before. But when he did mention it, it was almost always in speeches to loyalists and just as a few toss-off lines intended for said loyalists' eager consumption.

But he didn't bring it up in ads, in the debates, in any prominent setting. And for good reason. His entire campaign was framed around two planks: strength against terrorism and the flaws of John Kerry. The first time it got any sort of significant emphasis from the president was a couple days after the election....read on

May 20, 2005, 12:12 PM

Eight people have now been arrested in connection with the church based sex cult in Tangipahoa Parish. That includes four more suspects who were booked Thursday. Three of the suspects are women. Authorities say many children were raped at that church, as well as dogs and cats.

21-year old Paul Fontenot of Ponchatoula was arrested and faces a charge of aggravated rape of a juvenile. 36-year-old Nicole Bernard also faces that same charge. She was picked up by the FBI in Ohio. Nicole Bernard is the former wife of Austin bernard the third, who's also been arrested in this investigation.

45-year old Robin Lamonica is the wife of the former pastor of the Hosana Church in Ponchatoula. She is also charged with raping a child. Investigators say Lamonica had sex with a young boy from the time he was four until he was 13-years-old.

Four other people were already in custody, including 46-year-old Allen Pierson. Detectives say he had sex with a girl when she was nine or ten years old. The other three suspects in custody are former Tangipahoa deputy Christopher Labat, church pastor Louis Lamonica and Austin "Trey" Bernard the third. All face sex charges.

Deputies say all of the men attended the Hosanna.Church. Authorities arrested a woman listed as a counselor at the church. 54-year-old Lois Ann Mowbray of Ponchatoula faces charges for not reporting the aggravated rape. Authorities searched Mowbray's home Thursday night seizing photo albums and other items.

Eight people have now been arrested in connection with the church based sex cult in Tangipahoa Parish. That includes four more suspects who were booked Thursday. Three of the suspects are women. Authorities say many children were raped at that church, as well as dogs and cats.

21-year old Paul Fontenot of Ponchatoula was arrested and faces a charge of aggravated rape of a juvenile. 36-year-old Nicole Bernard also faces that same charge. She was picked up by the FBI in Ohio. Nicole Bernard is the former wife of Austin bernard the third, who's also been arrested in this investigation.

45-year old Robin Lamonica is the wife of the former pastor of the Hosana Church in Ponchatoula. She is also charged with raping a child. Investigators say Lamonica had sex with a young boy from the time he was four until he was 13-years-old.

Four other people were already in custody, including 46-year-old Allen Pierson. Detectives say he had sex with a girl when she was nine or ten years old. The other three suspects in custody are former Tangipahoa deputy Christopher Labat, church pastor Louis Lamonica and Austin "Trey" Bernard the third. All face sex charges.

Deputies say all of the men attended the Hosanna.Church. Authorities arrested a woman listed as a counselor at the church. 54-year-old Lois Ann Mowbray of Ponchatoula faces charges for not reporting the aggravated rape. Authorities searched Mowbray's home Thursday night seizing photo albums and other items.

Officials say the investigation will continue and more arrests could be on the way. Authorities say as many as a dozen adults may have been involved in victimizing as many as 24 children, ranging in age from infants to teens. "We still have a lot of interviews to do," says Director of Investigations Charles Fitz. He said, "We're not going to quit until we run out of every lead that we have and we're not going to assume anything."

The father of Trey Bernard spoke with 9-Nnews about the allegations against his son. Austin Bernard II says his phone started ringing off the hook after he saw the story about his son's arrest on televison. 

People called his home thinking he was the one in trouble. "It blew me away. Everybody thought it was me," he says. But it wasn't Austin Bernard II it was his son. Bernard said, "The son I know couldn't do this. It's why it hurts so bad. And I feel so bad about it, but there's nothing I can do." Nothing because the elder Bernard says Trey cut ties with the family two years ago, about the time the father warned his son not to get involved with Hosanna. "I told him, 'Son, I tell you, they're going to go down and you're going to be right there with them.' Now look at where he's at."

The elder Bernard says Trey has a five-year-old daughter. "I just hope they didn't do nothing to her out there. That's what worries me."

What is making this a even tougher time for the elder Bernard, is that his mother died last week. But he's glad she wasn't here to see the grandson she helped raise face such horrific accusations. Fitz says detectives are working with the FBI and other agencies to look at seized computers and carpet samples.

Reporters: Avery Davidson and Greg Meriwether

Officials say the investigation will continue and more arrests could be on the way. Authorities say as many as a dozen adults may have been involved in victimizing as many as 24 children, ranging in age from infants to teens. "We still have a lot of interviews to do," says Director of Investigations Charles Fitz. He said, "We're not going to quit until we run out of every lead that we have and we're not going to assume anything."

The father of Trey Bernard spoke with 9-Nnews about the allegations against his son. Austin Bernard II says his phone started ringing off the hook after he saw the story about his son's arrest on televison.

People called his home thinking he was the one in trouble. "It blew me away. Everybody thought it was me," he says. But it wasn't Austin Bernard II it was his son. Bernard said, "The son I know couldn't do this. It's why it hurts so bad. And I feel so bad about it, but there's nothing I can do." Nothing because the elder Bernard says Trey cut ties with the family two years ago, about the time the father warned his son not to get involved with Hosanna. "I told him, 'Son, I tell you, they're going to go down and you're going to be right there with them.' Now look at where he's at."

The elder Bernard says Trey has a five-year-old daughter. "I just hope they didn't do nothing to her out there. That's what worries me."

What is making this a even tougher time for the elder Bernard, is that his mother died last week. But he's glad she wasn't here to see the grandson she helped raise face such horrific accusations. Fitz says detectives are working with the FBI and other agencies to look at seized computers and carpet samples.

Reporters: Avery Davidson and Greg Meriwether

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This ad was banned by Fox and the NFL read here

"After our first ad was aired, the NFL became upset and they, together with Fox, decided to pull the ad from running a second time."

Video

Here is the link for the ad on Go Daddy also.

Is this ad crossing the line? Was Go Daddy in their rights to have this spot aired when it was previously contracted by FOX? The ad was by no way some secret video that nobody in the league had seen. Did the phones ring off the hook from the PTC? Go to the site listed above or here and see it again. BTW: Our experience with Go Daddy has been excellent.They actually have people answer the phones for technical and customer services issues without long waits. Try to find another hosting company that does that.(We were not paid or given free services to say that. lol)