Why is it a surprise??

via The Left Coaster : "Kevin Drum has expressed puzzlement at why liberals on TV almost always appear overmatched by their conservative counterparts [via TDH]. I'm not sure why this is perplexing to Kevin. The reasons are blindingly obvious....read on"

The game is rigged. There are very good Talking head type liberals that will not be given the shot to go on TV. Randi Rhodes and Mike Malloy are two that would torch most conservatives and they know it. As much as Bill Maher has pissed people off lately, he reduced Sean Hannity to a blithering idiot rather quickly. Ok so maybe Sean can do that all by himself.

Bill Maher with his final "New Rules!"

Many people have emailed, asking us to show a lot of Maher this week because it was the season finale.

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Video Clip of the Day/Bill Maher

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Bill: They sent the Bush voters onto the booth to vote against gay marriage, and while they were there, you come for the gays, you vote for the Bush.

Thanks for nothing, Bill Maher, for planting the image of Palin as Carrie's Mom in my head. Click here for larger. (h/t Heather and BG)

Also recommended tonight: this online episode of Murphy Brown. Fourteen years ago and it was all there: Limbaugh, Gingrich, looking stuff up on "the Internet", the "Liberal Media Elite", all afloat in a wishful fantasy that somehow both sides were equally wrong and we could all work together if only the Left bent over a little further.

Open thread below...

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There is an old saying that it is better to stay silent and thought the fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. I suspect that there are many on TV who would be wise to take that advice.

Take for example, Meghan McCain. I actually kind of like her, because she's shown a rare independence, refusing to simply spew the same talking points of other Republicans and some sass when dealing with the hackiest of the right wing hacks who take cheap pot shots at her. But there's no doubt that she is very young and perhaps needs a little more historical perspective before opining on national television.

It all got started during a discussion of George Bush, who McCain acknowledged was a less than perfect president. But McCain also pointed a finger at the Obama administration in Bush's defense, saying she felt that the Obama administration "has to stop completely blaming everything on its predecessor." When Maher asked McCain if she really thought this is what Obama is doing, McCain said "I do to a degree." A clearly annoyed Begala immediately shook his head and said "not to enough of a degree, I'm sorry not nearly enough." He then began to explain how President Reagan blamed Jimmy Carter for years, to which McCain responded blithely "you know I wasn't born yet so I wouldn't know." Going in for the kill, Begala fired back "I wasn't born during the French Revolution but I know about it."

McCain then reverts to the tried and true Republican tactic of playing the victim:

You clearly know everything and I'm just the blond sitting here.

Meghan, Meghan, Meghan...you can stand up to Laura Ingraham and yet you just wilt in front of Paul Begala and play victim? Is it having facts and an actual historical perspective instead of just making crap up to play to the lowest common denominator that intimidates you?

Bill Maher interviews Michael Moore.
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We just had some audio problems on the Bill Maher clips. Hopefully they will be back up soon!

First Draft: How Karl Rove played politics while people drowned.

Our Future: The Department of Defense (DOD) now employs contractors to keep contractors in check in Iraq, under a new framework for war industry management solidified last month.

No Comment: Where's the Maher Arar report?

The KC Blue Blog: Attention values voters! Yet another Republican child molester added to the endless list of GOP criminals. Maybe asshats like this guy are part of the problem?

ANNALS OF JOURNALISM: National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis...One of the "smartest people" Fareed Zakaria knows...The incredible, shrinking newspapers...Hatred for sale...The press takes a look at the Strange World of Black People...Millionaire pundit values...Video and transcript of E&P's Greg Mitchell on Moyers last night...Rush says McSame isn't a real man...NPR's lazy, clueless coverage of Gitmo trials...Speaking of clueless coverage...

Download | play Download | play (h/t Heather)

Host Bill Maher speaks to Jeffrey Sachs, author of Common Wealth, about the very critical need that we must acknowledge to find alternative fuel resources and focus on sustainable energy. That need is made more critical because with the priorities for funding placed by the Bush/Cheney White House, we're now eight years behind in terms of research.

Let me tell you, you know, if we put a little bit of thought to it, a small part of the Mohave Desert could provide more than half of the electricity needs of the United States without emitting any carbon dioxide, just using the solar power that’s available. Africa could be powering itself with the tremendous amount of solar power. But how much are we investing in this, Bill? We’re investing basically an hour or two of what we spend on the Pentagon for the whole year of our federal research budget right now. The total research budget of the Bush administration on sustainable energy resources has been between 2 and 3 billion dollars, which is 1 and 1 ½ days of what we spend on the Pentagon. So it’s been all war, no sustainability. And look where we are right now, right back into a corner and that’s the problem.

Download | play Download | play (h/t Heather)

Keith Olbermann speaks with retired Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift (whose successful representation of the Hamdan case brought to light many of the atrocities happening at Guantanamo) about the sad and disturbing news that Canada has placed the U.S. on a watch list--along with Iran, China, Syria and others--for being a country that tortures its prisoners, due in no small part to our criminally shameful treatment of Canadians Maher Arar and Omar Khadr (imprisoned in Guantanamo at the age of 15).

What a proud legacy Bush and Cheney will leave this country with.