The Political Carnival: It's not okay to listen to Obama's education speech at school, but watching the Fort Hood funeral, even if it causes deep emotional distress? That's a go. (h/t Relaxed Politics)

Figleaf (not work-safe): A perfect analogy to why 'no means no.'

Mock Paper Scissors: No, really, Peggy Noonan, it's a distinction to be the only person left from the Reagan administration "brand" that is not in jail, senile, or dead.

The Plum Line: Obama not taking the 'racist' bait of that moron Rupert Murdoch.

Off the beaten path, hey kids, it's Comic Panel Remix!!!

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Lawrence O'Donnell filled in for Chris Matthews on Hardball Wednesday, and somehow managed to avoid savaging clueless town hall protester, Katy Abram. Abram went on a moronic tirade at Senator Arlen Specter's town hall meeting on Tuesday, telling him she was afraid that America was turning into Russia and that he had awakened a sleeping giant.

This wasn't like shooting fish in a barrel, it was like shooting the broad side of a barn with a bazooka -- at point blank range. O'Donnell toys with Abram, and you can tell he just wants to cut loose. Granted, Abram isn't a professional pundit, but when questioned it became clear that she is the poster child for the entire undereducated, under-informed mob that make up the right wing town hall protesters.

When asked about taxes, Katy admits that she has no idea how much money she and her husband make. When asked about Socialist programs like medicare and social security, she had this to say:

...You know, yeah, I mean, there are programs in place that the founders did not want to have here. I know there are people out there that can't afford health insurance, that can't afford a lot of different things, and, you know, with the founders, they thought and hoped that the goodness of the people would allow the people to take care of those who are doing without. And I know that may seem naive in today's, you know, world...

Okay...umm...so she's against a public option that would allow the goodness of the people help those who are doing without? There are many more displays of stunning ignorance in this segment, feel free to document them in the comments.

Using audio clips from Glenn Beck's frothing on-air meltdown, Trevor Cushman from Half Day Today put together this clever tune called "Glenn Beck Radio Freakout Twilight Vampire Metal Re-mix."

A little comic relief is good now and then, and there's no bigger clown on the planet than Mr. Beck himself. And hey...vampires.

Open thread below...

(clip courtesy of Media Matters)

I thought I was listening to some sort of parody when I first heard this clip. As it turns out, it's from Glenn Beck's joke of a radio show and it's some of the funniest stuff I've ever heard.

Beck is speaking to a woman who called into his radio show and challenged him on his stance on health care reform. Things build, and continue to get heated until about the 3:16 mark when he has a thrombo when the caller really puts the screws to him:

"Kathy, (violently screaming) GET OFF MY PHONE! GET OFF MY PHONE YOU LITTLE PINHEAD!! I DON'T CARE? YOOOOU PEOPLE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE TRILLIONS...(high-pitched squealing) GET OFF MY PHONE!!"

Wow. And he wonders why nobody takes him seriously.

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We knew that Bill O'Reilly had done a nasty segment on Rick Perlstein -- including running his picture -- tonight on Fox News because Perlstein called me shortly afterward and asked:

"Hey, did Bill O'Reilly or someone on Fox do something with me in it tonight?"

"I dunno. I'm recording but not watching. Why?"

"My inbox just started getting deluged with hate mail a little bit ago."

"What time did it start?"

"About 7:30 [Chicago time]."

"Yep, that would be O'Reilly."

"I think they ran my picture. A lot of the mail is about how ugly I am."

I pulled my recording and yep, sure enough, there was a segment attacking Perlstein for his Newsweek op-ed column this week. He invited on his frequent guest, Bernard Goldberg, to talk about it.

As you can see, what set O'Reilly off was Perlstein's characterization of O'Reilly's audience as working-class whites whose more unstable elements sometimes act out violently:

O'Reilly: The most recent Newsweek contains a nasty piece on Sarah Palin that implies she is an intellectual moron supported by poorly educated conservative idiots.

[Hmmmm. Read the piece for yourself. As you can see, it certainly does not use language like that, and in fact discusses to working-class whites in largely respectful tones -- but points out that they don't get much respect among Republican elites. O'Reilly's caricature of the column is actually rather self-revealing.]

O'Reilly: The article goes on to say that these stupid conservatives are influenced by extremist commentators. Quote:

Now [William F.] Buckley is gone, and the most prominent spokesmen -- the Limbaughs and O'Reillys and Becks—can be heard mouthing attitudes once confined to the violent fringe. ... Fox heavily promoted anti-administration "tea party" events this past Fourth of July -- rallies in praise of secession ...

Well, obviously, that paragraph is pure propaganda.

Actually, let's read the whole passage, and you can judge for yourselves. Again, what O'Reilly omits is telling:

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