Once upon a time, in a land that now seems to have been populated by tooth fairies and unicorns, there was a political party that had a set of core beliefs to which they actually adhered.

Among them was that actually balancing the budget, as opposed to just talking about it, was sacrosanct. Slow change, while necessary, had to be balanced against the traditions of the United States, ones that had mostly served us well over two centuries.

Foreign military adventures should be limited to our national security interests. And one of the single most important components of diplomacy was protecting the economic interests not only of an elite few, but of the great many Americans who toiled in our factories and fields.

This party was known as the Republican Party, and while one might have disagreed with them on their policy prescriptions to cure any particular US ill, one could at least see some logic in their beliefs and understand that they - with some obvious exceptions from time to time (ahem, Joseph McCarthy, ahem) - were doing what they thought was right for the United States of America.

Today, this once respectable organization has turned into nothing so much as a collective id the size of a David-Vitter-Pampers shopping spree. When facing changes to this nation that make them uncomfortable, they choose national hate. When facing ideological worship versus the greatness of the US, the former always wins the day. When facing a choice of what is good for the US or their campaign bank accounts, they inevitably go with the latter.

In simple terms: We, the people of the United States, are the maid. The GOP is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Any questions?

The one caveat is that it's not Republicans, so much as the forces of the anti-American, gun-toting, religious and corporate Right that have taken over the GOP who are responsible for papa's brand new bag. The Right is Darth Sidious to the GOP's Anakin Skywalker, Angelina Jolie to foreign-born children.

And yes, sadly, the Dark Lord has also sunk his hooks into quite a few in the Democratic Party, just somewhat less in number and relevance.

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Gee, what are the odds Dick Cheney will once again accuse the Obama administration of making the nation vulnerable to terrorist attack again this morning when he makes a fresh round on the talk-show circuit with an appearance on ABC's This Week?

Fortunately, Joe Biden will also be out there, making two appearances in one day (on "Meet the Press" and "Face the Nation"). Right-wingers love to make fun of Biden, but stacked up against Dick Cheney, just about anyone looks good.

ABC's "This Week" - Former Vice President Richard Cheney sits down with guest anchor ABC News’ Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Vice President Joseph Biden.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Vice President Joseph Biden, former Rep. Harold Ford, Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., David Brooks, Rachel Maddow.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: John Heileman, New York Magazine; Katty Kay, BBC Washington Correspondent; Gloria Borger, CNN Political Analyst; Bob Woodward, Washington Post.

CNN's "State of the Union" - National Security Adviser Jim Jones; Sens. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Paul Volcker, Obama's key economic advisor and former fed chairman, on a crisis even more serious than financial reform. Then, Iran increases its nuclear capabilities - what options are left? Finally, a discussion with South African President Jacob Zuma. 20 years after Nelson Mandela was set free, where does the country stand?

CNN's "Amanpour" - An exclusive interview from Haiti with U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie. Christiane speaks with Jolie about adoption in Haiti and child trafficking in the midst of the disaster. Iran's Rallying Cry: 31 years after Iran's Islamic revolution there are massive pro- and anti-government rallies. The government vowed opposition protests would be crushed. We look at Iran's Islamic republic at odds with itself.

"Fox News Sunday" - "As Washington recovers from its historic snowfall, a political storm continues to rage over homeland security. Should John Brennan, the president's chief counterterrorism adviser, step down? We'll get reaction from Gen. Jim Jones, White House national security adviser, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C."

What piques your interest this morning? Leave your tips in the comments.

Rep. Thelma Drake wants Angelina Jolie to come testify to Congress on Iraq.

Nothing like calling in the experts to get to the bottom of things. Good to see she's taking the plight of Iraqis seriously.

Alan Shore for Congress

Pamela:Boston Legal took on the Iraq War tonight… with a case about "a paralegal" who is suing the U.S. Government, to vindicate the death of her brother killed in the Iraq war."

Download | play -WMP

Download | play -QT

Shore: "We talk about honoring our soldiers, well how about giving a damn when they're killed…The American public is more concerned about whether or not Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are a couple… The media spends more time on a missing Aruba girl… We have no time table on leaving Iraq… Mothers and fathers spend money on body armor for their kids, that they shouldn’t even have to wear… because they are not supposed to be there."

Hammer of the Krauts, takes it out on the ID Crowd
Found via AmericaBlog On just about every other issue Chuckles is excreble, but he is right on the money this time.

Intelligent design may be interesting as theology, but as science it is a fraud. It is a self-enclosed, tautological "theory" whose only holding is that when there are gaps in some area of scientific knowledge -- in this case, evolution -- they are to be filled by God. It is a "theory" that admits that evolution and natural selection explain such things as the development of drug resistance in bacteria and other such evolutionary changes within species but also says that every once in a while God steps into this world of constant and accumulating change and says, "I think I'll make me a lemur today." A "theory" that violates the most basic requirement of anything pretending to be science -- that it be empirically disprovable. How does one empirically disprove the proposition that God was behind the lemur, or evolution -- or behind the motion of the tides or the "strong force" that holds the atom together? In order to justify the farce that intelligent design is science, Kansas had to corrupt the very definition of science, dropping the phrase " natural explanations for what we observe in the world around us," thus unmistakably implying -- by fiat of definition, no less -- that the supernatural is an integral part of science. This is an insult both to religion and science.

Mainstream Republicans have to take up the cause on this, lest Democrats alone become the Party of Science. It has already swung that way in too large a fashion. Eventually the GOP will drive out the suburban thinking-middle class if "hocus pocus" bullshit is allowed to keep dominating. It is not just that it is bad for one Party or the other, it is horrible for the country. Granted, I keep waiting for this swing against low-brow religious dogma to happen and it hasn't. But it has to eventually -- just like someday Angelina Jolie will decide, "to hell with those Hollywood celebrities, I want that schlub with the average blog and the fez." Posted by Attaturk

via Rude Pundit ... The ratings are plunging for Bill O'Reilly, Fox "news" show host, and a man who would gladly eat the eyeballs of fluffy bunnies if he thought it'd jack him up a share or two. And O'Reilly is begging people he despises to come on The O'Reilly Factor.

He devoted an entire segment to asking why Angelina Jolie won't receive the O'Reilly falafel of love, questioning her work for the U.N., as if the only way something is legit is if O'Reilly can give it the imprimatur of his bile-ridden mouth-froth: "I have no idea what this Jolie's doing. I've seen her criticize the United States in her pronouncements overseas. I didn't like that. She won't answer to our questions. She doesn't publicize what she's doing. I have no clue."...read on