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I know this is vacation time when everyone plays old shows to fill in the slots on cable TV. Still, it was kinda weird, here in August, to see Fox replaying one of the year's weirder moments -- from early April, when Jon Voight went on Mike Huckabee's show and read the following letter:

In one year, the American people are witnessing the greatest lie that is cleverly orchestrated by President Obama and his whole administration.

The lie is a potent aggression that feeds the needs of people who either have not educated themselves enough to understand the assault upon us all or the very poor and needy who live to be taken care of.

President Obama feeds these people poison, giving them the idea that they are entitled to take from the wealthier who have lived and worked in a democracy that understands that capitalism is the only truth that keeps a nation healthy and fed.

Now the lie goes very deep and President Obama has been cleverly trained in the Alinsky method and it would be very important that every American knows what that method is. It is a socialistic, Marxist teaching and with it, little by little, he rapes this nation, taking down our defenses, making new language for the Islamic extremists.

The world looked up to us as a symbol of hope and prosperity now wonders what will become of the entire world if America is losing its power.

The American people who understand exactly what is taking place have come together in the thousands, vowing to try to stay together as a unit of love and freedom for all men and women, from all walks of life, shivering to think that this once great nation will be a third world country.

This will be the first president to ever weaken the United States of America. President Obama uses his aggression and arrogance for his own agenda, against the will of the American people when he should be using his will and aggression against our enemies.

Every loving American for peace and truth and the security of our nation must come out and join the Tea Parties in their states. The opposition will continue their tactics; they will lie and plant their own bullies amongst us. Everyone must pay close attention to who stands next to them. We can weed out the liars and agitators. Let us all stay in God's light. Let no man put asunder. We can and we will prevail. God bless us all!"

Usually when we get summer reruns, the shows selected tend to be somewhat current. And indeed, given that this is now the Republicans' summer of racial resentment, replaying Voight's extraordinarily vicious and paranoid rant -- one that talks about a black president "raping" the nation -- in the current context gains a particular edge. A truly ugly and disturbing one.

I was also struck by Huckabee's reaction: He obviously was just fine with Voight's language. It tells you a lot about what we can expect from Candidate Huckabee in the 2012 race, doesn't it?

Obsidian Wings: Afghanistan – the absence of option C, about that timeline, and the real revelations of the McChrystal story.

They Gave Us a Republic: R.I.P. free speech.

A Tiny Revolution: Why is Robert J. Samuelson so incredibly awful?

World-O-Crap: Abortion-seeking women - won’t someone think of the man-child?

Brilliant at Breakfast: Why does Mike Huckabee spend so much time thinking about gay sex?

Guest post by Batocchio. Temporarily e-mail tips to batocchio9 AT yahoo DOT com.

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

In a recent interview with a college student, Mike Huckabee compared homosexuality to drugs, incest, and polygamy:

Huckabee went on to draw parallels between homosexuality and other lifestyles that are considered by some to be morally aberrant. “You don’t go ahead and accommodate every behavioral pattern that is against the ideal,” he said of same-sex marriage.

“That would be like saying, well, there are a lot of people who like to use drugs, so let’s go ahead and accommodate those who want who use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, so we should accommodate them.”

He also affirmed support for a law in Arkansas that prohibits same-sex couples from becoming adoptive or foster parents. “I think this is not about trying to create statements for people who want to change the basic fundamental definitions of family,” Huckabee said. “And always we should act in the best interest of the children, not in the seeming interest of the adults.”

“Children are not puppies,” he continued. “This is not a time to see if we can experiment and find out, how does this work?”

But when his comments were picked up and repeated through the internet, he did what any "good old boy" Baptist preacher would do: He lied.

"The young college student hopefully will find a career other than journalism. I would ask that he release the unedited tape of our conversation. I believe that what people do as individuals in their private lives is their business, but I do not believe we should change the traditional definition of marriage. Not only didn't he attempt to sensationalize my well known and hardly unusual views of same-sex marriage, he also inaccurately reported my views on Michael Steele as GOP chairman - I offered my support and didn't "Rip into Steele" as his article asserted. I had a candid and frank conversation with the group about health care, education, the economy and national security while the young journalism student, instead, chose to focus on the issue of same-sex marriage and grossly distort my views."

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The first Republican, Abraham Lincoln, famously proclaimed, "My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side." Sadly, as Sarah Palin and RNC Chairman Michael Steele revealed again this week, Honest Abe's successors believe the GOP truly is God's Own Party. As it turns out, Palin and Steele joined George W. Bush, Mike Huckabee, Michele Bachmann, Mark Sanford and others on the long and growing list of Republican leaders who claim they have been chosen by God.

On 60 Minutes Sunday, McCain-Palin campaign chief Steve Schmitt disclosed to Anderson Cooper that the Quitta from Wasilla viewed her selection as John McCain's running mate as part of God's plan:

COOPER: After Senator McCain asked her to be his vice president, how did she respond?

SCHMITT: She was very calm, nonplussed. I said, "You don't seem nervous at all about this," and she said, "No, it's God's plan."

(For more on Palin's belief in the "natural progression" of a grand divine plan for her, continue reading below.)

Echoing Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's announcement in September that "God has placed me in this powerful position," Michael Steele claimed he, too, was tapped by the Almighty in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). Under siege by fellow Republicans for his endless series of gaffes and shameless self-promotion, Steele announced:

"I'm not defined by this job. When this job is over I will go back to doing something else. But God, I really believe, has placed me here for a reason because who else and why else would you do this unless there's something inside of you that says right now you need to be here to do this?"

Of course, Steele is far from alone among God's chosen Republicans, as George W. Bush and his amen corner long ago made clear.

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The suspect in the slaying of 4 police officers in Washington state, Maurice Clemmons of Lakewood reaped a dream benefit from former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. He was banged up for decades as a repeat violent offender, and Governor Huckabee commuted his sentence over the protests of prosecutors in the case.

At the age of 18, Clemmons was sentenced to 60 years for theft and burglary charges. He was serving 48 years for other violent crimes. During trials in which he was the defendant, he apparently exhibited some more eyebrow raising behavior, which included reaching for a guard's gun during transport, and threatening the judge.

Because the judge did not recuse himself from that trial and a series of other civil rights violations, several charges against Clemmons were dropped (State of Arkansas v Maurice Clemmons).

Even with all that history, Huckabee, citing Clemmons' youth at the time of the commission of the crimes and incarceration, commuted his sentence after he'd served 11 years on sentences totaling 95 years of jail time. He remained on parole and committed more violent crimes. He was arrested, the paperwork in the cases was bad and the prosecutors did not refile.

In 2004, Columnist Garrick Feldman raised the alarm over Huckabee's practices in the Arkansas Leader, citing the cases of Maurice Clemmons and the rapist Wayne DuMond:

Here is Huckabee's response to critics:

"Have Robert Herzfeld, Larry Jegley and the other prosecuting attorneys prosecuted every crime to the full extent the law allows? In other words, have they in every case pursued the maximum penalties? Did they ever plea bargain? How often? What's the percentage of cases in which they've accepted less than the maximum penalties allowed by law?

"My point is this: They used their discretion to decide they would ask for less punishment than the maximum sentences. They exercised their personal judgment. In about 10 percent of the cases before me, I might use my discretion based on recommendations of the Post Prison Transfer Board, the testimony of officials, prison records, etc.," Huckabee told us.

"In those cases, I'm doing the same thing Herzfeld, Jegley and others have done – using my judgment. The difference is that we never know about their plea bargains and the thought pro-cesses they used. I have to give public notice, contact all officials and then have a 30-day public comment period.

"I'm thinking of trying to get the law changed so prosecutors are required to give notice to all involved, have a 30-day public comment period and seek input prior to a plea bargain or any decision to seek less than the maximum sentences allowed by law," Huckabee says.

In another development, Huck PAC has deflected blame from their man and put off the alleged actions of Clemmons and his presence in the community as "...the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State..." They go on to say that "...It appears that he has continued to have a string of criminal and psychotic behavior but was not kept incarcerated by either state..." implying that Washington state had legal means to keep him incarcerated after he posted bail. He has not had a trial in Washington state, however he had several in Arkansas. They also declare him to be exhibiting 'psychotic behavior,' apparently bringing all of their psychiatric experience to bear.

Jon Perr has a post on the Top Ten Moments of Huckabee Extremism. Looks like we have another candidate.

Maybe that great gig at Fox is looking even better in the face of scrutiny of presidential campaigns.

Say what you will about Bill Gates and Microsoft (and Vista victims should have plenty to say), I try to separate that out from Gates' work with his wife, Melinda, at the Gates Foundation, which is doing great work in helping to fund research and global efforts to combat AIDS. The foundation now appears to be broadening its emphasis to encompass the cause of global health care. (Watch Glenn Beck's hair catch fire at the very thought.)

Bill and Melinda will be on Meet the Press today, and what they have to say will probably be worth listening to. (No one will blame you for skipping the Rick Warren half of the show, though.) It'll also be a nice changeup from the usual menu of gasbag Beltway insiders -- although certain matchups (Dede Scozzafava and Ed Gillespie on Face the Nation, and Howard Dean vs. Mike Huckabee on CNN) will probably be worth seeing for the entertainment value ...

(All times EST)

•ABC’s “This Week,” 9:30 a.m. — Guests: Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican; Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont independent.

•CBS’ “Face the Nation,” 1 a.m. Monday — Guests: Sen. Carl Levin, Michigan Democrat; former House majority leader Dick Armey, Texas Republican; Dede Scozzafava, former Republican U.S. House candidate in New York; Ed Gillespie, former Bush White House counselor.

•CNN’s “State of the Union,” 8 a.m. — Guests: Sen. Richard Lugar, Indiana Republican; Sen. Jack Reed, Rhode Island Democrat; Rep. David Obey, Wisconsin Democrat; former British prime minister Tony Blair.

•“Fox News Sunday,” 9 a.m. — Guests: Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican; Sen. Evan Bayh, Indiana Democrat; former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Republican; Howard Dean, former national Democratic Party chairman; Maj. Gen. Carla Hawley-Bowland, commanding general of Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Army’s North Atlantic Regional Medical Command.

•NBC’s “Meet the Press,” 9 a.m. — Guests: Bill and Melinda Gates, co-chairs of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Rev. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.

So, what's catching your eye this morning?

Don't you just love those religious conservatives when they talk about their religious convictions one day and dupe people the next?

Media Matters:

On two Fox News shows, Fox host Mike Huckabee directed viewers to "go to balancecutsave.com," urging them to sign a petition telling Congress to "balance the budget," "cut their spending," and "save American families"; however, balancecutsave.com redirects visitors to a web page soliciting donations for Huckabee's political action committee, which financially supports Republican candidates and also pays Huckabee's daughter's salary. Huckabee is the latest Fox News personality to ask viewers to visit PAC websites without disclosing the website's nature or whether they stand to gain financially from viewers' donations

Myabe the FTC can apply the same standards to these creeps as they do to bloggers. Huckabee should be required to disclose his own PAC to his viewers.

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This weekend on his Fox News program, Mike Huckabee -- who probably still harbors some kind of presidential ambitions -- brought on a special guest named David Barton to talk about the separation of church and state. Barton brought with him a number of cool colonial-era artifacts that he used to bolster his claims that "the separation of church and state is a myth."

Among them, for example, is a document signed by Thomas Jefferson that reads "in the year of our Lord Christ." Barton uses this to point out that Jefferson was an ardent believer in Christianity.

This is fairly typical of Barton's dishonest approach to the matter: It's unremarkable that Jefferson would sign his documents that way, since he was indeed a Christian -- but he was moreover a Christian Deist:

Individual deists varied in the set of critical and constructive elements for which they argued. Some deists rejected miracles and prophecies but still considered themselves Christians because they believed in what they felt to be the pure, original form of Christianity – that is, Christianity as it existed before it was corrupted by additions of such superstitions as miracles, prophecies, and the doctrine of the Trinity. Some deists rejected the claim of Jesus' divinity but continued to hold him in high regard as a moral teacher (see, e.g., Thomas Jefferson's famous Jefferson Bible and Matthew Tindal's 'Christianity as Old as the Creation').

And so it goes throughout the segment -- Barton trotting out bits of arcania with which he bolsters his claim, and Huckabee credulously lapping it all up.

But it take only a little research to uncover the fact that Barton has a history of specious research. For years his book, The Myth of Separation -- which he's been selling since the early '90s -- has featured bogus quotes, made-up nonsense, and flat-out falsified history that has been dismantled time and again. Rob Boston debunked Barton thoroughly back then, and his methodology has not improved measurably since. (Here's a page devoted to exposing Barton's multitude of bogus quotations from the Founding Fathers.)

Moreover, as Boston notes, Barton has a long history of dalliances with the extremist fringes of the far right:

Barton also has ties to extremist elements. In his literature, Christian Reconstructionist authors and organizations are sometimes recommended. Reconstructionist activist Gary DeMar's book God And Government is suggested reading, and Reconstructionist-oriented groups such as the Plymouth Rock Foundation and the Providence Foundation are touted as resources.

Perhaps most alarming, Barton also has had a relationship with the racist and anti-Semitic fringes of the far right. According to Skipp Porteous of the Massachusetts-based Institute for First Amendment Studies, Barton was listed in promotional literature as a "new and special speaker" at a 1991 summer retreat in Colorado sponsored by Scriptures for America, a far-right ministry headed by Pastor Pete Peters. Peters' organization, which is virulently anti-Semitic and racist, spreads hysteria about Jews and homosexuals and has been linked to neo-Nazi groups. (The organization distributes a booklet called Death Penalty For Homosexuals.)

Peters' church is part of the racist "Christian Identity" movement. and three members of The Order, a violent neo-Nazi organization, formerly attended Peters' small congregation in LaPorte, Cole. After members of The Order murdered Denver radio talk show host Alan Berg in the mid 1980s, critics of Peters' ministry in Colorado charged that his hate-filled sermons had spurred the assassination.

Barton also campaigned in Washington state for Ellen Craswell, the 1996 GOP gubernatorial candidate, who ran on a "Reconstructionist" platform and later became involved the far-right Constitution Party.

The Myth of Separation similarly was a staple on the book tables at Patriot/militia gatherings in the 1990s, and was sold prominently through mail-order outfits like the Militia of Montana.

It sure is interesting to watch all this militia stuff from the '90s come bubbling back up in the post-Bush era. And it's even more interesting to see how it's getting mainstreamed by cable-TV talkers.

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The Patron Saint of the GOP Ronald Reagan had one unalterable law of politics, his Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not speak poorly of your fellow Republicans.

And for those of us well-practiced in the art of reading between the lines of Conservo-speak, it's quite humorous to see the lengths the GOP bobbleheads will go to spin Sarah Palin's cutting and running in a positive light.

Soon-to-be successor Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell tries to spin this as a cost-saving measure, as the state has been paying dearly for the cost of all the ethics investigations. Now the fact that people feel it necessary to actually conduct ethics investigations seems to matter less than the cost of them. Karl "I belong in jail" Rove finds Palin's move "perplexing," worrying that it sends a message that you can drive an executive out of office through ethics investigations. Um, isn't that what your party tried to do for eight years with Clinton, Karl? I don't think Palin is the precedent here.

But former Arkansas governor and current FNC pundit Mike Huckabee all but calls Palin a wimp for her "risky strategy", claiming that he had it far tougher in Arkansas than she has it in Alaska, and her actions will do nothing to keep her and her family from being chased by the media:

WALLACE: Governor Huckabee, almost every politician is on the firing line. You may not have been to the degree as governor of Arkansas that Sarah Palin was once she achieved national prominence. But what about this argument, “I’m doing this for my state because the attacks against me are getting in the way?”

HUCKABEE: Well, if that had been the case for me, I’d have quit about my first month, because I was a Republican governor in a state where 89 percent of my legislature were Democrats.

I had constant ethics complaints filed against me, even by newspaper editors, and a lot of it was because if they can’t attack you on policy, what they do -- they just absolutely bombard you with personal attacks and keep you tied up in court, make you hire lawyers. Been there, done that.

Arkansas was a tough political environment, period, even tougher for a Republican, and one of the things you have to do is just decide, “Look, they’re not going to, you know, chase me out.”

Now, what they do -- they throw all this stuff at you, and then they say, “Oh, there’s a pattern of ethical issues.” Actually, what the pattern is is a pattern of phony charges being filed by the opposition party.

The danger that Sarah Palin faces -- and let me be very quick to tell you, in the way of full disclosure, I’m a Sarah Palin fan. I like her personally. I like her points of view. I think she’s right on the issues. The challenge that she’s going to have is that there will be people who say, “Well, look, you know, if they chase you out of this, it won’t get any easier for you at other levels of the stage.”

While neither pundit will actually admit that Palin's bizarrely rambling and incoherent speech on Friday was a boneheaded move on her part, both do admit that it raised more questions than answers and in national politics, that can be the kiss of death, as her ill-fated campaign for the VP slot showed.

HUCKABEE: Well, it’s a risky strategy, and nobody knows whether it’s going to pay off or not. And even if she did get out, primarily because of the -- a feeling of being chased, that’s not going to stop if she continues in politics.

The only way that stops is for her to completely exit the stage and the spotlight. And on that point, I totally agree with Karl.

I think the one thing that I wondered about tactically was hastily calling a news conference that ended up raising more questions than it did answer them.

And my political mentor, Ed Rollins, the other day on his radio show brought that up, that you don’t call a press conference that creates questions. You call one to resolve them.

No one could have predicted that Palin was completely out of her depth for national politics, could they?

Continue reading »

(h/t Bruce Wilson of TalkToAction)

Newt Gingrich is really playing up being a Catholic now and is warning Christians that "pagans" have us all surrounded and Satan is going to eat your baby unless you get involved in politics.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee urged Christians to get involved in politics to preserve the presence of religion in American life.

"I think this is one of the most critical moments in American history," Gingrich said. "We are living in a period where we are surrounded by paganism."

They and other speakers warned about the continuing availability of abortion, the spread of gay rights, and attempts to remove religion from American public life and school history books.

Gingrich and Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, argued the rights of Americans stem from God and to ignore that connection is perilous. The two were among several speakers, including former U.S. Senate candidate Oliver North, at the three-hour "Rediscovering God in America" event. The event was closed to reporters but was broadcast live on God.TV, an evangelical Web site.

Running for the 2012 nomination is really getting to this man's cranium because I do not see "virgins" being abducted while the pagan---Devil worshippers are using them along with blood sacrifices anywhere, have you?

By the third century CE, its meaning evolved to include all non-Christians. Eventually, it became an evil term that implied the possibility of Satan worship. The latter two meanings are still in widespread use today.

I do know that dressing up as a "witch" is still very popular for Halloween, so maybe that's the big pagans' plan to indoctrinate our young people into the occult.