via Atrios: No More Assrocket

As if we'll stop calling him that.

Nitpicker, who's serving in Afghanistan, finds some more assrocketry.

Ezra Klein has more: End of the Powerline:

...They get nothing right. Their fact-checking skills are atrocious. They neither report nor call experts, it's just whatever they invented twenty seconds ago. Watching them work is like attending a high school debate match in the impromptu event...read on

Almost forgot. Go over to The Talent Show and see Funniest. Video. Ever.

via Ezra Klein:

EJ Dionne's firing on all cylinders today with a blistering column on the Paris Hilton Benefit Act, otherwise known as the estate tax...read on

Dionne argues for explicitly tying the tax to the Social Security shortfall. According to the CBO, even a reduced estate tax would cover fully 1/2 of the program's deficit, which means Republicans are going to have to decide between protecting Paris Hilton's inheritance and paying Grandma Millie's Social Security check. Democrats should be all over that choice, making sure it's made as publicly as possible. Go git' em.

Against Compromise

via Ezra Klein:

...But it seems that Reid and Co. could gamble, with reasonable certainty, on killing the nuclear option. And serving Republicans with a defeat on that, right after Social Security and Schiavo, would really solidify perceptions -- and thus the media storyline -- of the right as disorganized and on a downward trajectory, while adding significantly to Democratic momentum. So while I recognize that there's more risk in pushing forward, it seems that the potential rewards are much greater. It codifies GOP overreach, it'll empower Republican moderates, and it'll solidify the power and unity of the Democratic caucus. And I think that's worth the risk.

If Reid and Co. give in, the Religious right will be further empowered to put their imprint on all of our lives and in turn shape more and more policy for the Republican party. For some reason my crystal ball keeps coming up with the word Salem, and the year 1692

via Eschaton: Ezra writes:

One thing that God has brought to us is Terri Schiavo, to help elevate the visibility of what is going on in America," Mr. DeLay told a conference organized by the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group. A recording of the event was provided by the advocacy organization Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

"This is exactly the issue that is going on in America, of attacks against the conservative movement, against me and against many others," Mr. DeLay said.

Mr. DeLay complained that "the other side" had figured out how "to defeat the conservative movement," by waging personal attacks, linking with liberal organizations and persuading the national news media to report the story. He charged that "the whole syndicate" was "a huge nationwide concerted effort to destroy everything we believe in."

In three little paragraphs, Tom has called the woman with a liquified cerebral cortex a gift from God, compared her situation to his own, and used her to uncover a vast left-wing conspiracy determined to topple Tom DeLay and the values of America conservatism.

updateThe CarpetBagger has more: DeLay Unplugged "Over the weekend, DeLay said he was "disgusted" by the "great-political-issue" memo, presumably because it framed the Schiavo case in a callous, blatantly partisan way. With this in mind, is DeLay also prepared to say he was "disgusted" by his own speech to the FRC?"

The vote by Congress to allow the federal courts to take over the Terri Schiavo case has created distress among some conservatives who say that lawmakers violated a cornerstone of conservative philosophy by intervening in the ruling of a state court....

Stephen Moore, a conservative advocate who is president of the Free Enterprise Fund, said: "I don't normally like to see the federal government intervening in a situation like this, which I think should be resolved ultimately by the family: I think states' rights should take precedence over federal intervention. A lot of conservatives are really struggling with this case."

Some more moderate Republicans are also uneasy. Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, the sole Republican to oppose the Schiavo bill in a voice vote in the Senate, said: "This senator has learned from many years you've got to separate your own emotions from the duty to support the Constitution of this country. These are fundamental principles of federalism."

"It looks as if it's a wholly Republican exercise," Mr. Warner said, "but in the ranks of the Republican Party, there is not a unanimous view that Congress should be taking this step." read on

There is definetly s split taking place, read Ezra : Republican Renaissance? On Monday, I asked where all the “real Republicans” are, and, if there are any of them left, whether they could be bothered to try to reclaim their party from the lunatics who have hijacked it.

Why Professors Tilt Left

via Ezra Klein

...So in places where intelligent, informed people work, many of them turn out to be liberal. At the places the most intelligent and informed people work, even more of them turn out to be liberal. And so we scratch our heads and wonder about bias? Why?...read on

Orcinus: Now seems like a good time to revisit this post. It's an appendix of what journalist David Neiwert calls "a selection of eliminationist rhetoric documented at this site since 2003." Hart Williams has much more...

Norbizness: Despite a mind numbing list of GOP domestic and foreign policy blunders, to say nothing of rampant BUSHCO corruption and lawbreaking, polls show 40% of the electorate would be happy with more of the same.

Ezra Klein: The press likes to make policy disputes sound incredibly complicated. Much too complicated for mortals to understand, or base electoral behavior on.

Daily Kos: There's no denying the extraordinary power of the traditional media in driving a narrative.

Firedoglake: No longer content to start wars and shoot people in the face, Dick Cheney is set to out-diva Mariah Carey.

Justice Watch: The week ahead...