Stories to Watch: 1/16/12

Another MLK Day come and gone, which marks another year of a lot of people missing the damned point. Now here's the news...


Big GOP debate tonight. As usual, I'm going to skip it. Who doesn't know what their positions are by now? The only reason to watch is so you can say you saw Rick Perry swallow his tongue or fall over the podium or whatever -- and that's what YouTube's for.


Jon Huntsman won't be there.


Congress' approval ratings dip even lower.


Don't count on using Wikipedia Wednesday.


Hey, you know how that "Stop Romney" coalition of 'baggers and fanatics settled on Rick Santorum? Yeah, turns out it's unsettled again.


Meanwhile, Nate Silver says that Romney is the "overwhelming favorite" for the GOP nomination. Maybe the "Stop Romney" coalition should've gotten started a little earlier.


Attorney General Holder -- rightly -- compares voter ID laws to the Jim Crow laws Martin Luther King fought against. Obviously, this is the worst thing ever.


Finally, a Santorum staffer who's a misogynist? Imagine how surprised I'm not.

Related articles

• The Republican Field on Martin Luther King: It's Complicated (alternet.org)
• Polls Suggest GOP Nomination is Locked Up (politicalwire.com)
• On MLK Day: How a Racist Criminal Justice System Rolled Back the Gains of the Civil Rights Era (alternet.org)
• With GOP field down to five, four candidates sharpen attack on front-runner Romney - Fox News (foxnews.com)

Stories to Watch: 12/9/11

Just baked my first loaf of post-holiday sourdough. The starter seems to be back up to full power after my pancake-a-thon -- maybe even better than ever. Now here's the news...


Has Romney underestimated how vulnerable his Bain past makes him? It looks that way.


James Hormel, the United States' first openly gay ambassador, does not have fond memories of Rick Santorum.


Allen West comes this close to suborning treason.


Grover Norquist Club for Growth has noticed Newt's lurch to the left. King Grover is displeased.


Meanwhile, Jon Huntsman goes way lefter by promising a round of trust-busting on big banks.


Fox News comes right out and says they like to see job losses.


Facing the deadline, Wisconsin dems are asking recall petitioners to turn in their paperwork. The deadline is 17th, which means they almost certainly have enough. Otherwise, there'd be an urgent plea to keep gathering signatures until the very last minute.


The latest GOP candidate to be before the individual mandate before he was against it: Rick Santorum.


Finally, this is an actual headline: "Psychic monkey devours Gingrich’s banana." Get your mind out of the gutter.

Related articles

• REPORT: The Republican Candidates' Economic Agenda For The 1 Percent (thinkprogress.org)
• Rick Santorum Drops To Fifth Place In Suffolk University Poll (dekerivers.wordpress.com)
• Pro-Newt PAC Seeks Revenge Against Romney (newser.com)
• Griper Blade: Out of State Money King Scott Walker Complains About Out of State Money in Wisconsin Recall (gripernews.blogspot.com)

News Roundup for 1/9/12

Probably not what Romney meant

-Headline of the Day-
"'I like being able to fire people.'"

The above words are a fine example of something you should never, ever in a million years say if you're running for president under the banner of "I'm a Big-Time Job Creator!"

This is especially true if you're Mitt Romney, whose record of job creation is sketchy at best and nearly nonexistent at worst.

But Mittens said exactly that at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast this morning in Nashua. Full context: "I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means that if you don’t like what they do, you could fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. You know, if someone isn’t giving the good service, I want to say, I’m going to go get someone else to provide this service to."

OK, so not so extremely terrible in context -- just garden variety terrible. As a sound bite goes, this is a campaign commercial. For example, Team Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt was nearly speechless at his candidate's good fortune. His response: "!!!"

No, really.

"I think I see the point Romney was trying to get at," Steve Benen comments, "but for a guy with an atrocious jobs record, who got very wealthy laying off American workers, 'I like being able to fire people' is a seven-word phrase that may prove tough to live down."

With all the GOP candidates already going all OWS on Romney (yeah, they've all turned hippie), this is exactly the wrong way for Mittens to go.

Still, he's quickly disproving that whole "not a real Republican" thing everyone tried to saddle him with -- he's got the Republican style of competence down pat. (Political Animal)


-I used to like having eyes-
Oh jeebus...


Click for full comic

Maybe steel wool will get the image out... (Bad Reporter)


-Bonus HotD-
"Could Huntsman Take Second?"

Jon Huntsman has a real chance of taking the silver in New Hampshire tomorrow. That Santorum boomlet sure didn't last long, huh? (Talking Points Memo)

News Roundup for 12/15/11

Newt Gingrich has a magic spy satellite or something

-Headline of the Day-
"Newt's iffy claim: Iran hides nukes under mosques."

If there's one thing that Newt Gingrich excels at, it's pulling the purest bullshit straight out of his ass. And at a debate against Jon Huntsman in New Hampshire, he reminded us of this skill by making a claim to a "fact" that a) he couldn't possibly know and b) no one else on earth has ever claimed.

"[Iran has] huge underground facilities. Some of the underground facilities are under mosques," Newt said. "Some of them are in cities. The idea that you’re going to wage a bombing campaign that accurately takes out all the Iranian nuclear program I think is a fantasy."

It's interesting that he'd choose the word "fantasy," because this is what Newt's story seems to be. "There’s no evidence [for that]," says David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security and an expert on Iran's nuclear program. "I don’t know where Gingrich gets this, but it sounds like he is just repeating rumors."

"Nope," Ken Pollack, a Mideast specialist at the Brookings Institution, says. "Never heard that they have underground facilities beneath mosques. They do have extensive tunnels at some sites, and I guess some of those tunnels may run under mosques, but I have never heard that they purposely built them under mosques as this seems to suggest."

Never mind those guys. They don't know what they're talking about. Newt knows it's true, because he heard it from this bigtime expert-on-everything-guy named "Newt." (Salon's War Room)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids, you know that big war in Iraq? It's over today (sort of, kind of, a little bit...) Yay!


Click for animation
Go kiss a nurse. (MarkFiore.com)


-Bonus HotD-
"Justice Department: Sheriff Arpaio mistreated Latinos."

Racist sheriff is racist and the fallout begins. Imagine my surprise. (Politico)

Stories to Watch: 12/3/11

I'm heading out to petition to recall Gov. Walker -- in the cold rain, because he just sucks so much that's it's worth even that. So I'm a little pressed for time. Instead of the normal headlines, I'm putting up a collection of reactions to the big (i.e., ridiculous) story of the day. Now here's the news...


News that birther/carnival barker/game show host/publicity whore Donald Trump will moderate a GOP debate has the left -- and even some on the right -- nearly disabled by paroxysms of glee. A sampling:

This is an absolutely terrific idea. What better way to build confidence in the GOP primary process, and to reinforce the gravtias of candidates who are aspiring to be seen as prepared for the presidency, then to submit them to questioning from a reality-TV star whose appeal to conservatives is rooted in the fact that he spent his own short-lived freak-show presidential campaign questioning Obama’s citizenship, right up until the killing of Bin Laden wiped the smug, megalomaniacal grin off his face? -Greg Sargent

Yes, driving a clown car with a bumper sticker that reads, "Really people? Is this what the debates have come to!?" -GOP outsider candidate Buddy Roemer to Dave Weigel, on whether he'd attend

LOL. We look forward to watching Mitt and Newt suck-up to The Donald with a big bowl of popcorn. -Jon Huntsman's campaign, in response to a similar question from Business Insider

How do you say clown show? This is how –- Trump to Moderate Republican Debate. -Ron Beasley, The Moderate Voice

Candidates who take their candidacies for president seriously should follow [Jon Huntsman's] suit, and this should be a litmus test to demonstrate who is willing to admit that the charade of politics evidenced by a Trump-moderated debate is exactly the problem that the United States faces, and who wants to be the next political Snooki. -Colby Hall, Mediaite

That anyone would take Donald Trump seriously about anything is already a concept that is hard to fathom. That the Republican party would elevate him to moderator status for one of their 5705789 presidential debates is downright hilarious... or abysmally pathetic... or both. -GottaLaff, Political Carnival

It's hard to see how President Obama can lose with this competition. I almost wonder if they aren't throwing it deliberately. -Digby, Hullabaloo

Also, don't miss Conor Friedersdorf's "Top 10 Reasons Why It's Good That Donald Trump Will Moderate a Debate."

Related articles

• Theme Song for a Donald Trump Moderated Republican Debate (themoderatevoice.com)
• Having declined an invite the Donald Trump-moderated GOP debate, Jon Huntsman will instead face off one-on-one with Newt Gingrich at a Lincoln-Douglass style debate. (shortformblog.tumblr.com)
• Donald Trump To Moderate Republican Debate (alan.com)

Stories to Watch: 12/2/11

I've tried a bunch of different ways to speed up rising bread, but the best way is still the way my grandma did it; use a heating pad on medium. Now here's the news...


Jon Huntsman's campaign emails a reporter, on whether he'll attend the Donald Trump/Newsmax celebrity game show GOP debate; "Lol. We look forward to watching Mitt and Newt suck-up to The Donald with a big bowl of popcorn." So I'm taking that as a no.


Unemployment numbers have dropped more quickly than expected, which is confusing on many levels.


The Republican War on Voting marches on.


Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus is a shameless liar.


Will disaffected GOP moderates run a third party candidate? Former NJ Gov. and Bushie Christine Todd Whitman says yes and Jon Huntsman's on the short list.


Insiders on both sides of the aisle have deep, deep doubts as to whether Newt Gingrich will be the nominee.


Finally, what was a hot item during the national Black Friday sales riots? Guns. I guess all that "peace on Earth" stuff is still a bunch of hooey.

Related articles

• Huntsman Down with Gingrich, Not with Trump (thepage.time.com)
• Having declined an invite the Donald Trump-moderated GOP debate, Jon Huntsman will instead face off one-on-one with Newt Gingrich at a Lincoln-Douglass style debate. (shortformblog.tumblr.com)
• Wait, What? Donald Trump To Moderate Newsmax Sponsored GOP Presidential Debate (mediaite.com)
• Tamron Hall To Trump: Could Your Debate Look 'Like An Episode Of The Apprentice?' (mediaite.com)