First Freedom Campaign

Crooks and Liars: Actors Jack Klugman and James Whitmore have recorded these spots in support of separation of church and state. These religious freedom ads will run this week in South Carolina, and the accompanying website has ten sample questions for voters to ask candidates, such as “Do you think public schools should sponsor school prayer or, as a parent, should this choice be left to me?” and, “Do you think my pharmacist should be allowed to deny me doctor-based prescribed medications based on his or her religious beliefs?” You can watch the other ads here.

NSA report confirms Gulf of Tonkin incident never happened

Chris in Paris, AmericaBlog.com: Who needs to study history any way? What could we possibly learn about people lying to drag a country into war? Then again, if you were drunk or blowing coke at the time, you might not have remembered any of it anyway.

The author of the report "demonstrates that not only is it not true, as (then US) secretary of defense Robert McNamara told Congress, that the evidence of an attack was 'unimpeachable,' but that to the contrary, a review of the classified signals intelligence proves that 'no attack happened that night,'" FAS said in a statement."

What this study demonstrated is that the available intelligence shows that there was no attack. It's a dramatic reversal of the historical record," Aftergood said.

US health care system ranks last, France #1, again

Chris in Paris, AmericaBlog.com: The GOP and right wing media lapdogs always cherry pick data about something that failed in a national health system and use that as the excuse for propping up the dysfunctional and costly system that exists in the US. They always fail to recognize the WHO ranking that puts France at the top (Freedom Health, perhaps?) and the US arriving at number 37, just behind global heavyweights Dominica and Costa Rica. Here's another study that they will all want to ignore. Every life is precious, if you can afford health care, might be their new line. At least the US didn't have to compete with Costa Rica this time. Whew!

France, Japan and Australia rated best and the United States worst in new rankings focusing on preventable deaths due to treatable conditions in 19 leading industrialized nations, researchers said on Tuesday.

If the U.S. health care system performed as well as those of those top three countries, there would be 101,000 fewer deaths in the United States per year, according to researchers writing in the journal Health Affairs.

GOP Congressman not sure if he will accept hedge fund lobby job

Chris in Paris, AmericaBlog.com: Right. I'm sure he is struggling with whether or not to stick around for another term in the minority or accept the $1,000,000 per year position. Congressman Baker (R-LA) has followed the new procedures and filed paperwork with the House ethics committee as he talks to the increasingly power hedge fund lobby. The revolving door between Congress and wealthy lobbyists continues. Tell me again what the ethics and lobbying reform bill was supposed to do last year? The best democracy that money can buy.

LSB: He's not sure whether he'd take a job at six times his House salary? Sounds like the perfect choice for a finance lobbyist!

Mike Huckabee: The GOP’s Rebellious Love Child?

GOP elitists are troubled by Mike Huckabee’s success. These obtuse overlords, who have gleefully championed their religiosity and conventional marriage, have two problems. One, their own marriage of convenience is about to disintegrate…and two, they were foolish enough to produce an offspring that is now older and wiser and fully capable of unrestrained rebellion.

Daniel DiRito, AllSpinZone.com: There are countless reasons why I wouldn’t vote for Mike Huckabee. At the same time, I find myself in the strange position to admire the fact that he, more than his manipulative Republican predecessors, is a candidate committed to his evangelical beliefs and the followers who share them. Let me be clear…my admiration is for the apparent sincerity of the individual; not for the beliefs he and his minions hold. Conversely, my disdain is for those who have created the very dynamic they suddenly fear.

In fact, an interesting thing is happening in the GOP. The powers that be… those crafty individuals (think Karl Rove) who long ago sought to recruit people of faith with a mix of pious pandering, phobic platitudes, and pyrrhic promises… now find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Suddenly, the beast of burden that carried them to their exalted victory in 2000 (their culminating moment of presumed political dominance) has become the dangerous dragon that establishment Republican elitists are rampantly racing to slay.

If one removes the veil of religious rhetoric under which the GOP elite has traveled to reach their pinnacle of power, one would actually find they worship little more than power and the profit it brings. Like panoply on a pig, they have willingly donned the dressings of dogma and whispered sweet nothings in the ears of those who honor the ultimate populist… Jesus Christ.

Time and again, these skillful strategists took umbrage at the slightest hint of secular and scientific sensibility in order to ingratiate themselves to the faithful. If it wasn’t prayer in school or religious symbols in public places or the war on Christmas or a science curriculum that includes intelligent design or research utilizing embryos already scheduled for destruction, it was penalizing a network for showing a split second of Janet Jackson’s breast at the Super Bowl or the need to deny the medical evidence in the Terri Schiavo case or promoting abstinence to combat AIDS and teen pregnancy or the ever popular railing against the militant homosexual agenda bent on destroying the family and the sanctity of marriage.

When George Bush sold compassionate conservatism and the restoration of “honor” to the White House as a moral imperative wrapped in religiosity, these elitist Republicans embraced the guise with the fervor of a freshman fraternity pledge. They did so because Bill Clinton provided the opportunity to adopt their “soul saving” straw man strategy and it served their purposes at that particular juncture.

Like most zealots, they rode their hallowed horse into the ground until it culminated in the wholesale rejection of their extremist ideology in 2006…and that now leads them to believe their sullied steed cannot cross the finish line first in 2008. In truth, they actually believe it must be prevented from running the race and they desperately want it quietly, quickly, and convincingly retired.

Unfortunately, the real believers…those individuals that have been so callously manipulated…now see a truly cathartic champion in Mike Huckabee and an opportunity to flesh out the disingenuous interlopers who simply sought to maintain their insular domain.

Like any charade, the hoodwinked eventually awaken to exact their revenge on the offending individual or entity. Like most charlatans, the offenders swiftly and summarily jump ship and expose their sinister and singular self-serving identities the moment their kingdom appears set to crumble. Unable to hold their avarice at bay, their true nature spills from their mouths like water from a Louisiana levee.

Truth be told, the Mike Huckabee phenomenon is the love child of an ill-conceived marriage…one that sought to attach the prurient pursuit of power and profit to puritanical piety. Mike Huckabee simply saw an opportunity and he took it…much to the chagrin of the establishment elites…and much to the delight of the unrequited.

It now appears that the obtuse overlords who have made a career of championing conventional marriage have two problems. One, their own marriage of convenience is about to disintegrate…and two, they were foolish enough to produce an offspring that is now older and wiser and fully capable of unrestrained rebellion.

Spiteful as it may be, I’m happy to state, “Let the nasty divorce begin”.

CBS NEWS "60 MINUTES": OUT IN IRAQ

Manzella shortly after the 60 Minutes broadcast: "I have not received any notification, positive or negative, from my command since I notified them of my participation in the story or since the broadcasting of the segment...I have served with many men and women in Iraq, Kuwait and throughout the United States. In my opinion, they do not care if a service member is gay or straight. These men and women are my brothers and sisters in arms and I am the same to them. I know that what matters to most is not the sexual orientation of the person in your unit. What matters most is if that person is a good worker, a team player and most importantly, if that person has your back when it rewally matters whether it be in a combat zone, during a training exercise or day to day operations. I think that a majority of troops are in favor, or at the very least indifferent, to the repeal of this policy. I find that many are surprised that so much power and influence over the fate of this policy lies in the hands of individuals who are not even in the ranks of the military."

Presidential candidates on gay civil rights

The issue of civil rights for gay men and lesbians — including the definition of marriage, service in the military and protection against hate crimes — has long divided the two major political parties. It's not as simple as saying Democrats are for them, and Republicans are against them. Democrats are divided on same-sex marriage, and some GOP contenders for the White House want to recognize civil unions for gays. Candidate positions were compiled by Gannett News Service and USA TODAY.

Democrats:

• Barak Obama
• John Edwards
• Hilary Rodham Clinton
• Bill Richardson

Republicans:

• Rudy Giuliani
• Mike Huckabee
• John McCain
• Mitt Romney

Play the USA TODAY Candidate Match Game.

Pollster Bias

FaithInPublicLife.org: News coverage of the Iowa caucuses read like it was written in advance. Might you have foreseen that evangelicals would be credited for a Huckabee win and that an Obama victory would be spun as a Clarion Call For Change?

There's a large hole in this conventional wisdom, though: Faith was effectively barred from consideration as a factor in Obama's victory. The CNN entrance and NBC exit polls both asked Republican caucus-goers if they were "born-again or evangelical," and neither one asked that question of Democratic caucusers. Democrats instead were instead asked if they were union members.

Thirty three percent of Iowa evangelicals voted for Kerry in 2004. The Religion Newswriters' Association named "Democrats court people of faith" the #2 religion story of 2007. Winner Barack Obama is well known for thoughtful discussion of his faith.

So why are CNN and NBC still treating evangelicals as the Republicans' property? Their polls don't even account for the possibility that evangelicals can play a significant role in the Democratic caucus. That's some serious institutional bias. (Ditto for the flipside - not accounting for union members' role in the Republican caucus.) Reporters and pundits cannot produce accurate stories and commentary if all they have to work with is such hidebound data.

Once Again, Looking Out for Himself - Not You, MS!

ThinkProgress.org: Lott seals the deal on new lobbying position. ThinkProgress reported in November that outgoing Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) may have been negotiating a future lobbying position with former Sen. John Breaux in potential violation of Senate ethics rules that take effect this year. At the time, Lott claimed, “I’m not really involved in negotiation. I’ve tried to stay away from that.” But now, just two weeks after resigning from the Senate, Lott announced that he is indeed joining with Breaux to form a lobbying group:

Putting weeks of speculation to rest, former Sens. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and John Breaux (D-La.) confirmed Friday they plan to file paperwork next week to form a
powerful lobbying partnership called The Breaux Lott Leadership Group.

FOX Business Network tanks in the ratings

John Amato, Crooks and Liars: FBN ratings are even lower than I thought possible

Only 6,000 people are watching Rupert Murdoch’s new all business cable network during the work day, according to Nielsen ratings data obtained by the Daily News. And, after eight weeks on the air, Fox Business Channel is averaging just 15,000 viewers in prime time.

If the average number of viewers at night all got together, they wouldn’t even fill Madison Square Garden. For comparison, 284,000 viewers tune in to CNBC during the day, with 238,000 in prime time.

Even though it’s just getting off the ground these rating make Tucker Carlson look good. C&L draws that many readers in about 40 minutes. Rupert doesn’t care if he loses millions of dollars for years to come because he has the cash to fund a media loser for ions. To him—it’s just another venue to extend his GOP/NEOCON/free market/NAFTA loving beliefs. Media Bistro has more.

California files lawsuit against Bush EPA

Chris in Paris, AmericanBlog.com: The better news is that up to 15 other states will be joining. Only a kooky Republican administration could manage to turn the EPA into an extension of the pro-pollution lobby. You can't even make this stuff up any more. Well, not unless another kooky Republican administration wins next year.

Federal Reserve injects even more cash into banks

Chris in Paris, AmericaBlog.com: While Bush says everything is fine with the economy, the Fed has increased its future cash injections by 50% so that banks can maintain proper liquidity. Ignore the high fuel prices, forget about the housing crash, don't even think about the employment numbers and for heavens sake, pretend as though we do not have a credit crisis in America. All done? Great. Now you too can be just like George Bush. Not a problem in the world. Heck, with this great strategy of ignoring the facts on the ground, it's no wonder he's once again talking about tax cuts.

Taking action to help the economy (which Bush says is solid) makes perfect sense. If ever there was a moment to take the keys away from Bush it's now. For him to stand up and say the "economy is on a solid foundation" should be all we need to hear from him. The Democrats - especially the presidential candidates - are going to have to step up and provide their own plan. Leaving these decisions up to the idiot who created them would be painfully foolish. Do the Democrats have it in them to take on this challenge?