Blowing Away King Coal, From Salon.com

Here.

Obama Is A Smartass...Just Like Me!!

From TPM:
Paul Bedard's Washington Whispers quoting Republican sources on what Obama said in his meeting with Hill Republicans ...

On GOP complaints, "he said that 'there will be time to beat him up and a time for politics. He said I understand that and I will watch you on Fox News and feel bad about myself.'"

HEEE!

Listening To C-Span....

coverage of a civil suit in which the promoters of a gun show that is held on county property claim their 1st Amendment right to free speech is being infringed upon because the county requires firearms at gun shows to be secured.

I guess the county reg keeps them from saying "Do you feel lucky, punk?!?"

How The Hell Did Lisa Jackson Get To Be Head Of The EPA?!?!

From ProPublica:

During the "lighting round" [of her confirmation hearing], Jackson for the first time acknowledged there was a delay between her agency's discovery that a day care center was built inside an abandoned thermometer factory contaminated with mercury and her demand that the day care center be shutdown.

Jackson initially claimed in a 2006 press release that as soon as she found out the Kiddie Kollege day care center was contaminated with mercury, "inspectors moved in, took samples and shut it down."

In the hearing, Jackson said that in fact, months passed before her department shut down the day care center because the department waited for mercury test results to come back. "I know that in hindsight we all wish things had turned out differently, and that's really what I would say to the parents," said Jackson.

I knew Obama would disappoint me, but I didn't think it would be this bad this fast.

GOP Gets It Wrong On Stimulus; Media Lets 'Em

From here, to here.
It reminds me of something Stephen Colbert said at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner:

"Over the last five years you people [the media] were so good -- over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effect of global warming. We Americans didn't want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to find out. Those were good times, as far as we knew.

But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the Decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!"

I Got A Thrill Up My Leg When I Read This

"Chris Matthews' Inaugural Jib-Jabbery".

Unacceptably "Fair"and "Even-Handed".

I saw this first here, but the story is here.

Some Jewish leaders say the very qualities that may appeal to the Obama administration — Mitchell’s reputation as an honest broker — could spark unhappiness, if not outright opposition, from some pro-Israel groups.

“Sen. Mitchell is fair. He’s been meticulously even-handed,” said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. “But the fact is, American policy in the Middle East hasn’t been ‘even handed’ — it has been supportive of Israel when it felt Israel needed critical U.S. support.

“So I’m concerned,” Foxman continued. “I’m not sure the situation requires that kind of approach in the Middle East.”[..]

Just as disturbing to those skeptical of Mitchell was his role as head of a commission that produced a 2001 report in the wake of the second intifada calling on Israel to freeze the construction of new settlements while demanding that the Palestinians take strong action to stop attacks against Israel.[..]

Major pro-Israel groups “tend to favor the kind of mediator with the least prospects of success,” said MJ Rosenberg, a longtime pro-Israel activist and policy director for the Israel Policy Forum (IPF). “George Mitchell worries them because he was so successful in Northern Ireland, a success that was built on his persistence and his utterly impartiality ... and a deal means Israeli concessions which they have never favored. The stronger the candidate for envoy or mediator — the more of an honest broker he or she would be -- the more uncomfortable they are.”

It's shocking to hear people say things like this, but I hope they never stop saying what they really think because it only makes it easier to do what's right.