"I don't believe what I just saw! " - Jack Buck calling Kirk Gibson's epic one-handed World Series home run

The nicest thing I can say about Joe Scarborough is that I think he actually believes the conservative clap trap that comes out of his mouth.  It's so bad for me that I skip over my preferred news source MSNBC when he's on. 

Tomorrow I'm tuning in.  How is Scarborough going to follow this; today he took John McCain, and Lindsey Graham to the woodshed, and gave the a whooping, with a leather strap.  Ouch!

The piece starts with McCain and Graham, voices quivering, unconvincingly spouting Republican counterintuitive talking points on the Sunday talk shows, "the President needs to do more." 

Then Joe,takes them to school shouting; if we do what McCain and Graham say, "we will undermine their cause.(Iran)"  He is officially pissed.  "It's so shortsighted I find it stunning!"

Mika is good, "I don't understand what they want him (Obama) to be doing?"

Scarborough picks up the ball and runs with it, "That's what I'm trying to figure out."  "What would John McCain, and Lindsey Graham, specifically have the president say?"  Touchdown!

Joe goes on to talk about the hate mail he's getting, someone dared to call him a "Liberal!"  (The offending e-mail has been forwarded to the FBI.)

Could it be that Joe as suddenly gained cognitive skills?  Is this a temporary disturbance in the force?  Is Joe Scarborough a mini Iran where Joe Scarborough is in a fight for his freedom from dictator and Supreme Leader, Joe Scarborough?

Decide for yourself.

morning joe goes off the reservation?

From: Mir Hossein Mousavi
To: The Dignified People of Iran

Do Not Allow Liars and Cheats Rob You of the Flag of the Islamic Republic.

In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful

The Dignified and Astute People of Iran:

In these days and nights, a historical crossroads is taking shape in the history of our nation. People ask each other, and they ask me, as to what should be done and what path should be taken.

In this mission, I was not eloquent. Despite my deficient speech, the genuine message of the Revolution touched the hearts of the young generation--which had not experienced those [early] days. Having found a large crevasse between itself and the lofty ideals [of the Revolution], the youth reconstructed scenes that we had not witnessed since the early days of the movement [to depose the Shah] and the Sacred Defense [against Saddam's Iraq].

The self-propelling movement of the people chose green as its iconic color. I admit that in this I followed their lead.

If the people's good opinion and trust is not reciprocated by protecting their votes, or if they're denied civil and peaceful channels to defend their rights, then dangerous paths will lie ahead. And those who refuse to tolerate peaceful conduct will bear the responsibility for any consequences.

If the very large magnitude of the cheating and vote-rigging, which has fueled popular discontent, is cited as proof of the absence of cheating, then the Republic is headed for the slaughterhouse, and the allegation that Islam and republicanism are contradictory will have been proven.

As I gaze upon the political landscape, I find it engineered for purposes that transcend the mere imposition of an unwanted Chief Executive. It's an attempt to impose a new political reality on the nation.

As a companion who has seen the beauty of your green wave, I will never permit myself to endanger your lives by my actions. Nevertheless, I'm firm in my view that the recent election is invalid, and I insist on the fulfillment of the people's rights.

Despite my limited authority and influence, I continue to believe that your motivation and creativity--expressed through novel civic activities--will enable you to pursue, and attain, your legitimate rights.

Rest assured that I continue to be at your side.

Your brother and companion,

Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Today, during a CNBC interview (video below) on health care, and financial industry reforms, President Barack Obama sent a scathingly sharp subliminal message to belligerent regimes everywhere, I will crush you like a bug. 

During the interview the President was aggressively buzzed by a bellicose fly.  The militant Diptera irritated the Commander in Chief, and leader of the free world one time too many. 

Sans a scintilla of swagger, with a move so blindingly fast and smooth guaranteed to make Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid envious, the President took out the annoying insect.

Austin: I've lost my mojo.
Felicity Shagwell: Oh, so that's why you...
Austin: Yes! Yes!
Felicity Shagwell: [smiles] I thought you didn't like me!
Austin: Oh no, baby. You're very shagadelic. I just didn't want to fall in love again, and I thought you'd never love me without my mojo. It's not you. You're fab, you're switched on, you're a bit of alright! YES!                              

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Democratic strategist Paul Begala has written a brilliant point-by-point rebuttal of GOP consultant Frank Luntz's widely circulated strategy memo on health care.  

Begala urges Democrats to push back hard against "Republican Orwellian rhetoric."  He has written a blueprint for us all to help win one of the most important debates of our lifetime.

Now, you may think that I'm raising this document before you, this -- this plan for how to kill health care, and that maybe it doesn't have any bearing on the real debate, but it absolutely does. These talking points are being echoed in this very chamber in order to kill health care.

Here we go. Frank Luntz's memo, that's his memo on how to kill health care, came out in April. It says - talking point number five - "Health denial care horror stories in Canada and other countires do resonate, but you have to humanize them. You notice we recommend the phrase 'government takeover' rather than 'government run' or 'government control.'" Why? Because government takeover sounds even scarier.

So what did we hear in the chamber from our minority leader just recently? I quote - "Americans are concerned about a government takeover of health care and for good reason." And it goes on. So recognize that that is a point that's coming from a document about how to kill health care, not a responsible debate about the plan we have in front of us.

"What we're hearing from the Republican leadership on the floor of the Senate is vaguely familiar. Dr. Frank I. Luntz issued this plan," said Durbin, waving a copy of a memo that Luntz wrote several months ago, outlining rhetorical tactics to oppose health care reform.

Durbin highlighted arguments made by Republican leadership: "They tell horror stories about health care stories in other countries. That would be Dr. Frank Luntz's talking point number five." And on he went, referring over and over to the talking points outlined in the Luntz memo.

Grim goes on to describe how Senate Democrats had been previously exposed to Luntz's "mendacious methods:"

Luntz himself had briefed them at a Democratic retreat earlier this year. His co-panelist: Paul Begala.

Since that January retreat, he has also briefed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) personally, a Reid aide confirmed. The message to the leader and to the Senate Democratic caucus was the same: Words matter.

From now on, the Republicans are never going to get more than 10 to 20 percent of the Negro vote and they don't need any more than that... but Republicans would be shortsighted if they weakened enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. The more Negroes who register as Democrats in the South, the sooner the Negrophobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans. That's where the votes are. Without that prodding from the blacks, the whites will backslide into their old comfortable arrangement with the local Democrats. (WikipediA)

Listen to the late Lee Atwater in a 1981 interview explaining the evolution of the G.O.P.'s Southern strategy:

''You start out in 1954 by saying, 'Nigger, nigger, nigger.' By 1968 you can't say 'nigger' -- that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [that] you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites.

''And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me -- because obviously sitting around saying, 'We want to cut this,' is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than 'Nigger, nigger.'''

Atwater, who would manage George H.W. Bush's successful run for the presidency in 1988 (the Willie Horton campaign) and then serve as national party chairman, was talking with Alexander P. Lamis, a political-science professor at Case Western Reserve University. Mr. Lamis quoted Atwater in the book ''Southern Politics in the 1990's.''

The truth is that there was very little that was subconscious about the G.O.P.'s relentless appeal to racist whites. Tired of losing elections, it saw an opportunity to renew itself by opening its arms wide to white voters who could never forgive the Democratic Party for its support of civil rights and voting rights for blacks.

It's an event that's happening with enough frequency to suggest the presence of a design, a plan that not only sketches the outline of a reelection strategy but manages to drive a wedge into the opposition at the same time. Call it a Sherman's March in reverse -- an audacious attempt by Obama to burn down any lines of escape for Republicans from their one refuge of popularity, the deep South.

Since taking office in January, Obama has made an effort to convert GOP moderates in nearly every region of the country, ranging from a former Midwestern congressman, Ray LaHood, who became transportation secretary, to Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who was recently named ambassador to China.

"Boxing the Republicans into a South-dominated party is very good strategy, because the more you reduce the Republican Party, the more conservative and reactionary it will become, and thus less attractive to moderates," said Tom Schaller, a University of Maryland-Baltimore County professor and the author of "Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South." "The Midwest and the Northeast are the places where there are still remnants of old-line Rockefeller Republicans. And these are the places where the Democrats will build durable majorities."

More than 6 in 10 Republicans today are white conservatives, while most of the rest are whites with other ideological leanings; only 11% of Republicans are Hispanics, or are blacks or members of other races. By contrast, only 12% of Democrats are white conservatives, while about half are white moderates or liberals and a third are nonwhite.

Christof: We've become bored with watching actors give us phony emotions. We are tired of pyrotechnics and special effects. While the world he inhabits is, in some respects, counterfeit, there's nothing fake about Truman himself. No scripts, no cue cards. It isn't always Shakespeare, but it's genuine. It's a life. 

Because they know they cannot win the argument honestly, Republicans are resorting to mendacity. Democrats must not let them get away with it."

...the overwhelming majority of American support health care reform. In fact, Dr. Luntz himself notes that voters trust Democrats over Republicans by a whopping 20 percent on health care . If health care reform were unpopular, Republicans would not resort to misleading rhetoric to mask their opposition.

The Republicans have three goals:
1. Co-opt our messaging
2. Confuse voters
3. Kill health care reform

When Republicans repeat the Luntz talking point about humanizing the argument, we should say: When I think of health care reform, I think of ____________________. She works hard and plays by the rules. But she could no longer afford health insurance after her hours were cut back and her pay was cut. Now her daughter has asthma and she can't afford an office visit for an inhaler - and the bills from the emergency room visits are piling up.

I also think of __________________. He has health insurance, thank goodness, but he's worried. Worried about rising premiums pricing him out of the market. Worried about rising co-pays and deductibles hollowing out his insurance. Worried that if, God forbid, a real medical emergency strikes, some corporate bureaucrat will say the fine print of his policy doesn't cover him or his family.

When Republicans repeat the Luntz talking point about pretending to acknowledge the health care crisis, we should say: Obviously, if you don't have health insurance or can't afford health care, it's a crisis. But most Americans also lack the peace of mind that comes from knowing they're not one illness or one accident away from bankruptcy. They need the peace of mind that comes from knowing costs won't be jacked up beyond their ability to pay, that even if times are tough, they will still have a guarantee of quality, affordable health care.

When Republicans repeat the Luntz talking point about delayed care, we should say: Everyone has a health insurance nightmare story. It's either happened to you or someone you know. The insurance company won't pay for something you need or makes you jump through hoops to get it. We fix the health care system, and not only will you be able to keep the insurance you have now if you like it, but it will be better. We'll have rules to stop them denying you care. And they'll have to charge you less because they'll be competing with a new public health insurance option. So if you get fed up, you've got somewhere to go.

When Republicans repeat the Luntz talking point about Washington bureaucrats and politicians controlling care, we should say: The Republicans want to put corporations in control; we want to put you in control. Right now, insurance companies boost their profits by saying no to what you need. When we fix the system, they'll be regulated so they have to charge reasonable prices and deliver quality service. You and your doctor will be more in control because you won't be arguing with insurance company bureaucrats all the time.

When Republicans repeat the Luntz talking point about Canada-care, we should say: We're America. We cured polio and invented the pacemaker. We're not Canada or Britain or anywhere else. Pres. Obama is committed to a uniquely American health care solution that builds on the best of what works now, but reduces cost and increases access. Our plan will also protect that classic American right: the right to choose. You will be able to choose your doctor and choose your plan.

When Republicans repeat the Luntz talking point that our plan will deny treatment and increase waiting, we should say: Every day, insurance companies deny people care. As health care costs keep rising, it will only get worse. And yet the Republicans are committed to a system that puts profits ahead of people. That's why they oppose Pres. Obama's reforms and why they have no reform plan of their own. Our plan reduces costs, increases access, and protects choice.

When Republicans repeat the Luntz talking point that our plan is "one size fits all" we should say: President Obama's health care plan gives you MORE choice than you have now. Right now, all most people have is the one or two plans offered through work -- and if you're out on your own in the private market, chances are you've got even less choice because health insurance is so expensive. When we create a new public health insurance option, you'll have one more choice. And you'll know that choice will be guaranteed to have the benefits you need, and you'll be able to afford it. So if you like what you have - great - you can choose to stay with it. But you'll also have an affordable alternative. And that's something most people don't have now.

As for the doctor-patient relationship: The doctor-patient relationship is under assault under the current system. Every time someone loses his/her health insurance, the doctor-patient relationship is interrupted. Every time someone can't afford to keep up with rising costs, rising premiums, rising co-pays, rising deductibles, the doctor-patient relationship is severed. By reducing costs, expanding access and ensuring quality we put the doctor-patient relationship at the heart of our health care reform.

When the Republicans repeat the Luntz talking point about waste, fraud and abuse, we should say: Obviously there is waste, fraud and abuse. But where's your plan to tackle them? Who do you think is going to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse: The entrenched interests making millions off of waste, fraud and abuse? Premiums have skyrocketed, CEO pay is through the roof, and insurance company profits are up, and we get less and less actual health care, while spending more and more money. It's time we had real reform and insurance companies had real rules to protect consumers.

When Republicans repeat the Luntz talking point about how government really should help those who can't afford health care, we should say: Pres. Obama is committed to health care reform. So am I. But the Republicans oppose reform. They have opposed every effort to reduce costs, every effort to make health care more affordable, every effort to expand coverage and to protect patients and their right to choose their doctor and their plan. They are the last defenders of the old, failed status quo. We are the reformers.

The Republican "plan" is really just the status quo on steroids. They want to keep pumping more money - your money - into the same broken system. If we fix the system, preserve the free market while we sensibly regulate insurance companies, and create a new public health insurance option, people will be able to afford good health care.

When Republicans repeat the Luntz talking point that they're really for reform, we should say: Their plan is the status quo. Their plan is rising costs. Their plan is corporate bureaucrats and HMOs getting between you and your doctor. Their plan is cherry-picking the healthy and the wealthy and dumping you if you commit the sin of getting sick or injured. Their plan is Washington entrenched interests and lobbyists getting rich while working Americans get soaked. That's why they oppose our plan for real reform.

Oh, you're so condescending
Your gall is never ending
We don't want nothin', not a thing from you

Your life is trite and jaded
Boring and confiscated
If that's your best, your best won't do

Oh, we're not gonna take it
No, we ain't gonna take it
Oh, we're not gonna take it anymore

Commenting on the controversy surrounding what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was told about the Bush administration's use of harsh interrogation techniques, numerous media figures have resorted to attacking Pelosi's looks. 

• During the May 17 edition of CNN's State of the Union, CNN contributor Alex Castellanos claimed that "if Speaker Pelosi were still capable of human facial expression, we'd see she'd be embarrassed...

• During the May 15 broadcast of his radio show, referring to Pelosi, Neal Boortz said he was going to talk about "how fun it is to watch that hag out there twisting in the wind."

• On the June 30, 2008, edition of his radio program, Michael Savage said of Pelosi: "It's Mussolini at work -- Mussolini in a skirt with bad rouge; Mussolini if he came back and wore ugly clothing and put on bad makeup and had too much Botox. He would be calling for the Fairness Doctrine, assuming he would still own the winery and the bad restaurant chain."

• During the October 31, 2006, edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, Republican pollster Frank Luntz said of Pelosi: "I always use the line for Nancy Pelosi, 'You get one shot at a facelift. If it doesn't work the first time, let it go.' "

• On the January 26 broadcast of his program, Limbaugh claimed that if Pelosi "wants fewer births, I have the way to do this -- and it won't require any contraception: You simply put pictures of Nancy Pelosi --  in every cheap motel room in America today. That will keep birthrates down because that picture will keep a lot of things down."

A coalition of progressive groups sought Monday to have 12 Bush administration lawyers disbarred for their roles in crafting the legal rationale for so-called enhanced interrogation techniques that many view as torture.

"It is time to hold these lawyers accountable for violating their legal oath," Kevin Zeese, an attorney for the coalition, said in a written statement.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan, ©1963

Eddie Valiant: So that's why you killed Acme and Maroon? For this freeway? I don't get it.

Judge Doom: Of course not. You lack vision, but I see a place where people get on and off the freeway. On and off, off and on all day, all night. Soon, where Toon Town once stood will be a string of gas stations, inexpensive motels, restaurants that serve rapidly prepared food. Tire salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards reaching as far as the eye can see. My God, it'll be beautiful.

conservatism - con·ser·va·tism [ kən súrvə tìzzəm ] - noun
1. reluctance to accept change: unwillingness or slowness to accept change or new ideas
2. right-wing political viewpoint: a right-of-center political philosophy based on a tendency to support gradual rather than abrupt change and to preserve the status quo
3. desire to preserve current societal structure: an ideology that views the existing form of society as worthy of preservation

You would probably be surprised if I didn't have some reactions and advice to offer, as you explicitly state you are "modeled on Democracy Corps." Given your goal, I am perplexed that your first poll would be so outside the mainstream on partisanship. Your poll gives the Democrats just a 2-point party identification advantage in the country, but other public polls in this period fell between +7 and +16 points - giving the Democrats an average advantage of 11 points. Virtually all your issue debates in the survey would have tilted quite differently had the poll been 9 points more Democratic.

The problem of partisanship pales before the problem of self-deluding bias in question wording that might well contribute to Republicans digging themselves deeper and deeper into a hole.

Your most important finding was the strong opposition to Barack Obama's budget when you describe it for voters. Ed, from your platform on Meet the Press you told Republican leaders they can confidently oppose this budget and expect independents to side with them.

In effect, your survey has you winning an argument with yourself. Indeed, that is where you start your analysis of the first poll - telling readers in bold and underlined type that you are winning the big ideological debate by two-to-one, which "verifies America remains a center-right country." In this seminal debate, one side says:

Government policies should promote opportunity by fostering job growth, encouraging entrepreneurs, and allowing people to keep more of what they earn.

The other, pathetically out-of-touch side says:

Government policies should promote fairness by narrowing the gap between rich and poor, spreading the wealth, and making sure that economic outcomes are more equal.

The party leaders all personify the geographic and ideological base -- namely, southern white conservatives, he said. The emphasis on cultural issues is ill-fitting in the current climate. The strict opposition to the president's economic plans was almost transparent in its motivation. And the criticism of the stimulus was "defining their party as utterly uncaring during this time of crisis."

Thank you for your critique of the first Resurgent Republic survey. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, you should be flattered. We admire the work of Democracy Corps, and hope we can further public debate on important issues.

doomed [ doomd ] - adjective
1. destined to disaster: condemned to suffer a dreadful fate, especially one that is imminent and inescapable
   From that time, the creature was doomed to extinction.
2. in danger of the eternal punishment of hell.

                Judge Doom In Wheelchair For Obama Inauguration