To Jail With Him!

Big News -- ABRAMOFF IS GOING TO JAIL!

Here's the story from USA Today...

Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a business partner were sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in federal prison, the minimum they faced for fraud related to their 2000 purchase of the SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet.

Abramoff and Adam Kidan both pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud, but they won't have to report to prison immediately.

The judge postponed their reporting date for at least 90 days so the two can continue cooperating in a Washington corruption investigation and a Florida probe into the killing of former SunCruz owner Konstantinos Boulis. Both deny roles in the killing. Abramoff pleaded guilty in connection with the corruption probe but has yet to be sentenced.

In court Wednesday, Abramoff said the fraud case was "incredibly painful" for himself, his family and his friends.

"In the past two years I have started the process of becoming a new man," he said.

Under their plea agreement, both men had faced a sentence of between five years, 10 months, and seven years, three months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Paul Huck also ordered them Wednesday to pay restitution of more than $21 million.

Abramoff and Kidan admitted concocting a fake $23 million wire transfer to make it appear they had made a large cash contribution to the $147.5 million purchase of SunCruz Casinos. Based on that fake transfer, lenders provided the pair with $60 million in financing.

The same week Abramoff pleaded guilty to the SunCruz fraud, he entered guilty pleas to three federal charges as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe that could involve up to 20 members of Congress and aides, including former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

In addition to assisting in that investigation, Abramoff, 47, and Kidan, 41, are expected to give statements in the investigation into the Feb. 6, 2001, slaying of Boulis, who was gunned down at the wheel of his car amid a power struggle over the gambling fleet. Three men face murder charges, including one who worked for Kidan as a consultant at SunCruz and who allegedly has ties to New York's Gambino crime family.

Both Abramoff and Kidan have repeatedly denied any role in or knowledge of the Boulis murder. But prosecutors say Kidan has not been ruled out as a suspect and defense attorneys say Abramoff could provide critical inside information about the dispute with Boulis, who also founded the Miami Subs restaurant chain.

Ultimately, cooperation in those investigations could reduce Abramoff's and Kidan's sentences.

Abramoff, who was wearing a tan baseball-style cap, didn't speak to reporters as he and his lawyers left court after the sentencing.

Before the hearing, more than 260 people — including rabbis, military officers and even a professional hockey referee — wrote letters on the men's behalf asking the judge for leniency.

The letters, obtained by The Associated Press, put a new spin on the foibles and crimes of a man who became the face of Washington's latest corruption scandal.

"Jack is a good person, who in his quest to be successful, lost sight of the rules," National Hockey League referee Dave Jackson wrote, describing the time Abramoff brought 14 youngsters to his dressing room before a game.

Kidan, in his own letter to the judge, said he knew the SunCruz deal was wrong but said he "was very caught up in the fast paced world of my partner and the high profile that came along with it." He added, "I am not the horrible person that the media has written about."

LINK: Abramoff gets almost 6 years in fraud case

-Mr. Joseph

Alec Baldwin vs. Sean Hannity

Here is the transcript to a brutal battle of wits over the radio.

Hollywood liberal Alec Baldwin stormed out of an in-studio radio interview Sunday night after he was confronted on the phone by radio hosts Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.
Baldwin was 30 minutes into a planned two-hour-plus sitdown with WABC Radio's Brian Whitman when Hannity called in.

The fireworks commenced almost immediately.

HANNITY: Alec, I wanted to give you an official WABC welcome considering you were supposed to come on my program last week and you didn't show up. What happened?
BALDWIN: No, I wasn't supposed to come on your program, Sean Hannity.
HANNITY: No, actually you were supposed to come on the program because a deal was made with your agent that if you were going to come on with Brian, first you'd come on with me.
BALDWIN: I wouldn't dream of coming on your program, Sean Hannity. I'm here with Brian. I'm here with a really talented broadcaster.
HANNITY: [Crosstalk] that you are, you don't tell the truth.
BALDWIN: Why would I want to come on the show with a no-talent, former construction worker hack like you?
HANNITY: Are you the guy that said of our vice president, while we're at war, while we're leading troops in harm's way - are you the reckless, third-rate Hollywood actor who said that Dick Cheney is a terrorist? Are you the guy . . .
BALDWIN: Yes I am.
HANNITY: ... who said to stone Henry Hyde to death? Are you the guy who said our president is a CIA mass murderer? I wanted you to come on the program and defend that, you gutless coward.
BALDWIN: At first I thought this was a joke. But you can hear all the acid venom spewing hatred. It is Sean Hannity.

[END EXCERPT]

The exchange got even hotter when Mark Levin joined in.

LEVIN: We've only just begun - are you 40 or 50 pounds overweight now?
WHITMAN: Oh, C'mon now . . . .
HANNITY: Once and for all you need to be challenged. You want to call our vice president a terrorist - fine. You want to talk about stoning people to death, say it on my program. If you want to be irresponsible and call our president a mass murderer while he's at war leading troops in harm's way ...
BALDWIN: And what are you gonna do about it, Sean Hannity?
HANNITY: You don't have the courage to answer questions.
BALDWIN: And what are you gonna do? And what are you going to do about it, Sean Hannity. If I come on your program, what are you going to do?
LEVIN: He's going to show that you have a two digit IQ - that's what he's gonna do.
BALWIN: What are you going to do?
LEVIN: I just told you - you've got a two digit IQ.
BALDWIN: And who's that - who's your little cabin boy there with you.
LEVIN: I'm not a cabin boy, butt-boy.
BALDWIN: What are you doing there, cabin boy? ... I now dub you Sean Hannity's cabin boy.
LEVIN: And you know what you are? You're "Brokeback" Alec.

[END EXCERPT]

The confrontation continued to spiral out of control, with Whitman intermittently trying to make peace and Baldwin repeatedly urging him to move on to other callers.

BALDWIN: Listen, Sean - you incredibly ignorant boob from Long Island ...
HANNITY: Oh, ouch, Alec.
BALDWIN: No, no, no, you've spoken, let me talk, Sean. Cause you've been spewing your ...
HANNITY: You're a third-rate Hollywood egomaniac.
BALDWIN: You're a no-talent, ignorant fool from Long Island. You should go back to building houses in Hempstead.
LEVIN: Why was your [former] wife [Kim Basinger] so pissed off at you, anyway?
WHITMAN: Now, c'mon guys.
BALDWIN: OK. We're done. [Gets up and leaves the studio]
WHITMAN: Come back. Come back. Alec? They're gone. Alec? Alec has walked out of the studio. Alec, please come back.

Here's the audio clip...
Baldwin vs. Hannity

Alec Baldwin wins. The "Cabin boy" comment was hilarious.

That's it!
-Mr. Joseph

PS I also blogged about this on my original blog. Check it out...

Cheney's Approval in Perspective...

This is a great article from The Washington Post...

These must be sobering days for Vice President Cheney as he reflects on recent events from his secret Fortress of Solitude.

Iraq teeters on the brink of civil war. The Bush agenda is in tatters. And one of his friends is recovering from an accidental gunshot wound inflicted by Cheney on a hunting trip. A particularly unfortunate mishap, as we learned last week, because Cheney wounded one of the rarest birds in America: someone who actually likes the vice president.

The latest CBS News poll found that only 18 percent of the public has a favorable view of Cheney. How bad is a rating of 18 percent? According to a quick review of polling archives, it arguably makes Cheney:

· Less popular than singer Michael Jackson , bedmate of little boys and world-class screwball. One in four Americans -- 25 percent -- told Gallup polltakers last June they were still Jackson fans after the onetime King of Pop was found not guilty of child molesting.

· Less popular than former football star O.J. Simpson was after his arrest and trial for murdering his estranged wife and her companion. Three in 10 -- 29 percent -- of all Americans had a favorable view of Simpson in an October, 1995 Gallup poll.

· Less popular with Americans than Joseph Stalin is with Russians. In 2003, fully 20 percent said Stalin, blamed for millions of deaths in the former Soviet Union during the 1930s and 1940s, was a "wise and humane" leader. Thirty-one percent also said they wouldn't object if Uncle Joe came back to rule again, according to surveys conducted by Russian pollsters.

· Much less popular than former Vice President Spiro Agnew in his final days in office. Forty-five percent approved of the job that Agnew was doing as President Richard Nixon's veep in a Gallup Poll conducted in August 1973, little more than a month before Agnew resigned and pleaded no contest to a criminal tax evasion charge arising from a bribery investigation.

· Far less popular than former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey days after he announced in August 2004 that he had engaged in an extramarital affair with a man and would resign. His job approval rating bumped from 43 to 45 percent.

But take heart, Dick. About 35 percent of those interviewed by the CBS poll didn't offer an opinion of you. Perhaps some of your supporters were shy. And other polls released later in the week pegged your popularity considerably higher.

Besides, even at 18 percent you're not the least popular public figure in America. You're slightly better liked than that fabulously blond and brainless party girl Paris Hilton. She was viewed favorably last June by 15 percent of the public, according to Gallup.

LINK: 18%?

-Mr. Joseph

"My Slump"

This is a hilarious video from MadTV called "My Slump" a parody of George W. Bush.

It is sung in the style of the God-Awful song, "My Humps" by the Black-Eyed Peas.

Here's the clip...

LINK: "My Slump"

-Mr. Joseph

Hilter / Coulter Quiz

Take this quiz and see how you do...

LINK: Hitler / Coulter Quiz

-Mr. Joseph

Conservative Pundits Smear Helen Thomas

From Media Matters regarding the smear campaign against Helen Thomas.

Summary: After the contentious exchange between Hearst Newspapers columnist Helen Thomas and President Bush during Bush's March 21 press conference, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and several other conservative commentators rushed to attack Thomas. O'Reilly accused her of "hat[ing] Bush and try[ing] to undermine everything he does," and even suggesting that if he were Bush, he "would have laid her out." Several other conservative media figures -- including Jonah Goldberg, Fred Barnes, Glenn Beck, and Tucker Carlson -- have followed suit, sometimes with highly personal attacks.

LINK: O'Reilly, others smear veteran journalist Helen Thomas over exchange with Bush

Enjoy!
-Mr. Joseph

Russ Feingold on the Daily Show in regards to the Censure

Russ Feingold is so cool. He is the Senator from my home state of Wisconsin and he is kicking ass right now in his bid for a censure on the President.

Here is a video clip of him on the Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart.

LINK: Russ Feingold on the Daily Show

From Crooks and Liars...

Jon Stewart had on Russ Feingold tonight and let's just say that he rocked. He rocked because he spoke truth to power. He made his case simply and to the point.

Feingold: I was taught that the congress makes the laws and the president is supposed to sign them and enforce them. He's not supposed to make them up.---How many times are we going to let George Bush and Dick Cheney say you guys don't support the troops, you're not patriotic and let them push us around?

He stood up with conviction and said we're not going to take it any longer. He gave a clear and precise answer to James " less tainted" Boehner, (who had his hands dirty with tobacco money) and said the President needs to be responsible for his actions and has to follow the law. Something that this administration fails to recognize and something many of the "consultant-led" Dems need to learn from.

Feingold did an end-run around the party bosses. The audience at the Daily Show was effusive; you could hear the the ardor he inspired. Feingold was funny without being glib and he came across as self-effacing, principled, and just awkward enough with the format to be thoroughly charming. And his message set the crowd to cheering...

Keep at it, Russ!
-Mr. Joseph

Horowitz and Robertson on College Proffessors

The Rev. Robertson believes they are "killers".

Here's the video. Listen closely about 45 seconds in.
LINK: Horowitz on the 700 Club

I like how he adds a plug for his own Regent University...
-Mr. Joseph

Televangelist vs. Pat Robertson

TV Evangelist, Jack Van Impe reportedly called out Pat Robertson on his hate speech...

From Media Matters

Televangelist and self-proclaimed Biblical prophecy expert Jack Van Impe denounced Pat Robertson's call for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, comparing Robertson to Osama bin Laden.

From the August 30 broadcast of Jack Van Impe Presents:

VAN IMPE: And right now, the National Association of Evangelicals informs us that this man has done damage, and it could actually take the lives of some of the missionaries in South America because the news media in South America is bombarding this thing across the airwaves around the clock. God forgive him.

[...]

Not only that, but Mr. Robertson, you are pro-life, and yet you wanted the members of the Supreme Court to die last year, and now the president of Venezuela. We believe this book: Thou shalt not kill; Exodus 20, verse 13. And my Bible says that this is wrong, and I want to challenge you right now to change your ways. Because we as Christians do not need an Osami [sic] Bin Laden leading us.

The weekly program Jack Van Impe Presents is carried on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the world's largest Christian broadcasting outlet; TBN also broadcasts Robertson's The 700 Club, on which his comments about Chavez originally appeared. Founded in 1973 by Paul and Jan Crouch, TBN currently owns 23 U.S. full-power television stations and 252 low-power TV stations. TBN has also produced films, including The Omega Code. Van Impe's program, in addition to appearing on TBN, is syndicated to TV stations across the country and is broadcast internationally as a radio program. Van Impe is the author of several books, including Revelation Revealed: A Verse-by-Verse Study (W Publishing Group, 1997).

LINK: Televangelist Jack Van Impe called Robertson "an Osami bin Laden"

I thought Jack Van Impe was crazy, but this is funny.

-Mr. Joseph

PS I originally blogged about Jack Van Impe on my first blog. Check it out...

Glenn Beck is a disgrace

This is a Media Matters compilation of radio host Glen Beck's remarks on his program.

From Media Matters...

LINK: Media Matters audio compilation of Beck remarks

This man is disgusting. He should be taken off the air...

-Mr. Joseph

"How to spot a conservative baby"

This article is just to amazing.

Originally, from The Toronto Star, but the page has been taken down...

Here is an excerpt...

Remember the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints? Chances are he grew up to be a conservative.

At least, he did if he was one of 95 kids from the Berkeley area that social scientists have been tracking for the last 20 years. The confident, resilient, self-reliant kids mostly grew up to be liberals.

The study from the Journal of Research Into Personality isn't going to make the UC Berkeley professor who published it any friends on the right. Similar conclusions a few years ago from another academic saw him excoriated on right-wing blogs, and even led to a Congressional investigation into his research funding.

But the new results are worth a look. In the 1960s Jack Block and his wife and fellow professor Jeanne Block (now deceased) began tracking more than 100 nursery school kids as part of a general study of personality. The kids' personalities were rated at the time by teachers and assistants who had known them for months. There's no reason to think political bias skewed the ratings — the investigators were not looking at political orientation back then. Even if they had been, it's unlikely that 3- and 4-year-olds would have had much idea about their political leanings.

A few decades later, Block followed up with more surveys, looking again at personality, and this time at politics, too. The whiny kids tended to grow up conservative, and turned into rigid young adults who hewed closely to traditional gender roles and were uncomfortable with ambiguity.

The confident kids turned out liberal and were still hanging loose, turning into bright, non-conforming adults with wide interests.

Read the FULL article here...

LINK: How to spot a baby conservative: Whiny children, claims a new study,
Explains a little bit doesn't it?

-Mr. Joseph

UPDATE (12/3/07):
However, in all fairness, there was this report released just recently.

UPDATE II (12/3/07):
This has nothing to do with anything, but the words "conservative" and "baby" made me think of this video...

An End of an Era...thank God!

According to this news report, The Whitewater Scandal has finally, finally come to a close.

From CNN...

The seven-year, $70 million Whitewater investigation that toppled an Arkansas governor and dogged Bill Clinton for most of his presidency officially drew to a close Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the last remaining appeal.

Former Gov. Jim Guy Tucker had asked the high court to let him withdraw a guilty plea in a tax-conspiracy case that he said was based on an outdated law. Tucker was accused of crookedly scheming to reduce his tax liability on the sale of a cable television system.

"It has been drawn out a long time," said W. Hickman Ewing, who was a chief deputy to Whitewater special prosecutor Kenneth W. Starr. "It just shows you people can keep things going."

Tucker became Arkansas governor in 1992 after Clinton was elected president. He resigned in 1996 after being convicted in a separate case, also brought by Whitewater prosecutors, involving a small business loan. Because of poor health, Tucker never went to prison but served 18 months of home detention.

In the cable case, Tucker's previous arguments led a federal judge to cut the amount of restitution owed from $1 million to $63,000. Tucker argued further that the government used the wrong section of the law when it pursued him.

"It's disappointing that there will never be a report in a court of law as to how this independent counsel, with all its resources and purported brilliance, managed to indict a citizen by use of a repealed statute," Tucker said Monday.

The appeal was the lone remnant of the Clinton-era Whitewater probe, and the cable television case had nothing to do with the Arkansas land development that gave the investigation its name. Starr won permission from then-Attorney General Janet Reno to broaden the investigation when Tucker's name came up in the business loan case.

Tucker has long argued that he would never have been pursued by prosecutors if not for Clinton. Ewing said Monday: "It's probably true."

In a 1996 trial involving the business loan, a federal jury convicted Tucker with former Clinton Whitewater business partners James and Susan McDougal. Tucker quit and was replaced by Mike Huckabee, who still holds the job.

Clinton was never charged.

LINK: Whitewater investigation finally ends

Finally.
-Mr. Joseph

UPDATE (12/3/07):
Now, regarding Whitewater, check out this film...

Official Website: The Hunting of the President, official movie site

Progressive Patriots Fund

I received an email from Russ Feingold and he sent this link... please check it out and take a look.

LINK: Progressive Patriots Fund

Thanks,
-Mr. Joseph

Have you no sense of decency, Neil?

Apparently, Neil Cavuto enjoys watching women pole-dance...

From Media Matters...

Just before adult film actress Mary Carey was to attend a March 16 fundraising dinner given by the National Republican Congressional Committee, Fox News host Neil Cavuto interviewed Carey about her professed intention to run for California governor for a second time in the upcoming election. But before hosting Carey on Your World, Cavuto teased the interview with video footage of Carey dressed in a French maid's uniform performing a pole dance.

Over video footage of Carey pole-dancing, Cavuto informed viewers, "Her political platform included taxing breast implants and making lap dances tax deductible. But before you laugh at porn star Mary Carey, remember this: She placed 10th of 135 candidates running for California governor. Wait 'til you hear what she's up to now."

As Media Matters for America has previously noted, Victoria's Secret and Playboy models, along with other adult-oriented entertainers, are a staple on Your World. During the December 14, 2005, broadcast of the show, Cavuto reported on NBC's decision to remove a video of Pamela Anderson pole-dancing during a December 12 special on Elton John. Cavuto played the video that NBC censored, declaring that while the video was "too hot" for NBC, it was "[n]ot for [Fox News]!"

From the March 16 broadcast of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto:

CAVUTO: We have a lot more coming up for you in the next half-hour. Her political platform included taxing breast implants and making lap dances tax deductible. But before you laugh at porn star Mary Carey, remember this: She placed 10th of 135 candidates running for California governor. Wait 'till you hear what she's up to now. Meet her, next.

LINK: Cavuto's news peg: Porn star's attendance at GOP fundraiser = more pole-dancing on Your World

...Two Mary Carey entries in one day... damn.

-Mr. Joseph

"You've done enough damage to the GOP!"

Here is a great video clip from Scarborough Country of Mary Carey talking about her experiences with Republicans in Washington D.C.

Enjoy!

LINK: Mary Carey on Scarborough Counry

-Mr. Joseph

Pat Robertson Attacks Muslims...again

I found another video clip of my favorite televangelist on Media Matters...

Pat Robertson called some Muslims "Satanic".

Here is the full report from Media Matters...

After 700 Club host Pat Robertson declared that Muslims who protested controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad were "satanic" and "crazed fanatics" who were "motivated by demonic power," adding that "the goal of Islam ... is world domination," the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) program removed Robertson's comments from its website "out of concerns they could be misinterpreted if taken out of context," according to a Robertson spokeswoman who was cited in a March 14 Associated Press report.

From the AP report, which cited Robertson spokeswoman Angell Watts:

Robertson's Virginia Beach-based network did not include his remarks when it posted the program on its Web site, however. That decision was made out of concern Robertson's remarks could be misinterpreted if viewed out of context, Watts said.

The AP also cited Watts's claim that it was "very clear" from the 700 Club news segment on the protesters that preceded Robertson's comments that he was "talking about radical Islam."

Robertson has frequently asserted that "Islam is not a religion of peace," as he did during the March 13 broadcast. For instance, as Media Matters for America previously noted, on the July 14, 2005, broadcast of The 700 Club, Robertson blurred the distinction between radical Islamists and the Muslim community at large, claiming that Islam instructs its followers to commit acts of terrorism. Robertson stated: "Islam, at least at its core, teaches violence. It's there in the Quran in clear, bold statements." The AP report noted that during a 2002 broadcast of the program, Robertson reportedly declared that Islam "is not a peaceful religion that wants to coexist. They want to coexist until they can control, dominate and then, if need be, destroy."

Robertson has also made other controversial remarks, such as at least twice calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez; proclaiming that then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's recent stroke was the result of Sharon's policy of withdrawal from the Gaza Strip; and suggesting that God would punish Disney World's annual Gay Days festivities by bringing "destruction of your nation" through "earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor."

From the March 13 broadcast of CBN's The 700 Club:

ROBERTSON: Imagine one cartoon, one cartoon showing Mohammad with a turban with a missile out of it. I mean, we have stuff like that, that is vastly worse against our politicians all the time. It's part of free expression. The fact that this elicited this incredible outpouring of rage just shows the kind of people we're dealing with. These people are crazed fanatics, and I want to say it now: I believe it's motivated by demonic power; it is satanic; and it's time we recognize what we are dealing with. But, political correctness will not face one religious ideology with the strength of another because they don't have the strength of another. And, so, they're caving in before this vicious assault, and the goal of Islam, ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not, is world domination. These people are saying it over there in Europe -- world domination. "We're going to take over Europe. We're going to take over England. We're going to take over Denmark. We're going to take over France." That's their goal! And, why don't we wake up to the fact of who we're dealing with? And, by the way, Islam is not a religion of peace.

LINK: 700 Club website scrubbed Robertson's controversial comments calling Muslims "satanic"

Wow, he just can't stop can he?

-Mr. Joseph

If it's Sunday, it's Conservative

A Media Matters Report...

Executive Summary...

The Sunday-morning talk shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC are where the prevailing opinions are aired and tested, policymakers state their cases, and the left and right in American politics debate the pressing issues of the day on equal ground. Both sides have their say and face probing questions. Or so you would think.

In fact, as this study reveals, conservative voices significantly outnumber progressive voices on the Sunday talk shows. Media Matters for America conducted a content analysis of ABC’s This Week, CBS’ Face the Nation, and NBC’s Meet the Press, classifying each one of the nearly 7,000 guest appearances during President Bill Clinton’s second term, President George W. Bush’s first term, and the year 2005 as either Democrat, Republican, conservative, progressive, or neutral. The conclusion is clear: Republicans and conservatives have been offered more opportunities to appear on the Sunday shows -- in some cases, dramatically so.

LINK: If it's Sunday, it's conservative

Interesting...check out Media Matters -- there are some great clips, stories, and other news on that site. It is a good site to keep updated with.

-Mr. Joseph

UPDATE (12/3/07):
LINK: If It's Sunday, It's Still Conservative

O'Reilly and "we don't do personal attacks here"

This is a collection of Video Clips put together by Media Matters for America. It is quite well done.

From Media Matters...

At Media Matters for America, we monitor, analyze, and correct conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Bill O'Reilly's steady stream of misinformation gives us plenty of material, and we thought it particularly noteworthy when he denied making personal attacks, given that he has such a long history of making them.

Link: O'Reilly attacks ... and attacks ... and attacks

No personal attacks, eh Bill?

-Mr. Joseph

O'Reilly threatens caller after mention of the word "Olbermann"

Oh Really? Haha...

From Media Matters...

On the March 2 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor, host Bill O'Reilly threatened to turn over the personal information of a caller to "Fox security" because the caller mentioned MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. As Media Matters for America has noted, in recent weeks, Olbermann has repeatedly awarded O'Reilly the "Worst Person in the World" designation during his show, MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. O'Reilly has responded, on several occasions, by asserting that MSNBC "is a true ratings disaster." The caller began by telling O'Reilly, "I like to listen to you during the day." Continuing, the caller stated, "I think Keith Olbermann's show," at which point O'Reilly disconnected the call, proclaiming: "Mike is -- he's a gone guy. You know, we have his -- we have your phone numbers, by the way. So, if you're listening, Mike, we have your phone number, and we're going to turn it over to Fox security, and you'll be getting a little visit."

Co-host E.D. Hill -- who also co-hosts Fox News' Fox & Friends -- chimed in: "Maybe Mike is from the mothership." O'Reilly responded that the caller was "going to get into big trouble, because we're not going to play around." Warning his listeners, O'Reilly continued: "When you call us, ladies and gentleman, just so you know, we do have your phone number, and if you say anything untoward, obscene, or anything like that, Fox security will then contact your local authorities, and you will be held accountable. Fair?"

Apparently, O'Reilly decided that mentioning Olbermann's name was "untoward" or "obscene." After Hill agreed with O'Reilly's apparent policy of turning over a caller's personal information to the authorities as being "fair," O'Reilly warned again that callers making "untoward" and "obscene" statements "will be held accountable. Believe it."

On the February 23 edition of his Fox News television program, The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly announced the launch of a petition on his website, www.BillO'Reilly.com, calling for the reinstatement of Phil Donahue, who previously hosted a show on MSNBC in the same 8 p.m. ET time slot as Olbermann's show. During the February 24 edition of Countdown, in response to O'Reilly's campaign, Olbermann aired a number of video clips from past Countdown editions and commented on several of the claims in O'Reilly's petition.

The weblog Crooks & Liars noted that the caller apparently was blogger Mike Stark, who has suggested on his Calling All Wingnuts blog that he is engaged in a campaign to call in to The Radio Factor to irritate O'Reilly.

From the March 2 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

O'REILLY: Orlando, Florida, Mike, go.

CALLER: Hey Bill, I appreciate you taking my call.

O'REILLY: Sure.

CALLER: I like to listen to you during the day, I think Keith Olbermann's show --

O'REILLY: There ya go, Mike is -- he's a gone guy. You know, we have his -- we have your phone numbers, by the way. So, if you're listening, Mike, we have your phone number, and we're going to turn it over to Fox security, and you'll be getting a little visit.

HILL: Maybe Mike is from the mothership.

O'REILLY: No, Maybe Mike is going to get into big trouble, because we're not going to play around. When you call us, ladies and gentleman, just so you know, we do have your phone number, and if you say anything untoward, obscene, or anything like that, Fox security then will contact your local authorities, and you will be held accountable. Fair?

HILL: That's fair.

O'REILLY: So, just -- all you guys who do this kind of a thing, you know, I know some shock jocks. Whatever. You will be held accountable. Believe it. We'll be right back.

LINK: O'Reilly threatened radio show caller with "a little visit" from "Fox security" for mentioning Olbermann's name on the air

Well, that was a bit odd. Not unlike O'Reilly, though. He is a bit touchy. When I first read the headline, I thought the caller was slamming O'Reilly with this feud, but all he really did was, in fact, MENTION Keith Olbermann (who is a perfectly legitimate journalist).

Well, that's it for now, stay tuned!
-Mr. Joseph

UPDATE (12/3/07):
So, it turns out the caller was Mike Stark, the same guy responsible for this...

LINK: Mike Stark visits Bill O'Reilly

Rush on Hillary: "Screeching ex-wife"

"Screeching ex-wife"? Well, he would know. He has three.

From Media Matters for America...

On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton "sounds like a screeching ex-wife."

During a segment in which he assessed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) presidential chances, nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh stated that Clinton "sounds like a screeching ex-wife." Limbaugh made his remark during the March 3 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show. After Limbaugh characterized how he thought Clinton "sounds," he qualified his statement, saying, "And -- and -- and I don't say that -- there's nothing against ex-wives or women. I'm just trying to be descriptive here for you." He went on to add, "Men will know what I mean by this."

As Media Matters for America has documented, Limbaugh has attacked Clinton on many previous occasions (for example, see here and here). In one instance, recounting a conversation with fans who had asked about Clinton's political prospects, Limbaugh said that Clinton "puts her pants on one leg at a time like every other guy does."

From the March 3 edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: She's responding to [Republican National Committee chairman] Ken Mehlman saying that she sounds mad, so she goes out and tries to sound soft and angelic, and she can't pull it off. She doesn't -- doesn't sound genuine.

But when -- when she's genuine, she sounds like a screeching ex-wife. And -- and -- and I don't say that -- there's nothing against ex-wives or women. I'm just trying to be descriptive here for you. Men will know what I mean by this. And I -- I -- I'm -- I'm sorry, I'm just -- I have, folks, the requisite understanding of the danger a Hillary presidency would pose. What I am not doing is quaking in fear over the possibility, yet, and I don't think that I ever will be. I just -- I'm -- I think "Hillary fear" is rooted in paranoia that dates back -- and it may be justified -- dates back to the eight years of Clinton where they got away with seemingly everything.

LINK: Limbaugh on Hillary Clinton: "She sounds like a screeching ex-wife. ... Men will know what I mean by this"

Oh, that's real good...

That's it for now!
-Mr. Joseph

How did DeLay with the Texas Primary?

Well, maybe he will be an easy target...

From the Washington Post

DeLay Wins Texas Republican Primary

In his first election since he was indicted and forced to stepaside as majority leader, Rep. Tom DeLay held off three challengers to keep the Republican nomination to the U.S. House. Now he faces what many consider the real contest _ a general election fight against an organized, well-funded Democrat with a score to settle.

Nick Lampson, who was unopposed in Tuesday's primary, represented a district adjacent to DeLay's for four terms until it was redrawn in a redistricting plan engineered by DeLay. Lampson lost in 2004 to Republican Ted Poe.

DeLay, 58, held on to his ballot position by avoiding public discussions of his considerable political problems _ a felony money-laundering indictment, close ties to lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the loss of his leadership position.

Instead, DeLay campaigned at carefully orchestrated events, avoided direct interviews with reporters and largely focused on his hometown of Sugar Land. It paid off with a 2-to-1 victory margin over lawyer Tom Campbell, who had ties to the first President Bush's administration, and two other candidates.

"That was an effective strategy to get through the primary," said political scientist Cal Jillson of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "But in the general election, he'll have to face Lampson and Steve Stockman, as well as the press, both local and national."

According to final but unofficial returns, DeLay scored 20,558 votes, or 62 percent, to Campbell's 9,937, or 30 percent. Stockman, a former Republican congressman, is considering running as an independent.

"Democrat attacks and the politics of personal destruction were heavily used by my opponents in this Republican primary, and they were rejected just like they will be in November," DeLay said in a statement.

Lampson spent the primary campaign season raising money in the Houston-area district, building support in Washington and around the country from Democrats who saw the first chance in 22 years to unseat the embattled DeLay. Lampson raised $2 million, about what it cost DeLay to keep the nomination.

Lampson told supporters that he was a man with "thick skin and hard hands" ready to take on DeLay. "Tom DeLay gets headlines for all the wrong reasons," he said. "Well, I'm looking forward to that headline on November 8th _ No Further DeLay."
DeLay was indicted last year and is awaiting trial on charges that he illegally funneled corporate donations to GOP candidates for the Texas House in 2002. The Republicans won a majority in the Legislature that year, and then pushed through DeLay's congressional redistricting plan that sent more Republicans to Washington in 2004. DeLay also has come under scrutiny over his ties to Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to fraud in January and is cooperating in an investigation of influence-peddling on Capitol Hill.

A former Democratic congressman from Houston won the right to challenge Republican Gov. Rick Perry in a state where the GOP holds every statewide office.
Chris Bell prevailed over Bob Gammage, a former Texas Supreme Court justice who jumped into the race in December after a decade out of politics. Bell got 338,116
votes, about 64 percent, to Gammage's 151,971, or 29 percent.Perry won his
primary easily, collecting 601,348 votes, or 85 percent, against three little-known opponents. Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and musician Kinky Friedman are each seeking about 45,000 signatures from voters who do not vote in the primary to get onto the fall ballot. They have until May 11 to turn in the signatures.

In another congressional contest, freshman Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar defeated former congressman Ciro Rodriguez, who served seven years on Capitol Hill before losing to Cuellar in 2004. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Cuellar had 53 percent of the ballots tallied. Rodriguez, who narrowly lost to Cuellar in the 2004 primary in the South Texas district, had 41 percent. Victor Morales had 2,534 votes, or 6 percent.

No Republicans were on the ballot for Cuellar's district, so Cuellar is almost assured of victory in November. Houston lawyer Barbara Radnofsky, a political newcomer, headed to a runoff against a perennial Democratic candidate Gene Kelly in a bid to challenge popular Republican U.S. Senate Kay Bailey Hutchison.

At least two veterans of the Iraq war are running for Congress from Texas. David T. Harris, a Democrat, is expected to take on Rep. Joe Barton in November, and Van Taylor, a Republican, won the nomination to go up against Democratic Rep. Chet Edwards in the Crawford-area district that includes President Bush's ranch.

He should lose and go to jail.
-Mr. Joseph

Focus on the Fraud

Because I believe part of my job is to be a watchdog -- here is an interesting article the people should read...

From CBS4 in Denver

A group said it has targeted Focus on the Family founder James Dobson for his work in opposing a proposed Indian casino that also was opposed by a client of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

The Campaign to Defend the Constitution, which describes itself as an online grass roots movement to combat the growing influence of the religious right, will launch its campaign that will feature radio and TV spots as well as newspaper ads, The Denver Post reported Tuesday.

Besides Dobson, the campaign also targets Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition, as well as the Rev. Lou Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition.

"We're trying to get the message out that things are going behind (the) scenes that people have a right to know about," said group spokeswoman Sarah Belanger.

Tom Minnery, Focus' senior vice president of government and public policy, said Dobson wrote letters regarding a casino proposed by the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians in 2002, but never produced radio ads as the group alleges.

"The left is even more desperate than I thought," Minnery said. "We're just amazed they keep trying to re-fashion the same stuff."

Abramoff fought the Jena proposal on behalf of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, which has a casino. In e-mails made public as part of a Senate investigation, Abramoff and Reed took credit for getting Dobson to produce radio ads, which Abramoff and Reed said were useful.

Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud in January and is cooperating in an investigation of influence-peddling on Capitol Hill.

"What we're really emphasizing is that it's hypocritical for a moral leader like James Dobson to be producing these ads when the money, whether he knew it or not, came from gambling interests," Belanger said.

LINK: Group Targets Dobson For Alleged Ties To Lobbyist

Well, I hope they are able to bring Dobson down.

-Mr. Joseph

Pat Robertson Update...

It's always nice to read some good news...

From FOXNews.com...

Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson, criticized by some evangelicals for comments about Venezuela's president and Israel's prime minister, lost a bid for re-election to the National Religious Broadcasters' board of directors.

Robertson, founder of the Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network, was one of 38 candidates for 33 board seats during the NRB's recent convention. The group represents mostly evangelical radio and TV broadcasters.

NRB President Frank Wright said there was no broad effort to distance the group from Robertson. But "there was broad dismay with some of Pat's comments and a feeling they were not helpful to Christian broadcasters in general," he said in Wednesday's Washington Post.

In the past few months, Robertson suggested that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez should be assassinated and that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment for pulling out of the Gaza Strip.

A Robertson spokeswoman said Thursday that he had been a board member for 30 years but attended only one board meeting "due to his extensive schedule."
"It was amicable and expected that he would not continue to serve" on the board, spokeswoman Angell Watts said in a statement.

Robertson has had a close relationship with the NRB, which named him Christian Broadcaster of the Year in 1989. The network's latest tax statement shows that CBN donated $161,300 to the NRB in 2004-05, The Virginian-Pilot newspaper of Norfolk reported Thursday.

Among the successful candidates for the board was Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the Washington-based American Center for Law and Justice, a nonprofit group founded by Robertson. Also on the NRB board is Michael D. Little, CBN president.

LINK: Robertson Loses Seat on Christian TV Board

-Mr. Joseph