Olbermann vs. Beck

vs.
This is a feud just waiting to happen! Think Progress documented the opening round...

Olbermann (via RollingStone) on CNN's Glenn Beck:

A wolf in sheep’s clothing. The very dangerously bigoted guy who is selling himself as a pragmatic philosopher. I don’t think he sees his own bigotry. There’s something about him that suggests that, one night, he’ll say something that will cost him his career in television.

LINK: KEITH OLBERMANN: TRUTH-TELLER

Beck (via his own TV Show):

Hey, Keith, you’re not saving the world’s democracy; you’re killing it, my friend, by trying to limit the marketplace of ideas to only those that reflect your own.

LINK: Glenn Beck Claims Olbermann Is ‘Killing…The World’s Democracy,’ ‘Smacks Of…McCarthyism’

-Mr. Joseph

Family Guy Rips on Falwell and Robertson

I think Family Guy is a pretty dumb show, but then again something like this happens...

Crooks and Liars:

While searching for his missing beloved teddy bear Rupert, Stewie tells Brian that without him he'd be lonlier than Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell after the rapture. God I love this show.

Robertson: Damn it, Jerry. Why are we the only ones still here?

Falwell: I don't know. We hated all the right things.

You think Falwell will sue McFarlane over this like he did Flynt?

LINK: Family Guy Rips on Falwell and Robertson

Mr. Joseph

Gore Responds To Drudge’s Latest Hysterics

Matt Drudge really gets on my nerves when it comes to his anti-global warming bias...

Think Progress...

The right-wing is angry that Al Gore has won so much public attention and goodwill for his work on global warming. Determined to smear his efforts, Drudge writes in a screaming headline:

Responding to Drudge’s latest attack, Vice President Gore’s office told ThinkProgress:

1) Gore’s family has taken numerous steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their private residence, including signing up for 100 percent green power through Green Power Switch, installing solar panels, and using compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy saving technology.

2) Gore has had a consistent position of purchasing carbon offsets to offset the family’s carbon footprint — a concept the right-wing fails to understand. Gore’s office explains:

What Mr. Gore has asked is that every family calculate their carbon footprint and try to reduce it as much as possible. Once they have done so, he then advocates that they purchase offsets, as the Gore’s do, to bring their footprint down to zero.

These are the lengths that climate skeptics must go to suppress action on global warming. There is no meaningful debate within the scientific community, so the right-wing busies itself with talk about how much electricity Al Gore’s house uses — and even then they distort the truth.

LINK: Gore Responds To Drudge’s Latest Hysterics

Drudge will be Drudge...
-Mr. Joseph

Al Gore Wins Oscar

Huzzah!

Think Progress...

Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Gore accepted the award, saying, “My fellow Americans, people all over the world — we need to solve the climate crisis. It’s not a political issue. It’s a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started with the possible exception of the will to act. That’s a renewable resource. Let’s renew it.”

Just as they blasted the Grammy-winning Dixie Chicks, conservatives are already claiming that An Inconvenient Truth won tonight simply because Hollywood agrees with Gore’s views.

The truth is, two years ago, global warming was still considered a fringe issue to many. Today, the debate is over — Americans overwhelmingly agree that the climate crisis exists and that we must act now to reverse it. An Inconvenient Truth had a profound impact on how Americans view the issue of global warming. Al Gore deserved this award.

VIDEO / LINK: VIDEO: Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth Wins Best Documentary

RELATED READING...
LINK: Al Gore Takes Home the Statue!

LINK: Al Gore 2008

LINK: DRAFT GORE

LINK: ClimateCrisis.net

Congradulations, Al!
-Mr. Joseph

PS: What's up with this shit?

Chris Matthews drops the 'F-Bomb' on National TV

Crooks and Liars and Think Progress caught Chris saying a naughty word...

C&L:

Chris Matthews let one fly this morning on IMUS.

VIDEO / LINK: Chris Matthews drops the “F” bomb

TP:

Once again allowing his emotions to get the better of him, Hardball host Chris Matthews told Don Imus this morning that he’s “so sick of Southern guys with ranches running this country. I want a guy to run for President who doesn’t have a f**king — I’m sorry, a ranch.”

VIDEO / LINK: Matthews drops the F-bomb.

Ah... f**king Chris Matthews...
-Mr. Joseph

Pat Robertson: Too much plastic surgery gives people "Oriental" eyes

I can't believe Media Matters bothered to put this up... but then again, I can't believe he said it.

TRANSCRIPTS:

From the February 7 edition of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club:

ROBERTSON: You know there's a lady named Greta Van Susteren, who's on Fox.

WATTS: Yeah.

ROBERTSON: Got a very popular --

WATTS: Oh, I saw her.

ROBERTSON: She looked gorgeous last night, but she had a really serious facial deal. And it did a wonder --

WATTS: Sister needed help.

ROBERTSON: Sister got the help.

WATTS: Sister -- she needed some help, yeah.

ROBERTSON: But she got it. She just looks great, and she's so popular.

WATTS: But have you ever seen someone who got it too much, and so they come up to you, and they're like, "Pat, how are you doing? It's so good to see you."

ROBERTSON: Yeah, they got the eyes like they're Oriental, and, you know, it's all pulled. So, make sure you do it right. But -- it's -- that's one way you can go, but it'll cost you five or six thousand dollars probably. All right. What else?

VIDEO / LINK: Robertson: Too much plastic surgery gives people "Oriental" eyes

Also...
As Media Matters for America noted, Robertson has called Islam a "Christian heresy" and said that "Jewish people" are "very thrifty" and "extraordinarily good business people." Media Matters also noted that after officials in Orlando, Florida, voted in 1998 to fly rainbow flags from city lampposts during the annual Gay Days event at Disney World, Robertson issued the city a warning: "I don't think I'd be waving those flags in God's face if I were you. ... [A] condition like this will bring about the destruction of your nation. It'll bring about terrorist bombs, it'll bring earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor."

Ridiculous. I cannot say it enough.
-Mr. Joseph

Kent "Dr. Dino" Hovind Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison

From the National Center for Science Education...

Kent Hovind, the evangelist who styles himself "Dr. Dino" and runs the Creation Science Evangelism ministry as well as Dinosaur Adventure Land, a small creationist theme park in Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison on January 19, 2007. In November 2006, a federal jury found Hovind guilty of fifty-eight charges, including failing to pay payroll taxes for his employees, structuring financial transactions to avoid reporting requirements, and "corruptly endeavor[ing] to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws" in a number of ways. He was detained in jail until his sentencing, although his wife Jo Hovind, who was found guilty of forty-four charges, was allowed to remain free.

At the sentencing, the Pensacola News-Journal (January 20, 2007) reported, Hovind adopted a meek demeanor, telling the judge, "I stand here in great fear of the power of this court. Your decision can destroy my life, my ministry and my grandchildren." But recordings of his telephone conversations from the jail, played in court, told a different story: Hovind accused the Internal Revenue Service, the judge, and the prosecutor of violating the law in prosecuting him, and referred to unspecified things he could do "to make their lives miserable." In handing down the sentence, the judge explained that Hovind's troubles were due to his "refusing to accept what the law is." In addition to ten years in prison and three years of probation, Hovind's sentence also included paying over $600,000 in restitution to the IRS.

In "Earth to 'Dr. Dino': Please pay your taxes and start facing reality," a columnist for the News-Journal (January 21, 2007) was unsympathetic to Hovind's plight, writing, "You got caught, so quit whining and take your punishment like a man." The column continued, "Hovind is sniffling in court, dabbing tears from his eyes and comparing himself to Jesus and Job. He urges the judge to let him go home rather than do serious time for bilking the government. This same government guarantees 'Dr. Dino' freedom of religion and freedom of speech so he can denounce the theory of evolution, promote "creation science" -- an oxymoron to many -- and operate Dinosaur Adventure Land and Creation Science Evangelism." The columnist was more sympathetic to Jo Hovind, who is due to be sentenced on March 1, 2007.

LINK: Kent Hovind sentenced to ten years

RELATED READING: (All from Pensacola News Journal)
LINK: 10 years for 'Dr. Dino'

LINK: A decade for 'Dr. Dino'

LINK: Earth to 'Dr. Dino': Please pay your taxes and start facing reality

Finally, that jerk is in prison. However, his anti-evolution lectures are a hoot.

-Mr. Joseph

Savage for President?

Crooks and Liars noted the story, but NewsMax.com interviewed Mr. Weiner-Savage himself...

NewsMax:

Michael Savage, the nation's third-most listened to radio talk-show host, says he may leave his top rated show to make a bid for the GOP nomination for president.

"I know it sounds bizarre but when you consider the people running for the presidency, none . . . seems to be qualified," Savage told NewsMax in an exclusive interview.

Savage, based at the San Francisco Bay area's KNEW station, began his syndicated "Savage Nation" show in 2000. Today his network, Talk Radio Network, boasts that Savage is heard on over 370 stations across the country by 8 million listeners a week. [Editor's Note: Do you want Michael Savage for President? Vote Here Now.]

The controversial radio host packs a powerful punch in his three-hour daily show and can spark national news. Savage was credited with bringing the Dubai Ports World deal to national attention. The deal would have turned over U.S. port operations to the Middle Eastern company. A public outrage ensued, forcing Dubai Ports World to scuttle their plan.

Savage has also parlayed his loyal base into four consecutive New York Times best sellers, including his latest "The Political Zoo" — a satirical criticism of both Republicans and Democrats.

Savage, with his loyal listenership, says he can play an important role in the Republican primaries, gain critical support, and add to the planned debates.

"I would think that somebody who's not a politician might be a viable candidate," Savage stated, stressing that he would focus his campaign on his mantra: "Borders, language, Culture

Back to Party Roots

Savage readily admits he has little chance of being elected.

Still, he's convinced he could help push the Republican Party back to its conservative roots.

"A non-politician who has a very large following, who is very conservative, and who believes in a simple message of borders, language, and culture has a great chance of electrifying the American people," Savage said, complaining the current flock of candidates are simply parroting "sound bytes."

Could such a run harm the Republican Party?

Savage doesn't think so, claiming the GOP has "virtually no chance of winning right now.

"They are all political apparatchiks," he continued. "They have never stood for borders, language or culture — not one of them. They have completely failed the conservatives who elected the Republicans during the Gingrich revolution."

Savage says he seriously sees a need for a candidate like himself, since the Democrats have veered sharply to the left precisely because of the "loud noises being made by the left wing in the party. Consequently even the mainstream Democrats move to the left on virtually every issue: the Iraq war, global warming, you name it."

Recalling the 2004 Democratic primaries, Savage said, "Guys like Kucinich and Sharpton, clearly unqualified for this job, were given equal time on the podium during the debates with the leading candidates such as Kerry and Gore."

Spark for the Fire

Meanwhile, Savage thinks there has been no real debate among Republicans.

"The dial has not been moved on the Republicans with somewhat socialist tendencies at all because there's been no debate. The Bush dynasty, the Bush machine, has literally wiped out any vestige of controversy for six years. They've eliminated it." If he gets in the race, Savage promised, he would spark plenty of debate.

"The debate must be moved to the people away from the politicians," he said. He said that if he runs he would expect to be included in any debates.

For the moment he remains cautious about running and leaving his lucrative radio show.

"I'm only exploring this," he said and will be testing public reaction to such a move.

"I could not continue to do my radio show. I've been told that once you've declared yourself a candidate and you're openly running, you have to give up your career in the media for obviously good reasons," Savage said.

Looking at the leading candidates now expected to seek the GOP nomination, Savage saw little to cheer about:

John McCain — "McCain . . . what does McCain stand for? He ran in the mantle of Barry Goldwater and then he completely humiliated that legacy by being a senator in the mold of a Rockefeller Republican rather than showing any tinges of Goldwater conservatism."

Rudy Giuliani — "He has not got a ghost of a chance to be president. He's for Giuliani and no one else. He's too liberal; favoring gay marriage, for example, and he made New York City an asylum city for illegal aliens. He has no conservative credentials."

Mitt Romney — "I don't know the man but his policies seem to be all over the map."

Newt Gingrich — "He is intellectually brilliant, but I think . . . he's unelectable because he has too much history." On the issues, Savage was equally blunt. "There is only one major issue," he said. "It's interconnected to the border. The border and the war on terror are interrelated. Bush cannot have it both ways. He cannot say he's fighting the war on terror over there and leaving the door to Mexico off its hinges over here. It doesn't make sense."

As for the war in Iraq, Savage says our troops are fighting with handcuffs.

"You can't fight a war with rules of engagement that are the rules of engagement of a state trooper in the United States."

Savage insisted, "This war cannot be won without a new strategy. They're putting more men into the meat grinder. There is only one way to resolve this. Use the techniques that have been used in all previous modern wars. Use air power to decimate the enemy in his stronghold — the Sunni triangle, and the area where the Mahdi army is — Sadr city, and then send tanks in with the men behind the tanks to mop up. You do not send boys in, alley-by-alley in hand-to-hand combat unless you are an incompetent sob."

Savage Savage

On the now red hot issue of global warming, Savage was equally savage. "It is the biggest hoax of out lifetimes," he charged. "It is being promulgated by people who want to control the industrialized West without firing a shot." He explained that he is the only radio host "with an actual Ph.D. in a real science from a great university."

He says the scientific evidence "indicates that there is global warming but it's a natural cycle that occurs about every 1,500 years and that mankind has almost nothing to do with it."

How, he asked, could previous ice ages have ended without global warming, which in each case occurred without mankind creating greenhouse gases with the use of fossil fuels.

"What caused the ice ages to recede?" he asked. "Man did not industrialize the earth until the 19th century."

The earth, he explained, "warmed through natural phenomena — through sunflares, underwater volcanic activity warming the oceans, for example. "It is the biggest hoax of out lifetimes," Savage continued, "For liberals, global warming is their religion, they believe in the hype, and if you do not agree, you are a bad person much like how communists treated non-party members.

LINK: Michael Savage Mulls Presidential Run

C&L:

I'm fully supporting Michael Weiner's bid for the White House if he makes that most difficult choice.

Michael Savage, the nation's third-most listened to radio talk-show host, says he may leave his top rated show to make a bid for the GOP nomination for president.

"I know it sounds bizarre but when you consider the people running for the presidency, none . . . seems to be qualified," Savage told NewsMax in an exclusive interview

LINK: Michael Savage for President!

RELATED READING:
PT Presents... Reasons why he would not win

-Mr. Joseph

Haggard is "completely heterosexual"?

'Well, as it turns out, I'm not gay! Huh-yuk!'

From the Denver Post...

The Rev. Ted Haggard emerged from three weeks of intensive counseling convinced he is "completely heterosexual" and told an oversight board that his sexual contact with men was limited to his accuser.

That is according to one of the disgraced pastor's overseers, who on Monday revealed new details about where Haggard has been and where he is headed.

The Rev. Tim Ralph of Larkspur also said the four-man oversight board strongly urged Haggard to go into secular work instead of Christian ministry if Haggard and his wife follow through on plans to earn master's degrees in psychology.

Haggard broke a three-month silence in e-mails over the weekend to select members of his former church. New Life Church interim senior pastor Ross Parsley forwarded Haggard's message to the wider church body Monday.

In the message, Haggard revealed that he and his wife, Gayle, intend to leave Colorado Springs and pursue master's degrees through online courses.

Haggard mentioned Missouri and Iowa as possible destinations. Another oversight board member, the Rev. Mike Ware of Westminster, said the group recommended the move out of town, and the Haggards agreed.

"This is a good place for Ted," Ware said. "It's hard to heal in Colorado Springs right now. It's like an open wound. He needs to get somewhere he can get the wound healed."

Sex-addiction program

Haggard, 50, resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and was fired from the church he built from nothing into a 14,000-member congregation after a former male prostitute in Denver alleged a three-year cash-for-sex relationship.

Haggard admitted to "sexual immorality" and a long battle against feelings contrary to his beliefs. He admitted buying methamphetamine but said he never used it. Haggard did not respond to interview requests.

Among other things, the overseers urged Haggard to enter a 12-step program for sexual addiction, Ware said.

Ralph said three weeks of counseling at an undisclosed Arizona treatment center helped Haggard immensely and left Haggard sure of one thing.

"He is completely heterosexual," Ralph said. "That is something he discovered. It was the acting- out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing."

Why Haggard chose to act out in that manner is something Haggard and his advisers are trying to discern, Ralph said.

In investigating Haggard's assertion that his extramarital sexual contact was limited to former male escort Mike Jones, the board talked to people close to Haggard and found no evidence contradicting him, Ralph said.

"If we're going to be proved wrong, somebody else is going to come forward, and that usually happens really quickly," he said. "We're into this thing over 90 days, and it hasn't happened."

Steering Haggard away from a return to ministry was based, in part, on Haggard's high profile, Ralph said. He cited biblical passages about holding influential figures to a higher standard.

"Nobody is saying he can't go back into ministry," Ralph said. "Somewhere down the road, that could very well happen, and that would be wonderful."

Counseling continues...

Haggard is being asked to join a church wherever the couple moves and continue the Christian counseling he receives twice a week, Ralph said.

The oversight board that includes Ralph is focusing on New Life Church's future but continues to counsel Haggard.

What has been termed Haggard's "restoration" is being overseen by another panel: H.B. London, who runs a Focus on the Family ministry to pastors, and megachurch pastors Tommy Barnett and Jack Hayford.

London said he was not surprised Haggard was considering the psychological field.

"Many of us that go into the healing, helping professions do so out of some sort of dysfunction or traumatic event in our lives, and we want to do what we can to help other people avoid what we've gone through," he said. "He is certainly gifted and intelligent and has an intuitive side to him. And he has life experience. Those are good credentials."

LINK: Haggard says he is not gay

Why is it so bad to be gay in this country? I have to say, I don't believe him.
-Mr. Joseph

O’Reilly And Beck Agree: We’re ‘Afraid’ To Have ‘A Lot Of African-American Friends’

From Think Progress...

Last night on Fox News, Bill O’Reilly led a discussion about Sen. Joe Biden’s (D-DE) racially-insensitive remarks toward Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). But instead of exlusively focusing on why the remarks were condescending to African-Americans, he said blacks should “feel sorry for us white folks here, because I’m telling you now I’m afraid to say anything. … White Americans are terrified.”

My Two Sense points out that CNN’s Glenn Beck hosted a similar discussion last night, during which he said, “I don’t have a lot of African-American friends, and I think part of it is because I’m afraid that I would be in an open conversation, and I would say something that somebody would take wrong, and then it would be a nightmare.”

Transcripts:

O’REILLY: Now you got to feel sorry for us white folks here, because I’m telling you now I’m afraid to say anything. You know, you’re an articulate guy, doctor, but I’m never going to say that. You’re a smart guy. Is that bad if I say you’re a smart guy? … Yes, absolutely, instead of black and white Americans coming together, white Americans are terrified. They’re terrified. Now we can’t even say you’re articulate? We can’t even give you guys compliments because they may be taken as condescension?

BECK: You know, Shelby, I don’t know if anybody else in the audience — oh, this is just going to be a blog nightmare over the next few days. But let me just be honest and play my cards face up on the table.

I was thinking about this just last week. I don’t have a lot of African-American friends, and I think part of it is because I’m afraid that I would be in an open conversation, and I would say something that somebody would take wrong, and then it would be a nightmare. Am I alone in feeling that?

VIDEO / LINK: O’Reilly And Beck Agree: We’re ‘Afraid’ To Have ‘A Lot Of African-American Friends’

-Mr. Joseph

Chuck Norris Guest-Hosts on Hannity and Colmes

What is wrong with this picture?Chuck Norris filled in for Sean Hannity recently on FOX News's Hannity & Colmes...

Here is the YouTube video...

LINK: Chuck Norris Hosts Hannity and Colmes Show

However, he slipped up a little bit --

LINK: Chuck Norris makes rare mistake on Hannity and Colmes

His home news site, World Net Daily advertised it for him...
LINK: Chuck Norris to co-host on Hannity & Colmes

RELATED READING:
Newshounds rips the performance apart...
LINK: Another FOX News Guest Blames Muslims For Anti-Muslim Bias

John Stewart ripped on it during his last rant at FOX News.
-Mr. Joseph

Rush Limbaugh Proves to be Racist Yet Again

Media Matters found this...

TRANSCRIPTS:

From the February 1 edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: U.S. blacks -- young U.S. blacks believe in politics, according to a new study. "Many U.S. blacks are as confident" -- and we're talking about the clean ones here, folks, I must stipulate this -- young, clean U.S. blacks -- "believe in politics. Many young U.S. blacks are as confident as their white and Hispanic peers that they can use politics to make things better, but a majority of young blacks feel alienated from today's government." Why would that be? The government's been taking care of them their whole lives. Why would they feel alienated from -- maybe "today's government" means the Bush administration.

" 'There's good news and bad news when it comes to politics,' particularly as U.S. Senator Barack" -- the clean -- "Obama, an Illinois Democrat, may try to become the first black to reach the White House, said Cathy Cohen, a political science professor who headed this project at the University of Chicago." This research, by the way, "covered a wide range of social issues from sex to entertainment, also found that young blacks think that rap music and videos are riddled with too much sex and mistreatment of women -- even though they are the biggest consumers of that entertainment. Nearly 80 percent of young blacks, whites and Hispanics think they can make a difference by getting involved in politics. Large numbers of them feel that they have the skills to do so."

So I got -- the headline says "Young U.S. blacks" -- but blacks, whites, and Hispanics. Everybody thinks they can get involved in politics here. No big -- no big shake there.

LINK: Limbaugh: "The government's been taking care of [young blacks] their whole lives"

-Mr. Joseph

Only 13 % Of Congressional Republicans Believe In Man-Made Global Warming

Think Progress found this information...

National Journal has released a new “Congressional Insiders Poll,” which surveyed 113 members of Congress — 10 Senate Democrats, 48 House Democrats, 10 Senate Republicans, and 45 House Republicans — about their positions on global warming.

The results were startling. Only 13 percent of congressional Republicans say they believe that human activity is causing global warming, compared to 95 percent of congressional Democrats. Moreover, the number of Republicans who believe in human-induced global warming has actually dropped since April 2006, when the number was 23 percent.

Question: Do you think it’s been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the Earth is warming because of man-made problems?

The last Congressional Insiders Poll on global warming was in April 2006. Subsequently:

The last Congressional Insiders Poll on global warming was in April 2006. Subsequently:

– In June 2006, the National Academy of Sciences, an independent organization created by Congress to provide scientific guidance, unequivocally concluded that natural causes cannot explain the unprecedented warmth over the last 400 years. Rather, “human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming,” the report states.

– In February 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change “concluded for the first time that global warming is ‘unequivocal’ and that human activity is the main driver, ‘very likely’ causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950.”

Nevertheless, belief in global warming among Republicans in Congress dropped by 10 points.

LINK: POLL: Only 13 Percent Of Congressional Republicans Believe In Man-Made Global Warming

The need to see "An Inconvinient Truth"...
-Mr. Joseph

Rupert Murdoch Admits to Manipulating the Media

From Crooks and Liars...

While at Davos, Rupert Murdoch discusses the rise of the Internet and digital media, but tells us he used News Corp. to manipulate the news.

Asked if his News Corp. managed to shape the agenda on the war in Iraq, Murdoch said: "No, I don't think so. We tried." Asked by Rose for further comment, he said: "We basically supported the Bush policy in the Middle East…but we have been very critical of his execution."

Am I reading this correctly? I found the webcast and it seems they haven't included Rupert's admission in the 9 minutes or so that they posted? I emailed The World Economic Forum for the full video. A memo to Murdock: A news organization is supposed to report—–— the news, not support an agenda.

Mark Howard sent in the tip and has more…

Juan Cole…Murdoch's media have done more to cheapen American values…

LINK: Rupert Murdoch admits manipulating the media…Surprise…Surprise

"We tried"
-- Rupert Murdoch

-Mr. Joseph

Candidates Pick Tunes at DNC Meeting

MyWay News documented this...

Everyone needs a soundtrack - even politicians.

The presidential candidates who addressed the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting Friday got to choose their tunes, and it was an eclectic mix that reflected personal favorites and not-so-subtle messages.

Some candidates requested two songs, one that blared as they approached the stage and another that played as they left the podium.

The selections:

John Edwards: "This Is Our Country" by John Mellencamp.

Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut: "Get Ready (Cause Here I Come)" by the Temptations and "Reach Out," also by the Temptations.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York: "Right Here, Right Now," by Jesus Jones and "Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio: "America the Beautiful"

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois decided against using any music in keeping with the somber tone he sought to convey. Wesley Clark, who hasn't indicated whether he will run, entered to Johnny Cash's "I Won't Back Down

LINK: Candidates Pick Tunes at DNC Meeting

"You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet!"
-Mr. Joseph

O'Reilly vs. Cavuto (Plus Cavuto's "scantily clad women")

Media Matters documented this little gem. I'm glad they found it and I'm glad Laura Ingraham and Bill-O discussed this -- I can't stand Neil Cavuto.

TRANSCRIPTS:

From the February 1 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: They say, look, nature screwed up. It should be, you know, everybody in a free-fire zone. Now, I understand -- I did not hear this, so correct me if I'm wrong -- on your program, you had people giving Fox News jazz because we used --

INGRAHAM: Intervention time, Bill. Here we go again.

O'REILLY: -- cheesecake video, right?

INGRAHAM: What is the purpose of your running the continuous loop -- are we going to run the B roll of this? This is what I am talking about. What is --

O'REILLY: We ran it last night for cosmetic surgery.

INGRAHAM: Here is what I'm saying.

O'REILLY: Cosmetic surgery.

INGRAHAM: I don't know if there's a rampant mid-life crisis going on on this network among the male anchors. But I can tell you that my female listeners are basically saying you can make these debates -- have these debates. Are we having more? This is what I mean! What is the purpose? We don't care about the coffee shop babes with their bikinis. OK?

You can talk about cultural issues and cultural debates without running the constant loop of this video.

O'REILLY: I'm putting you in charge now.

INGRAHAM: It's ridiculous.

O'REILLY: You're in charge of the Fox News Channel.

INGRAHAM: Yeah right. You'd get better demos with me, Bill.

O'REILLY: We do a story like we did last night on cosmetic surgery. OK? Women enhancing themselves. You say no video of that. Correct?

INGRAHAM: No, you are trying to make --

O'REILLY: No, I'm saying this is the truth. That's why we used it.

INGRAHAM: Bill, why did you do the story about the naked parties at Yale. Do you think that's really a cultural phenomenon that a T-warrior needs to fight against?

O'REILLY: It was at Brown.

INGRAHAM: Wherever.

O'REILLY: Student activity fees were being used to fuel an orgy.

INGRAHAM: Why did you run the video? Why?

O'REILLY: To show people what happened at Brown.

INGRAHAM: You don't think people know what a nude party would look like? You had to see it?

O'REILLY: I don't think so. I had to. I didn't know.

INGRAHAM: Why did your pal Cavuto, who I like very much --

O'REILLY: And nobody was naked, by the way.

INGRAHAM: Why did you run the video, during Cavuto, of, you know, the guy who came up with the Girls Gone Wild franchise?

O'REILLY: I don't have anything to do with Cavuto. I think he is a demented guy.

INGRAHAM: I like Neil Cavuto. But the point is, it's really started to creep into the Fox programming.

O'REILLY: I just want to get this clear. You, Laura Ingraham, no video of cosmetic surgery or anything. None.

INGRAHAM: No. You can talk about an issue without training the camera on a particular --

O'REILLY: I didn't shoot those shots.

INGRAHAM: You know what also I find interesting? All the women also wanted to know this. Where did all the segments about the Playgirl, you know, issues out there? Where are all the men? Where are all the male enhancements?

O'REILLY: I don't know anything about those stories. I don't know. I'm confused.

INGRAHAM: Why are those photos all of women? You say is you are a T-warrior, right? You're a T-warrior.

O'REILLY: I am.

INGRAHAM: Then act like one and stop playing this video.

O'REILLY: No more bikinis! They're over.

INGRAHAM: How about the hands over the boobs.

O'REILLY: No hands! No anything!

INGRAHAM: You don't want to hear me, Bill, but you should hear me, because people are tired of it.

O'REILLY: Never again. We'll be right back with Dick Morris.

LINK: O'Reilly on Fox News vice president Neil Cavuto: "I think he is a demented guy"

RELATED READING...

Check out Media Matters' observations of Cavuto's dementia here, here, here, and here.

-Mr. Joseph

UPDATE:

More RELATED READING...

LINK: Kurtz: "Fox News does seem to like video of scantily clad women"

LINK: Fox's revealing Oscar coverage: Parental guidance suggested

LINK: Cavuto's World populated by Victoria's Secret, Playboy models and a pole-dancing Pamela Anderson

Don Imus vs. Bill O'Reilly

Another O'Reilly bit from Crooks and Liars...

Imus: Here's what a disgrace O'Reilly is. Olbermann can't kill him enough. Here's what O'Reilly's doing. You are not going to believe this. This sonofabitch actually went on that falafel thing of his and he said—–if you'll buy a copy of his book—for every copy of his stupid book, he'll send a copy to a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan. I mean I don't know where to start. That's his contribution to the men and women who are fighting and dying in this idiotic war for this country.

Limbaugh tried a similar trick of trying to make money off the troops with his "Adopt a soldier" scam.

VIDEO / LINK: Imus calls O’Reilly a “Sonofabitch”

Imus is a wingbat, but I like him.
-Mr. Joseph

O'Reilly Disagrees with the O'Reilly Factor

QUOTE:
All right, but you say it's anti-American. You know that the Fondas and Penns are going to say, "Listen, I'm as American as you are, Michelle Malkin. I just see things differently." And I'm willing to give them the benefit of that doubt. I don't want to say that they're anti-American.
-Bill O'Reilly (1/29/07, The O'Reilly Factor)

SUMMARY:

On the January 29 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, blogger and Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin claimed that "Jane Fonda's anti-American position has never changed over the last several decades." Host Bill O'Reilly responded: "[Y]ou say it's anti-American. You know that the Fondas and [Sean] Penns are going to say, 'Listen, I'm as American as you are, Michelle Malkin. I just see things differently.' And I'm willing to give them the benefit of that doubt. I don't want to say that they're anti-American." However, just minutes earlier during the "Talking Points Memo" segment, onscreen text had referred to Penn as "anti-American actor Sean Penn." While that text was on the screen, O'Reilly referred to Penn as "far-left actor Sean Penn."

To close the segment, O'Reilly asked Malkin if she had "any personal message for Sean Penn," to which she replied, "I'm glad that he's gone now from D.C.," before adding: "Jeff Spicoli for president." Penn played stoner Jeff Spicoli in the 1982 movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

TRANSCRIPTS:

From the January 29 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: But to far-left actor Sean Penn, who consistently sides with America's enemies, that really isn't much of a problem at all.

[...]

MALKIN: Jane Fonda's anti-American position has never changed over the last several decades. And I think that it's clear that the concern for the troops that the anti-war left has shown is cynical. The compassion that they pose for the Iraqi civilians is totally disingenuous. And their opposition to the war is not rooted in principle, but in clear Bush hatred and in a desire to see this country fail.

We talked about those poll results last week showing that a hard, significant portion of this country wants us to fail there. And that's what we saw voiced over and over again this weekend.

And I think that there's another ugly aspect to the anti-war movement. It was not just sort of the peace-loving '60s throwbacks that we saw in front of the camera. But we saw the ugly side of the anti-war movement this weekend, too.

And you won't see that on a lot of the mainstream media coverage. People spitting at an Iraq war veteran, vandalism on the Capitol steps, rocks thrown at military recruitment centers. This is what it's about. It was a big temper tantrum. And that's all the left has to offer.

O'REILLY: All right, but you say it's anti-American. You know that the Fondas and Penns are going to say, "Listen, I'm as American as you are, Michelle Malkin. I just see things differently." And I'm willing to give them the benefit of that doubt. I don't want to say that they're anti-American.

[...]

O'REILLY: All right, I gotta load up Michelle for one final -- Michelle, any personal message for Sean Penn?

MALKIN: I'm glad that he's gone now from D.C.

O'REILLY: Yeah. I just -- I was wondering about the hair that was going on up there with him.

MALKIN: Jeff Spicoli for president.

LINK: O'Reilly wouldn't call Penn "anti-American" minutes after Factorreferred to Penn as "anti-American"

RELATED READING...

LINK: C&L: Malkin Disgusts Me

Ri-Freaking-Diculous...

-Mr. Joseph