Markos doesn't [heart] Ralph Nader or his supporters

Markos on Nader and his supporters (via Tapper):

"Anyone who sails with the Nader crowd deserves nothing more than ridicule. F--- Ralph Nader, and f--- his supporters. If the past eight years hasn't smacked any sense into their addled brains, then nothing will. This site caters to the reality-based community. No one else need apply."

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Dorgan: Lieberman's actions are unacceptable

Yes. Appearing at the other guy's convention and accusing your own guy of palling about with terrorists is beyond unacceptable. But will the Dems do anything about it, or show their usual lack of spine? More from Politico, here's Dorgan today:

As a chairman of one of our significant committees in the Senate, not just going off and supporting a presidential candidate of the other side but also criticizing the candidate on our side, and also involving himself in a couple of Senate races on the other side. The question is, Is that acceptable? The answer is no. The question, I think, mainly, is, What should happen as a result of it? And our caucus will decide that.

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The unholy Catholic-Mormon alliance isn't limited to gay bashing. They share a history of covering up sex abuse of children.

Yesterday's NY Times piece, which documented the major role played by the Mormon church in Proposition 8, also included this tidbit:

First approached by the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco a few weeks after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in May, the Mormons were the last major religious group to join the campaign, and the final spice in an unusual stew that included Catholics, evangelical Christians, conservative black and Latino pastors, and myriad smaller ethnic groups with strong religious ties.

Shortly after receiving the invitation from the San Francisco Archdiocese, the Mormon leadership in Salt Lake City issued a four-paragraph decree to be read to congregations, saying “the formation of families is central to the Creator’s plan,” and urging members to become involved with the cause.

“And they sure did,” Mr. Schubert said.

We've learned one thing over the past couple weeks: The Mormons hate the kind of scrutiny they've been getting. But, it's only just begun. And, there's so much material. So much.

But, I am intrigued by the pairing of the Catholics and the Mormons. If I know one thing about Catholics, they don't like being linked with cults -- and most Catholics think the Mormons are a cult. That may sound harsh, but I grew up Catholic and I know how Catholics think. Not sure how many Catholics are comfortable with Mormon teachings, like that whole posthumous baptism of Jewish Holocaust victims, but the California's Catholic bishops needed money to bash gays.

So, the Catholic hierarchy in California decided to cut a deal with a group who most Catholics don't really consider a religion, but, when it comes to gay bashing, nothing is off-limits. The Catholics don't have much spare cash these days because they've spent hundreds of millions to settle sex abuse cases. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid out $660 million in 2007.

But, that also got me thinking of things the Catholic hierarchy has in common with the Mormon leaders. They're both very aggressive when it comes to covering up the sex abuse of children, of course. The Mormons and the Catholics both have gone to great lengths -- and great expense -- to hide this problem.

We know how widespread the Catholic problem is. But, the Mormons have done a better job of hiding abuse. Last year, the PBS show, Expose: America's Investigative Reports, did a show on Peter Zuckerman, a reporter in Idaho Falls, Idaho, who busted open a scandal involving sex abuse, the Boy Scouts and the Mormons. Apparently, the Mormons pretty much control the Boy Scouts in several Western states. The perp involved in the case molested a lot of young kids and a lot of adults in the Boy Scouts and the Mormon Church knew what was going on and did nothing to stop it. In fact, they kept putting the perp in positions where he was in contact with kids. They went to great lengths to cover it up. After Zuckerman exposed the scandal, he was attacked personally. And, that included going after him because he was gay. Yeah, surprise. Supporters of the Boy Scouts and Mormons played dirty and launched homophobic attacks on the reporter. According to Zuckerman, there were times when he was actually fearful for his life.

One Idaho Falls business leader, Frank VanderSloot of Melaleuca, "The Wellness Company," (which owns Nicole Miller Skin Care), who is also a Mormon, bought full page ads attacking the series -- and the reporter who wrote it. One ad included an attack on Zuckerman's "homosexuality" claiming the gay reporter had a "personal ax to grind" because the Boy Scouts didn't allow gay reporters. Interestingly, Belinda Vandersloot, who appears to be the wife of Frank, donated $100,000 to the Yes on Prop 8 campaign. That family can't get enough of the gay-bashing.

Zuckerman's full series, which originally ran in 2005 in the Idaho Falls Post-Register, can be found here. This wasn't an isolated incident. Subsequent investigations uncovered several other pedophiles in the Boy Scouts. The series led to a change in Idaho's laws on child abuse -- ending the statute of limitations for reporting the incidents.

This story is eerily and disturbingly similar to the Catholic abuse stories we've heard for years. The Catholic leaders and Mormon leaders may not agree on posthumous baptism, but they've got a link when it comes to sex abuse and covering it up. So, yes, the Mormons are in the spotlight now. But, they chose it.

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When Krugman gets scared, I get nervous

Paul Krugman:

Brad’s blog is the go-to place for all balance-of-payments-related data analysis. Now he has a post up about US exports. Why is this important? Exports have been the one good thing about the US economic situation; in fact, the reason the economy didn’t fall off a cliff immediately when the housing bubble burst was that, for a while, export growth took up the slack.

But Brad says that the export boom is over — in fact, it now looks like an export slump. Like he says, ut-oh.

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Top Republican Senator says let the auto industry die

Not sure that's the wisest approach politically, or economically. "Dinosaur" or not, can we really afford to have all the spin-off industries, tied to the auto industry, pushed even deeper into a recession?

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Cokie thinks the Netroots will be upset if Hillary gets Sec of State

First off, Cokie actually said the word "Netroots." Second, she actually raised us as a possible stumbling block to Hillary as Sec State. While I am pretty sure Cokie can't stand the Netroots, it's telling that she thinks enough of our power and influence to suggest that our opinion would be a factor in choosing a cabinet secretary.

As for the substance of Cokie's comments, that Hillary would be opposed by the Netroots because of her position on Iraq, I'm not so sure. I'd have no problem with her as Secretary of State, but then again, I wasn't really looking for an apology for her Iraq vote (I did, however, wish she'd have acknowledged that in retrospect the vote was a bad idea). And more generally, Hillary as Secretary of State would do whatever her boss, the president, asked her to do - so she wouldn't be freelancing on Iraq policy, she'd be implementing Obama's Iraq policy. And to some degree, who better than a Democrat who has been hawkish on Iraq to lead the way out of Iraq.

But maybe some folks would have concerns. Not sure. What do you guys think? And in any case, I do find it very interesting that Cokie mentioned the Netroots. That means the Netroots has gotten the establishment's attention, whether they like us or not. And if you're trying to influence the debate, attention is good. Read More......

"Hundreds" of reports of racial incidents since the election

This is a really disturbing article from the Associated Press. The Southern Poverty Law Center is one of the leading authorities on racism, hate crimes and hate groups in the United States. And, the racists are riled up:

Crosses burning. Children chanting, "Assassinate Obama." Racial epithets scrawled on homes and cars.

Reports of incidents such as those across the country are dampening the glow of racial progress and harmony that bloomed after the election of Democrat Barack Obama, an African American, to the presidency.

From California to Maine, police have documented a range of incidents, including vandalism, threats and at least one physical attack. There have been "hundreds" of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes.

One of the incidents identified by the AP caught my attention because it happened in Maine:

• In Standish, Maine, a sign in the Oak Hill General Store said, "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool." Customers could sign up to bet $1 on a date when Obama would be killed. "Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count," the sign said.

According to a Maine news station, that "pool" was reported to the Secret Service -- as it should be. One thing the racist crowd doesn't seem to understand is that Obama is now the president-elect. They're hatemongering has always been wrong, decidedly un-Christian and sometimes illegal. But, when it comes to threats against the president or president-elect, there are no jokes and no free speech. It's a federal crime.

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Senate Dems. will vote Tuesday on Lieberman -- and it's by secret ballot

We'll find out on Tuesday if the Democrats in the Senate will punish Joe Lieberman for his disgusting behavior during the campaign. They vote by secret ballot:

Senate Democrats will decide by secret ballot Tuesday whether to take away Sen. Joe Lieberman's chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — a post from which he oversees U.S. security issues, as well as the operations of a wide segment of the federal government.

The anger over Lieberman's campaigning for the Republican presidential candidate is still boiling — fueled by memories of his undercutting Barack Obama, including in a nationally televised speech at the Republican National Convention.

Majority Leader Harry Reid met with Lieberman two days after the election, telling him that his chairmanship might be on the line.

But just as it looked as if his future in the Senate could be as a political hermit, the backlash against him has faltered. So Tuesday's vote — the talk of Capitol Hill — has become as uncertain as a stock market investment.

There are a lot of Senators who are peeved with Lieberman. Senators, who are all at their core politicians, often purport to be above politics. That's true of Democratic Senators, which is why they got rolled so often by Bush and the GOP. So, I'm thinking the secret ballot could work against Joe. They won't have to look him in the face.

Again, the Senators need to watch Jed's video before they vote -- and ask Al Franken, who is down by just 200 votes, how it felt to have Lieberman supporting Norm Coleman just weeks before the election:

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Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

An eclectic array of guests on the Sunday shows today -- but most of them are Republicans. Yes, because it's not news that we're in a financial crisis or just elected a new President. No, the pundits are agog because the GOP needs a new leader. And, there is some jockeying among Republicans to be the next leader and voice of the party. That means Newt is getting face time. He wants to be the "new" voice for the GOP. But, he's got competition from Michael Steele, Bobby Jindal and, of course, Sarah Palin. But, unlike those other three, Palin isn't doing a Sunday show today. She's about the only prominent Republican who isn't on today.

Here's the lineup:

ABC's "This Week" — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-Calif.

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CBS' "Face the Nation" — Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.; Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La.; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

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NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.; Shelby; T. Boone Pickens, chairman of the energy investment fund BP Capital.

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CNN's "Late Edition" — Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez; Reps. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Ted Turner, CNN founder and author of a new memoir.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.; Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn.; former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, R-Md.

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Spam is back and it's hot

And I'm not talking about the stuff in your email box. We're talking the original Spam, the original mystery meat, that you remember from camping trips as a kid. I think I had my fill of Spam as a kid when we crammed a family of five plus a dog into our little sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay. It could last forever so it always made it into storage for those summer trips to the Eastern Shore. Somehow it provided an incentive to catch more crabs while chicken-necking along the piers. Anything but Spam...anything.

The economy is in tatters and, for millions of people, the future is uncertain. But for some employees at the Hormel Foods Corporation plant here, times have never been better. They are working at a furious pace and piling up all the overtime they want.

The workers make Spam, perhaps the emblematic hard-times food in the American pantry.

Through war and recession, Americans have turned to the glistening canned product from Hormel as a way to save money while still putting something that resembles meat on the table. Now, in a sign of the times, it is happening again, and Hormel is cranking out as much Spam as its workers can produce.

In a factory that abuts Interstate 90, two shifts of workers have been making Spam seven days a week since July, and they have been told that the relentless work schedule will continue indefinitely.

Spam, a gelatinous 12-ounce rectangle of spiced ham and pork, may be among the world’s most maligned foods, dismissed as inedible by food elites and skewered by comedians who have offered smart-alecky theories on its name (one G-rated example: Something Posing As Meat).

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Now it's the insurance companies who have open hands

Where does it end? I wouldn't mind seeing some serious internal change as a precondition (but not a guarantee) for any federal assistance and that goes for Big Auto, Wall Street, insurance or anyone else. Institute changes including responsible spending, trimming of the excessive bonus culture and cutbacks across the board before any discussion even starts. If they're not willing to take on some pain upfront, it's not clear that they will willingly or easily or honestly abide by any real change let alone common decency.

Several insurers, including Hartford Financial Services Group and Genworth Financial Inc., made last-minute bids for billions of dollars in government money Friday.

Hartford Financial said that it agreed to buy a small savings and loan, helping the giant insurer apply for a government investment of up to $3.4 billion.
Shares of Hartford jumped 21% to close at $12.65 after the announcement.

The company said it applied to the Office of Thrift Supervision to become a savings and loan holding company and has applied to participate in the Treasury Department's Capital Purchase Program, or CPP.

It's all just too easy with the Paulson plan. Personally I'm much more concerned about the middle class getting a fair and equitable shake in the next economic rescue plan. Screw billions for bonus plans, luxury boondoggles, corporate jets, etc and let's see a plan that reaches out to the millions in the middle who are damned nervous right now about whether they will have a job in six months and insurance. As it stands today I can't say I have a lot of confidence that that's part of the next plan. Read More......

Unhappy people watch more TV

How could TV be so brutally attacked? Sounds like an un-American study. Socialist, probably. Read More......

Mormons started planning for Prop 8 eleven years ago

Very nice people. But please don't blame for them the passage of the gaybashing proposition in California. It's not their fault. Really. Even though they contributed half of the entire budget for Yes on 8 and even though they've been planning this for over ten years.

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Obama's Favorite Pizza Coming to Washington (Only for the Inaugural)

God I miss good Chicago pizza. My sis is reportedly sending me out a frozen pie from Lou Malnati's for my upcoming bday. Yeah! Read More......