Dear God, how many "isolated incidents" do there have to be before we start pushing back against this awful, deceptive trope and start demanding an end to hate speech? WaPo:

A 32-year-old woman from Iraq who was found severely beaten next to a threatening note saying “go back to your country” died on Saturday.[..]

[Shaima] Alawadi, a mother of five, had been hospitalized since her 17-year-old daughter found her unconscious Wednesday in the family’s house in El Cajon, police Lt. Steve Shakowski said. [..]

A family friend, Sura Alzaidy, told UT San Diego that the attack apparently occurred after the father took the younger children to school. Alzaidy told the newspaper the family is from Iraq, and that Alawadi is a “respectful modest muhajiba,” meaning she wears the traditional hijab, a head scarf.

Investigators said they believe the assault is an isolated incident.

“A hate crime is one of the possibilities, and we will be looking at that,” Lt. Mark Coit said. “We don’t want to focus on only one issue and miss something else.”

The family had lived in the house in San Diego County for only a few weeks, after moving from Michigan, Alzaidy said. Alzaidy told the newspaper her father and Alawadi’s husband had previously worked together in San Diego as private contractors for the U.S. Army, serving as cultural advisers to train soldiers who were going to be deployed to the Middle East.

Oh cruel irony, that poor Shaima's husband is charged with helping Americans understand the Iraqi people. Sadly, something in far too short a supply. And for that, I blame wholly and completely the Republican Party.

That's right. Clutch those pearls and grab those smelling salts. Newt Gingrich, Pam Geller, every talking head at Fox News, this tragic, awful, hate-filled death lies at your feet. And if I ever see any of their ugly, bigoted, hate-spewing mugs, I'll say it right to their face: you are creating hate and death, and not one of you deserves to be heard from again.

Like Trayvon and his hoodie, Shaima's hajib did not make her an enemy. A 32-year-old mother of five is no terrorist, simply because she honored the tenets of her faith. She had lived in this country for almost 20 years. Her children were American. Her husband worked to foster better relationships between his native country and his adopted one.

But all these right wing voices, on the radio, on television, in syndicated columns and high-trafficked blogs have made Shaima Alawadi the enemy, for the accident of her birth, her faith. They fill the ears and the empty brains of angry, disaffected people looking to blame anyone for their own crappy lives and they robbed five children of their mother.

Mission accomplished, wingnuts. Welcome to the hell your hate has wrought.

Brilliant at Breakfast - secret creepy Santorum YouTube ad with comments disabled;

d r i f t g l a s s - home for Troubled Tories and Wayward Neocons;

Jesus' General - patriots guide to racism and unracism;

Oliver Willis - that steady drumbeat of Mittens gaffes;

Pam's House Blend - evil NOM run by even more evil Catholic Church?

blogenfreude blogs at Stinque, lives on the Upper West Side, and is not impressed by your children in their $800 strollers thank you.

The Hunger Games

My kid and I were going to go see The Hunger Games this weekend, but for various reasons, we decided we would wait until later in the week (and hopefully, slightly less packed theaters, because Mama doesn't like crowds). If you're unfamiliar with the story, it's a dystopian future where North America is now a country called Panem. The Capitol of Panem is populated with the privileged wealthy (the 1 percent, if you will) and the rest of the country is divided into districts. Every year, for the pleasure of the residents of the Capitol, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 17--known as a tribute--is chosen to compete in a fight to the death. There are complicated themes of poverty, desperation to survive, authoritarianism and even racism in that protagonist Katniss is described as olive skinned and dark haired and the wealthier, more privileged people are whiter and blonder, so Katniss is looked down upon and discounted.

It occurs to me that the 1 percent are laying the groundwork for our own Hunger Games now. More and more money stays locked at the top, impoverishing those of us not within the inner circle. Those elites keep telling us that we should consider ourselves lucky for the scraps we get, for sacrificing for the greater good. And now look, we're killing each other, claiming survival as our justification. And in real life, as in The Hunger Games, those elites, when they sense a rising tide of empathy for one tribute over others, will change the rules of the game just to extend their amusement. Sound familiar?

Look at your elites within the Capitol. Here are those who want you to be a tribute for their amusement.

ABC's "This Week" - 2012 Presidential Race: White House adviser David Plouffe; Healthcare, 2012 Presidential Race: Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. Panel: George Will; Terry Moran; Cokie Roberts; Donna Brazile; Matthew Dowd.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - 2012 Presidential Race: Plouffe; Influence of military; jobs for veterans: Rachel Maddow; Gov. Brian Schweitzer, D-Mont.; former Gov. Haley Barbour, R-Miss.; Panel: Panel: Michele Norris, NPR; Ben Jealous, NAACP; Doris Kearns Goodwin; David Brooks.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Kelly Evans, David Leonhardt, Gloria Borger, John Heilemann. Topics: Can Mitt Romney effectively and credibly campaign against Health Care? What is it about the "Mad Men" era that we find so seductive? Meter questions: Romney better off if Supreme Court strikes Individual Mandate? YES: 6 NO: 6; Will the GOP Candidate move to the center for the general? YES: 7 No: 5

MSNBC's "Up with Chris Hayes" - Panel: Steven Pinker, Author of “The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined”; Robert Wright, Author of “The Evolution of God”; Susan Jacoby, Author of “Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism”; Journalist Jamila Bey. Guests: Richard Dawkin. Topics: How atheism intersects with our politics. Coming a day after Saturday's Reason Rally on the National Mall, this episode of Up will include atheist views on religion's role in political subjects ranging from climate-change science to Rep. Paul Ryan's budget. We will also look at prejudices against atheists, including disparaging remarks by presidential candidates.

MSNBC's "Melissa Harris-Perry" - Panel: Kenji Yoshino, NYU Law Professor; Tim Wise, Author of “Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority”; Jelani Cobb, Rutgers University Professor of Africana Studies and History; Susan Douglas, Author of “The Rise of Enlightened Sexism”; Richard Cohen, President of the Southern Poverty Law Center; Anthea Butler, University of Pennsylvania Professor of Religious Studies. Topics include: Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act; GOP budget; brokered convention; Trayvon Martin; Mad Men

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum; Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.; Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

CNN's "State of the Union" - The White House; the budget; healthcare and politics: White House advisor David Plouffe. Jobs; the economy; 2012 campaign; Trayvon Martin killing: Gov. Rick Scott (R- Fla.). Afghanistan; jobs; the economy; 2012 campaign: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Panel: Mike Duffy, Time; Susan Page, USA Today.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - 2012 elections; Russia, China, France, Israel: Author Bruce Bueno de Mesquita ("The Dictator's Handbook"); Richard N. Haass, Council on Foreign Relations; Anne-Marie Slaughter. Global economy: Former World Bank President James Wolfensohn. Business; the economy: Venture capitalist Reid Hoffman.

CNN's "Reliable Sources" - Reliable Sources Trayvon Martin case: Eric Deggans, Tampa Bay Times; Lauren Ashburn; Derek McGinty, WUSA. Romney campaign's Etch-a-Sketch gaffe; Illinois primary coverage: Amy Holmes, Glenn Beck; David Corn. Cameras in the Supreme Court: Brian Lamb, C-SPAN.

"Fox News Sunday" - Budget/Economy: Ryan; 2012 election: Plouffe. Panel: Brit Hume, Fox News; Kirsten Powers, The Daily Beast; Paul Gigot, Wall Street Journal; Juan Williams, Fox News

So what's catching your eye this morning?

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Credit: Aramis

From the great Aramis at Barkers and Rubes, from a suggestion from Jesse LaGreca.

Open thread below. ...

Former vice president Dick Cheney, 71, who has struggled with cardiac problems for years, is recovering from heart-transplant surgery at a Virginia hospital, according to a statement from his office. Cheney had been on a waiting list for a transplant for nearly two years after being hospitalized in 2010 for conditions related to coronary artery disease. At that time he had a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted to help his heart pump.

"Although the former vice president and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift," it said.

Cheney has a history of heart trouble, suffering at least five heart attacks since 1978. His first occurred when he was 37.

More at CNN.

This classic from a criminally overlooked band should set your Saturday right.

Moby Grape
	Artist: Moby Grape Price: $16.77 (As of 03/25/12 05:20 am details)

Paul Roberts, author of The End of Food, speaks to use of antibiotics in agriculture. April 2009

Hopefully, this isn't another case of Charlie Brown and the football, where the administration announces some needed changes, only to back off later when there's an uproar from industry. Because antibiotic-resistant infections are a serious health crisis:

The Obama administration must warn drug makers that the government may soon ban agricultural uses of some popular antibiotics that many scientists say encourage the proliferation of dangerous infections and imperil public health, a federal magistrate judge ruled on Thursday.

The order, issued by Judge Theodore H. Katz of the Southern District of New York, effectively restarts a process that the Food and Drug Administration began 35 years ago, but never completed, intended to prevent penicillin and tetracycline, widely used antibiotics, from losing their effectiveness in humans because of their bulk use in animal feed to promote growth in chickens, pigs and cattle.

The order comes two months after the Obama administration announced restrictions on agricultural uses of cephalosporins, a critical class of antibiotics that includes drugs like Cefzil and Keflex, which are commonly used to treat pneumonia, strep throat and skin and urinary tract infections.

Siobhan DeLancey, an F.D.A. spokeswoman, would not say whether the government planned to appeal. “We are studying the opinion and considering appropriate next steps,” she said.

In a separate move, the F.D.A. is expected to issue draft rules within days that ask drug makers to voluntarily end the use of antibiotics in animals without the oversight of a veterinarian.

[...] Environmentalists and health advocates cheered Judge Katz’s ruling, as they have largely cheered the F.D.A.’s incremental efforts to begin restricting some of the less discriminating antibiotic agricultural uses because they welcome any improvement in the decades-old issue.

“The rise of superbugs that we see now was predicted by F.D.A. in the ’70s,” said Jen Sorenson, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

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Anyone who knows anything about professional sports knows that, first and foremost, it's a bottom-line business. Players who put up numbers get paid and players who don't perform, don't. It's really that simple.

So it was amusing to watch the wingnut weeping over Tim Tebow being traded to New York. Whether it was Pat Robertson issuing a fatwa on Peyton Manning or Matt Lewis pretending he knows more about the quarterback position than John Elway — or Sean Hannity saying Elway traded Tebow because he was "shaking things up" — it's been fun to watch wingers display their new-found support for affirmative action.

The 50-state blog round-up has existed over the years in various forms. The idea is to take a look at state and local blogs in order to see what important things are going on in state politics and campaigns, to get a preview of what's coming to the national stage and to recognize the work of great state and local bloggers.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, April 2011

The extremely unappetizing phrase "pink slime" has come to the forefront of late. In case you haven't heard--or don't have the stomach (pun intended) to watch the video above--pink slime is the process by which some beef manufacturers have come up with to strip every last bit of beef and render it "fit" for human consumption by cleaning it with an ammonia solution and mincing it.

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Credit: The Inquisitr

McDonalds pink slime

That is, until recently. After the above episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and a 2009 article in the New York Times, the public outcry over the usage of pink slime grew, leading the USDA to allow school districts more choices in their ground beef purchases. Soon, retailers also followed suit:

Wal-Mart has become the latest food retailer to announce that it's making changes after listening to customer concerns about LFTB.

"While the USDA and experts agree that it is safe and nutritious, Wal-Mart and Sam's Club will begin offering fresh ground beef that does not contain LFTB," writes Deisha Galberth Barnett, a Wal-Mart spokesperson, in a statement.

The announcement comes amid a flurry of similar announcements from other retailers this week.

So anything that leaves bits and pieces of waste and by-products including connective tissue, nerve tissue, cartilage, bone, and in a quarter of the samples, Sarcocystis parasites (yum!) out of the food our children eat is a good thing, right?

Not according to Fox News.

They lambasted ABC for daring to scare the public with those pesky little facts of science.

TV news loves a health scare. Think deadly Tylenol. Killer tomatoes. Mad Cow Disease. Alar in apples. And lots more. Sometimes, as with Tylenol, they are legit and important. Other times, like Alar, they are entirely bogus.

Yet every time, the template is the same. Someone gets sick and the ravenous media tear at the company or industry for not being safe.

This time, however, ABC News has turned that idea on its head in its usual quest for tabloid headlines. It’s going after a company, Beef Products, Inc., for making a product that's not only already safe, it's one we’ve all been eating for years.

But that hasn't stopped ABC and reporter Jim Avila. The network's news division has decided to declare open war on … beef. So far, they’re winning. In a series of 10 stories in just about two weeks, ABC has so demonized the company and its products that Safeway, SUPERVALU and Food Lion just stopped buying it. Ditto Kroger and Stop & Shop.

The meat, often called "lean finely textured beef, is made up of beef that is just harder to get at, so the meat isn’t lost. It’s treated to get rid of the fat and included with the rest of the ground beef. The USDA declares it healthy, but it is less expensive. As an added bonus, it is treated tiny amounts of ammonium hydroxide to make it safer to eat.

But network broadcasts and activist videos act as if this treatment is somehow bad.

For those of you keeping score at home, Fox News just defended the use of a filler ingredient, one with some pretty questionable ingredients, that enables beef producers to give you a lower quality product for the same amount of money. They think that ABC informing their viewers of this practice is a bad thing.

Why does Fox News hate informing viewers?