AMERICAbloggers on Sam Seder's Air America radio program

Joe and A.J. were interviewed by Sam Seder for his radio show while at Yearly Kos. It is now up (Joe blogged about their adventure here).

Sam's interview with AMERICAblog contributor Cliff Schecter is also ready to roll.


Your temporary blogmistress was also behind the mic with Sam at YK. Listen here.

We gab about my blogging of course, and about some of the outlandish conservative sexual head cases like the quadruple double flip hypocrite Southern Baptist preacher in Virginia recently busted for DUI, while wearing a skirt, allegedly urinating in front of children at a car wash, with Oxycontin in his car (and an open bottle of vodka) and who offered to perform oral sex on the arresting officers. BTW, he also served as a Christian radio DJ at WZAP, which issued a statement asking for prayers after suspending him. Read the rest of this post...

Wednesday evening open thread

I know these WingNutDaily polls are ridiculous, but this one made me laugh out loud. What more can you say about The Base of the GOP?

Which information source is most reliable in your opinion?

Read the rest of this post...

John Gibson's producer: no apology for 'John Edwards whored his wife’s cancer as a fundraising gimmick' comment

The shameless sleazathon at Faux News continues. After the blowback about the remarks of "Angry Rich" on John Gibson's radio program about John Edwards, all they can squeak out is an acknowledgment that it was a "poor choice of words." No apology was forthcoming. (Media Matters):

After Gibson asked him to "be specific about what [he] meant," Angry Rich read from an April 5 New York Post article that stated, "Democrat White House hopeful John Edwards' team has been collecting email addresses from supporters who've sent his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, notes -- and using them for fundraising requests, aides acknowledged yesterday." Gibson said that Angry Rich's comment was "unfortunate," but then asserted that Angry Rich was nonetheless "on high ground" because his remark had come in response to the Post report.

During the discussion, Gibson never quoted Angry Rich's
original "choice of words" -- that Edwards had "whored his wife's cancer as a fundraising gimmick." Rather, he said that Angry Rich had "made some offhand comment about Edwards and the way Edwards has, shall we say, employed his wife in the campaign," and later described the remark as follows: "[Y]ou said that Edwards was using his wife in the campaign in a certain way."

Read the rest of this post...

More GOP values: Michigan Young Republican pleads guilty in sexual assault case

We need a Conservative Values Monitor database for the cornucopia of carnal misbehavior by the GOP faithful. The former head of the Michigan Federation of Young Republicans -- once gave a speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention and was called "one of the rising stars of GOP politics in America." His organization's we site declared that "Mike has earned a great name for himself." Apparently now that would be as a rapist. (Cleveland.com):

Michael Flory, a 32-year-old attorney from Jackson, Mich., pleaded guilty to sexual battery on the day he was to stand trial for rape.

The teary-eyed college student he overpowered in a downtown hotel room gasped and dabbed her eyes as Flory replied to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Peter Corrigan's question, "Are you indeed guilty?"

"Sure - yeah," Flory said.

...Flory is also a licensed insurance broker; Corrigan warned him that the guilty plea places both professional licenses in jeopardy of revocation. Assistant County Prosecutor Carol Skutnik said Flory's lawyers, Henry Hilow and Bill McGinty, surprised her with a plea offer as trial witnesses from several states were arriving to testify.

The plea bargain, she said, doesn't include any suggestion of leniency, and the state will seek incarceration. She also said she hopes to present evidence of several "other incidents of sexual misconduct" in which Flory took advantage of vulnerable young women.

True to form, the Republican organization had been smearing the victim because of her charge that Flory raped her.

Hat tip, Dimitri. Read the rest of this post...

Pry it out of my cold, dead, tiny little hands

Guns don't kill people . . . three-year-olds do:

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett released a statement Wednesday afternoon on the shooting.

"It's despicable. It's sickening. A 6-year-old is lying in a hospital bed right now recovering from a gunshot wound he suffered at the hands of a 3-year-old. Why were these kids unattended at 10 at night? How did they have access to a gun, an illegal gun? We are talking about children here; children who are in very real, very immediate danger because of illegal guns. If this doesn’t compel people to open their eyes to the epidemic of violence caused by illegal guns, I don’t know what will," Barrett said.

Three kids under the age of seven. At ten p.m. Alone. With a loaded, illegal gun in the house. Un. Be. Lievable.

Of course, the NRA will tell you this is just a necessary -- if regrettable -- consequence of the freedom to bear arms so that, um, people can have handguns to outfight the U.S. government in case it attacks its own people, or something. Meanwhile, a six-year-old sits in the hospital because of a shooting that looks like it could have been prevented about a dozen different ways. Read the rest of this post...

Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-NY), who has a bad history with guns, might start "packing" over Iraq protests

This is a good one. Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-NY) is infamous for an incident where he allegedly pulled two shotguns on his now ex-wife. So, we know he likes his guns.

Apparently, the pressure from Kuhl's constituents over his continued fealty to Bush's failed Iraq policy is making him think about arming up again.

That's what the Congressman told an editor at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Kuhl said that he wasn't at his offices when the protesters in Bath and Fairport were there. When I asked him if he had ever protested, he said "Yes, when I walked off the floor in Congress recently." I asked if that means he thinks the protesters have a right to do so and he again said "yes, just not over the line." He said that the types of protests have caused him to rethink security at his offices and that means securing doors. He said they are "more protective now" and that he "thought about packing."

He also said that most of the protesters were not from the district but that he offered to meet them at a later time.

That's good. Let them know you're going to be carrying a gun. That's a good way to entice constituents to meet with you.

And, since Kuhl has such a fascination with guns, maybe he can get his butt over to Iraq and help find the 190,000 missing guns that are probably being used against U.S. soldiers. John Bruhns, an Iraq vet working with Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, summed up that danger in a letter to the Washington Post:

Now, over three years later, the United States is bogged down in a civil war, with multiple warring factions struggling to dominate the country. As much as those factions may hate each other, they share one common goal: killing American soldiers. The thought of an insurgent attacking my fellow troops with a weapon that we provided to him is infuriating.

I hope the Pentagon will do everything in its power to find out what happened to the missing weapons.

This is what we've come to: American guns being used against American soldiers in Iraq. American Congressman arming himself against his constituents because of Iraq. Read the rest of this post...

You've Got To Be Kidding

Mitt Romney was asked by an anti-war activist why none of his 5 sons signed up for military duty. Romney said that they were, in fact, serving their country. By helping him get elected. No, I'm not kidding:

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons' decision not to enlist in the military, saying they're showing their support for the country by "helping me get elected."

Romney, who did not serve in Vietnam due to his Mormon missionary work and a high draft lottery number, was asked the question by an anti-war activist after a speech in which he called for "a surge of support" for U.S. forces in Iraq.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, also saluted a uniformed soldier in the crowd and called for donations to military support organizations. Last week, he donated $25,000 to seven such organizations.

"The good news is that we have a volunteer Army and that's the way we're going to keep it," Romney told some 200 people gathered in an abbey near the Mississippi River that had been converted into a hotel. "My sons are all adults and they've made decisions about their careers and they've chosen not to serve in the military and active duty and I respect their decision in that regard."

He added: "One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president."

The woman who asked the question, really sums up my thoughts on this ridiculous statement:

The woman who asked the question, Rachel Griffiths, 41, of Milan, Ill., identified herself as a member of Quad City Progressive Action for the Common Good, as well as the sister of an Army major who had served in Iraq.

"Of course not," Griffiths said when asked if she was satisfied with Romney's answer. "He told me the way his son shows support for our military and our nation is to buy a Winnebago and ride across Iowa and help him get elected."

(HT: TPM) Read the rest of this post...

Fred "God Hates Fags" Phelps to protest funerals of victims from bridge collapse

See, it wasn't government incompetence that caused the bridge to collapse in Minneapolis. According to the beyond whacko Phelps clan, Minnesota is too gay friendly:

The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., plans to stage protests at funerals of victims of the 35W bridge collapse to state that God made the bridge fall because he hates America, and especially Minnesota, because of its tolerance of homosexuality.

The church and its pastor, the Rev. Fred Phelps, have become notorious over recent years for their claim that the attack of 9/11 was an act of God's vengeance and their determination to make that case at the funerals of U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq.

Oh, Fred and his family were notorious way, way before that. But, you know, at least Fred is clear about his hatred of gays. Cause you have to wonder what the agenda is for the other homophobes -- who also hate gays, btw.

Hat tip, Dave B. Read the rest of this post...

Rudy's Hiding The Truth

There is something quaint in watching Rudy Giuliani in Iowa, the "big city slicker goes rural" type thing. He is trying to connect with these folks, the same way he did connect with many New Yorkers.

But he's run into a few problems. First, he's finding out Republicans care about his religion (just ask Mitt Romney). They want to know that he isn't a heathen, you know, like those Democrats.

Second, he's forced to hide his personal life. Where Brownback, Huckabee and Romney proudly display their families, Giuliani strives to avoid any mention of his personal life.

"I believe that things about my personal life should be discussed personally and privately," he said. "It's just sort of gossip. I've never been big on gossip."

Except, Rudy, you have been big on gossip. When the Mayor decided to divorce his second wife, he did so in a very public manner, blasting Donna Hanover and mentioning that treatments for his prostate cancer left him impotent:

Mr. Giuliani, as those of you who have been camping on the Arctic Circle may not have heard, wants a divorce from his wife, Donna Hanover. Ms. Hanover still resides at Gracie Mansion, and the two are currently in court arguing about whether the mayor should be allowed to bring his girlfriend, Judith Nathan, to events on the first floor of the residence, which is open to the public.

The Hanover team refers to this as the ''paramour-access motion.''

Then last weekend Team Rudy, angry over Ms. Hanover's refusal to agree to a joint gag order, unleashed a series of first-strike assaults. Via leaked court papers, the mayor's associates revealed that Mr. Giuliani is impotent as the result of treatment he's had for prostate cancer. The tabloids were full of stories about ''Rudy's secret sorrow,'' explanations on why Viagra won't help, how cuddling was still an option.

The idea was apparently to win sympathy for the mayor, who lost the marital high ground back when he announced his separation at a press conference before he told his wife. His lawyer, Raoul Felder, assured people that his client had no reservations about the strategy. Besides the impotence -- which the mayor hopes will be temporary -- the revelations included claims that Ms. Hanover didn't lend a hand when he was sick from his cancer treatments, and that she disturbed him with her early morning workouts. (''At 5 a.m. she started with the machines, with the exercising,'' said Mr. Felder.)

The Giuliani camp was happy with the results of the offensive -- which also included a claim by the lawyer that the next mayor would have to drag Ms. Hanover off the Gracie Mansion chandelier. ''I know they were taken aback,'' said Mr. Felder of the opposition. ''I was told their forces were in disarray. This is hardball in the big leagues here.''

So when it suited him, Rudy Giuliani was happy to talk about his personal life. And the GOP primary voters are going to want to hear more, no matter how much Rudy wants to hide the truth. Read the rest of this post...

Washington Times Post hires right winger who wrote book calling Democrats "The Party of Death"

Yes, Ramesh Ponnuru should be writing for the Reverend Moon's right wing rag, but no, the Washington Post apparently needs his voice. So, the author of "The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life" is now a columnist for the Washington Post, which links to his bio at the National Review Online (another appropriate forum for Ramesh). His Post gig is called "Right Matters" -- apparently he can explain from that bully pulpit why Democrats are killers as the title of his book implies. Think Progress reports Ponnuru will be leading a "discussion group" on morality. Huh.

Katharine Graham would be so proud. Read the rest of this post...

Lou Dobb's heroes

These are the two US Border Patrol agents who CNN's Lou Dobbs is trying to set free. I have to admit, I watched Lou Dobbs talk about these guys and never did I see him mention the real facts of this case. Here they are:

U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., told members of a conservative political action committee that the two agents are serving harsh sentences because they "winged" a fleeing drug smuggler. That is false, and Duncan no doubt knows it. The agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, are in prison because they failed to report the shooting, lied to investigators, tried to conceal evidence and filed a false report with their supervisors.

The sentences are harsh, but the agents, knowing their guilt, could have pleaded guilty to lesser charges and received lighter sentences. As the prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, has explained over and over to anyone who would listen, the former agents chose to roll the dice in a jury trial. The clear-eyed jurors convicted them. One of the counts against them, obstruction of justice in a case involving a firearm, carries a mandatory 10-year sentence....

Some members of the public rail that the brave agents are in prison while the drug dealer they shot goes free. As Sutton noted, the reason the suspected dealer is free is because the agents shot at him 15 times, wounded him, then tried to cover up the incident and lied.

Yes, but remember, Republicans have no problem about lying about a crime in an effort to cover it up. Read the rest of this post...

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

These morning open threads are getting posted a little later in August. Just a little later. The temperature is going to break 100 in DC today. That's ugly.

What's the news? And, that home run thing doesn't count. Read the rest of this post...

Virginia: ex-gay group can promote 'conversion' materials in public schools

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) believes that it can "help people with unwanted same-sex attractions (SSA) realize their personal goals for change -- whether by developing their innate heterosexual potential or by embracing a lifestyle as a single, non-sexually active man or woman."

It wanted to take its message to the public schools as a counter to Gay-Straight Alliances, which allow students to openly discuss issues about their orientation without fear of reprisal. When the school board in Arlington County refused to allow PFOX access to distribute flyers, the ex-gay org filed a lawsuit. There has been a settlement. (365gay):

The agreement reached between the two sides to end the legal action gives PFOX the same access given to other groups and says the group can submit fliers for distribution to middle and elementary school students if it wishes.

A PFOX spokesperson said it is not planning on targeting younger students at this time. The school system said that it is not making a judgment on the message contained in the PFOX material.

The American Psychological Association last year issued a stinging rebuke of the so-called ex-gay movement. "There is simply no sufficiently scientifically sound evidence that sexual orientation can be changed," it said in a statement.

An attorney in Norfolk, Virginia, Michael Hamar, was appalled by the decision and fired off a letter to the Arlington County School Board. He sent it to me with permission to post it.

From: Mike Hamar
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 10:41 AM
To: 'schoolbd@arlington.k12.va.us'
Subject: School System Allows Group To Promote 'Gay Conversion' To Students

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It was with great distress that I noted your decision described in the linked article ["School System Allows Group To Promote 'Gay Conversion' To Students"].  As one who has studied the fraudulent nature of these "conversion" programs in depth and helped expose "ex-gays for pay," I believe that you have opened a Pandora's Box of potential liability on the part of the school division in respect to youth who may be harmed by these programs and/or pushed to suicide.

In 2006, the American Psychological Association issued a stinging rebuke of the so-called ex-gay movement following a demonstration by members of several organizations that claim homosexuality is a choice that can be cured.  In fact, the APA is now considering a total ban on conversion therapy under the APA's ethical and clinical guidelines.  In short, if the school division gets sued, the legitimate mental health experts will testify against these programs.  I hope you have discussed this issue with the school division's liability insurance carrier.  I suspect your carrier will not be pleased.  Whether or not you endorse these programs, the fact that the school division allows the materials to be distributed will give them an appearance of legitimacy that they do not deserve.  Unsuspecting youths and/or parents may be misled accordingly to their detriment.

I know I would happily represent a youth in your school division or his/her family who is harmed as a result of these fraudulent programs.  Perhaps Arlington County will have the opportunity to provide the "test case" that will put these bogus "ministries" out of business once and for all.

I truly hope you will rethink this extremely foolish decision.

Sincerely,
Michael B. Hamar
Attorney at Law

Read the rest of this post...

Late night open thread

Getting ready to head to the airport to get ma. Nice and cold and rainy and nasty in Paris. Hey, who is in Paris anyway? I'm thinking it might be time to do an AMERICAblog cafe in Paris this week or next. Read the rest of this post...