Geraldo freaks out over O'Reilly race-baiting, O'Reilly freaks back

This happened a few days ago, but still worth the watch.

First, Geraldo suddenly figured out that FOX News race-baits. Uh, hello? These bigots are your bosses, Geraldo, and you've been enabling them for years working at their network. So, it's nice to see you finally stick up for FOX's minority-baiting, but it's too little too late. You helped make this happen, Geraldo.

Second, take a look at the race-baiting network that the Congressional Black Caucus Institute is busy sucking up to.

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Open thread

It's that time again.



And after the trauma.

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Pelosi tells Bush and Cheney: Enough with the tantrums

Busy times for Democrats trying to get the President and his team to act like adults. Not easy for sure. In her own style, Pelosi lambasted the Bush administration for their misplaced attacks and just plain immaturity over her Syria trip.

After noting the GOPers, including Darrell Issa (CA), Frank Wolf (VA), Joe Pitts (PA) and Robert Aderholt (AL), who went to Syria without any hysterics from the White House, the NY Times reported:

Ms. Pelosi, in a telephone interview from Lisbon on Friday, said she could not account for the Bush administration’s assault, which she at one point equated to a tantrum. (She said her children were teasing her about Mr. Cheney’s accusation of bad behavior.) Defending her trip, Ms. Pelosi said that members of Congress had a responsibility to play a role in national security issues and that they needed to be able to gather information on their own, and not be dependent on the White House.

“I am used to the administration; nothing surprises me,” she said. “Having said that, I hope we can have the opportunity to convey to the president what we saw.”

And, then there's this gem, which we're learning is vintage Pelosi:

“I come back thinking, all right, we will get through their tantrum,” Ms. Pelosi said, in a reference to the administration, “but the fact is, we accomplished what we set out to do. I think we improved the understanding among the different parties.”

Bush and Cheney do throw tantrums when they don't get their way. When the GOP ran Congress, it worked. Not anymore.

Someone at CNN should show this article to Suzanne Malveaux. And someone at the Today Show should at least try to explain it in simple terms to Matt Lauer. Read the rest of this post...

Dean tells Bush to grow up

Same old rhetoric from Bush today in his radio address. But, the Democrats are on the offense. We're all sick of the games that George Bush is playing while soldiers continue to die. We're also tired of the lies. It's time for George Bush to grow up and act like a responsible President:

In response, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean called on Bush and congressional Republicans to "stop trying to bully their way through this and work with Democrats to end the war."

"It's time for the president to show respect to the American people, who voted overwhelmingly to leave Iraq," Dean in the Democrats' weekly radio address.

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Susan Collins is very thin-skinned -- and she's already freaking out

Word in Maine is that Susan Collins has a very thin skin. She cannot take criticism. In the past, she had a pretty compliant traditional media in Maine that bought her whole "I'm a moderate" spin. But her fealty to George Bush has made her vulnerable. And, she has to contend with the blogosphere this time around.

We posted the ad on Susan Collins from Americans United For Change earlier this week, but given the over-reaction from the Collins campaign, watch it again.


Susan's campaign responded with a 90-second video -- that quite frankly, doesn't make much sense. We still don't know where she stands on Iraq. She'll stand where ever George Bush and Trent Lott tell her to stand.

There's some great commentary on how we saw Susan Collins crack this week. The Maine Progressive blogs are really kicking on this one. Craig at Turn Maine Blue has posts here and here and Kay in Maine on her blog, White Noise Insanity, thinks the Maine GOP showed they are "nothing but bunch of cry babies". Also, Cliff Schecter weighed in. Cliff worked on the campaign against Susan in 2002 so knows of what he writes.

This is going to be a fun election to watch because Susan can't handle the truth -- and she can't handle the pressure. Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

Trying to make some bread. Not so easy as it might sound. Especially because I'm trying a sourdough whole wheat bread, lots of issues. Sigh. Read the rest of this post...

Climate change is already changing the planet -- and it's going to get worse

There really is no debate anymore. The earth is already changing because of global warming:

From the poles to the tropics, the earth’s climate and ecosystems are already being shaped by the atmospheric buildup of greenhouse gases and face inevitable, possibly profound, alteration, the world’s leading scientific panel on climate change said Friday.

In its most detailed portrait of the effects of climate change driven by human activities, the panel predicted widening droughts in southern Europe and the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, the American Southwest and Mexico, and flooding that could imperil low-lying islands and the crowded river deltas of southern Asia. It stressed that many of the regions facing the greatest risks were among the world’s poorest.

And it said that while limits on smokestack and tailpipe emissions could lower the long-term risks, vulnerable regions must adjust promptly to shifting weather patterns, climatic and coastal hazards, and rising seas.

"The Green Miles" lays the blame on Bush whose strategy on global warming has been to "gum it to death." And, Bush is gumming the planet to death along the way. Read the rest of this post...

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Well, that was an interesting week, huh? Never a dull moment. Ever.

The week is summed up nicely in the editorial cartoons posted by Bob Geiger. McCain deservedly gets his fair share of attention from the cartoonists -- and watch the Walt Handelsman's animated cartoon, too. Bob's "focus group" is right on that one: It's funny.

The Poem of the Week is "Lapis Lazuli" from Ireland's William Butler Yeats, in which "he addresses whether the happiness born from art is appropriate in such dark times." Relevant, for sure. Read the rest of this post...

Pope blasts rich nations, somehow overlooks Vatican

Sheesh, has he never visited the Vatican Museums? Humble, is not exactly what comes to mind. Where does he think the riches in the Vatican Museums come from and if he's so troubled by the excessive material goods, he can start selling it off or giving it away.

Rich countries bent on power and profit have mercilessly "plundered and sacked" Africa and other poor regions and exported to them the "cynicism of a world without God," Pope Benedict writes in his first book.

The Pope also condemns drug trafficking and sexual tourism, saying they are signs of a world brimming with "people who are empty" yet living among abundant material goods.

Of course, drug trafficking and sexual tourism are terrible. I don't disagree with his "rich countries plundered Africa" or his remarks about wiping out local cultural and spiritual traditions, though he might step back and take a closer look at the history of the church and its active participation in that process. There is plenty of blame and shame to go around.

He also ought to take a look in the mirror at his red Prada pumps. Read the rest of this post...