Limbaugh, Palin, Rove and wanna-be-senator-who-opposes-masturbation pile on each other

Just me, or is "balls to the wall" not the expression you'd use to defend this woman?

Add Rush Limbaugh to the list of prominent conservatives tearing into Karl Rove's hide today. As Rove continued his tour slamming freshly minted Delaware Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell over the considerable number of skeletons in her closet, Rush was almost literally beside himself with frustration at the idea that anyone -- much less The Architect -- would dare violate the 11th Commandment so brazenly.

O'Donnell's nomination has created deep divisions between the Republican Party and right-wing activists. Last night, Rove bashed O'Donnell -- and her chances of being elected -- and insisted that she's said a lot of "nutty things." He was attacked by some right-wingers for those comments. O'Donnell whacked him back in a televised interview this morning. And then Rove responded to O'Donnell and his right-wing critics, daring them to 'prove me wrong'. Then Palin slammed Rove. Now it's Limbaugh's turn.

"If 51 seats was really the objective -- if getting the majority is really that important, then let's go balls to the wall for Christine O'Donnell!" Limbaugh screamed on his radio show today after playing a clip of Rove's already infamous anti-O'Donnell interview on Hannity last night.

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Scientists continue to receive political and corporate pressure on food safety issue

It's troubling that the scientists are claiming that the environment of outside interference has only slightly improved since Obama came to office. Again, we signed up for change and a new way of running the country. More of the same wasn't part of the deal.

Scientists and inspectors at the federal agencies responsible for food safety say they face political and corporate interference with their work, according to a survey released Monday by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonpartisan advocate for unbiased science in government.

The survey suggests a continuation of problems that government scientists had complained about during the George W. Bush administration, despite Obama administration pledges not to let politics intrude on scientific conclusions. And it comes more than a year after the administration promised to issue new rules to protect scientific integrity.

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Republicans strike back at Rove following his 'nutty' remarks about O'Donnell

Grab some popcorn because the show is great. TPM has the Rove video from Hannity as well as a bunch of harsh responses attacking Rove. Can't we all just get along? Talking Points Memo:

"I just finished watching Karl Rove trashing GOP Senate primary winner Christine O'Donnell. It was on Sean Hannity's FNC show. Might as well have been Olbermann on MSNBC," Michelle Malkin wrote on her blog last night. "The establishment Beltway strategist couldn't even bother with an obligatory word of congratulations for O'Donnell."

Over at HotAir, Malkin's take was reposted it under the simple headline, "War." This morning, HotAir blogger Ed Morrissey took his own shot at establishment figures like Rove who he said should get over Mike Castle's defeat last night and hop aboard the O'Donnell train. Morrissey writes that establishment GOP types should rally around their nominee in Delaware, just as they would expect O'Donnell's supporters to do if Castle had won.

"Rarely have I seen such childishness from the supposed leaders of a political establishment, who set the very rules and customs they now want to ignore because they just got embarrassed on a national stage," Morrissey writes. "Grow up, shut up, and get to work."

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DNC drops Obama's promise to repeal DOMA, fails to mention marriage, then gets all weasel-y on DADT repeal

WTF is wrong with these people? Read the rest of this post...

Join our live chat with NH Sen. Candidate Paul Hodes

Tonight, from 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Pam's House Blend, Good As You, Open Left, Bilerico and AMERICAblog are hosting a live chat with Paul Hodes, the Democrat running for Senate in New Hampshire. This is the first of several chats we'll be hosting over the next several weeks with pro-equality candidates.

Earlier today, we learned that NH Republicans (barely) chose Kelly Ayotte as their nominee. She was endorsed by Sarah Palin, which says a lot. Ayotte is opposed to marriage equality in a state that allows same-sex marriage -- and she's even opposed to gay adoptions. Ayotte is extreme.

Fortunately, Hodes is in the race -- and can win. He's pro-marriage equality and will stand up for progressive values. I met Paul at Netroots Nation and was very impressed. I think the people co-hosting felt the same way.

So, join the chat. Ask questions. And, help Hodes win. His website is here. His ActBlue page is here.

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US meat farmers brace for limits on antibiotics

My favorite part of the story:

Mr. Rowles says he keeps his pigs fit by feeding them antibiotics for weeks after weaning, to ward off possible illness in that vulnerable period. And for months after that, he administers an antibiotic that promotes faster growth with less feed.

Antibiotics to fatten them up? Eeew.

Now, after decades of debate, the Food and Drug Administration appears poised to issue its strongest guidelines on animal antibiotics yet, intended to reduce what it calls a clear risk to human health. They would end farm uses of the drugs simply to promote faster animal growth and call for tighter oversight by veterinarians.

Hallelujah. Read the rest of this post...

French parliament confirms burqa ban

While many people are offended by the burqa, it's hard to see how this political move will help the women or help the country around the world. Many French travel extensively so it they could easily be put in harms way with this move.

The Senate passed the bill by 246 votes to one Tuesday and, having already cleared the lower house in July, the bill will now be reviewed by the Constitutional Council, which has a month to confirm its legality.

The text makes no mention of Islam, but President Nicolas Sarkozy's government promoted the law as a means to protect women from being forced to wear Muslim full-face veils such as the burqa or the niqab.

Once in force, the law provides for a six-month period of "education" to explain to women already wearing a face veil that they face arrest and a fine if they continue to do so in any public space.

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Tea Baggers: More like carpet-baggers than grass-roots

A couple of takes on Mike Castle and Tea Party Handmaiden (heh) Christine O'Donnell. Let's start with E.J. Dionne at the Wash Post (h/t Kay at Balloon Juice; click for her own good comments):

Want to know how angry the state’s Republican leaders are at the campaign of Christine O’Donnell, the perennial candidate who is threatening Rep. Mike Castle in the U.S. Senate race? Here’s what Delaware Republican Party chairman Tom Ross told me last night:

I could buy a parrot and train it to say, ‘tax cuts,’ but at the end of the day, it’s still a parrot, not a conservative.

That, so far, is my favorite line of this election season.

Ross is furious because O’Donnell had no credibility as a candidate until the Tea Party Express, a California-based group, decided to target Castle, a genuine moderate who represents the last vestiges of what was once a thriving and honorable wing of Republicanism. Oh yes, and she also got the endorsements of Sarah Palin and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). DeMint is determined to purge his party of anyone with the nerve to be – well, even a moderate conservative.

Ross notes that the state Republican convention endorsed Castle. These are not some shadowy party bosses, but, as he put it, “the grass-roots delegates who knock on the doors and pass out the literature and pound the pavements.”

Carpet baggers for sure. Next time I want to see some plush and shag hanging from those hats.

But before we deify Mike Castle, let's listen to Dave Weigel at Slate (h/t Annie Laurie):

I’m from Delaware, born in 1981, and can not remember a time when Mike Castle wasn’t being elected to something. ... There are two parties here: the party that does what the banks and DuPont wants, and the party that loses. Castle was the undisputed leader of the first party. ...

I see a lot of conservatives arguing tonight that Christine O'Donnell's victory shows that she can upset the establishment and win this seat. These conservatives are not from Delaware. ... Her victory was only possible because, for the first time, political donors and activists from outside our little state picked a target, froze it, and polarized it. But the message I am getting tonight is clear—neither the state GOP nor the NRSC will spend any resources on O’Donnell.

If Delaware catches your eye, there's much more by Weigel on his main blog page.

And finally this, by Charles Pierce in Esquire, is well worth quoting (cause I'm a sucker for good prose). The appetizer:

Once O'Donnell's victory was assured, the requisite thumbsucking over What It All Means got dialed up to 11 almost immediately. Matthews was the wildest, divining a secret hidden block of frustrated Hillary Clinton voters who had been marinating in frustration since the 2008 primaries and were bleeding from the teeth to vote for anyone with ovaries, even someone who spent the 1990's inveighing against the evils of jacking off.

The main dish:

O’Donnell is a creature of an age in which politics have no meaning beyond performance art. She is the Creature From The Green Room, with no apparent public career beyond being available whenever some teenage booker from the cable shows needed someone to say something reliably stupid… Her resume is so thin as to be opaque [sic], and a lot of it seems to be a lie. She seems to be something of a deadbeat, and “U.S. Senator” seems to be her idea of an entry-level position. ...

She is what politics produces when you turn them into a game show and the coverage of them over to a generation of high-technology racetrack touts. She is what you get when political journalism reduces politics to numbers on a scoreboard, divorcing them from the real world consequences of what are increasingly seen as cute little eccentric decisions.

She is what politics produces when we abandon self-government for self-gratification. And that’s the real obvious irony in her victory on Tuesday night, and the only thing about it that truly matters. Christine O’Donnell’s campaign is a successful exercise in angry, misfit masturbation[.]

If this country falls in the late rounds (it may not), the epitaph could read, "The rich gave them the noose, and they wore it like a necklace."

If you care, click through for the Handmaiden's OMG-face.

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American workers are at least $6.6 trillion short of retirement needs

Let me get this straight. The Obama administration is discussing the possibility of cutting Social Security because the GOP is hopping mad about it? Where were the Republicans when they were handing out TARP payments to their friends on Wall Street? Between Bush and Paulson lending free money and giving direct cash payouts, the richest of the rich have been at the front of the feeding line yet a Democrat is going to listen to the Republicans? Why is it urgent to save a banker but not everyone else? CNBC:

The study, conducted by Boston College's Center for Retirement Research, says savings have been squeezed by declines in stock and housing values.

The study was commissioned by Retirement USA, a coalition of organized labor and pension rights advocates that hopes to use the study to push for a more stable retirement system. The group plans to unveil the study at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday.

The $6.6 trillion figure is based on projections of retirement and income for American workers ages 32-64. The study's authors say they arrived at the amount using conservative assumptions, including a 3 percent rate of return on assets and no further cuts in pension coverage or increases in the Social Security retirement age.

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Independent scientific research on Gulf oil leak is lacking money

This is a very bad sign. If the Obama administration is serious about suing BP and other oil companies involved in the leak, this problem has to be resolved quickly. BP is indeed paying some scientists to do research into the problem but somehow the administration allowed BP to include language that may not allow that information to be made public. (Whoever allowed that should be sent packing.) How is it possible to make a case when there's little scientific research to support your case? NY Times:

The only federal agency to distribute any significant grant money for oil spill research, the National Science Foundation, is out of money until the next fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The Environmental Protection Agency, which has only $2 million to give out, is still gearing up its program. A $500 million initiative for independent research promised by BP, which was to be awarded by an international panel of scientists, has become mired in a political fight over control. State agencies, too, are stymied.

“We have met with every possible person we can regarding this issue, built the templates, sent in the requests, and we are waiting to see,” said Hank M. Bounds, the Mississippi commissioner of higher education, speaking of the needs of Ms. Perry and other scientists.

There is plenty of science being done on the spill, but most of it is in the service of either the response effort, the federal Natural Damage Resource Assessment that will determine BP’s liability, or BP’s legal defense. Scientists who participate in those efforts may face restrictions on how they can use or publish their data. More important, they do not have a free hand in determining the scope of their studies.

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'Cheddarbomb' for Russ Feingold

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold is facing a self-funding millionaire, Ron Johnson, in the November election. This might not be on everyone's radar screen, but the race is actually really, really close. So, today, with the help of his colleague, Al Franken, and a number of progressive blogs, Feingold is holding a Cheddarbomb. (It's a money bomb, Wisconsin-style.)

Feingold has a solid progressive record. And, he's great on LGBT equality. On September 10, 1996, Feingold was one of 14 Senators to oppose DOMA. You may think that's ancient history. But, fourteen years later, NOM is targeting Feingold over that vote. And, NOM also knows that Feingold has been a supporter of marriage equality for years.

We're all going to get hit up a lot over the next few weeks. If you're going to give, give wisely. Give to candidates who are progressive. Give to candidates who support full equality.

Russ Feingold meets the criteria. We need marriage supporters in the Senate, not NOM-supported haters.

So, Cheddarbomb away.

UPDATE: Sam Seder and Sarah Silverman talked Cheddarbomb at lunch today:
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Republicans unveil plan to add $4 trillion to deficit

Haven't they added enough economic problems to the US economy to last a few lifetimes? Once again the GOP plan is to rally 'round the richest Americans and then stick the bill with the shrinking middle class. This is insane. From the Washington Post.

Even as they hammer Democrats for running up record budget deficits, Senate Republicans are rolling out a plan to permanently extend an array of expiring tax breaks that would deprive the Treasury of more than $4 trillion over the next decade, nearly doubling projected deficits over that period unless dramatic spending cuts are made.

The measure, introduced by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) this week, would permanently extend the George W. Bush-era income tax cuts that benefit virtually every U.S. taxpayer, rein in the alternative minimum tax and limit the estate tax to estates worth more than $5 million for individuals or $10 million for couples.

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Anti-masturbation activist wins GOP Senate primary in Delaware

As Joe mentioned earlier, an anti-Masturbation activist just won the Republican US Senate primary in Delaware. Ironically, she's a Teabagger. All jokes aside, this is what the Republican party has come to. Their US Senate nominees now include anti-masturbation activists. The party has been taken over by the far-right fringe, and as Joe and I wrote a while back, that's all well and good until the Democrats screw up to the point that the voters replace them with whoever is available, regardless of how nutty.

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Well, I stayed up a little too late watching election results. It was worth it to watch the reactions to the win by Teabagger/Masturbation Authority Christine O'Donnell in Delaware's GOP Senate primary. This one is causing lots of strife within the GOP. Love it.

We still don't know who the GOP nominee for Senate is in New Hampshire. It's a battle between two right wing homophobes: Kelly Ayotte and Ovide Lamontagne. Right now, it's too close to call. We do know who the Democratic nominee for Senate in NH is. That's Paul Hodes and he'll be joining us for a live chat tonight from 6 - 7 PM Eastern. There's going to be a very clear choice in New Hampshire between a supporter of marriage equality and a hater (whichever GOP candidate wins.)

In DC, incumbent mayor, Adrian Fenty, lost to Vincent Gray. Not unexpected. The National Organization for Marriage took a major hit. Its one candidate for City Council, Delano Hunter, lost by a 3 to 1 margin. The incumbent, Harry Thomas, Jr., sailed to reelection. NOM is obsessed with DC because we have same-sex marriage. But, NOM's campaign of hate and homophobia lost big.

We can expect Senator Levin on the floor either today or tomorrow to see if that body can proceed on the Defense Authorization bill. If McCain or McConnell objects, it means they're filibustering the Defense bill while we're fighting two wars. Imagine if Democrats ever did that???? Harry Reid will then file a motion for cloture, which sets off a 30-hour period of debate before a vote. That vote will probably be next Tuesday. That's the key vote on whether the Senate can break the filibuster. Remember, both Susan Collins and Scott Brown voted for this Defense bill in the Senate Armed Services Committee last May. Will they filibuster it now? If we break the filibuster, then we can worry about potential amendments that would strike the DADT language for the bill or change the certification process. By the time the Defense bill makes it through conference, we'll probably be in December -- and the Pentagon's study on DADT is due December 1. The study will be completed before the legislation becomes law -- and that's what GOPers claim they want.

The President is going to speak tonight at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s Awards Dinner.

There's a lot going on... Read the rest of this post...

Report: More than half of child rapists priests in England and Wales still active priests

Of course it's immoral, but we're talking about the Catholic Church after all. The church never seems to learn any lessons and keeps repeating the same horrible behavior. How could anyone support this institution as it stands today? The Guardian:

But at least 14 of the 22 priests who have served a year or more behind bars are still members of the clergy and 10 of these appear in the most recent edition of the Catholic Directory, the official yearbook of the church. Only eight of the 22 men have been dismissed from their positions.

One of those featured in tonight's programme, Fr John Coughlan, was jailed in 2005. Although he no longer leads services, he is still a priest and lives in church-owned property. He refused to appear on camera but said he was "in limbo" and that he was in touch with other priests who were in a similar situation.

His home is in the diocese of Westminster, which is run by Vincent Nichols, who is the most senior Catholic in the country and who played a pivotal part in developing child protection policies for the church. He has frequently said the Catholic church in England and Wales leads the way in child protection.

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EU to update rules on short selling of complex financial products

When you look at what's going on at Lehman - yes, the company that went bankrupt two years ago yet has piled up a $2 billion bill ever since - it's hard to argue against the financial industries "innovation" as they like to call it. The industry will tell us how their "innovation" has generated billions or more but where is it? The public saw the price tag for their "innovation" while they saw bonuses. Remember, even though that money was all written off by the banks, they never had to pay back a penny. Try that in another industry and see how quickly the money is returned.

Even worse, despite not paying back anything for the obviously bad business, they were then given even more money by governments. That money was directly related to the recent financial success in the banking industry and yes, they will all receive bonuses on that too. If the bankers can't help themselves from going too far, they live with the results of a more regulated market. If they don't like it, tough.

Short-selling is a technique that sees investors borrow an asset, and then sell it on to the market.

Traders using this technique bet that the price of the asset will have fallen by the time they have to buy it back in order to return what they borrowed.

European single market commissioner Michel Barnier wants to enforce EU-wide regulations that will make investors disclose more details of their so-called "short positions" in shares - caused by short-selling - to a central database.

The suggested new rules are also expected to include a requirement that these trades go through a central clearing house so everyone can be certain the investors have enough cash to pay up if they lose the bet.

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When politics meets social media

The article isn't about politics and social media, but imagine if it were.

Turning to friends is the new rage in the Web world, extending far beyond established social networking sites and setting off a rush among Web companies looking for ways to help people capitalize on the wisdom of their social circles — and to make some money in the process.

“What your friends think and what people like you think is much more relevant than what everybody thinks,” said Augie Ray, an analyst with Forrester Research.

Amazon.com now allows its shoppers to connect to their Facebook accounts so that Amazon can display their friends’ favorite books, films and other products. TunerFish, a start-up owned by Comcast, lets users share what television shows and movies they are watching, mapping out an up-to-the-minute TV guide of programs gaining in popularity among their friends.

It's a fascinating use of social media, and immediately got me thinking of politics. Perhaps it wouldn't be as useful at the national level - I would think people don't look for their friends' advice on who to vote for President or Congress, but perhaps they do - but at the local level, I never know who the various judges or other officials are. Even city council members become a blur. Assuming my friends have a clue, which isn't altogether a certainty, it would be interesting to see who they're voting for.

Of course, you have to get beyond Americans' privacy about how they vote. Read the rest of this post...

If you're going to park illegally in a handicapped spot, don't drive a car with your URL, name and face plastered all over it

A local Liberal Party (i.e., conservative party) leader in Stockholm caught using a handicapped parking spot when he's not handicapped. I'm sure he's still scratching his head trying to figure out how they caught him. Read the rest of this post...

Corn syrup manufacturers ask FDA for a name change

I've got one! How about "disgusting garbage." Think they might go for it? Personally I can't stand the taste of corn syrup and it leaves me with a grossed out feeling inside. Over here in Europe they often push beet root sugar (France used to be the dominant producer) and that too gives me the same feeling. Even with the name "beet root sugar" it's still awful. Although the taste is not that different, it's the after effect that bothers me.

If I want a sweetener I'll use either real cane sugar or honey. They can call corn syrup anything they like but it still won't change the way my body reacts to that junk. Does anyone actually like it compared to real sugar?

The makers of high fructose corn syrup want to sweeten up its image with a new name: corn sugar.

The bid to rename the sweetener by the Corn Refiners Association comes as Americans' concerns about health and obesity have sent consumption of high fructose corn syrup, used in soft drinks but also in bread, cereal and other foods, to a 20-year low.

The group applied Tuesday to the Food and Drug Administration to get the "corn sugar" name approved for use on food labels. They hope a new name will ease confusion about about the sweetener. Some people think it is more harmful or more likely to make them obese than sugar, perceptions for which there is little scientific evidence.

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