The Hollywood Liberal

FBI Agent: Mosque Rhetoric Helps Bin Laden
Ali Soufan: No one is likely to be happier with the opposition to building a mosque than Osama Bin Laden. His next video script has just written itself. … When demagogues appear to be equating Islam with terrorism, it’s making young Muslims unsure about their place in the country. It bolsters the message that radicalizers are selling: That the war is against Islam, and Muslims are not welcome in America.

Well, thank goodness
Sarah Palin joins Glenn Becks’ “I’m having a Nightmare” Rally. How fitting and timely.

Remember when Prince used numbers instead of words and it was the only non-cool thing he did?

As already mentioned, Glenn Beck, last seen going into “true archeological” findings related to Native Americans (ask anyone with a seeing stone and a magic hat), is having a rally on August 28th. Specifically held on the same day and in the same place as Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.

And why?

To “reclaim the civil rights movement.”

Yes, because in the good ol’ days of Washington civil rights rallies the original “owners” knew how to march!

But the other news is that now the world’s proudest defender of a First Amendment cafeteria plan, Sarah Palin, will be helping Beck (and the NRA, in honor of MLK, of course) reclaim the civil rights movement as it used to be…a place for white conservatives to speak of the joys of saying “N-word”, the insensitivity of “Muslims”, and the need for funny shows like “Amos-n-Andy” to come back. Hey, while she’s at it, maybe Palin can reclaim contralto from Marian Anderson?

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Late Late Night FDL: 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
Reckless Kelly — 1952 Vincent Black Lightning.

Reckless Kelly — 1952 Vincent Black Lightning.

What’s on your mind?

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Marjorie Cohn: California Assembly Votes to Report on Human Rights to U.N. Committees
On August 9, the California Assembly took the historic step of becoming the first state to agree to publicize the text of three ratified U.N….

‘Third World America’ Step 6: Hold Our Leaders Accountable
“It’s a classic catch-22: The most effective way of fixing the multitude of problems facing America is through the democratic process, but the democratic process…

Lloyd Chapman: Jobless Claims Soar as Obama Continues to Shortchange Small Business
President Obama has allocated only a fraction of federal stimulus funds directly to the 27 million small businesses that create virtually 100 percent of America’s net new jobs.

Behind Obama Muslim myth stands the right wing

Two recently released polls show that an increasing number of Americans believe the falsehood that President Obama is a Muslim. According to the Pew Research Center, 60 percent of people who believe this false claim cite the media as the source of that information — and, indeed, the right-wing media have incessantly promoted this lie.

Pew, Time polls find that an increasing number of Americans believe Obama is a Muslim

Pew: Nearly “one-in-five Americans” now say Obama is a Muslim. On August 18, the Pew Research Center released a column, Michael Goodwin wrote that the logo “reminded” him of “a crescent moon,” the “kind of crescent moon you see on the flags of Muslim countries.” He added: “Indeed, the crescent, often with a single or multiple stars, is the main symbol of Islam. So now there is something like it at an official presidential event, prominently displayed in photographs being beamed around the world.” While Goodwin claimed that he was “not suggesting President Obama is a secret Muslim,” he wrote: “But I am certain the crescent-like design of the logo is not a coincidence, especially at an event where Iran’s nuclear ambition and al Qaeda’s search for a bomb are prime topics.”

Fox & Friends sees “Muslim image” in summit logo. On the April 14 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, co-hosts Brian Kilmeade and Gretchen Carlson discussed Goodwin’s column, with Kilmeade saying: “When I first saw this logo, I wasn’t really thinking this, but upon further review, perhaps I should have been. And that is, if you look at the Nuclear Security Summit logo, what does that have in common with all those other flags there representing Muslim nations?” Showing images of flags, Carlson replied: “That’s the same thing that you see on the flags of Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, and Pakistan, and what do they all have in common? They’re all Muslim nations.” Carlson then stated that Goodwin’s claim is that Obama “deliberately put this as a logo to try and continue his outreach to Muslim nations in a positive way,” adding that at “the same time, he points out in his article that we’re not going to say terms like ‘Jihad’ anymore or ‘Islamic extremists’ anymore. So you be the judge.” During the segment, Fox featured text that read: “Curious Crescent Logo: Summit Symbol Similar to Muslim Image” and “Islamic Image? Summit Design Looks Like Crescent Moon.”

Jim Hoft: “That’s weird?… Obama’s nuclear summit logo is an Islamic crest.” In an April 14 post on his Gateway Pundit blog titled, “That’s Weird?… Obama’s Nuclear Summit Logo Is an Islamic Crest,” Jim Hoft repeatedly asserted that it’s “weird” that “Obama’s nuclear summit logo is an Islamic crest.” Other right-wing blogs, including Evil Conservative and Right Side News, also claimed that “the Nuclear Security Summit logo looks an awful lot like an Islamic crescent.”

Error Theory: “Nuclear Summit logo uses an Islamic-shaped crescent.” In an April 13 post on the Error Theory blog, also featured at Free Republic, Alec Rawls claimed that it “is hard to believe that the State Department” could use “an Islamic-shaped crescent” for the Nuclear Security Summit “by accident,” asserting: “Maybe our State Department really is this ignorant, but more likely, as in the case of Fort Hood mass murderer Nidal Hasan, nobody was willing to make an issue of anything connected to Islam, no matter how disturbing, for fear of committing. career suicide. After all, Obama has commanded all of his underlings to be as oblivious to Islam as possible.”

Gaffney: “Can This Possibly Be True? New Obama Missile Defense Logo Includes A Crescent.” In February, after the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) redesigned its logo, media conservatives compared the new design to the Islamic crescent. In a February 24 BigGovernment post, Frank Gaffney called the “symbolic action” “nefarious,” writing that “the new MDA shield appears ominously to reflect a morphing of the Islamic crescent and star with the Obama campaign logo,” and that “Team Obama is behaving in a way that — as the new MDA logo suggests — is all about accommodating that ‘Islamic Republic’ and its ever-more aggressive stance.” Gaffney concluded: “Watch this space as we identify and consider various, ominous and far more clear-cut acts of submission to Shariah by President Obama and his team.” Gaffney later issued a correction.

FoxNews.com: “Others have noted that [missile defense logo] has a crescent and star design, evoking a common symbol for Islam.” In a February 24 article, FoxNews.com acknowledged that the MDA logo “first appeared” on the MDA website “in the fall,” nonetheless reported claims that the logo was “strikingly” and “scarily” similar to Obama’s 2008 campaign logo, adding that “[o]thers have noted that it has a crescent and star design, evoking a common symbol for Islam.” In a Special Report segment, anchor Bret Baier cited an MDA statement calling the claims “ridiculous,” and that the new logo is “for recruiting in the public website and was developed almost three years ago” and “has no link to any political campaign.” Baier also noted: “The Washington Times points out that the red, white, and blue symbol looks strangely similar to Barack Obama’s campaign ‘O’ from 2008.”

Fellow Juror Says Blago Holdout Would Have Wanted Video in Murder Trial
Forget 12 angry men; fellow jurors say it was one stubborn woman who forced a deadlock in the case against former Gov. Rob Blagoveich on the most serious charge against him: that he tried to sell the former Senate seat of President Barack Obama.



Barack Obama – United States Senate – United States – Erik Sarnello – President

DIY Bin Laden Hunter Now Wants To Bring Death From Above
If at first you don’t succeed at killing Osama bin Laden (armed with a pistol, sword, Christian literature and night-vision goggles), try, try again.


Osama bin Laden – Pakistan – Terrorism – Terrorist Organizations – Al-Qaida

Scales of Justice: Blagojevich Edition

Quote of the Day
“It’s a loser issue — they have a big L on their foreheads. If that’s all they’ve got, it’s a pretty good indication of the problems that the Democrats face in 2010.”

— Jeb Bush, quoted by the New York Times, on Democrats trying to use his brother, former President George W. Bush, as a campaign issue this year.

10 Shameless Right-Wing Tributes to Ayn Rand That Should Make Any Sane Person Blush
As the evangelical Right’s influence has declined, conservatives are adhering to another religion — one based on the scribblings of a sociopath.

As the evangelical Right's influence has declined, conservatives are adhering to another religion — one based on the scribblings of a sociopath.

Whether the Economy Is in a ‘Double Dip’ or in Stagnation, It’s Clear We’re in a Downward Spiral
The government is seen as favoring large institutions and corporate power, not people.

The government is seen as favoring large institutions and corporate power, not people.

Cloned Meat May Already Have Invaded Our Food Supply, Posing Alarming Health Risks
It’s just a matter of time before we are eating clones, if we are not eating them now.

It's just a matter of time before we are eating clones, if we are not eating them now.

Could a Legal Technicality Prevent Banks from the Right to Foreclose on 62 Million Homes?
A judge recently held that banks’ electronic shortcut for recording mortgage information makes it impossible for banks to establish their rights to ownership.

A judge recently held that banks' electronic shortcut for recording mortgage information makes it impossible for banks to establish their rights to ownership.

How the Pakistan Floods Could Change the War in Afghanistan
The human suffering of millions in Pakistan’s floods may have just begun if the country destablizes — meaning, the U.S. could be there for a very long time.

The human suffering of millions in Pakistan's floods may have just begun if the country destablizes — meaning, the U.S. could be there for a very long time.

The ‘Can’ v. ‘Should’ of Building a Mosque
In my post earlier this afternoon, I was too cursory in accusing critics of the Cordoba project of chucking the Constitution. Not wrong, mind you, just slow in spotting the brazen hypocrisy of their position. One of the big talking…



Sarah Palin – United States – Politics – Republican – Parties

More than Half-Way but Not Full Friends: Israel and Jordan
This morning I received an email from former Israel Labor Party Deputy Leader and former Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh. It started “To my Muslim friends – Ramadan Karim”. Sneh maintains a friends mailing list for his thoughts and articles,…



Middle East – Jordan – Israel – Warfare and Conflict – Iraq

Dan Coats admits he has no idea how much his budget-busting tax cuts for the rich will cost.

Yesterday, Indiana’s Republican Senate candidate Dan Coats unveiled his job creation plan, and like the jobs plan released by other Republican senate hopefuls like Marco Rubio (FL) and Roy Blunt (MO), it is heavy on tax cuts and fearmongering about government regulation. Coats calls for permanently extending all of the Bush tax cuts, including those for the richest two percent of Americans that President Obama would like to see expire, as well as eliminating the estate tax and cutting the corporate income tax. But when asked about how much these massive cuts would add to the deficit, Coats freely admits that he has no idea:

He could not say what the fiscal impact of his proposals would have on the nation’s deficit, saying it would need more analysis. “I believe the effectiveness will far outweigh the costs,” he said. “Our hope is that we can come back with a budget neutral (plan) or savings.”

Coming back with a budget neutral plan may be Coats’ hope, but in order to achieve that he’s going to need draconian spending cuts or huge middle class tax increases, because the tax cuts he’s proposing will blow a serious hole in the budget. Extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy alone will cost $830 billion over ten years, and eliminating the estate tax is another $784 billion. All of this spending and borrowing will serve to benefit the richest two percent of the country. As The Wonk Room explains, Coats’ “jobs plan” is also short on steps that actually create jobs.

ThinkFast: August 19, 2010

A new Pew poll finds that nearly one in five Americans — and 31 percent of self-identified Republicans — believe that President Obama is a Muslim. The poll found that only 10 percent of Democrats hold that belief.

The last U.S. combat brigade in Iraq has left the country, “a move that helps U.S. President Barack Obama reach his goal of 50,000 troops in the country by September 1.” “Operation Iraqi Freedom ends on your watch!” the head of the 4,000-strong brigade told his soldiers last night, as the State Department prepares to take over the U.S. mission in Iraq, backed by a “small army of contractors.”

The debate over religious freedom sparked by the proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero might be derailed by a simple logistical issue: the planners aren’t ready to build. Politico reports, “The Cordoba Initiative hasn’t begun fundraising yet for its $100 million goal. The group’s latest fundraising report with the State Attorney General’s office, from 2008, shows exactly $18,255 – not enough even for a down payment on the half of the site the group has yet to purchase.”

In light of News Corp’s $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association, the Democratic Governors Association is calling on Fox News “run a ‘formal disclaimer’ when it covers gubernatorial races.” CNN reports that while the parent companies of most networks have made “at least six-figure contributions to political parties and candidates,” none has give such a large, lop-sided partisan donation.

At a town-hall style meeting in Columbus, Ohio yesterday, President Obama pledged that “the Social Security system won’t be privatized while he is in the White House.” While noting that Social Security needs “modest changes,” he pointed out that the economic recession and Wall Street collapse “would have devastated the savings of retirees” in a privatized system.

A community group in the Gulf of Mexico is debating the Obama administration’s rosy claims about the oil remaining in the Gulf, becoming the second group this week to do so. On Tuesday, The University of Georgia also published a paper saying that, contrary to the Obama administration’s claims that most of the Gulf oil has been cleaned or contained, as much as 79 percent still remained in the water and presented a danger to the ecosystem.

The United Nations now estimates that as many as 4 million Pakistanis have been left homeless by the flooding in that country. “Since it’s an evolving situation, things are unfolding. Our estimate has gone up and now eight million are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance,” a U.N. humanitarian spokesman told Reuters.

According to a National Coalition for the Homeless report to be released this week, killings of homeless people have risen to their highest level in a decade. The report, considered “the most definitive study of the problem,” notes that the 59 percent rise in attacks over one year “runs counter to national trends in other areas of crime.”

And finally: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg attempted to do what politicians visiting Philadelphia have done “since presumably the beginning of time” — order a cheesesteak. However, after getting flustered by the confusing ordering process, Bloomberg decided against finishing the mammoth sandwich, telling reporters, “I’m not going to eat it in front of you.”

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