The Hollywood Liberal

You’ve gone backwards a ways baby
Yesterday was a day full of anniversaries and remembrances…and deliberate re-writing of history. So just another day at FoxNews.

pic via Steve Rhodes at flickr.com

Along with Martin Luther King Day, I remembered that yesterday was also the 50th anniversary of Eisenhower’s farewell address.

Although, until Josh Marshall reminded me just before the first cup of coffee, I had forgotten that yesterday was also the 20th Anniversary of the beginning of the Gulf War (part one).

So then we went to war because it was argued, Iraq had invaded Kuwait and taken its oil. It was emphasized at the time that this was a sign of clear evil and Hitlerness to all ‘Muricans.

Cut to modern America and Sean Hannity:

On his Friday show, Sean Hannity wondered why Iraq and Kuwait hadn’t “[paid] for their own liberation” by the United States, and said that America has the right to “go in there…and take all their oil.”

Isn’t progress grand?

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Tunisian Revolution Shakes, Inspires Middle East
Every state and movement in the Middle East is reading into the events in Tunisia its own anxieties and aspirations.

By Juan Cole

Every state and movement in the Middle East is reading into the events in Tunisia its own anxieties and aspirations.

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The Cuts Are Coming
Republicans have their biggest statehouse majority in more than 80 years, and they’re taking orders from a man who wants to take government and “drown it in the bathtub.”

By Bill Boyarsky

Republicans have their biggest statehouse majority in more than 80 years, and they’re taking orders from a man who wants to take government and “drown it in the bathtub.”

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Republican Senator Voices Support For Assault Weapons Ban
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), a veteran GOP lawmaker who has served in the Senate for more than 30 years, voiced support for a ban on…

Deficit Hawkoprite Watch
Sometime this spring, Congress is going to have to raise the debt ceiling or the federal government will face default. Republicans are going to demand…

Sarah Palin: Crosshairs Used By Democrats, Critics ‘Not Going To Shut Me Up’
(AP) WASHINGTON — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, defending herself against criticism following the Tucson, Ariz., shootings, said Monday that she used the term “blood…

Adam Winkler: MLK and his Guns
One issue on everyone’s mind this Martin Luther King Jr. day is gun control. King’s calls for resolving our differences through peaceful nonviolence are especially…

Dr. Paul Zeitz: Let Freedom Ring — Now! Now!!
As Dr. King told us, we cannot walk alone. The destiny of all Americans is inextricably bound together. My greatest hope is that the justice movement will be a way for all of us to stand together to “Build the Dream!”

‘Sexting’ Former DA: Not My Fault Those Sexts Offended People
Former Wisconsin District Attorney Kenneth Kratz argued today that it was through the “conduct, negligence and behavior” of Stephanie Van Groll that she came to sue him for sending sexually explicit text messages while he was handling her domestic abuse case.

Pima Community College Releases Jared Lee Loughner’s ‘Genocide/Scam’ YouTube Video
The school Jared Lee Loughner used to attend released a copy of the YouTube video titled “Pima Community College School – Genocide/Scam – Free Education – Broken United States Constitution” which got the alleged gunman suspended in September.

Tucson Tea Party Leader: I Want Victim Who Threatened Me To Get Help
One of the 19 victims of last week’s shooting in Tucson was arrested yesterday after standing up during a town hall-style meeting and shouting, “You’re dead!” to the leader of the Tucson tea party. The victim, J. Eric Fuller, has…

Glenn Beck – The Beginning!

Bentley Says Only Christians are his Brothers and Sisters
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) said “he plans to be the governor of all Alabamians and be color-blind, but he also said people who aren’t ‘saved’ Christians aren’t his brothers and sisters,” the Birmingham News reports.

Said Bentley: “I was elected as a Republican candidate. But once I became governor… I became the governor of all the people. I intend to live up to that. I am color blind.”

He added: “Now I will have to say that, if we don’t have the same daddy, we’re not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother.”

Obama Approval on the Rise
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds President Obama’s approval rating at 54%, the highest it’s been in more than a year.

By an 18-point margin, 58% to 40%, Americans say Obama “understands the problems of people like you.” That’s up from a mere 2-point split, 50% to 48% in September.

A new CNN/Opinion Research poll finds Obama’s approval rating is up five points to 53% “as a growing number of Americans consider him a strong leader who is tough enough to handle a crisis.”

Interestingly, the president’s approval rating among Democrats and Republicans is essentially unchanged since December, but among independents it has surged 15 points since last month.

Cheney Says Obama is a One-Termer
In an interview with NBC News, former Vice President Dick Cheney predicted President Obama will be defeated for re-election in 2012.

Said Cheney: “His overall approach to expanding the size of government, expanding the deficit, and giving more and more authority and power to the government over the private sector. Those are all weaknesses, as I look at Barack Obama. And I think he’ll be a one term President.”

Hatch Not Favored Among Utah Republicans
A new UtahPolicy/Exoro poll finds Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) leading Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) in a possible U.S. Senate race.

However, Hatch is not the first choice of Utah Republicans with just 26% picking him in a hypothetical three way race, while 33% would prefer Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and 40% would choose U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, Jr., the state’s former governor.

A More Civil Discourse — Foreign Policy Wonks’ Edition
As the country gropes for ways to lower the temperature and make political disagreement less disagreeable, I thought I’d look back to a 2006-07 initiative that brought together a bipartisan group of 20 foreign policy experts. The Stanley Foundation’s Bridging…

Presented By:

Right-Wing Radio Host Mark Levin Rips ?Race-Baiting? Jeb Bush For Urging Outreach To Latinos

This past week, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) told the GOP it would be “incredibly stupid” to ignore Latinos as a political force. “This is about the conservative cause. If you look over the horizon over the next 10 or 20 years…without an active involvement of Hispanics, we will not be the governing philosophy,” he said.

During an interview with Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera which aired this weekend, Bush — who opposed the original Arizona law SB-1070 and is in favor of comprehensive immigration reform — said he is alienating conservatives in his efforts to reach out to Latinos:

You could hear crickets around me in my views on immigration on this particular issue. It’s a solitary view, I guess — or close to it.

Watch it:

It’s not quite accurate that Jeb is hearing crickets; he’s also hearing loud criticism from the intolerant wing of his party. Right-wing hate radio host Mark Levin blasted Bush for “race-baiting,” calling his remarks “divisive” and “destructive of conservatism.” Levin said, “I’m starting to think Jeb Bush isn’t that bright, to be honest with you.” Calling Bush someone who sounds like “a host on MSNBC,” Levin concluded:

I am sick and tired of politicians and ethnic front groups who do everything they can to divide us, to categorize us, and to undermine the entire notion of our founding. I cannot vote for Jeb Bush whenever he runs, because apparently, he has a comprehension problem when it comes to our founding, when it comes to the Declaration and the Constitution, and when it comes to basic — basic — understanding of the greatness of this nation.

Watch the video at The Right Scoop.

Levin is a frequent critic of conservatives, previously attacking Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), Bill O’Reilly, and even Glenn Beck. Nevertheless, he remains an inspiration for Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Sarah Palin, and many other influential right-wing leaders.

(HT: The Right Scoop)

Poll shows high marks for Obama on Tucson, low regard for political dialogue
Americans overwhelmingly describe the tone of political discourse in the country as negative, verging on angry, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, but more than half say that the culture did not contribute to the shootings in Tucson that killed six people dead and wounded 13, inclu…

Arizona statute could endanger Gabrielle Giffords’s hold on seat
TUCSON – Even as Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shows signs of a near-miraculous recovery, with doctors on Sunday upgrading her condition from critical to serious, a little-known statutory provision in Arizona state law could endanger the Democratic congresswoman’s hold on her seat through what doctors…

King’s Message Echoes Today

Tick, Tock: Cost of ObamaCare a Timebomb
Timothy Carney, Examiner
In fighting against Obamacare repeal this week, Democrats portray their health care law as a money saver, claiming Republicans would add to the deficit by abolishing the legislation. But in their franker moments, the bill's authors admit that “reform” could be something of a time bomb that will cause exploding health care costs down the line. One top Senate aide plainly stated last summer, “This is a coverage bill, not a cost reduction bill.” The time-bomb nature of Obamacare was presaged by Mitt Romney's health care bill in Massachusetts, which also…

About That ‘Change the Tone’ Debate
John Sununu, Boston Globe
IN MARCH of 1997, for a few shining days, ground zero in the campaign to restore civility to American politics was the Bi-Partisan Congressional Retreat in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Perhaps not an event seared into the memory of all Americans, but for members of Congress it was a unique opportunity to meet colleagues and their families outside a political setting. The weekend, sponsored by several DC think tanks, was a modest attempt to improve decorum on the House floor.