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Buzz, perspectives, insight and news from AlterNet

Breast Flaunting for Jesus
Posted by Thers, Whiskey Fire on November 11, 2009 at 7:41 PM.

A failed California beauty pageant contestant who loves Jesus and fake tits, and disapproves of homosexuals, at some point in her life made a film of herself masturbating, and according to an Internet Gossip Web Site, the existence of this film caused this woman to lose a lawsuit because the people she was suing found it and threatened her with it.

In the ping-pong ball brain of Ann Althouse, the reason the Internet Gossip Web Site reported on this is because Saul Alinsky told them to. Whee! For, as this idiot has it, "The lesson here is that if you have even the slightest tendency toward conservative thinking, you’re an obvious target for personal destruction by the vicious harpies of the left, especially if you’re an attractive woman."

Right. Sounds rather like these women with slight tendencies towards thought do a fine job of personally self destructing, mainly because publicly engaging in "conservative thinking" is an awfully comical thing to do.

Dobbs to Quit CNN
Posted by Staff, AlterNet on November 11, 2009 at 3:59 PM.

Quick note from the NY Times:

Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, plans to announce Wednesday that he is leaving the network, two network employees said.

A CNN executive confirmed that Mr. Dobbs will announce his resignation plans on his 7 p.m. program. His resignation is effective immediately; tonight’s program will be his last on CNN. His contract was not set to expire until the end of 2011.

Dobbs has been under fire for his inflammatory rhetoric.

Under Pressure From Tea Party Activists, Charleston GOP Censures Lindsey Graham For Bipartisanship
Posted by Lee Fang, Think Progress on November 11, 2009 at 3:32 PM.

On Monday, the Charleston County Republican Party’s executive committee “took the unusual step” of officially censuring Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). The local GOP committee admonished Graham for stepping across party lines to work with Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) on a bipartisan clean energy bill and other pieces of legislation. The censure stated that Graham’s “bipartisanship continues to weaken the Republican brand and tarnish the ideals of freedom.”

Part of the fury from the right against Graham is being spurred by the oil and coal industry. The oil company front group “American Energy Alliance” has blanketed South Carolina with ads smearing Graham for seeking to address climate change.

The pressure against Graham has also stemmed from his criticism of hate radio and Fox News host Glenn Beck. “Only in America can you make that much money crying,” said Graham, mocking Beck in early October. Beck has responded with a slime campaign against Graham that he typically reserves for liberals. The leader of the Charleston Republican Party, Lin Bennett, is also a member of Glenn Beck’s 9/12 organization in South Carolina. According to its website, the Charleston GOP claims to work closely with tea party groups and Beck’s 9/12 activists in selecting its favored candidates.

Will Graham be able to stand up to the angry backlash being cultivated by far right voices and entrenched corporations interests? At a Graham town hall in Greenville last month, activist Harry Kimball of “RINO HUNT” protested by constructing a display that portrayed Graham, as well as other GOP moderates, being flushed down a toilet:

KIMBALL: This is for every RINO who has failed to represent us. [...] [the toilet represents] flushing them, flushing them.

Graham’s spokesman defended his boss to reporters yesterday, claiming the senator has a “90 percent conservative voting record.” Unfortunately for Graham, that may not prevent him from being “Scozzafavaed.”

Watch it to the right.

Murdoch and Murdoch Flak Confused About Racism, Truth
Posted by Tana Ganeva, AlterNet on November 11, 2009 at 2:20 PM.

Last week, Rupert Murdoch assured us that race-bating is a News Corps priority, when he said Fox host Glenn Beck was right to call President Obama a racist (in the same interview, Murdoch also declared war on Google, so it was great fun all around). Beck's statement, which has cost the talk show host 80 advertisers, was no less controversial when parroted by his boss. So now some flak has to spin Murdoch's remarks. Their strategy? Claiming Murdoch didn't say what he said.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Right-Wing Pundits Now Lecturing the Military: Bases Need More Guns
Posted by Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America on November 11, 2009 at 1:15 PM.

Public Option Back on the Chopping Block
Posted by mcjoan, Daily Kos on November 11, 2009 at 12:10 PM.

Reid has put the House healthcare reform bill on the Senate calendar to begin the Senate's action on the bill. CBO scores on the proposed Senate bill, which melds the HELP and SFC bills, are expected at the end of this week.

Why Dems Need Tom Tancredo to Receive the GOP Nod in Colorado
Posted by Mario Solis-Marich, Nuestra Voice on November 11, 2009 at 10:54 AM.

I believe that Tom Tancredo should be the Republican nominee for the Governor of Colorado. I hold this belief sincerely.

Tancredo is the most anti-immigrant GOP top gun in the country. While the GOP House majority speech-a-fies against immigrants, Tancredo plans! While Dobbs bloviates, Tancredo acts! While Beck draws on blackboards, Tancredo finger paints hate on the very souls of immigrant bashers everywhere! Tancredo is the haters hater! That is why we as Democrats need him to receive the GOP nod in Colorado.

Democrats need a man that can inspire Latinos and other independents to come to the polls and vote for Democrats – Tancredo is that man! Dems have a habit of short changing efforts for Latino outreach and Tancredo can inspire Latino voters on his own dime. The cost free voter inspiration that the former congressman offers makes Tancredo the fiscally responsible choice!

Now the tough part: I must say that I was shocked, hurt, and disappointed when I was kicked out of the “Draft Tom Tancredo for Governor” Facebook page! You can find the group here: Draft Tom Tancredo for Governor. Especially since my team and I had just spearheaded a membership drive for the page that caused hundreds of my shows listeners to join the draft Tancredo effort. I have heard sadly that in an act that can only be described as a mass “cyber-deportation” many of my listeners have been booted from the page as well. I now know why Beck cries- it’s the hurt.

Now a note to the “Big Tank” himself: Congressman Tancredo I hope that my ouster from your Facebook page and the ouster of many of my shows listeners was just a mistake by your staff. In fact it could be the type of mistake that can be corrected by denying any knowledge and firing a lower level intern (wink).

Mr. Tancredo you need a big tent to win this nomination and we at the Mario Solis-Marich Show stand ready to help put up that tent (hopefully you still have the instructions on how the poles work) and fill it. I promise I, with the help of my team and our listeners, can fill your big tent with people that are extremely enthusiastic about making sure that you are the GOP standard bearer going into the 2010 election. Please advise.

Your fully documented servant – Mario

Dogs Going Crazy as Their Soldiers Return Home
Posted by Joshua Holland, AlterNet on November 11, 2009 at 8:41 AM.

Honestly, I got all weepy watching these videos of dogs welcoming soldiers home after long deployments [from MentalFloss, via John Cole].

Look at the little nibblets jump!

Still dry-eyed, you heartless bastard? OK, good luck with the little children greeting their fathers!

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Laura Flanders Live on GritTV: The Powerful Forces Keeping Status Quo in Place
Posted by Laura Flanders, GRITtv on November 11, 2009 at 8:39 AM.

How much control does the President really have, anyway? Americans voted for change and are getting frustrated with the lack of it, but our guests have both written about the powerful forces holding the status quo in place. John Perkins is the author of Hoodwinked and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, and has written about how corporations push politicians around and even threaten them with violence. Russ Baker, meanwhile, is the author of Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America and has written extensively about the military-industrial complex.

In the new film Collapse, filmmaker Chris Smith follows Michael Ruppert as he raises the alarm again and again on the financial crisis, energy, the environment, and more. Is he a genius, or just paranoid? And with all this scary information out there, what can citizen activists do?

Watch the live feed from GritTV below:

MIT: Eating Local Food Is the Key to Solving Our Obesity Epidemic
Posted by Tara Lohan on November 11, 2009 at 7:45 AM.

Sometimes it takes more than Michael Pollan to get through to people. New research from MIT about how locally grown foods can reduce our obesity problem is welcome news. Right now Americans are getting bigger and bigger -- between 1980 and 2006 obesity among teenagers grew from 5 to 18 percent; and 7 to 17 percent for pre-teens. These gains are contributing more to the onset of diseases like type 2 diabetes, strokes and heart problems, writes Peter Dizikes of MIT News Office.

A group of MIT researchers found that what's driving our obesity epidemic is "our national-scale system of food production and distribution, which surrounds children -- especially lower-income children -- with high-calorie products." Precisely what folks in the pro-food/local foods movement have been saying for years. And it makes sense considering the shocking figure that 90 percent of American food is processed according to the USDA, Dizikes highlights.

Thankfully the researchers didn't just stop at pointing out the obvious, they offered a solution:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

How Anti-Choice Dems and Mike Huckabee Could Team Up to Screw Over America's Women
Posted by Allison Kilkenny, True/Slant on November 11, 2009 at 4:45 AM.

Two things caught my eye this morning that paint a pretty bleak dystopian future.

First, Politico reports that the latest Gallup polls confirm Mike Huckabee is the front-runner for the 2012 presidential nomination. Seriously. That’s the same Mikey Huckabee, who let Wayne Dumond, a convicted rapist, go free in order to appease his right-wing pals (Dumond went on to sexually assault and kill a woman in Missouri,) advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general population, believes in teaching Creationism side-by-side with evolution, supports building a 700-mile border fence along the Mexico-US border, and who doesn’t think gays or women should be permitted to serve in the military.

That guy. President. And sure, lots can happen between now and November 2012 that will promptly knock Huckabee out of his first-place rank. He could gain all of that weight back, become a raging alcoholic, and publicly shame himself when he projectile vomits all over David Letterman during his next Late Night visit.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Marine Reservist Chases, Assaults Greek Orthodox Priest Whom He Mistook for an Arab Terrorist
Posted by Faiz Shakir, Think Progress on November 11, 2009 at 1:00 AM.

Alexios Marakis, a Greek Orthodox priest visiting the U.S., got lost in Tampa and tried to stop and ask directions from Marine reservist Jasen D. Bruce. But instead of offering help, “Bruce struck the priest on the head with a tire iron.” The reservist believed Marakis, who spoke limited English, was an Arab terrorist. Bruce chased the priest for three blocks, “and even called 911 to say that an Arabic man tried to rob him.” According to a news release:

“During the chase, the suspect called 911 and claimed an Arabic male attempted to rob him and he was going to take him into custody,” a Tampa Police Department news release states. “When officers arrived, the suspect claimed the man was a terrorist.”

Police arrested Bruce for “aggravated battery with a deadly weapon” and are investigating whether he committed a hate crime.