Nevada caucuses are currently taking place, and we're liveblogging the results.

Results: CNN | Google | Politico

8:33 PM PT: Dear Newt: I assure you, the news media does not want you to quit this evening. Our bias is that this keeps going.
— @Chris_Moody via TweetDeck

8:35 PM PT: Rumors about Newt going positive are unfounded. He's just confirmed he's not going to "unilaterally disarm."

Nevada caucuses are currently taking place, and we're liveblogging the results.

Results: CNN | Google | Politico

7:55 PM PT: Will Romney stay under 40% Hard to see, when Clark comes in. But anything less than 50 percent, even with this anemic, low-turnout affair, would show that Mitt can't motivate half of Republicans to support him.

8:07 PM PT (Kaili Joy Gray): In not-unbelievably-boring news, we've now raised more than $42,000 for Planned Parenthood to show that this community stands with real pro-woman organizations. Take that, Komen Foundation! Click to donate.

8:18 PM PT: Gingrich now up. We get to hear how he's changing his strategy. He starts by reiterating that he is, in fact, staying in the race. That's never a good way to start any candidate event.

8:19 PM PT: Newt: Unlike Romney, I care deeply about the poor. Which ...

Nevada caucuses are currently taking place, and we're liveblogging the results.

Results: CNN | Google | Politico

7:15 PM PT: Latino turnout in the GOP Nevada caucuses in 2008, per entrance polls, was 8 percent. Tonight, it's 5%

And in case you're wondering, the Latino population in Nevada continues to grow at a rapid clip.

On the other hand, Republicans cling to the fiction that they're picking up Jewish support. Jewish turnout in GOP caucuses in 2008? 2 percent. Tonight? 2 percent.

7:18 PM PT: Wolf Blitzer reports that in addition to Mitt winning Nevada, Newt will not be winning Nevada. #seriously
— @KailiJoy via web

7:21 PM PT: More fun with entrance polls: in 2008, 11 percent of GOP caucus goers were 17-29. Today, it's 8 percent. Losing Latinos, losing the youth.

7:26 PM PT: Thank you NV! Our message of restoring America ...

Nevada caucuses are currently taking place, and we're liveblogging the results.

Results: CNN | Google | Politico

6:42 PM PT: Sheldon Adelson flirting with Mitt Romney. Gingrich is about to get Gingrich'd.

6:45 PM PT: Rick Santorum says he's the only guy in the GOP presidential primary race that can beat Obama.

This, from the guy who lost Pennsylvania by over 17 points the last time he was on the ballot.

6:49 PM PT:
#NVcaucus results so far: Bain 40.5%, Adelson 24.9%, Peter Thiel 21.5%, Foster Friess 12.8%

— @daveweigel via TweetDeck

6:51 PM PT: This night is so boring, that CNN is giving extended play to REALLY boring Santorum speech.

6:59 PM PT: In 2008, 116,000 Democrats caucused in Nevada, while a measly 44,000 turned out for Republicans.

Tonight, Republicans will be lucky to get to 35,000 ...

Nevada caucuses are currently taking place, and we're liveblogging the results.

Results: CNN | Google | Politico

5:59 PM PT: Rick Santorum on CNN: "This race is a long, long way from being over."

You promise?

6:02 PM PT:
Senior Gingrich official: "Boston.. will be disappointed. This is going on to Tampa or until they drop out whichever comes first."

— @jimrutenberg via TweetDeck
You promise?
6:10 PM PT:
In 2008, Hispanics made up 15% of the NV electorate, Obama won 76% of them. Accounted for 63% of Obama's NV margin of victory.

— @chucktodd via Twitter for BlackBerry®

6:12 PM PT: Nevada is trending blue. The fact that the state's GOP is too incompetent to take out an unpopular Harry Reid in 2010, too incompetent to stage rational caucuses this year, and too incompetent to report results in a timely fashion, suggests that their November chances ...

Nevada caucuses are currently taking place, and we're liveblogging the results.

Results: CNN | Google | Politico

Romney is going to win big, there's no drama on that front. There is some suspense about whether Ron Paul or Newt Gingrich come in second, though I'm not sure it really matters too much. The bigger question is whether they can add at least a handful of delegates to their count.

But in case you're wondering what the Beltway CW is, here's the latest from this morning's Politico morning newsletter:

CAN MITT BREAK 50? Romney could take a step toward proving he can win over conservatives by rolling up a big winning margin...Forty percent of Nevada caucus-goers described themselves as 'very conservative' according to 2008 entrance polls.

DOES NEWT FINISH SECOND? If he remained at about 25 percent [as in the recent polls], his trajectory would be ...

Sigh. Why is it that in the US, the authorities keep handing out immunity and sweetheart deals that neither accept or deny guilt? As it relates to this Swiss investigation, UBS did receive conditional immunity last summer from the US Justice Department. It remains unfair that despite the complete disaster left behind by the big banks, they continue to find life easy compared to everyone else. The SEC and Justice Department are seemingly much too concerned about campaign contributions from the big spenders or job futures to care about tackling the problem. There will always be talk of action in the US about the banking abuses but it's doubtful that will ever translate into actual action. Bloomberg:UBS AG (UBSN) and Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) are among 12 banks facing a Swiss inquest into possible manipulation of the London interbank offered rate, the latest probe into how the ...

It took courage to join the initial anti-protests and now it takes courage to get out there on the streets during the Russian winter. The Guardian:
Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators are marching through Moscow and other Russian cities in protest at Vladimir Putin's grip on power. Thousands of Putin supporters are also staging a rally in the capital a month before the presidential election that the prime minister is expected to win, putting him in power for six more years. The rival demonstrators were undeterred by the freezing temperatures, which have plunged as low as -20C, with opposition leaders saying that up to 100,000 people had joined the protest in Moscow on Saturday.

Bill Maher unbaptized Mitt Romney's dead father-in-law this week.

He did this because the Mormons have a long track record of baptizing the dead without their consent (i.e., without anything in their will or dying wishes), and even without the consent of their immediate families. For example, the Mormons secretly baptized President Obama's late mother right before the 2008 election, and the President and his family had no idea (John got the scoop on that story). There's a very real chance that you, or a loved one, could become Mormon after you cease to exist.

I credit the unnamed writers who wrote this piece. Do enjoy.



First-class comedy-writing genius, say I.

GP

Ya think? The NewsHouse delves into the points I made yesterday.  Namely, that Komen didn't "fix" all the reasons it said it wasn't going to fund Planned Parenthood breast exams in the future.  And in fact, on Friday night, after Komen had already "apologized" for the brouhaha, Komen again left the door open to shutting down Planned Parenthood grants, according to the NewsHour.

Komen is still playing games.  Which makes sense, since who do they have on their payroll as a media consultant, none of than Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer.  Fleischer and Komen CEO Nancy Brinker go way back in GOP politics, since Komen is a multi-hundred thousand dollar donor to the GOP and a former Bush political appointee.  So it's no wonder that Komen issues an "apology" that seems to be no apology at all.

Note this paragraph buried in their "apology," that I didn't ...

And we're putting our trust in the FBI to keep the country safe? It should make many wonder about the quality of their work, not to mention the amount of leeway they are given to make decisions on about our personal freedoms.
Trading jokes and swapping leads, investigators from the FBI and Scotland Yard spent the conference call strategizing about how to bring down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, responsible for a string of embarrassing attacks across the Internet. Unfortunately for the cyber sleuths, the hackers were in on the call too — and now so is the rest of the world. Anonymous published the roughly 15-minute-long recording of the call on the Internet on Friday, gloating in a Twitter message that "the FBI might be curious how we're able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now."

Credit Rick Perlstein (via Twitter) for this great find.

In Harper's Magazine, November 2001, the great Barbara Ehrenreich writes (my emphasis and paragraphing):
Today [breast cancer is] the biggest disease on the cultural map, bigger than AIDS, cystic fibrosis, or spinal injury, bigger even than those more prolific killers of women -- heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke. There are roughly hundreds of websites devoted to it, not to mention newsletters, support groups, a whole genre of first-person breast-cancer books; even a glossy, upper-middle-brow, monthly magazine, Mamm.

There are four major national breast-cancer organizations, of which the mightiest, in financial terms, is The Susan G. Komen Foundation, headed by breast-cancer veteran and Bush's nominee for ambassador to Hungary Nancy Brinker. Komen organizes the annual Race for the Cure©, which attracts about a million people -- mostly survivors, friends, and family members. Its website provides a microcosm of the new breast-cancer ...

Around 7 a.m. on Friday, a woman in Laura Farmer Sherman’s office started screaming.

“Oh my God,” Farmer Sherman heard from the next office over. “They’ve changed their mind.”

Farmer Sherman is the executive director of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure San Diego. And she knew immediately what the screaming was about: The national Komen Foundation’s new policy that would bar funding Planned Parenthood had been reversed. That would be the policy that San Diego and the six other California Komen affiliates came out in opposition to just 12 hours earlier.

Farmer Sherman did not believe the news. She had gotten up that morning with “no idea what to expect.” “When I got up and put on my suit, it was like putting on armor and war paint,” she told me Friday afternoon. “It’s a little scary when you come out in ...

A new study finds that countries with more income inequality tend to have more people who believe that they are better than average — a psychological phenomenon known as “self-enhancement.” The study, published in Psychological Science, hypothesizes that societies with high levels of inequality are more likely to encourage competition over scarce rewards, and outsized perceptions of the self is simply an outgrowth of that environment.

Income inequality may foster greater self-enhancement through increased competition. Takata (2003) found that when Japanese participants were asked to compete over a limited resource under zero-sum conditions (i.e., the winner receives everything, the loser nothing), they displayed levels of self-enhancement similar to the levels displayed by Americans. That is, when people compete over concentrated rewards, they have a tendency to self-enhance ... In societies with more income equality, people may not only have more equal incomes, but they may also feel a pressure to seem ...

—A note to readers: Full-text RSS has returned to Wonkblog. Huzzah!

—Meet the man who has a 102 percent effective tax rate.

—Animal poaching is on the rise, so zoos are tightening security.

—Wanted: a singer who can sing a note so low that it may have never been sung before.

—Potato-chip cookies: they’re real, and here’s a recipe.

Charlotte Allen says it’s misleading:

One way Planned Parenthood massages the numbers to make its abortion business look trivial is to unbundle its services for purposes of counting. Those 10.1 million different medical procedures in the last fiscal year, for instance, were administered to only 3 million clients. An abortion is invariably preceded by a pregnancy test — a separate service in Planned Parenthood’s reckoning — and is almost always followed at the organization’s clinics by a “going home” packet of contraceptives, which counts as another separate service. Throw in a pelvic exam and a lab test for STDs — you get the picture. In terms of absolute numbers of clients, one in three visited Planned Parenthood for a pregnancy test, and of those, a little under one in three had a Planned Parenthood abortion.

I’ve asked Planned Parenthood if they have any disagreement with Allen’s analysis ...

I’ve been meaning to write a longer post disagreeing with some of Matt Yglesias’s calls for a total “regime change” in how we think about monetary policy, but he’s right about this: The incipient strength in the economy strengthens the case for a surprise round of QE3, just as it does for extending the payroll tax cut and the expanded unemployment insurance benefits. This is the time for our fiscal and monetary authorities to show that they’re fully committed to making sure the recovery continues.

There are two reasons for that: One is that it will help the recovery, both by supporting it directly and by persuading businesses that a continued recovery is likely, and they should start investing and hiring in preparation for it.

The second reason is that it’s cheaper to support a recovery then fight another downturn, and so even if your ...

It will be years until we know how the Komen/Planned Parenthood fight really ended. The Susan G. Komen Foundation has apologized, and promised to allow Planned Parenthood to apply for grants in the future, but they haven’t said whether they will fund them.

That’s really what matters here, and it’s entirely possible that, two years from now, when the cameras are off, almost every Planned Parenthood grant request will be denied. Which gets to one of the weirder wrinkles in this debate: The argument, made by Komen, that mammography counts as a cancer prevention service, but clinical breast exams don’t. If Komen sticks to that position, it could be a reason for them to refuse future grant applications from Planned Parenthood. But it would be a strange reason, given that Komen’s Web site currently recommends clinical breast exams for all women over 20.

Originally ...

Just what is a dishonest rape? I don’t understand this notion that women who support reproductive freedom, choice (and it is my body dhammit), translates into “liking abortion,” as if needing an abortion is a desirable, even enjoyable situation. And also as well, from GottaLaff: Is this what you call “small government”? Because, call me [...]

The large Mormon vote in the state helped Romney win by such a large margin. According to the entrance polls, Mormons made up about one quarter of the overall vote; and of those, 91 percent supported Romney. Importantly though, Romney still would have won the state even without the Mormon vote. Romney also won the Catholic vote, the Protestant vote, and the "other Christian" vote.

Proving once more that "he who fucks nuns will later join the church," Jack Abramoff is now blogging at the Republic Report.

Mama Dee at Occupy Toronto. Dee is my friend, my swimming coach, my chess coach, Native Peoples activist, and generally a remarkable woman.

You wouldn’t think handling a notebook or a camera could be a hazardous line of work. But according to the latest global Press Freedom Index, abuse and oppression of reporters has made journalism an increasingly risky job in many countries. The past year has even left a notable taint on the U.S. press, despite the country's mythos as a beacon of free expression.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan mostly confirmed that private-label mortgage-backed securities investors, not banks or servicers, will end up shouldering the cost of much of the imminent foreclosure fraud settlement despite the risk of litigation from investors who are likely to challenge the forced losses on their securities in court. On a small conference call for progressive media, Donovan claimed that the money available in the settlement for principal reduction for underwater borrowers would actually come to $35-$40 billion, over double the $17 billion in nominal principal reduction that has been widely reported.

Any good news anywhere? Keynesianism is wrong!

Follow the actual policy agenda.

Purify my mind, again.

Some light at the end of the jobs tunnel?

Not dead yet, though feeling not so great.

A few graphs for basic information.

NEW YORK -- Instead of complaining about clean air rules, maybe utilities should cheer them.

Sometimes, the rules lead to big gains.

Read More...
More on Video

WASHINGTON — The United States’ plan to wind down its combat role in Afghanistan a year earlier than expected relies on shifting responsibility to Special Operations forces that hunt insurgent leaders and train local troops, according to senior Pentagon officials and military officers. These forces could remain in the country well after the NATO mission ends in late 2014.

Read More...
More on Afghanistan

Going into the 2012 Nevada caucus, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is favored to come out on top of the results. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum are nevertheless looking to make a splash with their respective performances.

(Click here to check out HuffPost's Nevada caucus results map, which will update with real-time data as the numbers come in.)

HuffPost's Ryan Grim and Sam Stein report:

Read More...
More on Newt Gingrich

By OurAmazingPlanet Staff:

Hundreds of species never before seen in a Peruvian national park have been found during an inventory of the Amazonian forests there, according to a conservation group.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced today the discovery of 365 species previously undocumented in Bahuaja Sonene National Park in southeastern Peru. More than a dozen researchers inventoried the park's plant life, insects, birds, mammals and reptiles. The species found are known to exist elsewhere, but have never been seen inside Bahuaja Sonene.

Read More...
More on Animals

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A central Florida man is suing Newt Gingrich, claiming a security officer for the Republican presidential candidate stomped on his foot "like he was stomping out a cigarette."

Edward Dillard claims his foot was fractured by the security team after voting Tuesday in the Orlando suburb of Windermere.

Read More...
More on Newt Gingrich

INDIANAPOLIS -- So close to the Super Bowl, yet so far.

Wide receiver Tiquan Underwood has been cut by the Patriots less than 24 hours before the big game – bad news for him, of course, but a move that increases the likelihood Chad Ochocinco will be active against the Giants on Sunday.

Read More...
More on Super Bowl

Right-wing media are rushing to put a negative spin on newly released jobs numbers showing a drop in the unemployment rate and a net increase in jobs by parroting the discredited claim that government data show that "1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force" last month. In fact, as economic experts have explained, that number reflected an increase in population from 2010 Census figures and is not the result of how many people "dropped out" of the labor force last month.

After The Labor Department Reported January Employment Growth

Labor Department: Employment Rose By 243,000 Jobs In January And Unemployment Dropped To 8.3 Percent. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread in the private ...

Following the controversy surrounding Susan G. Komen for the Cure's initial announcement that it would end its relationship with Planned Parenthood, right-wing media have tried to downplay Planned Parenthood's efforts to fight cancer, claiming that Planned Parenthood doesn't provide mammograms and does "nothing to prevent breast cancer." But this ignores the numerous cancer-related services Planned Parenthood annually provides to women -- including more than 1.5 million cancer screenings and preventative services in 2010 -- such as breast exams, mammogram referrals, and screenings for other types of cancer; moreover, contrary to right-wing claims, some Planned Parenthood clinics do indeed provide mammograms.

"They Don't Even Do Mammograms": Right-Wing Media Downplay Planned Parenthood's Efforts To Fight Cancer

Fox's Sandy Rios: Planned Parenthood Does "Nothing To Prevent Breast Cancer. They Don't Even Do Mammograms." On the February 2 edition of Fox News' America Live, host Megyn Kelly discussed ...

President Obama recently outlined his proposal that would give millions of homeowners a chance to save thousands of dollars annually by refinancing their mortgages at a lower interest rate even if their homes are currently underwater. The right-wing media immediately went on the attack, claiming that Obama's mortgage relief plan is a political stunt being used to "pander" to voters during an election year.

Obama Announces Mortgage Relief Plan To Deal With "Massive" Housing Problem

AP: Obama Proposal Would Create "An Annual Savings Of About $3,000 For The Average Borrower." From a February 1 Associated Press article:

President Barack Obama called on Congress Wednesday to make it easier for millions of additional homeowners to refinance their mortgages at lower interest rates even if they owe more than their homes are worth. He conceded that his administration's housing plans so far have not lived up to their promise ...

Sean Hannity pushed the myth that President Obama has made the economy worse, arguing that you could not "make the case" that it has improved during Obama's watch. In fact, when Obama took office, he inherited an economy that was shrinking faster than it had in 50 years and that had lost 2 million jobs in 3 months; by contrast, the economy is now growing and added 1.9 million private sector jobs last year.

Hannity's Challenge: "How Do You Make The Case" That The Economy Has Improved

Hannity: "You Cannot Make The Case With A Straight Face That This Economy Has Gotten Better Under This President." Discussing the 2012 presidential election, Fox News' Sean Hannity claimed, "You cannot make the case with a straight face that this economy has gotten better under this president. You can't make it anymore." [Fox News, Hannity, 2/1/12]

This ...

After the British tabloid Daily Mail published a flawed article that distorted climate research to claim we could be "heading for a mini ice age," conservative media followed suit. In fact, the study did not project a decline in global temperatures.

Scientists: Solar Fluctuations Won't Offset Global Warming

Met Office: Reduction In Solar Output "Insufficient To Offset" Global Warming. Announcing the new research, the Met Office stated that a reduction in solar output "will not substantially delay expected increases in global temperatures caused by greenhouse gases":

New research has found that solar output is likely to reduce over the next 90 years but that will not substantially delay expected increases in global temperatures caused by greenhouse gases.

Carried out by the Met Office and the University of Reading, the study establishes the most likely changes in the Sun's activity and looks at how this could affect near-surface temperatures ...

Right-wing media have applauded Susan G. Komen for the Cure's decision to stop providing funds to Planned Parenthood. But Komen's decision could affect access to breast cancer screenings and other cancer-related services for thousands of women, as the Komen funds have allowed Planned Parenthood to provide 170,000 breast exams and 6,400 mammogram referrals in the past five years.

Komen Announces It Is Ending Partnership With Planned Parenthood

LA Times: Komen "Said Tuesday That It Was Halting All Partnerships With Planned Parenthood Affiliates." From a February 1 Los Angeles Times article:

In what looks to be a break between two organizations dedicated to women's health, a national breast cancer awareness group said it would stop providing funds to Planned Parenthood centers for breast cancer examinations and other breast health services.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a leader in fundraising for breast cancer research and famous ...

A little while ago I mentioned that we were thinking about requiring registration for commenters and asked for feedback. Some was positive and some was negative, but most of the negative feedback related to (a) having to use your real name or (b) being required to use a Facebook account.

The whole trolling situation has since gotten pretty far out of hand, so we've decided to go ahead with registration. However, you won't be required to use your real name and you won't be reguired to use a Facebook account.

Note that this only affects you if you have been posting as a "guest"; if you normally sign in with Disqus (which powers our commenting system) or your Mother Jones ID, nothing changes. If you were using the "guest" feature, you can now sign in via Disqus, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Twitter, or OpenID. You can also create ...

Normally, drinking out of human glasses is Not Allowed. But last night I mentioned that I still needed photos for Friday Catblogging, so this morning An Exception Was Made as Marian urged me to get my camera and come record the moment. So I did. The camera captured some excellent tongue action from Domino, who is, I'm sure, obeying the universal law of cat lapping:

That comes to 3.43 laps per second for a an 11-pound (5-kilogram) cat. Inkblot, who has a more mathematical bent, keeps his weight at precisely 18.12572 pounds, thus clocking in at a more leisurely 3.14159 laps per second. And that, my friends, is science.

    

One of the things that's been niggling away at the back of mind lately is the (seemingly) increasing sameness of the blogs I read. More and more, as I plow through them in the morning, they're all filled with posts on the exact same four or five topics. I used to call them the "outrages of the day," though of course they're not all outrages. Some of them are just the ordinary news of the day.

This popped into my mind in a slightly different context today as I made my way through my RSS feeds and found post after post after post about the January jobs report. Some feeds had two or three or even four or five separate posts on the subject. It's gotten crazy.

Back in the day, blogs posted a bit here and there about monthly economic news, and of course specialty ...

Greg Sargent points us to Mitt Romney's latest statement on the economy:

We welcome the fact that jobs were created and unemployment declined. Unfortunately, these numbers cannot hide the fact that President Obama’s policies have prevented a true economic recovery. We can do better. Last week, we learned that the economy grew only 1.7% in 2011, the slowest growth in a non-recession year since the end of World War II. As a result.....blah blah blah.

Alas, poor Mitt. Now he knows what it feels like to be Barack Obama. For the past two years Obama has basically been forced to say that, sure, the economy is bad, but it would have been even worse without his policies in place. That might be true or it might not, but it's sure not a vote getter.

Now Romney's on the other end of that argument. Sure ...

When the Komen Foundation cut off its breast cancer screening grants to Planned Parenthood a few days ago, they said it was because of a new policy that bars grants to organizations under investigation. Then they backtracked, and said that it was actually because Planned Parenthood doesn't perform mammograms itself, but only provides referrals. Today, I guess we're back to excuse #1:

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Foundation Friday announced it would revise a controversial new policy that barred the organization from funding Planned Parenthood....“Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation,” a Friday statement said. “We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair.”

Okey dokey. I guess the next ...

With 1.8 seconds to go in Wednesday's Kings-Blue Jackets game, the clock mysteriously stopped for about a second, giving the Kings just enough time to score a last minute goal and win the game. The Blue Jackets are understandably suspicious, but Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi explains it all here:

Those clocks are sophisticated instruments that calculate time by measuring electrical charges called coulombs.

Coulombs! Please go on, Mr. Science:

Given the rapidity and volume of electrons that move through the measuring device the calibrator must adjust at certain points, which was the delay you see. The delay is just recalibrating for the clock moving too quickly during the 10-10ths of a second before the delay. This ensures that the actual playing time during a period is exactly 20 minutes. That is not an opinion. That is science. Amazing device, quite frankly.

It's amazing, all right.

    

Oh noes, National Review Online editors are feeling a touch put out that they went to all the “trouble” of holding a group fap session righteously congratulating the Susan G. Komen foundation for cutting off grants to Planned Parenthood and then posted the account of it online only for the charity to admit shortly thereafter [...]

Attention, President Obama! Mousy Mormon Senator Orrin Hatch would like to have a word with you in the undersea Holocaust-victim baptizing chamber. Hatch will be doing that thing he always does, that raisin-mouthed, monotonous, mild-mannered smug thing he uses to cloak all manner of backwards beliefs and statements. The decrepit senator from Utah is currently [...]

The Internet is chock full of dumb two-day fads, but there might be some real staying power in the concept of “Tea Party Jesus,” a Tumblr site that combines images of the Loving Jesus with cartoon speech bubbles full of 100% real quotes from leading right-wing Republicans who self-identify as “family values Christians.” You click [...]

Have you heard about the strangest new craze in breast cancer charities, the kind that doesn’t actually want to fight breast cancer? This for a brief period was the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the behemoth breast cancer research charity always running around madly putting pink ribbon stickers on everything from yogurt cups to professional football [...]

Mittens-hating muffin is noooot too psyched about what happened in Florida on Tuesday. HE LOST. GOODBYE. Oh, you’re still here. Instead of accepting that no one south of the very Southern north of Florida likes him at all, Gingrich has suddenly decided that the winner-takes-all ruling on the Florida primary is about as fair as [...]

12) That time Michele Bachmann compared herself to a serial killer. 11) Stress-eating at the mere sight of Chuck Todd’s facial hair. 10) Donald Trump’s very good relationship with “the blacks.” 9) Jon Huntsman speaking Mandarin. 8) “The Original, Famous Ron Paul Survival Kit.” 7) Tim Pawlenty. (He was so benign!) 6) “Life can be [...]

enlarge

Happy Saturday night, folks! It's Blue Gal from The Professional Left Podcast, bringing you this week's podcast round up. Be aware that these podcasts are also available on i-Tunes, and may not be safe for work.

The Kojo Nnamdi Show: An End to Black History Month?

The Tim Corrimal Show: Finger Shaking at Self-Deporting

Citizen Radio: Why you should have already hated the Susan G. Komen foundation.

The Takeaway: Carl Hiaasen on What Florida Means for the Rest of the Race

Open thread (and please, let us know your podcast recommendations!) below....

Title: On Saturday Afternoons In 1963Artist: Rickie Lee Jones

Saturday Nite! Here's a good one about Saturday afternoons.

The Duchess Of Coolsville (US Release) Price: $24.99 (As of 02/04/12 05:12 pm details)

It's called early and surely: Mitt Romney won Nevada.

After four new murders of labor leaders in Columbia in January, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called on U.S. President Barack Obama to delay the implementation of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement indefinitely. The agreement, which was passed last year, was delayed for years because of violence against labor leaders. More than 2900 Colombians involved in the labor movement have been killed in the last 25 years. Colombia is the deadliest country for union members in the world. Killings have continued unabated in 2012:

The letter states that through January, one union member was killed by Colombian troops, a second was shot to death along with his wife, a third worker was “brutally murdered” and a fourth union member employed by the National Industry of Sodas (Coca-Cola) was “murdered by gunfire.”

When the bill passed, it included a Labor Action Plan designed to deal with the violence, but Colombian labor ...

The reaction to January's jobs report shows how tragically our expectations have fallen, especially among some Democrats and their supporters. Their cheerleading isn't just bad policy or bad politics, although it is both of those things. It's also callous and insensitive to the misery of millions.

It's important to keep explaining what needs to be done to end that misery. To do otherwise is to serve, however unintentionally, an insidious agenda from the right that would lower our expectations until these tragic levels of unemployment are seen as the "new normal."

An increase in jobs is a good thing, of course, even if it's far from what's needed. Here's something else that was good about the report: Conservatives keep telling us that manufacturing jobs have moved offshore permanently, but 50,000 of them were created last month. Now we can put that argument ...

National Park Police invaded Occupy DC, McPherson Square in the early hours of Saturday morning with riot police, a dozen horses and a strategic plan to eliminate the encampment.

Then throughout the day, they went section by section with a fully dressed hazardous materials team, cordoning each part of the camp off with heavy wrought iron fencing and inspecting and bagging up protesters' property. Any tent with a semblance of camping materials inside was confiscated along with all belongings inside.

By the late afternoon only a few tents were left standing in the cleared sections. The small number of protesters, which never grew over 200 people, attempted to shout down and fight back police, but they were easily overwhelmed by the large police presence. Most of the time the police matched protesters in numbers.

The clearing of the camp signals a possible end for the rowdy, 128-day-old McPherson camp, which ...

TPM's Benjy Sarlin was in full-on Alexis de Tocqueville mode today. Check him out....

Things are picking up in Nevada. Stay with TPM's Livewire for all the latest updates....

Christine O'Donnell's bookselling magic....

Newt announces he won't deliver a post-caucus speech, but will hold a presser instead....

Indiana's Secretary of State has been convicted on multiple vote fraud related felony counts....

One of my new favorite phrases is “not tethered to facts.” That comes from ABC reporter Jake Tapper doing a write-up of a new ad campaign from the conservative Americans For Prosperity targeting President Obama. It’s a nice way of saying “you lying ass.” The phrase “not tethered to facts” came to mind when reading [...]

So I’m reading this book about World War II that’s really great. It’s called All Hell Let Loose by Sir Max Hastings and is a re-telling of the story of World War II with the addition of tons of first-person observations from people experiencing the war. Some interesting stories I’ve found so far. * A [...]

Bob Ehrlich used his campaign money to pay for the defense of now-convicted vote-suppression activist. A campaign account maintained by former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) was used to pay more than $100,000 last year to law firms involved in the criminal defense of his 2010 campaign manager, Paul E. Schurick, on charges related [...]

If you can’t decipher this complex graph, allow me to help: Blue good.

Martin O’Malley just sent out the following e-mail, linking here to solicit money for Marylanders For Marriage Equality. He’s not being wishy-washy about this.

When Bill Clinton was involved in the Lewinsky affair, it was bad, reprehensible conduct for a husband and a father. Certainly it showed a lack of morals and judgement. That said, it was not a high crime or misdemeanor by any stretch of the imagination. He had done wrong, but it didn’t warrant a crisis [...]

If there’s ever been one surefire topic to get Fox News’ panties in a twist over, it’s abortion. No excuse to whine about it is too trivial. So when the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation’s Planned Parenthood flap became a major story, I figured it was only a matter of time before the True Christians of the House of Murdoch began pouring in their support. After all… what’s the lives of a few women with cancer in light of stopping the evils of free choice? Komen has since then reversed its stance. But one thing is certain: It was not for lack of an effort to promote its defunding decision by Gretchen Carlson and Peter Johnson, Jr.

In the pre-reversal segment,  titled “Is Komen Playing Politics With People’s Lives?” Carlson opened disingenuously by saying that Komen is accused of caving to political pressure ...

No, you're not having visual hallucinations. Bryan Fisher, of the "family values" hate group, the American Family Association, actually said this about Roger Ailes. In an article about the success of Fox News, the radical homophobic, Islamophobic, theocracy supporting, and all around bigot Fischer said that Ailes' leadership is "exactly the style that Jesus taught." Fischer claims that Ailes is the embodiment of Mark 10:45 in that, like "the son of man," Ailes "did not come to be served but to serve." I guess my understanding of Jesus, despite my 12 years of Catholic school, is limited. I wouldn't think that Jesus would approve of the kind of partisan lies, personal attacks, and race baiting that are a specialty of Ailes' Fox News. Right Wing Watch also points out that some of Ailes' own past history doesn't exactly seem very Christ like. Go figure! Dave Briggs ...

Perhaps the biggest bogus meme of the Christian right is that their religious freedom is under attack by forces of evil, secular "political correctness." As their mouthpiece, Fox News is doing all they can to aid and abet. Earlier this week, uber Christian warrior Gretchen Carlson presented the sixth in a string of Fox & Friends attacks on Vanderbilt which focused on what is seen as an "assault on religious liberty by - you guessed it - "political correctness." The policy was put in place after a gay student was ousted from a Christian group's leadership because he was gay. So far, that hasn't been mentioned on Fox & Friends who, today, had their sixth installment in their Vanderbilt hates Christians series during which a Christian Republican student got to whine about the policy. However, unlike anything done by Gretchen Carlson, atheists weren't mentioned.

Alysin Camerota framed the message with a ...

Newt Gingrich visited the Hannity show last night where he predictably spewed venom against President Obama. But Gingrich outdid himself when he repeatedly suggested that Obama is a traitor who “appeases” our enemies - such as Iran and the Taliban - and double-crosses our allies and troops.

Both Hannity and Gingrich have been lusting for war against Iran for years – though neither has ever suited up in a military uniform. But each not only seems downright eager for a new war, they’re ready to smear anyone less eager – especially if that person is a Democrat in the White House.

Hannity cited Leon Panetta’s recently-stated concern that Israel may attack Iran – almost certainly knowing that Gingrich would launch his own chickenhawk attack on Obama.

“It tells you a lot about what’s wrong with this administration. Instead of worrying about the Iranians getting a nuclear weapon, they’re worried about our ...

Donald Trump revived his birther talk last night – egged on by Sean Hannity. On a Hannity show that was supposedly a forum for each of the Republican presidential candidates, Trump got the first half hour - while each of the participating candidates got just a few minutes in the second half of the show. It was as if even Hannity was acknowledging his lack of enthusiasm for the roster. And he made up for that with racially-tinged smears.

Leave it to white-rights enthusiast Hannity to nudge Trump into racial innuendo. Hannity gushed, “I think the most perceptive thing you ever said, and were willing to step out on a limb about, is when I last interviewed you and you said, ‘America does not know this man.’ The person that is presenting himself as this nice guy, if they knew the real Obama, what would America think?”

Trump took the cue and ...

Your World joined the Fox News Trumpeters yesterday as it breathlessly discussed Donald Trump’s endorsement of Mitt Romney and pretended this was the big news that Trump pretended it was. Neil Cavuto interviewed Trump yesterday and called the endorsement, “a stunning, surprise announcement.” Cavuto asked, “Why Mitt Romney?”

Trump answered, “Miit has really stepped up more than anybody else.”

Cavuto asked, “Have you ruled out then a presidential run for yourself?”

”Certainly, if Mitt gets the nomination and he runs, I wouldn’t be running,” Trump said. But, “If for some reason something happens, then it’s open season after the show (Celebrity Apprentice) is finished… We had an amazing day today. There was amazing turnout, and I represent millions of people that are tired of seeing this country ripped off.”

Really, Donald? How do you “represent” those people? By shooting your mouth off in front of every camera ...

I don't want to carry this too far, and I haven't entirely worked it out yet, but 1940 might well be an interesting template thru which to view this year's...

President Obama spoke today about his latest plan to help underwater homeowners. As many critics have already noted, this is an ok idea, but it's not as large a program...

Arizona seems poised to pass a draconian anti-union measure. This, of course, follows in the wake of Wisconsin, Ohio (since repealed via referendum), and, just this week, Indiana. The paradox...

Michael Tomasky dares to think the unthinkable. Jesus (with whom the Super Bowl generously shares its special day) weeps. Obama sneers. And this guy gets the subject for his next...

The Nevada Caucus looks like it's going to be a snooze. After all the talk since 2004 about Romney's Mormonism hurting him, he's got a Mormon premium out there, where...

My name is Rich Yeselson and I'm the blogger for Political Animal this weekend. A bit of background about me. I worked in the labor movement for over 20 years...

Adolfo Perez Esquivel, 2011-05-19, Issue 530

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/73422

cc TheStirrer‘How can you speak of human rights and the dignity of peoples when you perpetually violate them and block those who don’t share your ideology and must endure your abuses?’, asks 1980 Nobel Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel in an open letter to US President Barack Obama.

Dear Barack,

In addressing you I do so fraternally, and at the same time, to express my concern and indignation after seeing the destruction and death caused in several nations in the name of ‘freedom and democracy’, two words which have been twisted and stripped of meaning. They end up justifying murder, and is cheered on as if it were a sports event.

Indignation at the attitude of some parts of the US population, of heads of state in Europe and other countries who came out in ...

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106652 

Analysis by Gareth Porter*


The leak by Panetta (above) appears to confirm fears that efforts to distance the U.S. from an Israeli attack are undermined by competing interests. 

Credit:U.S. Navy

WASHINGTON, Feb 4, 2012 (IPS) - When Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told Washington Post columnist David Ignatius this week that he believes Israel was likely to attack Iran between April and June, it was ostensibly yet another expression of alarm at the Israeli government's threats of military action.

But even though the administration is undoubtedly concerned about that Israeli threat, the Panetta leak had a different objective. The White House was taking advantage of the current crisis atmosphere over that Israeli threat and even seeking to make it more urgent in order to put pressure on Iran to make diplomatic concessions to the United States and its allies on ...

read more

Well almost standing together.  The Worcester Telegram and Gazette reported that Occupy Wall Streeters in Worcester "mostly occupied the north end of the small Federal Plaza Park and Tea Partiers mostly the south" on Friday Feb. 3, Nationwide NDAA 2012 Congressional Protest Day, which has now been expanded to the first Friday and Saturday of every month at local congressional offices across the country (main Facebook here.) They gathered to protest the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 which strips US citizens of their right to a jury trial in cases in which the government asserts that they are suspected of "support" for "forces" which are "associated" with Al Qaeda.  

read more

https://www.facebook.com/events/302074323174775/?context=create

We will gather together on Freedom Plaza in DC tonight 8:30 p.m. and leave at 9:15 pm to walk to Luther Place Church at 14th and Vermont NW.

These excerpts from the Arab League observers' report on Syria make it clear that there is widespread violence on both sides, but that the opposition and the Western media have exaggerated the violence and casualties inflicted by government forces.  The UN has stopped accepting casualty figures claimed by the opposition, and has frozen its "official" estimate of civilian deaths at 5,400, without acknowledging that this may already be highly exaggerated.  This is not yet a bloodbath on the scale of Libya, where even the new government admits that at least 25,000 people died in the NATO-led war.  Syria could follow the Libya model though, if NATO and the GCC keep providing weapons and military training to the Free Syrian Army and are prepared to beef it up with special forces on the ground, and as long as the UN approves a no-fly zone to provide cover for another ...

With the closing of the final votes in the Nevada caucuses at 7 p.m. Pacific, NBC News has called Mitt Romney the winner by a significant margin. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are battling for second place and Rick Santorum is bringing up the rear. TalkingPointsMemo has the current results.

The House of Representatives will take up a Senate-passed bill to curb insider trading by members of Congress next week, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said said Friday. The bill has bipartisan support in both houses. Cantor said the House would "get a bill to the president's desk as quickly as possible so that there is no misunderstanding on the part of the people that send us here that they can have trust in this institution and the members."

Bonnie Ware, an Australian nurse who provides palliative care for dying patients, has recorded their most common regrets. One of the top ones is "I wish I hadn't worked so hard." What would your biggest regret be if this was your last day of life?

Mexico's drug cartels have diversified beyond their traditional business peddling cocaine, heroin and marijuana with methamphetamine "super labs," MSNBC reports. Methamphetamine prices are falling and the purity level of seizures is rising, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. Meth lab seizures have increased from 22 in 2006 to 206 last year. "All of these drug trafficking groups, they are not in the business of drugs, they are in the business of making money," said DEA Special Agent Gary Boggs. "So regardless of what the drug is, if there is a market for it they are going to try ways of making money out of it."

Despite having three degrees -- a B.A. in political science from Penn State, an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and a J.D. from Dickinson School of Law -- Rick Santorum told a Florida audience last week that colleges indoctrinate students for the left and he discouraged them from donating to higher education. "I'll bet you there are people in this room who give money to colleges and universities who are undermining the very principles of our country every single day by indoctrinating kids with left-wing ideology," he said. "And you continue to give to these colleges and universities. Let me have a suggestion: Stop it."

Martin Klingst: Lately it seems that not a day goes by without a Republican presidential candidate portraying Europe as a socialist nightmare. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum paint a picture of the Old World as unfree, strangulated by bureaucratic and inefficient welfare systems, and unable to reform and modernize. To these Republicans, Europe seems to be the antipode to everything America is meant to be. ... But when Romney, Gingrich and Santorum warn about "socialist Europe," they sound as though they are talking about the Soviet empire, which vanished long ago.