Pat Robertson (Wingnut for God), Pete Hoekstra(R-MI), Chuck 'Pulling the Plug on Grandma' Grassley (R-KS), Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Sarah Palin (Celebrity)…..all have something very much in common.

Rachel Maddow explains…..

Bashing Muslims is back in vogue…..not that it ever fell out of favor within the more imaginative far right winger groups. But I find it remarkable that 2 GOP Senators think al-Qaeda "sympathizers" now work for the U.S. Justice Department. AG Eric Holder found it remarkable too…and worthy of a guffaw.

Having already alienated women, blacks, and Hispanics…I guess the only group left for xenophobic Republicans to offend is the .6% of Americans who are Muslim.

Do we absolutely have to retrace the ugliness of the Joe McCarthy red scare days? Can't Republicans learn anything? Ever?
____________________

But if you can believe it……the new Muslim McCarthyism in the Republican Party is mild in comparison with the mighty moral warriors of the American evangelical kind.

The new "take it to Jesus" slogan for the evangelical nuts in America is Psalms 109.

Here's the new bumper sticker you can buy from zazzle.com…..

What would a person praying for President Obama on the basis of Psalms 109…be praying FOR?…..

8May his days be few;

may another take his place of leadership.

9May his children be fatherless

and his wife a widow.

10May his children be wandering beggars;

may they be drivend from their ruined homes.

Those righteous Bible believing Christians who pray FOR Obama on the basis of Psalms 109 would be praying for him to be dead and his two young girls to be homeless, wandering beggars.

These are the same folks who call the Prince of Peace and Love their Master and Saviour.

Shucks…it's all just good funnin'…..

ABC….

For many, the slogan is just a humorous way express disapproval for President Obama. It's been tweeted and retweeted by Obama critics with messages like "too funny" and "an excellent prayer for America."

See? In the minds of evangelical followers of Jesus, it's just "too funny" to pray for Obama to be dead and for Obama's children to be homeless. Humorous.

But it's those American Muslims who are threatening our nation.

Jesus.

Obama, while visiting China, talks to imposter-news "reporter" Major Garrett of FOX….

Obama warned the United States' climbing national debt could drag the country into a "double-dip recession," though he said he's still considering additional tax incentives for businesses to reverse the rising unemployment rate.

"There may be some tax provisions that can encourage businesses to hire sooner rather than sitting on the sidelines. So we're taking a look at those," Obama told Fox News' Major Garrett.

"I think it is important, though, to recognize if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession."

Digby has it right, when she says that she hopes imposter-news mischaracterized what Obama was getting at….because the national debt has very little, if anything, to do with our current economic situation.

American "news" has been spinning phony yarns for so long now that I wouldn't be the least surprised to see Village Knee Pad streetwalkers successfully convince enough Americans into believing yet another lie.

Our current recession has absoluetly NOTHING to do with the national debt doubling under the last administration. While huge national debt increases under Bush, and now Obama, are, indeed, a concern…..that debt should not be blamed in any way for our current conditions. In fact, the current near-depression conditions were created ENTIRELY by the gambling-house industries of finance, insurance and real estate. Free market greed gone wild.

If Obama actually told imposter-news "reporter" Major Garrett that a "climbing national debt could drag the country into a 'double-dip recession'"…..he's being dishonest. Obama knows better. The debt and the current recession have nothing to do with one another…..and even implying otherwise in front of imposter-news representatives is a huge political mistake.

What the country needs right now, not late next year but now, is MORE government spending to directly create jobs. Another trillion dollars is needed right now, with every dollar going to job creation instead of like the watered-down-to-mollify-dumbass-conservatives-stimulus-bill provisions passed back in February. The way to pay for that trillion is blindingly clear as well…..tax Wall Street transactions.

Wall Street is where the recession began. The recession didn't begin because the dollar crashed or China quit buying our debt. The recession began because unscrupulous money scheme connivers lost their reckless and unregulated bets to such an extent……that they all ran out of money and came to tax payers for bailouts.

As a result of banksters running out of money because they lost their reckless and unregulated bets…..money, almost overnight, became unavailable for lending to Americans in order to buy stuff…like cars, houses, etc. Massive layoffs followed. The downward cycle began. To add insult to injury…now the recession-causers are punishing consumers through reduced credit and higher interest rates and fees.

If President Obama is so foolish or "centrist" to believe that he can co-opt the TeaBagger insanity over government spending, even giving one inch by agreeing that government spending is the problem right now….then he is only setting himself up for political defeat and setting Americans up for a TeaBagger-led government in the future. I shutter at the thought.

Palin, FOX, and the TeaBaggers don't have a point when it comes to government spending……and they don't even care that they don't. The year-long wingnut nonsense about government spending, socialism, 'I want my country back', yada, yada…..is not to be taken seriously. The sole purpose of the Baggers and Co. is to return bankster-favoring Republicans back into majority government power…. the very people who helped banksters bring our country to it's knees in the first place.

Obama shouldn't attempt to triangulate with incoherent economic idiots or imposter-news "reporters"…..ever.

Why would major "news" outfits, like ABC, CNN or FOX, invite Rudy Giuliani to come to their Sunday shows, yesterday, and answer questions about the Obama administration's decision to try five 9-11 conspirators in New York City?

What possible information, what opinions, could Giuliani hold in his freaky little head that might justify ABC, CNN and FOX's invite? Rudy holds no office, hasn't been mayor of New York for quite some time, and made a national embarassment out of himself with his "noun, verb and 9-11" presidential primary campaign in 2008….the campaign he strategized so brilliantly by running in only one state, Florida.

Giuliani's appearance as some kind of "expert opinionator" about 9-11, of course, is laughable. Rudy Giuliani, on 9-11, was shrewd enough to get himself in front of the cameras,…but that's the extent of his knowledge or expertise on terrorism.

Rudy's recommendation to George W. Bush of Bernard Kerik to be Homeland Security Director is all one needs to know about Rudy's judgment. Kerik was convicted of a felony just a few days ago and sentenced to prison.

But there he was….Mr. 9-11….on ABC, CNN and FOX yesterday…..the slumped-back freak, in all his freakish glory, criticizing President Obama's decision to hold trials of terrorists in New York City.

"It's an unnecessary advantage to give to the terrorists," Giuliani said on CNN's State of the Union. "I don't know why you want to give terrorists advantages. And secondly, it's an unnecessary risk to the city of New York, which already has any number of risks."

The same guy who said that…also said this in 2006 about trying 20th hijacker, Zacarias Moussauoi in federal court .

Several news show hosts called Giuliani out on some apparent hypocrisy — in 2006, he praised the civilian trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, saying he was "in awe of our system" and that we "are a nation of law."

For federal court trials until he was against them.

But think about what Mr. Noun & Verb & 9-11 said yesterday on CNN. If we bring the five 9-11 conspirators to trial in New York City, we are giving the "terrorists" an "unnecessary advantage." Trying those five in New York City federal court is putting New York under "unnecessary risk."

Bringing international anarchist criminals to justice following the template of American law, is giving "unnecessary advantage" to Islamic radicals. In other words,….according to Giuliani…we must forsake our own laws and history of following those laws, because if we follow American law and order, we will give extremists the "advantage."

WTF?

Suicide bombers carry out violent acts which kill civilians in order to scare the host country's government into CHANGING the way they live and carry out their system of government.

Rudy Giuliani says the U.S. must not rely on the U.S. legal system to try the five conspirators, the same system Rudy praised in the trial of Moussauoi,…..because if we follow our own legal system and precedence…..we'll be giving the extremists, "unnecessary advantage."

Rudy is now too scared of the U.S. justice system to trust it. That's no small detail.

Not only has Giuliani given up on the U.S. justice system's ability to adjudicate crimes and lock away criminals…he's, apparently, given up on New York City's ability to protect it's citizens too. Trying suspects of a horrific crime in one of our cities is now putting that city's residents under "unnecessary risk."

I guess that means that from now on if a significantly horrible enough crime is committed inside the U.S….we can no longer trust our court system to deal with it. Rudy, by making these statements, is announcing his agreement with Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden has said America needs to change it's system of government and that Americans have become "soft." Rudy Giuliani agrees.

Giuliani, as I mentioned, is a freak. The question naturally arises….why would what Rudy has to say be significant to Americans? I can't answer that question. I keep coming up with, "it isn't." CNN, ABC and FOX believe otherwise. The Villagers, don't forget, are very, very Serious.

One last backhand……if we try criminals in federal courts, find them guilty and execute or imprison them…..then, according to Rudy, we're playing Aladdin to those who wage "Islamic war against us"……

"Since when are we in the business of granting the wishes of terrorists?"

You know what I'm thinking?…..I'm thinking that Rudy Giuliani is full of sh*t.

Virginia Democratic Senator Jim Webb on AG Eric Holder's announcement that five of the 9-11 plotters will be tried in New York federal court…..

Those who have committed acts of international terrorism are enemy combatants, just as certainly as the Japanese pilots who killed thousands of Americans at Pearl Harbor. It will be disruptive, costly, and potentially counterproductive to try them as criminals in our civilian courts.

..[..]..

And we must be especially careful with any decisions to bring onto American soil any of those prisoners who remain a threat to our country but whose cases have been adjudged as inappropriate for trial at all. They do not belong in our country, they do not belong in our courts, and they do not belong in our prisons.

House representative Jim Moran (D-Va)….has a different take….

"They (Republicans, neo-cons, wingnuts) see this as an opportunity to demagogue," he said. "They will seize on any opportunity to do that, and that means they'll even take a stand that's un-American."

"It's un-American to hold anyone indefinitely without trial," Moran added. "It's against our principles as a nation."

"Opportunity to demagogue? Yep…like this….

Of all the mindless memes that non-reality-based adherents blare out like zombie pod people…..this one about "American soil" is the most ignorant. That's saying something….because the extreme right TeaBagger-FOX-Beck-Rush Group LLC….says a whole bunch of ignorant stuff on an hourly basis.

Giuliani is a discredited authoritarian moron, so it's easy to dismiss his grandstanding gibberish. But Rudy represents the FOX-BeckerHead position…so it will be the most prominent, because whatever FOX-Beckerheads spout is to be taken very Seriously by the Village. And, as the 9-12'ers and Rupert Murdoch have made clear, all wingnut-media decisions are for the purpose of "destroying Obama."

Remember, the only Job One there is for Republicans, Teabaggers, Drug Addicts on the Radio and myriad Wingnut Zoo Animals….is to bring about, as South Carolina cracker-senator Jim DeMint said…."Obama's Waterloo."

Now the analysis.

Senator Jim Webb is mistaken when he compares Japanese pilots during WW2 with 9-11 hijackers. Japanese pilots were operating under the authority of the Japanese Emperor. Japanese pilots during WW2 represented a country, a nation of people who declared war against America with the Pearl Harbor attack. WW2 was a war of nations. The militaries of the Axis powers were ordered by their nation's leaders to wage war on Allied nations.

9-11 Islamic hijackers represented who, exactly? A tiny international band of stateless anarchist criminals. No state or country sponsored the 9-11 hijackers. 9-11 hijackers did not act on the orders of a state dictator, politician, leader, or representative. Bin Laden's al-Qaeda carried out acts of violence for THEMSELVES….no one else.

Islamic extremists are seeking to make a symbolic "political statement" with their acts of violence. The entire point of killing others while killing yourself is to shock others into believing they are not safe. Japanese pilots who dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor were not making a "political statement"……they were beginning a monumental war of one nation against another. Japanese pilots were seeking to defeat the U.S. military, and thus America, the nation. Japanese pilots were not just trying to shock U.S citizens…..there was nothing symbolic about Pearl Harbor.

The second bit of "demagogic" nonsense-hype by American wingnuts only seeking Obama's demise by foolishly arguing we can't try 9-11 masterminds on "American soil"….is the, "they're too dangerous" to be housed in New York prisons…nonsense. There's no question the 9-11 plot was sinister and evil, but the five radical Islamic masterminds to be tried in New York federal court ain't squat compared to the most vicious, brutal, bloodthirsty deviants we currently have safely locked away in federal prisons, including, by the way, over 100 Islamic "terrorists."

To take the position that these five are too dangerous to bring onto "American soil" is, at best, a wingnut admission that America is weak, vulnerable, unsure of it's power and that the Constitution and set of laws which guide us are, somehow, deficient.

The final point I want to make is over the stupid claim that if we try 9-11 conspirators in New York…then New York will automatically become the focus of new terrorist attacks. Besides being another admission that America is just too weak or vulnerable to protect itself….this ignorant meme, meant only to diminish Obama's leadership, ignores the fact that America currently occupies two Muslim countries with some 200,000 U.S. soldiers. Daily, we are killing Afghani citizens. Also ignored is the fact that the American military has killed, at the very minimum, some 128,000 Iraqi citizens in our war of imperialistic aggression. 4 million Iraqis were displaced.

What more incentive would a Muslim crazy need to "focus" their extremist bile on the U.S.?

Here are the facts. George W. Bush, though he did not act on it, stated clearly that he would like to see Guantanomo closed. But Bush was a Republican president with very low approval ratings. In comes a popular Democratic President Obama who agrees with Bush's view of closing Guantanomo. If Obama succeeds in closing Guantanomo…..well, you know the wingnut drill….then America "fails."

The ignorant and disingenuous blatherings about not trying 9-11 conspirators on "American soil" is for the sole purpose of seeing Obama "fail."

Not that complicated.

First it was Rev. Wright…then Bill Ayers….with all the accompanying non-biased, and Pulitzer-Prize-caliber reporting. Then came the "Hillary Clinton was cheated," narrative suggesting (wrongly) that she had more primary votes than Barak Obama. All this was followed by "Obama's only a celebrity like Paris." Then came the "how can Obama overcome his problem with white voters?" question.

Sarah Palin's entry brought with it the "palling around with terrorists", "Obama is a Marxist", "real Americans in real America", and "Obama is not sufficiently patriotic." All accusations that had to be deeply plumbed for there wingnut wisdom.

Immediately following Obama's election, it became full metal jacket Blago. Obama is from Illinois, (via Kenya) Emmanuel is from Illinois, Blagojevich was governor of Illinois….ipso facto, weeks and weeks were spent "informing" us about an Illinois governor who did what every American elected official does….traded on his influence.

In January came Rush's "hope he fails" comedy routine….and a Serious search to unpack the deep profundity in that statement. The stimulus "discussion" gave opportunity for corporate-whore media to entertain (on a 2-1 basis over Democrats) the thoughts and demagoguing of Republicans and conservatives on the Sunday morning "news" programs. Despite having his electoral ass kicked, and despite the fact that McCain now plays an insignificant role in a 40 GOP'er Senate, John McCain recorded his 14th appearance on the Sunday morning "news" shows recently.

Ordering that Guantanomo would be closed brought with it such an unhinged response from dishonest neo-conservatives and their obedient knee-jerk children that the thought of dangerous criminals being held on "American soil" became the most imminent national threat. Terrorists in American prisons?….How can we ever be safe?

And then it really started to get crazy. March brought with it the TeaParty Blitz….and the long awaited return of Dick Cheney to national corporate-whore media…..this time with mini-me-Dick, daughter Liz, out spreading the "torture love" doctrine of Father Dick. Neither holds public office, Father Dick is hated by most Americans….but there they were, "news" program after "news" program, telling us to be very, very afraid if America stops torturing. You see, the Dicks are Serious.

Don't forget the marvelously patriotic and sensible "birther" movement still championed by over half of Republicans and the recently released CNN xenophobe, Lou Dobbs….and naturally, all of the AM radio talkers and FOX.

The summer of 2009 may just be referred to in the history books as the "Summer of Incoherence"….as BeckerHeads, TeaBaggers, and Townhall Buster-Uppers, some carrying loaded weapons, saturated the "news" with their sour grapes of discontent with a black Democratic president intent on destroying America and replacing it with (take your pick)….socialism, communism Maoism, Stalinism, or Nazism……all conveniently interchangeable at a moment's notice. Desperate cries of, "I want my country back", echoed repeatedly through the TeaBags.

ACORN became, overnight, one of America's most dangerous domestic enemies. Amateur wingnut videographers, working with FOX, stung those primarily-black-employee-run Acorn offices in a daring and patriotic commando raid to save us all…..I guess from signing up more black voters. "Breaking News" ensued.

"Killing grandma", "death panels", (another 1/2 term Governor Palin gem), "death books for veterans", "Obama will take away your Medicare",…filled the late summer and early fall, with yet more incoherent TeaParties and 9-12'er events, led by America's brilliant new Paul Revere, Glenn Beck…and of course, FOX. No one is sure how many Baggers turned out on Beckerhead day. Somewhere between 60,000…..and 2 million. No way to know.

Now we're being flooded with "Obama and the Democrats are sneaking in tax-payer abortions", "Obama is 'dithering' on Afghanistan", and the recent election (which added a new Democrat to the House) is a "sign that Americans are rejecting Obama's leadership," "Obama and the Democrats (after 10 months) are in deep trouble."

This past week has brought with it the "Ft. Hood massacre is the first terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9-11," proving, I'm sure, that without the Dick's torture, we are all doomed. Calls for renewing "investigations" into American Muslims and Muslim groups are rampant.

Obama left today on an Asian-countries tour….and dollars to donuts….I bet we'll get to hear all about how Obama had to get out of D.C. to avoid all the "controversies" he's created. Just more "dithering."

Now….it could just be me….but it sure as hell seems like corporate-whore media has joined with conservative and GOP wingnuts in "creating reality" for the last year and a half. An anti-Obama-and-the-Democrats narrative template has been placed overtop of ALL events since the beginning of last year.

Or maybe not. Like I said….it could just be me.

I suppose the reason Tea Party-Party (now official !) members, FOX, and the usual wingnut suspects have become so energized over the Ft. Hood mass murder story is because they think this story is another way to smear, slander and weaken President Obama and bash those 'politically correct' liberals…..in order to patriotically strengthen the nation, I'm sure.

Immediately, wingers began blaming Obama for the Muslim shooter being in the Army….and resorted to unhinged accusations of political correctness to explain why the killing took place.

Here's material from the Washington Post piece that King linked to, mocked, and then, distorted beyond recognition in his most recent post about the Ft. Hood mass killer, Hasan…

Aulaqi (former Falls Church, VA, imam) responded to Hasan at least twice, according to Rep. Peter Hoekstra (Mich.), the ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee.

"For me, the number of times that this guy tried to reach out to the imam was significant," Hoekstra said. "Al-Qaeda and radical jihadists use the Internet to spread radical jihadism. . . . So how much of [Hasan's] lashing out is a result of . . . his access to radical messages on the Internet and the ability to interact?

"I believe that the responses from Aulaqi were maybe pretty innocent," Hoekstra continued. "But the very fact that he's sent e-mail . . . to this guy and got responses would be quite a concern to me."

The FBI determined that the e-mails did not warrant an investigation, according to the law enforcement official. Investigators said Hasan's e-mails were consistent with the topic of his academic research and involved some social chatter and religious discourse.

Hoekstra and others are raising questions about whether government agencies paid sufficient attention to warning signs about Hasan.

Hoekstra (R-MI) is a well-known nut, but even he said the imam's two e-mail responses to Hasan, "were maybe pretty innocent."

About the Falls Church mosque and it's former imam….

At Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, where Aulaqi was an imam, mosque leaders denounced his statements.

"This was a really disgraceful statement from a blog of our former short-lived Imam Aulaqi," the mosque's outreach director, Johari Abdul-Malik, said Monday. "Aulaqi wasn't angry like that when he was here with us. He changed after he left, after 9/11. He became a different imam."

King uses this misleading ABC line….

U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda,

…which King distorts into this…

According to ABC News, the FBI knew Nidal M. Hasan, the Fort Hood terrorist jihadist cuddly bunny had been trying to contact Al Qaeda several months ago

…and this…

I assume it's not standard operating procedure for a U.S. Army Major, a psychiatrist, to be trying to contact Al Qaeda, even if he is merely a cuddly bunny.

….but ABC said cuddly bunny was trying to contact "people" in Al Qaeda, as in, more than one.

Setting aside the "cuddly bunny" nonsense……King, like other knee jerk responders to the Ft. Hood tragedy, and like mainstream media who couldn't even get the basic facts correct in the first 24 hours of the breaking story, doesn't want to hear what the FBI or military says about Hasan.

There is no evidence that Hasan was trying to contact al-Qaeda. Hasan did contact his former Virginia mosque imam.

This is what King said about those e-mails….

The FBI said it never delved into cuddly bunny's communiques with Al-Awlaki because there was no indication that cuddly bunny was planning any violence.

Here's what the Post article said about those e-mails….'

Investigators said Hasan's e-mails were consistent with the topic of his academic research and involved some social chatter and religious discourse.

The word "delved", I suppose, can mean whatever King wants it to mean. I'm not sure how the FBI could have determined those e-mails were "consistent with..academic research…social chatter and religious discourse"….if, you know, they hadn't "delved" into those e-mails.

King….

Not only did the military and FBI fail to connect the dots here, but judging from the comments to my last post, liberals don't even want to admit there are any dots to connect (unlike the runup to 9/11). Even President Obama said we shouldn't leap to any conclusions…

Which seems to mean that King thinks, we SHOULD jump to conclusions.

I guess King intutitively knows more than the FBI, liberals bearing the unvarnished facts, and President Obama. He must. He went on to issue his own final verdict….

"cuddly bunny is a jihadist terrorist,"

Tell me the truth…. how can you argue with that?

This is an interesting map put up over at Think Progress on Matt Yglesias' blog.

In commentary, Yglesias takes the position that "in general the majority of white men are not progressive."

Is that true, do you think? And if the majority of America's white men are not progressive, why would that be?

Why would only 41% of white male Americans have voted for President Obama? Obama won 53% of the total popular vote.

Why did less than 10% of white males in Alabama and Mississippi vote for America's first black president? 9 out of 10 white male Alabamans and Mississippians voted for McCain.

Open Left sets forward the idea that our history of national voting rights plays a role.

I'm not suggesting any answers here….because I don't know the answers…..I don't.

That's why I'm asking the questions.

Any answers?

From Media Matters via Youtube…..

Those month by month clips, just a few of many, clearly demonstrate the bias being spewed by FOX. Before last November's election, FOX's bias for McCain-Palin was apparent. After Obama's victory, FOX's bias against Obama……also apparent.

Those are not the characteristics of a news organization. Those are the characteristics of a Republican Party media entity. Nothing wrong with being the media arm of the Republican Party. Just as long as everyone is aware that that's the situation.

Obama's White House, by stating that FOX is not a news organization but rather an opinion outlet, was doing it's duty to alert the American public about the dangers of confusing FOX with actual news reporting….while warning other media outlets to not get suckered into covering FOX's manufactured anti-Obama stories.

The White House stated that FOX is not a news group but rather, an opinion group. Media Matters provides the evidence to support that statement.

Obama is trying to keep Americans safe……warning them of the dangers of propagandistic misinformation spewed 24/7 by a politically biased opinion outlet masquerading as a news group.

Obama not only did the right thing by calling out FOX,…..something that's been long overdue……but he was also "fair and balanced" about it.

UPDATE: Nothing confirms the truth of FOX's non-news status better than the Villagers siding with FOX.

Here's a perfect example…..

It is now officially 1993 all over again.

Here's more evidence…read it all, here's one piece….

Fox News CEO Roger Ailes has described his station's confrontation with the Obama administration as "the Alamo." Fox News senior vice president Bill Shine said Fox was "the voice of opposition." In other words, the entire operation has an explicit political agenda, not just a few hosts.

..[..]..

Fox News is now coordinating grassroots (or, more accurately, astroturf) political activities, lobbying for or against legislation, and fundraising for conservative causes. The network called April's protests "Fox News Tea Parties." It encouraged people to attend town halls last summer and then broadcast only the statements of those who opposed Democratic health care proposals. The 9/12 rally in Washington was the work of Beck,

The North Carolina Republican House representative pictured above is Sue Myrick. In 2003 Ms. Myrick had this to say about Muslim Americans….

"Look at who runs all the convenience stores across the country."

Myrick wrote the forward to a World Net Daily-published book entitled, "Muslim Mafia", written by this guy, David Gaubatz….

Gaubatz calls President Obama, "our Muslim leader". Gaubatz claims he found WMD in Iraq in 2003. He also spent time in 2007 producing "a comprehensive map of every mosque and Islamic school in the U.S." for the purpose of finding out which ones were teaching "Islamic law." In 2008 Mr. Gaubatz said this, "We are now on the verge of allowing a self admitted crack-head to have his finger on every nuclear weapon in America."

I think it's safe to say that Mr. Gaubatz is a tad biased.

Here are four Republican representatives, including Sue Myrick, announcing last week that they were going to "formally ask the House sergeant of arms to investigate whether a Muslim advocacy group placed interns in national security committees."

Here's the link for the letter sent by those four GOP representatives October 21, to the House sergeant of arms.

From that letter….

"We are very concerned ….in light of claims made in the recently published book Muslim Mafia."
..[..]..
"Muslim Mafia raises claims that CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations)….has made it a strategic goal to influence Members of Congress on the Judiciary, Intelligence and Homeland security Committees"
..[..]..
"Further, the book alleges that CAIR is not only working to influence national security policy, but is actively placing associates in Congressional offices. In the book, an internal CAIR strategic memo states that they have made it a goal to place interns in offices of Members of Congress."

The letter was signed by these four GOP House members: Paul Broun (R-GA), John Shadegg (R-AZ), Sue Myrick (R-NC) and Trent Franks (R-AZ). These four say that CAIR "is connected to or supports terrorists[and} is running influence operations or planting spies in key national security-related offices."

Consider: Four GOP House representatives are basing their call for an investigation of CAIR on the extremely biased book, "Muslim Mafia", written by the extremely biased, some would call unhinged, author, David Gaubatz.

But wait, there's more….

Remember the entrapment scam a couple of FOX-paid stooges ran on ACORN? Check this out….

The guy on the right is Chris Gaubatz son of "Muslim Mafia" author David Gaubatz. Son David grew a beard and went "undercover" for his daddy, secretly "infiltrating" CAIR. The fellow on the left is CAIR executive director Nihad Awad.

Son David had this to say about CAIR….

"They were nice people and I got along with them very well which is why I was able to retrieve the information I did," Gaubatz says. "But just because somebody is outwardly friendly doesn't mean they can't be doing something wrong or even harming National Security."

So, what do we have here?

It is true that hundreds of groups, many of them religious in nature, lobby Washington politicians. Hundreds of groups also try to place interns in congressional offices. Obviously then, CAIR hasn't done anything out of the ordinary, if they sought to do something hundreds of other groups also do on a regular basis.

Why is CAIR being singled out then?

Because, just like ACORN has been singled out for targeting by the GOP opinion outlet, FOX, so too now, CAIR.

ACORN represents poor, urban, mostly minority Americans by helping those mostly-minority folks obtain mortgages, deal with tax issues, and register to vote. Those folks mostly vote Democratic, so to Republicans and FOX, they are the enemy.

CAIR represents Muslim Americans. To Gaubatz and Son who see President Obama as the "Muslim" enemy…to four anti-Obama state representatives calling for an investigation into CAIR for doing what hundreds of other lobbying groups also do…..those "Muslim" enemies inside America must be up to no good….because….well….they're Muslims.

Today's Republican Party McCarthyism isn't very sophisticated in it's hunting of witches. The "undercover" work of anti-Muslim and anti-ACORN fanatics would be amusing if it were not so obviously hateful and vindictive, so basically unAmerican.

But make no mistake…..that's what this is. A witchhunt. This is all an ugly, childish attempt by American fanatics to black ball, to demonize, to smear and to spread unwarranted fear about groups of fellow Americans who perform normal American political activities.

Having alienated blacks and hispanics by their over-the-top screeching, Republicans are now going for the tri-fecta with Muslims.

I know these hateful, divisive GOP'ers are beyond shame….but shame on them anyway.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds, one of my favorite contemporary blues groups, made the song my blog title rips off famous back in the 90's. I entitle my post with it today because of the schizophrenic messages coming from conservative and Villager voices over the 10-months-in-office President Obama.

Here's what I mean.

If you click here, and review the first few pages of Google responses to the question, "is Obama tough enough?", you'll find that conservatives and Villagers (and a few Democrats), have been fixated of late with the question of whether President Obama is tough enough as President.

One example from those Google search results……

"…a narrative is emerging among some columnists, pundits, and academics across the political spectrum that Obama's low-key, cool, cerebral style, while reassuring on many levels, lacks the punch that is sometimes needed to advance an agenda in Washington, and in a perilous world."

Keeping those Google examples in mind, now look at what Politico Villagers Jim Vandehei and Mike Allen are saying today about President Obama….

President Obama is working systematically to marginalize the most powerful forces behind the Republican Party, setting loose top White House officials to undermine conservatives in the media, business and lobbying worlds.

With a series of private meetings and public taunts, the White House has targeted the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the biggest-spending pro-business lobbying group in the country; Rush Limbaugh, the country’s most-listened-to conservative commentator; and now, with a new volley of combative rhetoric in recent days, the insurance industry, Wall Street executives and Fox News.

Feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken, but it sure sounds like Vandehei and Allen are saying that President Obama is acting TOO TOUGH.

According to Politico, Obama's White House is working hard to "marginalize" the very folks most responsible for the American disasters of the last decade, Republicans, huge powerful monied interests and the media propagandists who support both. According to the Villager Politico co-founder Vandehei, Obama's toughness in dealing with his political opponents is just so over the top….

"The White House approach could backfire if Obama looks too political or petty,……. Key commentators have argued that it is foolish of the White House to spend so much time slamming one network simply because it dislikes much of its programming."

So which is it schizoids? Is Obama too tough or not tough enough? Please, make up your minds, because the dissonance is starting to irritate me.

Tough talk is, you know, one thing, as we learned with the "bring 'em on" and "dead or alive" stupidities of the former "tough guy", George W. Bush. But let's see if the complaint that…Obama-is-too-tough-because-he's-working-hard-to-marginalize-Villagers-and-Republicans….is working….

So is the strategy working? White House officials point to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll to argue the answer is emphatically yes. Only 20 percent of those surveyed identified themselves as Republicans, the lowest in 26 years of asking the question.

Amazingly though, the Politico Villager writers then say this….

It’s impossible to credit the Obama White House for these numbers, however. Republicans can claim the bulk of the responsibility after a decade of scandals, unpopular wars, unprecedented spending and a broad loss of public trust.

See? Obama is behaving in a too tough manner regarding his political opponents, but Obama is not responsible for the historic lows in Republican approval and identification numbers. What Politico doesn't mention is the fact that those numbers have continued to go down SINCE Obama was elected. Americans are responding not so much to what Bush and his Boyz did from 2001-2009, that response came last November. Americans are responding now to how Republicans and conservatives are acting with a Democrat in the White House.

A staggering 83 percent of all independents surveyed said they don’t trust Republicans to make the right decisions.

Both political parties say that election outcomes are determined not by the right or left side voters, but by those allegedly in the "middle', independents. 83% of those "middle" folks do not trust Republicans to make the right decisions. That is headline material.

Is Obama just being too tough on his lying and smear-minded opponents? Is that it?

Or is toughness, genuine toughness…especially now….more than just childish neo-con slogan-threats by incompetent and ignorant conservative posers?

For 8 months, Obama gave Republicans, conservatives and right wing media screechers every opportunity to join him in moving the nation forward. Americans elected Obama with a mandate, and the new president offered nothing but an extended hand to his political opponents after he was elected. Obama took criticism for trying to appeal to Republicans in the stimulus debate. The same has been true of Obama's approach to health care reform.

President Obama could not have bent over any further backwards to accomodate his opposition. What did he get in return? Kicked in the teeth. But Obama knew that his unhinged opposition would reveal itself in all it's ugliness…..he has an uncanny knack of seeing the bigger picture…..and he strategized accordingly.

Former Bush clone, Dana Perino, perfectly captures the schitzoid problem within conservative and Republican circles….

“They won — why don’t they act like it?” said Dana Perino, former White House press secretary to Bush. “The more they fight, the more defensive they look. It’s only been 10 months, and they’re burning bridges in a lot of different places.”

Huh? I thought when you were fighting, you were on the offensive, not the defensive.

Obama is fighting and winning, and he's doing it in a very intelligent manner. His opponents are self-marginalizing with their schitzoid and unhinged opposition proving that…

Obama is tough enough.