The blogger Digby has one of the keenest keyboards in the progressive blogosphere. There are only a few bloggers I read every day….Atrios at EschatonBlog, Glenn Greenwald at Salon, and Digby at Hullabaloo. I highly recommend these three sites to any readers who can stand to have their viewpoints challenged.

This week, Digby posted a blog explaining why it is that the Republican primary spectacle has decided…at least for now….to settle on Mr. Newt Gingrich as the frontrunner. In so doing, Digby reminds readers what really energizes the self-radicalized, American right in the 21st century.

Gingrich, September, 2010…..

"What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]? That is the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior.”

October, 2011….

“If you want to put people in jail, you ought to start with Barney Frank, Chris Dodd.”

November, 2011….concerning Occupy Wall Streeters…

“the destructive, hostile, anti-civilization of the so-called ‘Occupy Wall Street’ crowd…. They want to tear down our country.”

“Go get a job, right after you take a bath.”

Gingrich has a virtual library full of these rhetorical bombs going all the way back to the 80's. His only consistency has been found in his bombastic rhetorical…well….nastiness….directed towards progressives or Democrats.

As Digby points out, Newt's nastiness is just what the conservative "hardcore base craves." Many on the right thought, and hoped, that Texas Governor, Rick Perry, would be just the anti-progressive rhetorical bomb thrower they were looking for….but Texas Rick has proven to only be a GOP-jihadist wannabe….all hat, all gun fetishizing, all cowboy boots….but no cattle. Earlier, the conservative audience for GOP political bomb throwing thought that Mr. Donald Trump would fill the jihadist bill. Trump's brief rise to the top was directly related to The Donald's outrageous rhetorical blasts against Obama.

Self-radicalized conservatives lust after Republican Leaders who sound and act like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. Limbaugh and Coulter's primary attraction for conservatives is the hateful and nasty way in which they talk about anything, or anyone, who is progressive or liberal. When Limbaugh accuses Michelle Obama of "uppity-ism", when Coulter tells her fans that Tim McVeigh just got the wrong building…he should have hit the New York Times building…..they do it to send a ripple of glee down the spines of conservatives who detest all things progressive or liberal.

That's where Newt Gingrich comes in. Here's Digby….

This is what the hardcore base craves now more than ever and Newt can give it to them. In fact, it's the only thing he has to offer. His organizational abilities are nil, his only example of leadership as Speaker of the House ended with a failed coup from his own lieutenants and eventual resignation. He has caused endless headaches among the establishment elders and his ego is so inflated that it threatens to explode him at any given moment.

But when it comes to an overarching theory of conservative righteousness and snarling contempt for liberals, he's the only politician in the party who can do it with the kind of panache the folks usually only get from wingnut giants like Limbaugh and Coulter. He just sounds like one of them.

Obviously, if Gingrich becomes the GOP nominee, he will drag the Republican Party down to its biggest defeat in over 40 years. But right now, Gingrich is polling ahead of Romney 33-22% in South Carolina, 32-19% in Iowa, and (unbelievably) 41%-17% in the swing state of Florida.

Even though Village media continues to treat the role of Romney's Mormonism as a "thing we do not speak of", it is still a fact that many, many evangelical Republican voters are turned off by Romney's "cult" religion. Almost half of all GOP primary voters are made up of the religious right. The failure of Romney to generate much enthusiasm among the GOP base is, at the very least, partially attributable to his Mormon faith. That fact has led to the very interesting "frontrunner of the month" phenomenon we've witnessed all year long.

A short 5 weeks before the first GOP primary in Iowa, Newt Gingrich has become the GOP flavor of the month….not because he can win the presidency, but because he most closely resembles AM talk radio haters. Newt's not afraid…like Romney is….to spout the craziest, most hateful sh*t against Democrats and progressives that he can manufacture out of whole wingnut cloth. Newt is willing to distort and twist history to suit his rhetorical jihadism against the American left.

In other words….Newt Gingrich, rhetorical bomb throwing political jihadist, may just be the guy the faith-based, dead-enders on the radical right have been looking for.

And, I'm sorry….but that's just sad.

In Ohio, 2nd amendment gun nuts enthusiasts have made it possible for Ohioans to carry concealed weapons while frequenting bars where alcohol is served.

Makes perfect sense. What could possibly go wrong?

What could be more sensible than a bar full of heat-packing Ohioans?

A Wisconsin state assembly full of heat-packing elected officials.

Concealed weapons will be permitted in most state buildings, including the Capitol, the Department of Administration announced Friday.

Wisconsin's new concealed carry statutes go into effect Tuesday. People who have gone through firearms training can begin applying for permits that day.

"State law ensures that citizens with licenses are able to carry concealed weapons and that law extends to state facilities," DOA Secretary Mike Huebsch said. "Wisconsin is the 49th state to put a concealed carry law into place. Individuals with licenses are law-abiding citizens and we must respect their right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. and Wisconsin Constitutions."

Who knew that Wisconsin's Assembly was overwhelmed with criminal assemblymen? Carrying concealed weapons, I have been told, is for self-defense purposes. Who are the criminals from whom Wisconsin state officials must protect themselves? Honestly, I have no clue. If I was going to rob people, for obvious reasons, I wouldn't start at a state's Capitol Building.

So, like Ohio's bill, Wisconsin's new packing-heat-in-the state-assembly law….must be about taking the country back…..you know, freedom.

FREEDOM. Concealing loaded guns wherever you are is known on the far right as their god-given right to express their liberty. By god.

Deadly, loaded weapons carried by dozens of elected officials who are hotly debating extremely divisive legislation….is seen as a wise and freedom inspiring move. Yet, non-dangerous, non-lethal cameras and recording devices….apparently…are so dangerous to state lawmakers that they are prohibited from the Wisconsin Assembly gallery…..

Eighteen people were arrested Tuesday for using cameras in the Wisconsin Assembly gallery, including the editor of The Progressive magazine, Matt Rothschild.

Rothschild and others had gone to the capitol to protest a series of arrests in recent weeks of individuals who carried signs or took photos or video in defiance of an Assembly ban.

"We ought to have a right to take a picture," Rothschild said.

Guns, Yes. Cameras, No.

Prompting Stephen Colbert to opine thusly…

Stephen Colbert said Governor Walker was bringing "a new freedom to America's dairyland" with the concealed carry law, but said people would not see "images of gunfire in the statehouse" because of the camera ban. "Thank God. Cameras are dangerous," he said.

Of course, as we saw during the Wisconsin GOP actions to crush unions and union workers, cameras can be dangerous enemies of the state. Loaded guns concealed by assembly people….freedom. Cameras recording reality….dangerous threats.

I'm not going to take the time to wade through any mumbo-jumbo legalese seeking to justify these obviously unjustifiable contradictions.

What I am concerned about is the total lack of common sense by TEA Party extremists who would defend carrying concealed weapons on the Wisconsin Assembly floor, yet would at the same time prohibit recording devices in the building. What in the hell is the matter up in Wisconsin? What is wrong with these people?

Once again….because there are certainly no logical, intelligent, facts-based justifications for encouraging the carrying of loaded, concealed weapons by elected officials in the Wisconsin Assembly….I can only assume that this nutty and purposely provocative new law falls under the umbrella of the Rushbo Doctrine…."if it pisses off progressives and seems insanely crazy….then, do it."

I'm open to considering other reasons for what seems like total insanity.

Anyone want to try to square this circle?

I watched about 20 minutes of the Freakathon known as the Google-Fox GOP presidential candidates "debate" last night. All I could stand to watch was 20 minutes.

The Reverend's take after 3 GOP debates…..

It appears as if the GOP now has a two person race. Mitt Romney versus Rick Perry. The RealClearPolitics.com site has Rick Perry up an average of 7 points over Romney….an average of 28.4% to 20.6%.

Those favoring the also-rans, Ron Paul (8.9%), Michele Bachmann (7.7%), Newton Gingrich (6.6%), Herman Cain (5.6%), Rick Santorum (2%), and Jon Huntsman (1.4%),…..will wind up telling the tale in the actual GOP primaries next year. For my money, I'm guessing that support for Paul, Bachmann, Santorum and, perhaps, Gingrich…..will be thrown to Rick Perry. Call it the Crazed Tea Party Effect….but if a Republican primary were held today with only Perry and Romney on the ticket…..I believe Perry would win.

So, will Governor Rick Perry be representing the Republican Party in next year's matchup against President Obama?

Not likely.

Although Perry is loved by the self-radicalized Tea Party bunch…and Romney not so much (once was pro-choice, he's a Mormon, the Massachusetts Romneycare thing)…..Perry, with his likeness to W., his authoritarian ways, his view of Social Security, his glibness about secession and the Constitution….is unelectable.

The only way Rick Perry could be elected to the presidency is if our national economy falls into depression between now and next November. In a perfect storm….purposely caused by congressional Republicans….where unemployment spiked to over 10% and the markets fell further…..I suppose it would be possible for Perry to be elected by a worn down and disgusted electorate.

But not likely.

That leaves the "electable" Mitt Romney. If you've been paying attention, you know that Republican establishment figures like Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and MSNBC's resident establishment Republican, Rick Scarborough……favor Romney over Perry because of the electability factor. If you also remember the 2008 GOP primary race, you'll know that Mike Huckabee offered pretty strong competition to John McCain in the early primaries, deadlocked with Johnny Mac as late as June 2008. Yet, McCain was ultimately determined to be the most electable 2008 GOP candidate.

Something similar will most likely play out this cycle.

Which, I think, will leave self-radicalized malcontents in the Tea Party….unimpressed. Despite the unity of purpose within the insurrectionist, Know Nothings to remove Barack Obama from the presidency, Mitt Romney is simply not going to excite the excitables. Also, too….there's the Mormon thing.

Evangelical Christians vote Republican. In the 2010 midterms, 78% of evangelical voters voted for Republicans. Evangelical Christians, no matter what Village assh*les on teevee tell you, consider Mormonism to be a cult….unChristian. It's a matter of faith. And if anything is true today about the Republican Party…it is that the Fox-imbibers who turn out to vote for Republicans are faith based.

What's a wingnut political party to do?

Romney is the only candidate who may be electable. But his potential voters would have to ask Jesus for forgiveness if they voted for a Mormon. And that leads me to what I suggest will be a very big story after the 2012 GOP primaries. The GOP's vice-presidential pick.

Johnny Mac, foolishly and embarrassingly, chose the empty-headed, opportunist, Sarah Palin to be his running mate. The reason then was obvious. After Bush, Republican establishment characters, like McCain, did not really enthuse the grassroots faith-basers. McCain's political advisers knew that without a bit of catnip for wingnuts on the ticket, Republican voters might just stay home. With a true winger on the ticket, the establishment McCain at least had a chance.

The same dynamic, I suggest, will be at work this coming election cycle. With a Mormon at the top of the ticket….which seems to me to be inevitable….Romney's vice presidential choice will actually be more important this time around than McCain's choice of the Quitter was in 2008.

The perfect vice presidential candidate will be a bonafide Winger who makes evangelical voters forget about the bad Mormon taste in their mouths from voting for Romney. The GOP vice presidential candidate cannot be another establishment Republican, like, say, Rob Portman (R-OH), who is often mentioned in lists of potential GOP vp candidates. It could be young Marco Rubio from Florida, but I think young Marco is waiting for 2016, when he will dash onto the scene as the face of the "new and improved" GOP.

I'm looking at Governor Nikki Haley from South Carolina. Attractive, young, and a true evangelical winger. Like Palin, but with some self-discipline…and not so silly or ignorant. In today's teevee-dominated culture a Romney-Haley ticket would bring forth all of the worst from our corporate overlords in media. The posing and the gushing, and the unbearable, tedious bullsh*t from the Village will, most likely, be enough to gag a maggot…..but inevitable from a corrupt, inside-the-Beltway bunch who are wired to favor (tax-cutting) Republicans.

I still think Obama will be re-elected. But if the Perfect Storm being brewed up right now by congressional Republicans to damage our national economy further hits us head on leading up to next November…..Mitt Romney could be our next president. But the only way for that to happen is if a full-throated, faith baser with telegenic skills, like Governor Nikki Haley, is chosen as Romney's running mate.

What say ye?

According to TPM reports last night, President Obama is getting sick and tired of the Republican intransigence over raising the debt ceiling. Obama walked out of tense talks Wednesday evening particularly perturbed with Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).

"I have reached the point where I say enough," Obama told the leaders, according to the account. "Would Ronald Reagan be sitting here? I've reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this."

Now that Republicans have wound the economic doomsday clock down to about 2 weeks….with more and nuttier suggestions each day that if the U.S. defaults it won't be THAT bad….I think it's time to place the blame for this crisis-to-come where it belongs.

The very reason why GOP Speaker Boehner cannot reach a compromise with the President is the Tea Party. Boehner has told Obama repeatedly that a compromise,….virtually any compromise,…..can't get enough GOP votes in the House to pass. The 80-something Tea Party Caucus members will not accept any compromise.

Without compromise, I think it follows that there is no true democratic process…..but Tea Partiers don't want a democratic process anyway. They want what they want….even if it's senseless, ahistorical, unilateral,…even if it throws 308 million Americans, needlessly, into a full blown 21st century depression.

These uncompromisers, in my not-so-humble opinion, have become the number one enemy to the United States today. Emboldened and radicalized in 2008 by the know-nothing jihadist from Alaska who insisted that America is made up of "real Americans" who live in "real America" and, I guess, the rest of us….the SnowBilly converts went on to join the astroturf "tea party" movement whose opening protest act was to march around aimlessly carrying Taxed Enough Already signs. This, after President Obama had just reduced payroll taxes on 95% of American workers. The incoherent nuttiness had begun. Nuttiness which maniacal opportunists like Glenn Beck and Chatty Cathy pull string dolls like Sister Sarah simply couldn't resist.

Corrupt corporate media, reduced to doing little more than pimping for a handful of very rich and powerful Americans, enthusiastically encouraged the nuttiness, the total craziness of the incoherent Tea Party. I firmly believe that it was the corrupt corporate media's almost non-stop coverage of this know-nothing, conservative-whacko, "movement"….which gave the uncompromising "real Americans" the edge they needed to win the 2010 midterm elections.

If corporate media would have been doing their job instead of playing up the contrived "controversy" created from whole cloth by the know-nothings…..the Tea Party nonsense would have long ago been relegated to the historical dumpster of American fanaticism, American kookiness. But no….corrupt media saw the Tea Party, with it's hateful, yet contrived, accusations directed daily at Obama, as the return of the media-glory years of the Clinton administration when advertiser rates increased in tandem with every new report of a blowjob inside the White House.

Now the nuttiness that began with the "palling around with terrorists" feistiness of a know-nothing, ex beauty queen, 1/2 term governor of the socialized oil state of Alaska…..has morphed into a full IED-setting, anarchist, congressional mafia of mass destruction….hellbent on punishing every American for the sin of electing a black Democratic president.

Remember….those who are refusing to compromise, choosing instead a worldwide economic calamity rather than compromise….are the same people who sang "cut it or shut it" and "shut it down"…just a couple of months ago. These people are nuts. Extremists. And they are now on the threshold of, perhaps, destroying any hopes we might have had that America could rebound from it's recent severe recession.

But then….hasn't that been the plan all along? If Tea Party anarchists can help to further deteriorate our national economy….then chances improve for Obama becoming a one term president. And that would bring us full circle back to where it all began…..with the bitterness by the Palinistas over Barack Obama being elected to the presidency.

What we are witnessing in the debt ceiling standoff today is a direct result of what began when John McCain decided to choose a powder-puff, know nothing opportunist with a smartassed mouth to be his vice-president.

It's been all downhill since then.

Eric Alterman, contributor to The Nation, brings the shrill heat…..

A quarter of Republicans questioned profess to believe that ACORN is definitely planning to steal the 2012 election while another 32 percent think it might be. These numbers are admittedly lower than the 52 percent who, in 2009, went on record accusing ACORN of having stolen the election for Obama, but this should strike a person with normal mental faculties as a mite surprising, given that the organization no longer exists.

Similarly, a recent poll of Republicans found that 48 percent of those questioned believe that Barack Obama was born in the United States. Again, this is almost double the 28 percent who believed it in February, but it is still rather low, given that Hawaii released the president’s long-form birth certificate to satisfy exactly this group of noisy idiots.

57% of Republicans think that ACORN, an organization which no longer exists, plan on stealing the 2012 election.

After President Obama produced a copy of his long form birth certificate proving without a shadow of any doubt that he was born in Hawaii, only 48% of Republicans think he was born in the United States.

What that demonstrates is that Republicans will believe what they want to believe….truth be damned.

Naturally, Republicans…or anyone else for that matter….can willfully choose to believe in untruth or even fantasy if they so desire. But how can a nation prosper, confront and solve problems when a substantial portion of it's voting population lives in a political fantasyland?

As Alterman goes on to say…..

….(an) astonishing combination of willful ignorance and stubborn stupidity can be found virtually everywhere Republican politics are discussed.

Alterman illustrates his premise by exampling Newt Gingrich. Gingrich announced his presidential aspirations about the same time he said this about Paul Ryan's budget plan to abolish Medicare and Medicaid while further lowering tax rates for America's top 1%…..

“I don’t think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering. I don’t think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate.”

Gingrich, in a rare moment of candor, said what everyone knows to be true about Ryan's plan to kill Medicare…..it's a radical plan extremely unpopular with America's "free society."

I think that the Newton, a huckster if there ever was one, was only trying to raise a ruckus for the sake of the publicity…..like The Donald…..because to hucksters there is no such thing as "bad" publicity. Be that as it may…..the very Serious Experts in Republican land could not allow the truth of Ryan's Roadmap to Ruin, as spoken by Gingrich, be allowed to stand….

The sight of the reliably crazy Gingrich temporarily sounding sane threw conservatives into a tizzy. The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote that Gingrich “chose to throw his former allies in the GOP House not so much under the bus as off the Grand Canyon rim.” South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley denounced his comments as “absolutely unfortunate.” Fox News’s Juan Williams complained that Gingrich was “urinating inside the family circle.” And a spokesman for the far-right Club for Growth called it “beyond bizarre for Speaker Gingrich to call the Ryan budget radical,” adding, “What’s radical are Newt Gingrich’s comments. Perhaps he’s in the wrong party.”

Naturally, Gingrich, who often says he holds deep convictions…deeply….immediately apologized for accidentally on purpose stating the truth in front of teevee cameras. Newton's groveling was an unsightly-looking mess that most Americans had to avert their eyes from watching.

Stupid and willfully ignorant Republican and conservative leaders fueling a stupid and willfully ignorant voter base…."everywhere Republican politics are discussed."

So sad…yet so true.

One blogger noticed that there were 8 Republicans and only one Democrat represented on last Sunday morning's "news" programs. The Democrats control the presidency and the Senate, and the Republicans control only the House….so 8-1 in favor of Republican representation is what our Professional and Serious corporate media regards as, you know, fair and balanced.

It is true that corporate "news" media is "wired Republican", as Josh Marshall has said. There are many reasons for this. Media has become an extremely lucrative business and lucrative businesses want to pay less tax. Millionaire "news" anchors want to pay less tax. The GOP makes their candidates take a blood oath to never raise taxes…ever…if elected.

Big media wants to get bigger…and Republicans, as the Wall Street collapse demonstrated, want to help Big Corporations become even bigger by continually reducing government regulations.

And then there's the highly informed and historically accurate view, or not, that Big Village Media has about the Party of Lincoln. For reasons I admit I can't fathom, corporate media members regard the Republican Party as the "daddy" party. Yes, the GOP is an authoritarian political party very much at odds with a democratic republic where government is "for the people"…..but Big Media, for some unexplainable reason, look to the GOP for their Serious, Strong, Wise and All-Knowing Daddy Presidents.

This spring, that's exactly what corporate teevee media has been doing….looking for a GOP daddy figure who can take back their corporately-owned country from the Dark Socialist Knight. For quite a while Sarah of Alaska was pumped as the new GOP daddy. Clubbing fish and blowing an elk's brains out and talking trash about our effeminate Democratic president aroused all the media's private parts so much, and for so long, that it looked like the dunce from our most socialized state would be the GOP's next authoritarian presidential candidate.

Lo and behold, it came to pass that Sister Sarah didn't, you know, know anything about much of anything…….except who was offering her the largest check to smile and spout wingnut gibberish in front of a camera.

Who, then, would media pick as their next celebrity daddy figure to run against that wimp Obama? The overnight sensation became The Donald. Who could be a bigger…..daddy….than Donald Trump? Full of undying admiration for himself and spouting race-baiting lies of stupidity on cue…..the Hair instantly became the new Ronald Reagan.

Unbelievably, Republicans were willing to jump off the bridge of credibility into the wealthy, business-minded, saving arms of Donald Trump. Why, The Donald was a CEO who knew how to run a business. Of course, the business that The Donald is running is a confidence game…..all image and no substance….but that didn't matter to desperately-seeking-daddy conservatives. Trump swore, and talked about how great he was, and how much money he had and was not embarrassed to talk Birther talk or lie on cue……just like a drunk authoritarian daddy would do after staggering home to lay the law down to his family.

But alas….The Donald never really had any interest in the low-paying job of the presidency….his wonderful self belonged on teevee, just like Sarah.

And so it came to pass, with Sarah and The Donald ruled out as corporate media's darling daddy-to-be-GOP-president…..that a new retreaded daddy figure was unveiled. The Newton. Newt Gingrich. The corporate media anchors were instantly struck with those tingly feelings running down their legs again. If anyone was a real authoritarian, someone who could knock the hell out of our Dark Knight with his "new ideas"….it just had to be the Newton.

Or not.

Someone failed to inform Gingrich that the GOP's latest rising young star daddy is a guy by the name of Paul Ryan. Ryan is the real deal. The Wisconsin GOP representative, as any strong and firm authoritarian daddy would do, has proposed gutting Medicare coverage for the greedy geezers so he can redistribute the savings to our nations finest and most deserving citizens….millionaires and billionaires. That's a daddy the GOP can believe in.

Perhaps it is the rust falling off the Newton's wheels…..whatever…..Gingrich, an authoritarian daddy figure in his own right, called Ryan's Roadmap to Ruin "radical"….."social engineering from the right." Big mistake. Immediately, crusty and Very Serious authoritarians like Charles Krauthammer declared Gingrich's run to become the GOP's new daddy….over.

So we await the next GOP winger to pop up in the GOP's Whack-a-Winger presidential candidate game brought to you live each night on Serious and Professional corporate teevee media. Will it be Little Mitch Daniels of the authoritarians-at-war-against-poor-women Republicans, defunder of those evil cancer screeners at Planned Parenthood? Or maybe the ultimate daddy figure…..the rotund and belligerent New Jersey failure who's not afraid to speak harshly to the children-voters he believes he represents….. Chris Christie? How long before there is a "Draft Daddy Christie" initiative?

Whomever it it…..you can be sure that corporate media will be all over the new sensation like white on rice….because the one adjective that best describes our corporate "news" people is….Serious.

Pima County, Arizona, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik commenting last night on the senseless mass murder event yesterday in Tucson which killed 6, including a federal judge and a 9 year old, and wounded 12, including Gabrielle Giffords, U.S. Democratic Representative….

'When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government,' Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik told a news conference.

'The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous.

'And, unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry.'

He added: 'That may be free speech. But it's not without consequence.'

Many that read here know that I've been warning about something like this for years. Whether it's Glenn Beck pouring liquid out of a gasoline can on the head of one of his associates to make a point about the coming revolution Obama is causing…..or whether it's the totally irresponsible, feisty bitch from Wasilla uploading national maps with crosshair targets over Democratic districts, calling the map her "target list" with instructions to "don't react, reload"….or whether it's Tea Party guntoters carrying signs of hate and violence…….the conservative practice over the last three years of using violent, suggestive language has finally resulted in the near-fatal point blank shooting of U.S. House member, Democrat Gabrielle Giffords.

The 22 year old, who used a 9mm Glock semi-automatic pistol with a 31 shot, extended clip to do the shooting, may be unstable….may have psychological issues, may be a loner, may be a lot of things. But the one thing for sure that Jared Loughner is…..is anti-government. Loughner…..no matter how this story is spun in the next few days….went to that Safeway Saturday to murder Gabrielle Giffords, a Democratic House member who had narrowly defeated her Tea Party opponent in November. Loughner shot Ms. Giffords in the head first, then sprayed bullets everywhere.

From the shooter's YouTube material….

"My favorite activity is conscience dreaming; the greatest inspiration for my political business information."

"..the current government officials are in power for their currency (propaganda)…"

"The majority of people, who reside in District-8 (Giffords district) are illiterate…"

"I know who's listening: Government Officials, and the People."

December 15th YouTube posting entitled…"My Final Thoughts"….

"If I define terrorist then a terrorist is a person who employs terror or terrorism, especially as a political weapon….

If you call me a terrorist then the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominem. You call me a terrorist. Thus, the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominen."

"The majority of citizens in the U.S. of America have never read the U.S. of America's Constitution."

"You don't have to accept the federalist laws. Nonetheless, read the U.S. of America's Constitution to apprehend all of the current treasonous laws."

"In conclusion, reading the second U.S. Constitution, I can't trust the current government because of the ratifications…..

…no! I won't pay debt with a currency that's not backed by gold and silver."

What is important here is the trend. What the shooter says in his YouTube stuff is the same stuff we've heard from libertarian/Tea Party types for the last few years. Ron Paul and his gold standard line…..an obsession with the Constitution while simultaneously challenging amendments to the Constitution. Declarations of disobedience to federal laws. Loughner's district is "illiterate" because they didn't vote for the Tea Party candidate in November.

To keep this short…..nothing will change after this event. What I mean is that the vitriol and the hate speech from, almost exclusively, right wingers, will continue just as Tea Party folks said yesterday. Beck, Limbaugh, Palin and the rest of the inciters will, most likely, kick their hate-speech up a notch….that's just how they roll. Conservatives everywhere will screech "free speech rights" and "1st amendment" to blunt any criticism of the right-wing hate speech campaign.

No, nothing from the hate-mongers and inciters will change…..BUT…..what will change,…..and Eric Cantor announced it yesterday when suspending this week's House business……is the U.S. police state. Congressional figures will have to be kept safe. That will mean keeping those figures away from constituents by using armies of security guards and a new wave of Secret Service hires.

No one wins here……and democracy loses.

Sad, Senseless, and yet, given the past few years….Inevitable.

Bill Maher commenting on the Stewart/Colbert restore-something rally….via Digby

With all due respect to my friends Jon and Stephen, it seems to me that if you truly wanted to come down on the side of restoring sanity and reason, you'd side with the sane and the reasonable, and not try to pretend that the insanity is equally distributed in both parties.

And the big mistake of modern media has been this notion of balance for balance's sake, that the left is just as violent and cruel as the right, that unions are just as powerful as corporations, that reverse racism is just as damaging as racism. There's a difference between a mad man, and a madman.

But the message of the rally, as I heard it, was that if the media would just stop giving voice to the crazies on both sides, then maybe we could restore sanity. It was all non-partisan, and urged cooperation with the moderates on the other side, forgetting that Obama tried that, and found out there are no moderates on the other side.

I'm not much of a fan of Bill Maher, but Maher gets it right in his critique of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Restore Sanity and/or Fear Rally.

There are no moderates left on the conservative side. That's an indisputable fact. The midterms brought a purging of the GOP from the crazy-right. Moderates, RINO's, had to be ousted and replaced with new non-moderates who would die first before compromising with Democrats.

Furthermore, instead of Jon Stewart's mythical take on corporate media giving voice to crazies on both sides, the truth is that corporate media has given disproportionate time to the new crazies on the right. On this issue, there is no equivalency to be found, whatsoever.

The phony notion that there are millions and millions of centrist conservatives, moderate conservatives who would surely find common ground with millions and millions of centrist and moderates on the left…if only media would quit giving voice to the crazies on both sides….is, in itself…..crazy. The purging of the GOP this year is ample evidence that I'm correct about this.

What has corporate media given voice to over the last 22 months? Rush Limbaugh's hatred and bitterness, Glenn Beck's insanity, Tea Parties and their extreme incoherence, Sister Sarah and her zany craziness and ignorance, a summer of wild and crazy TownHall Bustups, death panels, socialists, anti-colonialist Kenyan Muslims, Hitler, Nazis, ACORN, New Black Panthers, Shirley Sherrod……that's what the corporate media has presented to America the last 2 years.

What rotted media did not cover, let alone run on a 24/7 video loop like a L'il Jimmy O'Keefe-edited sting video, was anything comparable from the left. To be blunt about it……the crazy voices our main media have given voice to have come exclusively from the right.

Today's American extremism comes exclusively from conservatives. Brand name "journalists" pretend every week that that is not the truth….but they know they're only pretending.

That's why calls for restoring sanity to the media, who allegedly give voice to equal extremism on the right and the left, are so misleading and, quite frankly, dishonest.

Americans disagree about stuff. That will not change. The role of the media should be to inform viewers/listeners/readers about the facts behind the stuff being disagreed upon. However, media no longer regards that as their role. Instead, just as I've written about for years now, media's top priority is to gain market share by airing the crazy. In our current environment that means airing, almost exclusively, the voices of insanity coming from the New Right.

What that means is…..contrary to the Rodney King aspirations of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert…..not only will sanity NOT be restored anytime soon, but just the opposite. The incentives are back to front. That means that it's all going to get even crazier.

When a rotted and corrupt media proves to us month after month, year after year, that the crazier and zanier you act and talk….the more outrageous you appear….the more facetime you will receive…
what else could possibly happen?

The United States is in decline. When the history books are written about this time period (excluding Texas of course) those books will not be efforts in finding equivalency between two radical political extremes during the period. Those history books will record the fact that extremist right wingers in the opening of the 21st century helped to advance our nation's decline…..and that professional media helped those extremists in their efforts.

Nothing says "America" like Campbell's Soup…right?

Not so fast.

The picture above captures….

"..part of Campbell Canada's commitment to diversity and extraordinary, authentic nourishment for all, our selection of Halal-certified products are here to help you meet your Islamic dietary requirements."

What?

"Halal certified"?

•These products are certified by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the largest non-profit, religious, educational, and non-political Islamic organization in North America. ISNA's Halal Certification Program was established in conjunction with professionals in the field of Islamic foods and nutrition, and with Islamic scholars. The program includes the review of ingredients, formulas, manufacturing and sanitation processes.
•Our Halal-certified products have been chosen specifically to suit the flavour preferences of the Muslim community.

Here's the evidence that Campbell's, most likely, will be the company that sneaks ter'rists into America inside a few Hearty Soup cans…..

Watch the moving Campbell ad above. Do you see the secret Islamic code words mysteriously forming? What is that all about? Most likely those Arabic letters translate into, "Al-Moron, after you eat your soup, put on the suicide jacket." I mean, what else could it be saying?

Here's what one wingnut says about the secret Campbell Coding……

Notice how the soup steam in the ad coalesces into Arabic writing.

Yeah. So?

(Campbells) is doing so (offering Halel-approved products) under the auspices of the Islamic Society of North America, a Wahhabi-funded racket that is said to have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

M-m-good for the Islamists. Not so yummy for the rest of us.

"Said to have ties"…..good enough for me. If someone, anyone, said that Bin Laden personally approved these Campbell Soups….then it must be true. Campbell's is now an official sponsor for Islamic terrorism. There is simply no other conclusion an American patriot could make….is there?

My goodness, the evidence is so overwhelming, just look at this….

Campbell's Soup goes halal with approval from Hamas-linked ISNA

But wait….there's more yummy wingnut goodness….

The person who singlehandedly began the Insane Boycott Park 51 Clown Posse….Pam Geller….gets to the point on Campbell's caving to the enemy….

Boycott Campbells, I say.

Hell yeah, man.

When Campbell's Soup is not immune from the influence of Muslim extremists….who can ever be safe? Shame on Campbells for trying to fool us by their oh-so-hearty-and-healthy soup commercials……while simultaneously working in the shadows, stirring big pots of, let's face it, Hearty Jihadist Jumbalaya (shrimpless, naturally).

This has been yet another episode of, "Our brains have been eaten by our hate for Muslims."

Tune in next time when Puffs tissues will be exposed for giving the noses of jihadists the comfort and protection they so desire.

I'm celebrating number 61 today. No gifts please. But I do expect you to hum the Beatles "Today is your birthday" tune at least once today.

This is a picture of CNN reporter, Abbie Boudreau….

This is a picture of American moron, Jimmy O'Keefe…..

I don't watch CNN much anymore. The Candy Crowleys and the John Kings and the Wolf Blitzers have finally turned me off entirely…….so I have no knowledge of Abbie Bordreau. But Li'l Jimmy O'Keefe, ACORN killer, apparently does.

James O'Keefe, best known for hitting the community organizing group ACORN with an undercover video sting, hoped to get CNN Investigative Correspondent Abbie Boudreau onto a boat filled with sexually explicit props and then record the session, those documents show.

The plan apparently was thwarted after Boudreau was warned minutes before it was supposed to happen.

…

[O’Keefe associate Izzy] Santa told Boudreau that O'Keefe planned to "punk" her by getting on a boat where hidden cameras were set up. Boudreau said she would not get on the boat and asked Santa why O'Keefe wanted her there.

"Izzy told me that James was going to be dressed up and have strawberries and champagne on the boat, and he was going to hit on me the whole time," Boudreau said.

Ms. Boudreau explains how this all started….

For months, I had been working on a documentary about the young conservative movement. James had called me about concerns he had regarding an upcoming shoot. He asked me to meet him to talk about the shoot. I agreed to fly to Maryland and then drive to his "office" for a face-to-face conversation with him.

Ms. Boudreau was working on a documentary about the young conservative movement. But L'il Jimmy O'Keefe knew what CNN was really up to……

"My name is James, I work in video activism and journalism. I've been approached by CNN for an interview where I know what their angle is: they want to portray me and my friends as crazies, as non-journalists, as unprofessional and likely as homophobes, racists or bigots of some sort…"

Like Sister Sarah, and lately, "But I didn't join a coven" Christine O'Donnell…..L'il Jimmy knew what the "lamestream" media, as represented by CNN in this incident, was up to.

L'il Pimp Jimmy just knew that CNN's interest in documenting young conservatives as they produced a music video was only for the purpose of "portraying" him and his friends as "crazies." Because, you know, it's not that L'il Jim and his "pleasure palace boat", Bordreau-punking setup is a dead giveaway, or anything, that he is out of his effing mind….

Equipment needed

a. Video
1. hidden cams on the boat
2. tripod and overt recorder near the bed, an obvious sex tape machine

b. Props
1. condom jar
2. dildo

3. Music
a. Alicia keys
b. 80s romance songs, things that are typically James
c. avoid Marvin Gaye as too cliche

4. lube

5. ceiling mirror

6. posters and paintings of naked women

7. playboys and pornographic magazines

8. candles

9. Viagra and stamina pills

10. fuzzy handcuffs

11. blindfold

See any evidence in that list that might suggest L'il Jimmy might be off his effing rocker? Me either.

Keep in mind here that this is the same guy, dressed up oh-so- convincingly as a pimp, who handed Fox News-That-Isn't the ammunition they needed to blitzkreig ACORN. Now ACORN is no more.

Here is Jimmy in his full Serpico disguise discussing serious political stuff with three other stage props on Fox and Fiends…

What the heck was L'il Jim thinking when he set up the boat to embarass, or punk, CNN's Abbie Bordeau?

James was supposed to tape the following script before the meeting on the boat…

"Instead, I've decided to have a little fun. Instead of giving her a serious interview, I'm going to punk CNN. Abbie has been trying to seduce me to use me, in order to spin a lie about me. So, I'm going to seduce her, on camera, to use her for a video. This bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who comes on at five will get a taste of her own medicine, she'll get seduced on camera and you'll get to see the awkwardness and the aftermath."

"Please sit back and enjoy the show."

Li'l Jim……you have no idea how much I have been enjoying the show.

L'il Jim's latest young conservative foray into nationally-vital, dildo and lube propping…….has prompted The Reverend to review another national punking attempt. Another conservative-led punking attempt that, yes, also involves dildos and a plot to trick those not in the know…..