January 15, 2009 MSNBC Rachel Maddow Show

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On Countdown following George Bush's final address to the nation Matthews pretty well tears into Bush and slams him for the continuation of his revisionist history tour and for whether he was ever qualified to lead the country. It goes without saying that some consistency out of Matthews would be nice but on this occasion I think the criticism was spot on.

From Go Left TV:

The collapse of mainstream media didn't happen overnight. It was the effort of years and years of work by the GOP, which culminated in the 1980's when Ronald Reagan repealed the Fairness Doctrine and loosened media ownership rules. As Mike Papantonio of Air America's Ring of Fire explains, this paved the way for media consolidation and the decline of the American press.

Part one:

Part two:

Part three:

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Amy Goodman talks to Helen Thomas about the Bush Presidency and also gets some of her thoughts on the incoming Obama administration. I truly hope after Bush snubbing her one last time during his last press conference that Barack Obama makes up for it and gives her the first question when he goes before the White House press corps after being sworn in.

While our sorry excuse for a "mainstream media" is making some changes with who will be representing them, Barack Obama will be the tenth President that Helen Thomas will have the opportunity to ask questions of. I'm sure the changes in personnel with the other media companies will be their excuse for them suddenly getting tough with the incoming administration after acting as Bush's lapdogs for the last eight years. After watching this interview we're sure to get a few fireworks from Helen with the incoming administration as well.

Sadly, Helen was really showing her age during this segment, but she apparently has no regrets and some advice for others who might want to follow in her shoes:

AMY GOODMAN: Finally, what advice do you have for young journalists?

HELEN THOMAS: Go for it. It’s the greatest profession in the world. You’re making a real contribution to democracy by keeping people informed. And have some courage to tell the truth. I think it’s difficult at times. There are many barriers, but go for it. It’s a great, great profession.

The full segment and transcript can be found on Democracy Now's site here and transcript of the above portion of that interview to follow.

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The boys over at Red State Update are a little confused as to the message Obama is sending with his choices of both Gene Robinson and Rick Warren to offer inaugural prayers.

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From Countdown:

And virtually everything Mr. Obama must undo starting next Tuesday, President Bush did... in the name of 9/11. We had to shred the Constitution, for 9/11. We had to become torturers, for 9/11... to prevent another one... to ensure justice for those behind 9/11 itself. And tonight, in our fifth story, on the eve of Mr. Bush's last fevered attempt at legacy re-writing, tonight we know for sure not only that Mr. Bush's decision to torture merited that word -- we know it now from a Bush official... But we also know that it has denied this nation, the victims of 9/11, and their loved ones... the chance to see some justice done for that awful day.

Keith talks to Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift about the decision by Bush administration official Susan Crawford to drop the charges against Mohammed al-Qahtani.

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David Shuster's Mythbuster segment from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. David talks to Dan Gross about what the actual unemployment numbers are in the US.

January 14, 2009 MSNBC HARDBALL

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Michele Bachmann (R-MN) joins the chorus of rightwing nutjobs who have signed onto the Norm Coleman strategy of discrediting the entire Minnesota recount process. A tall order, given the circumspect nature of the painstaking recount process. In fact, in her appearance yesterday on Fox&Friends she basically cribs her entire argument from a Wall Street Journal piece last week called Funny Business in Minnesota, which in turn took it's talking points straight from the Coleman campaign. And they're nothing if not blatant about it either:

Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations of Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and a meek state Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken may emerge as an illegitimate victor.

And so too are those zany Fox kids (Doocy-Carlson-Kilmeade). In a piece last week (added to the video) Al Franken is lumped in with Rod Blagojevich, Eliot Spitzer and other Democratic scandals, heavy emphasis on "democratic".

Although Coleman has filed a motion to contest the result (Franken winning by 225 votes out of over 2 million cast) it's looking increasingly likely this is more theater than with definite prospects of overturning the now certified result.