From The Colbert Report:

America's most insidious socialist brainwashing program, "Sesame Street," celebrates its 40th anniversary and introduces Pox News.

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Sure enough, just as Nicole wondered, Juan Williams was pretty bent out of shape over Warren Ballentine's calling him out -- using black cultural lingo -- for being such a willing supplicant to the "Limbaugh is being oppressed by mean black people" meme currently popular in right-wing circles.

So who does he bring on to buttress his claim that liberals are being bigots? Why, none other than Tammy Bruce and ... the Rev. Ken Hutcherson!

Bruce is bad enough. This is the person who called Michelle Obama "trash" and opined that "President Obama has some malevolence toward this country". She's also suggested that torture is no worse than a bad day in West Hollywood. We also remember her classy tweet on learning of Ted Kennedy's death: "[He] left a woman to drown and now he's left us to drown." In other words, hardly an ideal person to be claiming a lack of civility from the left.

But Hutcherson? That's rich.

Folks outside the Seattle area may not know a lot about Hutcherson, so
they just see him as a black conservative. Which is common enough, especially on Fox. It's more genuine than being a fake liberal like Williams, at least.

But he's also one of the most prominent anti-gay bigots in the state, and for that matter on the West Coast.

This is a man who told his flock that "God hates effeminate men".

He also headed up an initiative to legalize anti-gay discrimination in Washington state. (It went down in flames.)

Of even deeper concern is his heavy involvement in promoting a virulent and violent anti-gay organization called Watchmen on the Walls. This is a global evangelical-Christian outfit that, elsewhere in the world (particularly in Eastern Europe) is associated with violent anti-gay hate crimes.

I reported on a Watchmen gathering in nearby Lynnwood a couple of years ago (photos here). I also remember his sermon very clearly:

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On his Fox News show last night, Glenn Beck launched his latest campaign to unseat a member of the Obama White House: Valerie Jarrett, one of the president's closest advisers and a close friend of Michelle Obama as well.

Beck in fact devoted over 20 minutes of his opening segment to attacking Jarrett. He not only puts Jarrett at the center of the controversies Beck has managed to stir up and force resignations, but he says Jarrett is the reason the Obamas are flying to Denmark to lobby for Chicago as the host city for the 2016 Olympics.

It's straight out of black-helicoptersville, of course. But this has never stopped Beck in the past. Indeed, it's been the key to his success so far.

Somehow, I don't think Jarrett is going to be as easy to throw under the bus as Van Jones was. Now we may get to see, finally, how this White House responds to these kinds of attacks -- other than rank capitulation.

In the meantime, has anyone noticed yet that all of Beck's targets to date have been black?

I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

Just like it was coincidence that Beck couldn't explain to Katie Couric the meaning of "white culture":

UPDATE: White House blogger Jesse Lee has posted a factual response pointing out how reality-deprived Beck's attacks are.

Maybe it's just me, but I think we're hurtling towards a Howard Beale moment between the blogosphere (the *new* media) and the mainstream media. You have cozy little holidays between politicos and the "journalists" scheduled to interview them like George's tweet above, oblivious to the appearance of conflict. And you have DFH bloggers trying to explain to corporate journos like Marc Ambinder, Chuck Todd and Joe Klein that we actually do know what we're talking about and moreover, we're correct more often than they are, much to their consternation. With the ridiculousness that passes for top stories, how much longer will it be before we all collectively yell out that we're not going to take it any more?

Aside from the aforementioned lovefest between Georgie and McCain, the same ol' complainers are on: Grassley on Face The Nation; Orrin Hatch on Meet the Press and Lieberman on State of the Union. Ironically, the death of newspapers is the subject of The Chris Matthews Show. Betcha not one of the journalists will accept responsibility for the demise because of their abdication of their journalistic integrity.

ABC's "This Week" - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; former national Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Karl Eikenberry, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Bob Woodward, Tina Brown, Gloria Borger and Joe Klein. Topics: Can America survive without newspapers? Will online news fill the void? When city papers fold, who's going to watch City Hall? Meter Questions: Will outspoken fringe players dominate GOP for the rest of Obama's term? YES: 9 NO: 3; If unemployment is still high next year, will Obama revise his tax proposals? YES: 11 No: 1.

CNN's "State of the Union" - Mullen; Eikenberry; Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Ben Cardin, D-Md.; Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Encore presentation of Fareed's Emmy nominated interview with China's Premier Wen Jiabao. Plus, the always interesting Malcolm Gladwell tells us how to get to Carnegie Hall and more.

"Fox News Sunday" - Jim Towey, president of Saint Vincent College and former director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives; Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa.; Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.; Tammy Duckworth, an assistant Veterans Affairs secretary.

So, what's catching your eye this morning?

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Michelle Malkin has a new book out. If it's as well researched as her two most recent outings -- which featured the classic right-wing technique of gathering any smidgen of evidence one can find to support a thesis (no matter how dubious or downright false) while carefully excising any smidgen of contradictory evidence (no matter how mountainous) -- it promises to be a real mess.

Malkin was on Sean Hannity's program last night touting it. I was particularly interested in how she described it -- heavy on innuendo, intimations of shady dealings, and a major emphasis on First Lady Michelle Obama as a kind of Machiavellian manipulator running the show from behind the scenes. She labels her "the First Crony."

This has a familiar ring, doesn't it? The wingnut right attacked Bill Clinton relentlessly as a corrupt Southerner involved in shady dealings (think Whitewater or Mena), while the Evil Hillary ran the show behind the scenes. And the mainstream right made heavy use of these attacks.

It's just deja vu all over again.

Especially the complete and utter loss of perspective:

Hannity: Now that you've done all this research -- and I'll let the audience, because you really, with great specificity and detail, go into the corruption -- how corrupt is this administration compared to others?

Malkin: Well, I think you have to judge them by their rhetoric. And if you look at the gap between the rhetoric and the reality, this has to be one of the corrupt, most corrupt administrations in recent memory.

Hmmm. I dunno about you, but when I look at the levels of corruption within an administration, I look for actual things like, you know, corruption. Things like Halliburton and Enron.

As for the gap between rhetoric and reality, I usually think of it as matter of disappointment and disenchantment, not of corruption per se (though it can indicate a kind of ethical corruption, depending on the facts). And I think most other people do too.

Malkin and Hannity sure have a strange standard for what constitutes "corruption." Especially considering they not only stood idly by and cheered while corruption ran rampant in Bush's little war zone but aggressively attacked anyone who brought it up as insufficiently patriotic.

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Sean Hannity apparently isn't happy with just spending three hours a day on his radio show and another Colmes-free hour on Fox "News" bashing the President, he's now decided it's fun to bash the First Lady for what she's spending on her clothing and accessories as well. Bring in a couple of the Fox "News" models to weigh in on the subject, and you've got yourself some downright serious commentary by Fox's standards.

I'd like to know if Sean ever had that much concern for what Laura Bush spent on her clothing. Or if he had anything to say about Cindy McCain's $300,000 outfit she wore for the Republican National Convention? Somehow, I doubt it.

Those women are "real Americans" that don't hate America, don't you know...lol. Sean, you're an ass, and that's the nicest thing I can say about you without resorting to a cursing spree. I see that turd polishing is paying off nicely for you. I'm not sure how someone like you looks in the mirror after collecting the pay check for your daily dose propoganda, but somehow you manage.

Note to racist Republican: Everything you post on the internet can be spread around the globe in a matter of seconds.

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A state Republican activist has admitted to and apologized for calling a gorilla that escaped from the Riverbanks Zoo Friday an "ancestor" of First Lady Michelle Obama.

A screen capture of the comment, made on the Internet site Facebook, was obtained by FITSNews, the website of South Carolina politico Will Folks.

The image shows a post by an aide to state Attorney General Henry McMaster describing Friday morning's gorilla escape at Columbia's Riverbanks Zoo.

Longtime SCGOP activist and former state Senate candidate Rusty DePass responded with the comment, "I'm sure it's just one of Michelle's ancestors - probably harmless." Read on...

Yes, this loyal Bushie was referring to the First Lady, Michelle Obama. Brilliant. His "I'm sorry if anyone was offended" non-apology was weak at best, but at some point he should have just STFU, put down the shovel and stopped digging:

DePass took his apology a bit further. He also said, "The comment was hers. Not mine," saying the first lady made statements in the media recently saying we are all descendents [sic] of apes.

But an Internet search for those comments turned up no news articles of the like.

Kudos to FITSNews.com for finding this and other racist GOP hackery. The comment, along with DePass' Facebook page has been scrubbed. Good riddance.

Wanda Sykes on The Tonight show on the media's difficulty with figuring out how to cover Michelle Obama without appearing racist. She obviously wasn't talking about Fox News.

From CurrentTV's fantastic Target Women, the soft-news obsession with Michelle Obama's arms.

Open thread below...

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From the New York Times:

First Lady Michelle Obama joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other lawmakers and dignitaries on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to unveil a bust of Sojourner Truth, the 19th-century slave turned abolitionist who was also a fiery advocate for women’s rights.

Mrs. Obama praised Ms. Truth as a woman who didn’t allow “indignities to destroy her spirit,’’ who fought for her own freedom, the freedom of others and for women’s right to vote. She said the bust, which will appear in Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitors Center, would inspire many young African Americans who visit the Capitol.

“And just as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott would be pleased to know that we have a woman serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, I hope that Sojourner Truth would be proud to see me, a descendant of slaves, serving as the First Lady of the United States of America,’’ Mrs. Obama said. “We are all here because, as my husband says time and time again, we stand on the shoulders of giants like Sojourner Truth.”

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David Shuster filling in for Keith Olbermann on Countdown debunks the media and right wing frenzy over whether Michelle Obama inappropriately "touched" the Queen or not. First the iPod idiocracy and now this. He also highlights Michelle Obama's visit to a London girls' school which was very touching. If that doesn't make you a bit teary eyed after watching it, well, I just don't know what to say.

President Barack Obama's wife choked up as she addressed girls at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington, north London, where her visit brought screams of excitement.

In my opinion this little clip gives us yet another example of what a transformational couple the Obamas have become in the world. In what could easily have been contrived for the cameras, the sense is that something genuine and real is happening, not faked. And as seen in this clip, Michelle Obama's message is especially resonant with young women and girls of color.

Earlier this week Gallup released their Favorable numbers for both the President and First Lady and for the first time she has scored higher than her husband. While this isn't unusual for most wives of Presidents, it does represent a milestone of sorts for Michelle Obama. Barely a year ago talking heads were bleating about her being a liability to her husband's campaign, that her outspokenness was a distraction in the middle of grueling primaries. And just a year ago the famous line,

"For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback"

...made headlines, twisted all out of shape into something sinister and decidedly un-American by a compliant press. Painted as "the angry black woman" her disapproval numbers shot up.

Now, however, with 72% of Americans having a favorable opinion and only 17% an unfavorable one she is likely the most highly regarded woman in America. Or at least up there with Oprah. Perhaps most surprising is that more Republicans now have a favorable opinion of Michelle Obama than unfavorable. The same cannot be said for her husband.

It is quite likely Michelle Obama will become the most admired woman in the world soon, if she isn't already. That is good for the Obama's but, after the last eight years, is a great thing for the United States.

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Someone's got a crush on the First Lady. Don't tell the President...lol. From The Cafferty File:

First Lady Michelle Obama is even more popular than her husband, who has a hefty majority of Americans supporting him. A new Gallup poll show’s the first lady’s favorable rating at 72 percent compared to 69 percent for the president.

Also, Michelle Obama’s unfavorable ratings are much lower than the president’s — 17 percent for her versus 28 percent for him.

What a difference a year makes… On the campaign trail last winter and spring, Michelle Obama was at times considered a political liability. Some portrayed her as an “angry black woman,” while others didn’t like the way she talked about things like her husband’s dirty socks. And many questioned Michelle’s patriotism when she said she only recently became proud of her country.

But all that has changed… Another recent poll shows the first lady’s favorability ratings are up 28 percent since the summer. The most striking part of the Michelle “surge” is that she’s made the biggest gains among Republicans who viewed her negatively last year.

People are drawn to this woman; she is the real thing, and they get it. They like her focus on children and family, her devotion to her own daughters and husband, her visits to schools, soup kitchens, federal agencies, and her planting of the first White House vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt.

Michelle Obama is rapidly moving to displace a couple of the more revered women of our recent past. The British media are positively beside themsevles over Mrs. Obama’s visit; and they know something about how to get beside themselves. They are comparing our new first lady to both Princess Diana and Jacqueline Kennedy. Actually, she’s cooler than either of them.

Here’s my question to you: What’s behind Michelle Obama’s remarkable surge in popularity?

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From Rachel Maddow's Ms. Information segment. A President who actually wants to fund the VA with a wife taking a personal interest in military families. Isn't that a breath of fresh air? Like everything President Obama has done during his short term in office or not this is definitely a change from the last administration who was more content using our troops as props than anything else. Michelle Obama has plans to visit Fort Bragg.

Mrs. Obama will be meeting with military spouses and speaking to community organizations that help support troops and their families. This visit comes after a March 3 trip to Arlington National Cemetery, where she addressed women in the military service to mark Women’s History month.

This isn’t the first time the First Lady has visited the North Carolina military base. In 2007, Obama joined an emotional roundtable of military families. She is quoted saying on President Barack Obama’s official website, "It felt like the first time that many of these women had even been asked how they were doing. The tears and the stories went on and on. So we had another roundtable, and then another one."

Obama has long said that she intended to work with military families, and said during the campaign, "If Barack is elected president, I would be honored to be first lady. I would work daily on the issues closest to my heart: helping working women and families, particularly military families."

February 02, 2009 C-SPAN