Honestly, this was a difficult read, only because of all the angst it brought out in me. Even as someone who deals in this crap day after day, reading about it sequentially just highlights what exactly they are up to, and it’s damn well scary. Vividly written, with just enough snark to keep you sane. Below is the moment that Will states is probably what started it all. Get it now, read it now, and get ready to fight in November. BTW, I got my first ever (in 18 years with this phone number) call from the GOP tonight, and the kid really tried. Rallying cry? “NO SUPPOENAS FOR ISSA!!!”

The blog title says it all. Just seeing Bush’s mug and hearing his grating little twang in this video clip nearly gave me PTSD-style BushCo flashbacks.

And as I was watching this segment, which is superb, I was writing up a post about a “Voted Obama? Embarrassed yet?” billboard.

Answer to billboard question, and I quote, “Hell no!”

If anyone should be humiliated, it’s the little twerps Keith dissects here:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A social conservative legal group wanted Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to defend Proposition 8. They wanted that very badly.

Guess what…

…A win for our side:

Presiding Justice Arthur G. Scotland has rejected the motion.

So there.

Go here to generate your own Beckboard! You know you wanna.

Some that I “created”: Welfare co-ops, elitist weevils, and U.N.-sanctioned ketchup.

H/t: Wonkette

See? It’s all “in the spirit of old fashioned debate.”

Bob Dyer has a terrific post up at the Beacon Journal’s Ohio.com. Please read all of it, but here’s the gist:

Walmart is segregating their book displays. They have all their black books here, and all their white books over there.

And by black, I mean those written by or about those ::whispered:: dark-skinned people. And by white, I mean anything by or about those whom the Walmart Biggies apparently prefer. God forbid the bindings should intermingle or the covers touch. EW!

I wonder how their lunch counters are arranged…

The ”black section” contains everything written by and about blacks: romance novels, self-help books, religion, sports, even an autobiography by the current president of the United States.

Now, whether or not you’re a fan of Barack Obama, can’t we at least agree that the thing that defines him is not his skin color but his job title? [...]

At the Walmart in Montrose, Storm Warning, by hugely popular white pastor Billy Graham, can be found in the religion section. But Life Overflowing, by hugely popular black pastor T.D. Jakes, is in the black section, along with Dungy and Obama and Sister Souljah and Adrienne Byrd and all those other people whom Walmart believes are pretty much the same.

The positioning of books within the black shelves would be laughable if it weren’t such a sorry commentary on Walmart’s thought process — or lack thereof. For instance, directly beneath a faith book by gospel artist Kirk Franklin is a steamy novel called The Hot Box, whose back cover promises ”fiery titillation.” [...]

When asked why many of its stores have a ”black section” that lumps together everyone from romance novelists to preachers to the president of the United States — even though they have little in common beside skin color — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. responded without really responding.

To find out what they said, follow the link. Hint: It’s all about the money.

Yeah, um, no.

I’ve heard of racy books, but this takes the cake. Sorry, had to joke or my head would explode, I’m just that appalled.

Now I have one more reason to continue to avoid that place. I’ll be here, and they can stay over there.

H/t: cherveny

The headline is a quote from my friend and fellow blogger TexBetsy, who posted a bombshell, as far as I’m concerned. See if you don’t feel the same way.

We’ve come to this: Papers Please on a Train. Seriously:

To see what immigration hard-liners really have in mind, ride the Lake Shore Limited between Chicago and New York or Boston. It is a daily Amtrak train that is regularly boarded and searched by the Border Patrol, even though it does not cross any international border.

And this isn’t all over the front pages, or at least mentioned on the non-stop cable networks who have so much time to kill that they devote it to Bristol Palin’s stint on Dancing With the Has-Beens?

No. It’s not, and no, they didn’t.

The federal government is authorized to do just that at places where people enter and leave the country, and at a “reasonable distance” from the border. But as the patrol expands and tries to raise falling arrest numbers, critics say, the concept of the border is becoming more fluid, eroding Constitutional limits on search and seizure.

And unlike Arizona’s law, the change is happening without public debate. “It’s turned into a police state on the northern border,” said Cary M. Jensen, director of international services for the University of Rochester, whose foreign students, scholars and parents have been questioned and jailed, often because the patrol did not recognize their legal status. “It’s essentially become an internal document check.”

So this is the “new normal”? Intrusion into our rights has become commonplace? Why is that? How is this happening, and why is nobody reporting on it?

But we do not recall any discussion of imposing internal immigration checks on public transportation, with agents with dogs and guns randomly hauling people off trains. The Border Patrol’s mission includes interrogating people as they enter and leave the country, and it is authorized to operate within 100 miles of the border. But as its budget and manpower have soared since 9/11, it is looking like an agency distorted by mission creep, especially on the relatively quiet northern border.

Please follow the links. Then feel free to spread the news.  Please be loud about it.

For some, the patrol’s practices evoke the same fears as a new immigration law in Arizona — that anyone, anytime, can be interrogated without cause.

Awhile ago, I posted a report that suggested David Shuster might take a job at Politico. I am relieved to report this update:

We’re hearing an impending gig at Politico isn’t likely — Shuster’s specialty, after all, is TV.

I have to take issue with the TV comment, in that if Shuster went to Politico, he could do the on-air pundit thing, as so many from Politico do.

But yes, his specialty is TV, and many of us want to see him there full time.

H/t: Uncucumbered, Hoptoad4

So here I am, casually scouring the Internets for news to bring to you, surfing my head off, and I come across story after story that make my stomach flip flop like John McCain during any given speech.

We have to do something about this. Any ideas? How about good messaging, fundraising, framing, and a few laser sharp attacks of our own.

All links via Taegan:

Mitch McConnell: “I already have the votes to be re-elected as Republican leader, and will be re-elected.“

Perriello Headed for Big Defeat

Portman Leads for U.S. Senate in Ohio

How Obama Became Unpopular

New Forecast Sees Big Republican Wave

No, I’m not depressed by this at all.

G.

O.

T.

V.

Oh my. Jan, dear, 10 seconds of silence on the Tee Vee Machine is very untelegenic. Didn’t anyone tell you that?

Oh that’s right, it has nothing to do with training, and everything to do with having accomplished nothing.

Via Think Progress:

Afterwards, Arizona reporters attempted to ask Brewer why she would not retract her false claim during the debate that illegal immigrants conduct beheadings in the Arizona desert. Brewer had her third awkward silence of the night, and walked away without answering.

Jan Brewer: The pause that enmeshes.

This will be short and … sour.

Via Roll Call:

Alaska Republican Joe Miller said in an interview Wednesday that he is interested in serving on the Senate Judiciary and Armed Services committees should he beat Sitka Mayor Scott McAdams (D) this November for the seat now held by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R).

Think about that. Imagining him on the Judiciary Committee alone sends chills down my spine.

In the 19th century, the Committee’s focus included legislation related to criminal justice, the expansion of the judicial system to new territories and states, and judicial salaries. Today, the scope of the Judiciary Committee’s jurisdiction has broadened to include terrorism, human rights, immigration law, intellectual property rights, antitrust law, and Internet privacy. The Committee is also tasked with considering the President’s nominees for federal judgeships, including Supreme Court justices. One of the most important functions of the Committee is to provide oversight of the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Worried yet?

As for that pesky Armed Services Committee:

Aeronautical and space activities peculiar to or primarily associated with the development of weapons systems or military operations; the common defense; the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force, generally; maintenance and operation of the Panama Canal, including administration, sanitation, and government of the Canal Zone; military research and development; national security aspects of nuclear energy; naval petroleum reserves, except those in Alaska; pay, promotion, retirement, and other benefits and privileges of members of the Armed Forces, including overseas education of civilian and military dependents; selective service system; and strategic and critical materials necessary for the common defense.

Comprehensive study and review of matters relating to the common defense policy of the United States.

Is there any doubt at all that getting out the vote will be mandatory in November? Well, it is anyway, but mandatory-er than usual.