March 1, 2012

BRAVO Shirley Sherrod

Shirley Sherrod, who was a primary target of Andrew Breitbart's criticism, released the following statement on the conservative media icon's death:

"The news of Mr. Breitbart's death came as a surprise to me when I was informed of it this morning. My prayers go out to Mr. Breitbart's family as they cope through this very difficult time."

talkingpointsmemo.com
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/shirley-sherrod-my-prayers-go-out-to-brietbarts
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/01/1069796/-Bravo-Shirley-Sherrod?via=siderec

March 1, 2012

What BREITBART tweeted upon hearing Ted Kennedy had passed away

no pity here, kpete

March 1, 2012

Chief U.S. District Judge sends racially charged email about president

Source: Great Falls Tribune

Chief U.S. District Judge sends racially charged email about president

HELENA — Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull on Wednesday admitted to sending a racially charged email about President Barack Obama from his courthouse chambers.

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The forwarded text reads as follow:

"Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.

"A little boy said to his mother; 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?'" the email joke reads. "His mother replied, 'Don't even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!'"

Read more: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20120229/NEWS01/120229014/Chief-U-S-District-Judge-sends-racially-charged-email-about-president?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage

February 29, 2012

GOP Exit Pulse (Luckovich)

February 29, 2012

"Leap Year"

February 29, 2012

Senior Romney Health Adviser: Obamacare Can Move Health Care System In The Right Direction

Senior Romney Health Adviser: Obamacare Can Move Health Care System In The Right Direction
By Igor Volsky on Feb 29, 2012 at 8:30 am


Mike Leavitt, President George W. Bush’s former Secretary of Health and Human Services and a senior adviser to Mitt Romney, says the Affordable Care Act could help reduce health care costs and transform America’s existing fee-for-service health care model. In an apparent break from Romney’s pledge to “easily” repeal the law, Leavitt told ModernHealthcare that the measure could help move the nation in the right direction:

Mike Leavitt, the former secretary of HHS under President George W. Bush and current Romney adviser, said the federal government’s historic $15 trillion debt will drive “hard” changes in healthcare system to reduce its costs. Those changes, including moving across healthcare from a fee-for-service model to outcomes based payment, may be facilitated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Romney has repeatedly urged repeal and replacement of the law.

The law “gives the secretary authority to do certain things that are clearly aimed at trying to move us in this direction,” he said in a brief interview after addressing a Washington gathering of the Cancer Action Network. “A lot of it will depend on how aggressively the secretary chooses to use the authorities in the law to move us in that direction.”

the rest:
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/02/29/434396/senior-romney-health-adviser-obamacare-can-move-health-care-system-in-the-right-direction/

February 29, 2012

Time for government to stand ground and protect Assange (Sydney Morning Herald)

Time for government to stand ground and protect Assange
Jennifer Robinson
March 1, 2012


"Indicting Assange represents a dramatic assault on the First Amendment, journalists and the public right to know." Photo: AP

WikiLeaks's latest release of confidential emails obtained from the US private intelligence firm Stratfor indicate the US Department of Justice has issued a secret, sealed indictment against Julian Assange. While the Department of Justice has refused to confirm the existence of the Assange indictment - it refuses to comment upon any alleged sealed indictment - the Stratfor email is the best confirmation we have of the long-stated concerns about the risk of Assange's extradition to the US to face criminal prosecution for his publishing activities with WikiLeaks.

The email was from Fred Burton, Stratfor's vice-president for counterterrorism and corporate security, and former deputy chief of the Department of State's counterterrorism division for the Diplomatic Security Service. On Australia Day last year, Burton revealed in internal Stratfor correspondence: ''Not for Pub - We have a sealed indictment on Assange. Pls protect.''

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The question we must now ask: if a Texas private intelligence firm knew of the sealed indictment for more than a year - why doesn't our government? Did the government know? Was its denial of knowledge dishonest?

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Whether or not the government knew before, it certainly knows now. The Prime Minister, the Attorney-General and the new foreign minister must take action. Nicola Roxon, the Attorney-General, campaigned hard in opposition to bring Hicks home, urging the Howard government ''to take urgent action to protect this Australian citizen they have so far neglected for such a long period of time''. She has so far remained silent. But if she can go into bat for Hicks, she can go into bat for Assange. The government must protect Assange, not just because of who he is, but because he is Australian. And, as the Stratfor emails confirm, an Australian is at risk.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/time-for-government-to-stand-ground-and-protect-assange-20120229-1u3cn.html#ixzz1nmt9BEvL

February 29, 2012

Exclusive: Homeland Security Kept Tabs on Occupy Wall Street

Exclusive: Homeland Security Kept Tabs on Occupy Wall Street
POSTED: February 28, 6:55 PM ET | By Michael Hastings

An internal Department of Homeland Security report obtained by Rolling Stone shows the agency was keeping its eyes on Occupy Wall Street, concerned about potential disruptions to transportation networks and infrastructure. The five-page memo from October, titled, “SPECIAL COVERAGE: Occupy Wall Street,” acknowledged the peaceful nature of the movement and made mostly anodyne observations from publicly available sources, but did warn of the potential for violence.

“Large scale demonstrations also carry the potential for violence, presenting a significant challenge for law enforcement,” the report states. The “continued expansion” of the protests would make it harder for police and “movement organizers to control protesters,” which could potentially put “critical infrastructure” in danger, it concluded. Thus, the report called for heightened “continuous situational awareness” of the movement as it expanded. Rolling Stone’s Michael Hastings argues this a potentially dangerous step towards a possible “covert and illegal campaign of domestic surveillance.”

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/exclusive-homeland-security-kept-tabs-on-occupy-wall-street-20120228#ixzz1nmsEt8LH
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/02/29/434603/dhs-ows/

February 29, 2012

Why did not 1 person tell Santorum that Separation of Church/State is enshrined in the Constitution?

WED FEB 29, 2012 AT 07:04 AM PST
Why did not one person tell Santorum that the Separation of Church & State is enshrined in the Constitution?
bywinterparkFollow

This will be a short rant on the asshole otherwise known as Rick Santorum:

So as everyone now knows, Santorum wanted to throw up at JFK's pronouncement to follow our Constitution and keep the church and state separate. What confounds me is that at no time, on any show, by any commentator or guest or moderator, was it thrown back in his face that the Separation of Church & State is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States of America.

George Stephanopulos just sat there smiling and letting him spew his hateful vitriol without saying a word. Chris Matthews, et al, sat around discussing because JFK is his supposed hero, but no one came out and said that it is part of our constitution which republicans are so fond of saying they want to defend.

the rest:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/29/1069367/-Why-did-not-one-person-tell-Santorum-that-the-Separation-of-Church-State-is-enshrined-in-the-Const?via=siderecent

February 29, 2012

The ultimate Republican candidate (for REAL this time...)

The ultimate Republican candidate
byJen Sorensen