We Can’t Wish Away Climate Change
By AL GORE
The truth about the climate crisis — inconvenient as ever — must still be faced.

The Axis of the Obsessed and Deranged

by Frank Rich
Violent invective, once largely confined to blogs and talk radio, is now spreading among Republicans in public office or aspiring to it.

Palin Hand Notes Are Alarming, Embarrassing
By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Take a look at Sarah Palin's hand here, on which she apparently wrote notes on in anticipation of being asked at the Tea Party convention what the priorities of a Republican congress should be. Her hand read: "Energy ... Tax cuts ... Lift American spirit." A few thoughts:

If she had written "bread ... milk ... eggs" on her hand, or even a phone number, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. And if, say, a congressman had written "pay the electric bill," we would have thought it was charming, like Uncle Billy in It's a Wonderful Life tying strings on his fingers to remember to make the bank deposit. We're all forgetful, we all have a million things to do, and sometimes we write reminders on our hands. I understand that.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Palin didn't write down a reminder for an everyday errand. Instead she felt she had to write down basic political priorities, core issues for the GOP. That's the problem. Imagine if President Obama were at a similar Q&A session and the camera caught the words "Hope ... Change" on his hand.

At a certain age and at a certain professional level, it's really not cool to write the big stuff down on your hand. Yellow stickies, maybe. BlackBerry, maybe. But if you were sitting in your doctor's office after an exam, and saw that he'd written on his hand: "Diagnose Illness ... Write Prescription," you'd be more than alarmed.

If Sarah Palin was nervous about taking questions, she had a lot of options: She could have sat at a table with notes in front of her, stood at a podium with an outline, or even sat on the couch like she did, but with index cards in her hand. People do that all the time in panel discussions and ask-the-candidate forums.

Like the Tea Party keynote speech she gave and her book before that, this incident shows that she doesn't care to take the time to be prepared, to engage in serious policy discussions, or even to rely on issue briefing materials before speaking. She booked this appearance months ago and knew that both her speech and Q&A would be highly anticipated by the media and voters. I'm not sure how many more times she can get away with it. But in the mean time it's embarrassing.
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The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Rage Within the Machine - Progressivism
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor The Olympics

Challenge to Breitbart: Release the ACORN tapes
His CPAC rants were crazy and false. It's past time for him to release all of the tapes -- with no strings attached
by Joe Conason

Why so little attention to Vernon Hunter?
IRS bomber Joe Stack captured the news for days, but his African American, Vietnam vet victim has gone unheralded
by Joan Walsh
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Who's to blame for Joe Stack?
Maybe nobody but Stack -- and Scott Brown's linking him to "frustrated" GOP voters was a rookie's mistake
by Joan Walsh
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Teabaggers Finally Google 'Teabag'

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) - One week after their first national convention, the self-styled Teabaggers are facing an identity crisis after one of their members finally Googled the slang term "teabag."

"I was wondering why every time I told people I was a Teabagger they kind of started giggling in an embarrassed way," said Tracy Klugian, a Teabagger from Elyria, Ohio. "I was like, what the heck? Maybe I should use the Google and see what this is all about."

After Mr. Klugian Googled the word "teabag," he was shocked by what he discovered and shared his information with the Teabaggers' leadership, who are now actively looking for a new name for the group.

"We want a name that suggests we're out to give the Democrats a good fight," he said. "So far what we've come up with is the Donkey Punchers." More here.

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Robert Kuttner: Progressive Hardball
House Blue Dogs and pro-Wall Street "New Democrats" in the House, as well as individual turncoats in the Senate like Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Max Baucus, and Tim Johnson, have demonstrated that they can play hardball. Progressive Democrats are actually a majority of the Democratic caucus in both houses. It's time they played a little hardball, too. If Democrats can start sounding like Democrats again, they'll have a better shot at holding onto their majority in Congress next November.

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The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Unusually Large Snowstorm
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Republicans and Medicare
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Even as Republicans denounce modest proposals to rein in Medicare’s rising costs, they are seeking to dismantle the whole program.
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The GOP’s Double Standard on Terror Trials By Joe Conason —
Preparing for what they hope will be their return to power in Washington, Republican congressional leaders have revived the fear-mongering and flag-flapping used by Karl Rove to win the 2002 midterm elections.

The Origins of Tea Party Radicalism By E.J. Dionne —
The ferocity of the tea party movement’s opposition to President Obama is mystifying to political progressives. Most of the left simply doesn’t see the current occupant of the White House as especially liberal, let alone “socialist.”

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The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sarah Palin Uses a Hand-O-Prompter
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy

REMEMBERING THE 'MURTHQUAKE' When John Murtha Stood Up To Oppose The War In Iraq

Smoke the Bigots Out of the Closet by Frank Rich
After Adm. Mike Mullen called for gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military, a curious silence befell the right.

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Remembering Howard Zinn
Various Contributors : Activism & Organizing
Friends of The Nation and of Howard Zinn offer recollections of the man, his work, and his impact on thinkers and activists.

Volcker Rules
By Robert Scheer
Finally President Barack Obama has come to his senses on financial regulation. His endorsement of what he calls the “Volcker Rule” for once puts him squarely on the side of ordinary Americans as opposed to the banking bandits who have so thoroughly fleeced the public.
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