Tag Archives: Sarah Palin

CNN Lets Pro-Abortion PAC Spout Its Anti-Palin Talking Points

CNN’s Jessica Yellin, a one-time ” prominent feminist activist ,” helped forward the talking points of the pro-abortion lobby by devoting part of a segment on Tuesday’s Rick’s List to EMILY List’s new anti-Sarah Palin ad. Yellin aired their left-wing accusations against the Republican and her endorsed candidates without providing the other side and/or fact-checking them . Anchor Rick Sanchez introduced the issue by bringing up the Republican’s recent “mamma grizzly” ad: “It seemed like a very effective ad that Sarah Palin had put out . I mean, professionally speaking, it was very clean, very well put together – the whole ‘grizzly mom’ ad that everyone was talking about- and, apparently, there’s some blowback on this now. What is that?” Before playing the PAC’s video, which featured women dressed and made-up to look like bears, in mockery of Palin’s “mama grizzly” term, the CNN correspondent noted that EMILY’s List is a ” political action group that raises money for Democratic women pro-choice candidates , and they are now unveiling a new get-out-the-vote effort that’s hitting back on this idea that Sarah Palin speaks for women voters…EMILY’s List’s campaign is called ‘Sarah Doesn’t Speak For Me,’ and they’re taking the whole idea of ‘momma grizzly’ quite literally.” She then played a clip from the ad. During the clip, the unnamed women launched standard attacks from the left against the former Alaska governor and her endorsed candidates: ” Want to know what threatens me? My daughter not having the right to choose. The fact that if you were in charge of this country, my little cubs wouldn’t have health care….Unemployment benefits…something that you and your gang of candidates want to do away with .” Sanchez and Yellin shared a laugh over the ad, and the correspondent continued that EMILY’s List is “trying to drum up interest among Democratic voters who aren’t that energized right now, compared to Republicans, by taking on this whole idea, and with a little bit of humor.” Neither CNN personality provided any response from a pro-life organization or individual, something that CBSNews.com brought up in their Tuesday article about EMILY List’s campaign: Anti-abortion rights group the Susan B. Anthony List , which recently concluded a 23-city bus tour designed to spotlight its support for candidates who oppose abortion rights, quickly hit back with a statement suggesting “EMILY’s List is running scared.” “EMILY’s List is busy perpetuating what it purports to abhor: using women candidates with whom they disagree as punching bags,” said Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser. “On the eve of the 90th anniversary of women’s suffrage, the SBA List calls upon EMILY’s List to come to grips with reality.” Yellin also said nothing of whether Palin and her endorsed candidates actually are against health care for children and seek to “do away with unemployment benefits.” Obviously, the former governor and most, if not all, of her picked candidates are pro-life. It’s not surprising that Yellin would omit doing this, given her past as a leader of Harvard-Radcliffe Students For Choice , and, as The Harvard Crimson described her , a “prominent feminist activist in her own right .” During an April 10, 1992 interview with The Crimson , she actually lamented the apparent opposition to women’s studies at Harvard when she was an undergraduate there (Yellin was a political science and women’s studies double major): “For people interested in women’s issues or gender studies, this is an overtly hostile environment .” The transcript of the relevant portion of Jessica Yellin’s segment on Tuesday’s Rick’s List, beginning at the 19 minutes into the 3 pm Eastern hour mark: SANCHEZ: Let me ask you about the Sarah Palin situation going on, because- you know, we saw the ad, and I thought- and I had said on television- in fact, you and I were watching this- that it seemed like a very effective ad that Sarah Palin had put out. I mean, professionally speaking, it was very clean, very well put together- the whole ‘grizzly mom’ ad that everyone was talking about, and, apparently, there’s some blowback on this now. What is that? YELLIN: That’s right. Well, that Sarah Palin ‘momma grizzly’ ad has caught a lot of attention, and driven a lot of media interest, at least in Palin and this movement of women candidates she’s endorsing. But EMILY’s List is a political action group that raises money for Democratic women pro-choice candidates, and they are now unveiling a new get-out-the-vote effort that’s hitting back on this idea that Sarah Palin speaks for women voters who are- quote, ‘conservative momma grizzlies.’  EMILY’s List’s campaign is called ‘Sarah Doesn’t Speak For Me,’ and they’re taking the whole idea of ‘momma grizzly’ quite literally. Watch this. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE 1 (from EMILY’s List ad): When my cubs are threatened- (unidentified woman roars like an animal) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE 2: But want to know what threatens me? My daughter not having the right to choose. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE 3: The fact that if you were in charge of this country, my little cubs wouldn’t have health care. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE 4: When the salmon stopped coming down the stream and I didn’t work for three months, guess how we survived? Unemployment benefits, which is something that you and your gang of candidates want to do away with. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE 5: You know, Ms. Palin, that really gets under my skin and my-   SANCHEZ (live): (Yellin laughs) Oh, my God. Did we have to stop it there because the bear was going to really get mad? (Sanchez laughs) YELLIN: It was going to climb out of the TV screen and get you. (Sanchez laughs) So, you see what they’re doing. It’s a get-out-the-vote campaign. That’s on their website. They also ask people to go in and sign a pledge that they’ll turn out to vote. Obviously, they’re trying to drum up interest among Democratic voters who aren’t that energized right now, compared to Republicans, by taking on this whole idea, and with a little bit of humor- SANCHEZ: Yeah. YELLIN: I think that’s humorous. SANCHEZ: Humor both ways- we will let the viewers decide. My thanks to you, Jessica.

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CNN Lets Pro-Abortion PAC Spout Its Anti-Palin Talking Points

Andrea Mitchell Lauds President Obama for Supporting Ground Zero Mosque; Questions Why He Changed His Tone Afterward

Not only did MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell hail President Obama’s support of the Ground Zero mosque as “politically courageous,” but she seemed disappointed when, on the next day, he walked back his comments a bit. On both her Monday and Tuesday MSNBC news hours, Mitchell seemed to emphasize that Obama once again kowtowed to the conservative media on an issue he was originally on the right side of. Mitchell told Chuck Todd that Obama’s remarks at the iftar dinner in support of the mosque were “politically courageous, in terms of domestic politics.” She then asked why Obama then changed his tone the next day. She used the “politically courageous” phrase again, later on the show. Chuck Todd, meanwhile, labeled the story as one “that was basically a creation of the conservative blogosphere in many ways.” “They amplified it nationally,” Todd complained of the conservative media. “It was a local story happening in New York, and then it got amplified by some conservative opinion leaders, including Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin, and they seemed to allow themselves to be forced to wade in on the debate.” On her Tuesday news hour, Mitchell remarked to a guest that Obama was “on-text” Friday night. When she asked guest Karen Finney how the President got on everyone’s wrong side over the issue, Finney answered that Obama had gone “off-text, so that’s never a good thing as we know.” Mitchell then responded that Obama was “on-text Friday night.” Mitchell also tried to throw water on the intensity of the conservative argument, when she argued that the Ground Zero site might not be so sacred – because three strip clubs already exist in the area. “And one more question about that hallowed site,” Mitchell asked at the end of the segment. “There are strip joints and tatoo parlors, and, I mean, this site is within two blocks, or two blocks away from Ground Zero. But aside from Ground Zero, this is New York. This is downtown New York. There are a lot of less-than-hallowed locations in the retail community there.”    A partial transcript of the two segments is as follows: ANDREA MITCHELL REPORTS 8/16/10 1:00 p.m. EDT 1:01 p.m. ANDREA MITCHELL: Chuck, take us back to the Iftar dinner Friday night. The President made a statement and drew a lot of praise for at least taking a stand that was politically courageous, in terms of domestic politics. Why then did he seem to change the tone, if not the actual words of his endorsement the next day? (…) 1:04 p.m. CHUCK TODD: So it does come across as sort of this idea that he threw something out there to let anybody who wanted to interpret it a specific way, they could. And then, of course, that clarifying statement just added to the confusion and then extended this story. And that’s where they realized – I think that’s why you had Bill Burton, by the way, later that afternoon saying “Hey look, where the President was – he was not clarifying anything, that there is consistency here, because I think they didn’t like this idea that it looked like he was backing away.” ANDREA MITCHELL: Because then he fails to get praise – I mean he’s basically put himself in a position if he was clarifying it, then he’s angered everybody. He doesn’t get any credit, even for being politically courageous. (…) CHUCK TODD: And yet, this is a story that was basically a creation of the conservative blogosphere in many ways. They amplified it nationally. It was a local story happening in New York, and then it got amplified by some conservative opinion leaders, including Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin, and they seemed to allow themselves to be forced to wade in on the debate. So you do have to wonder on what they say about the media and how they react to it sometimes are two different things. (…) 1:06 p.m. ANDREA MITCHELL: You are one Republican who has initally supported – even before the President got into this – you were saying it was the right thing to say, and the wrong thing for Republicans to say. Yet fellow Republicans like Newt Gingrich, for instance, said folks who want to build this mosque who are really radical Islamists, who want to triumphally prove they can build a mosque where 3,000 Americans were killed by radical Islamists. Those folks don’t have any interest in reaching out to the community. They’re trying to make a case about supremacy. He even used the term “Nazi” to describe the analogy of, you know, we don’t let Nazis and we don’t let the Japanese build in Pearl Harbor. I mean,  he sort of all over the place. We had Sarah Palin tweeting about the President, and she said that we all know that they have the right to do it, but should they? This is not above your pay grade, Mr. President. What are Republicans doing in making – they’re playing politics with the majority base, which is against the Ground Zero location. But what are they doing long-term? (…) 1:09 p.m. ANDREA MITCHELL: And one more question about that hallowed site. There are strip joints and tatoo parlors, and, I mean, this site is within two blocks, or two blocks away from Ground Zero. But aside from Ground Zero, this is New York. This is downtown New York.. There are a lot of less-than-hallowed locations in the retail community there. ANDREA MITCHELL REPORTS 8/17/10 1:46 p.m. ANDREA MITCHELL: Karen, how did the President manage to get on the wrong side of everyone’s position? You know, as I understand it, I guess he went off-text, so that’s never a good thing as we know. MITCHELL: He was on-text on Friday night.

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Andrea Mitchell Lauds President Obama for Supporting Ground Zero Mosque; Questions Why He Changed His Tone Afterward

NYT’s Charles Blow Defends Sarah Palin from Democrat Death Wishes

New York Times columnist Charles Blow on Saturday actually defended former governor Sarah Palin from death wish attacks by two Democrat officials in New Hampshire. In case you missed it, on Tuesday Keith Halloran, a Democrat candidate for the New Hampshire House, posted in a Facebook thread about the plane crash that killed former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, “Just wish Sarah and Levy [sic] were on board.”  New Hampshire State Representative Timothy Horrigan replied Wednesday, “Well a dead Palin wd [sic] be even more dangerous than a live one … she is all about her myth & if she was dead she cldn’ t [sic] commit any more gaffes.” Rather surprisingly, Blow took issue with this Saturday: Then there’s the Democratic state representative, Timothy Horrigan, from New Hampshire. After Ted Stevens, the former Alaska senator, was killed in a plane crash this week, Keith David Halloran, a New Hampshire Democrat, posted this message on his Facebook page: “Just wish Sarah and Levy were on board,” clearly referring to Sarah Palin and Levi Johnston. To that, Horrigan responded: “Well a dead Palin wd be even more dangerous than a live one … she is all about her myth & if she was dead she cldn’t commit any more gaffes.” Seriously guys? I’m the first to say that I want to keep Palin as close to Russia and as far away from Washington as humanly possible, but debating the merits of her demise in a plane crash is heinous. Horrigan has since resigned. In reality, Blow was being surprisingly bipartisan in this column mocking the behavior of both Republicans and Democrats: Representative Charles Rangel of New York took to the House floor this week and delivered such a melodramatic diatribe that I thought any moment he would start belting “And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going” from “Dreamgirls.” Another is John McCain, who seems to be flirting with the über-tan “Jersey Shore” star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi (after having bonded with each other over tanning salon taxes in June). Snooki was arrested for disorderly conduct last month. This week, McCain told a Phoenix radio station that “I kind of think she might be too good-looking to go to jail.” A wink, wink from the dashing 73-year-old with the wispy locks. One bit of advice to Snooki: Don’t go to McCain’s home base in Arizona. The state is hostile to people of your current complexion. Blow continued his bipartisan excoriation right into his humorous conclusion: I say Justin Bieber for president. I know he was born in Canada, but since Republicans want to tinker with the Constitution anyway, why not? Besides, I’m not sure many would notice the difference. Bieber knows how to draw a crowd, get them all excited and then break their hearts. For vice president, maybe they could find a booster seat for Zahara Jolie-Pitt. She probably has about as much message discipline as Joe Biden. Besides, we need some African-birth-certificate drama for continuity. Nice piece, Charles. As you know, I rarely say that. Does Blow’s sudden bipartisanship indicate that even he is realizing what a joke Obama and the Democrats are? Don’t count it. This is likely a brief moment of sanity while most are on summer vacation. You can bet your bottom dollar Blow will be back to exclusively bashing Republicans as the midterm elections near. Stay tuned. 

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NYT’s Charles Blow Defends Sarah Palin from Democrat Death Wishes

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston Strike Custody Deal

Filed under: Bristol Palin , Levi Johnston , Sarah Palin , Celebrity Justice TMZ has learned … Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston have reached a settlement in their custody case. Under the deal, filed with an Alaska Superior Court, Bristol will get primary physical custody of Tripp.

Henry Rollins Knows What’s Wrong with American Education – and Guess Who’s to Blame

On the heels of a new College Board report that the United States is struggling to compete with other countries when it comes to college completion rates, Vanity Fair’s resident straight talker, Henry Rollins, has figured out the problem.  The education system isn’t struggling because of possible factors contained within the report, such as: Inadequate funding of preschool programs Poor college counseling programs for middle and high school aged children High school dropout rates A lack of international standardization for curriculum Skyrocketing costs of education No, Henry has stumbled onto the real, super secret reason why students are failing to finish their college work:  Sarah Palin and George Bush .  To be accurate, it’s not so much the direct fault of Palin and Bush – rather, it is those of you who support them, their stupid comments, and their intellectually uninterested ways.  Their fans see them as real people and because of that, they feel comfort in an unchallenging environment. Rollins explains why ‘America doesn’t seem to value a college education the way it used to’: “…in America the educated person is often seen as some sissified, fragile know-it-all who looks down at the common man. Every time Sarah Palin says something stupid, she gets more fans. To them, she is “real.” It’s the same reason why so many Americans loved George Bush. They saw themselves in this intellectually uninterested man and found comfort in such an unchallenging environment.” Worse, Rollins somehow manages to immediately transition into a Hitler reference.  In explaining that Americans seem to express disdain for the educated person (via leaders such as Palin and Bush), he then goes on to say: “What leaders had contempt for educated people?  Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, to name a few.” And “Funny how the very idea of increased education opportunities threatens some Americans.  They will tell you that education is stupid.” And “America’s abysmal report card, appalling treatment of teachers, and hostile contempt for its young people should be our national shame, the sub-literate albatross swinging from our collective neck.  America No. 1?  Not even close.” Now, before you go accusing Mr. Rollins of being a liar, a liar, a liar, a liar , it is important to note that Henry speaks from experience, having come from a very thorough, college-educated background himself.  However, in this case anyway, it is apparent that Palin and Bush weren’t the cause of at least one American quitting college.   Rollins dropped out of American University following a very brief stint (one semester) in the late ‘70’s.  Citing reasons such as boredom, and the fact that his classmates would rather study beer and bongs than read books, Rollins instead pursued his musical career. Seems he is partially correct.  There are some individuals out there who look at college experience with contempt, threatened by education because it is, in a word, stupid.  By way of contrast, Sarah Palin earned a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Idaho.  Oh, and that intellectually uninterested guy we mentioned earlier?  He earned a history degree from Yale University in 1968, and is the only President to have ever earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Make no mistake, Henry Rollins is an incredibly intelligent, well-read, real-world educated person, and Vanity Fair is wise in giving him an outlet.  But traipsing into the world of liberal lunacy (Palin and Bush Derangement Syndrome) clouds any argument one can make.  In this case, Rollins opines that education suffers because of uneducated people who have a better education than himself.  The result is intellectually dishonest and hypocritical. In other words, he is the Wrong Man for this debate. – Rusty welcomes comments/feedback at Weiss.Rusty@gmail.com .

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Henry Rollins Knows What’s Wrong with American Education – and Guess Who’s to Blame

Jon Stewart Vulgarly Attacks GOP Concerns for Rising Taxes and Deficits

Comedian Jon Stewart on Wednesday joined the growing liberal chorus attacking Republicans for their concerns about rising taxes and exploding budget deficits. The only thing different about the “Daily Show” host’s approach was that he needed vulgarity to make his point. Potentially even worse, Stewart in his opening segment Wednesday actually used CNN’s Fareed Zakaria to support his view that letting the Bush tax cuts expire would be a good thing for the nation. Ironically, that was the only thing remotely funny about this sketch (video follows with partial transcript and commentary, extreme vulgarity warning, see BMI’s coverage as well ): The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Deductible Me www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party “Let’s begin tonight in D.C.,” Stewart said. “It’s our nation’s capital. For the last 18 or so months Barack Obama’s been the President and Democrats have controlled both houses of Congress. Purely by coincidence, that’s the exact same amount of time that Republicans have expressed a newfound concern for our nation’s financial stability.” To set-up this “Republicans are hypocrites skit,” Stewart played clips of Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich warning against the budget deficit. At that point, Stewart said, “The deficit wants to skullf–k your mother. It wants to eat your children after it shows your wife a level of physical passion you’ve never been able to provide.” But here was the real punchline: Stewart played a clip from the August 1 installment of CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” when the host of that show told his viewers that letting the Bush tax cuts expire would instantly shrink our nation’s deficit by 30 percent. After the clip ended, Stewart said Zakaria was right. That would have elicited uproarious laughter from a well-informed audience, for as NewsBusters reported shortly after Zakaria made this pathetic claim, nothing could be further from the truth. Supporting our view, the Heritage Foundation’s Brian Riedl has research that indicates these tax cuts were just a drop in the bucket of the overall federal budget deficit, and the real culprit is the explosion in spending – not the trotted out liberal misnomer that these tax cuts are responsible. Riedl explains the budget surplus forecasted at the end of the Clinton presidency was set to shift to a $6.1 trillion deficit and that the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts were responsible for a mere 14 percent of this shift. The true culprit: the liberal sacred cow of entitlement spending. “Instead of closing the long-term deficit by splitting the difference between tax hikes and spending cuts, lawmakers should address the source-rising entitlement costs,” Riedl wrote. Indeed. In fact, even if the tax cuts were extended, revenues are projected to rise above the historical average by 2017. Contrary to Zakaria and Stewart’s view, this leaves surging spending responsible for the entire increase in long-term deficits. Business & Media Institute adviser and Cato Institute fellow Daniel Mitchell agrees, and refuted Zakaria’s claim on his Aug. 4 podcast . “Our real problem isn’t that deficits are large,” he said. “It is that the government is far, far too big. That’s what we should focus on, so he’s looking at a symptom rather than the underlying disease and then if we have to look at the issue of federal spending and federal revenue – even under the Obama budget projections – while low now because of the economic downturn – are going to climb to their historical post-World War average. We do not have, in other words, a shortage of revenue in the United States or in Washington, D.C. We have too much government spending.” On top of this, as NewsBusters reported a few hours before Stewart made his foolish comments, a new study published by the liberal Brookings Institution found the savings associated with just letting the Bush tax cuts expire on upper-income wage earners – what President Obama is advocating – to be minimal when compared to the current deficit totals. But facts weren’t getting in the way of Stewart’s populist rant as he next asked a truly absurd question: “How exactly can you be for deficit reduction and extending tax cuts? How do those two diametrically opposed thoughts exist in the same Party platform?” Well, Jon, here’s how: the last time Republicans cut taxes while controlling spending in the mid-1990s, the nation produced budget surpluses for four straight years while adding 12 million jobs to non-farm payrolls. Alas, this is an inconvenient truth Stewart and his ilk have chosen to ignore for over ten years, and Wednesday was no exception as the “Daily Show” host then played a clip of Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) saying the following on “Meet the Press” Sunday: REP. MIKE PENCE (R-INDIANA): They talk about tax cuts the same way they talk about spending increases as though the government owned all of the money. They say, “Are they paid for?” Well, I think, I think deciding on a government spending increase is very different on whether or not we allow the American people to keep more of their hard-earned tax dollars. Makes sense, right? After all, it is OUR money! Obviously not according to Stewart, for he not only seemed totally perplexed by Pence’s logic, he mocked it by asking, “So, you’re saying money the government gets is different than money the government spends?” Well YEAH, Jon! When the government is spending $1.5 trillion MORE than what it takes in, there is a difference! A HUGE difference! Clearly missing this indisputable fact, Stewart said the deficit’s opinion on this matter can be summed up with a clip from the movie “Goodfellas”: ACTOR RAY LIOTTA: Business is bad? F–k you, pay me! Oh, you had a fire? F–k you, pay me! Place got hit by lightning, huh? F–k you, pay me!” In reality, although he clearly didn’t know it, Stewart was making the conservative point about the current administration and Party in power: regardless of how the economy and the American citizens are doing financially, today’s government acts like a Mafioso thug demanding to be paid. Thank you, Jon – we couldn’t have said it any better.

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Jon Stewart Vulgarly Attacks GOP Concerns for Rising Taxes and Deficits

4chan Founder Tries To Explain ‘B-Tard’ To Federal Prosecutors [The Internets]

Called to testify against the Sarah Palin email “hacker,” 4chan founder Chris Poole somehow found himself delivering a federal courtroom tutorial on the meaning of “newfag” and other slang from his anarchic message board. Lulz are now in session. More

Blogger Unearths Interesting Info on ‘Teacher’ That Criticized Palin As ‘Worst Governor Ever’

While filming a segment for her new TLC program in Homer, Alaska, former governor Sarah Palin was recently accosted by one Kathleen Gustafson, a local bearing a large handwritten banner reading “Worst Governor Ever.” Several news agencies and networks have picked up on the story , uncritically relaying that Gustafson is simply a local teacher. But that’s not accurate, as MacRanger of the Mac’s Mind blog discovered.  Gustafson is listed as a “theater tech” at Homer High School. In addition to those duties, she’s on staff at the Homer public radio station and on the board of directors for a family planning clinic in town . From her bio: Kathleen Gustafson :  I’ve been on the board since 2003.  I feel like volunteering with KBFPC is the natural compliment to my work in Youth Theater and public radio.  When I worked at Smoky Bay Learning Center, I witnessed directly the good work that Family Planning does in health education programs and I want to do what I can to be a part of it. Far from an apolitical teacher who just happens to be set off by Palin resigning mid-term, there’s arguably more than meets the eye when it comes to Gustafson’s politics.  Is it that hard for anyone in the mainstream media to apply a little skepticism and work a few keystrokes on Google? Photo of Gustafson via macsmind.com .

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Blogger Unearths Interesting Info on ‘Teacher’ That Criticized Palin As ‘Worst Governor Ever’

Ground Zero Mosque Backlash a Symptom of Economy Says Think Progress Blogger

Is it “the economy, stupid” or is it just that the economy makes people stupid? Either way Matt Yglesias, ThinkProgress.org blogger extraordinaire , believes the economy is what’s driving conservative furor over the “Ground Zero Mosque.” On MSNBC’s August 9 broadcast of “Countdown,” Yglesias did his best to psychoanalyze people that are upset a mosque is being built in the shadow of Ground Zero, where over 2,600 people died in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. According to Yglesias, whose blog, ThinkProgress.org, is a function the George Soros-funded Center for American Progress, opposition to the plan had nothing to do with sensitivities but instead economics. The anti-mosque sentiment, he believed, couldn’t exist without masterminds like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich whipping conservatives against the mosque into a frenzy. “Well, it seems to me that there is or at least there – it’s much more visible than it used to be because we’re seeing it stoked by sort of the leads in the conservative movement, by Sarah Palin, by Newt Gingrich, by others, in a way that we never had before 9/11,” Yglesias said. “And I think what’s happening is that when the economy goes down, people become anxious, you see, historically, a lot of increase in xenophobia, in fear and in sort of intolerance . And we’ve got the conservative movement leaders, very opportunistically trying to take advantage of that, try to play on people’s anxieties, and build this kind of anti-Muslim hysteria in a way that President Bush never did in 2001 and 2002.” Yglesias, who also saw nothing wrong with his participation in Ezra Klein’s JournoList, a listserv that left several members of the liberal media intelligentsia embarrassed for their downright angry, conspiratorial and mean-spirited comments from it that have come to light, then went for a historical analogy. He compared the current anti-illegal immigration sentiment to President Herbert Hoover, Depression-era United States deportation of as many as 500,000 Mexicans, regardless of legality . “I think it’s really part of an interconnected series of rising xenophobic and anti-foreign sentiment,” Yglesias said. “In particularly with immigration, every time there’s a major economic downturn, you see new anti-immigrant measures. In 1929, President Hoover launched what he called the Mexican Repatriation Initiative where they sort of swept around the American southwest pretty indiscriminately, finding people of Mexico origin and kicking them back. And this is what happens when the economy goes down – people get more worried about people who are different from them. And politicians who are unscrupulous, you know, really to play on that instead of trying to address the underlying problems in the country.” It’s not known if Yglesias is aware of the problems in Arizona because of the wave of illegal immigrants coming across the Mexican border , but in his view this is nothing more than people wanting jobs and not other issues that come with unfettered movement across international borders. “Well, the idea is that when jobs are scarce, you know, maybe if you round some people up and kick them out, and their jobs will come to other people,” Yglesias said. “Of course, the economy doesn’t really work that way. If 10 percent of the population vanished tomorrow, it would be economic chaos, not extra jobs. But, you know, that’s the kind of zero sum thinking that people get into when they become nervous about things they’re seeing in their life and in their community. And we had in the 1880s as well. That’s when we shut the door to immigrants from China and Japan.”

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Ground Zero Mosque Backlash a Symptom of Economy Says Think Progress Blogger

CBS ‘Early Show’ Promotes Levi Johnston Pitch for Reality Show

Teasing an upcoming story in the 7:30AM ET half hour on Tuesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith cheerfully promoted Levi Johnston’s pitch for a reality show in Alaska: “He’s going to star in a new reality show and it’s all about him running for mayor of Wasilla. That’s right, he’s gunning for his would-have-been mother-in-law’s old job.” Later, Smith further teased: “Johnston’s quest to follow in Sarah Palin’s foot steps and hold political office.” Introducing the report, fill-in co-host Erica Hill remarked how Johnston would “be chasing Sarah Palin’s legacy.” Correspondent Priya David-Clemens discussed the show as if it was about to go on the air: “He’s inked a reality show deal that will be all Levi and no Bristol. The new show, called ‘Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor’s Office,’ will follow the young father as he campaigns for the top job in his hometown of Wasilla, Alaska.” In fact, as the New York Times reported , the show is simply an idea being pitched by Johnston and producers but has not been picked up any network yet. David-Clemens touted a description of the proposed show: “In a statement to ‘Us Weekly,’ the show’s executive producer said, quote, ‘he’ll give us a real inside look into who he is as a father, a skilled hunter, an avid dirt biker, and, of course, his journey down the road of small town politics, right after he gets his high school diploma.'” Following the story, Hill noted: “And he [Johnston] was asked at one point what his ideas for Wasilla are. The answer, ‘you’ll have to wait for the show.'” Smith remarked: “I wonder where his – where his politics are? Left, center, Right?” Hill responded: ” I am absolutely intrigued.” In contrast to the Early Show, ABC’s Good Morning America only offered a 15-second news brief to the topic in the 8:00AM ET hour, instead of a three-minute segment. GMA news reader JuJu Chang reported: “And finally, looking to extend his moment in the spotlight, Palin family nemesis Levi Johnston is jumping into politics. Johnston’s manager says he’s planning to run for city council or mayor in his hometown of Wasilla. All that for a new reality show.” NBC’s Today skipped the story. Here is a full transcript of the August 10 Early Show segment: 7:30AM TEASE HARRY SMITH: And on a much lighter note, Levi Johnston isn’t letting his second breakup with – in case anybody’s keeping score – with Bristol Palin slow him down. He’s going to star in a new reality show and it’s all about him running for mayor of Wasilla. That’s right, he’s gunning for his would-have-been mother-in-law’s old job. Did I get that right? ERICA HILL: Which came first, the show or the campaign? SMITH: Oh, I wonder? 7:41AM TEASE SMITH: Coming up next, Levi Johnston’s quest to follow in Sarah Palin’s foot steps and hold political office. 7:45AM SEGMENT ERICA HILL: Just one week after Bristol Palin dumped Levi Johnston because, as she said, he was obsessed with the limelight, it turns out, well, he’s got his own reality show. Only this one has a Wasilla twist. He’ll be chasing Sarah Palin’s legacy. Correspondent Priya David-Clemens has more. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: “Loving Levi;” Johnston Runs for Mayor, Gets Reality Show] PRIYA DAVID-CLEMENS: When Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston announced their engagement- BRISTOL PALIN: He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. DAVID-CLEMENS: -rumors of a reality show quickly followed suit. BONNIE FULLER [EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, HOLLWOODLIFE.COM]: Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are a perfect example of new reality stars. They already have a little fame as a result of being related to Sarah Palin. DAVID-CLEMENS: The two recently went their separate ways. Bristol says Levi’s hunger for the spotlight was partly to blame. Now he’s inked a reality show deal that will be all Levi and no Bristol. The new show, called ‘Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor’s Office,’ will follow the young father as he campaigns for the top job in his hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. In a statement to ‘Us Weekly,’ the show’s executive producer said, quote, ‘he’ll give us a real inside look into who he is as a father, a skilled hunter, an avid dirt biker, and, of course, his journey down the road of small town politics, right after he gets his high school diploma.’ He’s part of the latest reality in reality TV. People trying to cash in and create industries based solely on their stints on these shows. The most successful example, Kim Kardashian. She’s built a brand that earns more than $5 million a year. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Like what is the point of this? KIM KARDASHIAN: What do you mean what is the point of this? You want to know what your boyfriend’s up to. DAVID-CLEMENS: But if Levi hopes to replicate Kardashian, he’ll have to make small town politics into big time TV. FULLER: The new reality stars are like ‘come on in, come take my picture, come in my house. See what I look like without my clothes on.’ DAVID-CLEMENS: Given his track record of photo shoots, that’s something Levi may not have a problem with. Priya David-Clemens, CBS News, Los Angeles. HILL: There’s a lot going on in this story. Two of my favorite tidbits. HARRY SMITH: Yes? HILL: They approached him with the idea. So at first he said ‘I don’t really know about this’ and then he thought ‘maybe I’ve got something here.’ SMITH: Okay, right. HILL: And he was asked at one point what his ideas for Wasilla are. The answer, ‘you’ll have to wait for the show.’ SMITH: I wonder where his – where his politics are? HILL: I am absolutely intrigued. SMITH: Left, center, Right? HILL: Well, he calls himself half Hollywood, half redneck, so I don’t know what of marriage that gets you. SMITH: And avid dirt biking. HILL: Avid, not just a dirt biker. SMITH: That’s right, that was what jumped out at me. Because if you’re putting in a political resume, if it just said dirt biking, I mean, why would you vote for a guy like that? HILL: But if it’s avid- SMITH: I think that’s- JEFF GLOR: When you’re avid about it- HILL: I think there is more to Levi Johnston than meets the eye. We’ve seen just about all we can. [LAUGHTER] SMITH: No mas.

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CBS ‘Early Show’ Promotes Levi Johnston Pitch for Reality Show