Media Matters Daily Summary 09-30-09

Military coup fantasy is latest in trend of extremist right-wing rhetoric
Continuing a trend of increasingly violent and revolutionary rhetoric advanced by conservative media figures, Newsmax columnist John Perry wrote that President Obama "is inviting" a military coup and detailed the reasons he said officers might support such a "[m]ilitary intervention" with the end result being one in which "[s]killed, military-trained, nation-builders would replace accountability-challenged, radical-left commissars." On the same day, radio host Jim Quinn told armed service members to "run for your life, get out," because Obama "is gonna get you killed." Read More

Kudlow distorts health insurance mandate to claim violators "face a $25,000 fine, or imprisonment, or both"
On his CNBC show, Larry Kudlow distorted a provision in the health care reform bill proposed by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) to claim that "if an individual opts out of this insurance plan ... apparently they face a $25,000 fine, or imprisonment, or both." In fact, the bill would levy a $1,900 "excise tax" on those who don't purchase health insurance; those who refuse to pay the tax could face a fine or prison sentence, as the Wall Street Journal editorial Kudlow cited as the source of his claim clearly stated. Read More

Beck leads conservative media in raising specter of Chicago cronyism to attack Obama's bid for Olympics
Conservative media have suggested or claimed that President Obama is advocating for Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics in order to return political favors to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley or forward the financial interests of other "Chicago pals." For instance, Glenn Beck advanced baseless speculation that Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett "may personally benefit" from the Olympics, and Michelle Malkin wrote that Daley "cronies" in Obama's circle are "returning the favor for their hometown boss" by pushing for the Chicago Olympics. Read More

Beck guru Skousen's "story of slavery" suggests slave owners were "worst victims of the system"
Fox News' Glenn Beck has heavily promoted the writings of far-right activist W. Cleon Skousen, even making Skousen's book, The 5000 Year Leap, a central part of his 9-12 Project. Skousen is the author of several controversial works, including The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, which presented as "the story of slavery in America" a passage from a book that attacked abolitionists for delaying emancipation; cast slave owners as "the worst victims of the system"; claimed white schoolchildren "were likely to envy the freedom of their colored playmates"; and claimed that "[s]lavery did not make white labor unrespectable, but merely inefficient," because "the slave had a deliberateness of motion which no amount of supervision could quicken." Read More

More "indoctrination": Conservative media attack Obama's proposal for more school
Glenn Beck and other conservative media figures are now attacking President Obama's proposal to extend the length of school days and the school year, adding to conservative media's recent penchant for fearmongering about children in order to smear progressives. Beck and Rush Limbaugh claimed government mandates for longer school days would give the government more time to "indoctrinate" kids, and Michelle Malkin said Obama is acting as "school czar." Read More

Beck repeatedly gets basic facts wrong despite boasting that "some of the biggest minds in America" do his research
Fox News' Glenn Beck has bragged that "[m]y credibility means everything to me," and that he has "some of the biggest minds in America" on his research team "working harder than ... any staff ever on television" to get the truth out, but Beck frequently gets his facts wrong. For instance, in recent weeks Beck has falsely claimed Van Jones was a "convicted felon"; repeated Andrew Breitbart's false claim that an online video showed community organizers from the Gamaliel Foundation "pray[ing]" to President Obama; claimed an obsolete constitutional provision protecting the slave trade applies to "immigrants"; and, most recently, claimed a "Class of 2007" mosaic painted on tiles outside a California school was carried by G-20 protesters in Pittsburgh this week. Read More

Despite evidence to contrary, Fox News machine claims Jennings "cover[ed] up statutory rape"
Despite evidence to the contrary, Fox News -- led by Sean Hannity -- and other right-wing media have claimed that Department of Education official Kevin Jennings "cover[ed] up statutory rape" and violated Massachusetts law by not reporting to authorities a 1988 conversation in which a high school student told Jennings about his relationship with an older man. In fact, Jennings' attorney wrote in a 2004 letter that the student was 16 years old, which is -- and was at the time -- the legal age of consent in Massachusetts. Read More

Republican faux outrage: John Boehner, Virginia Foxx, Eric Cantor, Jean Schmidt

Republicans call for overthrow of U.S. government

Alan Grayson on the GOP Health Care Plan: "Don't Get Sick! And if You Do Get Sick, Die Quickly!"'

This is Rep. Alan Grayson discussing the GOP plan for health care. Part one, don't get sick. Part two, if you do get sick... Part three, die quickly.



Dem congressman refuses to apologize for comment

(AP) — WASHINGTON - A Democratic congressman from Florida is refusing to apologize for saying that Republicans want Americans to "die quickly" if they get sick.

Rep. Alan Grayson made his comments on the House floor Tuesday night while criticizing Republican health care proposals. The first-term Democrat is known for being provocative.

Republicans are likening Grayson's remark to Republican Rep. Joe Wilson's widely criticized shout of "You lie!" during President Barack Obama's address to Congress earlier this month. They say Democrats should insist that Grayson apologize just as they did Wilson.....

White House slams FOX NEWS on blog

Reality Check: Trying to Turn a Point of Pride into a Moment of Shame

Last night Fox News continued its disregard for the facts in an attempt to smear the Administration's efforts to win the Olympics for the United States. In the past, hosting the Olympics has been a source of pride and unity for the country, but once again Fox News' Glenn Beck program has shown that nothing is worthy of respect if it can be used as part of a partisan attack to boost ratings.

RHETORIC: BECK SAID VANCOUVER LOST $1 BILLION WHEN IT "HAD THE OLYMPICS." Glenn Beck said, "Vancouver lost, how much was it? they lost a billion dollars when they had the Olympics." [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]

REALITY: VANCOUVER'S OLYMPICS WILL NOT TAKE PLACE UNTIL 2010. Vancouver will host the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games from February 12 – 28, 2010 and March 12-21, 2010, respectively. [Vancouver2010.com, accessed 9/29/09]

RHETORIC: VALERIE JARRETT "WAS LAST SEEN WITH THE NEA." Beck's guest, FOX News contributor Pat Caddell, said, "[Obama] is going to go [to Copenhagen] with Valerie Jarrett who was last seen with the NEA pumping up their use of, you know, money." [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]

REALITY: VALERIE JARRETT WAS NOT ON THE NEA CONFERENCE CALL. Valerie Jarrett was not a participant in the August 10, 2009 United We Serve/NEA conference call.

RHETORIC: CHICAGO IS CLOSING THE GOVERNMENT SEVERAL DAYS A WEEK BECAUSE THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO BE OPEN. Beck's guest Caddell said, "Chicago is closing the government several days a week because they cannot afford to be open. They are going to go and reward -- this is the biggest scandal." [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]

REALITY: CHICAGO HAS HAD ONE REDUCED-SERVICE DAY IN 2009, AND WILL HAVE TWO MORE ON THE FRIDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING AND ON CHRISTMAS EVE. On August 17, 2009, CBS Chicago reported, "If you planned to check out a library book, visit a city clinic or have your garbage picked up on Monday, you're out of luck.

The City of Chicago is basically closed for business on Aug. 17, a reduced-service day in which most city employees are off without pay. City Hall, public libraries, health clinics and most city offices will be closed. Emergency service providers including police, firefighters and paramedics are working at full strength, but most services not directly related to public safety, including street sweeping, will not be provided.

That also includes garbage pickup. Residents who receive regular collection on Mondays should expect trash to be picked up on Tuesday. Some other customers may experience a one-day delay as collectors catch up. As part of the 2009 budget, three reduced-service days were planned for 2009, days which are unpaid for all affected employees -- the Friday after Thanksgiving; Christmas Eve; and New Year's Eve.

The City Council recently approved moving the reduced-service day planned for New Year's Eve to Monday. The 2009 budget anticipates saving $8.3 million due to the reduced-service days. In addition to reduced service days, all non-union employees were asked to take a series of furlough days and unpaid holidays, and most non-sworn union employees agreed to similar unpaid time off." [CBS Chicago, 8/17/09]

RHETORIC: VALERIE JARRETT WILL BENEFIT FINANCIALLY. Beck asked, "Is it possible that she is going to benefit if the Olympics come to Chicago?" Caddell responded, "Well, that’s the word. She has certainly had a lot of dealings going on in real estate." [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]

REALITY: UPON ENTERING GOVERNMENT, VALERIE JARRETT DIVESTED ALL HER REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT HOLDINGS EXCEPT FOR A SINGLE INVESTMENT THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE OLYMPIC BID. Valerie Jarrett divested all her investment real estate holdings upon entering government except for a single real estate holding that she was unable to sell. This single real estate investment has been determined by White House Counsel and the independent Office of Government Ethics to present no conflict of interest in performing her duties as a White House advisor. It has nothing to do with the Olympic bid.

--

For even more Fox lies, check out the latest "Truth-O-Meter" feature from Politifact that debunks a false claim about a White House staffer that continues to be repeated by Glenn Beck and others on the network.

Beck guru Skousen's "story of slavery" suggests slave owners were "worst victims of the system"

http://mediamatters.org/items/200909300024

Fox News' Glenn Beck has heavily promoted the writings of far-right activist W. Cleon Skousen, even making Skousen's book, The 5000 Year Leap, a central part of his 9-12 Project. Skousen is the author of several controversial works, including The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, which presented as "the story of slavery in America" a passage from a book that attacked abolitionists for delaying emancipation; cast slave owners as "the worst victims of the system"; claimed white schoolchildren "were likely to envy the freedom of their colored playmates"; and claimed that "[s]lavery did not make white labor unrespectable, but merely inefficient," because "the slave had a deliberateness of motion which no amount of supervision could quicken."

Skousen: a fringe conservative embraced by Beck

Salon: "Skousen was not a historian so much as a player in the history of the American far right; less a scholar of the republic than a threat to it." In a September 16 article titled, "Meet the man who changed Glenn Beck's life," Salon's Alexander Zaitchik chronicled Skousen's controversial writings and associations, as well as the central role Skousen's writing plays in Beck's activities. According to Zaitchik, Skousen was "a professional anti-communist" who, according to FBI memos, "affiliated himself with the extreme right-wing 'professional communists' who are promoting their own anticommunism for obvious financial purposes."

Zaitchik also noted Skousen's links to the far-right John Birch Society and its founder, Robert Welch, writing that Skousen "aligned himself with Robert Welch's charge that Dwight Eisenhower was a 'dedicated, conscious agent of the Communist conspiracy.' " In 1963, Skousen wrote a pamphlet titled, "The Communist Attack on the John Birch Society," in which he argued that those who criticized the group "usually did so without realizing they were promoting the official Communist Party line."

Beck frequently touts Skousen's "divinely inspired" work. Zaitchik documented instances in which Beck "furiously promot[ed]" Skousen's books on his radio program, asking his guests if they had read any of Skousen's writings and exhorting his listeners to purchase The 5000 Year Leap, which Beck sells through his website. Zaitchik also noted that Beck authored a foreword for the 30th anniversary edition of The 5000 Year Leap, in which Beck wrote, "I beg you to read this book filled with words of wisdom which I can only describe as divinely inspired."

Skousen at the center of 9-12 Project. On the March 13 edition of his Fox News program, during which Beck announced the launch of the 9-12 Project, Beck told his studio audience: "Do we have the books? Where are the books? Underneath everybody's seat here in the audience, there are some books here. I've got a couple of books for you that you can start. This one is called The 5,000-Year Leap. It is fantastic. I want you to know I don't make any money on these things. The 5,000-Year Leap -- it is the 29 principles that our founders put together, and how they put this genius country together." Beck added: "You read these and you read them with your friends. And you meet once a week or, you know, a couple of times a month. And you start small, and you just really figure out what you believe in." [Fox News' Glenn Beck, 3/13/09, retrieved via Nexis]

The Making of America featured in 9-12 Project meetings. Several local chapters of the 9-12 Project have conducted seminars to discuss The Making of America. The seminars appear to have been organized in conjunction with the National Center for Constitutional Studies, which, as Zaitchik noted, was founded by Skousen in 1971.......................

Newsmax removes column that called for military coup to resolve the ‘Obama problem.’

THINK PROGRESS

In a column published on the right-wing site Newsmax yesterday, John L. Perry writes that a military coup against President Obama is possible. Newsmax appears to have taken down the column from its website this morning. Media Matters has archived it, however:

There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America’s military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the “Obama problem.” Don’t dismiss it as unrealistic. [...]

Military intervention is what Obama’s exponentially accelerating agenda for “fundamental change” toward a Marxist state is inviting upon America. A coup is not an ideal option, but Obama’s radical ideal is not acceptable or reversible.

Unthinkable? Then think up an alternative, non-violent solution to the Obama problem. Just don’t shrug and say, “We can always worry about that later.”

In his Washington Post column, former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson acknowledges that “military leaders seem impressed” with President Obama’s decision-making process. “Obama’s engaged, deliberate style has fans in the military,” he writes.

Update - Media Matters notes that Perry’s rhetoric is simply a continuation of “a trend of increasingly violent and revolutionary rhetoric advanced by conservative media figures.”

Update - A spokeswoman for Newsmax sent a statement to TPM admitting that the magazine removed the column after several reader complaints:

Newsmax strongly believes in the principles of Constitutional government and would never advocate or insinuate any suggestion of an activity that would undermine our democracy or democratic institutions.

Nike Resigns From The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Board Of Directors Over Global Warming Disagreements

THINK PROGRESS

In the past couple weeks, three energy companies have ditched the reeling U.S. Chamber of Commerce over its opposition to global warming action. Although Nike has publicly expressed its frustrations with the Chamber’s anti-science positions, it hasn’t started to sever ties with the organization — until now.

Facing increasing pressure from activists, Nike today announced that is resigning from the Chamber’s board of directors:

It is important that US companies be represented by a strong and effective Chamber that reflects the interests of all its members on multiple issues. We believe that on the issue of climate change the Chamber has not represented the diversity of perspective held by the board of directors.

Therefore, we have decided to resign our board of directors position. We will continue our membership to advocate for climate change legislation inside the committee structure and believe that we can better influence policy by being part of the conversation. Moving forward we will continue to evaluate our membership.

The New York Times has an editorial today criticizing the Chamber for being “way behind the curve“:

The United States Chamber of Commerce’s Web site says the group supports “a comprehensive legislative solution” to global warming. Yet no organization in this country has done more to undermine such legislation. [...]

The chamber has now declared war on the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to use regulatory means to control emissions — beginning with one official’s ill-advised (and since apologized-for) demand for a “Scopes monkey trial” questioning the science behind the agency’s preliminary finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health.

As the Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson has noted, the Chamber is beginning to feel the heat and is trying to rewrite the history of its denialism. Enviroknow writes that two questions remain: 1) “When will Nike formally end its membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce?” and 2) “Which of the following 17 corporations — which are on the record in support of federal climate legislation yet sit on the Chamber’s Board of Directors — will be the next to part ways with the chamber?”

People reluctant to book Palin for speaking engagements because ‘they think she is a blithering idiot.’

THINK PROGRESS

Since Sarah Palin resigned as Alaska’s governor, she has signed on with the Washington Speakers Bureau, hoping to cash in on her fame. While Palin did do one speech — to mixed reviews — in Asia recently, she is reportedly having trouble getting booked for more:

Palin’s bookers are said to be asking for $100,000 per speech, but an industry expert tells Page Six: “The big lecture buyers in the US are paralyzed with fear about booking her, basically because they think she is a blithering idiot.”

Many big lecture venues are subscription series, “and they don’t want to tick people off,” said our source. “Palin is polarizing, and some subscribers might cancel if she’s on the lineup.” Other lecture buyers are universities, which have a leftist slant, and corporations, which dislike controversy.

“Palin is so uninteresting to so many groups — unless they are interested in moose hunting,” said our insider. “What does she have to say? She can’t even describe what she reads.“

Loony Teabagger Alert: Mercenary Troops Begin Takeover of American Towns

In the name of fighting terror, anything is permitted: FEMA camps, merc takeover of American towns, enemies of the state lists, the harassment of citizens, roadblocks, making lists of gun owners. The American people continue to support anything as long as it is branded with the “anti-terror” bumper sticker. People need to wake up. The excuse called “terror” will only last so long – until it is too late to regret.

Our constitutional government is OVER. It is time that we stop trying to revive the corpse and start waking up to the reality that we need to stick together somehow and rebuild whatever is left. We need to first get the word out to as many people as possible.

This is a foreign/corporate military takeover of the U.S.A. This is only the beginning. They are preparing to lock down American cities, force vaccinations and quarantine Americans. 14 countries here in America working with FEMA.

Be prepared and be safe.

From Infowars.com (the only honest source of information on the internet these days).

Following our earlier report about a paramilitary security force occupying a town in Montana, it has now become clear that the purpose of American Police Force is to boss a state of the art internment camp that some fear will be used to incarcerate American citizens, as reports come in of the private paramilitary unit setting up roadblocks and harassing citizens in Hardin.

A CNN report on the $27 million dollar facility in Hardin Montana states that it could become “Gitmo West” and be filled with detainees from Guantanamo Bay and other terrorists. Since a majority of the American people have now been designated as potential domestic terrorists by the federal government, fears are growing that the prison camp will be used to incarcerate citizens against their will during a flu pandemic or any other declared emergency.

The Two Rivers Detention Center is a state of the art facility, festooned with surveillance cameras and surrounded by razor wire and open land to prevent escape. The camp is also filled with riot equipment such as gas masks, riot helmets, shields and batons, as well as guns.

Since the camp is currently empty, a private paramilitary unit calling itself American Police Force has been hired by local authorities to boss the facility. However, as we reported earlier, APF, which has all the hallmarks of being another Blackwater, has virtually occupied the town, festooned their vehicles with police decals and started carrying out law enforcement duties.

According to an article carried on the Steve Quayle website, 75% of the APF agents will be foreign mercenaries after training is completed and the organization’s ultimate goal is to establishment a permanent presence in the town while scouting out another 30 U.S. towns for a similar occupation-style mandate. The writer claims that APF agents are already harassing citizens, setting up roadblocks and that they told a local business owner that they had a register of of all the gun owners in the town.

Read the rest here.

Breitbart burns Beck, Dobbs, right-wing media with false claim of "Community Organizers Pray[ing] TO" Obama

http://mediamatters.org/items/200909290055

Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs, and prominent conservative bloggers followed the lead of conservative website Breitbart.tv after the site falsely claimed that an online video showed community organizers from the Gamaliel Foundation "pray[ing]" to President Obama. Breitbart.tv subsequently updated the original post with an editor's note acknowledging that "there is a debate over what is actually being said" and that the crowd may, in fact, be saying "oh God" rather than "Obama"; the Gamaliel Foundation subsequently stated that "at no time have we prayed to President Obama" and that in the video, the organizers "can be heard saying, 'Hear our cry oh God,' 'Deliver us oh God,' etc."

Breitbart.tv claims Gamaliel organizers "Pray TO" Obama, later to walk back claim

Breitbart.tv claims "Community Organizers Pray TO President-Elect Obama." As Media Matters for America noted, on September 29, Breitbart.tv -- published by Matt Drudge protégé Andrew Breitbart -- embedded a video with the headline "Shock Discovery: Community Organizers Pray TO President-Elect Obama." The video included captions such as "Deliver Us Obama" and "Hear Our Cry Obama," suggesting that the crowd was "pray[ing]" to Obama.

Post states organizers are members of Gamaliel Foundation, which "helped sponsor Barack Obama's initial work in Chicago." The Breitbart.tv post stated:

The Gamaliel National Clergy Caucus held "a New Orleans style funeral procession as they deliver a casket symbolizing the death of old ways of providing health care and pray for a new day for health care in America."

The Gamaliel Foundation is the community organizing group that helped sponsor Barack Obama's initial work in Chicago.

Editor's note: "Does the crowd say, 'Hear our cry, Obama' and 'Deliver us Obama?' Or are they saying 'Oh God?' " Breitbart.tv later "updated" the post with "the longer version of the original event" -- a video that did not include the captions -- and added an editor's note acknowledging that "there is a debate over what is actually being said" and that the crowd may, in fact, be saying, "Oh God," rather than "Obama":

Editor's note: We've updated this post with the longer version of the original event. As you'll see in the comments and related links there is a debate over what is actually being said. Does the crowd say, "Hear our cry, Obama" and "Deliver us Obama?" Or are they saying "Oh God?" In the longer version the first two repetitions seem to have a distinct "uh" sound at the end that resonates as "Obama." The later repetitions are a little fuzzier. Did some of the religious leaders present become uneasy? Or was there a mix of what was being said? Read some of the blogger analysis below. What do you think?

Beck jumped on Breitbart story, suggested organizers "just mocking God by faking a prayer to Obama"

Breitbart.tv's Baker: "I think you could only characterize it as a prayer to Obama" During the September 29 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, Glenn Beck hosted Breitbart staffer Scott Baker, who stated that the video "[j]ust went up seconds ago" on Breitbart.tv and asserted: "I think you could only characterize it as a prayer to Obama. Not for Obama. They're literally chanting and saying, 'Deliver us, Obama.' 'Hear us, Obama.' "

Beck: "Link to the front-page top story on the front page of GlennBeck.com." Beck then asked executive producer Steve "Stu" Burguiere to tell the show's webmaster, Chris Brady, to post the video "on the front page of GlennBeck.com" and to "make sure that it is also included in our email newsletter."

Beck: [T]hey're mocking God" At one point during the segment, Beck suggested that the participants were "just mocking God by faking a prayer to Obama."

Baker highlights Gamaliel ties to Obama. Baker stated:

Gamaliel is -- here's why Gamaliel is important. They were a community organizing group based in Chicago. They now have a national reach. But when Barack Obama got out of Columbia, right -- so this goes back to some of the earliest days for him -- it was the Gamaliel Foundation that essentially brought him to Chicago. It was -- you know, they interviewed him. They, in fact, on their website, say he was an organizer and trainer for us. They used Woods Fund money to sponsor the subsidiary group that Obama worked on.

Baker later added of the organization that a "very important person there was Celia [sic] Muñoz, who is now in the White House. She's the director of intergovernmental affairs." Beck replied: "So, wait a minute. The lady who used to run this group, that was praying to Obama, is now in the White House?"

Video posted on Beck's blog. At 10:39 a.m. ET, video of the participants was posted on Beck's blog with the text: "Is this group saying a prayer to Barack Obama? Glenn is skeptical. Are they saying 'Obama' or 'Oh God?' Are they praising the president or just mocking religion? Turn up the volume and see what you hear. (Unless you're at work, where you would look a little nuts.)"

Gamaliel Foundation responds: "At no time, however, have we prayed to President Barack Obama." Beck's blog post was later updated with the Gamaliel Foundation's response, in which they stated:

As a faith-based organization, it is customary for Gamaliel Foundation affiliates to begin and end every action with prayer. At no time, however, have we prayed to President Barack Obama. In the form of call and response, those who took part in the UnitedHealthcare action can be heard saying, "Hear our cry oh God," "Deliver us oh God," etc.

It is obvious that those who took the time to distort our sincere action for healthcare reform, by posting their own edited version on the Internet, are against what we believe is a fundamental right. It is also obvious that those who are against healthcare reform will stoop to any level to stop what Dr. Martin Luther King called, one of the greatest forms of inequality.

Beck relies heavily on Breitbart in attacks. In recent weeks, Beck has been credited with precipitating the resignation of White House "green jobs" adviser Van Jones, the reassignment of National Endowment for the Arts communications director Yosi Sergant, and the amplification of an anti-ACORN video produced by a conservative filmmaker. In all three instances, Beck has credited the "instrumental" work of conservative columnist and Web publisher Andrew Breitbart, who has a history of smearing progressives and making inflammatory statements.

Lou Dobbs claimed video of people "literally praying" to Obama "exposes, again, very dangerous forces at work in this country"

Dobbs urged his listeners to watch the "stunning new video" of organizers "literally praying to" Obama. From the September 29 broadcast of Dobbs' radio show:

DOBBS: Well, a stunning new video uncovered by the good folks at Breitbart. Go to LouDobbs.com to see our full video, and we urge you to see it, because it exposes, again, very dangerous forces at work in this country, supporting our supreme leader. Are you getting the feeling that Senator Hillary Clinton did not quite know who she was up against?

Now, this video shows members of the community organizing group the Gamaliel Foundation literally praying to our supreme leader over health care back in December of 2008. You've got to hear this. Well, before, let me just set it up a bit.

The president has, throughout his career, made repeated references to his time as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago. Well, the Gamaliel Foundation is a community organizing group that helped sponsor Obama's initial work in Chicago. And on LouDobbs.com, we posted for you the full connection between Obama and Gamaliel. He was a director, by the way, of a Gamaliel affiliate. He has supported Gamaliel throughout the years, conducting training at their national leadership training events, at the African-American Leadership Commission, and he's attended their public meetings. Their website says, "We are honored and blessed by the connection between Barack and Gamaliel."

And according to their 2007 tax-return files -- now, get ready for this -- the money from the organization comes from several leftist sources including the Open Society Institute -- of George Soros -- Arka Foundation, the Bauman Family Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Ford Foundation for Freedoms Fund, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, the Tides Foundation, Peter B. Lewis, and others.

Wow. That's a home run list of left-wing power in this country.

With that, listen to, "Hear our cry, Obama."

[begin audio clip]

UNKNOWN WOMAN: We are here for the healing of the nation.

CROWD: Yes.

UNKNOWN WOMAN: To the prophet Jeremiah, we cry out.

[end audio clip]

DOBBS: Well, that is a remarkable, remarkable -- you've got to see this. Go to LouDobbs.com to see the whole tape. It will, I guarantee you, put chills down your back.

Dobbs also posted video of "group pray[ing] *to* Obama." A September 29 "On Lou's Radar" post to Dobbs' blog -- headlined "Hear Our Prayer, Obama!" - stated, "You must see this video from Dec. 4, 2008, this group prayed *to* Obama to pass health care reform: Deliver us, Obama!" The post included embedded video of the organizers praying.

Dobbs walks in Beckstep. This is only the latest example of Dobbs following Beck's lead in his reporting. Lou Dobbs has recently pushed a number of the same right-wing narratives that have been aggressively championed by Beck, has defended Beck's remarks, and has praised his reporting. In recent weeks, Dobbs -- like Beck -- has called for a "rigorous investigation" of ACORN and said that unless there is a "full-blown FBI investigation," then it will amount to "a sham"; has pushed the conservative attack that the NEA is "politicizing the arts"; has decried as "propaganda" a documentary video; and has defended Beck's comments that Obama is a "racist" with a "deep-seated hatred for white people."

Prominent conservative blogs also ran with the video

Michelle Malkin posts, then questions video. Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin linked to the Breitbart.tv post and posted the video to her website under the headline "Creepy O-cult video of the day: 'Deliver us Obama!' " She subsequently updated her post, writing, "Ed Morrissey asks if it's just bad acoustics. Are they saying 'Obama' or 'Oh, God?' " The following screenshot was taken of Malkin's website at 7:08 p.m. ET:

HotAir.com's Ed Morrissey posts, then walks back the claim. After posting the video under the headline, "Video: Community organizers pray to their new deity, or something," Morrissey added the following update: "Or do they? After a couple of repetitions, I'm not sure if they're saying 'Obama' or 'Oh God'." He then posted a poll to "see what everyone thinks" about who the Gamaliel Foundation was praying to. The following screenshot was taken from HotAir.com at 7:11 p.m. ET:

Gateway Pundit: "Stunner. Community Organizers Pray to Obama (Video)." From the blog Gateway Pundit at 5 p.m. ET:

Townhall.com's Greg Hengler: "Community Organizers Pray To President-Elect Obama: 'Hear our cry Obama!' 'Deliver us Obama!' " From Townhall.com at 4 p.m. ET.

Atlas Shrugs: "Video: Praying to Obama: 'Deliver Us Obama.' " From the blog Atlas Shrugs at 4 p.m. ET:

RedState: Community Organizer Group Prays to Obama [...] This is unbelievable." From RedState.com at 4 p.m. ET:

From the September 29 broadcast of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program:

BECK: Let me go to Scott Baker now from Breitbart.tv. Scott, welcome to the program.

BAKER: Hey, Glenn. How you doing?

BECK: I saw this video yesterday, and disturbing, disturbing stuff. Is it up on the website yet?

BAKER: Just went up seconds ago. I'm making sure that it's still there, and it is. Yeah, it's the top left story on Breitbart.tv right now.

PAT GRAY (contributing editor): Scott, you lie. This didn't happen. It did not happen.

BURGUIERE: It's not there.

BAKER: Well, now, after the --

BURGUIERE: It's not there.

BAKER: I mean, I know, Pat, that you probably have a prayer closet where you kneel to chant to the president.

GRAY: Well, only in secret, though. I don't, you know --

BAKER: Right. Out in public -- I mean, that's a different thing.

BECK: Scott, tell me about --

BAKER: Isn't this the case that after we've seen all these videos of the kids being used to sing and chant these praises that -- last night, we discovered video from when the president had been elect-- he was the president-elect. This was last December. And the Gamaliel Foundation, a very important organization in Obama's life, they were having an organizing conference in the Washington area. And this video shows the group in a demonstration for health care in an event that you have -- I think you could only characterize it as a prayer to Obama.

BECK: Could you --

BAKER: Not for Obama. They're literally chanting and saying, "Deliver us, Obama."

BECK: Hold on just a second.

BAKER: "Hear us, Obama."

BECK: Hold on just a second. Stu, get Chris Brady on the phone. Link to the front-page top story on the front page of GlennBeck.com to this video and then make sure that it is also included in our email newsletter, which is now, I'm told, 30,000 away from beating the subscription of The New York Times. Unbelievable.

[audio from video begins in background]

BECK: Here is the video now. Now, Scott, they're chanting what when they come in originally?

BAKER: The -- there's a -- as I said, it was a health care demonstration. So this is -- and it was a gathering of religious leaders. All right? So, the Gam-- because the Gamaliel Foundation has its organization in organizing faith-based groups.

[background audio ends]

BAKER: So here are the religious leaders. They're coming to call for health care reform. They're at this leadership assembly. It's in D.C. Early December. And they come in -- and I've been trying identify who the woman is. But as they come in, they're going, "Everybody in; nobody out." This is their "health care for all" slogan.

BECK: OK.

BAKER: I don't know if the woman is a minister, but she's dressed like one.

BECK: OK.

BAKER: She's got kind of a white robe.

BECK: Now, is she the one that is the shorter one and has this, like, green or blue -- I don't even know what you would call them -- but the things that come around the --

BAKER: Vestments, I guess?

BECK: Yeah, the vestments.

BAKER: I was a Baptist. We didn't have -- they didn't wear the robes, but -- so, I'm less familiar with the [unintelligible]

BECK: So, yeah. She's got those big, long things -- I can't remember what -- and here I was raised Catholic. I can't remember what they were. But she has them around her neck, and she's in white robes. And then who is the guy standing next to her? Do you know?

BAKER: Don't know yet. We're just going through some of the material. Literally, this was -- either the video has been up on the site for a year. Didn't have hardly any views. I found maybe one site that had put a link to it a couple of months ago, but it didn't seem to get any play. And then last night, one of the people that watches our B-Cast show put it into one of our forums and said -- a forum that our viewers kind of create -- and said, "Hey, check this out." And we'd already been working on stuff about Gamaliel.

BURGUIERE: What is Gamaliel?

BAKER: Gamaliel is -- here's why Gamaliel is important. They were a community organizing group based in Chicago. They now have a national reach. But when Barack Obama got out of Columbia, right -- so this goes back to some of the earliest days for him -- it was the Gamaliel Foundation that essentially brought him to Chicago. It was -- you know, they interviewed him. They, in fact, on their website, say he was an organizer and trainer for us. They used Woods Fund money to sponsor the subsidiary group that Obama worked on.

BECK: OK. That is the one where he served on the board with Bill Ayers.

BAKER: Right, right. And while a lot of this is -- you know, beyond just the shock of, like, "I cannot believe you people are standing there saying" -- I mean, literally, the prayer is -- and I don't know how audible it'll be on the radio.

BECK: Let's -- you know what? Here it is, here it is. Play a little bit of this here, Pat.

[begin audio clip]

UNKNOWN WOMAN: [unintelligible]

CROWD: Yes.

UNKNOWN WOMAN: To the prophet Jeremiah, we cry out, "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician here? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?"

CROWD: Hear our cry, oh God.

[end audio clip]

BECK: Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. What did they just say here, Scott?

BAKER: "Hear our cry, Obama."

BECK: Play it back, please. Go back. And she's saying, "Why is there no health care?" Or -- do you have the transcript?

BAKER: I've just started to transcribe it, so I'm not done yet. And as soon as I have the full transcript, I'll put it onto the post on Breitbart TV.

BECK: All right.

[begin audio clip]

UNKNOWN WOMAN: "Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?"

CROWD: Hear our cry, oh God.

[end audio clip]

GRAY: "Hear our cry, Obama," I think.

BAKER: Yeah, it's like, "Why has not the health care of our people been the story?" And it looks like to me -- I don't know if, to you -- if you can see this. They have a -- there was a fellow playing a trombone --

BECK: Yes.

BAKER: -- as they marched in, much kind of like a funeral march you might see in New Orleans.

BECK: Yes.

BAKER: And it looks like they were carrying a casket.

BECK: Casket.

BAKER: Right.

BECK: OK. So, hang on just a second. So, what could be said is that this is just a mock funeral. That's all this is. This is just a mock funeral. These people are -- they're not really ministers, and there's not really a casket there. This is just a mock funeral, and they're -- are you ready for this? Like it makes it better. They're just mocking God by faking a prayer to Obama. Making him God, but only in a mocking sort of way.

BAKER: [laughter]

BECK: I mean, you get the golden calf.

GRAY: Oh, that's a lot better. That's --

BECK: That's a lot better, isn't it?

GRAY: That's way better.

BECK: Yeah.

[...]

BAKER: Well, here's the -- and I'm going to look at that immediately when we get off. One of the things that you're going to see is, we'd -- what we'd already been working on and with a piece that we're going to have done maybe tonight that goes back and looks at all -- tries to tie together a lot of the threads of things you've been talking about, about Wade Rathke and ACORN and how he had this idea to pull together these groups and how they kind of created the factory that built the vehicle that Obama rode to the White House. But Gamaliel from -- this group that you're looking at, very important person there was Celia [sic] Muñoz, who is now in the White House. She's the director of intergovernmental affairs. And so I think that it -- it's like you keep wondering --

BECK: OK.

BAKER: -- when you uncover the next stone --

GRAY: Good God.

BAKER: -- we've got to have already seen it all. But each time you do, there's more there.

BECK: So, wait a minute. The lady who used to run this group, that was praying to Obama, is now in the White House?

BAKER: Yes. Yeah. I'm trying to look at what her title was at Gamaliel. It might take me a second. I do know -- and this was another interesting --

BECK: Good God almighty.

BAKER: This was another interesting principle. In -- I found this Investor's Business Daily article about Gamaliel.

BECK: Hang on just a second, hang on. We've only got 10 seconds. I'm going to take a break. Back with Scott Baker from the -- from Breitbart.tv. And new footage out on prayer to Obama.

[...]

BECK: Let me go to Scott Baker, who's from Breitbart.tv. And Scott, are you -- can you be ready tonight and join me on tonight's television show just to talk about who this woman is. What is her name again?

BAKER: Cecilia Muñoz. And I was able to pull some stuff together during the break. The tie here is that she, actually, for a long time, had been the senior VP at the National Council of La Raza. That was a group that came up in part during the [Sonia] Sotomayor hearings because of her work with them.

BECK: In case you don't --

GRAY: They're a lovely group.

BECK: Well, in case you don't speak Spanish, that would be "the race."

GRAY: "The race." Where their slogan is, "For the race" --

BAKER: Right.

GRAY: -- "all, and if you're not of the race, nothing." Something like that. It's loosely translated.

BECK: Oh, well that's good.

GRAY: Yeah.

BAKER: And she -- what the importance here on Gamaliel -- and -- because I was crossing one name with another. She organized a meeting at the White House for Gamaliel. I'm trying to look for the date here. Brought them -- you know, Gamaliel put out on their newsletter that a delegation from Gamaliel, the group that had been praying to Obama in that video, just six months earlier went to the White House this last June and the -- what we're looking at again is the relationships. This is relationships and patterns. I found another -- just an interesting --

BECK: Hold on just a second. What was her title -- before you move on -- what was her title at La Raza?

BAKER: She was senior vice president, I think.

BECK: Senior vice president. Isn't this the group that believes that California should be returned to Mexico? What is the name of that?

GRAY: Azlan. [sic]

BECK: Azlan.

From the September 29 broadcast of United Stations Radio Networks' The Lou Dobbs Show:

DOBBS: Well, a stunning new video uncovered by the good folks at Breitbart. Go to LouDobbs.com to see our full video, and we urge you to see it, because it exposes, again, very dangerous forces at work in this country, supporting our supreme leader. Are you getting the feeling that Senator Hillary Clinton did not quite know who she was up against?

Now, this video shows members of the community organizing group the Gamaliel Foundation literally praying to our supreme leader over health care back in December of 2008. You've got to hear this. Well, before, let me just set it up a bit.

The president has, throughout his career, made repeated references to his time as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago. Well, the Gamaliel Foundation is a community organizing group that helped sponsor Obama's initial work in Chicago. And on LouDobbs.com, we posted for you the full connection between Obama and Gamaliel. He was a director, by the way, of a Gamaliel affiliate. He has supported Gamaliel throughout the years, conducting training at their national leadership training events, at the African-American Leadership Commission, and he's attended their public meetings. Their website says, "We are honored and blessed by the connection between Barack and Gamaliel."

And according to their 2007 tax-return files -- now, get ready for this -- the money from the organization comes from several leftist sources including the Open Society Institute -- of George Soros -- Arka Foundation, the Bauman Family Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Ford Foundation for Freedoms Fund, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, the Tides Foundation, Peter B. Lewis, and others.

Wow. That's a home run list of left-wing power in this country.

With that, listen to, "Hear our cry, Obama."

[begin audio clip]

UNKNOWN WOMAN: We are here for the healing of the nation.

CROWD: Yes.

UNKNOWN WOMAN: To the prophet Jeremiah, we cry out.

[end audio clip]

DOBBS: Well, that is a remarkable, remarkable -- you've got to see this. Go to LouDobbs.com to see the whole tape. It will, I guarantee you, put chills down your back.

In another note, the Gamaliel Foundation is a sponsoring organization of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride Coalition, which is trying to secure ever-expanding rights, civil liberties, protections for illegal immigrants and policy reforms that diminish or eliminate restrictions at all on immigration.

And by the way, the Open Society, one of their former top people is on a group that is trying to get me, that's come after me from the left. By the way, that would be a registered left-wing foreign agent, called The Atlantic Philanthropies, involved in that demonstration suggesting that I am somehow racist because I oppose illegal immigration in this country.

Their reasoning is pretty straightforward: I oppose illegal immigration and open borders. Most of the people crossing our borders and most of the illegal immigrants in this country are Hispanic. Therefore, I am not illegal -- anti-illegal immigration, not anti-open borders, I'm anti-Hispanic. And, by the way, they wonder why they can't sell that nonsense to anyone but a very closed loop of left-wing bizarros.

Media Matters Daily Summary 09-29-09

Wash. Times and Fox News now unleashing mobs on private citizens (including kids)
Last week, a Washington Times blogger posted a call to arms, beseeching readers to help the newspaper dig up more information regarding a long list of arts organization representatives who took part in a conference call with the White House on August 10. The call was part of a National Endowment for the Arts initiative, and it's a conference call that was secretly taped and has been wildly overhyped in conservative media circles as some sort of linchpin in a larger criminal enterprise being run out of the White House to politicize the arts. (There's no evidence the August 10 conference call broke any laws.) Read More

Kid video redux: Conservatives freak out over another video of kids "praising" Obama
Just days after claiming that a video showing elementary school kids in New Jersey singing a song about President Obama was evidence of "indoctrination," the conservative media are at it again -- this time flogging another video of kids performing at a PTA meeting in North Carolina. Hotair.com posted the video with the caption "liberal indoctrination camp," while Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy compared it to a Barack Obama "campaign commercial." Read More

Conservative media raise ACORN bogeyman to baselessly cast doubt on Franken's campaign victory
The Fox Nation, Gateway Pundit blog, and Mickey Kaus all highlighted a Minneapolis Star Tribune column to claim or suggest that ACORN stole the 2008 Minnesota Senate election for Sen. Al Franken (D). In fact, the column -- which Gateway Pundit and Kaus falsely claimed was a Star Tribune "report" or "story" -- did not contain a single allegation of a fraudulently cast vote, and the Minnesota Supreme Court stated that counsel for Franken's 2008 opponent, Norm Coleman, "confirmed at oral argument that Coleman makes no claim of fraud on the part of either voters or election officials." Read More

MSNBC airs discredited allegation linking White House to ACORN
RedState contributor Brian Faughnan suggested on MSNBC that White House political affairs director Patrick Gaspard was formerly a "senior" official at ACORN -- a charge that was discredited minutes later by the Politico's Ben Smith. During the segment, MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan did not challenge Faughnan's statement and did not point out to the audience that MSNBC had not verified that the charge was true. Read More

Fox News attacks Obama's efforts to promote U.S. Olympic bid
In recent days, Fox News hosts, contributors and guests have used President Obama's promotion of the United States bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics in Chicago as an excuse to attack him, while Michelle Malkin and Matt Drudge have baselessly linked the murder of a teenager in Chicago to the Olympic bid. Attacks on Obama's efforts include Sean Hannity saying that "it sounds" like Obama "is more concerned about bringing the Olympics to Chicago than winning the war in Afghanistan," Brent Bozell claiming Obama's trip to Copenhagen to promote the Chicago bid "is evidence that this man just cannot stay away from the klieg lights," and Bret Baier invoking the "carbon footprint" of Obama's trip to Copenhagen to smear the president. Read More

Latest fact-check fail: Fox News runs with claim that White House official worked for ACORN
After Matthew Vadum wrote in The American Spectator that "[e]vidence shows that years before he joined the Obama administration," White House political affairs director Patrick Gaspard "was ACORN boss Bertha Lewis's political director in New York," Fox News seized on the blog post, asserting that -- in Sean Hannity's words -- "ACORN has somebody on the inside of the White House." However Politico's Ben Smith has since reported that the allegation "just isn't true" and that the White House has denied the American Spectator report; in its reporting, Fox News gave no indication that they attempted to fact-check the Spectator report or contact the White House for a response. Read More

Fox News heavily covers McChrystal's troop-increase recommendations after largely ignoring Shinseki's
According to searches of the Nexis database, Fox News has reported on Gen. Stanley McChrystal's recommendation to increase U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan on 17 programs in the week since it was reported by The Washington Post, but mentioned Gen. Eric Shinseki's February 2003 recommendation that that "several hundred thousand soldiers" would be needed to successfully occupy Iraq on only six programs available in Nexis in the three and a half months between his testimony to Congress and his retirement as Army chief of staff. Moreover, Fox News personalities have repeatedly criticized President Obama for not yet acting on McChrystal's advice but almost entirely avoided criticizing the Bush administration for not heeding Shinseki's 2003 recommendation. Read More

US Govt. Guarantees Monopoly for Health Insurance Industry

Bernie Goldberg Criticizes Fox News On "O'Reilly Factor"

Flatulence and Finance

This sculpture, part of Chen Wenling's solo exhibition "Emergency Escape" at Joy Art Gallery in Beijing, represents the global financial crisis: The bull, of course, represents Wall Street, and the demon-man pressed to the wall is Bernie Madoff.

Melanie Ouyang Lum, ML Art Source www.mlartsource.com.

Meet the ghostwriter behind "Sarah Palin."

TPM

Yesterday, HarperCollins announced that Sarah Palin's much-anticipated memoir will now be released on November 17. Originally slated for spring 2010, the 400-page book's release was moved up after a quick finish by Palin and ghostwriter Lynn Vincent.

Diane Bell of The San Diego Union-Tribune, has some interesting details today on Vincent's involvement with Palin's forthcoming memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life." Apparently, Palin spent much of August in San Diego working with Vincent.

Vincent began her career as an air-traffic controller for the Navy, which stationed her in San Diego from 1986 to 1991. Vincent later spent 10 years working for the Christian World Magazine before taking time off to work with Palin this summer.

Along the way, Vincent published several other books, among them memoirs focused on Christian pop singer Michael English, former PLO member Kamal Saleem, and Delta Force leader Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin. Vincent is also a credited author on "Donkey Cons: Sex, Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party," a take-down of the Democrats co-written by conservative author Robert Stacy McCain, and "Same Kind of Different As Me," a New York Times bestseller about a rich art dealer who befriends a homeless drifter (which has since been optioned for the big-screen by The Pursuit of Happyness producer Mark Clayman).

No details have yet emerged about the contents of Palin's memoir, and Vincent's nondisclosure agreement will most likely keep her mum until the book's official release.

Newsmax columnist: Military coup "to resolve the 'Obama problem' " is not "unrealistic"

mediamatters.org

From John L. Perry's September 29 Newsmax column:

There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America's military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the "Obama problem." Don't dismiss it as unrealistic.

America isn't the Third World. If a military coup does occur here it will be civilized. That it has never happened doesn't mean it wont. Describing what may be afoot is not to advocate it.

[...]

Will the day come when patriotic general and flag officers sit down with the president, or with those who control him, and work out the national equivalent of a "family intervention," with some form of limited, shared responsibility?

Imagine a bloodless coup to restore and defend the Constitution through an interim administration that would do the serious business of governing and defending the nation. Skilled, military-trained, nation-builders would replace accountability-challenged, radical-left commissars. Having bonded with his twin teleprompters, the president would be detailed for ceremonial speech-making.

Military intervention is what Obama's exponentially accelerating agenda for "fundamental change" toward a Marxist state is inviting upon America. A coup is not an ideal option, but Obama's radical ideal is not acceptable or reversible.

Unthinkable? Then think up an alternative, non-violent solution to the Obama problem. Just don't shrug and say, "We can always worry about that later."

In the 2008 election, that was the wistful, self-indulgent, indifferent reliance on abnegation of personal responsibility that has sunk the nation into this morass.

Metallica - Ecstasy Of Gold

METALLICA - Death is Not the End

Chamber Of Commerce Rewrites History: ‘We’ve Never Questioned The Science Behind Global Warming’

THINK PROGRESS

Energy companies are abandoning the sinking ship of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in droves over its opposition to clean energy action, whether by the EPA or by Congress.

Under pressure, Chamber president Tom Donohue today claimed the Chamber “continues to support strong federal legislation and a binding international agreement to reduce carbon emissions and address climate change.” And spokesman Eric Wohlschlegel recently argued that the Chamber respects the science of climate change:

We’ve never questioned the science behind global warming.

This is a blatant falsehood, by any definition. Just last month, the Chamber’s Senior Vice President William Kovacs called for the “Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century” to put “the science of climate change on trial.” The Chamber, dominated by pollution-industry skeptics such as Don Blankenship, Harry Alford, and Fred Palmer, has questioned climate science since at least 1992:

2008: Chamber President Tom Donohue Says ‘Scientific Inquiry’ Into Climate Change ‘Should Continue’ Because Of ‘Cooling Trend.’ [U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 3/4/08]

2001: Chamber Claims Global Warming ‘About One Percent From Human Activity,’ Says ‘Things Just Change.’ [CNNFN, 7/16/01]

1992: Chamber Sponsors Global Warming Denier Pat Michaels To ‘Refute The Global Warming Warnings.’ [Chicago Sun-Times, 5/13/92]

In addition to being the Chamber of Commerce president, Tom Donohue works for Union Pacific, a company opposed to climate regulation.

GOP councilor would rather abolish police force than see it unionize

RAW STORY

A conservative politician in Georgia is telling his hometown police force to stop looking for the union label, or find new jobs.

Erick Erickson, the managing editor of RedState.com and a city councilor in Macon, Georgia, has called for the abolition of Macon’s police force if it votes to unionize.

The Macon Telegraph reported on Monday that some 130 police officers on the city’s municipal force want to unionize because of “officers bearing the burden of rising insurance costs, a loss of incentive pay and the city not having a pay scale.”......

Sit-in today at Aetna office in New York to demand an end to insurance company abuse

Outrageous Obama - Allowing Foreigners at the Olympics

Once again, the Obama-Hitler thing is corrupting the minds of poor, innocent, helpless children, brainwashing them into robotic commie drones with the power of his indoctro-beams. These children and their parents thought they were going to the White House to take part in an inspiring event that they’d remember their whole lives — only to be sucked into Obama’s Maelstrom of Marxism!™

And the truly heinous part of it: he’s concealing his evil machinations in something as seemingly innocuous as promoting the Olympics for the city of Chicago! Not for the United States, mind you — for Chicago!

Wait a minute. Don’t they have ... foreigners at the Olympics? Maybe even people from ... Indonesia? Things that make you go, “Hmmm.”

Don’t worry, though. Michelle Malkin sees through the plot, as usual. It’s nothing but a scheme for Obama to scratch the backs of his Chicago cronies: Michelle Malkin » Obamas using schoolkids as junior lobbyists for Olympics. What would we do without her to reveal Obama’s secret plans?

Hopefully, the American people will rise up in outrageous outrage, and make sure the Olympics happen in Spain or Brazil, where they don’t mind foreigners.

OH NO!!! THIS JUST IN -

President Bush Meets with Chicago 2016 Bid Committee and United States Olympic Committee Members.

President George W. Bush: I want to thank the members of the 2016 Chicago bid to get the Olympics. Listen, Mr. Mayor, you and your committee have put together a great plan. It’s a plan that will make America proud.

They say that the Olympics will come to Chicago if we’re fortunate enough to be selected, but really it’s coming to America, and I can’t think of a better city to represent the United States than Chicago.

This is a well thought out venue. There will be — the athletes will be taken care of. People who will be coming from around the world will find this good city has got fantastic accommodations, great restaurants. It will be safe.

And so I — this country supports your bid, strongly. And our hope is that the judges will take a good look at Chicago and select Chicago for the 2016 Olympics.

Thank you all.

Dr. Maureen Reed Will Run for Congress in Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District

Get Rid Off Michele Bachmann

...Dr. Maureen Reed, doctor of internal medicine, civic volunteer and former 2006 candidate for Lieutenant Governor, will file papers today with the Federal Election Commission to run for Congress in Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District. Dr. Reed will file as a DFL candidate and seek the endorsement of the DFL and the Independence Party.

"We are living through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, with staggering numbers of people unemployed, health care out of the reach of many folks, and thousands of Minnesotans losing their businesses and homes," said Dr. Reed. "While these problems are tough, I'm running for Congress because I know two things are true. First, Americans can solve tough problems. Second, a bright future is not accidental. We create a bright future when we put rhetoric aside, focus on the real problems, and work hard together. This is exactly what I've done all my life. The future I see is one of business expansion, job growth, home ownership and lower health care costs.".....

The National Endowment for the Arts pushes Obama's socialist agenda

America: Target America

The National Endowment for the Arts pushes Obama's socialist agenda, and brainwashed school children sing a song praising the president.

Media Matters Daily Summary 09-28-09

Right-wing media follow Beck in calling for investigation into NEA
On September 11, Glenn Beck stated that only he and BigGovernment.com's Andrew Breitbart have "been calling for" an investigation into the National Endowment for the Arts' August 10 conference call -- during which Beck claims "they," presumably the Obama administration, used the NEA "to buy propaganda for the president." Since then, numerous right-wing media figures, including the Washington Times editorial board, have followed Beck's lead and called for an investigation into the NEA despite the fact that the transcript of the conference call contains no evidence of illegal electioneering or lobbying by government officials. Read More

After FoxNews.com truncated Jennings' quote, Wash. Times, Fox Nation accuse "safe school czar" of "encouraging" statutory rape
A Washington Times editorial accused "safe school czar" Kevin Jennings of "encourag[ing]" a relationship that amounted to "statutory rape," by suggesting that his only response to an underage student's revelation that he had sex with what the Times described as an "older man" was to "make sure 'to use a condom.' " In fact, Jennings stated that he hoped the student "knew to use a condom" to protect against STDs; moreover, the FoxNews.com article from which The Washington Times based this claim truncated Jennings' remarks to exclude his statement that he thought to say this because his "best friend had just died of AIDS the week before." Read More

Breitbart's Big Hollywood: Same old birtherism, comparisons of Obama to Hitler
Recently, Fox News and other media outlets have given increased attention and influence to conservative web publisher Andrew Breitbart. One of his web outlets, BigHollywood.com, frequently accuses President Obama of failing to release a valid birth certificate and routinely compares Obama to Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Mao, Pol Pot, and Castro, despite Breitbart's claim that the site would "show another face to the conservative movement and the Republican Party." Read More

Fox emits misinformation about loans to fuel-efficient car companies
In reports on FoxNews.com, America's Newsroom, and Your World, Fox News repeatedly advanced misinformation about Department of Energy loans recently granted to Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors to support development of fuel-efficient vehicles, suggesting that those funds would be ill-spent. The false or misleading claims include: that the loans will be used to build cars that cost $89,000 and $109,000; that the loans will finance foreign manufacturing; and that Fisker and Tesla are European companies. Read More

Serial misinformer McCaughey exposed as Big Tobacco shill during 1994 health care debate
Rolling Stone recently revealed that in 1994, tobacco giant Philip Morris implemented a "strategy to derail Hillarycare," which included an "effort to 'work on the development of favorable pieces' with 'friendly contacts in the media'" -- specifically mentioning the company's collaboration with serial health care misinformer Betsy McCaughey on her 1994 New Republic hit piece on the Clintons' health care reform bill. This latest disclosure, combined with a previously exposed conflict of interest, should destroy any remaining credibility she has with the media as an expert in health care reform acting in the public interest. Read More

Right-Wing Conference Tells Activists To Get Their Guns Ready For ‘Bloody Battle’ With Obama The Nazi (Michele Bachmann was there)

THINK PROGRESS

At the How To Take Back America Conference last weekend, conservative speaker Kitty Werthmann led a workshop called “How to recognize living under Nazis & Communists.” Announcing the panel in a column preceding the conference, talk show host Janet Porter gushed how Werthmann’s description of Austria in the 1930s is a “mirror to America” today — noting “They had Joseph Goebbels; we have Mark Lloyd, the diversity czar.” The room was packed over capacity to hear Werthmann, who grew up as a Christian in Austria and serves as Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum South Dakota President.

During her session, Werthmann went through a litany of examples of how President Obama is like Adolf Hitler. She noted that Hitler, who acted “like an American politician,” was “elected in a 100% Christian nation.” Although she failed to once mention Antisemitism or militarism, Werthmann explained how universal healthcare, an Equal Rights Amendment, and increased taxes were telltale signs of Nazism. Werthmann also warned the audience:

If we had our guns, we would have fought a bloody battle. So, keep your guns, and buy more guns, and buy ammunition. [...] Take back America. Don’t let them take the country into Socialism. And I refer again, Hitler’s party was National Socialism. [...] And that’s what we are having here right now, which is bordering on Marxism.

Watch it:

Werthmann noted that her Nazism speech is gaining popularity. She not only has delivered it to several tea parties, but has been asked by “a group of bankers” to address them this month.

Before the event, ThinkProgress asked Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), one of several Republican members of Congress also speaking at the conference, to autograph Werthmann’s DVD about National Socialism. She happily obliged: