Senator Tweety? "HA!"

Rumors have been flying about the possibility of MSNBC's Chris "Tweety" Matthews running as a Democrat against Rethuglican Sen. Arlen "The In" Spector in Pennsylvania in 2010. "It is absolutely not true," Tweety said, as he denied the rumors, in an unusually brief statement for him.

It might be entertaining to see Tweety in the heat of a political battle, making one gaffe or inappropriate comment after another. He'd make Joe Biden look like a monk that's taken a vow of silence. But the Dems would need to think hard about his candidacy, given all of the past videotape of Tweety being, well, Tweety.

Siege Ends, But Tension Rising

The three-day siege of parts of Mumbai is over, with Indian commandos killing the remaining terrorists in the Taj Mahal Hotel. The death toll has reached at least 195, according to CNN, with more bodies being discovered as soldiers and police clear the building room-by-room. Many in India are describing the events of the last 3 days as "India's 9/11." Indian security officials are suggesting that the attackers were affiliated with a militant Pakistani group, although the investigations are ongoing. Captured papers and cell phones indicate contacts with unknown sources in Jalalabad, Pakistan (ominous, due to Jalalabad's hosting of Taliban/al Qaeda elements near the Afghan border).

With both India and Pakistan deeply suspicious of each other and armed with nuclear weapons, the need to keep the situation from spinning out of control is urgent. When Joe Biden commented that President-elect Obama would face an international test early in his presidency, a conflict between India and Pakistan was not on anyone's radar. Now, it's the world's main hot spot.

(photo: Getty Images)

Class Warfare

Last year, Austan Goolsbee, economics professor at the University of Chicago and newly-appointed Obama economic counselor, noted that the economic policies of the Rethuglicans were putting America on a course of extreme income disparity between the very wealthy and the rest of us. Under Dumbya, Goolsbee noted that productivity gains have not translated into wage increases for most Americans, saying

"The top income levels have blown off the chart, but that's not the issue. The bottom 95 to 98 percent of income has been stagnant for the last 6 years. . .that is extremely disturbing."

The far right fought mightily during the past election to elect someone who would preserve this pattern of feeding the rich/starving the middle class. They tried to turn the issue around with a dishonest "redistribute the wealth" attack, trying to fool middle class voters into thinking that Obama was coming after them, as opposed to the wealthiest five percent. There has been economic "class warfare" (as the Rethugs like to call it) in the U.S., but it's been waged by right wing Rethugs against the middle class for the benefit of the wealthiest Americans.

Have A Seat On The SOFA, Wingnuts

The Iraqi Congress has approved the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that requires U.S. troops to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011. Among other provisions, the SOFA places limits of our military activity, and makes most foreign-based "security" forces (e.g., Blackwater) subject to prosecution.

Recall that last summer and before, the wingnut fib machine was loudly proclaiming that setting timetables for withdrawal would "embolden the enemy" and be like waving a white flag of surrender. Then, the Bushit Assministration announced that they were in negotiations with the Iraqi government to withdraw, and pulled the rug out from under the wingnut squawkers. After that, you heard virtually nothing about "timetables" from them. So, when it became impossible to use withdrawal timetables from Iraq as a phony "patriotism" issue against Dems, the wingnuts dropped it like an elephant turd. Yes, they're all about "country first."

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We'll be back tomorrow.

"The Nexus of Terrorism and Nuclear Weapons"

That would be Pakistan, al Qaeda's main prize. Iraq is now "a rear guard action," according to Marine Corps General James Conway, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pakistan has all the ingredients that were lacking in Iraq: nuclear weapons, an unstable government, and large frontier areas controlled by Islamic fundamentalists allied with al Qaeda and the Taliban. Preznit Dumbya's war was everything al Qaeda could ask for: a diversion so that they could rebuild their forces and bleed ours, and a recruitment poster throughout the Muslim world.

Today's deadly attacks in neighboring India on Mumbai's hotel and commercial district was likely carried out by forces allied to al Qaeda to provoke a military reaction by India toward Pakistan. Chaos is their ally; sadly, so was Dumbya.

Big (Really Big) Loser

Defeated wingnut Congressman Phil "All You Can Eat" English (Rethug-PA) has closed his offices and is turning away constituent casework, following his defeat on Nov. 4. Ungrateful voters! Keep in mind that he and his staff are on full salary until January, when the new Congress is seated.

According to the WaPo, the congressman is not taking his defeat well, and has even short-circuited the process for interviewing and nominating candidates for the military service academies. So his refusal to work is impacting the futures of young people who want to serve their country.

Maybe if a ham sandwich were attached to each application. . .

(photo: The All You Can Eat buffet is now closed)

The Lamest Duck

Time's Joe Klein absolutely eviscerates Dumbya's passive, almost nonexistent role in the last days of his sorry Presidency. He wants to have as little to do with cleaning up the mess he created, preferring to pass it off to the next Administration. Key quote:

"Bush has never understood, or cared about, the delicate balance between freedom and regulation that was necessary to make markets work. He never understood, or cared about, the delicate balance between freedom and equity that was necessary to maintain the strong middle class. . .He never considered the complexity of the cultures he was invading. He never understood that faith, unaccompanied by rigorous skepticism, is a recipe for myopia and foolishness. He is less than President now, and that is appropriate. He was never very much of one."

Jawbone Of An Ass Breaks

Right-wing nastie Ann "Adam's Apple Annie" Coulter apparently has suffered a broken jaw and has had her jaw wired shut. (Pause for moment)

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Broken how? Eating her own words? Coughing up a hairball? Trying to stuff a huge female hormone tablet in her trap? Inquiring minds want to know.

(photo: With her jaw wired shut, Coulter is only able to communicate with hand gestures, hats and noisemakers)

Hannity To Debate Self, Will Lose

The news that the Fux Channel's token liberal Alan Colmes will be leaving Uberbloviator Sean "Manatee" Hannity's side by the end of the year has us wondering if the Manatee will place a mirror in Colmes' seat, so that he can win those right-left debates for a change.

Pro-Palin Ads Hit Airwaves

One of John McSame's lasting gifts is a Gov. Winky You Betcha who won't go back to the frozen tundra quietly. Now supporters -- a group ironically named "Our Country Deserves Better Political Action Committee" -- are airing ads praising You Betcha in Alaska, with a plan to go nationally. Says their "strategist" Sal "Winky's Pal" Russo:

"I worked with President Reagan. . .and I can tell you that I can see so many similarities between President Reagan and Governor Palin."

Let's see. . . . .Good hair, check. Telegenic, check. Has to work from a script, check. Spouts false right-wing platitudes, check. Not much going on upstairs, check.

Yes, the new Reagan!!

The A-Team

President-elect Obama's just-announced economic team strikes us as experienced and first-class:

Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary
Lawrence Summers as National Economic Policy director
Christina Romer as head of the Council of Economic Advisers
Melody Barnes as head of the Domestic Policy Council

Still to come: Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary.

What's also encouraging (but not unexpected) is Obama's jumping into a leadership position, not waiting for others to act. While he has two months before he's sworn in, he's taking the necessary steps to demonstrate that there will be an immediate action plan and that there will be no fiddling while the economy burns.

Kurtz Wanker Watch

WaPo/CNN media "critic" Howie "Get That Job?" Kurtz has a new feature in his newspaper column "Media Notes." Howie calls it "Obama Adulation Watch," as it's intended to show how over- the- top the media are for Obama. Now why would a straight- shooter like Howie want to do that?

Well, what Howie has always failed to disclose is that his misspelled- but- appropriately- named wife, Sheri Annis, is a Republican commentator and strategist. And Howie, along with fellow right-wing water carrier Asshat Halperin, is wasting no time in trying to blunt the effect of Obama's landslide. Minimize it. Delegitimatize it. Whatever he can do to help his ideological brethren. So, look for Howie in the weeks and months ahead to use his column to reinforce post-election Rethug memes (the "librul media" won it for Obama, we're a center-right nation, Obama is just a "celebrity", where's the change?, etc., etc.).

So, henceforth, we'll be running a "Kurtz Wanker Watch" to keep tabs on the fella as he does his best (in his own small, and ultimately futile, way) to undermine the Obama administration.

(Photo: For post-election Howie, the "world turned upside down.")

Quote of the Week

"Right now we are devoid of ideas." Utah Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. Only if by "right now" you mean "for the past 15 years"!

"Oh, the Humanity!"

Ohio State, 42 - Michigan, 7
Florida State, 37 - Maryland, 3
Wisconsin, 36 - Cal Poly, 35 (OT)

Notes
No doubt Wisconsin scheduled the late-season game with Cal-Poly as a tune-up for a Rose Bowl or other BCS game, back when they actually thought they would have a top-10 team this year. Maybe they'll get a bid for the Underachieving Bowl.

Michigan? Theirs isn't even a top-10 team in the Big Ten. They're only maybe the fourth best team in Michigan! Congratulations to their brain trust for signing Coach Rich "I Blew Up Two Programs at Once" Rodriguez to a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract!

And poor Maryland. They thought they were legit, too. Win against Florida State and against Boston College next week, and they win the ACC. As Poppy Bush would say, "Not gonna happen."