The first series of shipments have arrived. There are two surprises from my trolling the book stores this weekend. The Stories of Ray Bradbury (Everyman, 2010) with an introduction by Christopher Buckley, and The Library of America's volume Marshall: The Writings. The reason we believe there could be a strong Supreme Court is because of John Marshall, who established its control and authority over interpreting the Constitution. Some of us look forward to the day we have one again which we can respect.
Most of today's shipment are oldies but goodies:
Chris Hedges American Fascists: The Christian Rights and the War on America (Free Press 2008). Some of Hedges analysis revolves around the religious right formed by Pat Robertson types, which now in the age of Obama have been surpassed by a more virulent strain. While not up to Hedges' standards, Leah Burton's Theo Palinism: The Face of Failed Extremism ( 2009) gives you a glimpse of how extreme are Sarah Palin's religious views and their political implications.
For a social scientific view of our current climate, Marc Hetherington and Jonathan D. Weiler have produced Authoritarianism & Polarization in American Politics (Cambridge, 2010).
Former conservative or maybe still an old-time conservative Kevin Phillips wrote American Theocracy : the Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century in 2006 (Viking, 2006) to warn us about the changing face of the Republican Party and how it became dominated by the Religious Right. The book is dedicated to the millions of Republicans--present or lapsed--who opposed the Bush dynasty. In this book, he writes that this toxic combination would destroy the country. In Bad Money updated last year (Penguin, 2008) he writes about our overreach through the war in Iraq, a terrible energy policy, the housing bubble and how the crisis of American global capitalism might be our dance in the sunset.
Kevin Phillips' books forced me back to Bruce Bartlett's The New American Economy:The Failure of Reaganomics and a New Way Forward (Palgrave, 2009). Bruce Bartlett was one of the fathers of supply-side economics and was a treasury official under George H.W. Bush. His sharp criticisms of the conservative movement in the last few years led to his ostracism in a manner reminiscent of the recent episode involving David Frum. Barlett was one of the Republicans who agreed with Paul Krugman that the stimulus package was too small. Bruce Bartlett has his own blog and often you will see his writings discussed by Andrew Sullivan on his Daily Dish.
I was going to spend Easter writing about the religious fundamentalists studied by Bob Altemeyer but decided to spend my time thinking happier thoughts. His findings about religious fundamentalists explain such things as Diaper Dave Vitter, the Louisiana Senator caught as a customer of a Washington prostitute and in New Orleans as a cross-dresser, being able to still campaign on family values and be given a lead role by the Republicans in arguing against Healthreform. He was the clever man who introduced an amendment to prohibit funding to ACORN, another urban myth. Or the case of Promise Keeper Senator Ensign paying off his aide while he had an affair with his wife and yet moving on without missing a beat. It seems Senator Ensign will soon be indicted. Altemeyer explains alot of this by using Dietrich Bonhoffer's notion of "Grace on the Cheap" where someone declares him or herself born again and therefore able to continue to commit such acts. This also explains the degree to which such politicians will be forgiven and these egregious acts will be forgotten.
The sexytime RNC continues to meltdown with the resignation this afternoon of the leading fundraiser and the chief of staff. I have been bombarded by e-mails of Rasmussen polls showing everything from teabaggers having greater popularity than Obama and Republicans sweeping all the 2010 mid-term elections. I have trouble with all this. Even Nate Silver predicted great moves by the Republicans and Charles Cook predicts the Republicans will win back the House. But looking closely at www. swingstate. com and even the Cook polling data, you see that the Democrats probably bottomed out and that their losses in the House look to be in the neighborhood of 20-25 seats. But if things only marginally improve, they should even trim that number. That's why I find it hard to go as desparate as even Nate Silver, whom I deeply respect, or Charles Cook.
But I leave you today with this sobering thought, given the beliefs of the Republican base ,which I have written about before, if Republicans win back the House, I feel they will be compelled by their base to impeach President Obama. These are people without regard to the national interest or the affect such a move would make on the prestige of our country. If you are oblivious to the damage done to the country by the last administration and you really believe in American exceptionalism, then why would you care about our standing in the world?
Just a thought.
Showing posts with label Bob Altemeyer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bob Altemeyer. Show all posts
Monday, April 5, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
The Authoritarians
Bob Altemeyer is one academic I would love to meet. An American teaching at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. He has a casual style in his book and a great sense of humor for a grim subject. He was brought to the attention of the reading public because of John Dean,the former White House counsel to Richard Nixon, who wrote Conservatives without a Conscience to try and explain what happened to the Republican Party he used to know. For insight, Dean consulted the psychological studies of authoritarianism by Bob Altemeyer. Unfortunately, Altemeyer has been dragged into the political debate in this country over the last few years and feels he has to explain himself to the lay crowd. Working on authoritarianism since 1966, Altemeyer pledges he had no problems with his draft board before applying for his university position in Canada. He is not a liberal or leftist and he cites his wife who is a liberal as witness. He also claims not to have received any grant money from liberal or leftwing foundations for his research work. In fact, he claims he is so bad at writing proposals he's never received grants for his work. Academics would know his work in psychology from The Authoritarian Specter (Harvard University Press, 1996).
At that time, Altemeyer vowed that he had completed his last study of Right-Wing Authoritarianism and saw no reason to pursue it further. He notes that he considers Communist apparatchiks psychologically right-wing authoritarians so that the readers don't get confused and try and pigeon-hole his research.
If you're like me, you're curious what went wrong in the United States and why are these people emerging that seem so menacing. For me the moment when things crystallized was when I woke up and realized the Fourth Amendment was gone--and it was gone because of a secret bipartisan agreement on the Hill. Not that I have been obsessed by the Fourth Amendment, but I was fond of having it around and I woke up missing it. Another moment was reading the Patriot Act, which I did in its almost 1,000-page splendor, and found that any citizen could be stripped of their citizenship without due process. And that included me whose family has been sneaking around America since 1670. It's not simply because I am a beacon of civil libertarianism but rather I am motivated for self interest.
Bob Altemeyer got pulls back into his field because of events in the United States. "But mainly I am doing this because the six years have provided so many examples of authoritarian behavior in American government. There has never been a more obvious, appropriate and pressing time for this discussion. The threat that authoritarians poses to American democracy has probably never been clearer. It is just a coincidence, but human affairs have provided the foremost example of how badly authoritarianism can damage the United States at the same time as my work has come to an end and I am telling everyone what I've found. George W. Bush has been the most authoritarian president in my lifetime, as well as the worst. And that's not a coincidence. Assuming democracy prevails, future Americans should know how close we came to losing it in our day. "Those who do not learn from the past..."
It should be noted that Altemeyer does not contribute to political parties and is not a member of one. He even jokes he has never been a member of the Communist Party. Listen to his warnings about today. Remember this was printed in 2006 when the Democrats took back the Congress. He talks about why one should bother reading his book.
" First, if you are concerned about what has happened in America since a radical right-wing segment of the population began taking control of the government about a dozen years ago,I think you'll find a lot in this book that says your fears are well-founded. As many have pointed out, the Republic is once again passing through perilous times. The concept of constitutional democracy has been under attack--and by the American government no less! The mid-term elections of 2006 give hope that the best values and traditions of the country will ultimately prevail . But it could prove a huge mistake to think the enemies of freedom and equality have lost the war just because they were recently rebuffed in the polls. I'll be very much surprised if their leaders don't frame the setback as a test of the followers' faith, causing them to redouble their efforts. They came so close to getting what they want,they're not likely to pack up and go away without an all-out drive. But even if their leaders cannot find an acceptable presidential candidate for 2008, even if authoritarians play a much diminished role in the next election, even if they temporarily fade from view, they will still be there,aching for a dictatorship that will force their views on everyone. And they will surely be energized again, as they were in 1994, if a new administration infuriates them while carrying out its mandate. The country is not out of danger yet."
Yesterday, Sean Hannity told an adoring audience that "We won the (healthcare) debate, with you Tim McVeigh wannabes". They're BACK!
My quotes of Altemeyer don't do credit to his insightful and probing work on authoritarian followers. He said that an authoritarian leader is comical until he has millions fo followers. The book analyses political authoritarian followers as well as fundamentalist authoritarian religious followers. If you have wondered why tea party people complain about Obama and the constitution but never made a peep about the shredding of the constitution during the Bush-Cheney years, these studies answer that. At the end of the book, he deals with authoritarian leaders which match a different psychology and one that I found helpful in understanding what I perceived as cynical behavior and why and how this occurs. He has a delightful footnote at the end ranking the top Corrupt members in Congress in 2006 and their support from the Focus on the Family, the Christian Right lobbying group. We are now in politics that is beyond reason.
He cites approvingly Kevin Phillips 2006 book American Theology how religious conservatives have taken control of the Republican Party turning it into the first religious party in U.S. History and endangering everyone else's rights, the future of the country and that of the world. Kevin Phillips noted," By the end of the 1990s more than half of the fifty Republican state committees had been taken over by the religious right at least once."
If you recall my postings about Christian revisionist history, the leading Christian revisionist is a man named David Barton, who appeared again with Glenn Beck this week in Florida. Unbeknownst to me David Barton was the vice-chairman of the Texas Republican Party.
Altemeyer in examining both types of authoritarianism also discusses their forms of aggression and how they are most apt to attack "outsiders" (fill in the blank) in the dead of night or alone with a gang of like-minded people. This becomes particularly relevant for his section of how religious authoritarians view minorities and the gay community.
Next week I'll write more on his specific findings, which I found helpful in trying to make sense of the senseless. Next week also brings a motherload of books, which will help probe the whole issue of how did we get enthralled with the free market and let everything melt down. Stay tuned.
At that time, Altemeyer vowed that he had completed his last study of Right-Wing Authoritarianism and saw no reason to pursue it further. He notes that he considers Communist apparatchiks psychologically right-wing authoritarians so that the readers don't get confused and try and pigeon-hole his research.
If you're like me, you're curious what went wrong in the United States and why are these people emerging that seem so menacing. For me the moment when things crystallized was when I woke up and realized the Fourth Amendment was gone--and it was gone because of a secret bipartisan agreement on the Hill. Not that I have been obsessed by the Fourth Amendment, but I was fond of having it around and I woke up missing it. Another moment was reading the Patriot Act, which I did in its almost 1,000-page splendor, and found that any citizen could be stripped of their citizenship without due process. And that included me whose family has been sneaking around America since 1670. It's not simply because I am a beacon of civil libertarianism but rather I am motivated for self interest.
Bob Altemeyer got pulls back into his field because of events in the United States. "But mainly I am doing this because the six years have provided so many examples of authoritarian behavior in American government. There has never been a more obvious, appropriate and pressing time for this discussion. The threat that authoritarians poses to American democracy has probably never been clearer. It is just a coincidence, but human affairs have provided the foremost example of how badly authoritarianism can damage the United States at the same time as my work has come to an end and I am telling everyone what I've found. George W. Bush has been the most authoritarian president in my lifetime, as well as the worst. And that's not a coincidence. Assuming democracy prevails, future Americans should know how close we came to losing it in our day. "Those who do not learn from the past..."
It should be noted that Altemeyer does not contribute to political parties and is not a member of one. He even jokes he has never been a member of the Communist Party. Listen to his warnings about today. Remember this was printed in 2006 when the Democrats took back the Congress. He talks about why one should bother reading his book.
" First, if you are concerned about what has happened in America since a radical right-wing segment of the population began taking control of the government about a dozen years ago,I think you'll find a lot in this book that says your fears are well-founded. As many have pointed out, the Republic is once again passing through perilous times. The concept of constitutional democracy has been under attack--and by the American government no less! The mid-term elections of 2006 give hope that the best values and traditions of the country will ultimately prevail . But it could prove a huge mistake to think the enemies of freedom and equality have lost the war just because they were recently rebuffed in the polls. I'll be very much surprised if their leaders don't frame the setback as a test of the followers' faith, causing them to redouble their efforts. They came so close to getting what they want,they're not likely to pack up and go away without an all-out drive. But even if their leaders cannot find an acceptable presidential candidate for 2008, even if authoritarians play a much diminished role in the next election, even if they temporarily fade from view, they will still be there,aching for a dictatorship that will force their views on everyone. And they will surely be energized again, as they were in 1994, if a new administration infuriates them while carrying out its mandate. The country is not out of danger yet."
Yesterday, Sean Hannity told an adoring audience that "We won the (healthcare) debate, with you Tim McVeigh wannabes". They're BACK!
My quotes of Altemeyer don't do credit to his insightful and probing work on authoritarian followers. He said that an authoritarian leader is comical until he has millions fo followers. The book analyses political authoritarian followers as well as fundamentalist authoritarian religious followers. If you have wondered why tea party people complain about Obama and the constitution but never made a peep about the shredding of the constitution during the Bush-Cheney years, these studies answer that. At the end of the book, he deals with authoritarian leaders which match a different psychology and one that I found helpful in understanding what I perceived as cynical behavior and why and how this occurs. He has a delightful footnote at the end ranking the top Corrupt members in Congress in 2006 and their support from the Focus on the Family, the Christian Right lobbying group. We are now in politics that is beyond reason.
He cites approvingly Kevin Phillips 2006 book American Theology how religious conservatives have taken control of the Republican Party turning it into the first religious party in U.S. History and endangering everyone else's rights, the future of the country and that of the world. Kevin Phillips noted," By the end of the 1990s more than half of the fifty Republican state committees had been taken over by the religious right at least once."
If you recall my postings about Christian revisionist history, the leading Christian revisionist is a man named David Barton, who appeared again with Glenn Beck this week in Florida. Unbeknownst to me David Barton was the vice-chairman of the Texas Republican Party.
Altemeyer in examining both types of authoritarianism also discusses their forms of aggression and how they are most apt to attack "outsiders" (fill in the blank) in the dead of night or alone with a gang of like-minded people. This becomes particularly relevant for his section of how religious authoritarians view minorities and the gay community.
Next week I'll write more on his specific findings, which I found helpful in trying to make sense of the senseless. Next week also brings a motherload of books, which will help probe the whole issue of how did we get enthralled with the free market and let everything melt down. Stay tuned.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Good Friday Coffee--Just Give Me Some Truth--All I Want is The Truth
John Lennon asked but I don't know how he made out.
I received Bob Tyrrell's After The Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery (Thomas Nelson, 2010). I will report on this next week. I accept Bob's distortions of liberalism as necessary for his worldview but I expected to read a more honest appraisal of the George W. Bush Administration, which was stocked with more movement conservatives than any other administration in history. As Ronald Reagan said, "Personnel is policy."Somehow that doesn't make a difference in terms of how Bob sees the validity of "conservative ideas". He expects the revival of conservatism to come from the same think-tanks and a greater self-consciousness that conservatism is a movement and should not be strictly be confused with a political party. So far his litany of policy prescriptions reads like an old-worn manual of things that simply do not address the severe crises facing the country.
His analysis of the Obama Administration as "collectivist" simply doesn't mirror reality and his selective appraisal of Obama's foreign policy doesn't hold water. So far, I have not read any reservations about the performance and actions and morality of our private sector, which should inform any re-thinking of so-called conservative positions. Also, I have problems with his view that Obama is trying to over-regulate the economy, when we have not had any enforced regulation in over 10 years. Bob actually speaks well of the Mount Vernon Declaration, which I have written about, lamenting that there was no one under 65 in the whole bunch.
I was hoping for a recognition that the last Administration expanded the size and power of executive branch greater than at any time in our history, including during FDR. Also, I would like a conservative or Republican to admit that they took a surplus and ran it into a $12 trillion deficit. That is coveniently missing in the analysis, while Obama is criticized as the most profilgate President of our time. While Bob praises the greatest boom in job creation after 1980, he neglects to say how the economy has not grown any jobs since 2007. Luckily, this month it did produce some jobs but half of which are temporary.
Also in the mail came Bob Altemeyer The Authoritarians ( 2006), which is available free on-line at www.theauthoritarians.com . This is not what I had expected but it is rich in examining the attitudes of the evangelical movement, which detailed references to internal criticisms of the movement by evangelical theologians themselves. The findings of a rigid authoritarian mindset doesn't fit with the calls for the conservative resurgence mentioned above.
Not to beat up on Bob today but he says conservative ideas are supported by the majority of Americans. The Quinnipiac poll shows that 60% of both parties support raising income taxes over $250,000 to tame the deficit. 70% support making people who earn $1 million pay more taxes. 80% are against raising taxes on people earning less than $250,000 and these 80% are opposed to cutting Medicare and Social Security. Bob's policy perscriptions call for cuts in both programs.
A Washington Post poll on the anger in the country show that 94% of the angry crowd are white and 73% are conservative. One respondent affectionately mentioned the 1950s and how he grew up with Ozzie& Harriet, but he added something that I think is telling," No one was trying to get rich then." My hunch is that there has been a delayed reaction to the devastation wrought on the nation by the last Administration. Much of the conservative noisechamber has tried and to some degree has been successful in diverting attention away from this fact. Perhaps they will succeed in its entirety but if not, then there will be another political price to pay for the Republicans.
The FBI is investigating a series of threats against IRS offices. As I wrote last week concerning my monitoring militia broadcasts, the militia movement, this time in the name of Guardians of the Free Republics, has sent letters to 30 sitting Governors demanding they leave office within three days or they will be removed. The group claims to want "to restore America" by peacefully dismantling parts of the government. The threats were made both to Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, signifying a bipartisan victim list. The FBI associates the letter with "sovereign citizens", the Christian identity movement, who believe they are free from all duties of a U.S. citizen, like paying taxes or needing a government license to drive. Scott Roeder, the man sentenced yesterday for killing Dr. Tiller, is a member of this group and was arrested in the 1990s for driving with a car filled with explosives.
Chip Berlet posted on www.talk2action.org an article entitled "Armed Militias, the Antichrist, and Obama", which outlines how millennialism has been mainstreamed and how the Christian Identity, Patriot amd militia movements have used this to popularize xenophobia,authoritarianism and scapegoating. Chip Berlet has spent a career documenting the militia movement and now ,after years of freelancing, regularly appears on television to discuss the phenomenon and its threats.
Frank Schaeffer posted on www.huffingtonpost.com April 1st his take on "The Evangelical 'Mainstream' Insanity Behind the Michigan 'End Times' Militia" . Knowing of what he speaks, Frank refers to the influence of the "Christian Reconstructionist" Movement and the Left Behind series in shaping this type of extremism. Frank believes this type of thinking influences the tea party movement and its encouragement that the government of the United States is illegitimate.
Rand Paul, Ron's son who is the Tea Party Choice running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Kentucky,held a campiagn rally surrounded by camo-clad militia members sportingautomatic weapons. The militia members claimed to be "the real homeland security" force not the "feds" and promised they would kill Democratic politicians. Bloggers noted that this might be Rand's "Macaca" moment. I disagree I think the political landscape has changed sufficiently that we will see more politicians embrace the militia movement.
Michael Steele's sexytime party has been supplanted by a parallel organization led by three former RNC chairpeople with the addition of Karl Rove, which aims to siphon off the big donor money that has fled Steele.
Peggy Noonan defended the Pope today, while the new hotlines to report sexual abuse in Europe are receiving 4,000 calls per hour. The Vatican's exorcist now says the Devil is in the media.
Roger Clemens wants to tell you his "pipes are working fine". Thanks for sharing.
The President received a thunderous welcome in the whitest state in the union, Maine. Hecarried Maine with about 70% of the vote last time. Conservatives are complaining that he "targeted Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck" in his recent CBS interview. All he said was that they don't represent the majority of the country.
Believe it or not Republicans said that they improved the health bill by getting rid of the "death panels".
That's All, folks.
I received Bob Tyrrell's After The Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery (Thomas Nelson, 2010). I will report on this next week. I accept Bob's distortions of liberalism as necessary for his worldview but I expected to read a more honest appraisal of the George W. Bush Administration, which was stocked with more movement conservatives than any other administration in history. As Ronald Reagan said, "Personnel is policy."Somehow that doesn't make a difference in terms of how Bob sees the validity of "conservative ideas". He expects the revival of conservatism to come from the same think-tanks and a greater self-consciousness that conservatism is a movement and should not be strictly be confused with a political party. So far his litany of policy prescriptions reads like an old-worn manual of things that simply do not address the severe crises facing the country.
His analysis of the Obama Administration as "collectivist" simply doesn't mirror reality and his selective appraisal of Obama's foreign policy doesn't hold water. So far, I have not read any reservations about the performance and actions and morality of our private sector, which should inform any re-thinking of so-called conservative positions. Also, I have problems with his view that Obama is trying to over-regulate the economy, when we have not had any enforced regulation in over 10 years. Bob actually speaks well of the Mount Vernon Declaration, which I have written about, lamenting that there was no one under 65 in the whole bunch.
I was hoping for a recognition that the last Administration expanded the size and power of executive branch greater than at any time in our history, including during FDR. Also, I would like a conservative or Republican to admit that they took a surplus and ran it into a $12 trillion deficit. That is coveniently missing in the analysis, while Obama is criticized as the most profilgate President of our time. While Bob praises the greatest boom in job creation after 1980, he neglects to say how the economy has not grown any jobs since 2007. Luckily, this month it did produce some jobs but half of which are temporary.
Also in the mail came Bob Altemeyer The Authoritarians ( 2006), which is available free on-line at www.theauthoritarians.com . This is not what I had expected but it is rich in examining the attitudes of the evangelical movement, which detailed references to internal criticisms of the movement by evangelical theologians themselves. The findings of a rigid authoritarian mindset doesn't fit with the calls for the conservative resurgence mentioned above.
Not to beat up on Bob today but he says conservative ideas are supported by the majority of Americans. The Quinnipiac poll shows that 60% of both parties support raising income taxes over $250,000 to tame the deficit. 70% support making people who earn $1 million pay more taxes. 80% are against raising taxes on people earning less than $250,000 and these 80% are opposed to cutting Medicare and Social Security. Bob's policy perscriptions call for cuts in both programs.
A Washington Post poll on the anger in the country show that 94% of the angry crowd are white and 73% are conservative. One respondent affectionately mentioned the 1950s and how he grew up with Ozzie& Harriet, but he added something that I think is telling," No one was trying to get rich then." My hunch is that there has been a delayed reaction to the devastation wrought on the nation by the last Administration. Much of the conservative noisechamber has tried and to some degree has been successful in diverting attention away from this fact. Perhaps they will succeed in its entirety but if not, then there will be another political price to pay for the Republicans.
The FBI is investigating a series of threats against IRS offices. As I wrote last week concerning my monitoring militia broadcasts, the militia movement, this time in the name of Guardians of the Free Republics, has sent letters to 30 sitting Governors demanding they leave office within three days or they will be removed. The group claims to want "to restore America" by peacefully dismantling parts of the government. The threats were made both to Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, signifying a bipartisan victim list. The FBI associates the letter with "sovereign citizens", the Christian identity movement, who believe they are free from all duties of a U.S. citizen, like paying taxes or needing a government license to drive. Scott Roeder, the man sentenced yesterday for killing Dr. Tiller, is a member of this group and was arrested in the 1990s for driving with a car filled with explosives.
Chip Berlet posted on www.talk2action.org an article entitled "Armed Militias, the Antichrist, and Obama", which outlines how millennialism has been mainstreamed and how the Christian Identity, Patriot amd militia movements have used this to popularize xenophobia,authoritarianism and scapegoating. Chip Berlet has spent a career documenting the militia movement and now ,after years of freelancing, regularly appears on television to discuss the phenomenon and its threats.
Frank Schaeffer posted on www.huffingtonpost.com April 1st his take on "The Evangelical 'Mainstream' Insanity Behind the Michigan 'End Times' Militia" . Knowing of what he speaks, Frank refers to the influence of the "Christian Reconstructionist" Movement and the Left Behind series in shaping this type of extremism. Frank believes this type of thinking influences the tea party movement and its encouragement that the government of the United States is illegitimate.
Rand Paul, Ron's son who is the Tea Party Choice running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Kentucky,held a campiagn rally surrounded by camo-clad militia members sportingautomatic weapons. The militia members claimed to be "the real homeland security" force not the "feds" and promised they would kill Democratic politicians. Bloggers noted that this might be Rand's "Macaca" moment. I disagree I think the political landscape has changed sufficiently that we will see more politicians embrace the militia movement.
Michael Steele's sexytime party has been supplanted by a parallel organization led by three former RNC chairpeople with the addition of Karl Rove, which aims to siphon off the big donor money that has fled Steele.
Peggy Noonan defended the Pope today, while the new hotlines to report sexual abuse in Europe are receiving 4,000 calls per hour. The Vatican's exorcist now says the Devil is in the media.
Roger Clemens wants to tell you his "pipes are working fine". Thanks for sharing.
The President received a thunderous welcome in the whitest state in the union, Maine. Hecarried Maine with about 70% of the vote last time. Conservatives are complaining that he "targeted Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck" in his recent CBS interview. All he said was that they don't represent the majority of the country.
Believe it or not Republicans said that they improved the health bill by getting rid of the "death panels".
That's All, folks.
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