Isn't this special.

Australian Immigrant Rupert Murdoch owns Times of London, the British publication that first published about Obama's 'Auntie Zeituni'.

Rupert Murdoch owns Fox News, that "fair and balanced as long as it's talking about extreme right-wing politics" network.  read more »

The Congressional Black Caucus is currently considering a partnership with the conservative cable news channel, Fox, to broadcast the CBC's Presidential debate; more details are here and here.

OutFoxed has put together a stunning video compilation of just how exactly Fox portrays African-Americans.

Long story short: Fox is not an appropriate partner for Democrats in general and black Democrats in particular; by working with that conservative channel, we legitimize their vicious, un-American, anti-American propaganda, and that just won't do. So please, if your Member of Congress is a member of the CBC, give them a holler. Contact info after the jump.

[Update]: ThinkProgress reports that the CBC will partner with CNN. Good work.

[Update 2]: ColorOfChange.org notes that the CBC is still talking to Fox. Keep calling.  read more »

I have discussed the craziness and duplicity of the denial lobby before (e.g. here). And I have been just beginning to discuss the need to move on, to evolve the discussion, from a supposed "debate" over whether global warming is happening (it is!) to a discussion of solutions. Personally, I do hope to help evolve the discussion. But sadly, the denial lobby continues its supid, suicidal crusade against science.

The latest salvo of the denial lobby was in England, though I am starting to hear eager references to it here in the US from our own denial lobbyists. On Thursday the 8th, the London TV Channel 4 aired a program titled "The Great Global Warming Swindle". This program turns out to be largely devoid of integrity and intelligence and, to quote two climatologists commenting on Real Climate, "it just repeated the usual specious claims we hear all the time." This program is just one more pack of denial lobby lies.  read more »

Today's the day we Raise New York. See you there or live, online, right here.

The New York Times: A New York jury handed down a death sentence in a Federal case.

Also in the Times, the battles between the governor and the status quo.

The Albany Times-Union has the budget breakdown.

Molly Ivins has passed away at age 62; The Texas Observer pays tribute to a remarkable woman.

In The Washington Post, traitor Bob Novak warns the republican party about the voters.

Capitol Confidential: Zing! Craig Johnson shoots down Maureen O'Connell.

Robert Greenwald takes a sharp knife to the tattered reputation of David Brooks, pointing out that the latter is both consistently wrong and in a tiny minority.

And lastly, Michael Arcuri votes for, among other things, increasing Pell Grants and spending more money on veterans' health care. And here the nation was breathlessly waiting for action on flag-burning and gay marriage.

This comes from Bob Fertik, our friend at Democrats.com. Seems the media jumped on a story about terrorists coming into the US on student visas. This is expected to be something Bush focuses on in his misState of the Union message and is the latest attempt by Bush to boost his sagging popularity (now finally dipping below Nixon's lowest low) using fear. There are two problems with this. First, people aren't turning to him and trusting him when he whips up the fear machine. They actually realize that if they are still afraid, it shows he has failed. But more importantly, it seems the whole story is based on one single document that has been unsubstantiated. This is reminiscent of the use of false intelligence reports to claim that Iraq was getting enriched uranium from Africa which was used as a (false) excuse to justify invasion. That was also unsubstantiated rumor.

So here, in Bob Fertik's words, is the scoop:  read more »