Who Knew? MSNBC's Lawrence O’Donnell Admits On-Air: 'I Am a Socialist'

Via The Blaze.

This is just part of the larger MSNBC commie catfight bewtween O'Donnell and Glenn Greenwald:

God this is wonderful.

Matt Lewis has the background, "'Morning Joe' Battle: Lawrence O'Donnell vs. Glenn Greenwald," and he notes:

... the larger debate here is over whether Democrats will view the 2010 midterm elections as evidence they misread their mandate and over-reached after 2008 -- or if they will view it as evidence they moderated too much after 2008.

And never one to miss having the last word, Rick Ellensburg has more, "Lawrence O'Donnell vehemently denies his own words." In a couple of thousand words, Ellensburg regurgitates the line that "Democrats weren't socialist enough." This is essentially the left's pathology of defeat and denial. For the ace rebuttal, see William Galston, "It's the Ideology, Stupid."

The Best Angry 'Downfall' Parody Evah!! — Hitler Finds Out the GOP Has Retaken the House

OMG this is hilarious!

Via Blazing Catfur:

Marco Rubio Delivers Weekly GOP Address

Via Kim Priestap:

As I've said, we need some Marco Rubios in California.

Keith Olbermann, a Memorial Tribute

From Reason.TV, via Big Government:

RELATED: "The Obligatory Olbermann Suspended Over Donations Post." Plus, "TV Newser: “Insiders” say Olbermann won’t be back."

*****

Check for hot updates throughout the day at American Power.

ADDED: From Ed Morrissey, "Reason TV’s valedictory salute to Olby."

NewsBusted — Bush Memoir Released Next Week

Via Theo Spark:

Black and Republican and Back in Congress

This is great.

At NYT:

For the first time in over a decade, the incoming class of Congress will include two black Republicans, both of whom rode the Tea Party wave to victory while playing down their race.

One of them, Allen West, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army, prevailed in a tough fight in a South Florida district. The other, Tim Scott, is the first black Republican to be elected to the House of Representatives from South Carolina in over a century. They will be the first black Republicans in Congress since J. C. Watts of Oklahoma retired in 2003.

“I did not want to run as a black candidate; I did not want to run as a military candidate,” Mr. West said in a telephone interview. “I wanted to run as an American candidate and win the respect of the people.”

While the number of African-Americans in Congress has steadily increased since the civil rights era, black Republicans have been nearly as rare as quetzal birds.

For Mr. Watts, a former college quarterback, the job came with a significant spotlight and significant challenges — as an African-American he was a minority among Republicans, and as a Republican he was a minority among blacks on Capitol Hill. While his time in office overlapped the tenure of another black Republican, Gary A. Franks, who represented a Connecticut district from 1991 until 1997, Mr. Watts is in the one who came to represent the perks and travails of his position.

“I was smart enough to not allow Republicans to compel me to play the role of the ‘black Republican,’ ” Mr. Watts said in a telephone interview. “But I never felt compelled to ignore real issues of the black community either.”

He did not join the Congressional Black Caucus because it was dominated by Democrats, he said, a decision that Mr. West said was a mistake that he would not repeat.

“I think you need to have competing voices in that body,” Mr. West said. “I think that is important.” (Mr. Scott has not decided if he will join the caucus.)

African-Americans found a place in Congress in the latter decades of the 19th century, particularly during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War, when 16 black men served, all of them Republicans. The first was Hiram R. Revels, of Mississippi, who was in the Senate from 1870 to 1871. Joseph H. Rainey from South Carolina was the first black member of the House, serving from 1870 to 1879, according to Congressional Quarterly’s “Guide to U.S. Elections.”

There were no blacks in Congress from 1900 to 1929, but since then, their numbers have increased bit by bit, especially after the civil rights movement, this time with Democrats leading the way, a reflection of the changed dynamics of each party and the shifts of power in state legislatures. Of all the blacks ever to serve in Congress, 98 have been Democrats and 27 have been Republicans; there are 42 African-American members in the current lame-duck Congress ...

Hamas-Linked CAIR Suing to Stop Oklahoma's Anti-Sharia Law

At Jihad Watch:

The Hamas-linked Islamic supremacists of CAIR here implicitly acknowledge, as Pamela Geller points out here, that Islam and Sharia are essentially inseparable -- otherwise they wouldn't be able to call Oklahoma's ballot measure an "anti-Islam" amendment. They will mount this challenge on the claim that it outlaws things like halal meat and personal Muslim prayer, but that is unlikely to succeed, since those things don't actually constitute the use of a law other than American law to legislate for Americans.

In any case, the Hamas-linked thugs of CAIR have overreached yet again, because this suit, if it goes ahead, will provide ample opportunity to prove to the general public that stonings, amputations, the oppression of women, the death penalty for apostates, and other oppressive measures are intrinsic to Sharia. But CAIR is in a hard place with this one: if they don't challenge Oklahoma's measure, the whole stealth jihad agenda could be thwarted. If they do, it could be exposed. They must be counting on their stooges and useful idiots in the government and mainstream media to do a lot of heavy lifting for them on this one.

And at WSJ, "Oklahoma Is Sued Over Shariah Ban."

Voting the Straight Party Ticket

I love this story!

At IBD:

Judicial Retention: Three judges in Iowa were disrobed on Tuesday for voting to end the state's ban on gay marriage. Even those who legislate from the bench would be wise not to ignore we the people.

We've often complained about the power of unelected judges who, when not circumventing the U.S. Constitution and those of their respective states, are busy inventing new rights that often conflict with the will of the people, even after voters or their elected representatives have voted the opposite way.

In some states, while voters may not get to pick the judges, they can vote to retain them based on their judicial rulings or whatever. Few voters pay attention long enough to remember names or scan the sometimes long list of names found at the end of their ballots under the words "judicial retention." This time, Iowa voters did.

Vote totals from 96% of Iowa's 1,774 precincts showed that three judges — Marsha Ternus, the chief justice; Michael Streit and David Baker — failed to get the simple majority needed for them to remain on the bench.

Their replacements will be appointed by incoming Gov. Terry Branstad, a newly elected Republican who signed the state's Defense of Marriage Act during his first term 12 years ago. It's a reminder that the judicial appointment power and the preferences of governors and presidents need to be something voters should pay attention to.

It's the first time since the merit selection and judicial retention system was enacted in Iowa in 1962 that voters have ousted judges. Said Bob Vander Plaats, the Sioux City businessman who led a campaign to remove the justices because of the 2009 gay marriage ruling: "The people of Iowa stood up in record numbers and sent a message . .. that it is 'We the people,' not 'We the courts.'"

More at the link.

RELATED: "What Happened to Proposition 19?"

Indonesia Volcano Burns Whole Villages, Death Toll Climbs

At Fox News:

MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia -- The tiny hospital at the foot of Indonesia's most volatile volcano is struggling to cope with victims brought in after the mountain's most powerful eruption in a century. Some have clothes, blankets and even mattresses fused to their skin.

With few beds and the only burn unit it town, doctors have been forced to turn people away.

A surge of searing gas raced down the sides of Mount Merapi at highway speeds Friday, setting houses and trees ablaze and blackening the bodies of those caught in its path.

The number of people killed by Merapi since Oct. 26 soared to 118 after the nightmarish eruption and sent tens of thousands more into already crowded emergency shelters in the shadow of the volcano.

It continued to rumble and groan Saturday, spitting gray clouds of ash and gas high into the air.

"It's scary. ... The eruption just keeps going on," said Wajiman, who was sitting in a shelter near a girl reading a newspaper headlined "Merapi isn't finished yet."

Casting the Victoria's Secret Show

At New York Times, "Angels in Stripper Heels":

Although it is doubtless the dream of untold numbers of hopefuls to be discovered at a Victoria’s Secret open call some day — their beauty so radiant that they rise above the ranks of ordinary flesh-and-blood humans and appear as dazzling supernovas in underwear and stripper heels — the truth is that those destined to be cast in the coveted role of a Victoria’s Secret angel are not drawn from the general population. There is no democracy in angel land.

“We cast 30 models, but 10 times that many are sent to us by the agencies to be considered,” Edward Razek, the chief marketing officer for the Limited Brand, the parent company of the lingerie powerhouse, said last week before a casting session for this year’s Victoria’s Secret show, which will be televised on Nov. 30 to 11 million people in 185 countries, but will be taped before a more modest crowd in New York on Nov. 10.

“And 100 times that many would want to,” Mr. Razek said. “That’s why I hate castings, because I’m basically a softy and I hate the broken hearts and I hate saying no.”

And from last year, "Marisa Miller at Victoria's Secret Fashion Show!":

Demi Lovato's Crisis Shows Risks of Teen Stardom

At LAT:

As the star of the Disney Channel series "Sonny With a Chance," teen actress Demi Lovato plays an effervescent small-town girl who wins a national talent contest to land a starring role on a popular variety show. As the title character, Sonny copes with a jealous costar, a dearth of fan mail and the hazards of celebrity dating, among other situations only to be encountered by a budding idol.

One facet the upbeat comedy for kids is unlikely to explore is the dark side of teen stardom. The issue nonetheless came to the fore this week with a crisis in Lovato's personal life that forced her to withdraw a concert tour with the Jonas Brothers to seek treatment for "emotional and physical issues." People close to the 18-year-old star, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter, say she struggled with eating disorders and self-mutilation before her breakthrough role on the Disney Channel series.

These hazards stand to become more commonplace as a growing number of kid-focused shows put kids front and center, according to people who work with young actors.

Unlike years past, when young hopefuls had limited opportunities on prime-time family sitcoms, the media giants in recent years have created an entire industry of television networks and programs devoted to the 20 million children ages 8 to 12 who influence $43 billion in annual spending. That has been accompanied by a rise in "live action" kids shows on channels such as Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and newcomer The Hub that led to demand for child and teenage actors.

"You're going to see more of this," said former child actor Paul Petersen, who heads A Minor Consideration, a nonprofit group that offers support for young performers. "And it's going to become more and more obvious."

Petersen isn't the only one concerned: Demi's father, Patrick Lovato, said that he has been worried about how his daughter would cope with the pressures of being a child star. But he said he never discussed his qualms with her mother, Dianna De La Garza.

"I kept those emotions to myself because Dianna was so excited, I didn't want to burst anyone's bubble," Patrick Lovato said in a telephone interview from New Mexico. "But always in the back of my mind, I was concerned. Because at that young age, it's really hard. She worked 300 out of 365 days touring, and then of course when you get back into town, you've got all the promotional stuff. I'm sure she sees the things she missed out on, schoolmates and things."

More at the link.

Actually, Demi's father is in the news himself, for getting death threats from Demi fans not pleased with his parenting. See, Radar Online, "EXCLUSIVE: Fans Gave Me Death Threats, Says Demi Lovato's Dad."

RELATED: Sheesh. These are kids, but no mattter. TMZ is digging way down: "Demi vs. Selena: Who'd You Rather?" No doubt asshole SEK will be all over it.

Mitch McConnell Says One Term for Obama. You Think?

GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, quoted at UPI:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell isn't backing off his comment that the Republicans' top political priority is to hold President Obama to one term.

In a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, McConnell said preventing Obama's re-election is the only way to get past presidential vetoes.

"Over the past week, some have said it was indelicate of me to suggest that our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term in office," McConnell said, NPR reported. "But the fact is, if our primary legislative goals are to repeal and replace the health spending bill; to end the bailouts; cut spending; and shrink the size and scope of government, the only way to do all these things it is to put someone in the White House who won't veto any of these things. We can hope the president will start listening to the electorate after Tuesday's election. But we can't plan on it."

I love it!

See Kimberly Strassel, "The GOP's 2012 Game Plan":

"It's a great first step." That's the way Washington's resident realist, Mitch McConnell, is describing this week's GOP electoral triumph. The Senate Republican leader is known for his long game, and that's what's on his mind even in victory: "We're not going to be able to finish this job until 2012."

Mr. McConnell took some time this week to talk me through the GOP game plan. Let's just say he isn't apologizing for recently suggesting that his priority is to deny President Obama a second term. This week's message was that the American people want a repeal of health-care reform and an end to overspending and job-killing initiatives. If Republicans intend to make good on these public demands, says Mr. McConnell, the end goal has to be putting someone in the White House who won't veto that progress.

History doesn't inspire optimism. Over the past 100 years, every time a president two years into his first term lost Congress, he went on to re-election: Truman in '48, Eisenhower in '56, Clinton in '96. Newt Gingrich even wrote a book, "Lessons Learned the Hard Way," about the GOP mistakes in the wake of 1994. It boiled down to Republicans over-promising and under-delivering—becoming the foil off of which President Clinton was able to skillfully pivot away from his own liabilities.

Mr. McConnell says he too has been through the history books. "I've spent a lot time studying the two years after the opposition took over—or in the case of this week, had a really good day—asking myself and my staff to analyze why the next election turned out the way it did." This time, the GOP has got "to work smarter, and to leave behind for our nominee a playing field that is competitive."

The first help will be the 13 new GOP senators Mr. McConnell welcomes in January. Republicans failed to gain the majority, but Mr. McConnell isn't complaining about a 47-strong caucus. "When you are down around 41, every man is a king and every woman a queen. Lose even one, and you are toast. Now I've got wiggle room." He adds, with his dry wit, that he's also got "23 Democrats up in 2012 who have a newfound appreciation for the problems of spending and debt."

He and House Speaker-elect John Boehner seem acutely aware of the perils of over-promising, and came out of the gate this week intent on managing expectations. One challenge will be reminding an impatient public that ultimate power still rests in the White House, not Congress. "We are not spiking the ball in the end zone, or acting like we took over the government when we didn't," says Mr. McConnell.

The broader strategy seems to hinge on keeping the focus on Mr. Obama's mistakes, offering him opportunities to correct them, and placing the burden on him if he won't. That means propelling the rollback of ObamaCare to the top of the national agenda, with repeated "proposals and votes for full repeal of health care." The fallback is going after it "piece by piece," attempting to defund it and delay it. The plan is to do the same with aspects of the financial services law and other damaging Obama regulations.

Mr. Obama can veto some of these efforts, but he'll have to defend his actions. House ownership also allows the GOP to start bringing "serious, not frivolous" oversight to the ballooning Obama bureaucracy created for his agenda—from the EPA to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ...

The Obligatory Olbermann Suspended Over Donations Post

The main story is at WSJ, "MSNBC Suspends TV Host Over Political Contributions."

It's been the hot story on Memeorandum all day, especially William Kristol's defense, "Keep Keith!"

Although I'm with Michelle, "Support Olbermann? No Freaking Way."

Video Blast From the Past: "Without 'Fascistic Hatred,' Malkin Is Just a 'Mashed-Up Bag of Meat with Lipstick."

What Happened to Proposition 19?

Earlier, from dumb lefty Kevin Drum:

I know this won't be much solace to everyone who worked on Prop 19, but.....this isn't so bad, really. Given the automatic headwind of getting people to vote Yes on anything, the additional headwind of a big Republican turnout, plus the general nervousness that middle class people have about drugs, a loss this small is actually sort of encouraging. All we need to turn this around in a few years is for 4% of voters to change their minds.

This is the same argument we heard about Prop 8. And how's that working out? Folks said forget the electoral process and went to court, and gay marriage in California will eventually be decided by the Supremes. Meanwhile, the judges in Iowa who approved gay marriage are out on their asses, and lefties are freakin': "Iowa's Total Recall." Fact is, the public consistently repudiates Democrat-Socialist policies at the ballot box. And when there's a popular pushback against judicial activism we hear the outcry against "entrenched special interests." That's rich. See, "Rejection of Iowa judges over gay marriage raises fears of political influence."

Anyway, more on Prop. 19: Leftist Josh Marshall is getting some pushback from the usual suspects on the radical left, most notably hare-brained E.D. Kain, the infamous workplace intimidator.

At Ruby's

This morning, in Irvine.

I've been off the grid most of the day. I had some lab tests done this morning (blood work, etc., in advance of my annual physical next month). After that I stopped by my youngest son's school to drop of his lunch (which I forgot to make early this morning). And then I headed over to Ruby's off Barranca in Irvine for breakfast. Here's the view looking Northeast, over the Woodbridge Lake to Saddleback Mountain in the distance:

I've been doing some grading as well. My fall newspaper assignments were due last week, and I generally have grading through the first week of December (depending on how disciplined I am in completing these). So, if posting seems light on some days I'm probably just busy with other things. Meanwhile, Washington Rebel has a response to my thoughts on leaving California: "Preparing for the Worst."

Leaving California?

For the first time in my life I'm feeling I would if I could.

It's not the first time I've entertained the idea of living somewhere else in the country. Washington State is attractive --- I love the Pacific Northwest's natural beauty --- but too progressive, so it's not a serious idea. But I'm thinking the Mountain West, perhaps Colorado. Of course it's not possible for me to relocate anywhere at this point in my life. My career will keep me tied down teaching in Long Beach, and my wife's successful in South Orange County retail management (and we have our boys, who are settled). But when I told my wife today that a lot of conservatives are asking why folks on the right still live here, she thought it was a good question. Maybe ten years from now my wife and I will be able to pull up stakes and cut loose with some "Going Mobile." This could all be a flight of fancy, to be sure. But seeing the data on the changing California electorate I got the feeling that demographic change is making the state permanently Democrat-Socialist, and I can't dig on that. Plus, see Allahpundit shocka: "Confirmed: Happy Meals Now Banned in San Francisco." And that got Patterico thinking: "California Conservatives: Why Do You Still Live Here?" Which in turn triggered something from Jack Dunphy: "California Conservatives: Whither Shall We Flee?"

The last time I wrote anything remotely similar was shortly after Barack Obama took office. It was mostly ruminations at that time. Now I'm starting to get into the planning mode. Weird. See, "Worst Case Scenario? Preparing for Anarchy in America."

Markets Respond to Federal Reserve's $600 Billion Economic Recovery Plan

Elections have consequences.

It's not just the Fed that's driving this, "Dow Hits Pre-Crisis Level: Central Bank's Spending Binge Stokes Global Rally; 'Don't Fight the Fed'."

Global financial markets cheered the Federal Reserve's plans to spur the U.S. economy Thursday, driving commodity and bond prices higher and propelling the Dow Jones Industrial Average to levels last seen before Lehman Brothers collapsed two years ago.

Interest rates and the dollar tumbled in response to the Fed's decision Wednesday to buy $600 billion of U.S. Treasury bonds, helping fan fresh rallies in oil, gold and Asian stock markets. Major U.S. companies including Coca-Cola Co. and Dow Chemical Co. raced to take advantage of the low rates, selling at least $12 billion of new debt.

But the Fed's buying binge raised alarms, too: Officials in Brazil and South Korea criticized the move, saying it could spark inflation in their economies.

The Dow industrials leapt 219.71 points, or 2%, to 11434.84, its highest close since Sept. 8, 2008, just before the Lehman bankruptcy filing triggered the most intense phase of the financial crisis.

The blue-chip index is now up 75% from its March 2009 low. But the Dow needs a 24% gain to get back to its all-time high, set in October 2007, a stark illustration of the damage caused by the crisis and the long road the economy still must travel.

The Fed's "quantitative easing" policy, unveiled Wednesday, is designed to bolster the economy by keeping credit easy. The Fed is trying to keep rates on relatively safe Treasurys and cash so puny that investors will be enticed into riskier assets such as stocks, commodities and corporate bonds, helping inflate their prices.

The background, with the political angle, at NYT, "Fed to Spend $600 Billion to Speed Up Recovery":

The Federal Reserve, getting ahead of the battles that will dominate national politics over the next two years, moved Wednesday to jolt the economy into recovery with a bold but risky plan to pump $600 billion into the banking system.

A day earlier, Republicans swept to a majority in the House on an antideficit platform, virtually guaranteeing that they would clash with the Obama administration over the best way to nurture a fragile recovery.

The action was the second time in a year that the Fed had ventured into new territory as it struggles to push down long-term interest rates to encourage borrowing and economic growth. In a statement, the Fed said it was acting because the recovery was “disappointingly slow,” and it left the door open to even more purchases of government securities next year.

The Fed is an independent body, its policy decisions separated from the political pressures of the day. But it acted with a clear understanding that the United States, like many other Western countries, seems to have taken off the table many of the options governments traditionally use to give their economies a kick, particularly deficit spending.

The Republicans regained control of the House for the first time in four years in part by attacking the stimulus plan — begun by the Bush administration and accelerated by President Obama — as a symbol of government spinning out of control, contributing to a dangerously escalating national debt.

This political reality has left Washington increasingly reliant on the Fed to take action, though its chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, has said the Fed cannot fix the problem alone.

Mike Pence is not happy.

Republicans Made Obama Into a Lefty

Unbelievably lame.

Via Greg Hengler:

Memo From the National Affairs Desk

R.S. McCain's pitch below reminds me of last January, "Freelance Blogging the BCS Freeway-Flyer's Extravaganza!"

Aspiring citizen journalists: This is how it's done:

IDF Women

At Double Tapper:

And previously.