WaPo: Obama's 'Small Town' Slam Framed as Republican Attack

Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post's "The Fix" blog executed an example of political gymnastics so amazing for its twisting of reality that it boggles the mind. He actually turned comments by Barack Obama from a dissing of "small town" America to one highlighting how mean Republicans are. You heard me right. Obama's comments had absolutely nothing to do with the GOP, yet Cillizza was somehow…
Warner Todd Huston

Saturday Sports Open Thread

Who's Trevor Immelman? "The 36-hole [Masters] leader...only four months ago was in a hospital in South African to begin a speedy recovery from a benign tumor that doctors removed from his diaphragm." Amazing.Who's Tiger Woods? "The Grand Slam that Woods said was 'easily within reason' will have to start with the second-best comeback at Augusta National...The largest 36-hole comeback in Masters…
NB Staff

Open Thread

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: increasing the beer tax? The San Jose Democrat on Thursday proposed raising the beer tax by $1.80 per six-pack, or 30 cents per can or bottle. The current tax is 2 cents per can. That's an increase of about 1,500 percent. Beall said the tax would generate $2 billion a year to fund health care services, crime prevention and programs to…
NB Staff

Obama Channels Marx on Masses' Reverence for Religion

CORRECTION: This item originally cited Ace of Spades as having uncovered that Obama's mentor was Frank Marshall Davis, a man with Communist roots. It was in fact Cliff Kincaid at Accuracy in Media. I regret the error. Religion is the opiate of the masses. -- Karl Marx, 1843It's not surprising that they get bitter, they cling to . . . religion . . . as a way to explain their frustrations. --…
Mark Finkelstein

Chris's 'Concern': Hillary Will Over-Perform in PA

Not that it comes as a surprise, but should Chris Matthews reveal his pro-Obama rooting interest as blatantly as he did today?On this evening's Hardball, the man who gets a thrill from Barack expressed "concern" that Hillary might have a stronger-than-expected finish in the Pennsylvania Dem primary. Matthews was reading the tea leaves with two Keystone State pros: Dick Polman of the Philadelphia…
Mark Finkelstein

NYT's Friedman in 2006: $100 Oil, Ethanol - Now Causing Food Riots Wor

ABC’s April 11 “World News with Charles Gibson” is showing they finally get it – ethanol production and high energy costs are causing food shortages worldwide. “[P]rices are rising across Africa, pushed up by the cost of oil and demand for biofuels,” ABC correspondent Jim Sciutto said. “Those biofuels are in fact a large part of the equation,” ABC correspondent David Muir added. “Many…
Jeff Poor

Morning Shows Hit Snooze Button on Court Overturning San Fran Gun Ban

None of the April 11 editions of the network morning shows: ABC's "Good Morning America," CBS's "The Early Show," and NBC's "Today," noted the April 10 unanimous ruling of the California Supreme Court striking down a San Francisco handgun ban.I mean, what other reasons could this possibly be newsworthy besides that:
Ken Shepherd

Ethanol Being Blamed for Global Food Riots

New York Times columnist praised by Pulitzer board for 'clarity of vision' didn't foresee global food shortages that resulted from the realities of his vision.
Jeff Poor

Harry Smith Says Tax Refunds Are 'Too Much

Paul Detrick

Biased Access: Mrs. McCain Talks Adultery, Hillary Talks Housework

Cindy McCain granted an interview to Access Hollywood anchor Nancy O’Dell, and NBC’s Today picked right up on it Friday morning – shamelessly repeating O’Dell’s questions recycling the unsubstantiated New York Times story alleging Sen. John McCain had a sexual relationship with lobbyist Vicki Iseman. (Access Hollywood is produced by NBC Universal.) Some might wonder why Mrs. McCain would agree to…
Tim Graham

VOA Focuses on ‘Ordained’ Catholic Women Before Papal Visit

Pope Benedict XVI hasn’t even arrived in the United States, and mainstream media outlets are featuring feminist Catholic dissenters in their reporting of the upcoming papal visit. In one such example, the Voice of America, the "international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government," decided to cover a former Catholic nun who has been "ordained" as a priest. As the report by Jeff…
Matthew Balan

Weekend Captionfest

Hillary Clinton is kissed by Elton John on stage at a fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York City as former President Bill Clinton looks on. Picture: AP
NB Staff

CBS’s Couric to Petraeus: ‘How Frustrated Are You

On Thursday’s CBS "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric teased an upcoming interview with General David Petraues: "Also tonight, General David Petraeus on the slow progress in Iraq." Couric later began the interview by asking Petraeus: "How frustrated are you?"Prior to asking about Iranian influence in Iraq, Couric offered this pessimistic observation: "There's been a spike in attacks against…
Kyle Drennen

Politico's Schroeder Mullins Picks Up On 2008 MRC Gala

Update (16:54): Schroeder Mullins added links to our videos on EyeBlast.tv. The old Politico had a dead link to our livecast from last evening. She also corrected the error about last night's function being the 20th anniversary. MRC is in its 21st year. Politico gossip columnist Anne Schroeder Mullins picked up on the 2008 MRC Annual Gala in her April 11 "Shenanigans" feature. The column is…
Ken Shepherd