JON STEWART NAILS IT AGAIN.

With a lighthearted look at the President's historic speech in Cairo, Stewart also slaps Teh Stupid™ right-wing "pundits" upside the head.

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Looking for Comity in the Muslim World
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This brings to mind two questions:

1. How in the hell did any of these people get jobs doing what they do? The don't have enough brains to pour piss out of a boot - even if the instructions were written on the heel!

2. Why is it that a cable comedy show host comes closer to being a journalist than anyone working for Fox News does?

ASSHAT OF THE WEEK: SEAN HANNITY!

Today, the President of the United States made what may turn out to be one of the most historical speeches in our lifetime.

Today, President Barack Hussein Obama stood before the people of Cairo and the world, and offered an open, extended hand in the cause of peace and understanding... seeking a new beginning. A beginning, as the President said, "based upon mutual interest and mutual respect."

Today, our President made it clear to the world that the arrogant, imperialistic attitude of the Bush administration is a thing of the past.

Today, our President spoke as a fellow citizen of the world - and spoke from the heart. He spoke to his audience as equals. Some people in the crowd were so moved by our President that they spontaneously shouted out "We love you!" to him. When he was done, there was a standing ovation that was much more than the obligatory polite applause. It was genuine.

Today, every American should be proud.

Yet -

Today, Fox News' Sean Hannity instead used this remarkable event to prove to America what a piece of pond scum Mr. Hannity really is.

You can see for yourself:


As Media Matters notes:

In fact, the context of Obama's words makes clear that Obama was condemning those who would "justify the events of 9-11."

Here's the President's statement in context:

"I am aware that there are still some that would question or even justify the events of 9-11. But let us be clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with."

It's pretty clear that Sean Hannity is a treacherous, irresponsible, lying douche, and is, without a doubt, deserving of the ASSHAT OF THE WEEK award.

h/t to Media Matters

Holy Carp! Couldn't the Bush DOJ Get ANYTHING Right?

Shades of Ted Stevens!

It seems that George W. Bush version of the United States Department of Justice did it again.

This afternoon, the U.S. Justice Department asked that two former Alaska state legislators, Pete Kott and Vic Kohring, currently cooling their heels in prison after their in 2007 convictions in public corruption cases, now be released!

The current DOJ is saying that their trials were tainted by the "failure of prosecutors to disclose favorable information." Information favorable to the defense, that is.

The request didn't disclose the nature of the "information," but whatever it is, U.S. Attorney Gerneral Eric Holder didn't like it. Holder said, in part:

"Department of Justice prosecutors work hard every day and perform a great service for the American people. But the Department's mission is to do justice, not just win cases, and when we make mistakes, it is our duty to admit and correct those mistakes. We are committed to doing that."

The request doesn't ask to set aside their convictions, as in the case of former Senator Ted Stevens, but asks that Kott and Kohring be set free while their cases are sent back to U.S. District Court for judicial review.

Once again, Eric Holder demonstrates a high standard of adhering to the rule of law... and

The Bush Legacy™ continues.

FOX News: We Distort, You Decide!

This has nothing to do with being a liberal or conservative, or being of any political persuasion.

It has to do with professional journalism, which should incorporate honesty in reporting.

Fox News doesn't seem to care about that.

Rather than actually reporting facts, Fox would rather distort, twist and obfuscate in an attempt to confuse, titillate, or outrage the viewer.

Yesterday, Fox Nation featured a headline that screamed, "Obama Says U.S. Is a Muslim Country."

Naturally, the ensuing comments on the Fox Nation website were appropriately horrendous, castigating Mr. Obama.

The problem is, the President didn't say that.

As a matter of fact, the blog to which the Fox Nation headline was linked quoted Obama as actually saying this during an interview:

..."the United States and the West generally, we have to educate ourselves more effectively on Islam. And one of the points I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we'd be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world. And so there's got to be a better dialogue and a better understanding between the two peoples." (emphasis mine).

Yeah. Calling for a better dialogue and better understanding is pretty damned un-American, don'tcha think?

h/t to Media Matters

I Must Have Missed The Part Of The New Testament Where Jesus Advocated Terrorism.

Today, Wichita Doctor George Tiller was shot to death at the Reformation Lutheran Church, where he was serving as an usher for services.

Whether or not you agree with the late-term abortions that Dr. Tiller's Women's Health Care Services clinic provided (his was one of only three clinics nationwide that would provide the procedures after the 21st week of pregnancy), there is no escaping the fact that this is an act of terrorism.

And it seems to be condoned by some pretty influential people who profess to be Christians.

Randall Terry, founder of the anti-abortion group "Operation Rescue" said in a prepared statement this afternoon that he was less concerned about Tiller's murder than he was that the "Obama Administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions."

What "most effective actions" would those be, Mr. Terry? Assassination?

Even Troy Newman, President of the Kansas-based Operation Rescue group (at least publicly) condemned Tiller's murder, calling it a "cowardly act."

Randall Terry didn't even have the decency to say anything like that.

Mr. Terry, by refusing to denounce Dr. Tiller's killing, you've tacitly endorsed it.

Instead of issuing a statement similar to Newman's, Mr. Terry instead used the news flurry created by Tiller's murder to pound the drum:

"Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder."

That's fine, Mr. Terry. You continue to call it murder.

And, in turn, we can call the actions of your minions by their proper name:

Christian Fundamentalist Terrorism.

I'd just like someone to point out to me which of Jesus' teachings advocated it.

h/t to Shannyn Moore