Steve, you wrote:

I just can't figure out why Joe Scarborough says such dumb things on a daily basis.

It's because he's a moron.

You're welcome.

He's not such a moron at all, although he does say some dumb things he means. But...Scarborough uses (perhaps adolescent efforts at)sarcasm and irony to make his points. The show tries to balance entertainment and information, often successfully. Lighten up a little. - Ted
http://www.tedlehmann.blogspot.com

In other news, Bush had an MRI on his shoulder today at Walter Reed. No word yet on whether he was practicing for a shoe throwing contest, or whether he knew why he was invited to be guest of honor.

Remind me never to give anyone anything to convert to any other format. Obviously, nobody has any sort of discretion.

My problem isn't that they gave the materials over to the police, it's that they ever viewed them in the first place.

I just can't figure out why Joe Scarborough says such dumb things on a daily basis.

Because he is a dumbass. (thbaeosatsq..h/t a)

The man had to leave congress because they found a dead girl in his office...

That really says all you need to know about him.

That he has a job in the public eye says everything you need to know about the media. Somehow, I doubt they will be hiring Gary Condit any time soon.

Let's try this again - for Richard Shelby (R) Ala.
to complain about UAW workers pay, what nerves?

This is old news (he's had 4 years to add to his millions)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-06-14-senate-disclosure-list_x.htm

Shelby's income = $154,700

assets = Apartment complex $5 mil-$25 mil

stocks = $1 mil - $5 mil

house = $500k - $1 mil

townhouse = $500k - $1 mil

office building = $250k-$500k

checking acct = $250 - $500k

other income:
rents = $100k - $1 mil

stock dividends = $100k - $1 mil = chairman of Tuscaloosa Title for 30 yrs.

rent from office bldg = $15 - 500k

***Sold stock of Global Crossing - they filed one fo the biggest bankruptcy cases in U.S. history

BTW, Mitch McConnell wife is Labor Secretary Elaine Chao

Toyota posted a loss. It must be the fault of the UAW.

I wonder if Mitch McConnell and Bob Corker have contacted Hank Paulson about a bailout?

Was Bob Corker duped into blocking the Automotive Company bailout in Congress?

He may have been.

Did Arab leaders really give Condoleezza Rice jewelry worth more than $300,000?

And Bush just got a lousy brush cutter from the Prime Minister of Sweden. Tak sa mycket, asshole.

Obama “isn’t doing enough for the black folks.�

I had to check that Hill article
Satirical?
Nope, just more of the same - trying to make chicken soup from chicken shit.

Tomorrow we'll be reading about Obama totally falling down on N Korea.

This is incredible, I thought there were rules and Constitutional issues about accepting this much in gifts:

Arabs lavish jewels on Secretary of State Rice

By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee, Associated Press Writer – Mon Dec 22, 1:22 pm ET

In this Jan. 15, 2007, file photo released by Saudi News Agency, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud …

WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush's foreign policies may be unpopular in the Middle East, but Arab leaders showered his top diplomat with jewelry worth far more than a quarter of a million dollars last year.

While Bush himself didn't fare nearly as well, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raked in at least $316,000 in gem-encrusted baubles from the kings of Jordan and Saudi Arabia alone, making her one of top recipients among U.S. officials of gifts from foreign heads of state and government and their aides in 2007.

In January, Jordan's King Abdullah II gave Rice an emerald and diamond necklace, ring, bracelet and earrings estimated to be worth $147,000, according to the State Department's annual inventory of such items released Monday just in time for Christmas.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081222/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/rice_gifts

Ah I'm a skimmer. Well at least I usually correct myself, anyway there's quote above for easy reading.

* Barack Obama is poised to have four African Americans in his cabinet. The Congressional Black Caucus is reportedly disappointed. A senior member of the CBC apparently told The Hill that Obama "isn't doing enough for the black folks."

Ah, so now we have African Americans and southerners fighting it out for spots on Obama's cabinet. That doesnt seem like it will end well.

I wonder if the whole "where are the southerners???" business is an excuse to rile up the racists in the south to start an anti-Obama movement.

Ah I'm a skimmer Neil B

I hate to tell you this, but I don't think you skimmed far enough this time. All these gifts had to be given to the government, as they aren't allowed to keep gifts over a small amount. Bush didn't even get to keep his brush cutter.

Those pics were amazing. I'm thinking that Marine in #5 is so totally busted for being without a helmet.

Here's a bit of cheery news:
Inventor's 2020 vision: to help 1bn of the world's poorest see better:
Professor pioneers DIY adjustable glasses that do not need an optician!
---
A senior member of the CBC apparently told The Hill that Obama "isn't doing enough for the black folks."

As if the shit he already faces wasn't enough to overwhelm anyone, it's guaranteed he'll endure a four-year whine-fest from within his own party.

The man does not get a break. What a pity.

Now look at what that dastardly UAW has done - tanked auto sales world wide, collapsed the financial markets and caused global warming!

Where are those Republican Super Duper Southern Senators when you need then! How could they possibly let this happen? I thought they had taken the Lear jets and super weapons from each of those immensely wealthy multi billion dollar blue collar UAW workers so that this sort of thing could no longer happen!

Oh, this is what happens when we are no longer in charge and cannot further obliterate that MIDDLE CLASS! This is what happens when Right Wingnuts and Right Wingnut radio is not allowed to roam free and unfettered by reality! This is what happens when cryptic Ponzi finance schemes run out of dupes - I mean INVESTORS - and cannot rob the Fed and Social Security for more loot - I mean INVESTMENT CAPITAL!

Well, we'll just have to drop all wages to the going rate in the Great South East! South East Asia that is - twenty five cents a day! That'll fix EVERYTHING!

It's the only way to keep me living and fiddling like Nero!

Nice to see some vindication and respect for Hawai'i, a gritty nation-state that was forcibly colonized by the U.S. on the very centennial year of our independence, and made to endure just the sort of "odd, foreign" and "exotic" horseshit Roberts handed out for the succeeding hundred and thirty-five years. It is undeniably beautiful, and its people proud and cultured far beyond the means of its Congregationalist conquerors; its tolerance for other races, cultures and religions far exceeds that of the Mainland. It's a damn good thing Obama was elected President; otherwise, considering the recent fortunes of the other forty-nine states, the Hawaiian independence movement might be gaining new strength.

That Boston Globe picture collection is immense. I discovered The Big Picture recently, and I am in love with photojournalism now.

I just can't figure out why Joe Scarborough says such dumb things on a daily basis.

Joe is a narcissistic twit with a big mouth. As such, he isn't that different from most of the chattering fools on cable TV.

Those nutbags continue to insinuate that the Obama crew did something wrong with Gov. Narrowwwstare Hairpiece. There will be no consequence for repeating like a wind up toy, "If there is more of a connection between Gov. Blogobitch and President-elect Obama, it could be a big problem for him" . This is TV for the two digit, verging on one digit, IQ set.

And a hat tip to TAPPED for a link to a LA Times story on what those Republican Super Duper Southern Senators are really up to:

"But what the foreign car companies want is to level -- which is to say, wipe out -- the union. They currently discourage their workforce from organizing by paying wages comparable to the Big Three's UAW contracts. In fact, Toyota's per-hour wages are actually above UAW wages.

However, an internal Toyota report, leaked to the Detroit Free Press last year, reveals that the company wants to slash $300 million out of its rising labor costs by 2011. The report indicated that Toyota no longer wants to "tie [itself] so closely to the U.S. auto industry." Instead, the company intends to benchmark the prevailing manufacturing wage in the state in which a plant is located. The Free Press reported that in Kentucky, where the company is headquartered, this wage is $12.64 an hour, according to federal labor statistics, less than half Toyota's $30-an-hour wage.

If the companies, with the support of their senators, can wipe out or greatly weaken the UAW, they will be free to implement their plan."

Whole article here: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-raynor18-2008dec18,0,4066838.story

Good to see how they're so dedicated to making sure their states are a good place to live and work. Nice to see how they recognize that we need to create a new economy in America which has good jobs for workers rather than destroying the middle class.

You're not the only one watching The Middleman. There's you, one guy at the LA Times, and one guy at the Chicago Tribune.

I was also watching The Middleman, which, btw, passes the Bechdel Test. The promos for it really turned me off, but it turned out to be pretty fantastic.

the big picture is one of the best things on the web.

You're not the only one watching The Middleman. There's you, one guy at the LA Times, and one guy at the Chicago Tribune.

Word.

Heh. Add me to the small list of Middleman fans. It's a very smart show. I can't wait for it to return.

I think Cokie is absolutely deserving of the inane award. And in the bizarre blather category, I find myself remembering NRO's Rick Lowry and his starburst moment after the Palin/Biden debate

I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me." And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America.

Add me to the Middleman fan list too! MADE OF AWESOME.

Joe Scarbough now has to go back to 1993 when Gay’s where offended by actions in the Clinton administration. Today bringing up the subject about Warren being chosen as part of the opening ceremony also being anti-gay. If I was a juror in any case, Scarbough’s personality alone would compel me to vote in away that he would loose. For me it is just that personality of his, Scarbough is a disgusting sort especially knowing he is skilled in law makes even more horrible.

Scarbough being as snarky and snooty as he is in his natural way to finish points gets under my skin, and suppose there are a lot more out there that agree with me. Plus Scarbough being grounded with a law degree wheels a double edge rhetorical advantage that is handily equipped to vehemently prosecute or defend a political analysis, rather than report a core of truth and balance.

Most of the Journalist today is getting away with these snarky snooty comments about other persons. Journalist routinely makes wild acquisitions far too often without seeking a defense from the targets they ridicule.

Similarly, Cheney was interviewed on FOX News, asked about what was the best defining time in his Vice Presidency? Cheney, starred and mumbled back the question, then replied “911�.

David Shuster was reporting at the time on MSNBC, and then quoting the interview from FOX commented about that being the best moment in his Vice Presidency said “Sheesh, yuck�! “That was a good time for the Vice President?� David Shuster, glibly characterizing Cheney, about his selection of a good moment in his Vice Presidency, choosing 911.

That comments\ Cheney made for me was crystallized and correlated with a discussion on C-Span about Bush’s legacy. It was not good coupled with a deep analysis of Cheney’s very secret and parallel operation with the President.

For me 911 is a period in time when Bush and Company just held the door open, not doing anything even though intelligence surrounded the issue of actions that are in motion to be challenged? Twenty Arabs and one Egyptian with box cutters high jacked planes has to be the worst time in history that breached the finest and most expensive security system in the world.

For me it isn’t that America has not been attacked again since then, but it is serious to consider why all it went wrong in the first place. More over to detail the breach in security by a forty billion dollar security system through observations by the public. We the public are an intrinsic part of the security system in this social political problem. Little to nothing is actually addressed by the Government or the media in respect to this accountability. This is the most disgusting situation ever recorded in history. For me in it all links with complicity with the Arabs, Bush and Company, and CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and Hate Radio.

"I just can't figure out why Joe Scarborough says such dumb things on a daily basis."JS is thoughtless , racist bigot that's why

Cokie Roberts' on-air complaints about Hawaii being "foreign" and "exotic"

I'm afraid that most of the librul comments I've heard about dear foolish Cokie's comments sound out of touch and elitist. A trip to Hawaii may be no big deal for you, particularly for you singles, but for a middle class family, it amounts to a MAJOR LUXURY, and relatively few ever make it. Although all would love to go.

Hawaii is not "exotic"?!? Are you kidding me? I guess if you regularly vacation in the Bahamas or Canaries or New Zealand or where ever, Americanized Hawaii may be no big deal. Hey, they even speak English there - you call that "exotic"? However, the ocean alone is a big thrill for those of us who live in "flyover country"; when you add in the palm trees, jungle, tropical birds, the amazing fish, and the several non-Caucasian cultures - and the fact that the whole place consists of active volcanoes - well, if that isn't "exotic" enough for you, I truly envy you.

" I just can't figure out why Joe Scarborough says such dumb things on a daily basis."

"But...Scarborough uses (perhaps adolescent efforts at)sarcasm and irony to make his points. The show tries to balance entertainment and information ..."

No, he is a moron, and a talentless one, but it's more than that.

It's to get a reaction out of people and generate subsequent ad revenue for the respective network. It doesn't matter if they are liberal, conservative or otherwise. It's the Howard Stern syndrome. The majority of people who listen to him hate him. They tune into because they want to hear what he says next. This in-turn generates ad revenue.

It's the same thing with the right-wing echo chamber. It's the same thing with people like Bill Kristol. People tune into to hear what dumb thing they have to say next. The reaction to the controversy is what these networks count on in order to make money.

My solution is to not bother with them at all. They are like Faux, Politico, and all the others. They offer nothing useful.

Steve Benen,

Please stop doing stories from these other right-wing pundits or the echo chamber. All it does is waste everyone's time and prevent real debate on important issues from happening. Now that Obama is coming into office, the country needs to turn its attention to solving its problems, and not be sidetracked by this BS.

Hawaii is not "exotic"?!? Are you kidding me?

It's one of the fifty states, and no more "exotic" than places in California, Florida, and other states that many families also can't afford to visit--depending on how far away they live.
Don't be a Cokie. Oh, it's also where Obama was born and lived for much of his childhood. So he's not allowed to visit his home state because some hacks consider it too "exotic"?

steve: A senior member of the CBC apparently told The Hill that Obama "isn't doing enough for the black folks."

well...consider..this...

number of gop elected black gov., representatives and senators:

0

Cokie Roberts could also have been nominated for her remark about Joe Biden's 'mistake' of calling the predominant ethnic group in Bosnia 'bosniac.'

She is just a buffoon. I can't understand why she is still a trusted TV commentator?

Had to check...

There are 20 cabinet members.
Obama has selected 4 to be black. (20%, 50% higher than population representation)
3 Latino. (15%, 40% higher than statistically expected)

Current administration?
1 Black
1 Latino
1 Asian

I once heard that when you get a new job, no matter what they offer you in salary... you're supposed to respond, "well, I must say I'm disappointed. I thought it would be more."

Uh, CBC guys? You got a 400% raise. Give it a rest.
Rules of thumb sometimes just don't apply and you come across as whiners or utterly clueless.

Neither reflects well.