He means Fox and Murdoch's empire.

For the first time? Really? Are you sure about that, Howell? Didn't you used to edit a paper that seemed particularly concerned with the health and nurturing of one political party>

He doesn't think any media outfits -- including the risibly liberal MSNBC -- might be dedicated to the promotion of the Democratic Party. No, such outlets are dedicated to objective truth.

He has a curious way of demonstrating Fox's supposed bias. He says that FoxNews promotes the idea that ObamaCare is unpopular. But it's actually not unpopular, he insists. (!!!???)

As evidence, he cites Gallup:

It is true that, after 14 months of Fox's relentless pounding of President Obama's idea of sweeping reform, the latest Gallup poll shows opinion running 48 to 45 percent against the current legislation. Fox invariably stresses such recent dips in support for the legislation, disregarding the majorities in favor of various individual aspects of the reform effort.

Note that he's claiming that the leftist media he belongs to is actually honest and FoxNews is biased; as evidence for this, he offers us a lie. The "It is true that..." construction is intended to indicate he's conceding something to the other side in this dispute; in fact, he's lying even there, because of all polling outfits, Gallup was cherry-picked for showing the highest level of support for the "reform." Many other pollsters put the split at 35-52 or thereabouts.

There is practically no one in America who believes that ObamaCare is only down by three points -- including Gallup itself. And including Howell Raines.

And this is the guy lecturing us on "yellow journalism" and media outfits campaigning shamelessly for one political party.

Posted by: Ace at 08:12 AM | Comments (158)
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Congressman Luis Guiterrez of Illinois isn't happy with the exclusion of illegal immigrants from ObamaCare, so he's going from Yes to No.

Gutierrez, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) in which he serves as chairman of its Immigration Task Force, said the caucus still has concerns over the extent to which the healthcare bill excludes illegal immigrants as well as legal residents from receiving benefits in the healthcare plan.

"They are enough to say I can't support this bill," Gutierrez said during an appearance on MSNBC.

We'll take no votes anyway we can get them.

via @braddayspring

Posted by: DrewM at 07:29 AM | Comments (89)
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Dear taxpayer,

I won't be able to send you the money I owe you for a while. I hope to be able to pay you by the end of the year.

I know, I know. Look, we told you: The economy is a mess, see, and you don't want the kids to suffer, do you?

Hey, don't worry: We might even pay you interest on it. What's that? Penalties? Oh no, penalties are for tax-payers, not tax-imposers.

Hmm? "Just kicking the problem a year down the road?" Oh, no, let me explain. See, the way it all works is -

Hey look over there! Is that Elvis behind that tree?

Delaying refund checks isn't unprecedented, Pattison said, but it is something virtually no politician wants to do, because taxpayers are owed the money and in most cases want it fast. Delays in paying refunds and other state bills can trigger interest on those overdue payments, depending on state laws, he said.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:10 AM | Comments (68)
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He will therefore delay his trip to Asia from March 18 to March 21. Inconveniencing foreign leaders is not as important as his failing legacy. He's going to contribute his "personal touch" to the next critical week.

Jim Geraghty has a good point: if Pelosi has the votes, as she insists, then why would the President need to delay anything?

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:32 AM | Comments (234)
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(A series of weekly-ish roundups of the day's Climate news and commentary.)

This is by no means a comprehensive recap. The stories come from a variety of sources, and I highly recommend exploring the linked sites for more breaking news.

(after the break...) more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 AM | Comments (40)
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Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:20 AM | Comments (24)
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Big Brother Wants Your DNA

Of course anyone could be arrested for anything at anytime and held for 24 hours then simply released. Theoretically, they could systematically roll through the whole population doing that.

Will the police be interested in doing this? Probably not. If Obama were to push this, and get it into law, the police would likely view it as an unfunded federal mandate. The bureaucratic and lab infrastructure needed to implement such a scheme pervasively would be truly massive. The 2006 FBI UCR says that over 14,000,000 arrests of all sorts happened in the USA that year (not counting traffic violations). That's over 38,000 arrests/day on average.

Clearly, the lab capacity to handle that number of DNA samples daily and physically process them is non-trivial. Of course, for those samples to have any future legal value, everything would have to be handled with rigid chain of custody procedures, and original physical samples warehoused under lock and key.

Impact on things like witness protection programs and such is plainly a concern as well. A host of privacy and potential abuse issues are so obvious they don't even need mention.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 08:13 PM | Comments (220)
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Happy Thursday M&Ms.

The Classic HBO Intro: Behind the scenes
If you ever saw a movie on HBO during the 80's, you probably saw this intro. Well here's how they made it. And it was a lot of work. Of course it was all kinda wasted since I would've watched their movies even if the intro was just a cardboard sign written in crayon. My parents never would get premium cable so my only chances to enjoy HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax were over at friends' houses. So my Skinemax experiences were few but highly treasured.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:43 PM | Comments (699)
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Just saw this on Twitter via SnB. His wife has a fractured back and neck, and a broken nose, and his daughter neck injuries and cuts.

Their vehicle was rear-ended by a semi-truck as they drove on a Washington highway, Summers said. Lana ReidÂ’s injuries also are not life-threatening, the spokesman said.

Both were admitted to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia, said hospital spokesman Tony Raker. Summers said both were conscious and “can feel their extremities.”

The injuries are described as non life-threatening, but certainly serious. Best wishes for their speedy recovery. I've got a wife and two adult girls, and I've gotten that phone call too. It sucks.

Updated, broken back and neck. Damnnn. Thanks PajamaMomma for the reading for comprehension thingy.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 03:00 PM | Comments (345)
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A likely no at this point.

I did the "Oh My" thing in the headline because unless I'm missing something, this guy wasn't on the of either possible Dem pick-ups or possible GOP pick-ups -- not even a long-shot chance of the GOP flipping him. (Am I retarded, or is the name "Capuano" entirely missing from all four of Hotline's lists?)

And yet what was apparently considered a solid Democratic Yes vote not even worth discussing very much signals he's now a no.

Thanks to AHFF Geoff.

Old-ish: Jay Cost already noted this guy's reservations on March 5, but doubts he will really vote against the President at the end of the day.

Cost is treating his objections as a not-seriously-meant political marker.

Update: Not truly old -- the letter he wrote outlining his objections is dated today.

But he has made similar objections in the past. Does the formality of a letter to constituents mean he's more serious about voting no than Cost previously credited him as?

I'm waiting for Cost to put me some f'n' knowlege.

Longer View? DrewM. notes Capuano challenged Coakley to run for "The Ted Kennedy Seat" The Scott Brown Seat, and that he might be tacking towards he center to vie again for the Senate seat in 2012.

Jay Cost Says It Doesn't Change His Opinion: His reasoning is that statements like this only lock a politician in if they have a competitive race in 2010. So, Heath Shuler is sort of locked-in by speaking out against reconciliation.

Capuano, in his safe seat, isn't so locked in and has no threat from the right, so this is just as likely to be posturing/negotiating with Pelosi, he says.

Posted by: Ace at 01:58 PM | Comments (109)
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