Which headline more perfectly summarizes CPAC?

Rumsfeld to receive ‘Defender of the Constitution Award’ at CPAC

Tucker Carlson to receive media "accuracy" award

One thing's for sure: in either case, we can blame Teh Gheys.

There is no bottom to the wingnut derangement concerning Those People

Hateway Pundit claims: "Michelle Obama’s 'Get Up & Get Moving' Program Linked to Increase in Pedestrian Deaths."

To decorate his post, he has a picture of the First Lady jumping rope. And he gives an image credit, for once. Right under the picture. Probably had nothing to do with the name of the source.

The First Lady jumping. (African Sun Times)

Of course Jim Hoft's whole post is made of idiocy. And of course Tucker Carlson reported the same nonsense.

(x-posted)

As long as the Bow-Tied Twerp has managed to weasel his way back into the spotlight ...

... you might have a look at this post by Ezra Klein.

If you care about the nontroversy that is Journolist, I mean.

(h/t: uncle ebeneezer)

The Face of Obamacare!

At least, if you're a bed-wetting wingnut! Here's a screen shot TBogg took yesterday, at the exciting new Tucker Carlson "news" web site! Click it to big it, and make yourself even more scared!

He Forgot "Bow-tied Twerp," ...

... but other than that, I'd say Jim Newell gets Tucker Carlson’s new Daily Caller web site about right when he characterizes it as the “Reason magazine of Huffington Posts.”

(Previously. Also, too.)

Reminder (to self): Read TFN Insider (more often)

I've mentioned TFN Insider, the blog of the Texas Freedom Network, before -- it's a valuable resource if you're interested in things like the ongoing attempts by creationists and other Christianists to take over all matters of education down in Texas. And you should be -- as Texas goes, so goes the nation, in things like textbooks for grades K-12.

Anyway, I had occasion to refer to them in the middle of a screed on the Bh.tv forums answering questions like, "So, what's so bad about debating creationists again?" This led me to check my link (because I'm obsessive like that), and I have to say, the latest post is especially well worth reading. It's an update on the previously-noted social studies kerfuffle going on down there (yeah, it's not just all creationism all the time -- the fundies would like more Jeebus served with everything these days), and among other things, it features Tucker Carlson lying and being a dick.

All together now, class ... No one could have predicted.

New Poll: Nip and Tuck Edition

Now that Tucker Carlson has had his second TV show canceled, for poor ratings and general dickitude, what do you think lies ahead for him? Go over to the sidebar and vote!

Poll closes 18 March 2008, at 9:00 PM.

The results from the last poll were a landslide:

Q: What's your take on Ralph Nader running for president?

(46%) I will never vote for him. I still blame him for 2000.

(23%) I admire his past accomplishments, but he's past his Sell-By date.

(15%) I admire him for tilting at windmills, but I doubt I'll vote for him.

(7%) I will vote for him if Obama does not win the Democratic nomination.

(7%) I will vote for him.

(0%) I will vote for him if Clinton does not win the Democratic nomination.

(0%) I will vote for him unless the Republicans dump McCain in favor of someone I like better.

(0%) Doesn't matter. I always vote for Lyndon LaRouche.

Thanks for voting!

Hate the restrictions of multiple-choice questions? Please feel free to expand upon your vote in the Comments.

Hard to Believe Anyone Would Pony Up The Money to Register This Domain

I am not making this up. There's a web site out there (and I do mean out there) called Save Tucker Carlson.

The alleged proprietors have posted their phone numbers right on the home page, if you'd like to repeat to them what Jon Stewart so memorably said directly to Tucker. (The line I'm thinking about starts at 12:28, or -1:44, as the timer shows here, but it's probably worth watching the whole thing.)

(h/t: TRex)

Reading Recommendations: 2007-01-17

Special censorship edition

• Wires Reject Handout Photo Of Bush Speech

  The reason for all of those low res pix of Bush in the papers, the day after the speech. Paranoia is at a new high at the White House, it seems to me.
  
  Thanks to Eat The Press for the link.
  
  On a related note, you heard that none of the broadcast networks aired the Democratic response, right? I admit that I didn't watch Bush's speech, and would probably have been equally unimpressed by Dick Durbin's response, but still. It's an awfully troubling precedent.
  
  

• Dr. Spocko Nerve-Pinches Disney Over Outrageous SF Radio Show

  Following a hint from Betmo's recent comment under my first Tucker post, I came across this story. Apparently, Spocko is a blogger who had been documenting the heinous sputterings aired on the radio station KSFO. Disney/ABC prevailed upon the blogger's ISP to kill his site, claiming that the audio clips that Spocko posted were some kind of copyright infringement. (To my mind, it's hard to believe any sane person would want to control ownership of this kind of hate speech, but never mind that.) At any rate, Spocko's ISP killed Spocko's site. <sarcasm>(Gutsy move, 1&1.)</sarcasm>
  
  [Update: I wrote the above paragraph on 13 Jan, and followed by noting that the MSM hadn't picked up on the story. After double-checking Google News today, I see that the NYTimes ran an article on 15 Jan.]
  
  Meantime, the good news is, Spocko has a new host, and the audio links work.
  
  

• Federal Way schools restrict Gore film: 'Inconvenient Truth' called too controversial

  Another link courtesy of Eat The Press.
  
  BTW, Federal Way is a city. The article doesn't make this clear, probably because if you read the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, you're assumed to know this. The point is, Federal Way is not some business running charter schools -- it's a city whose school board is running public schools.
  
  Excerpt:

  "Condoms don't belong in school, and neither does Al Gore. He's not a schoolteacher," said Frosty Hardison, a parent of seven who also said that he believes the Earth is 14,000 years old. "The information that's being presented is a very cockeyed view of what the truth is. ... The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD."
  
  Hardison's e-mail to the School Board prompted board member David Larson to propose the moratorium Tuesday night.
  
  "Somebody could say you're killing free speech, and my retort to them would be we're encouraging free speech," said Larson, a lawyer. "The beauty of our society is we allow debate."

  
  
  What did you learn in school today? Condoms = Al Gore. The Bible = the best source for climatological information. Banning movies = encouraging free speech.
  
  We're doomed.
  
  

Tucker Update

Tucker Carlson's video store meltdown has made the WaPo. Kind of a lame article, and on page C3 on a Saturday, but still. It's another body added to what I hope will become an enormous pig pile on top of Carlson.

Thanks to EarlG for catching this.

Don't know what I'm talking about? See my earlier Tucker post for a summary, and then head on over to the source for the latest.

Tucker Carlson: Now Even More Unbelievable

I just read a story describing how a friend of a friend was fired from his job. The reason? He sassed Tucker Carlson.

Apparently, Chuckles had posted something on his blog about Carlson opening an account at the video store where Chuckles worked. Carlson came into the store ranting about the post and Chuckles responded with a couple of wisecracks. Employment termination ensued.

It probably won't amaze you to hear that yet another rightwing gas bag who makes a very comfortable living saying obnoxious things about other people is singularly unable to take any guff in return. It might amaze you, however, to read about the level of pettiness to which Carlson stooped.

The comments on Chuckles's blog are filled with scorn for Carlson, and that's as it should be -- it is to hoped that this episode comes to the attention of Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert, and that Carlson gets put under the spotlight for his ridiculous overreactions. One might even dream of MSNBC realizing that Carlson should be shown to the sidewalk himself.

It seems to me, however, that there is another party in this mess who deserves some blowback as well: Chuckles's former boss. I'd like to know how you could be so weak-kneed as to fire someone because Tucker Carlson tells you to.

---

Thanks to Brando for calling this to my attention.