1.) Holder cold front crosses the aisle — So far, only the Republicans in Congress have spoken up about outmoded concepts like “the rule of law” and “common decency” when it comes to embattled Attorney General Eric Holder. But now it seems to be politically expedient to start gently nudging Holder under the bus, as TheDC’s Matthew Boyle reports:
“Illinois Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez told The Daily Caller on Tuesday that he thinks ‘it’s much too early’ for him to call for Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation over Operation Fast and Furious, but that he’s watching the congressional investigation closely and may do so soon. ‘I agree, for the loss of life, for our fine men and women as well as possibly hundreds of Mexican nationals, in this war against drugs and against the cartels,’ Gutierrez said in an interview on Capitol Hill. ‘And, I think that mistakes should be looked at, evaluated and ultimately, those that are responsible — but I don’t think we’re there yet. I don’t have all of the answers. I don’t have all of the information. I would hope that those that have already rushed to judgment, which I don’t want to do, with the Attorney General — He’s going to come and testify, I’m going to listen to that testimony.’ Gutierrez also made a conditional call for Holder’s resignation, indicating that if he’s convinced Holder knew of Operation Fast and Furious, and misled Congress, he thinks Holder should resign. ‘I assure you that if I find that he, with knowledge and premeditation and foresight, was totally irresponsible, then he should leave,’ Gutierrez said. ‘But, I don’t think we’re there yet. And, I think that there has been a lot of political machinations around this. And, you know, a lot of people have died. A lot of blood has been shed. Mistakes are made. We should hold accountable all of those that make mistakes.'”
Crazier things have happened. Meanwhile, Lanny Davis is right twice a day, and he used up one of his scheduled slots to ask: Why isn’t the White House defending Holder?
2.) Newt and Nancy sittin’ in a tree, S-N-A-R-L-I-N-G — The closer Newt Gingrich gets to the reins of power, the more his old pal Nancy Pelosi tightens her grip on his ankle. It wasn’t always this way, as TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:
“Newt Gingrich has taken heat on the campaign trail from conservatives for filming a 2008 commercial on climate change with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. But that was hardly the first time the Republican presidential candidate and former House speaker collaborated with Pelosi. Gingrich co-sponsored 418 bills in Congress with Pelosi during the 12 years they served together in the House, according to the Library of Congress’s THOMAS database… Many of the bills Gingrich and Pelosi co-sponsored were hardly divisive: authorizing an award for Mother Teresa, giving a congressional gold medal to former President Gerald Ford, and recognizing the 50th anniversary of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. But one piece of legislation could be problematic for Gingrich with conservatives: the Global Warming Prevention Act of 1989, which never made it out of committee. The legislation declared that climate change was ‘a major threat to political stability, international security and economic prosperity.’ The bill could also make the pro-life community uneasy with language about the availability of ‘family planning services’ that included a declaration that ‘curbing world population growth will be critical to achieving the goals.'”
Wow, a twofer: global warming and eugenics! Well, no matter what you think about Newt, this is what he gets for playing nice with Nancy all these years: a scalpel in the back.
3.) Lights out, America — Liberals want the government out of your bedroom… unless your bedroom has the wrong light bulbs. Soon you won’t be permitted to mess up yet another matter of personal choice, as TheDC’s Caroline May reports:
“Beginning in January 2012, the 100-watt incandescent light bulb will no longer be legally produced in the United States. The 3-year phase-out of the incandescent light bulb, beginning with the 100-watt bulb, comes as energy standards mandated in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 are implemented. It has infuriated conservatives who see the restriction as an infringement on their right to chose how they light their homes and businesses… Advocates for the phase-out explain that not only will new energy standards increase efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions, they have already led to greater innovation… Howard Segermark, president of a government relations consulting company on Capitol Hill, explained to The Daily Caller that he has started to stock-pile incandescent 100-watt light bulbs due to the coming limits and incandescents’ current cost… Segermark added that he does not like the government telling him what kind of light bulb he should be using. ‘The arrogance of a government that tells you what size light bulbs to use is like Nixon imposing wage and price controls while devaluing the dollar; like FDR claiming to eliminate “want;” like King Canute demanding the tide to stop,’ he wrote in an email. ‘They all try to ignore the way the world works.'”
Silly wingnut. If we all started worrying about the way the world works, how would we ever bring about Utopia?
4.) Matthews family values — Everybody knows Chris Matthews has a big mouth and it often emits noises that are at odds with reality. But did you know it runs in the family? TheDC’s Jeff Poor reports:
“On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Montgomery County Commissioners chairman James R. Matthews was arrested for perjury charges. Matthews, the brother of MSNBC talking-head Chris Matthews, is accused of misleading a grand jury about his campaign contributions and county contracts. According to the grand jury report, ‘Matthews lied with such ease and frequency that he acted as though, as chairman of the Montgomery County Commissioners, he is above the law.’ That was echoed by Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, who said Matthews’ ‘demeanor was one of arrogance, one that he was entitled to do whatever he wanted, that this was his government.'”
This may be bad news for Matthews in the short term, but there’s a silver lining: Now MSNBC knows where to look when Ed Schultz finally flames out.
5.) We have a bone to pick with Medicare — Your tax dollars are still, um, hard at work. Ben Domenech at the Heartland Institute reports:
“According to data collected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare has spent more than $240 million of taxpayer money on penis pumps for elderly men over the past decade, and will surpass a quarter of a billion dollars this year for costs since 2001.”
And that’s just for Barney Frank!
6.) Today’s words of wisdom from Alec Baldwin’s Truther, er, Twitter feed — “Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving. #nowonderamericaairisbankrupt” [Note: Mayor Baldwin was kicked off an airplane yesterday for throwing a screaming fit when he was told to turn off his phone. This delayed the flight by an hour, but that’s okay because the rest of the passengers weren’t Alec Baldwin. He has been reacting on Twitter with his usual level of wit and grace, unfortunately.]
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