1.) Conspiracy theorists misdiagnose TSA outrage, blame the Kochtopus — Just days after Politico’s Ben Smith attributed all journalism coverage ever about the TSA’s new security measures to one man (Matt Drudge), The Nation‘s Mark Ames rolls out his own theory: “While this issue is certainly important–and offensive–to Americans, we are nonetheless skeptical about how and why this story turned into a national movement,” writes Ames, who then fingers a network of “Koch-related libertarians, Washington lobbyists and PR operatives posing as ‘ordinary citizens,’ and suspicious fake-grassroots outrage relentlessly promoted in the same old right-wing echo chamber.” We can’t help but ask: Is The American Prospect’s Adam Serwer one of these David Koch acolytes? How about Salon’s Glenn Greenwald? How about magician Penn Jillette? What about Pulitzer-winning humorist Dave Barry? What about Eliot Spitzer? Is it possible that these folks, each of whom has railed against the TSA’s security measures, all work for the Koch Bros? Pick up The Nation next week to find out!
2.) Think tanks freak out over proposed cuts to defense spending in Bowles/Simpson report — The only people more upset by the deficit reduction draft released by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson than the far left, it seems, is the right. “The proposed defense budget cuts, spending freezes, and program cancellations put forward recently in a series of high-profile studies and reports from the chairmen of President Obama’s deficit commission…do not appear to be grounded in any realistic assessment of our military’s current capabilities and the challenges we are likely to face in the years ahead,” reads a joint letter from the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Foreign Policy Initiative. “The fiscal effects of such reductions are miniscule–saving perhaps $100 billion over many years against projected annual deficits of more than $1.4 trillion–but the impact on the U.S. military is major. Greater still would be the effects of diminished American power in an increasingly ‘multipolar’ world.” It is probably time to dig a shallow grave for the aforementioned proposal and lay it to rest.
3.) BREAKING: You have Michelle Obama’s permission to be fat tomorrow; Barack not scared of Sarah — Friday’s “Baba Wawa Special: A Thanksgiving Visit with President and Mrs. Obama,” will be must-watch TV according to a press release sent out by ABC. Pres. Obama tells Wawa that he “doesn’t think about Sarah Palin,” and, “If I falter and the American people are dissatisfied, then I’ll have problems,” but not before then! Also: First Lady Michelle Obama gives Americans of all shapes and sizes permission to eat what they want on specific holidays! “Don’t worry about how much you eat. Just enjoy it,” FLOTUS told Wawa. “This is the time. Have pie.” Do you feel better now?
4.) San Francisco fascists go ahead with McDonald’s ban — “The San Francisco Board of Supervisor banned most McDonald’s Happy Meals with toys Tuesday. Despite objections and ridicule from opponents, the vote overrode the mayor’s veto and officially approved the ban,” reports CNN. “The new ordinance, which requires Happy Meals and other fast food with toys to meet new nutritional standards or else be removed from menus, goes into effect December 1, 2011.” Mark it on your calendars, folks: Dec. 1 will be the beginning of the end.
5.) Gawker settles suit after stealing Sarah Palin’s book — Apparently there are consequences to taking something that somebody else wrote and posting it for free on the Internet! This one time, anyway! According to Yahoo’s Cutline blog, “HarperCollins settled a lawsuit Tuesday night with Gawker Media over the site’s publication of leaked images from Sarah Palin’s new book, ‘America by Heart.'” According to a HarperCollins statement, Gawker “has agreed to keep the posted material off its web site and not to post the material again in the future.” And to think: It was Gawker who told Palin to call her lawyers!