Tom DeLay: Texas Can Divide Itself Into Five States If It Wants To

What does Tom DeLay think Texas is, an amoeba?  Chris Matthews takes him to task for defending the recent comments of Governor Rick Perry who said his state might get so fed up with the federal government that it might have to secede from the union.

Matthews: You can’t secede from the Union!

DeLAY: Texas was a republic. It joined the Union by treaty. There’s a process in the treaty by which Texas could divide into five states. If we invoke that, and the last time it was voted on was 1985, the United States Senate would …

On Thursday’s Radio Show…

• Is the government spying on you? Judge Andrew Napolitano explains why every American should be concerned about the NSA’s secret eavesdropping program.

• Think the Drug War only targets the guilty? Think again. Regina Kelly, whose experiences inspired the new movie American Violet, and attorney Graham Boyd of the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project discuss how drug charges nearly ruined her life – despite her innocence.

• Conservative activist Randy Thomasson is calling on parents to pull their kids out of public school tomorrow in protest of “the homosexual-bisexual-transsexual indoctrination” of children. He says he …

Greed + Fear = Guns

Retail sales are down, but not if you’re talking about guns.  And those who stand to profit are ginning up public fear for their own purposes.

Purchases of guns and ammunition are surging across the country. Nearly four million background checks — a key measure of sales because they are required at the purchase of a gun from a federally licensed seller — were performed in the first three months of 2009. That is a 27% increase over the same period a year earlier, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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Many gun dealers are fanning …

Michele Bachmann Redux

Michele Bachmann never fails to amuse. However, her statements about Muslims, aided and abetted by KSFO radio host Lee Rodgers is worrisome, in that Muslim-bashing is so last administration.  News bulletin: we’re not at war with Islam, as our new president has stated.  Think Progress, your one-stop shop for Bachmannobilia,  has the audio of an April 9 conversation.

LR: Minnesota is the first state to have elected an openly, avowed Muslim to Congress, Mr. Ellison. The word is, he is heavily involved in what amounts to a talent search for Muslims to fill jobs of some …

NY Governor Accused Of “Laughing In The Face” Of New Archbishop Because Of Gay Marriage Bill

New York Governor David Paterson announced plans to legalize same-sex marriage in New York, and by doing so incurred the wrath of Democratic Senator Ruben Diaz (r) of the Bronx, an evangelical pastor who says it’s “disrespectful” to do this the same week a new Catholic archbishop, Timothy Dolan, is installed.

Does this mean any other week and Diaz would be fine with it?  Unlikely.

“I think it’s a laugh in the face of the new archbishop,” Diaz said Thursday before the start of his meeting. “The Jews just finished their holy week. The Catholics just received the new …

Every Move You Make, Every Word You Say…

Our beloved National Security Agency intercepted private email messages and phone calls beyond legal limits that Congress established last year.

Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “overcollection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional.

I love how they put that.  “Overcollecton” of data. Some thief accused of stealing one day will say it was just an “overcollection.”  The Obama administration has been looking into operational problems with the NSA.  …

Richard Armitage: “Maybe I Should Have Quit”

Richard Armitage, the Deputy Secretary of State in the Bush administration, told al Jazeera that maybe he should have quit over differences with BushCo. on the Geneva Conventions.  He also acknowledged that waterboarding is torture.  Armitage, by the way, is the man who first leaked the name Valerie Plame.

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You Know What These Teabaggers Are?

Community organizers.

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Teabaggers

It turns out they didn’t have the proper permits to dump a million tea bags in DC’s Lafayette Square.  Just as well, as their taxpayer dollars would then have had to pay for the clean up.

But they sure did have some fun, like this guy telling Obama to, “Stop stealing from my children.”

Here’s a lovely invitation for Obama to to go back to Africa:

Another fine example of free speech: “Tea Bag the D-Bag.”

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On Wednesday’s Radio Show…

• It’s Tax Time: Alan and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich debate the impact of today’s “tea parties.”

• Is paying taxes patriotic? Alan says Yes. He’ll defend his unpopular position.

• Why are some conservatives so paranoid about being called “right wing”? Alan psychoanalyzes his friends across the aisle.…

Meet My Left Wing

With the paranoid right-wing whining because of the Homeland Security Department report warning of extremism on their side, you’d think they are being singled out for their views.  But in April 2001, the Department of Energy put out a report, “Left-Wing Extremism: The Current Threat.”  More recently, on January 26, 2009, Homeland Security issued “Left Wing Extremists Likely To Increase Use Of Cyber Attacks over the Coming Decade.”  Yet, I don’t recall alarmism on the left as a result of these releases. In fact this Think Progress post is the first time I’ve heard about them.…