If ACORN Falls, It’s Because The Media Believed Imposters

ACORN, a group that has done much to empower minorities, is on the verge of bankruptcy, and it’s largely because of a neglectful media that allowed itself to be railroaded by unethical conservative activists.  Clark Hoyt, the public editor of the New York Times, takes his own paper to task for its lack of diligence on the story.

The Times was slow last fall to cover that sting in Baltimore, similar ones at Acorn offices in Brooklyn, Washington and other cities, and the resulting uproar, including criminal investigations and votes in Congress to cut off funds for the …

Health Care Haters Hurl “N”-Word At Congessman John Lewis

Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, a son of sharecroppers, and a hero of the civil rights movement, didn’t need the sniping of bitter tea partiers to round out his resume.  Arrested more than 40 times, physically assaulted, and often injured as a result, having the “n” word yelled at him because his opponents can’t stand his views doesn’t phase him.

Tea Party protesters held a rally outside the Capitol on Saturday, which included speeches by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and actor Jon Voight, and then proceeded into the halls to lobby members at the 11th hour.

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Asked if …

Democrats Will Take Straight Up-Or-Down Vote On Health Care; No Deem And Pass

Now that Democrats have announced there will be a straight up-and-down vote on reforming health care, Republicans can’t bitch and moan about process.…

Tea Party Rally Sign: “If Brown Can’t Stop [Health Care] A Browning Can”

When actor Jon Voight put out “a call to arms” to rally against health care reform, who knew he meant it literally? Referred to as “a code red rally,” it’s a last, desperate attempt to stop the wheels of progress; so desperate, in fact, that one sign threatens gun violence: “Warning: If [Senator Scott] Brown can’t stop it, a Browning [gun] can.”

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Sarah Palin Concerned Obama’s “Lack Of Experience” Has Him “Over His Head” On Health Reform

by Thomas Wellborn

Sarah Palin has once again provided us with sneak peek into the ominous way her brain functions.  This time she has leveraged her extensive worldly political experience in her critique of President Obama’s handling of health care reform.

PALIN: It really reflects a lack of experience of President Obama’s, which — it was warned about during the campaign that Candidate Obama didn’t have executive experience, he hasn’t been an administrator or a manager of anything. So to jump into this huge — hugely important responsible position as President of the United States without the experience to

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More GOP Hypocrisy: State Party Provides Health Insurance That Includes Abortion

While Republicans and some Democrats want to hold up health care reform because of the false premise that abortions would be covered, the Washington State GOP provides its employees health care through a consortium that does just that. Congresswoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers blasted Democrats for favoring a health reform plan that includes abortion coverage, even though her own state party is covered via AWB Health Choice, which covers abortions.

Questioned by Think Progress, McMorris-Rodgers refused to acknowledge the hypocrisy:

TP: But at the same time, Lifewise Health Plans, which is what the Washington State GOP uses to provide …

Parkinson’s Sufferer Harassed By Tea Partiers: “I Embody The Controversy”

Bob Letcher, the man with Parkinson’s who was called a “communist” by tea partiers outside Ohio Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy’s office, spoke with Talking Points Memo, saying he presented himself at the rally as a symbol of the debate.

“I feel I embody the controversy that was being fought out,” Bob Letcher, 60, tells us. “No one was engaging, everyone was screaming. I thought, I don’t have to scream, I just have to be there. I walked over and sat down … I sort of presented myself as an argument by myself.”

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Letcher made his way over to …

Boehner: Student Loan Reform Will “Eliminate Every Bank In The Country” (From Student Loans)

by Thomas Wellborn

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said student loan reform, integrated into the health care reform reconciliation package, would “eliminate every bank in the country and all student loan lenders,” replacing them with the government.

BOEHNER: Well, if you look at this student loan provision in there, they eliminate every bank in the country and all private student loan lenders so the government can do it instead.

Likely Boehner fears government expansion into the private banking sector, even though student lending is already by and large a federal program

But his fear-mongering is unfounded…

Bo Obama Indifferent to Demon Pass

While Republicans are hypocritically attacking the process, rather than the substance, of health care reform, First Canine Bo Obama seems unconcerned. Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher got the tough interview.

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Could Stupak Flip To Yes?

It sounds like a longshot – at least, it would have a few days ago – but I’m starting to believe it really could happen.

This morning on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” the anti-abortion Michigan Democrat made sure to give himself a little wiggle room:

STUPAK: We’re looking at different options, as you said. As you know, I want to pass health care; I voted for it before. My group – we all voted for it before. We’d like to see health care. But there’s a principle we do not want to cross. We want to continue protecting the …

Iraq War Turns 7 To Little Notice; So Far, Six-And-A-Half Years Longer Than Rumsfeld Predicted

We’re seven years away from “shock and awe,” but few are stopping to note that. Pictured at left is the burning of an Iraqi government bulding on March 21, 2003.

Even in places like Oceanside, Calif., whose barber shops and dry cleaners cater to the Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton, the anniversary went largely unnoticed — as it has in years past. About a dozen people interviewed Friday said they were unaware of the milestone.

Troops and their families are much more focused on Afghanistan, where thousands of troops from the I Marine Expeditionary Force are headed. Iraq still stirs …