Former President Clinton Says He “Worries” About Threats To Obama From “Far Right”

Following comments earlier today in which former President Bill Clinton compared Tea Party anger to the extremism that led to the Oklahoma City bombing, Clinton gave an interview to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in which he expressed concern for President Obama’s safety.

“He’s had all these attacks from the birthers and others. I do think – and he’s had a lot of threats.  And also the members of Congress have had a lot of threats against them… President Obama is different and symbolizes the increasing diversity of America. And both of them – and for him it’s like a symbol of …

GOP, Desperate For Midterm Victory, Retools Contract With America

by webwiseass

It’s baaaack! The GOP leadership wants to party like it’s 1994 and bring back that year’s Contract With America, the Newt Gingrich-authored “document” which ushered in the previous Republican House majority. You’d think the one thing congressional Republicans would collectively agree on (besides saying “NO!” in unison to everything President Obama proposes) would be an official contract with the American people, right? Well…not exactly. That’s where the unity tapers off a bit, and disagreement abounds.

Despite being repurposed/repackaged with a snazzy new (tentative) title, “Commitment to America,” not every House Republican is entirely enamored of the idea. …

On Friday’s Radio Show…

• Former Clinton Special Counsel Lanny Davis, whose most recent book is Scandal, tells Alan why he supports Attorney General Eric Holder’s efforts to hold civilian trials for terror suspects.

• Alan confronts J. Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel, who says President Obama is “an enemy within.”

• It’s the Friday Night Free-For-All!…

Michele Bachmann Continues To Misstate And Misinform

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who recently made the false assertion that President Obama took over 51% of the economy, once gain made a demonstrably false claim.  This time, Bachmann blared about a federal government takeover of private industry and falsely asserted, “The federal government literally owns banks.”

BACHMANN: The story in our country has been the federal government takeover of private industry. The federal government literally, in 18 months’ time, has taken either direct ownership or control of 51 percent of the private economy. Eighteen months ago, 100 percent of the private economy was private. But today, …

SEC Takes On Goldman Sachs – A Sea Change Or A Big Fish To Calm Waters?

by William K. Wolfrum

For the past decade or so, the acronym SEC has better stood for “Sitting Enjoying Coffee” rather than “Securities Exchange Commission.” After all, one need only mention the name “Bernie Madoff” to turn your average SEC employee into a puddle of apologetic goo.

Today, however, the SEC announced it is going after a big fish. Perhaps the biggest, as the SEC filed fraud charges against Goldman Sachs, accusing the mega-financial outfit of selling investments that they had secretly planned to have fail. From The Huffington Post:

The government has accused Goldman Sachs of defrauding investors by

…

Ollie North: Obama Has A “Core Philosphy Of Being Anti-American”

President Obama continues to endure not just policy objections, but accusations of hating the country he runs.  Lt. Col. Oliver North is the latest to accuse the president of this.

“This president’s willing to be obsequious to our adversaries, to denigrate our allies and essentially, to walk away from the only real democracy in that part of the world,” North said on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show. “And y’know, no one can say it’s because he’s big on oil. Because he’s not in the oil business. So what is it? It’s his core philosophy of being anti-American.”

…

Obama “Amused” By Tea Partiers; Thinks They Should Be Saying “Thank You”

The tea party crowd is oblivious to the fact that 95% of working Americans have received tax cuts during the Obama administration. But are they grateful? President Obama spoke at a fundraiser in Miami where he seemed quite at ease without a teleprompter. What had him perpelexed, though, was the lack of gratitude from those who falsely claim he’s raised their taxes.  As Think Progress notes, taxes are at their lowest levels in 60 years.

The Recovery Act has even been praised by the conservative Americans for Tax Reform because of its many tax breaks and tax credits.  And …

School Laptop Surveillance: Equipment Recovery Or Peeping Toms?

By The River Wanders

According to documents filed in the case of a Pennsylvania school district accused of spying on students using secret tracking software, program administrators were aware of the intrusive images and screenshots being taken by the school-owned computers.

Not only was Lower Merion School District’s program administrator Carol Cafiero aware of the data gathered without students’ knowledge or parents’ consent, she joked about the collection of information in emails:

“It was like a window into ‘a little LMSD soap opera’,”a staffer is quoted as saying in an email to Carol Cafiero. “I know, I love it,” she is quoted

…

The Heat Goes On: March 2010 Warmest On Record Worldwide

Last month was the warmest March on record, going back to 1880.

The average temperature for the month was 56.3 degrees Fahrenheit (13.5 degrees Celsius), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported.

That was 1.39 degrees F (0.77 C) above the average for the month over the 20th century.

I believe the proper term is “global warming.”

In addition, climate researchers have been reporting rising global temperatures for several years as a result of what is called the “greenhouse effect,” in which rising levels of carbon dioxide and others gases in the atmosphere trap heat instead of allowing it …

Former CIA Director Porter Goss Approved Of Destroying Torture Tapes

Porter Goss, the former Florida Republican congressman who headed the CIA during part of the Bush administration, approved a decision in 2005 to destroy tapes that documented brutal interrogation of two detainees. New documents were released in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.

Days after the tapes were destroyed at the order of Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., the former head of the C.I.A.’s clandestine service, Mr. Goss told Mr. Rodriguez that he “agreed” with the decision, according to the documents. He even joked after Mr. Rodriguez offered to “take the heat” for destroying the tapes.

“PG laughed and said …

Senate Restores $18 Billion In Jobless Benefits

President Obama will be getting a bill to sign that provides $18 billion to restore benefits to those who have been out of work for months, looking to avoid unemployment lines like the one pictured.  In addition, the bill resumes full Medicare payments to doctors who have been threatened by a 21% cut.

The House cleared the bill Thursday night by a 289-112 tally taken just two hours after it emerged from the Senate on a 59-38 vote that capped an unusually partisan debate. Republicans largely chose to take a stand against the legislation for adding to the $12.8 trillion …