So What’s The Deal With The New Head Of North Korea?

Kim Jong-un is 20-something, but no one seems to know his exact age. Kim Jong-un was already upgraded from “Brilliant Comrade” to “Great Successor.”

Very little is known about this new Kim, but from what can be surmised he does not represent any prospect of relief for his subjects. There are more forces at work in the North Korean state than the Kims, but just how they work—and whether the Kims run the state or the state runs the Kims—is a matter of speculation to outsiders. There is talk today among Korea watchers of inevitable purges at the higher echelons …

On Monday’s Radio Show…

• Democratic National Committee Executive Director Patrick Gaspard speaks with Alan about the payroll tax cut battle and the 2012 presidential race.

• Arrest “activist” judges? Alan examines how Newt Gingrich would respond to controversial court rulings.

• Think you can survive the cut? It’s a special holiday edition of Sudden Death Radio!…

House Republicans Have Their Braveheart Moment

by Stuart Shapiro

Nope, it’s not standing up the president using indefinite detention on terrorist suspects.  Not fighting to confiscate the profits of Wall Street for the common people.  Those analogies might actually make a bit of sense.  Instead:

A member of the House Tea Party caucus said Republicans are rallying behind Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in the payroll tax cut standoff, calling him “William Wallace” in their “‘Braveheart’ moment.”

My head is exploding with the satirical possibilities.  Sometimes it is impossible to improve on what these folks say themselves, however.…

Anti-Gay Pastor Worried That Liberals Want To Destroy Marriage, Asks Followers To Support Newt Gingrich

Jim Garlow, a right-wing evangelical who supported California’s Proposition 8, sent an email to his followers accusing President Obama and liberals of “destroying the definition of marriage,” and urging them to get behind the Gingrich campaign.

“ … Destroying the definition of marriage is not merely “left.” It is wrong. It is sin. Stealing funds from future generations and spending it so that they will be closer to slavery than freedom is not merely “left.” It is wrong. It is sin. Although Mr. Gingrich is not running for ‘Theologian-in-Chief’ but ‘Commander-in-Chief,’ he grasps these issues. He understands the …

Tea Party Nation Thinks Obama “Staged” Bin Laden Death, Offered Drone To Iran To Start War

And you wonder why the “Tea Party” is losing altitude.

In an email message sent to members of Tea Party Nation on Saturday, the group’s president Judson Phillips pushed an article written under the name “Jane Galt” saying that President Obama might have deliberately offered the recently-captured predator drone to Iran…and that Osama bin Laden wasn’t killed but his death was in fact “staged” by Obama…

In order to see the post at Tea Party Nation, you have to sign up, so here it is, courtesy of RightWingWatch:

This incident with Iran getting one of our top secret …

Rick Perry Confronted By 14-Year Old Bisexual High School Student On Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Campaigning in Decorah, Iowa, Rick Perry faced off with a 14-year-old bisexual high school student who asked him why he is “so opposed to gays serving openly in the military, why you want to deny them that freedom when they’re fighting and dying for your right to run for president.” Perry replied:

“Here’s my issue. This is about my faith, and I happen to think, you know, there are a whole hosts of sins. Homosexuality being one of them, and I’m a sinner and so I’m not going to be the first one to throw a stone,” Perry said. “I …

John Boehner Was For A Payroll Tax Cut Extension Before He Was Against It

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell thought he had House Speaker John Boehner’s support for a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut, but Boehner turned tail on it and now opposes that deal.

Boehner’s decision over the weekend not to support the bipartisan two-month extension represents either a miscommunication with McConnell (who appeared to be under the impression that the House would pass whatever reasonable deal McConnell, [Jon] Kyl, et al would come up with) or a full reversal for the House speaker. As Roll Call notes, “Some Republicans said Boehner seemed to indicate on the conference call with members …

Michele Bachmann Calls The Kinsey Report A “Myth”

When Kathy Schnell met the Bachmanns in Iowa she remarked that 10% of the population is gay. Bachmann discounted that as being a “myth” from the Kinsey Report.

“I wonder if you’re aware that 10% of the population is gay. And if you have 28 children, then 2.8 of those kids are very likely gay.”…

“Well, that’s according to the Kinsey Report,” the candidate replied.

Dr. Alfred Kinsey is best known for conducting interviews with thousands of individuals and publishing his findings in books on human sexual behavior during the 1940s and ’50s…

“Your facts are wrong,” [Marcus Bachmann] said.…

Ron Paul Leads In Iowa With 23%, Romney 20%, Gingrich 14%

The tide is turning against Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul is now in the lead according to Public Policy Polling (h/t Political Wire).

Key findings: “Gingrich has now seen a big drop in his Iowa standing two weeks in a row. His share of the vote has gone from 27% to 22% to 14%. And there’s been a large drop in his personal favorability numbers as well from +31 (62/31) to +12 (52/40) to now -1 (46/47). Negative ads over the last few weeks have really chipped away at Gingrich’s image as being a strong conservative — now only …

Kim Jong Il dead Reports North Korean Media

Kim Jon Il has died in Pyongyang at age 70 according to Yonhap News.

The news came in a radio broadcast at noon local time, Yonhap reported, citing North Korea’s official media. Kim probably had a stroke in August 2008 and may have also contracted pancreatic cancer, according to South Korean news reports…

 The potential succession of his little-known third son, Kim Jong Un, threatens to trigger a dangerous period for the Korean peninsula, where 1.7 million troops from the two Koreas and the U.S. square off every day.…

California Tea Party Politician Calls For Assassination Of Obama And His Children On Facebook Post

Submitted by Epiphany

Jules Manson, who lost a bid for City Council in Carson, CA, used his Facebook page to advocate for assassinating the president and his children in a racist pitch.

Manson removed the obnoxious post, but numerous Facebook users, outraged by the despicable threat, captured an image of the threat before Manson had the good sense to take it down.

Two hours after making the offensive post, and after being bombarded by hundreds of Facebook users outraged by his racist call to assassinate the leader of the free world, Manson made a bizarre Facebook post, presumably in …