Newt Gingrich: “Cuture Wars Catholic”

Newt Gingrich was born Lutheran, became a Southern Baptist, and then converted to Catholicism, the religion of his current wife, seen here singing with their church choir.

But Mr. Gingrich represents a new kind of Catholic, one very different from the Kennedys, who were Democrats, political liberals and cradle Catholics shaped by the Irish immigrant church. To a Kennedy-era Catholic, divorce was a sin, labor unions were a virtue and anti-Catholic bigotry was a staple in many Protestant circles.

Mr. Gingrich is a culture wars Catholic for whom the church seems a logical home for conservative Republicans. Generations removed …

A Little Love For Companies Who HAVEN’T Pulled Out of “All-American Muslim”

Even though Lowe’s and Kayak canceled their ads on TLC’s “All-American Muslim” because of pressure from the Florida Family Association, some key advertisers stuck by, including:

The Most Annoying Words In the English Language

The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion has released its annual survey of the most annoying words.

Nearly four in ten adults named “whatever” as the most annoying verbal filler in casual conversation, while one in five adults had similar disdain for “like” and ‘you know.”

“Just sayin’” and “seriously” were more forgiving to the ears, though still quite irritating, Marist found.…

Try Our New Video Commenting System

Liberaland is proud to be working with ViaFoura, a new, leading edge tech company, enabling us to add social networking features. We’ve just rolled out our new commenting system, which allows you to vote up remarks you like and to share your comments on Facebook and Twitter. When you view the comment section you can see who the top posters are on the right side of the page. The best new feature is video capability. You can easily record a video comment so other users can get a true sense of who you are and what you think. Try it …

Ron Paul On Michele Bachmann: “She Hates Muslims”

Ron Paul said Michele Bachmann “hates Muslims” on The Tonight Show.

Ron Paul was asked to run down the list of his fellow Republican presidential candidates to give his impressions. It was pretty tame until he got to Michele Bachmann. “She hates Muslims,” Paul said, giving Leno the sort of look one uses when describing a bigoted great uncle who’s set in his ways. “She wants to go get ‘em.”

…Paul also tagged former senator Rick Santorum with the same label. When Leno suggested all Santorum wants to do is “talk about gay people,” Paul added, “and Muslims.”

…

Remember To Keep Your Eye On Europe

by Stuart Shapiro

Like the nagging professor that I am, I remind (last nag was here) all faithful readers to the fact that the biggest factor in whether our economy slips back into recession (and therefore probably the biggest factor in next year’s election) is out of our control.  It depends on the fate of the Euro zone.  The latest news (now a week old) is an agreement by 26 of the 27 Euro zone countries to practice greater fiscal austerity (to Americans unfamiliar with the term it means making sure deficits are under control by compromising on taxes …

Senate Deal Reached To Extend Payroll Tax Cut For Two Months

Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have reached a temporary agreement.

The deal also includes a provision aimed at speeding up U.S. approval of a controversial oil pipeline project from Canada to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the aides said.

The deal still has to be approved by the full Senate and House of Representatives. A full Senate vote could come as early as Saturday.…

Republicans Holding Economy Hostage To Keystone Pipeline

Unless the environmentally questionable Keystone Pipeline is approved, Republicans say they won’t approve tax relief or extension of unemployment benefits.

…on Wednesday House leadership—and some Democrats—passed a tax extender package that included a sped-up permitting process for the Keystone XL pipeline. In explaining why on earth this controversial 1,700-mile oil pipeline should be appended to a tax package focused on unemployment insurance and payroll taxes, Rep. Boehner argued that the pipeline private-sector infrastructure project “would create tens of thousands of American jobs.”

That is in dispute.

…the TransCanada Corporation initially said the pipeline might create as many as 20,000 construction …

On Friday’s Radio Show…

• Alan sits down with Saturday Night Live legend Darrell Hammond, whose new memoir is God, If You’re Not Up There, I’m F*cked.

• It’s the Friday Night Free For All with…

• Stress Factory Comedy Club owner Vinnie Brand
• Comedian John Fugelsang
• Presidential candidate Fred Karger…

Our New Comment Section, Now With Video

Liberaland has partnered with ViaFoura to bring you the latest technology for commenting and interacting. ViaFoura’s advanced systems enable more engaged interaction. You can now add video to your comments and easily share them on Facebook and Twitter. We are excited to work with this leading edge company to help make Liberaland not only progressive in content, but also progressive in technology.…

Rick Perry Pulls Maneuver To Get More Government Money For Himself

Rick Perry “retired” from state government, a legal maneuver which allows him to remain as governor, but also to take home more pay.

“Perry makes a $150,000 gross salary as Texas governor. Now, thanks to his early retirement, Perry, 61, gets a monthly retirement annuity of $7,698 before taxes, or $6,588 net. That raises his gross salary to more than $240,000.”

So this alleged cost-cutting anti-tax conservative will now be able to get more of his citizens’ dollars to live comfortably.…