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It’s been hard to keep up with all the stuff crossing my transom these days, so I thought I’d just share in some of the bounty of good reading that’s out there today…

– It’s looking like Republicans are hoping to cherry-pick 10 Blue Dog Democrats in their efforts to force a vote on the execrable Heath Shuler/Rahm Emanuel SAVE Act. (If you go to that last link, you can find contact info for all the Democrats at risk.) Meanwhile, in the video at left, you can see Glenn Beck join in the immigrant-bashing brigade with Heath Shuler. Gag bag recommended.

–Dan Rather has suffered a setback in his attempt to extract, by way of lawsuit, the truth about how the reportage of George W. Bush’s sham service in the Texas Air National Guard was buried by his bosses at CBS: A judicial hearings officer struck down the central parts of the lawsuit (namely, those naming his bosses at CBS). We’ll see whether this JHO’s decision is ratified by a real judge or has been already; the clearly biased CBS report here does not make that issue clear. Meanwhile, there’s background here and here on the Rather case.

– Speaking of Colombia, our friend Lee at HorsesAss reports that Republican Rep. Dave Reichert — one of the few congressmen willing to have George W. Bush campaign for him — is actually trying, in the wake of his recent junket to Colombia, to cajole Democrats in the Washington state delegation to cave to the White House and approve Bush’s "fast track" plan. So much for Reichert’s attempts to paint himself as a "moderate" and "independent," not to mention "environmentally friendly." [And it's just another reason to help out Reichert's challenger, Darcy Burner.]

I know we can hardly wait to get our hands on Rick Perlstein’s new magnum opus, Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America,. But the first review is out, from Ross Douthat at The Atlantic. YMMV, but Douthat begins to lose me when he posits Daily Kos as kind of equivalent counterpart to Free Republic.

Finally, because no day is complete without a reminder that there really are racist nutcases in our midst, there’s this report about a man who threatened to blow up the Supreme Court because of the presence of Clarence Thomas, and likewise made death threats about a number of other prominent black men. One can only imagine how the prospect of a President Obama fit this guy’s worldview.


Related posts:

  1. Heath Shuler Given GOP Talking Points by PhRMA
  2. Stark on the Hill: What Does Dave Reichert (R-WA) Think of Birthers?
  3. Nineteen Dems Draw Line Against Reproductive Health Coverage, Still Mum on Public Option
  4. Late Night: Ross Douthat and Dana Milbank Star in “The Mewling Game”
  5. George Stephanopoulos Wrings His Hands