I would not say that Our National Discourse has degraded to the level of Springer/Lake. Hell, Springer/Lake references are already what, 20 years old? But is there any real difference between a classic Springer episode, or, like, Wrestlemania, and the Debt Wrestlemania? No. We have not wanted for spectacle in our long blighted descent into [...]

Leaders of SPLC-designated hate groups rushed to defend leading presidential contender Michele Bachmann’s business, her husband Marcus’s clinic, from widespread publicity about their ex-gay “ministry and counseling.”

You may remember Kenneth Gladney, the Joan of Arc/Stephen Biko/Spartacus of the teabagging set who got into a scuffle at a teabagger rally two years ago. You may also remember how his videotaped beat-down made the Rodney King video look like Attack of the Tickle Monsters and how, on the next day, a brave and plucky Gladney showed up at another rally to show the world that Obama’s ACORNMuslimSEIU goons could not extinguish his indomitable spirit. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

In any case, given the way the government responds to FOIAs, we’ll probably learn more about this in 5 years or so.

Peter King (R-NY), a frequent guest on News Corp’s cable news properties (up to this point), just called for an FBI investigation into allegations that the company hacked into the voicemail accounts of 9-11 victims. Given King’s constant invocation of 9-11, only rivaled by Rudy Giuliani, this isn’t all that surprising.

King is not alone. Today, Senators Frank Lautenberg, Robert Menendez and Jay Rockefeller have sought investigations from the Justice Department or Congress.

Shin Inouye worked as a communications coordinator for Obama on the 2008 presidential campaign, served as a spokesperson for the Presidential Inaugural Committee and was appointed by the President as White House Director of Specialty Media in February of 2009. The chat log assert that he was a “source” for Manning.

But even more interesting than the fact that Manning may have been “getting information” directly from the White House is what follows in the conversation. Lamo was clearly pumping Manning late in their exchanges, probably at the behest of the agencies that were using him as an informant

The President of the United States threatened Social Security beneficiaries, the old, the weak and the disabled, saying that if Congress can’t manage to fix the debt ceiling, he won’t promise to pay them, and veterans, among others. We know he doesn’t see the difference between the government of a Sovereign Nation in control of its own currency, and a family living on $40,000 in a rented apartment, worrying about bills. That ignorant Republican talking point is now being wielded as a threat to the old and the disabled, and to veterans, among others.

Finally, Wired magazine released the complete, unedited chat logs between Pfc. Bradley Manning, the accused whistleblower to WikiLeaks, and Adrian Lamo, the known hacker who turned Manning into government authorities. About a quarter of the logs, which Wired senior editor Kevin Poulsen obtained from Lamo in June 2010 after Manning’s arrest, were published during June. Wired editor-in-chief Evan Hansen and Poulsen fought critics like Salon blogger Glenn Greenwald, who argued in December 2010 that Poulsen was committing a “journalistic disgrace” by refusing to release the full logs.

When Darrell Issa took over the House Oversight Committee, Democrats were nervous that he would use it as a launching pad to pummel the White House with frivolous investigations. It hasn’t really worked out that way. And now, he’s covering investigations up.

A decision in WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange’s extradition appeal hearing is not expected for three weeks, as the court has reserved judgment whether he should be extradited to Sweden to be questioned for allegedly committing sex crimes. The postponement came as the hearing wrapped up after being in session for two days