Thanks, Elliott. For once it seems that having all wingnuts on MTP is appropriate, anyway. That Face the Nation competes by re-re-reintroducing old sicko McAyn is almost funny.

Good Morning Elliott & Pups of Fire:

I’m am beyond incredibly surprised that John McCain has actually deigned to appear on a Sunday talk show. However, the fact that Holy Joe is not there to lend him (im)moral support is baffling. Perhaps he couldn’t find the requisite time in his busy schedule, what with all the important constituent business bribery he has to attend to. Priorities.

Good morning, pups. It’s The Pasty Little Putz, Friedman, Dowd, Bruni and Kristof today. In “Personal and Political” The Pasty Little Putz whines that the attacks on Rick Santorum and his wife are weird but inevitable. He (either Santorum or the Putz or both) should be coated with honey and staked out over a fire ant mound. The Moustache of Wisdom is in Cairo. In “Watching Elephants Fly” he says when something extraordinary happens, like the uprising and subsequent truly free elections in Egypt, you just shut up and take notes. MoDo is in Manchester, NH. In “The Grating Santorum” she says in New Hampshire, Rick Santorum’s hot politics of aggrievement are competing with Mitt Romney’s cold politics of convenience. Mr. Bruni addresses “A Campaign Pruned of Bushes,” and says to hear the Republican candidates speak, you’d think Ronald Reagan was the last Republican president — and that he upheld the party’s current values. Mr. Kristof, in “A Poverty Solution That Starts With a Hug,” says the American Academy of Pediatrics is warning that a harsh early environment can lay the groundwork for lifelong achievement gaps, health problems and poverty.

Here they are.

The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are ready, and I’ve got chocolate croissants this morning. I’ve got the typing equivalent of laryngitis, with the arthritis in my hands acting up something fierce, so I’m going to shut up and put on a wrist brace. Have a great day.

Thanks, Marion, go rest your wrists now. Friedman just taking notes is supposed to be a surprise? Maybe that he admits it might be.

The Department of Homeland Fascism needs to be more situationally aware as they protect the real terrorists and target Americans.

Journalists will now be spied on everyday, everywhere. Actually everyone will be monitored by the new DHS Secret Police. To prevent whistleblowers from exposing government misconduct, the government will be spying on itself. Unfortunately no one will be spying on those Homeland Security goons. Quick, alert Total Information Awareness that they have competition.

But it is very sad, that the embedded journalist/stenographers, embedded in the patootie of the Pentagon will be spied on also. They loyally served the one percent for ten years with lies that give us more wars. Now, these fearless Beltway warriors will be treated as if they were mere Hard Left bloggers.

Specifically, the DHS announced the NCO and its Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (OPS) can collect personal information from news anchors, journalists, reporters or anyone who may use “traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.”

According to the Department of Homeland Security’s own definition of personal identifiable information, or PII, such data could consist of any intellect “that permits the identity of an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred, including any information which is linked or linkable to that individual.” Previously established guidelines within the administration say that data could only be collected under authorization set forth by written code, but the new provisions in the NOC’s write-up means that any reporter, whether someone along the lines of Walter Cronkite or a budding blogger, can be victimized by the agency.

Also included in the roster of those subjected to the spying are government officials, domestic or not, who make public statements, private sector employees that do the same and “persons known to have been involved in major crimes of Homeland Security interest,” which to itself opens up the possibilities even wider.

The department says that they will only scour publically-made info available while retaining data, but it doesn’t help but raise suspicion as to why the government is going out of their way to spend time, money and resources on watching over those that helped bring news to the masses.

The development out of the DHS comes at the same time that U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady denied pleas from supporters of WikiLeaks who had tried to prevent account information pertaining to their Twitter accounts from being provided to federal prosecutors.

On January 9, 2007, O’Grady was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

The DOJ shops for judges that they think will see things their way.

If WikiLeaks has shown anything, it’s that the U.S. govt doesn’t really give a damn about things like legalities, if they can get away with circumventing them.

Chris Hayes and panelists on Up, had a good time showing that the party and its voters have rejected several candidates’ stands against contraception, defunding it in funding for health services, and that is is infamously associated with increase in abortions

Friedman just taking notes is supposed to be a surprise?

Isn’t that what stenographers do, Ruth? *g*

Good morning!

Friedman doesn’t think any of his readers will remember the reference. He may be right.

Morning, we have fog. Like so many of the talking head shows.

Cold and clear here in NW Indiana, but I think it’s going to get into the 40s again today and every day until mid-week, which is “warm” for this time of year. Last year we had a record-breaking snow in January. We’ve only had one good snowfall so far and it’s nearly all melted.

Oh LOLOL! Charlie Pierce on last night’s debate:

New Hampshire Debate: The Trickless-Dick Mitt Fix Is In

EDIT to add:

At this moment, I am still digesting the incredible farrago of gibbering nonsense, vengeful religious rage, political chickenshit, and Mandarin Chinese that combined to make the 45,670th of 62,390 scheduled Republican presidential debates the Level 4 biohazard that it was.

TX news….Polls show Perry in 6th place…Gotta love it.

Are there really people who still watch these shows?

I wonder if he will drop out now, like Bachaloon did after her finish in Iowa?

Good comment. I’m watching today’s on msnbc, and thinking that Mitt and Newt have developed something very akin to the Carville/Matalin routine.

Comedy is a low taste I have admitted to.

The best thing that can be said about Perry is that he’ll go away soon. After his inevitable loss of the Republican nomination, he only has a couple of year as governor left and he can’t run again, having already accepted money for “early retirement”.

Go read the whole thing, Ruth. I am still chuckling. And he has some witty commenters, too (even though one of them called me a purity troll last week):

And the coveted golden penis award goes to…………it’s a tie ladies and gents! Would all the candidates please step forward and place your lips on your award. Remember, like Lord Stanley’s Cup (no, the other one) each candidate gets to spend up to 24 uninterrupted hours with the dickie all to themselves. Once again we remind Mr. Santorum to please wash his completely before returning.

Good morning all.

I have to admit, after watching last night’s debate (not that I remember much; was having too much fun mocking it), I fond the Rs sounded more sensible than I expected. No doubt bc I think they’re really nuts and was surprised that they could hide it as well as they did. Defining normal down.

Yes, that is a good thing to say…And I had not realized that limitation about his “double-dipping”…..Maybe he could just resign….

Halloooo, pupsters.

Just watched Mitt check himself when he said he’d dragged MA into first place in education, and rephrase it that he’d kept them there. Something about The Whole World Is Watching.

That’s a large part of it. Most of the ‘clips’ I’ve watched are from when they appear before smaller groups where they have to pander and be more extreme. Since they can rely on corp media not to report those statements (unlike the blogs), they are different on national media.

I enjoy the part being played by those talking heads on msnbc that drag those moments up into public view. Have been delighted to hear that Pat Buchanan is no longer welcome there. And not one of the debaters has mentioned that this is the Real Birthday of Elvis Presley! (for which I have put in a recipe for fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches at my food post)

Mrs. Greenspan thinks Frothy is “authentic.”

Romney will lose in November. It’s the puppy, stupid.

I see that you are hoping that Elvis, wherever he is, shows up for lunch. How old would he be?

Yes, that is good news about Buchanan, not that I watch any of those channels anymore.

What was that poor dog’s name.

Seamus, I think.

What a memory.

67 I think.

You would appreciate the good background they give.

LOL. You made the same mistake I made yesterday. More like a decade older.

Romney’s answer.

Oops. But he seemed so young.

Very funny.

We’ll all remember him as he was. Can you imagine had he lived to 77?

How many “successful” films…Who knew?

Scary thought

All the girls in my eighth grade class went to see “Love Me Tender”.

Favorite Elvis song?

Still Heartbreak Hotel. sigh.