GEE ... I Wonder Why?!

SAYS HERE THAT MEET THE PRESS HIT a 20-year low in its key 25-54 demographic. Still, David Gregory, master of the snarky smile, finished ahead of his rivals in total viewers, on the strength of his lead among seniors. Not so inexplicably, now I see, seniors are overwhelmingly in favor of Mitt Romney, who has promised to slash their Medicare and Social Security. They wouldn't know it, listening to right wing Republican enabler and crapagandist David Gregory.

Of course, in your insular echo chamber, Ministry of The Punditocracy of IDIOTS, you haven't a clue how contemptuously your key demographic views you, week after week, bitching about your right wing bias, your whitebread male guests, your disrespect of Rachel Maddow, a published successful author, pitting her against a wingnut HACK like Alex Castellanos for your panis et circences, and your specialty — softball questions. It's not as if we didn't warn you. GOOD. Arrogance doesn't get you very far. Love being able to tell the high and mighty: Told you so.

VENUS RISING

THIS AWESOME PHOTO IS FROM THE June 6, NASA Astronomy Pic of the Day, of the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun, an event which occurs every 120 years. Here is NASA's description:

Explanation: This dramatic telephoto view across the Black Sea on June 6 finds Venus rising with the Sun, the planet in silhouette against a ruddy and ragged solar disk. Of course, the reddened light is due to scattering in planet Earth's atmosphere and the rare transit of Venus didn't influence the strangely shaped and distorted Sun. In fact, seeing the Sun in the shape of an Etruscan Vase is relatively common, especially compared to Venus transits. At sunset and sunrise, the effects of atmospheric refraction enhanced by long, low, sight lines and strong atmospheric temperature gradients produce the visual distortions and mirages. That situation is often favored by a sea horizon.

Lady Alex Real-Life Funnies: The "I Lied" Edition

WITH AN ASSIST FROM MIND-READER JOHN HEILEMANN ... Lady Alex's outtakes are still pretty good ...

Fortunate Son: Mitt Romney's Ideal Ringtone

MSNBC Rebel (Tells) Suits To STOP Dictating How To Cover Romney

HERE'S LAWRENCE, OUR FAVORITE HOLLYWOOD SOCIALIST, with his followup on the Romney Vietnam draft-dodging story, telling his bosses and the rest of the Beltway ratbastards, essentially, why Romney's checkered chichenhawk Vietnam-dodging record is RELEVANT today:

MSNBC Pro-Romney Bias

SETTING ASIDE THE DAYTIME NEWS: Alex, Andrea, and Chris have NOT covered the Mitt Romney Vietnam deferments and police officer impersonation while a student at Stanford. The Rev, Big Eddie, Rachel, and Lawrence HAVE.

What's going on here?! Really. WHO T-F DECIDES MITT ROMNEY's DRAFT-DODGING IS OF NO INTEREST TO THE VIEWERS?!

What's Wrong With Lady Alex?!

HAS ALEX WAGNER LOST HER MOJO? LATELY, Lady Alex has been suppressing her unique, spontaneous, and effervescent wit, which aside from her natural beauty and brilliance, has always been that extra calling card that keeps her key demographic engaged rather than bored. It's measurable; I have had practically no usable material for my 'Real-Life Funnies' good-natured lampooning of Lady Alex.

I smell another Steve Capus-corporate higher ups intervention to rein Alex in, script her like a compliant Beltway Bot, and try to remake her as a younger Andrea Mitchell, Queen Bee of the corporate Beltway Media and keeper of the POLITICO Republican on-the-one-hand-on-the-other narrative from HELL, which has schooled an otherwise smart analyst like Jonathan Capehart to repeat on Alex's show the false and obnoxious "far right-far left" narrative of Andrea's Beltway Media.

This, even though Chris Matthews himself, after years of us trying to pound the truth into his head, finally came around when an academic "study" concluded what we've been saying for years: That the Democratic Party has remained a balanced ideological constant — 38% liberal and 38% moderate — but it's the Republican Party that's gone off the right wing ideological extremist deep end. Chris, a polls and numbers dude, needs that certainty to be convinced of what's staring him in the face, and what, intellectually he knows to be true but the remnants of his reptilian brain keep resisting. So, no kudos to him, when he pretends this was some sort of new revelation on his 'Let Me Finish' segment. Worse, Jonathan comes on Alex the next day and repeats the same tired old line, like he's brainwashed.

Wherefore Art Thou, Lady Alex?!

Anyway, thanks be that Alex isn't there yet, although she let Jonathan's false assertion slide. But if Alex doesn't resist efforts to remake her in Andrea's image, she'll be lost to us. It was puzzling that she did not cover the Mitt Romney Vietnam deferments — so far — given his chickenhawk neocon bellicosity, proposing to go to war with Iran and Syria, increase military spending even more, and pick a Cold War-style confrontation with Russia (the 'Soviets' to him) and China. Romney's past, including his weird fetish for police uniforms and impersonating a police officer, are VERY RELEVANT to voters today. We'll see if Alex covers these stories. If not, I see the hand of Steve Capus and the NBC corporate overlords suppressing this news, given their chumminess with Romney.

Memo To Lady Alex: Body Language Giveaway. — Alex, your natural non-American gestures are a big part of your charm and appeal. When you spend a lot of time with your chin in your hand, reading from a script like a little old lady (Andrea, who rarely moves her arms except to shuffle papers), something's off. Whatever that is, here's hoping you get your Mojo back.

There Goes The Neighborhood: Romney Rankles Rich Neighbors

THIS IS RICH. NOT ONLY IS MR. 'OUTLAW SAME-SEX MARRIAGE' MITT ROMNEY UNDER SIEGE by six gay households within a three-block radius of his LaJolla, San Diego house, but the community's liberal disposition has taken a decidedly sour posture to Romney's right wing politics. Unsurprisingly, one gay couple refused to sign a document stating they would not object to Romney's planned renovations, which would "obstruct a portion of their ocean view." (Um ... Mitt, you're not an LSD bishop ministering to your homogeneous community lamb chops from your bully pulpit.)

One of Mitt's neighbors hopes to bump into him on the street so he can explain "in a neighborly way" why he and his partner should have the same rights as Mitt and his wife Ann. Another "playfully proposed hanging a gay-pride flag from the Italian stone pine tree in his yard “so that Romney’s motorcade has to drive under it.”" The renovations, which include the infamous car elevator, are to accommodate a small army of scrubbed Romney Bots: Five children and eighteen grandchildren. Said one neighbor: "If this were Obama, I'd probably be fine with it."

Ever vigilant, Romney is demanding the pot laws be enforced. Last summer, he confronted a kid sitting on the beach, drinking and smoking a joint, and demanded that he stop. He has anonymously urged the local police to press the neighbors to "report" any pot smoking on the beach. “It’s odd that this is where Romney picked a place — it’s so progressive,” one neighbor groused. Another summed up the country's problem with Romney: “The only thing he wants small is government and taxes. He likes big houses, big families and big religion.”

Mitt Romney Is Weird — REALLY WEIRD: Mittens' Fetish For Police Uniforms

THIS STORY IN THE NATIONAL MEMO TRUMPS THE DOG ON THE CAR ROOF as the WEIRDEST Mitt Romney revelation of the year. Kudos to Joe Conason for uncovering this CREEPY account of Romney's fetish for police uniforms during his student days at Stanford University, and his extra-curricular activities IMPERSONATING A POLICE OFFICER. More disturbing still (provided Mitt's criminal activities went no further than described) are his draft-dodging deferments during five of the bloodiest years of the Vietnam War. Besides being a LIAR, and a HYPOCRITE, and just plain WEIRD, Mitt Romney is a fucking COWARD.

Cheesehead Gallows Humor

"Something Wicked This Way Comes," "Fahrenheit 451" Author Dies

RAY BRADBURY OCCUPIES A PLACE OF HONOR among my all-time favorite authors, in any genre. His beautiful, elegant and literate writing elevated Science Fiction to the plane of literature. And his trenchant themes, as with all great Science Fiction, predicted, nay, prophesied our present future. That unspeakable wickedness is still coming, ever closer, as the Texas Board of Education eviscerates science and history from our children's textbooks and they become ever attached to electronic devices that teach them neither to spell nor read — heralding the creepy-crawly coming of "Fahrenheit 451" Romney-Koch Brothers world.

RIP, Ray Bradbury. Your voice will be missed. When it's most needed. Isn't that how it always seems to be?

Memo To Chris Matthews: Fix Your Political Compass

MICHAEL STEELE IS NEITHER  a "centrist" (maybe in 'Pollyanna Chris' World; NOT in the REAL world) nor "honest" (he's a bald-faced LIAR and a political HACK, kind of like that Castellanos dude skewered by Lawrence, only Steele is 'protected' as an MSNBC employee), much less Mr. "gentility" (given his behavior on your own show, on with Chris Hayes, and his 'laying of hands' on Alex).

One more thing — because "only in America" has no universal health care, Cuba's infant mortality rate is lower than the U.S. Let the remnants of your reptilian (Fidel-Raul: BAD — J. Edgar: GOOD) brain chew on that.

Thin Silver Lining in Wisconsin

DEMOCRATS REGAIN CONTROL OF THE SENATE: Can stop Walker dead in his tracks; after the damage is done.

• Big winners: The Plutocrats; the corporations; the RNC; their designated bill signer; right wing extremists; SCOTUS. 

• Big Losers: The American people; the middle class; the unions; the DNC (for not engaging, COWARDS, not matching Walker's zillionaires money; progressives aren't in a forgiving mood); Barack Obama (looking forward to Stephanie's creative excuses, now); American democracy.

•  BIGGEST LOSER: The United States of America.

Polls That Measure The Stupidity of The Average Voter

THIS IS MY FAVORITE: I Read somewhere that when the Watergate scandal broke, two years after Nixon crushed McGovern in a 49-state landslide, a substantial majority of Americans polled said they would have switched their votes to McGovern had they known about the break-in to Democratic headquarters that would eventually lead to Nixon's downfall. I wonder if a majority of Wisconsin voters will say they'd have switched their votes to Barrett — when Scott Walker is indicted by the Feds in the "John Doe" investigation.

Beats Me Too, Why Do People Vote Against Their Self-Interest?

THIS PIECE BY Janusdog at the Daily Kos is worth a read. It's not very hopeful. I keep hearing from folks like E.J. Dionne that eventually American voters make the right choice. Really? By the time they come around there will be nothing left worth saving. Including our democracy.

I don't understand

by Janusdog

I grew up in Wisconsin, and I went to undergrad at Madison.  My parents grew up in Wisconsin, and went to undergrad at Madison.  My grandparents grew up in Wisconsin, and also went to Madison.

My grandparents are dead now.  But my parents still live in Wisconsin.  My brother and I have relocated to our respective coasts - NYC and LA.

My mother is a teacher, and has been a teacher and respected union organizer for 40 years - her entire career.  We grew up with excellent insurance and financial security.  Now, my father has many chronic diseases, and my mother provides the insurance benefits that they depend on.  Her union has a good relationship with the school board, but their contract is up soon, and no one can promise what will happen after that.  Eventually my father will be too disabled to work.  Premiums have already increased by 15% this past year.

So in speaking to my mother today, can any of you explain to me why my father voted for Walker? [Continue reading here.]

Scott Walker The NECROMANCER

THIS SICKO IS ÜBER-CREEPY. C'MON WISCONSINITES; YOU'VE GOT 2+ HOURS TO VOTE HIM OUT AND RETURN THE BADGER STATE TO SANITY.

Definition of NECROMANCY

1: conjuration of the spirits of the dead for purposes of magically revealing the future or influencing the course of events:

No, Jonathan Capehart Isn't Married To Karen Finney ... (SIGHS)

JONATHAN CAPEHART, OUR MR. GQ THREADS MAN ABOUT (GEORGE)TOWN caused a kerfuffle on the Internets last night when, in a joint appearance with Karen Finney on Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, he referred to Karen as "my darling wife." Good thing he was on with the "discreet" Lawrence. Imagine if he'd been on with Martin Bashir:

MARTIN: "Jonathan ... (think British accent) Do you mean to tell us that you and Karen are MARRIED?! Don't you realize that some of our viewers will be DEVASTATED by this news?!"

JONATHAN: (opens mouth to reply) ...

MARTIN: "I'm afraid we're out of time. NEXT, Mitt Romney's Cajun 'Love Child'. Stay with us ..."

For the benefit of his more gullible fans (Chris Matthews, Alex Wags), Jonathan tweeted a clarification:

And here I was thinking (not really), "Jonathan, good deal, you married UP" ... I mean, Karen's our stunning and indomitable Warrior Princess. I even heard an (unconfirmed) rumor that she dated Lee Majors, back when he was the Six Million Dollar Man!!! Aww ... but they DO make a cute couple:

One Small Step For Truth, One GIANT LEAP For MSM

GOOD CATCH ALL-ROUND, RACHEL ... I THINK YOU shamed the ratbastards into DOING THEIR -F- JOBS! The thing about the ad, though, it's like that utterly outrageous one in which the Romney team selectively edited President Obama quoting John McCain — "if we keep talking about the economy, we'll lose" — as if it's the President's own words — an outrageous bald-faced LIE which they openly acknowledged but refused to take down or change the ad.

Maybe if you can convince the MSM/Beltway Media to treat the coming deluge of Romney Super Pac ads with even a semblance of truthiness appraisal, we might get to reclaim some of the truth. I don't know why the Media fails to apply the same standard to ads as it did to the candidate's direct LIE on this particular occasion. Do they think the ads get some sort of 'creative license' pass? Or is it that ads do not have the same immediacy of a Romney campaign stop, and are therefore too much like grunge work, and they're too damn lazy? I think the latter. Or maybe the former.

GO ASK ALICE: SHOWDOWN IN 'THE GOOD LAND'

 

Alice Cooper's GOP Anthem for Scott Walker:

Memo To Big Eddie And Rachel: Can You PLEASE Call David Gregory On The Carpet?!

RHETORICAL QUESTION. OF COURSE IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. He's on your team of GOP media collaborators as host of the RIGHT WING Sunday program Meet The Press (is that a booking requirement: Accept LIES from Republican guests, unconditionally and unchallenged?!), along with POLITICO, the Idiot Punditocracy, and most of the Beltway Media. In an ideal world, Rachel or Big Eddie would rerun a Gregory MTP interview with, say, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, pause the interview with a KA-CHING sound effect every time Kasich says a lie, issue the factual correction, then at the end tally up all the Republican LIES David Gregory allowed to go unchallenged.

BELTWAY FAIL: Historian Slams Wisconsin Gov. Walker As Absolutist Totalitarian

THANK YOU. LISTEN UP, BELTWAY MEDIA: IN A WORD, SCOTT WALKER CLASSICALLY DEFINED IS A FASCIST. Can you get that through your IMBECILE skulls?! That goes for the Teabaggers and the EXTREME RIGHT WING in control of the Republican Party. And the best euphemism you can cook up for the EXTREMIST blitzkrieg on American democracy and values is the FRIVOLOUS "dog whistle politics"?! Your collaborationist coverage of the 2012 election is shameful, bordering on the criminal.

I sometimes think of Walker as a black-and-white TV in a world filled with color. He gets only one channel, and it's tuned to a program called "Scott Knows Best." If nearly half of us don't want to watch, he can safely dismiss us as moral relativists who dwell in the outer darkness.

Walker obviously has no patience with the traditional view of politics as a balancing of interests, a messy but necessary massaging of differences. For him and his tea party comrades, it's total war until we reach a state of, well, totalitarianism. There is something deeply undemocratic and downright dangerous about Walker's approach to government.

By pursuing a scorched-earth policy, by inspiring shock and awe rather than open debate, he and his allies have undermined the very institutions they were sworn to uphold. Shock and awe may be appropriate when you're trying to topple Saddam Hussein, but they are hardly the suggested strategy for dealing with your fellow citizens in a representative democracy.

Some readers, I know, believe that historians shouldn't have opinions, even when they're expressed in the opinion section of a daily newspaper. Well, this historian has definite opinions. I view Walker as an ahistoric figure who represents a sharp and painful break with Wisconsin's past. He is an ideological outlier whom history will judge as the extremist he is, a divisive figure who has unleashed a toxic cloud of partisanship over the entire state. We can only hope that the aberration is temporary.

How do we extricate ourselves from this morass? Surely there is a balance point that will allow us to live in harmony with our neighbors again. Surely there is a way to govern that the great majority of us can endorse — a middle ground between the nanny state and the nano-state, between spending like drunken sailors and cutting like drunken surgeons. It is emphatically not a middle ground we will ever reach under Walker.

For the sake of Wisconsin's future, he richly deserves to be recalled.

John Gurda is a Milwaukee historian. His column appears the first Sunday of each month.

NINE ÜBER-RICH WHITE GUYS SCHEMING TO STEAL OUR DEMOCRACY

AND TURN OUR NATION INTO A PLUTOCRATS' PLAYGROUND. It's just unbelievable. If we don't mobilize to stop this, someway somehow, America will become a nightmarish Medieval plutocracy, an oligarchy literally run and controlled by a handful of ÜBER-RICH WHITE GUYS to plunder our land at will, public and private, in the service of their wanton profiteering. We will have been reduced to SERFS. Read more about it in Rolling Stone. Educate yourselves, for chrissakes. Not since the Civil War has there been a greater, more radical threat to our republic, our union, and the liberties we cherish as free individuals under a government of, by and for — The People.

Resolved: Michael Steele Is MSNBC's Bloviating Gasbag CRAPPER Extraordinaire

IT WAS NO DIFFERENT WITH THE terminally "fascinated" Chris Hayes, who was so singularly "fascinated" by a Steele question, by Wisconsin, by the plight of the Labor Movement in America, by why Republicans are such extremist scumbags, that he forgot at times to take back control of his show from the BLOWHARD FILIBUSTERING GOP HACK, Michael Steele. As a result, the always thoughtful and engaging Bob Herbert was seldom heard from over the din created by Steele, and Ari Berman was interrupted by Steele screaming at the top of his lungs before he could complete this sentence: "The BIGGEST LIE of the Republicans ..." [Steele, rudely interrupting: "@#$TRU^%$#!!!!"]

Good going, Chris. Perhaps if you took your head out of your ass long enough from your New York City Manhattan (not even Brooklyn) locale to stop being so "fascinated" you might have followed the example of your Nation colleague John Nichols — ON GROUND ZERO IN WISCONSIN, WITH THE PEOPLE, AND WITH FIGHTING PROGRESSIVES — who referred to matters that might otherwise "fascinate" you as "interesting", "extremely interesting", "a very good question" (from Steele) — not once did Nichols use and abuse the most popular adjective-cliché of the Beltway Media/Idiot Punditocracy. Good guy John Nichols maintains his sense of proportion by hanging out with regular folks. You should try it, sometime, Chris. Yes, I shall STEEL myself against the fascinating onslaught when the usual suspects double down, I'm sure, just to be annoying.

Meanwhile, Ari's unfinished sentence was left out there like a dangling, hanging chad. But at least Chris had the presence of mind to get Steele to admit the Republican Party is out to completely destroy unions in this country. And where he was MIA, at least the expressions on the faces of Herbert, Ornstein, Mann, and Weingarten to Steele's BLOVIATIONS pretty much said it all.