Great (non-)moments in disclosure.

Oh, yes. What he said. And, furthermore, what he didn't say:

But [Novak] has another connection to the publishing house that also goes unmentioned. Tom Phillips, the owner of Regnery, also owns Eagle Publishing, which distributes the "Evans-Novak Political Report," available to subscribers for an annual $297 rate.

Hoisting right-wing wankers and hacks by their own petard. Fish. Barrel. Boom.

"Lazy equivalence" and the first annual Gatsby awards.

(Since I'm about to start packing for a trip and will be offline most of Sunday, I better get the blogging out of my system now. And before you read this piece, you might want to warm up with the earlier one. Just some friendly advice. It's going to be a busy day so this piece will probably seem a bit rushed.)

Picking up where we left off with the momentous, right-wing echo chamber, content-free, total spin bullshit story about how two openly liberal, left-wing bloggers publicly did some campaign-funded work for Democratic presidential candidates, there's an interesting take on this by Dan Gillmor where almost everything that needs to be said is right there in the first sentence:

'The WSJ fell into what I call the "lazy equivalence" trap in this story today about two bloggers who got paid as consultants by the Dean presidential campaign.'

"Lazy equivalence". What a perfect description -- the strategy of trying to equate two wildly disparate events to make them seem equally pernicious. (Mind you, I take some exception with Gillmor calling it "lazy" equivalence. I'd prefer something like "deliberate". Or "ridiculously dishonest". You get the idea. But let's not get too far off track, shall we? Onward.)

Regarding the alleged "pay for blog" non-story, David from NYC does, with a single table, what words can't do justice to. If you're a right-wing hack, those are the differences you're supposed to ignore and sweep under the rug when no one's looking. ("Well, yes, I suppose there are some minor diff ... Hey! Look at the bright shiny thing over there!")

But it's not like lazy equivalence is anything new. We've all seen it before:

Liberal: "I think it's disgusting that Bill O'Falafel sexually harassed a co-worker. And that Arnold Schwarzenegger molested and groped over a dozen women."

Right-wing hack: "Yeah, but Bill Clinton got a hummer in the Oval Office. So there."

Apparently, in right-wing blogworld, there's no difference between consensual and non-consensual sex. Of course, lazy equivalence doesn't stop there:

Liberal: "I think it's outrageous that George Bush lied about WMDs and Iraq's participation in the terrorist attacks of 9/11 to provoke the United States into an illegal invasion of another country that cost hundreds of billions of dollars, over a thousand American lives and the international reputation of the entire country."

Right-wing hack: "Oh, yeah? Well, Bill Clinton lied about getting a hummer in the Oval Office. So there."

See how that works? It's actually pretty easy, if you have no intellectual standards whatsoever. So, what to do about it? Well, given that there's no chance of getting the right to stop with this nauseating dishonesty, the only thing we can do is have some fun with it.

Therefore, it is with great ... well, OK, moderate pride and even more tepid fanfare that I'm accepting nominations for the first annual Gatsby awards, to be given out to knee-jerk, right-wing partisan hacks for their contribution to literary lazy equivalence. Actual categories and nomination details will be posted in a couple of days, right after I make them up with the assistance of careful, meticulous research and several drunk friends. And, I suspect, the drunker, the better.

Why we really, really despise Bill O'Falafel -- part deux.

It's not like you need even more reasons to dislike that sack of pathological dishonesty that passes for a human being, but Bill O'Falafel manages to embarrass his species even more when he weighs in on the latest non-controversy -- that two left-wing, admittedly partisan bloggers worked for Democratic presidential candidates. I may have more to say about this in a bit, but the spin from the right is that, whoa, that's awful, it's just like what (journalistic whore) Armstrong Williams did.

Oh, please.

If you want to get up to speed on this whole idiocy, just wander over to DailyKos and get caught up. There's a sweet, sweet smackdown of this crap over at CampaignDesk that's definitely worth the read, but the salient point in all of this is that, unlike (journalistic whore) Armstrong Williams, neither Markos nor Jerome made any effort to hide what they were doing, and were quite up front about it.

And yet ... and yet ... Kos, down toward the bottom of this posting, has this priceless excerpt from O'Falafel's show:

HUGH HEWITT [AUTHOR]: No, Bill. In fact, the idea of payola is very dangerous. Bloggers on the take are very bad for the business of blogging. Blogging of real journalists, and people like Power Line and like InstaPundit and myself, we don't like it when Daily Kos shows up on the take of the Howard Dean campaign. Now Daily Kos says, this is one of the bloggers from the left, says he disclosed it, but not to the satisfaction of anyone who watches him. I didn't know.

O'REILLY: Aw, this is bunk. This is bull. Nobody knew about this.

Apparently, in Bill's world, if Bill didn't know about it, well, then, nobody knew about it. Apparently, Bill is the standard of universal knowledge against which all others shall be measured. All this despite the fact that, at the end of this posting, Kos provides numerous links to online news organizations that certainly knew exactly what was going on.

And Bill O'Falafel once again justifies Al Franken's opinion of him. Quelle surprise.

COMING SOON: "Lazy equivalence", "deliberately dishonest equivalence" and the inaugural Gatsby awards.

OK, comments back on.

At this point, I think it's safe to turn comments back on. And why is that? Well, I figure that, despite how mind-numbingly, eye-rollingly dense Mr. Gatsby is, even he has to be thinking, "Oh, oh, what sort of deep shit have I got myself into here?"

I'm not even going to delete any more of his comments. After all, since my official complaint to blogger.com was based on his ongoing abuse of spamming my site, I might as well just let the evidence pile up. You have to admit, it is kind of convenient to let Gatsby make my case for me.

It will be interesting, though, to see if he picks up where he left off. After all, it's a bit puzzling as to why he's so absolutely driven to get his message out over here when anyone who gives a fuck what he thinks can just go to his site and read it for themselves. I mean, really, it's right here. Go read it. Help yourself. (I'd suggest that you maybe leave a comment, but that would be rude.)

Now, what exactly were we grown-ups doing before we were so rudely interrupted?

My, but Mr. Gatsby is a persistent little tyke, isn't he?

So ... let me get this straight: Mr. Gatsby starts loading my blog full of identical comments, totally unrelated to my most recent articles, and he accuses me of being immature? Please tell me you appreciate the irony.

Sadly, because of his childishness, I've turned off comments for the time being. But it shouldn't be for long, as I've registered a formal complaint against Mr. Gatsby with blogger.com. I've left his last few comments in there as proof -- the "smoking gun" as it were -- of his program of harassment. Now, we can all just sit back and see what sort of smackdown he gets from the powers-that-be.

I'll keep y'all posted. This should be fun.

ADDITIONAL MUSINGS:

By the way, remember that recent expression, "too dumb to know how dumb they are"? When I filed my formal complaint against Mr. Gatsby, I wanted to leave no doubt that he intended to keep up this program of harassment. And how did I do that, you ask? Why, I simply pointed the folks at the most recent posting on his blog, in which he writes:

Needless to say, I will be posting this message, and many others, on “A View from the North” until Mr. CC either accepts my live debate or allows the truth to be spoken.

Now, perhaps it's just me, but if I was about to abuse my blog privileges and almost certainly violate my acceptable usage contract with my blog host, the last thing I'd do is advertise my intentions on the front page of my blog. If you get my drift.

More bogus Christian "persecution".

Ironically, I was going to come back to this recent bit of news fluff but Media Matters, bless their little hearts, saved me the trouble.

The story here was that, just before Thanksgiving, the right-wing echo chamber started promoting the story that a Christian high school teacher in Cupertino was banned from handing out the Declaration of Independence just because that document contained the phrase "our creator". And, my, oh my, did they get mileage out of it. Not surprisingly, it turns out to have been a total myth, as you can read here.

And on top of that, can someone explain why they'd invite serial adulterer Newt Gingrich to talk about anything related to Christian values?

By the way: It's worth pointing out a nasty little twist to this myth that didn't get as much attention as it should have. You'll notice in MM's article that the original Reuters news release discussing this story was back on Nov. 24, 2004. Notice anything interesting about that date?

That's right -- it's the day before American Thanksgiving. It's painfully obvious that this charade was very carefully orchestrated to pump this story into the airwaves just as everyone was getting ready to travel, so that there would be precious little time to refute it until after the holidays. On top of that, this maximized the likelihood of having family members sitting around the dinner table, with perhaps conservative Dad railing at more mainstream or liberal son or daughter home from college about how those damned liberal, atheist bastards couldn't even tolerate the Declaration of Independence, and poor son or daughter, sitting there, thinking, "What the $%#%$# is he talking about?"

It's exactly the same strategy as the Bush administration always releasing bad news on Friday afternoon, after everyone's buggered off for the weekend. Oh, yes, this was all carefully planned. These things don't happen by accident.

Open thread.

I need a break. Your turn.

Can anyone ever stop these dingbats?

What John said.

Friday morning update: Whoops, apparently, someone had second thoughts (and note carefully the phrase "dropped its plans", which clearly shows that they really had planned to do this in the first place):

The Virginia-based missionary group WorldHelp has dropped its plans to place 300 Muslim "tsunami orphans" in a Christian children's home, the group's president, the Rev. Vernon Brewer, told news agencies yesterday.

Here's the best part, a quote from Brewer:

"Once we became aware that the government had refused to let these children be placed in a Christian home, we immediately stopped all fundraising efforts for the remaining 250 Indonesian orphaned children and appeals were removed from our website," the e-mail said.

Translation: We can't preach to them? Fuck 'em. Let 'em die.

Later Friday morning update: Just when you think you can't get any more outraged by these opportunistic hacks, well, there's more:

... evangelists like Wisconsin native Mark Kosinski say it's impossible to separate relief activities from sharing the Gospel. He acknowledged he was warned to tone down his message but says he has "a job to do."

"These people need food but they also need Jesus," said Kosinski, who arrived this week from Malaysia. "God is trying to awaken people and help them realize that salvation is in Christ."

You have to admit, there's nothing like facing a traumatized, possibly sick child that just lost its parents and comforting that child by telling it that its religious beliefs are so much pig swill. Yes, that'll win hearts and minds, won't it?

No WMDs after all. Quelle surprise.

You know, this would be funny, if it weren't so depressingly on-target.

Why most of us hate Bill O'Reilly.

Confused about why most of us left-wingers despite Bill O'Falafel? Well, there's this. And more of that here. And let's not forget this. Depicted in fine video form here. And, of course, who can forget Bill's moral values on display here? And a tidy little roundup of the oozing putrescence that is Bill O'Reilly here.

(Cue outraged right-wing bloviators sputtering, "Hey, I only asked for one example!")

More bogus Christian "persecution", and more "Jay Gatsby".

You know, you people really are gluttons for abuse. Not long after my recent piece on the bogosity of Christian persecution, a reader and friend tells me that our buddy Jay Gatsby is at it again, spewing bullshit all over the Internets. Now, I could slowly and tenderly eviscerate Mr. Gatsby's position, but life is short so I'll just lay a quick smackdown on him and move on.

Linking to this piece at Fox News (and one wonders if Mr. Gatsby gets his right-wing indoctrination from anywhere but Faux), we have, "Mich. Schools Won't Offer Bible Class":

FRANKENMUTH, Mich. — A rural school district will not offer a religious group's Bible class as an elective high school course, ending a yearlong debate.

The school board in Frankenmuth, about 75 miles north of Detroit, decided with one dissenting vote Monday to not offer the "Bible As Literature and History" class at Frankenmuth High School, following the recommendation of school Superintendent Michael Murphy.

The proposed class would have been based on materials from the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools of Greensboro, N.C.

Murphy said the class was not academically rigorous enough and said current classes in English, art and history, already include studies on how the Bible affects American society.

"It goes beyond talking about religion and becomes faith-based," Murphy said.

Now, we can shorten this discussion immensely by understanding one simple thing -- whether this course belongs in public school is based solely on whether it consists of legitimate, objective, Biblical scholarship and comparative religious studies, or whether it's Christian evangelism and proselytizing.

If it's the former, then no problem. Personally, I'm a big fan of comparative religious studies in school, and I'd be the first one to support that sort of thing. If it's the latter, not a chance. And it really is that cut-and-dried. Can we all agree on that? (And, please, don't make me explain why the class being optional, voluntary or an elective is absolutely irrelevant. Surely, most of you should be smart enough to figure that one out for yourselves.)

So ... is this curriculum group a legitimate academic concern, or a bunch of Bible-thumping evangelists? Hmmm ... maybe the fact that even Faux News described them as a "religious group" should have set off some warning bells, no? But, really, to be fair, we should go straight to the web site of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (Jeebus Christ!, turn the volume down on your system first, how fucking self-absorbed are these people?) where, right up front, we read that this collection of wingnuts are working hand in hand with the American Family Association and the Center for Reclaiming America, both bastions of right-wing wingnuttery. And we're supposed to believe that any of these clubs has suddenly discovered the appeal of actual academic objectivity? Oh, please.

But it's on the next page at the Bible curriculum shop that you get the full force of what kind of lunatics you're dealing with, as President Elizabeth Ridenour writes:

The world is watching to see if we will be motivated to impact our culture, to deal with the moral crises in our society, and reclaim our families and children.

I think we can all agree that any actual scholarly program of Biblical examination wouldn't be yammering on about "the moral crises in our society". Anyway, despite the bitching and moaning from the Jay Gatsbys of the world, there's no story here. A nutbar religious group wanted the chance to indoctrinate public school students, and the school board quite properly told them to go Cheney themselves.

And, every so often, the universe unfolds as it should.

ADDITIONAL RANDOM THOUGHTS: If you really need a glimpse at the scholarly quality of the aforementioned curriculum, well, you just have to ask. Check the course outline. I mean, really. "Fill in the Missing Information Quiz"? "Acts of General Assembly of Commonwealth of Kentucky"? "The Hydrological Cycle of Weather & The Complexity Of Weather Patterns"? "The American Flag"? "Passover Feast and Recipes"?

Recipes? They want to talk about Passover recipes?? And weather patterns? And the American flag??? I'm sure it's possible to have even more wretched, biased, worthless course material. I'm just not sure how.

ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Just for the entertainment value, I followed the "Links" URL at the curriculum site to get here, to see others who are listed as "supportive of [their] cause". And what a disreputable collection of right-wing hacks it is, with the occasional young-earth creation scientist mixed in, like "Dr. Dino" Kent Hovind. Everything you need to know about Hovind, you can find here. Enjoy.

George Clooney slaps the crap out of Bill O'Falafel.

Over here at DailyKos. Delicious stuff.

I'll take "ridiculous hyperbole" for $200, Alex.

(CC News) - In a sweeping new FCC reform, U.S. president George W. Bush announced a crackdown on what he called "the growing disease of unwarranted hyperbole polluting our mediawaves and our airtime."

"The casual misuse of superlatives and exaggeration has to stop," said Bush. "Once this legislation is adopted, it will be much harder to just describe something or someone as 'great', 'terrific', 'unparalleled' ... that sort of thing".

Bush went on to explain that a first offense would result in a $100 fine, with increasing fines thereafter. As an example, Bush produced an annoying 2003 quote from RNC chairman Marc Racicot, with the offending naughty bits highlighted:

"I was delighted to meet with this distinguished group of young college Republicans to discuss issues of utmost importance to them. It is imperative that we as a nation engage our young people so that they may become active participants in our political process now and through out adulthood. We commend these fine students for donating hundreds of hours to work on the RNCs 72 Hour Program and our efforts to increase voter turnout among conservative republicans.

According to Bush, different superlatives would have varying financial penalties, while anyone using the word "unprecedented" inappropriately would simply be taken out and shot.

Responding to this new legislation, most of the nation's major media outlets expressed surprise that Bush actually managed to correctly pronounce "unwarranted hyperbole".

In related news, Bush once again described Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as doing a "superb" job.

Reality bites.

Convenient, right-wing myth:

...the liberals decided to attack President Bush on how his completely undeserved Presidential Inauguration would cost $50 million. They forgot how money going toward the Inauguration was not government money but private donations.

Ugly reality:

D.C. officials said yesterday that the Bush administration is refusing to reimburse the District for most of the costs associated with next week's inauguration, breaking with precedent and forcing the city to divert $11.9 million from homeland security projects...

Williams estimated that the city's costs for the inauguration will total $17.3 million, most of it related to security. City officials said they can use an unspent $5.4 million from an annual federal fund that reimburses the District for costs incurred because of its status as the capital. But that leaves $11.9 million not covered, they said...

Man, dontcha just hate it when facts get in the way of a good fairy tale? There's a reason they call us the "reality-based community."

Thank God for the international media.

At least some people still want to practice real journalism. I particularly love the excerpt:

The Commander-in-Chief's Ball is being hailed by organisers as a fitting tribute to American soldiers on active service. More than 2,000 troops and their partners, selected by the Pentagon, will take part. Most have served in Iraq or Afghanistan or are about to go there.

In other words, some of those about to ship out will at least be well-fed before they get their legs blown off because of poorly-armored vehicles.

OK, this is just plain disturbing.

From the NY Post gossip page:

Joe Simpson, the former Baptist minister turned manager of daughters Jessica and Ashlee, doesn't shy way [sic] from talking about his offspring's physical assets. "Jessica never tries to be sexy," Simpson tells GQ. "She just is sexy. If you put her in a T-shirt or you put her in a bustier, she's sexy in both. She's got double D's! You can't cover those suckers up!"

Maybe it's just me, but the thought of a former Baptist minister actually knowing his daughter's bra size kinda creeps me out.

Open thread.

Bloody hell, there's too much to write about and not enough time. It really is a full-time job just keeping up with the indescribable sleaze of this administration, isn't it?

Once again, these people have no fucking shame at all.

Does the Bush administration feel even the slightest bit sheepish about having bribed a "journalist" to secretly shill for them? If you have to ask, you haven't been paying attention:

The department defended the deal, claiming its public-relations contractor "sought avenues to reach minority parents."

"The contract paid to provide the straightforward distribution of information about the department's mission on No Child Left Behind, a permissible use of taxpayer funds under legal government contracting procedures," according to a department statement.

If these people are so unashamed of what they did, why did it take a Freedom of Information Act request to pry this sleazy arrangement out of them?

ADDENDUM: Just in case anyone suggests that there's nothing wrong with Williams taking a fistful of cash to whore for the White House, one might ask Williams why he never mentioned all that payola to his employer, even though his contract had a clear conflict-of-interest clause:

"The fact that Mr. Williams failed to notify TMS of his receipt (through the Ketchum public relations agency) of payments from the DOE is a violation of provisions in his syndication agreement with TMS. The agreement requires him to notify TMS when 'a possible or potential conflict of interest arises due to the subject matter of (his columns) and the social, professional, financial, or business relations of (Mr. Williams).'

Just when you think the wingnut right can't get any more loathsome ...

Over at MSNBC, conservative psycho nutbar and talk show host Joe "Dead Intern" Scarborough asks the survey question, "Was the tsunami an act of God?"

And Christians think I'm offensive?

How to embarrass yourself in three easy steps.

1. Blogger Steve Gilliard weighs in on journalistic whore Armstrong Williams.
2. Cornerite and overall asshole Jonah Goldberg makes some ugly accusations of racism.
3. Gilliard identifies the subtle flaw in Jonah's argument.

UPDATE: Man, Goldberg just doesn't get when he's been smacked. Shorter Goldberg: "Oh, yeah? Well ... well ... I'm like rubber and you're like glue. It bounces off me and sticks to you." Seriously, are there any grown-ups over there at the Corner?

DOUBLE UPDATE: And Steve Gilliard just keeps pounding away. Definitely another blog for the bookmarks.