It is interesting to note that Fox News, the media arm of the Republican Party, has signed up Sarah Palin as a commentator.  This should be a good fit for an obvious reason.

Fox and the Republicans have a distinct tendency to fuzz up the facts and Palin with her wild, off the top of her head commentaries on global warming, international affairs, or virtually any other issue one could name makes her a fitting prospect to follow in the tradition of Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity.

One issue that the Republicans are notably fuzzing up is Harry Reid's unfortunate comments about his belief as to why Barack Obama would make a successful presidential candidate.  They definitely displayed racial insensitivity and he had every reason to apologize.

So now Michael Steele, the Republican National Committee's chairman and an African American himself, is shouting "double standard" from the rooftops.  

The Republican controlled US Senate, after weeks of focusing it's august attentions on such critical issues as gay marriage and the repeal of the estate tax is about to take up what some feel is another burning issue that requires the immediate attention of a country currently embroiled in two wars in which our citizens are being slaughtered daily, deeply in debt to foreign interests, under the grip of rising unemployment, crime, poverty, and lacking even basic health care for more than 35 million of it's people. The burning issue du jour is the desecration of Old Glory.

Senator Frist clutching controversial Telly-Tubby doll Tinky-Wink for emphasis


Washington, DC (APE) - In an exclusive interview with APE, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. offered an explanation of why the Senate will be taking up a controversial constitutional amendment seeking to ban gay marriage. He offered his unique clinical perspective as to why, as a physician, he supports the amendment:

"First, let me be very clear that, as a physician, I must state from the onset that the medical and psychiatric community's stance has been and will continue to be that homosexuality is not an illness. I haven't thought about it very much, but perhaps this is why I chose to largely abandon the practice of medicine and become a senator."

A little photoshop fun for this fine Saturday morning! This one goes out to all you loyal progressive Dems in the great states of Alaska and Tennessee. In the first movie, we have Doofus attempt to help Bill and Ted rewrite history. In the sequel (after the fold) Bill and Ted play games with Death in an attempt to rescue Doofus and preserve their version of history... Hope you enjoy!

From AP: Frist AIDS Charity Paid Consultants

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's AIDS charity paid nearly a half-million dollars in consulting fees to members of his political inner circle, according to tax returns providing the first financial accounting of the presidential hopeful's nonprofit.

The returns for World of Hope Inc., obtained by The Associated Press, also show the charity raised the lion's share of its $4.4 million from just 18 sources. They gave between $97,950 and $267,735 each to help fund Frist's efforts to fight AIDS.

So who were the donors and political consultants?

The donors included several corporations with frequent business before Congress, such as insurer Blue Cross/Blue Shield, manufacturer 3M, drug maker Eli Lilly and the Goldman Sachs investment firm.

World of Hope gave $3 million it raised to charitable AIDS causes, such as Africare and evangelical Christian groups with ties to Republicans -- Franklin Graham's Samaritan Purse and the Rev. Luis Cortes' Esperanza USA, for example.

The rest of the money went to overhead. That included $456,125 in consulting fees to two firms run by Frist's longtime political fundraiser, Linus Catignani. One is jointly run by Linda Bond, the wife of Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo.

The charity also hired the law firm of Vogel's wife, Jill Holtzman Vogel, and Frist's Tennessee accountant, Deborah Kolarich.

Kolarich's name recently surfaced in an e-mail involving Frist's controversial sale of stock in his family founded health care company. That transaction is now under federal investigation.

 

WASHINGTON - The Senate on Friday refused to reauthorize major portions of the USA Patriot Act after critics complained they infringed too much on Americans' privacy and liberty, dealing a huge defeat to the Bush administration and Republican leaders.

In a crucial vote early Friday, the bill's Senate supporters were not able to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and their allies. The final vote was 52-47.

Wonder how much this had to do with the vote...and the longer this goes on, the less likely the bill is to pass.

Full story Here

Yet again, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has raised his sword for Big Healthcare at patients' expense.  This time, Frist aims to shield vaccine manufacturers from liability for injuries caused by bird-flu and Anthrax shots.  

Instead of sponsoring legislation in the sunshine, Frist snuck provisions into a spending bill.

Frist's deceptiveness is no surprise, starting at least as far back as med-school, when he took animals from shelter under the pretense of "adopting" them but instead used them in fatal experiments.

Like fruit from a poisoned tree, Frist's political success is inextricably tied to HCA, the family business that became the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain.  HCA stock worth at least $11 million comprised a substantial chunk of his wealth, enabling Frist to spend $1.2 million from his own pocket for his first senatorial campaign.

HCA's fruit was similarly poisoned, with profits stemming from years of crimes and civil infractions that cost the taxpayers millions.

The Republicans want to protect Americans from bioterrorism and natural disease threats. Yet scientific organizations, including the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology and the media are critical of the government's proposed legislation. And for very good reasons as reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution