News Roundup for 7/1/09

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK)

-Headline of the day-
"Inhofe: No disrespect, but Franken's a 'clown.'"

Asked about climate legislation, flat-earther James Inhofe declared it "dead in the water" as soon as it hits the senate. "I'll tell you what a lot of people are thinking, and that is it looks like things are going to be over and we are going to get the clown from Minnesota," he said.

Asked if he was referring to Al Franken, Inhofe told the Tulsa World, "I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I don't know the guy, but... for a living he is a clown."

I guess he means a comedian. For the record, what Al Franken does for a living is serve as the junior senator from the great state of Minnesota, dickwad. Get used to it.

A few fun facts about the James Inhofe:


-He once compared people who accept global warming to "the Third Reich."

-He said that President Obama's speech in Cairo showed that he sided with terrorists and questioned whether Obama loved America.

-He once said that he was "very proud" that there were never any gays in his family tree -- despite the fact he had a gay son.

-After Republicans lost power in 2006, he once tried to commandeer the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee until the real chair, California's Barbara Boxer, gaveled him down, reminding him that "elections matter" and he wasn't the chairman anymore.

-He once circulated a list of "over 700 dissenting scientists" who disputed global warming. Inhofe said they were "prominent," but many were actually Creationists who the scientific community had rejected. One of the "prominent scientists" was Chris Allen, a TV weather guy from Bowling Green who holds no degree.


I'm sorry, who's the clown again? (Think Progress)


-Too much?-
While it's still up in the air whether Michael Jackson died of a drug overdose, the public is clearly overdosing on Michael Jackson coverage. A new Pew poll finds that 64% say the coverage of Jackson by the media has been "excessive."

But hey, it's so damned easy! Almost everything you could say about Jackson has already been written and they've got tons of archival footage. Hell, if you think about it, you could probably talk about Michael Jackson for almost as long as he lived without going over too much stuff twice.

And then there's the inevitable custody battles... Screw what the public thinks, this thing's going on for a while yet. Beating a dead horse may not be a fruitful endeavor, but milking it... Now there's good journalism. (E&P Pub)


-Why Sanford may not step down-
Because the man who would replace him is a little bit of a lunatic and may be a sexual hypocrite himself.

According to the report, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (R) "has become known as much for his personal behavior as for his political record. In 2003, he was charged with driving 60 mph and running two red lights in downtown Columbia. When pulled over, Bauer was so aggressive that a police officer pulled a gun on him."

Bauer also seems to be a second scandal waiting to happen. His romantic life "stirred rumors, the latest bubbling up in recent days" and in an interview with the newspaper The State, "Bauer voluntarily brought up the subject of his sexual orientation and insisted that he was not gay."

That's never a good sign.

Apparently, you've got to go a long way in S. Carolina to find a Republican who isn't a phony. (Political Wire)