The Nightowl Newswrap

Time to start the Lieberman death watch Harry Reid has
kicked Lieberman out of the weekly caucus lunches or the biweekly chairmen’s lunches used to formulate policy. It's a start Harry. Now take his damned gavel.

Of pots, kettles, and degrees of blackness Tim Graham, an alleged analyst for Isvestia Fox News attacked MSNBC today as a "partisan." But that wasn't all - he went on to specifically single out "that lesbian Air America host." What an overt invitation to bigotry and hatred. His comments elicited giggles and chortles by the adolescent dimwits that comprise the Fox News on air team.

Welcome back, Ed Ed Koch, former Mayor of New York City and a lifelong Democrat who flabbergasted many with his 2004 endorsement of George Bush has endorsed Obama. When asked what pushed him back to the Democratic fold, he responded "The designation of Palin to be vice president. She's scary."

Ed's right...she is scary The rest of the non-theocrat nutjob republican party better wake the fuck up and realize that Palin is not the savior of their republican party - she is Buffy sent to slay it and supplant them with the religious wingnut faction. The wingers are emboldened by her like they have never been before. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council told CNN today that evangelicals are closely watching whether the McCain campaign embraces Palin's religious views or shies away from them, and served notice that he has no choice but to go all in and embrace her positions. (I just gotta say, this is the sickest dynamic I have ever seen in a running mate situation.)


The Al Franken Century lumbers forward...Comedian Al Franken has won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Minnesota, setting up a showdown with Republican Sen. Norm Coleman. The former "Saturday Night Live" cast member, author and radio show host has grabbed the nomination in a seven-way primary. Coleman also easily defeated his primary opponent — an expatriate living in Italy.

While it may be okay, what would it matter? He has NO power...An Israeli Cabinet minister and one-time spy who helped kidnap Nazi mastermind Adolf Eichmann and bring him to trial said Tuesday the same tactic could be used on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad is feared and reviled in Israel because of his repeated calls to wipe the Jewish state off the map. His aggressive pursuit of nuclear technology has only fueled Israel's fears. "A man like Ahmadinejad who threatens genocide has to be brought for trial in The Hague," said Rafi Eitan, referring to the international war crimes tribunal in the Netherlands. "And all options are open in terms of how he should be brought."

Venezuela says no to US flight advisory: Venezuela - Venezuela's aviation agency is criticizing a U.S. travel advisory informing travelers that the U.S. can't vouch for the security of flights departing Venezuela. The National Civil Aviation Institute insists Venezuela's airports are in full compliance with international standards set by the U.N. agency overseeing civil aviation. Institute president Jose Luis Martinez Bravo denied on Tuesday that Venezuela's government has blocked U.S. officials from visiting its airports

Fiscal conservatism my frickin' ass: Weak revenue growth and accelerated spending -- including an economic stimulus package that returned billions to taxpayers -- will drive the federal deficit to $407 billion in the fiscal year that ends this month, more than double last year's $161 billion, congressional budget analysts reported today. With the economy expected to remain sluggish for at least the next several months, the next president will take office facing a projected deficit of $438 billion, budget analysts predict -- the largest in dollar terms in American history, exceeding the previous record of $413 billion in 2004. And that number could easily climb above $500 billion if Congress acts, as expected, in the coming months to restrain the growth of the alternative minimum tax, budget analysts said. In January, congressional budget analysts had estimated the deficit would be only $219 billion by year's end. This summer, however, the White House estimated that that number was likely to spike to $389 billion because of new spending. Suddenly, on January 21, 2009--I'll bet you anything you want to bet this will be the number one issue to Republicans everywhere...

Fewer Medical students are choosing primary care: Only 2 percent of graduating medical students say they plan to work in primary care internal medicine, raising worries about a looming shortage of the first-stop doctors who used to be the backbone of the American medical system. The results of a new survey being published Wednesday suggest more medical students, many of them saddled with debt, are opting for more lucrative specialties. Just 2 percent of nearly 1,200 fourth-year students surveyed planned to work in primary care internal medicine, according to results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In a similar survey in 1990, the figure was 9 percent.

Yeah, don't insult the king in a country where the king can actually do this shit: A Moroccan blogger has been jailed for two years for showing disrespect to the monarchy, say the man's family. Mohammed Erraji, 29, was convicted after writing an article claiming King Mohammed VI's charitable habits were encouraging a culture of dependency. There has been no official comment on the case, but rights groups claim Erraji did not have a fair trial. A BBC reporter says criticising the king is an offence in Morocco and the royal family remains a taboo subject.

Pat Roberts laughed at by debate audience Former Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Pat Roberts participated in a debate with Democratic challenger Jim Slattery yesterday, and when he asserted that the "whole world" got the intel wrong on Iraq, the audience laughed at him.

I've been to Georgia, and those crackers have a lot of damn gall calling anyone "uppity" but there are now two confirmed instances of rednecks calling black people "uppity" - the first was congressman Lynn Westmoreland, referring to the Obamas, and the second was a candidate referring to MSNBC reporter Ron Allen. I swear to god, it;s starting to look like come the morning of November 5, all over Georgia there will be bubbas with bloody stumps stickin' outta the necks of their flannel shirts cuz their heads dun a-sploded.

How we treat our crazy people is geographic I always heard growing up that in the north, the crazy relatives were sequestered away in institutions and attics, but Southerners put 'em in the parlor for everyone to enjoy. In Kentucky, they seem to go the rest of the south one better and elect 'em to congress.