Links (Read them)

Playing the Blame Game in the SOTU Address: Who did it? [Progressive Eruptions]

"To understand the State of the Union, we must look not only at where we are and where we’re going but where we’ve been. The situation at this time last year was truly ominous."

Palin: Let's Merge The Tea Party And GOP [Talking Points Memo]

"You Betcha! They need to merge," Palin said. "Definitely, they need to merge."

A tiny sliver of reality about presidents and debt [Open Left]

It's not just that Republicans are "fiscally irresponsible." It's that they're constantly using Keyensian-style deficit spending to drive the economy, all the while claiming that what's driving the economy is the "free market forces" they've "unleashed."

Why Aren't Conservatives Funny? The Teabuggers. [Gawker]

Maybe it's because absurdity and hypocrisy — staples of political humor — are far more prevalent on the right. If a family-values conservative gets caught with a wide-stance in an airport bathroom stall, or claims to be "hiking the Appalachian trail" when he's in fact schtupping the Argentinian woman, that is amusing.

A Bullet in the Heart is Worth Two in the Bush [Ranger Against War]

The US Marine Corps has contracted 800,000 ACOG's at $660 Million USD ($825 per unit in 800,000 lots) for the USMC. Not such a good deal when the catalog lists them at $792-$836 for lots of one, depending on the mounting system.

The Psychology of Power: Absolutely Power corrupts, but it corrupts only those who think they deserve it [The Economist]

These results, then, suggest that the powerful do indeed behave hypocritically, condemning the transgressions of others more than they condemn their own. Which comes as no great surprise, although it is always nice to have everyday observation confirmed by systematic analysis. But another everyday observation is that powerful people who have been caught out often show little sign of contrition. It is not just that they abuse the system; they also seem to feel entitled to abuse it.

O'Keefe/Breitbart: Felony Arrest, Manipulation of U.S. Senator's Phone Not What It Seems [Brad Blog]

But just imagine the years of outrage and endless repetition of the charges from the Rightwing media and their acolytes --- folks like Crazy Andy --- that would accompany four operatives allied with the Democratic Party, perpetrating a scheme to dress up as phony telephone company employees in order to access and manipulate the phone system in the office of a sitting Republican U.S. Senator.

Medieval Minds and the Plutocratic Plague [Glenn W. Smith at FireDogLake]

It takes more than a willingness to lie to convince Americans that health care reform is a communist plot or that Obama is an illegal alien. It takes contemporary political media more welcoming of artifice than truth. And, it takes money. No one disputes that right wing spending over the last 40 years has warped our political opinion environment. Their think tanks, television networks, publishers, hate-radio hosts and front groups dominate the message environment. But our reaction too often reminds me of Medieval Europeans’ reaction to the Plague.

Medical journal 'Lancet' retracts study linking vaccines to Autism [Too Bad the Damage has been done and the Anti-Vaxers are Resurgent]

The journal published the controversial paper by Andrew Wakefield and colleagues in 1998. That, in turn, prompted many British parents to abandon the vaccine, leading to a resurgence of measles.