The horror ... the horror ...

... By way of the inimitable Sam Ryskind at The Ryskind Notebook.

Maddow glibly disparages countries that prefer McCain

.... as I describe in a blog post today at NewsBusters ...

Alaskan Legislator Tells Maddow: 'What Good Does It Do' to Fire a 'Dangerous' Cop?

Hard to believe, but Alaska state senator Hollis French actually said this on Rachel Maddow's cable show on MSNBC, as I describe in a post for NewsBusters today ...

Silver lining to Powell endorsing Obama?

It led at least one lefty radio talk show host to make an unexpected admission about Bush and company's pre-war belief that Iraq possessed WMD, as described here in a blog post I wrote today for NewsBusters.org.

Enjoy your flight, Mr. Atta

Jeffrey Goldberg, national security correspondent for The Atlantic, describing his article in current issue on airport security to Air America host Rachel Maddow on Monday --

"Once a terrorist plot is about to be executed and the terrorists are in the airport already, it's a bit late to try to stop it."

Unhinged radio host Ed Schultz claims Republicans want "civil war"

Over-the-top rhetoric and rage from lefty talker Ed Schultz yesterday in responding to McCain robocalls criticizing Barack Obama's ties to '60s radical William Ayers, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's call to investigate members of Congress who are not "pro-American" and Congressman Robin Hayes saying "liberals hate real Americans." Here's what Schultz had to say, referring to Republicans --

SCHULTZ: They hate Democrats. They hate liberals. They actually, I think they want a civil war. I really do, I think they want a civil war.

Not surprisingly, one of Schultz's listeners challenged him on this within the hour, a man named "Rodney" from Marshall, N.C., who described himself as liberal and an Obama supporter. Schultz, having spent most of yesterday's show condemning what he perceived as "vile" Republican rhetoric, was volcanic in his angry intolerance of the caller's criticism. What follows is a transcript of the exchange --

CALLER: I'm going to have to call you out on what your response was to Congressman (Robin) Hayes, who I do not know. I live in western North Carolina
close to Asheville, I hope to see you next Wednesday night. But we cannot accomplish getting Barack Obama elected in this coming election by stooping to the level of some of the other talk show hosts. And when you came back with your comment concerning Representative Hayes a while ago and making fun of his accent, talking about that you think they want to start a civil war, I think you're taking a chance of alienating a lot of folks that are still on the fence down here in North Carolina and Obama needs North Carolina. We can't stoop to their level.

SCHULTZ: Well, first of all, Rodney, you have your opinion and I have mine. The conservative movement in this country, in my opinion, completely out of material and now in the arena of being vile. For a United States congressman to claim that there actually is a political movement in this country known as liberals that hate real Americans, now Rodney, if you want to let that go, fine.

CALLER: (crosstalk) No, I don't want to let it go, Ed, I did not say that at all. I am a liberal, I am a supporter, but there are a lot of people that are going to respond to your ...

SCHULTZ: Well let 'em freakin' respond to it! Rodney, Rodney, let them respond to it! Let 'em respond to it! Come to the freakin' town hall meeting and respond to it! I'm not apologizing!

CALLER: I'm not, well, I guess ..

SCHULTZ: God! I mean, it amazes me, it absolutely amazes me how many experts there are out there in talk radio! You can't say this because this might happen. You can't say that because that might happen. You can't do any of that because that might happen. You know what something, Rodney? You don't know your ass from third base!

CALLER: Wait a minute now, Ed ...

SCHULTZ: No, no, no, wait a minute, you don't! How do you, what do you know what to talk about?!

CALLER: What do I know what to talk about ...?

SCHULTZ: What do you, how do you know what to talk about?! How do you know what strikes the passion of the people? Have you traveled the country? Have you talked to people in market after market? Have you looked in their eyes and seen the frustration with the conservative movement in this country?

CALLER: OK, but when you start doing things that take away from ...

SCHULTZ: That's your freakin' opinion!

CALLER: Well, and evidently you have a very strong one, but I'm concerned about your ...

SCHULTZ: Well, you shouldn't be concerned about it, Rodney! Why don't you just get off your ass and start working!

CALLER: (crosstalk) ... in North Carolina for the first time in a presidential race, it could be a very important part of this campaign, and the success of this campaign. That's my concern. It's not defending Robin Hayes. It's despicable what he said, I'm embarrassed by it.

SCHULTZ: Well, why didn't you start out with that? But instead it's an attack on me (crosstalk) I mean, you started this, Rodney, I can't deal with you, you don't want a conversation. You don't want a conversation. You want to be put on automatic pilot, so I tell you what I'm going to do, I'm going to turn the show over to you for a minute and you'll have the final word.

CALLER: OK. Well then I'll say, I'll probably speak to you on Wednesday night in Ashville (N.C., where Schultz will moderate town hall forum) and in the meantime, I hope that everybody will take a deep breath, walk slowly, drink plenty of ice water and be careful when they're responding to a negative comment so that we don't do more damage than we do good. We've got a chance to win North Carolina for Obama. There are a lot of conservatives, evangelicals, Southern Baptists, Democrats in this state that for the first time are ready to vote for a Democrat and give Obama a chance to win North Carolina. And I want us all to be careful that we don't ruin it by responding to one person's very stupid comments, of Rep. Hayes who I don't know ...

SCHULTZ: Now Rodney, now I've given you a minute, I've given you a minute. Now is it OK if I talk now?

CALLER: Yeah, Ed.

SCHULTZ: OK, goodbye. We're right back on the Ed Schultz show (cut to commercials).

What's most amusing about the bellicose Schultz is that he petulantly walked off the set of Fox News on Friday morning. Why? Because, as he described it on Monday's show, "I don't want to be interrupted." Kinda like Schultz did repeatedly with a caller possessing the gall to criticize "Big Ed."

Report: Former NY Times reporter Judith Miller joining Fox News

... as reported this morning by Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz --

"Fox News is expected to announce today the hiring of a new contributor, a veteran national security correspondent who has shared a Pulitzer Prize.

"Her name is Judith Miller, and she is nothing if not controversial. Miller left the New York Times in 2005 after testifying in the trial of former White House aide Lewis 'Scooter' Libby that he had leaked her information about a CIA operative. Miller's conduct in the case, which led to her serving 85 days in jail for initially refusing to testify, drew rebukes from the Times executive editor and some of her colleagues.

"In the run-up to the Iraq war, Miller reported stories on the search for Saddam Hussein's supposed weapons of mass destruction that turned out to be untrue, some of which were cited in a Times editor's note acknowledging the flawed coverage.

"Miller, now with the conservative Manhattan Institute, wrote when she left the paper that she had 'become a lightning rod for public fury over the intelligence failures that helped lead our country to war.. ..."

Ed Schultz's alleged disdain for 'vile' rhetoric

Lefty radio host Ed Schultz wasted little time demonstrating rank hypocrisy during Friday's show. In the first hour, Schultz condemned criticism of Obama from McCain-Palin supporters as seen in a video posted at blogger interrupted from a Palin rally in Ohio.

Here's what Schultz had to say --

"But it's the hate in their heart that is so disturbing. It's the vile attitude that they would have towards an already elected American official. It's as if, you know, Barack Obama is coming out of the sewer, as Lucifer himself. (Schultz lowers voice for emphasis) He's a United States senator. He's been elected to a very elite body of representatives that guide this country in some very tough times of decision making, whether you like the body or not."

All of 10 minutes later Schultz makes what might be construed as a "vile" statement about Sen. Norm Coleman, based on a report in Harper's about a wealthy supporter buying clothes for Coleman --

"Look, Norm, just answer the question. Did somebody else by your freakin' clothes, you scumbag?"

In case Schultz has forgotten, Coleman is a United States senator who's been elected to a very elite body of representatives who guide this country in, ah, "some very tough times of decision making," whether Schultz likes the body or not.

Perhaps Schultz should have called his book "Hate Talk from the Heartland," as suggested by Power Line after Schultz allegedly assaulted a conservative critic in a hotel bar.

NY Post: Palin to appear on 'Saturday Night Live'

Looks like it's official, as reported today by Cindy Adams in the New York Post --

"SOCCER moms and Joe Sixpacks, listen up. Get your beer, mooseburgers and caribou dips ready. Sarah Palin is doing "Saturday Night Live." Not Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin doing "Saturday Night Live." But the Sarah Herself. She has already OK'd it. She's booked. It's confirmed. Done deal. Sketches are being sketched as we speak. She - eyeglasses, haircomb, designer jacket and trunkful of gosh-darns, golly-gees and gol-dangs - will be on "SNL" Saturday night, Oct. 25. Sarah's rehearsal time has already been penciled in for Friday the 24th. And it's because she wants to do it.

"So, my question is: Does this mean Tina Fey has plans to run for VP? "

Palin may appear on 'Saturday Night Live'

... To spoof Tina Fey's impersonation of her, as reported by Bill Zwecker in the Chicago Sun-Times --

"It's looking more and more likely that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will appear on ''Saturday Night Live'' -- to have some fun with Tina Fey ... Some key McCain staffers are content with Palin joking about the "SNL" routines on the campaign trail -- as when she scribbled "I'm not Tina Fey" on a supporter's cell phone and said she'd dressed as Fey on Halloween. But others -- including the governor herself -- think a return punch on the NBC airwaves is what's needed. ...
... I'm hearing some sort of Palin tweak of Fey's American Express commercials is in
the works. While next weekend's ''Saturday Night Live'' will be a rerun, it is possible Palin could appear Thursday on the first of NBC's ''Weekend Update'' specials in prime time."

Biden acknowledges post-Democratic convention doubts about Obama

... As described by Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter on Ed Schultz's radio show today, with Alter telling Schultz about interviewing Biden on Friday, the day after Biden's vice presidential debate with Sarah Palin --

"One thing that he talked about that was quite interesting to me was Obama's role during the bailout and he said, you know, he talked about this conference call with Warren Buffett and Paul Volcker and Obama's other economic advisers, Bob Rubin, and how much, as he described it, he said Obama was in friggin' command! You know, he was really exercised about how good and how sophisticated Obama was in his handling of that crisis and how much, you know, he seemed like a president on those conference calls. He said he called him later and said, you know, you sold me, sucker! You know, which is kind of the way Joe Biden talks. Now that was interesting because it was a little bit of a reflection that, I think, Biden, not just because he ran against Obama, but because, you know, he's so much more junior, had some questions over the course of 2008 about whether Obama was really ready and had the capacity to be a great president. And those questions have been resolved in Joe Biden's mind."

Resolved in Biden's mind during the financial crisis -- which began fully a month after the Democratic convention. With Biden harboring doubts about Obama in the interim.