to give me a heart - Thank You! I'm not sure that anything I've written on DU deserves it but it is nonetheless sincerely appreciated!

"Watching Fox News is like getting your news from the Town drunk". Priceless.

Just watched the re-run of Rachel's show tonite and was dismayed to find her doing as one-sided a piece of work as has ever appeared on Fox re the Justice Department's investigation of the A.P. leaks regarding Al Queda. Not only did she do a 'hair on fire' pontification on the virtue of the Press and the perfidy of the government (which she also asserts is bound to lose in the final analysis) but also had as her only guest the lawyer for the AP. Needless to say he completely agreed with her 'legal' analysis.

This is far from the clear, cut and dried case she so fervently wants to make it out to be. There are significant legal nuances as to whether the DOJ actually violated its own guidelines which she chose to ignore and, even if they did, what if any remedies there might be. A lot more will have to be determined before fault can be fairly laid at the feet of the government in this instance. But Rachel's totally one-sided exposition falls squarely under the title of "Fair and balanced". I for one expected better than her

Venezuela’s Finance Ministry sold $200 million on a new secondary exchange system without disclosing the exchange rate for winning bids. The auction awarded dollars to 383 companies, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website. Only companies registered with the Cadivi currency board could participate in today’s auction.

Acting President Nicolas Maduro’s government introduced the new foreign exchange mechanism ahead of an April 14 presidential election in a bid to halt the bolivar’s decline on the black market and reduce shortages of goods in local stores. The bolivar has depreciated 19 percent to about 23 bolivars per dollar on the black market since Feb. 8, when the currency was devalued 32 percent on the Cadivi system.

“The only reason not to disclose the FX rate is because they don’t want to concede a de facto second devaluation in the middle of an election campaign,” Benjamin Ramsey, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York, said in an e-mailed statement. “I think it’s safe to assume it was above the official 6.3, otherwise they would have disclosed.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-27/venezuela-sells-200-mln-in-auction-without-revealing-fx-rate.html

yesterday. I repeat that I doubt that I have done/said anything that worthy of it, but am flattered and very appreciative anyway. Thank you, anonymous heart donor!

who was so kind as to give me a 'heart'. I'm not sure I've done anything to deserve such kindness but it is nonetheless sincerely appreciated! Many thanks!!!

Cenk Ugyur in today's Huffington Post makes an excellent case for what he believes Obama's motivations driving his actions are re the present negotiations:

"...

There is only one person who can rescue the Republican Party now -- Barack Obama. And he will. I have been saying for over two years now that President Obama is dying to do the Grand Bargain. He will do it at any cost. In fact, he actively wants to cut Social Security and Medicare. He can't wait for that pat on the back from the establishment when they finally call him post-partisan, above party politics, and a statesman for screwing over his own voters. This is by far his greatest wish.

I couldn't believe that people couldn't believe that President Obama offered to cut Social Security again in this round of negotiations. What are you still surprised at? The man has offered to cut these so-called entitlements every time. When are you going to get it through your head -- he wants to cut them!

Ok, I'm raining on everyone's parade here because this is the moment when the partisans are supposed to be reveling in Republican failure. The Republican Party is split and in tatters. Yes, but to what end? In order for that to be relevant, the Democrats would now have to offer a very different deal where the terms are changed in our favor. If they do and they get a deal where taxes are actually raised on people making above $250,000 and Social Security and Medicare are protected, then I will be dead wrong. I will be wrong now and I will have been wrong for all of these years. You can rub my face in it. And since the Democratic partisans are now feeling triumphant, get that crow ready for me to eat.

But it's not going to happen. I'm telling you this even in the Republican Party's darkest hour, the president will still give them most of what they want. My guess is that liberals will be stunned at the concessions President Obama makes even when he had the Republicans in a corner and totally defeated. Here's what you have to understand -- it's because he doesn't want to "win." Winning is different for him than it is for me and you. To us, winning is passing progressive priorities. To him, it's passing a deal where he seems like he is above party politics. In order to do that, he must cut entitlements (and corporate taxes, too, by the way)."

Commenting on their idol Allen West's concession, this gem appeared among all the screeches for "West/Palin 2016" and other equally fatuous idiocies. But it does give some interesting insight as to how they perceive their world and why there's no way of ever intellectually engaging them (emphasis added):

To: WVKayaker

My "dream Team" would have Sarah as Prez (more exec experience), and West as VP! Both would shake up the libs, BIGTIME!
That's not going to happen as long as they have MSNBC and we have nothing to counter it.

/snip/

Let's see a 24/7 TV news network version of CNS or Breitbart first, then maybe we'll have a chance.

We need a right wing news network to take the leftist pressure off fair and balanced, center Fox News.

No question about it. These fuckers are geniunely, 100% certified bat-shit crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These bastards are incorrigible. They lie with the same facility with which they draw each breath. Was just watching their Sunday 'news' program, when the anchor titled the next segment 'Hurrican Sandy victims. President Obama says "no red tape" but victims are drowning in it". So, intrigued, I watched the next 'news' segment, complete with the interchangable blonde bimbette 'reporter' snazzily decked out in the appropriate ;Fux News' hurricane outfit. The entire segment was a prolonged bitch session about how many people on Long Island haven't gotten power back on soon enough to suit them (although it appears that more than 95% have power restored and the power company has 4600 people working each day, as opposed to 200 on a normal day). But in all the harangue, not a single word about the "red tape" the President had sworn wasn't going to happen.

What's the take-away of this type of 'reporting'? "The President hasn't kept his word about there being no red tape with disaster relief. I heard it last night on Fux News".

How can we ever hope to deal with a cancer in the news reporting in this country where outright lies and falsifications are the 24/7 reality?

They are still at the 'Denial' stage of the five step process for dealing with grief:

Wednesday, November 07, 2012 3:24:48 PM · by Kevin in California
11-07-12 | Me

Something just doesn't add up about this whole election. One side of me is telling me that the election was legit while the other is telling me that election fraud is deeper than you and I may envision. It just seems out out the realm of possibilty that all the key states went in O's favor and not by big margins. Just enough to put him over the top. Coincidence or very well calculated? Again, not a sore loser but something just doesn't add up and it's been gnawing at me all day.