So a deal has been reached between Iran and the west. And I’m thrilled. For one thing, I’m not afraid of Iran. As a country, it has shown itself to be reasonable. And the people of Iran are generally quite pro-American. I’ve long felt that we should be engaged with Iran. As it is, we act like a jilted lover — just can’t get over that 1979 revolution. And we refuse to take any responsibility for creating it. You know, if we actually did push democracy overseas — if we had held the Shah in line and made him create a more just country — the revolution probably never would have taken place. Khomeini could have died in obscurity in France.

But what do my fellow Americans think? Well, mostly, they think, “What?! A deal, you say?” They just aren’t plugged in. They don’t especially care. The only people who really care are those who are plugged into conservative media. They’ve been fully manipulated into thinking that this is the worst thing in the world. So this evening, I was treated to a local news segment on it that really highlighted the people who were angry about the deal. Now each and every one of them was angry for the same reason. As the Merovingian would say, “They were told to be angry and they obeyed.” If a Republican were in office, they would think this was a good deal.

I don’t really care what Americans think. Similarly, I don’t care what Benjamin Netanyahu has to say. P M Carpenter gave Matt Yglesias a little ribbing because he posted one of Netanyahu’s tweets in Hebrew. But how could it possibly matter? We all know exactly what he had to say: this is the worst thing ever; Armagedeon; betrayal; shame shame shame; and so on. Who cares? Clearly Netanyahu has incentives that have nothing to do with the good of the world, the US, or even Israel.

But I am interested in what the Iranians think of this deal. So I was pleased to see that Glenn Greenwald and Murtaza Hussain over at The Intercept wrote, Iranians’ View of the Nuclear Deal: Optimistic, With Significant Caveats. It’s not surprising that the Iranians would be pleased with the deal: like people everywhere in the world, they care about economics. This is a deal that will both improve their economy and make war less likely. What’s not to like?

The people in Iran who are against the deal are very interesting: “fundamental Islamists who are now the only real hard-core nationalists in the country.” Other than the “Islamists” in that, the same could be said of the US: “fundamental Christians who are now the only real hard-core nationalists in the country.” That’s one of the things that has been so amazing to watch since 9/11: the two sides hate each other because they are so much alike. Or perhaps I should say the three sides, because the Israelis are the same.

What’s sad, is that Americans don’t know this. And that’s because our “neutral” press thinks that the right way to balance Netanyahu is to quote Lindsey Graham.

It seems that the conservatives have done another one of the undercover videos that we so love from James O’Keefe. And here we have the same thing with questionable edits. But the main thing is that it shows Deborah Nucatola of Planned Parenthood talking about selling fetal body parts from abortions.

Snopes gives the claim a rating of “undetermined” because they are careful and lack much of a backbone. But the article is pretty damning. To begin with, it notes that even in the full length video, it isn’t clear what Nucatola is talking about. But this should tell you everything you need to know, “Nucatola states a price of ‘$30 to $100’…” For body parts?! No wonder Planned Parenthood is in so much trouble: they clearly aren’t good at business if they are going to sell off body parts at this price.

Planned Parenthood has made clear what’s going on in a statement:

So what’s with the money? Healthcare providers charge for the storage and transportation of the material. That’s why Nucatola said, “It has to do with space issues, are you sending someone there who is doing everything, or is their staff, what exactly are they going to do, is there shipping involved or are you coming to pick it up.” And certainly the people who have produced this undercover “sting” know this. Back in 2003, Planned Parenthood went through the same thing — being accused of selling body parts.

After Planned Parenthood pointed this out, the group (laughably calling itself “Center for Medical Progress”) responded more or less triumphantly. They claimed that the reproductive healthcare group had admitted to this heinous act of selling body parts. This is pretty typical of conservatives. Accuse an enemy of doing something that is completely standard and ethical, and pretend that it is a big deal. And it is: to conservative outlets. The Federalist reported, BLACKOUT: Media Go Dark on Planned Parenthood Organ Trafficking. Yes, if only the mainstream press would credulously repeat every conservative hoax, the world would be so much better! (Note: the mainstream press has on many occasions done exactly that.)

So what is this Center for Medical Progress? Well, it seems to have only been in existence for about two months. It is the brainchild of David Daleiden, an anti-choice activist. And Daleiden is — Wait for it! — a college buddy of James O’Keefe. So it’s the same old thing. Throw a bunch of tape together and hope that you can make the nation far worse off before anyone notices that it was a total scam. Will it work in this case? I don’t know. I thought International Business Times did a good job with the subject, Who Is Deborah Nucatola? 5 Things To Know After Planned Parenthood Director Is Accused Of Selling Baby Body Parts. But I’m a bit concerned about just how seriously The Washington Post took it, Undercover Video Shows Planned Parenthood Official Discussing Fetal Organs Used for Research. The fact that anyone is even talking about it is pretty bad. How long will these chicanery artists be given a fair hearing?

H/T: Paul Bibeau is a comedic genius with a bit of a political bent. He is, for example, the guy who brought us the hilarious Ayn Rand and L Ron Hubbard short stories. I don’t go to him for politics, however. But the other day he brought my attention to this, Snopes Thinks That Planned Parenthood Black-Market-Baby-Parts-Story Might Be Bullshit.