I’m getting tired of doing this. It takes me two to three hours each day to put this together. Admittedly, I would spend the time anyway, but it is a drag knowing that even when I’m tired or sick, I’m still obliged (if only by myself) to determine what is most interesting and important and to write it up. Hopefully it is a good exersize. I’m sure it will eventually end.

1. Acronym of the day: IOKIYAR. It means, “It’s OK If You’re A Republican.” Thanks for Professor Krugman for that one.
2. After Alan Simpson claimed that Social Security was a “milk cow with 310 million tits,” many people are calling for his firing from the deficit commission—include Paul Krugman.
3. I’m sure you’ve heard about the Florida Church—The Dove World Outreach Center!— planning an “International Burn a Quran Day” on September 11. To protect the event, an armed Christian organization—Right Wing Extreme—has stepped in. Don’t you love these names?
4. Despite what I said yesterday, incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski seems to have lost to teabagger Joe Miller. This may be good for the Democrats, however; Miller’s positions are extreme and may be harmful in the general election.
5. Rick Scott beat attorney general Bill McCollum for the Florida GOP governors primary. Scott won in the way that is the fashion of modern American politics: he is rich and has spent many millions of his money to buy the election. Again, there is good news: he is a deeply flawed candidate.
6. Officials are telling the trapped miners to get lots of exersize so they will be able to get through the escape tunnel they are drilling. On the plus side, some experts are saying that they could be out within a month. Thus far, no one has told the miners that the current estimate is four months. Not as well reported is the fact that the mining company did not install a ladder that was required by law. If they had, the miners would have been out in 48 hours.

There isn’t much news today. I don’t feel like going into all of the political machinations, like John Boehner’s ridiculous speech today. I’ll include anything really important from today tomorrow.

1. According to Rachel Maddow last night, of the 324 congressional primaries, the incumbent has won 317 times. That’s right: only 7 incumbents have lost in this “anti-incumbent revolution.” And no incumbents are expected to lose today. We’ll see how it goes in the general.
2. The stock market fell over 100 points after news that existing home sales went down 27% compared to the previous month. This is the fourth day in a row that the market fell. It’s hard to get worked up about any of this. Things are so bad, nothing phases me.
3. Over 150 NIH stem cell grants will be frozen as a result of Judge Lamberth’s blocking of Obama’s expanded research funded. The administration announced today that they will appeal the decision.
4. When all the world is looking down into Chile’s copper mine, astronomers using a 3.6-meter reflecting telescope have discovered an extraordinary planetary system: “Astronomers have discovered a new solar system that appears to have almost as many planets as our own. They found up to seven planets orbiting a star that is of a similar type to the Sun, including one that is likely to be rocky and less than 1.5 times the size of the Earth.”

The level of intolerance in this country is really bothering me. Was I embarrassed through eight years with Bush? Yes. Am I even more embarrassed by the current anti-Islamic dust up? Yep.

1. March of last year, President Obama signed an executive order repealing the Bush restrictions on stem cell research. Today, Judge Royce C. Lamberth granted a preliminary injunction to stop federal funding against such research. He claims that the Dickey-Wicker Amendment prohibits such research. This seems to be the case. The US is a dying empire. Sigh.
2. Thirty-three men, trapped for 17 days in a Chilean copper mine were discovered alive yesterday. They say it will take four months to get them out. Wow.
3. I keep seeing a bumper sticker that reads, “Freedom Isn’t Free.” This bugs me. I think defenders of it would claim that it is an acknowledgment of the sacrifices that our military people have made for the freedom of our country. This is hogwash. How have any of our recent wars made us freer or ever safer? But what most bugs me is that “freedom isn’t free” really means, “Spend tons on the military.” I like this button that reads, “Freedom isn’t free. In fact, you have to be really rich.”
4. You gotta see this. A black guy with a quasi-Asian hat is walking through the anti-Muslim protest and almost gets beaten up. According to the guy who uploaded the video, this menacing black man was a union carpenter who works at Ground Zero. A related matter: I saw at the demonstration a sign that read, “No Mosque, No Way!” This so reminds me of the KKK anti-integration signs, “Never, Never, Never!” And why not? They are exactly the same.
5. RNC committee member Kim Lehman says that Obama told Muslims that he was one of them—and she’s sticking by it! Back on Thursday, she tweeted, “[H]e personally told the muslims that he IS a muslim.” When asked about it by the Huffington Post on Monday, she stood her ground—sort of. She said, “[H]e made it, in my opinion, clear he was partially Muslim.” (Love that, in my opinion, syntax!) What did Obama say that kinda-sorta-on Mondays when the moon is full would make her think that? “Now part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I’m a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims.” Infidel!
6. The US isn’t the only country that gets crazies. After being fired due to charges of extortion, Manila Police Captain Rolando Mendoza took a bus full of tourist hostage. He was demanding his job back. He ended up killing 8 of the 24 passengers. After 12 hours of negotiations, Mendoza was killed during a second SWAT assault. Sad.
7. I can’t believe that the state is moving forward with the charges against Dr. Conrad Murray for the death of Michael Jackson. Jermaine Jackson said all that need be said, “Dr. Murray’s the fall guy. This is bullshit.”

On Thursday, there was a hijack or bombing threat on American Airlines flight number 124 out of SFO. It came to nothing. But the FBI picked two passengers to escort off the plane in handcuffs. They claimed they were picked randomly. But the passengers seem to have been visiting from Pakistan. So the “random” claim is just more police lying. But the big question is: why is it necessary to treat our guests in this way? I understand that people from Pakistan might be more suspect; it does, after all, seem to be the Al Qaeda capital of the world. This does not explain why it was necessary to publicly humiliate these people. Was there any reason other than their nationality? What is wrong with our country? Have we really reached the point where anyone can yell “terrorist” and cause any person from the Middle East and environs to be handcuffed and led away?

Fridays seem always to be slow.

1. In yesterday’s column, Paul Krugman equates the “apostles of austerity” to priests of an ancient cult who demand human sacrifices to appease some unseen god. It is, as usual for his columns, well worth reading. The strange thing about Krugman is that time after time he is shown to be right, while “serious” economic “advisers” are shown to be wrong. And what does he get for his troubles? Those in power continue to listen to those who have been wrong in the past, while they dismiss him as being some lunatic liberal. The same can be said for Joseph Stiglitz. I’m afraid we’ve been down the rabbit-hole so long, few realize there is any other reality.
2. Unlike many in the US, I have always considered Billy Graham an evil purloiner. But he was mostly pretty smart about it. His son—Franklin Graham—answers an offensive and leading question from John King even more offensively. He spreads lies and attacks with innuendo. Of course, one has to wonder what exactly would be the problem if the President were a Muslim. After all, we just had a President who thought God wanted him to be elected. (God works in mysterious ways: through the Supreme Court!)
3. A program to publicize teabagger-endorsed businesses has been suspended because the businesses found the association lost them customers. This is not surprising. It has been a couple of months since the teabagger negatives topped their positives.
4. All right! All right! There’s salmonella everywhere! Big deal. Just make sure that you cook foods thoroughly, and for things like Caesar salad, you can coddle the egg or use pasteurized eggs. I can’t speak for baking—I don’t do that.
5. Secretary of State Clinton (I like saying that) announced that Israel and Palestine will resume negotiations at the beginning of September with no starting terms. It all sounds hopeful, of course, it is impossible to be hopeful at this point.
6. There is wide coverage of the fact that 60% of Americans oppose the Afghanistan war. I’m not sure why this is big news; people have been against it for at least a year. Maybe it is that journalists are finally opposed to it?

Why is it that I consistently find the best coverage of events in foreign news sources? Oh, I know! Because the American news really sucks. Take for example, item number 1.

1. The US is withdrawing from Iraq having not completed what we promised. Insurgents are killing an average of 250 people per day; projects to fix the electricity and sewage treatment facilities have been left undone; one-quarter of the population lives below the poverty level; and the elected officials are now at 165 days without managing to create a government. But we killed Saddam Hussein. Gooo team!
2. The United States pledged an additional $60 million Thursday to the U.N. flood relief effort. Secretary of State Clinton announced this on Pakistan’s Dawn TV. That brings our total up to $130 million. That doesn’t mean you don’t need to donate!
3. As I’ve noted before, the oil spill is not getting much coverage these days since the oil is not spewing out. There is currently much contention about the NOAA report that claimed that 75% of the oil had “dissipated.” NOAA never gave me a cent, so I am not inclined to cut them any slack. Today, a group at Woods Hole reported evidence of large underwater oil plume in the Gulf. But maybe people are just focusing on the bad aspects of the oil spill; the following video presents the good side.

4. It is not surprising that 20% of the nation believes that Obama is a Muslim. (Sorry but Faux actually has the best coverage of this—for obvious reasons.) Nor is it surprising that there is strong correlation between ignorance about Obama’s religious beliefs and his nationality, and dissatisfaction with his performance. What is surprising is that this number was just over 10% a year ago. The Washington Post blames the Internet. I blame the Republican Hate Machine (including Faux News) who are forever bring up these issues without explicitly endorsing them.
5. Obama made four recess appointments today. Good for him. I don’t have a lot to say except that the Republicans behavior in this matter every bit as bad as it is in just about everything else they do.

I just finished reading The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, a biography of Bill O’Reilly. It is a very sympathetic depiction of him. It turns out that he is carbon-based. Of course, all the way through it, I kept wondering, “Why am I reading this?” And I’m half-way through a biography of Glenn Beck—I can’t wait to see if he turns out to be carbon-based too.

1. I’m right about hamburger! American Meat Institute President J. Patrick Boyle was on the “Colbert Report,” last night and he said that hamburger should not be eaten rare. The USDA recommends cooking all hamburger up to at least 160°F (that’s 344 K, if you’re cooking in the lab). It all comes down to surface—just searing the surface of a steak will kill the bacteria, but hamburg is almost all surface. (Did you hear the story about the genetics students who made e. coli that smelled like banana? It’s true. Clever kids.)
2. As relief aid begins to trickle into Pakistan, there is much speculation about why the world is being so ungenerous about this catastrophe. Twenty million people have been displaced, hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed, and almost two million acres of farmland flooded or washed away. In addition, 1500 people have died. I had to ask myself why I gave money to Haiti but not to Pakistan. There is no good reason, so I gave my usual pittance. Now you have two reasons to give: decency and guilt. (I’m providing the guilt, in case you didn’t notice.)
   Donate to Pakistan Flood Relief
3. You know things have gotten bad when Pat Buchanan is the voice of reason. On Monday Newt Gingrich attacked the Islamic community center, saying, “Nazis don’t have the right to put up a sign next to the Holocaust Museum in Washington.” Bachanan later said that he, “went too far with that comment.” But Buchanan is not the only person making sense in this ridiculous debate. On Monday’s Rachel Maddow Show, guest host Chris Hayes (“Who’s the black private dick that’s a sex machine to all the chicks?” Wrong Hayes.) made the argument that in four years, we will all look back on this with the same embarrassment that “freedom fries” now engenders.
4. I’m sure you’ve heard that Faux News’ parent company gave a one million dollar donation to the Republican Governors Association. In response, Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Nathan Daschle has written a letter to Roger Ailes asking that Fox News (a) put a disclaimer on all coverage of governors and gubernatorial races, and (b) cover this story itself—which Faux has been strangely silent on.
5. Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s “nigger, nigger, nigger” rant has resulted in her not renewing here contract which is up at the end of the year. On Larry King Live she said that, “my First Amendment rights have been usurped by angry, hateful groups.” I don’t think that’s right. No one is saying she doesn’t have a right to her rant; we’re just saying she’s an asshole.
6. The last American combat brigade in Iraq has left the country today, but here’s the strange thing: the Pentagon has not confirmed that the move marks an early end to combat operations. And, of course, there are still roughly 50,000 non-combat troops remaining. More when I know what the hell is going on.

There was a good side to my arguments yesterday. I used the “why do you care?” argument in the Prop. 8 case, and it seemed to work. They agreed that, in fact, whether or not there were same-sex unions made no difference to them. This is the thing about Republicans: most of the time they don’t realize that what they care about really has no relevance to their lives. If we could get them to realize this all the time, you know what they would be? Democrats.

1. The Washington Post has done an investigation of Top Secret America. It is a long (each article is about 5,000 words) three-part series. The highlights? The system is comprised of almost 1,300 government organizations and 2,000 private companies located at 10,000 places throughout the US; upwards of a million people have top-secret security; there is a great deal of redundancy and waste—for example, over fifty organizations track the flow of money to and from terrorist networks; and 50,000 intelligence reports are produced each year—so many that a lot are simply ignored. And still they can’t stop the Jihadists from opening a culinary school.
2. Those Mexicans are so backward! According to Bay Windows, “Same-sex couples who get married in Mexico City, the only place in the nation where they can do so, are validly married everywhere in Mexico, in all 31 states, the Supreme Court ruled Aug. 10 in a 9-2 vote.” That means the US is the only North American country to not recognize same-sex unions. Gooo team!
3. The flooding in Pakistan has not received much news coverage. Millions of dark skinned people suffering? Yawn. It is not surprising, however, that a former cricket player—Imran Khan—has launched a fund-raising drive to help out Pakistani flood victims. Cricketers have to stick together.
4. As I long suspected, getting hit in the head is a bad thing. It seem that Lou Gehrig may not have died from Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
5. Paul Ryan continues his disingenuous claims about balancing the budget. Ezra Klein takes on his claim that he doesn’t want to destroy Medicare (he does). Ryan wants to replace it with a voucher system. Sound familiar? It’s amazing: even when Republicans have “new” ideas they are old.
6. See, my faith in Rod Blagojevich has paid off: he was only convicted of lying to the FBI. Just kidding (about my faith, not the verdict). As far as I can tell, he’s guilty as sin—and I say this as one who tried very hard to believe him. The prosecution will retry him on the other 24 counts. Even with the one count he was convicted on, he could get up to five years.

Now go spread the word to them’s that need it.