Who says there are no manufacturing jobs left in America?

From Tim Dickinson at Rolling Stone:

How Roger Ailes Built the Fox News Fear Factory

The onetime Nixon operative has created the most profitable propaganda machine in history. Inside America’s Unfair and Imbalanced Network

The key to decoding Fox News isn’t Bill O’Reilly or Sean Hannity. It isn’t even News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch. To understand what drives Fox News, and what its true purpose is, you must first understand Chairman [Roger] Ailes. “He is Fox News,” says Jane Hall, a decade-long Fox commentator who defected over Ailes’ embrace of the fear-mongering Glenn Beck. “It’s his vision. It’s a reflection of him.”

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The Hot Seat

From TALKING POINTS MEMO:

The resignation of scandal-plagued Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), and the expected appointment of current Republican candidate Rep. Dean Heller to the seat, could portend a political mess of a wholly different sort: A special election for Heller’s House seat — and the conundrum for Republicans posed by the potential candidacy of their losing U.S. Senate nominee from 2010, Sharron Angle.

Angle, who lost the 2010 Senate race despite the national Republican wave — due to controversy over extreme statements about “Second Amendment remedies” to Democratic policies, and her statements in favor of phasing out Social Security and Medicare — has already been running for the House seat, along with retired Navy Commander Kirk Lippold, who was chief officer of the U.S.S. Cole when it was attacked by al Qaeda in 2000. In addition, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki and state GOP chair Mark Amodei are reportedly considering the race.

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Cindy Hampton Isn’t the Only One John Ensign Screwed!

From 8NEWSNOW:

LAS VEGAS — The pieces continue to fall into place for a political shake up like Nevada has never seen.

Senator John Ensign is stepping down, Congressman Dean Heller may take his place and the chain reaction is now uncharted territory that could cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Governor Brian Sandoval said Friday he will name a replacement for Ensign before May 3rd. If Heller is the selection, as has been expected, state leaders actually have no idea of what exactly to do next.

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Ensign Family Values

From the Los Angeles Times:

Nevada Sen. John Ensign, facing an ethics investigation stemming from an affair with a campaign aide, said Monday he would not seek reelection because he wanted to spare his family from an “exceptionally ugly” campaign.

“At this point in my life, I have to put my family first,” Ensign told reporters at a news conference in Las Vegas.

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Angling for Relevancy

From Salon:

When an even vaguely prominent national political figure sets foot in Iowa, the question is inevitably asked: Are you interested in running for president? Sharron Angle, in the Hawkeye State to attend the premiere of “The Genesis Code,” a Christian movie featuring Fred Thompson, got it on Wednesday and her response prompted this Des Moines Register headline: “Sharron Angle comes to Iowa, doesn’t rule out presidential bid.”

“I’ll just say I have lots of options for the future, and I’m investigating all my options,” she told the paper.

How can she afford a trip to Iowa to watch a movie? Is she collecting unemployment benefits? Why isn’t that lazy ass working?

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[It’s called Braque Family Triptych (right wing), I kid you not.]

A Few of My Favorite Zings

To the tune of My Favorite Things (music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein):

Health care and midterms and all kinds of fighting,
Rallies and scandals, it was so exciting,
Tea party darlings were at it again,
All this shit happened in 2010.

Nothing but heartache for millions of Haitians,
While dumb old Pat Robertson hurled accusations,
John Roberts’ activist band of Supremes,
Were simply the court of a lobbyist’s dreams.

It’s Comical, Part 5: Miscellaneous Comics Edition

There are some comic books are are not as well known as most of the ones we’ve already covered, but while the comic books might not be as familiar, the people pictured in them will be.  For example, I’ll bet that you never heard of Cookie comic books, but you know who Cokie Roberts (and her guest star, Glenn Beck) are…
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The Raisin Galvanizes for Steele!

From VANITY FAIR:

The race for the absolute top-spot in Republican fundraising is heating up this week, as contenders for the Republican National Committee chairmanship seem more eager than ever to oust the organization’s current head, Michael Steele. Yesterday, at a debate organized by a Tea Party group, four likely contenders for the chair denounced Steele’s spotty record of fiscal and fundraising mismanagement. While it remains to be seen whether Steele will seek a second term, many of his presumptive adversaries have already formally declared their intentions to depose him.

I don’t know about you, kids, but I think Michael Phathead Steele should run again and should be reelected. Why? Glad you asked. For one thing, nobody can rock a Carmen Miranda hat like Phathead…

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The Rethuglicans are always trying to reach out to the Hispanic population, and how could they not love that?