ah hey, he sang again: sweet home chicago!

red, white and blues (updated)

The full concert will be shown on PBS on February 27th

evening all

TPM

Thanks Loriah

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Steve Benen: …. As for why Michigan trees “are the right height” — unlike those other rascally states, where the trees are either too tall or too short — I’m yet to see someone explain what on earth Romney was talking about.

Full post here

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The Week

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Mediaite: Here’s a moment in recent history that you’ll be hearing a lot about this week: In a 2008 speech given at Ave Maria University (a Catholic institution), current presidential hopeful Rick Santorum warned those gathered that “Satan has his sights on the United States of America.”

More here

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Michael Tomasky: …. Romney is just a coward. If he were half the man his father was, he would do something like what his father did in 1964, when he warned the party nominating Barry Goldwater that it was headed off the rails. (Today Goldwater, considered a fanatic in his day, would be maybe about the 15th-most-conservative Republican senator.) But all Romney cares about, all any of them care about, is getting and keeping political power. They can’t see the obvious paradox — that their lust for the White House is making them submit to all the wishes of a fanatical base, which is exactly what will keep them from winning the White House.

Remember that satirical Brecht line about it being perhaps easier for the government to dissolve the people and elect a new one? It’s not a new candidate the right needs. It’s a new electorate.

Full post here

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Political Carnival

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singing the blues

First Lady Michelle Obama hosts a student workshop called “At The Crossroads: A History Of The Blues In America” at the White House. On stage with Obama are (L-R) musicians Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Shemekia Copeland and Keb Mo. The event is being held in recognition of Black History Month as part of the “In Performance at the White House” series.

the payroll tax cut

President Barack Obama gets a hug from Tracy Cacho of Washington, after he spoke about the importance of the payroll-tax cut extension, Feb. 21, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building

rise and shine

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Steve Benen: We talked yesterday about why the 2002 Olympic games, run by Mitt Romney, has become an awkward political story for the Republican presidential hopeful. To help drive the point home, consider this clip, uncovered by the estimable James Carter, of Romney discussing the role of taxpayer money to support the games.

….. Not surprisingly, he concluded that the “massive investment” is absolutely worth it. Indeed, in the same clip, Romney went on to thank Utah’s congressional delegation – which was made up entirely of Republican lawmakers at the time – for being “enormously helpful” in securing so many tax dollars for the 2002 Olympics.

More here

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Greg Sargent: Another day, another Romney truth-stretch: Glenn Kessler knocks down the ubiquitous Romney-GOP talking point that Obama pledged that his stimulus plan would hold unemployment below eight percent.

Special bonus dissembling: As Kessler notes, the info to disprove this one is actually available on the Romney Web site…

More here

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McClatchy

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Morning everyone