I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
–Frank Herbert, Dune

1. Check facts. Check facts. Check facts.

2. Verify authenticity of sources, and develop trusted sources.

3. Locate and consume original source of information.

4. Do 1, 2, and 3 before becoming outraged or passing it on.

Those these sound like they would only apply to journalism and politics and the internet, I apply them to just about everything in life. I find them useful, and I wish more people would use them. Especially people in journalism and politics … unlike all the people currently embroiled in the Sherrod drama.^†

1. † Especially the Obama Administration. Their overwrought and hasty reaction to a clip of an edited video tape has made them look completely stupid. [↩]

Since I’d seen a lot of people talking online about Senator Coburn saying something about the USA being more free 30 years ago than now and couldn’t find the actual quote from the confirmation hearing so I could read it in his own words, I had to annoy myself by listening to him drone on and on in order to make my own transcript of it. If you also like to hear or read people’s own words, rather than have people tell you what someone said (in quotation marks, no less, even though it’s not a quote), here you go:

Have you ever contemplated the idea of what your freedom was like 30 years ago and what it is today?

I want to tell you, a lot of Americans have, and I certainly have. There’s a marked change in this country, from when I was twenty to now when I am 62. And one of the problems with confidence –and the reason I asked you the question– is a lot of Americans are losing confidence, because they are losing freedom. They’re losing liberty.
–Sen. Coburn, R-Oklahoma, Kagan confirmation hearing, Day Three – Part Four

I would imagine that Senator Coburn, a white man of some means, has noticed a “marked change” in this country since 1980. I would also imagine minorities and women have also noticed a “marked change” in freedom since 1980 as well. As a woman, let me tell you, Senator Coburn, I feel far more free now to do as I wish than I did in 1980.

In 1980, I was told I couldn’t take shop class, because I was a girl. In 1983, I was told I couldn’t be a Navy pilot, because woman are irrational (no shit, really that was the excuse given to me). So, yes, seeing as girls can now take shop class and women can be Navy pilots, seems to me freedom has increased for some people, though perhaps not for wealthy white men … if only because they do seem somewhat opposed to sharing their freedoms with others not so white or male (or straight).

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) also had an excellent response to Coburn.

Senator Knotts (R- S.C.) –the man who thinks it’s “coy and funny” to call the President and one of his own Republican Party members “ragheads”– has been flapping his sagging jowls again.

Reporter: Are you a racist?

Knotts: No. I’ve got… I help anybody. It don’t matter what color their skin is. Doesn’t matter what party they in, whether they a Democrat or Republican. I work both sides of the aisle.You can’t work both sides of the aisle if you a racist, and I’ve done that for 16 years.

I like how he started to say “I’ve got…” which is usually followed by “black friends.” Then he thought better of it and worded it in a slightly different way. Of course, while he’s busy insisting he isn’t a racist and will help anyone, no matter what, he also had this to say:

Knotts: …the press has given Nikki Haley a free ride ever since she has been runnin’, and you know it, ’cause WIS is exactly responsible for that.

Reporter: Where have we not held her accountable? What questions have we not asked her that you would like to have asked?

Knotts: Have you ever asked her if she believes in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and that he died on the cross for her sins? Have you ever asked her that? Not just ‘Do you believe in God?’

So, I guess he isn’t so much a racist as just a general purpose bigot.

You can watch the interview I pulled this quotes from here at WMBF News.

“A couple of things about the searches on Google and Yahoo… it’s not just that thing you showed there, Keith. It’s not just the sponsored link at the top –I was fooling around with it this afternoon. They’re buying the Google algorithm, not just that first thing up top. If you put in all kinds of other combinations, and you do the search, the top several responses you get in the un-highlighted area –supposedly the journalistic area– also take you directly to the BP page. So I think there are questions to be asked about that whole thing is working.”
–Howard Fineman on Keith Olbermann, , 2010

Accusing Google of selling listings or “page rank” in the non-sponsored section of the search is a pretty bold claim. Much like saying “That politician took a bribe!” or “That woman killed her husband!” I would like some proof with that statement. He didn’t say “It seems like…” or in some other way leave himself an out with his statement either. Fineman came right out and accused Google of shady business practices, and his only proof? When you type “BP” and “oil” and “spill” into Google, in addition to the sponsored link BP actually did buy, the first couple of links also go to BP’s homepage.

Let me take a moment to explain to the elderly gentleman how it could possibly be that BP’s own web site might come up highly listed on Google’s search results OTHER than BP having bought something Google says they don’t sell (Page Rank):

Everyone and their pet dog has been linking to the live camera on the gushing oil pipe, which just so happens to be on a sub-page of the BP web site. Many of these places linking to it have high page rank themselves (Rachel Maddow’s blog, for example), which then also gives the page linked to a page rank boost. Additionally, all these other pages linking to that page are undoubtedly doing so in posts or articles using the words “BP” and “oil” and “spill” which will lead to that page being ranked highly for those search terms (on top of the fact BP probably has high page rank anyway, even before everyone was talking about them -they are the fourth largest company on the planet). Since the live camera is on a sub-page of a main web site, it’s going to be listed as such in the search listings underneath the link for the main web page (so it’s really only one listing). This is totally not at all surprising to anyone who has any understanding of how Google works.^†

If I were Google and had Google’s bank account and team of lawyers, I’d probably be having a discussion with Mr. Fineman. “They’re buying the Google algorithm,” he says quite clearly in the following clip.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Like I said, that’s a bold statement without any actual proof to back it up. Why, I’d say it’s positively slanderous, and I bet there would be some Google lawyers who agree with me.

Just because you are on TV does not mean you can say whatever thing pops into your head! Stop making stuff up and believing it’s true just because the thought crossed your mind and you lack the knowledge, imagination, and/or research skills required to understand how search engines like Google work!

NEWLY ADDED INFO: Becky at White Hat, Black Belt has a much more knowledgeable explanation for those who want more information on why exactly Fineman’s statement about Google was completely ignorant. I’m not wrong, but she really knows her stuff!

1. † And if you leave off BP and only search for oil spill, there is no link at all to the BP web site. Once again, I am not at all surprised. Duh. Most major corporations have great page rank on their own company name. Hell, if you type the words “just” and “orb” into Google, lo and behold, I dominate the top several listings, and I am hardly a major corporation. [↩]

“What a piece of worke is a man! how Noble in Reason? how infinite in faculty? in forme and mouing how expresse and admirable? in Action, how like an Angel? in apprehension, how like a God?”

—The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
(Act II, Scene ii, 285-300)

At the end of the day, when the history books are written, I think George W. Bush will go down as a very, very good President. Approaching great? I don’t know yet because I don’t know if we’ve seen the –

A year and a half since he’s been out of office, this may be a little bit early to write George’s history. But here’s why he was an incredibly good President: because this man kept America safe.
–Texas Governor, Rick Perry (via WWJD)

You know, a couple of days after the health care bill had been signed into law Obama ran around all over the country saying, “Hey, you know, I’m looking around. The earth hadn’t opened up. There’s no Armageddon out there. The birds are still chirping.” I think the earth has opened up. God may have replied. This volcano in Iceland has grounded more airplanes — airspace has more affected — than even after 9/11 because of this plume, because of this ash cloud over Northern and Western Europe. At the Paris airport they’re telling people to head to the train station to catch trains out of France, and when people get to the train station they’re telling people, “There aren’t any seats until at least April 22nd,” basically a week from now. It’s got everybody in a shutdown. Earth has opened up. I don’t know whether it’s a rebirth or Armageddon. Hopefully it’s a rebirth, God speaking.
–Rush Limbaugh

Yes, Rush. You’re absolutely right. God doesn’t want poor people or anyone to be healthy. Doesn’t want anyone helping to take care of anyone else. Funny then that he sent Jesus down with his miracle healing powers and then allowed Jesus to heal poor people while simultaneously telling everyone to love each other and take care of each other, isn’t it?

It’s really odd how I, someone who would not describe themselves as Christian, seem to understand their god and Jesus better than they do. These people are less Christian than I am.

With a deadpan, Beck insists that he is not political: “I could give a flying crap about the political process.” Making money, on the other hand, is to be taken very seriously, and controversy is its own coinage. “We’re an entertainment company,” Beck says.

I love it when the talking heads are honest. I’ve always known Beck didn’t give a damn about politics or the political process. I just wish all his many followers would clue into that fact. He isn’t at all about politics. He’s all about the money, and he will say or do whatever is necessary to continue to make tens of millions of dollars a year off the drivel that comes out of his mouth.

“We must never stop our efforts to reduce the weapons of war. We must never stop at all until we see the day when nuclear arms have been banished from the face of this Earth.” — Ronald Reagan

Orb: [on the Box Room] It’s a waste of space we could be using.

Lin: Kinda like your brain!

We really should charge admission for a seat in our living room. The witty repartee … well, we’ve turned it into an artform. I actually had to concede him a single point tonight for that incredible, instantaneous zinger! I apparently need to study improv insulting more. I had no comeback! LOL!

It’s not for nothing our friends used to call us the Linnie and Lora Show.

Sarah Palin drew a straight line from Alaska to Alberta as she told a sold-out, largely adoring crowd in Calgary that the province gets her message of less government, lower taxes and development of natural resources.

The vocal opponent of health-care reform in the U.S. steered largely clear of the topic except to reveal a tidbit about her life growing up not far from Whitehorse.

“We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada,” she said. “And I think now, isn’t that ironic?”

I don’t think “ironic” is the word Ms. Palin is looking for. I believe the word is “hypocritical” … as in Canada’s health care system is good enough for Sara, but heaven forbid any other American have access to anything like that. You know, what with those Canadian “death panels” and everything. Can’t have that here in the good old USA!

You are not the only person in the cross-hairs. We all are. This man and his administration are gunning for everybody who has success, wants to have success.

…the rich are gonna stop getting all the good stuff! This is income redistribution! This is returning the nations wealth to its quote-unquote rightful owners! This is a civil rights bill. This is reparations. Whatever you want to call it.

That’s why this isn’t about health care. It’s about wealth redistribution and class envy and getting people who can’t read this to think it’s going to be good for ‘em, because rich people are gonna get stuck again.
–Rush Limbaugh

Those things I highlighted in bold? All the blather about reparations and wealth redistribution is just the filler in this particular Limbaugh rant. The meat of the matter is an extremely wealthy man doesn’t want to part with any of his money to help anyone else in his society or his society in general.

What I find most annoying about Limbaugh, other than that he is a raving madman, is that his listeners are predominantly people in the middle class and lower who will never –NEVER– be anywhere near as wealthy as Limbaugh or even close to being rich at all, and yet he goes on and on about how rich people are going to get screwed, and these people eat it up with vigor. Yup, when he’s going on and on about rich people getting screwed, that’s when he’s being most honest … and how many people are actually as wealthy as Limbaugh? Certainly not the majority of his fan base, that’s for certain.

Why should anyone not wealthy give a damn about the wealthy? It’s not like they are in any danger of not living in large and fancy houses, driving large and fancy cars, eating fine and fancy meals, getting whatever health care they want or need, and having whatever expensive toys they want whenever they want them if they have to pay some more in taxes. Hell, right now, they aren’t even paying as much in taxes as they did under Reagan, and they do all seem so fond of the Reagan Era. I listen to some of my family members –Dittoheads one and all– ranting away about how rich people are going to get screwed, and then the next thing out of their mouth is them wondering how they are going to pay the bills this month. Why are they so damn worried about wealthy people? I can pretty much assure you that the wealthy don’t spend a lot of time worrying about them, and as I pointed out to these family members they all got tax CUTS, so what are they complaining about?

I personally don’t give a damn about wealthy people. I don’t wish them any harm of any sort. I just don’t spend a lot of time thinking about them, because I’m pretty sure that whatever they need or want they will be able to obtain without any stress. I don’t have to worry about them going hungry or dying from lack of health care or being homeless. I do have to worry about people in the middle class or lower having these kinds of problems. We should all be worried about that, including wealthy people like Limbaugh. A strong and thriving society can only be achieved when everyone has the basics of life: education, food, shelter, and health care. The only way we are going to achieve that is if those who are already thriving (and well beyond thriving) help.

I’ve moved through several tax brackets in my life. Sure, paying taxes sucks, because who really wants to send thousands of dollars anywhere without seeing direct results in one’s own life, but still, I don’t complain about it. Lin and I don’t really even get all the benefits we should, seeing as we don’t have kids in school or ever heading off to college, we aren’t eligible for any kind of welfare for food, shelter or health care, and I’m sure there are other benefits that those less fortunate than us get from our tax dollars that I haven’t even considered. We’re cool with that, because where we are now puts us in a position to have a better existence than so many other people who aren’t doing so well, and we both feel that everyone should have the basics of life, even if we have to help pay for it.

But the combination of greed and a lack of compassion is an ugly thing, isn’t it? Doesn’t lead to a thriving society, and eventually if some equilibrium and equality isn’t brought back into our society, the wealthy may discover that living in a third world country sucks, even for the rich.

…the first and highest priority when you apprehend him is not to make sure he gets his Constitutional rights, he’s not even a citizen, but to get all of the information you can about where he came from, who trained him, where they are, are there other attacks coming? Where are they coming? And if that means, frankly, you have to deny him pain medicine because he’s badly burned, I think you go ahead and do that. I’m not arguing for torture. I’m arguing for hostile interrogation of this fellow because our job is to protect American lives. It’s not to make sure his Miranda rights haven’t been violated.
–Pat Buchanan on Morning Joe, MSNBC

Withholding pain medication for someone in pain isn’t torture in Pat’s world. Not that I am surprised about that. He is, after all, a super-Christian^† of the American variety, and they do seem to have some odd definitions of what is and is not torture.^††

Also, Pat, the guy has been talking. No “hostile interrogations” or torture necessary. Amazing, isn’t it?

I really wish MSNBC (and all news outlets) would stop giving this guy a soapbox to spew from.

The title of this post is the same as one of Pat Buchanan’s editorials from some time back, in case you were wondering.

1. † I always wonder if this guy really thinks he’ll be seeing the pearly gates of his heaven after death, what with all the vile and hateful –if not flat out evil– crap that spews out of his mouth. [↩]
2. †† I also wonder if Pat would think being nailed to a cross is torture, but I’m pretty sure the answer would be “Not if the person being nailed to the cross wasn’t white (or gay).” Which is ironic considering the fact that Jesus probably wasn’t pale skinned with blond hair and blue eyes. [↩]