“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.

Today’s “pundits is going a left turn from the “norm” and give thanks and high praise to Alex Pareene chief “warrior” of the War Room at Salon for his compilation of the 30 worst Pundits of the MSM.  I don’t necessarily agree with the order of his picks but I do like his selections giving true meaning to “punting”

Your regular “Pundits” will return tomorrow.

I give you the Top Ten of the Hack Thirty with links to the rest of the worst.

No. 1: Richard Cohen

The Washington Post’s Richard Cohen has been a columnist since 1976. He’s good friends with Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn. He works one day a week. At a certain point, in that exceptionally privileged and cushy position, his brain disintegrated. He’s not so much an old liberal who grew conservative as he is a simplistic old hack who believes his common prejudices to be politically incorrect truths and his Beltway conventional wisdom to be bracing political insight.

No. 2: Mark Halperin

I thought we were all done talking about former Bob Dole speechwriter former ABC News political director Mark Halperin, whose star had seemed to stop rising toward the end of the Bush years — but then he attached himself, leechlike, to reporter John Heilemann, to co-write “Game Change,” a lengthy catalog of the 2008 presidential campaign’s moments of least import.

Halperin used to write this thing called the Note, which was an e-mail newsletter that various Washingtonians whom Halperin referred to as “The Gang of 500” used to read to find out what they themselves thought about the news of the day. It was written as privileged wisdom from Beltway insiders — cryptic references, obscure jokes, endless name-dropping, constant inexplicable plugs for the Palm restaurant — when it was in fact just “whatever a professional political operative recently told Mark Halperin, along with links to political stories in the major papers.”

No. 3: Thomas Friedman

Thomas Friedman is an environmentalist, now. When he’s not jetting around the world on the literally unlimited expense account his money-bleeding newspaper provides him with pondering KFC billboards he spots outside the windows of gleaming office towers in Delhi — or when he’s not lounging beside the pool at his absurd home — the [second-most-influential business thinker in the country] is worrying about carbon emissions. Which is, I freely admit, a nice change of pace from back when he was telling the world that the invasion and occupation of Iraq would lead to a glorious new dawn of freedom/democracy/whiskey/iPods/Old Navy in the Middle East as a whole.

No. 4: David Broder

The dean of the Washington Press Corps, David Broder has also been What’s Wrong With the Washington Press Corp ever since he stepped off the campaign bus and began applying his wisdom toward the great problems plaguing the country.

He has a simplistic understanding of politics and no understanding of the electorate except as an abstract concept. His hatred of partisanship is actually a thinly veiled disdain for popular rule itself. He defines extremism as principled adherence to any sort of ideology. When he wants to understand what The Voters are thinking, he asks a think tank academic. Despite his disdain for the fiery populists that the idiot voters repeatedly send to our sadly broken Congress, he remains convinced that The American People are a wise and noble breed who long for sensible, bipartisan moderation in all things.

No. 5: Marty Peretz

While the opinions of publisher/pundit Mort Zuckerman tend to be rather banal, New Republic owner Marty Peretz uses the power of the press to let the world know what he really thinks about Muslims and Arabs. (He doesn’t think much of them.) At least Zuckerman is courteous enough to let professionals look over his work before it’s published. Because Peretz fancies himself both the nation’s foremost authority on Middle Eastern affairs and a scintillating writer, he has named himself editor in chief of the magazine, and his work goes up before a grown-up can look it over.

No. 6: Marc Thiessen

In the growing pantheon of “Bush speechwriters hired as columnists,” Marc Thiessen’s moral depravity set him apart. The man wrote a book about how the Bush administration was right to use torture. In addition to being a morally unsupportable argument, the book was full of falsehoods and misinformation. For this, instead of being shunned by polite society, Thiessen is treated as just a serious man on one side of a contentious issue.

But while the worst thing about Thiessen as a person is his unequivocal support for torture, the worst thing about hiring him to pen an Op-Ed column is that he’s a boring, predictable columnist. The man got famous for arguing that plainly illegal treatment of prisoners is in fact both legal and necessary, and then he writes columns about how earmarks are bad. It’s like telling Torquemada to film a TV pilot and he comes back with a three-camera sitcom about a lovable fat guy dealing with family life. Seriously, his first Post column was about how Olympic hockey should go back to being all-amateur.

No. 7: Jonah Goldberg

Jonah Goldberg writes the political column equivalent of weekly fart jokes, but longs to be taken seriously as a public intellectual. He has a job solely because his repellent mother took credit for inspiring Linda Tripp to secretly record private conversations with Monica Lewinsky. In 1998, in the midst of a terribly boring career producing PBS documentaries and local television, young Jonah somehow managed to get a plum gig at the National Review, the leading journal of conservative opinion.

No. 8: Maureen Dowd

Oh, MoDo. Maybe there are still people who thrill to her dated pop culture references  and tiresome “wicked” nicknames for politicians. Maybe somewhere there’s a reader who still finds it illuminating to examine elections as battles between effeminate girly Democrats and straight-shooting Republican cavemen. Maybe someone’s glad that the most prominent female political columnist in the nation tends to consider every powerful female politician a castrating bitch.

No. 9: Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham is just awfulness personified. Pointless, talentless, a second-rate Ann Coulter without the wit. Her day in the sun is long gone, her novelty has evaporated, and yet still she remains. Old shameless right-wing TV stars never die. They just move into talk radio and release horrible books.

No. 10: Peggy Noonan

Peggy Noonan might be the single funniest Op-Ed writer currently working, and for that I do, honestly, respect her. Her red wine-and-laudanum-inspired tales of wandering the Upper East Side in search of some clue to the Contemporary American Mood, her ability to wring a column out of the phenomenon of seeing a Mexican, her sentence fragments and Golden Books prose — all of this makes for a reliably entertaining Friday read. It’s certainly much more fun than a Krauthammer column.

11. George Will

12. John Find

13. Roger Simon

14. David Ignatius

15. Mort Zuckerman

16. Michale Borone

17. Bill Kristol

18. Tina Brown

19. Joe Klein

20. Howard Fineman

21. S. E. Cupp

22. Tucker Carlson

23. Howard Kurtz

24. Dana Milbank

25. Mickey Kaus

26. Jeffrey Goldberg

27. Pat Cadell

28. Andrew Malcolm

29. Matt Bai (heh, this one is for you, ek)

30. David Brooks

(4 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

I know by tonight you will be sick if looking at the remnants of dinner, especially that turkey carcass because you aren’t done with it yet. I’m going to walk you through making turkey stock.

First you will need a big pot, I mean big like the one you use to cook spaghetti big, at least big enough to hold the turkey carcass and cover it wiht water. Mmmm, say about 8 quarts big. I know you have one somewhere.

Next your going to peel an onion, slicing off the top but leaving the stem part intact. Cut it in half through the stem. Gather some whole carrots and a few celery stalks (don’t cut off the leaves that’s where the most flavor is). Peel some garlic, as much as you’d like (we like a lot) but at least two cloves, leaving it whole. Take some of the herbs that you used to season the turkey with and three or four bay leaves and set it aside in a bowl for a minute.

Now, put the turkey in the empty pot to make sure it fits. If it doesn’t you have a couple of  choices the easiest of which is to cut the carcass into sections so it fits into the pot you have. Now that it fits, put it on the stove and fill it with cold water using a pitcher (this gets heavy that’s why you’re dong it this way), covering the turkey . Add all the veggies, cover and bring to a full boil. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 3 or 4 hours, stirring occasionally and scraping the loose meat off the bones.

With most of the meat off the bones, remove the bones with a large slotted spoon or scoop and discard the bones. If it ‘s cold enough out side where you are, put the pot outside to cool. If it’s cold enough the fat which will float to the top will solidify and can be easily removed with a spatula.

Now strain the stock through a sieve or cheese cloth. Discard all those vegetables, the flavor is now all in the stock. Add new vegetables; chopped carrots, cubed potatoes, thinly sliced celery, soup greens such as kale, collards, chopped savoy cabbage or escarole, sliced onions, fresh herbs, and last but not least, pasta.

If you have a lot of stock, it can be frozen. I save the pint and quart plastic containers from the Chinese take out. They are also useful to put chicken and meat bones so my talented cats can’t get into them.  Bones are not good for kitties.

The stock is also great for making Risotto with Wild Mushrooms. You’ll need

* about 8 cups of stock. If you don’t have enough turkey from your stock, College Inn makes a very good Turkey broth but it won’t be as good as yours.

* 2 cups of Risotto or Arborio Rice

* about 3 tbsp of Olive Oil

* 3 tablespoons of butter, unsalted

* 1 pound of fresh wild mushrooms such as portobella, crimini (baby portabella) or shiitake. I like shiitake best but usually use half and half. The mushrooms should be cleaned with a soft paper towel or soft brush. I have a soft brush just for mushrooms. I also hae a truffle slicer. 😉

* 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves, chopped, or 1 tbsp dried

* 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley, the other parsley, curly, is very rarely used in cooking. Its mostly a garnish.

* 2 large shallots chopped or a small onion

* 2 cloves of garlic, chopped.

* 1/2 cup dry white wine, something you would drink with the risotto.

* 2 tablespoons of fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the broth in a sauce pan and keep it warm over low heat.

Heat two tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet and add the garlic. Fry until it just begins to color, then add the mushrooms and tarragon. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat two tablespoons butter in a separate skillet. Soften the shallots in the butter. Add the rice and saute for a couple of minutes, stirring, so the rice becomes coated with the butter. Add the wine and bring to a boil. When it has evaporated, add one-half cup of the hot chicken stock.

Keep adding the hot broth, one-half cup at a time, to the rice. Continue until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid. The rice is done when it is creamy, but al dente.

Stir in the remaining butter, the mushrooms and the Parmigiano Reggiano. Mix gently, garnish with a few leaves of tarragon and serve.

Bon Appetit!

Last Sunday at noon, 18 Helium Balloons in the shape of familiar and popular cartoon characters stepped off at the intersection of Hoyt and Summers for their 17th annual appearance.

The tallest balloon, Popeye, stands a whopping 65 feet and this year 2 new balloons were added, Fred Flintstone and Scooby Doo.

Over 100 volunteers assist at the event as balloon handlers and Parade Marshals and it’s organized by a permanent steering committee of 3 and sponsored by UBS.  This year’s Grand Marshal was John Starks, formerly of the Knicks and the Master of Ceremonies Alan Kalter of Late Night with David Letterman.

It was quite a spectacular sight and I bet you’re sorry you missed it because there’s just no better way to feel that Master of the Universe consumerist buying spirit of the 4th Quarter than standing in the Hedge Funded Concrete Canyons of downtown Stamford Connecticut and…

You say there’s another Balloon Parade?  In New York City?  And it’s on TV?

Then why was I freezing my ass off… oh, never mind.

Coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade starts at 9 am on CBS (which is a little up route so you see things first) and NBC (which covers the lame lip syncing at Herald Square).

Liveblogging below.

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

November 25 is the 329th day of the year (330th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 36 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1999, The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution designating November 25 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The resolution, which was introduced by the Dominican Republic, marked the anniversary of the death of three sisters, Maria, Teresa, and Minerva Mirabel, who were brutally murdered there in 1960. While women in Latin America and the Caribbean had honored the day since 1981, all UN countries did not formally recognize it until 1999.

Many organizations, including the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), had been pushing for international recognition of the date for some time.

The Mirabal sisters were four Dominican political dissidents who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Three of the sisters were assassinated by persons unknown.

Patria Mercedes Mirabal (February 27, 1924 – November 25, 1960), Belgica Adela “Dede” Mirabal-Reyes (March 1, 1925 – present), Maria Argentina Minerva Mirabal (March 12, 1926 – November 25, 1960) and Antonia Maria Teresa Mirabal (October 15, 1935 – November 25, 1960) were citizens of the Dominican Republic who fervently opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Dede Mirabal was not assassinated and has lived to tell the stories of the death of her sisters. Presently, she lives in Salcedo, Dominican Republic in the house where the sisters were born. She works to preserve her sisters’ memory through the Museo Hermanas Mirabal which is also located in Salcedo and was home to the women for the final ten months of their lives. She published a book Vivas en El Jardin, released on August 25, 2009.

The Mirabal women grew up in an upper class, well-cultured environment. Their father was a successful businessman. All became married family women. When Trujillo came to power, their family lost almost all its fortune. They believed that Trujillo would send their country into economic chaos. Minerva became particularly passionate about ending the dictatorship of Trujillo after talking extensively with an uncle of hers. Influenced by her uncle, Minerva became more involved in the anti-Trujillo movement. She studied law and became a lawyer, but because she declined Trujillo’s romantic advances, he ordered that while she would be issued a degree she was not to receive her practitioner’s license. Her sisters followed suit, and they eventually formed a group of opponents to the Trujillo regime, known as the Movement of the Fourteenth of June. Within that group, they were known as “The Butterflies” (Las Mariposas in Spanish) because that was the underground name that Minerva was given. Two of the sisters, Maria Argentina Minerva Mirabal and Antonia Maria Teresa Mirabal, were incarcerated and tortured on several occasions. While in prison they were repeatedly raped. Three of the sisters’ husbands were incarcerated at La Victoria Penitentiary in Santo Domingo.

Despite these setbacks, they persisted in fighting to end Trujillo’s leadership. After the sisters’ numerous imprisonments, Trujillo was blamed for their murders, but this is now being questioned. During an interview after Trujillo’s assasination, General Pupo Roman claimed to have personal knowledge that they were killed by Luis Amiama Tio, perhaps to create a rise in anti-Trujillo sentiment. On November 25, 1960, he sent men to intercept the three women after they visited their husbands in prison. The unarmed sisters were led into a sugar cane field and executed, they didn’t even have the luxury of being shot, instead they were beaten to death, along with their driver, Rufino de la Cruz. Their car was later thrown off of a mountain known as La Cumbre, between the cities of Santiago and Puerto Plata, in order to make their deaths look like an accident.

This day also marks the beginning of the 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence. The end of the 16 Days is December 10, International Human Rights Day.

 1034 – Mael Coluim mac Cinaeda, King of Scots dies. Donnchad, the son of his daughter Bethoc and Crinan of Dunkeld, inherits the throne.

1120 – The White Ship sinks in the English Channel, drowning William Adelin, son of Henry I of England.

1177 – Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald of Chatillon defeat Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard.

1343 – A tsunami, caused by the earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea, devastates Naples (Italy) and the Maritime Republic of Amalfi, among other places.

1491 – The siege of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, begins.

1667 – A deadly earthquake rocks Shemakha in the Caucasus, killing 80,000 people.

1703 – The Great Storm of 1703, the greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain, reaches its peak intensity which it maintains through November 27. Winds gust up to 120 mph, and 9,000 people die.

1755 – King Ferdinand VI of Spain grants royal protection to the Beaterio de la Compania de Jesus, now known as the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary.

1758 – French and Indian War: British forces capture Fort Duquesne from French control. Fort Pitt is built nearby and it grows into modern Pittsburgh.

1783 – American Revolutionary War: The last British troops leave New York City three months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

1833 – A massive undersea earthquake, estimated magnitude between 8.7-9.2 rocks Sumatra, producing a massive tsunami all along the Indonesian coast.

1839 – A cyclone slams India with high winds and a 40 foot storm surge, destroying the port city of Coringa (which has never been completely rebuilt). The storm wave sweeps inland, taking with it 20,000 ships and thousands of people. An estimated 300,000 deaths result from the disaster.

1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Missionary Ridge – At Missionary Ridge in Tennessee, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant break the Siege of Chattanooga by routing Confederate troops under General Braxton Bragg.

1864 – American Civil War: A group of Confederate operatives calling themselves the Confederate Army of Manhattan starts fires in more than 20 locations in an unsuccessful attempt to burn down New York City.

1874 – The United States Greenback Party is established as a political party consisting primarily of farmers affected by the Panic of 1873.

1876 – Indian Wars: In retaliation for the American defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, United States Army troops sack Chief Dull Knife’s sleeping Cheyenne village at the headwaters of the Powder River.

1917 – German forces defeat Portuguese army of about 1200 at Negomano on the border of modern-day Mozambique and Tanzania.

1918 – Vojvodina, formerly Austro-Hungarian crown land, proclaims its secession from Austria-Hungary to join the Kingdom of Serbia.

1926 – The deadliest November tornado outbreak in U.S. history strikes on Thanksgiving day. 27 twisters of great strength are reported in the Midwest, including the strongest November tornado, an estimated F4, that devastates Heber Springs, Arkansas. There are 51 deaths in Arkansas alone, 76 deaths and over 400 injuries in all.

1936 – In Berlin, Germany and Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, agreeing to consult on measures “to safeguard their common interests” in the case of an unprovoked attack by the Soviet Union against either nation. The pact is renewed on the same day five years later with additional signatories.

1940 – World War II: First flight of the deHavilland Mosquito and Martin B-26 Marauder.

1943 – World War II: Statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina is re-established at the State Anti-Fascist Council for the People’s Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1947 – Red Scare: The “Hollywood Ten” are blacklisted by Hollywood movie studios.

1947 – New Zealand ratifies the Statute of Westminster and thus becomes independent of legislative control by the United Kingdom.

1952 – Agatha Christie’s murder-mystery play The Mousetrap opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London later becoming the longest continuously-running play in history.

1958 – French Sudan gains autonomy as a self-governing member of the French Community.

1960 – The Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic are assassinated.

1963 – President John F. Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

1970 – In Japan, author Yukio Mishima and one compatriot commit ritualistic suicide after an unsuccessful coup attempt.

1973 – George Papadopoulos, head of the military Regime of the Colonels in Greece, is ousted in a hardliners’ coup led by Brigadier General Dimitrios Ioannidis.

1975 – Suriname gains independence from the Netherlands.

1977 – Former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. is found guilty by the Philippine Military Commission No. 2 and is sentenced to death by firing squad.

1982 – The Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day Fire destroys an entire city block, including the Northwestern National Bank building and the recently closed Donaldson’s Department Store.

1984 – 36 top musicians gather in a Notting Hill studio and record Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

1986 – Iran Contra Affair: US Attorney General Edwin Meese announces that profits from covert weapons sales to Iran were illegally diverted to the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

1987 – Typhoon Nina pummels the Philippines with category 5 winds of 165 mph and a surge that destroys entire villages. At least 1,036 deaths are attributed to the storm.

1992 – The Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia votes to split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia from January 1, 1993.

1999 – The United Nations establishes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to commemorate the murder of three Mirabal Sisters for resistance against the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in Dominican Republic.

2005 – Polish Minister of National Defence Radek Sikorski opens Warsaw Pact archives to historians. Maps of possible nuclear strikes against Western Europe, as well as the possible nuclear annihilation of 43 Polish cities and 2 million of its citizens by Soviet-controlled forces, are released.

2009 – Powerful storm brings 3 years worth of rain in 4 hours to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, sparking terrible floods known as the 2009 Jeddah Floods, which kill over 150 people and sweep thousands of cars away right in the middle of Hajj in the second largest city of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah.

Holidays and observances

  * Eid al-Ghadeer in Shia Islam; On the 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah in the Islamic calendar to commemorate the appointment of Ali ibn Abi Talib by the Prophet of Islam Muhammad as first Imam and his immediate successor.

   * Christian Feast Day:

         o Catherine of Alexandria

         o Elizabeth of Reute

   * Evacuation Day (19th century New York City)

   * Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Suriname from the Netherlands in 1975.

   * International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (International)

   * National Day (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

   * Teacher’s Day or Hari Guru (Indonesia)

   * Vajiravudh Day (Thailand)

   * Oxmas University of Oxford

N. Korea warns of retaliation; Seoul orders security beefed up

S. Korea government in emergency meeting; joint exercises with U.S. move ahead

msnbc.com news services

INCHEON, South Korea – South Korea’s president vowed Thursday to boost security around islands near the site of this week’s artillery attack by North Korea.

His order to beef up security came as North Korea warned of more “retaliation” if Seoul carries out “reckless military provocations.”

“We should not let our guard down in preparation for another possible North Korean provocation,” South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said at an emergency government meeting Thursday.

Decoded turkey genome could make better birds

Sequencing research work could lead to meatier, healthier birds

By Wynne Parry  

Turkey, the fourth most popular source of meat in the United States and the centerpiece of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, now comes with a new set of instructions.

Much of the turkey’s genome has been sequenced, and – turkey eaters take note – this work could lead to meatier, healthier birds, according to the researchers.

In a study published in the journal PLoS ONE in September, a team of scientists estimated that the genome of the domestic turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, has 1.1 giga base pairs, about a third the size of the human genome, and bears a close resemblance to its relative, the chicken, whose genome was completed in 2004.

USA

Mistakes Still Prevalent in Hospital Care, Study Finds



By DENISE GRADY

Published: November 24, 2010

Efforts to make hospitals safer for patients are falling short, researchers report in the first large study in a decade to analyze harm from medical care and to track it over time.

The study, conducted from 2002 to 2007 in 10 North Carolina hospitals, found that harm to patients was common and that the number of incidents did not decrease over time. The most common problems were complications from procedures or drugs and hospital-acquired infections.

“It is unlikely that other regions of the country have fared better,” said Dr. Christopher P. Landrigan, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. The study is being published on Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

‘Hate group’ designation angers same-sex marriage opponents



By Krissah Thompson

Washington Post Staff Writer  

The Southern Poverty Law Center this week labeled as “hate groups” several political and religious organizations that campaign against same-sex marriage and, the center says, engage in “repeated, groundless name-calling” against gays and lesbians.

Included on the list released by the civil rights organization is the Family Research Council, a prominent and politically influential group of social conservatives. The report by the law center, which has spent four decades tracking extremist groups and hate speech, accuses the council and a dozen other groups of putting out “demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals and other sexual minorities.”

Europe

Desperate fight to save the euro

Survival crisis for the single currency as fears of further bailouts rise in Spain, Portugal and Belgium  

By Sean O’Grady, Economics Editor Thursday, 25 November 2010

The euro plunged further into crisis yesterday as investors sold off Spanish, Portuguese and Belgian government bonds in record numbers on renewed fears that those nations would follow Greece and Ireland into the financial emergency ward, undermining confidence in the single currency.

The spreading contagion suggests that the markets now view the break-up of the euro as a realistic possibility, and that “shock and awe” efforts to shore up individual economies with huge bailouts have not succeeded in insulating their neighbours from infection.  

Dubliners Angry at Government Rather than IMF  

Irish Welcome Foreign Helpers

By Carsten Volkery in Dublin, Ireland  

The worst thing for many in Ireland is the international headlines. Anyone walking past a news agent in the Dublin city center is unable to avoid Ireland’s new image in Europe. The headlines shout of the Irish people’s “shame” and “humiliation.”

“I am very ashamed,” said Patricia Shaw. The 59-year-old accountant didn’t think she would ever have to experience something like this. In the 1970s, she emigrated to London, like so many of her compatriots. She returned home in 2002, lured by the Irish economic boom.

And now this.

Middle East

The man who dares to take on Egypt’s brutal regime

Despite beatings and corruption, Ayman Nour still hopes for change. Ahead of new polls, our man meets him

Robert Fisk Thursday, 25 November 2010

Ayman Nour touches his sideburns, just a shade grey beneath his black hair: not bad for a 45-year old, but not up to the standard of the absolutely uncompromisingly jet black hair of 82-year-old Egyptian President Hosni Moubarak, whose job – in theory at least – Dr Nour would like.

Mind you, being Mr Moubarak’s rival is not for amateurs. It’s cost Dr Nour more than four years in prison and here he is, on the eve of Egyptian parliamentary elections, sitting in Beirut – rather than Cairo – to express his disdain for the ‘moderate’, ‘pro-Western’ regime of America’s favourite Middle Eastern dictator (alongside King Abdullah of Jordan, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Bouteflika of Algeria, Ben Ali of Tunis, King Hassan of Morocco and the rest). So long live President Hosni Moubarak.

Egypt cracks down on Muslim Brotherhood ahead of elections  

Sunday’s elections are shaping up to be less free than the last vote in 2005, when the Brotherhood tripled its seats in parliament. Today, 700 members are awaiting trial.

By Dan Murphy, Staff writer / November 24, 2010  

Cairo

Arrests of more than 1,300 political activists, violent dispersals of opposition campaign events, and a reduction of independent poll monitoring all point to a landslide victory for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) in this Sunday’s parliamentary elections.

In a report out today, Human Rights Watch said a fair election is unlikely, pointing to “mass arbitrary arrests … and widespread intimidation of opposition candidates.”

Reformers had one piece of good news Wednesday – blogger Kareem Amer was released after four years in jail after being convicted for insulting President Mubarak and Islam. At the same time, however, the Egyptian journalist Youssef Shaaban was remanded to custody for a further 15 days in detention. He was picked up trying to cover a protest against a land developer in Alexandria.

Asia

Adult supervision from Beijing needed as Kims flex weapons

 

PETER HARTCHER

November 25, 2010  

AS THE world puzzled over the meaning of North Korea’s deadly artillery attack on South Korea, a telling piece of intelligence emerged. The regime’s ailing leader, Kim Jong-il, reportedly took his nominated successor, his third son, on a weekend visit to the military area that launched the deadly barrage, days before the attack.

This information from the Nelson Report, a well-regarded and well-connected daily Washington newsletter on Asia policy, was based on “authoritative word”, said its author, Chris Nelson. Meaning? First, that it was directed from the very top of the nuclear-armed rogue state’s regime.

Aasia Bibi, Pakistani Christian, will get clemency or pardon: presidential aide

An aide to Pakistan President Zardari told the Monitor that Aasia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian who has been in jail on blasphemy charges, will be granted a pardon or clemency. She was to be executed Nov. 8.

By Issam Ahmed, Correspondent / November 24, 2010  

Lahore, Pakistan

A Pakistani Christian woman accused of blasphemy will be granted a presidential pardon or clemency, an aide to President Asif Ali Zardari told the Monitor on Wednesday.

Aasia Bibi, a 45 year-old mother of five who has spent a year-and-a-half in jail on charges of insulting the prophet Muhammad and the Quran, was due to be executed by hanging on Nov. 8 in a case that has garnered worldwide attention and drawn attention to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which critics say are misused to persecute minorities.

Africa

Ethiopia PM warns of Nile war

Meles Zenawi said Egypt could not win a war over the Nile river, and accuses Cairo of supporting his country’s rebels.

Aljazeera

Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian prime minister, has told Reuters that Egypt could not win a war with Ethiopia over the Nile river.

In an interview on Tuesday, Meles also accused Egypt of trying to destabilise his country by supporting several small rebel groups, but said it was a tactic that would no longer work.

“If we address the issues around which the rebel groups are mobilised then we can neutralise them and therefore make it impossible for the Egyptians to fish in troubled waters because there won’t be any,” he said.

“Hopefully that should convince the Egyptians that, as direct conflict will not work, and as the indirect approach is not as effective as it used to be, the only sane option will be civil dialogue.”

Man spends two months in Zim jail with untreated wounds



HARARE, ZIMBABWE  

Boas Chiwanza appeared before a High Court judge on Monday holding his innards in the palm of his hand, the independent daily Newsday newspaper reported.

He was in considerable pain and scarcely able to speak to the judge — who ordered prison orderlies immediately to take him to hospital, the paper reported.

The incident is the latest in a series of shocking revelations about conditions in Zimbabwean prisons, where more than 1 000 inmates died in the first six months of last year, and inmates live amid filth and sewage.

Latin America

Rio de Janeiro gun battles leave at least 14 people dead

Many killed in major police assaults on favela strongholds of drug traffickers and gangsters

Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro

The Guardian, Thursday 25 November 2010

Prolonged gun battles between police and drug traffickers left at least 14 people dead yesterday in Rio, including a 14-year-old girl who was reportedly shot through the chest while she surfed the internet.

The deaths came during a series of major police assaults on the city’s slums, including one favela that serves as the HQ of the city’s largest drug gang.

Triggered by a spate of attacks on police and drivers, the incursions began on Tuesday and involved hundreds of heavily armed police operatives, bulletproof vehicles and helicopters.

Rage in the Time of Cholera

The cholera epidemic in Haiti is rapidly spreading. It has become the dominant issue leading up to elections set for Nov. 28. And as popular rage grows against international aid workers, protests have erupted in the ruins of Port-au-Prince.

By Marc Hujer and Samiha Shafy

The crowd, mostly men and a few women, runs past wreckage, mountains of garbage and corrugated metal huts. Sweat streams down their faces. It’s 10 a.m. and already oppressively hot in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, which has become a capital of the suffering, as the protesters run shouting through the streets. A man with a shaved head and deep-set eyes running in the middle of the crowd pauses for a moment, gasping for air, then says: “There was no cholera here before. The UN brought cholera into this country. They should get out of here!” He starts running again.

Ignoring Asia A Blog

Well, it’s that holiday time of year again when all you want is some mindless entertainment to spare you from dealing with your relatives and TV programmers screw with you by replacing all your familiar favorites with sappy specials and marathons of your least liked shows made more inpenetrable by the one line crawl of uselessness that TV Guide channel has become.

Thank goodness kindly uncle ek is here to highlight a few moments of blessed distraction as well as some of the potential pitfalls to be avoided.

I look on it as a public service.

My job is made a little easier because of a neat little network ‘day at a glance’ feature of Zap2it TV Listings.  Click on the channel name.  I’m going midnight to Paid Programming since you might be busy with late night preparations and early morning celebrations or shopping trips.  I’m putting the main meat below the fold because the table is too long for the Front Page.  It’s arranged by time and marathons (4 half hour episodes, 3 hour episodes, double features, themes, and Instapeats) may be noted earlier than you expect, but they do also include the running time so you know when they end.

Nothing like watching A Christmas Story 25 times in a row.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Midnight 11/25

• Discovery– Mythbusters (premier Instapeat)
• ESPN– Sports Center marathon until 8 pm (with an exception at 3 am for a repeat of Heat @ Magic)
• Nick– George Lopez marathon until 6 am
• Turner Classic– I think I mentioned Top Hat

1 am

• USA– Psych marathon until 4 am

2 am

• Sci Fi– On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (the good 1969 version with George Lazenby)
• Turner Classic– Heidi

3 am

• Disney– Phineas and Ferb (until 4 am)

3: 30 am

• Turner Classic– Little Women

5:30 am

• Turner Classic– Of Human Bondage

6 am

• CNBC– Business Documentaries until 2 am
• TLC– Cake Boss marathon until 3 am
• USA– Burn Notice marathon until 6:30 pm

7 am

• FX– Kung Fu Panda x 9 (yup, until 1 am.  Hope you like Jack Black.  A lot.)
• MSNBC– Pedophiles and Prisoners until 5 am.  Yum.
• Speed– Dangerous Drives marathon until 8 pm

8 am

• A&E– First 48 marathon until 4 am (if it happens to be your favorite)
• History– Aliens! marathon (No, they’re really real.  How else would they be on the “History” channel until 3 am?  Breaks for The Real Story of Thanksgiving at 11 pm and 3 am.  I’ll bet there were Aliens! there too.)
• Lifetime– Will & Grace marathon until 11:30 am
• Oxygen– Running Russell marathon until noon
• Sci Fi– Thunderball (the good 1965 version with Sean Connery)
• Turner Classic– A Man to Remember
• TV Land– I Dream of Jeannie marathon until 2 pm

9 am

• CBS– The Thanksgiving Day Parade on CBS (exclusive The Stars Hollow Gazette liveblog)
• NBC– Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (liveblog, yes the same one)
• Discovery– Mythbusters marathon until 8 pm
• National Geographic– Earth-History marathon until 2 pm
• Toon– Tom & Jerry marathon until 2:30 pm
• Travel– Man v. Food marathon until 4 am (thank goodness)

9:30 am

• Turner Classic– Pygmalion

10 am

• Bravo– Matchmaker marathon until 6 pm (ugh)
• Nick– Barbie: A Fashion Fairy Tale
• TBS– Drillbit Taylor
• Vs.– Rocky II

10:30 am

• Sci Fi– Dr. No (Connery)

11 am

• Comedy– National Lampoon’s Vacation

11:30 am

• ABC Family– The Little Rascals
• Lifetime– Waitress
• Turner Classic– You Can’t Take It With You

Noon

• NBC– The National Dog Show (from the Kennel Club of Philadelphia)
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Boston College v. Texas A&M
• Nick– iCarly (1 hour special)
• Oxygen– Snapped marathon until 10 pm
• TBS– Major Payne
• TV Guide– Ugly Betty marathon until 2 am (told you they were fucking useless)

12:30 pm

• CBS– Patriots @ Lions (exclusive The Stars Hollow Gazette liveblog, a different one)
• Vs.– Rocky III
• VH1– SNL marathon until 4:30 pm

1 pm

• Comedy– Weekend at Bernie’s
• E!– Little Miss Sunshine
• Nick– Spongebob Squarepants (1 hour special)
• Sci Fi– Goldfinger (more Connery)

1:30 pm

• ABC Family– Mary Poppins
• Turner Classic– Beyond Tomorrow

2 pm

• NBC– Miracle on 34th Street
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Manhattan v. Wisconsin
• Lifetime– Love Actually
• National Geographic– Wild Spaces marathon until 8 pm (Secret Yellowstone @ 5 pm)
• Nick– Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever
• TBS– Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
• TV Land– Bewitched marathon until 8 pm

2:30 pm

• Toon– Scooby Doo marathon until 7 pm
• Vs.– Rocky IV

3 pm

• Comedy– Major League
• Turner Classic– It Happened Tomorrow

3:30 pm

• E!– Keeping Up With the Kardashians marathon until 8 pm
• Sci Fi– GoldenEye (Brosnan)

4:30 pm

• Fox– Who ‘Dat @ ‘Boys (exclusive The Stars Hollow Gazette liveblog, yet another one, you know how to root)
• ABC Family– Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, DePaul v. Oklahoma State
• Turner Classic– The Strange Woman
• Vs.– Rocky V
• VH1– Back to the Future

5 pm

• Lifetime– Mad Money
• MTV– That ’70s Show marathon until 8 pm

5:30 pm

• Comedy– Beerfest

6 pm

• Bravo– Real Housewives marathon until 4 am (except for Matchmaker @ 11 pm)
• Disney– Phineas and Ferb (half hour)
• Nick– Spongebob Squarepants Movie

6:30 pm

• ABC Family– Beauty and the Beast
• Sci Fi– The World Is Not Enough (Brosnan)
• Turner Classic– My Favorite Brunette
• Vs.– Rocky II

7 pm

• Disney– The Incredibles
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Georgia v. Notre Dame
• Food– Alton, Meat Balls and Meat Sauce
• Lifetime– The Break Up x 2 (repeat @ 11 pm)

8 pm

• ABC– A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
• Fox– The Simpson’s Movie
• Comedy– Tosh.0 marathon until 10 pm
• Discovery– Mythbusters Punkin Chunkin (premier)
• E!– Bruce Almighty
• ESPN– College Throwball, A&M @ Texas
• National Geographic– Rise- Black Wolf (premier, Instapeat @ 11 pm)
• Speed– Hollywood Car Chases, parts 1 & 2 (premiers and 2 Instapeats until 2 am)
• TBS– Monster In Law
• Turner Classic– Night of the Iguana
• TNT– Wizards @ Hawks
• Toon– Adventure Time with Finn & Jake (premier)
• TV Land– Roseanne marathon until 1 am
• USA– Pretty Woman x 2 (interrupted by Elf @ 9 pm)
• VH1– SNL marathon until 1 am

8:30 pm

• ABC Family– Miracle on 34th Street (not the good 1947 version

9 pm

• ESPN2– College Hoopies, California v. Temple
• Lifetime– Beauty Shop
• Sci Fi– Casino Royale (Craig, not the good 1967 version)
• Spike– Live Professional Wrestling!
• Vs.– Rocky III

10 pm

• Discovery– Brew Masters (Series Premier repeat)
• Nick– George Lopez marathon until 6 am
• Turner Classic– Seven Days In May

10:30 pm

• TNT– Hoopies, Kings @ Clippers

11 pm

• Discovery– Mythbusters Punkin Chunkin (premier Instapeat)
• ESPN– Sports Center marathon until noon (with an exception at 3 am for a repeat of A&M @ Texas)
• TBS– New Conan!  What’s he doing working on Thanksgiving?  He hosts Jim Parsons, Marisa Miller, and Brendon Walsh
• Vs.– Rocky IV

11:30 pm

• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Tulsa v. UNLV

Midnight 11/26

• Sci Fi– Never Say Never (the not so good remake of Thunderball, but it still has Connery)
• Turner Classic– Mayerling

1 am

• Discovery– Brew Masters (Series Premier repeat)
• MTV– That ’70s Show marathon until 3 am
• Vs.– Rocky V

1:30 am

• E!– Little Miss Sunshine
• USA– Burn Notice marathon until 6

2 am

• Comedy– Team America: World Police
• Discovery– Mythbusters
• Speed– More Dangerous Drives until 5 am
• Turner Classic– The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean

3 am

• Disney– Phineas and Ferb (until 4 am)
• National Geographic– Earth: The Biography marathon until 6 am
• Sci Fi– The Man With the Golden Gun (Moore, ugh)

4:30 am

• Turner Classic– Ride, Vaquero

5:30 am

• Toon– Home Movies

6 am

• Turner Classic– Lone Star
• Toon– Ben 10

(10 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Folks, tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the United States.  I shall not go onto the history of it, since everyone has her or his own interpretation, and the pundits have theirs.  The Big Bloviator promised to repeat his distorted idea of it again today on his foul radio program.  I made it a point to miss it.

However, it is important to reflect back on the previous year and consider the things for which one gives thanks, and actually to give those thanks.  I do not care if your thanks goes to a deity, to other people, or to communities like these.  The important is that one thinks about the good things that have happened during the past year and thanks someone other than one’s self for them.

First, with that in mind, I thank the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) for the enhanced “screening” techniques that they now use.  Not so much for the techniques themselves (I am of the mind to think that they are at best ineffective and at worst violations of our Forth Amendment rights), but for the “outrage” that they have caused on the far right blogs, talk radio, and the Fox “News” Channel.  If George W. Bush had been President when these questionable practices came into use, all of them would have said that they were necessary to provide for public security.

But with a different President, these techniques are “outrageous”, “un-Constitiutional”, and “will not stand”.  I posit that if the roles were reversed and if Obama had been President when the un-Constitutional Patriot Act were proposed, the right wing media would have gone NUTS!  (Well, more than they already are).  Remember, under Bush we got illegal wiretaps, illegal email examination, library book records checks, shoes off at the airports, and a plethora of other Acts of Congress and Executive Orders that are not in keeping with the Forth Amendment.  We still have all of these, by the way, and more than I have mentioned.

So, thanks to the TSA for blowing the cover of the hypocrites on the far right.  If you remember, I have always been against these un-Constitutional forays that weaken our rights under the Forth Amendment.  The far right folks were for all of them, until a Democrat (and a Democrat who does not look like them) orders those things.

That does not mean that I support these new, illegal practices.  It only means that I am thankful that the extreme right has been exposed as the hypocrites that they are.

Second, I am thankful for the Palins.  More than any other family, they have shone a very bright light into the faces of the Tea Party movement.  From an unknown petty political operative to who may become one of the richest women in the United States, Sarah Palin has exploited her (former) position, her fleeting looks and winks, her connexions with the Fox “News” Network, and her amazing ability to identify with the vast uneducated populace to enrich herself and her family.  She has no compunction about using her family to enrich herself, and she is not a stupid person.  Ignorant, yes, but her agents (remember, they get at least 10%) have written two books for her, got her employed by the Fox “News” Channel, and now a “reality” show (not to mention her daughter on a popular dancing show, getting votes by unethical means, which should send up red flags for everyone for 2012).

I am thankful for this because I know that the more that is exposed about this shill, the less shall be support for her.  Sometimes things just are meant to be.

On a less satirical note, I am thankful that the Russian government has not written us off yet.  We have a very good START Treaty in the works, and the Russians are still helping us in our attempt to subdue the Taliban.  Certainly I do not think of them as best buddies, but they are, if not anything else, pretty practical.  Hopefully, the hypocrisy of the Republicans will show up in their all out effort to keep the new treaty from being ratified.

I am also thankful that the government still has both the will and the means to take care of those who are truly in need.  I am also thankful that non governmental parties take it on themselves to help out folks who can not do that for themselves.  I hope to report here next year that the social rescue network still exists, but I am sort of fearful for that after the Republican takeover of The House of Representatives.

On a more local note, I am thankful that Rand Paul had his goon shown on the TeeVee stomping a young woman’s head.  I voted for Conway, but that did not make a difference.  The silence of Paul about this goon speaks volumes about him.  We will see if he shuts down the government.  What a foolish, petty person!  And now he is coming out with a book.  I wonder if Palin’s folks wrote it for him as well.

On a more personal note, I am very thankful that no one close to me has had horrible illnesses or injuries.  The nuclear family have been hale and hearty this past year, and I am extremely thankful for that.  Specifically,

Eldest Son was married to a wonderful person in December last, was graduated with a Master’s Degree, and has taken a good job this year.  These are all good things, and I am very thankful for all of them.

Middle Son is en route to complete his degree, and has become engaged to whom I am told is a wonderful person.  I regret that I have not met her yet, but I shall soon.  I am very thankful for those things.

Youngest Son is nearly done with his degree, and will be able to cook almost anything soon.  It is funny, but even as a degreed chemist, cooking is sort of one of my avocations.  I am thankful that he is doing well in his chosen profession.

The former Mrs. Translator is in good health, after a bad time the year before last.  I am thankful that she is doing well, and that we continue to be friends.  I am also thankful, in a bittersweet way, that she has found someone to make her happy, as she deserves.  I found out about that only a couple of hours ago, from her directly.  Please allow me to extend my best wishes to both of them.

Her mum, quite elderly now, is doing well and seems to be happy.  I am thankful that she can still live in sort of an independent manner.

I am also extremely thankful that my brother and my nephew, shot by a madman (I have written about it here) are recovering.  My brother is doing pretty well, but my nephew could be doing better.  However, they both are alive!  I spoke with my nephew last night, and his speech is perfect, and he can eat properly now.  The only concern is that the gunshot wound weakened one of his carotid arteries, and thus there is an aneurysm now.  The medical folks are monitoring it, and will decide later if it needs a polyester sleeve.

On an extremely personal note, I am thankful that I am of good health, have enough money to keep my house and eat (at least for the rest of the year), and have these communities with whom to share my thoughts and feelings.  A couple of years ago it was sort of “iffy”, but in large part due to you here, I am in good cheer and ready to contribute more.

More than anything, I am thankful for friends who have been so kind.  In no particular order (well, family first).  My nuclear family, even after the divorce, have been nothing but wonderful.  I love all of them, and wish them only the best for this Thanksgiving.

My aunt and uncle back in Arkansas are wonderful folks.  I would use their names, but I have a policy of not identifying anyone personally here except for myself.  My aunt, my mum’s only sister, is just finishing up radiation therapy for breast cancer, but she assured me last evening that her prognosis is excellent and that she should have no other sequelae from her bought with it.  They both have always been extremely supportive and accepting of me, and regret that I shut them out for a while when I was so depressed by the consequences of my ill advised actions.

Friends here on the blogs, both new and old.  One Kossack, JustasaBeverage and his family, have been personal friends for decades, and others, with too many names to enumerate here, just for a short while now.

Tomorrow, as you sit at the table and talk with your loved ones, please let politics, religion, and other touchy topics just go.  Cherish the moments that you can spend with them, and love them.  Harken back to good times, good memories, and remembering the ones who are not available to sit at the table any more.  Everything else is superficial, and matters not a whit in the long run.  Love, to borrow from MacLen, is all there is when you really get down to it.

I must mention my delightful neighbors across the street.  They have never been anything but kind, accepting, and loving to me.  The longer that I know them, the more like a brother and a sister they seem to be.  We do things for each other, like repair small engine things like lawnmowers (Elmer loves to cut grass), cooking devices (I helped them repair a broken heater lead in their countertop cooker earlier this year, and Helen cooked her Thanksgiving ham in it tonight).  If it had not been for them, and these communities, I might not have made it so cheerfully a couple of years ago.

Finally, I must acknowledge my thanks for The Who.  That might sound sort of corny or something, but the wisdom in their music has kept me in a better frame of mind time and time again.  It is appropriate that I end this with one of their rather melancholy numbers, but given the news that I learnt a couple of hours ago seems to fit.  Here is Sunrise.  I could not find a live version, but the studio one is close to perfect.

As an epilogue, I fully realize that many reading have much less to be thankful this day than I.  Some of you have lost loved ones, some have lost jobs, and some have situations about which I could only speculate.  At the very least, please know that here you have an extremely sympathetic, and likely more often than not, an empathetic, audience.  Please be thankful for that little bit of good will towards you.  I speak from experience when I say that a few little things to be thankful for can help to blunt the despair of horrible life events.

Best Thanksgiving wishes, and

Warmest regards,

Doc

Crossposted at Docudharma.com and at Dailykos.com

Some premiers.  Rachel has a special- The Assassination of Dr. Tiller.

If any form of pleasure is exhibited, report to me and it will be prohibited! I’ll put my foot down, so shall it be… this is the land of the free! The last man nearly ruined this place he didn’t know what to do with it. If you think this country’s bad off now, just wait till I get through with it! The country’s taxes must be fixed, and I know what to do with it. If you think you’re paying too much now, just wait till I get through with it!

I’d be unworthy of the high trust that’s been placed in me if I didn’t do everything in my power to keep our beloved Freedonia in peace with the world. I’d be only too happy to meet with Ambassador Trentino, and offer him on behalf of my country the right hand of good fellowship. And I feel sure he will accept this gesture in the spirit of which it is offered. But suppose he doesn’t. A fine thing that’ll be. I hold out my hand and he refuses to accept. That’ll add a lot to my prestige, won’t it? Me, the head of a country, snubbed by a foreign ambassador. Who does he think he is, that he can come here, and make a sap of me in front of all my people? Think of it – I hold out my hand and that hyena refuses to accept. Why, the cheap four-flushing swine, he’ll never get away with it I tell you, he’ll never get away with it.

• ABC Family– Beauty and the Beast
• AMC– Open Range x 2
• Comedy– Futurama, Holiday Spectacular (this week’s)
• Discovery– Mythbusters (last week’s and new), Storm Chasers (premier)
• ESPN– Hoopies, LeBrons @ Magic, College Hoopies
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Tennessee v. Virginia Commonwealth, UCLA v. Villanova
• FX– Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Terriers x 3 (premier and Instapeats)
• Lifetime– Notting Hill
• Oxygen– 50 First Dates
• Turner Classic– It Happened One Night
• Toon– Firebreather
• Travel– Man v. Food marathon (with premier, thank goodness)
• USA– NCIS marathon
• Vs.– Blues @ Predators

Later-

• Sci Fi– Licence to Kill (Dalton)
• Turner Classic– Duck Soup, Top Hat

Dave hosts Salvatore Giunta and Sahara Smith (get a wiki page!).  Jon and Stephen in repeats, 11/9, 11/16.  Conan hosts Eva Mendes, Bob Saget, and Neon Trees.

Boondocks– The S Word.

Gentlemen, Chicolini here may talk like an idiot, and look like an idiot, but don’t let that fool you: he really is an idiot. I implore you, send him back to his father and brothers, who are waiting for him with open arms in the penitentiary. I suggest that we give him ten years in Leavenworth, or eleven years in Twelveworth.

Monday we watch-a Firefly’s house, but he no come he wasn’t home. Tuesday we go to the ball game, but he fool us: he no show up. Wednesday HE go to the ball game, but we fool him, WE no show up. Thursday it was a double-header, nobody show up. Friday it rained all day, there was no ball game, so we stayed home, we listen to it over the radio.

You’re a brave man. Go and break through the lines. And remember, while you’re out there risking your life and limb through shot and shell, we’ll be in be in here thinking what a sucker you are.

Zap2it TV Listings, Yahoo TV Listings

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 Ireland unveils 15-bln-euro austerity plan to secure bailout

by Loic Vennin and Andrew Bushe, AFP

1 hr 28 mins ago

2 General strike cripples debt-hit Portugal

by Thomas Cabral, AFP

2 hrs 14 mins ago

3 Irish PM fights for survival as euro fears resurface

by Loic Vennin and Andrew Bushe

Tue Nov 23, 4:30 pm ET

4 Eurozone crisis accelerates in Portugal, Spain and Ireland

AFP

Wed Nov 24, 9:09 am ET

5 ‘National tragedy’ as 29 perish in N.Z. mine disaster

by Neil Sands, AFP

Wed Nov 24, 12:49 pm ET

6 Liu wins redemption as another drugs case tars Asian Games

by Martin Parry, AFP

Wed Nov 24, 1:19 pm ET

7 Fed slashes US growth forecasts

by Andrew Beatty, AFP

Tue Nov 23, 6:17 pm ET

8 Afghanistan unveils results from fraud-marred vote

by Waheedullah Massoud, AFP

Wed Nov 24, 9:18 am ET

9 England ready for ‘something special’ in Ashes

by Robert Smith, AFP

Wed Nov 24, 6:13 am ET

10 Ireland austerity plan draws skepticism

By Padraic Halpin and Carmel Crimmins, Reuters

1 hr 32 mins ago

11 Portugal unions strike over austerity measures

By Axel Bugge, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 12:57 pm ET

12 Ireland set for majority stakes in leading banks

By Steve Slater, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 6:51 am ET

13 Merkel: EU needs courage to make investors share risk

By Stephen Brown, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 11:03 am ET

14 Cholera-hit Haiti needs nurses, doctors: U.N.

By Pascal Fletcher, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 12:50 pm ET

15 File BP oil spill claims early, administrator says

By Bruce Nichols, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 1:53 pm ET

16 U.N. seeks climate progress; deal may be years off

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

Wed Nov 24, 10:16 am ET

17 Oracle ruling tarnishes SAP’s U.S. reputation

Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 12:42 pm ET

18 Protests, complaints greet "final" Afghan poll results

By Hamid Shalizi and Paul Tait, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 9:51 am ET

19 All 29 trapped miners in New Zealand dead: police

By Gyles Beckford, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 7:14 am ET

20 Airlines low key in U.S. security controversy

By John Crawley, Reuters

Tue Nov 23, 6:59 pm ET

21 FBI raids send warning to hedge funds

By Grant McCool, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 4:45 am ET

22 China turns up heat on Taiwan to talk politics

By Ralph Jennings, Reuters

Wed Nov 24, 3:53 am ET

23 Gloom, anger spreads as European economies teeter

By ALAN CLENDENNING and SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press

36 mins ago

24 Pelosi’s new mission: Limit Obama deals with GOP

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press

37 mins ago

25 Color-coded terror warnings on track to disappear

By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press

35 mins ago

26 US warns of likely harm from WikiLeaks release

By ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer

1 hr 27 mins ago

27 2nd blast ends hopes for survival of 29 NZ miners

By JOE MORGAN and RAY LILLEY, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 10:09 am ET

28 First arrest made in new insider trading crackdown

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press

30 mins ago

29 Palin’s ‘Dancing’ success defies easy explanation

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

Wed Nov 24, 1:20 pm ET

30 Jury: SAP must pay nemesis Oracle $1.3 billion

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer

Wed Nov 24, 6:58 am ET

31 AP-Gfk Poll: Holiday shoppers cautious with credit

By ALAN FRAM and JENNIFER AGIESTA, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 12:45 pm ET

32 Conservatives at odds with Vatican over condoms

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer

Wed Nov 24, 7:00 am ET

33 Lawyer: Emanuel broke Chicago mayor residency rule

By DON BABWIN, Associated Press

31 mins ago

34 Murkowski seeks voice in Alaska election lawsuit

By DAN JOLING, Associated Press

1 hr 25 mins ago

35 APNewsBreak: Soldier in Afghan case waives hearing

By GENE JOHNSON, Associated Press

2 hrs 48 mins ago

36 Audi flagship sedan is sporty, not stodgy

By ANN M. JOB, For The Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 1:07 pm ET

37 Holocaust survivors deal with purported $42M fraud

By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 11:35 am ET

38 Animal CSI: Vets learn how to investigate crimes

By MITCH STACY, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 7:09 am ET

39 Heritage turkeys make comeback, but diners needed

By BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 3:42 am ET

40 Don’t touch my junk: TSA officers hear complaints

By TAMARA LUSH and SARAH BRUMFIELD, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 3:15 am ET

41 Anti-AIDS groups hail drug but worry over cost

By MARCUS WOHLSEN, Associated Press

Wed Nov 24, 3:11 am ET

42 Texas priest accused of trying to hire hit man

By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press

Tue Nov 23, 9:32 pm ET

43 Lost in frenzy over searches, travelers hit roads

By CRISTINA SILVA, Associated Press

Tue Nov 23, 8:13 pm ET

44 Panel: Deny NYC mayor’s choice for schools

By KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press

Tue Nov 23, 8:08 pm ET

45 Priest sought riches online as ‘Jerry from Philly’

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press

Tue Nov 23, 6:24 pm ET

(4 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Crossposted at Daily Kos and Docudharma

:: ::

INTRODUCTION

:: ::

Many Democrats are quite upset that the intrusive personal body searches by the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) at the nation’s many airports infringe upon their civil rights and as evidenced by a plethora of diaries in recent days on Daily Kos may be, in some cases, outright illegal in nature. Undoubtedly some Republicans and independents feel this way too.  

As Jones points out, however, there are probably a number of Republicans who feel outraged only because these transgressions are taking place under the authority of a federal agency accountable to a Democratic Administration.  It isn’t much more complicated than that.  Period

Don’t Touch My Junk

Everyone’s jumping on the TSA about how aggressive they are in their security measures.  I think it’s funny a lot of conservatives are complaining about it.  These are the same people who said profiling was for the safety of our nation.   I suspect if a Republican was in the White House then we wouldn’t be hearing these people complain about advanced security measures.

Funny story, kinda.  Once in line in Baltimore I was being patted down and I said to the guy “so, ya gonna call me tomorrow?”  He stopped very suddenly and said “what’s that supposed to mean?”  I was like “uh…it was a joke.”  And he said “we don’t joke with security.”  I kept  my mouth shut after that as I was afraid they might wanna “search” me further in a private room.

Personally, I’m grateful “don’t touch my junk” is now a part of American terminology.  I’m also grateful I didn’t have to explain the definition of “junk” to my editor today.

:: ::

Airport Pat-Downer by Bruce Plante, see reader comments in Tulsa World, Buy this cartoon

:: ::

1. Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places

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As Johnny Lee once asked in a song, have you been looking for love in all the wrong places so far?  If so, Crowe has some advice for you.  You’ll never know where you might find the love of your life!

A Few Good Perverts

Do you keep getting turned down for jobs because you’re a little on the pervy side? Good news.  You could have a career opportunity with the Transportation Security Administration.

If you’re flying these days you could be taking your life and body into a stranger’s own hands.  The new security system at airports could expose you to a full body scan or, if you prefer, a good groping.  Hubba hubba.  If you haven’t had any action lately, you might wanna book a flight.  It ain’t as romantic as it seems. They don’t have time to take everybody out dining and dancing before-hand.  And besides, put yourselves in a TSA worker’s place.  How many people have you seen running around airports that you would really like to get all touchy and priesty with?

OK, never mind.  Wrong crowd.  You’re all thinking about that a little too seriously, you creeps.  Not everybody’s a pervert at the TSA.  Just the ones who enjoy their job. And it is a job. They’re just doing the best they can to thwart terrorist attempts.

At least the TSA fella in this cartoon is an old school romantic.  He figures if he’s gonna feel you up he should at least bring flowers and some nice bubbly to set the mood.

Unfortunately, the lady pictured here has put a higher price tag on her privates.  If you’re gonna grab Granny’s junk, you’re gonna have to bring the treasure.

Airport Security Checkpoint Choices by Chris Britt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

Patrick Chappatte, International Herald Tribune, Buy this cartoon

Marshall Ramsey, Comics.com (Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS)

John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune, Buy this cartoon

Chip Bok, Comics.com

Cam Cardow, Ottawa Citizen, Buy this cartoon

Bob Gorrell, Nationally Syndicated Cartoonist, Buy this cartoon

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2. Gonna Fly Now

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Many people refuse to fly not because of the humiliation they might experience while checking in at airports and undergoing outrageous security procedures.  They may be genuinely afraid to do so.  Are you afraid to fly as Englehart seems to be now?  If so, you aren’t the only one

Full-Body Scanners

Today’s cartoon was inspired in spite of the fact I haven’t flown since the full-body scanners came into play.  I used to fly to Fort Wayne, Indiana every year to play golf with my dad and visit with my brothers, but this year I drove.  It was a pleasant drive, didn’t push myself, spent a night in a nice motel with a pool, and didn’t feel violated by the TSA.  I’ll continue to do that until it becomes completely impractical to drive, such as a longer trip to the left coast.

I’ve come full circle about flying.  In the beginning, I hated it.  I was scared to death the plane would crash.  I used to pray that the plane in front of us would crash on takeoff because the odds would be impossible that two planes in a row would crash.  I’d drink myself into a stupor to get on a plane, even if it was a morning flight.

Eventually, I came to understand that when it’s your time to go, there’s nothing you can do about it.  I became aware of news stories about people doing ordinary things who died, or were killed.  I became philosophical about flying and grew to enjoy it even to the point I could sleep on the plane.

Now, I’m back to hating flying again.

Steve Kelley, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Buy this cartoon

Is That A Bomb In Your Pants? by John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune, Buy this cartoon

Steve Breen, Comics.com (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Airport Insecurity by John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune, Buy this cartoon

Gary Markstein, Comics.com (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Bruce Beattie, Comics.com (Daytona Beach News-Journal)

Body Scanner Images by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon

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3. Missing You

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Rogers seems to be channeling Ben Franklin who famously said once, “Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither”

TSA Agent

Airport security has taken on a new urgency with revealing body scans and aggressive pat-downs.  I am all for tighter security, but at what point do our personal civil liberties get tossed out along with our unapproved liquids?  Hard to say, but I hope the Transportation Security Administration can strike a balance.

Full Body Scan Centerfolds by Jim Day, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Buy this cartoon

Body Searches by Dave Granlund, Politicalcartoons.com, Buy this cartoon

Airport Body Scans by Jimmy Margulies, New Jersey Record, Buy this cartoon

Jerry Holbert, Comics.com (Boston Herald)

Mike Luckovich, Comics.com (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

TSA Security Measures by Mike Keefe, Denver Post, Buy this cartoon

Turkey Security by David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Star, Buy this cartoon

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Closing Thoughts

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There are another 15-20 editorial cartoons posted in the comments section of this diary that I posted over at Daily Kos.  Take a look at them.