The Whole Delivery

Before I share my real thoughts on Charles Davis' sensational piece , let me take you back three years ago in my life, you want to read. I was one of those unpaid interns Davis talks about in that piece, as I was at Talking Points Memo. I saw and read that it would be unpaid, and I accepted that when Ben Frumin, who worked there at the time and was the internship director while being a top editor in the Manhattan office, talked to me about it. Now let me tell you this. It was a five day (excluding holidays) internship (Monday to Friday) from 8:30 AM to at least 5 PM for the minimum of three months. I started in November 2010 and really thought about leaving in January 2011 when MoveOn.org contacted me about a paid job position. Frumin, who is a class act of a person and who I always respected, demanded that I stayed at TPM for the second half of the unpaid internship and that I would at least be given a chance to write articles in my last month of the internship. Even wit...

I'll just let the story tell itself : Awesome : Top Obama adviser David Axelrod got an earful of the liberal blogosphere's anger at the White House moments ago, when a blogger on a conference call directly called out Axelrod over White House criticism of the left, accusing Axelrod of "hippie punching." "We're the girl you'll take under the bleachers but you won't be seen with in the light of day," the blogger, Susan Madrak of Crooks and Liars, pointedly told Axelrod on the call, which was organzied for liberal bloggers and progressive media. Madark sure did rip into Gibbs on this one. The remaining of Greg Sargent's latest great read is certainly one your peripheral has got to capture.

To one of the beacon of our struggling democracy, even if they may not be fully 100% supported all the time. And last week, Anthony Romero was on the Colbert show to talk about the latest: The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Anthony Romero www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News B-day shoutouts for them indeed.

One of the most synonymous bloggers in the rational news online era (the rise of the left blogopshere) has been the always delightful Amanda Terkel. One of many key figures as to why Think Progress has become one of the most powerful news sites on all the net, Ms. Terkel is just a person who, unless you are an Bill O'Liely creepy stalker lackey, is so likable for her assiduity and her warm personality. So news of her announcing her final day at Think Progress just a while ago is certainly something that came right out of the blue . Wherever Ms. Terkel goes to next, hopefully she'll continue being one of the premiere blogging reporters in all of the Internet land. Unless of course, that leads to the Television set as well. Until then, I am just as sadden as those at the Center for American Progress that she has to go. Because they sure know that she was just as special as, if not more than, her reporting. Much love to you Amanda. And from The Whole Delivery, God bl...

He isn't going to get fired, he is an idiot for not apologizing, and it's time to move on now.

This is a wonderful and powerful effort from the ACLU indeed : More Deliveries : Did you happen to see this wonderful news letter that MoveOn sent out to all of its viewers in the continue "Defense of Social Security" campaign. Via the always delightful Digby, this letter just is a COMPLETE WIN as it can get. It features 5 key myth busting facts to those who hate just helping their fellow American citizens, including... Myth: Social Security is going broke. Reality: There is no Social Security crisis. By 2023, Social Security will have a $4.3 trillion surplus (yes, trillion with a 'T'). It can pay out all scheduled benefits for the next quarter-century with no changes whatsoever.1 After 2037, it'll still be able to pay out 75% of scheduled benefits--and again, that's without any changes. The program started preparing for the Baby Boomers retirement decades ago.2 Anyone who insists Social Security is broke probably wants to break it themselves. It ...

I guess Michael Steele doesn't mind having Andrew Breitbart be apart of his fund raising event : Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has a party fundraising event coming up in August that is scheduled to feature a very special guest: Conservative media activist Andrew Breitbart, according to a copy of the invitation exclusively obtained by TPM. The fundraising event, billed as an "Election Countdown," will take place from August 12-14 in Beverly Hills, California, and will also feature other politicians such as California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, and Nevada Republican gubernatorial nominee Brian Sandoval. Steele and Breitbart are scheduled to co-headline a welcome reception on the first evening, August 12. He is just addicted to being a laughingstock, isn't he? Despite how much Freightfart has further reduced himself to the thought of being associated with him is unconscionable, Steele has no second thoughts of removing hi...

Nancy Pelosi's live speech: Online TV Shows by Ustream ( Update: And the interview session is over at 1:15 PM, 10:15 out there. Full analysis to come later. )

What a bunch of idiot Beltway hacks : Polls show most self-described liberals still strongly support Obama. But an elite group of commentators on the left — many of whom are unhappy with him and are rewarded with more attention by being critical of a fellow Democrat — has a disproportionate influence on perceptions. The liberal blogosphere grew in response to Bush. But it is still a movement marked by immaturity and impetuousness — unaccustomed to its own side holding power and the responsibilities and choices that come with that. So many liberals seem shocked and dismayed that Obama is governing as a self-protective politician first and a liberal second, even though that is also how he campaigned. The liberal blogs cheer the fact that Stan McCrystal’s scalp has been replaced with David Petreaus’s, even though both men are equally hawkish on Afghanistan, but barely clapped for the passage of health care. They treat the firing of a blogger from the Washington Post as an event of hi...

The Rational Online News Network, or known as T.R.O.N.N. by me, is always filled with stories that tell the whole perspective. Oh the hilarity of this continues: Maybe he should have Alex Castellanos be his running mate to help "bridge that gap." The Doug Hoffman comeback story is over . Sad. Remember, it is all in the good name of free speech !!! Speaking of more great racism on the Obamas, this situation has placed a highly uncomfortable burden on Google's plate. The Orly Tatiz of health care reform is still at it. The painful reality of Recession stories, especially from recent graduates whose hopes have been severely damaged amidst the crisis. I don't expect Mika Brezinski to talk with Matt Halperin about this on Morning Joe I bet. And I don't expect Halperin to have a friendly conversation with Jason Linkins either : This image is now only available through the magic of Google cache, because it was taken down, apparently because SOMEONE at Time is oper...

Busy with many things today outside of TWD everyone, so sorry for the delay. But here's the runthrough: Public Option Health Care News While most were focusing on the LIE-bera--hole show yesterday with the Senate, the bigger story probably was in the House. A robust public option, something Nancy Pelosi said was going to happen in her chamber, is in serious danger actually. The negotiation rates need to keep premiums at 10-11% in comparison to typical private insurers being truly strong instead of the negotiated rates that the Blue Dog/conservative nutcases want. Without that, the public option, though still a public option at day's end, is not as strong as it should be. And, as Jon Walker said in that link, it IS A Slap in the face to the working class. That would be around a $1,400 reduction in premiums for the average family that could choose the robust public option. Forcing Americans to pay roughly $1,400 more a year on health insurance premiums, by denying them the cho...

Jon Stewart on the idiots, from McCain to Dreck Beck, upset about Net Neutrality: As highlighted by clicking on the photo, Marcy Wheeler sees how the media let LIE-Berman's lies go unchallenged in their slack reporting, including even a real good site. But then there are others who def stepped up and thensome . And you knew Media Matters was going to talk about that the minute Ms. Wheeler did. They just get better and better at Hackio , don't they? John Cole's views on the Connecticut attention whore : BTW- I’m laughing at the Lieberman stuff. Will all the folks who spent the last few weeks trashing the WH for being insufficiently aggressive with the public option please write up your apologies long-form? I’ll check memeorandum for you later. Pretty clearly, the swarthy guy knew the whip count better than Harry Reid. Imagine that! Of course, by noting that Team Obama has more political awareness and skill than Senate Democrats just makes me an O-bot. And Steve Benen's ...

Not need wondering, because I already am sure of it! Based on an idiot from Slate, it's not only MSNBC having a LIBERAL agenda..........It's the New York Times too !!! No matter how hard anyone else tries, no one can beat Joe Lieberman at being DC's biggest A-hole . World War II veteran tells it like it is on gay marriage , especially in Maine. Gosh, I love this videos and I love this guy even more: I give talks to eighth grade teachers about World War II, and I don't tell them about the horror. Maybe [inaudible] ovens of Buchenwald and Dachau. I've seen with my own eyes the consequences of caste systems and it make some people less than others, or second class. Never again. We must have equal rights for everyone. It's what this country was started for. It takes all kinds of people to make a world war. It does make no sense that some people who love each other can marry and others can't just because of who they are. This is what we fought for in World War II...

The Rational Online News network, blessings to you with the news and rational opinion you just have to be given, and not be denied at all. Let's begin, shall we: TPM continues its tribute coverage of Ted Kennedy Steve Benen has a terrific post , of many usually at the Washington Monthly, that exposes the hypocrites talking about how Obama is going to be adding to deficit, when not only he said he isn't with this health care bill, but exposes those who didn't say the same when this was happening: Just six years ago, Karl Rove thought he could lock up that "permanent Republican majority" by adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. Seniors -- at least the one who didn't get caught in the dreaded "donut hole" -- would be so impressed they'd vote GOP forever. All Republican policymakers had to do was approve a poorly-written bill that expanded government involvement in health care while adding trillions of dollars to long-term debt. It has a ...

The Rational Online News Network thread is back. And it could have come at a better time. Especially this ridiculous story about Stephen Hawking not benefitting from health care in Britain. Absolutely hilarious that it is way funnier than I have described it. Heck, I'll just give you the key excerpt Now, it might be tempting to respond to the IBD piece by noting that the health care reform proposal backed by Democrats is in no way similar to the British health care system, so these mind-numbing comparisons don't make any sense. That, of course, would be a fair response. But let's not overlook the punch-line here. As Bookman noted, "Of course, that same Stephen Hawking who wouldn't have a chance in the United Kingdom was in fact born in the United Kingdom, has lived his entire life in the United Kingdom and lives there still today, at the ripe old age of 67. (He was in fact hospitalized earlier this month.) Hawking is, you might say, living, breathing proof that th...

One of the best journalists in the country gives a classic month to us all Lovely.

Media Matters has its second edition of "Good News", from some sources who rarely cary out good news: Also, Media Matters makes fun of a fool who tries to make fun of Obama : She tried to make fun of Obama, but spells "two" wrong, putting the homonym "too" instead. Dummy. Atrios , Yglesias , and David Krutz report on both the media and Republicans hypocrisy over voting for the war funding bill for Iraq and Afghanistan in comparison to last year, and years past. Though I accept what Kos was definitely saying, and no one should tell him how the run the site he put his blood, sweat and tears in (and still does by the way). But he says this, which I disagree on If turning the site green would help, then perhaps, but it'd merely feed that narcissistic desire some people have to "do" something. Hackers creating proxies for Iranians to bypass their nation's internet censors? THAT'S doing something tangible and of great value...................

Thanks to Jed, here's video of the authorities confirming that James von Bunn had an illegal gun. The NRA, of course, has no comment on this, although no one asked them, to be fair: Crooks and Liars has video of the WHO saying the swine flu is a "pandemic." Jane Hamsher over at her site Firedoglake says that Rahm Emmanuel is forcing pork in the conference report titled Cash for Clunkers. Now to make sure things are straight instead of doing Campbell Brown like journalism, Obama never said that pork barrel spending would all be gone. He said that wasteful projects would be cut. But we'll see, and it appears so, that the pork Emmanuel is pushing is wasteful. David Waldman reports that Joe "Smug" Lieberman got his wish. His amendment stays thanks to some in the House. UPDATED : David has corrected me, the Lieberman amendment is still OUT. Media Matters makes Newt Gingrich look stupid again. Also, they show that sometimes, Joe isn't as dumb as he thinks. We...

(For those who don't know what TRONN stands for, it means The Rational Online Network of Networks). First, the story that broke the afternoon it occurred, as Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the Chairman of the powerful Armed Services Committee in Congress, basically called Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz's claims in the media recently far "from the truth." This all basically started from beachmom's post over at the Kos As you recall, Levin released a report on the treatment of detainees which was signed off on by the Republicans on the Armed Services Committee as well, which was quite damning of the Bush Administration and the regime Dick Cheney created. In short, Levin has done the research and knows what he is talking about. When former Vice President Cheney said last week that what happened at Abu Ghraib was the work of "a few sadistic prison guards" acting on their own, he bore false witness. And when he said last week there was no link between t...

Quick things to share from The Rational Online Network of Networks, or known as T.R.O.N.N. "Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse" gets deep and brings the discussion back to the Father & Daughter Torture Advocating Tour having a few malfunctions on stage in this recommended diary over at the Kos. Dickie may be a little panicked because Obama plans to release the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) report this summer, maybe even next month. If the cumulative findings of misconduct in this report show that the torture lawyers acted as advocates rather than advisers, then the memos did not constitute appropriate OLC legal advice. Thus, the Lizzie/Dickie campaign may be their preemptive strike to make their case before the OPR report is publicly released. The stakes are high for Dickie because if the legal advice defense is eliminated, then he will have the impossible burden of proving that the prisoners were not tortured unless he has a Plan B defense. We have already s...