From The Press Briefing February 1, 2005

Q Scott, last night, in an amicus brief filed before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Justice Department came down in favor of displaying the Ten Commandments in courthouses and statehouses around the country. The question is, does the President believe in commandment number six, "Thou shalt not kill," as it applies to the U.S. invasion in Iraq?

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead. Next question. Ken, go ahead.

We don't have confirmation yet, but we do believe that Jeff Gannon did not ask that question.

Two night's ago, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's excellent investigative news program, "the Fifth Estate," broadcast a one-hour special on the hijacking of the American media by conservative bullies -- whose knowledge of foreign policy seems to run the gamut from A to B and tends toward scream-o-ramas in which dissenters are accused of being unpatriotic. They aired this clip:

Heather Mallick, Globe & Mail columnist had this sparring contest with Bill O'Reilly about his efforts to start an American boycott on Canada.

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O'Reilly: then Americans are going to take action. Are you willing to accept that boycott which will hurt your economy, drastically.

MALLICK: I don't think for a moment such a boycott would take place because we are your biggest trading partners.

O'REILLY: No, it will take place, madam. In France ...

MALLICK: I don't think that your French boycott has done too well ...

O'REILLY: ...they've lost billions of dollars in France according to "The Paris Business Review."

MALLICK: I think that's nonsense

The U.S. and Canada are the two biggest trading partners in the world. As for The U.S. economic boycott of France... dispite O'Reilly's comments to the contrary since he jumped on that bandwagon two years ago; French/American trade actually went up. And the Paris Business Review O'Reilly quoted; to the best of our knowlege no such publication exists.

So the point of the story is: if you have no facts, just make em' up.

Media Matters has more information here

via World O' Crap. Please go read it!

Smoking gun : Snoop Accused Of Sex Assault

Woman claims rapper, posse attacked her at "Jimmy Kimmel" taping

The Social Security system will take in more money annually than it pays out in benefits until 2020, two years later than earlier estimated, the Congressional Budget Office reported Monday in a modest change unlikely to alter the growing political debate over the program. Congress' budget analysts also estimated the program's trust funds will be depleted in 2052, "meaning that beneficiaries will be able to count on receiving only 78 percent of their scheduled benefits beginning then.

So the figures of impending doom by 2018 were false, and the figures of certain doom by 2042 were false. You've gotta hand it to the White House. They certainly know how to cry wolf to push along the agenda. The problem is now that their think tanks will be working overtime to filter in this information for his speech on Wednesday. I'm sure "owner society "and "personal accounts" will be the cornertone of this part of the address. The other big question I have is will Charles Krauthammer be part of the speechwriting team this time?

'Wash Post' Disputes Gallagher Claim of Retraction

via Atrios

NEW YORK Universal Press Syndicate columnist Maggie Gallagher says The Washington Post retracted a claim about her in a Saturday column by Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt.

"I would not call it a retraction," responded Hiatt, when reached by E&P.

Added Howard Kurtz, the Post writer who broke the story about Gallagher receiving $21,500 from the Department of Health and Human Services to write marriage-themed material, "The only retraction is in Maggie Gallagher's imagination."

via The National Debate

When Fox News reported that Hillary Clinton collapse while giving a speech in update New York my IM lit up like a Christmas tree.

Oliver Willis had one take...

Hillary Clinton collapses

Matt Margolis had another...

ODub's Selective Vision

For the complete picture check out Free Republic for yourself.

NY Post is reporting that: has secretly funded a personal servant for Gov. Pataki's wife, Libby, at the Pataki family mansion on the Hudson River, The Post has learned.

The servant — whose shocking existence on the party payroll was unknown even among the state's highest- ranking GOP officials — was described to The Post by two Republican insiders as Mrs. Pataki's "maid" and "personal valet."

Maids and nannies oh my!

John Kerry talks about Social Security and Judge Scalia with Tim Russert

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