Plot Point

By Bill Maher

Rand Paul wrote a fundraising letter to his "fellow patriots" calling President Obama and "his anti-gun pals" "anti-American globalists [who] plot against our Constitution." The same day this statement came out, Politico wrote, "Put simply, if you designed a candidate in a lab to match up with the early GOP primary states, it would probably look a lot like Rand Paul." Even The New York Times has called him "a rising star."

Rand Paul can say whatever crazy shit he wants to become more popular with the Republican base. But when he says the president is "plotting" against other Americans, it's up to the rest of the civilized world to dismiss him as a dangerous kook.

And he's just one cog in the crazy machine. Last week, House Republicans voted to repeal Obamacare for the 37^th time. In the Senate, Republicans are blocking Obama's nominees to head the EPA and the Department of Labor, and have prevented -- for years -- anybody from being named to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The most important appellate court in the United States, the D.C. Circuit court (which is like the Supreme Court's mini-me because it rules on so many federal issues), has had four vacancies forever. In fact, John Roberts sat on this court before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 2005, and his seat is still vacant because Republicans won't put somebody there who changes the balance of power.

At what point does obstruction become treason? Isn't that a reasonable question now, especially with Obamacare? It's the law of the land, affirmed by the Supreme Court, but Republicans are still trying to defund it and screw it up any way they can.
Aren't they "plotting" against their country?

Pyramid Scheme

By Bill Maher

"Who will buy this wonderful feeling?" -Oliver/General Dynamics

With everything happening in the world -- terrorism, disease, Reese Witherspoon going all "Onion Field" on our cops -- it's easy to lose track of what's really important. Like Egyptian economic reform. But don't worry, you're paying for it whether you pay attention or not.

Earlier this year, as The Sequester kicked in, Secretary of State Kerry announced that we still had $250 million to give the Land of the Pharaohs for "economic reform" -- against $1 billion, if we like what we see. The loan and the "economic reforms" are essential for Egypt to qualify for another loan, this one for $4.8 billion, from the IMF.

Who funds the IMF? Oh, that's you again. Over 17 percent of the IMF's funds come from the United States.
The Sequester also won't stop us from sending whoever's in charge in Egypt 20 F-16s and 20 M-1 Abrams tanks, a total prize package worth over a billion dollars, addressed to Occupant.
Weird how that tank keeps coming up.

Right-wing kooks and conspiracy loons think Obama loves Egypt because he makes Michelle wear a hijab around the house, but it's actually more banal than that. America is basically Chrysler, only instead of minivans, we make this tank. And we need someone to buy it, and this is our version of 0% financing. Because Egypt is much more than a semi-modern, semi-moderate, squint-and-you-can-believe-it's-true frenemy in the Middle East. It's also a customer.

Benghazi and the October Surprise

By Bill Maher
 
A new e-book came out this week called A Bad Day On The Romney Campaign: An Insider’s Account. It was written by Clint Eastwood’s chair. No it wasn’t, it was written by some whiny grifter named Gabriel Schoenfeld, who was a “senior advisor” to the campaign. The book focuses on the day of the Benghazi attack, and how Mitt Romney tripped over his dick.
The mission in Libya was still on fire when Mitt issued a statement — based on the Twitter feed of someone in Cairo — claiming it was all Obama’s fault, because we apologized for that internet movie that insulted Allah. It was stupid, tone deaf, inaccurate, half-hearted, phony and entirely beside the point, or what’s now known as The Full Romney.
Schoenfeld writes:

“The Romney campaign’s statement of September 11, 2012 had left the candidate naked, embarrassed, and disarmed.”

Try getting that image out of your head.
But I think it’s important because it helps explain why Republicans are such crackheads about Benghazi: It — or something like it — was supposed to win Romney the election. His campaign was designed to stay competitive, sing “God Bless America,” and wait for Obama to screw up. Benghazi happened and Mitt booted it. That’s why they’ll never let it go.
Remember the “47%” video? Romney is asked about the October Surprise, when Reagan got elected and Iran magically gave us the hostages, and why Romney can’t “duplicate that scenario.”

Romney: I appreciate the idea…(blahblahblah Russia, Iran, nukes, China, Jimmy Carter)…if something of that nature presents itself, I will work to find a way to take advantage of the opportunity.

Something of that nature presented itself — four brave people dying violent deaths — and Mitt tried to take advantage of it, but he couldn’t. Because that bastard Obama cheated and rewrote the memo.
And that’s how you understand Benghazi: Work backwards from “Republicans are supposed to win.” Don’t follow the money. Follow the entitlement.

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

By Bill Maher
 
“Please sir, I want some more.” -Oliver/The Jackson Family

Michael Jackson’s mother is suing a concert promoter for employing a doctor whose reaction to seeing his patient OD was to call a doctor. She wants $40 billion. Because right up until the end there, everything was going great.

Now, my feelings about Michael Jackson are best summed up by an exchange between FBI agents in ‘Red Dragon,’ the prequel to ‘Silence of the Lambs’:

JACK CRAWFORD
You feel sorry for him.
WILL GRAHAM
My heart bleeds for him, as a child.
Someone took a kid and manufactured
a monster. At the same time, as an
adult, he’s irredeemable. As an adult,
someone should blow the sick fuck out
of his socks.

The people my heart really bleeds for are the 12 jurors and six alternates who are going to have to sit through this endless legalized shakedown as this horrible old lady tries to suck one more drop of toxic watery blood from her son’s putrefying corpse.

He was 51 years old. You don’t have to pay his mommy if you were negligent and didn’t do enough to prevent him from being a junkie.

Why is this trial happening? Why are those 18 poor jurors being held hostage? If Somali pirates took them instead of the Jackson family legal team, we’d send the Seals to blow their brains out.

The Truthers Out There

By Bill Maher
 
It’s often said that you can measure the health of a society by how readily it believes in conspiracy theories. …OK, maybe it’s not often said, because I just made it up, but it should be. Because it’s true.

Now, our fair country has its share of conspiracy theories, and we may have just added another: that the Boston Marathon bombing was a false flag operation designed to frighten the citizens so the government can take away our rights and our guns. Or something like that. I try not to click on those links so my IP address doesn’t get “pinged” in the FBI’s PND — Potential Nutcase Database.

But when anything major happens in America, you can set your watch and within 48 hours someone will be explaining to you how some nefarious group wanted this to happen, and also planned it. These are usually fringe, Alex Jones-type groups, but not always. The 9/11 Truther movement wasn’t exactly tiny, probably about the same size as the Ron Paul movement. Because they’re the same people. Then there are the Roswell/UFO conspiracy types, the U.N. black helicopter conspiracy people, those who think the moon landing was faked. Not to mention the people who think all the fat black women in Tyler Perry movies are actually Tyler Perry.

But nothing compares to the Middle East, where conspiracy theories are so pervasive you’d think the whole region was entirely backward and overly religious or something.

For instance, a 2011 Pew survey showed that 75 percent of Egyptian Muslims don’t believe that Arabs were behind the 9/11 attacks. They believe it was…oh, I’ll let you guess who they think did it. But it rhymes with “Da Blues.”

But there’s a reason people in the Middle East believe in so many conspiracy theories — because their governments are often so corrupt and evil, they are working behind the scenes to screw their people. And then blame it on America and the Jews. In the Middle East, people are also usually confined by a state press and have no history of not being lied to.

Also, we’re now in an era where, in addition to porn and bomb-making guidelines, you can see any amount of crazy information you like on the internet, whereas before you could only communicate with like-minded losers via ham radio or at a Star Trek convention.

But we should be way ahead of societies where everything the government does is greeted with automatic suspicion, and I’m not sure we are. In America, there seems to be a very thin wall separating those of us who are being critical and skeptical and those who are just being conspiratorial and crazy.

Isn’t that, you know, bad for democracy?

Tanks, But No Tanks

By Bill Maher

With the advent of Netflix, Blockbuster video stores all over America are closing their doors. People simply don't need their services anymore. That's the free market. But what if President Obama said, "You know what?  Blockbuster employs a lot of people, so I'm going to earmark billions of taxpayer dollars to keep these franchises open. Sure, they have no real customers, but hey, there's no work like busy work."
There would be an outrage. The Drudge Report banner would scream, "Socialism!" and Fox New would have a permanent graphic that says "Blockbuster-gate."

Well, this type of thing is going on. But it's not President Obama that's doing it; it's Congress. The Army doesn't want any more Abrams tanks. They have plenty. More than they need. They've, in fact, told Congress, "We're good." But Congress keeps ordering up more Abrams tanks to the tune of half-a-billion taxpayer dollars just over the last two years. And they're asking for $436 million more in funding.
Why? Jobs. General Dynamics (who spent nearly $11 million on lobbying last year) builds the tanks using more than 560 subcontractors strategically placed in congressional districts throughout the United States. Forty of those companies are in Pennsylvania where Democratic Senator Rob Casey keeps demanding funding for tanks the Army doesn't want or need.

The main Abrams tank plant is in Lima, Ohio which is why this unwanted and unnecessary funding is championed by Republican deficit hawks Rep. Jim Jordan and Sen. Rob Portman, as well as liberal Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. In the name of jobs in their districts, Congress keeps dumping more Abrams tanks onto the Army's plate like an Italian mother serving unwanted third helpings to a dinner guest who's already full.
Isn't this socialism?

Gappy Days Are Here Again

By Bill Maher

Great news: According to the Pew Research Center, the wealth of American households (the sum of all assets and holdings, including car, home, possessions etc., minus household debt) rose by 14% in the period between 2009 and 2011. We're back, baby! We are all a whopping $5 trillion richer. And by "all," I mean not you, but rich people.



The reason America got 14% wealthier on average is because the household wealth of the richest 7% shot up from about $2.5 million to about $3.2 million during that two-year period, while the bottom 93% of households saw their wealth dip from $140,000 to $134,000. So fuck you, takers.

Looking at it another way, in 2009, the average household in the richest 7% had roughly 18 times the wealth of the average household in the lower 93%. Just two years later, they enjoyed 24 times the wealth of those same less affluent households.

Shouldn't we be doing something about wealth inequality?

The Police Spate

By Bill Maher

My usual friends on the right can’t believe that I said that, during the hunt for the Tsarnaev brothers, Massachusetts looked like a “police state,” just because it was a state full of police. But Fortune just did its own review of homeland security spending, and here are some of the highlights:

• Post-9/11 federal spending on homeland security exceeds $790 billion. That’s larger than TARP and, adjusted for inflation, the New Deal.
• Last year, Massachusetts received $4 million in homeland security grants, ranking it 34th in homeland security grant spending per capita.

In short, homeland security is a money pit. And Boston looked like District 9 two weeks ago, when the black tanks and the body armor came out, but it’s actually under-porked, compared to most places in America that got on the homeland security tit and sucked hard.
Two examples from Fortune of homeland security graft in Nowheresville:

• An Indiana county bought a $300,000 “Electronic Emergency Message Boards” system and used it to advertise the volunteer fire department’s fish fry.
• Western Michigan counties bought thirteen $900 Sno-Cone machines.

Since 9/11, “homeland security” has been “open sesame” for federal money. It’s cops (it’s impossible to spend too much on cops) and the military (again, too much ain’t enough). And the result is Grand Rapids gets a sno-cone machine and Watertown, Mass can’t catch an unarmed bleeding teenager without looking like the Battle of the Bulge.
And, because it’s Fortune, there’s always a kernel of investment advice in any article, even one decrying government waste. See if you can pick it up from these clues:

• The video surveillance market was slated to grow from $11.5 billion in 2008 to $37.5 billion in 2015.
• There are 4,000 security cameras in Manhattan.
• Chicago has 10,000 linked public and private security cameras. London has a half-million.

The answer is that we’re under-photographed compared to London. So invest in closed circuit camera companies. You have nothing to lose but your shame.

Background Check, Please!

By Bill Maher

Recent polling suggests that some of the senators who voted against background checks are taking a hit for it, and Joe Manchin, one of the sponsors of the bill, is saying he's going to bring it back up. But here's the problem: it's not a great bill in the first place, and even if it were, it could never pass the House of Representatives.

If the anti-gun people really want to get guns off the streets, they have to start thinking more like the anti-abortion people. Part of that is getting states and localities to restrict guns more -- that's already happening in places like New York and Colorado. But there's something else they could do: go after providers and make it unbearable for them to be in the killing machine business. This is essentially what the anti-abortion movement has done with abortion providers. The results? Today, 48 states have fewer abortion providers than in they did in 1978.

Sticking It to Plan B

By Bill Maher

Last month, a federal judge in Brooklyn ordered the FDA to make the morning-after pill available without a prescription. He basically said that the science was in, and it was safer than Motrin, and the only reason it hadn’t been approved in the first place was Jesus politics. Okay, he didn’t say those things but that’s what it came down to.

That’s not going to stop anti-abortion people from making things up about the morning-after pill killing everything it touches, and then eating through the floor like the blood from an alien.
But it made me think about the horrifying warnings in ads for prescription drugs, the ones that always sound at least as bad as the disease. You know, “You may experience dry mouth, and grow a tail and gills. Ask your exorcist.” Here’s the major side effect of not taking Plan B: A foreign body incubates inside you. Then it takes over your life and ruins it.

Here’s Slate putting it in gentler terms:

The reality is that oral contraceptives help prevent a much more serious condition: pregnancy, which brings with it huge medical, emotional, financial, and legal risk. More specifically, the main health concern with oral contraceptives is an increased risk of blood clots, but as the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists points out, that risk is “extremely low.” It’s also “significantly lower than the risk of blood clots during pregnancy and the postpartum period.”

The morning-after pill is better for you than pregnancy. So we can debate abortion, but we can’t pretend it’s about some global-warming type mystery about women’s health.

Haters Gonna Hate

By Bill Maher

There's a new push by the right to paint the Obamas as President Nero and his wife Marie Antoinette. It cropped up most recently after the White House Correspondent's Dinner: How could they, especially now, when we're overtaxed and the government is supposed to be cutting back, be having dinner! Don't they know we're in the middle of a series of (politically manufactured) economic crises?!

This particular "outrage" doesn't even make sense, really, because there's nothing especially opulent about renting a ballroom in the Hilton and having your trade association's annual banquet. But the criticism has to be leveled, because the formula is now always "How could Obama be doing x while the country is in such dire straits?" Where x equals every single thing Obama does -- eating, traveling, seeing shows or sporting events, entertaining dignitaries -- really anything that doesn't involve sitting behind his desk in the oval office and signing documents by candlelight.

Capitalism Fails the News

By Bill Maher

At the White House Correspondents' Dinner, just about every media outlet was taking shit from the presenters about how often they got it wrong in these last few weeks. CNN, for its ridiculous and inaccurate coverage of the Boston bombings; Buzzfeed, for getting it all wrong too; MSNBC for being in the pocket of the White House; Fox News for being in the pocket of evil. The verdict was in, and it was that, other than Pete Williams and The Boston Globe, every traditional media outlet -- especially those on TV -- is running a sad rumor mill factory, obsessed with sensationalism, when they're not being partisan hacks shilling for their home team. And hey, enjoy the filet.

But here's what you didn't hear at the White House Correspondents' Dinner: "Something, something, Gwen Ifill. [Laughter] Something, something, Ray Suarez. [Hollering]" Because what everyone seems to be forgetting is that there's a great news outlet on TV that always gets it right: the PBS Newshour. And why? Because they're allowed to be a news organization. Because they're not chasing ratings with giant BREAKING NEWS graphics and Megyn Kelly's legs and segments about the day's funny web videos.

Back in the day, the network news broadcasts weren't designed to make money. They were a loss leader. Because people understood the difference between news and entertainment: one was something you needed to eat, and the other was dessert.

But then capitalism took over the news business. And since then, the news has gone down a downward slope of suckitude.

Hey, don't get me wrong -- capitalism is a great thing. When it comes to designing America a new ketchup bottle that sits upside down so all the ketchupy goodness has already moved right to the opening so that you can then squeeze it on to your fries and avoid all of that needless pounding on the bottom of the old glass ketchup bottles, capitalism is the way you want to go. Because capitalism gets you what you want, and at the lowest price.

But in a democracy, there's a difference between what you want -- my ketchup to come out of the bottle on cue -- and what you need, which is an informed citizenry.

Our problem isn't that we have capitalism and that we have democracy. It's that we think they're the same thing.

Threat Assessment

By Bill Maher

What do we do when there's no evidence that someone is actually planning to do something dangerous, but there are clearly warning signs? For example, the FBI confirmed it investigated Tamerlan Tsarnaev a couple of years ago due to a request from Russia, but didn't find "derogatory" information that would require proceeding.

And then there's the Benton County, Arkansas Republican Party. Here's an excerpt from one of their recent newsletters, which, of course, I receive every month because I'm one of their biggest donors:

"We need to let those who will come in the future to represent us [know] that we are serious. The 2nd amendment means nothing unless those in power believe you would have no problem simply walking up and shooting them if they got too far out of line and stopped responding as representatives. It seems that we are unable to muster that belief in any of our representatives on a state or federal level, but we have to have something, something costly, something that they will fear that we will use if they step out of line."

Do we have to wait for them to do "something costly," or is there anything we can do right now? Because this goes right up to the line on the First Amendment, and when you're this paranoid and openly violent about the government taking away your guns, maybe the government needs to take away your guns.

Those Lovable Freedom Fighters

By Bill Maher

What's not to like about the al Nusra Front? They're among the Syrian rebels' most well-trained, well-armed, and well-organized opposition groups. They're so strong and well-positioned that other opposition factions feel they can't afford to alienate them. And this month they literally came out and pledged allegiance to al Qaeda and Ayman al-Zawahiri.

There are headlines about other rebel groups "slamming" al-Nusra over their pledge, but in fact most aren't, and the ones that are seem to be adopting the "Shh! Not in front of the infidels!" approach.
From al-Nusra's sharpest critics, the Syrian Islamic Front:

"We protect the principles of Islam like the Islamic state, fighting in the name of God and his prophet Mohammed, Islamic law. But all reference to certain names that create a strong reaction around the world against the Syrian people must be avoided. You do not need to say that you belong to this name... when you know that this will hurt the Syrian people and help the tyrant."

Oh yeah, that sounds like a rousing denouncement of all al Qaeda stands for
.
Nobody watching this should be surprised. Unless your name is John McCain, who said last year, "It's time to act. It's time to give the Syrian opposition the weapons in order to defend themselves." Or if you're Joe Lieberman, who concurred: "This will not get better until the rest of the world at least gives the arms to the Syrian freedom fighters with which they can defend themselves and their families."

Or if you're McCain and Lindsey Graham, who last month offered a joint statement saying that if the Syrians had indeed used chemical weapons, the response "should include the provision of arms to vetted Syrian opposition groups, targeted strikes against Assad's aircraft and SCUD missile batteries... and the establishment of safe zones inside Syria to protect civilians and opposition groups."

Come on guys, this time they'll love us. We just know they will! Let's roll!

Ball and Change

By Bill Maher

"How can you stand next to the truth and not see it?" - U2

Earlier this month, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 53% of Americans now support same-sex marriage. (An earlier ABC News/Washington Post survey puts the number at 58%.) But here's the striking thing about the NBC poll: It found that 66% of Republicans are still against marriage equality. That means, for the foreseeable future, in a system where voters still only have two choices per election, one of them is still going to be operating on instructions from Jesus to hate fags.

It made me think about that new Jackie Robinson movie, "42." It was the #1 movie in America last week and received a seldom-seen A+ CinemaScore from audiences. And I think I know why:

Because nothing feels better than feeling morally superior to people in the past who are obviously wrong. In this case, racists. You get to congratulate yourself in hindsight. Of course you know baseball should be integrated. You’d never shout mean things at Jackie Robinson in 1947.

Seventy years from now, they're going to be making self-congratulatory movies about marriage equality, so we can hiss at the hateful idiots who were laughably wrong about that, too.

I wonder how many of those 66% of Republicans went to see "42" and didn't make the connection at all.

Fueling Innovation

By Bill Maher

We usually hear about how regulation suffocates business and for years the Chicken Littles on the right warned against fuel-efficiency standards, saying it would make us less competitive. But now the EPA is implementing new rules -- 34.5 MPG by 2016 and 54.5 MPG by 2025 for all American-made cars and light trucks -- and they're totally uncontroversial. Environmentalists love them because they're good for the planet, consumers love them because they save on gas, and even auto companies will admit that they're spurring innovation.

Two questions:

1) Doesn't this prove that some regulations can actually be good for capitalism?

2) Could the government have demanded these standards 15 or so years ago and saved the auto industry from itself?

How to Become a Global Warming Denier

By Bill Maher

Global warming denial can be both fun and easy! While the science of climate change is complicated (sometimes you even need a PhD in physics or chemistry to understand it!) our quick, ten-minute seminar on how to become a global warming denier will put you on the path to irritate your friends, family, and co-workers in no time! You'll come off as so willfully obstinate and impervious to evidence, they won't even be sure they like you anymore!

Yes, it's just that simple. All you need to do is master these three simple steps and you, too, can be a global warming denier!

Step 1:

First, state that -- hello! -- the earth's climate has always been changing! Which is true! Also entirely irrelevant, but true! I mean, it's not like global warming scientists are unaware of the earth's climate history, so pointing it out won't make them go, "Oh, shit! Really? You mean my life's work has all been for nothing? What an asshole I am!" Yes, pointing this fact out doesn’t prove or disprove anything. But congratulations! It works on rubes. And you've taken your first step toward being a global warming denier!

Step 2:

Next, state that the science on the subject is still in doubt. This is also highly misleading, but it is true that there are still a tiny minority of scientists who don't buy it, so just call it a wash. Who's to say who is correct? Let's not rush to judgment, amirite?

Tip: Recite the following: "I'm not the one who is being irrational, my opponent is! I'm being cautious and reasonable."

Step 3:

Finally -- and this is very important if you want to play with the big boys -- you master one obscure, true, but highly misleading fact about global warming. Like, "If the earth is warming so dangerously, how come sea ice in the Antarctic is actually increasing!" Which is true, but consistent with global warming theory. Who cares? It sounds like you've just won a point, so you have! What's the global warming supporter going to do, explain how circumpolar currents work on live TV? The segment on Hannity is almost over, and I think we know who has won!

Bonus: If you really want to blow their minds, point out that, in the 70s, Newsweek ran a cover story on predictions of global cooling. That's right -- cooling! These same scientists who are now saying warming used to be saying cooling! Which also is absurd on its face, since we're talking about a Newsweek cover story and a handful of scientists, not the overwhelming judgment of every major scientific body on the planet and decades of peer-reviewed studies published in scientific journals worldwide, but no one can deny that the Newsweek cover story existed. You're practically telling the truth!

Yes, it's just that simple. So call now to receive the "How To Become a Global Warming Denier!" book and DVD today!

Assume Your Positions

By Bill Maher

Kermit Gosnell is a “doctor” who ran the worst abortion clinic you’ve ever heard of. If pro-life people could design their worst nightmare of how abortions are being provided, this would be it. Because Kermit is not a doctor. He’s a con artist crossed with a villain in a Saw movie crossed with a really unsanitary college roommate. And he’s now on trial for basically running a baby-killing operation masquerading as a women’s health care clinic.

This case is the right’s new cause, and you’re going to hear about it. It’s going to be at least a chapter in the next Ann Coulter/Michelle Malkin/Glenn Beck/Mark Levin/Dick Morris/Sean Hannity book. It also works for them politically, because in their mind it makes Americans face up to the reality of abortion. But even more so they’re using it to make a point about liberal media bias, as in, “How come this trial didn’t receive any national media attention?”

And that’s the big (and tired) scandal they’re pushing. Problem is, there weren’t too many conservative media outlets pushing it either, at least until recently, so their case isn’t as strong as they think it is.
But more importantly, this story has already gotten boring because it’s yet another example of both sides instantly returning to their sides, grabbing their talking points, and hammering away. If you’re on the right, it’s “Liberal media, blah, blah.” And if you’re on the left, it’s “This is what abortion would look like if you pro-lifers ban abortion! So stop erecting barriers to safe and legal abortion and this kind of thing won’t happen.”

It makes you wonder why we even bother with this charade. Nobody changes their mind on an issue because of a news event. They simply find the reason why the news event confirms what they already think.

Me? I’m kind of appalled by this, and that it could happen in this country. Abortion doctors in Tijuana would look at this guy’s operation and scream, “Aye dios mio!” Sometimes you don’t automatically have to cram it back into your worldview, and try to use it to make a point. Sometimes you just have to cram people like Kermit into a cell.

Kermit Gosnell is a “doctor” who ran the worst abortion clinic you’ve ever heard of. If pro-life people could design their worst nightmare of how abortions are being provided, this would be it. Because Kermit is not a doctor. He’s a con artist crossed with a villain in a Saw movie crossed with a really unsanitary college roommate. And he’s now on trial for basically running a baby-killing operation masquerading as a women’s health care clinic.

This case is the right’s new cause, and you’re going to hear about it. It’s going to be at least a chapter in the next Ann Coulter/Michelle Malkin/Glenn Beck/Mark Levin/Dick Morris/Sean Hannity book. It also works for them politically, because in their mind it makes Americans face up to the reality of abortion. But even more so they’re using it to make a point about liberal media bias, as in, “How come this trial didn’t receive any national media attention?”

And that’s the big (and tired) scandal they’re pushing. Problem is, there weren’t too many conservative media outlets pushing it either, at least until recently, so their case isn’t as strong as they think it is.
But more importantly, this story has already gotten boring because it’s yet another example of both sides instantly returning to their sides, grabbing their talking points, and hammering away. If you’re on the right, it’s “Liberal media, blah, blah.” And if you’re on the left, it’s “This is what abortion would look like if you pro-lifers ban abortion! So stop erecting barriers to safe and legal abortion and this kind of thing won’t happen.”

It makes you wonder why we even bother with this charade. Nobody changes their mind on an issue because of a news event. They simply find the reason why the news event confirms what they already think.
Me? I’m kind of appalled by this, and that it could happen in this country. Abortion doctors in Tijuana would look at this guy’s operation and scream, “Aye dios mio!” Sometimes you don’t automatically have to cram it back into your worldview, and try to use it to make a point. Sometimes you just have to cram people like Kermit into a cell.