I tell you what, ma'am, why don’t you just give us the shorter list, the one of those who aren’t “deeply penetrated” by the Muslim Brotherhood? Kevin Diaz of the Strib writes about Our Favorite Congresswoman doubling down on her Muslim phobia: “Shrugging off criticism from GOP leaders in Congress, Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann broadened her allegations Thursday of Islamic infiltration in the U.S. government, accusing Democrat Keith Ellison of associations with the Muslim Brotherhood. ‘He has a long record of being associated with [the Council on American–Islamic Relations] and with the Muslim Brotherhood,’ Bachmann told right-wing radio and TV show host Glenn Beck. Beck, in a supportive interview of Bachmann, accused McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential candidate, of ‘falling right in line with the Muslim Brotherhood bull crap.’ He also compared Ellison, the first Muslim in Congress, to a ‘Mafia hit man.’ Bachmann used the interview to expand on her campaign to root out Muslim Brotherhood infiltration in the government, which she said ‘truly is breathless.’ ” Why do I think she realized she needs to goose her fundraising?
Did you see the Los Angeles Times cartoon of Our Gal, Ms. Palin and Mr. Limbaugh?
Also from L.A., the Times editorializes about “Paranoia in the House”: “[T]he Republican Party as a whole needs to dissociate itself from the larger neo-McCarthyite worldview that informs Bachmann's ravings. The letters to the inspectors general cited the Center for Security Policy, a group founded by Frank Gaffney, a radio host and former Reagan administration official. The group's website offers a breathless video tutorial about the stealth ‘civilization jihad’ being pursued by the Muslim Brotherhood through the ‘penetration and subversion of this country's civil society and governing institutions.’ Such delusions have consequences. On July 15, Clinton's motorcade in Alexandria, Egypt, was pelted with shoes and tomatoes by protesters who accused the United States of having supported the election of President Mohamed Morsi, the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood. A New York Times report traced that sentiment in part to a July 4 installment of Gaffney's online radio program.”
At The Daily Beast, Caitlin Dickson writes: “On Thursday McCain’s argument was substantiated by Ed Rollins, Bachmann’s former presidential campaign chief, who wrote ‘Shame on you, Michele,’ in a FoxNews.com op-ed. ‘I am fully aware that she sometimes has difficulty with her facts, but this is downright vicious and reaches the late Senator Joseph McCarthy level.’ Bachmann’s heavy-handed accusations have received significant backlash, and this certainly isn’t the first time she’s said something controversial. But it’s also not the first time she’s targeted another female. Let’s take a look at some of the other ladies Bachmann has taken a swipe at in the past. … Bachmann also suggested that Michelle Obama might run for office one day and her breast-feeding campaign was just a preview of the ‘nanny state’ legislation she’d try to push through if elected. ‘Can you imagine if Laura Bush was doing that, out trying to pass her legislation? I think the media would have been after her.’ ”
At The Washington Post, Suzi Parker gets in the fray, saying: “Beck chimed in that ‘John McCain and all of the elephant media are falling right in line with the Muslim Brotherhood.’ And Bachmann agreed: ‘He went on the Senate floor, and he gave a spirited defense of Huma Abedin, who is a friend of his.’ … ganging up on Bachmann, though, only fuels her faithful supporters and those who think the Obama administration harbors a pro-Islamist agenda. Several conservative sites have launched campaigns in support of Bachmann’s call for an investigation, and one called her a ‘Romney VP prospect.’ She’s incredibly savvy at appealing to conspiracy theorists. … Since Obama was elected in 2008, she has sounded an alarm about the nonexistent threat of sharia law in the United States and supported the birther movement. … So far, her rhetoric has only helped her career. Last week, she announced via Twitter that she had raised $1.7 million in three months against her congressional opponent in November, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate Jim Graves. He has raised $400,000. Of that, $150,000 is his own money. Most of Bachmann’s contributions reportedly come from out of state. And with the coffers filling, don’t expect her to quiet down anytime soon.” Thank you.
Finally (for today), Jon Stewart took a swing at the beach ball on the tee. Christine Friar at The Huffington Post writes: “[O]n Thursday night's ‘Daily Show,’ Jon Stewart wanted to test her logic. ‘This is Bachmann we're talking about, I know it's been thought out very reasonably,’ he joked. But nothing about Abedin and her life choices seemed to suggest to Stewart that she would be anything but a law-abiding citizen:
Oh my god, it's the perfect cover! An America-hating, Muslim extremist gets a high-profile, stringent background-check job with a former First Lady, marries a pro-Israel Jewish guy and begins producing Muslim-Zionist terror baby armies. Has 9/11 taught us nothing, people?
So he fought Bachmann's conspiracy theory with one of his own. And while it took Bachmann several degrees of separation to piece together a tie between Abedin and the Brotherhood, it seems that her own ties are a lot closer than she may realize.” Click the last link for “The Daily Show” video.
If one is good, two are better. The GOP has slapped Secretary of State Mark Ritchie with another lawsuit, this one over his retitling of its Voter ID amendment. Don Davis of the Forum papers says: “Paperwork filed with the Minnesota Supreme Court Thursday by Republican legislators and others supporting an amendment requiring Minnesotans to show photographic identification before voting asks that the title legislators approved be restored, replacing one Ritchie wrote. … Attorney General Lori Swanson, also a Democrat, is being sued on both the photo ID and marriage issues because she approved the title changes. … Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, said, ‘The Minnesota Constitution provides the Legislature the exclusive authority to propose constitutional amendments to the people.’ ‘The secretary’s title is about as clear as mud.’ Newman said. ‘This is raw partisan politics at its worst. Minnesota deserves better.’ ”
Jim Buchta of the Strib has the June home sales numbers, and they are an improvement: “The Minnesota Association of Realtors said Thursday that statewide home sales were about 5 percent higher than last year. Because of a decline in foreclosure sales, the median price of those deals jumped 10.4 percent to almost $160,000. ‘We're busier than we've been in two years,’ said Denise Green, a sales agent with Thunder Lake Realty in Remer, Minn. Nationally, sales in June were up 4.5 percent from last year but down 5.4 percent from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.37 million homes, the lowest number of sales since October, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The group's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said that the decline was the result of supply constraints. ‘Inventory continues to shrink, and that is limiting buying opportunities,’ he said. ‘This, in turn, is pushing up home prices in many markets.' "
Always good for PR … . Mark Stodghill of the Duluth News Tribune reports: “Two Iron Range men have been charged with a hate crime in connection with a brawl that broke out in a downtown Hibbing parking lot early Sunday morning after the city’s Jubilee Street Dance. Two other men, including the alleged victim of the hate crime, also were charged with assault in the incident, which was caught on nearby surveillance cameras. Nicholas William Dulong, 21, of Chisholm and Jerry Dean Franks, 23, of Side Lake are charged with fourth-degree assault. The fourth-degree charge alleges an assault motivated by bias because of the victim’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or disability. … Hibbing police Investigator Dale Wright interviewed [Domingus] Oatis. Oatis said he was walking toward his car when he was approached by Dulong and Franks, who began calling him the N-word several times. He said he punched Franks in the face and Franks punched him. Oatis said several others got involved and he removed his pocket knife from his pocket. He said he might have stabbed three men, but couldn’t remember everything that happened because of his head injury.”