We tend to think that everyone knows about the self-imposed destruction this country is going through. I know all the Obama scandals on blogs such as this one and many more. And then something like this happens, and you realize that the media, where most people get their information, is just so clueless and pathetic.

Jeff Ward works the afternoon drivetime show on Newsradio KLBJ in Austin, Texas. His job is to know the news. He knows a lot about “Pointy Boots” (Texas Governor Rick Perry). Alex Jones has a weekend show on KLBJ; a casual check of Infowars.com would have told Ward about the NDAA.

Here’s the Wikipedia page for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012.

For Jeff Ward’s information, the NDAA was controversial because it allows indefinite detention of Americans on American soil without formal charges and without a trial. One would think that’s unconstitutional, but our legislators and our president (sworn to uphold the constitution) should have been our first line of protection, not the courts.

Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) said that the “indefinite detention” language came from the president. President Barack Obama–during an election year, no less–insisted on having indefinite detention of Americans in the bill!

When, in a rare case, the NDAA made the news, the public was usually told that this was not in the bill. But it was.

The bill was signed into law on December 31, 2011, when no one was looking. Obama issued a signing statement–essentially, a non-binding pinky swear–that the bill did contain the power to indefinitely detain Americans, but don’t worry, he wasn’t planning to use that absolute power. Pinky swear!

Both SOPA and PIPA very nearly passed. If it had been timed right over the holidays like the NDAA, both would be law by now. So, my fellow freedom-loving Americans, in addition to indefinite detention of any American without trial, the government would have had the power to control the Internet and to shut down any website at any time. Ever seen the Internet in China? This is what we want?

SUMMARY
The main topic of Jeff Ward’s Newsradio KLBJ show had not been the NDAA (that he had never heard of). It was Newt Gingrich’s ex-wives.

Yes, ABC News had made Newt Gingrich’s marriages an important topic. Sure, it’s common knowledge to everyone who follows politics, and anyone can find this out in a simple Internet search. But this information about Newt Gingrich’s ex-wives must be shoved in all our faces right now, and we must discuss every detail about it right now, because the media tells us to.

While the NDAA, SOPA and PIPA slide in through the back door, destroying our constitutional republic.

Our country cannot survive four more years of Barack Obama. All of our freedoms are at risk. Forget about liberal bias–the media has no idea how to do its job. There are conservative ideas vital to the safety and security of every American, and Newsweek and Saturday Night Live discuss stuff like Michele Bachmann’s eyes.

Jeff Ward is more of a libertarian and isn’t a typical Austin Democrat/liberal. The KLBJ shows before his are Rush Limbaugh and Neal Boortz. I just shake my head and cry.

Does anyone else see a problem here?

Yes, Colbert it polling one percentage point ahead of Jon Huntsman in South Carolina (Colbert’s home state). Yes, Colbert has name recognition. Yes, he wants to be included in a Republican debate. And yes, comedians such as Pat Paulson and Mort Sahl have become involved in the political process.

Now, let me count the ways how this can (and will) go wrong.

Who can forget when Colbert testified before Congress in the Stephen Colbert Comedy Central character. Congress may be a joke, but he wasted people’s time. Colbert tried to get serious during the testimony, but that’s a bit too late.

Colbert has a highly successful television show. Will he give that up for a few months? Probably not.

Does Colbert even have a message? Judging from his PAC, I’d say the answer is “no.”

And if he does get 1/6th of debate time, he’ll just make a fool of himself. It’s very, very different to tell jokes without a script, in a limited time period, and in a situation where the snark is not welcome.

Colbert has been ripping into Republicans lately. If there has been a single joke about Barack Obama or Michelle Obama, maybe I missed it. Running in the Republican primary would be the last step of anti-conservative bias.

Mr. Colbert, you can be a funny guy. But there are limits that you don’t want to cross, for your sake and for this country’s.

Barack Obama is running unopposed. Colbert could easily get the support to have a one-on-one debate in Democratic primaries. But he won’t do that. So don’t do this.

From the New York Times:

On Thursday night’s “Colbert Report,” Mr. Colbert took it a big step further, handing control of his group to his friend and fellow host Jon Stewart so that he can legally run for president, or at least pretend to. Mr. Colbert, who has comically flirted with — and mocked the possibility of — runs for political office before, said he would form an “exploratory committee for president of the United States of South Carolina.”

Riffing off his claimed dissatisfaction with the Republican front-runner, Mitt Romney, Mr. Colbert has repeatedly suggested to his fans that he should hop in the race. A write-in bid in South Carolina, where Mr. Colbert grew up, would almost certainly create some media excitement in the days leading up to the Jan. 21 primary, but probably less electoral excitement.

On my blog (the food glossary, not the political glossary), I just added the origin of “tom turkey.” A myth has it that the bird was given this name by Ben Franklin, who wanted the turkey to be our national bird and (after losing out to the bald eagle) nicknamed the turkey after Thomas Jefferson.

Just to set everyone straight:

Entry from November 23, 2011
Tom Turkey
A “tom turkey” (occasionally given as “thomas turkey”) is a male turkey. “Tom” has been used for the male of a species since the anonymous work The Life and Adventures of a Cat (1760) described the adventures of “Tom the Cat,” later giving the name “tom cat.” The name “Tom turkey” has been cited in print since at least 1848 and 1851.

A popular myth (since at least the 2000s) is that founding father Thomas Jefferson favored the bald eagle as the national bird, while Benjamin Franklin favored the turkey. After the eagle was selected, Franklin allegedly named it “tom turkey” after Jefferson. However, there is no evidence that the term “tom turkey” was ever used during the lifetime of Franklin (1706-1790) or Jefferson (1743-1826).

The Free Dictionary
Noun 1. tom turkey – male turkey

(Oxford English Dictionary)
Tom, n.
The male of various beasts and birds; perh. first for a male cat: see tom cat n.
1791 G. Huddesford Salmagundi (1793) 141 Cats‥Of titles obsolete, or yet in use, Tom, Tybert, Roger, Rutterkin, or Puss.
1826–8 Townley’s High Life below Stairs (acting ed.) , Your cat has kittened—two Toms and two Tabbies.
1884 Bazaar, Exchange & Mart 17 Dec. 2205/2 Hamburghs.‥ Redcaps, four hens and tom, prize strain, handsome birds.
(…)
In names of animals, denoting the male; see also tom cat n.
1772 T. Bridges Burlesque Transl. Homer (rev. ed.) v. 192 And, like Tom puss, o’er pantiles dance.
1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) , Tom-Dog, male dogs, as well as cats, take the prefix ‘tom’, in some parts of the West.
1871 H. B. Stowe Oldtown Fireside Stories 92, I never heard that a tom-turkey would set on eggs.

tom cat | tom-cat, n.
In 1760 was published an anonymous work ‘The Life and Adventures of a Cat’, which became very popular. The hero, a male or ‘ram’ cat, bore the name of Tom, and is commonly mentioned as ‘Tom the Cat’, as ‘Tybert the Catte’ is in Caxton’s Reynard the Fox. Thus Tom became a favourite allusive name for a male cat (see quot. 1791 at Tom n.1 6); and people said ‘this cat is a Tom’ or a ‘Tom cat’.
A male cat.
[1760 Life & Adv. of a Cat 11 Chap. iv. Tom the Cat is born of poor but honest parents.
1760 Life & Adv. of a Cat 31 The single adventures of Tom the Cat only.]

Google Books
April 1848, American Agriculturist, “Yankee Farming—No. 3,” pg. 115, col. 1:
The Mournful Soliloquies of Uncle Sim and Aunt Nabby over their Favorite Tom Turkey.—After the affair of the owl, and the unlucky killing of the favorite cock turkey, I must confess I never saw a more dejected couple than Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle.
(…)
Thus repeating the comforting idea of her husband. that “Tom,” as the turkey was familiarly called, died bravely.

Google Books
The American Shepherd:
Being a history of the sheep, with their breeds, management, and diseases
By Luke A. Morrell
New York, NY: Harper & Brothers
1851
Pg. 419:
With one exception, and this was a Tom turkey, that would, in spite of me, keep himself perched high up into the top of an apple tree.

3 June 1858, Pittsfield (MA) Sun, pg. 3, col.1:
Six of his choicest breed of chickens had been ruthlessly slain by a tom turkey belonging to one of his neighbors, and in his wrath he had aught up a club and hurled it with great fury at the biped; contrary to his intention, the club took effect and laid the chicken destroyer prostrate in death.

Google Books
Tell Tale Rag:
and popular sins of the day. In this book a cotton rag is made, as it were, a living oracle, giving its own history whilst serving as raiment on twelve different masters
By George W. Henry
Oneida, NY: G. W. Henry
1861
Pg. 110:
“It so happened,” said he, “as my master came strutting along the sidewalk like a tom-turkey in the barnyard, that one of his neighbors saluted him thus: ‘I understand, ‘squire, that you have had several letters, …’”

Google Books
My farm of Edgewood: a country book
By Donald Grant Mitchell
New York, NY: Charles Scribner
1863
Pg. 192:
Even a fighting propensity does not distinguish the cock, I observe; for the female bird is an arrant termagant, and has undertaken, in my own flock, a fierce battle with a tom-turkey, in which, though worsted, and eventually killed, she showed a fine chivalrous pluck.

21 December 1871, Indiana (PA) Progress, “How he Set the Turkey,” pg. 3, col. 5:
“Sure enough, there was the old Tom turkey a struttin; and a sidlin’ and a quitterin’ and floutin’ histail feathers in the sun, like a lively young widower, all ready to begin life over agin.”

Google Books
A Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect and Collection of Provincialisms in Use in the County of Sussex
By William Douglas Parish
Lewes: Farncombe & Co.
1875
Pg. 123:
TOM. Any cock bird, as a tom-turkey or a tom-parrot.

GoogleBooks
May 1879, Poultry World, “Huldah and I” by Solomon Solace, pg. 180, col. 1L
Victory gave to them dominion, the smiles of the snuff-colorcd flock, and all that life is worth to an ambitious Thomas-turkey. No wonder that he should follow instinct. He is a gobbler.

OCLC WorldCat record
Tom Turkey for Christmas.
Author: Marguerite De Angeli
Publisher: Philadelphia, Westminster Press [1965]
Edition/Format: Book : Fiction : Juvenile audience : English

OCLC WorldCat record
Tom turkey
Author: Jane Smisor Bastien
Publisher: Park Ridge, Ill. : General Words and Music Co., 1973.
Series: Music through the piano.; Piano solos for the very young pianist.
Edition/Format: Musical score : Juvenile audience : English

OCLC WorldCat record
Tom Turkey
Author: Dave Sargent; Jane Lenoir
Publisher: Prairie Grove, AR : Ozark Pub., 2000.
Series: Feather tale series, 20.
Edition/Format: Book : Fiction : Juvenile audience : English
Summary: Tom Turkey is shocked at the naughty behavior of a young Siamese kitten named Samone, who thinks that she can bully everyone around, but Samone is in for a big surprise. Includes factual information about turkeys.

Google Groups: alt.fifty-plus.friends
Newsgroups: alt.fifty-plus.friends
From: “VickieB”
Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2006 07:40:03 -0600
Local: Thurs, Nov 23 2006 7:40 am
Subject: Thankgiving Trivia

Who wanted to make the turkey the national bird of the United States of America?

Benjamin Franklin, but he was opposed by Thomas Jefferson. Legend has it that Franklin then named the male turkey a “tom turkey” to spite Jefferson. (The female is called a “hen turkey” and the baby a “poult.”)

OCLC WorldCat record
Tom Turkey and Erik Eagle : or how the eagle became the American symbol
Author: Sandra Calder Davidson
Publisher: New York : Arcade Pub. : Distributed by Hachette Book Group USA, ©2008.
Edition/Format: Book : Fiction : Juvenile audience : English : 1st ed
Summary: When the deadlocked Founding Fathers turn the selection of the national symbol over to Drew Duck, the wise quacker and his animal friends follow democratic principles in making their decision.

The Roanoke Times (VA)
Monday, November 24, 2008
Turkey folklore difficult to trace
By Tom Angleberger
Q: Just got this bit of info: Ben Franklin wanted our national bird to be a turkey, but Thomas Jefferson opposed him with the bald eagle. Franklin then coined the male turkey as “Tom” to spite Jefferson. Tom Turkey has been around ever since. I don’t know if it’s right or not.
– Mary Ann Angleberger, Staunton

A: This question is doubly appropriate for this week. Not only is it about turkeys, but it’s also from my sainted mother for whom I am, of course, extremely thankful.

She was right to wonder if it was true. Most likely it isn’t. While I’ve been unable to disprove it completely, I’ve stacked up quite a bit of evidence to suggest that Ben Franklin is innocent of this one.
(…)
The Oxford English Dictionary catalogs the first known written usage of words and phrases. For “Tom Turkey” they have nothing until Harriet Beecher Stowe used the phrase in 1869. Likely it had been in common usage for some time before that. But surely if a celebrity such as Franklin had popularized it nearly 100 years earlier, there would be some record of it.

Much-cited has been this Mitch McConnell quote in the August 2nd Washington Post:

In debt deal, the triumph of the old Washington
(…)
Out at the Capitol, behind the four doors and the three receptionists and the police guard, McConnell said he could imagine doing this again.

“I think some of our members may have thought the default issue was a hostage you might take a chance at shooting,” he said. “Most of us didn’t think that. What we did learn is this — it’s a hostage that’s worth ransoming. And it focuses the Congress on something that must be done.”

Was McConnell quoted accurately, in proper context? He hasn’t provided any further explanation.

Whatever the case may be, Mitch McConnell does not speak for the tea party and he does not speak for me. Calling the tea party “hostage-takers” is offensive on its face.

The left is saying that Mitch McConnell said it, so the insults are all OK now. Just as someone once said “teabagger” (an offensive sexual slang term), so it’s proper to call the tea party “teabaggers.” Just as some blacks have used the N-word, so it’s appropriate in every context to call a black person the N-word. No, of course THAT isn’t appropriate. But the tea party can be insulted because Mitch McConnell said it’s OK.

Rachel Maddow’s show last night (I watch to catch up on liberal slang terms and thinking) was terrible, dragging in the long-dead horse of Obama’s birth certificate on his 50th birthday. In the FAA story (told with the usual one-sided bias), Maddow said the McConnell’s quote gives her a free pass to insult the tea party:

So it’s the full faith and credit of the United States of America that makes for a hostage worth ransoming, or it’s the Federal Aviation Administration that apparently makes for a hostage worth ransoming. This is how Republicans plan to work, apparently, from here on out. Hostages. They’re not saying, “Don’t call us hostage-takers!” They’re saying, “Yeah, we’re taking hostages.” Causing real harm to the country, particularly the economy, to try to get by force what they do not have the votes for. That is how Republicans say they are going to handle the responsibility of governing from here on out.

No. I know of no tea party member who says that he or she is taking hostages. This is dishonest and Maddow knows it or should know it.

MSNBC gets its information from ThinkProgress, which ran a story on the McConnel quote yesterday. The comments are about as you’d expect.

Like Jonah Goldberg, I’m tired of all this.

Don’t miss this article on Ace of Spades HQ, from James Taranto:

Two Editorialists in One!
■”Froma Harrop, a member of The [Providence] Journal’s editorial board and a syndicated columnist, has been named president of the National Conference of Editorial Writers. The NCEW is a 64-year-old professional organization. Its members include editorial writers, editors, broadcasters and online opinion writers. One of its new missions, the Civility Project, endeavors to improve the quality of political discourse.”–Providence Journal, April 15
■”Make no mistake: The tea party Republicans have engaged in economic terrorism against the United States–threatening to blow up the economy if they don’t get what they want. And like the al-Qaida bombers, what they want is delusional: the dream of restoring some fantasy caliphate. . . . Americans are not supposed to negotiate with terrorists, but that’s what Obama has been doing. . . . That the Republican leadership couldn’t control a small group of ignoramuses in its ranks has brought disgrace on their party. But oddly, Obama’s passivity made it hard for responsible Republicans to control their destructive children. The GOP extremists would ask Obama for his firstborn, and he’d say, ‘OK.’ So they think, why not ask for his second-born, to which he responds, ‘Let’s talk.’ “–Froma Harrop syndicated column, Aug. 2

Ace adds:

Bitch Doubles Down: She actually claims that what she said is perfectly civil.

She claims her statements are factual – the Tea Party really is engaging in terrorism, hence this isn’t incivil. It’s just a fact.

SUMMARY
The tea party is composed of concerned citizens who want to save a country drowning in debt. Tea partiers are not terrorists and they’re not hostage-takers.

Nidal Malik Hasan killed 14 people and injured 29 others at Fort Hood in November 2009. He shouted “Allahu Akhbar!” while he was shooting. Neither our president nor our vice president can call him a terrorist. No, only the tea partiers are terrorists.

I can’t speak for what Mitch McConnell said, and again, he doesn’t speak for me. I live in Texas and he’s a senator from Kentucky. He can clarify his remarks if he wants to. I don’t care.

Anyone in politics or in the media who calls me a terrorist should be fired and should not hold a position of responsibility.

The sandwiches all mean eating or accepting something unpalatable.

SH-T SANDWICH
“Sh-t sandwich” has been cited in print since at least 1966.

TURD SANDWICH
The “turd andwich” was popularized by the October 27, 2004 “Douche and Turd” episode of Comedy Central’s South Park. In March 2011, President Barack Obama called his war in Libya a “turd sandwich.”

CRAP SANDWICH
From POLITICO of September 28, 2008, on John Boehner’s position on TARP: “Boehner calls bill a ‘crap sandwich’—but he’ll vote for it.”

SATAN SANDWICH
Representative Emanuel Cleaver(D-MO) has called the new budget deal a “sugar-coated Satan sandwich.”

Does anyone have any more?

For some other sandwich origins, see “sandwich” on my website. The only other sandwich of possible RedState interest that I have is the “Lincoln Log Sandwich” (never eaten by Lincoln, of course).

SUMMARY
John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), just told me that he has no official comment on these new political sandwiches.

As some of you may know, the contest closed June 30th, the winners were supposedly chosen on July 7th, and the winners should have been announced July 22nd (about a week ago), According to the official rules

NO PURCHASE, PAYMENT, OR FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS PROMOTION.
(…)
8. Promotion Rules. The winners will be determined by a random drawing from all eligible entries to be held at Obama for America Headquarters on July 7, 2011. Potential winners will be notified by phone or e-mail by July 10, 2011.
(…)
13. Winner List; Rules Request. For a copy of the winner list, visit http://my.barackobama.com/dinnerwinners or send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope after July 22, 2011 and before July 22, 2012 to Sponsor at the address listed below, Attn:”Dinner with Barack” Winner List.
 

I entered the contest/lottery/whatever, since entry was free. It would have been nice to see Barack and Joe eat their peas.

I’m on Obama’s mailing list, but no winner was ever declared. The “winners” webpage doesn’t say anything about any winners, but does say how to donate money:

Our “Dinner with Barack and Joe” contest has ended
The deadline for “Dinner with Barack” has passed, but there’s still time to lend your support to this campaign.

OK, so this was an Obama lottery without a declared winner. Isn’t that illegal?

This isn’t the only thing that’s suspect. From The Daily Caller:

RNC wants probe into Obama fundraising video
Published: 3:40 PM 07/18/2011 | Updated: 7:31 PM 07/18/2011
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus wants the Justice Department to probe whether President Obama broke the law by filming a fundraising video in the White House.

In a letter sent Monday, Priebus asked Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the June “Dinner with Barack and Joe” contest campaign video that offered contributors the chance to have dinner with Obama and Vice President Biden. Media reports last month questioned the legality of it being filmed on government property.

“According to multiple individuals with knowledge of the White House’s rooms and layout, the video appears to have been recorded in the Map Room,” Priebus wrote in the letter to Holder. “According to news reports, however, the White House Counsel has indicated that the video was filmed somewhere in the residential portion of the White House.”

I should add that it was extremely difficult to find out that no purchase was necessary. All of the email pitches that I received said to donate at least $5, and not one pointed to the official rules.

SUMMARY
Nobody won?

Why should the winners be declared on July 22nd, as promised? When did this guy ever keep a promise? Reince Priebus, are you still there?

OT: It’s almost Sunday. Anyone remember this? Still waiting:

Obama Regime Will Announce Which Bills Will Be Paid, Which Won’t, After Market Closes Friday…

Can this guy be trusted on anything?

From Wikipedia:

Union is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Wisconsin:

Union, Burnett County, Wisconsin, a town
Union, Door County, Wisconsin, a town
Union, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, a town
Union, Pierce County, Wisconsin, a town
Union, Rock County, Wisconsin, a town
Union, Vernon County, Wisconsin, a town
Union, Waupaca County, Wisconsin, a town

Rachel Maddow first mentioned this on February 19, 2011, in a long piece about Wisconsin’s labor heritage:

Watch This Episode Now
Season 211 Episode 0218 Date: Feb 19, 2011
Rachel Maddow reviews the deep, rich history of union activism in
Wisconsin and how it has served workers across America and how the
descruction of unions serves a broader Republican strategy of
undercutting Democratic electoral strength.

The point was so important that Maddow mentioned it again on July 12, 2011, in another segment about Wisconsin’s union history. Maddow didn’t specifically say it, but it’s implied that Wisconsinites loved unions so much that they named seven towns after them.

I checked the Maddow Blog and found this:

John Beiswenger
In tonight’s program, Rachel pointed out that there are several towns
in Wisconsin named “Union,” implying that they adopted the name to show
support for labor unions. I always thought that towns in the United
States named Union had changed their name sometime during or shortly
after the Civil War to show support for the Union, meaning the United
States, including all states that had succeeded from the Union.

A little research shows that all of the Towns names Union in Wisconsin
are small, rural towns. It’s hard to imagine that labor unions were all
that important to these communities.

A little more research shows that at least one town in the U.S. named
Union, adopted this name shortly after the Civil War. See the Union,
Maine entry in Wikipedia.

#7 – Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:42 PM EDT

I’ve been a member of the American Name Society. We help people for free. Why didn’t MSNBC consult a scholar before putting this on the air twice? The post above made a lot of sense. Many American towns have been named “Union.”

I wrote to the Wisconsin Historical Society and just recently received this reply:

Dear Barry Popik,

According to the book, Civil towns of Wisconsin : a guide and index to
Wisconsin’s civil towns from 1821 to the present, compiled by Patricia
G. Harrsch, Madison, Wis.: State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Library, 1998, there were a number of towns named “Union” in Wisconsin,
with their date of establishment:

Union (Burnett Co. ) 8 Jan. 1918
Union (Crawford Co.) 18 Nov. 1862. Vacated 19 Nov. 1874
Union (Door Co.) 15 Nov. 1865
Union (Eau Claire Co.) 5 Mar. 1872
Union (Jefferson Co.) 12 Feb. 1841. Vacated 21 Jan. 1846
Union (Pierce Co.) 15 Nov. 1861
Union (Rock Co.) 17 Feb. 1842
Union (Vernon Co.( 14 Nov. 1855
Union (Waupaca Co.) 19 Nov. 1857

In addition, according to the book, Wisconsin, its territorial and
statehood post offices, compiled by Frank Moertl ; edited by James B.
Hale, James Maher and Greg Schmidt. Hartland, WI: Wisconsin Postal
History Society, 1995, there are several additional related Wisconsin
towns:

Union Center (Juneau Co.)
Union Centre (Jefferson Co.)
Union Centre (Juneau Co.)
Union Church (Racine Co.)
Union Farm (Pepin Co.)
Union Grove (Racine Co.)
Union Mills (Iowa Co.)
Uniontown (Onieida Co.)
Unionville (Waupaca Co.)
Unity (Marathon Co.)

Unfortunately, neither of the above books lists the origin of the
town’s name.
(…)
Thank you,

Irene Hansen
Reference Librarian
Library-Archives Division
Wisconsin Historical Society
816 State Street
Madison, WI 53706
(608) 264-6535
ihansen@wisconsinhistory.org

The American labor union movement really began in the 1880s. Towns named “Union” incorporated in 1841, 1842, 1855, 1857, 1861, 1862, 1865, and 1872 most likely have nothing at all to do with labor unions. The 1861, 1862, 1865 and 1872 dates probably indicate a Civil War “Union” influence. (Union CIty, New Jersey, for example, also was named during this period.)

SUMMARY
The Rachel Maddow Show has very lazy researchers, or likes to be dishonest with the viewer, or both. Either way, a correction is needed. There’s not any evidence that Wisconsin named its towns “Union” after labor unions.

A recent video by the Fresh Beat Band has been playing on the network every half hour. The song is, “Here We Go.”

At the beginning of the song, the crowd chants, “Yes we can! Yes we can!” At the end of the song, the crowd again chants, “Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!”

The crowd doesn’t have to say anything in particular. It’s a crowd of fans. Having the crowd say the Obama campaign slogan is in very questionable taste.

There is also an actual network relationship with the Obamas. From Time magazine:

Michelle Obama, Nickelodeon Star: First Lady to Appear on ‘iCarly’
By: Alyson Krueger

Nickelodeon is about to add Michelle Obama to its long list of children’s stars. The First Lady is scheduled to appear in an upcoming episode of iCarly, a comedy that focuses on a girl named Carly Shay who creates her own web show with her best friends Sam and Freddie.

Show creator and executive producer Dan Schneider wrote the episode (It will air in January — B.P) just for Obama
(…)
Network President Cyma Zarghami said she wasn’t concerned the First Lady’s appearance would make a political statement for the show or Nickelodeon.

Nickelodeon Network President Cyma Zarghami appears to be a Democrat. From her Wikipedia page:

Zarghami donated the maximum of $2,300 to Hillary Clinton’s campaign for President in 2007. She had previously contributed to John Kerry’s campaign in 2004.

Other Democrats she supports have been Kirsten Gillibrand and Bob Casey.

Viacom (owner of Nickelodeon) signed up with the Sensible Food Policy Coalition, led by Obama’s former White House communications director, the Maoist Anita Dunn. (Didn’t millions of people starve under Chairman Mao?)

Viacom also covered Michelle Obama’s trip to Africa. From TV By the Numbers:

Viacom’s BET and MTV Brands Document First Lady Michelle Obama’s Youth Engagement Trip to South Africa and Botswana Across Network Platforms
By Bill Gorman– June 15, 2011

Viacom also gave Barack Obama an hour of free airtime. From Wizbang:

Viacom: Obama townhall is not political
Posted by Rick
Published: October 13, 2010 – 12:52 PM
So the next question should have been, “Then what the hell is it?”:

Viacom networks MTV, BET and CMT are giving an hour of free air time to President Obama less than three weeks before the midterm elections.

The so-called “A Conversation with President Obama” will be live and commercial-free on six Viacom networks at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The networks will not give equal time to a Republican before the election, according to a spokeswoman.

MTV denies that the Obama hour of TV is political, despite the timing, weeks before the midterm elections.

The American Thinker said at the time:

October 5, 2010
Viacom shills for Obama
Ed Lasky

SUMMARY
So I’m listening to “Here We Go” by the Fresh Beat Band for the hundredth time (I have a two-year-old and a three-year-old), and I’m hearing the crowd say “YES WE CAN!”

Viacom’s not even subtle about it!

Dinner
From: Joe Biden
info@barackobama.com
To: Barry Popik
Date: Tue, Jun 21, 2011 11:51 am

Barry –

The President and I have a routine — we get lunch together almost every Friday.

But all I get is lunch. You could be one of four supporters to have dinner with him soon.

Donate $5 or more today to have your name automatically thrown in the hat here:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Dinner-with-Barack

I’m reminded every week that sitting down for a meal with the President of the United States — without TV cameras or a big crowd — is something only a few people will ever get to do.

You’re not going to want to miss this chance.

I wish you luck,

Joe

Isn’t this illegal, Joe? When I get a McDonald’s scratch-off, I’m told of the odds of winning. Here, Joe doesn’t tell me the odds of winning the dinner.

Perhaps someone here knows more about lotteries and can add some info. No “contest rules” are provided in this letter, but they are at this website.

From Freedom Eden:

Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Biden and Dinner with Obama
Team Obama is still pushing the “Dinner with Barack” fundraiser.

The latest e-mail hawking the event comes from Joe Biden.

It plays off his image as a buffoon.
(…)
Poor Joe. All he gets is lunch.

From ABC’s Jake Tapper:

‘All I Get Is Lunch’: Vice President Biden Pushes Dinner with Obama to Drive Donations
June 21, 2011 10:34 AM
The Obama campaign’s latest effort to raise grassroots cash got a plug today from Vice President Joe Biden, who urged supporters to donate for a chance to dine with the president.

“The President and I have a routine — we get lunch together almost every Friday,” Biden said in an email to supporters. “But all I get is lunch.”

SUMMARY
By the way, what’s for dinner? Real food or Michelle Obama-approved food, without a dessert?

From CBS News in New York City:

Weiner Seeks Leave Of Absence From House As Top Democrats Call For His Resignation
Nancy Pelosi Says Weiner “Needs Help”
June 11, 2011 4:45 PM
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Rep. Anthony Weiner says he wants to take a temporary leave of absence from Congress to seek professional help after three top Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, called for his resignation on Saturday.

A spokeswoman for the New York Democrat says he has left for professional treatment and will focus on “becoming a better husband and healthier person.”

Spokeswoman Risa Heller says Weiner wants the leave of absence so he can be evaluated and work out a course of treatment. The statement doesn’t say what Weiner would be treated for.

If John Boehner considers something like this, it must be denied. Anthony Weiner can resign and get all the help that he needs on his own time and his own dime.

‘Who selects the program? Anthony Weiner. Who decides if he’s cured or not? Anthony Weiner. Who decides how much time he needs to be off? Anthony Weiner.

No way.

If there’s some family tragedy (a car accident, for example), then sure, a leave of absence can be requested.

But if you’re a liar and a sexual pervert, then it’s your own fault, Anthony Weiner. Your constituents shouldn’t have to suffer any more.

SUMMARY
Anthony Weiner needs to resign and to get help on his own time and dime.

Or stay and become the symbol of the Democrat party.