Last weekend, President Obama
announced that the United States and its
diplomatic partners had
reached a
supposedly historic agreement to
curb Iran's
nuclear program.
It was, without a doubt, the administration's most cynical attempt (as of then) to divert attention from the numerous failings of Obamacare; not to mention the IRS and Benghazi scandals.
Unfortunately for the White House, the American people are not (for the most part) stupid; they immediately saw the "deal" for what it is—a smokescreen.
And so, this week, the administration was forced to up its game.
By arranging the calendar in such a way that Thanksgiving and the start of Hanukkah fell on the same day, they hoped to finally put Obama's second-term woes behind them.
However, all they ended up doing is proving how awesome modern conservatism is.
Or something.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI); Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan; Former Healthcare Adviser to President Obama Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel; Roundtable: David Brooks (New York Times), Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D), Andrea Mitchell (NBC News) and Chuck Todd (NBC News).
Face the Nation: Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ); Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN); Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R); Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard); Former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley; Roundtable: Author/Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Author A. Scott Berg and Author Peter Baker.
This Week: Former Obama National Security Adviser Tom Donilon; Roundtable: Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Peggy Noonan (Wall Street Journal) and Former White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe; Special Panel on Football Injuries: Dr. Richard Besser (ABC News), Christine Brennan (USA Today), Mark Fainaru-Wada (ESPN) and Pro Football Hall of Fame Member Joe DeLamielleure.
Fox News Sunday: James Capretta (American Enterprise Institute); Neera Tanden (Center for American Progress); Former Director of the NSA/CIA Gen. Michael Hayden; Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), George Will (Washington Post) and Former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN).
State of the Union: Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D); Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA); Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI); Republican Strategist Kevin Madden; Democratic Strategist Donna Brazile; Corey Dade (TheRoot.com).
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a report from inside Amazon.com's warehouses (preview); a report on an ambitious restoration project for the Capitol dome (preview); and, a report on the growing extreme sport of free diving (preview).
On Comedy Central...
Yet again, "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" were in reruns this week, so there are no new videos to share.
Instead, here's Jon Stewart's recent report on "Black Friday."
And Stephen Colbert take on the rare convergence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.
Note: The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will be airing reruns this week.
Elsewhere...
Maricopa County, AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio served up a moral value meal for Thanksgiving.
Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio (R) took to Twitter on Wednesday to show off the "special" Thanksgiving meal his office served to inmates on Thursday. What made the meal special? The 56 cent cost per inmate.
"Thanksgiving menu is all set!," Arpaio wrote on Twitter. "Hope the inmates give thanks for this special meal being served in the jails tomorrow."
According to a menu Arpaio posted, Maricopa County, Ariz. inmates received the following on Thursday: 5 oz. of turkey soy casserole (24 cents), 1 cup of mashed potatoes (12 cents), 1 cup of glazed carrots (7 cents), half a cup of fresh fruit (8 cents), 1 cup of brownies (which were donated), a dinner roll (4 cents), and margarine (1 cent).
Meanwhile, in other news of "compassionate conservatism"...
A Colorado school board member declared that there's no rest(rooms) for the wicked.
During the board's October meeting, Katherine Svenson sounded the alarm over Massachusetts and California's recently adapted policies that protect students who identify as a different gender than their biological one. "I just want to emphasize," she said. "Not in this district. Not until the plumbing's changed. There would have to be castration in order to pass something like that around here."
Parents, community members, and even a few of her fellow board members criticized Svenson for her comments, but she is standing behind her comments.
"I don't have a problem if some boys think they are girls," she told the local CBS affiliate last week. "I'm just saying as long as they can impregnate a woman, they're not going to go in girls locker room."
And, last, but (arguably) not least...
A Florida tea party leader stood her ground against the gay agenda.
The co-founder of the Fort Lauderdale Tea Party compared a pro-gay Republican group to "gay thugs" who have taken over the local Republican party.
In a November email obtained by the Sun-Sentinel, Danita Kilcullen said the Employment Non-Discrimination Act would force employers to "hire someone with orange hair, body/neck/face covered with tattoos, multiple piercings, or a man in a dress … or for that matter, a demonstrative effeminate male or purposeful butch-looking female." The Log Cabin Republicans, in supporting this legislation, "is a thug organization with only their own 'special interests' in play."
Oy vey.
- Trix