More than any other media outlet, I believe The Colbert Report has explained and illustrated the SuperPAC phenomenon to the mass audience of the American public. Because of Stephen Colbert’s satirical take on — and full implementation of — his own SuperPAC, including the faux non-coordination transfer of ‘authority’ to Executive Producer Jon Stewart, more Legacy Media outlets are able to simply refer to ‘SuperPACs’ with confidence Americans understand the concept.

And now, Colbert’s media leadership has been recognized.

Comedy show “The Colbert Report” won a prestigious Peabody Award on Wednesday for its segments on SuperPACs, in which host Stephen Colbert launched his own SuperPAC as a satirical protest against political spending.

The Peabodys, the oldest in broadcasting, recognize excellence in television and radio broadcasting, as well as by webcasters, producing organizations and individuals.

As sad as it is that a comedy program that airs near the ‘South Park’ and ‘Ugly Americans’ cartoons has now become a primary source about politics and civics for Americans of a certain age, at least the effort has earned the recognition Stephen Colbert deserves.

“Launching his own SuperPAC as a satirical protest against megabucks politics, Colbert mixed cerebral comedy with inspired sight gags, interviews and preposterously funny monologues,” the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, which administers the awards, said in a statement.

The series on SuperPACs is essentially a 21st-century version of classroom show-and-tell: the host doesn’t only tell the audience how this odd committee-designed-by-SCOTUS works in a post-Citizens-United world, he illustrates it by implementing the process himself, with the assistance of straight man and former Federal Elections Commission chairman Trevor Potter.

Stephen Colbert is this century’s Mark Twain, H.L.Mencken and Dorothy Parker, all rolled in to one. Modern movement leaders would do well to attend, either by emulating him or by pitching him on their own efforts. Best of all, Colbert’s award presentation will be hosted by Patrick Stewart. Make it so, indeed.

How is it possible this sorry racist loser is still — if only barely — viable as a Presidential candidate? The GOP sure went through better losers as every potential challenger floated to the top of the bowl as the not-Mitt-of-the-week. But it really says everything you need to know about the “anti-deficit” and “anti-spending” tea-party cohort of the GOP that they all finally settled on an anti-woman racist who’ll speak clearly about their concerns about the Kenyan devil baby America elected President in 2008.

Listen to Santorum:

Here’s the transcript:

We know, we know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like. The anti-war government nig- uh, the uh America was a source for division around the world.

I ask again, how is it possible that this scumbag can be afforded “viable candidate” status by the American media? If there’s any evidence that their quest for eyeballs, ratings and advertising revenue needed a horserace in the GOP to lift first quarter revenue, this is it. Their projections presumably having been met, they are declaring the nomination closed in the first week in April.

Now we can look forward to the “Prom Queen” section of the spectacle, when Candy Crowley giggles as she asks the unlikeliest and most-hated GOP Scrooge, Paul Ryan, whether he would accept the call from Quarterback Mitt Romney.

Why can’t America have a better media?

War On Women Target Zone (image: EN2008, flickr)

America’s media landscape is being subtly changed by the War on Women being waged by the talibangelicals. And our news media need to be alert to their own participation in it. Congressman Ron Paul discussed his completely legal ob/gyn practice and the legal pharmaceuticals he legally prescribed for patients. Read how Yahoo! News introduced its report on Dr Paul’s appearance on “The Tonight Show”:

Ron Paul, during an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” Tuesday night admitted that he prescribed birth control pills during his time as a practicing OB-GYN in Texas.

“admitted“?

Why is the entirely legal prescription of entirely legal birth control pills an admission? Nothing surreptitious happening here, nothing illegal, nothing but the above-board practice of medicine.

“admitted“?

Why is the completely routine issuance of prescriptions within a medical practice an admission, Yahoo!? No illegality, no hypocrisy, no shock value. What makes this an admission to your news desk?

The War on Women is changing America’s media. News editors and reporters need to check their bias against women and routine provision of women’s health care when producing news stories. There’s no admission here. Ron Paul didn’t admit anything. He merely described an entirely non-salacious, routine aspect of any ob/gyn practice. He’s a women’s health doctor. Women’s health doctors prescribe birth control pills.

And when an ob/gyn tells you he’s prescribed birth control pills, he’s admitting nothing.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey

Echoing his commander in chief in issuing statements that provide improper command influence in the trial of Bradley Manning, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, stated unequivocally that Manning broke the law.

To review, here’s what Barack Obama said when asked about Bradley Manning in April 2011:

And if you’re in the military… And I have to abide by certain rules of classified information. If I were to release material I weren’t allowed to, I’d be breaking the law.

We’re a nation of laws! We don’t let individuals make their own decisions about how the laws operate. He broke the law.

It appears that President Obama’s highest military officer agrees with him:

The Joint Chiefs chairman also was asked about Manning, the alleged WikiLeaks contributor, and whether Dempsey thought Manning should be viewed as a political prisoner, whistle-blower or traitor.

“We’re a nation of laws. He did violate the law,” Dempsey said.

This is a very disturbing echo of a very disturbing pronouncement from the Commander in Chief. If the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs publicly says that Manning did “violate the law,” how long until that is the view of the entire jury pool? Especially since the Joint Chiefs Chairman’s statement was almost a year later, as preliminary hearings are underway, and was made to a reporter for Stars & Stripes.

The audience for this statement is serving military. The jury pool will see this statement of Gen Dempsey’s.

I hope this statement is brought up to the judge by Manning’s counsel. In a command environment, these unequivocal statements from the highest civilian and military commanders cannot have no impact on those selected to serve on the jury, in Manning’s court martial. They can be seen to have an improper command influence of those on the bench during the current hearings.

This improper command influence must stop if there’s to be even the semblance of a fair trial.

Most of you know I could give two hoots about anybody’s religion, including the lack of my own. Whatever belief system you choose, I’m cool — as long as your belief system impinges not one iota on me.

Like, ever.

So a diary from me about religion might seem out of context, except this isn’t really about religion. It’s about ignorance. America the Stupid. People who just won’t pay attention to the facts. People whose votes are soon to be billed as Very Important.

In the two states with primary votes tomorrow (Critically Important States if you listen to Legacy Media, who’d like your eyeballs for the next 36 hours, please) most GOP voters think President Barack Obama is a Muslim.

Repeating that for clarity: Most GOP voters in Mississippi and Alabama think President Barack Obama is a Muslim.

These are the voters our eyes are turning to tomorrow:

In the midst of tight GOP primaries in both states, Public Policy Polling (PPP) has released information showing that a majority of likely GOP primary voters in the Deep South do not see Obama as a Christian. PPP’s Alabama survey of 600 likely GOP primary voters found that only 14 percent consider Obama a Christian, while 45 percent said he is a Muslim and 41 percent answered that they were not sure.

A similar picture surfaced in Mississippi. Of 656 likely GOP primary voters surveyed, 12 percent said Obama was a Christian, 52 percent classified him as a Muslim, and 36 percent fell in the “not sure” category.

I’m willing to bet that at least half of those “not-sure” people are folks who think it’s downright rude to ask someone about another person’s religion but who are pretty sure a dark-hued fellah from Libya or Uganda whose name is Barack Hussein Obama Sr is gonna have a Muslim kid.

So when your MSNBC Panelists wax eloquent over the wisdom-of-the-voters after tomorrow’s catastrophe in Mississippi and Alabama and when CNN’s multiple panels tell Anderson Cooper that things are simply too-close-to-call-so-let’s-take-a-commercial-break-while-we-sort-things-out, just remember: these voters think our President is a Muslim. And almost all of them aren’t willing to take his word for it that he’s a Christian.

God-fearing Christian people, amiright?

(photo: 126 Club/flickr)

Last week, a guest appearing on Stephen Colbert’s segment about voter fraud — a school teacher was charged for registering her civics class students without following the onerous new rules about how quickly registrations need to be turned in — claimed that voter fraud in Florida was more rare than shark attacks. Seeing the country’s reliance on FACT imperiled, Politifact swung into action: which happens more, voter fraud or shark attacks?

One of the people Colbert interviewed for his sarcastic report, which aired March 1, is Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. Florida officials claimed they needed to pass the law to prevent voter fraud, but these cases are actually pretty rare, he said.

“There are probably a larger number of shark attacks in Florida than there are cases of voter fraud,” he said.

We couldn’t resist diving in: Are there more shark attacks than cases of voter fraud in Florida?

Of course, what Politifact ended up comparing were allegations of voter fraud with documented shark attacks:

The shark attack figures include documented instances of sharks attacking human victims. The voter fraud cases indicate the number of cases deemed legally sufficient for an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Shark attacks vs allegations of voter fraud: not exactly the factual fulcrum on which the Republic falls or succeeds. But leave it to Politifact to compare apples and oranges even when they delve into comedy. We simply cannot trust Politifact with the word “fact” any more. They’ve jumped the shark.

Gingrich Wins Another Primary (image:wikipedia)

There’s only one way for the GOP base to stop Willard’s march to tainted victory in Tampa: encourage a merger of the campaigns of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. The last time a non-nominee announced a running mate prior to the convention was in 1976, when insurgent candidate Ronald Reagan teamed up with “running mate” Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania in a last-ditch attempt to upend Gerald Ford’s nomination for his own not-to-be presidential term.

All that did, essentially, was give Nelson Rockefeller the heave-ho from the Naval Observatory, elevating conservative attack dog Bob Dole to prominence with his autumn characterization of the 20th century’s existential conflicts as “Democrat wars.”

But in 2012, with the Mittmobile clunking, in fits and starts, to an increasingly tarnished brass ring, it’s probably time for the conservative rank-and-file of the GOP (otherwise known as “the GOP”) to choose: Rick or Newt?

To which I say: why not both? In the great tradition of the fluffernutter sandwich, why not combine two great ‘insurgent’ conservative tastes into a creamy delight that stands up to Mitt’s unpalatable pablum? Isn’t this a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup moment for the GOP?

A Rick/Newt ticket stands in the great 21st century traditions for “winning” GOP presidential tickets, too: an above-the-fray, slightly oddly-spoken evangelical, with earnest appeal to the wanna-have-a-beer crowd with not-too-articulate-to-be-scary folksiness and Nixonland-goes-to-JesusCamp resentments and fears. The bass note to this overarching Frothy odor of bowling shoes and AquaNet is of course the Intellectual Anchor of the GOP: the successor to Shooter Cheney’s Veepness, Newt Gingrich.

Gingrich will line up the K Street donors on their way into the campaign offices, make them stand orderly while emptying their pockets. He’ll assure the Owners’ establishment that, “sure, that young pecksniff atop the ticket might be a little sanctimonious, a little full of his own morality, with a few too many kids and too few wives — but we know the score, fellahs: just leave the money on the dresser.”

And Newt’ll be the Idea Man to Rick’s 1950s Morality Man: just keep popping off about bases on the Moon, kid janitors, glassing Tehran, and the horrors of Old Yurp. In the meantime, the cash coffers stay full and promises to America’s extraction industries get made left and right.

The last time the GOP tried a Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen act like this, it almost worked on Election Day 2000 — and the clowns left America open to terror attack, led our nation into endless war, gave away the regulatory store, and bankrupted the middle class in only eight years. What the 1% calls VICTORY!

Surely voters’ memories aren’t that long to hold Bush & Cheney against the GOP?