“The court has not decided whether to hear Emanuel’s appeal of Monday’s Illinois Appellate Court ruling that tossed him out of the race to replace Mayor Daley. But the Supreme Court granted Emanuel’s motion for a stay of the ruling.” [Chicago Sun-Times, via Political Wire]

Does it surprise anyone that Fox News has decided to launch a salvo against the latest call for political civility –the suggestion that Democrats and Republicans sit side by side at the State of the Union address– by making a mocking, sardonic reference to the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement? (Click the image at left to expand the headline that reads “‘Kumbaya Seating’ at State Of the Union a Distraction?”)

Two years ago, a Republican congressman from South Carolina enthralled the Tea Party faithful by shouting out the words “you lie” as our nation’s first African American president delivered the traditional State of The Union message to Congress. For showing such infantile disrespect to president Obama, congressman Joe Wilson was hailed as a hero, and came to embody and give voice to the hateful bigotry of those who cannot accept that our nation, the world around them and the times, have changed.

I have little doubt that many of those who question Barack Obama’s citizenship and country of birth do so because they see in their fanciful conspiracy theories a vain hope of clearing America of the “stain” of having been governed by a black president. If Obama is illegitimate, then he never was president in the first palce, and America’s history governance by white males remains unbroken.

Kumbaya, people.

At or about 8 p.m. Monday night, human character changed.

A Mr. Keith Olbermann, of New York City, recently employed by a General Electric subsidiary, posted a notice to a popular messaging system. The notice included the cryptic expression “#FOK”, which readers were to understand was shorthand for “Friends of Keith”. Within minutes, #FOK was formally recognized by the messaging system as a highly popular expression.

As this trend was emerging, we happened to be reading a blog post that was highly critical of Mr. Olbermann, apparently because Mr. Olbermann was highly adept at agitating the writer’s rental companion:

My roommate, a sincere liberal and a nice enough guy, got more riled up by the program than I did. His muscles tightened. His blood pressure rose. Sometimes he even muttered to himself under his breath. Then the show ended. I’d switch the channel to a Lakers game or that John Adams miniseries. Fifteen minutes later, my roommate would forget what he was angry about. It seems to me that Olbermann’s show often brought out the worst impulses in people: petulance, self-righteousness, and blind anger at “the other side.” I appreciate that for others, the experience was different.

If by “different” you mean “suitably diverting dinnertime entertainment”, then yes. We can’t imagine anybody taking Keith Olbermann’s Hour of Glower seriously, but this wouldn’t be the first time our imagination has been found wanting.

Because apparently, many people did.

And, quite honestly, they’re starting to frighten us.

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Spoiler Alert: He is.

“Liberals want Keith Olbermann to run for retiring Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-Conn.) seat. The ploy to coax the former MSNBC host into the Democratic Senate primary was hatched by activists attending a conference in Pennsylvania over the weekend.” [The Hill]

“Rahm Emanuel was thrown off the ballot for mayor of Chicago today by an appellate court panel, a stunning blow to the fund-raising leader in the race. An appellate panel ruled 2-1 that Emanuel did not meet the residency standard to run for mayor.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

“The shooter wins if we, who’ve been elected, change what we do just because of what he did.”
—Mike Lee on This Week, Sunday

• “I am not sure which is more disturbing about Mr Lee’s remark. Its obliviousness and stupidity, or its utter depravity.” (Kabnieldebs)
• “Ask Americans if they’d like to live in Mike Lee’s vision of this great nation. I doubt many would…” (mattparker1)
• “Obviously, Mike ‘Dumbfuck’ Lee didn’t see that booking photo of Jared Loughner, grinning like a fucking Cheshire Cat.” (Zooey)
• “I do not throw around accusations of mental instability lightly, but I am really beginning to wonder if Lee needs professional help.” (CCTX2)

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