STEVE JONAS FOR BUZZFLASH

As I have noted in a recent Commentary, the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States states: "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."  Fascinating stuff.  The "World's Greatest Democracy," no?  Exceptional, no?  Well, no, for the first.  There may be a great democracy somewhere, but ours is more of a partial one.  For many of our citizens, we surely ain't it.  But exceptional?  Well, yes indeed.  Why, both the Constitution and its implementation have been filled with exceptions since the document was first written. 

MEDIA PUTZ OF THE WEEK

Eve Conant (Newsweek)

For reporting that is an embarrassment to the profession of journalism, and for being beholden to corporate paymasters rather than the citizens of America.

Newsweek became the latest in Fairness in Accuracy and Reporting (FAIR)'s series on media apologists for those who support racial profiling in Arizona. We at BuzzFlash felt that honor deserved a little amplification.

In a piece that FAIR notes is "charming headline 'Mexican Standoff,'" Newsweek writer Eve Conant attempts to explain "Why Arizona isn't crazy."

BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Meg White

When she heard about the boom chemicals being used to disperse oil from the sunken rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the thoughts of Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) were far away. She was thinking about her hometown Santa Barbara in the late 1960s when Union Oil's Platform A had a destructive blowout.

Clean-up efforts at the time utilized the same kinds of oil dispersant, or boom materials, as BP is using in the Gulf today. However, recent studies have found that such clean-up efforts can be more destructive than simply leaving the oil to its own devices.

Her question for BP CEO Lamar McKay at a hearing today in the House Energy Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations was if oil exploration has advanced leaps and bounds since the 1960s, "Why was there not equivalent technology developed to clean up after a spill?"

The same type of question would be asked many times throughout the hearing Wednesday, to no avail. While there was some discussion of the implications on the perceived safety of offshore drilling in the Senate hearing on the oil spill Tuesday, the House was more focused on the implications than senators.

BARBARA'S DAILY BUZZFLASH MINUTE

Ah, for the wisdom of John F. Kennedy when he spoke to a group of Protestant ministers on the issue of his religion, Sept. 12, 1960! His words are as relevant today as they were then, especially for those who believe otherwise (such as Sarah Palin):

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials...

BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Meg White

In the first of what will be an ongoing series of hearings on the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, leaders at BP, Transocean and Halliburton played an interesting form of the ever-popular corporate blame game.

In news accounts previewing the hearing before the Senate Energy Committee Tuesday, the published testimony of the three witnesses was interpreted as a circuitous effort to deflect blame onto one another.

The CEOs' testimony was interpreted to mean that BP would try to lay the blame on Transocean, the operator of the sunken rig now spewing thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico daily. Testimony from Transocean's CEO Steven Newman criticized BP back, but also called into question the concrete work completed by Halliburton just hours before the deadly explosion. And Halliburton would tell the Senate they were only operating under the requirements of the other two, and therefore had no liability for the spill.

"I can see the liability chase that's going to go on," predicted Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), adding that he was looking forward to seeing "who's going to 'fess up to what."

"The message I hear is, 'Don't blame me,'" said Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) said before the panel appeared before the committee.

Interestingly enough, the hearing didn't go down that way.

BARBARA'S DAILY BUZZFLASH MINUTE

What are ya gonna do when you're Repuglican and ya run out of credibility and substance? When you're Repuglican and ya ain't got nothin' left but NO? Why, you produce a poor excuse for porn, a suggestive innuendo, a video lie to try and trash your Democratic opponent, that's what! 

The American people are paying big bucks for Repuglican incompetence. A Congressional "bailout" if you will. These guys are no better than the bankers taking big buck bonuses for creating financial disaster. The Repuglicans are sitting on their butts, collecting their checks, refusing to do their jobs in order to create failure. The irony is that the only thing that's failed is the Repuglicans!

BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Meg White 

It's still early on in this election cycle, but I'm guessing the talk about how 2010 is the new 1994 is not all it's cracked up to be. There are several elements that have been slowly convincing me of this, but here's the latest: The GOP is creating fake videos of masturbating Democrats in an effort to win back the Senate.

I'm not joking. I'm not even really exaggerating. This is what electoral politics boils down to, apparently.  

The video in question is an attack ad against Ohio Lieutenant Gov. Lee Fisher who's running for George Voinovich's open Senate seat against Republican Rob Portman. I encourage you to click here and watch the ad at Mediaite not to give it any more play than it's already gotten, but because it's so ridiculously bad that you have to see it to believe it.

Instead of backing away from this utter failure of a political ad, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), along with its chair, John Cornyn of Texas, have embraced it as their own mini-masterpiece.