The 2010 Emmy Awards will be broadcast live without tape delay across the country tonight. The awards start at 8pm ET, 5pm PT. But the red carpet arrivals and backstage action begin earlier. On Twitter, the official hashtag is #emmys10.

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By now you should know about the offensive Glenn Beck "Restoring Honor" event to take place at the Lincoln Memorial on the 47th Anniversary of MLK's "I Have A Dream Speech." Truly one of the more offensive stunts in recent memory. And no doubt the day will provide us coverage of this:

With this:

Which puts in mind this:

We had server difficulties this afternoon which hopefully are now resolved.

There's a double eviction tonight on Big Brother. I think Matt will be the first one sent home. (No spoilers in comments please until 10 pm ET.) For those of you who still don't know who Snooki and Mike "The Situation" are, there's also a new episode of Jersey Shore. And a new Project Runway. What a dismal summer this has been for TV.

The Judge in the Rod Blagojevich case said today he's only inclined to allow two lawyers at taxpayer expense for the now-broke former Governor. He did say he'd allow more lawyers if Rod found a benefactor. Will Donald Trump step up? Don't count on it.

The judge hopes to start the re-trial in early January, but didn't set a firm new date. So far, Sam Adams, Jr. and Sr. are still on board.

I'll bet Tony Rezko and others who pleaded to felonies and cooperated, but haven't been sentenced yet, aren't thrilled about waiting another five months. According to a motion Team Blago filed in April, 2010, here's the list of them: Ali Ata, Joseph A. Cari, Jr., John Harris, Jacob Kieferbaum, Stuart Levine, Steven Loren, Alonzo Monk, Antoin Rezko, and Dr. Robert Wienstein. Blago tried to preclude them from testifying. The grounds: [More...]

Before JournoList kept Joe Klein relatively informed, he had a penchant for writing stupidities about issues he had not the first clue about. Apparently the demise of the JournoList has Klein going back to his old ways. In a generally clueless post about Social Security, this specific bit of ignorance caught my eye:

There is a strong progressive argument for fixing social security now. Actually, there are two. First, as we saw when Bill Clinton chose to address the federal deficit in 1993, markets respond to fiscal responsibility. In that case, interest rates declined and the economy boomed (despite higher taxes, I must repeat again and again); now, a move toward federal fiscal responsibility might encourage the U.S. business community to start investing the $1.8 trillion in cash it is hoarding and thereby create some jobs.

(Emphasis supplied.) Setting aside the fact that Social Security is not a fiscal problem, Klein simply has no understanding of our current economic problem - which is deficient aggregate demand. Paul Krugman has explained this point a million times already:

Looks like Sarah Palin isn't the only Palin who craves media attention. E! Online reports Bristol Palin will be competing on Dancing With the Stars this season. Will she even last as long as Tom DeLay? Have any prominent Democrats been cast for the show? If not, maybe it's because fewer Dems need the image rehabilitation the show can provide.

Also on the new season, according to E!: Mike "The Situation" from Jersey Shore. It would be pretty funny if Bristol and Mike hooked up as a result of the show. Sarah Palin would probably pray every night for a Bristol-Levi Johnston reconciliation.

Good news: Reportedly not on the cast this season: The over-hyped Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky or her chosen one, Roberto Martinez. Who else reportedly made the cut: singer Michael Bolton. Who didn't: Kirstie Alley. The cast will be announced on Monday during "Bachelor Pad." [More...]

Via John Cole, Not the Onion:

John McCain, your country is calling

By David S. Broder
Thursday, August 26, 2010

Now that John McCain has taken care of his political business in Arizona, it is time for him to return to Washington and the responsibilities he bears as a leader of the Republican Party and the nation. I did not begrudge him the $20 million he spent to win Tuesday's primary, or whatever amount it was. Nor was I bothered by the doctrinal compromises the senator made in order to convince Arizona voters that he was, in fact, a conservative. McCain has always been a realist, doing what was necessary to survive a North Vietnamese prison camp or a tough political trap. His 2000 embrace of George W. Bush -- a man he had every reason to dislike -- showed his practicality, and it made possible his own presidential nomination in 2008.

[. . .] One obvious area where he will be needed is his favorite field, national security. Iraq, where he was prescient and persistent, still poses challenges, and Afghanistan, where Obama badly needs a Republican partner, is likely to be in crisis before it can be called a success. Behind them looms Iran, which could be this nation's next big test. [. . .] A load of work -- but John McCain has never shirked.

(Emphasis supplied.) Best Broder column ever. Medical marijuana perhaps? The pinnacle of Broderism. The Highest Broder of all time.

Speaking for me only

Firedoglake and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, creators of the Just Say Now campaign to legalize medical and recreational use of marijuana, are protesting Facebook's decision to reject their ads. Facebook objects to the ads because they display a marijuana leaf and Facebook doesn't allow ads for smoking products.

Just Say Now has started a petition to get reinstated.

Jon Stewart on the Fox News Mosque at Ground Zero.

The Fox News Mosque at Ground Zero*? I like it.

Speaking for me only

*It's not at Ground Zero, but Fox News says it is.

Lawsuits against internet users, including anonymous commenters, are on the rise, according to the Media Law Resource Center in New York and other media experts.

"Most people have no idea of the liability they face when they publish something online," said Eric Goldman, who teaches Internet law at Santa Clara University. "A whole new generation can publish now, but they don't understand the legal dangers they could face. People are shocked to learn they can be sued for posting something that says, 'My dentist stinks.' "

Under federal law, websites generally are not liable for comments posted by outsiders. They can, however, be forced to reveal the poster's identity if the post includes false information presented as fact.

So where are the boundary lines? [More...]

Via dougj, Jay Rosen on Sunday talk shows this morning.

Shales' Amanpour history from Media Matters.

This observation solely reflects my view that Tom Shales is an idiot.

[Palin's] disingenuous piety has been topped only by Bernie Kerik, who smuggled a Twitter message out of prison to register his rage at the ground zero desecration. As my colleague Clyde Haberman reminded us, such was Kerik’s previous reverence for the burial ground of 9/11 that he appropriated an apartment overlooking the site (and designated for recovery workers) for an extramarital affair.

More from Haberman:

It was interesting to discover that Mr. Kerik considers it an outrage to have a Muslim center near ground zero. [. . .] It’s a good thing we were paying attention back in grade school. Otherwise, we might feel it is O.K. to take Mr. Kerik to task for having had illicit sex at ground zero.

(Emphasis supplied.)

Discussing this Byron York article, TPM has the following headline on a Josh Marshall blog:

The bitch Prez Brought It on Herself Himself

Josh Marshall

Straight men who've ever listened to a Judy Garland album beware. Byron York explains why President Obama has only himself to blame for many people believing he's a Muslim.

I think we all know what York is up to, but Marshall's reaction is telling (and ironic given his own sexist statements during the 2008 primary fight) -- people thinking Obama is Muslim is not a good thing politically. It's obviously evidence of bigotry against Muslims in the United States. But notice what is not happening on this score - no one is standing up to this bigotry and saying 'so what if he is?' Instead, from the White House on down, the meme is being fought against. And the reason is obvious - it is politically damaging.

Given the huzzahs provided to President Obama's statements on the Cordoba Center - the "pols must fight bigotry everywhere they see it" idea, even if it is counterproductive - I ask myself why more people do not make the argument I posit above - the 'so what if he is?' point. More . . .