These days, Tampa housewife Jill Kelley can't win, and South Korean rapper Psy can't lose.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it is rescinding her "title" of Honorary consul because she used it for personal gain.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun told South Korean reporters during a visit to Washington that Kelley inappropriately used her title for personal gain.

"It's not suitable to the status of honorary consul that (she) sought to be involved in commercial projects and peddle influence," Kim said, according to Yonhap news agency.

Psy, meanwhile, can do no wrong. (background here.) The South Korean Culture Ministry announced a few weeks ago it would be awarding Psy with the prestigious Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit, awarded for “outstanding meritorious services” to the arts. [More...]

The 11 Show, starring me, today at 11. Topics for today: the austerity bomb and the Lessons of 1937, the Demography of Ideological Realignment, the new Right Wing litigants and, as they say, much much more. How to Listen

Your options to listen LIVE:

• Click on the embedded Flash player below
• Go to netrootsradio.com and click on the embedded player or direct link there
Click on this direct link if you need a non-Flash player, say, for iPad or iPhone
• iPad and iPhone users can download the SHOUTCast Radio app for your mobile device and search for "Netroots Radio"
• For Android: Try either the "StreamFurious" or "TuneIn" apps
• BlackBerry users, see this guide by idbecrazyif

Listen to Daily Kos Radio right here:The Daily Kos Radio Player

Non-Flash

Best bet for listening is the non-flash link with winamp or a similar listening software.

Open Thread.

Like bizarro Thurgood Marshall, the right wing has engaged in a litigation strategy to compel the placement of right wing zealots on university faculties. Case in point - the matter of Teresa Wagner and the University of Iowa Law School:

A federal jury believed the University of Iowa’s law school illegally denied a promotion to a conservative Republican because of her politics, former jurors told The Des Moines Register. However, jurors said they felt conflicted about holding a former dean personally responsible for the bias. They wanted to hold the school itself accountable, but federal law does not recognize political discrimination by institutions. “I will say that everyone in that jury room believed that she had been discriminated against,” said Davenport resident Carol Tracy, the jury forewoman. Meanwhile, attorneys for Teresa Wagner on Tuesday filed a motion for a new trial in the case that scholars agree could have national implications in what some argue is the liberally slanted world of academia.

It's an interesting argument, but anyone familiar with conservative views regarding employment discrimination claims, can't but feel a bit of schadenfreude about the fact that right wing jurisprudence is what blocks relief for Wagner here. It is not some amorphous rule that institutions can not be guilty of discrimination. That is just shoddy reporting. It is instead that "states rights" do not permit suits to be brought against public institutions deemed to be covered by "states rights."

Also ironic is that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in Rutan, opined that discrimination in employment decisions by government on the basis of political viewpoint was permissible under the Constitition. More on this interesting subject later.

I know what your thinking - if Americans think the fiscal cliff is a crisis, why are they in favor of what the fiscal cliff does (increases taxes and cut spending?) Cuz the American electorate is not the sharpest pencil in the box and the American Media is well matched to that. Consider from CNN:

"Americans definitely feel that they have something at stake in the upcoming negotiations - 77% believe that their personal financial situation will be affected if the government goes off the fiscal cliff," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

At issue in the negotiations is a disagreement between the two major political parties over how to best raise the federal government's revenues. The president and most congressional Democrats argue for tax rate increases on the wealthiest Americans in order to raise revenue, while most congressional Republicans call for the closing of loopholes and reform in the tax code. Both parties have indicated a willingness to implement spending cuts, although a decision over how much and where has yet to be made.

So what does the public think? Two thirds of those questioned in the poll say that any agreement should include a mix of spending cuts and tax increases, with just under one in three saying a deal should only include spending cuts.

If the 'fiscal cliff' is a crisis, and it is not the right policy right now, imo, it is the TIMING that brings the urgency, not the specific policy mix. This is not the time to be cutting government spending. It is time to increase it in stimulative ways. But the Media either does not understand this, or instead chooses to ignore it. One last point - when did Republican agree to increase tax revenue? CNN is making that up.

The Rolling Stones are about to take the stage in London for their first concert on their 50th Anniversary tour. Joining them for this performance: Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman, Jeff Beck and Mary K. Blige.

The band is live-tweeting the show, with pictures. Also check out #StonesO2

Update: Here's some photos I grabbed off of twitter and from DirtyRock on FB. Here's the set list.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

It's official. You Tube says Psy's "Gangnam Style" is the most-watched video of all time -- 812 million views as of Saturday night. (Added: Sunday at noon: 817 million.) Pretty incredible considering it's only been up four months. Here's You Tube's list of the most watched videos. (Justin Beiber is second with 804 million views for Baby ft. Ludacris, which has been out almost two years.)

In addition to the flash mobs all over Europe, he's been on the Today Show, the Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen (teaching Brittany Spears) and joined Madonna at her concert Nov. 14. Next week, he'll be in Thailand, performing at an 85th birthday party for King Bhumibol Adulyadej. [More...]

Bump and Update: After suffering a cardiac arrest this morning, Hector "Macho" Comacho was removed from life support. His heart stopped shortly thereafter. His organs cannot be donated due to the length of time he was on life support after being declared brain dead.

A funeral will be held Tuesday in Santurce, PR. The family wanted to take him back to New York for a funeral and burial, but they said his financial condition didn't allow for it, unless he was cremated. Maybe one of the many media networks replaying his fights and career highlights, like ESPN Classic which is airing 7 hours of this fights today, will donate some of their advertising dollars for the trip to New York. [More...]

Today's picks (2 units unless otherwise indicated): Georgia Tech +14½ over Georgia, Mississippi State +1½ over Mississippi, Virginia +10 over Virginia Tech, Stanford -2 over UCLA, Tulsa -5 over SMU, Oklahoma State +7 over Oklahoma, Vanderbilt -12 over Wake Forest, South Carolina +4 over Clemson, Oregon -10 over Oregon State (7 units), Pittsburgh -2 over Rutgers, Texas Tech +3 over Baylor, Penn State -3 over Wisconsin, Ohio State -3½ over Michigan (3 units), Connecticut +12 over Louisville, USC +6 over Notre Dame (3 units), San Jose State (+5) over La Tech (3 units.)

In the only game that matters, Florida (+7) over FSU. Go Gators!

Open Thread.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. denied Russia's request to return Viktor Bout to Russia under the 1983 Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. The full letter of denial is here. DOJ's reasons:

"The United States denied the transfer application because the prisoner has a pending appeal, because of the seriousness of the offense, because of serious law enforcement concerns and because the prisoner is a poor candidate due to his criminal history."

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said it won't give up. It believes Bout's extradition from Thailand to the U.S. and his prosecution were politically motivated. [More...]

Bonus Friday college football picks (all picks 2 units):

Arizona -3 over Arizona State, Cincinnati -14 over South Florida, Washington State +14 over Washington, Nebraska -15 over Iowa, LSU -12½ over Arkansas, Utah -23 over Colorado, Iowa State +1½ over West Virginia, Ohio +9½ over Kent State, and Syracuse -8 over Temple.

For kdog:

Open Thread.

Of all the Thanksgiving Day traditions, my favorite is still the one that comes at noon, when KBCO in Boulder (and other stations around the country) play the 23 minute version of Arlo Guthrie singing "Alice's Restaurant" in 1967. While everyone else is cooking turkey, the TL kid and I are eating bacon and eggs and listening with the sound turned up loud, smiling as if it's the first time we've ever heard it. If your local station isn't playing it, you can stream it live (noon MT) here.

Or, you can pick your own time and listen, courtesy of KDKP in Arizona. But you'll miss that special feeling that comes with knowing thousands of others around the country are listening at the same time and sharing the tradition. How to describe it? It's like our nation has a liberal anthem, but only for one day each year, so you don't want to miss it when it comes around.

Two other songs I like listening to on Thanksgiving: [More...]

President Obama is going to pardon the turkey with the most Facebook friends.

India today executed Ajmal Kasab by hanging. Kasab, 25, was the sole surviving terrorist carrying out the November, 2008 Mumbai attacks. More here. His defense team welcomed the speedy execution.

In Chicago, David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana have yet to be sentenced. Rana, acquitted of participating in the Mumbai attacks but convicted of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist conspiracy to maim and murder people in Denmark, and providing material support to the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT). is set for sentencing on December 4. He faces 30 years.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.