Some morning maniac music for the 4th of July from Woodstock:

First, Jimi Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner and then the Jefferson Airplane signing Volunteers (of America.)

This is an open thread.

The victims this time were Rachel Maddow AND Hillary Clinton. The context was Obama's "inartful" use of the word "refine" regarding his Iraq policy. TChris covered that controversy. Maddow was arguing the Obama argument and Joe Scarborough was not happy about Maddow's laughing as a reaction to Joe's commentary. The result was yet another episode of sexism at NBC:

Yet more guffaws from Maddow.

MADDOW: You're so wrong, I can't even hold it together. You're so wrong.

SCARBOROUGH: You might support Obama but you've got the Clinton cackle down, Rachel. I'm proud of ya.

(Emphasis supplied.) Maddow has been silent and cowardly on the issue of sexism and misogyny at NBC and in general, so you might be tempted to feel some schadenfreude. Resist it. Sexism is wrong whenever it occurs and whomever it is directed at. NBC should suspend Scarborough for this blatant bout of sexism.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

I've come to look for America...
They've all come to look for America.

Simon and Garfunkle version here.

One more, Bon Jovi, Miss Fourth of July

This is an open thread. Song suggestions for tomorrow (4th of July) welcome.

Nihilists! F##k me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.

-Walter Sobchak

At corrente, I wrote a guest post on developing a blogosphere ethos. I won't repeat it here, but I want to put a question to supporters of the Clinton/Edwards vision of a mandate for universal health care. Suppose for a moment that Barack Obama changed his position (aka flip flopped) on the issue and embraced mandates. Would you consider that a good thing?

A corollary to the question, what if he changed his position due to political pressure as opposed to a good faith change of mind - would that make a difference? To understand why I ask these questions, read my post at corrente.

Speaking for me only

Matt Yglesias writes today:

I don't think anyone can seriously dispute that the current President of the United States violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act . . . . I wasn't alive in 1973-74 [when Nixon was forced to resign]. I have a vague sense that at that time America's elites operated with some sense of conscience and dignity, and it was taken for granted even among Republican leaders that one couldn't just break the law. . . . I don't really know what changed, or why David Broder and other gatekeepers of elite consensus can't see that something's gone wrong here, but I'm not happy about it.

Nicely put. But then he writes in his VERY NEXT POST:

Coming up presently. Here is Clark's most recent statement on the qualifications issue:

There are many important issues in this presidential election, clearly one of the most important issues is national security and keeping the American people safe. In my opinion, protecting the American people is the most important duty of our next President. I have made comments in the past about John McCain's service and I want to reiterate them in order be crystal clear. As I have said before I honor John McCain's service as a prisoner of war and a Vietnam Veteran. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. I would never dishonor the service of someone who chose to wear the uniform for our nation.

[MORE . . .]

***

I'm going to need more than one Tivo tonight:

HBO airs "The Ganja Queen" about Schapelle Corby , an Australian serving 20 years in an Indonesian prison for smuggling 10 pounds of pot into Bali at 9 pm ET.

And on ABC at 8pm, last year's jilted Bachelorette, Deanna Pappas, pares down from the final three to the final two, who almost everyone I've read thinks will be Jason, the single father from Seattle and Jesse, the professional snowboarder from Breckenridge, CO. It's followed by a "Men Tell All" episode with 15 of the guys who got eliminated. I'm rooting for Jesse when she makes her final choice on July 7, but he's definitely the longshot.

More...

VoteVets is with General Clark:

General Clark,

We the undersigned thank you for speaking up forcefully and honestly about what it takes to lead this nation, and the kind of judgment we must look for. You were right to say that Senator McCain has not shown good judgment, despite his extraordinary service to America. Just in the past few years:

More . . .

(UPDATE) Josh Marshall thinks Obama made a mistake in rejecting Clark here. A man bites dog day on this. Me defending Obama and Marshall criticizing him.

An e-mail to me:

Your hero [Obama] threw General Clark under the bus. Now, Clark happens to be right and if Obama had any guts he would have stood up for Wes Clark, but alas, he has none and he didn't.

The e-mailer also calls Obama "my guy." Well, anyone who knows me knows that actually Wes Clark is my guy. If I had my drothers, he would be President of the United States. But I do not want Obama defending Wes Clark. Wes Clark will defend himself just fine.

More . . .

Alex Gibney's new documentary about Hunter Thompson , "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson," opened Friday. Gibney's last film was the Oscar winning documentary about torture techniques, "Taxi to the Dark Side" and before that, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room."

The film focuses on Hunter in the 60's and 70's: [More...]

Barack Obama will receive more grassroots, progressive activist support than any other Democratic candidate in history.

Um, more than FDR? I am sorry, but history did not start in 2004.

Speaking for me only

Our friend DemfromCT writes an interesting post on coverage of polls by the Media. He writes:

[T]he networks are invested in having a close race. Now, this is tough to prove, but it isn't exactly rocket science. A blowout election is not ratings sustainable the way a close race is.

Well, that may be, I am not much convinced by that argument. But I do know the Media has biases. NBC's bias against Hillary Clinton was something unavoidable for any honest observer. Which brings me to this part of Dem's piece, which does not bring "all the news":