Yep. He did. And he says Kevin Drum agrees with him. Oh, Brooks starts by the standard unsourced argument that Ronald Reagan really did not mean to send a message to white Southerners on civil rights when he gave a speech in Philadelphia, Mississippi where defense of "states rights" figured prominently. He calls those of us, including his colleague Bob Herbert, purveyors of a "heinous conspiracy theory." But the truth is Brooks has been a pernicious, mendacious apologist for the GOP throughout his career and this is no different.

Brooks provides NO evidence to buttress his claims. Indeed the version he provides buttresses the argument that the Philadelphia speech was in fact an exercise in dogwhistle politics in the Deep South:

How long with the "liberal" Media continue to refer to a bald faced liar as a straight talker? Bob Somerby documents the atrocities:

[P]onder this statement by the New York Post’s Charlie Hurt. The boys were discussing Saint Rudy:

HURT (11/6/07): You know, because [Giuliani] is such a gun-slinger, and because he is such a straight-talker, people believe him . . .

Giuliani’s endless, howling misstatements are becoming the stuff of legend—but to Hurt, he’s still a “straight-talker.” But then, Time’s Mike Allen had stated this view roughly one minute before:

ALLEN: . . . It turns out they like his gun-slinging, straight-shooting swagger, that he comes across—he will answer a question, he will say, “No way, no how.” People like that.

To Allen, he’s a “straight-shooter.” . . .

All week, Clinton’s “evasiveness” and “double-talk” have been trashed on Hardball—like Gore’s lies and Kerry’s flip-flops before her. But Giuliani is still a “straight-talker!” There is absolutely nothing on earth that will keep these lads from their Group Tales.

And the Hillary Haters cheer. More.

A few months ago, I wrote about a T A Frank article where he stated that Bob Herbert was boring.

Now that we know what Frank finds interesting, Jenna v. Chelsea, it all makes sense.

Frank is a blithering idiot.

h/t Digby.

The Eagles, performed "How Long" at the CMA Awards tonight. This took me hours to make -- I couldn't figure out how to get rid of the border and make it bigger and I tried converting to Quicktime, Windows and Mp4. The mp4 came out the biggest so that's the one I put on YouTube. On the plus side, it looks great on my iPod.

I finally did buy the new album, Out of Eden, stopping at the dreaded WalMart in Glenwood Springs. I listened to all of it on the drive back to Denver a few days ago. Out of the two cd's, this is far and away the best song on it.

Digby skewers Maureen Orth, but I noticed this bit:

What I remember most vividly about that evening [a 1964 party on the Presidential yacht when Orth was a college student] was an exchange I had with Bobby Kennedy, the attorney general. “What are you going to be next, vice president or senator?,” I asked rather impudently, because I did not want him to think I was a brainless bimbo.

Very meaty question Orth asked. But I suppose she did leave it for us to discover the amount of brain she has. In any event, as Atrios (he puts them in the 7th grade) notes, Ms. Orth has regressed since then. This article is so sexist and condescending, that it makes a mockery of feminism. It seems "hostessing" is the highest calling for women in certain DC salons.

Jeffrey Toobin reviews Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' autobiography , My Grandfather's Son, in the New Yorker this week.

Like most judicial conservatives, Thomas criticizes liberal Justices for using the Constitution to promote their “policy preferences.” But, as Thomas’s book clearly demonstrates, he has sought to enshrine in the Constitution his own policy preferences—the ones he learned from his grandfather.

This is especially true on the question of race.

It's a long review and Toobin has put a great deal of thought into it making it a good read.

Jay Leno, Julia Dreyfuss, Ellen DeGeneres, Tina Fey and other big stars are supporting the striking Hollywood writers.

I like the chant the strikers are using:

"Hey, hey, pencils down.
Hollywood's a union town."

Hillary and Barack Obama, who have received $2 million in contributions from those in the entertainment industry, also offered support:

Barack Obama said he stands with the writers and urged producers to work with them to end the strike.

Hillary Rodham Clinton called for a contract that recognizes the contributions writers make to the entertainment industry.

Has John Edwards weighed in yet?

Day One strike news here and here.

The New York Times reports that MSNBC is so happy with Keith Olbermann, it is thinking of adding liberal shows to its nighttime lineup. The article devotes a lot of space to anonymous network execs who say Rosie O'Donnell is under serious consideration as a prime-time show host.

Two NBC executives acknowledged yesterday that they were talking to Rosie O’Donnell about a prime-time show on MSNBC.

I hope NBC is just floating her name just to gauge the reaction. It would be a huge mistake in my opinion.

MSNBC needs to stop playing catch-up and start being innovative. Surely there's someone with a modicum of journalistic credentials and a less antagonizing personality than Rosie. If they are committed to going the comedienne-day time talk route, I'd rather see them move Ellen DeGeneres into prime time. At least she's funny.

Seriously, though, who would you tell MSNBC to hire?

Mediation talks failed, the writers are on strike.

One of the sticking points: How much the writers should be paid when their shows are sold over the internet.

The question now is no longer whether or when they will strike, but how long a walkout will last and how much pain it will inflict.

Both sides are girding for what many believe will be a long and debilitating strike, potentially more disruptive than the 22-week walkout by writers in 1988, which cost the entertainment industry an estimated $500 million.

Disgraceful. How bad can CNN get? I am with Digby:

I just saw Jeanne Moos do one of her cute little feature stories on ... waterboarding. Lots of adorable stories of people trying it and timing themselves and laughing about it afterwards. Funny, funny stuff. I only wish they'd put her in a stress position for 48 hours naked so we could see how hilarious that is too.

Truly outrageous.

I am starting my own contest, the Maureen Dowd Substance Watch. No, not substance abuse. Substance. Please identify the last time she discussed an actual issue. For the second column in a row, I do not see any.

Come on girlfriend, at least find an issue to attack Hillary on. It takes a lot of gall to write about politics and not actually know anything about any issue.

Eric Clapton, Live 1986, "Cocaine" (for Fred Thompson.) 2001 Live version here.