Sarah Palin hand notes picture is making the rounds on the Web. The picture was taken at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville. Apparently she needed some aid to help remember some of the things she was going to say at the convention, so she scribbled some notes on her hand.

As an interesting fact, Palin was paid over $100,000 to deliver the speech! I guess this is a surefire way to justify your earnings!

So, what did Sarah Palin had written on her hand? You can see the words “Energy”, “Tax” and “Lift American Spirits”, in that order. I don’t know how taxes can leads to a lifted American Spirit! This picture of Sarah Palin crib notes makes us remember times when she criticized President Obama for using a telemprompter… anyway… that’s politics.

Related posts:

1. Sarah Palin Federal Indictment | Sarah Palin Scandal
2. Sarah Palin Resigns! | Sarah Palin Press Conference
3. Palin Steps down as Governor | Sarah Palin Resignation

Chris Matthews Monday went on a twelve minute attack on former Alaska governor Sarah Palin that should make his fellow MSNBCers and the liberal blogosphere quite happy.

Here's how Monday's "Hardball" began:

Can a palm reader be president? What do we think of kids in school who write stuff on their hands to get through a test? What do we think of a would-be political leader who does it to look like she`s speaking without notes? What do we think of Sarah Palin this weekend answering pre-screened questions from a like-minded audience in Nashville, a tea party convention, and still having to put a cheat sheet on her palm to answer what she calls the basics of her beliefs? How can someone presume to be auditioning for president when they can`t even answer questions they know are coming?

And that was just the teaser! Readers are strongly cautioned to prepare themselves for a level of vitriol and invective normally only spewed on television by Matthews' colleague Keith Olbermann (video embedded below the fold with full transcript, h/t The Right Scoop):

CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Good evening. I`m Chris Matthews in New York. Leading off tonight: Can a palm reader be president? What do we think of kids in school who write stuff on their hands to get through a test? What do we think of a would-be political leader who does it to look like she`s speaking without notes? What do we think of Sarah Palin this weekend answering pre-screened questions from a like-minded audience in Nashville, a tea party convention, and still having to put a cheat sheet on her palm to answer what she calls the basics of her beliefs? How can someone presume to be auditioning for president when they can`t even answer questions they know are coming? [...]

Let`s start with Sarah Palin`s speech at the tea party convention down in Nashville. Mark McKinnon`s a former McCain adviser and a contributor to Thedailybeast.com. And Richard Wolffe is an MSNBC political analyst.

Mark, let`s all take a look at this statement by the former governor of Alaska. Here`s Palin`s zinger at President Obama for using a teleprompter. Let`s listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R-AK), FMR. GOV., FOX CONTRIBUTOR: This is about the people and it`s bigger than any king or queen of a tea party, and it`s a lot bigger than in any charismatic guy with a teleprompter!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEWS: What do you make of that, Mark McKinnon? I remember during the speech, she paid great tribute to Ronald Reagan subsequently, a man -- probably the best teleprompter reader in American history. Nothing wrong with that. But there is if a Democrat does it.

MARK MCKINNON, THEDAILYBEAST.COM, FMR. MCCAIN/PALIN ADVISER: Well, Sarah Palin is catnip laced with crack for all of us, Chris.

(LAUGHTER)

MCKINNON: What would we do without Sarah Palin to entertain us? You know, listen, she saved that convention. Remember what all the press was before her speech about the tickets and the prices and the for-profit things going on? She rallied that group, and everybody`s talking about her speech now, not about...

MATTHEWS: OK. Well, let`s look...

MCKINNON: ... not about the convention.

MATTHEWS: ... at this hand we`re looking at right here. Here`s Sarah Palin checking out the crib notes written on her hand just after she waxed the president for using a teleprompter. She`s a little more old school. Let`s listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: We`ve got to start reining in the spending. We have got to jump-start these energy projects that, again, we`ve heard so much about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEWS: Well, I don`t know. I just don`t know what to make of this, Richard Wolffe. This is like something that every kid in school can understand, crib notes.

RICHARD WOLFFE, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Crib notes. Teleprompter no good, but crib notes OK.

(LAUGHTER)

WOLFFE: And there were only six words on it.

(LAUGHTER)

WOLFFE: There were six words on her crib notes, and they`re all the same words she`s been saying for the last 18 months -- I mean, taxes, lifting the American spirit, energy. OK, why do you need to write those down? It`s deeply troubling for anyone who puts any credibility in her as a presidential candidate. And for the rest of us, please bring it on. It`s wonderful entertainment. But it`s not serious politics. It`s not serious policy.

MATTHEWS: Well, so you`re not saying there`s -- well, let me go to you, Mark. It seems to me the issue here isn`t that she took notes. I`m looking at notes now. We all look at notes. It`s when you sneak them on your hand! She could have put that on an index card and nobody would have made a big issue, but she had to look like she was just pulling it out of the air, so she pulled it off her hand like a palm reader!

MCKINNON: I think it`s kind of charming. I`m glad that she...

MATTHEWS: Oh, good.

MCKINNON: ... she had notes to read and she had some ideas to express. You know, this is Sarah Palin 2.0, the new version. She was Elvis in the campaign, now she`s Frank Sinatra. She`s doing it her way.

MATTHEWS: Well, here we go. This is -- (INAUDIBLE) substance scares the heck out of me. Here she is talking about the possibility of running for president, and it gets worse. Let`s listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: I would, if I believed that that is the right thing to do for our country and for the Palin family. Certainly, I would do so. I think that it would be absurd to not consider what it is that I can potentially do to help our country. I won`t close the door that perhaps could be open for me in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEWS: I don`t know what to make of it. It gets worse, Richard. Let`s look at this. Here she -- asked her about what -- well, should Obama would be -- would it take to defeat Obama in 2012? And here`s what Palin said. This is getting truly scary. This isn`t just not knowing what you`re talking about, or pretending you know what you`re talking about. Here is scary thinking you know what you`re talking about. Let`s listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: Say he played the war card. Say he decided to declare war on Iran or decided really come out and do whatever he could to support Israel, which I would like him to do. But that changes the dynamics in what we can assume is going to happen between now and three years because I think if the election were today, I do not think Obama would be reelected.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS: You`re not suggesting that he would cynically play the war card?

MATTHEWS: I`m not suggesting that. I`m saying if he did, things would dramatically change, if decided to toughen up and do all that he can to secure our nation and our allies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEWS: Is she a balloon head? I mean, Richard, listen to this. I`m asking the question. She said it would be popular in this country to go to war, to declare war on yet another country with 77 million people and a pretty darn modern air force to fight with. To declare war on Iran would be popular in this country. What world does she -- and then she puts the oath up, like to Israel. What was that putting the hand up, kind of an oath there, and bringing in Israel into this? What did that have to do with anything that`s reasonable?

WOLFFE: Well, number one, I think she suffers from living in a pre- Iraq war mentality, which is that, you know, you can go out and prove you`re tough by invading another country. Two problems with that. First of all, it ignores the fact...

MATTHEWS: Declaring war on Iran, she`s talking about.

WOLFFE: First of all -- right. First of all, it ignores the experience that we had in Iraq. Secondly, her brand is that she`s an authentic politician, that she is somehow bringing a sense of reality to the Washington dynamic. And here in this question, she`s engaging in some nakedly political scenario, role playing, as if it`s acceptable. It isn`t! It isn`t to regular voters. It`s not acceptable to foreign policy folks. I -- I -- you know, what can you say except she`s ripping off Pat Buchanan`s column, apparently.

MATTHEWS: Mark, I don`t get it, declaring war on Iran. I mean, everyone knows that Iran is a hell of a lot more sophisticated country than Iraq, a hell of a lot more fierce a war to take on. To go into a ground war of any kind, even -- I would think the most far-right hawk in the country would say drop a few bombs on them, knock out their plant, their nuclear plant. But the idea of declaring war and going to all-out war with -- well, I don`t know what to make of why she`s doing it and saying that would be popular in this country. Where?

MCKINNON: Well, first of all, to Richard`s point, I think there`s a lot of Pat Buchanan in...

MATTHEWS: But he`s against...

MCKINNON: ... Sarah Palin.

MATTHEWS: ... this crazy adventurism.

MCKINNON: Well, yes, but I still think that the whole notion of the populist sort of pitchfork mentality that Sarah Palin is pitching...

MATTHEWS: And that is this neoconservative "We`ve got to go to war everywhere in the Middle East at once"?

MCKINNON: Well, I didn`t hear exactly that, but I take your point...

MATTHEWS: Well, declare war on Iran, in addition to having a war in Iraq and a war in Afghanistan.

MCKINNON: I think the refreshing thing is...

MATTHEWS: Who`s writing her material, Michael Ledeen?

MCKINNON: Yes, the...

MATTHEWS: I mean, this is the -- this is far-out stuff.

MCKINNON: The question is whether she`s smart or ambitious. And if she`s truly smart, I don`t think she`s going to run. I think she`s got a great platform here. She`s going to make a ton of money...

MATTHEWS: Who`s writing this stuff?

MCKINNON: ... no accountability...

MATTHEWS: Randy Scheunemann? Who`s putting this stuff in her mouth?

MCKINNON: I don`t know, but it`s not...

MATTHEWS: You know, Richard, I think we`ve got people out there who are available. Dan Quayle was the first. George W. Bush was the second. These people are sort of hermit crabs. They`re willing to sort of adapt a new personality. And they`re people with ideas who want to force them -- put them in these people`s heads.

WOLFFE: I don`t even think she`s being consistent with those folks because Chris Wallace at Fox asked some great questions, and one of them was, Look, Bill Kristol isn`t happy with you, you supporting Rand Paul, and he doesn`t like any of this foreign war stuff.

MATTHEWS: Right.

WOLFFE: He doesn`t like the Patriot Act. You know, there are such massive inconsistencies in her position, I think...

MATTHEWS: Does she know what she`s saying?

WOLFFE: I think she`s just saying stuff that sounds right to her because other people have said them. She is not George W. Bush. And look, Mark...

MCKINNON: I`ll second that notion.

WOLFFE: ... knows this as well as I do -- you know, she has not got a consistent ideology. That`s going to terrify...

MATTHEWS: Yes.

WOLFFE: ... whatever movement she`s supposed to be leading.

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: I think you`re really smart, Richard, to pick up this mix and match thing she`s doing here, a little bit of neocon, a little bit of libertarianism, throwing it all together, anything that works with the crowd. Here she -- I don`t think going to war with Iran would work with any crowd. But here she is saying something that scared me because it did work with the crowd. She`s chuckling here about secession. Here she is in that speech, talking about Rick Perry. Let`s listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: And then I started hearing up there in Alaska, I started to hear all this news coverage about, Oh, Texas is seceding from the union, the governor --

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

PALIN: And I said -- I said, I think they got that wrong. Texas today? I don`t think they`re seceding, they are succeeding.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEWS: Did you hear the applause she got on secession? What is this, the opening scene to "Gone With the Wind"?

MCKINNON: Well, listen, I...

MATTHEWS: Or "Birth of a Nation"? What is this with these people?

MCKINNON: I heard it in Texas when Rick Perry talked about it and...

MATTHEWS: What do they want to secede from, the union?

MCKINNON: I think it`s more metaphorical than anything else.

MATTHEWS: OK, what`s the metaphor stand for?

MCKINNON: Anti-government, anti-Washington sentiment, not wanting to be part of what`s going on in Washington, and that`s all.

MATTHEWS: And they love talking about traitors on the left.

MCKINNON: Yes.

MATTHEWS: I don`t get it.

MCKINNON: Well, here`s the problem for Sarah Palin and the tea party...

MATTHEWS: Is this the war they want?

MCKINNON: You know, ultimately, they`ve got to be more than just angry and against everything. They have to start putting out policies. And as they`re starting to do that, as you`re pointing out, it becomes more problematic.

MATTHEWS: You know, there`s some people, Richard, who believe that the further right you are, the more American you are. You can talk about another revolution in this country, you can talk about secession, and somehow, that positions you as more patriotic. The further right you go, the more patriotic you are. I heard that in that crowd, and that was pretty ugly. She`s talking to people that like to hear what she has to say, apparently.

WOLFFE: Well, look, patriotism has worked pretty well...

MATTHEWS: No, far-right ideology. That`s not patriotism.

WOLFFE: Well, no, it isn`t, but playing the patriotic card worked well in 2004. I just think this is a different time. Playing the anti- Washington card is clearly a winning thing. Mark is right there. But it`s secession and anti-Washington card, or is it two steps, three steps beyond that? I think what you`re picking up here is -- may work regionally in a place like Texas, maybe even in Alaska. But elsewhere, as a national platform? I can`t see how it resonates.

MATTHEWS: You know, Budd Schulberg couldn`t write better than this. This -- you know what I mean, "Face in the Crowd"? You know...

MCKINNON: Oh, yes, no...

MATTHEWS: ... coming out with somebody who has little hand things written on their palm, calling for revolution, calling for secession, calling for declaring war on third-world countries. And people are cheering!

MCKINNON: Yes. No, I was actually thinking as we were coming on the program about this would make a screenplay and people would probably reject it as being too...

MATTHEWS: You know, Huey Long wasn`t the most sane guy in the world, Richard, but he said that when fascism comes to America, it will call itself anti-fascism.

WOLFFE: Well, that`s an interesting mix here, what we`re seeing about being anti-government and yet also asking for a strong military, as if having a strong military has nothing to do with government. It`s an interesting mix.

MATTHEWS: Or maybe a replacement. This may be "Seven Days in May," Richard. Here`s another thought. Here`s Palin mocking those who believed in President Obama`s message of hope, making fun of the people who believed in the possibilities of this country to be more democratic! Let`s listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: This was all part of that hope and change and transparency. And now a year later, I got to ask the supporters of all that, how`s that hopey-changey stuff working out for you?

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEWS: And how are those private e-mail accounts doing, Governor? Richard?

WOLFFE: I...

MATTHEWS: She likes transparency on the other side.

(LAUGHTER)

WOLFFE: I actually thought that was the best line of her entire weekend. Yes, it`s annoying she`s playing the sort of Spiro Agnew, Let`s rile them up, the Dick Cheney lines. The attack dog persona actually works pretty well for her. Does it reach out to independent voters? I`m not so sure. It`s playing to the crowd. It`s the red meat.

But as you point out, her Alaska position -- even on the political correctness question, whether she`s talking about Rahm`s language or calling other folks kooky, I -- I -- you know, again, the inconsistencies are enough to put a Hummer through it.

MCKINNON: Yes, well, listen, this is early theater. Barack Obama made a lot of mileage out of saying, I`m not George Bush. She`s getting a lot of mileage out of saying, I`m not Barack Obama.

MATTHEWS: Aren`t you an even-handed bloke!

(LAUGHTER)

MATTHEWS: Thanks, Mark...

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: ... straighten things out. Mark McKinnon and Richard Wolffe, it`s a strange day in America in politics, but people ought to pay attention to what politicians say because what they say may well end up being what they do.

Wow!

You think Matthews got a high-five from Olbermann, Maddow, and Shuster after that performance?

To be sure, any sane person would have expected the Obama-loving media to attack Palin after her highly-publicized keynote speech at Saturday's National Tea Party convention.

But I'm not sure any of us were prepared for what we've witnessed in the past 48 hours.

Virtually any channel American's turned to since Palin got off the stage in Nashville, Tennessee, with the obvious exception of Fox News has been an almost unimaginable hatefest towards the former vice presidential candidate. 

It makes you wonder what country you're living in, doesn't it?

After the New Orleans Saints handed a 31-17 beat down to the Indianapolis Colts Peyton Manning rushed off the field without offering a congratulatory handshake to any member of the opposing team.  Was this disrespectful? Hell no.  Peyton Manning is a competitor and a previous Super Bowl champ.  He knows the deal…winning is everything.  And his [...]

The new gun, the LTI20-20 TruCAM, is the most sophisticated speed-enforcement tool of its kind. Police have five of the TruCAM for now. Federal traffic police chief Senior Asst Comm (II) Datuk Abdul Aziz Yusof, who officially launched Ops Sikap near here yesterday, said the TruCAM was a major improvement to the old DigiCAM used by traffic police since 1995. “It weighs only 1.5kg compared to the 40kg DigiCAM, so it is much easier to handle. “That makes it mobile so my men can use it while in a

Pastor Rony Tan was seen interviewing a former Buddhist monk and nun and making disparaging remarks about the central tenets of Buddhism such as reincarnation, meditation and nirvana. According to a report on Channel News Asia, ISD told Pastor Tan that in “preaching or proselytising his faith, he must not run down other religions, and must be mindful of the sensitivities of other religions” Lighthouse Evangelism founder and Senior Pastor Rony Tan had received a phone call from the Internal Sec

From Monday's broadcast network evening newscasts: CBS and NBC found hypocrisy in Sarah Palin scolding President Obama's incessant use of a Teleprompter while she had “crib notes” written on her hand during her Saturday Tea Party convention appearance, CBS followed by giving Obama two-straight minutes to explain why the public will come around to “connect” with him again and, meanwhile, ABC devoted a full story to “whether Republicans want action or are just the 'Party of No'?”

CBS's Nancy Cordes reported, over a helpful graphic showing the words written on Palin's hand, that while Palin “dismissed the President Saturday night as a 'charismatic guy with a Teleprompter,' she may have been relying on some crib notes of her own.” Cordes concluded: “Her supporters called it an endearing sign that Palin's a real person, while detractors argue it's proof she doesn't know her facts.” On NBC, Brian Williams led the Palin story with how “it happened after a speech where she criticized the President for relying too much on a Teleprompter.”  

Next on CBS, Katie Couric highlighted how, in her pre-SuperBowl sit-down with Obama, she had raised with him that “people are not sure who he is or what he stands for.” Viewers were then treated to a two-minute long answer from Obama, ending with his insistance that when the economy improves “we'll do just fine and everybody will be saying what a connection President Obama has with the American people. Which is what they were saying a year ago.” (“They being journalists?”)

ABC's Diane Sawyer relayed the White House spin:

Now we turn to politics and President Obama on the offensive. He has challenged Republicans to a kind of political truth or dare, a meeting February 25th broadcast on TV to discuss health care reform so the country can decide whether Republicans want action or are just the “Party of No”?

From Capitol Hill, Jonathan Karl began his piece: “Democrats up here are saying that these days Republicans are even saying no to their own ideas. Just look at the last few weeks. Senate Republicans reversed course dramatically on how to reduce the deficit...”

From the Monday, February 8 CBS Evening News:

NANCY CORDES: ...While the former Alaska Governor dismissed the President Saturday night as a-

SARAH PALIN: Charismatic guy with a Teleprompter.

CORDES: She may have been relying on some crib notes of her own. Cameras captured the words “energy,” “tax cuts” and “lift American spirits” scribbled on her hand, which she appeared to refer to in the q & a directly following her speech.

PALIN, LOOKING DOWN: We've got to start reigning in the spending, we have got to jump start these energy projects.

CORDES: Her supporters called it an endearing sign that Palin's a real person, while detractors argue it's proof she doesn't know her facts.

The very next story:

COURIC: Though he's been in office just over a year, President Obama has given more than 160 interviews and taken questions at 26 town meetings. In my interview with him yesterday, I asked him about the criticism he gets from some political analysts that in spite of all that exposure, people are not sure who he is or what he stands for.

OBAMA: ...So if we work hard and stay focused on what matters to people in their day to day lives and make some occasionally tough decisions, and the economy improves and people's lives improve, then I think we'll do just fine and everybody will be saying what a connection President Obama has with the American people. Which is what they were saying a year ago.

NBC Nightly News:

BRIAN WILLIAMS: Sarah Palin's defenders went into overdrive today after yesterday's discovery she had notes written on her hand, the answers to a question that hadn't been asked yet on stage. It happened after a speech where she criticized the President for relying too much on a Teleprompter and then some. Our report on all of it tonight from NBC's Andrea Mitchell....

ANDREA MITCHELL: At the Tea Party convention, she lacerated President Obama.

SARAH PALIN: I've got to ask supporters of all that, how's that hopey stuff work out for you? This is about the people and it's bigger than any king or queen of a Tea Party and it's a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a Teleprompter.

MITCHELL: Palin wasn't beyond using a handy crib sheet herself, just in case she was asked her top priorities.

PALIN: We've got to start reigning in the spending, we have got to jump start these energy projects.

MITCHELL: A Palin campaign would certainly be different: Appearing before friendly crowds, using Facebook and Twitter to control the message, not answering tough questions....

From ABC's World News:

DIANE SAWYER: Now we turn to politics and President Obama on the offensive. He has challenged Republicans to a kind of political truth or dare, a meeting February 25th broadcast on TV to discuss health care reform so the country can decide whether Republicans want action or are just the “Party of No”? Jon Karl at Capitol Hill, we want to bring you in. What's the GOP answer?

JONATHAN KARL: Well, when it comes to attending that meeting, all indications are the Republicans will say yes. But if it's a matter of resuscitating the President's health care bill, they've already given their answer and that's a firm no.

SAWYER: And what about the administration indictment that the Republicans  are really looking for ways to say no?

KARL: Well, in fact, Democrats up here are saying that these days Republicans are even saying no to their own ideas. Just look at the last few weeks. Senate Republicans reversed course dramatically on how to reduce the deficit...

The Washington Post website today linked to its sister site of black political analysis, The Root, where former Time magazine editor and columnist Jack White asserted Sarah Palin's "tea party speech revived the ancient practice of attacking people who actually know something." 

White painted Palin (and conservatives) as unthinking. Like many liberals, he doesn’t grasp that what conservative speakers are often inveighing against is not people who think. It’s against people who think that conservatives don’t think. White is clearly, precisely one of those people.

White plucked out one phrase of Palin's speech -- that "we need a commander-in-chief, not a law professor at a lectern" -- into a grand indictment of know-nothing populism, vigilantism, book-banning, and the general hatred of knowledge:

In her view, and that of the tea party movement she is seeking to co-opt to her own inflated political ambitions, the painstakingly acquired insights of experts on subjects ranging from evolution to global climate change is of less value than the instinctive "common sense" of average people with no special knowledge of those subjects.

Hence her sarcastic references to the common people’s supposed resentment of being "lectured" by Obama and his fellow liberal politicians. To Palin, Obama is the teacher you loved to hate—especially if you didn’t get to go to college. It’s the envy the C students aim at the A students, and it does not go away.

More ominously, her campaign draws on the same old tactics—scapegoating outsiders and immigrants, ascribing power to nefarious plotters, pitting the so-called people against the so-called oppressive elite—that have characterized right-wing, know-nothing, populist movements since the early days of the Republic.

They often arise at times of economic stress, such as the current recession, pointing fingers and driving out rational thought with appeals to angry emotion. Theirs is the impulse behind vigilantism and the urge to ban books and the invocation of supposed traditional values to oppose social change. Theirs is the value system that stubbornly puts more value on intuition and received wisdom than on scholarship and experimentation. Theirs is the mind of the mob, resenting being told things it does not want to hear.

That leaves out a lot of context. White knew it was an indictment of Obama’s terror fighting. After he trotted out all the pro-Obama talking points on how tough he is on "man-caused disasters," he turned it into an attack on smart people. But he could have at least let Palin have one paragraph of elaboration from her speech, like this:

The events surrounding the Christmas Day plot reflect the kind of thinking that led to September 11th. That threat then, as the U.S.S. Cole was attacked, our embassies were attacked. It was treated like an international crime spree, not like an act of war. We're seeing that mindset again settle into Washington. That scares me for my children and for your children. Treating this like a mere law enforcement matter places our country at grave risk. Because that's not how radical Islamic extremists are looking at this. They know we're at war. And to win that war, we need a commander-in-chief, not a law professor at a lectern.

That has a lot more thought in it than liberals are willing to acknowledge. They should do more to engage it, and less to simply invent their own ideas of Palin's cynical hate-mongering and race-baiting and pandering to the "booboisie."

On Monday’s Rick’s List program on CNN, Salon.com’s Fred Kaplan attacked Republicans for politicizing national security, accused the GOP of being in an alternate reality, and blasted Sarah Palin for “talking...complete and utter nonsense.” Kaplan also wrote off the tea parties as not a “mass movement,” and, along with anchor Rick Sanchez, accused Palin of forwarding “anti-intellectualism.”

The Salon.com national security columnist, who is also a former correspondent for the Boston Globe, appeared as a guest during the last ten minutes of Sanchez’s program, just before the top of the 5 pm Eastern hour. Before introducing Kaplan, the CNN anchor set up the discussion by referencing the political debate over the granting of Miranda rights to attempted airline bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab after his Christmastime arrest. Sanchez first asked the Salon.com writer, “Who’s doing the politicizing here?”

Kaplan squarely placed the entire blame on Republicans:

KAPLAN: I think completely the Republicans. You know, Rick, when Richard Reid was arrested, the shoe bomber, he was read his Miranda rights. Nobody made a fuss about that....you have Sarah Palin, you have the House minority leader saying Obama acts more like a law professor than a commander- in-chief. You know, this is a guy who has tripled the troop deployment in Afghanistan, tripled the number of bombs dropped on militants in Pakistan, sending military trainers and advisers to Yemen. Everybody seems to have forgotten authorizing- having SEAL sharpshooters kill those three pirates off the coast of Somalia. You know, what are they talking about?

Even as Sanchez tried to summarize the criticisms of the Obama administration’s national security policy, the former Boston Globe correspondent stepped up his criticism of the GOP:

SANCHEZ: Well, I’ll tell you what, though- there is a difference given that the argument has shifted. Ever since the argument about Gitmo, for example, we’ve started to see a lot of folks on both sides of the aisle, by the way, who are saying- you know, given the fact that we’ve seen some of these guys return to Yemen and become terrorists again, maybe we should think twice about being too constitutional with these people.

KAPLAN: You know, it was Bush who sent them back to Yemen. What Obama talked about (unintelligible) putting them in maximum-

SANCHEZ: It’s both administrations.

KAPLAN: No. When- he was talking about putting them in maximum security prisons in the United States. You know how many terrorists are in maximum security federal prisons in the United States now? Three hundred and fifty-five. Most of them were tried in federal courts without incident. Nobody has broken out. No- in no city has- you know, fellow travelers come to try to break- a lot of these guys just watch too many bad movies.

Actually, Sanchez is correct. Prior to Abdulmutallab’s bombing attempt, The Washington Post reported on December 19, 2009 that the Obama administration planned to return six detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to Yemen. But that detail didn’t seem to matter to Kaplan, who changed the subject to the debate over placing terrorists in federal prisons on the American mainland.

Sanchez then focused his attention on Sarah Palin’s criticisms of the Obama administration on national security. The Salon.com columnist didn’t let up in his attacks, and made his first insinuation that Republicans were living in an alternate reality. The CNN anchor also raised his accusation of “non-intellectualism” against Palin (which Kaplan changed to “anti-intellectualism”).

FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN (from the Tea Party Convention): Treating this like a mere law enforcement matter places our country at grave risk, because that’s not how radical Islamic extremists are looking at this. They know we’re at war, and to win that war, we need a commander-in-chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern.

SANCHEZ: Well, you know-

KAPLAN: Again, I don’t know what she’s talking about. You know, professors of law don’t send troops to Afghanistan, drop bombs on Pakistan. You know, you can agree or disagree with what he’s done, but to say that he’s some kind of passive guy who’s too concerned with legal rights- you know, Rick, it would be like somebody from a competing news network would say- you know, CNN, they’re trapped in the 20th century. They don’t high definition. They film in black and white. They’ve got no global correspondents, and you say, what are you talking about? We’re in high definition. We have correspondents all over the world-

SANCHEZ: But you know-

KAPLAN: It’s that preposterous.

SANCHEZ: I’ll tell you what people will complain about when they hear that statement. It’s the sense that there is a push among certain people in our country for almost non-intellectualism. In other words, the smarter you are, the less we’re interested in what you have to say.

KAPLAN: Anti-intellectualism- yeah.

SANCHEZ: Right, anti-intellectualism.

KAPLAN: Yeah, I think you’re absolutely right. Look, there are two things going on here. One- I mean, Sarah Palin is obviously, to some people, a very appealing person. She’s very good at reading a prepared speech. She has marketable appeal. There are people advising her who have no such appeal. They’re treating her like a useful idiot, feeding her stuff, and because she’s saying it, some people are going to go for it, whereas other people saying it, they might not.

After this answer, Sanchez followed up by asking about Palin’s Tea Party Convention booking: “Then how do you explain all the people who admire her and back her, and paid, by the way, $350 or $300, or whatever it was, to listen to her speak?” Kaplan replied by bashing the tea party movement: “I don’t know, we’re talking 1,100 people? I don’t know, what kind of mass movement is this, really?”

The anchor raised the “anti-intellectualism” charge against Palin with his colleague Wolf Blitzer later in the segment. Kaplan interjected after Blitzer answered, and continued his assault on Republicans:

SANCHEZ: Do you- you know Fred, and Fred was making the point that there seems to be a push toward anti-intellectualism. I mean, to be upset or to complain, which seems to be- I think it's fair to say- there’s almost a complaint out there that this president is too smart. That, after all, he's a law professor, a constitutional law professor. We don’t need one of those. It’s an interesting argument, isn't it?

BLITZER: Well, if you’re asking me, I think you want a president of the United States who’s a very, very intelligent, smart person who knows what he or she is talking about. So, can a president of the United States be too intellectual, too smart? Maybe, if that person doesn’t have any common sense. If you’re just an intellectual or an academic, but have no common sense- you’re trying to find somebody who’s smart and intelligent, but also balances that off with some good common sense.

SANCHEZ: Wolf Blitzer, what have you got today?

KAPLAN: Listen, Rick, I have a question.

SANCHEZ: Go ahead.

KAPLAN: You know, I’m waiting for a Republican leader to come forth and disassociate him or herself from some of the blatant lies that these people are talking about. I mean, to say- you know, that Obama is weak or- you know, when is this going to happen?  I mean, you’re in Washington, Wolf. I’m in New York. I don’t know what’s going on.

SANCHEZ: Wolf, I know you’ve got to go- There have been some Republicans who have stood up. John McCain, for example, on several occasions has stood up and criticized some of these moves, has he not, Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes. Lindsey Graham, too, for that matter.

KAPLAN: Not really-

BLITZER: There are some Republicans who aren’t afraid to go against other Republicans when they deem it appropriate.

Just as he did near the beginning of the segment, Kaplan all but absolved Democrats of being partisan on the national security issue near the end of the segment, and didn’t let up in his attacks on Republicans and on Palin specifically. Sanchez even thanked him for his “bold opinions.”

SANCHEZ (to Kaplan): Let me get back to you. You know, Fred, as you look at this, do you worry? For example, do you worry that we’re so entrenched on either one side or the other that in the end- you know, because I sense, when I talk to you, that you’re really angry at some of these Republicans for what they’ve said, for their misrepresentations. I mean, going too far on the other end is just as bad, right? I mean, do you worry that we’re so polarized-

KAPLAN: Well, absolutely, but who is going- who, in a position of power, is going too far on the other end? I do worry about the state of the discourse. If you have to spend- you know, 80 percent of your time saying that the sky is blue, not red, that there’s very little time to talk about serious things. When- I believe in a two-party system. When is the other party going to say- okay, we’re ready to talk about serious things now?

SANCHEZ: Uh-huh. You know, it’s a situation when you hear Sarah Palin speak that you almost get a sense that she knows which buttons she needs to push. Are there not Democrats who do the same thing? They use the political buzzwords that they think will help them either- A, raise money, B, get elected?

KAPLAN: Well, sure- and I’m not going to defend everybody in the Democratic Party, either- but there is a requirement if you’re thinking about running for president- and she is, as we now know- I think you have a basic obligation to stick- you know, let’s say the laws of gravity, just basic-

SANCHEZ: Down to 10 seconds, Fred.

KAPLAN: Factual accuracy. She’s just talking nonsense- complete and utter nonsense.

SANCHEZ: All right. My thanks to you, Fred Kaplan, for your bold opinions.

KAPLAN: Thank you.

A "ripped" Miley Cyrus shows a little leg (thanks to her well-worn jeans) while out in Los Angeles Sunday with boyfriend Liam Hemsworth. The teen star recently kicked off an online auction to help raise money for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. The 17-year-old star - who recently denied she is engaged to actor Liam Hemsworth after she was pictured wearing a ring on her engagement finger - has been joking to pals about the possibility of changing her name to match her 18-year-old boyfriend#3

Does Arianna Huffington consider Glenn Beck more radical and dangerous than an advocate of Islamic Sharia law? She's let off a lot of hot air lately criticizing Fox News president Roger Ailes for employing Beck, but it turns out that on the Huffington Post's payroll is an envoy to the United States from the Somali Unity government, led by the Islamic Courts Union.

The ICU is a strong proponent of Sharia law, and an organization dubbed by some the Taliban of Africa for its radical interpretation of Islam and its support for some violent elements of the Islamic community (like Osama Bin Laden).

Abukar Arman, the Somali Unity government's envoy to the United States, is open about his advocacy of Sharia as long as it is "adapted to address contemporary political, social, economic, and spiritual challenges in a just way." He lays out a number conditions that would have to be satisfied for sharia to be effectively implemented in Somalia. These include respect for life, assembly, conscience, thought, rule of law, political freedom, and international peace. Considering the violent history of the Somali Unity government and he ICU, that is not likely.

Being a "progressive" Islamist in Somalia is all well and good, but considering the prior actions of the government for which Arman works, his claim that he only favors sharia law if it respects Somalis' life, liberty, and property is like saying he favors world peace. Yeah, it would be great. Will it happen? Doubtful.

As Rusty "Asadullah Alshishani" notes at Jawa Report,

This would be the same government that killed a 22 year old apostate for leaving Islam and embracing Christianity. That banned the watching of movies in theaters…

The problem here is not necessarily that Arman is now working for what will clearly be an oppressive regime. Neither is the problem that Arman advocates reconciliation with that regime. Realpolitik may mean we have to learn to live with the bad in order to avoid the worse.

The problem is that the Huffington Post has given him a bullhorn to spread what are essentially lies. Lies about the nature of sharia. Lies about the nature of Sharif Ahmed's vision of political Islam. The actions of the former ICU government led by Ahmed speak for themselves.

Perhaps reconciliation is a worthy goal in Somalia. Stability also may be a worthy goal. And so, too, a government willing to oppose the al Shabaab. The suffering of the Somali people may be less under an oppressive sharia regime than under the present chaos.

But Arman is clearly a propagandist who wishes to whitewash what has happened in Somalia and disconnect all of the many atrocities done there from the ideology which inspired those very same atrocities -- political Islam.

So in addition to the litany of wild and crude accusations and epithets thrown around by scores of Huffington Post contributors already documented by NewsBusters, the blog also employs an advocate of Islamic sharia law. Huffington may want to pay more consideration to members of her own payroll before criticizing Ailes for individuals on his.