Current Events and the Psychology of Politics
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Feb 20th, 2010

Summary: Conspiracy theories have long been a fixture on the political landscape, with political paranoia most virulent among politically marginalized sectors of the polity. So, with Democrats holding the reins of power, it stands to reason that the right-wing fringe has become the prime repository of collective craziness. … Conspiracy-theorist-in-chief Michele Bachmann. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on February 20, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi reporter who hurled his shoes at George W. Bush, said at his trial that President Bush’s smile as he talked about achievements in Iraq had made him think of “the killing of more than a million Iraqis, the disrespect for the sanctity of the mosques and houses, the rapes of women,” and enraged him. “After more than a million Iraqis killed, after all the economic and social destruction … I felt that this person is the killer of the people, the prime murderer. I was enraged and threw my shoes at him.”


Jan 21st, 2010

Summary: For the second year running, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) figured prominently in 2009 year-end lists. The Minnesota Independent has a concise overview. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 21, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that in his inaugural address President Barack Obama promised to “begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people” and forge “a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan,” and that his promise to end the war in Iraq was on the agenda for the first full day of his presidency, January 21, 2009, when the new commander in chief was scheduled to meet with his top national security aides and senior commanders.


Sep 27th, 2009

Summary: In St. Louis for the “How to Take Back America” conference, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has said she will not fully comply with the 2010 census, declined to respond to a question by Washington Independent reporter David Weigel regarding the apparent lynching — later ruled a suicide — of Kentucky census worker Bill Sparkman. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 18th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported on a skirmish between Kurdish security forces and Iraqi police in Iraq’s northeastern Diyala province near the disputed Kurdish autonomous region and provided a daily summary of security incidents in Iraq.


Sep 20th, 2009

Summary: The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party has released a statement that characterizes Gov. Tim Pawlenty as “moving closer and closer to Representative Michele Bachmann’s extreme right-wing ideology.” … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 11th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported on the release of a new al-Qaida tape marking the 7th anniversary of 9/11, threatening attacks in Afghanistan; a huge suicide truck bombing that devastated the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad; and a speech by Pakistan’s new president, Asif Ali Zardari, in which he said Pakistan will not tolerate violations of its sovereignty in the name of fighting terrorism — a clear signal to the United States to avoid controversial cross-border strikes against the Taliban and al-Qaida.



Summary: PolitiFact’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Truth-O-Meter rates Rep. Michele Bachmann’s “scaremongering claim” that ACORN will be a paid partner of the Census Bureau and “in charge” of going door-to-door and collecting data from the American public in the 2010 U.S. Census as [Liar, Liar] Pants on Fire.



Summary: PolitiFact’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Truth-O-Meter rates U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-Minn.) “ridiculously false statement” that the Constitution only requires people to tell the Census Bureau how many individuals are in their home as [Liar, Liar] Pants on Fire.



Summary: Since January 2008, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is 0 for 5 on the PolitiFact Truth-O-Meter. Her latest ratings involve two “ridiculously false statements” about the 2010 Census.


Jun 27th, 2009

Summary: Compilation of notable reports and opinions regarding U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s announcement that she will refuse to complete the 2010 U.S. Census beyond reporting the number of members in her household.


May 15th, 2009

Summary: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) has called on Congress to block ACORN’s access to federal housing funds, citing repeated charges of voter registration fraud against the low-income advocacy group.


Feb 26th, 2009

Summary: “The DCCC is after me again!” read a fund-raising e-mail Rep. Michele Bachmann has sent to supporters. Its the first time Bachmann has acknowledged — at least implicitly — the uproar her comments on KTLK two weeks earlier caused among progressive, and even a few conservative, blogs and media outlets.