Summary: Nearly 3,000 pages of e-mails that Todd Palin, husband of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, exchanged with state officials have been released to MSNBC.com and NBC News by the state of Alaska under its public records law. The e-mails draw a picture of a Palin administration where the governor’s husband got involved in a judicial appointment, monitored contract negotiations with public employee unions, received background checks on a corporate CEO, added his approval or disapproval to state board appointments, and passed financial information marked “confidential” from his oil company employer to a state attorney. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on February 6, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that the Army was investigating an unexplained and stunning spike in suicides in January 2009. The count was said to be likely to surpass the number of combat deaths during the same period reported by all branches of the armed forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the fight against terrorism.

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Summary: PolitiFact, the Pulitzer Prize-winning project of the St. Petersburg Times to find the truth in American politics, has announced its “Lie of the Year” contest to find the most significant political falsehood of 2009, with U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann among the eight nominees. … Talking Points Memo has announced the 3rd Annual Golden Duke Awards (named in honor of disgraced Congressmann Randy “Duke” Cunningham) recognizing excellence in public corruption, betrayals of the public trust, and generally shameless behavior, with Rep. Michele Bachmann a serious contender in the “Meritorious Achievement in The Crazy” and “Best Public Policy-based Fib” categories. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on December 15, 2008, Aubrey Immelman reported that an Iraqi reporter hurled his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush on a farewell visit to Baghdad, shouting in Arabic, “This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog.”

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Summary: Pointing to U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, Michael White of the British newspaper The Guardian says what troubles him about the U.S. today is that “public reaction to the Obama presidency is irrational, emotional, and ignorant.” Excerpts with sidebars, links, graphics, and video added. … Eric Roper reports in the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Hot Dish Politics blog (Nov. 28, 2009) that MSNBC’s Ed Schultz devoted more than a quarter of his Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 show to Rep. Michele Bachmann. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on November 30, 2008, Aubrey Immelman reported that the fallout from a three-day terrorist rampage that killed nearly 200 people in Mumbai threatened to unravel India’s improving ties with Pakistan and prompted the resignation of India’s security minister.

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Summary: Like most of the mainstream media complicit in propagating a superficial, sanitized image of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, CNN has taken the bait. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on November 18, 2008, Aubrey Immelman reported that Iran praised the Iraqi Cabinet for approving a U.S-Iraq status-of-forces agreement and that Michael Hanna, an analyst at the Century Foundation in New York, said a continuing but finite presence of U.S. troops in Iraq could benefit Iran because it provides “retaliatory options” as Tehran pursues a nuclear program opposed by the West.

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Summary: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann is making headlines in the British press, where she is touted as “a Republican congresswoman from Minnesota who is being hailed as a new and increasingly powerful voice in American politics.” Excerpts from an article by Paul Harris, New York-based correspondent for The Observer and The Guardian, supplemented with annotated critique. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on November 16, 2008, I reported that racial incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are shattering the postelection illusion of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America. There have been “hundreds” of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes.

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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.

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Summary: First, Michele Bachmann testified that God told her to run for Congress. Then she said she would run for president if called by God. And now, she claims Democrats want to take her down because they fear she could become the first woman president of the United States. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on Primary Election Day, the 57th day of his campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman called on 6th District citizens to exercise their right to vote and featured some photos chronicling his final campaign swing through the Sixth District the previous day, down the I-94 / Highway 10 corridor from St. Cloud to Blaine.

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Summary: In a fiery speech at an Independence Institute fundraiser in Denver that at times sounded more like the plot of a slasher movie, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann railed against the dangers of health care reform and other Democratic initiatives, warning the proposals “have the strength to destroy this country forever” and calling on her audience to “make a covenant, to slit our wrists, be blood brothers on this thing.” … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 50th day of his campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman reminded voters that there was just one week left until the Tuesday, September 9, 2008 Minnesota state primary election, offering disaffected Republicans, independents, and Democrats an opportunity to vote Rep. Bachmann out of office.

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Summary: Bachmann is at it again, making false or outrageous claims in the national media and then playing the victim by leveraging her disingenuousness, incendiary rhetoric and political paranoia into campaign cash. … One year ago today, on the 31st day of his campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman took a one-day break from his Sixth District walking tour to rest his feet and catch up on administrative matters and correspondence while tracking international developments relevant to his campaign focus on national security — specifically, the Russian invasion of Georgia and the emerging threat of female suicide bombers in Iraq.

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Summary: Top Democrats believe they have struck political gold by depicting Rush Limbaugh as the new face of the Republican Party, a full-scale effort first hatched by some of the most familiar names in politics and now being guided in part from inside the White House.

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