FAR-RIGHT
RELIGIOUS GROUP BEHIND "DEATH PANELS" MYTH
LINKED TO OTHER HEALTH REFORM
DISTORTIONS: Sarah Palin appears to
have picked up the misinformation that led to
her "death panel" charges from the Liberty
Counsel -- a far-right religious group
affiliated with Jerry Falwell's Liberty
University empire in Lynchburg, Va.
(8/11/2009)

BIG
OIL HOLDING "TOWN HALLS" ON CLIMATE
BILL: Inspired by the
corporate-backed protest movement against
health insurance reform, an alliance founded
and funded by the oil industry and other
business interests opposed to greenhouse gas
regulation is planning a series of rallies
against climate legislation.
(8/13/2009)

"BIRTHER"
PHENOMENON STRONG IN RURAL SOUTH, POLLSTERS
FIND: New polls out from a North
Carolina polling firm find that large
percentages of voters in that state and
Virginia don't believe President Obama was
actually born in the United States -- while a
surprising number also question whether
Hawaii is really part of the country.
(8/12/2009)

"DEATH
PANEL" ARCHITECT A PRO-LIFE REPUBLICAN FROM
GEORGIA? One of the biggest promoters
of advance care planning -- the concept some
politicians have slammed as creating "death
panels" -- is Sen. Johnny Isakson. He called
the "death panel" claims "nuts," but he also
blasted
the White House for linking him to the
specific policy in the House reform bill.
(8/10/2009)

SWASTIKA
SPRAY-PAINTED AT OFFICE OF BLACK GA.
CONGRESSMAN: The office of Rep. David
Scott of suburban Atlanta was also hit with
other graffiti using racial slurs and calling
for "Death to all Marxists!" The lawmaker
believes he's been targeted over remarks he
made at a recent town hall on health care
reform, which he supports. (8/11/2009)

VOICES
| RED-BAITING AND RACISM: SOCIALISM AS THE
NEW BLACK BOGEYMAN: With those
opposed to the president's politically
cautious Democratic agenda decrying him as a
"socialist," anti-racist writer and educator
Tim Wise digs into the phenomenon and asks:
Is "socialism" racist code for the
long-standing white fear that black folks
will steal from them? (8/12/2009)

IN OTHER NEWS: Obama's
gift to the mining industry ... The
end
of family detention? ... Corporate
lobbying goes from fake to fraud ... N.C.
Congressman gets death threat over health
care reform ... Watchdog
warns of far-right militia resurgence.