RachelWatch: PrayerCasting Aspersions

Today: The far right asks God to veto the health care bill, anyone can intercept our drone transmissions, and we all learn the importance of bird poop.

“Oh, Lord, Come to Our Senators”

Rachel started us off with some amazing video of the far right “PrayerCast” asking God to step in and defeat the health care bill.

I think they want God to change hearts and minds or something, but if s/he is listening and is really going to intervene, wouldn’t a rain of frogs be funnier? I'm just saying.

Actual sitting elected officials let anti-gay, anti-choice fire-and-brimstone preacher Lou Engle take the lead, just stepping in occasionally to add their own prayers or, in at least one case, flat-out lie about the health care bill.

As shiver-inducing as this whole thing seems to an outsider, I bet it must be mortifying to Christians who like to pray with a little less posturing and don’t believe that God has specifically commanded them to hate other people. Or spend their spiritual energy on large insurance companies instead of the local food bank.

Sorry, non-shouty Christians! Looks like you’ll have to keep following “I’m a Christian,” with “but…” for a little while longer.

I know I should be more upset by Lou Engle. The things he says swing pretty freely between the hateful and the bizarre.

But I can’t take him as seriously as I should because he sounds exactly like Super Dave.

Thank you, Super Dave, for reminding me that Lou Engle is ridiculous. Whatever other awful things he ends up saying or doing, we must not forget that he is ridiculous.

Rachel Explains What’s Good about Hooters

Rachel gave us an update on the story of the online offers to sign up for anti–health care reform e-mails from the Chamber of Commerce in exchange for the chance to win a Hooters gift card.

The Chamber of Commerce now says the whole thing was a vicious trick by pro-reform meanies who were trying to make them look bad.

Really? Some group of firebrands threw all their resources into taking the Chamber of Commerce down? With women who wear pantyhose under their shorts?

It sounds a tad farfetched. It seems more likely that the Chamber of Commerce is not careful with its contractors, or that we have a situation like the one in which Newt Gingrich withdrew his business award from The Lodge gentleman's club once he realized he’d be associated with The Sexy Times.

But maybe I’m wrong and someone is indeed punking the CoC with the lure of terrifying amounts of beer and saline.

Either way, the Chamber of Commerce doesn’t care for the connection. Rachel pointed out that this is unfair, and said that she has heard their wings are awesome.

Heard?

Ms. Maddow, you are a newswoman dedicated to discovering and documenting the truth. The only reasonable course of action is to take a camera crew to Hooters so you can properly verify the awesomeness of those wings.

The Kill Bill Caucus

Rachel took a look at two very different groups who now want to kill the Senate health care bill: The progressives who have lost faith and would like to quickly and cleanly behead it and start over, and the entire Republican Party, which long ago announced a plan to kill the bill slowly.

Not putting a dry cleaning bag over its head slowly or even death by 10,000 cuts slowly. We’re talking burying toxic waste in its yard and waiting slowly.

Is the bill even worth supporting at this point? Could the liberal revolt strengthen the bill rather than kill it?

The Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson checked in to talk it out.

Prepare to fall deeply, giddily in love with the TRMS graphics staff.

Interception!

Did you have a couple of days in a row during which you weren’t worried about death from the skies? Rachel can take care of that for you.

She introduced those of us still messing around with dumb old cable or regular satellite to Russian SkyGrabber software, which promises to make your life more exciting for a mere $26.00.

And that it can. Noah Shachtman of Wired’s Danger Room blog stopped by to frighten you. (Oh, goody. There’s an update.)

If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be typing the rest of this from my building’s boiler room.

Ms. Information

Aww, yeah! It’s the Copenhagen climate talks! And Senator James “Captian Veracity” Inhofe (R - Oklahoma)sprang into action with his hardy Truth Squad!

Well, OK, not with his Truth Squad. With a staffer. But still! He went out to kick man-made client change butt and... Hmm. He doesn’t seem to have taken any names either. Did he at least make it over to defiantly uproot some flowers at Tivoli Gardens?

Well, at least he could make his point by flying across the ocean and back for a three-hour stay. Bam biff pow, conservationists!

In contrast, Rachel moved on to the story of former Congressman James Traficant, who loves the environment so much that he keeps small animals warm and cosy resting on top of his head.

Traficant was kicked out of Congress for corruption, but why should that stop a comeback?

You can also bid on his beautiful, beautiful paintings. Which for some reason remind me of his hair.

Moment of Geopolitical Geek

Sometimes international politics is literally guano.

Rachel told an odd tale with a melancholy truth at its heart: All too often we don’t appreciate bird poop until it’s gone.