From Alicublog's Roy Edroso:

I'll say it again: Obama is black and therefore can still lose against these idiots. But it's nonetheless fun to see them digging so deep into their worn-out bag of used-up tricks. For example: Someone reminds the Ole Perfesser of Obama's celebrated 3-point shot. The feat was cheered by soldiers, which must have extra-deranged the Perfesser and led him to emit this:

Anyway, that's not so cool as Kass makes it sound. My high-school friend Steve Proffitt once made a more than full-court shot -- from the opposite end of the Maryville College gym, as he walked out the door -- over his shoulder, all the way to the far goal, nothing but net. He was so cool, he didn't even see it as he continued out the door without looking back. Now that's cool. And if he were running for President, I'd vote for him ...

... unless he were running as a Democrat, in which case the Perfesser would say that's wasn't such a big deal, he knew this one guy who sank a basket from an airplane, or some shit.

This week's Meet the Bloggers was practically dripping in oil.  It's an issue affecting all of us, from the exorbitant price of gas to the war in Iraq, from the billions in subsidies for oil companies to the catastrophic environmental destruction brought on by Big Oil.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) sat down with Meet the Bloggers host Cenk Uygur and FOX Attacks blogger Jonathan Kim to discuss ways to combat Big Oil and reach energy independence.

Sen. Reid emphasized the need to cut off government subsidies for oil companies and talked about how speculation has led to us paying up the "you-know-what" at the pump.  Uygur and Kim also directed Reid's attention to the Republicans' overt lies about how unsafe offshore drilling is for our environment.  For instance, conservatives, led by John McCain, have been claiming that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused no oil spills, when the truth is that those two spills alone caused 124 spills for a total of 743,700 gallons, according to some estimates.  

In part 2 of this interview, Sen. Reid explained ways to get off Big Oil and invest in alternative energy sources.  He fielded questions from the audience, and then praised bloggers for framing the energy debate and using their influence to combat Big Oil and conservatives alike. 

That cued our featured bloggers: Kevin Grandia (DeSmogBlog), Nico Pitney (Huffington Post), and Matt Stoller (Open Left).  They discussed the oil framing game; who will truly benefit from offshore drilling; the biggest Republican flip-floppers on oil; the need to nationalize the oil industry; and the disastrous consequences of Republicans getting their way.  All told, it was a truly inspired discussion and hopefully it will prompt politicians to pay attention to this incredibly important issue.

You can check out the full show at http://meetthebloggers.org/.  Meet the Bloggers airs Fridays live at 1pm ET.  

Ground zero of the mortgage meltdown — Cleveland, Ohio. Correspondent Rick Karr takes viewers to Slavic Village, one of the hardest hit neighborhoods in the nation when it comes to the spate of foreclosures caused by the subprime mortgage crisis. Aired Friday, July 18, at 9p.m. on PBS (check local listings).

For more: http://www.pbs.org/billmoyers

John Aravosis at AMERICAblog sent over a tip that John McCain had needed a crib sheet to talk about milk prices during his photo opportunity Wednesday at a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania supermarket.

Sure enough...

If you missed Lindsay Graham's reaction, you need to watch again.  Sam Stein has more at HuffPo.

More at therealnews.com

Danny Schechter: "This is a 50 state Katrina"

Watch more at www.theyoungturks.com

For Obama's full speech in Berlin, click here.

And check out Cenk's new show, Meet the Bloggers.

A fake horror movie trailer spoofing the current administration. Brought to you by SuperBooty Studios!

For more info go to superbooty.com.

John McCain tries to live up to George Bush's lofty standards as a communicator. Isn't it time for a change?

From Progressive Future's Kate Drazner:

Two weeks ago, when I first posted my interview with Ben Carter, many people applauded him for having the courage to come forward and talk about his first-hand experience in Iraq with Halliburton subsidiary KBR. He described, in great detail, KBR's negligence in their contract to provide safe non-potable water to the troops.

Hundreds and hundreds responded by e-mailing DoD Chief Financial Officer Tina Jonas, telling her not to give KBR another penny of the government's money until a full public investigation was fulfilled. Note: After receiving an influx of emails from activists, Ms. Jonas blocked her email address. We have now made the action into a petition which will be delivered to her.  We also shared Ben's testimony on the Brave New Films documentary, Iraq For Sale.

Not everyone was supportive. One angry young man responded negatively on the blogs. He said I was presenting heresy as fact, and accused me of not providing enough evidence to back up Ben's claims. I guess he wasn't convinced of Ben's story, even though it perfectly aligned with previous reports in the press, ranging from the breaking of the dirty water story to Senator Clinton's push for an investigation of KBR.

This week, HeathCareForAmerica’s YouTube channel released “Insurance Company Rules,” a video that takes a humorous approach to an issue that many people don’t find funny. Filmed and put together by the comedy ensemble the Public Service Administration, the video argues that when it comes to health care, there are two sets of rules: the ones that apply to health insurance companies, and the ones that apply to everyone else.

“We decided to create the video because we wanted to highlight the outrageous practices of the insurance industry,” Levana Layendecker from Health Care For America told Citizentube. “Insurance companies get to make the rules that maximize their profits. Their profits are skyrocketing at the expense of our health. …We don't think the American people should be left alone to fend for themselves in the unregulated, bureaucratic health insurance market.”

If you're desperate to be John McCain's vice presidential nominee, you better get on TV and start talking up the Surge as the single most important issue in this year's presidential campaign. And if you're serious about getting picked it wouldn't be a bad idea to say John McCain invented the idea of the surge and maybe even coined the word either. In today's episode of TPMtv we check in on some of the wannabes to see just how bad they want it ...

This Saturday, Robert Greenwald will be speaking at DIY Days, a unique film conference in downtown Los Angeles.

What is DIY Days, you ask?

How do we sustain ourselves as filmmakers and storytellers in this day of shifting film distribution systems? How do we monetize our film and get the word out? Presented by From Here to Awesome the Workbook Project and Current TV - DIY DAYS aims to answer these questions with a day of panels, roundtable discussions and workshops: A look at how to fund, create, distribute and sustain.

In addition to Greenwald, there will be some other fascinating speakers and roundtable discussions. Tickets are free if you’d like to go, but you must register in advance.

More info can be found at: diydays.com

Today Now! shares a delicious omelet recipe you can make at home with just a few simple and surreal ingredients.

More at therealnews.com

Joe Lieberman attends conference of the pastor that McCain renounced.

Watch more at www.theyoungturks.com

Also check out Cenk in his newest show: Meet the Bloggers.

Jacob Soboroff wants to see more people voting and isn't afraid to ask the hard questions.

Your Daily Politics Video Blog: In the past week John McCain and his surrogates have done their best to focus the entire McCain-Obama debate on the question of which candidate was right about the troop surge in Iraq. So it was a little surprising to see McCain on the CBS Evening News last night get a basic historical fact about the surge so plainly wrong.

After FOX thwarted Nas' attempt to deliver our 620,000-signature petition in Manhattan yesterday, Nas outfoxed FOX.  Nas took the petition over to The Colbert Report, where he and Colbert lit into FOX for its racist slander against the Obamas as they literally sat on our boxes of petition signatures. 

So many highlights: Nas calling Colbert a gangster host; Colbert dropping rhymes like atom bombs; Colbert declaring Tucker Carlson less qualified than Lil Jon to host the news; Nas ending the show with his anti-FOX anthem, "Sly Fox."  But what really stood out for me was the sight of Nas and Colbert using our petition as a table for their discussion.  What a clear, powerful message that sends about how many people are standing up to FOX's overt racism.   

Tune into MeettheBloggers.org on Friday at 1pm ET/10am PT when our guest will be Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).  This week, our panel of bloggers will include Kevin Grandia of DeSmogBlog, Nico Pitney of The Huffington Post, and Matt Stoller of OpenLeft, who will discuss the energy crisis and the proposal to lift the ban on offshore drilling.

To get the conversation going, Meet the Bloggers host Cenk Uygur has weighed in with his thoughts on offshore drilling over at HuffPo.  Also, don't miss Chris Bowers' piece, Just Let Them Do It, for another excellent take on this debate.

And if you missed last week's premiere of Meet the Bloggers with guest Arianna Huffington, you can check it out here.