• 32 GOP Senators signed a legal brief challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform law
• nine GOP Senators refused to join in; Lisa Murkowski, Scott Brown and Judd Gregg are amongst the group source

Why didn’t they sign?

• We are not going to be able to talk about it. We just aren’t going to talk about that.
• Otto Heck, Judd Gregg’s spokesman • “Explaining” why Gregg didn’t sign the legal brief, prepared by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, that most of his Republican colleagues supported. Almost a third of McConnell’s caucus broke ranks here, a surprisingly high number given the general solidarity of GOP opposition to HCR.

• There should never be a situation where that happens. The security officers are there to protect the traveling public. There are specific standard operating protocols which they are to follow.
• TSA Chief John Pistole • In response to a situation that an ABC News employee went through in an airport yesterday, around the time that Pistole was embarrassing himself on CNN. Here’s what she said: “The woman who checked me reached her hands inside my underwear and felt her way around. It was basically worse than going to the gynecologist. It was embarrassing. It was demeaning. It was inappropriate.” So yeah, try to defend that, TSA Chief. You can’t. You’re in the middle of a PR nightmare. Enjoy. source

• Not if I could avoid it. No. I mean, who would?
• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton • Offering a ringing endorsement of the TSA’s new enhanced pat-down procedures by saying that she would avoid getting them if she could, but the measures are necessary to deal with terrorists “getting more creative about what they do to hide explosives in, you know, crazy things like underwear.” You wouldn’t like the procedures, Hillary? Tell that to the cancer survivor covered in his own urine by TSA workers. Seems like he probably feels the same way. source

• We’re trying out a new format for Max Headroom this week. The old format was nice, but we think this mix, with larger videos, might be easier on your squinty eyes. Check it out, and let us know what you think. And also, let us know how much the video below pisses you off:

• Twelve minutes of evasion: Could TSA Chief John Pistole be more useless? He spends the entirety of this interview trying to explain in the vaguest terms possible how his bureaucracy isn’t going to budge despite a huge public outcry. Have to say that this jerk is really ticking us off.

• Meet the guy in question Airport security target John Tyner was recently on Lawrence O’Donnell’s MSNBC show with noted libertarian free-liberty magician dude Penn Jillette. Personally, we’re amused by the fact that MSNBC’s tile cards refer to Tyner as the “Don’t touch my junk guy,” which is freaking hilarious. We gained more from watching this than we did the Pistole video.
• … and they say TV news is useless Perhaps the biggest fail of the entire week was that of the WGN newscasters who waited to see a bridge collapse for ages, only to pan away just as it was happening. While claiming it’s a metaphor for their effervescent morning show, it’s really a metaphor for the Sam Zellified Tribune Company, which was asleep at the wheel for their recent bankruptcy.

• I sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful and I think she’s very happy in Alaska — and I hope she’ll stay there.
• Former First Lady Barbara Bush • Saying something basically designed to piss off Sarah Palin. Bush, most recently in the news for this strange number, was interviewed (along with her husband) by Larry King in an interview to air Monday. George the elder, for his part, likes some of the Tea Party’s ideas but is confused by what the party is and their plans “to get Republicans in Congress to do something.” source

• obviously Days before the release of Sarah Palin’s second book, “America By Heart,” Gawker gets an early copy and posts a bunch of pages online. Palin freaks out.
• laaaame Palin’s publisher, HarperCollins, decided to sue the boys at Gawker, and forced an injunction earlier today. Which means that Gawker had to take it down. source

• three number of candidates Keith Olbermann donated to, which led to his recent two-day suspension
• eight number of candidates Joe Scarborough donated to; he’ll also get suspended for two days source

• » Standards and stuff: It’s probably good to note that this double-standard between MSNBC and Fox remains bizarre. Fox News hosts (most notably Sarah Palin, who regularly endorses candidates and runs her own political action committee) don’t get treated this way. Honestly, we think that MSNBC has to loosen their standards for their political commentators. This is going to eventually come to a head in a more public way than either of these incidents. Know why we know this? Because Joe Scarborough is considering running on a presidential ticket with Michael Bloomberg in 2012. You think this crosses a line? What if that happens, guys?

• NO Murkowski won’t vote against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal source

• » It gets better for gay teens. And it may get better for openly gay soldiers after the Senate takes up Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal. Lisa Murkowski, who looks to be keeping her Senate seat out of Joe Miller’s hands, said today that she wouldn’t vote against repeal, the first Republican to openly pledge to do so. Joe “Connecticut For” Lieberman says that the Democrats have the votes needed to pass repeal, so long as Republicans get as much time to debate the bill as they want. We’ll believe this when we see it, but things are looking good for repeal advocates.