First, my blogging performance. Work is taking nearly every waking moment, and will continue to do so through Monday. It stinks.

Second: Glenn Beck, as noted by Mike Boyer via Cyrus. I happened to catch Beck's exchange with representative-elect Keith Ellison while I was at the gym the other day, and it was pretty disgusting. As quoted by Boyer, here's how Beck started off the interview with Ellison, who is our country's first Muslim congressman:

OK. No offense, and I know Muslims. I like Muslims. I've been to mosques. I really don't believe that Islam is a religion of evil.... With that being said, you are a Democrat ... what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.

If my memory's right, Boyer's ellipses are a little unfair. Beck prefaced his comments by pointing out that Ellison favors a "cut and run" strategy in Iraq. So this ridiculousness was at least in part motivated by Ellison daring to have opinions about foreign policy that differ from those of a learned cable news anchor — it wasn't entirely about Ellison's religion. Still, there's no denying that Beck was saying to a democratically-elected representative: the burden of proof is upon you to prove that you're not a traitor. Go! It was kind of astounding.