Republicans can't even be bothered to read -- much less write -- bills they've introduced in legislatures across the country. That would be too much work for the tax money and health benefits they receive. As The Tennessean reported last week:

Several of the most controversial bills debated in the legislature this year, as well as some that have slipped under the radar without much attention, were written and promoted by groups outside Tennessee, a trend some political observers say reflects an attempt to push the nation in a conservative direction using state lawmakers.

Without even reading it, Tennessee Rep. Judd Matheny and Sen. Bill Ketron filed the Material Support to Designated Entities Act. According to the paper, the ostensibly anti-terrorism bill targets "organizations that follow Shariah, or Islamic law." The conservative Eagle Forum had provided the bill which, in turn, had been drafted by David Yerushalmi (who initially denied authorship), an Arizona attorney who "has long questioned the loyalty of American Muslims."

American politics, says Rolling Stone  investigative journalist Matt Taibbi, has become "a reality show" sponsored by Wall Street. From Voter ID bills to anti-union legislation to attempts to privatize public education, the GOP has only to follow the financiers' script. The corporate-sponsored American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the U.S. Chamber do most of the work. All the money men demand is for Republicans to drop the bills in the hopper and vote for them.

At Campaign for America's Future, Dave Johnson quotes Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine," reminding us that back in 1993 Canada faced its own debt crisis. So dire that when Moodys analyst Vincent Truglia issued a favorable report on the Canadian economy, Truglia says, “one Canadian... from a very large financial institution in Canada called me up on the telephone screaming at me, literally screaming at me.” Why?

From Nancy Pelosi's office today: