On “Hannity’s America” tonight, Fox anchor Sean Hannity attacked Al Gore for what he called a case of “global warming hypocrisy.” Hannity presented no evidence to suggest Gore is currently flying on private jets or doing anything inconsistent with his record as one of our nation’s leading environmentalists. Here’s a review of some of the lowlights from tonight’s show:

Hannity attacked Gore for taking a private jet from New Hampshire to Washington DC in January 2000 in order to attend the State of the Union address.

– Al Gore was the sitting Vice President at the time, and as such, he followed Secret Service security protocols. That is why he did not fly commercially, as Hannity seemed to suggest he should have.

Hannity cited ThinkProgress’s posting from last Friday, claiming that we “outed” Gore for still using private jets. He called it “another moment of global warming irony.”

– It’s unclear what “irony” Hannity is referring to. As Gore’s office explained to us, he reduces his emissions as much as he can, drives a hybrid, flies commercially whenever possible, and purchases green power. In the few instances where he may have flown a private jet, he purchases carbon offsets for the emissions. Nothing in that record is inconsistent with someone trying to reduce his carbon footprint on our planet.

Hannity said: “I travel on private planes, I have an SUV that I’m proud of. I think this global warming hysteria of his is ridiculous.”

– Thus, the real “irony” of tonight’s show was Hannity feigning concern for Gore’s carbon emissions, while expressing his naive belief that his own emissions are having no impact on our climate. If Hannity were truly concerned about carbon emissions, he would follow the example of Al Gore, cutback on his luxurious private jet lifestyle, and begin purchasing carbon offsets. If he’s not concerned about carbon emissions, then he should stop launching politically-motivated hit jobs that don’t have a point.

Watch a video compilation of some moments from the show:

“Senior leaders of Al Qaeda operating from Pakistan have re-established significant control over their once battered worldwide terror network and over the past year have set up a band of training camps in the tribal regions near the Afghan border,” the New York Times reports. “American officials said there was mounting evidence that Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, had been steadily building an operations hub in the mountainous Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan. Until recently, the Bush administration had described Mr. bin Laden and Mr. Zawahri as detached from their followers and cut off from operational control of Al Qaeda.”

Mohammed al Dulaimy, Baghdad correspondent for McClatchy News, writes:

Today was a sad day; our staff lost another member who left this morning. Every one else is new for me and another colleague of mine. The new guys are great and wonderful persons but it is so hard to make new friends over and over.

I looked up my phone list, name by name, some were killed, others are missing, many left the country and few are still here in one piece. It makes me frustrated cause I know for a fact we will not see each other again. Even if they come back who says i will be alive to see them again.

i think it is about time to say I have had enough, I will not make any new friends that will be killed, kidnapped or leave the country.

This is pretty sweet. Stephen H. Miller on the Independent Gay Forum denounces the Human Rights Campaign for refusing to endorse Rudy Giuliani in the GOP primary even though . . . they haven’t actually done that. He’s just so sure they will that he’s decided to issue a pre-emptive denunciation.

The real issue is whether the Giuliani camp would even want HRC’s endorsement. Presumably, he’s going to spend the next year running as far away from his pro-gay record as possible, which would probably preclude seriously courting the leadership of a major gay rights organization or endorsing their legislative agenda.

Today on CNN, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow claimed that members of Congress who have warned about the possibility of a military strike against Iran may be “trying to protect Iran.” Watch it:

Numerous military and regional experts agree that there is no military solution for Iran. They say it would be “disastrous for the United States,” “empower reactionaries [in Iran] and validate their pro-nuclear argument,” and “usher in chaos and instability.” None of them are trying to “protect Iran.” Tony Snow’s hysterical rhetoric is false.

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The Washington Post reports:

Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan’s room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.

This is the world of Building 18, not the kind of place where Duncan expected to recover when he was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center from Iraq last February with a broken neck and a shredded left ear, nearly dead from blood loss. But the old lodge, just outside the gates of the hospital and five miles up the road from the White House, has housed hundreds of maimed soldiers recuperating from injuries suffered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

AmericaBlog has more.

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was asked about pre-war military plans that predicted only 5,000 U.S. troops would be in Iraq in 2006. “What went wrong?” a reporter asked. Snow replied, “I’m not sure anything went wrong.”

This morning, Snow was forced to face reality. NBC’s Tim Russert pointed out, “The weapons of mass destruction, the cost of the war, the size of the military force necessary, the level of sectarian violence. All those assumptions were just wrong.” Snow tried to dodge the claim but was asked again, “Things did go wrong?” Snow said, “Yeah. Of course.”

Watch both clips back-to-back:

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