Saturday, August 31, 2002
I wonder why we're so concerned about Hatfill, and not other suspected terrorists (this isn't directed solely at Glenn). Other "persons of interest" are currently under fluorescent lights 24/7 without contact with their attorney. Hatfill has had some bad press.
I keep stumbling across this site, then forgetting where it was, so I'm going to link to it. MyDD has excellent state by state political coverage, something of increasing interest as Nov. approaches.
With even the Moonie Times publishing Op-Eds that are pretty dubious about the whole Iraq thing, perhaps we're starting to see who is winning this debate.
For months, we've been wondering why the administration has been so reluctant to make the case for invading Iraq. Now we have the answer: Because there isn't one.
Looks like the Perle's "we have to do it because we said we'd do it" argument is about all that's left.
For months, we've been wondering why the administration has been so reluctant to make the case for invading Iraq. Now we have the answer: Because there isn't one.
Looks like the Perle's "we have to do it because we said we'd do it" argument is about all that's left.
Frank Rich:
By keeping the names and court proceedings of his detainees under wraps, John Ashcroft could for months cover up his law enforcement minions' inability to apprehend a single terrorist connected to 9/11. The same stunt has been pulled by designating prisoners "enemy combatants" at Guantánamo. Jose Padilla, the "dirty bomber," whose arrest was trumpeted by the attorney general as the breakup of a major terrorist plot, turns out to be a nonentity who may not be charged with anything. But as long as Mr. Padilla is locked away in a legal deep freeze, that embarrassment can be kept on the q.t. In the same spirit, the F.B.I. is now investigating 17 members of the Senate Intelligence Committee for leaks to the press; revealingly, the leaks that angered Dick Cheney and prompted this investigation were not leaks about intelligence per se but leaks about how our government bungled intelligence on this administration's watch just before 9/11.
Sullywatch notes Dawson likes to make threats. What a weiner.
"I'll out who you are and where you live."
And people wonder why I'm anonymous.
"I'll out who you are and where you live."
And people wonder why I'm anonymous.
Friday, August 30, 2002
The ever-snarky T.Bogg reviews Hannity's new book:
As a big fan of FOX news and their ability to tackle important complex subjects and whittle them down to mindless drivel, I was very excited to see that FOX's very own Sean Hannity has finally achieved his oft stated goal of writing just one more book than he has read. Talk about a personal milestone!
I probably should have bought the book on tape though, because it just isn't the same without Sean himself shouting out his opinions in an effort to drown out all opposing ideas as well as random flashes of logic. You just can't get that kind of audio “boost” from a printed page. Oh well. I did enjoy his laudatory treatment of Ronald Reagan although it is not as canine in its devotion to the great man as any recent book written by a moistened and panting Peggy Noonan, but then that may be asking too much of Sean or any mortal man.
Unfortunately Let Freedom Ring only gets three stars because it lacks the extensive footnotes that made Ann Coulter's Slander the Where's Waldo of facts, providing hours of verification fun for the whole family. Additionally it is missing the unattributed, unsourced quotes that made Goldberg’s Bias the great mystery novel of the year. It’s a pity that Hannity’s book should come out in the same year as those two Pulitzer candidates, and so will not be given the same serious attention and plaudits. But, on the whole, it is still a truly wonderful book with many pages of short descriptive easily-sounded-out words suitable for a President of limited vocabulary skills and attention span. For Freedom and Victory, bravo Sean!
When Gray Davis pulled his little trick during the California Republican primary and helped to defeat Riordan, he did it by running ads against the presumptive front-runner that would sway the opinions of primary voters - Republicans. Jeb Bush, seemingly trying to pull the same trick, ran ads against the presumptive loser - McBride - which were designed to appeal to Republicans who for the most part wouldn't be voting in the primary.. What was he thinking? Apparently he's used his massive campaign chest to increase the name recognition of McBride.
If conventional wisdom is right, and Jeb is more worried about McBride than Reno, he may have completely blown it. Via Hesiod, who has similar thoughts.
If conventional wisdom is right, and Jeb is more worried about McBride than Reno, he may have completely blown it. Via Hesiod, who has similar thoughts.
Hey Mickey, it's "Clear Skies," not "Blue Skies," and it mandates fewer reductions than current law.
I was trying to lay off Norah, thinking that if we ignored her she'd just go away, but I noticed she wrote this above her begging-for-money-button.
Web real estate is expensive! If you like the site, toss me some coin to help put a virtual roof over my head!
Maybe Blogger just forgot to send me my bill...
Web real estate is expensive! If you like the site, toss me some coin to help put a virtual roof over my head!
Maybe Blogger just forgot to send me my bill...
Yet Another House Impeachment Manager... (Reg. Req.)
What was with our goddamn media then.
SALT LAKE CITY - Rep. Chris Cannon contends laws that protect him from suit over comments he makes in Congress also shield him from being sued for allegedly disclosing confidential terms of a sexual-harassment settlement.
Former Cannon field worker Crelley Mackey filed suit in 1998, alleging Cannon"s comments to reporters violated terms of a settlement she reached in a sexual harassment case against the congressman"s office.
Mackey had claimed Cannon"s former chief of staff, Charles R. Warren, pressured her into an unwanted physical relationship. Cannon was named as a defendant as Warren"s employer.
Cannon claimed his post-settlement interview with The Salt Lake Tribune was an attempt to set the public record straight.
Attorneys for the Utah Republican have asked a judge to dismiss Mackey"s lawsuit based on the Constitution"s speech and debate clause, which says "speech or debate in either House shall not be questioned in any other place."
However, Mackey"s attorney, Roger Hoole, said the law meant to protect speech on the House and Senate floors "was never intended to be used in this type of a situation - simply to protect a politician or a member of Congress from making misstatements to the press
Hoole cited a 1979 U.S. Supreme Court holding that the clause did not shield a legislator who made statements to reporters that were similar to what he said on the floor of Congress.
Cannon attorneys Richard Bradford and Kim Buhler contend the clause has been expanded in recent years to grant immunity for legislative acts related to personnel actions.
The Supreme Court also has held the clause extends beyond floor speech and debate "when necessary to prevent indirect impairment of (congressional) deliberations," they wrote in their request for dismissal of the case.
Cannon believed the interview cleared his way to serve effectively as a member of the Judiciary Committee, which was then close to initiating impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton, the filing said.
What was with our goddamn media then.
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Sometimes I'm at a loss for snarky comments.
Judge Blamed For Sending Sex Abuser Home in Md.
By Phuong Ly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 29, 2002; Page B01
A Montgomery County judge has angered law enforcement officials by allowing a sex offender to live with the stepdaughter he abused, despite a prosecutor's objection. His return allegedly resulted in further sexual contact that came to light after the girl, now 15, gave birth in November.
Police have been searching since May for the stepfather, Sidney R. Richardson, 51, who is charged with child abuse, a third-degree sex offense and violating probation in
the earlier case, which was resolved in March 1998 with guilty pleas.
The current charges stem from alleged sexual contact between Richardson and his stepdaughter after he was released from jail in 1999 and allowed to live with the girl under an order by Circuit Court Judge Durke G. Thompson.
[...]
Richardson was sentenced to 18 months in jail after pleading guilty to child abuse and a third-degree sex offense for having sexual contact with the girl when she was 9 and 10. In October 1999, after Richardson was released, Thompson allowed him to periodically visit with his wife and stepdaughter, over the objection of an assistant state's attorney. In January 2001, Thompson let Richardson to move back into the family home.
[...]
Two years ago, Thompson angered women's groups when he reproached the parents of an 11-year-old sexual assault victim during the sentencing hearing for the girl's
assailant. "It takes two to tango," Thompson said, referring to the girl's correspondence with men on the Internet before the assault.
Then in March, Thompson, a judge since 1994, created controversy by overturning a jury's guilty verdict in a rape case. Thompson said the victim, an illegal immigrant
from Indonesia, might have been seeking revenge against the defendant, who had been her boyfriend, because he refused to marry her.
Osama Bin Laden - The Very Model of A Modern Major Manager.
"`The management needs to have both the flexibility and the ability and the will to reward change agents, both psychically and financially, and to disincentivize those who I call turf leaders and obstructionists or those
who fight for the status quo instead of for a new vision and a new place that can be accomplished."
[...]
"``Osama bin Laden used modern management techniques,'' David said, quoting from a magazine article. ``We face an adversary who is exploiting different organizational techniques and networks, so we must also
exploit those techniques.''
Washington Times on O'Reilly.
And some choice quotes from a "Concerned Women for America" radio interview.
"[To] continually refer to himself as a Christian, as an Irish
Catholic, I think that many people are offended by Bill's statement to be a Christian as well as an Irish Catholic… For a man to come right out and say that he does not believe in the Old Testament… I think that many Catholics across this nation as well as the world are offended by Bill O'Reilly claiming he's an Irish Catholic."
-- Stephen Bennet, " Ex-gay " who will be "speaking officially on behalf of CWFA in the coming months"
"The bible says that my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Bill is an exemplary example of the American Christian who does not know what God's word said, he does not know."
-- Sandy Rios, head of CWFA
"He's confused… on this issue, he can't find his voice, he kind of stumbles when he addresses it…. Then he goes and slams people like us and says, well they're fanatics."
-- Bob Knight of CWFA
"He's very confused."
-- Sandy Rios, head of CWFA
"So he doesn't believe in heaven and hell. It didn't mater that Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross. This is a very extreme statement… that the whole idea of hell is ridiculous."
- Bob Knight of CWFA
Why are so many Concerned Women for America men?
And some choice quotes from a "Concerned Women for America" radio interview.
"[To] continually refer to himself as a Christian, as an Irish
Catholic, I think that many people are offended by Bill's statement to be a Christian as well as an Irish Catholic… For a man to come right out and say that he does not believe in the Old Testament… I think that many Catholics across this nation as well as the world are offended by Bill O'Reilly claiming he's an Irish Catholic."
-- Stephen Bennet, " Ex-gay " who will be "speaking officially on behalf of CWFA in the coming months"
"The bible says that my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Bill is an exemplary example of the American Christian who does not know what God's word said, he does not know."
-- Sandy Rios, head of CWFA
"He's confused… on this issue, he can't find his voice, he kind of stumbles when he addresses it…. Then he goes and slams people like us and says, well they're fanatics."
-- Bob Knight of CWFA
"He's very confused."
-- Sandy Rios, head of CWFA
"So he doesn't believe in heaven and hell. It didn't mater that Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross. This is a very extreme statement… that the whole idea of hell is ridiculous."
- Bob Knight of CWFA
Why are so many Concerned Women for America men?
As Matthew Yglesias reminds me, maybe it is necessary to put everything into BlogSpeak so everyone understands.
IMPEACH THOMAS WHITE
IMPEACH THOMAS WHITE
You haven't lived until you've read all 38 amazon reviews by the man who has this to say about Ann Coulter's book:
Make sure you catch his bio blurb, too.
Even I, who prided myself on a rather vast vocabulary, believing as one of our past Presidents, that one should learn and use a new word every day, could not readily keep up with her. I found that I had to place a dictionary and thesaurus next to me while reading to keep from skipping an unfamiliar word. An act I swore I would never do as a child.
If nothing else Ann has made many of us aware of our incompetent lack of mastery of the English language.
Make sure you catch his bio blurb, too.
Things sure are getting weird. Jude Wanniski is starting to sound like Jeff Koopersmith.
And another from Patricia W. And another from Jude.
Perhaps someone more well-versed in the taxonomy of the right can explain it all to me...
Roger, I’m beginning to think that if we check your DNA we would find a fit with the exhumed corpse of William Randolph Hearst. You are absolutely not going to let any other network out-jingo FoxNews. After this week’s rendition of FoxNewsSunday with Tony Snow, I’ve decided to simply label FoxNews the “War Network.” Tony himself somehow manages to stay above the fray, but the rest of the line-up cannot wait to start bombing Iraq, or anyone or anything else that gets in its way. Juan Williams has become the token dove on the show, which means he wants to get rid of Saddam Hussein, but maybe not this week, and with a smart bomb that spares innocent civilians.
Brit Hume, your Washington editor? Forget it, Roger. He has started foaming at the mouth, so eager to send several hundred thousand American troops into a Baghdad cakewalk. When Tony took a vacation day yesterday, Brit had the brass to devote an entire segment to criticisms of the New York Times for running a front-page piece last week about Republican critics of the war. No criticism of a war with Iraq is permitted, he said, except on the editorial page! Heck, Brit is all editorial page. He has not done any reporting for you guys in years, but is spoon fed by the GOP War Party. And who did he arrange to be the chief witness for the prosecution? Paul Gigot, the fledgling editorial-page editor of The Wall Street Journal, who has turned that illustrious space into a bulletin board for Richard Perle, the egomaniac who runs the War Party and has Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dancing on his string. It’s not enough that Gigot gets a regular fee for being a guest commentator on FoxNews, Brit had to invite him to speak as a principle! And all Gigot had to say was, yes Brit, you are right, the NYTimes should not have mentioned on its front page the opinion of Brent Scowcroft that we should not bomb Iraq unless we see it is a genuine threat to someone, somewhere, not maybe several years from now, but now!
You can’t fool me, Roger, as you know I was once part of Perle’s act, when we had a genuine Cold War. I know how he operates. And I know you are only concerned with FoxNews’ ratings and your conviction that people only tune in to FoxNews bigtime when there are bombs falling somewhere. Rupert Murdoch only gives bonuses for big wars! That plays right into Perle’s hands, as he is only too willing to provide big war, in Israel, in Iraq or if (alas) peace breaks out in the Middle East, in China. If the truth be known, Richard was part of the scheme (conspiracy) to unravel the Soviet Union after Mikhail Gorbachev came out with his hands up, and was also a player in busting up the Yugoslav Federation, with enormous human cost. Collateral damage as far as he is concerned, Roger. His miscalculation gave us 9-11, I hope you know, but it was good for FoxNews’ ratings. Peace is boring.
And another from Patricia W. And another from Jude.
Perhaps someone more well-versed in the taxonomy of the right can explain it all to me...
This article makes it sound as if Iraqis would perceive America as conquerors, not liberators. Right or wrong.
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
David E. gets to the heart of Epstein's Snobbery
"Jews and homosexuals have always felt themselves the potential -- and often real -- victims of snobbery, and of course much worse than snobbery," Epstein observes in a chapter charmingly titled "Fags and Yids." The "of course" is a nice touch, though this vigorously reactionary belletrist is scarcely prepared to say, "Of course fags and yids perished together at Auschwitz." For, as anyone familiar with the arc of his career knows, Joseph Epstein once went so far as to invoke what some have likened to a "final solution" to the "homosexual problem."
"If I had the power to do so, I would wish homosexuality off the face of this earth," he declared in "Homo/Hetero: The Struggle for Sexual Identity," a September 1970 cover story for Harper's magazine that inspired an unprecedented protest demonstration in the publication's offices -- a protest in which I participated, and aftershocks of which continue to this very day.
Scoobie raises an excellent point .
One of the powers of the Blogosphere, as anyone with a Blog knows, is that if you comment regularly on the events of the day you can pretty easily get yourself up at the top of Google searches. This means that net searchers looking for the latest on, say, Coulter's new book, will often be directed to Blogs. And, this isn't limited to the "man on the street," but media professionals who may be hunting around desperately for source material for their next column.
Scoobie has made a minor call to arms - critiquing the next right wing crap book to come down the road, Pee-Wee Hannity's latest.** I admit to not having the patience to parse this bugger, but anyone - bloggers or non-bloggers - who wishes to spend the time critiquing the thing, please send them my way.
** Having not read the book, it could well be an opinionated but factually untouchable book for all I know. But, this is Sean Hannity -- who once lied to a Congressman who was on his show claiming that he was reading from an official government publication when in fact it was something written by a lobbyist. And then, him and his pathetic sidekick Colmes joked about it the next day.
UPDATE: Barney Gumble over at Media Whores Online Watch Watch Watch Watch questions Hannity's Bestseller status. It is true the NYT lists come out quite far in advance of their actual publication dates, but we shall see...
One of the powers of the Blogosphere, as anyone with a Blog knows, is that if you comment regularly on the events of the day you can pretty easily get yourself up at the top of Google searches. This means that net searchers looking for the latest on, say, Coulter's new book, will often be directed to Blogs. And, this isn't limited to the "man on the street," but media professionals who may be hunting around desperately for source material for their next column.
Scoobie has made a minor call to arms - critiquing the next right wing crap book to come down the road, Pee-Wee Hannity's latest.** I admit to not having the patience to parse this bugger, but anyone - bloggers or non-bloggers - who wishes to spend the time critiquing the thing, please send them my way.
** Having not read the book, it could well be an opinionated but factually untouchable book for all I know. But, this is Sean Hannity -- who once lied to a Congressman who was on his show claiming that he was reading from an official government publication when in fact it was something written by a lobbyist. And then, him and his pathetic sidekick Colmes joked about it the next day.
UPDATE: Barney Gumble over at Media Whores Online Watch Watch Watch Watch questions Hannity's Bestseller status. It is true the NYT lists come out quite far in advance of their actual publication dates, but we shall see...
"Ex-Gay" Stephen Bennet, who runs Stephen Bennett Ministries, freaks out on O'Reilly.
Bill O'Reilly has long been lifted up as the conservative's champion and spokesperson. However, in his quest of popularity, on this issue of homosexuality, O'Reilly has shocked and disappointed many viewers and supporters who put him where he is today. He has been elevated to a position by conservative America that was never intended, and viewers may have put 'too much trust' into this man. According to an O'Reilly insider who asked not to be named, 'The Factor' is not what people think it is… "Bill O'Reilly and The Factor is about two things… ratings and entertainment." And as stated by another unnamed source, "…the real guy you're all looking for here is Sean Hannity. This guy is genuine -- and legit." After the commentary below, see the link for Bill O'Reilly's upcoming interview in the September issue of the national gay Magazine 'The Advocate' - sharing all of his pro-gay views, and mocking comments towards Bible believing Christians - the 'fanatical' religious right who should just be '…ignored' - sadly, you won't believe what he says.)
[...]
Make no mistake about it. America is being seduced and deceived by the homosexual agenda. Our children are being indoctrinated and many are being infected with HIV. Read Kirk and Madsen's book for yourself. Better yet, listen to report 'America: Sodom and Gomorrah Resurrected.' If nothing else will open your eyes, I guarantee that will.
There is a calculated agenda out there. They are after you, but more importantly, they are after your children. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet - the media is the means. Kirk and Madsen have succeeded.
Beware of the media - the 'Gay Spin Zone.' You are not being told the 'straight' story.
In response to this story.
Bill O'Reilly has long been lifted up as the conservative's champion and spokesperson. However, in his quest of popularity, on this issue of homosexuality, O'Reilly has shocked and disappointed many viewers and supporters who put him where he is today. He has been elevated to a position by conservative America that was never intended, and viewers may have put 'too much trust' into this man. According to an O'Reilly insider who asked not to be named, 'The Factor' is not what people think it is… "Bill O'Reilly and The Factor is about two things… ratings and entertainment." And as stated by another unnamed source, "…the real guy you're all looking for here is Sean Hannity. This guy is genuine -- and legit." After the commentary below, see the link for Bill O'Reilly's upcoming interview in the September issue of the national gay Magazine 'The Advocate' - sharing all of his pro-gay views, and mocking comments towards Bible believing Christians - the 'fanatical' religious right who should just be '…ignored' - sadly, you won't believe what he says.)
[...]
Make no mistake about it. America is being seduced and deceived by the homosexual agenda. Our children are being indoctrinated and many are being infected with HIV. Read Kirk and Madsen's book for yourself. Better yet, listen to report 'America: Sodom and Gomorrah Resurrected.' If nothing else will open your eyes, I guarantee that will.
There is a calculated agenda out there. They are after you, but more importantly, they are after your children. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet - the media is the means. Kirk and Madsen have succeeded.
Beware of the media - the 'Gay Spin Zone.' You are not being told the 'straight' story.
In response to this story.
Watch the Freepers discuss which Clinton policies they would get rid of if they were in charge. The funny thing is, I'm not sure they've named any actual Clinton policies, or at least ones initiated by him. It's a hoot.
Of course, it wouldn't be a freeper thread about Clinton without the obligatory wish for his death:
To: Liz
1. Tell Hinckley that the Clintons have been forcing Jodie Foster to do disgusting and unnatural things.
2. Release Hinckley from St. Elizabeths Hospital.
Of course, it wouldn't be a freeper thread about Clinton without the obligatory wish for his death:
To: Liz
1. Tell Hinckley that the Clintons have been forcing Jodie Foster to do disgusting and unnatural things.
2. Release Hinckley from St. Elizabeths Hospital.
Simon, Simon, Simon....
(chuckle)
Now his base won't even bother to vote for him. On the bright side, he still has Matt Welch's vote.
I have this image of him saying "I am the worst politician EVER!"
(chuckle)
Bill Simon, who signed a pledge during the gubernatorial primary stating that "domestic partnership" benefits belonged exclusively to marriage, told a gay Republican group he supports domestic partnership laws if they're not based on sexual orientation.
The GOP candidate's responses to a Log Cabin Republicans questionnaire prompted a prominent conservative backer to angrily withdraw his support Wednesday.
Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, said he felt "misled and conned" by Simon and his campaign.
"I spent months with Bill Simon touring Anglo and Hispanic churches where he vowed support for traditional values," Sheldon said in a statement. "His responses on this questionnaire tells me otherwise."
Now his base won't even bother to vote for him. On the bright side, he still has Matt Welch's vote.
I have this image of him saying "I am the worst politician EVER!"
SullyWatch is back and is making me wonder why Paglia/Sullivan didn't get a hearty Fisking.
UPDATE: Henry Hanks points out she got it a little bit.
SAS did the amazing work of reading the Paglia answer to a reader question on the Middle East.
And now we wonder if Sully even did.
For, we learn that Paglia ...
1. doesn’t think that Arab states bear any responsibility for alleviating the deplorable conditions in which Palestinian refugees live.
2. cannot understand the basis of Zionism since she is not a religious believer (and, by extension, the founding ideology of the state of Israel).
3. and believes Jewish control of the media has not been discussed much but is real enough that it has led to a news blackout surrounding Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.
UPDATE: Henry Hanks points out she got it a little bit.
Gene Lyons on Ann.
Eva Braun was Hitler's mistress. So when Coulter calls Couric, in effect, a Nazi slut, it's what Kayan calls "tongue-in-cheek agitprop." Where's everybody's sense of humor? The occasion of the Journal apologia was Coulter's telling the New York Observer whose interviewer informed readers that he had a "friend" who would enjoy vigorous copulation with the bony pundit that "my only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building."
Some of these boys, incidentally, sound like they're wearing their bowties too tight. I still recall my amazement at learning that Tory men thought Margaret Thatcher a hottie. "The eyes of Caligula and the lips of Marilyn Monroe," was how the late English novelist Anthony Powell described her to me. Evidently, the Iron Lady conjured steamy memories of prep school spankings.
On TV, Coulter conveys all the feminine warmth of a water mocassin, if you can imagine a pit viper with silicone implants. Kayan though, feverishly pictures her walking a metaphorical tightrope "her long-limbed signature silhouette poised precariously aloft, riverine blonde locks riffled by the breeze and legs coltishly pirouetting."
This isn't the first time Coulter herself has fantasized killing liberals. Speaking at a recent conservative gathering, she opined that "We need to execute people like John Walker [Lindh] in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed too. Otherwise they will turn out to be outright traitors."
Conason says that one of the Righteousness Brothers could be in trouble.
Praise Jeebus.
He also notes that "Republican Walter Jones has introduced a bill in Congress that would allow houses of worship to endorse and finance political candidates" and opines "[T]he Jones bill would be fine -- if it also cancelled the tax exemptions enjoyed by the politicized clergy." Actually, unless I'm mistaken, the Jones bill wouldn't be necessary for that. The only issue is the tax exempt status. Without it, religious groups are allowed to do whatever they want. By presenting the argument this way Conason falls for the spin by supporters of the bill, that churches shouldn't be subject to such regulations.
reliable Little Rock informant says that the incumbent senator suffered a defeat, if not a knockout, in last night's debate with Democrat Mark Pryor, the state attorney general. The low point came after Pryor accused Hutchinson of voting too slavishly with his own party, when the senator was reduced to defending himself by noting how many times he has voted with Ted Kennedy. That may further disillusion devout churchgoing voters, who are already troubled by this "family values" politician's abrupt divorce and remarriage to a younger aide. (A county GOP leader in Arkansas explained that "we all have things that occur in our lives that are unfortunate.") I also hear that a newspaper poll will appear shortly showing Pryor ahead by 10 points.
Praise Jeebus.
He also notes that "Republican Walter Jones has introduced a bill in Congress that would allow houses of worship to endorse and finance political candidates" and opines "[T]he Jones bill would be fine -- if it also cancelled the tax exemptions enjoyed by the politicized clergy." Actually, unless I'm mistaken, the Jones bill wouldn't be necessary for that. The only issue is the tax exempt status. Without it, religious groups are allowed to do whatever they want. By presenting the argument this way Conason falls for the spin by supporters of the bill, that churches shouldn't be subject to such regulations.
Horowitz is always good for a few giggles.
I like Horowitz. Unlike some of the rest of his fellow travelers, nobody takes his rantings seriously. What a fool. Oh sure, I'm sure they call him up to get his advice on how to get out the racist vote on election day, but otherwise..
I like Horowitz. Unlike some of the rest of his fellow travelers, nobody takes his rantings seriously. What a fool. Oh sure, I'm sure they call him up to get his advice on how to get out the racist vote on election day, but otherwise..
O'Reilly pro-gay, anti-fanatic.
there's more. Make sure you hit part 2.
According to Michael Giltz, a freelance reporter (and personal friend of mine) who conducted the interview live in O'Reilly's Manhattan office, O'Reilly not only reiterates his previous support for gay adoption, but he goes on to call the US military "homophobic" (though he still thinks the gay ban is necessary), says that gays should have the right to visit their same-sex spouses in the hospital (in many locales they cannot), thinks every state should have laws protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination in the workplace (only 12 states currently do), and opposes the repeal of a gay rights ordinance in Florida's Miami-Dade County (the hotly-contested repeal measure is on the ballot September 10).
That's enough right there to make the religious right grab for a Maalox. But there's more.
On gay marriage, one of the hot-button religious-right issues, O'Reilly starts by telling Giltz that he opposes it, then when pushed by the reporter, finally concedes: "Look, I couldn’t care less, to tell you the truth... You want to get married? Knock yourself out. Go to Vegas; have a good time... If you can get that changed, I’m not going to jump up and down and say I think it’s wrong, because I don’t."
Who You Calling a Fanatic?
Then things get really interesting. O'Reilly calls people who quote the Old Testament to label gays an abomination "holy rollers" (a term often perceived to be pejorative). Then he refers to vocal anti-gay advocates as "fanatics." ("90% percent of Americans don’t care what you do; 10% are fanatics," O'Reilly tells Giltz. "They think you’re going to hell, and they want you to go to hell. All right? Ignore them.") When asked to clarify exactly who he means by "fanatics," O'Reilly responds: "I mean, people who think you are going to hell and are going to quote from Revelation that you’re going there. I think that’s a little ridiculous, don’t you? Those are the people."
there's more. Make sure you hit part 2.
Palestinian comic told he can't go on at club .
Associated Press
Posted on August 28, 2002
A Chicago comedian scheduled to open for comic Jackie Mason was told hours before the show he couldn't perform because he is of Palestinian descent, Mason's manager said.
Ray Hanania, a 49-year-old fledgling comic, was supposed to open for Mason's Tuesday night show at Zanie's comedy club in Chicago. Instead, the club phoned him a few hours before to tell him his act was canceled.
"It's not exactly like he's just an Arab-American. This guy's a Palestinian. We were not told about it ahead of time," said Jyll Rosenfeld, Mason's manager. "Jackie does not feel comfortable having a Palestinian open for him. Right now it's a very sensitive thing, it's just not a good idea."
Hanania writes a column for the Daily Herald.
I'd like a few more details about this, but on its face....The headline itself is quite crappy. Poor guy doesn't even get a hyphen.
Associated Press
Posted on August 28, 2002
A Chicago comedian scheduled to open for comic Jackie Mason was told hours before the show he couldn't perform because he is of Palestinian descent, Mason's manager said.
Ray Hanania, a 49-year-old fledgling comic, was supposed to open for Mason's Tuesday night show at Zanie's comedy club in Chicago. Instead, the club phoned him a few hours before to tell him his act was canceled.
"It's not exactly like he's just an Arab-American. This guy's a Palestinian. We were not told about it ahead of time," said Jyll Rosenfeld, Mason's manager. "Jackie does not feel comfortable having a Palestinian open for him. Right now it's a very sensitive thing, it's just not a good idea."
Hanania writes a column for the Daily Herald.
I'd like a few more details about this, but on its face....The headline itself is quite crappy. Poor guy doesn't even get a hyphen.
Homeobox fact-checks the Mickster.
Apparently not killing a Clinton plan is the same as having your own plan.
Apparently not killing a Clinton plan is the same as having your own plan.
Wow, I didn't know we had living breathing proponents of eugenics in Blogistan.
(via WarbloggerWatch.)
It's just good science, dontcha know...
Though I don't exactly trust science by anyone who considers The Bell Curve good science.
God, I could waste my entire life swatting flies off this site.. It seems to be proof that a little knowledge (very little ) is a very dangerous thing indeed. Consider this statement.
If poverty predicted crime, then we would expect the share of the violent crime rate to be the same as the share of the poor population (approximately).
Well, actually, no. Not really. In fact - not at all. Not even close.
(via WarbloggerWatch.)
It's just good science, dontcha know...
Though I don't exactly trust science by anyone who considers The Bell Curve good science.
God, I could waste my entire life swatting flies off this site.. It seems to be proof that a little knowledge (very little ) is a very dangerous thing indeed. Consider this statement.
If poverty predicted crime, then we would expect the share of the violent crime rate to be the same as the share of the poor population (approximately).
Well, actually, no. Not really. In fact - not at all. Not even close.
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Howler on the fake NEA flap.
Note to Beinart - do your goddamn homework before you get on TV and represent "The Left."
Beinart did indeed look silly, but it was hardly the NEA’s doing. Beinart—self-identifying as a “liberal,” and representing the left on the CNN panel—recited the talking points of the right, smearing the NEA once again. And just how benighted was the pundit? Incredibly, Beinart said that if the NEA’s foolishness didn’t exist, conservatives would have to invent it. But that, of course, is just what had happened in the Washington Times that week. The Times did invent a ludicrous story; cable’s screamer took it from there. And six days later, Beinart—representing liberals—still didn’t have the first clue on earth. It didn’t seem to have entered his mind that he was reciting the right’s latest slander.
Note to Beinart - do your goddamn homework before you get on TV and represent "The Left."
Envelope with white powder opened at Al Gore's Tenn. headquarters. All I know...
Freepers express sympathy, concern, for innocent workers.
Freepers express sympathy, concern, for innocent workers.
Signorile's Who is Promoting Violence?
But the comments are relevant in light of some recent blather from Slate pundit Mickey Kaus, who went on a tear last month about what he termed a "danger of political violence coming from the angry anti-Bush left." A onetime thoughtful essayist and editor for The New Republic, Kaus is now a "weblogger" who writes mostly nasty one-liners about people, as well as occasional longer screeds that are rarely of any particular merit these days, but are always full of exclamation points. And, as seems to be a prerequisite for anyone online who wants high traffic from loyal right-winger readers, Kaus engages in lots of New York Times-bashing, attacking the paper and its writers for all kinds of alleged misdeeds, major and minor, seemingly almost every day.
I just noticed that Charles Pierce, who recently wrote this great article in Salon and is a frequent letter writer to Medianews and Eric Alterman, has a web site. I had wondered if the guy on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me was that guy...
Oh man, Ted Barlow just noticed that the WSJ column defending Ann Coulter sounds just like Digby's satire.
I guess satire truly is dead.
I guess satire truly is dead.
"The advantage of not acting against the moon would be that no one could say that you acted. They would say "isn't that good," you didn't do anything against the moon. The other side of the coin of not acting against the moon in the event that the moon posed a serious threat would be that you could suffer a serious loss." Don 'Moonbeam' Rumsfeld.
Listen here, at about 3:30.
Listen here, at about 3:30.
Blah3 says this too stupid to be real. Apparently it is.
Baseball's all-time hits leader is not eligible for the Hall of Fame but the man who traded away Sammy Sosa is.
That's right. While Pete Rose remains on baseball's permanently ineligible list, President George W. Bush is among 60 non-players being considered this month by a screening committee for inclusion on the Hall of Fame veterans' ballot. I'm one of the Committee members who must pick exactly 15 people (no more, no less) from those 60 by the end of the week. The 15 we choose will have their names placed on the ballot presented to the Hall of Fame veterans' committee. That committee is made up largely of the living members of the Hall of Fame and they will decide this winter which, if any, of the 15 join them in Cooperstown.
[...]
Bush simply doesn't have the most remote qualifications for Cooperstown. His only official association with the game was as a partial owner of the Rangers from 1989-98, when, as he likes to admit, Texas traded Sosa. He also helped arrange taxpayer financing for a new stadium that helped him parlay an approximate $600,000 investment into a $13 million profit when he and his partners sold the team. That's not a qualification for Cooperstown, it's a scandal.
Shall we rehash the delightful pardons of Bush I? Who, when, why, and under what procedures?
Nah, too easy.
UPDATE: well, how about just a little. Digby helps out:
My favorite thing about the Christmas Eve pardons was the fact that C. Boyden Gray went to the recipients and ASKED them if they'd like to be pardoned??? They didn't even have to apply. Talk about going outside the process!!!
And even more funny, considering what came later, was Poppy's public statement in which he showed such compassion for victims of the special prosecutor laws.
"the five have already paid the price — in depleted savings, lost careers, anguished families — grossly disproportionate to any misdeeds or errors of judgment they may have committed."
But, then they weren't suspected of felonious fellatio, either, so you can't hold them to the same standard as the Lothario in chief. His anguished family had to read a delightful Barbara Cartland style account of his furtive sexual exploits on the Internet, thanks to Kenny Boy Starr.
No, the Christmas eve pardons didn't just "short circuit" the pardon process, they avoided it altogether. And their main purpose was to "short circuit" the criminal justice process. Poppy was about to be nailed for perjury.
Shhhh. Don't tell anybody.
Nah, too easy.
UPDATE: well, how about just a little. Digby helps out:
My favorite thing about the Christmas Eve pardons was the fact that C. Boyden Gray went to the recipients and ASKED them if they'd like to be pardoned??? They didn't even have to apply. Talk about going outside the process!!!
And even more funny, considering what came later, was Poppy's public statement in which he showed such compassion for victims of the special prosecutor laws.
"the five have already paid the price — in depleted savings, lost careers, anguished families — grossly disproportionate to any misdeeds or errors of judgment they may have committed."
But, then they weren't suspected of felonious fellatio, either, so you can't hold them to the same standard as the Lothario in chief. His anguished family had to read a delightful Barbara Cartland style account of his furtive sexual exploits on the Internet, thanks to Kenny Boy Starr.
No, the Christmas eve pardons didn't just "short circuit" the pardon process, they avoided it altogether. And their main purpose was to "short circuit" the criminal justice process. Poppy was about to be nailed for perjury.
Shhhh. Don't tell anybody.
Monday, August 26, 2002
Washington Post Rewrites Constitution
The Constitution says:
[The President] shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
The Washington Post says:
Clinton repeatedly short-circuited the pardon process, which requires applications to the U.S. pardon attorney at the Justice Department; investigation by the FBI; consultation with interested parties, from the sentencing judge to the victim; and a report and recommendation by the pardon attorney to the president, after a review by the deputy attorney general.
This really is pretty outrageous.
UPDATE: MWO has more.
I assume the Mickster will comment on this during his regular media bias watch.
The Constitution says:
[The President] shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
The Washington Post says:
Clinton repeatedly short-circuited the pardon process, which requires applications to the U.S. pardon attorney at the Justice Department; investigation by the FBI; consultation with interested parties, from the sentencing judge to the victim; and a report and recommendation by the pardon attorney to the president, after a review by the deputy attorney general.
This really is pretty outrageous.
UPDATE: MWO has more.
I assume the Mickster will comment on this during his regular media bias watch.
Check out Vanity Site for some Coulteresque humor and the never-miss Kelly Watch. Zizka reads that idiot so we don't have to!
Tim Francis-Wright, of Bear Left writes over at Rittenhouse Review, regarding Katherine Harris writing that Gore had unleashed the "dogs of war."
Let’s ignore for the moment that Al Gore did not plunge the country into civil war. Regardless, when Harris paraphrases Shakespeare, she links Gore with Marc Antony and implicitly links herself with the conspirators against Caesar, namely Marcus Brutus & Co.
Now, why she would want to do that?
Stick around at Rittenhouse Review. There are some other interesting things up, including a link to Smarter Andrew Sullivan on another amusing bit of post- 9-11-analysis by Mickey Kaus's good friend Andrew Sullivan.
Let’s ignore for the moment that Al Gore did not plunge the country into civil war. Regardless, when Harris paraphrases Shakespeare, she links Gore with Marc Antony and implicitly links herself with the conspirators against Caesar, namely Marcus Brutus & Co.
Now, why she would want to do that?
Stick around at Rittenhouse Review. There are some other interesting things up, including a link to Smarter Andrew Sullivan on another amusing bit of post- 9-11-analysis by Mickey Kaus's good friend Andrew Sullivan.
While we're on dumb post 9-11 predictions.
THE ANTHRAX SCARE: This is actually probably good news. Let me explain. First, it appears to have been sent in the mail, an idiotic method for spreading anthrax, suggesting that they didn't have a better one. Second, it appears that it was probably sent by the now-dead 19. That suggests that Al-Qaeda doesn't have a lot of resources in the States. Combining operations like that is dangerous, and ordinarily you wouldn't do it if you didn't have to -- had anyone caught on to the anthrax ploy, which was a sideshow, the whole operation could have been blown. So there are only two reasons why you might combine these operations: (1) you're stupid; and (2) you don't have enough resources to do it any other way. I'm betting on (2), because while these guys are stupid in the larger sense -- I guarantee, the end result of this won't be anything the Ladenites like -- they aren't stupid in the tactical or operational sense.
Hey, we all make mistakes.**
** I'm doing this to parody Kaus, not actually to take a swipe at the Instaman, although the latter is always fun too.
THE ANTHRAX SCARE: This is actually probably good news. Let me explain. First, it appears to have been sent in the mail, an idiotic method for spreading anthrax, suggesting that they didn't have a better one. Second, it appears that it was probably sent by the now-dead 19. That suggests that Al-Qaeda doesn't have a lot of resources in the States. Combining operations like that is dangerous, and ordinarily you wouldn't do it if you didn't have to -- had anyone caught on to the anthrax ploy, which was a sideshow, the whole operation could have been blown. So there are only two reasons why you might combine these operations: (1) you're stupid; and (2) you don't have enough resources to do it any other way. I'm betting on (2), because while these guys are stupid in the larger sense -- I guarantee, the end result of this won't be anything the Ladenites like -- they aren't stupid in the tactical or operational sense.
Hey, we all make mistakes.**
** I'm doing this to parody Kaus, not actually to take a swipe at the Instaman, although the latter is always fun too.
It's amusing for Mickey Kaus to be picking on anybody's post-9/11 predictions, when he himself stated:
I suspect the story will be off the evening news by Thanksgiving -- a denial, in a warped way, of the attackers' disruptive goal.
In this case Kaus is picking on a Times reporter's use of the word "quagmire" in association with Afghanistan. Of course, a quick search reveals that similar sentiments were expressed in news and analysis pieces in The Columbus Dispatch, The Washington Post, USA Today, the Baltimore Sun, etc...
Until the capture of Mazar-e-Sharif, this view of Afghanistan was quite prevalent, if not universal, and it's ridiculous to somehow link it back to the NYT. That capture was the watershed moment for changes in perceptions of progress in the conflict. Doubts about the ease of doing this were also expressed throughout most of the media.
Clinton's cock needed to be replaced, and the Krugman/Times/Raines axis of evil is its replacement.
I suspect the story will be off the evening news by Thanksgiving -- a denial, in a warped way, of the attackers' disruptive goal.
In this case Kaus is picking on a Times reporter's use of the word "quagmire" in association with Afghanistan. Of course, a quick search reveals that similar sentiments were expressed in news and analysis pieces in The Columbus Dispatch, The Washington Post, USA Today, the Baltimore Sun, etc...
Until the capture of Mazar-e-Sharif, this view of Afghanistan was quite prevalent, if not universal, and it's ridiculous to somehow link it back to the NYT. That capture was the watershed moment for changes in perceptions of progress in the conflict. Doubts about the ease of doing this were also expressed throughout most of the media.
Clinton's cock needed to be replaced, and the Krugman/Times/Raines axis of evil is its replacement.
Star Trek for Democrats.
Tim Hagan, a Democrat running for governor against a Republican incumbent with the Taft family political lineage and 20 times as much money, isn't shy about using his Hollywood connection.
Hagan's wife is actress Kate Mulgrew, who commands a loyal following from her days as Capt. Kathryn Janeway on "Star Trek: Voyager."
And on Saturday, a fund-raiser for Hagan's campaign featured Mulgrew along with several of her fellow cast members, including Tim Russ (Vulcan security chief Tuvok) and Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim).
The crew of Voyager was joined by William Shatner, Capt. James T. Kirk of the Enterprise on the original "Star Trek."
WSJ defends Annie.
Apparently she was just kidding, or she speaks to true Americans, or liberals are anti-free speech, or something...
Apparently she was just kidding, or she speaks to true Americans, or liberals are anti-free speech, or something...
Charles Dodgson has a nice rundown of Enron and the ever expanding fantasies of its defenders.
Dodgson describes my own feelings on Robert Musil perfectly:
To sum up, we have selective quotation, misleading attribution, and outrageous conclusions, all wrapped up in badly written English --- exactly what you'd expect from a Sokalesque test of the credulity of the blogsphere. Which is clearly not what Musil's up to, or he would have declared victory and withdrawn long ago. But his blog has been performing that test since its inception whether he means to or not --- and it's amazing how many people who ought to know better have flunked.
UPDATE: Including Mickey Kaus, as pointed out in my comments by Jason McCullough.
Dodgson describes my own feelings on Robert Musil perfectly:
To sum up, we have selective quotation, misleading attribution, and outrageous conclusions, all wrapped up in badly written English --- exactly what you'd expect from a Sokalesque test of the credulity of the blogsphere. Which is clearly not what Musil's up to, or he would have declared victory and withdrawn long ago. But his blog has been performing that test since its inception whether he means to or not --- and it's amazing how many people who ought to know better have flunked.
UPDATE: Including Mickey Kaus, as pointed out in my comments by Jason McCullough.
Ranting on the internet, or reading those who do, is a noble way to spend one's time to be sure. However, there are other things one can do. For those whose jobs haven't yet been Bushed and who have a few extra bucks sitting around, and after you have of course made the all-important contribution to the Eschaton Leisure Fund, I highly recommend sending them to the following candidates.
First, Paul Wellstone. He's the most progressive Senator there is. I actually don't agree with Wellstone sometimes -- I'm not as "Lefty" as some might think -- but I do think that there is a tremendous lack of political balance, particularly in the Senate. A group of mostly centrist Democrats compromising with a bunch of mostly right wing Republics shifts the inevitably compromise somewhere to the right of Jack Kemp. With the Broders of the world endlessly approving of compromise as an end in itself, we need a few more progressive voices to help shift the political center back where it should belong. Wellstone's facing a tough fight which isn't being helped by McGaa, the Green Party's latest temper tantrum. So, head over to his site and throw him some change if you've got it.
There are worse Republicans than Susan Collins, but there's no reason to settle for that. Chellie Pingree isn't yet a household name, but with a little luck and a little help she just might manage to unseat Collins. Winning tough incumbent races isn't enough -- this 50-1-49 split in the Senate gives the Democrats far less control of committees than the Republics had before the Jeffords switch. Combined with their tendency to play nice and not pull a Helms regularly, Dems need more solid control. Any battle against an incumbent Senator is difficult, and while Collins isn't the worst Republican, Democrats are unlikely to unseat most of those. Check out her site and if you like what you see throw her a nickle or two.
And, if money ain't your bag baby, call your local candidate's campaign headquarters and ask to volunteer. Don't get upset if they don't draft you right away, or forget to call you back -- new candidates who are going against incumbents in particular often don't have any kind of organization in place. They may be running for office while still working their day job and one shouldn't take it as a personal slight if the flunky running the phones when you call isn't as on the ball as he/she should be. Call back. Show up at the headquarters. Whatever it takes. They probably need help -- they may just not have enough help to organize it.
First, Paul Wellstone. He's the most progressive Senator there is. I actually don't agree with Wellstone sometimes -- I'm not as "Lefty" as some might think -- but I do think that there is a tremendous lack of political balance, particularly in the Senate. A group of mostly centrist Democrats compromising with a bunch of mostly right wing Republics shifts the inevitably compromise somewhere to the right of Jack Kemp. With the Broders of the world endlessly approving of compromise as an end in itself, we need a few more progressive voices to help shift the political center back where it should belong. Wellstone's facing a tough fight which isn't being helped by McGaa, the Green Party's latest temper tantrum. So, head over to his site and throw him some change if you've got it.
There are worse Republicans than Susan Collins, but there's no reason to settle for that. Chellie Pingree isn't yet a household name, but with a little luck and a little help she just might manage to unseat Collins. Winning tough incumbent races isn't enough -- this 50-1-49 split in the Senate gives the Democrats far less control of committees than the Republics had before the Jeffords switch. Combined with their tendency to play nice and not pull a Helms regularly, Dems need more solid control. Any battle against an incumbent Senator is difficult, and while Collins isn't the worst Republican, Democrats are unlikely to unseat most of those. Check out her site and if you like what you see throw her a nickle or two.
And, if money ain't your bag baby, call your local candidate's campaign headquarters and ask to volunteer. Don't get upset if they don't draft you right away, or forget to call you back -- new candidates who are going against incumbents in particular often don't have any kind of organization in place. They may be running for office while still working their day job and one shouldn't take it as a personal slight if the flunky running the phones when you call isn't as on the ball as he/she should be. Call back. Show up at the headquarters. Whatever it takes. They probably need help -- they may just not have enough help to organize it.
Future Suspect Lists Being compiled. (reg. req.)
WILMINGTON, Del. (August 25, 2002 9:52 p.m. EDT) - Police in Delaware are trying to get a head-start on cracking crimes before they happen by setting up a database that contains a list of people who officers believe are likely to break the law.
Defense attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union oppose the database, which lists names, addresses and photographs of the potential suspects - many of whom have clean slates.
The precise grounds for putting a person on the list aren't clear. But since the system was introduced in Wilmington in June, most of the 200 people included in the file have been minorities from poor, high-crime neighborhoods.
Sunday, August 25, 2002
Safliar on Good Kurds and Bad Kurds.. It's late, I've had a couple of drinks, someone explain this one to me.
Liz Smith on Timothy McVeigh fan Ann Coulter:
ENDQUOTE to end all!! Ann Coulter boasts the No. 1 best-selling book in American non-fiction, "Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right." Many read it with slack-jawed wonder, thinking if one simply switched "liberal" to "conservative" throughout, it would make more sense.
The vivacious Ann gave an interview to George Gurley in the New York Observer this week. She actually says, "My only regret with Timothy McVeigh (the Oklahoma City bomber) is he did not go to the New York Times building."
ENDQUOTE to end all!! Ann Coulter boasts the No. 1 best-selling book in American non-fiction, "Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right." Many read it with slack-jawed wonder, thinking if one simply switched "liberal" to "conservative" throughout, it would make more sense.
The vivacious Ann gave an interview to George Gurley in the New York Observer this week. She actually says, "My only regret with Timothy McVeigh (the Oklahoma City bomber) is he did not go to the New York Times building."
Glenn raises two very scary issues. One is that Norah Vincent has a blog. Two is that Iraq might be third in line behind Saudi Arabia AND Pakistan.
Digby on Coulter, and Chomsky, and Bloggers, Oh My!
Chomsky is a pointy headed intellectual who can best be described as inciting leftists to have a second cup of coffee. Coulter is actually entertaining the Republican establishment by promoting the killing American liberals and getting paid handsomely to do it.
And she isn't alone There are also Horowitz, Derbyshire, that nut-case Paul Craig Roberts (and a whole slough of puerile polemicists at Town Hall) not to mention Rush and his little clones all around the country. These people demonize liberals on a daily basis, portraying their fellow Americans as if they are sub-humans, worthy of total disdain and subject to violence solely for their political views.
There is nothing like this on the left, and certainly there's nobody with national exposure who is turning a profit at it. (Oh sorry, I forgot that anonymous guy who posted a remark on a message board over a year ago that mentioned violence. He's quite a threat, to be sure.)
I really could not care less whether certain bloggers repudiate this immature babbling, but I don't want to hear another word from right wing moralists about how our culture is being polluted by sex and violence. If they think that routine, everyday demonization of liberals is just good clean fun then they can shut the fuck up about the breakdown in moral values in this country. Their glass house is lying in shards at their feet.
Chomsky is a pointy headed intellectual who can best be described as inciting leftists to have a second cup of coffee. Coulter is actually entertaining the Republican establishment by promoting the killing American liberals and getting paid handsomely to do it.
And she isn't alone There are also Horowitz, Derbyshire, that nut-case Paul Craig Roberts (and a whole slough of puerile polemicists at Town Hall) not to mention Rush and his little clones all around the country. These people demonize liberals on a daily basis, portraying their fellow Americans as if they are sub-humans, worthy of total disdain and subject to violence solely for their political views.
There is nothing like this on the left, and certainly there's nobody with national exposure who is turning a profit at it. (Oh sorry, I forgot that anonymous guy who posted a remark on a message board over a year ago that mentioned violence. He's quite a threat, to be sure.)
I really could not care less whether certain bloggers repudiate this immature babbling, but I don't want to hear another word from right wing moralists about how our culture is being polluted by sex and violence. If they think that routine, everyday demonization of liberals is just good clean fun then they can shut the fuck up about the breakdown in moral values in this country. Their glass house is lying in shards at their feet.
Talk Left points me to this WaPo Op-Ed.
This is an extraordinary moment. If, in response to the challenge of terrorism, we transform ourselves into a society that eliminates the rule of law and concentrates in the president unchecked power to detain people without charges or judicial review, we will have become our antithesis. The irony would be profound."
HELLO?!?! IS ANYBODY OUT THERE??? HAS ANYONE READ THIS FUCKING STORY??
Some Egyptian guy shoots up an El-Al counter and there's a 3 week Blogistan debate over whether it is or isn't terrorism. This plot is uncovered and chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp.
There are days when I feel lonelier than poor Jonah Goldberg over at the Corner the day the NY Post had the "BUSH KNEW" headline.
Authorities stumbled upon an astonishing array of weapons inside the town home of podiatrist Robert Goldstein, 37, Thursday evening after receiving a complaint that he was arguing with his wife, Kristi, 28.
After coaxing Goldstein out of the home, Pinellas County deputies discovered about 20 homemade bombs, a pair of rocket launchers, dozens of high- power rifles and an antipersonnel mine.
They also retrieved a three- page battle plan that laid out in intricate detail a mission to blow up what appears to be a local Islamic educational center. The writing includes at least the first names of two other people.
At Saturday's news conference, prayer leader Bilal Muhammad of Fort Myers said local Muslims had been in close contact with federal authorities and had been told that one accomplice had been detained.
Some Egyptian guy shoots up an El-Al counter and there's a 3 week Blogistan debate over whether it is or isn't terrorism. This plot is uncovered and chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp.
There are days when I feel lonelier than poor Jonah Goldberg over at the Corner the day the NY Post had the "BUSH KNEW" headline.
Saturday, August 24, 2002
Quis custodiet istos custodes?
The FBI has intensified its probe of a classified intelligence leak, asking 17 senators to turn over phone records, appointment calendars and schedules that would reveal their possible contact with reporters.
In an Aug. 7 memo passed to the senators through the Senate general counsel's office, the FBI asked all members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to collect and turn over records from June 18 and 19, 2002. Those dates are the day of and the day after a classified hearing in which the director of the National Security Agency, Lt. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, spoke to lawmakers about two highly sensitive messages that hinted at an impending action that the agency intercepted on the eve of Sept. 11 but did not translate until Sept. 12.
Barry Crimmins sez:
Dr. Robert J. Goldstein of St. Petersburg, Fla. has been charged with possession of a= nonregistered destructive device and attempting to use an explosive to damage and destroy Islamic centers. He allegedly had 40 weapons, 30 explosive devices, a list of about 50 Islamic worship centers in Florida, and detailed plans to bomb an Islamic education center. What do you bet Goldstein has bond set long before several Islamic prisoners who have not been charged with anything yet still rot in prison?
Fundraising follies.
Bush has taken 28 out-of-town political trips in his first 16 months in office, compared with the 20 that federal records show for Clinton in the corresponding period.
Bush's road trips this year have raised more than $27 million for Republican parties and candidates. He also has headlined several Washington fundraisers, including last week's record-setting $33 million dinner benefiting the RNC.
[...]
One senior administration official said each trip's official component, known around the White House as the "policy event," is scheduled first, and then the fundraisers are added. That does not comport with statements from local party officials, who say they know about the fundraisers long before a hall is booked for the official event. Other White House officials said fundraising plans drove the schedules for several recent trips.
[..]
The administration has requested an increase in the White House travel budget from $1.6 million to $3.8 million.
I actually agree with Reynolds that Turley's use of the word "camps" was likely a bit of hype. But I also think it's rather Kausian* to get more concerned about the hyperbole surrounding the indefinite imprisonment of American citizens without charges or legal representation than the thing itself.
Emphasis is everything.
*trying out a new word here.
Emphasis is everything.
*trying out a new word here.
Jeb's pal Reiger seems pretty obsessed with Biblical discipline. Is this what he means?
Deuteronomy 21
18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." 21 Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
Deuteronomy 21
18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." 21 Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
Joe Conason on Perkins:
Perkins gets the blahs
"Do you want our government run by corporations? Vote Democratic in November. That's the text of the latest attack ad rolled out by the party of Terry McAuliffe. The Democratic National Committee chairman plans to air them in selected battleground states and congressional districts throughout the country." So claimed conservative columnist Joseph Perkins in an Aug. 16 column that insisted Democrats are as culpable as Republicans for the corporate crime wave. He really doesn't know what he's talking about, beginning with the fact that there is no such DNC ad, except in his fevered mind. What Perkins quotes is actually the text of the clever online "ad" blurbed here a couple of weeks ago. (Meanwhile, the creative types at Blah3.com have added two new ads to their "Money" series on the deficit and offshore tax havens that prove McAuliffe should hire them.) So far no word on whether Perkins, obviously well-trained as an editorialist for the Wall Street Journal, will retract his bizarre error.
Instapundit has this to say:
UPDATE: Okay, one more thought. Isn't it odd that national sovereignty, and a whole raft of individual protections under international (and American constitutional) law can go by the wayside in the effort to prosecute war crimes, but that anything that might make a reporter's life more difficult is obviously beyond the pale?
Okay, it's not really odd that a reporter would think that. What's odd is that anyone else would take it seriously. Then again, it's not at all clear that anyone else does.
He's talking about Robert Fisk, and I didn't bother reading the article he's referring to, but it brought to mind the media attention about the recent police abuses in Portland. One thing that disturbed be was that the media's coverage emphasized the police's behavior toward reporters (video showed they deliberately sprayed a cameraperson). And, while it is true that the press constitutionally have a special role, and do and should enjoy some special protections, they are all too quick to decide that THEY are the story. The coverage that I read/saw had a definite tone of "well, the protesters deserved it but why are they picking on US!!"
UPDATE: Okay, one more thought. Isn't it odd that national sovereignty, and a whole raft of individual protections under international (and American constitutional) law can go by the wayside in the effort to prosecute war crimes, but that anything that might make a reporter's life more difficult is obviously beyond the pale?
Okay, it's not really odd that a reporter would think that. What's odd is that anyone else would take it seriously. Then again, it's not at all clear that anyone else does.
He's talking about Robert Fisk, and I didn't bother reading the article he's referring to, but it brought to mind the media attention about the recent police abuses in Portland. One thing that disturbed be was that the media's coverage emphasized the police's behavior toward reporters (video showed they deliberately sprayed a cameraperson). And, while it is true that the press constitutionally have a special role, and do and should enjoy some special protections, they are all too quick to decide that THEY are the story. The coverage that I read/saw had a definite tone of "well, the protesters deserved it but why are they picking on US!!"
Right Wing Terrorism Watch
I think the score is now 4-1, though that 1 was pretty sketchy.
That Christianity sure is a stinking turd of a religion.
At least he didn't have any Giant Puppets of Death!
Freepers respond:
To: Friedrich Hayek; JohnHuang2
Damn---does this guy think we are at war? And at war with someone who has vowed to annihilate us and has no qualms about who they kill, how many, etc.? What's
wrong with him?
I don't mean to say I told you so, but I predicted some time ago that we'll see an increasing number of Americans who, if they do not wiew government as taking action to
protect us, will take things into their own hands.
9 posted on 8/24/02 8:09 AM Pacific by gg188
I think the score is now 4-1, though that 1 was pretty sketchy.
SEMINOLE -- The plan for the military-style "mission" showed adrawing of an "Islamic Education Center."
Timers on plastic explosives would go off in 15 minutes, taking down buildings and killing Muslims. Bombs and land mines would detonate in
parking lots and playgrounds, killing police and fleeing students.
This was the blueprint of a 37-year-old podiatrist from Seminole, Robert Jay Goldstein, who had compiled a list of 50 Islamic centers and mosques in the Tampa Bay area and Florida, federal authorities said Friday.
"He had enough weapons to take on an army," said Cal Dennie, Pinellas County sheriff's spokesman. Indeed, authorities removed an arsenal of weapons and enough explosives to destroy not only his townhome, but up to 10 others.
[..]
"OBJECTIVE: Kill all 'rags' at this Islamic Education Center -- ZERO residual presence -- maximum effect," the plan read.
[..]
Jack Grayson says about a year ago Kristi Goldstein told him her husband was no longer a practicing Jew. Grayson says he remembers Goldstein wearing a cross when he dropped off his rent check.
That Christianity sure is a stinking turd of a religion.
At least he didn't have any Giant Puppets of Death!
Freepers respond:
To: Friedrich Hayek; JohnHuang2
Damn---does this guy think we are at war? And at war with someone who has vowed to annihilate us and has no qualms about who they kill, how many, etc.? What's
wrong with him?
I don't mean to say I told you so, but I predicted some time ago that we'll see an increasing number of Americans who, if they do not wiew government as taking action to
protect us, will take things into their own hands.
9 posted on 8/24/02 8:09 AM Pacific by gg188
Judy Woodruff, liberal media extraordinaire:
WOODRUFF: Well, you may have heard protesters in John's piece, protesters in the background. Our White House team says it was the usual relatively small group of protesters who often follow Mr. Bush on the road. In Oregon last night a demonstration against the president got a bit out of hand. Police in full riot gear shot pepper spray and rubber bullets at protesters who pounded on police cars and refused to back off from a barricade.
I guess Bush is the new Grateful Dead.
WOODRUFF: Well, you may have heard protesters in John's piece, protesters in the background. Our White House team says it was the usual relatively small group of protesters who often follow Mr. Bush on the road. In Oregon last night a demonstration against the president got a bit out of hand. Police in full riot gear shot pepper spray and rubber bullets at protesters who pounded on police cars and refused to back off from a barricade.
I guess Bush is the new Grateful Dead.
Jeb Bush plays the bigot card. You see, apparently anyone who thinks that someone who has views such as these:
and who, in good Christian form, tried to lie about it, shouldn't be in charge of child welfare just has a problem with people of faith. According to Jeb:
Get used to it. This is the new standard response to all criticism of people's stone age viewpoints - "You're a bigot! It's unfair! White Christian nutcases have no political power in this country! Wahh!"
In the article, Regier says that husbands must have authority over their wives, who should not work outside the home unless it is financially necessary. 'Scripture is clear in stating that women are to be `helpmates' to their husbands, that they are to bear and nurture children, that they are to be 'workers at home.' ''
and who, in good Christian form, tried to lie about it, shouldn't be in charge of child welfare just has a problem with people of faith. According to Jeb:
Gov. Jeb Bush charged Friday that critics of his new state child welfare chief -- a fundamentalist Christian who advocates corporal punishment -- are displaying ''bigotry'' and a ''double standard'' against people of faith.
[,,,]
Bush, in Miami with Regier to announce a multiagency effort to find children who are missing from DCF custody, called The Herald's stories that revealed Regier's writings ''outrageous'' and ``just wrong.''
''I don't believe that someone who described himself as a person lacking faith altogether would be receiving the same kind of scrutiny,'' Bush said. ``I think there's a double standard, and I'm bothered by it.''
Bush added: ``Somehow the implication is that people of faith somehow are strange, and I just reject that.''
Get used to it. This is the new standard response to all criticism of people's stone age viewpoints - "You're a bigot! It's unfair! White Christian nutcases have no political power in this country! Wahh!"
Reader D.M. sent in this analysis of the Bush administration.
The following are some thoughts concerning Bush's use of "tactical hubris" in various situation including with regard to Iraq.
As the 2000 campaign neared election day, the Bush campaign decided to employ the “bandwagon tactic.” That tactic is based on the presumption that late-deciding voters will break towards the campaign that is perceived to be the winner. Thus, the Bush campaign theorized, if we simply act and talk as if we will win, the late-deciding voters will break for us and our act will become self-fulfilling. To implement the tactic, Karl Rove predicted an electoral landslide as well as a popular vote victory of 7+ percentage points. In the last stages of the campaign, the candidate ignored battleground states in which the election would be close such as Florida, New Mexico, West Virginia , Iowa and Wisconsin to concentrate on states in which Mr. Gore had a substantial lead such as California and New Jersey. The apparent theory behind that choice was that the public and the press would decide that if Bush was sufficiently confident to campaign in “lost states,” he must have the election sewed up. From that conclusion the “bandwagon effect” would result in the undecided voters breaking for Bush.
The essence of that strategy was that an act of exaggerated or unjustified self-confidence could influence the behavior of others in a favorable way. A display of exaggerated self-confidence is the definition of hubris. In the case of the “bandwagon tactic,” hubris may have come within one Supreme Court Justice’s vote of costing G. W. Bush the Presidency. That close call, however, has not diminished the Bush administration’s use of tactical hubris.
On election night, the results of the election were unknown. No one knew who had won New Mexico, Florida or part of the west coast. The result of Florida would determine the election. Before absentee ballots had been tallied, before a decision on recounts had been made, before a lawsuit that ultimately decided the election was brought, George W. Bush announced that he was the winner. He was, his campaign declared, President Elect. While James Baker, the Brooks Brothers riot squad and more lawyers than worked the O.J. trial scrambled to ensure the accuracy of his statement, Mr. Bush was serenely confident in his victory. Given that no one, including Mr. Bush, Mr. Rove and Mr. Baker could possibly know how the Florida electoral votes would eventually be cast, the announcement may be best understood as an act of unjustified confidence, i.e. hubris.
Perhaps the Bush campaign felt that by prematurely declaring victory, he would buck up his supporters, cow Al Gore and his legions, and turn the media and public opinion in his favor and against a recount. Public opinion might then simply demand that the initial Florida results be certified and Bush be installed into office.
If Bush’s declaration of victory was a tactical use of hubris (as opposed to being simple hubris), it is difficult to assess whether or not it worked as planned. Clearly, Mr. Bush’s supporters were invigorated by the declaration. Mr. Gore however was not cowed. The media and, in particular, the pundits seemed to accept the statement and opine that Mr. Bush was the rightful winner even before a recount. The public did not seem to rise up and declare Mr. Bush the winner as a result of his announcement. Once the recount issue went to the United States Supreme Court, however, the tactic of hubris, if that is what it was, may have been a clear winner. A divided court, in an opinion written by Justice Scalia, issued an injunction halting the Florida Supreme Court ordered recount. The basis for such an injunction was that the actual counting of all votes cast in Florida would cause irreparable harm to one of the parties, namely Mr. Bush. The finding of irreparable harm has, as an unstated premise, that Mr. Bush was the rightful winner of the Florida electoral votes and, therefore, of the Presidency. Perhaps the display of hubris in declaring himself the winner reached the audience of five members of the Supreme Court and influenced their behavior. If so, score one huge victory for the tactics of hubris.
After his inauguration as President, Mr. Bush decided that the closeness of the election and his relative lack of a mandate should not temper his policy proposals. Some counseled that he should alter his domestic agenda given that he lost the popular vote by more than 500,000 votes. After all, a clear majority of Americans had voted against Bush in the election. Bush rejected that argument and decided that to proceed as if he had a mandate would, in fact, create that mandate. In essence, Bush decided that if he acted as if he had a mandate, others would get on board and he would, in fact, have a mandate.
The centerpiece of the Bush domestic policy during the campaign was a large tax cut that critics claimed would skew its benefits to the very wealthy while squandering the budget surplus. The tax cut proposal had been developed in 1999 when the Bush campaign worried that his primary challenge would come from Steve (flat tax) Forbes instead of John McCain. Despite the changes in the economy and the potential for deterioration in the budget picture should the economy head into a downturn, Bush decided to proceed with his tax cut proposal with minimal modifications. Thus, Bush decided that the way to deal with the lack of an electoral mandate was to act as if he had one with regard to his largest domestic policy prescription. The decision to proceed with the tax cut was not an act of hubris as Mr. Bush’s self-confidence was fully justified. Shortly after he proposed the legislation, one Democrat, Zell Miller of Georgia, announced that he would support the bill. The tax cut passed by respectable margins in both houses of Congress and became law.
A pattern may be perceived in the above. When faced with a decision, Bush decides on the outcome he desires, announces it as fact and hopes that his show of confidence will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. With regard to campaigning in “lost states,” the strategy did not work but no price was paid. With regard to the “President Elect” strategy, it may not have worked with the public but it may have worked with the only constituency that mattered, the Justices of the Supreme Court. On the tax cut, the strategy seems to have worked to Bush’s short-term political benefit. Whether or not it works in the long term depends on the future of the economy, the budget and the assignment of political blame should either crater.
The President’s Iraq policy follows the pattern. In his State of the Union speech, the President identified Iraq as one of the four countries operating as an “Axis of Evil.” He predicted that “the price of indifference would be catastrophic” with regard to those countries. He vowed that “America will do what is necessary to ensure our nation's security.” Mr. Bush noted that “time is not on our side.” He would not “wait on events, while dangers gather…. The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons.”
In his Commencement speech at West Point, Mr. Bush made clear that efforts to remove Saddam from power in Iraq were needed and would be taken preemptively:
For much of the last century, America's defense relied on the Cold War doctrines of deterrence and containment. In some cases, those strategies still apply. But new threats also require new thinking. Deterrence . . . means nothing against shadowy terrorist networks with no nation or citizens to defend. Containment is not possible when unbalanced dictators with weapons of mass destruction can deliver those weapons on missiles or secretly provide them to terrorist allies.
We cannot defend America and our friends by hoping for the best . . .. If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long.
[T]he war on terror will not be won on the defensive. We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans, and confront the worst threats before they emerge. In the world we have entered, the only path to safety is the path of action. And this nation will act.
And our security will require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives.
Those statements can only be read as announcing that the security of the nation depends, in part, on regime change in Iraq. Indeed, Richard Perle has stated as much when remarking that:
The failure to take on Saddam after what the president has said would produce such a collapse of confidence in the president that it would set back the war on terrorism.
A funny thing happened on the way to the implementation of Bush’s announced policy. The Republican Party, the Republican foreign policy establishment, the uniformed military, our traditional allies, countries in the Gulf region, and increasingly, the American people failed to react to the show of confidence by rallying to support the policy.
Within the Republican Party, Senator Richard Lugar, Senator Chuck Hagel and Majority leader Armey have all expressed reservations concerning preemptive military regime change in Iraq. The foreign policy establishment of the Republican Party including former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, former Secretary of State and former National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, General Norman Schwarzkopf and General Wesley Clark have expressed varying degrees of reservation concerning the policy.
The press reports a singular lack of support for the policy within the uniformed officers at the Pentagon. The New York Times repeatedly publishes negative critiques of “war plans” leaked from sources within the Pentagon.
Despite a high profile trip to the region by Vice President Cheney, none of the Gulf states support the policy. German leadership is actively running against the policy in the upcoming elections. Even such a staunch ally as Great Britain has expressed reservations and has failed to commit to support preemptive military action in Iraq. Mr. Bush looked into Mr. Putin’s soul and found a $40 billion development deal between Russia and Iraq.
Recent polling suggests that the American people’s support for war with Iraq is tepid at best and falls precipitously in the event that American casualties are incurred, the war lasts for any extended period or the U.S. has to go it alone without the support of our allies.
Stratfor.com reports that the Bush administration is backing down from preemptive action in Iraq and is looking for a way to limit the political damage of such a reversal. The President meets with his “war cabinet” in Crawford and announces that no discussion of Iraq occurred. The President who once announced that “time is not on our side,” that the results of indifference could be “catastrophic” and declared that “this nation will act” now strikes a different chord. The White House announces that no decision has been made. Bush states that he “is a patient man” and decries the media “frenzy” concerning Iraq.
Perhaps hubris is no substitute for patient planning, consultation with Congressional leaders as well as allies, substantive debate and careful building of support among the American people.
Friday, August 23, 2002
Thanks to MWO, Cursor, Metafilter, Camworld, and a few others who linked me the last couple of days were my biggest days yet. Hopefully a few who came for Dick Cheney's email scam stick around. And, thanks to Baconslab for writing it and allowing me to steal it.
Something in this puff piece about Bush the Mighty jumped out at me:
Now they've started lying about his height. I need a drink.
Earlier this month, his annual physical showed the 6-foot, 189-pound president had a resting heart rate of 44 beats per minute, which puts him in the range of elite marathoners. He had 14.5 percent body fat. "I try to go for longer runs, but it's tough around here at the White House on the outdoor track," he told the magazine. "It's sad that I can't run longer. It's one of the saddest things about the presidency."
Now they've started lying about his height. I need a drink.
Bush chides press for 'silly' Iraq obsession By Bill Sammon THE WASHINGTON TIMES
MEDFORD, Ore. — President Bush believes "the press looks silly" for obsessing over Iraq in its coverage of a meeting on a different topic — missile defense — that he held with military advisers this week, said White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.
"The press yesterday and the day before reached an absurd point of self-inflicted silliness," Mr. Fleischer told reporters aboard Air Force One. "A self-inflicted point of silliness that goes beyond the usual August hype..."
True, they could be obsessing about sharks or blowjobs. Important stuff.
Thursday, August 22, 2002
Damn, I didn't know GOP Team Leader had 33 Different Teams!!
Which one should I enroll in?
African American Team
American Indian Team
Arab American Team
Asian American Team
Catholic Team
Conservative Team
Disability Team
Eastern European Team
Education Team
Environment Team
Evangelical Team
Farmer and Rancher Team
Greek American Team
Haitian American Team
High-Tech Team
Hispanic Team
Home School Team
Indian American Team
Irish American Team
Italian Team
Jewish Team
Labor Team
Law Enforcement Team
Lebanese American Team
Muslim Team
Senior Team
Small Business Team
Sportsman Team
Stock Car Team
Student Team
Veteran Team
Woman Team
Young Professional Team
I bet that Arab American and Muslim teams are really fucking popular. They sure do have a big tent!
Labor team? You've got to be kidding..
What team do the Log Cabin Republicans join?
Maybe not so big after all.
Which one should I enroll in?
African American Team
American Indian Team
Arab American Team
Asian American Team
Catholic Team
Conservative Team
Disability Team
Eastern European Team
Education Team
Environment Team
Evangelical Team
Farmer and Rancher Team
Greek American Team
Haitian American Team
High-Tech Team
Hispanic Team
Home School Team
Indian American Team
Irish American Team
Italian Team
Jewish Team
Labor Team
Law Enforcement Team
Lebanese American Team
Muslim Team
Senior Team
Small Business Team
Sportsman Team
Stock Car Team
Student Team
Veteran Team
Woman Team
Young Professional Team
I bet that Arab American and Muslim teams are really fucking popular. They sure do have a big tent!
Labor team? You've got to be kidding..
What team do the Log Cabin Republicans join?
Maybe not so big after all.
I guess a little dose of Malaria knocked the sense back into Tweety. I'm sure he'll be back to waxing moronic about earth tones and sublime masculinity on Hardball soon.
This invasion of Iraq, if it goes off, will join the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, Desert One, Beirut and Somalia in the history of U.S. military catastrophes. What will set it apart for all time is the immense - and transparent - political stupidity.
A mission to attack an isolated enemy will isolate us. A mission justified by the fight with terrorism will give birth to millions of terrorist-supporting haters.
Terrorist Granny gets the Riot Squad treatment!!!
go get her guys!!!
caption:
Riot police grab a protester as they clear the streets around an event attended by President Bush in downtown Portland, Ore. on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2002. Police used pepper spray to clear hundreds of protesters away from an area near a hotel where Bush was holding a fund-raiser. (AP Photo/John Gress)
go get her guys!!!
caption:
Riot police grab a protester as they clear the streets around an event attended by President Bush in downtown Portland, Ore. on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2002. Police used pepper spray to clear hundreds of protesters away from an area near a hotel where Bush was holding a fund-raiser. (AP Photo/John Gress)
Richard Posner, who seems to get stupider every day, had this to say this morning on NPR about the tension between liberty and security.
Judge POSNER: If the country feels it's in danger, yeah, there are going to be abuses and excesses, but that's life.
Not so different from his impassioned defense of Bush v. Gore which amounted to "well, someone had to step in and do something. That's life!"
Judge POSNER: If the country feels it's in danger, yeah, there are going to be abuses and excesses, but that's life.
Not so different from his impassioned defense of Bush v. Gore which amounted to "well, someone had to step in and do something. That's life!"
Bargain prices for Bush/Simon fundraiser.
"DANA POINT – The cost of getting into President George W. Bush's fund- raiser for GOP gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon just got a lot cheaper for some, indicating growing doubts about Simon's ability to win, say political experts from both parties.
The Friday-evening reception at the posh St. Regis resort in Dana Point, which follows a Bush appearance at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, was originally billed as $1,000 per person, with the money going to Simon's campaign. But e-mails sent to GOP activists at the end of last week added cut-rate tickets at $250 each.
"Nobody reduces the price of the tickets unless they're having trouble selling them," said veteran political consultant Harvey Englander, who has worked for numerous local Republicans, including Supervisor Todd Spitzer and former Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer. "They need to sell more tickets. They need the bodies."
Terminus notes that Bush has announced exemptions on steel tariffs:
Incompetence Writ Large. This is priceless. Politically, it's really not a big story, but it shows in livid detail the egg all over Bush's face. Apparently, and not for the first time, Bush has decided to grant exemptions on his steel tariff policy, in order to prevent a trade war with the EU. Well done, Bush. Announce a policy that you don't believe in, that your political base doesn't believe in, and that everyone will immediately view as a naked political ploy. Then, totally capitulate to the EU, which should really get your base energized, and slink off into a corner to have a good cry. Nice one.
Incompetence Writ Large. This is priceless. Politically, it's really not a big story, but it shows in livid detail the egg all over Bush's face. Apparently, and not for the first time, Bush has decided to grant exemptions on his steel tariff policy, in order to prevent a trade war with the EU. Well done, Bush. Announce a policy that you don't believe in, that your political base doesn't believe in, and that everyone will immediately view as a naked political ploy. Then, totally capitulate to the EU, which should really get your base energized, and slink off into a corner to have a good cry. Nice one.
Sucks to be a shock jock. Opie and Anthony fired, show cancelled by syndicator. I wonder if they'll stay fired.
Speaking of Kaus, you can see Paul Krugman's response to his latest rant here. Kaus does here what he does a lot - takes a fairly innocent phrase, redefines it, and then throws it back at the writer.
Alterman says this:
I agree. In addition, it provides an exploitable wedge issue between the two most consistently democratic-voting racial/ethnic groups.
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said that “at the grass roots” among African American voters, there is a growing perception that “Jewish people are attempting to pick our leaders. . . . There is some concern about that. It’s concern about any candidate being targeted by a special-interest group for voting on any one issue.”
I think AIPAC et al are being very stupid by targeting black Congressman who don’t vote “right” on Israel. Congress could not be more pro-Israeli if it were taking orders from my (late) bubbe and zeida. One vote, one voice, here or there makes no difference.
Because it plays into anti-Jew stereotypes, this kind of heavy-handed financial intervention to pick the winner of a largely African American race is actually a boon to anti-Semites of the black and extremist left-wing varieties. (See under: “Louis Farrakhan” and “Alexander Cockburn.”) What AIPAC et al appear to be saying is “We will tolerate no dissent of any kind on Israel in American public life.” They do Israel and America’s Jews no favor.
I agree. In addition, it provides an exploitable wedge issue between the two most consistently democratic-voting racial/ethnic groups.
TAPPED picks on Reynolds for being a literalist.
Actually, him of "Impeach Mineta," is a selective literalist.
Actually, him of "Impeach Mineta," is a selective literalist.
Where Ann Coulter leads, the Freepers follow. Over to you Mickey...
One down, Ann!
To: paulklenk
NEW YORK TIMES SUICIDE; LONGTIME REPORTER/EDITOR JUMPS TO HIS DEATH FROM 43RD FLOOR
Women, Minorities and Gays Hardest Hit
[...]
To: cajungirl
Definitely not Raines.
Probably some younger editor who had a revelation this morning, looked back over the damage he had caused this country, and decided to darwin himself before he
could do more
[..]
To: Loyalist
Weeping on floor with inappropriate laughter!!
[...]
To: Lunatic Fringe
The only good liberal is a dead liberal!
38 posted on 8/22/02 10:24 AM Pacific by claptrap
[...]
To: 1bigdictator
My guess: His ties to militant Arab groups was to be exposed.
I'll second that supposition.
[...]
To: Don Munn
Rush just played "It's Raining Men" as bumper music...mean....
72 posted on 8/22/02 10:33 AM Pacific by July 4th
[...]
To: primeval patriot
If that was the case, joking about it isn't appropriate.
Especially since nobody here can recall reading anything he wrote.
Now, had this been Paul Krugman....
111 posted on 8/22/02 10:54 AM Pacific by Dog Gone
[...]
One down, Ann!
To: paulklenk
NEW YORK TIMES SUICIDE; LONGTIME REPORTER/EDITOR JUMPS TO HIS DEATH FROM 43RD FLOOR
Women, Minorities and Gays Hardest Hit
[...]
To: cajungirl
Definitely not Raines.
Probably some younger editor who had a revelation this morning, looked back over the damage he had caused this country, and decided to darwin himself before he
could do more
[..]
To: Loyalist
Weeping on floor with inappropriate laughter!!
[...]
To: Lunatic Fringe
The only good liberal is a dead liberal!
38 posted on 8/22/02 10:24 AM Pacific by claptrap
[...]
To: 1bigdictator
My guess: His ties to militant Arab groups was to be exposed.
I'll second that supposition.
[...]
To: Don Munn
Rush just played "It's Raining Men" as bumper music...mean....
72 posted on 8/22/02 10:33 AM Pacific by July 4th
[...]
To: primeval patriot
If that was the case, joking about it isn't appropriate.
Especially since nobody here can recall reading anything he wrote.
Now, had this been Paul Krugman....
111 posted on 8/22/02 10:54 AM Pacific by Dog Gone
[...]
Talkleft has the scary lowdown on "sneak and peek" searches.
For those not familiar with "sneak and peak" searches, Section 213 of the newly enacted Patriot Act allows the police to enter and search a home without telling anyone they have done so, seriously undermining the Fourth Amendment and one’s ability to mount a fourth amendment challenge to the search or any other kind of defense.
Section 213 is not limited to terrorism investigations. It applies to the search and seizure of any property or material pursuant to a search warrant “that constitutes evidence of a criminal offense in violation of the laws of the United States.”
For those not familiar with "sneak and peak" searches, Section 213 of the newly enacted Patriot Act allows the police to enter and search a home without telling anyone they have done so, seriously undermining the Fourth Amendment and one’s ability to mount a fourth amendment challenge to the search or any other kind of defense.
Section 213 is not limited to terrorism investigations. It applies to the search and seizure of any property or material pursuant to a search warrant “that constitutes evidence of a criminal offense in violation of the laws of the United States.”
Pandagon has some comments on paperless voting.
This is a big deal folks. As a democratic party hack I'm obviously concerned about what's going on in Florida, but more generally this should be of concern to everyone.
This is a big deal folks. As a democratic party hack I'm obviously concerned about what's going on in Florida, but more generally this should be of concern to everyone.
Poor, factually challenged, Mr. Perkins writes this:
Money . . .
Liabilities now total $1.6 billion in the Adelphia restatement.
WorldCom is thought to owe its banks approximately $4.5 billion.
Tyco has lost about 83 percent of its value since December.
Enron total shareholder value lost: $63,101,519,000.
Over the past 27 months, the nation's stock markets have lost about $5.5 trillion in value, or nearly three times what the U.S. government spends annually.
Do you want our government run by corporations? Vote Democratic in November.
That's the text of the latest attack ad rolled out by the party of Terry McAuliffe. The Democratic National Committee chairman plans to air them in selected battleground states and congressional districts throughout the country.
Sound familiar? It would if you'd checked out the great flash ads at Blah3 (on the left under '? campaign' - check out the money ones). The author (at the same link) has this to say:
Note to Mr. Perkins - Hey, Doofus, it's not a DNC ad. It was formulated by the folks at BartCop and built by a guy on his home computer. In your haste to blame something, anything on those nasty, partisan, hypocritical Democrats, you ignored the most basic fact -
The DNC had nothing - NOTHING - to do with those ads.
But that's what you upstanding Republics do, isn't it? Make an assumption and treat it like the gospel.
I'll be waiting for Mr. Perkins to make a retraction. Email to follow.
UPDATE: Blah3 now has its email to Perkins up.
Money . . .
Liabilities now total $1.6 billion in the Adelphia restatement.
WorldCom is thought to owe its banks approximately $4.5 billion.
Tyco has lost about 83 percent of its value since December.
Enron total shareholder value lost: $63,101,519,000.
Over the past 27 months, the nation's stock markets have lost about $5.5 trillion in value, or nearly three times what the U.S. government spends annually.
Do you want our government run by corporations? Vote Democratic in November.
That's the text of the latest attack ad rolled out by the party of Terry McAuliffe. The Democratic National Committee chairman plans to air them in selected battleground states and congressional districts throughout the country.
Sound familiar? It would if you'd checked out the great flash ads at Blah3 (on the left under '? campaign' - check out the money ones). The author (at the same link) has this to say:
Note to Mr. Perkins - Hey, Doofus, it's not a DNC ad. It was formulated by the folks at BartCop and built by a guy on his home computer. In your haste to blame something, anything on those nasty, partisan, hypocritical Democrats, you ignored the most basic fact -
The DNC had nothing - NOTHING - to do with those ads.
But that's what you upstanding Republics do, isn't it? Make an assumption and treat it like the gospel.
I'll be waiting for Mr. Perkins to make a retraction. Email to follow.
UPDATE: Blah3 now has its email to Perkins up.
As MWO points out (a good read today, as every day), the quote of the day at Mickey Kaus backed Lucianne.com is:
"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building."
-Ann Coulter in an interview with the New York Observer.
The use of the word 'only' in this comment is particularly chilling.
"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building."
-Ann Coulter in an interview with the New York Observer.
The use of the word 'only' in this comment is particularly chilling.
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
To: Abba_Abacha@aol.ng
From: dick_cheney@whitehouse.gov
Subject: Please help
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am Mr Dick Cheney a special adviser on Petroleum and economic matters to the Head of State of The United States of America. Because of my strategic position in the former Government, and also being a close confidant of the Head of State, I was able to acquire personally, the Sum of $25,000,000,000.00USD (twenty-five billion United States Dollars) presently lodged in some offshore sham bank owned by his brother Neil.
I made this money largely through "CONSULTANCY FEE" And "Good Faith Fees" paid by the stupid chimp out of the public treasury, it really didn't matter what I wrote on the invoice. I especially loved writing out the "Good Faith" bills. The little monkey would say "this is for Jeezus, right Unka Dick?" and I'd say "yes Dubya, its kinda like a 'free will offering'. LOL. Texas is the 6th largest Producer/Exporter of Crude Petroleum in the world and The Largest Producer/Exporter of fucking morons.
As you are probably aware The United States of America is prone to Political/Economic Instability, HyperInflation, among other problems. I know, things were pretty cool here for the last ten years or so but with this dipshit at the wheel I'm thinking its time to git while the gittin's good. I have therefore resolved to Invest my money abroad, preferably in Real Estate Properties and Sex Toys for safety and optimum returns on Investments.
However, straight transfer of this money into a bank Abroad will present two major problems:
1. The tax incidence will be too high, even with the idiotic tax cut the chimp managed to get through our congress the taxes are too much. My mama didn't raise no fool. I've never paid taxes and I ain't about to start now.
2. This could look really, really bad.
So as a result of my personal greed, which borders on the psychopathic, I've had to find another plan. The solution is to Courier this money in cash abroad, through Courier Service Company here in the USA, the money will be packed in A Diplomatic Bag or Carton tagged Diplomatic luggage Which will be addressed to you. This system is secret and the money is therefore untraceable. It is the System used by most top Government officials in the USA to remove their fortunes to safety abroad.
I have therefore concluded every arrangement with a Courier Company in Wyoming to Courier this money abroad using the courtesy and safety of Diplomatic Bag (TM). All I now need is an honest partner who can receive the money on my behalf and help me to invest as aforementioned.
There is absolutely no risk involved in this transaction as the money will be delivered to you in United States Dollars Bills. Try not to throw your back out dude.
If you are interested in assisting me, please send me an email immediately, as you are to lodge this money in a bank Account and contact me for necessary arrangements for the investment after acknowledgement of the receipt of the money.
For your help and assistance in this deal, you will receive 30% of this money in cash, 10% will be set aside to offset all expenses while the remaining 60% is for me.
Finally, you are to please urgently email your personal phone and fax numbers for an easy communication and for me to instruct the Courier Company to dispatch the money to you before we go into other necessary details.
Expecting to hear from you.
Best regards,
Dick Cheney
From: dick_cheney@whitehouse.gov
Subject: Please help
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am Mr Dick Cheney a special adviser on Petroleum and economic matters to the Head of State of The United States of America. Because of my strategic position in the former Government, and also being a close confidant of the Head of State, I was able to acquire personally, the Sum of $25,000,000,000.00USD (twenty-five billion United States Dollars) presently lodged in some offshore sham bank owned by his brother Neil.
I made this money largely through "CONSULTANCY FEE" And "Good Faith Fees" paid by the stupid chimp out of the public treasury, it really didn't matter what I wrote on the invoice. I especially loved writing out the "Good Faith" bills. The little monkey would say "this is for Jeezus, right Unka Dick?" and I'd say "yes Dubya, its kinda like a 'free will offering'. LOL. Texas is the 6th largest Producer/Exporter of Crude Petroleum in the world and The Largest Producer/Exporter of fucking morons.
As you are probably aware The United States of America is prone to Political/Economic Instability, HyperInflation, among other problems. I know, things were pretty cool here for the last ten years or so but with this dipshit at the wheel I'm thinking its time to git while the gittin's good. I have therefore resolved to Invest my money abroad, preferably in Real Estate Properties and Sex Toys for safety and optimum returns on Investments.
However, straight transfer of this money into a bank Abroad will present two major problems:
1. The tax incidence will be too high, even with the idiotic tax cut the chimp managed to get through our congress the taxes are too much. My mama didn't raise no fool. I've never paid taxes and I ain't about to start now.
2. This could look really, really bad.
So as a result of my personal greed, which borders on the psychopathic, I've had to find another plan. The solution is to Courier this money in cash abroad, through Courier Service Company here in the USA, the money will be packed in A Diplomatic Bag or Carton tagged Diplomatic luggage Which will be addressed to you. This system is secret and the money is therefore untraceable. It is the System used by most top Government officials in the USA to remove their fortunes to safety abroad.
I have therefore concluded every arrangement with a Courier Company in Wyoming to Courier this money abroad using the courtesy and safety of Diplomatic Bag (TM). All I now need is an honest partner who can receive the money on my behalf and help me to invest as aforementioned.
There is absolutely no risk involved in this transaction as the money will be delivered to you in United States Dollars Bills. Try not to throw your back out dude.
If you are interested in assisting me, please send me an email immediately, as you are to lodge this money in a bank Account and contact me for necessary arrangements for the investment after acknowledgement of the receipt of the money.
For your help and assistance in this deal, you will receive 30% of this money in cash, 10% will be set aside to offset all expenses while the remaining 60% is for me.
Finally, you are to please urgently email your personal phone and fax numbers for an easy communication and for me to instruct the Courier Company to dispatch the money to you before we go into other necessary details.
Expecting to hear from you.
Best regards,
Dick Cheney
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