Bookmark this page |
Tag to del.icio.us
| Add to Technorati Favorites
|
Our discussion forum is open for business. Come say hello. |
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Idiot of the Day: Four Soccer Hall of Fame Members
By VictorM: Mia Hamm was elected to the American Soccer Hall Of Fame. Hamm was selected on 137 of the 141 ballots cast, setting a new high in votes received. I'm happy to see she received the highest number of votes ever but how can anyone in their right mind not vote for Mia Hamm, the greatest female soccer player of all time in the whole wide world? There is no excuse whatsoever for not voting for Mia. Whoever these four people are, they are world-class idiots.
Labels: mia hamm, soccer hall of fame
Al-Qaeda: Partying Like It's 2001
By Spencer Ackerman: [John McConnell, the new director of national intelligence] declared himself "very concerned" that al-Qaeda's presence in Pakistan presents the "most likely" gestation of the next 9/11-style attack on America. In other words, after two wars, we're in some sense right back where we were before 9/11 itself: unable to invade the territory where al-Qaeda possesses a stronghold and groping for alternatives, while the intelligence community puts out warnings about the urgency of the threat. Except this time, our entire national-security apparatus is overtaxed from the strains of two wars -- wars that were supposed to significantly diminish, if not remove, the very threat that's regaining strength.
Labels: al-qaeda, john mcconnell
A more terrifying place
By Kim Sengupta and Patrick Cockburn: An authoritative US study of terrorist attacks after the invasion in 2003 contradicts the repeated denials of George Bush and Tony Blair that the war is not to blame for an upsurge in fundamentalist violence worldwide... The new study, by Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank, argues that, on the contrary, "the Iraq conflict has greatly increased the spread of al-Qa'ida ideological virus, as shown by a rising number of terrorist attacks in the past three years from London to Kabul, and from Madrid to the Red Sea... Even when terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan is excluded, fatal attacks in the rest of the world have increased by more than one third."
Labels: al-qaeda, peter bergen, terrorism
Let Republicans have their war
By Atrios: Republicans want to continue the war and Democrats want to end it. It's that simple. Any other debate is about what the best method to get George Bush to end the war is. I think even now too many Democrats... are scared they're going to be painted as traitors by the wingnut noise machine. But that's about politics and strategy, not the desired result. Democrats want to end the war, Republicans want to continue it. Make it partisan. The Republicans are. Let them have their war.
Labels: atrios, democrats, Iraq war, republicans
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
My mistake will beat your mistake
By VictorM: They say confession is good for the soul. So, as far as politics go, here’s my confession: In 2000, during the vice-presidents’ debate between Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman, I actually believed they were two sane, decent, and wise men who would make the presidency of either Gore or Bush better. Now, I dare you, double dare you, to admit to a bigger political mistake. I don’t think you can.
Labels: confession, dick cheney, joe lieberman, mistake
Democrats Back Off Opposing Iraq War
By David Sirota: The renewed refusal by Democrats to use their majority in even the most basic way to stop the war is a declaration that the new majority is not close to using even the most basic powers afforded to it to stop or slow down the war. In other words, in backing off, the Democrats have just weeks after the 2006 anti-war election mandate effectively declared themselves as supportive of the Bush administration's stay-the-course policy - a truly sickening act of cowardice.
Labels: David Sirota, democrats, Iraq war
Idiot of the Day: Joel Achenbach
By VictorM: In an opinion piece in the Washington Post commenting on the Oscar's TV show, Joel Achenbach says: "I've always hated myself for watching an entire Oscar telecast, and this morning hate myself more than usual. It's four hours of punishment." I'm so sick of stupid idiots saying this crap every year. Year after year these people say the same damn thing. Shut the hell up and stop complaining about a format that has been around for decades, has seen few tweaks, and it is what it is. Next year will be the same as this year. Plan a trip to Jamaica, jerk. The Oscar show is about glitz, fashion, some boring speeches, it lasts close to four hours, blah, blah, blah... see, I already wrote next year's Oscar show review for the Washington Post.
Labels: oscar review, oscar show
Monday, February 26, 2007
Idiot of the Day: Betty
By VictorM: In Betty's Page, a right-winger's blog, Betty is either confused or blatantly ignorant about recent history. Talking about Iraq, she asks: "[Democrats] say that our troops should just be used to train the Iraqi forces and not be used for combat. Hey, isn't that basically what Bush was doing for most of 2006 while the situation kept deteriorating and all the Democrats demanded that he alter?" The answer: No! Betty is wrong on the characterization of both the Democrats plan and what Bush was doing in 2006. I guess the people who are too idiotic to see how they screwed thing up are equally idiotic about recognizing a real solution.
Labels: democrats, idiot of the day, Iraq war
Another dagger in their heartless chest
By VictorM: TXU, the largest energy provider in Texas, agreed last night to a $45 billion buyout by a group that promises to turn the company "green". The new group will "shelve plans for eight of 11 coal-fired plants... drop plans to build new coal plants... double its spending to promote energy efficiency... and cut emissions of carbon dioxide to 1990 levels by 2020." Of course, the devil is in the details. Given their track record, it's only natural to be suspicious of energy folks, but if the deal is true and the new owners are serious about their plans this would be another dagger in the heartless chest of climate change stubborn skeptics and good news for everyone.
Labels: climate change, global warming
Olbermann: The Most Honest Man in News
By Rolling Stone: Some people call [Keith Olbermann] a smug blowhard, some call him the one true dissenter against the Bush administration. (In the new issue of Rolling Stone, we call him “The Most Honest Man in News.”) But whether you subscribe to his particular brand of angry liberal eloquence or despise it, there’s little denying the man, to borrow a line from Slim Pickens in Blazing Saddles, uses his tongue purtier than a twenty-dollar whore.
Labels: keith olbermann, rolling stone
Education: Gateway to a better life
By Bill Gates: Education has always been the gateway to a better life in this country, and our primary and secondary schools were long considered the world's best. But on an international math test in 2003, U.S. high school students ranked 24th out of 29 industrialized nations surveyed. Our schools can do better. Last year, I visited High Tech High in San Diego; it's an amazing school where educators have augmented traditional teaching methods with a rigorous, project-centered curriculum. Students there know they're expected to go on to college. This combination is working: 100 percent of High Tech High graduates are accepted into college, and 29 percent major in math or science. Contrast that with the national average of 17 percent.
Labels: bill gates, education
Sunday, February 25, 2007
"Welcome to USA": The America That I Love
By VictorM: On July 5, 2005 Maykel Galindo, a Cuban soccer player playing in a tournament in Seattle snuck out of his hotel, boarded a city bus that happened to be at the corner, and sat nervously on the bus until the last stop. Galindo was defecting. He spoke no English so he called Alex Zahajko, a high school Spanish teacher and soccer coach, the only person in the state he knew. Within minutes, Zahajko and Seattle police arrived on the scene. "When I got into the back seat of the police car, the policeman -- a very nice man I will never forget -- turned around, smiled and said, `Welcome to USA.' That was the first time I breathed a little easier, and thus began my new life.'' When I imagine that policeman's smile and greeting, that is the America that I know and love. Too bad my country's true soul is being marred by war mongers in Washington, hate mongers on radio, fear mongers in churches, misinformation mongers in newspapers, and dishonest pundits with disproportionately loud megaphones.
Labels: defection, Maykel Galindo
The "Surge" Is On For the Long Haul
By Michael Hirsh: The British are leaving, the Iraqis are failing and the Americans are staying—and we’re going to be there a lot longer than anyone in Washington is acknowledging right now... what few people seem to have noticed is that Gen. David Petraeus’s new “surge” plan is committing U.S. troops, day by day, to a much deeper and longer-term role in policing Iraq than since the earliest days of the U.S. occupation. How long must we stay under the Petraeus plan? Perhaps 10 years. At least five. In any case, long after George W. Bush has returned to Crawford, Texas, for good.
Labels: Iraq war, Michael Hirsh, occupation, petraeus, surge
Organized Soccer Hooligan Groups
By VictorM: Slowly but surely, soccer’s image in the United States is changing. Years ago, the only coverage of notice the sport got in the American press was that soccer breeds violence. This article goes into detail about the current violence in Argentine, Italy, Colombia, and other countries, and the general tone is that the “problems stem from the culture of leniency and neglect,” and that most stadiums in those countries are too old and unsafe. They detail how organized these hooligan groups are, how they export their tactics, and how they extort money from teams. But, what stood out to me was that not once was the sport itself blamed for the violence. Baby steps. Baby steps.
Labels: Argentina, barrabrava, hooligan, Italy, soccer
Saturday, February 24, 2007
The World Needs This Like Bush Needs a Stiff Drink
By VictorM: Just what the world needs: "Conservapedia. A conservative encyclopedia you can trust." And why do we need this? "Conservapedia is a much-needed alternative to Wikipedia, which is increasingly anti-Christian and anti-American... Conservapedia is an online resource and meeting place where we favor Christianity and America." Their definition of "liberal": Modern liberals are treasonous and generally hate America. The definition for "Pagan" includes: modern pagans like witches and Muslims, who do not beleive [sic] in Jesus. Yeah this is going to be interesting, and good for some laughs.
Labels: conservapedia, liberal, pagan, wikipedia
Economic Inequality Is Real: It's Good to be Rich
By statusquobuster: Rising American economic inequality has received attention by Senator Jim Webb, presidential candidate John Edwards, CNN's maverick Lou Dobbs, and others. The middle class has not shared in rising national prosperity, because the nation's wealth has been siphoned off to the richest Americans. Some elites are nervous... The power elites running and ruining our country have no interest in closing the bipartisan economic inequality gap. Want to do something? Stop voting for Democrats and Republicans that support free trade globalization and illegal immigration. Vote for anyone in favor of increasing taxes on the wealthy and eliminating corporate handouts and welfare... Stop pissing away your money on consuming more unnecessary "must have" (and probably imported) crap that keeps our debt ridden economy afloat and makes the rich richer. Start saving for that rainy day. It's coming for most of us. Because national prosperity is not personal prosperity for most of us.
Labels: free trade, illegal immigration, jim webb, john edwards, lou dobbs, middle class, prosperity
Jim Zumbo Should Go Dixie Chicks on the NRA
By VictorM: Jim Zumbo, some big time, popular outdoorsman/hunter (bullshit language for someone who kills animals for fun), writer, and TV personality criticized the use of military-style assault rifles by hunters by saying: "As hunters, we don't need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them. . . . I'll go so far as to call them 'terrorist' rifles." Wow! As you can imagine, the NRA and all gun fanatics went off the deep end: protests, boycotts, threats, and warnings to anyone who even comes close to saying anything like that. Poor Jim apologized but to no avail. I hope that Mr. Zumbo shows some balls, backs away from his silly apology, and goes Dixie Chicks on the gun lobby and decides he's not ready to make nice. While the more rabid members won't listen, he has the reputation and following to get his message about assault-weapons to the less demented members of the gun lobby.
Labels: assault rifles, gun lobby, jim zumbo, nra, terrorist rifles
Idiot of the Day: Dick Cheney
By VictorM: Back in 1991, Dick Cheney was very much against the United States going into Baghdad, for basically the reasons that have turned the current adventure into a disaster. When asked about that, he gave this answer: "Well, I stand by what I said in ‘91. But look what’s happened since then — we had 9/11. We’ve found ourselves in a situation where what was going on in that part of the globe and the growth and development of the extremists, the al Qaeda types that are prepared to strike the United States demonstrated that we weren’t safe and secure behind our own borders. We weren’t in Iraq when we got hit on 9/11. But we got hit in ‘93 at the World Trade Center, in ‘96 at Khobar Towers, or ‘98 in the East Africa embassy bombings, 2000, the USS Cole. And of course, finally 9/11 right here at home. They continued to hit us because we didn’t respond effectively, because they believed we were weak. They believed if they killed enough Americans, they could change our policy because they did on a number of occasions. That day has passed. That all ended with 9/11." Amazing... the same old excuse that 9/11 changed everything, even if Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 or any of the attacks he mentioned. Hell, for him to fully understand this, next time his heart gives out, the surgeons should operate on his testicles. Poetic justice.
Labels: dick cheney, idiot of the day
Friday, February 23, 2007
Dick Cheney: Amazing track record of being wrong continues
By VictorM: Dick Cheney continues to attack Nancy Pelosi saying the Democrats' policy would "validate the al-Qaeda strategy." One question: how does Dick Cheney know what al-Qaeda's strategy is? Is he trading emails from his bunker with the guys in the caves? Does he get a briefing from the terrorist group? Or he just guessing what al-Qeada's strategy might be? I think it's safe to assume he's guessing because if he KNEW we'd be doing much better against them. Based on Cheney's track record, if we simply did the opposite of what he says we should do, we'd be doing great. So, I'm taking his criticism of the Democrats' strategy for Iraq as a strong sign that it will work.
Labels: al-qaeda, democrats, dick cheney, nancy pelosi
The "Luck" of the Republicans
By VictorM: With helicopters being shot down in Iraq, a surge that's going nowhere, a trade deficit that's ever growing, deplorable conditions at Walter Reed (and so far, no one paying for it but the wounded soldiers), a most dysfunctional group of presidential candidates, the UK and other unwilling nations planning to leave Iraq, the number of those below the poverty line growing, in short, with tons of bad news, Republicans are so lucky that Britney Spears went batty and Anna Nicole Smith died; with the attention the media is giving these two non-stories, the serious stuff -- all of them Republican messes -- are getting mostly just background play. As I write this, the Washington Post, CNN, and ABCNews websites have the "dead and the ditz" stories prominently displayed on their homepages. I don't know, is it luck or friends in high places? (No, I don't mean Him, I mean corporate news heads).
Labels: anna nicole smith, britney spears, republicans
Army hospital scandal should end some careers
By S.W. Anderson: Somewhere in the Washington, D.C., area there is an Army officer who serves as the inspector general for Walter Reed Army Medical Center... If we were president, we’d call Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with a simple direct order: “I want copies of the resignation letters or retirement papers of every one of those people on my desk by 5 p.m."... Red tape, bad attitude and worse thinking are responsible for the maddening limbo and unfit conditions many of the 700 recuperating outpatients assigned to and under the care of Walter Reed have experienced... These soldiers and their families have been let down in ways that are inexcusable at a time when they especially deserve the best care, housing and support their country can provide.
Labels: peter pace, walter reed
Prince Harry and the Bush Twins
By Sara Tenenbaum: The British Ministry of Defense has confirmed today that Prince Harry (who is third in line to the throne) will indeed serve in Iraq: His Blues and Royals regiment will serve in Iraq for six months as part of the latest deployments.... Last year, the prince said: "There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country." Bush twins, are you listening?
Labels: jenna bush, not jenna bush, prince harry
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Sometimes I don't think we deserve to win
By Digby, commenting on the recent Barack Obama versus Hillary Clinton spat: I don't blame Clinton for defending herself but demanding that Obama "denounce" his supporter is stupid... And Obama should know better than to use that old Lincoln bedroom trope. Does he think the right wing won't use the exact same made-up nonsense against him? Perhaps someone should tell him about how the Washington Post helped gin up that controversy on behalf of the GOP congressional scumbags, even going so far as to count Chelsea Clinton's slumber party guests in the Lincoln Bedroom controversy. Jesus. Sometimes I don't think we deserve to win. We can't seem to stop helping the other side, even when they are down and out.
Labels: Barack Obama, Digby, hillary clinton
Chlorine Gas Dirty Bombs in Iraq
By mcjoan: Another chlorine gas dirty bomb was detonated in Baghdad on Wednesday, unfortunately confirming suspicions raised on Tuesday that the chlorine gas attacks are becoming a new part of the insurgents' arsenal... While it's hard to imagine the chaos in Iraq could get any worse, it is getting worse and that trend will only continue... The debacle is only going to worsen in the coming weeks and months, and the escalation will accomplish nothing more than endangering even more American men and women's lives.
Labels: chlorine gas, dirty bomb, Iraq war
Sandy Berger's case versus Scooter Libby's
By VictorM: Some people have really a confused set of priorities. Consider this lost right-winger trying to compare Sandy Berger's case with Scooter Libby's: "A perjury trial or the theft of original classified documents from our archives that relate to 9/11....which one is more important?" Here's why he's lost. He's not honest enough to state the question properly. It should say: "A perjury trial dealing with the outing of a covert agent who was working on the nuclear capabilities of Middle-East countries or the copying of classified documents that we don't know what they were about... which one is more important? The answer is simple: This perjury trial is much more important. Remember when perjury was severe enough to impeach a sitting president over a blowjob?
Labels: perjury, sandy berger, scooter libby
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Right-wing's dishonesty with polls
By VictorM: A few days ago, the idiot of the day referred to a poll stating that 66% of Americans want to win in Iraq. I mentioned that I was surprised the number wasn't close to 100%. Now, even according to a Republican pollster, that poll was bogus: He basically says the poll's a crock. The pollster, David Johnson, the CEO of the GOP firm Strategic Vision, tells me that some of the key questions were leading and designed to elicit the answers they got. "This poll is not the quality we've come to expect from national polling firms," Johnson tells me. Not that I needed this to confirm the stupidity of the poll or the even dumber conclusions by the right-wing blogger, but it's good to have it confirmed.
Labels: idiot of the day, Iraq war, polls
Will Embarrassing the President Make Us Safer?
By VictorM: Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York City, in a piece called Will Embarrassing the President Make Us Safer?, asked: do you think that leaving a power vacuum in Iraq will make us safer? If, as a result of the power vacuum, the terrorists are emboldened and God forbid we sustain here in the U.S. civilian casualties comparable to those caused in Iraq by car bombs, will you publicly accept responsibility? First, the assumption that any action other than Bush's lack of a plan will leave a vacuum is plainly false. Second, after so many years of fighting terrorists, isn't it bothersome that we now have more terrorists to worry about than before the Iraq invasion? Are we not, in fact, creating more terrorists day by day as long as we stay? You know, the real bad guys are still out there, and they are not in Iraq! As to the question on the title of the article, the answer is YES! Let the world know that the adults are on the way and reclaiming their country back.
Labels: ed koch, safer, terrorists
Conservatism: Greed and disregard for human suffering
By VictorM: Talking about the global warming "conspiracy", right-winger Merv says: "It is time to accept that warming is something that we will all have to adapt to. The survivors will prove Darwin's thesis on the survival of the fittest." This logic is dumb and just another another example of the greed and disregard for human suffering that so characterizes the modern day conservative movement in America.
Labels: conservative, conspiracy, global warming
Idiot of the Day: Neal Boortz
By Neal Boortz: Look, Al Qaeda, they could bring in a nuke into this country and kill 100,000 people with a well-placed nuke somewhere. Ok. We would recover from that. It would be a terrible tragedy, but the teachers unions in this country can destroy a generation... They’re much more dangerous. We worry about al Qaeda and we should. But at the same time let’s not let the teachers union skate.
Labels: neil boortz, teachers unions
Hillary Starting To Sound Like George
By VictorM: It's still very early in the presidential election cycle, but never too early to pay close attention to what the candidates say. Hillary Clinton just said: “To underscore a point, some people may be running who tell you we don’t face a real threat from terrorism... I’m not one of them. We have serious enemies who want to do us serious harm.” Who was Hillary referring to? Her follow Democrats or Republicans? I don't know but I know it can't be either because not a single candidate even comes close to saying "we don't face a real threat from terrorism". So, either Hillary misspoke (not likely), or she's starting too sound to much like George, that is, making shit up! Hillary, stop that crap!
Labels: hillary clinton, making shit up
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
The Source of Your Beliefs Not Important To Me
By Atrios, on political beliefs based on religion: [Q]uestioning the sincerity of peoples' faith does anger them. On the other hand, appealing to the sincerity of their beliefs is a way of privileging them, to put them in the realm of privileged discourse, as well as removing the person's responsibility. I don't really care if the desire to discriminate against gay people, or turn the uterus into state property, is motivated by sincere religious conviction. I don't think religious conviction, sincere or otherwise, makes your beliefs somehow special. If you think your misogyny or homophobia is sanctioned by God, it doesn't make you not a misogynist or homophobe... The fact that your political beliefs are motivated by your religion doesn't make them special to me.
Labels: atrios, homophobia, misogyny, religion, religious beliefs
American Legion silent on abuse of America's veterans
By John in DC: The American Legion's Web site home page is very telling for what it doesn't say. The most prominent thing on the Web site is a statement castigating Democratic House leaders for expressing disapproval of Bush's new "surge" plan for Iraq... you'd expect the American Legion to have something to say about the fact that 600,000 veteran disability claims are backlogged and going nowhere at Walter Reed. And about the fact that our troops are routinely treated like dogs while living at Walter Reed and after they're discharged. Or about the fact that the top guy at Walter Reed in charge of helping funnel private donations to help our troops is now being investigated for wrongdoing. You'd really expect that the American Legion home page might have something to say about this gross injustice to America's war veterans. But you'd be wrong.
The Equality America Brought To Iraqi Women
By Riverbend, an Iraqi girl blogging from Baghdad: Humanitarian organizations are warning that three Iraqi women are to be executed next month. The women are Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad. They are being accused of 'terrorism', i.e. having ties to the Iraqi resistance. It could mean they are relatives of people suspected of being in the resistance. Or it could mean they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. One of them gave birth in the prison. I wonder what kind of torture they've endured. Let no one say Iraqi women didn't get at least SOME equality under the American occupation- we are now equally as likely to get executed.
Labels: execution, iraqi women, riverbend
Condoleezza Rice spoke like a grown-up
By VictorM: Whether she believes her own words or not, Condoleezza Rice spoke like a grown-up: Over the weekend, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressed military personnel stationed in Baghdad. She told the troops that everyone — including critics of the administration’s Iraq policy — believes that “the sacrifice and the labor of our men and women here has been honorable.” She called the debate over escalation a sign of a “great democracy.” How long before a right-wing nut runs her over with his Hummer for emboldening the enemy (Democrats, Libertarians, independents, Greens, sane Republicans, and any American paying attention)?
Labels: Condoleezza Rice, hummer, iraq debate, troops
Idiot of the Day: Mark Noonan, again
By VictorM: This right-winger quotes a poll showing 66% of Americans saying they want to win in Iraq. He goes on to deride Democrats based on it, saying: "But, but, but...the American people have spoken and they voted to withdraw...which is why the Democrats are standing tall with....non-binding resolutions and slowly knifing the troops in the back." Only 66% want to win? Hell, I'd expect it to be closer to 100%. Who are the 34% that think winning is not important? Maybe right-wing nuts who want to keep the carnage going on because they like blood and guts, guns and savagery, and random bullshit acts of machismo, specially when they're not the ones doing the fighting? Let's see... 34% don't care to win... Bush's approval rating is in the low 30's... um... you do the math! In any case, we win by leaving -- that's what the 66% want!
Labels: blood and guts, idiot of the day, machismo, mark noonan, victory in iraq
Monday, February 19, 2007
Iraq is sucking just about all the oxygen
By VictorM: I often surf news sites and blogs looking for topics to address on this page. While the issues are out there, Iraq is sucking just about all the oxygen from all the events dominating the news. Washington is virtually quiet on education, economy, health care, environment, energy, crime, minimum wage, social security, prescription drugs, and many other issues that we need addressing. We’re at a stand still on those issues while the wage gap increases, the trade deficit widens, the middle-class gets squeezed, and our children's well-being lingers in the low-end of all the nations in the industrialized world. So tell me, between the people who want to leave Iraq and those who want to stay, which ones have the best interest of the country at heart? Let’s get the hell out of that place!
Labels: children, Iraq war, middle-class squeeze, minimum wage, trade deficit, wage gap
Redstate: Angry white men still furious about Vietnam
By PKinTexas, commenting on some posters in Redstate, a right-wing website: Angry white men still furious about Vietnam, and the "victory" we could have had if only we could have killed more people and devastated more of that country in the name of freedom. They just never grasp the fact that we are not (and clearly never have been) the world's grand chess master, and that no matter what lofty goal we think we're fighting for, militarism simply isn't the way to get there except in unusual circumstances (such as Yugoslavia). But those two core beliefs--that our idealism is always noble, and that our military can enforce our ideals on unwilling populations--are really hard to dislodge from the mentality of the angry white men. Faced with the failure of their grand illusions, they have to blame someone else for the appalling destruction they have wrought.
Front-row seat for Britney breakdown
By Ree Hines, about Britney Spears: We’ve seen this car crash before — successful stars who floundered while surrounded by those who won’t, or can’t tell them “no!” Did anyone ever say “Hey, Elvis you’re too fat, and maybe you shouldn’t take so many drugs”? Or, “Jacko, ease up on the plastic surgery”? If so, perhaps they were promptly fired. Are Brit’s friends, family, and handlers afraid to rein her in lest they fall off the gravy train? It’s as if no one, other than angry anonymous bloggers, is willing to say “Put on some drawers and take some parenting classes already!”... So it’s happened before, but what’s different now is that the adoring public gets a front row seat to the downfall... And, now, even when a genuine breakdown seems undeniable, everyone jumps in to enjoy it.
Labels: breakdown, britney spears
The Future of Democracy and the Rule of Law
By Joe Conason: For the first time since the resignation of Richard M. Nixon more than three decades ago, Americans have had reason to doubt the future of democracy and the rule of law in our own country. Today we live in a state of tension between the enjoyment of traditional freedoms, including the protections afforded to speech and person by the Bill of Rights, and the disturbing realization that those freedoms have been undermined and may be abrogated at any moment... As the midterm election showed, more and more Americans realize that something has gone far wrong at the highest levels of government and politics -- that Washington's one-party regime had created a daily spectacle of stunning incompetence and dishonesty.
Labels: democracy, it could happen here, joe conason, rule of law
Sunday, February 18, 2007
You Just Don’t Need That Many Words
By VictorM: Is George W. Bush the worst USA president ever? It took Rolling Stone 2000 words to say yes. The Washington Post said it with about 800 words. USA Today's Al Neuharth said it with 300 words (not bad, not bad). A diary at Dailykos covering Al Neuharth's column provoked 364 comments, some rather lengthy. This is an example of what prompted me to create this blog and limit opinions to 150 words. Folks, seriously, you just don’t need that many words to state the obvious. Let me show you: Is George W. Bush the worst USA president ever? Yes.
Labels: dailykos, George Bush, rolling stone, usa today, washington post, worst president ever
Hillary Clinton's Real Mistake
By georgia10, about Hillary Clinton's Iraq War vote: For me, the question is one of judgment. Of foresight. Of the ability to accurately weigh both current facts and future possibilities... Because even with the President's ominous speeches, even with Colin Powell wagging vials in the air, and even with the lead weight of all the bad intelligence in 2002, the scales should not have tipped toward invasion. Twenty-three Senators and 133 Congressmen voted against the Iraq War Resolution. They knew that this President could not be trusted with awesome war powers. They knew that a possible invasion would be catastrophic. They knew that pre-emptive war in the Mideast would have disastrous consequences... Clinton's weighed the evidence (as it was presented to her), but she simply did not give enough weight to the clear and disastrous consequences of an invasion of Iraq. That conclusion, that flawed analysis, is Clinton's mistake.
Labels: hillary clinton, Iraq war vote, mistake
For Warmongers Talk Is Cheap
By Glenn Greenwald: Tough-guy warmongers love to run around spewing the language of Treason against political opponents, or beating their chests and issuing calls for vastly escalated slaughter in the form of sloganeering such as "the U.S. needs to start doing what needs to be done in the Middle East." But when challenged about these views or called upon to say explicitly what they mean, they very frequently lack the courage of their convictions, fearfully running away from the clea