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Friday, May 13, 2005
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Byrd Schools Frist on the Constitution.
For months Majority Leader Bill Frist has claimed that the judicial
filibuster is unconstitutional and all judicial nominees have a right
to an up-or-down vote. For example, here is what Frist told the
Federalist Society in November 2004: This filibuster is nothing less
than a formula for tyranny by the minority…. ...
[Think Progress]
3:03:25 PM 
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Hey, Joey Ratz!
You wanna canonize someone?
Here:
While you're mulling over how to dredge up a miracle performed by a
pope whose policies on condoms helped spread AIDS and destroy millions
throughout Africa, this man performed miracles on that same continent for 60 years!
That is a saint.
[corrente]
3:00:56 PM
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Who Got the Pink Slip?.
Who Got the Pink Slip?Judd Legum | Washington, DC | May 13Think
Progress - Capt. Melinda Morton is the Air Force Academy chaplain who
reported finding "stridently evangelical themes" at academy worship
services, and a "systemic and pervasive" problem of religious
proselytizing and intolerance throughout the school. Morton said one
academy chaplain urged cadets to "try to convert" non-evangelical peers
and "remind them of the consequences ... (that) those not `born again
will burn in the fires of hell.'" Morton brought these concerns to the
attention of superiors in a two-page memo. More at the link.
[The Agonist]
2:58:58 PM
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News .
McClellan Spars With Press, Says No Need to Notify Bush.
The press actually gave McClellan a hard time about his excuses for why
no one thought a president should be notified during an alleged
high-security situation, but it's still not as good as back in the days
when reporters actually told Nixon's WH mouthpiece, "You're lying,
Ron." Lying from the White House is no longer worth remarking on, I
guess.Nazi book-burning ad offends local veterans: Campaign
ads bankrolled by Wal-Mart and depicting a Nazi-era book burning are
offensive and backhanded, say some Flagstaff citizens and veterans. [...] The
newspaper ads contend that Proposition 100's restrictions on big-box
retailers are an infringement of constitutional freedoms. The message
has been conveyed through a blurred photo of a Nazi book-burning taken
from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum archives and a close-up of a
person's mouth covered with tape. Afghan Protest Over Quran Turns Deadly: Afghan
Protest Over Quran Turns Deadly... Shouting "Death to America,"
demonstrators angry over the alleged desecration of the Quran at
Guantanamo Bay smashed car and shop windows and stoned a passing convoy
of U.S. soldiers Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan. Police opened fire
on the protesters, killing four and injuring at least 71. Foreign Affairs and Defense Issues
poll shows majority of Americans want UN to take the lead in foreign
affairs. Which is just the opposite of what the Republicans are
claiming. Hallelujah! The Washington Post finally covers the news: British Intelligence Warned Blair of War.
But, of course, it was on page A18, and the headline doesn't really
tell you what Blair was being warned of, or that the "intelligence" was
"fixed" around the policy. *sigh*
[The Sideshow]
2:58:18 PM
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Texas Rep. Stands Up For Equality. Texas state rep Senfronia Thompson, a black woman, speaks about an anti-gay marriage amendment
So, now that blacks and women can vote, and now that
blacks and women have equal rights -- you turn your hatred to
homosexuals -- and you still use your misguided reading of the Bible to
justify your hatred. You want to pass this ridiculous amendment so you
can go home and brag. . . brag about what? Declare that you saved the
people of Texas from what? Persons of the same sex cannot get married
in this State now. Texas does not now recognize same-sex marriages,
civil unions, religious unions, domestic partnerships, contractual
arrangements or Christian blessings entered into in this State -- or
anywhere else on this planet Earth.
If you want to make your hateful political statements then that is...
[Oliver Willis - Like Kryptonite To Stupid]
2:55:21 PM
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"An Affordable Endeavor". The Iraq War, which has made America less secure and able to fight terrorism, is now draining us dry.
$50 billion more asked for Iraq, Afghan terror wars
The Senate Armed Services Committee has recommended a
further $50 billion be set aside to fund U.S. military operations in
Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S.-declared global war on terrorism.
The proposed new war spending for fiscal 2006, which starts Oct. 1,
would push the cost of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and its
aftermath toward $250 billion, far ahead of initial expectations voiced
by the Bush administration. [Oliver Willis - Like Kryptonite To Stupid]
2:54:24 PM
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Open Thread.
It was fun flexing our muscles last night. Once upon a time,
Republicans could run their smear campaigns with impugnity. Now, we
will go after those who plan those smears, those who abet them, and
those who disseminate them. We will be quick, ruthless, and
diligent. We won't show mercy, because we haven't gotten any. We will
play their game, and play it better. And we will prevail.
[Daily Kos]
2:51:11 PM
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The White House arranges a deal for U.N. ambassador-nominee John Bolton, who "got a C-minus, but it was a pass-fail course," as "just enough support" gives President Bush 'One Slim Win After Another.' Plus: "You really got a hold on me?"
[Cursor.org]
1:09:38 PM
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Joshua Zeitz: More White Supremacists in the Closet Yesterday, I submitted a post that ties prominent conservatives to a band of crude white supremacists.
Sadly, it gets worse.
If American Renaissance is a viciously racist publication, the Occidental Quarterly makes it look almost wishy-washy by comparison.
Within the last five years, the Occidental Quarterly has
run articles like, “Eugenics: Past, Present and Future,” and “Is Race a
Valid Taxonomic Construct,” an incendiary tome by the British-born
“scholar” J. Philippe Rushton. (Occidental Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 2002).
In his “research” findings, Rushton claims that socio-biological
factors have compelled blacks to adopt a different reproductive
strategy from whites. Instead of nurturing a few offspring, like white
men, black men are compelled by genetic forces (and by their naturally
greater sexual appetites) to impregnate multiple women. Rushton also
insists that blacks tend to have smaller craniums but larger genitals.
“More brain or more penis,” he explained in an interview, “You can’t
have both.” (Sunday Telegraph, November 19, 2000, p.26).
Another occasional contributor to the Occidental Quarterly is Paul Gottfried, a humanities professor at Elizabethtown College.
Have conservative intellectuals repudiated J. Philippe Rushton and
Paul Gottfried? No. In recent years, Gottfried’s articles have appeared
in American Enterprise, the official organ of the American Enterprise Institute (here and here), and American Outlook, the magazine of the Hudson Institute (here, and here). At present, Gottfried sits on the editorial board of the eminently respectable conservative journal, Humanitas.
It gets worse. Remember the Washington Times, which rightly fired Samuel Francis in 1996? Within the last four years, a magazine published by the newspaper, Insight on the News, has showcased the writings of Paul Gottfried and J. Philippe Rushton.
The National Review, America’s leading conservative journal
of opinion, has also given aid and comfort to this merry band of white
supremacists. In 1995 the National Review published an article by Jared Taylor about the slaying of a civil rights activist (Taylor, “The many deaths of Viola Liuzzo,” National Review, 7/10/95). Importantly, this article appeared five years after the debut of American Renaissance. By then, no reasonably intelligent editor could have mistaken Taylor for anything but an incendiary racist.
The connections between the National Review and white
supremacists do not end there. In September 1997 the magazine published
a book review by J. Philippe Rushton ("The mismeasures of Gould," National Review, 9/15/97).
More recently, John Derbyshire, a National Review
columnist, defended Jared Taylor in an online editorial. Although
Derbyshire takes exception to some of Tayor’s work, he describes him as
a “true American gentleman,” “thoughtful, erudite and humorous.”
Derbyshire also heaps praise on American Renaissance, calling it “a
useful corrective to the distortions, evasions and downright lies of
the mainstream media on matters of race.” (click here for a glowing review of Derbyshire's column in American Renaissance.)
Surpassing the National Review in moral bankruptcy is the conservative journal Human Events. Its former managing editor, Kevin Lamb, also edits the Occidental Quarterly. Among those who have appeared on the Human Events
masthead alongside the white supremacist Kevin Lamb are Anne Coulter,
the best-selling author, and Robert Novak, the conservative gadfly.
Lamb was recently sacked by his boss at Human Events, who
was shocked -- shocked! -- to learn that his managing editor was a
white supremacist. But that’s hard to believe. I suspect that my
six-year-old niece can figure out how to run a Google search.
To paraphrase Bob Dole, where’s the outrage?
Conservatives talk a good line on “values.” Why don’t we hold them to it?
They can start by explaining why it’s okay to consort with white supremacists. - Joshua Zeitz
[The Huffington Post | Full Blog Feed]
1:07:39 PM
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CPB’s Ken Tomlinson to face investigation.
This week, two House Democrats wrote to the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting, calling for an investigation into CPB Chairman Ken
Tomlinson's efforts to move PBS to the right.
"Recent news
reports suggesting that the CPB increasingly is making personnel and
funding decisions on the basis of political ideology are extremely
troubling," Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) and [...]
[The Carpetbagger Report]
11:26:37 AM
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The GOP Machine: Thieves, Hacks and Shills.
Looking at the front page today, you can see we have spent a bit of time on the GOP Smear of Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. The brouhaha is supposed to be about the FBI file of Bush judicial nominee Henry Saad. The Thief is Manuel Miranda,
who earned his exalted place in the GOP pantheon by stealing Democratic
files while he was working for Bill "Nuclear Option" Frist. He now
leads the Extreme Right's fight for Frist's Nuclear Option. A
commitment to "ethics," the hallmark of the GOP. The Hack is Charles Hurt, Moonie Times "reporter" and stenographer for the Thief, who seems to have forgotten he wrote about Saad's FBI file one year ago. Now which GOP Senator do you suppose was Hurt's source on that one?
The Shills are the usual suspects, the Right Wing blogs and the rest of
the Republican Smear Machine. One fellow stands out though - the
foolish Byron York: During
a debate about the filibusters Thursday, Reid . . . brought up the
subject of Henry Saad, a nominee to a seat on the Sixth Circuit Court
of Appeals. "Henry Saad would have been filibustered anyway," Reid
said. "He's one of those nominees. All you need to do is have a member
go upstairs and look at his confidential report from the FBI, and I
think we would all agree there is a problem there." Stunned
Republicans say such a public description of a confidential FBI
background report -- clearly stating that it contains negative
information -- is, in the words of one GOP official, "deeply
unethical." "He didn't reveal the contents, he just implied that
something serious was there," says the Republican. "To drag this into the public debate is just totally improper." Uh, Byron, so what do we do with Senator Hatch? Levin and Stabenow testified Thursday during
the private meeting. They said before the meeting that they would
discuss information from Saad's FBI background check that raised doubts
about his ability to serve, but they wouldn't elaborate. One topic
that was expected to be discussed was an e-mail message Saad sent to a
friend last fall that was inadvertently sent to Stabenow. In the
message, Saad said Stabenow was 'abusing the system and undermining the
constitutional process' by opposing his nomination. He added, "perhaps
someday she will pay the price for her misconduct.' The e-mail has been
released before, but Democratic staffers released it again Thursday. Hatch
said after the meeting that no new charges were levied against Saad.
'The allegations were pro and con, but mostly pro,' Hatch said. Hmm, I'm sure the calls for censure against Hatch are just around the corner. Riiiight.
[Daily Kos]
11:25:57 AM
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Support for banning Bush’s fake-news segment is now bi-partisan.
About two weeks ago, congressional negotiators agreed to a proposal
from Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) to prohibit the Bush administration
from issuing "video news releases" (i.e., fake-news segments) that do
not clearly identify the government as the source. There was, however,
a catch: the ban expires at the end of September.
To get a permanent policy [...]
[The Carpetbagger Report]
11:12:11 AM
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From the Halls Of Montezuma...
In our bitch, Afghanistan, where getting into beds with the warlords hasn't worked out that well for us.
In our good friend, Uzbekistan, where boiling enemies of the state alive seems to have oddly made things worse.
In the hallowed halls of Congress, where taxation without representation is the Bill Frist rallying cry.
.
- Riggsveda
[corrente]
5:57:25 AM
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Bolton Spin Roundup. What is the political impact of how the Senate Committee handled John Bolton's nomination to the UN today?
It all depends on who you ask...
Comparison of US and International media headlines on the Bolton nomination process below the fold. [BOPnews]
5:39:07 AM
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© Copyright
2005
Michael Mussington.
Last update:
6/1/2005; 1:34:13 AM.
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