This doesn't completely make up for Bill Kristol and Ben Stein, but it's nonetheless a real get: Charlie Savage is leaving the Boston Globe to join the NYT.
You might recall that I've sung Savage's praises before.
(h/t: Steve Benen)
Friday, May 09, 2008
Another Sprig
Great minds think alike department: Right after publishing my previous post on Rod Parsley, I noticed John Evo's latest post. He's got two videos of Parsley posted; the other one is from Right Wing Watch and features Parsley giving vent to his homophobia.
A Sprig of Parsley
In the matter of John McCain and his alliances with unsavory pastors, John Hagee has been getting most of the attention lately. But there's another one that bears a closer look, too: the founder and senior pastor of an Ohio-based megachurch, a televangelist named Rod Parsley. Parsley believes, among other things, that one of the founding principles of the United States was, and is, to destroy Islam.
David Corn of Mother Jones has published an article that outlines Parsley's history and John McCain's ties to him, and there's a video to go along with it. Here's that video:
People who like McCain tend to dismiss the significance of Parsley, saying that, as with Hagee, this is not McCain's long-time pastor. There's something to that, but I am still troubled that McCain would actively seek out the endorsement of people like this. Even if it's only crass politics -- McCain seeking to shore up the support from the wingnut contingent of the Republican Party -- it's still thoroughly distasteful. We have only to look at the last eight years to see what an attitude of "you're either with us or you're against us" has wrought, especially when it's based on a twisted version of Christianity.
I don't expect the MSM to run the above video wall-to-wall, but I do hope they spend at least a little time looking into Parsley over the next six months.
Further reading: another article by Corn on Parsley, published in March, and the Wikipedia entry for Parsley.
[added] Andrew Sullivan weighs in. I should have remembered.
One more from Andrew. Money quote:
... when McCain keeps no distance and even embraces the religious far right, he has to be held accountable. If the religious left is now part of the politics of association, so too must the religious right.
And the truth is: the GOP is far, far more influenced by its religious fanatics than the Democrats by theirs'. And yet the right-wing extremist ranters are given a pass, as mainstream Republicans like McCain feel obliged to suck up to them. After what the right has done with Wright, they don't get a pass any more. The GOP needs to be held accountable for every religious extremist it panders to, especially when their sectarian rhetoric could impact the work of American foreign policy:
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Bleg for News
Anyone know why Jon Swift hasn't posted in nearly two months? I hope he's okay. Jon, please let us know.
Maverick Image Gets a Closer Look
If you read this blog, you probably already have a sense of how little truth there is to John McCain's carefully crafted image as a "maverick," but it's worth checking out this post on The Carpetbagger Report for some specifics.
On a related note: Don McArthur takes a look at John McCain and his churchy friend, John Hagee, as compared to another country already controlled by theocrats.
Hard to say if we'll ever break through the MSM barrier on getting either of these stories the attention they deserve, but that's no excuse not to try.
New Record Set for Teh Stupid
This has got to be the most painful thing I've read this whole campaign.
[added] Which calls for my first ever post of a LOLcat, I think.
Longer K-Lo: Gasbag Edition
(Because her "incisive" post was so short):
Hillary Clinton and John McCain wanna play dumb? They'll never hold a candle to me! As evidence, I hereby raise serious doubts about my ability to read. (You probably already knew that I know nothing about economics.)
The editors apologize for the apparent redundancy in the post title -- it was intended to give a hint about the issue at hand.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
The Sinister Pelosi Agenda Marches Forward
Hatred of America's values has spread all the way to the top:
For quite some time, U.S. troops have supported repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. A December 2006 poll of servicemembers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan found 73 percent of those polled were “comfortable with lesbians and gays.” A 2004 poll found that a majority of junior enlisted servicemembers believed gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military, up from 16 percent in 1992.
The military’s leadership is finally catching up to its troops. On Sunday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen told graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy that the military was ready to accept gay servicemembers if Congress repeals DADT …
No word yet on whether this guy will be adding the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog to his list.
Amanda of Think Progress has the whole happy story, including links for further reading.
(h/t: Steve Benen)
Channeling the Iraqi Information Minister
Geoff Garin, lead strategist for the Clinton campaign, on a conference call with reporters this morning:
We think the results last night strengthen the case that she will be the strongest candidate for the Democratic Party in November.
(cf.)
Putting Terrorism in Perspective
Christopher Dickey has an interesting article up. It's centered on an interview with counter-terrorism expert Michael Sheehan. Main message: al Qaeda is dangerous, but not nearly as dangerous as they're often made out to be, and the worst thing we can do in combating them is to overreact.
Probably I liked the article so much because it preaches to my beliefs. But you might like it, too.
(h/t: Kevin Drum)
Nice Capper
At the end of Bob Cesca's liveblogging post of last night's primaries, he posted this video, which, it turns out, he mashed up himself in late March. Here's what he says about it:
I don't know who Roger Waters supports in this election, but this song from his 1987 album 'Radio KAOS' perfectly illustrates the both the dark age of the Bush administration, as well as the hope for a better future which Senator Obama brings to America and to the world. When Senator Obama delivered his historical Philadelphia address, this song instantly came to mind, so I decided to create this mash-up as a tribute to everyone who is helping and hoping to turn the tide.
www.bobcesca.com
www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca
Excitement Plus!
I don't know how many of you have been tracking the Indiana results as obsessively as I have, but it's been amazing to watch over the past five six hours: Clinton's lead started at about 15% around the time the polls closed, and have been steadily creeping downward since.
Lake County, whose biggest city is Gary, has just started reporting results, after almost all the rest of the counties had sent in nearly complete ones. Right now, Lake County has sent in about 28% of their totals. They show a 3:1 advantage to Obama, with about another 100,000 votes to be counted. Clinton's lead is down to less than 2% statewide -- about 20,000 votes.
[Update] As of 1:30 am, it looks like close, but no cigar. With 99% of the statewide totals in, Clinton has a margin of about 1.8% (~23,000 votes). Lake County is also about 99% reported, and Obama's early lead has come back to earth -- only about a 10% margin there. Probably a few CBS employees just started breathing again -- they alone called this one for Clinton hours ago, before the Lake County results started coming in.
Fun while it lasted, though. And of course, there's always gloating about North Carolina: with 99% reporting, Obama is up by nearly 15%, representing a cushion of more than 200,000 voters. NC also has more delegates than IN, so I'd say Obama comes out of tonight with a boost in delegates and some serious new momentum.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
A McCain Worry?
If you look at the returns from Indiana and North Carolina, you see that, once again, a bunch of Republicans came out just to vote against McCain in an already-decided primary. However you want to explain their motivations, about 1 in 4 registered Republicans voted for someone else.
Forget About Economists. Hillary No Longer Believes in Arithmetic.
Swiped this Olbergem, a cross between Monty Python and Jon Stewart, both at their best, from Oliver:
Monday, May 05, 2008
Yeah, I Guess I Self-Censor, Too
Sam Harris has an essay worth reading up on HuffPo. He starts by considering the hubbub over Geert Wilders's short film, Fitna, and then moves to a larger theme. If you know Harris, this will sound familiar:
The position of the Muslim community in the face of all provocations seems to be: Islam is a religion of peace, and if you say that it isn't, we will kill you. Of course, the truth is often more nuanced, but this is about as nuanced as it ever gets: Islam is a religion of peace, and if you say that it isn't, we peaceful Muslims cannot be held responsible for what our less peaceful brothers and sisters do. When they burn your embassies or kidnap and slaughter your journalists, know that we will hold you primarily responsible and will spend the bulk of our energies criticizing you for "racism" and "Islamophobia."
Our capitulations in the face of these threats have had what is often called "a chilling effect" on our exercise of free speech.
He goes on to excoriate Western "political correctness" and excessive concern for "religious sensitivity," as well as Muslim moderates, for rarely speaking out against violence done in the name of (under the excuse of) Islam.
I am never sure what to say about Harris's views. Much of what he says makes sense to me. He's certainly right that all religions get a pass on criticism, and that not all of them are equally inclined to violence. On the other hand, most of the Muslim bashers here in the US are nowhere near as rational as Harris, and tend to be driven by their own religious extremism as well, so I don't really want to add my voice to theirs, either.
(h/t: Andrew Sullivan)
Oh, Shoot
Looks like Hillary's pro-gun mailer is a flop among gun enthusiasts, seeing as how the gun pictured doesn't actually exist.
Musta been the one used by the non-existent snipers, don't you think?
John Cole has details and further commentary.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Just What We Need: More Magical Thinking
If you're a member of the reality-based community, chances are good that you already know who not to vote for. But just in case, have a look at The Carpetbagger Report on John McCain's superstitions.
Shameless Doesn't Begin to Describe this Pandering
“I’m not going to put in my lot with economists,” she said. A few moments later, she added, “Elite opinion is always on the side of doing things that really disadvantages the vast majority of Americans.”
-- a prominent politician
Only the pronoun lets you know that this statement was not said by George W. Bush or John McCain.
Never mind the hypocrisy of Hillary Clinton pretending not to be part of the elite. It's the appeal to the worst part of the American psyche -- anti-intellectualism -- and the bull-headed refusal to listen to the unanimous view of people who know better that really annoys me.
[added] One of those people not being listened to, Robert Reich, has more on this.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Bill Moyers: Commentary on Jeremiah Wright
Via TC, here's a short commentary that Moyers recorded both after his interview (part 1, part 2) with Wright last week and after Wright's ensuing public appearances. It's about five minutes long, and like so much of what Moyers says, well worth listening to.
Non-Line of the Day: 2008-05-03
From the HuffPo:
Aides to Sen. Hillary Clinton defended on Thursday her support for a gas-tax holiday - a proposal that has been roundly criticized by economic and energy experts and derided among pundits as political pandering.
[...]
Aides to Clinton could not, when asked, point to a single non-political expert who supported such a proposal …
... via MattY, who adds:
What happened to the idea that Clinton is the candidate of policy substance, competence, and experience?
Pushback against the Pushback
Via MattY, here's a smart piece from Ron Brownstein that asks John McCain: If you didn't mean what those nasty liebruls think you mean by "100 years," what did you mean? Implied subtext: And why am I the only one in the MSM asking this question?
Line of the Day: 2008-05-03
... I've never before in my life seen the press as willing to go easy on a candidate's claims to still be a viable contender.
Okay, so his life has not yet been so long. Still, Matthew makes sense.
I am sick beyond belief at the wide-eyed eagerness of the MSM to lap up the daily spin from the Clinton campaign about how they're "actually ahead, if you only consider …" and report it as gospel, just so they can keep this nomination "battle" alive and not have to think about finding some real stories to cover.
She. Can't. Win. All she can do is destroy the Democrats' chances in what should have been the easiest election ever.
(h/t: Scott Lemieux)
[added] Bonus Matthew:
One of my new lines when print journalism types start fretting about the blogosphere is to remind people that the emerging media landscape can't possibly be worse than 24 hour cable news, which often seems to be going out of its way to be uninformative.
[added] Via Oliver Willis: Timothy Noah issues a challenge:
Here's a rule I would like every political reporter, campaign official, TV talking head, and politician in the United States to follow. Go ahead and say, if you like, that Hillary Clinton retains a serious chance of winning the Democratic nomination. If you say this, however, you must describe a set of circumstances whereby this could happen. Try not to make it sound like a fairy tale.
Noah follows this with a brutal hacking apart of every fairy tale imaginable, which, if only some of the dispensers of hot air would read, might mean that we could get onto the real business of electing a president.
Signs!
If you're not regularly reading Folderol, you're missing out on a daily offering of links to all the weird and wonderful goodness that the Web has to offer.
Case in point: today's post, which, among other things, pointed me to, as Jinnet notes:
.. part ten (ten!) of odd signage around the world.
I pretty much could have swiped every image there. I've restricted myself to copying four for reposting here (and emailed a few others). Click any image to enlarge.
First up: I don't care if it's Photoshopped. I wasted beer nasally:
Next, a reminder of my favorite blog tagline:
And, the Larry Craig Memorial Sign. If they have to be told, is there any better way to tell them? And do you not love the one in the lower left corner?
Finally, just to feed my inner geek, an oldie but a goodie:
Go see them all. The link to the other nine (nine more!) parts is at the bottom. That's where I'll be for the next little while.
FoxIt Reader Upgrade
FoxIt Reader, a program designed to read PDF files, has issued a security patch. This makes the latest version v2.3, Build 2825. Brian Krebs has more details, if you want them.
If you're already using this program, Help -> Check for Updates Now will help you out. You might see a bunch of options for add-ons, depending on the choices you made during your previous installation; if so, ignore these (or not, as you like). The upgrade is the likely the one at the bottom of the list. Select that choice by single-clicking on it, click the Add button, and click the Install button, and you should be fine. I was, anyway.
If you're not already using this program, and still use Adobe's Reader (formerly known as Acroread and Acrobat Reader), I urge you to give FoxIt a test drive. It's a much smaller program to download and, correspondingly, its security patches are, too; it starts up faster; and as far as I can tell, it renders PDF files without flaw.
More evangelizing from me here. Learn about and download the program here.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Thunderbird 2.0.0.14
Mozilla has released a patch for Thunderbird to fix two moderate security flaws. This makes the latest version 2.0.0.14. If you have disabled automatic updates for Thunderbird, use Help -> Check for Updates from the Thunderbird menu bar.
I just did the upgrade. No problems.
"... with us or against us?”"
Which politician used that phrase?
If you said George W. Bush, you're right.
If you said Hillary R. Clinton, you're right.
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