"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
About to begin a series of mindnumbing meetings, but found this bit (via DailyKos) and choked on my ice coffee laughing. Especially liked the line “We might have to disrupt the democratic process because terrorists want to disrupt the democratic process.”
Thomas Frank offers one of the clearest anaylses on culture war wedge political issues I’ve ever seen. He takes the FMA as his example, but his topic is really the mechanics of getting the base so fired up they’re beating down the doors to get in on election day. He’s writing from a pro-liberal point … Read more
Because it was pretty quiet here today on the posts front (and, yes, we’re in the final stages of deciding who to invite in as a guest). Essentially, I’m wondering whether to reproduce my Redstate posts here, or reproduce my posts here over on Redstate, or however it would be put. I can see arguments … Read more
Rights are like a good backyard barbeque. Once you get a whiff, you simply won’t be satisfied until you get your share. I note this in response to the failed attempt to pass the FMA and my utter disgust with all the Democratic leadership who went so far out of their way to make clear … Read more
… As it looks like Mike Ditka’s not running for that Illinois Senate seat, after all. Time for the IL GOP to find somebody not too memorable and not too rambunctious for that race, methinks; Ryan might have had a shot (not that we’re ever going to know, now), but the way he left the … Read more
…because the old one’s pretty dang full up by now. Have pity on us poor dial-uppers… Moe
…this bit from Stereo Describes My Scenario has a certain resonance to it: “That’s like when I hear the old standby, “I don’t think of you as Black.” Well then what do you think of me as?” I’ve always had a problem with the “I don’t think of you as X” sort of comments, but … Read more
I don’t know if redstate.org and obsidianwings have the same readership. So if you have seen this article already, feel free to skip it this time. I can’t claim to be particularly good at short term political calculations. But there is a long-term political problem that Republicans need to deal with. Conservatives have a problem … Read more
I finally watched this. Wow. You have no idea how much better I feel after watching that. Almost… centered, actually. 🙂 (Via Tacitus) Moe PS: Yup, it earned that emoticon: if you haven’t watched it yet, do so.
…it has been determined that the French anti-Semitic attack story was a hoax: PARIS – Just days after claiming to having been the victim of a cruel anti-Semitic attack that stunned France, a young mother confessed she fabricated the story, authorities said Tuesday. The woman had claimed she was robbed on a suburban train Friday … Read more
I saw this first via Drudge and figured, well, you know, it’s Drudge – but apparently Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) really will not be a featured speaker at this year’s Democratic National Convention. I wonder why. No, I really am wondering. I mean, she spoke at the 2000 convention, and before I read this … Read more
A “mountain of evidence.” That’s what Attorney General John Ashcroft offered Congress on Tuesday, a “mountain of evidence” that the PATRIOT ACT has been instrumental in disrupting al Qaeda cells’ activities in the United States.
“The Patriot Act is al-Qaida’s worst nightmare when it comes to disrupting and disabling their operations here in America,” he said.
Makes you kind of reassess your opinion on the PATRIOT ACT doesn’t it? I mean, a whole mountain of evidence must represent a lot, right? I’d assume a lot more than some flimsy 29-page report of evidence with barely 2 dozen examples, none of which address the strongest criticisms of the PATRIOT ACT, right? A mountain of evidence would be indisputably convincing that congress should not let it expire in 2005, right?
The report did not mention some more controversial powers, such as the FBI’s ability to obtain library and bookstore records in terrorism cases or the so-called “sneak and peek” search warrants in which agents need not immediately tell suspects their home or business had been searched.
Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, accused the department of selectively releasing information and refusing to address civil liberties concerns.
“Coupled with the department’s consistent record of exaggerating their record about terrorism, this entire report is suspect,” Conyers said.
OK, so Conyers is a Democrat, so his opinion is automatically suspect. Besides, clearly within a mountain of evidence, the need to continue the controversial Section 215 of the law could be demonstrated, right?
It’s not just the fact that no one should be smart enough to win 29 episodes in a row. And it’s not just the fact that he obliterates his “competition” day after day, thereby lowering the suspense to a level comparable to whether the castaways would actually get off Gilligan’s Island this time. It’s not … Read more
Partially because I need one, and if I need one other people may need one, too. You can start with this John Cole entry about the rescued sea-kitten, check out Cat Out Loud (who apparently links to us now) and then go to an open thread that can be about anything you like, just so … Read more
The first RedState post of mine is up, where I reveal myself to be secretly the disembodied brain of Herbert Hoover… well, OK, not really. I have no idea how often I’ll be posting stuff over there; it’ll depend on the eventual tone of the place. I’m not an entirely serious sort of person, except … Read more
Congratulations to Tacitus et al. for the very handsome looking new answer to Daily Kos: Red State The line up of excellent contributors, including our own esteemed Moe Lane and Sebastian Holsclaw, promises to make it a must-read for bloggers of all stripes and colors. And just because it’s dedicated to re-electing as many Republicans … Read more
Two and a half margaritas past enough sense to know better… I miss Katherine. Even Josh Marshall was unable to raise that thrill I had at seeing a new post by Katherine R. Knowing she’d have researched the piece impeccably and still come out to support the values I’ve cherished my whole adult life, each … Read more
There must have been a real dearth of religion pieces in OpinionJournal’s slushpile, because today’s (Christian Teens? Not Very.) was blipping weak.
We’ll charitably pass over the author’s brag about his Sunday School class to get to the meat of the complaint:
Pejmanesque, of course, has been covering the 18 Tir demonstrations: as always, reports are vague, but it looks like the theocrats there have maintained control. What a bloodless phrase ‘maintained control’ is. As the official Voice of America statement notes This month brings the fifth anniversary of the July 9th, 1999, student uprising in Iran. … Read more
…by Bird Dog over at Tacitus; so good, in fact, that I’m just going to link (and this additional roundup by Rajan Rishyakaran, via Instapundit) and be done with it. We don’t link often enough to Tac’s place, what with half of us being regulars over there; never hurts to spread the linky goodness around. … Read more
I had an interesting talk with my mom last night. As usual she narrow things down much better than I do. She mentioned that the infuriating thing about Moore’s films is not that it that they are such blatant propaganda. It is that they are propaganda films that are deceptively called ‘documentaries’. Documentaries can have … Read more
(Editor’s Note: this was written by Katherine R, and for reasons that will shortly become obvious I’m rather sadly posting it on her behalf. I hope that I got the formatting right, and…. well, read.)
Author’s Note: This is actually by Katherine, and it will be my last post here. I’ve threatened (promised?) that before, I know, but this time I’m certain of it. No cosmic reasons–just a lack of time, a lot of things to do, a feeling that I’ve said what I have to say and have started to repeat myself, and the fact that the floppy where I stored my typepad password broke a week and a half ago. I chose to interpret that last one as a sign, so instead of asking Moe if I could set up a new account, I asked him to put up one final post for me.
Since I started writing here, I’ve focused more and more on one topic: U.S. human rights abuses towards people we suspect of terrorism. I thought I might close by explaining, on a more personal level than I have before, why this is.
It’s very long, probably too long, but I hope you’ll find it worth reading.
Thanks to all readers, commenters, linkers, and especially co-bloggers. This has been fun, and actually pretty useful in sorting out what I want to do with my career. (Whether I can actually do it is another question, but this is a start.)
(Another Editor’s Note: …and she’ll always have a place for her waiting here.)
… because I’m going to bed like, right now, the webblocking software’s back up at work and tomorrow night we’re going directly to Pittsburgh. This month it’s going to be lawn work day at my girlfriend’s grandmother’s place. I may be able to squeeze in a post or two; then again, I may not. Either … Read more
An interesting quote: If the new Moore-standard says you can be a force for good even if you argue through half-truths, guilt-by-association and innuendo, then the case against Joe McCarthy evaporates entirely. He did, after all, have the larger truths on his side. This is a truly fun parallel. Surely we can agree that Communism … Read more
via Sullivan ~~~~~~~~~~~ QUOTE OF THE DAY: “For a simple and compelling reason, traditional marriage has been the norm in every political community for 5,000 years.” – Senator Orrin Hatch, National Review. Hatch is a Mormon.
In what seems another life ago, I was known to rant like a banshee about how the Bush Administration has a horrendous record on the environment. Somethings change. Oh, the Bush Administration still has a horrendous record on the environment, but I try to no longer rant like a banshee about it. (Doctor’s orders…blood pressure … Read more
Things to remember about this development: Filipino Workers Barred From Going to Iraq CAIRO, Egypt – Armed Iraq (news – web sites) insurgents threatened to kill a Filipino hostage if his country does not withdraw from Iraq, according to a video that aired Wednesday. The Philippines responded by barring Filipino workers from traveling to Iraq. … Read more
Friday represents the fifth anniversary of the Iranian government’s most infamous crackdown on student dissidents. The current theocrats running that unhappy country are taking no chances; their methods are likely to be fairly brutal… and totally futile, in the long run. Pejmanesque will be covering things, obviously, and probably better than I could – but … Read more
Hey, Edwards. Ya wanna shake that “trial lawyer” label? Support the Class Action Fairness Act, which may come up for a vote today. Broadly put, it grants Federal Courts original jurisdiction to hear large (read, more than $5 million) class action claims brought on behalf of citizens of more than one state. (I’m oversimplifying; Overlawyered … Read more
Over at Crooked Timber, dsquared has a particularly bad defense of Moore’s film: The big advantage of the “he’s implying this without saying it” critique, and the main reason I use I myself so often, is that since he isn’t saying it, you can chosse for yourself what you want to claim he’s implying. For … Read more
Disclaimer: I’m surrounded by conspiracy theorists who believe the impending economic dominance by China is driving everything from decisions in the War on Terror to the choices we make in fighting global warming. Of course articles like this by Ted C. Fishman don’t help:
China is everywhere these days, influencing our lives as consumers, providers, citizens. It has by far the world’s most rapidly changing large economy, and our reactions to it shift just as quickly. China is at one moment our greatest threat, the next our friend. It siphons off American jobs; it is essential to our competitive edge. China is the world’s factory floor, and it is the world’s greatest market opportunity. China’s industrial might steals opportunities from the developing world, even as its booming economy pulls poorer countries up (lately it has been getting credit for helping Japan out of its slump too). China exports deflation; it stokes soaring prices. China will boom; it will bust.
Fishman is not as alarmed by all this as some folks. He concludes the above statements by noting, “The truth about China is that, like all big countries, it is full of real contradictions.”
This is an excellent, albeit lengthy, article by the way, so if you get the chance I’d recommend it. It’s got plenty of food for thought, like “Increasingly, it is what Chinese businesses and consumers choose for themselves that determines how the American economy operates.” But the bit that jumped out at me as most worthy of consideration within the context of the conspiracy theorists’ worries was this:
To hell with it; I’m taking the rest of the night off. Talk amongst yourselves.
Primarily A Cappella has finally deigned to send to me the Da Vinci’s Notebook CD (The Life and Times pf Mike Fanning*) that I had ordered, like, weeks ago. I was starting to think that I might have gotten stiffed, but it arrived. Guess that I had better call off the ninjas, huh? I mention … Read more
I’m just as interested in getting to the bottom of whether Michael Moore is actually the anti-Christ or not as the next person, but I’m also going through a book-hungry craze lately and so offer up this Open Thread to talk about books. To keep it simple and offer some structure though, start your comments … Read more