Oxblog’s Patrick Belton has this entry from Paris which needs to be read in full. Here’s a small part: Paris is burning. It has done so before. Those of 1848 were the street riots of modernism, heralding enlightenment and republicanism versus the restoration of the ancien regime. The soixante-huitards’s were those of postmodernity, seeking to resituate the individual and power at the centre...

Saddam Hussein’s trial in Baghdad had two monkey wrenches thrown in it today: the murder of yet another lawyer associated with the case and his lawyer’s suspension of contact with the tribunal trying him until they get better security — and they’re even asking for the trial to be moved abroad to protect all involved. The latest murder makes it clear it’s very perilous to be a lawyer...

Yes, he says it here. (Define “We”.) But then, what was going on at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib? What may still be going on there and/or in other U.S.-run detention facilities around the world? THE ONES WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT? Bush: “We’re working with Congress to make sure that as we go forward, we make it possible, more possible, to do our job. There’s an enemy that lurks and plots...

This should hardly come as a surprise, but Weekly Standard editor and Fox News-frequenting neocon-Straussian Bill Kristol does not think that President Bush should fire Karl Rove (or, presumably, that Rove should resign). He does, however, think that Bush must remain “a polarizing president”. First it was his culture of conservative victimhood, now it’s his essentially un-conservative conservatism. Kristol,...

Yes, it’s the nightmare of reality.

Greg Prince at Uncorrelated has written a thoughtful and thought-provoking post on whether or not the Constitution ‘as is’ includes a right to privacy, a response in part to Dan Savage’s suggestion at The Stranger that Democrats propose a so-called “Right to Privacy” amendment. It’s an interesting idea, and Democrats might do well to go ahead with it (would Republicans or...

Yesterday, I wrote about yet another piece of evidence that the Bush Administration used selective intelligence to justify its war in Iraq, specifically the fact that a key informer in American custody, a certain al Qaeda official named al-Libi, was known well before the war to be a “fabricator” of information. For more on this developing story, including a round-up of key reaction from around the...

For a bit more on the big new case set to come before the Roberts Court, see here.

A reminder to SCROLL DOWN. TMV and his co-bloggers may often write posts longer than you find on other weblogs (it’s part of what makes us so lovable). And there are a LOT of new posts under today’s dated weblog….so make sure you go all the way down. We will periodically put this at the top of this site as a reminder.

…something happens that makes you realize we’re all connected.

It’s election day today and, even though it isn’t the mid-term elections, a lot is at stake. For instance, today could be the day when California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s clout is terminated by California voters if the bulk of or all of his ballot measures go down the tubes. If you look at polls and talk to Californians at random you realize: you don’t need actor Warren Beatty...

Right? Well, if THIS STARTS A TREND they will be mere extensions of political candidates on both sides (spin within spin within spin). Will “a million blogs” therefore morph into “two million blogs?” (Oh. We forgot the remaining Nader supporters: Two million and one blogs.)

It’s a given in broadcasting that when a personality gets ready to depart he does so quietly. In fact, in most instances listeners tune in and find that their favorite DJ or talk show host has simply vanished and gone somewhere. There is no forwarding address. But “shockjock” Howard Stern, the self-styled King Of All Media (but who has had a rocky road expanding significantly beyond his niche...

I have a bit more news on the spreading of violence in France (not much), along with a response to some who have commented, a note on what moderation truly is, and some additional information regarding the backgrounds of those involved in the riots at my weblog, Random Fate. (NOTE: the second link is to a different post) Depending upon the events of this evening, I hope to have a more comprehensive round-up...

The Supreme Court has granted cert in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, to determine whether the military commissions established by the Bush administration to prosecute detainees are constitutional. A few preliminary thoughts on the subject here.

President Bush just came flat out and said it: “We do not torture.” And I’ll come flat out and say it: He’s lying.

Just weeks after nixing an agreement literally at the last minute in what seemed to be a fit of ire over one of his broadcasts critical of a rehearsed encounter between President George W. Bush and some members of the military, Armed Forces Radio has said it will in fact carry progressive talker Ed Schultz’s increasingly popular radio talk show after all. The news arrived here in the form of an email from...

Maybe 40 years back.

It’s a given that President George W. Bush enjoys the support of many social conservatives, Evangelicals and church leaders (such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson to name just a few) who OFTEN speak out on his behalf and lambaste his opponents. So can this really be happening? Perhaps this is just a glitch and it won’t be pursued to the end. If not, then the rule needs to be enforced EQUALLY no...

A Washington Post story containing critical quotes from administration sources paints a picture of Vice President Dick Cheney as adamant on defending controversial U.S. practices regarding detainees — and it suggests his standing within the administration is shakier than ever. If this had been a news story published in the time when Francisco Franco was dictator of Spain or Stalin were dictator of the...

There may not be a smoking gun, at least not yet, but there sure is a lot of smoke. Here’s what Douglas Jehl reported in Sunday’s New York Times: A high Qaeda official in American custody was identified as a likely fabricator months before the Bush administration began to use his statements as the foundation for its claims that Iraq trained Al Qaeda members to use biological and chemical weapons,...

Marshall Wittman of the Bull Moose (one of my favourite blogs and certainly one of the highlights of the centrist blogosphere) has an excellent post on “high crimes and misdemeanors” — that is, on impeachment. His argument is that “Congressional Democrats are settling on a ‘narrative’ and a ‘frame’ for the Iraq War” that leads to an inexorable conclusion:...

On Tuesday, to quote The New York Times, “President Bush announced… that he would ask Congress for $7.1 billion to prepare the nation for the possibility of a worldwide outbreak of deadly flu.” Here’s how he put it: “Our country has been given fair warning of this danger to our homeland and time to prepare. It’s my responsibility as the president to take measures now to protect...

Despite the public rhetoric, it’s looking more and more likely, with the White House preparing for a post-Rove world.

I’ve got a bit more on Biden, the Democrats, and the filibuster over at The Reaction.