I host a daily Christian talk show in Seattle. Yesterday, I just got so tired of all the extreme talk that I dedicated my first hour to some common sense. I dealt with the "Mosque somewhere near ground zero" issue, the "who gets the credit and blame for the Iraq war" issue, and the "Why in the world are we using the words Glenn Beck and Martin Luther King Jr. in the same … [Read more...] about The Last Moderate Talk Show on Earth
Glenn Beck In Wonderland
Was it just a coincidence? A case of life imitating art? A very subtle attempt at self-parody? Or did that Tea Party gathering on the Washington Mall this past weekend bear an eerie resemblance to the tea party in Alice In Wonderland? The March Hare in Carroll's book, who presided over a tea party on the other side of the looking glass, was of course quite mad. Glenn Beck, … [Read more...] about Glenn Beck In Wonderland
Supreme Court – Not What You Think: Part III, The Conservative Activists
During the administration of Andrew Jackson the size of the Supreme Court had been increased from seven Justices to nine. In 1863 it was increased to ten. With Lincoln’s death, and Andrew Johnson in the White House, the Court was reduced from ten Justices to eight. To preserve the Reconstruction acts, congress had also limited the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. … [Read more...] about Supreme Court – Not What You Think: Part III, The Conservative Activists
Plastic Bag Makers Zip Lock California Senate
Last June, in a rash moment of environmental fervor, I wrote that California was poised to be the first state to sharply reduce the use of plastic bags at retail outlets. The bill, AB 1998, passed the Assembly and was supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. They were joined by environmental groups angry at seeing plastic wrappers pollute our rivers, beaches and ocean. … [Read more...] about Plastic Bag Makers Zip Lock California Senate
Conservatism’s False Dawn
You don't have to be able to read tea leaves, examine entrails, or count the warts on a horny toad to know that conservatism is headed for a smashing victory in November. Or is it? Will the coming electoral tidal wave hide deficiencies that have yet to be addressed following a long decade of decline and exhaustion? What has changed in the intervening months? Certainly, … [Read more...] about Conservatism’s False Dawn
More Taser Trouble v. Finnish Gentle Justice
In a statement the Sheriff's office says, "We are confident the actions of our deputies will be found to have been both within the law and department policy." Then the law has to change... I saw the story on GMA this morning, where a "former homicide detective" defended the tasering because the 64 year-old victim was "intoxicated" and officers thought he … [Read more...] about More Taser Trouble v. Finnish Gentle Justice
The (Im)Possibilities of Reforming Conservatism
Blogger E.D. Kain's "Up from Conservatism" post had me thinking about something that I've seen over the years. You take a guy who was a conservative that starts to see some of the problems. They start to see them grow bigger and bigger and start to take on a crusade to reform conservatism. However, they continue to focus on the issues plaguing the movement, until the … [Read more...] about The (Im)Possibilities of Reforming Conservatism
Give credit to Bush where it’s due
Now that I've gotten my inner partisan screed out of the way, let me go ahead and say something I never thought I'd say. President Obama would not have been able to give the speech on Iraq that he gave last night if not for the surge that he - and I - vigorously opposed. As we discussed at length back in 2007, the surge merely expanded and capitalized on an … [Read more...] about Give credit to Bush where it’s due
“We Could Not Have Known…”
Writing about the U.S. invasion of Iraq in The New York Times, John Burns asserts: [T]here were few, if any, who foresaw the extent of the violence that would follow or the political convulsion it would cause in Iraq, America and elsewhere. We could not know then ... the scale of the toll the invasion would unleash: the tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians who would … [Read more...] about “We Could Not Have Known…”
Grade Obama A+ For Honoring Troops, F For Policy, AWOL On The Economy
Let’s see if I got President Obama’s speech Tuesday night right: We spent a trillion borrowed and printed dollars and 6,000 American lives in Iraq and Afghanistan on wars we could not afford based on an American economy he cannot fix. What the president avoided to say was that the big winner in this war of lies was a shift in the Middle East balance of power in favor of … [Read more...] about Grade Obama A+ For Honoring Troops, F For Policy, AWOL On The Economy
It’s Time for Rope-a-Dope, Dems. Again
My humble advice to Democrats: Take the long view. The American people are angry and frustrated. The primary driver of that anger is the economy. Yes, there are myriad other factors at work, included some still-unpopular legislation, a prolonged war in Afghanistan, a nasty oil spill, and near-one party rule (60 votes is apparently necessary to qualify as one-party rule, yet … [Read more...] about It’s Time for Rope-a-Dope, Dems. Again
What to Expect From Apple’s Fall Event
I don't make predictions. But I read a lot of them. And repeat the ones I like. Some swirling around Wednesday's Apple event (10 a.m. Pacific)... Nearly everyone expects Apple TV to be renamed iTV and go on sale for $99 ($130 less than the current model). One hold out, NewTeeVee's Darrell Etherington: While I don’t doubt that Apple has big plans in store for the iTV, I … [Read more...] about What to Expect From Apple’s Fall Event
My Favorite Passages from the President’s Remarks on Iraq
The President had plenty to say in the approximately 15 minutes he used to address the nation on the end of our combat mission in Iraq. He spoke about the war itself, about terrorism, about the emerging Iraq government and its security forces and capabilities and about the transition of responsibilities, about our continuing but different mission in Iraq and about our … [Read more...] about My Favorite Passages from the President’s Remarks on Iraq
President Obama, Independents, Iraq and Development
Personally, I just have a simple "thank you" to our President Obama upon the policy decision to withdraw, or at least draw down, from Iraq. Some may see this as an election promise, some may see it as a moral issue. I see it as a developmental issue -- for the independent movement. When independents put Barack Obama in the White House in November of 2008, we might have … [Read more...] about President Obama, Independents, Iraq and Development
Iraq
I'm old - I became politically aware during the Vietnam war and realized that my government had no problem lying to me. I didn't realize how much they were lying to me until years later when Lyndon Johnson's white house tapes were released but I knew they were lying to me all along. After I graduated from college in 1968 I went to work for the Defense Intelligence Agency as … [Read more...] about Iraq
Trestles: Bridge To Surfing Heavens Succumbs To The Sands Of Time
Bridges have always struck mankind as engineering marvels since the days of the Roman aqueduct. Most of us have a love affair with bridges from our childhood whether it be the Brooklyn Bridge for Jewish and Italian immigrants writing about it in the 1950s to the days I spent in Oregon where the magnificent span of a Depression-era bridge arches over the Rogue River in Gold … [Read more...] about Trestles: Bridge To Surfing Heavens Succumbs To The Sands Of Time
Mullah Beck
A few months ago I described Glenn Beck as a modern day snake oil salesman. This weekend it appeared he is out to become the Mullah for the American Taliban. The theology Beck was preaching was not Christian but Mormon and as a result has received at best a lukewarm reception from the evangelical leadership and shock and hostility from the main stream Christian community. … [Read more...] about Mullah Beck
Glenn Beck’s Day of Beckoning
Glenn Beck's big "Restoring Honor" rally is over but the memories and the controversy linger on. Some say the rally changed the view of Beck and changed lives. I watched. Were we all wrong about Beck? Read the details HERE in my weekly www.cagle.com column. … [Read more...] about Glenn Beck’s Day of Beckoning
The Science of Counting Crowds
Event organizers tend to inflate audience numbers at events because it makes the event look more successful. Critics denounce those numbers for the converse. When the shoe is on the other foot, the rhetoric changes, predictably. Enter the science of estimating crowd size. Steve Doig shares how he estimated a crowd size of 80,000 for the Glenn Beck rally; he was … [Read more...] about The Science of Counting Crowds
Supreme Court – Not What You Think: Part II, 19th Century Activism
After the election of Thomas Jefferson and the routing of the congressional federalists in the 1800 elections, the federalist dominated Congress reconvened in a lame duck session to pass the Judiciary Act of 1801. It expanded the number of federal circuit courts from the original 3 to 16, reduced the number of Supreme Court Justices from six to five to give Jefferson one less … [Read more...] about Supreme Court – Not What You Think: Part II, 19th Century Activism