So Rush Limbaugh's heart is fine (for which I am glad), but unfortunately his doctors could do nothing about the stupid, which he flaunted immediately upon his release from the hospital in Honolulu: … [Read more...] about Rush Limbaugh Says Health Care System Is Fine and He Got No Special Treatment
Truth And Consequences
Trivia question: What was the original name of the New Mexico town that changed its name to Truth Or Consequences? Residents of this town of 7,000 are just as quirky as they were in the early 1950s when they voted to rename their village after a popular television show of the time. The difference is they are thinking big time. I mean really out-of-the-box-to-the-moon big … [Read more...] about Truth And Consequences
Rush to Judgment
Adding on to Dr. Steven Taylor's fine post highlighting some of the more irrational responses to Mark Hosenball's Newsweek article about the intelligence briefing Pres. Obama received three days before the Christmas Day attempted airline bombing, here is a much more thoughtful and sensible piece by the always-worth- reading Spencer Ackerman: … [Read more...] about Rush to Judgment
Christmas Day Terror Plot Looks Like a Set-Up: Ad Dustour, Jordan
Was this sheer incompetence - or is there something else going on? The scale of the intelligence mistakes surrounding the case of suspected Christmas Day underwear bomber Omar Farouk Abdul Muttalab are such, that many people, particularly Muslims, suspect that there is some "hidden force" behind the story. According to columnist Hilmi Al Asmar of Jordan's Ad Dustour … [Read more...] about Christmas Day Terror Plot Looks Like a Set-Up: Ad Dustour, Jordan
More BS From North Korea
How many times have we heard this? North Korea calls for an end of hostile relations with the United States in a New Year's message pledging to make the Korean peninsula nuclear free. Makes me wonder if the official issuing the statement carried by the government's Korean Central News Agency, state radio and television had celebrated too far into the early morning hours … [Read more...] about More BS From North Korea
When Cable Fights the Networks, You Lose Either Way
So Time Warner and Fox have come to an agreement, at least for the time being, to continue bringing the various Fox channels to subscribers. Oh, good. In case you're wondering who the winner is in that little staged drama, it's both of them. There's only one loser, and that's you. You're going to wind up paying more than you were before yet again. Except now, when they jack up … [Read more...] about When Cable Fights the Networks, You Lose Either Way
The Politics of Foreknowing the Past
In a column on New Year’s Eve in the NYT, David Brooks wrote: Various experts have gathered bits of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s biography. Since they can string the facts together to accurately predict the past, they thunder, the intelligence services should have been able to connect the dots to predict the future. This passage came to mind upon reading some of the … [Read more...] about The Politics of Foreknowing the Past
Obama Weekly Address: Al Qaeda Behind Attempted Christmas Underwear Bombing
In his weekly Radio/You Tube address President Barack Obama focuses on national security, terrorism -- and the Christmas Day attempted underwear bombing which he places squarely at the door of Al Qaeda: … [Read more...] about Obama Weekly Address: Al Qaeda Behind Attempted Christmas Underwear Bombing
Responding to a Republican Friend
Friendships are typically developed on the ground of common experience and perspective. It should thus be no surprise that -- as a Republican until 2006 -- I count among my friendships a fair number of Republican and Republican-inclined individuals. Granted, those friendships are based on much more than politics, which is a key reason why these individuals are still my … [Read more...] about Responding to a Republican Friend
Newsweek: Obama Got Pre-Christmas Intelligence Briefing on Terrorist Threats To Homeland
A new Newsweek report suggests that the terrorism issue which has been pitchforked into the headlines, partisan talk radio and partisan weblogs will be pitchforked even further into prominence through 2010 -- all the way to election day: according to the newsmagazine, President Barack Obama got a pre-Christmas briefing "about possible holiday-period terrorist threats against … [Read more...] about Newsweek: Obama Got Pre-Christmas Intelligence Briefing on Terrorist Threats To Homeland
A Little Freedom Music
Some twenty years ago the world watched in awe as freedom swept Eastern Europe. On 25 December 1989 the immortal Leonard Bernstein conducted Beethovens 9th Symphony from Berlin. For the performance, the Ode to Joy was changed to ode to Freedom, and hundreds of millions watched and wept. It should be noted that the ovation for the master conductor went so long they … [Read more...] about A Little Freedom Music
“The Line That Defines Torture”
I see that Andrew Sullivan has a post up about the same subject I blogged about earlier this evening under the title "The Normalization of Evil." And he is on to the same expanded argument for the use of torture that I saw in the Andy McCarthy piece I quoted from (emphasis is mine): … [Read more...] about “The Line That Defines Torture”
A ‘Small Number’ of Iranian Flock ‘Led Astray’: Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran
THE NOSE OF AHMADINEJAD SAYS: 'ELECTIONS' THE CAPTION READS: 'OPPOSITION' This article from Iran's state-controlled Kayhan newspaper is as close to a public admission of a challenge to the regime's authority as we've seen from the mullahs that run the country - and it's striking. For Kayhan, columnist Kian Mokhtari writes in part: There's no denying that a small … [Read more...] about A ‘Small Number’ of Iranian Flock ‘Led Astray’: Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran
The Normalization of Evil
Josh Marshall and Marc Thiessen have been going back and forth about the inconsistency of right-wing calls for Abdulmutallab to be tried within the extra-legal military tribunal system set up by the former Pres. Bush, given the fact that the Bush administration gave Richard Reid and Zacharias Moussaoui civilian trials in federal court. You can trace the history of this debate … [Read more...] about The Normalization of Evil
Press 1 For English, 2 For Spanish
It seems every time I dial an 800 number, the first response from the automated voice asks if I want their menu in English or Spanish. It is such a frequent request that I press 1 before the recorded voice finishes its instructions. This ritual doesn't annoy me. Not even close to the frustration of selecting the menu items in which invariably I press the number to speak to a … [Read more...] about Press 1 For English, 2 For Spanish
Questioning the Safety of Ammonia-Treated Ground Beef
In the clip above, from the feature documentary Food, Inc., Eldon R. Roth, the founder and owner of Beef Products, Inc. explains, "I'm really a mechanic. That's really what I am. We design our own machinery." Roth gets that exactly right. He has no science background but he does hold the patents for over two dozen pieces of equipment and methods used in beef … [Read more...] about Questioning the Safety of Ammonia-Treated Ground Beef
Dick Cheney and Putting Country First
Apparently I am not the only one who has taken umbrage at Dick Cheney’s shameful attack on President Obama, using the Christmas Day attempted attack on Northwest Flight 253 strictly for political gain. Among Cheney’s outrageous accusations was his "As I've watched the events of the last few days it is clear once again that President Obama is trying to pretend we are not at … [Read more...] about Dick Cheney and Putting Country First
Is Rahm Punking Right Wing Bloggers and Fox?
Disclaimer: This is primarily amusing speculation with not a shred of evidence to support it, though absolutely possible, but I needed something amusing for a lazy New Years day at home. I followed a tweet from Steve Benen this morning to an article of his at the Washington Monthly because the subject was pretty funny. The title is, "THEY NEVER LEARN" but that wasn't nearly … [Read more...] about Is Rahm Punking Right Wing Bloggers and Fox?
Colorado State Employee Could Face Problems Over Racist Email Showing Obama Shining Sarah Palin’s Shoes
And so 2010 begins with a story that could have been run in 2009: the AP has this story about a 73 year-old Colorado State employee who could face problems for sending out a blatantly racist email showing President Barack Obama shining former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's shoes. The AP story reports:"The original sender of the e-mail, who isn't a state employee, wrote 'It … [Read more...] about Colorado State Employee Could Face Problems Over Racist Email Showing Obama Shining Sarah Palin’s Shoes
Still Feeling Lucky: Google’s New Year’s Surprise
Last night I pointed to Google's fun little search easter egg countdown to the new year. It's been updated for New Years Day. Go to Google, leave the search box empty and click on the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button. You'll get a cute little animated Happy New Year fireworks. Mashable suggests: Google is increasingly drawing attention to its homepage through more and more custom … [Read more...] about Still Feeling Lucky: Google’s New Year’s Surprise