Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune … [Read more...] about Murdoch Clutches
Chutzpah Alert!
Yesterday, Senator Ted Stevens' (R) house was raided by the FBI and IRS. Today, Stevens has threatened to place a hold on the House-passed Ethics Reform bill. It's appalling, and yet, a part of me can't help but stand back and admire. … [Read more...] about Chutzpah Alert!
House Passes Ledbetter Pay Equity Act
The first step in undoing one of the more appalling decisions of the Roberts Court. Unfortunately, between uncertain Senate prospects and Bush's veto threat, it may also be the final step. … [Read more...] about House Passes Ledbetter Pay Equity Act
The Media: How Now Dow Jones?
If I had picked up my morning newspaper a few years ago and read that Rupert Murdoch had bought Dow Jones & Company, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, I would have sneezed coffee through my nose and then collapsed to the floor with heart spasms. But times have changed, and while it still is a bit off putting that a conservative media mogul who has built his empire on … [Read more...] about The Media: How Now Dow Jones?
Ingmar Bergman: The Poet Who Understood Dreams
I saw 'Persona' with my aunt Terez who was wearing a hat with practically an entire pheasant sewn onto it. The Notre Dame students behind us kept saying, 'I don’t get it, this is nuts, what’s this movie about?' Terez who had just learned to speak some English kept saying 'Shhhh, eets abowt drrreems. Go to sleep and you'll understand it.' What Bergman himself, the grand … [Read more...] about Ingmar Bergman: The Poet Who Understood Dreams
Iraqi Parliament Takes Vacation
And not a moment too soon!BAGHDAD - Iraq's parliament on Monday shrugged off U.S. criticism and adjourned for a month, as key lawmakers declared there was no point waiting any longer for the prime minister to deliver Washington-demanded benchmark legislation for their vote. Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani closed the final three-hour session without a quorum present and … [Read more...] about Iraqi Parliament Takes Vacation
Northern Ireland: End of an Error
The British army's longest continuous military operation comes to an end at midnight tonight when responsibility for security in Northern Ireland passes to the police. Operation Banner lasted 38 years and involved 300,000 personnel, of which 763 were killed by paramilitaries. The last soldier to die was Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, who was shot at a vehicle checkpoint … [Read more...] about Northern Ireland: End of an Error
Center of Attention
A round up of recent posts by a few centrist, moderate, and independent bloggers. First Gen. Petraeus; now NYT journalist John Burns has agreed to an interview with Hugh Hewitt. McQ wonders if "the left" will also accuse Burns of being a mouth piece for BushCo. Dave Schuler questions Muslim accommodations and requests for accommodations that are not equally "accorded to … [Read more...] about Center of Attention
America: Your Cold Shower Is Ready
A New York Times op-ed piece this week by Michael E. O’Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack stating that the U.S. is finally making progress militarily in Iraq has gotten enormous coverage – and deservedly so. I offer two overarching and interrelated observations pertaining to it: First, the response to the piece by the Brookings Institution braniacs puts the lie to the … [Read more...] about America: Your Cold Shower Is Ready
McCain needs a kiss
Brian Fairrington, Cagle Cartoons … [Read more...] about McCain needs a kiss
Tenure Battles
Conservatives are once again rumbling about abolishing it, for no discernible reason other than the sub-rational jihad they like to wage against the academy every once in awhile. I assume that this, too, will pass, and once again we'll remember that tenure is an integral part of why American universities stock a large percentage of the most insightful, leading-edge, productive, … [Read more...] about Tenure Battles
Are Democrats More Partisan Than Republicans?
Sorry for the Fox News Channel-esque headline, but I wanted to bring attention to some interesting data I came across. I'm not aware of any polls indicating whether the average Democratic voter is any more or less partisan than the average Republican voter. However, recent data collected by the Washington Post would seem to suggest that among members of the U.S. House of … [Read more...] about Are Democrats More Partisan Than Republicans?
Most People Don’t “Just Have” Seizures for No Reason
MSNBC: WASHINGTON - Chief Justice John Roberts suffered a seizure at his summer home in Maine on Monday, causing a fall that resulted in minor scrapes, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said. He was to remain in a hospital in Maine overnight. Roberts, 52, was taken by ambulance to the Penobscot Bay Medical Center, where he underwent a “thorough neurological … [Read more...] about Most People Don’t “Just Have” Seizures for No Reason
Elizabeth Edwards’s Breasts: The Spirit of the Woman
I have been thinking about Elizabeth Edwards' breasts, about her bold life force, about her truly living each day. As I think about her holding her life above the cancer, I think about other heroic women I've known who have also, and do also live strong and womanly... with breast cancer. This is a photograph of my friend, Deena Metzger: she is a healer who lives in … [Read more...] about Elizabeth Edwards’s Breasts: The Spirit of the Woman
Mr History Says
Yaakov Kirschen, The Jerusalem Post, Dry Bones … [Read more...] about Mr History Says
Time … Is It on Our Side?
A NYT op-ed piece today, by the Brookings Institution's Michael E. O’Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack, puts the questions about Iraq and time front and center. Currently, neither O'Hanlon nor Pollack are apologists for this conflict, just the opposite in fact: Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in … [Read more...] about Time … Is It on Our Side?
Feminism in the Middle East?
The seeds of a women's rights movement have been planted in the Islamic world. However, it is not secular or liberal groups who have finally succeeded in pushing a more progressive vision of Islam. Instead, it is women in groups like Hezbollah and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood who are starting to question their role in society. … [Read more...] about Feminism in the Middle East?
When Iraq Stands Up
Mike Wolverton, Cagle Cartoons … [Read more...] about When Iraq Stands Up
George Bush on the Couch: The Psychology of Chauvinism
The best diagnostic clues may come from the Freedom of Information Act. I have been reading de-classified documents from the CIA about Iraq this week. The docs reach back to before the time Saddam murdered his way into power... ...so far back in fact that Saddam's name is spelled Hussyn, and so far back that the writer of some of the documents called him Saddam Tikriti, … [Read more...] about George Bush on the Couch: The Psychology of Chauvinism