One interesting anti-racist tactic I just stumbled upon was encouraging Whites to develop "empathic approximation experiences." In simple terms, start thinking of things in their own life that might approximate the racism minorities feel, in order that they can better empathize with their plight (instead of viewing it as paranoid insanity, which seems like how many White people … [Read more...] about Message Control

We are the aliens. Diaspora Voice: Those undesirable immigrants By SAMUEL FREEDMAN She never wanted to come to America. She only did it to make money, enough money to bring over her five brothers and sisters. She waited 16 years before bothering to become a citizen, and took the step mostly to avoid being deported. She never learned more than a few words of English, not even … [Read more...] about Who Are the Aliens?

National Review's Jim Geraghty evaluates where the blogosphere has succeeded and failed in a piece on CBS's always thought-provoking Public Eye blog. Some key highlights:Back in the really fun days of blogging, summer 2004, a bunch of folks typing on the Internet had a bone to pick with a particular network news division over a quartet of memos that had inspired a wee bit of … [Read more...] about Where The Blogosphere Has Succeeded And Failed

When the news broke that it turned out President George W. Bush himself had secretly authorized leaking some classified information to the press, many Americans thought there was a contradiction. They could have SWORN they heard Bush say his administration would relentlessly hunt down and prosecute leakers. And perhaps the President was hunting for ALL leakers within his … [Read more...] about Bush’s Classified Leak Authorization Sledgehammers His Credibility

New York Sun columnist John Avlon looks at the lingering question: if conservative icon Barry Goldwater was alive would he recognize conservativism today and be considered a "real" Republican?It's a question that might have been considered sacrilegious even a decade ago. But as the Republican Party searches for its soul, post-Tom DeLay and in advance of the 2006 and 2008 … [Read more...] about Would Barry Goldwater Be Considered A “Real” Republican Today?

From columnist Ellen Goodman:I AM SURE that Jill Carroll and her family are too busy inhaling the sweet spring air of freedom to spend time sniffing out the pollution in the blogosphere. Anyone who spent three months imagining the grimmest fate for this young journalist in the hands of terrorists can't get too upset when a little Internet posse goes after her … [Read more...] about Ellen Goodman: Bloggers Owe Carroll An Apology

New York Times: At Least 71 Die as Bombers Hit Mosque in Baghdad 2:44 PM EDT By EDWARD WONG The mosque is the religious bastion of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the country's most powerful Shiite party.... … [Read more...] about Civil War? Nah…

Would she have been murdered by her captors? Christian Science Monitor via FaithStreams on the Carroll Family Reunion: Even grimmer topics evoked relief. Jill said her Muslim kidnappers assumed that all American journalists were Jewish. To persuade them that she was Christian, she recited the Lord's Prayer and shared Christian stories from the Bible. She thanked her mom for … [Read more...] about What If Jill Carroll Had Been Jewish?

Wonder why Bush is most likely going to lose even more credibility after this latest Plame revelation? Alan Stewart Carl has the reason why. … [Read more...] about Coverups, Not Crimes

Over at The Reaction, guest poster J. Kingston Pierce of Limbo follows the mendacity in and around the Bush Administration. His argument: "George W. Bush endorsed the leaking of classified intelligence information before he opposed it." Read the whole post here. … [Read more...] about Following the mendacity

The Washington Post reports this: "Scientists doing climate research for the federal government say the Bush administration has made it hard for them to speak forthrightly to the public about global warming. The result, the researchers say, is a danger that Americans are not getting the full story on how the climate is changing." It's important to report this, of course, but … [Read more...] about A “bamboozling ballet of dissimulation and denial” on global warming

In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday, AG Alberto Gonzales suggested (for the first time publicly) that the Administration believes there may be legal justification to eavesdrop on communications occurring solely within the United States (the program already revealed covers only calls in which one party is outside the US). As the NYT and WaPo report this … [Read more...] about Gonzales: Bush Can Eavesdrop on Domestic Calls

One of the key characteristics of recent polls is the slow loss of support of George Bush of some of his Republican base. Red State has this eloquent example of why some GOPers feel disgruntled:I have never been a believer in single issue voting. I believe that a responsible voter must weigh all of the positions of a given candidate and vote for the candidate who's positions … [Read more...] about Republican Backlash Over Immigration

Some define it in ways you may not expect. More here. … [Read more...] about Patriotism

Depending on what news source you hear or read, immigration reform is either progressing and there's compromise or there's not going to be a final bill. And given the intense emotions swirling around this bill it could well be that deadlock will be snatched from the jaws of compromise. The Christian Science Monitor reports:In a move that stunned official Washington, Senate … [Read more...] about Immigration Reform: Stalemate Broken Or Stalemate Just Beginning?

When you read this, TMV will be in scenic, beautiful downtown El Monte, CA. The only hitch: he's getting in very late and his hotel may have less than desireable internet connection capabilities. So between that and his full day tomorrow, he will post very little today. HOWEVER make sure to check back often because this site's always-independent co-bloggers should have a lot … [Read more...] about TMV Himself Will Do Light Blogging Today

Judas was Jesus’s most trusted advisor and only betrayed him at Jesus’s request? More here. … [Read more...] about The Gospel Of Judas Iscariot

Yet another example of how bad legal precedent legitimizes racism in our government (unless, of course, you have a spare $60,000 lying around). … [Read more...] about There Ought To Be A Law

Is it dead in America? Watching America has a fascinating article translated from the original Italian. Here's WA's lead-in description:What ever happened to the American dream, when young people yearned to mimic the independent, enterprising image of the cowboy on the prairie, and struck out on their own, free of the constraints of parental guidance? According to this op-ed … [Read more...] about Is America’s Independent ‘John Wayne Culture’ Dead?

Some people are speculating about newly-announced CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric's possible biases. But, trust us, any biases she has can't be any more blatant than what you see on THIS VIDEO. … [Read more...] about When Anchormen Play Political Defense