Archive for May, 2006

Friday, May 26th, 2006

Who Said It?

Bet you can’t guess:
Mr. Chairman, I am here to confess my reading incomprehension. I have listened to many of my conservative friends talk about the wonders of the free market, of the importance of letting the consumers make their best choices, of keeping government out of economic activity, of the virtues of free trade, but […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Foreign Affairs by Mark

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Friday, May 26th, 2006

George Galloway: Human Or Snake?

I ask because you can’t crawl any lower on your belly than this:

The Respect MP George Galloway has said it would be morally justified for a suicide bomber to murder Tony Blair. In an interview with GQ magazine, the reporter asked him: “Would the assassination of, say, Tony Blair by a suicide bomber […]

11 Comments » - Posted in Iraq, Foreign Affairs, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots® by Mark

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Thursday, May 25th, 2006

Funny How Ethanol…

…zooms up to the top of our national priorities every four years or so.  Gee, I wonder why?…

2 Comments » - Posted in Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Thursday, May 25th, 2006

If Truth To Power Means Anything…

…it means this.  A lesson to those who use it for New School commencement speakers and Hollywood actors…

3 Comments » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT, Foreign Affairs, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots® by Mark

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Thursday, May 25th, 2006

Jane Smiley: Master Of Understatement

Commenting on l’affaire commencement:
…[M]y real beef against John McCain is the same as my beef against all supporters of the Iraq War and the current administration. He has collaborated (enthusiastically) in decimating the treasury, breaking the army, wrecking the bureaucracy, silencing the media, gelding the opposition party, handing the public lands over to private […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, John McCain, Republican Candidates by Mark

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Thursday, May 25th, 2006

Abbas Goes All In

This is certainly not a timid gesture:
In a bold political gamble, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority declared today that he wants a national referendum on a Palestinian state that would exist alongside Israel if Hamas and other factions do not accept such a coexistence plan within 10 days. 
The surprise challenge set out by […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT, Foreign Affairs by Mark

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Thursday, May 25th, 2006

Broder: The Elephant In My Column

David Broder manages to push out the shelf life of the NY Times‘ ‘expose’ on the Clinton’s marriage by covering its lack of impact at a Clinton appearance.  Confused? First, here’s Broder on the column and the appearance:
The two sides of Hillary Rodham Clinton — the opposites that make her potential presidential candidacy such a […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Thursday, May 25th, 2006

5.3% GDP Growth And The Ruling Party In Trouble?

Here’s the report:
The U.S. economy shot forward at an upwardly revised 5.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the fastest growth in 2-1/2 years, as companies built up inventories and exports strengthened, a Commerce Department report on Thursday showed.
The first-quarter advance in gross domestic product was more than triple the 1.7 percent annual […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Election 2006, Domestic Affairs by Mark

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Thursday, May 25th, 2006

The Lowest Conceivable Standard…

…belongs to Bob Kerrey, president of the New School:
I now speak in defense of the behavior of my students – the minority who protested and the majority who did not. On the surface, some of the tactics of the protest were rude, noisy, and disrespectful. Less obvious, however, was the self-restraint that prevented the protestors […]

10 Comments » - Posted in Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, John McCain, Republican Candidates by Mark

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Thursday, May 25th, 2006

A Different View Of The Administration

In the midst of an essay, worth reading in its entirety, on the fading political impact of 9/11, John McIntrye makes the following astute observation:
In the months following 9/11, with an economy already in the middle of a deflationary spiral brought on by the collapse of the NASDAQ 5000 bubble, if you would have told […]

21 Comments » - Posted in POTUS by Mark

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Thursday, May 25th, 2006

Is He Or Isn’t He? The Hastert Denial

Last night, I linked to an ABC News story that claimed that Dennis Hastert was under investigation in the bribery probe involving Jack Abramoff.  Hastert is now demanding a full retraction:
House Speaker Dennis Hastert is demanding a “full retraction” of an ABC News report that he is being investigated in connection with the Jack Abramoff […]

No Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Elephants by Mark

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Wednesday, May 24th, 2006

National Post Apologizes For ‘Jew Labeling’ Story

The Canadian paper that alarmed so many, myself included, with its story of distinguishing clothing for Jews in Iran, has completely backed away now:
The National Post ran the piece on its front page Friday along with a large photo from 1944 that showed a Hungarian couple wearing the yellow stars that the Nazis forced Jews […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT, Foreign Affairs by Mark

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Wednesday, May 24th, 2006

Hastert A Target In Bribery Probe?

That’s what ABC’s Brian Ross says:
Federal officials say the Congressional bribery investigation now includes Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, based on information from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government.
Part of the investigation involves a letter Hastert wrote three years ago, urging the Secretary of the Interior to block a casino on […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Elephants by Mark

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Wednesday, May 24th, 2006

The Death Of A Legend: Remembrance

Not since the passing of Stevie Ray has Austin, collectively, felt a loss as keenly as that of Clifford Antone.  I posted my thoughts yesterday on the sad news, and I just wanted to bring you some updates: viewing of the body will be tomorrow and Friday at Cook Walden on Lamar, and Antone’s the […]

No Comments » - Posted in In Praise Of, Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

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Wednesday, May 24th, 2006

An Inconvenient Review

Uh-oh…you know you’re in trouble when a movie review, for cryin’ out loud, starts like this:
“An Inconvenient Truth,” Davis Guggenheim’s new documentary about the dangers of climate change, is a film that should never have been made. It is, after all, the job of political leaders and policymakers to protect against possible future calamities, to […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Al Gore, Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Wednesday, May 24th, 2006

Meese On Immigration

Former Attorney General Edwin Meese has been active lately on the immigration front: this morning brought an op-ed by Meese in the New York Times, and he made himself available for a conference call this morning organized by Tim Chapman, the Director of the Center for Media and Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation and […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Election 2006, Domestic Affairs, Foreign Affairs by Mark

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Wednesday, May 24th, 2006

Howie Kurtz Tempts The Swarm

Howard Kurtz is due for a drubbing; one thing liberal blogs can’t stand is when the ‘MSM’ questions their collective wisdom, and Kurtz comes down on the opposite side on the Times‘ front-page ‘expose’ of Hillary and Bill:
Of course the Clintons’ marriage is news–and the story makes clear that they’ve both thought about how to […]

23 Comments » - Posted in NY Times/Media Watch, Hillary Clinton, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Wednesday, May 24th, 2006

Congress To Prez: Invade MY Privacy? Never

You don’t have to be a Glenn Greenwald to see the irony in a GOP-led Congress that doesn’t become concerned about the Bush Administration’s aggressive approach to privacy issues until it impacts one of their own:
After years of quietly acceding to the Bush administration’s assertions of executive power, the Republican-led Congress hit a limit this […]

8 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, POTUS, Elephants, NY Times/Media Watch by Mark

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Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006

The Death Of A Legend

In one of those weird coincidences of life that can sometimes fool you into thinking you’re clairvoyant, I’ve been thinking of posting a remembrance of Antone’s, Austin’s Home Of The Blues, for some days now, and today comes the sad news that Clifford Antone, the man behind the club, has died at the age of […]

10 Comments » - Posted in Navel-Gazing, In Praise Of by Mark

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Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006

Into The Hornets’ Nest

Wow, that NY Times piece on the Clintons’ marriage really stirred up the lefty side of the blogosphere.   Open Thread - excuse me, Atrios - points to the Giuliani marital escapades and wonders why they aren’t front page news (as if they won’t be, should he run). Digby (who, like Open - er Atrios - […]

16 Comments » - Posted in NY Times/Media Watch, Jeb Bush, Rudy Giuliani, Hillary Clinton, Republican Candidates, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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