Matt Yglesius informs us all of the difference between bloggers and journalists in this fine post: He Said / She Said I went down to Norfolk to be on a panel discussion with The Washington Post‘s Mike Allen, talking about blogs to interested Virginia Press Association members. Mike had something to say on the topic of "he said, she said" … Read More
America is #1?
I hate to burst the bubble of America’s rah-rah-nothing-wrong-here types, but this country needs improvement. From the Minneapolis-St. Paul News come this list of where America really ranks: The United States is 49th in the world in literacy (the New York Times, Dec. 12, 2004). The United States ranked 28th out of 40 countries in mathematical literacy (NYT, Dec. 12, … Read More
Gods and Democrats
Reprinted from The American Street (PZ Myers): Amy Sullivan has a pet peeve: “the seemingly reckless way in which terms like ‘values’ and ‘religion’ and ‘morals’ are being tossed about in the press.” She’s an outspoken liberal Christian, and I’m an outspoken liberal atheist, and I have to say that I agree completely. I also somewhat agree with this comment, … Read More
Vermont Resolution
Resolution of [the Town of ] Concerning the Vermont National Guard and the War in Iraq Whereas, in October 2002 the United States Congress adopted a Joint Resolution to Authorize the use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq, relying on statements that were untrue, when in fact the United States: * was … Read More
Top Twenty Worst Americans
Several blogs were surveyed and asked to list, in order, the twenty worst figures in American history. Here are the results for right-winger bloggers, as tallied here: Honorable Mentions: Ted Bundy (5), Jane Fonda (5), John Wayne Gacy (5), John Walker Lindh (5), Joe McCarthy (5), Michael Moore (5), Boss Tweed (5) 17) Franklin Delano Roosevelt (6)17) John Walker (6)17) … Read More
The Ten Commandments Case
It’s been a long while since I got legal on yo’ ass, but I’m a lawyer and a Constitutional afficando, so it is high time I write something of substance on constitutional law. For a background on the Ten Commandments case being argued in the Supreme Court, read here. The case (at least the "Kentucky" part of it) involves the … Read More
Saving Children’s Delicate Ears From Private Ryan
So, I just read the FCC Opinion about why use of the F-word (and "shit" and other words) in ABC’s uncensored broadcast of "Saving Private Ryan" was not obscene. It is because when our boys stormed the beaches at Normandy, and a guy’s arm got blown off, he didn’t say, "Gosh darnnit! That hurts like the dickens!" No. He said, … Read More
If It Walks Like a Lame Duck…
From the Washington Post: The Senate’s top Republican [Bill Frist] said yesterday that President Bush’s bid to restructure Social Security may have to wait until next year and might not involve the individual accounts the White House has been pushing hard. …."In terms of whether it will be a week, a month, six months or a year, as to when … Read More
Ned Flanders Rainy Day Fun
"It may seem a tad odd making Jesus out of a toilet paper roll, but I think the end result is quite nice," says this Christian site. Yes, it is quite nice. Still, it still is frightfully odd. But NOT as odd as this recipe from the same Christian website, which I reprint in full: This is really easy. No … Read More
United States Finally Catches Up (A Little) to the Rest of the World
After today’s Supreme Court decision, the following countries are now the only ones in the world that execute minors: United StatesCongoIranChinaPakistan Before today’s ruling the following states allowed minors to be executed: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Texas and Virginia. (Number of Red States – … Read More
Bush’s Social Security Reform Is Dying
And badly. It seems the more he talks about "fixing" Social Security, the less convincing he is. Some leader. Some mandate. And who is telling us that Bush is actually losing support on Social Security, the more he talks about it? Our friends at Gallup: Only one in three Americans approve of President Bush’s handling of Social Security, his lowest … Read More
Like Father, Like Son
The New York Times tell us that the apple doesn’t far from the tree. I knew that. I guess the odd thing is that the tree is criticizing the apple: U.S. Cites Array of Rights Abuses by the Iraqi Government in 2004 By BRIAN KNOWLTONInternational Herald Tribune Published: March 1, 2005 ASHINGTON, Feb. 28 – The State Department on Monday … Read More
Hot Journalism Chicks
You know Liz Marlantes, who is only 30 and (formerly) a great writer for the Christian Science Monitor and who is really cute as well as smart and not only because she looks like Claire Yasewicz who I went to high school with, but because she really is pretty and she went to Harvard, too? Well, ABC picked her up. … Read More
Should Democrats Embrace Intolerance?
Hell, no, says Digby. He quotes from an interview of David "Mudcat" Saunders which says: Saunders, who has worked on the campaigns of Mark Warner, John Edwards, and Bob Graham, thinks that if Democrats ease up on the culture stuff they can win in the South: "We’ve got an affection for big guns and fast cars. It’s a macho thing. … Read More
On Clicking The Link
Kevin Drum does gives a beautiful example of how the rightwing blogosphere likes to be, uh, less than truthful in their reporting. Oh, they have links to back up what they say . . . except for the fact that . . . . well, I’ll let Kevin Drum explain: Here is why you should always click the link. Today, … Read More