tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58735002011-04-21T15:26:37.801-04:00Politics, media criticism, and Red Sox fandomGPnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1081708728017386172004-04-11T14:38:00.000-04:002004-04-11T14:42:40.403-04:00

Sully has this to say about Condi's testimony: What is there to say? We have a frigging war on and the major networks all run this? I have nothing to add. Except to say: we have a war on. We used to win them before we engaged in elaborate blame-games as to who was asleep at the wheel when they broke out. Ok, first of all, what should the major networks have been running? Would Sully really

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1080615029974860182004-03-29T21:50:00.000-05:002004-03-29T21:54:42.106-05:00

Ok, so taking on Atrios isn't exactly a sure ticket to bloggy fame and fortune, but I have to disagree with him (and many others with whom I usually agree) on the SF Chronicle's decision to bar a gay couple from covering the gay marriage issue. Now, first off, I have to agree with Atrios when he says: I would be sympathetic to those who thought it was right for Phil Bronstein of the SF Chronicle

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1080534943675691892004-03-28T23:35:00.000-05:002004-03-28T23:40:17.123-05:00

I haven't posted much on the Red Sox recently (honestly, until recently it was just too painful), but, well, it's less than two weeks until opening day. That, and I can't help but respond to Bill Littlefield's article in today's Boston Globe Magazine. His thesis? Sox fans wouldn't know what to do with themselves if the Sox ever actually won the World Series. He writes: But the point is that the

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1080534111251933662004-03-28T23:21:00.000-05:002004-03-28T23:25:25.013-05:00

Atrios posts the following transcript from Brit Hume regarding the president's "joke": My own view of this is, the president's there poking fun at himself over what goes down, I think, as one of his failures. And I thought it was a good-natured performance, and it made him look good only in the sense that it showed he could poke fun at himself. But he certainly doesn't disguise the record on

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1080516030095854122004-03-28T18:20:00.000-05:002004-03-28T23:44:39.263-05:00

Just a quick question for any Bushies out there: what more does Richard Clarke have to do to prove he's operating in good faith? First, far from "blaming everybody in the administration but himself" as some have claimed, he tells the 9/11 commission and the victims' families, in public, on television, that "I failed you." Then, when the Republicans say they want to compare his classified

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1079504611791192412004-03-17T01:23:00.000-05:002004-03-17T01:26:49.200-05:00

I'm really not sure why this hasn't gotten more attention. The Bush Administration--specifically the Department of Health and Human Services--produced what are essentially ads for the new Medicare law, and then sent them to television stations as news spots. They have actors hired to be "reporters" and everything. How this doesn't fall under campaign finance laws, or anti-propaganda laws, or

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1079503803546629062004-03-17T01:10:00.000-05:002004-03-17T01:13:21.123-05:00

The New Yorker recently ran an article (no link--it was a couple issues ago) about how New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is highly unpopular even though he's doing a good job. I've disagreed with a fair number of Bloomberg's policies, but having lived in New York under both Bloomberg and Giuliani (in his pre-sainthood days), I find it hard to bear a grudge against mayor Mike (plus, he's a Red Sox fan

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1079328696627867412004-03-15T00:31:00.000-05:002004-03-16T20:11:28.920-05:00

Every conservative out there is crowing about how the socialists' victory in yesterday's Spanish elections represents a "win for bin Laden." Can we please end this absurdity right now? Let's assume for a second that Aznar lost, and the socialists won, exclusively because of Aznar's support for the Iraq war, and not because he tried to portray last week's terrorist attacks as the work of ETA

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1078720938671197322004-03-07T23:42:00.000-05:002004-03-07T23:46:22.576-05:00

Via CalPundit, the Chicago Tribune ran an opinion piece Sunday about how liberal John Kerry really is (and also how conservative Bush is). The answer: not very liberal at all. I'll let you read the article for the methodology, but this just confirms what anyone who's been watching Kerry for more than the past year already knows: he's a centrist. Yes, he's left of center on a few issues, but he's

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1078719580756030292004-03-07T23:19:00.000-05:002004-03-07T23:22:45.780-05:00

I'm late on this, but Andrew Sullivan posted recently on the concept of "micro-aggression," which is apparently sweeping across college campuses. It must have done so pretty recently, since I graduated in May and had never heard the term before, but that's besides the point. Anyway, micro-aggression is apparently minor-un-PC-ism, which over time seriously offends people. He says he was accused of

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1078718829791993582004-03-07T23:07:00.000-05:002004-03-07T23:10:14.983-05:00

Ok, so I'm not suggesting that we're planning to invade Venezuela, but isn't it just a tad bit concerning that countries now have to warn us explicitly not to?

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1078186674444077262004-03-01T19:17:00.000-05:002004-03-01T19:20:51.013-05:00

Columbia University economist (and Bono buddy) Jeffrey Sachs has an interesting take on the Haiti situation: Mr Aristide won the presidential election later that year, in a contest the US media now reports was "boycotted by the opposition" and hence, not legitimate. This is a cruel joke to those who know Haiti, where Mr Aristide was swept in with an overwhelming mandate and the opposition, such

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1078186208605665322004-03-01T19:10:00.000-05:002004-03-01T19:13:05.263-05:00

I tend to sit out the Times-bashing sessions over at Atrios and elsewhere, not because I don't think the Times can be criticized, but because I think, by and large, its coverage is fair, and its reputation as the country's top newspaper is deserved. Sometimes, though, the Times makes it difficult to be a supporter. Like when they put trash like this on their website. They had one of their

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077983407849225232004-02-28T10:50:00.000-05:002004-02-28T10:53:01.513-05:00

The Times has a story today debunking (largely) the right's attacks on Kerry's anti-Vietnam testimony: Mr. Kerry concluded his 1971 testimony by demanding, "Where are the leaders of our country?" and his spokeswoman, Ms. Cutter, said: "Clearly, in his testimony, he defended these soldiers and their actions as the fault of the war, not the warriors." Moreover: But when Mr. Kerry was involved,

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077982603460573942004-02-28T10:36:00.000-05:002004-02-28T10:39:36.653-05:00

Via Atrios we learn that Bush told Rep. Musgrave that he'd support her amendment back in November. This isn't surprising, of course. But it does prove once again that Bush isn't just reacting to recent events in San Francisco and elsewhere, and that he really, really wanted to avoid an amendment but those crazy gays just wouldn't let him. (It is worth noting that he supposedly told Musgrave this

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077953406260208852004-02-28T02:30:00.000-05:002004-02-28T02:32:59.060-05:00

The Times has joined several other papers in codifying its policy on anonymous sources. The basic policy looks pretty good. A few excerpts: The use of unidentified sources is reserved for situations in which the newspaper could not otherwise print information it considers reliable and newsworthy. When we use such sources, we accept an obligation not only to convince a reader of their reliability

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077951131438161632004-02-28T01:52:00.000-05:002004-02-28T01:55:30.843-05:00

I realize I've been reading and linking to a couple blogs recently that aren't on my blogroll, so I've added them. Welcome to: Crooked Timber and Calpundit. (and yes, I recognize that both these blogs get far, far more traffic than I do and won't care in the least that I've linked to them)

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077949266180291922004-02-28T01:21:00.000-05:002004-02-28T01:23:58.996-05:00

Over at Crooked Timber they're writing a horror movie about the Constitution as a literal living document. An excerpt: Night. CONSTITUTION escapes from display case in Library of Congress. Seen lurking in alleyway off of Mass Ave. Shadows. Attacks and eats Cato Institute INTERN. Day. The NATIONAL GUARD attempt to capture the Constitution on the Mall. Suddenly, ARTICLE III is invoked in a novel

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077948244795506792004-02-28T01:04:00.000-05:002004-02-28T01:06:57.763-05:00

John Edwards is insisting that he doesn't have to win a single state Tuesday in order to remain viable. No one is taking him seriously on that, so I won't bother rebutting it. But it's not just that Edwards has to win a state or two. He has to win lots of states, and he has to win them convincingly. Taking a closer look: Kerry currently has 754 delegates to Edwards' 220 (Dean has 175; list here).

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077945401248093712004-02-28T00:16:00.000-05:002004-02-28T00:19:34.046-05:00

TNR's Ryan Lizza asks the question today: Why is Edwards struggling now that he's gotten his much-desired two-man race? The answer Lizza gives is that Edwards' above-the-fray attitude doesn't work so well when there's no fray to be above. And Kerry has had months of practice fighting off attacks (mostly from Howard Dean), while Edwards is only now learning how to fight. It's a good thesis, and

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077944490321611452004-02-28T00:01:00.000-05:002004-02-28T00:04:23.263-05:00

Andrew Sullivan has been very good recently on the subject of The Passion. Here he is today: I repeat that there is something deeply disturbed about this film. Its extreme and un-Biblical fascination with human torture reflects, to my mind, not devotion to the message of the Cross but a kind of psycho-sexual obsession with extreme violence that Gibson has indulged in many of his other movies and

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077944058039330872004-02-27T23:54:00.000-05:002004-02-27T23:57:11.030-05:00

Working my way through the Times magazine here, there a long story on anti-semitism in France. It's an important subject, especially given all the discussion recently of France's ban on head scarves in schools. I still don't think the ban is a good idea, but the article provides some important context. The Bush administration has come out against the head scarf ban, but they have yet to deal with

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077941946141921582004-02-27T23:19:00.000-05:002004-02-27T23:22:52.170-05:00

From ESPN.com: Brown's arsenal includes a 95-mph fastball, a 90-plus splitter and slider. But his real gift is a sinking, two-seam fastball, which literally devoured right-handed hitters last year with the Dodgers It "literally devoured right-handed hitters" did it? As in, it opened up its mouth and ate them? That's what it did? That's a pretty impressive fastball. Note to writers everywhere: "

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077921162674686092004-02-27T17:32:00.000-05:002004-02-27T17:35:34.936-05:00

Writing in the NYTimes magazine, James Traub argues against both affirmative action and legacy preferences, though he notes at the end that he doesn't expect either one will go away any time soon. Far too much has been written about affirmative action for me to add much new to the debate (disclaimer: this doesn't mean I won't write about it in the future), so suffice it to say that I support it

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077920484473630872004-02-27T17:21:00.000-05:002004-02-27T17:24:16.843-05:00

Anyone who thinks this Krugman column advocating free trade, but also fair trade, is shrill simply has no interest in informed debate. Free trade, in general, is good, but it does hurt people. We should follow policies that encourage trade, but that minimize the damage. Both Kerry and Edwards seem to be following that basic line of reasoning, which is encouraging.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077841312090097392004-02-26T19:21:00.000-05:002004-02-26T19:24:43.186-05:00

Andrew Sullivan has a very scary post up (and not scary for the usual reasons) in which he quotes from an e-mail from a Republican lawyer who claims the FMA is really a trojan horse effort to undermine the idea (opposed by Scalia and others) of a Constitutional right to privacy: By including a provision regulating the most intimate of relationships into the Constitution, the traditional analysis

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077839979170475222004-02-26T18:59:00.000-05:002004-02-26T19:02:30.466-05:00

A few days ago, Campaign Desk busted the Times for reporting that John Edwards had admitted that his proposed changes to NAFTA "would not significantly cut the flow of jobs abroad." (article here) Turns out, Edwards didn't say that. He said his plan wouldn't stop the flow, but "would slow it." Would it slow it significantly? Insignificantly? He didn't say. Well, the folks at NPR obviously read

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077839492666028722004-02-26T18:51:00.000-05:002004-02-26T18:54:24.030-05:00

Clare Short's allegations that British intelligence agents bugged Kofi Annan's offices have been all over the BBC (and elsewhere, of course) today. To be honest, I can't get excited about it. Sure, it's probably illegal, but it's also pretty much standard practice as far as I can tell. Every UN employee I've ever heard asked about this kind of thing has said basically "we all know our phones our

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077757940124469152004-02-25T20:12:00.000-05:002004-02-25T20:15:09.983-05:00

I guess those conservatives were right after all.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077756760148906752004-02-25T19:52:00.000-05:002004-02-25T19:55:30.186-05:00

CJR's (always excellent) Campaign Desk today shoots down the rumor that Wes Clark was the source of the (untrue) rumors about Kerry that circulated a couple weeks back. I always had my doubts, given that Clark endorsed Kerry on the same day the rumor hit Drudge. It's much more believable that Chris Lehane spread the rumor, but I'll leave that for another day. What's remarkable here is that CJR

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077663389871368572004-02-24T17:56:00.000-05:002004-02-24T17:59:17.593-05:00

Via Atrios, a fabulous letter from Rep. John Dingell to Gregory Mankiw: I am sure the 163,000 factory workers who have lost their jobs in Michigan will find it heartening to know that a world of opportunity awaits them in high growth manufacturing careers like spatula operator, napkin restocking, and lunch tray removal. It gets better. (light blogging today due to a long day at work, but I

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077598980800742132004-02-24T00:03:00.000-05:002004-02-24T00:05:48.233-05:00

From the Times: But [Bush's] message that his party was taking the high road was undercut by a member of his cabinet, Rod Paige, the education secretary. In remarks to the nation's governors at the White House earlier in the day, Mr. Paige called the National Education Association, a longtime ally of the Democrats, a "terrorist organization" for resisting provisions of the education bill Mr.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077595560111490302004-02-23T23:06:00.000-05:002004-02-23T23:08:47.466-05:00

Via Campaign Desk, a wonderful response to the (obviously ridiculous) question of why the media reported on rumors of Bush's being AWOL but not on rumors of Kerry's infidelity. They quote the Wall Street Journal's John Harwood telling Howard Kurtz the following: "[W]hat could the press look into?" Harwood asked. "There's nothing -- nothing to look into. Nobody has alleged anything." Of course,

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077512956764749772004-02-23T00:09:00.000-05:002004-02-23T00:12:02.763-05:00

Gosh, I sure am glad all those utopian visions of what would happen after we liberated Iraq are coming true.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077511552924917642004-02-22T23:45:00.000-05:002004-02-22T23:48:38.543-05:00

An interesting debate going on over at Atrios (and on his comments) over whether Bush and Co's recent missteps are a sign they're not as good as everyone thought they were (politically, of course), or whether they're just gearing up for the real fight. It's fun to speculate, but I stand by the position I've held for a while that this election will be determined based on two factors, neither of

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077510273666810692004-02-22T23:24:00.000-05:002004-02-22T23:27:19.466-05:00

Ok, one more Nader post, and then I really am ignoring him. Matt Yglesias quotes this Nation editorial calling on Nader not to run: The context for an independent presidential bid is completely altered from 2000, when there was a real base for a protest candidate. The overwhelming mass of voters with progressive values--who are essential to all efforts to build a force that can change the

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077509569493213142004-02-22T23:12:00.000-05:002004-02-22T23:15:35.403-05:00

So we all know that the Bush administration is determined to declare Iraqi sovereignty on June 30, regardless of the state of the country. What we're now learning is that--surprise surprise!--when we say "sovereignty" we don't really mean "independence" or "self-rule." It doesn't say it in so many words, butthis Times story is essentially about how the Americans are angry that the Iraqi governing

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077508821842498162004-02-22T23:00:00.000-05:002004-02-22T23:03:07.873-05:00

One of Atrios' commenters linked to Gender Genie, which purports to be able to tell you, based on your writing style, whether you are a man or a woman. I plugged in a couple of my longer blog posts and indeed, I am a man. Procrastinate away!

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077489573845424922004-02-22T17:39:00.000-05:002004-02-22T17:42:19.186-05:00

Good lord. Actually, the difficult thing here is that I agree with Arnold on this one. I see no reason immigrants shouldn't be able to run for president. Well, actually, Arnold just gave me one reason.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077480654097241992004-02-22T15:10:00.000-05:002004-02-22T15:13:39.530-05:00

CalPundit suggests we should all just ignore Nader's candidacy, and I think he's right. For my part, this will be a Nader-free zone (unless, of course, it isn't--I make no warantees).

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077478503034402452004-02-22T14:35:00.000-05:002004-02-22T14:37:48.110-05:00

The Times has a story today on people who voted for Bush in 2000 who are now planning on voting for the Democrat in November. Anyone who's been paying attention for the past six months or so knows this has been going on for a while. But what's significant, in my mind, is that the phenomenon has now crossed into the mainstream media. This could mark the beginning of the end of the "popular

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077477594416722792004-02-22T14:19:00.000-05:002004-02-22T14:22:39.686-05:00

As the unrest continues in Haiti, this is as good a time as any to reflect on what this can teach us about U.S. foreign policy. I'm not going to get into the ins and outs of whether it was a good idea to (re)install Aristide in 1994, but it's pretty clear now that things didn't work out the way they were meant to. Could we have known that at the time? Not necessarily. But that's the thing with

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077476792144993632004-02-22T14:06:00.000-05:002004-02-22T14:09:17.576-05:00

Atrios argues that this Boston Globe poll is actually good news. I think that's a stretch, because whatever else the poll shows, it does indicate that support for gay marriage has eroded since November. But Atrios is right in saying we shouldn't get too concerned about this. When the SJC handed down its ruling in November, most people hadn't thought much about the issue, so opinion was

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077475949847614862004-02-22T13:52:00.000-05:002004-02-22T13:55:14.653-05:00

Many thanks to Atrios for pointing out that Haloscan now provides a trackback feature. I've set it up here, despite the fact that it's highly unlikely anyone will bother to track back here (especially given the sporadic posting of late).

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077473955806952742004-02-22T13:19:00.000-05:002004-02-22T13:33:50.750-05:00

Today's Times has an interesting story on the different economic pictures painted by the two major employment indicators: the payroll survey (based on statistics provided by employers) and the household survey (based on a sample of the employees, or non-employees, themselves). The payroll survey is the one that shows that Bush has lost some two million jobs since 2001, while the household survey

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1077473502611235542004-02-22T13:11:00.000-05:002004-02-22T13:14:27.936-05:00

Is running. No surprise there. He has an open letter on his website explaining why liberals should vote for him, and it includes all the usual arguments: neither major party is addressing this country's real problems, we shouldn't limit ourselves to two options, etc., etc. He also has an argument as to why he shouldn't be blamed for Gore's loss four years ago. Here's the thing: I agree with him.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1076212707549461452004-02-07T22:58:00.000-05:002004-02-07T23:03:19.513-05:00

I don't think anyone should make too big a deal of Kerry's wins tonight, given that a) the other candidates virtually skipped both states, and b) tonight's results won't get much press coverage, coming over a weekend as they do. But they are significant for one reason: Washington and Michigan, especially Washington, were states dominated by Dean in the early going. Yes, the Dean campaign will try

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1076138776594530542004-02-07T02:26:00.000-05:002004-02-07T02:28:40.390-05:00

So you know how all those homosexuals "choose" to be gay? Apparently many animals do it too.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1076132183116465392004-02-07T00:36:00.000-05:002004-02-07T00:38:46.826-05:00

Orcinus has the goods on intelligence commission co-chair Laurence Silberman, a radically parisan former appeals court judge, so I won't go into that here. But you have to give Rove credit for the brilliant way they released information on the commission's membership. First they leaked McCain, a free-thinking, independent-minded Republican who's one of the few politicians in the country who's

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1076044132628984492004-02-06T00:08:00.000-05:002004-02-06T00:19:23.793-05:00

Atrios argues, as he and others have in the past, that the Democrats are going to be regarded as the party of queers no matter what they do, so they might as well at least come out and earn the title. I've always generally agreed with this position. I think you could make the argument that being for civil unions, but not marriage, would deflect some criticism because many people in this country

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1076040554749285012004-02-05T23:09:00.000-05:002004-02-05T23:12:32.560-05:00

Matt Yglesias notes that Tim Russert will almost certainly pitch softballs to Bush, not only because his reputation as a tough interviewer is overblown, but because he's probably already struck a deal not to ask hard questions. Matt writes: The same thinking, I'm sure, went into his astoundingly inept Cheney interview a few months back. If Russert had cracked the whip then is there any chance

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1076024840682723012004-02-05T18:47:00.000-05:002004-02-05T18:49:42.576-05:00

This post (found through, of all people, Sully) is a must-read on Bush's guard service. It gives a variety of ways journalists could try to check up on the president's service record (there are plenty of records beyond attendence sheets). Maybe they're already doing so. If not, they should be.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1076011533842390162004-02-05T15:05:00.000-05:002004-02-05T15:07:55.920-05:00

By and large, Tenet's testimony today was exactly what we all expected--the party line. But check out this passage, as reported in the Times: "Let me be clear," he went on. "Analysts differed on several important aspects of these programs, and those debates were spelled out in the estimate. They never said there was an imminent threat. Rather, they painted an objective assessment for our

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075953623955932212004-02-04T23:00:00.000-05:002004-02-04T23:02:45.170-05:00

Here's the Times on the Bush administration's plan to turn things over to the UN: The administration seems willing to allow that. Officials said Mr. Annan would have wide latitude to present Washington with a plan for Iraq's future governance — including a schedule for elections later this year — and that if he can demonstrate that it has broad backing in Iraq, the administration would have

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075952713256233602004-02-04T22:45:00.000-05:002004-02-04T22:48:07.826-05:00

Stephen Colbert on the Daily Show: "colossal? That ain't the half of it. Leaking the name of a CIA operative as a political payback? That's colossal. Accidentally bombing an embassy? That's catastrophic (and kinda funny when you think about it). But going to war on an entirely false pretext? There is no word in the intelligence community for the magnitude of that mistake, and they come up with a

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075951886566699152004-02-04T22:31:00.000-05:002004-02-04T22:33:47.450-05:00

CJR takes the press to task for prematurely anointing John Edwards as Kerry's only challenger (and yes, I did this too). CJR's basic point is that this is not only premature, but likely wrong (unless the press attention on Edwards becomes self-fulfilling), since Clark actually did better in more states than Edwards, while Dean is actually running second in total delegates. I think CJR is

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075947680075853392004-02-04T21:21:00.000-05:002004-02-04T21:23:41.000-05:00

Today's ruling is obviously a huge victory. It's not exactly a surprise, since any reasonable person who read the ruling from last November could see that the court meant marriage, not civil unions. But still, the court has been under enormous political pressure, and it was only a 4-3 ruling to begin with, so it wouldn't have shocked me if they'd backed down. (The Phoenix's Dan Kennedy notes much

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075914558402962892004-02-04T12:09:00.000-05:002004-02-04T12:11:38.920-05:00

It's marriage, not civil unions in Massachusetts! Go pick out your wedding dresses.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075875640948028932004-02-04T01:20:00.000-05:002004-02-04T01:23:00.653-05:00

Much has been made of this USA Today/Gallup poll that shows Kerry beating Bush and other Democratic candidates within the margin of error. It's certainly good to see that it's going to be competitive, but anyone who's followed politics at all in recent years already knew that. And much as I'd like to put a lot of stock in this kind of poll, the reality is it's pretty well meaningless. Bush has

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075871938698654692004-02-04T00:18:00.000-05:002004-02-04T00:21:18.356-05:00

Salon has an absurd article up about anonymous bloggers. The basic point is that it's irresponsible and hypocritical, but the authory comes off looking ridiculous because, as Atrios notes, he misses satire completely. But even when handled less ham-handedly, this is a silly issue. Journalists, in most news organizations, are identified as a form of accountability. Newspapers, TV stations, etc.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075870995850677782004-02-04T00:03:00.000-05:002004-02-04T00:05:35.716-05:00

CJR's Campaign Desk calls out the National Review, Drudge, and various blogs for posting exit poll data before the polls closed. They write: Some readers have written in to suggest that since National Review's The Corner, and Political Wire, are blogs, rather than more traditional news outlets, and since they likely did not have contracts with the poll organizers, they're bound by different

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075866251208230562004-02-03T22:44:00.000-05:002004-02-03T22:46:30.436-05:00

No links here, because everyone on the web is discussing this. My take: - Kerry did what he had to do and more. He solidified his status as the front-runner, won everywhere he was meant to win, and won by commanding margins in Missouri, Delaware, and North Dakota. The only problem for Kerry is that after Iowa and New Hampshire, he pretty much would have had to win all seven states in order to get

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075843018413314612004-02-03T16:16:00.000-05:002004-02-03T16:19:17.640-05:00

The Boston Globe reporter who uncovered Dubya's sketchy service record in 2000 is saying the story should have gotten more attention. No kidding. Honestly, the Globe shold just re-run its original stories, which are no longer available online. When they first appeared, Bush wasn't running on a platform of foreign policy and homeland defense. Now he is, and people deserve to know his record.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075841975729108632004-02-03T15:59:00.000-05:002004-02-03T16:01:54.360-05:00

Looks like it's going to be a Kerry-Edwards race after today. Drudge (god, I hate linking to him) has exit poll results.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075781935796769902004-02-02T23:18:00.000-05:002004-02-02T23:21:14.030-05:00

But David, didn't all your favorite politicians also say there were WMD in Iraq? Seriously, does anyone believe Brooks would be saying this the Kay Report had come out and blamed political pressure for the CIA's mistakes?

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From the Times: A former Bush administration official involved in economic policy put it this way: "Five, 10, 15, 20 years from now, when people look back at the Bush administration, there's only one thing they're going to care about — it's the war. Did you prosecute the war, did you make America safer? Everything else is irrelevant. If you have to blow a gasket in the budget, then they're going

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075774251599615782004-02-02T21:10:00.000-05:002004-02-02T21:13:09.810-05:00

Everyone who isn't already should be checking out CJR's Campaign Desk daily. Today they go after: - The NY Post for inventing a poll - Fox News for distorting Democratic statements about the threat of terrorism - George Will for falling for the old "Givers vs. Takers" myth - CNN for falling for an anti-Dean letter to the editor written by the Kerry campaign (the site doesn't have permalinks--

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075772238553422722004-02-02T20:37:00.000-05:002004-02-02T20:39:36.356-05:00

Kos has a wonderful example of the media playing the ellipsis game (generally speaking. Here, of course, no ellipses were actually used). I won't repost the whole thing here, but basically CBS (gosh? CBS?) made it look like Terry McAuliffe was supporting Kerry, when in fact he said nothing of the kind. For the record, I don't think this is some big conspiracy by the press to get Dean. It's just

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075771684396647252004-02-02T20:28:00.000-05:002004-02-02T20:30:22.700-05:00

From the Times: The Salvation Army of Greater New York, long known for its network of thrift shops and shelters, has begun an effort to reassert its evangelical roots, stressing to lay employees that the Army's core mission is not just social services but also spreading the Gospel. *snip* The effort has stirred a mini-rebellion among some longtime employees who resent what they see as an

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075771282065964102004-02-02T20:21:00.000-05:002004-02-02T20:23:40.093-05:00

From the Times: Mr. Bush has set no timetable for the inquiry, and he sidestepped a reporter's question today about whether Americans were owed an explanation before the Nov. 2 elections. Mr. McClellan said that the committee's work would extend past the Nov. 2 presidential election "so it doesn't become embroiled in partisan politics." Not that it might be useful to, say, know whether the

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075770412565843562004-02-02T20:06:00.000-05:002004-02-02T20:09:10.780-05:00

I think this Times story pretty much has "Breastgate" covered. Why should anyone believe CBS when the network has lied so often this year? The Times misses one example, though: CBS's claim that it couldn't accept MoveOn.org's ad because it doesn't run issue ads.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075769442657821142004-02-02T19:50:00.000-05:002004-02-02T19:55:42.530-05:00

... Check out his post on Bush's anti-conservatism. He writes: I don't think Bush's immigration proposal goes far enough, and it has some flaws, but I think it's a fairly serious effort to meet some of the goals of amnesty advocates without giving a real amnesty. The Medicare bill, on the other hand is no such thing. The Democrats were putting something on the table that would have been

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075768705936659312004-02-02T19:38:00.000-05:002004-02-02T19:40:43.670-05:00

Matt Yglesias notes that Kerry is one of only a few Senate dems to take a strong stand against the Defense of Marriage Act, which, as Matt says, could hardly be construed as opportunism. Yes, he's from Massachusetts, so he won't be punished in the way he would if he were from, say, Mississippi, but even in Mass he wouldn't have been punished for at least quietly supporting the DMA, and given that

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075767659254770192004-02-02T19:20:00.000-05:002004-02-02T19:23:17.216-05:00

Atrios has a post up excerpting from a 1976 Times article about the CIA employing journalists as agents overseas. Atrios says he's curious how many operatives are working in the media, which I suppose would be interesting except that there's no way we're ever going to find out. But if this is still CIA policy, it's despicable. There are lots of problems with it, but as someone who's in the

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075752539886401132004-02-02T15:08:00.000-05:002004-02-02T15:11:17.780-05:00

This story from today's Times is really ridiculous. It purports to show how John Edwards' candidacy is based on style, not substance. Except, it notes, Edwards has a 61-page booklet outlining what he'd do as president. Apparently that doesn't count because Edwards doesn't explain the details in his campaign speech. Except that no candidate goes into policy details in speeches. Does Edwards lean

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075745182529674362004-02-02T13:06:00.000-05:002004-02-02T13:08:40.343-05:00

My earlier post (no link--site seems to be down for some reason) on the issue notwithstanding, this story from today's Washington Post is concerning. It reveals that Kerry has received more money from lobbyists over the past 15 years than any other senator. The problem here is that it smacks of hypocrisy. It's one thing to attack special interests while receiving some money in order to stay

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075703533081369822004-02-02T01:32:00.000-05:002004-02-02T01:34:29.873-05:00

oh my

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075703359725540162004-02-02T01:29:00.000-05:002004-02-02T01:31:36.560-05:00

So Drudge is reporting that the whole "Justin revealing Janet Jackson's breast" stunt was planned. As usual with Drudge, take it with a grain of salt. But what I don't get is this: why is everyone so excited about a 2-second, zoomed-out shot of Janet Jackson's exposed breast, but not upset about 10 minutes of (albeit fully-clothed) simulated sex onstage between these two? I mean, this was racy

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075702427246363192004-02-02T01:13:00.000-05:002004-02-02T01:20:24.123-05:00

Clearly this is a good start. But as we've seen with the 9/11 panel, Bush is very good at setting up a commission to help deflect criticism, and then doing all he can to hamper their work. First big question: who chairs it? Watch for retreads of the Kissinger fiasco. I doubt he'll pick anyone as well-known, though. He'll go for some crony who isn't a household name. Harder for the Dems to make an

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075698143269682762004-02-02T00:02:00.000-05:002004-02-02T00:05:18.390-05:00

Pats win! My heart will re-start eventually, I'm sure.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075674158458110782004-02-01T17:22:00.000-05:002004-02-01T17:24:55.013-05:00

My prediction: Patriots 24, Panthers 21. They never make it easy.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075659419915876092004-02-01T13:16:00.000-05:002004-02-01T13:19:16.293-05:00

The Post has a story today on how Kerry could be hurt because he's from Massachusetts. Look, Kerry has baggage: he has a voting record that can be made to look liberal, he was lieutenant governor under Dukakis, which means he can be tied to the same policies (furloughs, taxes) that got Duke in trouble in 1988, he's brahmin, etc., etc. But being from Massachusetts isn't his problem. It wasn't

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-107565806677506062004-02-01T12:54:00.000-05:002004-02-01T12:56:43.343-05:00

The Guardian is reporting that the US knew Iraq had no WMD in May: The disclosure that US military survey teams sent to visit suspected sites of WMD, and intelligence interviews with Iraqi scientists and officials, had concluded so quickly that no major weapons or facilities would be found is certain to produce serious new embarrassment on both sides of the Atlantic. Well, "embarassment"

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075657617385852942004-02-01T12:46:00.000-05:002004-02-01T12:49:13.420-05:00

From WaPo: President Bush has agreed to support an independent inquiry into the prewar intelligence that he used to assert that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, Republican and congressional sources said yesterday. (link)

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075657203552114232004-02-01T12:40:00.000-05:002004-02-01T12:42:19.670-05:00

On Meet the Press this morning, Dean acknowledged that his NH strategy "didn't pay off." Um, well, yeah. Meanwhile, Lieberman is staying upbeat. Joe, we have a word for that. It's called denial.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075657029330942742004-02-01T12:37:00.000-05:002004-02-01T12:39:25.483-05:00

According to a story in today's Boston Globe, Howard Dean "has lowered expectations that he could win any of the contests on Feb. 3." Um, Howard? How exactly do you plan on winning this race without ever winning a state? Meanwhile, the Kerry bandwagon is looking increasingly tought to stop. The Globe reports that other candidates are giving up on running full national campaigns, preferring to try

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075655147406929392004-02-01T12:05:00.000-05:002004-02-01T12:08:03.826-05:00

If you haven't already seen it, there's been a massive bombing in Iraq, in the Kurdish-controlled northern area. This is very bad news for all sorts of reasons, the most obvious of course being that between 50 and 100 people appear to have died. But it's also significant that it took place up north, in the most pro-American region. AP says the bombers used Palestinian-style suicide methods, the

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075654594674591242004-02-01T11:56:00.000-05:002004-02-01T11:58:51.186-05:00

In his latest public editor column, Daniel Okrent discusses the important issue of covering someone else's scoops. That is, why doesn't the Times cover important stories if someone else got there first? In what's becoming standard for Okrent, he asks more questions than he answers. This is the closest he comes to a conclusion: There's no question that the competitive electricity powering a news

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075654264697019762004-02-01T11:51:00.000-05:002004-02-01T11:53:21.250-05:00

Not sure what Friedman is doing writing about the economy (he probably just came up with the 'BMD' idea and decided to write a column around it), but it can't be good news for the Bushies. Bush's fiscal irresponsibility is turning more and more of his supporters against him.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075625046189501362004-02-01T03:44:00.000-05:002004-02-01T03:46:21.560-05:00

As usual, Frank Rich is a must read this week. He's writing about marriage (gay and otherwise), and in typical Rich fashion weaves in far too many disparate points to summarize in one blog post. So reall, just go read it. Since many of you won't, though, one graf: But what civilization, exactly, is he talking about? Since 1970, the percentage of American adults in this enduring institution has

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075609362967800872004-01-31T23:22:00.000-05:002004-01-31T23:24:58.390-05:00

Re: This Times article on the grounding of six more flights. Does anyone out there understand why European pilots seem so uncomfortable with the idea of air marshals, while American pilots seem to accept the idea? I'm making no judgement on who's right, but it strikes me as odd that there's such a difference. Of course, maybe the American pilots have just been told to keep their traps shut.

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have been added. Go crazy.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075598987167493882004-01-31T20:29:00.000-05:002004-01-31T20:41:30.043-05:00

Human Rights Watch has issues a report arguing that the Iraq war wasn't justified on humanitarian grounds (not that that's why we went in the first place). Basically, HRW argues that such interventions are only justified in cases of "ongoing or imminent genocide" (imminent? uh oh). Of course, HRW isn't a group the Bush administration is likely to pay a lot of attention to. But their basic point

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075597116760865062004-01-31T19:58:00.000-05:002004-01-31T20:00:51.483-05:00

A little late on this, but guess who's telling Dubya that his budget won't cut the deficit? Why, the Republicans, of course. Note to George Bush: if your own party thinks you're being irresponsible, you may be in som trouble. Of course, he is unelectable.

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075596938395481692004-01-31T19:55:00.000-05:002004-01-31T19:57:53.153-05:00

I've tried to stay away from the whole Hutton Inquiry issue to some degree, only because everyone else is far more on top of it than I could hope to be. But I did find this story from London's Telegraph interesting. Apparently, 56 percent of the British public consider the report a "whitewash." Of course, Blair's own Labor Party says the same thing. (links via Cursor)

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The Times reports today that Pakistani pres Musharraf is ousting Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb and a revered figure in Pakistan. It is unquestionably a good thing that Pakistan is finally getting serious about cracking down on weapons proliferation (these are, after all, actual weapons of mass destruction). But you have to be worried about what could happen if this

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075592024435142562004-01-31T18:33:00.000-05:002004-01-31T18:35:59.436-05:00

Guess what? A lot of the "evidence" cited in Powell's UN presentation last year (yep, even them fancy pictures) was wrong or misinterpreted. Fancy that. Look, I'll say it again: I don't care whether the intelligence was "sexed up" or politically motivated. You can't go waging preemptive war based on intelligence that could easily turn out to be wrong. And you can't tell everyone that you're sure,

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075588905988675102004-01-31T17:41:00.000-05:002004-01-31T17:44:00.810-05:00

Michael Specter's article in this week's New Yorker is a great example of why government regulation is important and necessary. (and yes, I'm only now getting to this week's New Yorker. If it didn't come out every dang week, I wouldn't keep falling behind)

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075588208664683432004-01-31T17:30:00.000-05:002004-01-31T17:37:30.013-05:00

Speaking of AOL's test, does it strike anyone else that all of the questions are phrased to presuppose a conservative viewpoint? For example, they ask if we should outlaw partial birth abortions, not whether we support a woman's right to choose. Just found it interesting (though hardly surprising). ADDENDUM: For the record, the test says I should support Kucinich, then Sharpton, then Kerry, Dean

GPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873500.post-1075588100506102622004-01-31T17:28:00.000-05:002004-01-31T17:30:35.513-05:00

So Andrew Sullivan took AOL's Presidential Match test and found out that--guess what?--Dubya should be his last choice for pres. Of course, he takes this as evidence that the test is flawed, not that he shouldn't be supporting a president who believes he's going to hell. But that would be too much to ask.

GPnoreply@blogger.com