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Thursday, January 22, 2004 |
Jesus Wept, And No Wonder By Christ. New at Reason: Cathy Young sticks up for heretics.[Hit & Run] The
other day, I was reading an interview with Democratic presidential
candidate Howard Dean in Newsweek when I had to stop and check that it
was indeed Newsweek and not, say,Christianity Today. Yes, it was indeed
Newsweek. And, after a series of questions about a variety of public
policy issues, Dean was asked, out of the clear blue, the following
question: "Do you see Jesus Christ as the son of God and believe in him
as the route to salvation and eternal life?" For the record, Dean's
somewhat cagey answer probably did little to assuage doubts about his
religious faith: "I certainly see him as the son of God. I think
whether I'm saved or not is not gonna be up to me." The real issue,
though, is why this question even came up in a political magazine. Do
we now have a religious test for public office—something that was
explicitly rejected by the Founders of the United States of America?
2:25:19 PM Permalink
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MoveOn won't. MoveOn has launched a campaign to convince CBS to change its policy. Here's the polispam they'd like people to send:Subject: The ad CBS will not air
Dear friend,
During this year's Super Bowl, you'll see ads sponsored by beer companies, tobacco companies, and the Bush White House. But you won't see the winning ad in MoveOn.org Voter Fund's Bush in 30 Seconds ad contest. CBS refuses to air it.
Meanwhile, the White House and Congressional Republicans are on the verge of signing into law a deal which Senator John McCain (R-AZ) says is custom-tailored for CBS and Fox, allowing the two networks to grow much bigger. CBS lobbied hard for this rule change; MoveOn.org members across the country lobbied against it; and now the MoveOn.org ad has been rejected while the White House ad will be played. It looks an awful lot like CBS is playing politics with the right to free speech.
Of course, this is bigger than just the MoveOn.org Voter Fund. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) submitted an ad that was also rejected. We need to let CBS know that this practice of arbitrarily turning down ads that may be "controversial" – especially if they're controversial simply because they take on the President – just isn't right.
To watch the ad that CBS won't air and sign the petition to CBS to run these ads, go here
MoveOn.org will deliver the petition by email directly to CBS headquarters.
Thanks. [Lessig Blog]
1:51:34 PM Permalink
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Morons in the News: Pro Bush, Pro Divorce. So Mr. Bush, let's talk about Marriage. [Morons Dot Org]
It turns out that the pro-Bush states in the South have the highest rates of divorce,
while the liberal Northeast has the lowest. It reminds me of the James
Carville quote from a few years ago: "we know the Republicans love
familys because they have so many of them." I guess that's what's
really behind the $1.5 billion he wants to spend promoting some
marriages: a way to funnel money into the South to shore up his
support.
1:34:28 PM Permalink
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Boston.com / News / Nation / Infiltration of files seen as extensive. Senate panel's GOP staff pried on Democrats WASHINGTON
-- Republican staff members of the US "Senate Judiciary Commitee"
infiltrated opposition computer files for a year, monitoring secret
strategy memos and periodically passing on copies to the media, Senate
officials told The Globe. From the spring of 2002 until at least
April 2003, members of the GOP committee staff exploited a computer
glitch that allowed them to access restricted Democratic communications
without a password. Trolling through hundreds of memos, they were able
to read talking points and accounts of private meetings discussing
which judicial nominees Democrats would fight -- and with what tactics. [Privacy Digest]
There appears to be nothing the
Republicans won't do to defeat the oppostion. Prying into computers is
a crime, and violates their own Patriot Act. Now, the question is,
"What did the President know and when did he know it?" Did Orrin Hatch
know about this? Bill Frist?
10:35:12 AM Permalink
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HOWTO: Find Mt. Everest from Space. Mt. Everest, the tallest and most famous mountain of our planet, exhales a fascination which goes up all the way to the ISS. That's easy to believe after taking a peek at this spectacular shot. However, that doesn't mean finding Everest in an easy task. To quote NASA: Space is a good place to ponder the world's extremes and nature's variability. For example, photographing the highest point on the planet is a favorite target (and a long-standing challenge) for astronauts orbiting the Earth. Despite Everest's planetary stature, it is not an easy peak to locate while zipping over the mountains at 7 kilometers per second. Luckily for us, the nice folks at JPL have made a step-by-step tutorial on finding Mt. Everest from space. Now, where do I sign up for those tickets? [kuro5hin.org]
10:31:01 AM Permalink
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© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.
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