Coyote Gulch

Monday, June 16, 2008

Religion and politics
Here's some video of U.S. Senator Barack Obama's Father's Day sermon, from Effect Measure. We were struck by his ideas about democracy and pluralism.
"2008 pres"
8:42:13 AM

War on terror
Juan Cole: "Tom Lasseter of McClatchy reports that the news service has done extensive interviewing with 66 prisoners released from Guantanamo and found that most were either innocent or were lower level Taliban foot soldiers with no ties to international terrorism. McClatchy argues that the prisoners were routinely abused even after it became clear that they had no intelligence value. Some were radicalized by being tortured by the US, so that when they were released as innocent, they turned to attacking US interests."
"2008 pres"
8:31:05 AM

Internet and politics
Pew Internet: "Fully 46% of all Americans have used the internet, email or cell phone text messaging to get news about the campaign, share their views and mobilize others. Further, the proportion of Americans going online on a typical day at the tail end of the primary season to get political news or information has more than doubled since a comparable point in the 2004 race -- from 8% of all adults in spring 2004 to 17% of all adults in spring 2008. These are among the highlights of a new national survey of 2,251 American adults by the Pew Internet & American Life Project between April 8 and May 11."

Thanks to beSpacific for the link.
"2008 pres"
8:21:59 AM

War on drugs
NYT: "The Florida report analyzed 168,900 deaths statewide. Cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines caused 989 deaths, it found, while legal opioids -- strong painkillers in brand-name drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin -- caused 2,328. Drugs with benzodiazepine, mainly depressants like Valium and Xanax, led to 743 deaths. Alcohol was the most commonly occurring drug, appearing in the bodies of 4,179 of the dead and judged the cause of death of 466 -- fewer than cocaine (843) but more than methamphetamine (25) and marijuana (0)."

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the link.
"2008 pres"
8:09:16 AM

? for President?
Political Wire: "A new Mason-Dixon poll in Nevada finds Sen. John McCain edging Sen. Barack Obama in Nevada, 44% to 42% with 14% undecided."

Andrew Sullivan: "What Obama Brings: If you had to sum it up, it would be an ability to listen - genuinely listen - to the best arguments of his opponents"

Cass R. Sunstein (via Open University): "The University of Chicago Law School is by far the most conservative of the great American law schools. It helped to provide the academic foundations for many positions of the Reagan administration. But at the University of Chicago, Obama is liked and admired by Republicans and Democrats alike. Some of the local Reagan enthusiasts are Obama supporters. Why? It doesn't hurt that he's a great guy, with a personal touch and a lot of warmth. It certainly helps that he is exceptionally able. But niceness and ability are only a small part of the story. Obama also has a genuinely independent mind, he's a terrific listener and he goes wherever reason takes him."
"2008 pres"
8:04:44 AM