Thursday, May 25, 2006

The Sixty-Second News Sieve. - Tom Delay’s legal defense fund is still touting Stephen Colbert as a supporter, displaying Colbert’s interview with liberal filmmaker Robert Greenwald at the top of their Website… long after the folks at Think Progress pointed out to DeLay’s team that Colbert isn’t really an O’Reilly-esque conservative - he just plays one on his show. It’s call sarcasm. - Is the rhythym method dangerous to embryos? A new study contends that the safer form of unsafe sex may actually kill more embryos than morning-after pills, IUDs and contraceptive pills. So, be prepared to see pro-life activists picketing your bedroom. (via ResourceShelf’s DocuTicker) - Suicide rates among soldiers serving in Iraq reached an all-time high in 2005, accounting for one in five of all non-combat deaths. At least 11 service members who committed suicide in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 were kept on duty “despite exhibiting signs of significant psychological distress” (Hartford Courant) [Muckraked] 10:42:01 AM    comment []

Steve Cobble: Lynn Woolsey & Barbara Lee Step Up On Iran. The nervous silence that has characterized the Nation's Capitol on the possibility of a pre-emptive strike against Iran was broken for a couple hours yesterday afternoon, thanks to the leadership of two of our best progressive leaders, Rep. Barbara Lee & Rep. Lynn Woolsey. As is so often the case, we owe these two women our thanks for stepping up in times of crisis. You can watch the video here, thanks to David Grossman & PoliticsTV. It includes intelligent analyses--the kind you rarely here anymore, with nuance and complex thought--from Professor Samantha Power & Dr. Jessica Matthews. You can be forgiven for not knowing this, since even most of the antiwar movement has not been paying much attention to it, but Lynn Woolsey is being challenged in the primary by a more conservative Democrat, a term-limited politician with money to spend, strong connections to RAND, to big Pharma, and to the insurance companies that oppose single-payer health care, and whose donors also happened to have given more than a million-and-a-half dollars to Bush & top Republicans! Lynn Woolsey is Co-Chair of the Progressive Caucus. She is one of the leaders on peace issues in the House. Lynn was an early opponent of the Iraq War, and the first to hold a hearing to study ways to end the occupation there. She has been taken the lead on trying to formulate a sensible security plan for the 21st century, one that doesn't depend on fear, hype and lies while actually making Americans more secure rather than less secure. She is honest, principled, and open to working with grassroots activists. I think she is one of our best Reps, and has earned the support of anyone who believes this war was a mistake, a fiasco, and/or a crime. (conflict-of-interest note: I have played a tiny role in the campaign) You can donate or find out more here. If you have friends who live in Marin or Sonoma Counties in California, make sure they vote on June 6th. Send an email to all your friends from California, or and ask them to do the same. And if you live in northern California, you still have time to help the Progressive Democrats of America canvass and "human billboard". Lynn is likely to win. But we all know that there are no sure things in politics, and we cannot take this primary for granted. Rep. Woolsey has time and again in recent years spent her political capital on our behalf, by standing up for peace when the war drums were beating loudest. She is a leader, and has paid a price in controversy for standing up for her principles. At a time when so few members of Congress have the courage to stand up and be counted, we should stand up for her. [The Huffington Post | Full Blog Feed] 10:39:26 AM    comment []

Marty Kaplan: Professor Stupidest. CORRECTION In a May 25, 2006 article describing Georgetown Univeristy faculty opposition to a teaching appointment for Douglas J. Feith, former Bush Adminisration under secretary of defense for policy planning and analysis, the Times noted that Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, top commander of the Iraq invasion, once referred to Mr. Feith as "the supidest guy on the face of the earth." However, according to Gen. Franks' autobiography, "American Soldier," what he actually called Mr. Feith was "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth." The Times regrets the error. -- New York Times [The Huffington Post | Full Blog Feed] 7:50:29 AM    comment []

Peter Daou: Open Season on Dems: Broder Salivates Over Clinton Bedroom Gossip. Folks, it's open season on Democrats. Rightwing extremists and various media cohorts are ratcheting up their anti-Dem offensive. Not content with revisiting the Clinton bedroom, rightwingers are going after their favorite targets: Al Gore and John Kerry. Media Matters tracks the anti-Gore assault. The Daily Howler adds perspective: "Al Gore was right about global warming--way back in the 1980s. He was also right on internal combustion. And oh yes, he was right on Iraq, in a prophetic speech in September 02--a speech Joe Klein praised at the time. In a rational world, this would make Gore a reigning star--but we live in the world of a millionaire press corps, and we suffer, every day, from its judgments." A new journalistic low (if that's possible) was reached with Patrick Healy's sneak peek into the Clinton bedroom, a crass attempt at tabloid journalism. Arianna blogs about this new phase of Dem-bashing, as does Eric Boehlert and Christy at FDL, who writes, "According to David Broder, panty sniffing is all the rage in the Beltway. Not the Chastity Beltway, mind you -- that's somewhere else entirely, as evidenced by Fornigate, among other stories currently making the rounds...but I'm talking full-on, lemon yellow pantsuit hyperventalation, with marital speculation at the juicy gossip level disguised as "news." I posted this take on Broder at The Grit: Boy, they're coming fast and furious lately. You swat one down, two more take their place. I'm referring to 'elite' reporters of course, specifically those who've decided that Bush's poll numbers aren't incentive enough to stop belittling and berating Democrats. Joe Klein, Mark Halperin & co., Elisabeth Bumiller, Patrick Healy, Tim Russert, the list goes on. Joining the crowd is David Broder, who isn't content with Healy's puerile peek into the Clinton bedroom. Broder wants more: "The article, by Patrick Healy, was anything but unsympathetic. It touched only lightly on the former president's friendship with Canadian politician Belinda Stronach. It documented that despite their busy separate schedules, the Clintons had managed to spend two-thirds of their weekends together during the past 18 months. The closing anecdote concerned a December fundraiser where Clinton praised his wife and bestowed a kiss on her forehead, after which she recalled their 30 years together and said, "I'm so grateful to you, Bill." But for all the delicacy of the treatment, the very fact that the Times had sent a reporter out to interview 50 people about the state of the Clintons' marriage and placed the story on the top of Page One was a clear signal -- if any was needed -- that the drama of the Clintons' personal life would be a hot topic if she runs for president." Mr. Broder, here's an easy question: who determines what is and isn't a hot topic? When cable news nets spend countless hours discussing a missing girl in Aruba, is it a hot topic because the viewers want it or because it's been shoved down their gullets? When Swift Boat liars are given an unlimited forum to smear a decorated vet, was it a hot topic to begin with or does it become one after the fact? And when Patrick Healy decides to dissect the Clinton marriage, was it a hot topic before he wrote it or is it a hot topic now that people like you amplify his filth? "The very fact that the Times had sent a reporter out to interview 50 people about the state of the Clintons' marriage" says one thing alone: damn the polls and damn the public, the media want to suck up to Bush and stomp on the Dems, to sanctify McCain and slander Hillary, to re-Gore Al and to celebrate Rudy, to mock Kerry and to laud Bill Frist. Mr. Broder, the "elephant in the room" you refer to at the conclusion of your piece has nothing to do with the Clintons. It's this: that you and your ilk are prisoners of your own storylines, hustling your wares to a public that has moved past you. [The Huffington Post | Full Blog Feed] 7:49:31 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2006 Patricia Thurston.