Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Booze Kills, Pot Doesn't. The alcohol poisoning death rate in the U.S. is shockingly high, consistently between 300 and 400 a year. It's zero for pot. [AlterNet.org] 2:38:53 PM    comment []

You Can’t Be Serious: How a Comedian Became the most Influential Voice in American Politics. When Jon Stewart inaugurated his fake news anchor on The Daily Show eight years ago, his goal was to send up the hyperbolic and manufactured controversy of US Cable News and, if possible, be even more outrageous. Now, in a wonderful through-the-looking-glass moment, he has supplanted the subjects of his mockery in the country’s current [...] [CommonDreams.org » Headlines07] 2:37:51 PM    comment []

Limbaugh Calls Possibility Of Pro-Choice McCain Running Mate ‘Crap,’ Likens It To ‘Committing Suicide’. Today on his radio show, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh addressed the recently raised possibility that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) could choose a pro-choice running mate. Limbaugh argued forcefully against the prospect, calling it “crap” and likening it to “committing suicide.” If McCain picks a pro-choice running mate, Limbaugh said, he “will have effectively destroyed the Republican party“: LIMBAUGH: If he picks a pro-choice running mate, it[base ']Äôs not going to be pretty. […] How about some discussion from the McCain about a conservative that can be counted on across the board, who can help lead the country in the right direction, who can help rebuild the Republican party? This is crap, what is this about picking a liberal Democrat of a liberal Republican? […] Particularly pro-choice. If he does that. If the McCain camp does that, they will have effectively destroyed the Republican party and put the conservative movement in the bleachers. … We’re committing suicide in the midst of two events that could launch this party to sweeping victory in November. … One wrong selection as vice president can wipe all that out. Listen here: Regardless of who McCain picks, there is little doubt that his administration would be hostile to women’s rights. McCain recently declared that Roe v. Wade “should be overturned” and professes a desire to end “abortion at the state level” on his campaign website. But McCain goes further than just attempting to deny women choice. He has “never cosponsored or supported legislation that would prevent unintended pregnancy or reduce the need for abortion.” He opposes government-funded condom distribution and voted to prohibit federally funded family-planning clinics from providing women with access to full information about their reproductive-health options. Instead, McCain is a strong supporter of abstinence-only education. McCain and Limbaugh — while in agreement with each other — could not be further from the American people on women’s right to choose. Indeed, a recent Quinnipiac University poll found that 63 percent of Americans agree with the ruling in Roe v. Wade and just 14 percent of Americans believe that abortion should “always be illegal.” Digg It! [Think Progress] 2:30:21 PM    comment []

Only In America: Son Of Undocumented Immigrant Brings Home The Gold. Our guest blogger is Henry Fernandez, a Senior Fellow at the Center For American Progress Action Fund working on state and municipal issues. Henry Cejudo[base ']Äôs uniquely American story started with a single mother who taught him what it meant to truly fight. His mother Nelly [base ']Äì an undocumented immigrant — moved him and his siblings several times chasing work and opportunity, scraping by, ensuring her kids got an education. And along the way, the family found a channel for both the tough resilience she modeled and the country they loved through the sport of freestyle wrestling. With the brothers he shared a bed with growing up cheering from the stands (as well as his sister), Cejudo repeatedly got off the mat to come back and win in a tough match against Tomohiro Matsunaga of Japan. And now America has both an unexpected gold medal and a new hero. Today in Beijing, our nation proudly called Cejudo one of our own: “What Henry has accomplished is an American success story,” USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said. “This is a story of perseverance and determination. We couldn’t be more proud of Henry, not only for what he has accomplished on the mat, but for how he has represented our country.” It has become commonplace on the right to talk about how recent immigrants, and particularly undocumented immigrants and their children, do not want to assimilate, learn English or identify themselves as truly American. Yet this family [base ']Äì all of them proud to be the cheering voice of the United States in a city on the other side of the planet [base ']Äì did our country proud: They all wore or waved American flags, an entire family decked in the stars and stripes. A family that started with illegal immigrants and advanced to right here, this moment, their very own gold medalist resting in their lap. [base ']ÄúOnly in America,[base ']Äù Cejudo said. [Think Progress] 2:18:22 PM    comment []