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Source: The Nation Author: Eric Alterman Posted on 09.07.08 by Steve Trinward “I make my living as a seasoned cynic when it comes to politics, so I’ve been more than a little reluctant to go on record with how moving, inspiring and, damn it, thrilling I found Barack Obama’s convention speech. … I woke up to a David Broder column that … complained that Obama’s ‘jibes at John McCain and George Bush were standard-issue Democratic fare, and his recital of a long list of domestic promises could have been delivered by any Democratic nominee from Walter Mondale to John Kerry. There was no theme music to the speech and really no phrase or sentence that is likely to linger in the memory. … Al Gore, the famously wooden former vice president, gave a more lively and convincing speech than Obama did.”‘ [editor’s note: The wonder of this is why Alterman would be at all surprised that Broder would defend the established power, and trash an alleged “usurper” of it … as he ALWAYS does! - SAT] (09/03/08) Link: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080922/alterman Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The American Prospect Author: Mark Schmitt Posted on 09.07.08 by Steve Trinward “Last week we watched the national convention of the Democratic Party. This week we witnessed the national convention of John McCain. And that, I realized while trying to pay attention to McCain’s speech tonight, is the real source of difference between the two weeks and the two finales. It’s not just that McCain’s speech was poorly written … delivered awkwardly to a geriatric Caucasian crowd, and punctuated with smiles and thumbs-up at all the wrong places. … No, the notable difference, not just in the speeches but in the entirety of the two conventions, was that it is McCain who stands alone.” (09/05/08) Link: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=alone_in_the_arena Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Author: Charles D. Ferguson Posted on 09.07.08 by Steve Trinward “The United States has reached an impasse in trying to stop Iran from proceeding with its nuclear program. Iran has repeatedly ignored UN Security Council resolutions calling on it to suspend its uranium enrichment activities that could either fuel peaceful nuclear reactors or military nuclear bombs. In recent weeks, Iran’s talks with the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency have been pretenses that have allowed Iran to move ahead with uranium enrichment with no additional controls on its overall nuclear program. … Clearly, a new approach is needed to put in place stricter controls on Iran’s nuclear program and to respect Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear activities.” (09/08/08) Link: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0908/p09s01-coop.html Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Salon Author: Jeralyn Merritt Posted on 09.07.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Following their successful reenergizing of the Republican base at the convention in St. Paul, Minn., this week, Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin took their show on the road. Outside a jet hangar in Colorado Springs Saturday, their two campaign planes, one emblazoned with ‘McCain for President’ and the other with ‘McCain-Palin,’ gleamed in the midday sun, prominently on display to the crowd of 10,000 supporters who gathered to see, hear and rally behind the newly minted ticket. McCain and Palin couldn’t have picked a more favorable place to continue their campaign. Colorado Springs, the state’s second largest city, is home to the Air Force Academy, a military base and more than 80 evangelical churches and ministries, including James Dobson’s Focus on the Family. In other words, it’s McCain-Palin country.” (09/07/08) Link: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/07/mccain_palin/ Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Slate Author: Chris Wilson Posted on 09.07.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Conventional wisdom holds that Democrats smile while Republicans attack — and that the speeches at the just-ended conventions reflect that. Yet the four major speeches of the last two weeks — those of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, and John McCain — paint nearly the opposite picture. The Democratic ticket mentioned McCain far more often than Republicans mentioned Obama. Obama aimed far more barbs at McCain than McCain did at him. And both Biden and Obama paused for applause less often and spoke for less time (though much faster). Meanwhile, both Palin and McCain were careful not to mention the incumbent president’s name — or that of his vice president — a single time. Both tickets, however, agreed on one thing: in naming the greatest threats or villains to America, all four cited al-Qaida.” (09/05/08) Link: http://www.slate.com/id/2199464/ Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Mother Jones Author: David Corn Posted on 09.07.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Number of sentences in John McCain’s acceptance speech about his experience as a POW in Vietnam: 43. Number of sentences about his 25 years in the House and Senate: 8. The convention ended as it began: a commemoration of McCain’s hellish years in a Hanoi prison cell four decades ago. The political equation was a simple one: POW equals patriotic hero equals a fighting president. Before McCain walked down the long runway at St. Paul’s Xcel Center, a baritone voice declared over the P.A., ‘When you’ve lived in a box …you put your people first.’ Case closed. But there was a speech to get through. And before McCain arrived at the climactic I-was-a-POW finale, he delivered, in wooden style, a no-better-than-par speech that was mostly a series of traditional GOP buzz phrases: lower taxes, cut spending, open markets.” (09/04/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/5ajenq Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: AlterNet Author: Sanho Tree Posted on 09.07.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “The McCain-Palin strategists know that their core voters relate to personalities better than policies. They want this election fought over ‘Access Hollywood’ personality-style reporting rather than wonky PBS snoozefests because Americans tend to have more opinions about celebrity ‘character and misbehavior’ than about dry policy details. This is a double-edged sword, however. If Palin is going to attack Obama on personality and character, then she exposes herself and her family to the same scrutiny.” (09/06/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/6n45pv Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The Art of the Possible Author: Roderick T. Long Posted on 09.05.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Noam Chomsky is perhaps the United States’ best-known anarchist. There’s a certain irony to this, however; for just as St. Augustine once prayed, ‘Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet,’ Chomsky’s aim is in effect anarchy, but not yet. Chomsky’s reason for the ‘not yet’ is that a powerful central government is currently necessary as a bulwark against the power of the corporate elite; thus it will not be safe to abolish or even scale back the state until we first use the state to break the power of the corporate elite …” (09/04/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/65xncg Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Mother Jones Author: David Cole Posted on 09.04.08 by Steve Trinward “As President Bill Clinton assumed office in January 1993, I held out great hope that the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s long-standing effort to deport my clients — eight people arrested in Los Angeles in 1987 for distributing magazines for a faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization — might finally come to an end. … Hardly. Instead of dropping the case, the Clinton Justice Department took it all the way to the Supreme Court, where it obtained a favorable ruling written by … Justice Antonin Scalia. … So: [D]on’t assume that a Democratic president will necessarily transform the counterterrorism policies of the current administration. Government officials do not as a rule like to give up power. … If the problem is to be fixed, it will only be because of sustained and popular pressure for change.” [editor’s note: It is so refreshing to see a “progressive” pundit remind us, that the throne upon which Shrub has built HIS empire did not appear out of thin air after 9/11 - SAT] (Sept/Oct 2008 issue) Link: http://tinyurl.com/5d9sjk Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: International Herald Tribune [France] Author: Geoffrey Wheatcroft Posted on 09.04.08 by Steve Trinward “In an exalted phrase, the keynote speaker at the Republican convention reviewed the record of the administration, and asked, ‘When have we rested more secure in friendship with all mankind?’ That wasn’t in St. Paul, where the Republicans are gathered this week, but at the 1904 Republican convention in Chicago, when the speaker was Elihu Root, a past Secretary of War and future Secretary of State. His words were sonorous then, and they are haunting now. They will not be repeated this year, because they could not be. A senior American politician might have said something similar in 1920, or 1945 or 1960. But no Republican now — and no Democrat — could utter Root’s words without inviting utter derision. Today there might be a more bitter question: When has America rested less secure in friendship with all mankind?” (09/04/08) Link: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/03/opinion/edwheatcroft.php Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Tennessean Author: John McCardell Posted on 09.04.08 by Steve Trinward “College and university presidents are on the front lines of a growing public health problem: excessive alcohol use by young people. More than 120 have signed on to the Amethyst Initiative, an effort to call attention to this pressing issue whose effects on campuses are too often tragic and avoidable. The initiative does not take a position on what the drinking age should be. But it does state that legal age 21 has wrought significant unintended consequences that simply must be examined with care. These include binge drinking, possession of fake IDs, the frustrating difficulty of enforcement and the ineffectiveness of the abstinence-only message. The drinking age has effectively banished alcohol from public places and public view. But it has done little to reduce excessive drinking.” (09/04/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/66y7dt Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The American Prospect Author: Harold Meyerson Posted on 09.04.08 by Steve Trinward “By selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain plunged his campaign into the plot of a Frank Capra film. Capra’s heroes — such iconic characters as Longfellow Deeds, Jefferson Smith, John Doe, and George Bailey, portrayed by Gary Cooper (Deeds and Doe) and Jimmy Stewart (Smith and Bailey) — came from small towns, embodied rural values, were improbably propelled into the public spotlight, were assailed by urban sophists and sophisticates who did the bidding of monied interests, and prevailed against great odds through dint of grit, honesty and dumb luck.” [editor’s note: No argument here — and I’m a HUGE Capra fan. The good news, for a libertarian, is that this election’s suddenly become at least entertaining - SAT] (09/04/08) Link: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=meet_jane_doe Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Author: John Hughes Posted on 09.04.08 by Steve Trinward “The nominating conventions, each dramatic in different ways, are nearly done and Americans are on the last lap toward the new presidency. Sen. Barack Obama promises billions for good works but is sketchy about how to pay for them. Sen. John McCain promises to bring the troops home with honor and victory, but nobody knows how this will really leave Iraq. Senator Obama wants to change Washington by vanquishing the Republicans in office. Senator McCain wants to change Washington by reforming the Republicans in office. Obama will continue to dazzle us until Nov. 4 with charismatic eloquence. McCain, who never met a teleprompter he liked, will continue to exude sincerity in smaller gatherings. Both sides are seized with the issue of ‘experience,’ which probably will weigh heavily with the voters.” [editor’s note: If “experience” is merely having been among the imperialist, nation-building model of recent times, fuhgeddabouddit! As Hughes notes here, “principle, character and common sense” would be far better - SAT] (09/04/08) Link: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0904/p09s01-coop.html Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Boston Globe Author: Joan Vennochi Posted on 09.04.08 by Steve Trinward “Questioning Sarah Palin’s credentials to be vice president isn’t automatically sexist, any more than it is automatically racist to question Barack Obama’s readiness to be president. But, in this campaign, questions about experience and judgment are always cast as code for something else. … But the constant barrage of accusation to discourage legitimate inquiry is depressing. … Some of the Palin coverage is sexist. A male politician isn’t asked about his ability to be a good father. … Some of the Palin coverage is ugly. Blogger speculation that the baby with Down syndrome actually belongs to Palin’s daughter falls into that category. … But questions about Palin’s experience are absolutely justified. ” (09/04/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/5l5wbk Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: San Francisco Chronicle Author: Mark Morford Posted on 09.04.08 by Steve Trinward “This just in: Hurricane of delicious irony slams Republican National Convention, flooding the streets of Minneapolis/St. Paul with rivers of savage hypocrisy as levees of evangelical denial and sexual confusion overflow into the streets, leaving stunned party members scrambling in vain for shaky moral high ground. Meanwhile, clever looters smash windows of opportunity and steal valuable quips about underage sex and teen pregnancy, as everyone gets a very unsettling if not downright weird taste of warped pro-gun anti-choice elk-kabob conservative Alaskan family values. YouTube at 11. Yes, the rumors are true. The cosmic votes have all been tallied, and I do believe we can now say, with some measure of happy certainty, that God appears to be just as sick-to-death of the Republican Party as the rest of us.” [editor’s note: Alternate suggestion is that (S)He is just sick of politics in general! - SAT] (09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/6ooma8 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Asia Times Author: Dmitry Shlapentokh Posted on 09.04.08 by Mary Lou Seymour “The Russian offensive in Georgia has been widely compared to the Soviets’ imperial buildup under Joseph Stalin. The reverse is the case: Russia is now more alone, more alienated and hated among the republics of the former Soviet Union than at any time in Soviet and post-Soviet history. Allied with the collapse of the American imperial presence, this equates to an era of global anarchy.” [editor’s note: And this is a bad thing … how? - SAT] (09/04/08) Link: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/JI05Ag01.html Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: TruthDig Author: Amy Goodman Posted on 09.04.08 by Mary Lou Seymour “Government crackdowns on journalists are a true threat to democracy. As the Republican National Convention meets in St. Paul, Minn., this week, police are systematically targeting journalists. I was arrested with my two colleagues, ‘Democracy Now!’ producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, while reporting on the first day of the RNC. I have been wrongly charged with a misdemeanor. My co-workers, who were simply reporting, may be charged with felony riot.” (09/04/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/6o59oq Filed under: LAND Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Strike the Root Author: BR Merrick Posted on 09.04.08 by Mary Lou Seymour “Kudos to Hollywood for doing right by our benevolent government, and once again associating anarchy with violence and chaos. We’ve all had it drilled into us — and we’ll have it drilled into us again, I’m sure — that without the FBI, the CIA, and our local police, we’d all be in that proverbial handbasket on its way to you-know-where. ‘If ‘The Dark Knight’ is about anything, it’s about civic catastrophe and the fragility of our institutions in the face of blind, consuming evil,’ says Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle. I suppose the only thing between us and this supposed catastrophe is that Thin Blue Line, then? I don’t know if that sums up Mr. LaSalle’s political beliefs or not, but it appears to be a running thread through many other reviews of The Dark Knight, including Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, Scott Foundas of Village Voice, and Nick Schager of Slant. The reviews appear to consistently associate anarchy with violence, terrorism and chaos.” (09/03/08) Link: http://www.strike-the-root.com/82/merrick/merrick3.html Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Slate Author: John Dickerson Posted on 09.04.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Drill, baby, drill. Sarah Palin was relentless in her speech Wednesday night. She drilled Barack Obama, elites, San Francisco, the press, and civil libertarians. She even went after Michelle Obama. And she did it all with a smile and a little mischief. Republicans have been flummoxed because Obama seems untouchable, but Palin may have found an effective way to criticize him — while becoming an elusive target in her own right. Want to call her shrill? Go ahead. There are a lot of women like her who vote and who might be listening.” (09/04/08) Link: http://www.slate.com/id/2199250/ Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Mother Jones Author: David Corn Posted on 09.04.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Delivering the most anticipated vice presidential acceptance speech in modern political history, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin accomplished the mission. She talked family, biography, policy, and John McCain. Especially John McCain the POW. And — Democrats beware — she demonstrated she’s handy with a rhetorical stiletto and can slice Barack Obama and Joe Biden while flashing a stylish smile. The 44-year-old Palin did not wipe out questions about her experience. She did not address allegations she had abused her office while serving as a small-town mayor and as a governor. She did not defend her more extreme social positions, such as her support for teaching creationism. But in politics, performance counts for much. And for a little-known politician who had been hunkered down for days, as negative stories and rumors flew about, she had a helluva opening night.” (09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/5ghmbn Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: AlterNet Author: veg-head Posted on 09.04.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Bill Gates Foundation has just budgeted $4m to investigate the potential of rainwater harvesting in the third world. But what about the first world? America is rapidly catching on to water caching, as rainwater harvesting is also known. In the Bay Area, Tara Hui, a rainwater campaigner, climbed under her deck, nudged past a cluster of 55-gallon barrels and a roosting chicken, and pointed to a shiny metal gutter spout. ‘See that?’ she said. ‘That’s where the rainwater comes in from the roof.’ Hui is one of a growing band of people across the country turning to collected rainwater for non-drinking uses like watering plants, flushing toilets and washing laundry, reports Associated Press.” (09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/5ak7os Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: KN@PPSTER Author: Thomas L. Knapp Posted on 09.04.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Surprised by the orgiastic reception Sarah Palin’s vice-presidential candidacy is receiving from ‘libertarian Republicans?’ You shouldn’t be. To the extent that libertarian politics resembles the film industry, ‘libertarian Republicanism’ is very much the equivalent of the red carpet at the Oscars. Inside the building, films and those who work on them are at least theoretically rated on quality. Outside on the carpet, it’s unashamedly all about who showed up with who and in what dress (and whether or not her goodies might accidentally fall out of it on camera).” (09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/5voztj Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Fox News Author: Susan Estrich Posted on 09.04.08 by Steve Trinward “Should a mother with five children, one of them a pregnant teen and another an infant with special needs, be running for vice president? The question is being much debated, in newspaper stories and columns, on blogs and Web sites, and, yes, around kitchen tables across the country. No[body] would be asking these questions if she were a man. No one asked whether Arnold Schwarzenegger should run for governor because he has four children. They looked at Maria, his wonderful wife, and said, what a beautiful family. A mother doesn’t get the same treatment. This is how the double standard works.” (09/03/08) Link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,416102,00.html Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: CounterPunch Author: Former US Sen. Mike Gravel (D-AK) Posted on 09.04.08 by Mary Lou Seymour “On rare occasions our nation has been lucky when new political leaders were selected from obscurity by circumstance. They weren’t indebted to the party bosses or special interests, but they rendered unusual and historic service in times of need. Washington, Lincoln, the first Roosevelt and Truman come to mind. Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska, has been plucked from obscurity and now shares the stage with three other national leaders vying to head the next government of the United States. Sarah is very much of an Alaskan character. Politicos and pundits will have difficulty handling her as she is being tested in the crucible of media scrutiny over the next nine weeks. My guess is, Americans will relate to her and love her story.” [editor’s note: Let’s all hope she won’t render the same kind of “unusual and historic service” as Lincoln, Roosevelt and Truman - MLS] (09/03/08) Link: http://counterpunch.org/gravel09032008.html Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Salon Author: Joan Walsh Posted on 09.03.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “By the time Palin took the stage, she no longer seemed like an Alaskan Annie Oakley, a gun-toting, hockey mom biker-gal, she’d become pioneer victim girl, Pauline tied to the train tracks by mean Democrats and the liberal media. But Palin shook off the victim mantle by coming out swinging, first blasting ‘the pollsters and the pundits’ for writing off McCain last year, then tearing into Barack Obama with glee, teeth bared like a Rudy Giuliani in heels. … When Palin wasn’t attacking Obama, she was praising McCain to the skies and talking up her family and her background. She’ll never be able to cry sexism again after describing herself as a ‘hockey mom’ and then asking: ‘You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick.’” (09/04/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/5k2pes Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Slate Author: Jeff Greenfield Posted on 09.03.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Yes, it was exciting for us political types to play Al Roker and figure out the potential impact of Gustav on the campaign. Yes, riffing on the limits of abstinence-only sex education was diverting. And, Lord knows, it was eye-opening to watch Republican delegates applaud as Joe Lieberman excoriated Republican corruption and corporate cheats while praising Bill Clinton. Those weren’t balloons descending from the Xcel Center’s roof; those were pigs flying. But it may be worth remembering that the most important business of this convention will come Thursday night, when John McCain delivers his acceptance speech. It’s the one time when voters, 20 million or 30 million or 40 million of them, will listen to a potential president — one of two — make an extended case for his election, interrupted only by the rapturous cheers of his supporters.” (09/03/08) Link: http://www.slate.com/id/2199257/ Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Mother Jones Author: Judith Lewis Posted on 09.03.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “If we take Sarah Palin at her word — and despite the blog chatter to which I sacrificed my Labor Day weekend, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t — she learned last December, four months into her pregnancy, that the baby she was carrying possessed an extra 21st chromosome, the cause of Down syndrome. Then she made an unusual decision, one made by only 10 percent of US women who receive a similar prenatal diagnosis: She decided to carry her baby to term. … Now we have the additional revelation that Bristol Palin, Sarah and Todd’s 17-year-old daughter, is about to have her own baby in a few months. No doubt this provoked a heated family debate as well, one that ended in Todd and Sarah’s affirmation of unconditional love and support. And, you know, that’s great. It really is. … It would also be taking a narrow view of things, however, to forget that the Palins are a two-income family: The mother is a public servant, the father is a union worker, and they no doubt have excellent private health insurance. Both Bristol and Sarah Palin have the luxury of exercising true reproductive choice, and continuing with pregnancies that would have devastated — financially and emotionally — many an ordinary family.” (09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/569e8k Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: AlterNet Author: Andy Posner Posted on 09.03.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “We already know the numerous reasons why bottled water is bad, including the energy and water it takes to manufacture, ship and discard the product, as well as the fact that tap water must meet more stringent water quality standards. But here’s the interesting thing: fossil fuels are essentially bottled energy. And just as the green alternative to bottled water is tap water, the logical alternative to fossil fuels is renewable energy. Why? Well, here are just a few reasons …” (09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/5o2c9a Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Canton Repository Author: Nat Hentoff Posted on 09.03.08 by Mary Lou Seymour “In his last months, President Bush is working to ensure that his successor will have the greatly expanded power of the executive branch — unprecedented in American history — that Bush instituted after 9/11. His chief enabler in this ever-increasing surveillance of American citizens is Attorney General Michael Mukasey. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy and ranking minority member Arlen Specter are aware of Mukasey’s plan for new FBI guidelines that could begin national security and criminal investigations of racial and ethnic groups without any evidence of wrongdoing. They have asked Mukasey to delay implementation until Congress can review the changes. Mukasey agreed but wants the expanded surveillance to begin Oct. 1.” (09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/6c82mc Filed under: LAND Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The American Prospect Author: Dana Goldstein Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “You have to feel sorry for Bristol Palin. Because of her mother’s place on the Republican ticket, the biggest challenges of Bristol’s life thus far — becoming a parent and a wife before she has even graduated high school — will now play out on the national stage, opening her up to the judgments of hundreds of millions of gossipy Americans, not to mention election-watchers across the globe. … In conservative circles, the pregnancy news is more than just fine — politically, it is playing like a dream among Republican delegates in St. Paul. The idea that the Christian right would have judged Sarah Palin a failure in imparting proper values to her sexually active daughter is silly.” [editor’s note: Ouch! Correct assessment, vis a vis neocon GOP/FTF orthodoxy. But what if this is the spark that makes that intolerance turn the page? What if Obama isn’t the only “Chosen One” in the race? - SAT] (09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/5cxo7e Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The Nation Author: Christopher Hayes Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “At one level, yesterday’s Ron Paul event was a political sideshow. (This despite the fact it drew some big names: EMceed by none other than Tucker Carlson and addressed by Grover Norquist: more on him later). Jesse Ventura seemed to be doing his best to cement this impression, by pandering to the crowd about the ultimate perpetrators of 9/11. But in the midst of an ideologically exhausted and downright moribund Republican party, the event at the very least had passion in spades. And most interestingly it served as a kind of ideological fossil: an stark reminder of what conservatism in this country once was and what it has become. Neither of them are particularly pretty pictures, but the journey from one to the other is worth contemplating.” (09/03/08) Link: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/jstreet/353587 Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: San Francisco Chronicle Author: Debra J. Saunders Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “Sarah Palin is different. Too different. Few Beltway insiders thought Republican nominee John McCain would pick her as his running mate. She is not a Washington staple, like the Democratic veep pick, Joe Biden, whose mistakes are established facts that are as worn as a pair of old shoes. She is a runner — which is standard among modern politicians. She is a hunter — which is not. She did not move up through the usual cursus honorum of the standard running mate added to a ticket to establish gravitas. McCain didn’t need to weight his ticket. So he chose an upstart. He took a risk. To the Washington press corps, that means she was ‘not vetted.’ This gives the press corps a grand excuse to tear Palin and her family into little, tiny pieces.” (09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/6zud5m Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Tennessean Author: Alvin M. Burt, Ph.D. Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “So, you thought you voted and that your vote would count — we did too, until we voted in the primary last month. When we walk into the voting booth and cast our secret ballot on Election Day, we are filling a responsibility that comes with being an American citizen and living in a democracy. Filling this responsibility, however, is only possible if the machines that register our vote are true and accurate. My wife and I voted at different times and each of us had very different experiences — neither was good for this right we hold so dear.” (09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/637gyt Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Author: Frank Micciche Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “Malaise has made a comeback. How else to describe the results of a recent Rockefeller Foundation/Time magazine poll in which 49 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds surveyed said that America was a better place to live in the 1990s and will continue to decline. Nine in 10 of all respondents agreed that just getting by is as hard as or harder than ever before. At the root of such pessimism is the failure of the nation’s social contract –- the policies and institutions that support Americans as they pursue their economic and personal goals –- to keep pace with the dizzying changes of the past two decades.” [editor’s note: If the Rousseauan concept of “social contract” were about encouraging voluntary shifts in societal behavior, rather than government tinkering using stolen money as funding source … this piece might have some validity - SAT] (09/04/08) Link: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0904/p09s02-coop.html Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Boston Globe Author: Ellen Goodman Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “You gotta love this campaign. No sooner does the curtain come crashing down on one climactic moment than up it goes on another. The Democrats choose NoDrama Obama and the channel switches to Soap Opera McCain. You want change? I’ll show you change: Introducing Sarah Palin, a running-mate as unfamiliar as the tundra. Talk about rolling the dice. The idea was to connect to the Hillary supporters. … Never mind that this feisty working mom leans — no, falls — right on social issues. … Not that I don’t find the Palin story engaging. From mom to mayor to governor to veep nominee? There’s one woman who didn’t have trouble raising her hand in class.” (09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/59bl5b Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: LewRockwell.Com Author: Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. Posted on 09.03.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Clearly, in the age of Bush, conservatism now constitutes as great or even greater threat to American liberty than the left and left-liberalism. It is long past time for every right-thinking American to reject the term conservative as a self-description. I for one no longer believe that Bush has betrayed conservatives. In fact, he has fulfilled conservatism, by completing the redefinition of the term that began many decades ago with Bill Buckley and National Review. Think of it realistically. What does conservatism today stand for? It stands for war. It stands for power. It stands for spying, jailing without trial, torture, counterfeiting without limit, and lying from morning to night. There comes a time in the life of every believer in freedom when he must declare, without any hesitation, to have no attachment to the idea of conservatism.” (speech delivered 09/02/08; posted 09/03/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/6clxvo Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: BradSpangler.Com Author: Brad Spangler Posted on 09.03.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “I am blogging now from what can only be called ‘The Occupied Twin Cities.’ As the Minnesota National Guard marches through the streets of downtown St. Paul tonight in a display reminiscent of the old Soviet May Day parades, those who made it past the mass arrests of the day try to find a place to rest their weary heads and scrub the pepper spray off. Some of these, possibly last remaining, American heroes released a statement today before setting out to impede and resist, as best they could, that which is monstrous — the parasitic political class and the state that serves it.” (09/01/08) Link: http://www.bradspangler.com/blog/archives/1030 Filed under: LAND Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Question Earthority! Author: Thomas L. Knapp Posted on 09.03.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “I think of myself as a generally well-informed voter, but for the life of me I don’t remember hearing the parts of Obama’s biography that include an advanced degree in nuclear engineering and a net worth sufficient to enable a $150 billion plus investment portfolio. By ‘find ways to safely harness nuclear power,’ of course, Obama actually means ‘throw taxpayer money into the sinkhole of government-sponsored research that routinely underperforms private sector efforts.’ And by ‘invest,’ of course, Obama means ’subsidize with your money.’” (09/02/08) Link: http://www.isil.org/channels/archives/16168 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: WendyMcElroy.Com Author: Wendy McElroy Posted on 09.03.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Like everyone else, I was stunned by John McCain’s choice of VP: Sarah Palin. I fall on the ’stroke of brilliance’ side of the debate on whether his choice was wisdom or folly. Why? With one announcement, McCain changed the election dialogue — something he needed to do because the conversation wasn’t going at all well for Republicans. He established a wow factor for his campaign; the spotlight shifted from Barack; the evangelical GOP base consolidated and opened its wallet; women voters are likely to be more receptive; the Dems are scrabbling on exactly how to lambast Palin. Even the mud being flung at Palin is not likely to stick.” (09/02/08) Link: http://www.wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.1865 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Salon Author: Walter Shapiro Posted on 09.03.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Introducing the Republican platform at Monday night’s truncated opening convention session, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr proudly declared that the document ‘is about the future not the past.’ Given the record of the last seven and a half years, Burr’s don’t-look-back sentiments are easy to understand. But Tuesday night, playing the role of the ghost of GOP conventions past, George W. Bush addressed from the White House the only segment of the American electorate who enthusiastically approves of his record in office — the Republican base. Hurricane Gustav was the pretext that kept Bush out of the Twin Cities, although John McCain may have felt that he was saved by the storm. A new CNN poll found that compared to prior presidents, 62 percent of the voters consign Bush to the dust heap of history. (To be technical, 22 percent rate Bush as ‘poor,’ 14 percent opt for ‘very poor’ and 26 percent call him ‘the worst president the U.S. has ever had.’) In short, this is not a president with popularity to share.” (09/03/08) Link: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/03/rnc_tues/ Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The American Prospect Author: Courtney E. Martin Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “The debate over abstinence-only education usually breaks down pretty predictably. On one side, you have social conservatives who claim, ‘abstinence-only sex education is the only way to protect young people from unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and emotional turmoil.’ … And on the other, you have liberal folks like myself who respond, ‘Studies actually show that abstinence-only sex education is less effective in preventing unwanted pregnancies and STIs than comprehensive sex education.’ … We’ve debated ourselves into a tizzy, framing sexual activity as the shared … evil, throwing poison darts of statistics and dogma back and forth. In the process, we’ve lost sight of the target all together: Education is supposed to promote self-aware, healthy, whole human beings.” [editor’s note: About damned time someone addressed this properly; apparently, it took a GOP VP nomination to make it happen! - SAT] (09/02/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/62sum6 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: In These Times Author: Slavoj Zizek Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “In a famous dialogue in Monty Python’s religious spoof The Life of Brian … the leader of a Jewish revolutionary resistance organization passionately argues that Romans brought only misery to the Jews. When his followers remark that they nonetheless introduced education, built roads, constructed irrigation, etc., the leader triumphantly concludes: ‘All right, but apart from sanitation, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?’ Don’t Obama’s latest proclamations follow the same line? ‘I stand for a radical break with the Bush administration!’ Or: ‘OK, sure, I pledge to support Israel unconditionally, to maintain the boycott of Cuba, to grant lawbreaking telecommunications corporations immunity, but I still stand for a radical break with the Bush administration!’” [editor’s note: This one’s readable, not just for using Monty Python to illustrate its point … but for doing it so WELL. (One more reason I’m proud to be an elector for the BTP ticket!) - SAT] (09/02/08) Link: http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3862/the_audacity_of_rhetoric/ Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: The Nation Author: Max Blumenthal Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “The Republican National Committee’s 2008 convention draft platform pledges to continue waging the right’s war on sex education. The platform reads: We support abstinence education and oppose school-based clinics that provide referrals, counseling, and related services for abortion and contraception. These words seem ironic in light of revelations that the 17-year-old daughter of Vice Presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin, Bristol, was impregnated by her boyfriend, a self-described ‘f___ing’ redneck’ who will ‘kick ass’ if anyone messes with him. Republican abstinence-only policies have been disastrous for teens across the country.” [editor’s note: Absolutely no argument here; not informing kids (who will experiment sexually, anyway, if they get the chance?) that there are “side-effects” to sharing that pleasure … is cruel and inhumane! Contrary to GOP doctrine, Ignorance is NOT Bliss! Perhaps the Palin nomination could have a much higher purpose here? - SAT] (09/02/08) Link: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/352862 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Fox News Author: Ed Feulner Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “Thousands of Republican politicians, activists and partisans are now lining up behind John McCain and preparing to advance into the fall campaign. If they hope to win, many pundits maintain, their task is obvious: Ditch conservatism, which is intellectually bankrupt. That might make sense if you equate the Republican Party with conservatism. The governing style that culminated in the GOP’s defeat in 2006, however, shows that Republicans have suffered largely because they haven’t been conservative enough. … While in control of Congress, Republicans could have led the nation toward market-based reforms in Medicare … [and] advanced their professed commitment to limited government and fiscal responsibility. Instead, they more than doubled the size of the federal government, hiding their pork in the plain brown wrappers of anonymous earmarks.” [editor’s note: If this piece had labeled the term as “fiscal conservative” or even “pro-liberty constitutionalist,” the point would be clearer. The GOP problem stems from forgetting what makes a “Goldwater conservative” — being focused less on controlling people’s private behavior than on limiting government! - SAT] (09/02/08) Link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,413201,00.html Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Author: staff Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “This fall, public schools across America are experimenting with teacher pay incentives to improve student achievement. The extra dollars, though, mostly amount to lunch money compared to a radical proposal in Washington, D.C. — upwards of $100,000 in salary and bonuses. With Washington’s middle schools the worst performing of the nation’s urban districts, the city’s warrior-like school chancellor, Michelle Rhee, is calling for a revolution. Other cities should watch closely. Drastic nonlearning calls for drastic measures. Studies show that a good teacher is the most effective way for a school to boost student academic progress — more than first-class textbooks, more than class size. Ms. Rhee believes her high-pay offer, to be funded from private foundations, can attract a higher caliber of public school teacher altogether, and weed out underperformers.” [editor’s note: Note that Ms. Rhee is seeking PRIVATE funding for this scheme, thereby probably TOTALLY pissing off the teachers-union leadershit, who seem far more concerned about advancing socialism and power bases than with edumacation - SAT] (09/02/08) Link: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0903/p08s01-comv.html Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Boston Globe Author: H.D.S. Greenway Posted on 09.03.08 by Steve Trinward “There is something so classic in the storyline of Obama v. McCain, something of an oft-told tale. In one corner you have the aging warrior, as old and scarred as the hills of Jerusalem, as Herman Melville would have put it. He has seen the world and the weariness therein. … He went to war when his country called, whereas his two predecessors sought to avoid it. In the other corner is Barack Obama. If he wins he will not be the youngest president ever to be elected but close to it. He is young enough to be McCain’s son. He represents a generation even younger than his years, a generation unencumbered by old mindsets. His appeal is in his promise, not his achievements, his eloquence rather than his experience. He never went to war, but then he never had a draft to dodge.” (09/02/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/58lzcu Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Information Clearinghouse Author: Timothy Gatto Posted on 09.02.08 by Mary Lou Seymour “When corporations and the government control the media and the resources in a nation, and the people have no voice, that’s simply fascism. This is where we find ourselves today. The people of this country are finding that out. We have all heard of the police raids on protesters that occurred Sunday morning in St. Paul before any protests took place. We have heard about how the police went into houses occupied by college students, guns drawn, and how they handcuffed the ’suspects’ and made them lie face-down for hours. We have read about the warrantless searches and the confiscation of computers and other personal items. This was done by police that didn’t even come from St. Paul! There were arrests of demonstrators in Denver also. Some of the same heavy-handed techniques were used there. Since when do peaceful protesters deserve this kind of treatment? What’s happening in this country? When did we lose the right to dissent?” (09/02/08) Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20678.htm Filed under: LAND Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: CounterPunch Author: Marjorie Cohn Posted on 09.02.08 by Mary Lou Seymour “In the months leading up to the Republican National Convention, the FBI-led Minneapolis Joint Terrorist Task Force actively recruited people to infiltrate vegan groups and other leftist organizations and report back about their activities. On May 21, the Minneapolis City Pages ran a recruiting story called ‘Moles Wanted.’ Law enforcement sought to preempt lawful protest against the policies of the Bush administration during the convention. Since Friday, local police and sheriffs, working with the FBI, conducted preemptive searches, seizures and arrests.” (09/02/08) Link: http://counterpunch.org/cohn09022008.html Filed under: LAND Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Slate Author: John Dickerson Posted on 09.02.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Obama was supposed to be the risky candidate. That’s certainly how Republicans have painted him. Judging from how he’s run his campaign, though, he’s very conservative. Nevertheless, polls have shown that voters think McCain is the less risky pick by as much as 20 percentage points. Now that McCain has made a high-profile decision essentially defined by its riskiness — observers have called it a ‘Hail Mary pass’ so often, I’m starting to think it’s a play for the Catholic vote — the question is whether McCain has squandered his advantage with voters on the question of risk.” Link: http://www.slate.com/id/2199058/ Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Freedom\'s Phoenix Author: Frosty Wooldridge Posted on 09.02.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “After the first 10 interviews with my brother Police Officer and Detective Howard Wooldridge of Lansing, Michigan (retired) concerning the ‘War on Drugs,’ more and more Americans understand the underpinnings of how the U.S. government protracts a national taxpayer fraud. How big a fraud? Taxpayers forked over $1 trillion in 36 years paying for the impotent ‘War on Drugs.’ Results? More drugs available, major drug networks, cheaper drugs and more potent drugs.” (09/02/08) Link: http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Editorial-Page.htm?InfoNo=037733 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Liberty For All Author: Tony Ryan Posted on 09.02.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “On an almost daily basis the local news outlets run an item about another ‘record’ seizure from across the border (62 miles from Tucson) by the Border Patrol, the DEA or a local enforcement agency (sometimes all three combined after a multi-year investigation). The news items are frequently spiced with an announcement by some ranking enforcement official noting the large amount of the drug seizure and related cash and that the multi-agency effort has resulted in the destruction/ruination/serious curtailment of a major drug organization’s operation. To do a horrible paraphrasing of Shakespeare, ‘I think the enforcers brag too much.’” (08/30/08) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=1403 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Mother Jones Author: Bruce Falconer Posted on 09.02.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “‘Government likes to begin things — to declare grand new programs and causes,’ President Bush said in 2001 at the unveiling of his ‘Management Agenda,’ a program aimed at improving the performance of federal agencies. ‘But good beginnings are not the measure of success. What matters in the end is completion. Performance. Results.’ In subsequent years, the Bush administration gave birth to numerous new executive departments, offices, and programs of its own — and the results are in. A stroll through the graveyard of best intentions …” (08/25/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/5dtraa Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Classically Liberal Author: CLS Posted on 09.02.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Paul Krugman is demented, and I mean that in the kindest way possible. The only explanation I have for some of his absurd and ridiculous views are that the man is inflicted by some serious brain disease that is rotting out the cells one by one. Krugman is one of these people who is spreading the bullshit that George Bush is some of small government advocate and the failure of the Bush administration is that it didn’t intervene enough.” (09/02/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/573o3k Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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For though Morgoth’s might was greatest of all things in this world, alone of the Valar he knew fear
Source: Unqualified Offerings Posted on 09.02.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “So, there were indeed some anarchists in MN, and they did indeed smash some windows. Those accused of doing these things should of course be arrested and, if found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, receive punishments proportional to their crimes. But reading the accounts from the Twin Cities, I read of a city that has been militarized unlike anything seen in the US for a very long time. Are punks breaking windows such a terror that a city must be militarized, that journalists must have their homes raided by SWAT teams, and that all who would carry a sign must risk arrest or worse? The answer, of course is obvious: The pen that makes the sign is far mightier than the stick that breaks the window, and so they fear that pen. This is a culture of fear.” (09/02/08) Link: http://highclearing.com/index.php/archives/2008/09/02/8629 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: AlterNet Author: David Bacon Posted on 09.02.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “[B]arbara Gonzalez, spokesperson for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), stated the raid took place because of a tip by a ‘union member’ two years before. Other media accounts focused on an incident in which plant workers allegedly cheered as their coworkers were led away by ICE agents. The articles claim the plant was torn by tension between immigrant and non-immigrant workers, and that unions in Mississippi are hostile to immigrants. Many Mississippi activists and workers, however, charge the raid had a political agenda — undermining a growing political coalition that threatens the state’s conservative Republican establishment. They also say the raid, which took place during union contract negotiations, will help the company resist demands for better wages and conditions.” (09/02/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/69ckb4 Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Paid to be Rich Author: Carl Milsted, Jr. Posted on 09.02.08 by Thomas L. Knapp “Liberty, oligarchy and democracy are mutually exclusive. You might have two out of three, but not all three at once. You can have oligarchy and democracy at the same time — if the government gives out enough largess to keep the plebeians happy. It’s happening now in the United States. Government has ballooned during the past century. In other First World nations, the process is further along. In Western Europe, everyone is a welfare recipient. You can have oligarchy and economic freedom at the same time — if you dispense with democracy. Lichtenstein and Dubai come to mind.” (09/01/08) Link: http://paidtoberich.blogspot.com/2008/09/rich-get-richer.html Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Orange County Register Author: Alan Bock Posted on 09.01.08 by Steve Trinward “So the old rascal still had a trick or two up his sleeve — and his campaign has learned how to keep a secret, which may suggest a certain degree of discipline that had been notably lacking prior to the ascension of bullet-headed Steve Schmidt as campaign manager. The choice of first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the GOP vice presidential candidate is not without its downside potential, but it was a bold choice that could be a game-changer for John McCain who, despite recent polls showing him virtually tied with Barack Obama, had to be viewed as the underdog in this race. Palin, 44, seems to be both an economic and a social conservative who can appeal to whatever remains of the libertarian wing of the GOP.” (08/30/08) Link: http://tinyurl.com/63ut2o Filed under: CANDi Commentary and PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: In These Times Author: Cliff Schecter Posted on 09.01.08 by Steve Trinward “At a town hall meeting in Denver in early July, a Vietnam veteran asked presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) why he had opposed increasing healthcare for veterans whenever Congress had taken up the issue over the past six years. McCain virtually ignored the man’s question, dissembling his opposition to an updated GI Bill for veterans. After the questioner challenged McCain’s response, the senator reacted as he usually does when queried beyond his comfort level: He got visibly angry. Because McCain is running for president almost solely on his biography as a war hero, he can’t — and won’t — allow the slightest doubt to linger about his dedication to soldiers both past and present.” (09/01/08) Link: http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3864/dereliction_of_duty/ Filed under: PND Commentary and RRND Commentary | |
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Source: Fox News Author: Susan Estrich Posted on 09.01.08 by Steve Trinward “Women are not fungible. I don’t know if anyone sitting around with John McCain in the last few days has explained that to him; frankly, I don’t know if there even were any women sitting around with John McCain in the last few days. But, I think I understand a few things about Hillary’s base in the Democratic party, and why so many women have been so loyal to her, and if John McCain thinks that simply picking another person with similar anatomy is going to win their votes, he’s about to learn a very important lesson in gender politics. Nothing again Sarah Palin. To be honest, I don’t know her. She is a newcomer to the national scene, new enough to make Barac |