26 April 2005

Brendan Nyhan: Brownstein falls for centrist third party fantasy --Brendan Nyhan tells us why Joe Trippi is an idiot and why a centrist/Internet third party won't happen. (1:10 AM)

23 April 2005

Earth Day Roundup --Katrina vanden Heuvel points to some environmental victories to cheer us up from the blues we might be feeling after media girl highlights the difference between out inheritance and our legacy in pictorial form. Eli thinks that some environmentalists have forgotten the "Earth" in Earth Day. Crooks and Liars catches some appropriate George W. Bush Earth Day footage. (10:42 AM)

22 April 2005

Jeffords RoundUp --David Sirota says that Republican Governor Jim Douglas is rightfully reluctant to run for a seat that is Bernie Sanders' to lose. Bob Brigham lists the Vermont Cattle Call. Bradford Plumer remembers that Jeffords saved Bush. (7:39 PM)
Black Robes, White Smoke --Sandy Levinson thinks that the College of Cardinals and the Supreme Court bear some similarities. (7:37 PM)
Picking on the Religious Kid --Laura McKenna thinks that liberal bloggers who bash religious types are like playground bullies. (7:31 PM)

20 April 2005

No One Likes an Asshole --Susan Paxton calls out some on the left for being assholes just because they don't like Benedict XVI. (2:04 AM)

14 April 2005

The Meta-Campaign in Pennsylvania --Rick Grucza thinks that the Senate Pennsylania primary match-up between Chuck Pennachio and Bob Casey Jr. pits "the neo-liberal techno-savvy Democrats against the old-line blue-collar party faithful" and that "Democrats have been arrogant and foolish in their shunning of pro-life candidates." (7:28 AM)
All the Presidents MP3s --A few people had thoughts on the president's iPod playlist. Katrina vandel Heuvel suggests some tracks. The Republic of T notes that a friend importing tracks onto your iPod is considered stealing by some. Black at the Next Left is intrigued by the inclusion of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.
Paul Schmelzer wonders why the media is more interested in the president's playlist than in his policies. Eli uses the inclusion of "My Sharona" to proclaim that Ariel Sharon owns Bush. Roxanne merely thinks the song may be included because Dubya thinks it is Israel-related. (6:45 AM)

13 April 2005

Detention Ain't Just for Afterschool --Helena Cobban points to a story that the U.S. Army has plans to remain in Iraq until at least 2009. (6:07 AM)

12 April 2005

Nice to See They Don't Suck at Everything -- Angelica at
battlepanda points out that even libertarians think that the French health care system is better than America's. (6:30 AM)
On Wal-Mart --Ed Fitzgerald points to a coalition forming to try to change how Wal-Mart does business. David Sirota notes that Colorado has pending legislation to publish a list of companies (like Wal-Mart) with little or no health insurance and how much they cost the state in health care. Meanwhile, the Wal-Mart public relations net, is spreading. (6:08 AM)
Group Blogs Suck --Brendan Nyhan says, "Group blogs suck" and doesn't have high hopes for Josh Marshall's endeavor in that field. (6:08 AM)
That Vision Thing --Bradford Plumer thinks that the Democrats need a grand economic vision to help form policies and a political message. (5:56 AM)

10 April 2005

Blaming C-Span --Ed Fitzgerald thinks that C-Span has moral culpability for giving credibility to right-wing liars and crackpots. (2:58 AM)
Arms Race 2.0 --Kash at Angry Bear points out how China has a hidden economic weapon that it can use against the U.S. (2:54 AM)

07 April 2005

Get Carter --People wonder why a willing Jimmy Carter was left out of the official American delegation to the funeral of John Paul II. Ellen Dana Nagler thinks that George W. Bush has a mean streak and enjoyed snubbing Carter. Michael of Here's What's Left notes that politicizing conservatives have turned it into another occasion to bash Carter. jmhm thinks it is disgraceful that Carter is left off, but Condoleeza Rice is in. (12:17 AM)
Powerline Roundup --TalkLeft has the "Shorter Powerline" on the GOP Schiavo memo. Michael at Here's What's Left can't understand why Powerline's hatred of the left requires them to claim the AP is an accomplice to murder without any evidence. He also wonders why the Powerline gang needs to put false words in the mouth of Ruth Bader Ginsberg in order to have a "national dialogue about pretend issues and fake judiciary." Digby wonders if there "has there ever been a bigger bunch of vainglorious nobodies in the history of the world."

Update: August J. Pollak notes Powerline's non-apology, while John at Big Brass Blog is waiting for one. Ezra Klein thinks they have no idea what they are talking about and we should stop taking them seriously. (When did we start?) (12:05 AM)

06 April 2005

Capitalism Is Good for the Environment --The Commons Blog points to a paper showing that variable-rate pricing schemes increase recycling rates. (8:22 PM)
New Age Politics? --Mark Schmitt thinks that reviewer Marc Cooper offers a better plan for Democrats than the man whose book he reviews, "framing" guru George Lakoff. (8:59 AM)
C-SPAN Is Fair and Balanced --Orcinus says that "C-SPAN's Sunday broadcast of its BookTV program on Deborah Lipstadt's book on her ordeal by libel trial with Holocaust denier David Irving wound up only demonstrating that the concerns over its highly questionable approach were indeed well grounded." (8:55 AM)
Cornyn Roundup --The left blogosphere is up in arms over John Cornyn's recent comments. Think Progress has the video of it. Yuval Rubinstein thinks that we should view Cornyn within the context of a hegemony seeking Republican Party. Oliver Willis notes that Corwyn supported the conservative Southern segregationist George C. Wallace in 1968. Quiddity interprets Corwyn as wondering " if the perception of unaccountable judges is causing courtroom violence" and rounds up a list of political figures who are creating this perception. tbogg has "The (Shorter) Judicial Philosophy of Senator John Cornyn." David Bailey finds another part of Cornyn's speech interesting. .DHinMI thinks that The Right is practicing a double-standard. Aziz P. thinks that in Cornyn's "quest for short-term political advantage, he has cut his nose to spite his face." Nathan Newman thinks that there is an unnecessarily liberal feeding frenz around Corwyn and we should should instead "welcome him to a broader discussion of the sources of violence in our society." (8:42 AM)
Now I Know My VATs, Won't You Come and Play With Me. --Ezra Klein uses a New York Timeseditorial by conservative economist Bruce Bartlett to explain what a Value Added Tax is and why it is better than a sales tax. (8:12 AM)
The Jordan Shuffle --The Aardvark that the replacement of Faisal al Fayez with academic Adnan Badran in Jordan " sort of came out of the blue, and was sort of expected." (8:03 AM)
What's Your Name? --Boris Zivkovic us unsure what to call the Right Wing, (7:11 AM)

05 April 2005

Tradeoffs --John S. Irons writes on "the tradeoff between additional tax cuts for the rich and reductions in vital domestic services," noting that the right wing has tried to foster the perception that tax policiy and budget policy are unrelated. (1:44 AM)

04 April 2005

Swing, Swing --Ruy Teixeira points to white Catholics as a true swing vote that makes up 21% of voters in the 2004 election. (3:06 PM)
Save the Whales --The Bull Moose "urges the Environmental Protection Agency to grant endangered species protection to Republican moderates." (2:21 PM)
Who Loves the Pope? --Abu Aardvark notes that radical Islamicists hate that the Pope is getting respect on Al-Jazeera and other Arab networks. (2:13 PM)
The Pope and Liberation Theology --Via Lindsay Beyerstein, we find Roy Edroso's take on John Paul II and Liberation Theology. (1:42 AM)
Social Security Newspeak --David Bailey notes how the Social Security Administration " has undertaken subtle shifts in rhetoric to undermine public confidence in the system and emphasize a need to change it" since 2000. (1:37 AM)
Seeking Reconciliation --Chris Geidner reflects on growing up Catholic and gay. (1:34 AM)

02 April 2005

Can We Write NASA's Obituary? --Elaine Supkis writes about how NASA is being killed and adds in the story of how Reagan killed the Challenger astronauts. (3:16 PM)
Must Be That Wave of Democracy Sweeping the World --Over at the new Democracy Arsenal, Suzanne Nossel writes on the illegitimacy of Mugabe's elections in Zimbabwe. (3:08 PM)

01 April 2005

Fox News Wrong? That's Unpossible! --James Wolcott writes on how Fox News "didn't even wait for the Pope to die to start politicizing his death. " (5:56 PM)
Perspectives on Security Clearance --Laura Rozen has anonymous remarks by people with security clearance on the Sandy Berger case. (4:35 PM)
My Money Is On an Italian --Lindsay Beyerstein links to a papal betting pool. (4:15 PM)
In Soviet America, Pravda Biases You --Michael at Here's What's Left notes that Brit Hume is making an ad hominem attack in the guise of reporting. (4:10 PM)