FREEDOM ON THE MARCH
In the southern city of Basra, hundreds of students have protested in front of the governor's office for the past three days, sometimes scuffling with the police, in the latest show of anger against the Shiite parties and militias that largely run the city.
The demonstrations began after an incident on Wednesday in which militiamen loyal to the cleric Moktada al-Sadr beat a group of students dressed Western style, with uncovered hair and jeans, as they ate a picnic lunch in a Basra park. Police officers were standing by but did not stop the attack, the students said....
Basra's governor, Muhammad Mesbeh al Waili, said Mr. Sadr's local office had issued a formal apology. But the spokesman for Mr. Sadr's office in Basra, Sheik Asad al-Basra, was unrepentant in an interview on Saturday, saying that the incident had been caused by "licentious behavior" among the students.
--New York Times
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Friday, March 18, 2005
From Linda Douglass on ABC News tonight (no transcript available online):
ABC News has obtained talking points circulated among Republican senators explaining why they should vote to intervene in the Schiavo case. Among them: "This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited..." and "This is a great political issue... this is a tough issue for Democrats."
Really pure of heart, aren't they?
*****
UPDATE: A commenter informs me that ABC has now posted this, which quotes the talking points and DeLay's response to them:
"I don't know where those talking points come from, and I think they're disgusting."
I believe that's what you'd call a "non-denial denial" of their authenticity.
*****
(Welcome visitors from TBogg, Atrios, Oliver Willis, etc. While you're here, let me also direct your attention to the fact that right-wingers are lying to you about Terri Schiavo's "agonizing" death.)
ABC News has obtained talking points circulated among Republican senators explaining why they should vote to intervene in the Schiavo case. Among them: "This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited..." and "This is a great political issue... this is a tough issue for Democrats."
Really pure of heart, aren't they?
*****
UPDATE: A commenter informs me that ABC has now posted this, which quotes the talking points and DeLay's response to them:
"I don't know where those talking points come from, and I think they're disgusting."
I believe that's what you'd call a "non-denial denial" of their authenticity.
*****
(Welcome visitors from TBogg, Atrios, Oliver Willis, etc. While you're here, let me also direct your attention to the fact that right-wingers are lying to you about Terri Schiavo's "agonizing" death.)
Propaganda:
Terri Schiavo Sentenced to Slow, Painful Death
--American Life League press release
The moment her feeding tube is removed, Terri Schiavo will begin a long, slow, painful death by starvation and dehydration.
--Operation Rescue Web site
Death by dehydration is a painful, agonizing and arduous process that takes 10 to 14 days. Compared to starvation and dehydration, death by hanging, firing squad or even electric chair seem humane.
--Congressman Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.) on the House floor Thursday
Fact:
... the brain-damaged woman's physical response to having her feeding tube removed is likely to be very serene.
"The process of starving to death seems very barbaric but in actuality is very peaceful," said Dr. Fred Mirarchi, assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.
"The patient's experience is really pretty benign," said Dr. Joanne Lynn, a hospice physician associated with Americans for Better Care of the Dying, a group working for improved end-of-life care. "Overwhelmingly, what will happen is nothing."
... the fact that Schiavo is in a vegetative state will likely make her death faster and less painful, Lynn said.
...Most patients who cannot eat or drink will enter a physical state known as ketosis. During ketosis the body begins to use fat and muscle as a fuel source.
In advanced cases of ketosis, the nervous system response is dulled, and patients rarely feel pain, hunger or thirst. There is also some evidence that ketosis can produce a state of well-being or mild euphoria.
...Over time, the patient will become more and more dehydrated and will eventually develop kidney failure, Mirarchi explained.
"Patients at this point are uremic -- filled with bodily toxins -- and are unaware of their surroundings," Mirarchi said.
...In the final moments of life, the abnormalities in the patient's heart rate known as arrhythmia are common.
"The heart will then stop and the patient will die," said Mirarchi.
--ABC News
Terri Schiavo Sentenced to Slow, Painful Death
--American Life League press release
The moment her feeding tube is removed, Terri Schiavo will begin a long, slow, painful death by starvation and dehydration.
--Operation Rescue Web site
Death by dehydration is a painful, agonizing and arduous process that takes 10 to 14 days. Compared to starvation and dehydration, death by hanging, firing squad or even electric chair seem humane.
--Congressman Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.) on the House floor Thursday
Fact:
... the brain-damaged woman's physical response to having her feeding tube removed is likely to be very serene.
"The process of starving to death seems very barbaric but in actuality is very peaceful," said Dr. Fred Mirarchi, assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.
"The patient's experience is really pretty benign," said Dr. Joanne Lynn, a hospice physician associated with Americans for Better Care of the Dying, a group working for improved end-of-life care. "Overwhelmingly, what will happen is nothing."
... the fact that Schiavo is in a vegetative state will likely make her death faster and less painful, Lynn said.
...Most patients who cannot eat or drink will enter a physical state known as ketosis. During ketosis the body begins to use fat and muscle as a fuel source.
In advanced cases of ketosis, the nervous system response is dulled, and patients rarely feel pain, hunger or thirst. There is also some evidence that ketosis can produce a state of well-being or mild euphoria.
...Over time, the patient will become more and more dehydrated and will eventually develop kidney failure, Mirarchi explained.
"Patients at this point are uremic -- filled with bodily toxins -- and are unaware of their surroundings," Mirarchi said.
...In the final moments of life, the abnormalities in the patient's heart rate known as arrhythmia are common.
"The heart will then stop and the patient will die," said Mirarchi.
--ABC News
Shorter Peggy Noonan:
Bill Frist has more of a right to decide Terri Schiavo's fate than her lawful husband whose opinion has been affirmed numerous times by the courts because her husband is a "strange-o" and lots of people who agree with him have beards.
****
Update:
Doctors removed Terri Schiavo's feeding tube Friday despite an extraordinary, last-minute push by Republicans on Capitol Hill to use the subpoena powers of Congress to save the severely brain-damaged woman.
Schiavo's family issued a statement on their Web site confirming that the tube had been disconnected. It is expected that it will take one to two weeks for Schiavo to die, provided no one intercedes and gets the tube reinserted....
Which is a big if.
*****
Oh, and apologies for failing to mention that one of the most prominent supporters of Terri Schiavo's parents in their fight against her husband and the courts is Randall (Operation Rescue) Terry.
Bill Frist has more of a right to decide Terri Schiavo's fate than her lawful husband whose opinion has been affirmed numerous times by the courts because her husband is a "strange-o" and lots of people who agree with him have beards.
****
Update:
Doctors removed Terri Schiavo's feeding tube Friday despite an extraordinary, last-minute push by Republicans on Capitol Hill to use the subpoena powers of Congress to save the severely brain-damaged woman.
Schiavo's family issued a statement on their Web site confirming that the tube had been disconnected. It is expected that it will take one to two weeks for Schiavo to die, provided no one intercedes and gets the tube reinserted....
Which is a big if.
*****
Oh, and apologies for failing to mention that one of the most prominent supporters of Terri Schiavo's parents in their fight against her husband and the courts is Randall (Operation Rescue) Terry.
The latest in the Terri Schiavo case is that a Florida judge has delayed removal of her feeding tube -- shortly after this cheap little stunt took place in D.C.:
...U.S. lawmakers on Friday called on Terri Schiavo to appear before congressional committees in an attempt to keep her alive.
House of Representatives leaders issued subpoenas for Schiavo while the Senate called her as a witness to congressional hearings to stave off the removal of her feeding tube, scheduled for 1 p.m....
Federal law protects a witness "from anyone who ... influences, obstructs, or impedes an inquiry or investigation by Congress," [Senator Bill] Frist said.
For some reason, this reminds me of Russell Weston. Remember him? He killed two police officers at the U.S. Capitol in 1998, and it's the most open-and-shut case of not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity imaginable:
Russell Eugene Weston Jr. told a court-appointed psychiatrist that he stormed the U.S. Capitol last summer, killing two police officers, to prevent the United States from being annihilated by disease and legions of cannibals.
"He described his belief that time was running out and that if he did not come to Washington, D.C., he would become infected with Black Heva," wrote Sally C. Johnson, the psychiatrist who examined Weston last fall. Weston called this imaginary ailment the "most deadliest disease known to mankind" and said it was spread by the rotting corpses of cannibals' victims, Johnson wrote.
Weston told Johnson he went to the Capitol to gain access to what he called "the ruby satellite," a device he said was kept in a Senate safe. That satellite, he insisted, was the key to putting a stop to cannibalism.
The former mental patient told another doctor that he fatally shot officers Jacob J. Chestnut and John M. Gibson on July 24 because they were cannibals who were keeping him from the satellite....
Weston was found incompetent to stand trial, but he was then forcibly medicated in order to determine whether he could be made competent -- and face the death penalty.
In each case, the outcome of standard procedures -- Michael Schiavo's trip through the Florida court system and Russell Weston's competency hearing -- led to a conclusion that's at odds with the simple verities a lot of Americans would like to believe rule the universe: that helpless innocents will triumph and that those who do evil will be punished. Terri Schiavo can't recover, but, for some Americans, that reality is intolerable. No rational person can be held accountable for the Capitol shootings, but some Americans find that equally intolerable. So people with the power to do so toy with the system -- and use Terri Schiavo and Russell Weston -- in order to make life jibe with their belief in a just world.
...U.S. lawmakers on Friday called on Terri Schiavo to appear before congressional committees in an attempt to keep her alive.
House of Representatives leaders issued subpoenas for Schiavo while the Senate called her as a witness to congressional hearings to stave off the removal of her feeding tube, scheduled for 1 p.m....
Federal law protects a witness "from anyone who ... influences, obstructs, or impedes an inquiry or investigation by Congress," [Senator Bill] Frist said.
For some reason, this reminds me of Russell Weston. Remember him? He killed two police officers at the U.S. Capitol in 1998, and it's the most open-and-shut case of not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity imaginable:
Russell Eugene Weston Jr. told a court-appointed psychiatrist that he stormed the U.S. Capitol last summer, killing two police officers, to prevent the United States from being annihilated by disease and legions of cannibals.
"He described his belief that time was running out and that if he did not come to Washington, D.C., he would become infected with Black Heva," wrote Sally C. Johnson, the psychiatrist who examined Weston last fall. Weston called this imaginary ailment the "most deadliest disease known to mankind" and said it was spread by the rotting corpses of cannibals' victims, Johnson wrote.
Weston told Johnson he went to the Capitol to gain access to what he called "the ruby satellite," a device he said was kept in a Senate safe. That satellite, he insisted, was the key to putting a stop to cannibalism.
The former mental patient told another doctor that he fatally shot officers Jacob J. Chestnut and John M. Gibson on July 24 because they were cannibals who were keeping him from the satellite....
Weston was found incompetent to stand trial, but he was then forcibly medicated in order to determine whether he could be made competent -- and face the death penalty.
In each case, the outcome of standard procedures -- Michael Schiavo's trip through the Florida court system and Russell Weston's competency hearing -- led to a conclusion that's at odds with the simple verities a lot of Americans would like to believe rule the universe: that helpless innocents will triumph and that those who do evil will be punished. Terri Schiavo can't recover, but, for some Americans, that reality is intolerable. No rational person can be held accountable for the Capitol shootings, but some Americans find that equally intolerable. So people with the power to do so toy with the system -- and use Terri Schiavo and Russell Weston -- in order to make life jibe with their belief in a just world.
LIES, DAMNED LIES, AND RIGHT-WING PROPAGANDA
"If you're going to put somebody to death, or have them starved to death, I would think that you would want a complete neurological exam in reaching that conclusion," Frist said on the Senate floor. "In fact -- this is what I'm told -- that she hasn't had an MRI or CAT scan which suggests she has not had a full neurological exam."
--Senator Bill Frist quoted on the Terri Schiavo case at World Net Daily
In the initial adversary proceeding, a board-certified neurologist who had reviewed a CAT scan of Mrs. Schiavo's brain and an EEG testified that most, if not all, of Mrs. Schiavo's cerebral cortex--the portion of her brain that allows for human cognition and memory--is either totally destroyed or damaged beyond repair.
--July 2001 opinion of a three-judge panel of Florida's Second District Court
Ah, but if you try to search the Internet for "schiavo" and "mri," you get pages and pages and pages of right-wing/Christian conservative sites, all recycling the same lies, rumors, and half-truths, including the assertion that she's had no test that would show what's really going on in her head. For the millionth time, the right-wingers, using sheer volume, have won an information war -- even NPR this morning was presenting the possibility of Schiavo's recovery as a he-said/they-said story (something to the effect of "but Schiavo's parents believe she could recover").*
Of course, heaven forbid that Frist, a doctor, should make a bit of extra effort to find out the truth before shooting his mouth off.
---
*And see the last sentence of this AP story.
"If you're going to put somebody to death, or have them starved to death, I would think that you would want a complete neurological exam in reaching that conclusion," Frist said on the Senate floor. "In fact -- this is what I'm told -- that she hasn't had an MRI or CAT scan which suggests she has not had a full neurological exam."
--Senator Bill Frist quoted on the Terri Schiavo case at World Net Daily
In the initial adversary proceeding, a board-certified neurologist who had reviewed a CAT scan of Mrs. Schiavo's brain and an EEG testified that most, if not all, of Mrs. Schiavo's cerebral cortex--the portion of her brain that allows for human cognition and memory--is either totally destroyed or damaged beyond repair.
--July 2001 opinion of a three-judge panel of Florida's Second District Court
Ah, but if you try to search the Internet for "schiavo" and "mri," you get pages and pages and pages of right-wing/Christian conservative sites, all recycling the same lies, rumors, and half-truths, including the assertion that she's had no test that would show what's really going on in her head. For the millionth time, the right-wingers, using sheer volume, have won an information war -- even NPR this morning was presenting the possibility of Schiavo's recovery as a he-said/they-said story (something to the effect of "but Schiavo's parents believe she could recover").*
Of course, heaven forbid that Frist, a doctor, should make a bit of extra effort to find out the truth before shooting his mouth off.
---
*And see the last sentence of this AP story.
Ah, we all cheered, didn't we, when Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, under intense pressure from Future Fifth Face On Mount Rushmore George W. Bush, announced that Egypt would soon have elections involving more than one party. And we cheered again when Ayman Nour, newly released from an Egyptian prison, declared that he would challenge Mubarak for Egypt's presidency.
It's the inexorable march of freedom in the Middle East! Hail Bush!
Or, er, maybe not so inexorable:
... with the odds heavily against any rival to President Hosni Mubarak, Ayman Nour is so far alone in stepping forward.
Other opposition leaders are waiting for now, dismayed by what they call "the impossible conditions" they say guarantee that Mubarak -- 76 years old and the unquestioned ruler of Egypt for nearly a quarter century -- will be the winner in elections this September as usual, even after he decided to open the vote to competition.
Impossible conditions such as these:
Under the new rules, candidates must obtain a certain percentage of "recommendations" from the upper and lower house of the parliament, in addition to votes from the local city councils, as the first step toward eligibility.
The 47,000 members of the city councils are government bureaucrats, and the great majority are members of the ruling National Democratic Party who won their seats through unmonitored elections that were widely thought to be skewed in favor of the ruling party.
The council members' loyalty to Mubarak made them one of the regime's important tools against any popular uprisings. They also organize pro-government rallies, such as a huge state-orchestrated celebration for Mubarak when he arrived in Egypt after escaping an assassination attempt in Ethiopia in 1995.
So other candidates aren't stepping forward -- and, in fact, Mubarak's party is looking for candidates who'll step forward, apparently to make the fig leaf bigger:
...Diaa Eddin Dawoud, secretary-general of the Nasserite party, said the ruling party is actually searching for opponents to guarantee the elections look like a success.
"The National Democratic Party is nagging, pushing and implicating many party heads to enter into elections ... to give legitimacy to the election of a president," he said in a telephone interview....
So what is this election really supposed to accomplish?
Many opposition leaders fear that if the elections take place in such conditions, Mubarak will not only be a winner but will be mentioned in the history books as Egypt's modern reformist, and pressures from the United States and the West for real reform will ease.
Another worry is that the president will use the elections to ensure that his 41-year-old son, Gamal Mubarak, succeeds him.
Oh, and there was this last night from Dan Harris on ABC's World News Tonight:
And today, hours after his raucous campaign kickoff, Ayman Nour was taken back into state custody for further interrogation.
It's the inexorable march of freedom in the Middle East! Hail Bush!
Or, er, maybe not so inexorable:
... with the odds heavily against any rival to President Hosni Mubarak, Ayman Nour is so far alone in stepping forward.
Other opposition leaders are waiting for now, dismayed by what they call "the impossible conditions" they say guarantee that Mubarak -- 76 years old and the unquestioned ruler of Egypt for nearly a quarter century -- will be the winner in elections this September as usual, even after he decided to open the vote to competition.
Impossible conditions such as these:
Under the new rules, candidates must obtain a certain percentage of "recommendations" from the upper and lower house of the parliament, in addition to votes from the local city councils, as the first step toward eligibility.
The 47,000 members of the city councils are government bureaucrats, and the great majority are members of the ruling National Democratic Party who won their seats through unmonitored elections that were widely thought to be skewed in favor of the ruling party.
The council members' loyalty to Mubarak made them one of the regime's important tools against any popular uprisings. They also organize pro-government rallies, such as a huge state-orchestrated celebration for Mubarak when he arrived in Egypt after escaping an assassination attempt in Ethiopia in 1995.
So other candidates aren't stepping forward -- and, in fact, Mubarak's party is looking for candidates who'll step forward, apparently to make the fig leaf bigger:
...Diaa Eddin Dawoud, secretary-general of the Nasserite party, said the ruling party is actually searching for opponents to guarantee the elections look like a success.
"The National Democratic Party is nagging, pushing and implicating many party heads to enter into elections ... to give legitimacy to the election of a president," he said in a telephone interview....
So what is this election really supposed to accomplish?
Many opposition leaders fear that if the elections take place in such conditions, Mubarak will not only be a winner but will be mentioned in the history books as Egypt's modern reformist, and pressures from the United States and the West for real reform will ease.
Another worry is that the president will use the elections to ensure that his 41-year-old son, Gamal Mubarak, succeeds him.
Oh, and there was this last night from Dan Harris on ABC's World News Tonight:
And today, hours after his raucous campaign kickoff, Ayman Nour was taken back into state custody for further interrogation.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
These people never rest:
Pierre, S.D. -- Gov. Mike Rounds signed a series of anti-abortion bills, including one that requires doctors to tell women the procedure ends the lives of humans, his office announced Thursday....
One of the four new laws requires doctors to inform pregnant women, in writing and in person, no later than two hours before an abortion that the procedure ends the lives of humans and terminates the constitutional relationship women have with their fetuses.
Whatever the hell that means. And as for that equation of fetuses and "humans," there's no indication so far that South Dakota plans to lower the drinking age to 20 years and 3 months.
Women also must be told that some women die during abortions and the procedure can lead to later depression and other problems....
Rounds, a Republican elected in 2002, also signed a bill that will automatically ban most abortions in South Dakota if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses its 1973 Roe decision and gives states authority to prohibit abortion. The only exceptions would be cases where a woman's life is in danger. Doctors who perform illegal abortions could receive up to two years in prison.
Got that? No exception for rape or incest. That goes into effect the day Roe is overturned.
...Another bill signed by Rounds tightens the state's parental notification law to require parents to be told within 24 hours if their minor daughter receives an emergency abortion to protect her life or health. The minor could seek an exception through a court order.
A fourth new law establishes a state task force to study the history of abortion since 1973 and to see if other laws need changing. Abortion opponents said science, medicine and technology have changed considerably since the Roe v. Wade decision.
About 800 abortions are done each year in South Dakota.
And clearly, before these guys are done, there'll be at least twice as many hoops to jump through if you decide to get one.
(Link via Democratic Underground.)
Pierre, S.D. -- Gov. Mike Rounds signed a series of anti-abortion bills, including one that requires doctors to tell women the procedure ends the lives of humans, his office announced Thursday....
One of the four new laws requires doctors to inform pregnant women, in writing and in person, no later than two hours before an abortion that the procedure ends the lives of humans and terminates the constitutional relationship women have with their fetuses.
Whatever the hell that means. And as for that equation of fetuses and "humans," there's no indication so far that South Dakota plans to lower the drinking age to 20 years and 3 months.
Women also must be told that some women die during abortions and the procedure can lead to later depression and other problems....
Rounds, a Republican elected in 2002, also signed a bill that will automatically ban most abortions in South Dakota if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses its 1973 Roe decision and gives states authority to prohibit abortion. The only exceptions would be cases where a woman's life is in danger. Doctors who perform illegal abortions could receive up to two years in prison.
Got that? No exception for rape or incest. That goes into effect the day Roe is overturned.
...Another bill signed by Rounds tightens the state's parental notification law to require parents to be told within 24 hours if their minor daughter receives an emergency abortion to protect her life or health. The minor could seek an exception through a court order.
A fourth new law establishes a state task force to study the history of abortion since 1973 and to see if other laws need changing. Abortion opponents said science, medicine and technology have changed considerably since the Roe v. Wade decision.
About 800 abortions are done each year in South Dakota.
And clearly, before these guys are done, there'll be at least twice as many hoops to jump through if you decide to get one.
(Link via Democratic Underground.)
Oh, this is perfect:
Former Green Beret Commander Bo Gritz is trying to conduct a citizen's arrest of Terri Schiavo's husband and the judge who ordered the brain-damaged Florida woman's feeding tube removed so she can be legally starved.
The 66-year-old retired Army Lt. Colonel with his wife, Judy, arrived in Florida from their home in Nevada yesterday with the intent of arresting anyone involved in removing the life-sustaining tube.
Gritz came bearing a notarized "citizen's arrest warrant" addressed to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Attorney General Charlie Crist.
His intent is to "paper" state and federal law enforcement offices with his warrant today – one day before Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer's deadline to begin denial of food and water to Terri Schiavo.
Gritz says the "arrest" is designed to allow officials additional options as the Florida governor and legislature maneuver to save the woman from starvation....
--World Net Daily
I don't really believe he'd have the guts, the ability, or the opportunity, but I half-wish this old showboater would do it -- really take the law into his own hands and grab Michael Schiavo or some hospital worker, or maybe a judge. Maybe that would get across to America how the God-speaks-through-me crowd is operating in this case. There really isn't a whole lot of difference between Gritz the vigilante and legislators (in Tallahassee and D.C.) who've decided they have the right to overturn a court decision they don't like because they think judges who've studied the facts of the case are less to be trusted than self-appointed "experts" who don't know what they're talking about.
More on Gritz -- allegedly the model for Rambo -- here and here.
Former Green Beret Commander Bo Gritz is trying to conduct a citizen's arrest of Terri Schiavo's husband and the judge who ordered the brain-damaged Florida woman's feeding tube removed so she can be legally starved.
The 66-year-old retired Army Lt. Colonel with his wife, Judy, arrived in Florida from their home in Nevada yesterday with the intent of arresting anyone involved in removing the life-sustaining tube.
Gritz came bearing a notarized "citizen's arrest warrant" addressed to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Attorney General Charlie Crist.
His intent is to "paper" state and federal law enforcement offices with his warrant today – one day before Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer's deadline to begin denial of food and water to Terri Schiavo.
Gritz says the "arrest" is designed to allow officials additional options as the Florida governor and legislature maneuver to save the woman from starvation....
--World Net Daily
I don't really believe he'd have the guts, the ability, or the opportunity, but I half-wish this old showboater would do it -- really take the law into his own hands and grab Michael Schiavo or some hospital worker, or maybe a judge. Maybe that would get across to America how the God-speaks-through-me crowd is operating in this case. There really isn't a whole lot of difference between Gritz the vigilante and legislators (in Tallahassee and D.C.) who've decided they have the right to overturn a court decision they don't like because they think judges who've studied the facts of the case are less to be trusted than self-appointed "experts" who don't know what they're talking about.
More on Gritz -- allegedly the model for Rambo -- here and here.
Afghan president says parliamentary elections delayed until September
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday that parliamentary elections originally scheduled for May will instead be held in September, a much-anticipated delay as Afghan and international organizers struggle with logistics for the vote.
Karzai cited "technical problems" including the lack of an accurate census as reasons why the vote would be delayed....
Some of Karzai's critics have said that delaying the parliamentary vote beyond the May 20 deadline would leave him in the position of an elected dictator, though most opposition groups have taken the likely delay in stride.
Observers in Kabul and elsewhere have long said the vote would be delayed because of the daunting task of organizing the election, which is supposed to include ballots for district and provincial assemblies.
--AP
So, er, if it's impossible to hold credible parliamentary elections in May, what are we supposed to think about the election last fall in which Hamid Karzai was elected president?
And if we're going to hail every baby step toward democracy in the Middle East as the equivalent of the fall of a chunk of the Berlin Wall, what should we say about a noteworthy step backwards?
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday that parliamentary elections originally scheduled for May will instead be held in September, a much-anticipated delay as Afghan and international organizers struggle with logistics for the vote.
Karzai cited "technical problems" including the lack of an accurate census as reasons why the vote would be delayed....
Some of Karzai's critics have said that delaying the parliamentary vote beyond the May 20 deadline would leave him in the position of an elected dictator, though most opposition groups have taken the likely delay in stride.
Observers in Kabul and elsewhere have long said the vote would be delayed because of the daunting task of organizing the election, which is supposed to include ballots for district and provincial assemblies.
--AP
So, er, if it's impossible to hold credible parliamentary elections in May, what are we supposed to think about the election last fall in which Hamid Karzai was elected president?
And if we're going to hail every baby step toward democracy in the Middle East as the equivalent of the fall of a chunk of the Berlin Wall, what should we say about a noteworthy step backwards?
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
You just can't make this stuff up...
Experience The 'Scent Of Christ' - In A Candle
You can find candles with just about every fragrance imaginable, from blueberry to ocean mist, to hot apple pie. Now, there's a candle that lets you experience the "scent of Jesus." And surprisingly, it's straight from South Dakota, not Bethlehem. They've been selling by the case.
"We see it as a ministry," says candle maker Bob Tosterud. Light up the candle called "His Essence" and, according to the makers, you'll experience the fragrance of Christ. "It's a very meaningful experience."
The obvious question is, 'how do you capture the scent of Jesus?'
True -- that is the obvious question.
It's all spelled-out in Psalm 45. Candle maker Karen Tosterud explains, "It's a Messianic Psalm, referring to when Christ returns, and his garments will have the scent of myrrh, aloe and cassia." Wondering what this would smell like, Karen ordered a combination of oils that produce a sort of flowery-cinnamon aroma. Then she called on a friend, who just happened to be a candle maker. "And in October, we got our first batch of 768 candles. We had no idea how it would go."
But once word got out, "It was the hottest item in South Dakota for Christmas." They went through 10,000 candles....
--WFIE, Evansville, Indiana
This is real. Here's the Web site. The candles are 18 bucks a pop. The toll-free number is 1-877-PSALM-45.
Er, didn't Martin Luther nail some theses to a door because of commerce that was not entirely dissimilar to this?
*****
(Somewhat related, but considerably scarier: this.)
Experience The 'Scent Of Christ' - In A Candle
You can find candles with just about every fragrance imaginable, from blueberry to ocean mist, to hot apple pie. Now, there's a candle that lets you experience the "scent of Jesus." And surprisingly, it's straight from South Dakota, not Bethlehem. They've been selling by the case.
"We see it as a ministry," says candle maker Bob Tosterud. Light up the candle called "His Essence" and, according to the makers, you'll experience the fragrance of Christ. "It's a very meaningful experience."
The obvious question is, 'how do you capture the scent of Jesus?'
True -- that is the obvious question.
It's all spelled-out in Psalm 45. Candle maker Karen Tosterud explains, "It's a Messianic Psalm, referring to when Christ returns, and his garments will have the scent of myrrh, aloe and cassia." Wondering what this would smell like, Karen ordered a combination of oils that produce a sort of flowery-cinnamon aroma. Then she called on a friend, who just happened to be a candle maker. "And in October, we got our first batch of 768 candles. We had no idea how it would go."
But once word got out, "It was the hottest item in South Dakota for Christmas." They went through 10,000 candles....
--WFIE, Evansville, Indiana
This is real. Here's the Web site. The candles are 18 bucks a pop. The toll-free number is 1-877-PSALM-45.
Er, didn't Martin Luther nail some theses to a door because of commerce that was not entirely dissimilar to this?
*****
(Somewhat related, but considerably scarier: this.)
YO, DOLLFACE! MAKE ME A SANDWICH!
Mrs. Clinton is also hard to dismiss as a screechy obstructionist because she's gone out of her way to be collegial in the Senate and to work with Republicans from Trent Lott to Sam Brownback.... other senators seem to like Mrs. Clinton. Perhaps it's that, according to New York magazine, she surprises other senators by popping up during meetings and asking: Anybody want a coffee?
--Nicholas Kristof in today's New York Times
You uppity women I don't understand
Why you gotta go and try to act like a man,
But before you make your weekly visit to the shrink
You'd better occupy the kitchen, liberate the sink.
Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed
That's what I to my baby said,
Women's liberation is a-going to your head,
Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed....
So damn emancipated in your mind and your body,
Gonna have to cancel all your lessons in karate.
If you can't love a male chauvinist
You'd better cross me off your shopping list.
Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed
That's what I to my baby said,
Women's liberation is a-going to your head,
Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed.
--Kinky Friedman, 1973
Mrs. Clinton is also hard to dismiss as a screechy obstructionist because she's gone out of her way to be collegial in the Senate and to work with Republicans from Trent Lott to Sam Brownback.... other senators seem to like Mrs. Clinton. Perhaps it's that, according to New York magazine, she surprises other senators by popping up during meetings and asking: Anybody want a coffee?
--Nicholas Kristof in today's New York Times
You uppity women I don't understand
Why you gotta go and try to act like a man,
But before you make your weekly visit to the shrink
You'd better occupy the kitchen, liberate the sink.
Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed
That's what I to my baby said,
Women's liberation is a-going to your head,
Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed....
So damn emancipated in your mind and your body,
Gonna have to cancel all your lessons in karate.
If you can't love a male chauvinist
You'd better cross me off your shopping list.
Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed
That's what I to my baby said,
Women's liberation is a-going to your head,
Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed.
--Kinky Friedman, 1973
CALL THE SEX POLICE
In Missouri:
A bill that seeks to overhaul Missouri's child abuse reporting laws could require teachers, doctors, nurses and others to report sexually active teenagers and children to the state's abuse hot line.
...Perhaps the most controversial provision of the bill is one that many say would require educators, medical personnel and other professionals to report "substantial evidence of sexual intercourse by an unmarried minor under the age of consent."
Critics say the language would, in essence, require child abuse reports even of cases of consensual sex between two teens. Byrd claims the bill seeks only to target sex by children under the age of 15....
Ed Postawko, a sex crimes prosecutor in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's office ... said it's statutory rape or statutory sodomy for anyone to have sex with a child under the age of 14...
--St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Fourteen is rather young to be having sex, but it's also rather young to have a criminal record just for having sex with your same-age girlfriend or boyfriend.
(Link via Democratic Underground.)
In Missouri:
A bill that seeks to overhaul Missouri's child abuse reporting laws could require teachers, doctors, nurses and others to report sexually active teenagers and children to the state's abuse hot line.
...Perhaps the most controversial provision of the bill is one that many say would require educators, medical personnel and other professionals to report "substantial evidence of sexual intercourse by an unmarried minor under the age of consent."
Critics say the language would, in essence, require child abuse reports even of cases of consensual sex between two teens. Byrd claims the bill seeks only to target sex by children under the age of 15....
Ed Postawko, a sex crimes prosecutor in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's office ... said it's statutory rape or statutory sodomy for anyone to have sex with a child under the age of 14...
--St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Fourteen is rather young to be having sex, but it's also rather young to have a criminal record just for having sex with your same-age girlfriend or boyfriend.
(Link via Democratic Underground.)
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Today's Christian Science Monitor has an article about a gathering of evangelicals that took place last month at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale. Most of what's in the article is what you'd expect -- but this jumped out at me:
In material given to conference attendees, the Rev. D. James Kennedy, Coral Ridge pastor wrote: "As the vice-regents of God, we are to bring His truth and His will to bear on every sphere of our world and our society. We are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government ... our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors - in short, over every aspect and institution of human society."
Yikes. That isn't Christian conservatism -- it's Christian fascism.
Here's more information about the conference; this mini-manifesto, "The Cultural Mandate," is, I assume, what the Monitor is quoting. According to "The Cultural Mandate," that quote from Reverend Kennedy is a gloss on Genesis 1:26-28:
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
I know that passage. I've always assumed it meant God was putting human beings in charge of plants and animals -- I never thought it meant God was pitting Christians in charge of other human beings. But that's what Reverend Kennedy thinks. Scary.
In material given to conference attendees, the Rev. D. James Kennedy, Coral Ridge pastor wrote: "As the vice-regents of God, we are to bring His truth and His will to bear on every sphere of our world and our society. We are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government ... our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors - in short, over every aspect and institution of human society."
Yikes. That isn't Christian conservatism -- it's Christian fascism.
Here's more information about the conference; this mini-manifesto, "The Cultural Mandate," is, I assume, what the Monitor is quoting. According to "The Cultural Mandate," that quote from Reverend Kennedy is a gloss on Genesis 1:26-28:
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
I know that passage. I've always assumed it meant God was putting human beings in charge of plants and animals -- I never thought it meant God was pitting Christians in charge of other human beings. But that's what Reverend Kennedy thinks. Scary.
Chinese-made goods sold by Wal-Mart and other discount retailers are gloriously, soul-satisfyingly cheap.
Too bad they're killing coal miners.
More than 5,000 Chinese miners are killed each year, 75% of the global total, even though the country produces only a third of the world's coal. Working under appalling safety conditions, they are sacrificed to fuel the factories that make the cheap goods snapped up by consumers in Britain and other wealthy nations.
... Last month, 216 miners were killed at Sunjiawan mine in north-east China in the most deadly accident in 50 years. Last October, another gas explosion killed 148. Last Thursday, a cave-in at a mine in Sha'anxi province killed 16 miners and left another 11 trapped underground.
And if there's a fire in a mine? Stay in the pit or lose pay:
The five-mile deep pit at Chenjiashan had a particularly bad reputation. Four years ago, 38 men died in a gas explosion. Five days before the latest accident a fire broke out underground. "We came up, but the bosses told us to go back. We didn't want to, but we had to," says one miner, Li, who lost his brother in the explosion. "We all needed the money and there is a penalty of 100 yuan (around £6) for refusing to go down."
...There have been no reports of punishments for any of the mine operators who forced their men into the burning pit.
In the Chinese coal mines, life is literally cheap:
In calculating compensation for the victims of the Chenjiashan blast, the state estimated the value of a miner's life at 51,000 yuan (£3,200). An extra 20,000 yuan was paid as a widow's allowance and another 20,000 yuan for an unrecovered body. By contrast, mine operators were reportedly promised a 400,000 yuan bonus if they could raise output by 400,000 tonnes in the last two months of the year. They could afford at least three deaths and still come out with a profit.
Too bad they're killing coal miners.
More than 5,000 Chinese miners are killed each year, 75% of the global total, even though the country produces only a third of the world's coal. Working under appalling safety conditions, they are sacrificed to fuel the factories that make the cheap goods snapped up by consumers in Britain and other wealthy nations.
... Last month, 216 miners were killed at Sunjiawan mine in north-east China in the most deadly accident in 50 years. Last October, another gas explosion killed 148. Last Thursday, a cave-in at a mine in Sha'anxi province killed 16 miners and left another 11 trapped underground.
And if there's a fire in a mine? Stay in the pit or lose pay:
The five-mile deep pit at Chenjiashan had a particularly bad reputation. Four years ago, 38 men died in a gas explosion. Five days before the latest accident a fire broke out underground. "We came up, but the bosses told us to go back. We didn't want to, but we had to," says one miner, Li, who lost his brother in the explosion. "We all needed the money and there is a penalty of 100 yuan (around £6) for refusing to go down."
...There have been no reports of punishments for any of the mine operators who forced their men into the burning pit.
In the Chinese coal mines, life is literally cheap:
In calculating compensation for the victims of the Chenjiashan blast, the state estimated the value of a miner's life at 51,000 yuan (£3,200). An extra 20,000 yuan was paid as a widow's allowance and another 20,000 yuan for an unrecovered body. By contrast, mine operators were reportedly promised a 400,000 yuan bonus if they could raise output by 400,000 tonnes in the last two months of the year. They could afford at least three deaths and still come out with a profit.
Remember those evangelicals who were trying to start a discussion of global warming? Did you read about them last week and think, Hey, maybe these guys aren't so bad -- maybe evangelicals won't always be in lockstep with the GOP?
Well, pay no attention to them. They're tools of Satan.
At least, that's what God-bothering syndicated columnist and Fox News commentator Cal Thomas says:
Rev. Ted Haggard, president of NAE, says he has become passionate about the issue because he is a scuba diver (but not a scientist) and has seen how "global warming" affects coral reefs. What about passion for Jesus Christ?
... this is a far cry from "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty." (Zechariah 4:6)
The first description of Satan is that he is "subtle." (Genesis 3:1) Another translation says "crafty." Satan tempts to do what seems good....
This is going to be another failed effort that will lead many astray, divert resources from more effective pursuits and leave little of eternal value....
Whew! Glad we cleared that up!
****
Or perhaps I'm being unfair. It turns out that Cal Thomas might not be representative of all Christian conservatives in this -- after all, in the same column he also criticizes the Moral Majority (of which he was a vice president) for being too involved in worldly things. In fact, Thomas is known on the Christian right for questioning some of the political work of Christians:
... Lobbying for cultural change, moreover, "doesn't work" and is "a waste of money," Thomas said. Government lacks the power to solve the real problems of society, which can be addressed only through moral and spiritual renewal from the ground up.
And yet when anti-abortion protesters gather in D.C., Thomas praises them. When the Republican governor of Massachusetts tries to curtail a Harvard stem-cell research program because he finds it "ethically wrong," Thomas approves. When President Bush tells Thomas,
I have said that I don't see how anybody can be President without prayer and a belief in the Almighty, although I'm sure others were able to do so. I think that's an important qualifier, because I'm sure people sat here in the office and felt like they could be President. I recognize that, in my feebleness, I need support from the Almighty, because I believe in an Almighty. And I love the support of the people through prayer...
Thomas, far from being appalled, presses him for his favorite Bible verse.
So, er, what does Cal Thomas really think the proper relationship between religion and politics is? I think it's this: If conservatives win, it's godly. If liberals win, it's Satanic.
Well, pay no attention to them. They're tools of Satan.
At least, that's what God-bothering syndicated columnist and Fox News commentator Cal Thomas says:
Rev. Ted Haggard, president of NAE, says he has become passionate about the issue because he is a scuba diver (but not a scientist) and has seen how "global warming" affects coral reefs. What about passion for Jesus Christ?
... this is a far cry from "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty." (Zechariah 4:6)
The first description of Satan is that he is "subtle." (Genesis 3:1) Another translation says "crafty." Satan tempts to do what seems good....
This is going to be another failed effort that will lead many astray, divert resources from more effective pursuits and leave little of eternal value....
Whew! Glad we cleared that up!
****
Or perhaps I'm being unfair. It turns out that Cal Thomas might not be representative of all Christian conservatives in this -- after all, in the same column he also criticizes the Moral Majority (of which he was a vice president) for being too involved in worldly things. In fact, Thomas is known on the Christian right for questioning some of the political work of Christians:
... Lobbying for cultural change, moreover, "doesn't work" and is "a waste of money," Thomas said. Government lacks the power to solve the real problems of society, which can be addressed only through moral and spiritual renewal from the ground up.
And yet when anti-abortion protesters gather in D.C., Thomas praises them. When the Republican governor of Massachusetts tries to curtail a Harvard stem-cell research program because he finds it "ethically wrong," Thomas approves. When President Bush tells Thomas,
I have said that I don't see how anybody can be President without prayer and a belief in the Almighty, although I'm sure others were able to do so. I think that's an important qualifier, because I'm sure people sat here in the office and felt like they could be President. I recognize that, in my feebleness, I need support from the Almighty, because I believe in an Almighty. And I love the support of the people through prayer...
Thomas, far from being appalled, presses him for his favorite Bible verse.
So, er, what does Cal Thomas really think the proper relationship between religion and politics is? I think it's this: If conservatives win, it's godly. If liberals win, it's Satanic.
Monday, March 14, 2005
KRISTINN'S HELICOPTERS
Asked what lessons liberal and progressive bloggers could learn from the experience of FreeRepublic, [Kristinn] Taylor replied that while "I'm loath to give them advice," they might have to outgrow the conspiracy-theory stage of blogging to produce reports that are credible and relevant to a wider audience.
"In the old days of FreeRepublic," he said, "we had all kinds of black helicopters" and speculation about the effect of the Y2K problem. After the world did not end on Jan. 1, 2000, he said, "We tried to be more realistic."
--New York Times today
Er, that wouldn't be the same Kristinn who said this at Free Republic on February 22, would it?
What happened to [Jeff] Gannon was a Clintonista hit. It had nothing to do with his alleged past, but everything to do with insulting Her Heinous in a nationally televised press conference.
Asked what lessons liberal and progressive bloggers could learn from the experience of FreeRepublic, [Kristinn] Taylor replied that while "I'm loath to give them advice," they might have to outgrow the conspiracy-theory stage of blogging to produce reports that are credible and relevant to a wider audience.
"In the old days of FreeRepublic," he said, "we had all kinds of black helicopters" and speculation about the effect of the Y2K problem. After the world did not end on Jan. 1, 2000, he said, "We tried to be more realistic."
--New York Times today
Er, that wouldn't be the same Kristinn who said this at Free Republic on February 22, would it?
What happened to [Jeff] Gannon was a Clintonista hit. It had nothing to do with his alleged past, but everything to do with insulting Her Heinous in a nationally televised press conference.
Beltway smarties love to slag the Democrats for supposedly mismananging the abortion issue. Wouldn't it be nice if this happened to the Republican Party once or twice?
Well, it's theoretically possible in Maine.
You see, there's a Republican in the Maine House of Representatives named Brian Duprey. He's a far-right zealot and a clown: He opposes abortion and gay rights (a bill supported by Maine's governor that would merely extend Maine's nondiscrimination laws to gay people is too extreme for him), but he's proposed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Maine and -- most notoriously -- he's also proposed a bill that would make it illegal to abort a fetus that has the (yet-to-be-discovered) "homosexual gene."
No, I'm not making this up.
The guy's just a childish right-wing prankster -- he pulls this crap strictly for effect. He sounds as if he'd be Ann Coulter's dream man, except that he's married, and he and his wife have five children ("whom they home school," as he is careful to point out on the Maine House Republicans' Web site).
The "gay gene" stunt is making him semi-famous:
He recently appeared on the Rush Limbaugh radio show and on Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor." On Thursday, a crew from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" visited the Capitol for a story on Duprey. House Republican staffers say the Stewart segment will air Thursday.
And the thing is, he's thinking of running against Olympia Snowe, one of Maine's two pro-choice GOP senators:
Q. Are you going to seek higher office in the next few years?
A. I am considering running for the Senate against Olympia Snowe. If I can raise enough seed money to kick off a credible campaign, I will take the initiative and run. I will be watching her voting record very carefully. If she votes against President Bush’s judicial nominees, or tries to block the President’s agenda, it will speed up my decision to run.
That's from an interview at the Web site of the Christian Civic League of Maine, which seems to be closely allied with Duprey, and whose head sounds like a real sweetheart:
The issue of a so-called "gay gene" came up at the State House last fall when the head of the Christian Civic League of Maine issued a statement questioning whether Gov. John Baldacci had one.
Wouldn't it be nice if, in a blue, tolerant state, the voters of the Republican Party rejected a moderate and put an unelectable gonzo extremist on the ballot?
Maybe it could never happen -- Snowe's surely going to have quite a bit of financial support from the banking industry, given the fact that she voted for the bankruptcy bill and her husband has worked as a consultant for MBNA -- but is it possible? Could a national groundswell among right-wingers result in a serious challenge to Snowe?
I say: Run, Brian, run!
(Some links via Progressive Reason, Maine Politics, and scoopernicus.)
Well, it's theoretically possible in Maine.
You see, there's a Republican in the Maine House of Representatives named Brian Duprey. He's a far-right zealot and a clown: He opposes abortion and gay rights (a bill supported by Maine's governor that would merely extend Maine's nondiscrimination laws to gay people is too extreme for him), but he's proposed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Maine and -- most notoriously -- he's also proposed a bill that would make it illegal to abort a fetus that has the (yet-to-be-discovered) "homosexual gene."
No, I'm not making this up.
The guy's just a childish right-wing prankster -- he pulls this crap strictly for effect. He sounds as if he'd be Ann Coulter's dream man, except that he's married, and he and his wife have five children ("whom they home school," as he is careful to point out on the Maine House Republicans' Web site).
The "gay gene" stunt is making him semi-famous:
He recently appeared on the Rush Limbaugh radio show and on Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor." On Thursday, a crew from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" visited the Capitol for a story on Duprey. House Republican staffers say the Stewart segment will air Thursday.
And the thing is, he's thinking of running against Olympia Snowe, one of Maine's two pro-choice GOP senators:
Q. Are you going to seek higher office in the next few years?
A. I am considering running for the Senate against Olympia Snowe. If I can raise enough seed money to kick off a credible campaign, I will take the initiative and run. I will be watching her voting record very carefully. If she votes against President Bush’s judicial nominees, or tries to block the President’s agenda, it will speed up my decision to run.
That's from an interview at the Web site of the Christian Civic League of Maine, which seems to be closely allied with Duprey, and whose head sounds like a real sweetheart:
The issue of a so-called "gay gene" came up at the State House last fall when the head of the Christian Civic League of Maine issued a statement questioning whether Gov. John Baldacci had one.
Wouldn't it be nice if, in a blue, tolerant state, the voters of the Republican Party rejected a moderate and put an unelectable gonzo extremist on the ballot?
Maybe it could never happen -- Snowe's surely going to have quite a bit of financial support from the banking industry, given the fact that she voted for the bankruptcy bill and her husband has worked as a consultant for MBNA -- but is it possible? Could a national groundswell among right-wingers result in a serious challenge to Snowe?
I say: Run, Brian, run!
(Some links via Progressive Reason, Maine Politics, and scoopernicus.)
HUNTING PELTS AGAIN
Just wanted to warn you that the Right-Wing Media Correctness Police are out to punish another thoughtcrime. This time the deviant from appropriate thinking is Philip Bennett, the managing editor of The Washington Post, who may have to enter the reeducation camp for telling China's People's Daily,
I don't think US should be the leader of the world.
Matt Drudge is leading the hunt, along with Lucianne.com and Power Line. I hope Bennett's resume is up to date, because he may not have a job by Easter. I suppose the "MSM" ought to just end the suffering and agree to subject all news stories, and all public utterances by media executives, to pre-clearance by a team of right-wing bloggers, who'd have the power to terminate employment on the spot (or, presumably, hold an across-the-blogs show trial first).
Just wanted to warn you that the Right-Wing Media Correctness Police are out to punish another thoughtcrime. This time the deviant from appropriate thinking is Philip Bennett, the managing editor of The Washington Post, who may have to enter the reeducation camp for telling China's People's Daily,
I don't think US should be the leader of the world.
Matt Drudge is leading the hunt, along with Lucianne.com and Power Line. I hope Bennett's resume is up to date, because he may not have a job by Easter. I suppose the "MSM" ought to just end the suffering and agree to subject all news stories, and all public utterances by media executives, to pre-clearance by a team of right-wing bloggers, who'd have the power to terminate employment on the spot (or, presumably, hold an across-the-blogs show trial first).
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Francis Fukuyama in The New York Times Book Review:
The past century was marked by what the German theorist Carl Schmitt labeled "political-theological" movements, like Nazism and Marxism-Leninism, that were based on passionate commitments to ultimately irrational beliefs. Marxism claimed to be scientific, but its real-world adherents followed leaders like Lenin, Stalin or Mao with the kind of blind commitment to authority that is psychologically indistinguishable from religious passion.
(Go here for an explanation of the above image.)
The past century was marked by what the German theorist Carl Schmitt labeled "political-theological" movements, like Nazism and Marxism-Leninism, that were based on passionate commitments to ultimately irrational beliefs. Marxism claimed to be scientific, but its real-world adherents followed leaders like Lenin, Stalin or Mao with the kind of blind commitment to authority that is psychologically indistinguishable from religious passion.
(Go here for an explanation of the above image.)
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