Sicko: The Incredible Condescending San Francisco Chronicle

In an article on Michael Moore’s new movie Sicko, Victoria Colliver asks (emphasis mine): The Friday opening of “Sicko” prompts the inevitable question: Will people really want to spend 123 minutes of their precious leisure time watching Michael Moore dissect what ails the American health care system? I think “precious little proletariat leisure time” might [...]

New Driving Tax: Virginia Lawmakers Are Strange

I saw this in Leesburg Today, and I just had to add my two cents (emphasis mine): Rust also explained that the law applies to Virginia residents only because of a constitutional issue that prevents the state from imposing civil remedial penalties on nonresidents. Loudoun’s legislative liaison, Eric Link, surmised the issue involves the fact [...]

Become a Socialist, Its Easy as Pie!

Apparently believing government should in some way regulate business makes you an automatic socialist. Hmmm.  So that makes me one.  And yet I oppose “Socialist Roads”. A socialist opposing socialist road taxes?  How dash clever of me. Or perhaps not everyone who criticizes Ron Paul is a socialist.

Real Cowardice From the Far Right: Threats vs Free Speech

I was reading another thought provoking post by David of Orcinus about hate.  Specifically, about a neo-nazi who made a clear threat against an African-American journalist: A white-supremacist Web site angered by a Leonard Pitts Jr. column alluding to the murder of a white couple posted The Miami Herald writer’s home address and phone number [...]

Why Ron Paul is a Corporate Candidate

“And its spent for very special reasons because corporations end up controlling the government.”  Ron Paul (via LewRockwell) on overseas spending. For a serious candidate to say something like this is flooring.  How very natural for Ron Paul to assume the role of rebel candidate, opposed to the corporate forces that are censoring him. But [...]

Patriots Blog Against Theocracy!

July 1st to 4th will see another Blog Against Theocracy, this time focusing on the patriotism of separation of Church and State: We’re going to be holding another blogswarm during the Fourth of July week, July 1-4. A blogswarm is where a group of bloggers from all venues agree to post on the same topic. [...]

Matthews Gets Historic (Is Still an Ass)

Matthews has his undergarments in a concerned twist over the possibility of a woman President with (gasp!) female advisors.  When he is caught in the act, he pulls out a double edged excuse (MediaMatters via Pandagon): Asked by Time managing editor Richard Stengel, “What are you suggesting by asking does this diminish her as a [...]

Giuliani’s Partisan Problem with National Security

Rudy Giuliani has proclaimed that he made a mistake in joining (and not attending) the Iraq Study Group (hat tip Majikthise).  He was perhaps unintentionally revealing: Giuliani said the main reason he quit was that it “didn’t seem that I would really be able to keep the thing focused on a bipartisan, nonpolitical resolution.” [AP] [...]

FBI To Institute Student Fear Campaign

The FBI is providing a list of “espionage indicators” to new england universities.  (Press Esc va Slashdot): FBI is offering to brief faculty, students and staff on what it calls “espionage indicators” aimed at identifying foreign agents. Unexplained affluence, failing to report overseas travel, showing unusual interest in information outside the job scope, keeping unusual [...]

We are Ahmadinejad’s Useful Enemy

The NYTimes has an article up on Iran’s recent crackdown on dissidents, the press, and rights groups: The shift is occurring against the backdrop of an economy so stressed that although Iran is the world’s second-largest oil exporter, it is on the verge of rationing gasoline. At the same time, the nuclear standoff with the [...]

Thinking Blogger Award

Chris at From The Left tagged me for a Thinking Blogger Award! I feel honored, excited, and humbled by the recognition. Doubly so by his description of my blog: Smart, insightful news analysis with stylish writing. Weeee! Here is the award: And here are the rules: 1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write [...]

Congress Supports Torture and Terror

As long as it happens to South Americans, its good for us, right? Disgusting. RickB has the dirt: here is the report: 214 Members of Congress missed the chance to stand up for human rights, justice and democracy, and voted to keep the funding for the SOA/WHINSEC flowing. What is the SOA (emphasis mine)? If [...]

Thompson Will Win the Republican Nod in 2008

In spite of all the attention Ron Paul has been getting online, Thompson is leading the polls.  He is even ahead of political unexploded shell Giulliani (The Liberty Papers): Here’s the summary. Fred Thompson, who hasn’t even declared his candidacy, leads Rudy Giuliani 28% to 27%. Romney and McCain are tied at 10%. Mike Huckabee [...]

Bloomberg: You Cannot be Timid and Nonpartisan

There is some buzz around Bloomberg as a politician thanks to his departure from the Republican party to join the ranks of Independents. His talk of being “nonpartisan” is hardly anything new. But it provides some insight into one of the many problems with politics today. (Guardian, emphasis mine): He declared his decision to drop [...]

Virginia: Purple and Homophobic

Virginia is a purple state. We have a Democratic governor and a Republican state legislature. We vote along the line for presidential candidates. The last election cycle indicates we are largely slipping towards the blue side of the spectrum. Except when it comes to “those gays”. Virginia passed a measure banning same sex marriage 57% [...]