tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56653772011-04-21T11:07:44.941-07:00Reverse peristalsis for consumers of culture. sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comBlogger391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1090548259708286182004-07-22T18:58:00.000-07:002004-07-22T19:04:19.706-07:00

In a FrontPageRag commentary on a recent Kristof column called "Jesus and Jihad," Robert Spencer asserts, "you will never find a New Testament verse commanding that Christians go out and kill people . . . it is simply a fact. Prove me wrong." Okay. First, however, let's make clear that there are relatively few references to "Christians" in the New Testament. Acts 11:26 states, "The disciples

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1090526528651528522004-07-22T12:55:00.000-07:002004-07-22T13:02:08.650-07:00

You'd think that with so many unconditional supporters of Bush's "war on terror," die-hard patriots all of them, that conservatives, Republicans and various other right wing factionalists would be lining up at Armed Forces recruitment centers looking for a piece of the action. But alas, like the vice president in his youth, they obviously have other priorities. Via the Washington Post: "The

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1090356990819342182004-07-20T13:40:00.000-07:002004-07-20T13:56:30.820-07:00

Betsy's Page remarks on this article that, "Rich Lowry has a spot on column about how the Left hates Bush so much that he's in a double bind and they'll despise him for anything he does." Lowry writes: Sometimes a political figure becomes so hated that he can't do anything right in the eyes of his enemies. President Bush has achieved this rare and exalted status. His critics are so blinded by

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1090352695027367612004-07-20T12:41:00.000-07:002004-07-20T12:44:55.026-07:00

With former Judge Roy Moore's monument to the ten commandments featured on a 'God bless America' tour, eventually to be dropped off at the US Capitol (see NewsMax), perhaps we should recall our original objection to this graven image: it violates the second commandment, which states, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." I have yet to see any of Moore's supporters reconcile the

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1090311989625476882004-07-20T01:19:00.000-07:002004-07-20T01:26:29.626-07:00

Tom Regan, at the CS Monitor, has a worthwhile roundup of media coverage (with links) on the allegation that Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi personally killed six prisoners in Iraq shortly before the official dissolution of the CPA. ">

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1090273517212382222004-07-19T14:41:00.000-07:002004-07-19T14:45:17.213-07:00

Amy Sullivan provides us with a fine example of liberal/Democratic hypocrisy at work. In Undemocratic Republicans, she recalls two recent instances in which the Republican leadership in the House twisted procedural rules to keep votes open until they got the result they wanted. She then reflects: If that doesn't outrage you, you're not paying attention. Time after time after time, when

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1090268011443371672004-07-19T13:01:00.000-07:002004-07-19T16:09:47.400-07:00

This week's radio address helps us understand how the White House generates the president's aura of optimism. By a process of natural selection, the negative simply falls out of his analysis. Introducing his remarks on the results of the feds' annual "America's Children in Brief" report, Bush states, "The good news is that we have made significant progress during the past decade." This could

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1090213288730427442004-07-18T22:00:00.000-07:002004-07-18T22:01:28.730-07:00

Even though we are all aware of the extent to which the excesses and absurdities of corporatism infect government, politics and political discourse, it is sometimes still jarring to stumble upon turns of phrase or off-hand comments which make that infection all too apparent. In "Got Hypocrisy?," Paul Jacobs (of US Term Limits) compares the contemporary Congress with, "the body of citizen

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1090010969397657852004-07-16T13:47:00.000-07:002004-07-16T13:49:29.396-07:00

Peggy Noonan is afraid the Bush administration's reputation for war-mongering may imperil his reelection bid: "To beat Kerry, he must make clear that he hates war and loves peace." You know the Republicans are on the ropes if they think they've got to court the peaceniks to win the election. Here's a longer excerpt: When you are president and you are doing hard things in history like making war,

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089885993001307522004-07-15T02:53:00.000-07:002004-07-15T03:06:33.000-07:00

"Republicans tell the truth while Democrats will say anything and tell any lie to get more votes." This statement, floated by a self-styled American Patriot, perfectly elucidates one of the central problems with the two-party system. Political enthusiasm blinds supporters of the duopoly parties to the obvious and egregious faults of half of all elected officials. Such an attitude seems

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089836161642343392004-07-14T13:09:00.000-07:002004-07-14T13:16:01.643-07:00

The failure of the FMA to redefine marriage as a contract between a man and a woman has succeeded in exposing, once more, the gross hypocrisy and radical ignorance of conservative Republican activists. Perhaps we should feel sorry for right wingers who mistakenly believe that marriage, defined as the union of one man and one woman, has existed universally since the dawn of humanity. The world

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089791681740718052004-07-14T00:24:00.000-07:002004-07-14T00:54:41.740-07:00

In a special summer session, Virginia lawmakers have finally succeeded in ensuring that workers in their state to not have the right to a day of rest. The AP, via ABC, put it this way: "With just one dissenting vote, Virginia lawmakers Tuesday corrected an embarrassing legislative mistake that gave all workers the right to take Sundays off as a day of rest." This is typically sloppy

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089749376161992622004-07-13T13:00:00.000-07:002004-07-13T13:09:36.160-07:00

The other day, Rhodes Cook published an article in the Houston Chronicle, headlined Red, Blue and Other, which gives the lie to the popular mainstream fantasy of the 50/50 divide in American politics. He writes that available "registration figures have begun to reflect poll numbers" according to which voters "divide about one-third Democratic, one-third Republican and one-third independent."

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089682570024784542004-07-12T18:33:00.000-07:002004-07-12T18:36:10.023-07:00

In a FOX News article on the recently released documentary "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," it is noted that, "In a statement Monday, the network dismissed the whistleblowers [featured in the documentary] as "former low-level FOX employees" who are "hardly worth addressing."" However, as is so often the case in the two-faced world of mainstream media and politics, theory has been

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089453421324703892004-07-10T02:09:00.000-07:002004-07-10T02:57:01.326-07:00

There is a nice little controversy swirling around Robert Reich's consideration of "Bush's God." At this point, one paragraph is at issue, excerpted by Ponnuru, from an article which is not available in full online to non-subscribers. It reads: The great conflict of the 21st century will not be between the West and terrorism. Terrorism is a tactic, not a belief. The true battle will be between

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089408268844952142004-07-09T14:21:00.000-07:002004-07-09T14:24:28.843-07:00

Given that almost one out of three Americans believes that the first amendment goes too far in the freedoms it guarantees, it is not surprising that 49% of respondents to a recent Pew survey disapprove of publishing graphic and disturbing war images on the internet. The AP adds that, "Men, Democrats and younger Americans were more likely to approve of having such images on the Web." Well, it

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089404830461921182004-07-09T13:27:00.000-07:002004-07-09T13:28:15.970-07:00

If, like the folk at Campaign Desk, you're still wondering whether government can be trusted at all, you obviously haven't been paying attention. Can you imagine anything more absurd than a body like the US Congress accusing others of group think?

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089362464260742042004-07-09T01:35:00.000-07:002004-07-09T01:42:37.140-07:00

Republicans in yet another state have begun working to make certain that Ralph Nader gets onto their November ballot. From the AP: "Michigan Republicans are helping gather signatures to place independent Ralph Nader on the presidential ballot in the battleground state." The GOP and conservative groups have already mobilized their supporters to help put Nader on the ballot in Oregon, Wisconsin

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089323229808737242004-07-08T14:34:00.000-07:002004-07-08T14:47:09.810-07:00

Yesterday, Brent Bozell continued his crusade against freedom of thought, action and conscience in an article on "Kerry's Catholic Problem." Bozel argues that Kerry cannot be a pro-choice politician and a Catholic "in communion" with the Church. He writes that, "By their public support of legalized abortion, Catholic legislators like Kerry have openly declared they reject, and are therefore not

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089318191481850702004-07-08T13:22:00.000-07:002004-07-08T13:23:11.480-07:00

About four months ago, it was pointed out here that excessive literalism in the interpretation of the bible in the United States is not a sign that more people are reading the bible, as some fundamentalists opined at the time, but rather suggested that fewer and fewer people were devoting attention to any kind of reading whatsoever. Unfortunately, these initial conclusions have been corroborated

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089264171068229112004-07-07T22:20:00.000-07:002004-07-07T22:23:32.996-07:00

Pat Buchanan provides us with yet another glaring example of the conservatives' new-found moral relativism. Buchanan attempts to wrap his thick head around a contradiction between John Kerry's religious beliefs and his political praxis. Kerry recently stated that he "personally" opposes abortion and believes "life begins at conception," placing himself in line with the Catholic Church's

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089243478844453692004-07-07T16:31:00.000-07:002004-07-07T16:37:58.846-07:00

One aspect of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 which the media in the main have been careful to ignore is its scathing indictment of the mainstream media themselves. To his credit, Neal Gabler makes the point in an LATimes commentary today: "Moore's Ax Falls on a Derelict Media Too." Consider, in this vein, the following exchange between Moore and CBS' Hannah Storm: Storm: "So this is satire

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089229371216901002004-07-07T12:37:00.000-07:002004-07-07T12:42:51.216-07:00

Rantingprofs wonders why news that US forces removed two tons of radioactive materials from Iraq in a hush-hush operation late last month isn't getting more media attention. FOX News, in an article entitled "US Flies 'Dirty Bomb' Items out of Iraq," quotes Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham calling the mission "a major achievement" in the effort to "keep potentially dangerous nuclear material out

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089188784160813892004-07-07T01:11:00.000-07:002004-07-07T01:26:24.160-07:00

Did Pavlov ever determine how many times a dog will respond hungrily to the dinner bell without getting a treat before the bitch learns it's no longer a dinner bell? How many times will preliminary word of WMD findings in Iraq have to be later refuted for conservatives to learn suspicion of media reports which confirm their prejudices? Perhaps it will be objected that this latter question is

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089162913637738172004-07-06T18:13:00.000-07:002004-07-06T18:15:14.443-07:00

The Miami Herald reports that a Florida teen recently stumped Gov. Jeb Bush with a pop math quiz: Gov. Jeb Bush had come to pitch the virtues of reading, but instead got stumped on a math question Tuesday. During a speech to high school students who mentor younger children in reading, a teenager asked the governor a basic geometry question taken from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test,

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089161083952088982004-07-06T17:43:00.000-07:002004-07-06T20:13:20.270-07:00

Right wing radio blabber Al Rantel has a new article over at NewsMax on "Michael Moore's Contempt for America." It is typical Republican propaganda fare, and would be completely unremarkable were it not for the fortuitousness of contemporary marketing. Rantel writes that Nazis would have much to learn from Moore's movie, "as he plunders the truth, twists facts like pretzels, and turns President

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1089151952730195372004-07-06T15:10:00.000-07:002004-07-06T15:15:18.860-07:00

Rich Tucker is a middle-management cog in the conservative propaganda machine. Today he's put out a desperate plea for partisanship in the American news media, on the model of the British tabloids. He writes that, unlike the Brits, "our media cling to the myth of "nonbiased" coverage." This, however, is wholly wrong. On the contrary, the media cling to the journalistic myth of "objective"

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1088846528038862542004-07-03T02:21:00.000-07:002004-07-03T02:22:08.040-07:00

The other day, during a discussion of the coming Republican civil war, it was pointed out that the Bush campaign and conservative Christians were "literally at odds with one another." This has become even more clear today. The AP reports: The Southern Baptist Convention, a conservative denomination closely aligned with President Bush, said it was offended by the Bush-Cheney campaign's effort

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1088738836761222622004-07-01T20:03:00.000-07:002004-07-01T20:29:11.220-07:00

In the last week there has been a fair amount of chatter about the coming "Republican civil war." Bob Novak set up a sloppy distinction between Republican secularists and churchgoers, as if regular attendance at church precludes belief in a strong separation of church and state. At Alternet, Cynthia Cooper delineated the divide between pro-life Republicans and pro-choice Republicans. (The

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1088674813581423012004-07-01T01:58:00.000-07:002004-07-01T02:40:39.903-07:00

Campaign Desk stoops to the level of the moralist to castigate the Washington Times and dictate the limits of legitimate public conversation: "Ad hominem attacks, rumor-mongering, and character assassination qualify neither as political discourse nor as satire," says Montopoli. One wonders what imaginary world this commentator inhabits. Ad hominem attacks, rumor-mongering and character

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1088587124661834332004-06-30T01:57:00.000-07:002004-06-30T02:18:44.663-07:00

In an article at Townhall Mona Charen expresses what are likely the feelings of more than a few partisan Republicans when she writes, "Many on the left seem incapable of carrying on a political discussion without descending into character assassination." The ironic thing, however, is that this is her segway from a wack-job on Michael Moore to one on Paul Krugman. Earlier in the piece, we read

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1088413477852568352004-06-28T01:52:00.000-07:002004-06-28T02:04:37.853-07:00

Media coverage of yesterday's attack on an Israeli army outpost near a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip by Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade is instructive on a number of levels. The militants "had dug a 350-meter long tunnel, and detonated 150 kilograms of explosives underneath the outpost," reports Ha'aretz. The LATimes adds that the bombs were detonated by "remote control." The

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1088300624774716282004-06-26T18:34:00.000-07:002004-06-26T22:49:49.893-07:00

What are the chances that the new standard of civility Cheney recently set in the Congress will infect the national debate and even carry over into the discourse of the presidential campaigns? To this point, Republican and Democratic pundits seem to have drawn the line at accusing one another of being insane, corrupt, hypocritical, and/or immoral. That line has been crossed. The (bi)partisan

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1088153213240675492004-06-25T01:45:00.000-07:002004-06-25T01:46:53.240-07:00

Americans Coming Together is a Soros-funded 527, dedicated to "defeat[ing] George W. Bush and elect[ing] Democrats in federal, state, and local elections in 2004." On its website, we read in boldface that, "Right Wing Attacks, ACT Responds." Indeed, they fold. Just a few days ago, it was unearthed that the group was employing ex-cons in its canvassing operations in various swing states. They

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1088149321852012802004-06-25T00:39:00.000-07:002004-06-25T00:42:01.853-07:00

The Supreme Court ruling that "citizens can be arrested for refusing to give their names to police" (via Knight Ridder) will certainly give a boost to authorities conducting inland border control sweeps throughout the southwest. The dragnets have generated so much "fear, confusion and anger in the Hispanic community" that the Catholic Church has stepped into the fray to coordinate meetings

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1088114861281726402004-06-24T15:05:00.000-07:002004-06-24T15:07:41.280-07:00

Yesterday, the Senate passed legislation (in a 99-1 vote), "to steeply increase fines for broadcast indecency, and added language to roll back relaxations of media-ownership laws and to potentially restrict violent programming," as reported by E&P. Today, the judiciary weighed in on the matter: "A U.S. appeals court refused on Thursday to allow loosened federal rules on media ownership to take

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1088106581236553342004-06-24T12:49:00.000-07:002004-06-24T12:51:20.930-07:00

Greg Guma, writing at UPI, reminds us that the media are riddled with spooks and narcs: "If you don't think it's been going on for years and continues to this very moment, well, then, it's working."

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1087888862487173552004-06-22T00:05:00.000-07:002004-06-22T00:21:02.486-07:00

Billmon takes issue with a recent Wall Street Journal "front-page hit job on Air America," replete with a smear on one of the embattled network's original backers, Sheldon Drobny. The post leaves his commenters, and Billmon himself, wondering about the validity and accuracy of the article's claims about the venture capitalist. Here's the WSJ quote in question: Drobny is a "liberal activist who

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665377.post-1087590193654661772004-06-18T13:23:00.000-07:002004-06-18T13:23:13.653-07:00

Via the Bltimore Sun: "With a record-setting 2 million people now locked up in American jails and prisons, the United States has overtaken Russia and has a higher percentage of its citizens behind bars than any other country."

sansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17368188868039903062noreply@blogger.com