tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40949752011-08-16T20:13:03.608-07:00Notes on the AtrocitiesLike a 100-watt radio station, broadcasting to the dozens...Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comBlogger14171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1092098731947742292004-08-10T11:11:00.000-07:002004-08-09T20:13:37.586-07:00Here Lies - Notes on the Atrocities - January 10, 2003 - August 10, 2004 I set out one January near the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon to write a splendid blog. I knew then that the years would come and go and the blog would live. It has taken more hours than I ever could have imagined and more battles than I ever felt I'd have to fight but the fist I shook and the rage I spent has at Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1092097026593181852004-08-09T16:19:00.000-07:002004-08-09T17:17:06.593-07:00Thanks If not for the generosity of other bloggers and readers, no one would ever continue to blog. I have many thanks to distribute. This blog got an early boost from Atrios, who linked me in my second month. He later added me to his blogroll and literally something like 15% of my hits have been referred through his site. Other major bloggers like Bill Scher, Kevin Drum, Max Sawicky, Jeralyn Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1092008087873366532004-08-09T09:21:00.000-07:002004-08-09T11:54:14.276-07:00Why Quit, Why Now? For those of you who blog, you already know one answer to this question. What begins as a seduction--your words on the World Wide Web!, for all to read!, instantaneously!, free!--can eventually become a burden. Ideas seem fresh because the brain writing them is unknown; later, the same ideas are familiar and tired. For the blogger, this offers the interesting challenge of Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1092006746631868282004-08-08T16:08:00.000-07:002004-08-08T16:21:22.316-07:00Things ChangeBefore I left, I mentioned things were going to change around here, and they're about to--though it turned out the changes are a little bigger than I expected. I had planned to close Notes and begin a new blog called Dangerous Mind (it will only be up for ten more days, after which my 30-day free subscription to Typepad will expire). But after clearing my mind over the past six days-Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091462471216639812004-08-02T11:11:00.000-07:002004-08-08T16:01:17.283-07:00I'll be gone the rest of the week on a Buddhist retreat. It comes just as the Bush attacks on Kerry are gearing up, and I have to say I'm looking forward to missing them. My mind needs a little clearing.Instead of just leaving and letting the site go dry, I wonder if it's possible to try one of those "open thread" gambits that works so well on the big blogs? I'll try to seed conversation by Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091461694247527302004-08-02T10:16:00.000-07:002004-08-02T10:30:25.376-07:00The Kerry Capsules: Health Care The Kerry Capsules: Health Care The media have bought the RNC line that Kerry has no "big idea." This is perhaps one of the signature achievements of the right-wing PR campaign (read more about it here)--because in any other year, Kerry's aggressive plan would be getting very close scrutiny--and be called way, way too big.Kerry's Plan The language on the Kerry website isn't nearly as clear as Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091459454564819852004-08-02T07:58:00.000-07:002004-08-02T08:10:54.563-07:00Last week, amid the convention-inspired news black hole, FBI director Bob Mueller wrote that Sibel Edmonds was fired because she was a whistle-blower. (Background: After the 9/11 attacks, Edmonds was hired by the FBI as a translator to search back through documents seized during the investigation. In 2002 she blew the whistle on the FBI's translation team, which was woefully unprepared to deal Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091387411977273882004-08-01T11:57:00.000-07:002004-08-01T12:10:11.976-07:00One more example. Christopher Hitchens, another of the liberal-to-conservative converts, spent an article fuming about Kerry's critique of Bush's priorities in "opening firehouses in Baghdad and shutting them in the United States of America." Hitchens' problem with this phrase is that it's not exactly comparable: "The further implication is that this is a zero-sum game, and that a dollar spent Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091385989410278182004-08-01T11:09:00.000-07:002004-08-01T11:46:29.410-07:00Although the Republicans are desperately trying to appear calm, cool, and collected, it's clear that Kerry's speech had a 9/11 effect on the political landscape: everything's changed. Let's run through the evidence.1. This morning on This Week, Mary Matalin was in full-scale melt down. Her entire being was so suffused with anger that periodically ABC put the camera on her while others spoke, justJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091320154700538122004-07-31T17:13:00.000-07:002004-08-01T11:48:52.623-07:00Bouncing Newsweek has the first post-convention poll and it reflects--surprise--a small bounce. Now who would have guessed that?Coming out of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Sen. John Kerry now holds a seven-point lead over President George W. Bush (49 percent to 42 percent) in a three-way race with independent Ralph Nader (3 percent), according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll The poll Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091208478865673012004-07-30T09:57:00.000-07:002004-07-30T10:27:58.866-07:00The Crazies Start SpinningThe Crazies Start Spinning It's been twelve hours--are you ready for the slime backlash? Here it comes. I listened to a few of the famous slime mongers as I drove around this morning. O'Reilly had a fill-in who was forwarding the thesis that Kerry was not a hero--he only served for four months in Vietnam. Limbaugh spent a lot of time ridiculing the hamster CPR anecdote (now that's solid Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091161106007654162004-07-29T21:01:00.000-07:002004-07-29T21:18:26.006-07:00First reactions from around the blogosphere...Kerry: energetic, optimistic and persuasive ... And our next president. (Atrios)Not a stem-winder -- and Kerry would have been foolish to try. But a solid speech. And I thought he hit all the right points -- with the right emotional tenor. In a way, sitting in the hall and watching the back of Kerry's head most of the time is no way to judge how it Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091159354581158902004-07-29T20:26:00.000-07:002004-07-29T20:49:14.580-07:00"I will be a commander-in-chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a vice president who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. And I will appoint an attorney-general who actually upholds the constitution of the United States."--John Kerry, acceptance speech at the Democratic conventionHoly crap.  Who saw that coming?  The convention has Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091143265240507142004-07-29T16:19:00.000-07:002004-07-29T16:21:05.240-07:00I promise I'll continue to exercise restraint on things like this, but I couldn't pass up this headline (give that writer a raise!):Bush's search for clean Cuban hookers goes awry(Thanks IR/SM, et al) Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091126673826075122004-07-29T10:34:00.000-07:002004-07-29T11:44:33.826-07:00The Kerry Capsules: Foreign PolicyThe Kerry Capsules: Foreign Policy Given that there has been more coverage, through more media, of John Kerry than any presidential candidate in history, it's odd that everyone says they don't "know him." Perhaps this is another effect of the right wing spin machine: "That John Kerry, he's said he agrees with everyone. Who knows what he believes." But in fact, his positions are very clear and Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091113042774693232004-07-29T07:22:00.000-07:002004-07-29T08:01:58.206-07:00Both Americas had the chance to watch the "two Americas" speech last night.  Did they tune in?  I can't find the numbers for Wednesday, but there's evidence that viewers are interested in the convention.  They tuned in to cable and PBS on Tuesday when the broadcast networks chose to run repeats of--what was it, Who Wants to Marry My Pig-Ugly Brother? The Public Broadcasting Service pulled in an Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1091033682654449992004-07-28T08:58:00.000-07:002004-07-28T09:58:31.830-07:00Finding Their VoiceSorry, this appears to be another one of those inappropriately long-winded posts--my forte. Finding Their VoiceThere is a discontinuity in Bizarro World.  Not much of one, of course, emanating as it does from Boston.  Still, practitioners of the postmodern political arts have noticed a subtle change in the force.  Peering into their television screens, they watch the festivities at the conventionJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090957108826781382004-07-27T12:16:00.000-07:002004-07-27T12:41:06.606-07:00There Will Be No Bounce and Other Thoughts Ed Gillespie is telling anyone who will listen that the Johns should enjoy an 8-12 point bounce after the convention.  Generous of him, no?  Ah ... no.  In fact, Kerry will be lucky to get much more than a few points.  As we know, every time pollsters ask voters how certain they are about their candidate, 80% say they're absolute in their support.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090953589665993402004-07-27T11:37:00.000-07:002004-07-27T11:39:49.666-07:00 Duncan, aka Atrios (yeah, that one), via Talk LeftJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090953291294358922004-07-27T11:14:00.000-07:002004-07-27T11:34:51.293-07:00Believe it or not, humans are actually alive outside Boston, eating, drinking, and in some cases, lawmaking.  Yesterday, the girlie men and women in Cali finally agreed on a budget.  Arnie now gets a photo-op and anther victory feather in his cap--the taunting notwithstanding.  Ah, but dig a little deeper, and it doesn't look like such a stunning victory after all. First, as the LA Times drollyJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090936722457263922004-07-27T07:00:00.000-07:002004-07-27T06:58:42.456-07:00I had planned to continue my unconventional posting (and that bad pun) this week, leaving the analysis to the insiders.  But whooeee, that was a rip-snorter last night!  I can't resist thumbing through the papers today to see how it went over with the mainstream press.  After all, they'll be the principal crafters of what the voters understand about the convention (presumably, the swing 10% Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090880468247199402004-07-26T17:19:00.000-07:002004-07-26T17:21:28.713-07:00The buzz over Fahrenheit 9/11 has died down a bit, but it's still plugging along nicely. It cracked $100 million on Saturday and is still in the top ten. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090864739420235262004-07-26T10:00:00.000-07:002004-07-26T10:58:59.420-07:00Gaining the Foreign Policy AdvantageGaining the Foreign Policy Advantage I'm going to be, ahem, unconventional this week. Half the blogosphere's in Boston, from which very little actual news will issue anyway. No reason for me to weigh in--you'll get better analysis elsewhere. Instead, let me pick up on something eRobin notes in the comments. "Virginia? Don't you mean "veteran-rich Virginia?" That's what Wilgoren never fails toJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090785435035511922004-07-26T07:30:00.000-07:002004-07-26T07:39:50.153-07:00There's a passage from this week's New Yorker all Kerry supporters should have handy, in case they encounter a wavering Republican. It's absolutely amazing. He also resists speaking publicly about the incident that won him the Silver Star, but his surviving crewmates have told how, when they were ambushed by a Vietcong guerrilla firing rockets from the riverbank, Kerry made an instantaneous Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090783977915100072004-07-25T11:35:00.000-07:002004-07-25T12:32:57.916-07:00The "L word" and other media absurdities By inadvertent chance, I stumble across a national broadcast news show occasionally.  This morning that chance arose as I flipped to This Week, where, in separate interviews, Ted Kennedy and John Edwards were both grilled on their liberal politics.  (Reminding me why I should be a little more advertent in avoiding such chances henceforth.)  It's one of Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090696468178603092004-07-24T12:11:00.000-07:002004-07-24T12:14:28.176-07:00103103 We're in the third day of a three-day heat snap that has me cowering in air-con and begging for mercy. As my computer is located in a room lacking air conditioning, I shall go no where near it until the heat breaks--sometime tomorrow, probably. Carry on. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090539796977220652004-07-22T16:39:00.000-07:002004-07-25T12:44:17.926-07:00New Media Blogs have been around at least five years (depending on how you calculate, you could go back to the birth of the internet), but they've only been relevant since December 2002, when Paul Krugman cited Josh Marshall in a column in the New York Times. They've experienced exponential growth in the past 18 months (both in numbers and readership) and there's reason to believe blogs may Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090507671896822332004-07-22T07:38:00.000-07:002004-07-22T07:47:51.896-07:00Lots in the to-do box this morning (and a meeting in Salem). I'll have a post up this afternoon, but probably not before--Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090422558338604642004-07-21T07:32:00.000-07:002004-07-21T08:13:33.456-07:00Is Greenspan Credible? A few months ago, Alan Greenspan encouraged Americans to start using adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) in one of his speeches. Along with the ritual language of dollar strength and employment gains that mark his periodic liturgical offerings, he muttered: "American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090364817247339002004-07-20T15:47:00.000-07:002004-07-20T20:21:48.313-07:00Okay, I want to go on the record.  If you are a journalist for a major US newspaper--or a cool minor one--and you write a great article and send me the link, I'll probably mention it to the thirty-two people who read this blog.  (Of course, you could just send it to Atrios and you'd get my 32 plus his hundred k, but I don't want to dissuade anyone.) I mention this because Rick Perlstein of the Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090343622892702982004-07-20T09:51:00.000-07:002004-07-20T10:26:13.486-07:00David Brooks makes an inadvertent discovery In one of the more amusing David Brooks columns I've read in a long time, the thoughtful Bobo waxes rapt about a Yale professor, Charles Hill. College students, even at Yale, live enveloped by uncertainty. What should I do with my life? What really matters? Hill seemed to them a man who in the course of years had figured it all out. He was an austere Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090278614909397362004-07-20T07:30:00.000-07:002004-07-20T13:25:49.206-07:00Joe Wilson did not out Valerie Plame   All of a sudden, the righties are mighty fascinated by the Valerie Plame story (Safire, NRO, Tom Maguire, etc). Turns out Joe Wilson may be a charlatan and a self-promoter. (Apparently the only one in Washington.) There may be more truth to the Iraq-Niger connection than he suggested (there might not be, either--there's no proof either way), and there may Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090277514855517682004-07-19T15:34:00.000-07:002004-07-19T15:51:54.856-07:00The Polling Paradox Kevin Drum points to a fascinating article on polling in the New Republic--but he misses the key info. Writing the Campaign Journal column, Ryan Lizza teases out the paradox(es) of current polling. "Why," he wonders, "is it that in many polls, Bush's job approval rating is higher than the percentage who say they will vote for him?" The answer lies in two categories of peopleJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090254408621867442004-07-19T11:11:00.000-07:002004-07-20T13:40:00.913-07:00The "Girlie-Men" Gaffe"They cannot have the guts to come out there in front of you and say, 'I don't want to represent you. I want to represent those special interests: the unions, the trial lawyers'…. I call them girlie men. They should get back to the table, and they should finish the budget."--Arnold Schwarzenegger, Saturday It's not possible for politicians to avoid saying stupid things from Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090213414481854472004-07-19T07:22:00.000-07:002004-07-19T07:34:42.260-07:00Time for the Knock-OutYesterday on Meet the Press, there were three discussions.  The first was a discussion with Senator Robert Byrd about whether George W. Bush a despot? The second was whether Bush left the US unsafe?  And the third was campaign analysis that led with ... whether John Kerry is a flip-flopper.  It's fairly typical.  Nearly everything's going wrong for the White House, so after Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090184727450283622004-07-18T14:03:00.000-07:002004-07-18T14:05:27.450-07:00R. I. P.The Oregon Blog January 16, 2003 - July 18, 2004Read the eulogy. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1090092795761317282004-07-17T12:29:00.000-07:002004-07-17T12:33:15.760-07:00Blue Oregon, Blue Oregon...Blue Oregon Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089997001865032722004-07-16T09:03:00.000-07:002004-07-16T10:34:28.230-07:00The Politics of Race Another election year, another opportunity to kick the race football around.  Yesterday John Kerry spent the afternoon telling Bush--via the NAACP--neener, neener: "I will be a president who truly is a uniter, not one who seeks to divide our nation by race, riches or any other label. I will be a president who shares the values of people of all colors who get up and go to workJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089905183731757742004-07-15T11:11:00.000-07:002004-07-15T11:21:50.700-07:00Out of the Gap Yesterday I began discussing Thomas Barnett's The Pentagon's New Map, wherein he described a model for interpreting global security threat. In the post-9/11 world, as people cast around for theories about what the threats are, where they're coming from, and what to do about them, Barnett is the first person to come up with a credible suggestion to the first two questions. He Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089823465434704182004-07-14T09:44:00.000-07:002004-07-14T12:27:53.386-07:00Into the Gap In the documentary Fog of War, Errol Morris' discussion with former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, McNamara makes an observation about perspective. "The Vietnamese saw us as replacements for the French. They thought we were fighting a colonial war, which was absurd. We saw the Vietnam conflict as an aspect of the Cold War, but they saw it as a civil war." If we had Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089692635108332752004-07-12T21:23:00.000-07:002004-07-13T14:21:15.896-07:00Values The pivotal moment in Spider-Man 2 isn't at the climax, during the final battle with the nefarious Doc Ock. It's earlier in the penultimate battle. Spidey has just been fighting the bad doctor, and is trying to prevent a hurtling train from rocketing off the tracks. Doc Ock has damaged the controls and left Spidey to save the passengers. His first effort at webbing is broken. He Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089669550722291352004-07-12T14:53:00.000-07:002004-07-13T14:28:39.790-07:00Bush: No Lessons From Iraq In addition to the canceled election news, there are three big stories today. The Washington Post has one piece on Joe Wilson and the Plame affair and another on Tom DeLay's emerging legal problems. Aside from the news, I have little to add. You may consult your fave blog luminary for analysis. The third story involves remarks Dubya made today in Tennessee on Iraq Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089660659444465202004-07-12T12:26:00.000-07:002004-07-12T12:30:59.443-07:00Navel Gazing, the final installment As you may have noticed, I'm taking your advice and slowing down on the posting. Also thanks to your advice, I have a plan about where I'm going from here, blogwise. I will unveil it soon, no doubt to mild fanfare and some catcalls. Never mind, I'm resolved on the point. More when it's underway. Now back to the regularly-scheduled blogging...Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089646131266403662004-07-12T08:07:00.000-07:002004-07-12T09:12:18.033-07:00In which case the terrorists will have, literally, won Bush, the master magician, is distracting America with his right hand (gay marriage, the evil of trial lawyers) while his left is busy with more sinister activities: American counterterrorism officials, citing what they call "alarming" intelligence about a possible Qaeda strike inside the United States this fall, are reviewing a proposal Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089325467359128082004-07-08T14:47:00.000-07:002004-07-08T15:24:27.360-07:00Navel Gazing, Day 2 Today Barbara Ehrenreich has her third article in a fortnight in the New York Times (filling in for Friedman?), provoking me to wonder if they're giving her a tryout. If you asked me to identify the person I most admire in the media (lucky for you I'll pose it rhetorically), it wouldn't be close: Barbara Ehrenreich. We live in weird times. The media manages to be Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089302703506930452004-07-08T09:04:00.000-07:002004-07-08T13:00:21.876-07:00Wow, Kerry must have gotten the right guy. Judging by the volume and vitriol of the attack, the GOP must be really freaked by the young Mr. Edwards. Bill O'Reilly called them "the most liberal ticket ever" (apparently Bill hasn't heard of the other JFK); the National Review described him as dangerously "callow;" and of course the lovely Ann Coulter, so overcaffienated that understatement wouldJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089228755765289992004-07-07T13:24:00.000-07:002004-07-07T13:46:00.650-07:00I'm sort of toying with the idea (again) of shutting this blog down and starting anew--or even just shutting it down. The blogosphere seems to be going through some changes of late, and I'm feeling the same vibe. But before I do anything rash, here's a question. Are there already enough blogs? Mostly we don't ask that question because mostly bloggers don't care. They're writing because they Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089232201580357982004-07-07T12:32:00.000-07:002004-07-07T13:30:01.580-07:00The dark evil of trial lawyers Thanks to successful branding by the plutocrats running the country, "trial lawyer" is now a dirty phrase. Pimps get better press. It wasn't always so, of course. A half-century ago, trial lawyers were the exalted defenders of the people. They were the Perry Masons, Thurgood Marshalls, and Atticus Finches. What stood between oppressive governments and or Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089219935040564382004-07-07T10:04:00.000-07:002004-07-07T11:09:55.710-07:00I'm number 18! Great, the Willamette Week, a local rag for which I actually used to write, has a feature article today on local blogs. Most of the thousand Portland web logs suck, opine the writers, but they offered 17 that don't. Guess who missed the cut. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089216155798169342004-07-07T08:52:00.000-07:002004-07-07T09:03:47.550-07:00Yesterday His Holiness the Dalai Lama turned 69! Apparently his health is not well, and he had to miss the celebrations. Doctors said he was suffering from the exhaustion of a grueling schedule. Send your good wishes (in whatever form you wish) for his health and happiness.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089211797614891462004-07-07T07:36:00.000-07:002004-07-07T08:34:03.630-07:00[Rejoinders] The attacks on John Edwards have begun. (Their visciousness should be taken by the Kerry kamp as evidence that they made the right decision.) Among the charges is Edwards' experience, or asserted lack thereof. Here are a couple responses, one we will hear, and one I'd love to hear. The Fair Response Edwards, with just under six years of elective office experience under his beltJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089144993850635852004-07-06T13:01:00.000-07:002004-07-06T13:16:33.850-07:00Serving the same creed? Did you all catch this remarkable statement the President made on the fourth? I'm absolutely mystified by it. On July the 4th, 1942, in the midst of the second world war, President Franklin Roosevelt gave encouragement to our troops abroad by reminding them of our nation's founding creed. They were fighting, he said, because Americans believe in "the right to liberty Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089138986494784262004-07-06T11:32:00.000-07:002004-07-06T11:36:26.493-07:00I think the election's taking a toll on Kerry. He's going to be snow white by November. This photo is from December 2002, before the election got rolling. Note the salt and pepper hair. This is from June. Note the salt hair. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089127307283354942004-07-06T08:04:00.000-07:002004-07-06T08:21:47.283-07:00Edwards! Whew. I've tried to avoid talking veep because it seemed like Gephardt has long been the selection--I've been trying to muster energy to welcome him as a not-catastrophic choice. Let me now say it: he would have been catastrophic. Outside Missouri, Gephardt gives you absolutely nothing. He's a droning old-guarder who inspires zero interest. He's got a record of flip-flopping and Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089073955529454002004-07-06T07:44:00.000-07:002004-07-06T07:42:37.770-07:00The Other 50% It’s July, but according to the polls, most Americans have already made up their minds about the presidential election. The "undecideds" run about 5%, depending on the poll--or just 5.5 million Americans. For an election so young, it looks like the campaigns will have to fight for a tiny number of votes among an evenly-divided electorate. Or will they? I've been looking at Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089076307493885492004-07-05T18:11:00.000-07:002004-07-05T18:14:42.046-07:00[Clarification] Noted in yesterday's Lexington [KY] Herald-Leader: CLARIFICATION: It has come to the editor's attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1089044324431434392004-07-05T08:37:00.000-07:002004-07-05T09:18:44.430-07:00Another slow day in the blogosphere. If I write anything worth reading, it will be this afternoon. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088973201062242992004-07-04T13:33:00.000-07:002004-07-04T13:40:14.016-07:00Declaration Revisited What I implied in yesterday's reposting (and occasional editing) of sections of the Declaration of Independence is today made explicit by the extraordinary Barbara Ehrenreich. Rarely do I quote vast portions of original articles, but this is a great time for an exception. George III is accused, for example, of "depriving us in many cases of the benefits of Trial by Jury."Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088963621175116792004-07-04T10:39:00.000-07:002004-07-04T10:53:41.176-07:00Fahrenheit 9/11 continues to tear up the box office, running two behind Spidey. With yesterday's $5.7 mil, it passed the half-century mark. It has earned 52% of its gross revenues since its opening weekend and is now a sure bet to cross $100 million. It opened in 868 theaters, added 300 more at the first of the week, and added another 500 this weekend. Oh, and now Michael Moore's on the cover Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088895457420337032004-07-03T15:32:00.000-07:002004-07-03T16:29:26.133-07:00A New Declaration of Independence [Abridged] Hey, here's a novel prescription for regime change.* It somehow seems timely again, don't you think? ----------------- WHEN IN THE Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088796580130221372004-07-02T11:50:00.000-07:002004-07-02T12:29:40.130-07:00UTAH DECLARES SOVEREIGNTY By Herm Tupper Amalgamated Press International Writer SALT LAKE CITY--(API) Just one week after the United States handed limited sovereignty over to Iraq, legislators in Utah today voted by a slim margin to declare their own sovereignty. For politicians in the Beehive State, deeply suspicious of an overweening federal government, it seemed like a perfect solution.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088782043174508292004-07-02T07:43:00.000-07:002004-07-02T08:27:23.176-07:00I finally saw Fahrenheit 9/11. More commentary about the film you don't need--but of course, it's exactly what you get. How can I resist? As film, it's not particularly satisfying. He's telling two stories here, and neither one very well. The first is that Bush is a plutocrat, a front for the international oilmen and their interests. Moore spends far too long spinning the convoluted tale Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088722470143575492004-07-01T15:54:00.000-07:002004-07-01T15:57:13.166-07:00Is it just me, or is the beard a bad look for Saddam? Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088721751741121492004-07-01T15:26:00.000-07:002004-07-01T15:44:25.226-07:00The big news for Hollywood watchers is that Spider-Man 2 took in $40 mil yesterday. Impressive, I'll admit. On the other hand, it was open in a mind-boggling 4,152 theaters. For my money, the biggest news is the money Fahrenheit 9/11 continues to do. First things first--it's no longer showing on 868 screens. Now it's 1,184. (How many movies show in a third more screens the week after theyJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088707958191680502004-07-01T11:50:00.000-07:002004-07-01T11:54:43.016-07:00The other big Oregon news is the success of a group to put a measure banning gay marriage on the ballot. I wrote about it this morning at the American Street. ------------- Using the help of 941 churches across the state, organizers gathered a record number of signatures to amend Oregon's constitution and prevent gay marriage. If the measure passes, the Oregon Constitution will read that a Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088693257084062762004-07-01T07:35:00.000-07:002004-07-01T07:47:37.086-07:00The two conservative groups who rallied supporters to help put Ralph Nader on the Oregon ballot may have broken the law. Melanie Sloan with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government says corporations are not allowed to try to influence an election this way. "Corporations can't make any kind of contribution to political campaigns. You can't just not contribute cash, there's a Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088629467514223952004-06-30T14:03:00.000-07:002004-06-30T14:05:29.296-07:00Incidentally, it appears Haloscan is showing 0 comments for current posts--even when it's not true. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088629044336193962004-06-30T13:46:00.000-07:002004-06-30T14:02:49.396-07:00I intend to respond to this a little more carefully tomorrow, but a quickie response to Kevin Drum's wish that the antiwar lefties "warmly embrace" their hawkish brethern who now regret supporting the war. However, it sometimes seems as though a mere public reconsideration is not enough: we instead demand an abject, groveling apology and a confession that those who opposed the war were right Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088620833453157542004-06-30T11:32:00.000-07:002004-06-30T11:40:33.453-07:00Add this postscript to the Kristof commentary: calling Bush a liar isn't quite in the same league as the "mouth foaming right." We have some distance between our lofty heights and this kind of rhetoric: Bill Clinton is such a repulsive subject I never thought I would ever write about him again after he was replaced by a man of decency and integrity in the White House. Yet the sight of all those Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088613800660637022004-06-30T08:53:00.000-07:002004-06-30T09:43:20.660-07:00What the hell is Nick Kristof talking about? In his current column, he argues that Bush is not a liar and it's poor form to call him one. Makes 'em look like the righties who attacked Clinton--"petty and simpleminded." I'm against the "liar" label for two reasons. First, it further polarizes the political cesspool, and this polarization is making America increasingly difficult to govern. SecondJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088568425353505232004-06-30T07:40:00.000-07:002004-06-30T07:41:53.860-07:00News from the White House Senior Administration Official A couple of things caught my eye on Whitehouse.gov. The first comes from current briefings. What do you make of this (highlights mine)? Press Briefing on Iraq Transition Background Briefing by a Senior Administration Official Conrad Istanbul MR. McCLELLAN: All right, good morning. This is a background briefing of senior administration Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088548422987414032004-06-29T15:26:00.000-07:002004-06-29T15:33:42.986-07:00The Daily Link Today's link: Fafblog! Active since: March 2003 Tag: "This is a good blog. This is the best blog. It is about god and the universe and those horrible screaming monkeys and that time I made a pizza out of an old tire and a can of whip cream. It is the Fafblog." Based on two days of reading, I'm prepared to call Fafblog the funniest blog on the net. There are apparently three Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088543891330683012004-06-29T14:09:00.000-07:002004-06-29T14:18:11.330-07:00Bush has a new ad that compares Kerry to Hitler. Well, not really, but it uses that technique the NRO's James Robbins derided Michael Moore for using: Juxtaposition. In the ad, Bush uses an image of Hitler and puts it against Al Gore giving a fiery speech (reminding me of a scene from Crimes and Misdemeanors, when a character is compared to Mussolini). The extremely thin justification is that Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088529625058954872004-06-29T11:11:00.000-07:002004-06-29T11:26:14.773-07:00The New York Times has a new poll out giving Bush a 42% approval rating--the lowest in his presidency. While it may be a relevant barometer for the nation's mood, I wouldn't spend much time considering the ramifications for the election--almost a quarter of those surveyed aren't even registered voters, never mind "likely voters." Methodology, methodology, methodology.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088529118294724912004-06-29T09:22:00.000-07:002004-06-29T10:11:58.293-07:00The White House's response to Fahrenheit 9/11 has been muted. Everyone got the memo to downplay the silly little movie, emphasize that there's not time to see movies, and then quip that if you did, you'd see Shrek. A wise approach avoided by most of the Bush apologists--who apparently didn't get the memo. A fine example is an article in the National Review by James Robbins. In a coup of Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088520204631200102004-06-29T07:35:00.000-07:002004-06-29T08:06:33.836-07:00Krugman Weighs In The formal occupation of Iraq came to an ignominious end yesterday with a furtive ceremony, held two days early to foil insurgent attacks, and a swift airborne exit for the chief administrator. In reality, the occupation will continue under another name, most likely until a hostile Iraqi populace demands that we leave. But it's already worth asking why things went so wrong. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088459817724216192004-06-28T14:08:00.000-07:002004-06-28T14:56:57.723-07:00ALL INTERROGATION TESTED FIRST ON RUMSFELD, NEW MEMO SHOWS By Herm Tupper, Amalgamated Press International WASHINGTON (API)--Before any new interrogation techniques were tested on prisoners, they were first vetted by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumseld, a leaked memo shows. The memo, sent August 23, 2003, contains a list of interrogation techniques apparently personally tested by Mr. Rumsfeld.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088451070124488702004-06-28T12:31:00.000-07:002004-06-28T12:42:20.116-07:00Supreme Court Decisions The other big news--and here the blogsphere seems to take an interest--are a troika of Supreme Court decisions that came down this morning. The high court supported the U.S. federal government in one important respect, ruling that Congress gave President Bush the authority to seize and hold a U.S. citizen, Louisiana-born Yaser Esam Hamdi, as an alleged enemy combatant. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088444537741227692004-06-28T10:30:00.000-07:002004-06-28T17:10:35.546-07:00The blogosphere is shockingly quiet about the "handover." As I busily work on yet another final draft of my novel, I thought I'd cruise to a few of the big boys (and girls) and do one of those cheap "here's a sampling from the blogosphere" posts that takes about five minutes. But there's precious little commentary. Of those in my "first reads" blogroll, exactly one has a post up: Talk Left, Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088436858326869772004-06-28T07:41:00.000-07:002004-06-28T15:27:40.740-07:00 sovereignty (n): 1. Complete independence and self-government. (American Heritage) 2. Freedom from external control; especially: an autonomous state (Merriam-Webster) 3. Government free from external control (Princeton) President Bush always wanted Iraq to be his signature accomplishment. Now, having "transferred sovereignty" two days early, he has solidified Iraq's status as his Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088433624789536522004-06-28T07:27:00.000-07:002004-06-28T07:41:34.830-07:00Weekend box office1. Fahrenheit 9/11 $21,800,000 2. White Chicks $19,600,000 3. odgeBall: A True Underdog Story $18,500,000 4. The Terminal $13,900,000 5. The Notebook $13,025,000 All-time documentary box office records:1. Fahrenheit 9/11 $21,958,000 2. Bowling for Columbine $21,576,018 3. Winged Migration $11,689,053 202 4. Super Size Me $9,517,000 230 5. Hoop Dreams $7,830,611 Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088354960001523952004-06-27T07:41:00.000-07:002004-06-27T09:49:20.000-07:00Oregon Nader Update I'm having a hard time locating an article to link, but here's what happened last night in Nader's bid to make the Oregon ballot. He had a big turnout--well over the thousand he needed--but about a 100 were Dems who didn't sign the petition. The GOP's effort to pack the house didn't appear to be enormously successful. As of this morning, it's too close to call. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088301528206886022004-06-26T18:51:00.000-07:002004-06-26T19:01:39.823-07:00As a GOP Team Leader, I got my weekly missive from Ed Gillespie today titled "Registering Voters Should Be Fair." Bad news! Apparently Democrats are not playing fair. In fact, according to Ed, they may be sending murderers and rapists door to door to register voters. Not fair! Sez Ed: America Coming Together (ACT) has claimed to reach over 2 million targeted households in their efforts to Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088202592126153082004-06-25T15:29:00.000-07:002004-06-25T15:29:52.126-07:00Satire to come sometime this weekend. But now I'm off--Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088196935623659362004-06-25T13:35:00.000-07:002004-06-25T13:55:35.623-07:00In an interview with Irish media today, the President got testy. THE PRESIDENT: Look, Saddam Hussein had used weapons of mass destruction against his own people, against the neighborhood. He was a brutal dictator who posed a threat -- such a threat that the United Nations voted unanimously to say, Mr. Saddam Hussein -- Q Indeed, Mr. President, but you didn't find the weapons of mass Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088186733247048092004-06-25T10:46:00.000-07:002004-06-25T11:05:33.246-07:00 Hi, this is __________ from Citizens for a Sound Economy. I am calling because we have a chance to stop John Kerry fans from winning in Oregon. As you have probably heard, Ralph Nader is trying to make the ballot in Oregon for the November election. He is going be in town this weekend to host a nominating party Saturday night at Benson High School. Ralph Nader needs 1,000 signatures to Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088182388707252022004-06-25T09:57:00.000-07:002004-06-25T10:02:04.993-07:00The Critics Have Spoken You can judge one's relative importance by the vehemence of the opposition (which is why I try to cultivate trolls). By this measure, Michael Moore has, with the release of Fahrenheit 9/11, arrived. National Review Even though Moore's current status ultimately says more about the impoverished state of liberal thought than it does about Moore himself, it's nevertheless Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088176824314430632004-06-25T08:14:00.000-07:002004-06-25T08:21:48.166-07:00Poll Numbers From USA Today: It was a mistake to invade Iraq: 54% - June 21-23 41% - June 3-6Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088119511329230882004-06-24T16:05:00.000-07:002004-06-24T16:25:11.330-07:00The Daily Link Today's link: Daily Dystopian Active since: March 2003 Tag: "Disillusioned, dismayed, disfranchised..." The Dystopian is principally a blog that identifies news you can use--with a twist. I read several blogs of this type; one of the blogosphere's biggest assests is filtering news. The Dystopian does a good job--recent citations came from The Olympian (Olympia, WA) and RadioJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088110750297427192004-06-24T14:05:00.000-07:002004-06-24T13:59:10.296-07:00All eight evening screenings for Farenheit 9/11 are sold out tomorrow in Portland. Little Beirut's ready to rock. (Thanks SM)Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088106985276539342004-06-24T12:39:00.000-07:002004-06-24T12:58:32.180-07:00The Plame Affair Smolders On The President today gave 70 minutes of his valuable time to federal prosecutors investigating the Valerie Plame leak. This is pretty big news, despite Scott McClellan's equanimity: "No one wants to get to the bottom of this matter more than the president of the United States. [The President] was pleased to share whatever information he had." Rather: It is Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088094288557194702004-06-24T08:47:00.000-07:002004-06-24T10:04:26.093-07:00Ralph Nader is Right Ralph Nader is an accepted crank, a defamed man lefties no longer even like to acknowledge. The thought that enough marginal cranks may actually vote for him again this year, and again throw the election to Dubya, is too painful for them to even consider. If one issue has the power to unite lefties, it's the fear and loathing they feel for poor Ralph Nader. Last night, asJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088091991628289502004-06-24T08:34:00.000-07:002004-06-24T08:46:31.630-07:00I have used my weekly soapbox at the American Steet to harp again on the Phillips' data, should you be itching for more of the same.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088017196962295942004-06-23T11:04:00.000-07:002004-06-23T11:59:56.963-07:00Let's have a war! I'm re-reading Kevin Phillips' extraordinary Wealth and Democracy. (Actually, that's polishing the apple a bit--I've previously only read portions.) All liberals should consider this required reading--it's perhaps the most important book I've read in ten years. Vast and comprehensive, it is a wonderful tool for debunking not only the right's spin--but even our own, Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1088002254897019662004-06-23T07:22:00.000-07:002004-06-23T07:53:14.380-07:00Put Up or Shut Up [2] Bush's release of the administration's "torture" documents should not be interpreted as the transparency of a government trying to set things right, but--as usual--a President trying to cover his ass. It's a familiar pattern: a scandal erupts and the White House handles it badly, causing even more scrutiny. This is followed by an act of selective disclosure, where only Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1087949379633967292004-06-22T17:09:00.000-07:002004-06-22T17:16:12.656-07:00Item 1: Bush Claimed Right to Waive Anti-Torture Laws President Bush claimed the right to waive anti-torture laws and treaties covering prisoners of war after the invasion of Afghanistan, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorized guards to strip detainees and threaten them with dogs, according to documents released Tuesday. Item 2: South Korean is latest hostage to be beheaded in Iraq AJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1087942098722439002004-06-22T14:35:00.000-07:002004-06-22T15:08:18.723-07:00The Daily Link Today's link: Emphyrio Active since: January 2004 Tag: None. Emphyrio is a somewhat inscrutible blog. The blogger (Emphyr io?) reliably posts daily, but often not more than once. Other info is absent. We are left, then, with a clipped kind of prose that seems to indicate an omnicience about events and their causes--leading, of course, to black humor. Current interests tend Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1087924595034350772004-06-22T09:26:00.000-07:002004-06-22T10:16:35.036-07:00Put up or shut up The most potent metaphors seem to arise spontaneously. Yesterday I quoted a Cincinnati Post editorial that told Bush to "put up or shut up" on the Iraq/al Qaida link. Today it's Dionne: If the administration has told us the truth, it should be willing to make public all it knows about the links between Saddam Hussein, al Qaeda and Sept. 11, and not just tantalize us with Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1087919346826718692004-06-22T08:46:00.000-07:002004-06-22T08:49:06.826-07:00Yes, there's more polling data out. Yes, it's good for Kerry. No, I will not belabor the point. Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094975.post-1087915718011081112004-06-22T07:43:00.000-07:002004-06-22T07:48:38.010-07:00Go read Krugman. He details the case of a white supremacist discovered with piles of bombs who has gotten soft treatment from the Ashcroft DoJ. Strangely, though, the attorney general didn't call a press conference to announce the discovery of the weapons cache, or the arrest of William Krar, its owner. He didn't even issue a press release. This was, to say the least, out of character. Jose Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561075246012105203noreply@blogger.com