meme orandum
| Fresh brewed news plus stewing views |
|
|
Lessons for Democrats By / WaPo — Permalink Except for the glorious victories of the Red Sox and the Patriots, 2004 was a disappointing year. But bad years offer useful lessons. Here are a few: • Relentlessness pays off. President Bush won reelection by ignoring the conventional wisdom that vicious attacks on your opponent don't work and turn off voters. | |
|
Deacon: Ring in the old — E.J. Dionne has figured out why John Kerry lost — it was because of the viciously negative attacks by the Bush campaign. Hugh Hewitt: Part I here. Part II here. E.J. comes through with a howler with which to end the year. Orrin Judd: THE DEER HUNTERS RELOAD: Lessons for Democrats (E. J. Dionne Jr., December 31, 2004, Washington Post) [snipped quote] Boy, some old dogs really just can't learn anything, huh? |
John Hillen: In his column today, gives "Lessons for Democrats." Stuart Buck: Lessons for Democrats — E.J. Dionne is giving advice to the Democrats on how to win elections. |
Average-Wage Earners Fall Behind WaPo — Permalink ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Teresa Geerling is living the future of life in the middle of the American workforce. After years cleaning the insides of airplanes and polishing their outsides, Geerling was laid off from American Airlines last year. | |
|
Jon Henke: TNSTAAFL — Matt Yglesias cites a Washington Post story on the new Labor Market paradigm... "This new era requires that... Matthew Yglesias: Blaming The Brown People — The Washington Post has an interesting story out about shifts in the labor market. |
Ezra Klein: The Party of Risk Management (name subject to change) Matt's got a great post on the fitful nature of the modern labor market. |
IT'S ABOUT THE TRAGEDY - NOT MORE BUSH-BASHING By / New York Post — Permalink THE political and ideological exploitation of perhaps the worst natural disaster in all our lifetimes is almost beyond belief — were it not for the fact that nothing these days is beyond belief. | |
|
Jan Haugland: Politics as usual as people die — John Podhoretz is correctly pointing out how distasteful it is to make the tsunami disaster into an excuse for the usual Bush-bashing. Roger L. Simon: John Podhoretz has an excellent column this morning decrying the politicization of tragedy. I'm going to do my best to avoid it. Jonah Goldberg: EXPLOITING THE TSUNAMI — John Podhoretz makes a good point about anti-Bush opportunism in the wake of the tsunami, but... |
Hugh Hewitt: John Podhoretz writes on the unbelievable attempt by the Bush haters to score points off of the tsunami. Betsy Newmark: Hear, hear to John Podhoretz's column today. |
Doubts linger as Gregoire win certified By / Seattle Times — Permalink OLYMPIA — Democratic Attorney General Christine Gregoire was officially named governor-elect yesterday, quickly declared victory and said "an election night without end has concluded." | |
|
Hindrocket: The Seattle Times reports that Democrat Christine Gregoire was officially certified the winner of the election yesterday. Orrin Judd: CERTIFIABLE: Doubts linger as Gregoire win certified (David Postman, 12/31/04, Seattle Times) "As has been the case... |
Michelle Malkin: The Seattle Times miraculously credits him with uncovering the information today. |
US pledges $350m in tsunami aid BBC — Permalink The US plans to increase by 10-fold - to $350m - its contribution to help the survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami. The largest pledge so far was made just before talks between senior US and UN figures on co-ordinating aid efforts. | |
|
David Carr: I'll see your bid and raise it — The tsunami disaster in Asia appears to have spawned something of a pissing contest in... |
Steve Gilliard: Yeah, Bush is a Christian...like Henry VIII — We're from the US government, and we're here to help, begrudingly US... |
Surviving the Tsunami By / Slate — Permalink Reports from Sri Lanka after Sunday's tsunami say that despite the enormous number of human casualties—116,000 deaths and rising, at last count—many animals seem to have survived the tidal wave unscathed. | |
|
Barbara O'Brien: This Slate article says that many animals of Sri Lanka were able to save themselves from death in the tsunami. James Joyner: Surviving the Tsunami - What Sri Lanka's Animals Knew that Humans Didn't — Slate has an interesting Explainer entitled... |
Mitch Berg: The animals, oddly, seem to have rode it out fairy well. This piece in Slate explains why. It's a fascinating story. Ed Cone: Slate: How the animals survived the tsunami. |
Firsthand Reporting on Asian Tsunami Catastrophes ABCNEWS — Permalink This week, their influence has become readily apparent. Dozens of bloggers have been filing firsthand reports from the areas devastated by southern Asia's deadly tsunamis. "There is kind of an immediacy that people can relate to — can't help but relate to that in a very intimate way," said Jardin. | |
|
Dan Gillmor: ABC News's World News Tonight understood the importance of bloggers, and called them "People of the Year" (Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing is featured). PoliPundit: Bloggers: People of the Year — ABC News has named bloggers its People of the Year. But the Old Media remains as clueless as ever. |
Betsy Newmark: ABC chose this as the Year of the Blog, noting how bloggers have begun blogging about the tsunami. Glenn Reynolds: ABC NEWS MAKES BLOGGERS people of the year. But there's something missing from the story . . . . |
Justice Expands 'Torture' Definition WaPo — Permalink The Justice Department published a revised and expansive definition late yesterday of acts that constitute torture under domestic and international law, overtly repudiating one of the most criticized policy memorandums drafted during President Bush's first term. | |
|
Lambert @Corrente: NOTE WaPo doesn't mention the "inherent authority" issue either. How very odd. Ogged @Unfogged: Good Lord: Reading one last article before bed. Julian Sanchez: The Justice Department takes a step in the direction of the civilized world by expanding its definition of torture,... |
Phillip Carter: (The Washington Post and AP also have stories on this.) Joshua Claybourn: (The Washington Post and AP also have stories.) Jeralyn Merritt: Issues New Torture Memo The Justice Department tries again to define "torture," and in so doing, expands the definition. |
U.S. Boosts Tsunami Aid Tenfold to $350M By / AP — Permalink CRAWFORD, Texas - The United States is pledging $350 million to help tsunami victims, a tenfold increase over its first wave of aid, President Bush announced Friday. | |
|
Jeralyn Merritt: Bush Boosts Tsunami Aid to $350 Million — President Bush has increased the amount the U.S. will pledge to the Tsunami relief effort to $350 million. |
Lambert @Corrente: Bush gives real money for tsunami disaster $350 million. Wouldn't it have been great if He'd done the right thing, right away? |
How Scientists and Victims Watched Helplessly By / NYT — Permalink It was 7 p.m. Seattle time on Dec. 25 when Vasily V. Titov raced to his office, sat down at his computer and prepared to simulate an earthquake and tsunami that was already sweeping across the Indian Ocean. | |
|
Richard TPD: By far. I've now read countless stories about the tsunami, but this epic and breathtaking article is the best. |
Jan Haugland: As the disaster unfolded — NYT: How scientists and victims watched helplessly With no formal warning system, there was... |
U.S. Boosts Tsunami Aid Tenfold to $350 Million; Bush Sends Powell, Brother Jeb to Devastated Areas ABCNEWS — Permalink U.S. crewmen unload crates of supplies as blankets, medicine and the first of 80,000 body bags upon arrival at Banda Aceh airport on Friday Dec. 31, 2004. As the death toll from the earthquake-tsunami catastrophe soared to nearly 120,000 around southern Asia... | |
|
Dan Gillmor: Now That's More Like It — AP: U.S. Boosts Tsunami Aid Tenfold to $350M. |
Skippy: guilt works the administration has been guilt-tripped into increasing the us's donation to tsunami victims by 10 times,... |
Yanukovych quits as Ukraine PM BBC — Permalink Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych has resigned from his post. "I have made the decision and am formally submitting my resignation," he said in a televised address. | |
|
Jan Haugland: Yanukovych resigns — Ukraine's prime minister Viktor Yanukovych has resigned, and while not conceding election defeat he admits there is little hope for his fight to succeed. |
KJL: AND THEN THERE WAS ONE VIKTOR (SORTA) Yanukovych resigns as pm but won't concede. |
Tremors of Doubt By / Opinion Journal — Permalink On Nov. 1, 1755, a great earthquake struck offshore of Lisbon. In that city alone, some 60,000 perished, first from the tremors, then from the massive tsunami that arrived half an hour later. Fires consumed much of what remained of the city. | |
|
John J. Miller: ON THEODICY — A good article in today's Wall Street Journal, by David B. Hart. Michael DeBow: Here's something you don't see everyday: An essay on theodicy in the Wall Street Journal. |
KJL: RE: THEODICY — Speaking of (see Rick on Jonestown), the WSJ has a piece re the tsunamis today. |
At Leak Inquiry's Center, a Circumspect Columnist NYT — Permalink In 41 years as a pundit, Robert D. Novak has rarely shied from controversy. As a syndicated columnist and fixture on cable-news shoutfests, Mr. Novak has opined from the right about some of the biggest stories of his time. | |
|
Jerome Armstrong: Regarding the issue of Novak having revealed the identity of the C.I.A. officer, Valerie Plame, in his column in July... |
Jeralyn Merritt: Valerie Plame Investigation Review — The New York Times profiles columnist Robert Novak and recaps the investigation... |
Sex-assault treatment guidelines omit pill By / Philadelphia Inquirer — Permalink The U.S. Department of Justice has issued its first-ever medical guidelines for treating sexual-assault victims - without any mention of emergency contraception, the standard precaution against pregnancy after rape. | |
|
Atrios: This is great: The U.S. Department of Justice has issued its first-ever medical guidelines for treating sexual-assault... |
Lauren of Feministe: Sex-Assault Treatment Guidelines Omit Pill — This is bad, but not unsurprising news (Free registration required):... |
Gay marriage 'rights' By / Townhall.com — Permalink In all the states where gay marriage was on the ballot this year, the voters voted against it — as they should have. Of all the phony arguments for gay marriage, the phoniest is the argument that it is a matter of equal rights. | |
|
SLZoll: Anyway, although Thomas hasn't done much of note this year, he did continue to write Townhall columns, including this week's, which is called Gay marriage 'rights'. Orrin Judd: STOP BUGGING US: Gay marriage 'rights' (Thomas Sowell, December 31, 2004, Townhall) [snipped quote] Gay marriage... |
Jesse Taylor: Marriage Is For Losers — Uh, Tommy Boy? Why are you married? "Of all the phony arguments for gay marriage, the phoniest is the argument that it is a matter of equal rights. |
Media Moments 2004 NRO — Permalink It's been a wacky year. Every year I collect Dubious Media Moments from the past twelve months, and 2004 has been particularly rich. Here are some of my favorites: | |
|
Ed Driscoll: Meanwhile, Over In Big Media — Here's a round-up of a few year-end stories on this, the last day of 2004: Cathy Seipp looks at the wacky year of big media in general. |
Betsy Newmark: Catherine Siepp recounts her favorite Dubious Media Moments of 2004. |
In Efforts to Organize Aid, Powell and Governor Bush Will Tour Ravaged Areas NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 - Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, seeking to raise the American profile in the international relief effort in Asia, will tour devastated parts of the region next week to assess the need for future aid programs along with Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, the White House announced Thursday. | |
|
Susan Madrak: We're going to send Colin Powell and Jeb Bush to the disaster areas in an attempt to soothe those people who were pissed off by Emperor Caligula's indifference to their plight. |
Orrin Judd: THAT'S THE TICKET: In Efforts to Organize Aid, Powell and Governor Bush Will Tour Ravaged Areas (STEVEN R. WEISMAN and... |
That 'Sluggish' Economy Opinion Journal — Permalink Google the words "sluggish U.S. economy" and "2004," and in 0.40 second you get 4,540 results. "Weak employment report points to still-sluggish U.S. economy," reads a recent headline, on the news that "just 112,000" jobs were added in November. | |
|
Pejman Yousefzadeh: SLUGGISH FACT CHECKING — So will someone be kind enough to explain why it is that the United States economy is still... James Joyner: Sluggish U.S. Economy Still World's Strongest — That 'Sluggish' Economy - It's still the strongest in the world (WSJ) [snipped quote] An interesting bit of perspective. Mike Rappaport: The World's Greatest Economy — The Wall Street Journal tries to introduce some perspective on the American Economy |
Orrin Judd: HYPERSLUG: That 'Sluggish' Economy: It's still the strongest in the world. Steve Antler: 9% Britain===23% Japan====31% France====34% Germany=48% Italy—59% OECD data from today's OpinionJournal. |
Hate speech from the left By / Townhall.com — Permalink As it does every year, the empty folder I labeled "Liberal Hate Speech" in January had grown to a thick sheaf of clippings by December. 2004 wasn't even a week old when two videos explicitly comparing George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler appeared on the website of the liberal group MoveOn. | |
|
Ed Driscoll: Jeff Jacoby looks at 2004 in terms of political hate speech. |
Greg Ransom: JEFF JACOBY — Another year of leftist hate speech. |
Tsunami Toll Jumps to Over 125,000, Fear Lingers Reuters — Permalink BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - Asia's tsunami death toll soared above 125,000 on Thursday as millions scrambled for food and clean water and rumors of new giant waves sent many fleeing inland in panic. | |
|
Joe Gandelman: The official death toll is now 125,000 and people are scramling for food and water, as relief workers try to anticipate how to stem the next highly deadly enemy: disease. James Joyner: Tsunami Death Toll Could Top One Million — Tsunami Toll Jumps to Over 125,000, Fear Lingers (Reuters) "Asia's tsunami... |
Juan Cole: Tsunami toll rises above 125,000 — On very early Friday morning, Reuters was reporting that the death toll in Sunday's tsunami had now climbed to 125,000. |
Thomas' Acceptance of Gifts Tops Justices LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted tens of thousands of dollars worth of gifts since joining the Supreme Court, from $1,200 worth of tires to valuable historical items and a $5,000 personal check to help pay a relative's education expenses. | |
|
Ogged @Unfogged: John Yoo, Whore — Is there any malfeasance by conservatives that John Yoo won't jump to become an apologist for? Tbogg: Some things you just can't put a price on... Cigars from Rush Limbaugh: $100Daytona 500 Commemorative Jacket: $800Bust... |
Ken Masugi: LA Times Gives Justice Thomas the Appearance of Justice — The opening makes it look as though Justice Clarence Thomas... |
Campaign contribution charge against Sears dropped AP — Permalink AUSTIN — Prosecutors have agreed to drop an illegal campaign contribution charge against Sears, Roebuck and Co. in exchange for the company's cooperation with a state investigation of contributions to a Republican political action committee. | |
|
Ddonnelly @DailyKos: The noose is tightening. Read more here. Byron LaMasters: Sears Cuts Deal to Cooperate with DeLay Investigation — The AP reports: [snipped quote] I wonder what the good folks at... |
Charles Kuffner: Sears cuts a deal — Via The Daily DeLay, Sears has joined Diversified Collections Services in making a deal with the Travis County District Attorney's office in the TRMPAC case. |
Huge response to tsunami appeal Reuters — Permalink PEOPLE worldwide have jammed phone lines and websites today to give millions of dollars to the victims of Asia's tsunamis, outpacing their own governments in their generosity. | |
|
McQ: Just as the bulk of the aid to the families in the 9/11 atrocity were private, it stands to reason that people reaching... Tim Blair: UPDATE VI. Finland, a nation of only five million, has raised four million dollars. Italians have donated $17 million via a mobile phone texting system. |
Donald Sensing: Update: Is this embarrassing? It seems that for private donations, the Finns have out-donated us Americans. Jeff Jarvis: NEWS BLOGGERS : Blogger and journalist Kevin Sites has left Iraq to cover the tragedy in Thailand; he is blogging it here. |
Web logs aid disaster recovery By / BBC — Permalink Some of the most vivid descriptions of the devastation in southern Asia are on the internet - in the form of web logs or blogs. Bloggers have been offering snapshots of information from around the region and are also providing some useful information for those who want to help. | |
|
Dan Gillmor: See also this BBC story. ABC News's World News Tonight understood the importance of bloggers, and called them "People of the Year" (Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing is featured). |
Steve Gilliard: Blogging a tsunami blogging disaster Web logs aid disaster recovery By Clark Boyd Technology correspondent "Some of... |
U.S. Falsely Charged with Being 'Stingy' on Foreign Aid By / Human Events — Permalink The other day, a United Nations official accused the United States of being "stingy" in terms of aid to tsunami victims in South Asia. After criticism from the State Department, the official clarified his position. | |
|
Daniel Drezner: One could make the case that comparing large economies with Scandanavia or the Benelux states is unfair, because the... |
Glenn Reynolds: ARE AMERICANS STINGY? Daniel Drezner and Bruce Bartlett look at the numbers. |
Bush 'Undermining UN with Aid Coalition' By / Scotsman — Permalink United States President George Bush was tonight accused of trying to undermine the United Nations by setting up a rival coalition to coordinate relief following the Asian tsunami disaster. The president has announced that the US, Japan, India and Australia would coordinate the world's response. | |
|
Tim Blair: UPDATE V. British swamp hog Clare Short wants the Americans to go away: [quote] "I think this initiative from America to set...[end quote] Charles Johnson: Anti-American Tsunami Riders — Another appalling outburst of acrimony towards the United States, in what will probably... Michael J. Totten: Now Clare Short is laughably accusing us of trying to help unilaterally. |
Joe Gandelman: Going Overboard With Politicization — There may indeed be legitimate questions critics can (and have) raised about the... Captain Ed: British Minister: UN Only Body With "Moral Authority" For Relief — This statement by British minister Clare Short has... Sir George: Short should get back on the Short Bus — Clare Short accuses Bush of undermining the UN relief efforts. |
| Also: James Joyner, Betsy Newmark, McQ, KJL, Christopher Kanis, Bill Hobbs, JD @SouthernAppeal, Orrin Judd | |
On Nov. 2, GOP Got More Bang For Its Billion, Analysis Shows WaPo — Permalink In the most expensive presidential contest in the nation's history, John F. Kerry and his Democratic supporters nearly matched President Bush and the Republicans, who outspent them by just $60 million, $1.14 billion to $1.08 billion. | |
|
Chris Nolan: A Loss, Not a Theft — Political bloggers the nation over have gotten themselves in a lather about a recent Washington Post story detailing how Democrats lost the election. Kos @DailyKos: Shrum's $5 million — Shrum, who is 0-8 in presidential elections and yet is still rumored to be in line for the Corzine... Dave Johnson: Privacy — The blogs are writing about today's Washington Post story comparing Democrat and Republican election tactics. |
Jerome Armstrong: Campaign Reform — Page 1 today of the WA Post shows the need for reform of how Democratic candidates run their media... Taegan Goddard: GOP Got More Bang for Buck — Despite their fundraising success in the last election, Democrats "simply did not spend... Lambert @Corrente: Losers — There's a lot of Inside Baseball stuff in this article about how the Republicans and the Democrats used their... |
| Also: PoliPundit, Orrin Judd | |
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn By / Opinion Journal — Permalink From an article in yesterday's New York Times by Jennifer 8. Lee, on a nest of Manhattan birds: "It was like a belated Christmas gift," said Amanda Tree, a Brooklyn actress and singer-songwriter who had waited, bundled up with wool hat and rainbow scarf, since 9 a.m. to see the hawks. | |
|
Jesse Taylor: James Taranto likewise makes a complete ass out of himself, hours before he's touched lips to a single can of Coors (the True Conservative Beer). Matt Welch: James Taranto, on Abu Ghraib & Prisoner Abuse: [snipped quote] Title of his post: "The Be Kind to Terrorists Party." Ed Driscoll: Meanwhile, back from Christmas vacation, James Taranto has a prediction: [snipped quote] We'll see. |
Tim Blair: Anyways, as James Taranto predicted, the Angry Left is all but invisible in this bold new year: [snipped quote] Hey, it's even better than that. RCox: Who knew? James Taranto at OpinionJounal.com weighs in on Mitchell and Neuharth [Conventional McWisdom, 4th item down]. |
2004: The Good News By / Fox News — Permalink Every year as we approach the end of December, major media outlets compile lists of the year's top stories. Television news stations compile poignant montages of the past 12 months. | |
|
Judith Weiss: Really. 2004 was the year of puppet sex, says Jesse Walker in a fine retrospective which gives a nod to the... Jacob Grier: Your humble Agitator is on the road right now, but he asked me to let you know that he'll be on FOX News today to discuss his column about the good news of 2004. Glenn Reynolds: RADLEY BALKO writes that there was actually a lot of good news in 2004. There's a lot of it, and the column is a must-read. |
Avedon Carol: Ruminations — Krugman is still on vacation, most of the news seems to be about the tsunami (and whether Bush is... Jan Haugland: Good news from 2004 — Easy to forget in these troubled times: the world is gradually becoming a better place. C. D. Harris: Freer, Healthier, Cleaner, Richer, And Safer 2004 was actually a pretty good year. <Via Instapundit> |
| Also: Radley Balko, Pejman Yousefzadeh | |
In Ads, AARP Criticizes Plan on Privatizing By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 - AARP, the influential lobby for older Americans, signaled Wednesday for the first time how fervently it would fight President Bush's proposal for private Social Security accounts, saying it would begin a $5 million two-week advertising campaign timed to coincide with the start of the new Congress. | |
|
Avedon Carol: Mark Kleiman says that AARP, who were last seen caving in for the creepy prescription drug "benefit", are planning to... Matthew Yglesias: AARP Steps Up — As has been widely rumored, the AARP is going to play for the good guys in the Social Security debate instead of reprising their Medicare performance from 2003. Richard TPD: Geezer Power to the Rescue — Great news — the AARP is going head to head with Bush's inane, insane plan to "privatize" Social Security. |
Kriston @BeggingToDiffer: THANKS, OLD PEOPLE — Good news for good people*: AARP has signaled that they aren't taking lightly President Bush's... Mark Kleiman: AARP blasts Social Insecurity — Two readers point me to this New York Times story reporting that AARP will vigorously... Kevin Drum: AARP WEIGHS IN...Good news: it looks like AARP is planning to fight back against President Bush's Social Security... |
A state of chaos By / Guardian — Permalink The transition to President Bush's second term, filled with backstage betrayals, plots and pathologies, would make for an excellent chapter of I, Claudius. To begin with, Bush has unceremoniously and without public acknowledgement dumped Brent Scowcroft, his father's closest associate and friend, as chairman of the foreign intelligence advisory board. | |
|
Joe Gandelman: GWB's Second Term: A Purge Of Poppy's Pals? 3bake_2 James Baker: Allegedly Not A Happy Camper Has President George... Soccerdad @LeftCoaster: According to Sidney Blumenthal Brent Scowcroft has unceremoniously and without public acknowledgement [been] dumped....as chairman of the foreign intelligence advisory board. Jeralyn Merritt: Bush's Second Term: No More Holdovers From His Father — Sidney Blumenthal writes in The Guardian about Bush's second... |
Avedon Carol: Sidney Blumenthal has a piece in the Guardian that makes the administration look like a bunch of doped-up morons. Orrin Judd: REALISTS NEED NOT APPLY: A state of chaos: George Bush has purged the last of his father's senior advisers, handing over... |
Bush Says America Will Lead Global Relief Effort WaPo — Permalink CRAWFORD, Tex., Dec. 29 — President Bush said Wednesday that the United States will spearhead a worldwide effort to provide financial, military and humanitarian assistance to the Asian nations devastated by one of the world's deadliest natural disasters. | |
|
Barbara O'Brien: Several Days Late, Many Dollars Short — Peter Wallsten and Edwin Chen write in today's Los Angeles Times Max B. Sawicky: THAT'S MORE LIKE IT What he should have said three days ago. Advantage, Norway! |
Daniel Drezner: "Compared to other OECD countries, no. President Bush was correct in pointing out that the U.S. is the largest provider..." James Joyner: Bush Says America Will Lead Global Relief Effort — Bush Says America Will Lead Global Relief Effort (WaPo)... |
Are We Stingy? Yes NYT — Permalink President Bush finally roused himself yesterday from his vacation in Crawford, Tex., to telephone his sympathy to the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, and to speak publicly about the devastation of Sunday's tsunamis in Asia. | |
|
Steve Clemons: It sickens me that Fox News is wrapped up in whether it was appropriate or not for a United Nations official to call American aid levels stingy. James Martin Capozzola: (0) DISCUSSION | WHO YOU CALLING STINGY? U.S. The New York Times in an editorial today, "Are We Stingy? Daniel Drezner: Virginia Postrel has kindly requested a comment from me on the kerfuffle* — fueled today by the New York Times... |
Barbara O'Brien: Update: Be sure to read this editorial in today's New York Times. Paul @Wizbang: Those were all from yesterday... In today's NY Times we get this.... ...Mr. Egeland was right on target. Larre @LeftCoaster: Increase in aid to tsunami victims promised by Bush after impliedly being called stingy - $20 million. |
| Also: Jeralyn Merritt, Edward _, Jesse Taylor, James Joyner, KJL | |
Into the Tar Pits NRO — Permalink Dinosaurs either evolve or die. There was a time when the political lines about foreign policy were well drawn. Those on the Left felt that American democracy and global capitalism did not necessarily offer the rest of the world a much better alternative than either Soviet-sponsored Communism or third-world thuggery. | |
|
Armando @DailyKos: Advice for Republicans — Since VD Hanson was kind enough to offer us Lefties some advice, I thought I'd return the... Jesse Taylor: Only Paleontologists In The Political Sense — Shorter V.D. Hanson: whereas The Left used to be racist, stupid, and... |
Charles Johnson: Evolve Or Die — Another great column from Victor Davis Hanson, who offers some helpful advice to the Left: Into the Tar Pits. Ed Driscoll: Jurassic Left — Victor Davis Hanson writes, [snipped quote]. He's got some excellent suggestions that would bring them somewhere towards the middle—if they're willing to listen. |
Gregoire declared governor-elect, but Rossi wants new vote By / Seattle Times — Permalink Democrat Christine Gregoire was officially declared Washington's new governor-elect this morning by Secretary of State Sam Reed. Reed, a Republican, certified the results of a statewide manual recount which Gregoire won by 129 votes. | |
|
James Martin Capozzola: Democrat Christine Gregoire today was officially named the state's governor elect, that after two recounts and a delay of 58 days following Election Day. KJL: WASHINGTON REVOTE? that's what Rossi is urging. |
Steve Bainbridge: Here's another "unstatesman-like" comment: [quote] "In the same breath, Dino Rossi says a drawn-out process would hurt...[end quote] |
Political Discipline, not Just Less Pork By / Cato Institute — Permalink Suppose you think the federal government is a bloated monstrosity in need of a stomach-stapling, extreme makeover. What should be done? Small-government types - free-market conservatives and libertarians - are increasingly at odds on this question. | |
|
Matthew Yglesias: No Libertarians In a Tsunami — Josh Marshall mocks the Ayn Rand Institute's condemnation of US (and other government) aid to help the victims of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. |
Reihan @AndrewSullivan: THE PROPER CARE AND FEEDING OF LEVIATHAN: Will Wilkinson of the Cato Institute slays the beast that is "starve the... |
Internet Use Said to Cut Into TV Viewing and Socializing By / NYT — Permalink SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 29 - The average Internet user in the United States spends three hours a day online, with much of that time devoted to work and more than half of it to communications, according to a survey conducted by a group of political scientists. | |
|
Hugh Hewitt: And the New York Times reports on a new study of internet usage. (HT: K-Lo.) Surprise: It is sky-rocketing. James Joyner: Internet Use Said to Cut Into TV Viewing and Socializing — Internet Use Said to Cut Into TV Viewing and Socializing... |
Joe Gandelman: Actually, I seem to waste more time deleting all of those spams telling me I need an "enlargement" (and how did they... KJL: INTERNET USE REPLACES OTHER ACTIVITIES — How about a study on how much time is wasted on studies on the obvious? |
A Top Kofi Annan Aide Insults Israeli Leader By / New York Sun — Permalink UNITED NATIONS - Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, yesterday urged that Secretary-General Annan fire his top adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, for his anti-Israel tirades. | |
|
Charles Johnson: UN Adviser Goes Nuts — Kofi Annan's top adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, is getting a little too honest about his hatred for Israel: A Top Kofi Annan Aide Insults Israeli Leader. McQ: Inept, corrupt and incorrigible — Another reason Annan should go: [snipped quote] I wonder if Mr. Brahami understands... |
Betsy Newmark: Here is today's reason to despise Kofi Annan. One of his top aides is spewing more anti-Israeli bile. KJL: ANNAN AIDE fires off insults toward Israel, natch. |
Lieberman: Iraq Election Must Go Forward ABCNEWS — Permalink WASHINGTON Dec 30, 2004 — Sen. Joe Lieberman, traveling in the Middle East Wednesday, said there is strong support in Iraq for the Jan. 30 election, and postponing it would only be a victory for the insurgents. | |
|
James Martin Capozzola: (1) DISCUSSION | DON'T WAKE ME YET Sen. Lieberman Pushes the Envelope of Irrelevancy The Associated Press reports: ... KJL: LEIBERMAN OPTIMISTIC ON IRAQ AP: [snipped quote] Hat tip. |
Jayson @PoliPundit: A "Dissenting Viewpoint" About Iraq — Democratic U.S. Senator, Joe Lieberman, says that much in the way of progress is being made towards peace and democracy in Iraq. |
GOP's Soft Sell Swayed the Amish By / WaPo — Permalink BIRD-IN-HAND, Pa. Early on a pale blue morning, a horse-drawn buggy clop-clopped along a farmland stretch of Route 340. A lone little Chevy compact came toward it at a Sunday pace. | |
|
Orrin Judd: JUST LIKE ANY OLD NEIGHBOR: GOP's Soft Sell Swayed the Amish: Unlikely Voters Cast Lot With Bush (Evelyn Nieves,... Betsy Newmark: I love the thought that the GOP were able to mobilize the Amish vote. |
Mark Krikorian: PLAIN VOTERS — More evidence that the cultural Left's takeover is a disaster for the Democratic Party: even the Amish came out to vote for Bush. |
Pentagon ousts official who tied Russia, Iraq arms By / Washington Times — Permalink A Pentagon official who publicly disclosed information showing Russian involvement in moving Iraqi weapons out of that country has been dismissed. John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security and formerly an... | |
|
Ace: Pentagon Official Ousted For Trying to Help George Bush Politically — Wonder if Josh Marshall will begin scandalblogging this outrage? Roger L. Simon: Not OUR Pooty-Poot... I don't know what to make of Bill Gertz's report today that John A. Shaw—the Pentagon official... |
Tom Karako: Today, the Washington Times reports that John Shaw has been forcibly removed from office, after he refused to resign. |
Disturbances in the Earth By / Opinion Journal — Permalink The biggest story of the year happened just as big-thinking journalists went on vacation after filing their "Ten Biggest Stories of 2004" pieces. Life has a way of surprising us. I thought the other day of Harrison Salisbury, and his response when asked what he'd learned after a lifetime as a reporter. | |
|
Ed Driscoll: Finally, Peggy Noonan notes the hubris of journalists who write big "year in review" stories in mid-December, on the... McQ: The Beat goes on — Peggy Noonan nails it in her piece today about the Bush critics and their use of the tragedy in SE Asia to score cheap political points. |
SLZoll: In this week's column, Peggy notes that the biggest story of the year, the tsunami that may have killed over 100,000... KJL: 2004'S BIGGEST STORY — Peggy Noonan: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing here. |
Tsunami death toll tops 116,000 CNN — Permalink BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (CNN) — The death toll from Sunday's tsunamis has jumped sharply to over 116,000 after Indonesia reported nearly 80,000 people were killed in that country alone. | |
|
Bigwig: An Uncomfortable Equation — One Southeast Asian Tsunami + Thousands of Relief Workers = The Increased Possibility of An... Jeralyn Merritt: Death Toll Exceeds 116,000 — The death toll now stands at 116,000. Indonesia reports that over 80,000 were killed in that country alone. |
Joe Gandelman: The Toll Climbs Higher — Just try to imagine a fatality cut off figure and the Indian Ocean earthquake constantly... James Joyner: Tsunami Death Toll Tops 116,000 - India Warns of New Wave — Tsunami death toll tops 116,000 (CNN) "The death toll from... |
Why the war in Iraq is an integral part of the war on terror By / Townhall.com — Permalink Since the invasion of Iraq, liberals have been arguing that the war in Iraq is not part of the broader war on terror. John Kerry said that the war in Iraq was "a profound diversion" from the war on terror and "the battle against our greatest enemy: Osama Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network." | |
|
SLZoll: Anyway, his Townhall column for this week is called Why the war in Iraq is an integral part of the war on terror. |
Jesse Taylor: An Accident Waiting To Happen — This is the last time I'm ever going to deal with the [snipped quote] argument, this... |
Pentagon Said to Offer Cuts in the Billions By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 - The Pentagon plans to retire one of the Navy's 12 aircraft carriers, buy fewer amphibious landing ships for the Marine Corps and delay the development of a costly Army combat system of high-tech arms as part of $60 billion in proposed cuts over the next six years, Congressional and military officials said Wednesday. | |
|
MB Williams: Well, now Olympia can make that leap.. I noticed this seemingly insignificant little tidbit in the second to last... Phillip Carter: General, get your scalpel — Pentagon plans major budget cuts, including some to prized modernization and transformation... Kos @DailyKos: ME-Sen: the word on Snowe — In Maine, MB updates us on the latest Olympia Snowe rumblings: [snipped quote] Let's hope... |
James Martin Capozzola: Somehow, amid massive cuts in long-term defense spending already under consideration by the Bush administration, I doubt it. McQ: Well this is one reason: "The proposed Pentagon cuts, which include sharply reducing the program for the Air Force's... Jesse Taylor: The Steady Coddling Of Fascism — Proposed billions of dollars worth of cuts in military spending at a time when our... |
| Also: Orrin Judd | |
Who's Afraid of Hezbollah TV? By / Slate — Permalink Secretary of State Colin Powell didn't ban Hezbollah's satellite TV station Al-Manar from the United States when he added it to the federal Terrorist Exclusion List on Dec. 17. But the edict took on that appearance when it coincided with the decision of station's satellite provider in North America to unplug it. | |
|
McQ: 1st Amendment and incitement to violence — Jack Shafer has an article in Slate in which he asks "Who's Afraid Of Hezbollah TV"? and answers "not me". |
Julian Sanchez: I Hear They're Worse than Fox... Writing at Slate, Jack Shafer argues against a ban on the Hezbollah-backed Al-Manar satellite TV station. |
Tsunami Death Toll Rockets to 114,000 By / AP — Permalink BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) - The death toll from last weekend's earthquake-tsunami catastrophe rose to more than 114,000 on Thursday as Indonesia uncovered more and more dead from ravaged Sumatra island, where pilots dropped food to remote villages still unreachable by rescue workers. | |
|
Jeff Alworth: The Governator, to California Dems Numbers 1200 - US troop deaths in Iraq, 2004 (through 23 Dec) 42 - Percent who still... Kos @DailyKos: Help — Update [2004-12-30 11:4:1 by Armando]: Deathtoll Rises To 114,000 [snipped quote] Link. |
Captain Ed: AP: Tsunami Toll Now Over 114,000 — The AP now reports that new estimates of deaths in Sumatra has pushed the aggregate... |
Ukrainian PM's appeals rejected BBC — Permalink Ukraine's Supreme Court has rejected all four complaints against the conduct of the presidential election lodged by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. The Central Election Commission also rejected his appeal over Sunday's vote, which was a re-run of the second round. | |
|
Captain Ed: UPDATE: He's 0-for-4 now: "Ukraine's Supreme Court has rejected all four complaints against the conduct of the presidential election lodged by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych." |
Jan Haugland: Ukraine Supreme Court rejects election appeals — The four complaints brought to the Ukraine Supreme Court by losing prime minister Viktor Yanukovych have all been rejected. |
Falloujans Get an Unsettling Look at Their City By / LAT — Permalink BAGHDAD — Yasser Abbas Atiya swore he'd sooner sleep on the streets of his beloved hometown of Fallouja than spend another night in the squalid Baghdad shelter where his family had been squatting. Thirty minutes after he returned home this week, however, Atiya had seen enough. | |
|
Joe Drymala: Just Wondering... Reading an L.A. Times article (via Jesse at Pandagon) about How Falloujans Live Now, this sentence struck me: [snipped quote] Public gatherings are illegal? |
Jesse Taylor: Community Gardens With Land Mines — Why did the LA Times not interview the Fallujah Rotary Club, or, in fact, anyone... |
School milk carton giving way to bottle By / AP — Permalink Yet another familiar school-days object may be going the way of the inkwell and the slide rule. Encouraged by a milk industry study that shows children drink more dairy when it comes in round plastic bottles, a growing number of schools are ditching those clumsy paper half-pint cartons many of us grew up with. | |
|
Brian Doherty: Let Them Drink Malk — Latest sign of education and skill decline in public schools: kids apparently no longer competent... |
Joanne Jacobs: Milked out — A bit of American heritage — those little milk cartons kids get in school — is being abandoned and EdWonk is happy. |
Requiem for a Cop By / Slate — Permalink Amid the ever grimmer news about the Asian earthquake, I'd like to spare a few words for the wonderful actor Jerry Orbach, who died last night. After a long and successful stage career and a string of character roles on film, Orbach spent 12 seasons playing the wisecracking Det. | |
|
Ogged @Unfogged: Lennie, And Friends — There's another nice article about Jerry Orbach in Slate, with lots of good links. |
Ed Driscoll: "They Can't Tear Me Down" — Dana Stevens has a nice obit for Jerry Orbach in Slate. As does The Gothamist blog, which also has a fine collection of links. |