Archive for May, 2009
Shocked?
Obama says he’s shocked, saddened by Tiller death: President Barack Obama says he is shocked and outraged over the killing of an abortion provider at a Kansas church. Shocked? Tiller’s clinic was bombed in 1986. He was shot in both arms in 1993. Bill O’Reilly all but called for someone to stop Tiller in 2007. [...]
Not Particularly Sensational, No Sir!
Once upon a time, there was a President who was widely regarded throughout the land as open, transparent, forthright and honest (though very few people were actually willing to say on the record that he walked on water). This was regarded as a welcome change from the other guy who came before. And it came [...]
Sound-bites, Context And A Rash Of Religious Conversions
On Wednesday night, in the first segment on MSNBC‘s Countdown, Keith Olbermann exposed the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the Republican attack machine’s smears of Sonia Sotomayor. He showed how the attacks were based on a) misrepresenting and twisting around out-of-context quotes which have a very different meaning when viewed in context, b) ignoring the fact [...]
Sotomayor Attack Machine Springs Another Leak
Over the last few years, the Republican attack machine has pretty much subsisted on a steady diet of manufactured outrage. Rarely, though, has manufactured outrage been so unambiguously exposed for what it is. Sonia Sotomayor has been skewered six ways to Sunday for her shameful empathy, for her suggestion that her personal life-experiences may inform [...]
As Virginia Goes, So Goes The Nation?
You may not think of Virginia as one of the frontiers in the war against fraud and identity theft, but it’s boldly blazing new trails: As part of the DMV’s effort to develop super-secure driver’s licenses and foolproof identification cards, the agency has issued a smile ban, directing customers to adopt a “neutral expression” in [...]
Barack W. Obama Strikes Again
Notch up another one for Barack W. Obama: The Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a long-standing ruling that stopped police from initiating questions unless a defendant’s lawyer was present, a move that will make it easier for prosecutors to interrogate suspects. The high court, in a 5-4 ruling, overturned the 1986 Michigan v. Jackson ruling, [...]
What’s In A Name?
Last week, Harry Reid was thundering to the press that “We will never allow terrorists to be released in the United States”, by which he meant that we will never allow Guantanamo detainees to be moved to U.S. prisons, not even supermax facilities. At that time, I accused him of having balls you need an [...]
Well-Qualified Enough
Alberto “Buttercheeks” Gonzales, who was once bruited about as a deserving candidate for the Supreme Court — based entirely on what we can delicately describe as his felicity with kneepads in the service of George Bush — has had the colossally poor judgment to offer this left-handed compliment to Sonia Sotomayor: I have no questions [...]
Nut-hatch Hyperbole
Somebody should take Orrin Hatch aside, privately, and — using only those enhanced interrogation techniques that he himself is on the record as finding perfectly legal and not morally reprehensible — persuade him to tell us why he believes the Supreme Court is not the most important court in the entire galaxy: But now we’re [...]
The Supreme Court Nomination Game
If the rumors are true, it’s Supreme Court Justice nomination week (maybe even “day”). I don’t have a good feeling about this, but I’ll be happy to be pleasantly surprised. Mr. Obama talked with his legal team on Monday, and White House aides said an announcement could come as early as Tuesday. Coming so early [...]