O’Reilly blames kidnapping victim
A Death in Destrehan
February 1, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
By BOB HERBERT
Destrehan, La.
On the afternoon of Oct. 7, 1974, a mob of 200 enraged whites, many of them students, closed in on a bus filled with black students that was trying to pull away from the local high school. The people in the mob were in a high-pitched frenzy. They screamed racial epithets and bombarded the bus with rocks and bottles. The students on the bus were terrified.
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Goodbye Molly. Thank You.
Iran Clock Is Ticking
By Robert Parry
While congressional Democrats test how far they should go in challenging George W. Bush’s war powers, the time may be running out to stop Bush from ordering a major escalation of the Middle East conflict by attacking Iran.
Impeachment by the People
Courage is in short supply in Washington, D.C. The realities of the Iraq War cry out for the overthrow of a government that is criminally responsible for death, mutilation, torture, humiliation, chaos. But all we hear in the nation’s capital, which is the source of those catastrophes, is a whimper from the Democratic Party, muttering and nattering about “unity” and “bipartisanship,” in a situation that calls for bold action to immediately reverse the present course.
By Howard Zinn
Robert Scheer: A Case for Impeachment
Not all lies are created equal. It is understood that there is a chasm of importance between little white lies and big black ones. Most would agree that lying about a consensual sexual affair, even by the president, is of significantly lesser concern than lying about the proliferation of nuclear weapons as an excuse to take the nation to war.
Imus Calls O’Reilly An S.O.B.
Couldn’t agree more.
If there is a God or the universe is fair or whatever, someday O’Reilly will be forced to sit on a street corner with a cardboard sign that says: “Will Whine For Falafel”.
Hat tip BxC
Not-So-Strange Bedfellow
January 31, 2007
Op-Ed Contributor
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Here’s a little foreign policy test. I am going to describe two countries — “Country A” and “Country B” — and you tell me which one is America’s ally and which one is not.
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Mama Hugs Iowa
January 31, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
By MAUREEN DOWD
DAVENPORT, Iowa
When she was little, Hillary Rodham would sit on a basement bench and pretend she was flying a spaceship to Mars. Her younger brother Hugh, perched behind, would sometimes beg for a chance to be captain.
No dice. “She would always drive, and I would always have to sit in the back,” he once told me.
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Elemental Caution in Immoderate Times
January 30, 2007
Politicus
By JOHN VINOCUR
International Herald Tribune
NEW YORK Barack Obama tells of Democrats who rush up to him at events insisting “that we live in the worst of political times, that a creeping fascism is closing its grip around our throats.” (more…)
Molly’s Pledge
The Berkeley Daily Planetis hereby launching what it is calling the “Molly Ivins Festschrift.”
Attention writers! (more…)
Barbaro’s Desperate Fight for Life Gripped a Nation in Anguish
January 30, 2007
Sports of The Times
By HARVEY ARATON
We fretted over this horse as if we all had a piece of him. (more…)
The Way Down South
by Bob Moser
This is imperative reading for Democrats who hope to win in 2008, IMO.
And, for those of you who are on the fence or outright against Edwards, give this a read:
Johnny Populist | John Edwards’s hard-edged populism could be an antidote to the surreal Bush years
World Scientists Near Consensus on Warming
Among the findings on recent drafts:
¶The Arctic Ocean could largely be devoid of sea ice during summer later in the century.
¶Europe’s Mediterranean shores could become barely habitable in summers, while the Alps could shift from snowy winter destinations to summer havens from the heat.
¶Growing seasons in temperate regions will expand, while droughts are likely to ravage further the semiarid regions of Africa and southern Asia.
Libby Roundup
The Democrats’ Iraq War Dilemma
By Nat Parry
As the Senate prepares to debate a resolution against the proposed “surge” in Iraq, the Democratic Party faces something of a conundrum: will it heed the calls of its base and take concrete action to end the war, or will it simply use the opportunity to position itself in opposition to Bush’s policy in the hopes of retaking the White House in 2008?
Better Access to Contraception Will Lower Abortion Rate
[Title from the 'duh' files...]
by Cynthia Tucker
Mad About Mary
January 30, 2007
Guest Columnist
By STACY SCHIFF
Once upon a time, asking about someone’s children was like talking about the weather. Then again, once upon a time talking about the weather was also like talking about the weather — not a portal into the political or the apocalyptic. But that’s another story. The point is that children made for the kind of paltry social currency you could exchange with your in-flight neighbor, back when the only other option might have been: “As you’re carrying that knife and wearing full camouflage, is it safe to conclude that the vegetarian meal is mine?” Then came children as designer accessories and politically charged pawns, appendages and admissions statistics.
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Do-Gooders With Spreadsheets
January 30, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
DAVOS, Switzerland
The World Economic Forum here in Davos is the kind of place where if you let yourself get distracted while walking by a European prime minister on your left, you could end up tripping over a famous gazillionaire — and then spilling your coffee onto the king on your right. But perhaps the most remarkable people to attend aren’t the world leaders or other bigwigs. (more…)
Reagan & the Salvadoran Baby Skulls
Ronald Reagan is an icon to many Americans who view him as one of the great Presidents. But a new revelation in the Washington Post is a reminder of the depravity behind Reagan’s policies in Central America, including massacres of entire villages like the Salvadoran town of El Mozote in 1981. According to the Post, some skulls of little children butchered by the Salvadoran army later were scooped up for use as candle holders and good luck charms. For his part, Reagan unleashed his administration to discredit news accounts of the massacre at El Mozote and in hundreds of other towns across Central America.
“We The People”: A Beautiful Thing
Lobo
Jan. 29, 2007
I rolled into Washington, D.C. late Friday morning with my son. We met up with other Camp Casey alums at the Harrington Hotel. I had woken up at 3:00 a.m. Thursday for no good reason. I ended up going back to sleep 47 hours later.
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“We’re on the edge of the abyss….”
Scott Ritter - Target Iran
January 24 - Deerfield, MA
Download mp3 audio (29 min)*
Scott Ritter © 2005 Charles Jenks
If “by their fruits…”
Can anyone doubt that the war in Iraq has proved to be Osama bin Laden’s sweetest dream come true? (more…)
Lieberman May Back Republican in 2008
“I’m going to do what most independents and a lot of Democrats and Republicans in America do, which is to take a look at all the candidates and then in the end, regardless of party, decide who I think will be best for the future of our country,” Lieberman said Sunday.
“So I’m open to supporting a Democrat, Republican or even an Independent, if there’s a strong one. Stay tuned,” said the three-term lawmaker who caucuses with Senate Democrats.
The Real John McCain
Must see video
Thanks to BC who reminded of this classic Smigel cartoon of McCain campaigning for Bush. Watch the whole thing.
More Than Antiwar
January 29, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
By BOB HERBERT
Washington
It was a few minutes after 11 a.m. when the scattered crowd began moving slowly toward the stage at the end of the Mall. The sky was a beautiful sunlit blue and the Capitol building, huge and white and majestic, offered the protesters an emotional backdrop that seemed almost close enough to touch.
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The Sum of All Ears
January 29, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
By PAUL KRUGMAN
For those hoping for real action on global warming and energy policy, the State of the Union address was a downer. There had been hints and hopes that the speech would be a Nixon-goes-to-China moment, with President Bush turning conservationist. But it ended up being more of a Nixon-bombs-Cambodia moment. (more…)
More loss of humanity…
Take Action: Demand Criminal Investigation of U.S. Soldiers Caught on Video Abusing Dog
More victims, civilians, troops, animals…
