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Oh No! The Dictionary Has a Liberal Bias!
Posted by Roy Edroso, Alicublog on July 5, 2009 at 5:27 AM.

I, and you, have Harry Hutton to thank for this Jonah Goldberg jackpot that had escaped my notice, in which a reader complains to the author of Liberal Fascism of "the creeping leftism of something as supposedly benign as a thesaurus." Yes, the correspondent looked up the entries for "liberal" and "progressive" in Roget's and found them too positive. Goldberg can't leave mad enough alone:

While annoying, none of this surprises me. I can't tell you how many people have told me that my book is idiotic on its face because the dictionary says so.

I must pause here to revisit a previous Goldberg entry:

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank quoted me as saying Harriet Miers fits the dictionary definition of "crony," as if it was a stinging rebuke of the White House. In reality, it was merely a factual statement. According to the dictionary, a crony is a longtime close friend or companion. Historically it didn't have a negative connotation. It derives from the Greek chronos (time)...

This happily spares me the effort of making up an instance of Goldberg doing something like it -- for example, "The dictionary defines 'ass' as 'any wild species of the genus Equus,' so you're really calling me a mustang which is a compliment actually."

He goes on:

By the way, my dad wrote about the deep-seated bias of dictionaries for the Wall Street Journal a few years ago.

Oh no, you think, it can't be -- but it is:

This is not the only instance of labeling-hesitation in Webster's New World--at least when the "leader" in question belongs to the "revolutionary" left. The dictionary can call Hitler the "Nazi dictator of Germany" but Stalin merely the "Soviet premier, general secretary of the Communist party of the U.S.S.R." Mussolini is an "Italian dictator," but Tito is "Yugoslav Communist Party leader, prime minister and president of Yugoslavia." Franco is "dictator of Spain" and Salazar "prime minister and dictator of Portugal," but Mao Tse-tung is "Chinese Communist leader, chairman of the People's Republic of China and of its Communist Party"...

 

Reference works carry with them, inherently, an air of authority, as if their contents are handed down from the heights of scholarship and learned precision. No one can feel right about error and tendentiousness slipping into the culture under such a guise.

So it's congenital!

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Amid 2012 Hopefuls' Career Implosions, Future Looks Bleak for GOP
Posted by Booman, Booman Tribune on July 5, 2009 at 3:18 AM.

Two things have happened recently to drive home the point that the Republican Party is in massive decline. The Democratic Caucus in the U.S. Senate reached sixty members and we saw three potential 2012 GOP presidential careers' unexpectedly implode. Where are they going from here?

The GOP might regain some momentum by winning the governor's races this November in either/both New Jersey and Virginia, but their prospects of picking up seats in the 2010 Senate elections look exceedingly bleak. The Democrats have very strong candidates running in Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky, and New Hampshire in what should all be open seats. The Republicans will have to stage upset victories in all four of those seats and find a way to win elections in Delaware, Colorado, or Connecticut to gain any ground. And most of the emerging races are on Republican ground. Texas could become a competitive seat once Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns to run for governor. It remains to be seen if Charlie Crist will prevail in Florida's closed GOP primary. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina is polling terribly and could become vulnerable if the Democrats find a strong challenger. Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana could have difficulty weathering his diaper-wearing visits to the Cat House if Rep. Charlie Melanchon gets in the race.

The Dems have a little housecleaning to do. They will have contentious primaries in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. But they should be favored to win all of those races. My best guess is that the Democrats will pick up a net of four to six seats, giving them 64-66 senate seats for the 112th Congress.

The House is another matter.

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Yes Men Say No to Jerusalem Film Festival
Posted by Staff, AlterNet on July 4, 2009 at 6:51 PM.

Editor's note: this is cross-posted from Tikkun Magazine's blog.

Dear Friends at the Jerusalem Film Festival,

We regret to say that we have taken the hard decision to withdraw our film, "The Yes Men Fix the World," from the Jerusalem Film Festival in solidarity with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (http://www.bdsmovement.net/).

This decision does not come easily, as we realize that the festival opposes the policies of the State of Israel, and we have no wish to punish progressives who deplore the state-sponsored violence committed in their name.

This decision does not come easily, as we feel a strong affinity with many people in Israel, sharing with them our Jewish roots, as well as the trauma of the Holocaust, in which both our grandfathers died. Andy lived in Jerusalem for a year long ago, can still get by in Hebrew, and counts several friends there. And Mike has always wanted to connect with the roots of his culture.

But despite all our feelings, we cannot abandon our mission as activists.

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Tea Parties Underwhelming -- Again
Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly on July 4, 2009 at 1:57 PM.

THE SEQUELS ARE RARELY AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL.... The lasting impact of the "Tea Parties" in April has been minimal. A few months later, it's still not clear what the point was, or what organizers hoped to accomplish. In mid-May, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and the Republican Governors Association organized something organizers called "Tea Party 2.0," but it was a flop.

Apparently, today is supposed to be the third round of Tea Parties. We know this, of course, because Fox News told us so. Steve Doocy, always a font of useful information, told viewers on Tuesday, "This weekend, of course the 4th of July, Americans are gearing up for a second round of tea parties to protest massive government spending." Some of the same lobbyist-run groups that helped push April's far-right gatherings are apparently at it again.

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Are Those Pretty Fireworks Toxic?
Posted by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress on July 4, 2009 at 11:56 AM.

Scientists are increasingly worried that the beautiful fireworks millions of Americans will be watching this Independence Day contain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to the environment. A particular focus is perchlorate, which helps “create the combustion reaction needed for the explosion.” According to a 2009 article in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, “the amount of perchlorate in nearby bodies of water could increase by anywhere from 24 to 1,068 times the amount present before the fireworks, and that it takes 20 to 80 days for the chemical levels to subside.” When ingested, perchlorate can hinder the thyroid’s production of growth hormones. In response, some chemists are looking for other solutions, including cleaner-burning fireworks that use nitrate-based oxidants.

Conservative Columnist: Suggesting American Troops Abroad Are 'Foreigners' Is a Grievous Insult
Posted by D. Aristophanes, Sadly, No! on July 4, 2009 at 11:48 AM.

Caribou Barbie could take a lesson from Dick Cheney — you’re supposed to shoot the other guy in the face, not yourself.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about.

Rather, it’s a wonderful new column from the Moonie Times’ Diana West:

Iraq is Victorious… Over the ‘Foreign’ U.S.?

I’ve been stewing over something really lousy that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been saying since June 20: that Iraqis have won a “great victory” over the “foreign presence in Iraq.”

That “great victory,” as he calls it, is the June 30 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq’s cities. That “foreign presence,” as he calls it, is the United States — the thousands of mainly young American men who have fought a vicious enemy under the harshest conditions for more than six long years, with 4,321 Americans killed, many thousands wounded, often grievously so, and some small, tortured number wrongfully ensnared by the U.S. military justice system in apparent deference to Iraqi political considerations.

“Ingrate” doesn’t begin to describe this al-Maliki creep — or, as all too many conservatives and Bush loyalists persist in thinking of him, our Iraqi “ally.” But let’s skip the labels and stick to the implications of the Iraqi prime minister’s rhetoric: He has transformed long-term American sacrifice on Iraq’s behalf into a residual “foreign presence” over which he now declares Iraqi victory.

Speaking of Cheney, he really has been doing his bit to keep the spirit of 2005 alive — and in the frankly dull Age of Obama, this has not been unappreciated by liberal comedy bloggers. Mocking garden-variety stupidity is one thing, but stupidity that is in a position of authority is the real mother lode … I’ve been pretty much mailing it in since the election because teasing the politically marginalized just doesn’t instill one with the same sense of purpose, no matter how venal the wingnuts remain.

Which is why Diana West’s little diatribe caught my attention.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Sarah Palin Resigns: Is She Fleeing Scandal?
Posted by Tana Ganeva, AlterNet on July 4, 2009 at 12:25 AM.

At a news conference on the lawn of her Wasilla home yesterday morning, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced that she'll give up her post in the next few weeks. A day later, Palin’s abrupt and confounding move has left political analysts and the media scrambling for an explanation.

Many observers expected Palin to say that she was not seeking re-election – a prediction driven by speculation that the Governor is preparing for a Presidential bid in 2012.

But Palin's shocking announcement seems to belie plans for a Presidential run. As Josh Marshall points out at TPM, "Generally, when you run for election to a high office it's understood that you'll stick around to do the job."

Some observers have nevertheless toyed with the idea that Palin is quitting to free up time to campaign. Conservartive columnist Bill Kristol wrote in the Weekly Standard blog:

If Palin wants to run in 2012, why not do exactly what she announced today? It's an enormous gamble - but it could be a shrewd one.

After all, she's freeing herself from the duties of the governorship. Now she can do her book, give speeches, travel the country and the world, campaign for others, meet people, get more educated on the issues - and without being criticized for neglecting her duties in Alaska.

But many Presidential hopefuls finish up their time in office. And Palin's rambling statement did little to lay the groundwork for a future campaign: the Alaska Governor vaguely stated that she would do more good "outside government" and issued some Nixonian grumblings about the press, according to a reporter at the scene to whom Palin allegedly said: "You are naive if you don't see a full-court press on the national level, picking apart a good point guard."

(Palin did, however, also offer some suspiciously campaigny-sounding rhetoric: "I'm not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual.")

Many analysts also point out that Palin’s resignation highlights her main weakness in a potential Presidential run — that many conservative elites see her as unprepared to serve for National Office.

John Weaver, a former strategist for the McCain campaign said “If this is her launching pad for 2012, it's a curious move. Policy is politics, and she has no real accomplishments as governor" according to the AP.

With little information coming from the Palin camp following the announcement, observers speculate that Palin’s bizarre decision and rushed press conference point to a brewing scandal.

(If it turns out Palin is fleeing office in the face of some bombshell revelation scandalous enough to kill any chances she might have in 2012, we would be averaging the loss of one GOP Presidential hopeful per week over the past month.)

Even in the absence of a Mark Sanford-style drama, Palin may be resigning to escape ongoing ethics inquires. The state of Alaska has spent nearly $300,000 investigating ethics complaints against the Governor. Palin has said that contesting the complaints has cost her family $500,000.

The widely publicized inquiry into Palin’s firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan after he refused to can the state trooper involved in a divorce with Palin’s sister is the most prominent of over a dozen investigations.

Others include allegations that Palin used the governor's office for personal gain by receiving improper gifts, and that she used state time and resources for partisan political purposes.

(The AP has the full list here)

Max Blumenthal, writing for the Daily Beast, points to Todd and Sarah Palin’s suspicious ties to Spenard Building Supplies (SBS), an Alaskan contractor. Blumenthal writes that the Feds may be launching an investigation into whether Palin and her husband helped bring lucrative contracts to the company in exchange for gifts:

Though Todd Palin told Fox News he built his Lake Lucille home with the help of a few "buddies," according to Barrett’s report, public records revealed that SBS supplied the materials for the house. While serving as mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin blocked an initiative that would have required the public filing of building permits—thus momentarily preventing the revelation of such suspicious information.

Just months before Palin left city hall to campaign for governor, she awarded a contract to SBS to help build the $13 million Wasilla Sports Complex. The most expensive building project in Wasilla history, the complex cost the city an addition $1.3 million in legal fees and threw it into severe long-term debt. For SBS, however, the bloated and bungled project was a cash cow.

Whatever facts may emerge, Palin’s latest bewildering move has ensured that she will command the public spotlight for a while to come.

Here’s a video and a full transcript of the press conference.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Iraq Veterans File Suit Against KBR
Posted by Barbara O'Brien on July 3, 2009 at 7:14 PM.

 As we approach another 4th of July weekend, there are news stories about veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who are suffering terrible diseases because of exposure to “burn pits.” These burn pits are not some fiendish enemy weapon. They are the creation of contractors hired to “support the troops,” paid with American taxpayer dollars.

Massive open-air pits in Iraq and Afghanistan are used to incinerate medical waste, including human body parts; garbage, plastics; lithium batteries; unexploded ordnance; miscellaneous hardware; gas cans; entire humvees; and building rubble, including asbestos insulation. The burn pits generate black, toxic smoke breathed daily by military men and women serving in the area.

Katie Connolly reports for Newsweek that about 200 veterans have joined in a lawsuit against KBR, Inc. KBR is the former Kellogg Brown & Root, at one time a subsidiary of Halliburton, of which former Vice President Dick Cheney was once CEO. KBR employs more American private contractors and holds a larger contract with the U.S. government than does any other firm in Iraq, according to Wikipedia. By October 2003, seven months after the beginning of the military action in Iraq, KBR’s bill to taxpayers had already reached $1.6 billion. There was no readily available tally of the total value of contracts with KBR since.

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Jon Stewart: Mark Sanford, Shut the F**ck Up
Posted by Staff, AlterNet on July 3, 2009 at 3:01 PM.

Jon Stewart points out that God killed Michael Jackson to let Sanford off the hook. But Sanford can't stop treating the press and public like his private confessional.

Michelle Malkin Freaks Out Because the Government Might Help Poor People a Tiny Bit
Posted by D. Aristophanes, Sadly, No! on July 3, 2009 at 2:01 PM.

Michelle Malkin ominously warns us to ‘[b]eware the grubby paws‘ of Barney Frank. It seems that the ‘powerful Massachusetts Democrat last week quietly introduced legislation that aims to use $1 billion in dividends paid by the recipients of government aid to provide rental housing opportunities for low-income and homeless families.’

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Harry Reid's "Gentle Pursuasion" Is Not Enough
Posted by Steve Benen on July 3, 2009 at 12:22 PM.

QUOTE OF THE DAY.... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada.

Reid says he expects the tactic of gentle persuasion to work best, given the size of his Senate Democratic flock and the political divergences within it. "I don't dictate how people vote," he said in an interview this month. "If it's an important vote, I try to tell them how important it is to the Senate, the country, the president ... But I'm not very good at twisting arms. I try to be more verbal and non-threatening. So there are going to be -- I'm sure -- a number of opportunities for people who have different opinions not to vote the way that I think they should. But that's the way it is. I hold no grudges."

I don't doubt Reid is widely liked and admired within the caucus. But "gentle persuasion" is rarely a recipe for party discipline.

There have been plenty of Senate Majority Leaders in history who members feared and wouldn't dare cross. Reid isn't one of them.

Nazi Groups Look for New Recruits at Tea Parties
Posted by BarbinMD , Daily Kos on July 3, 2009 at 11:42 AM.

Gee, what a surprise, via Americablog:

White supremacists and neo-Nazi hate groups plan to take advantage of the anti-tax “Tea Parties” set to occur in more than 1,000 cities and localities over the July 4 holiday weekend to disseminate racist fliers and other materials and attempt to recruit others to their cause, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

ADL’s Center on Extremism, which monitors extremist groups and provides information to law enforcement and the public, has released information on its Web site describing the attempt by white supremacists to co-opt the anti-tax message of the events as a means to spread racism and anti-Semitism.

On Stormfront, the most popular white supremacist Internet forum, members have discussed becoming local organizers of the “Tea Parties” and finding ways to involve themselves in the events. Many racists have voiced their intent to attend these rallies for the purpose of cultivating an “organized grassroots White mass movement,” with some suggesting that they would do so without openly identifying themselves as racists.

Those patriotic teabaggers must be so proud.

Cheney Orchestrated Public Response to Plame Leak
Posted by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville on July 3, 2009 at 10:11 AM.

Cheney orchestrated public response to Plame leak:

A document filed in federal court this week by the Justice Department offers new evidence that former vice president Richard B. Cheney helped steer the Bush administration's public response to the disclosure of Valerie Plame Wilson's employment by the CIA and that he was at the center of many related administration deliberations.

 ...A list of at least seven related conversations involving Cheney appears in a new court filing approved by Obama appointees at the Justice Department.

And here's more SHOCKING news: Former Bush administration officials assert that the contents must remain secret, and—surprise!—the Obama administration agrees! Hopey changey!

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Hamstringing Environmental Protection for Coal
Posted by Natasha Chart, Open Left on July 3, 2009 at 8:30 AM.

This may be one of the most important things anyone's said yet about the Waxman-Markey climate bill, or ACES. Ken Ward Jr. writing at The Charleston Gazette shares a quote from the communications director of the United Mine Workers of America, Phil Smith:

As it stands now, the amount of money dedicated to coal in this bill is remarkable, and the future of coal will be intact.

There's also this, highlighted by David Sassoon at Solve Climate, from Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), a "lead negotiator for coal state Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee":

I've been working extensively to fashion a controlled program that Congress can adopt which will preserve coal jobs, create the opportunity for increasing coal production and keep electricity rates in regions like Southwest Virginia affordable. The compromise that I have reached with Chairman Waxman achieves those goals.

It doesn't seem unreasonable, as many have pointed out, that industry's weeping and wailing about this bill in public hides the fact that they know it's the best deal they're going to get.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Palin, Perry and Jindal Are Refusing to Talk to Biden About the Stimulus
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on July 3, 2009 at 6:23 AM.

In a new article, Time’s Michael Scherer describes how Vice President Biden has been aggressively reaching out to mayors on the their use of stimulus money. “My rear end is on the line just like yours,” said Biden on a recent conference call with five mayors and county executives. “I’m the guy in charge of this deal. So if this doesn’t work, it’s me.” In a follow-up blog post, Scherer reveals that Biden has talked to “dozens of mayors and 47 of the 50 state governors about the Recovery Act”:

One interesting fact that didn’t make it into the story. Since March, Biden has talked, usually in conference calls, to dozens of mayors and 47 of the 50 state governors about the Recovery Act. The three governors who have not yet been on the line, though they have been invited: Alaska’s Sarah Palin, Texas’ Rick Perry and Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal. You can draw your own conclusions.