“We are at the edge of losing an historic opportunity”

Created: July 25th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

Steve Clemons and Mustafa Barghouti analyze Barack Obama’s recent trip to Israel and speech in Berlin and the implications both present regarding his Middle East policy as president.

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From The Barack Obama, Geopolitics, Israel/Palestine department.

The Beltway as Bret Michaels

Created: July 25th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

In 17 words, Gabriel Sherman unwittingly sums up precisely what is wrong with American campaign journalism:

[T]he press wants to put its love somewhere, and, right now, that love is up for grabs.

Fuck the public interest–it’s all about who’s ready to rock Adam Nagourney’s world!

h/t Atrios

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From The Journalistic Ethics department.

On John Edwards ‘Love Child’

Created: July 24th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

“Double standard!” cries Slate media critic Jack Shafer. “An elaborate cover up!” whines hacktacular OG ‘even the liberal’ blogger Mickey Kaus. ‘Liberal bias!’ wails the wingnutosphere (surprise, surprise).

All that self-righteous sturm und drang simply because the MSM hasn’t dove on recent reports from that bastion of responsible journalism, The National Enquirer, alleging that former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards cheated on his wife, Elizabeth, with a woman named Reille Hunter.

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From The John Edwards, Journalistic Ethics department.

Homeland Insecurity in the US Dividing Refugee Families

Created: July 22nd, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

Steve Lannen of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports on the unintended consequences of so-called ‘material support’ provisions contained within the Patriot Act:

Losi Grodya works two jobs, has a driver’s license, is working on a community college degree and is readying to take her U.S. citizenship exam.

Despite all she has accomplished since settling in Lexington as a refugee from her native Democratic Republic of Congo nearly six years ago, she feels helpless when she talks on the phone with her daughters. Their home has been a Rwandan refugee camp for the past four years.

”They ask me when they are coming. Why is it taking so long? They tell me since I am in America, I must be able to do something to get them to come, but I’ve tried everything I can,“ Grodya said. ”I just want them to come here so we can all be together again. … But I can’t even do that.“

Her daughters, who as of late January were approved by U.S. officials to join her in Lexington as refugees, have seen their cases caught up in a post-9/11 provision in the Patriot Act that bars people from entering the United States if suspected of aiding a terrorist group.

[...]

After months of delay, Grodya learned last week that her daughters are suspected of providing material support to a terrorist group. But she doesn’t know precisely what they are suspected of doing.

Grodya’s five daughters have shared stories not of complicity, but of kidnapping and rape in a country torn apart by decadelong conflict, she said. She fears they have not told her the worst, but that what they have said ”is now being turned against them.“

Unfortunately, because it wasn’t published in the New York Times or the Washington Post, the story of Losi Grodya–and the broader issue underlying her plight–likely won’t get the attention it deserves. But hopefully a little blogospheric momentum will help broaden its impact. So, please, read the whole thing, blog about it, pass it along to your friends, your colleagues, and your Congresscritters.

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From The Civil Liberties department.

JewsOnFirst.org Pwns Pastor John Hagee; Greenwald Nails Joe Lieberman

Created: July 22nd, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

(Christian) Zionism: yr doin it wrong:

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I’m with Glenn: Serious Centrist™ Joe Lieberman is totally getting a whiteboy pass from the media for appearing at an event sponsored by this anti-Semitic extremist.

h/t Hamsher @ FDL

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From The Joe Lieberman, Racial Issues department.

On Kangaroo Courts and Dry Runs: Hamden is Ready For His Close-Up

Created: July 20th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

Tomorrow marks an historic occasion: the first military commission trial of a so-called ‘enemy combatant’ in the War on Terror is scheduled to take place at beautiful, sunny Guantanamo. And Osama Bin Laden’s chauffeur–a prime example of “the worst of the worst”, IMO–is the lucky duck who’s been given the opportunity to see post-9/11 justice in action:

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From The Guantanamo department.

Hemispheric Dualism

Created: July 16th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

Sara Miller Llana of the Christian Science Monitor reports that a most unlikely passenger may be jumping aboard the Straight Talk Express:

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From The Elections 2008 department.

“Constraint is Intolerable”

Created: July 12th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

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Andrew Bacevich, reviewing Jane Mayer’s new book The Dark Side:

That fear should trump concern for due process and indeed justice qualifies as a recurring phenomenon in American history. In 1919, government-stoked paranoia about radicalism produced the Red Scare. After Pearl Harbor, hysteria mixed with racism led to the confinement of some 110,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps. The onset of the Cold War triggered another panic, anxieties about a new communist threat giving rise to McCarthyism. In this sense, the response evoked by 9/11 looks a bit like déjà vu all over again: Frightened Americans, more worried about their own safety than someone else’s civil liberties, allowed senior government officials to exploit a climate of fear.

Although Mayer does not dwell on this historical context, her account suggests implicitly that the present period differs in at least one crucial respect. Whereas the earlier departures from the rule of law represented momentary if egregious lapses in democratic practice, the abuses orchestrated from within the Bush administration suggest that democracy itself is fast becoming something of a sham. From Mayer, we learn that in George W. Bush’s Washington, the decisions that matter are made in secret by a handful of presidential appointees committed to the proposition that nothing should inhibit the exercise of executive power. The Congress, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, the “interagency process” — all of these constitute impediments that threaten to constrain the president. In a national security crisis, constraint is intolerable. Much the same applies to the media and, by extension, to the American people: The public’s right to know extends no further than whatever the White House wishes to make known.

h/t Laura Rozen

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From The David Addington, Dick Cheney department.

Bush’s New BFF

Created: July 7th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

“So, uh, George, my shoulders are a bit tight atm…”

Well, isn’t that cute:

First it was “Steve.” Now it’s “Yo, Harper.”

U.S. President George W. Bush’s penchant for slangy speech was always apparent from the nicknames he bestows on reporters, and it doesn’t stop with other leaders.

Yesterday, as leaders of the G8 chatted with the heads of seven African nations, a televised feed of their summit in Japan picked up some of the chit-chat before a closed-door meeting, including Mr. Bush’s casual style of address with the Prime Minister of Canada.

Mr. Bush slung a casual arm over Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua for a chat, until he caught sight of Stephen Harper. “Yo, Harper!” he called, bringing him over for an introduction.

Sorry, Tony — there’s a new poodle in town.

h/t Chet

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From The Politics department.

Jesse Helms Departs This Mortal Coil (Finally)

Created: July 4th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

(click the image for a restrained-but-unsentimental obit from ThinkProgress)

Hey, sing ‘Dixie’ to Strom Thurmond for me once you finally get down there, you racist, homophobic assbag.

Oh, and happy 4th of July (indeed).

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From The Uncategorized department.

21st Century Law Enforcement at its Finest

Created: July 3rd, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

Because the presumption of innocence is, like, so September 10th, dude:

The Justice Department is considering letting the FBI investigate Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile that could single out Muslims, Arabs or other racial and ethnic groups.Law enforcement officials say the proposed policy would help them do exactly what Congress demanded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks: Root out terrorists before they strike.

Yes, we all know just how successful the doctrine of prevention has worked out so far–hey, how is that crusade to forcefully spread democracy across the Middle East going?

Currently, FBI agents need specific reasons — like evidence or allegations that a law probably has been violated — to investigate U.S. citizens and legal residents. The new policy, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press, would let agents open preliminary terrorism investigations after mining public records and intelligence to build a profile of traits that, taken together, were deemed suspicious.Among the factors that could make someone subject of an investigation is travel to regions of the world known for terrorist activity, access to weapons or military training, along with the person’s race or ethnicity.

[...]

Critics say the presumption of innocence is lost in the proposal. The FBI will be allowed to begin investigations simply “by assuming that everyone’s a suspect, and then you weed out the innocent,” said Caroline Fredrickson of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Oh, come on. Who needs actual, y’know, specific ‘evidence‘ that illegal activity is occurring, when everybody knows that those swarthy Arabmuslimdarkies (especially the ones who dare to rack up frequent flyer mileage) have pure, undistilled terror flowing through their steely veins 24/7? (What? ‘IRA’ stands for ‘Indo-Republican Army’. Srsly.)

Also see I Need To Calm Down, Threat Level, and, representing the silly side of Blogtopia’s *cough* main street, Tammy “everybody knows” Bruce and Allahpundit, who wonders if we should “[b]e on the lookout for English-speaking caucasians with light-colored eyes“.

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From The Civil Liberties, Rule of Law, Uncategorized department.

Oh, Canada! Here Comes the Manufactured ‘Pro-Life’ Outrage

Created: July 1st, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

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Hot on the heels of the recent bestowing of the Canadian Labour Congress’ Award for Outstanding Service to Humanity, CBC News reports that pioneering abortion rights activist Dr. Henry Morgentaler is now slated to be appointed to the Order of Canada:

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From The Canada, Reproductive Rights department.

Taking it to Tehran Via Tel Aviv?

Created: July 1st, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

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With the publication of Sy Hersh’s recent New Yorker article detailing how Bush administration officials have ramped up US special forces activity in Iran, all eyes are once again fixated on the contentious Gulf state–and the potential of an Israeli-initiated proxy attack.
Read more

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From The Iran department.

Uncle Steve Awarded Human Rights Medal (Say What?!)

Created: June 28th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

“I wonder how long it will take them to figure out that my name isn’t ‘Stephen Lewis’?”

From The Canada, Human Rights department.

Supreme Court of Canada Unanimously Defrosts Libel Chill

Created: June 28th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

The Globe & Mail:

The media should not live in constant fear of facing a libel suit every time a provocative commentary is published or broadcast, the Supreme Court of Canada said yesterday in a major ruling won by controversial Vancouver radio broadcaster Rafe Mair.

In a 9-0 decision that modernizes the defence of fair comment, the court found that Mr. Mair did not defame Christian-values advocate Kari Simpson when he denounced her stand on a book-banning controversy.

“An individual’s reputation is not to be treated as regrettable but unavoidable roadkill on the highway of public controversy, but nor should an overly solicitous regard for personal reputation be permitted to ‘chill’ freewheeling debate on matters of public interest,” Mr. Justice Ian Binnie said.

Judge Binnie said that the key to a defence of honest belief - particularly in an era when extravagant overstatement is common - should lie in whether an honest person could have held the same opinion.

“We live in a free country, where people have as much right to express outrageous and ridiculous opinions as moderate ones,” Judge Binnie said. “In much modern media, personalities such as Rafe Mair are as much entertainers as journalists.”

Score one for the chronically hyperbolic Canadian media personalities who live and die on the alter of outrageous and ridiculous opinions (ahem).

H/t The Robert Bond Papers

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From The Canada, Journalistic Ethics department.

John McCain: Domestic Violence is Hi-fncking-larious

Created: June 28th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

Now here’s a surefire strategy to win over those mythical feminist Clinton supporters who refuse to support Obama no matter what–channel the spirit of Henny Youngman:

As the Huffington Post reported, McCain in an interview with the Las Vegas Sun headed for the gutter while trying to explain why he did not choose Republican Governor Jim Gibbons (now in the midst of a messy divorce and previously the subject of sexual assault allegations) as his Nevada campaign chair:

McCain: I appreciate his support. As you know, the lieutenant governor is our chairman.

Q: Why snub the governor?

McCain: I didn’t mean to snub him. I’ve known the lieutenant governor for 15 years and we’ve been good friends….I didn’t intend to snub him. There are other states where the governor is not the chairman.

Q: Maybe it’s the governor’s approval rating and you are running from him like you are from the president?

McCain: (Chuckling) And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago…

I’m sure clever one-liners like that totally crack up his man-crushing Beltway fanclub during bourbon-fueled late night josh sessions on the Straight Talk Express, but it’s a safe bet they aren’t the sort of entreaties that feminists (or, I’d wager, most women in general) find particularly persuasive.

Yr doin’ it wrong, McSogynist.

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From The John McCain department.

Ralph Nader Deals Race Card Against Obama, Reminds Apathetic Media and Public That He’s Still the #1 3rd Party Spoiler (Fnck Bob Barr!)

Created: June 26th, 2008 | Written By: matttbastard

Honourary soul brotha Ralph Nader was utterly shocked when Illinois State University president (and alleged POC) Al Bowman declined to sip from the third party pimp cup - photo by Andrew Benning

Re: “talking white” - what Shark-Fu said: