September 01, 2003
Sunday Reading
TalkLeft notified everyone a couple days ago that Ashcroft is slipping in the polls, but that's not the best news. His support is beginning to drop among Republicans, as well. Which just goes to show that support for civil rights is a fairly popular issue.
Dwight Meredith discusses a reasonable standard for Iraqi weapons program evidence, and be sure to scroll down for another informative post on tort reform that might work.
The Sideshow points us to a story about prosecutors fighting to keep the innocent in jail, and scrolling down you'll find the news that the Bush administration Labor Department is planning to gut the overtime laws just in time for Labor Day.
Prometheus 6 notes that air traffic control in several areas will soon be privatized, contracted out to the lowest bidder. And we all know how well that lowest bidder thing has been working out for NASA.
Corrente brings us Grieder's homage to social protections.
Liberal Oasis on the Team Bush version of managerial flexibility.
Different Strings finds that an exceptionally coincidental pair of forest fires sprang up in Oregon near the very community where Bush was planning to promote his forest policy. Also, I plan on shortly ripping off the tag she's put along with the election counter at the top of her site. The links to contribute to the DNC and register to vote are ideas worthy of the highest flattery.
Guardian: Mexico puts anti-globalisation activists on a surveillance watch list. Lord Heseltine wonders if the Hutton inquiry on Dr. Kelly's death sidelined an inquiry on more serious matters? Hutton inquiry may weaken the BBC, and the article raises this point in the BBC's defense:
...Third, bring the Iraq war into the picture. Notwithstanding the friction between the government and the BBC on the particulars of Gilligan's report, no one has cast any serious doubt on the much more important question of whether, overall, the BBC reported on the arguments about the war in an objective manner.
The same cannot be said of Fox Television in the US (owned by News Corporation). Indeed, Page reports that the consistency of view across all the News Corporation outlets in favour of the war displayed a unanimity of view greater even than the Pentagon. When, at the same time, a large proportion of Americans are reputed to believe that Saddam Hussein was implicated in al-Qaida terrorism, a belief for which there is not a shred of credible evidence, one wonders if the world's largest democracy is being well served by its media. ...
Government Executive: Several teams of federal workers have won outsourcing competitions against private firms. Gordon England will be the new Secretary of the Navy.* Northrop Grumman recently paid the government $60 million to settle charges of overbilling them by $72 million. A proposed Homeland Security rule will exempt contractors from liability. President cites war on terror as reason to limit pay raises for civil servants, who are duly ticked. CIA recruitments are up.**
* Gordon England was also the 'old' Secretary of the Navy, as recently as January. Apparently the Homeland Security job didn't agree with him. Secretary England is a former executive vice president for General Dynamics.
** Possibly boosted by recent advertising in the Economist.
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Thanks to Carl with a K for bringing this to my attention while sitting on the plane during the Sleepless Summer Tour. Speaking of which, the latest issue of the Economist has an article comparing Dean to Carter. It's so-so, but interesting to read what they're saying in what serves as the international New York Times.
Posted by natasha at September 1, 2003 02:16 AM | TrackBack