October 31, 2003
Thursday Reading
Andrew Gumbel profiles electronic voting and the problems inherent in the current system in All The President's Votes. You may have seen this link elsewhere, but if you haven't gotten around to reading it yet, please do so now.
The Economist profiles the state of Iran's women.
The Guardian reports that those of us who question the probity of Israeli policy on treatment of Palestinians and the security fence have an ally in no less than the Israeli army's own Lieutenant-General Moshe Ya'alon. Also, this article covers the first direct questioning of Ariel Sharon in a fraud investigation covering some disreputable international transactions connected to the Israely PM.
Bush loves the troops, but he won't show up at their funerals. Service members and veterans are taking notice of this, and a host of more tangible slights to military personnel.
Those darned liberal media people at the Navy Times don't seem to have gotten the memo about how they need to put a good face on the occupation of Iraq. Today they have articles discussing: A bombed freight train west of Baghdad, which was subsequently looted. The plastic explosives used in the spate of recent car bombings are likely foreign in origin. The UN 'temporarily' pulls all international personnel out of Baghdad as the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders come to similar decisions.
Billmon writes about a guy who's decided to threaten Atrios with lawsuits. Bastard, scroll up for more. Oh yeah, and he also has a good article on the plan being floated to pull US troops back to desert fortifications.
Ampersand discusses single-sex classrooms.
Two great tastes that taste great together. (I hope that isn't copyrighted somewhere.) Dwight Meredith has joined Mary Beth at Wampum, and blogging scarcely gets better. Here, MB reviews revised jobless claims numbers, and Dwight writes about what it's like to be the parent of an autistic child.
Among other great posts, Lisa at Ruminate This talks about the Bush administration's latest strategy of historical revisionism, via Google.
But next, as much as I like the Onion, there's nothing funnier than raving lunatics who are dead serious. Joseph Farah of World Net Daily declares that he'd like to buy Newsworld International out from under Al Gore, while repeating a load of tired lies about the former vice president. I've watched Newsworld International (it's only available on extended digital cable) and his description of it as "a Frankenstein being described as a synthesis of CNN and MTV" is immoderately ridiculous. It's more the sort of news station you'd expect PBS to put out if someone gave them the money and a mandate, with international newsrooms reporting from Europe, Canada, and Asia, alternated with documentaries. Later, Farah outlines his vision for the future:
..."Very simply," said Farah, "WND aims to expand its reach and sphere of influence until it profoundly changes the news and information culture of America to that befitting a free nation – the greatest and freest of all nations. When the press truly fulfills its mandate of holding government accountable, and of exposing evil in all its forms, and championing good in all its forms, America will be much closer to what its founders envisioned than it is today." ...
He then goes on to beg for money. For more good yuks, read his commentary on Bush and abortion law.
And if that wasn't enough to fry your tail feathers, this WND article makes passing note of Senator Zell Miller's (D-GA) endorsement of Bush over the Democratic candidates. Miller has also come out to oppose the filibuster of Charles Pickering, along with Senator John Breaux (D-LA). The Newsday article brings us this ringing endorsement of Pickering:
Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the former Republican leader who has been Pickering's greatest supporter in the Senate, called Pickering "one of the smartest individuals, one of the best judges I've known in my life."
Well, I'm sold.
Posted by natasha at October 31, 2003 02:54 AM | TrackBack