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December 29, 2005
Friday, July 15, 2005
Friday's Links
Activism
Buy Blue. You know where your money goes when you spend it, but where does it go after that? The world of finance is not a closed system, but it's all about moving money from there to here. Make no mistake: Big Business makes a lot of friends in Washington, where money talks loudest of all. Whose campaign benefits from that pair of shoes you just had to have? The folks at Buy Blue help you keep track of what happens to your money after you shop.
News
Pressure grows as Pentagon misses deadline on troop levels. A chief complaint of Iraq war critics is that BushCo never had a detailed strategic plan for controlling the area after our troops secured a victory. In recent funding legislation, Congress gave the Pentagon sixty days to fill in some blanks. Trouble is, the deadline was this past Tuesday, and so far nobody knows when or if those plans will surface. I called my Representatives just yesterday on this very issue, and none of their staffers could give me any answers. Take a few minutes to get in touch with your own representatives, and tell them you'd like to know how Congress plans to address this. Congress.org can help you track 'em down if you don't have their info handy.
Help From France Key In Covert Operations. A favorite hobby of the 101st Fighting Keyboardists is to bash anything and everything French. Don't like Bush, and sound like you know what you're talking about? Then you must be an America-hating, croissant-eating, holding-your-cigarette-funny foreigner, because everybody knows how much the French hate us. Except, it turns out, that their covert people help our covert people catch terrorists. John E. McLaughlin, the recently-retired former acting CIA director, called the relationship "one of the best in the world," and said that the French contribution is "extraordinarily valuable." Laptop warriors of the world, take notice.
Homeland Security to narrow its focus. The Department of Homeland Security is getting a makeover, narrowing the scope of its efforts and changing the way it coordinates intelligence. "Some of the tools needed to prevent, respond and recover from such awful scenarios are already in place," says Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, "others need significant improvement." The DHS will streamline its intelligence gathering, and reorganize so that it can better focus on the most catastrophic terrorist threats, such as nuclear or biological attacks. Chertoff says the focus will shift more toward "addressing threats that pose catastrophic consequences," and spend fewer resources on smaller threats. Let's hope this works. What the hell took so long, though?
Editorials
Rove: Seeds Of Destruction From Seeds Of His Success. While most of the focus on Karl Rove these days revolves around the Plame leak and his role in it, Dal LaMagna takes us on a trip down memory lane. The President's chief advisor has a history of exactly this kind of dirty fighting, which may be why those on the left are so up in arms over the current events. Here's a small sample: At the beginning of his career, driven by an obsession with politics, Rove stole office stationery from a Democratic candidate for state treasurer and created fake invitations advertising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing." He also invented the "push poll," designed to pass on negative images of opponents by posing hypothetical scandals as questions, targeting a candidate's perceived weakness or a negative public bias. Has his incredible success in using these unethical smear tactics also sown the seeds of his own demise?
The War's Realists. President Bush recently gave a speech, after the London bombing attacks, in which he said "We're fighting the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan and across the world so we do not have to face them here at home." On the one hand, our President just said "well, at least they haven't hit here!" On the other hand, he's completely ignored the fact that fighting them "over there" doesn't really work; just ask the British. Ultimately, rhetoric will only take you so far. The war in Iraq will succeed only if there is a concrete plan for success, and so far Bush hasn't produced anything that will result in a stable and sovereign Iraq.
How to Talk to a Conservative About Karl Rove (if You Must). Spinning furiously, the Right Wing Noise Machine is out to discredit Joseph Wilson and make Karl Rove look like a hero. Think Progress has put together a concise and comprehensive guide to debunking all the current RNC talking points, if you're able to pin down a Bush supporter long enough for him or her to run out of breath praising his steadfast leadership. Can't comment during an ongoing investigation? Well, what about all these other times? Rove didn't leak a name? Doesn't matter; the law specifies "identifying" a covert agent but doesn't say specifically by name. Plame wasn't undercover? Well it turns out that's not exactly true either. Lots of other links and interesting comments below the post. Print this one out and keep it in your wallet - or get it made into a shirt, and wear it at your conservative friends' parties. They'll thank you later.
|
December 29, 2005
Friday, July 15, 2005
Friday's Links
Activism
Buy Blue. You know where your money goes when you spend it, but where does it go after that? The world of finance is not a closed system, but it's all about moving money from there to here. Make no mistake: Big Business makes a lot of friends in Washington, where money talks loudest of all. Whose campaign benefits from that pair of shoes you just had to have? The folks at Buy Blue help you keep track of what happens to your money after you shop.
News
Pressure grows as Pentagon misses deadline on troop levels. A chief complaint of Iraq war critics is that BushCo never had a detailed strategic plan for controlling the area after our troops secured a victory. In recent funding legislation, Congress gave the Pentagon sixty days to fill in some blanks. Trouble is, the deadline was this past Tuesday, and so far nobody knows when or if those plans will surface. I called my Representatives just yesterday on this very issue, and none of their staffers could give me any answers. Take a few minutes to get in touch with your own representatives, and tell them you'd like to know how Congress plans to address this. Congress.org can help you track 'em down if you don't have their info handy.
Help From France Key In Covert Operations. A favorite hobby of the 101st Fighting Keyboardists is to bash anything and everything French. Don't like Bush, and sound like you know what you're talking about? Then you must be an America-hating, croissant-eating, holding-your-cigarette-funny foreigner, because everybody knows how much the French hate us. Except, it turns out, that their covert people help our covert people catch terrorists. John E. McLaughlin, the recently-retired former acting CIA director, called the relationship "one of the best in the world," and said that the French contribution is "extraordinarily valuable." Laptop warriors of the world, take notice.
Homeland Security to narrow its focus. The Department of Homeland Security is getting a makeover, narrowing the scope of its efforts and changing the way it coordinates intelligence. "Some of the tools needed to prevent, respond and recover from such awful scenarios are already in place," says Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, "others need significant improvement." The DHS will streamline its intelligence gathering, and reorganize so that it can better focus on the most catastrophic terrorist threats, such as nuclear or biological attacks. Chertoff says the focus will shift more toward "addressing threats that pose catastrophic consequences," and spend fewer resources on smaller threats. Let's hope this works. What the hell took so long, though?
Editorials
Rove: Seeds Of Destruction From Seeds Of His Success. While most of the focus on Karl Rove these days revolves around the Plame leak and his role in it, Dal LaMagna takes us on a trip down memory lane. The President's chief advisor has a history of exactly this kind of dirty fighting, which may be why those on the left are so up in arms over the current events. Here's a small sample: At the beginning of his career, driven by an obsession with politics, Rove stole office stationery from a Democratic candidate for state treasurer and created fake invitations advertising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing." He also invented the "push poll," designed to pass on negative images of opponents by posing hypothetical scandals as questions, targeting a candidate's perceived weakness or a negative public bias. Has his incredible success in using these unethical smear tactics also sown the seeds of his own demise?
The War's Realists. President Bush recently gave a speech, after the London bombing attacks, in which he said "We're fighting the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan and across the world so we do not have to face them here at home." On the one hand, our President just said "well, at least they haven't hit here!" On the other hand, he's completely ignored the fact that fighting them "over there" doesn't really work; just ask the British. Ultimately, rhetoric will only take you so far. The war in Iraq will succeed only if there is a concrete plan for success, and so far Bush hasn't produced anything that will result in a stable and sovereign Iraq.
How to Talk to a Conservative About Karl Rove (if You Must). Spinning furiously, the Right Wing Noise Machine is out to discredit Joseph Wilson and make Karl Rove look like a hero. Think Progress has put together a concise and comprehensive guide to debunking all the current RNC talking points, if you're able to pin down a Bush supporter long enough for him or her to run out of breath praising his steadfast leadership. Can't comment during an ongoing investigation? Well, what about all these other times? Rove didn't leak a name? Doesn't matter; the law specifies "identifying" a covert agent but doesn't say specifically by name. Plame wasn't undercover? Well it turns out that's not exactly true either. Lots of other links and interesting comments below the post. Print this one out and keep it in your wallet - or get it made into a shirt, and wear it at your conservative friends' parties. They'll thank you later.
|
December 29, 2005
Buy Blue. You know where your money goes when you spend it, but where does it go after that? The world of finance is not a closed system, but it's all about moving money from there to here. Make no mistake: Big Business makes a lot of friends in Washington, where money talks loudest of all. Whose campaign benefits from that pair of shoes you just had to have? The folks at Buy Blue help you keep track of what happens to your money after you shop.
News
Pressure grows as Pentagon misses deadline on troop levels. A chief complaint of Iraq war critics is that BushCo never had a detailed strategic plan for controlling the area after our troops secured a victory. In recent funding legislation, Congress gave the Pentagon sixty days to fill in some blanks. Trouble is, the deadline was this past Tuesday, and so far nobody knows when or if those plans will surface. I called my Representatives just yesterday on this very issue, and none of their staffers could give me any answers. Take a few minutes to get in touch with your own representatives, and tell them you'd like to know how Congress plans to address this. Congress.org can help you track 'em down if you don't have their info handy.
Help From France Key In Covert Operations. A favorite hobby of the 101st Fighting Keyboardists is to bash anything and everything French. Don't like Bush, and sound like you know what you're talking about? Then you must be an America-hating, croissant-eating, holding-your-cigarette-funny foreigner, because everybody knows how much the French hate us. Except, it turns out, that their covert people help our covert people catch terrorists. John E. McLaughlin, the recently-retired former acting CIA director, called the relationship "one of the best in the world," and said that the French contribution is "extraordinarily valuable." Laptop warriors of the world, take notice.
Homeland Security to narrow its focus. The Department of Homeland Security is getting a makeover, narrowing the scope of its efforts and changing the way it coordinates intelligence. "Some of the tools needed to prevent, respond and recover from such awful scenarios are already in place," says Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, "others need significant improvement." The DHS will streamline its intelligence gathering, and reorganize so that it can better focus on the most catastrophic terrorist threats, such as nuclear or biological attacks. Chertoff says the focus will shift more toward "addressing threats that pose catastrophic consequences," and spend fewer resources on smaller threats. Let's hope this works. What the hell took so long, though?
Editorials
Rove: Seeds Of Destruction From Seeds Of His Success. While most of the focus on Karl Rove these days revolves around the Plame leak and his role in it, Dal LaMagna takes us on a trip down memory lane. The President's chief advisor has a history of exactly this kind of dirty fighting, which may be why those on the left are so up in arms over the current events. Here's a small sample: At the beginning of his career, driven by an obsession with politics, Rove stole office stationery from a Democratic candidate for state treasurer and created fake invitations advertising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing." He also invented the "push poll," designed to pass on negative images of opponents by posing hypothetical scandals as questions, targeting a candidate's perceived weakness or a negative public bias. Has his incredible success in using these unethical smear tactics also sown the seeds of his own demise?
The War's Realists. President Bush recently gave a speech, after the London bombing attacks, in which he said "We're fighting the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan and across the world so we do not have to face them here at home." On the one hand, our President just said "well, at least they haven't hit here!" On the other hand, he's completely ignored the fact that fighting them "over there" doesn't really work; just ask the British. Ultimately, rhetoric will only take you so far. The war in Iraq will succeed only if there is a concrete plan for success, and so far Bush hasn't produced anything that will result in a stable and sovereign Iraq.
How to Talk to a Conservative About Karl Rove (if You Must). Spinning furiously, the Right Wing Noise Machine is out to discredit Joseph Wilson and make Karl Rove look like a hero. Think Progress has put together a concise and comprehensive guide to debunking all the current RNC talking points, if you're able to pin down a Bush supporter long enough for him or her to run out of breath praising his steadfast leadership. Can't comment during an ongoing investigation? Well, what about all these other times? Rove didn't leak a name? Doesn't matter; the law specifies "identifying" a covert agent but doesn't say specifically by name. Plame wasn't undercover? Well it turns out that's not exactly true either. Lots of other links and interesting comments below the post. Print this one out and keep it in your wallet - or get it made into a shirt, and wear it at your conservative friends' parties. They'll thank you later.
