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December 29, 2005
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Tuesday's Links
Activism
National Stop Alito Petition Drive. How long has it been since we linked to a petition or campaign to stop Alito? Well, however much time it's been, it's too much. They can pretend all they want, but the fact is that Alito will move the court to the right - much farther than they're willing to admit publicly. Most recently, a paper was unearthed that revealed his true opinions on abortion. Of course, that's not the only issue Alito could affect, but it's a big one. That's why NARAL is running this petition drive, and why you should sign on. Make no mistake: This is the far-right's opportunity to take firm control of the judicial branch.
News
Iraqi Leaders Urge a Timetable for Eventual Troop Withdrawal. Poor Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld. One by one, their arguments for the war are crumbling, along with their public opinion. Of course, it's not like most of the arguments made any sense in the first place - witness Cenk Uygur's destruction of the "Insurgents will wait us out if we set a timetable" argument. But now even Iraqi "leaders" are asking for a timetable. (The Arab League, not the actual Iraqi government.) Bush used to maintain that we'd leave as soon as the Iraqi government asked us to. That hasn't happened yet, although we're not so sure Bush would let it happen, or become public if it did, but it's yet one more sign that we shouldn't be there anymore.
Lawyer Pleads Guilty in Abramoff Case. We try to stay away from articles that have too much of an "insider" feel to them, but the Abramoff scandal is important. It might sound intricate, but really the issue is the wholesale buying and selling of our government, piece by piece, to the highest bigger. Abramoff seems to be the guy largely responsible for facilitating the Republican culture of corruption that is turning Washington into a cesspool. We can't even hope to change Congress until we can be sure that the leaders we elect won't just whore themselves out as soon as they arrive in D.C. So it's very important that the Abramoff case is prosecuted, and that all of those on the take go down with him. Therefore, it's quite a good thing that Michael Scanlon, a lawyer with strong ties to Abramoff, pled guilty. "As part of the plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Scanlon admitted plotting to cheat clients and corruptly influence federal officials." The article details a lot more about how he bought off Congressmen. His plea bargain is a good start. Now let's get moving on booting those officials.
Bush Administration Grants Leeway on 'No Child' Rules. Bush has yet to admit that he's been wrong on anything, and this is the closest we'll see him coming to doing so. BushCo has eased some of the rules under No Child Left Behind, because someone in the White House realized that kids just are getting screwed by this bill. The biggest change is allowing 10 states to create "growth model" schools. What this means, essentially, is that states will qualify as "making progress" if they show improvement in test scores at these growth schools, even if those final results fall below the NCLB benchmarks. It is a much fairer way to assess schools, particularly those in lower-income areas. The big problem with NCLB, aside from being wholly unrealistic, was that it was trying to do too much at once; forcing states to have their students meet an arbitrary benchmark AND require teachers to get certified AND financially penalize those schools that didn't conform to either of those. NCLB is still a horrible plan, but at least this administration has seen that it doesn't work, and is trying to do something about it. That's something, for once. the larger problem is that requirements are different in each state, so trying to regulate something like this on a national level strips some of the power of the states.
Editorials
Time to Leave. Krugman's back, and taking up the argument that it's time for us to exit Iraq. Honestly, it seems pretty obvious to us, but Krugman has a knack for making his points so clearly that it's a wonder anyone bothers to think otherwise. The fact is, we're not winning in Iraq. Our presence there makes things worth. What's keeping us there? Stubborn, arrogant leaders who refuse to "admit defeat", but can't even define victory. Maybe you're conflicted about withdrawal, but read Krugman's article and then see how you feel. As a Marine officer quoted in an article Krugman references says, "We can lose in Iraq and destroy our Army, or we can just lose." Given that choice, we think we'll opt for the latter.
Bush's War on the Press. John Nichols and Robert McChesney detail the steps that the Bush administration has taken to remove "the power of the press." Everything that is documented here, from fake news ads to PBS to the Freedom of Information Ace are all individual acts that lead to a greater goal: the gutting of the independent media. Although Bush doesn't want to hear any "bad" news, or news that disagrees with him, that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. This isn't the case of a hear-no-evil monkey. So the administration has taken extreme steps to remove that news from the public eye. Whether it's hiding the names of the dead soldiers in Iraq or secretly paying Armstrong Williams to pimp the NCLB Act, this administration is trying everything in it's power to covertly withhold information from the public. Fortunately, there's no such thing as "covertly" anymore.
Blogger Commentary
'Reform Republicans' - The McCain Scam. Over at MyDD, Matt Stoller points out that liberals who love John McCain are being scammed. Heck, he's even pulled the wool over Still Fighting's eyes from time to time! Stoller claims there's no particular reason we should like John McCain: "Liberals shouldn't fall for it. John McCain is a corrupt Republican, just like Bush. He doesn't play to the base, preferring instead a 'good government' bipartisan strategy, but he's corrupt, mean-spirited, and puts his ambition above everything else." He claims to be against torture, but votes against habeus corpus rights. He wants to reform campaign finance publicly, but privately is just as much in the pocket of big business as the rest of the party. McCain's nothing special, and we should stop lionizing him just because he criticizes Bush once in a while.
Genie In A Bottle. One of the most disturbing aspects of our recent debates about the merits of torture is what it reveals about our own culture. Years ago, torture was commonly considered morally reprehensible and beneath us. Now, we're practically having open debates about it, and discussing its effectiveness, as if it would somehow be justifiable if it worked. It's not. But where is this debate taking us? It's debasing us, as Americans. Digby references an article that discussions how torture can affect the mind of those administering torture, and we fear that's exactly what's happening to our collective conscience. "Now that we've let the torture genie out of the bottle, I wonder if we can put that beast back in. He looks and sounds an awful lot like an American." Scary.
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December 29, 2005
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Tuesday's Links
Activism
National Stop Alito Petition Drive. How long has it been since we linked to a petition or campaign to stop Alito? Well, however much time it's been, it's too much. They can pretend all they want, but the fact is that Alito will move the court to the right - much farther than they're willing to admit publicly. Most recently, a paper was unearthed that revealed his true opinions on abortion. Of course, that's not the only issue Alito could affect, but it's a big one. That's why NARAL is running this petition drive, and why you should sign on. Make no mistake: This is the far-right's opportunity to take firm control of the judicial branch.
News
Iraqi Leaders Urge a Timetable for Eventual Troop Withdrawal. Poor Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld. One by one, their arguments for the war are crumbling, along with their public opinion. Of course, it's not like most of the arguments made any sense in the first place - witness Cenk Uygur's destruction of the "Insurgents will wait us out if we set a timetable" argument. But now even Iraqi "leaders" are asking for a timetable. (The Arab League, not the actual Iraqi government.) Bush used to maintain that we'd leave as soon as the Iraqi government asked us to. That hasn't happened yet, although we're not so sure Bush would let it happen, or become public if it did, but it's yet one more sign that we shouldn't be there anymore.
Lawyer Pleads Guilty in Abramoff Case. We try to stay away from articles that have too much of an "insider" feel to them, but the Abramoff scandal is important. It might sound intricate, but really the issue is the wholesale buying and selling of our government, piece by piece, to the highest bigger. Abramoff seems to be the guy largely responsible for facilitating the Republican culture of corruption that is turning Washington into a cesspool. We can't even hope to change Congress until we can be sure that the leaders we elect won't just whore themselves out as soon as they arrive in D.C. So it's very important that the Abramoff case is prosecuted, and that all of those on the take go down with him. Therefore, it's quite a good thing that Michael Scanlon, a lawyer with strong ties to Abramoff, pled guilty. "As part of the plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Scanlon admitted plotting to cheat clients and corruptly influence federal officials." The article details a lot more about how he bought off Congressmen. His plea bargain is a good start. Now let's get moving on booting those officials.
Bush Administration Grants Leeway on 'No Child' Rules. Bush has yet to admit that he's been wrong on anything, and this is the closest we'll see him coming to doing so. BushCo has eased some of the rules under No Child Left Behind, because someone in the White House realized that kids just are getting screwed by this bill. The biggest change is allowing 10 states to create "growth model" schools. What this means, essentially, is that states will qualify as "making progress" if they show improvement in test scores at these growth schools, even if those final results fall below the NCLB benchmarks. It is a much fairer way to assess schools, particularly those in lower-income areas. The big problem with NCLB, aside from being wholly unrealistic, was that it was trying to do too much at once; forcing states to have their students meet an arbitrary benchmark AND require teachers to get certified AND financially penalize those schools that didn't conform to either of those. NCLB is still a horrible plan, but at least this administration has seen that it doesn't work, and is trying to do something about it. That's something, for once. the larger problem is that requirements are different in each state, so trying to regulate something like this on a national level strips some of the power of the states.
Editorials
Time to Leave. Krugman's back, and taking up the argument that it's time for us to exit Iraq. Honestly, it seems pretty obvious to us, but Krugman has a knack for making his points so clearly that it's a wonder anyone bothers to think otherwise. The fact is, we're not winning in Iraq. Our presence there makes things worth. What's keeping us there? Stubborn, arrogant leaders who refuse to "admit defeat", but can't even define victory. Maybe you're conflicted about withdrawal, but read Krugman's article and then see how you feel. As a Marine officer quoted in an article Krugman references says, "We can lose in Iraq and destroy our Army, or we can just lose." Given that choice, we think we'll opt for the latter.
Bush's War on the Press. John Nichols and Robert McChesney detail the steps that the Bush administration has taken to remove "the power of the press." Everything that is documented here, from fake news ads to PBS to the Freedom of Information Ace are all individual acts that lead to a greater goal: the gutting of the independent media. Although Bush doesn't want to hear any "bad" news, or news that disagrees with him, that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. This isn't the case of a hear-no-evil monkey. So the administration has taken extreme steps to remove that news from the public eye. Whether it's hiding the names of the dead soldiers in Iraq or secretly paying Armstrong Williams to pimp the NCLB Act, this administration is trying everything in it's power to covertly withhold information from the public. Fortunately, there's no such thing as "covertly" anymore.
Blogger Commentary
'Reform Republicans' - The McCain Scam. Over at MyDD, Matt Stoller points out that liberals who love John McCain are being scammed. Heck, he's even pulled the wool over Still Fighting's eyes from time to time! Stoller claims there's no particular reason we should like John McCain: "Liberals shouldn't fall for it. John McCain is a corrupt Republican, just like Bush. He doesn't play to the base, preferring instead a 'good government' bipartisan strategy, but he's corrupt, mean-spirited, and puts his ambition above everything else." He claims to be against torture, but votes against habeus corpus rights. He wants to reform campaign finance publicly, but privately is just as much in the pocket of big business as the rest of the party. McCain's nothing special, and we should stop lionizing him just because he criticizes Bush once in a while.
Genie In A Bottle. One of the most disturbing aspects of our recent debates about the merits of torture is what it reveals about our own culture. Years ago, torture was commonly considered morally reprehensible and beneath us. Now, we're practically having open debates about it, and discussing its effectiveness, as if it would somehow be justifiable if it worked. It's not. But where is this debate taking us? It's debasing us, as Americans. Digby references an article that discussions how torture can affect the mind of those administering torture, and we fear that's exactly what's happening to our collective conscience. "Now that we've let the torture genie out of the bottle, I wonder if we can put that beast back in. He looks and sounds an awful lot like an American." Scary.
|
December 29, 2005
National Stop Alito Petition Drive. How long has it been since we linked to a petition or campaign to stop Alito? Well, however much time it's been, it's too much. They can pretend all they want, but the fact is that Alito will move the court to the right - much farther than they're willing to admit publicly. Most recently, a paper was unearthed that revealed his true opinions on abortion. Of course, that's not the only issue Alito could affect, but it's a big one. That's why NARAL is running this petition drive, and why you should sign on. Make no mistake: This is the far-right's opportunity to take firm control of the judicial branch.
News
Iraqi Leaders Urge a Timetable for Eventual Troop Withdrawal. Poor Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld. One by one, their arguments for the war are crumbling, along with their public opinion. Of course, it's not like most of the arguments made any sense in the first place - witness Cenk Uygur's destruction of the "Insurgents will wait us out if we set a timetable" argument. But now even Iraqi "leaders" are asking for a timetable. (The Arab League, not the actual Iraqi government.) Bush used to maintain that we'd leave as soon as the Iraqi government asked us to. That hasn't happened yet, although we're not so sure Bush would let it happen, or become public if it did, but it's yet one more sign that we shouldn't be there anymore.
Lawyer Pleads Guilty in Abramoff Case. We try to stay away from articles that have too much of an "insider" feel to them, but the Abramoff scandal is important. It might sound intricate, but really the issue is the wholesale buying and selling of our government, piece by piece, to the highest bigger. Abramoff seems to be the guy largely responsible for facilitating the Republican culture of corruption that is turning Washington into a cesspool. We can't even hope to change Congress until we can be sure that the leaders we elect won't just whore themselves out as soon as they arrive in D.C. So it's very important that the Abramoff case is prosecuted, and that all of those on the take go down with him. Therefore, it's quite a good thing that Michael Scanlon, a lawyer with strong ties to Abramoff, pled guilty. "As part of the plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Scanlon admitted plotting to cheat clients and corruptly influence federal officials." The article details a lot more about how he bought off Congressmen. His plea bargain is a good start. Now let's get moving on booting those officials.
Bush Administration Grants Leeway on 'No Child' Rules. Bush has yet to admit that he's been wrong on anything, and this is the closest we'll see him coming to doing so. BushCo has eased some of the rules under No Child Left Behind, because someone in the White House realized that kids just are getting screwed by this bill. The biggest change is allowing 10 states to create "growth model" schools. What this means, essentially, is that states will qualify as "making progress" if they show improvement in test scores at these growth schools, even if those final results fall below the NCLB benchmarks. It is a much fairer way to assess schools, particularly those in lower-income areas. The big problem with NCLB, aside from being wholly unrealistic, was that it was trying to do too much at once; forcing states to have their students meet an arbitrary benchmark AND require teachers to get certified AND financially penalize those schools that didn't conform to either of those. NCLB is still a horrible plan, but at least this administration has seen that it doesn't work, and is trying to do something about it. That's something, for once. the larger problem is that requirements are different in each state, so trying to regulate something like this on a national level strips some of the power of the states.
Editorials
Time to Leave. Krugman's back, and taking up the argument that it's time for us to exit Iraq. Honestly, it seems pretty obvious to us, but Krugman has a knack for making his points so clearly that it's a wonder anyone bothers to think otherwise. The fact is, we're not winning in Iraq. Our presence there makes things worth. What's keeping us there? Stubborn, arrogant leaders who refuse to "admit defeat", but can't even define victory. Maybe you're conflicted about withdrawal, but read Krugman's article and then see how you feel. As a Marine officer quoted in an article Krugman references says, "We can lose in Iraq and destroy our Army, or we can just lose." Given that choice, we think we'll opt for the latter.
Bush's War on the Press. John Nichols and Robert McChesney detail the steps that the Bush administration has taken to remove "the power of the press." Everything that is documented here, from fake news ads to PBS to the Freedom of Information Ace are all individual acts that lead to a greater goal: the gutting of the independent media. Although Bush doesn't want to hear any "bad" news, or news that disagrees with him, that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. This isn't the case of a hear-no-evil monkey. So the administration has taken extreme steps to remove that news from the public eye. Whether it's hiding the names of the dead soldiers in Iraq or secretly paying Armstrong Williams to pimp the NCLB Act, this administration is trying everything in it's power to covertly withhold information from the public. Fortunately, there's no such thing as "covertly" anymore.
Blogger Commentary
'Reform Republicans' - The McCain Scam. Over at MyDD, Matt Stoller points out that liberals who love John McCain are being scammed. Heck, he's even pulled the wool over Still Fighting's eyes from time to time! Stoller claims there's no particular reason we should like John McCain: "Liberals shouldn't fall for it. John McCain is a corrupt Republican, just like Bush. He doesn't play to the base, preferring instead a 'good government' bipartisan strategy, but he's corrupt, mean-spirited, and puts his ambition above everything else." He claims to be against torture, but votes against habeus corpus rights. He wants to reform campaign finance publicly, but privately is just as much in the pocket of big business as the rest of the party. McCain's nothing special, and we should stop lionizing him just because he criticizes Bush once in a while.
Genie In A Bottle. One of the most disturbing aspects of our recent debates about the merits of torture is what it reveals about our own culture. Years ago, torture was commonly considered morally reprehensible and beneath us. Now, we're practically having open debates about it, and discussing its effectiveness, as if it would somehow be justifiable if it worked. It's not. But where is this debate taking us? It's debasing us, as Americans. Digby references an article that discussions how torture can affect the mind of those administering torture, and we fear that's exactly what's happening to our collective conscience. "Now that we've let the torture genie out of the bottle, I wonder if we can put that beast back in. He looks and sounds an awful lot like an American." Scary.
