January 2010
131 posts
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December 2009
147 posts
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Watchspytap:
Are there really people who still believe that the current Republican Party is relevant and/or not simply playing the obstinate opposition party?
Tell you what, kill the hypocrisy, and begin having an actual discussion and I’ll consider voting for you once again. Continue being the anti-intellectual, anti-progress, anti-anything-the-Democrats-say-even-if-it’s-for-the-good-of-the-country...
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“In a statement to Politico, Cheney seemed to be trying to provide talking points...”
– Eugene Robinson - Dick Cheney’s lies about President Obama - washingtonpost.com
Of course the unnerving thing here, that Robinson doesn’t get into, is that in Cheney’s recent experience, repeating a lie over and over again, and loudly, has worked for him.
(via shorterexcerpts) (via soupsoup)
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Eight GOP Senators Opposed Bill That Funded... →
(via ryking)
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The Man with the Sharpest Pen →
Remembering David Levine. (via The Daily Beast)
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“The difference is this: President Obama doesn’t need to beat his chest to...”
– The White House, in response to Dick Cheney’s comments
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Democrats Move to Sack Superdelegates →
From Politico:
Democrats are moving to eliminate from the party’s national convention the superdelegates, the elected officials and party leaders whose role in the presidential nominating process came under intense scrutiny in last year’s closely-contested primary.
Those superdelegates provided, for a time, a lifeline to then-Sen. Hillary Clinton’s flagging campaign, and the...
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Watchclothedinsky:
Washington’s Proposal To Legalize Marijuana And Sell It At State-Run Liquor Stores | Video Cafe
December 28, 2009 KOMO 4 News
“Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, a Seattle Democrat who is sponsoring the legalization bill in Washington state, said that she “wanted to start a strong conversation about the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana.”
Under her bill, marijuana would be sold in...
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newsweek:
britticisms:
“Maps” by Yeah Yeah...
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Watchbrooklynmutt:
Rachel Maddow systematically dismantles GOP attacks on failed Christmas Day bombing attempt.
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8 Reasons why the Democrats will lose control of...
ifightevil:
James Pethokoukis, Reuters:
1. Virginia and New Jersey. Big GOP wins in the gubernatorial races not only highlighted discontent with incumbents by recession-weary voters, they also greatly helped Republicans with candidate recruiting for 2010.
2. History. American politics has a regular ebb and flow. In 13 of the past 15 midterm elections going back to 1950, the party in control of...
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“As the GOP seeks a path out of the political abyss in the 2010 elections, its...”
– Republicans see political opportunity in Obama response to failed airplane bomb - washingtonpost.com (via robot-heart-politics) (via ryking)
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Jim Lehrer's Rules about Journalism →
ryking:
k-troll:
youmightfindyourself:
Do nothing I cannot defend.
Cover, write and present every story with the care I would want if the story were about me.
Assume there is at least one other side or version to every story.
Assume the viewer is as smart and as caring and as good a person as I am.
Assume the same about all people on whom I report.
Assume personal lives are a private...
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Well, This is Encouraging
newsweek:
Hosenball:
The Homeland Security Department unit which routinely screens US-bound international airline passenger lists before clearing a flight for takeoff has access to the government’s classified master data base of intelligence on terrorism suspects—but rarely checks the data base before notifying airlines that a flight is good to go.
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Obama Curbs Secrecy of Classified Documents →
From The New York Times:
President Obama declared on Tuesday that “no information may remain classified indefinitely” as part of a sweeping overhaul of the executive branch’s system for protecting classified national security information.
In an executive order and an accompanying presidential memorandum to agency heads, Mr. Obama signaled that the government should try harder to make...
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President Obama Takes the Heat President Bush Did... →
When Richard Reid attempted to blow up an airliner in 2001, President Bush didn’t comment for six days—and this came in the wake of September 11.
From Politico:
Eight years ago, a terrorist bomber’s attempt to blow up a transatlantic airliner was thwarted by a group of passengers, an incident that revealed some gaping holes in airline security just a few months after the attacks of Sept....
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““Agency heads shall complete on a periodic basis a comprehensive review of the...”
– Obama Curbs Secrecy of Classified Documents
I’m not going to jump up and down because I still want to see what kind of follow-through there is on this, but it’s nice to see the President moving IN the right direction instead of moving AT the right-wing’s direction. — Ryking
(via ryking)
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“Cities are going to have to make similar painful cuts. Because previous...”
– David Graham on the next budget crisis in government. (via newsweek)
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Krugman: What not to run on →
jonathan-cunningham:
It’s true that the health care bill is unpopular. But as many people have pointed out, a significant fraction of those who say they disapprove of the bill disapprove from the left. And more generally, answers to the question “Do you approve of the Senate bill?” are not the same as answers to the question, “Do you want to roll back what’s in the bill?”
Consider Massachusetts....
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“Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t...”
– Pericles (via caraobrien)
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ericmortensen:
RIchard Reid tried to blow up a plane with his shoes in 2001. He was tried in a civilian court. Do you remember hearing an uproar over that? Nope.
So why is the GOP, including people who held office in 2001, flipping out about Abdulmutallab being tried in a civilian court now? (via TPM)
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Security failure?
squashed:
Where are the Republicans going with this one? I understand that it’s hard to resist shouting “Democrats are weak! Democrats want the terrorists to win!” But this is probably a good time to resist the urge. Afterall, the attempted attack failed. And whether or not there were screening or intelligence shortfalls, the system worked. The Underwear Bomber went to great lengths to smuggle...
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Ask Me Anything →
So I set this up just yesterday, and now it seems the incredibly cool people at Tumblr are working on a Tumblr-based version. Nevertheless, while it lasts: ask me anything.
UPDATE: Go here now.
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“During my time in Washington, the quantity of information has increased but its...”
– Samuelson, with his take on what’s wrong with journalism. (via newsweek)
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“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people...”
– Plato (via soupsoup)
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Health Lobby Takes Fight to the States →
From The New York Times:
Like about a dozen other states, Florida is debating a proposed amendment to its state constitution that would try to block, at least symbolically, much of the proposed federal health care overhaul on the grounds that it tramples individual liberty.
But what unites the proposal’s legislative backers is more than ideology. Its 42 co-sponsors, all Republicans, were almost...
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Republican Senator DeMint Holds Up Nomination for... →
From The Washington Post:
An alleged attempt to blow up a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration — if there were one.
Instead, the post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has held up President Obama’s nominee in an effort to prevent TSA workers from joining a...
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Putin: Russia to Develop Offensive Weapons →
From CNN:
Russia needs to develop “offensive strike systems” to preserve strategic balance with the United States, without producing its own missile defense, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
Putin’s comment, made at a press briefing in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, echoed a similar call from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last week.
“If we...
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“I have always felt that a politician is to be judged by the animosities he...”
– sir winston churchill (via quellequaintrelle)
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“Until now, Tehran hadn’t concerned religious moderates—most of whom are...”
– Babak Dehghanpisheh, on ongoing protests in Iran (via newsweek)
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“Republicans may carp about poor administration of the TSA, but it’s hard to...”
– GOP Blocking New Head of TSA (via ryking)
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-12-27) →
Fleet Foxes (1)
Bobby Fuller Four (1)
Scissor Sisters (1)
Weezer (1)
Moby (1)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
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“The left has been disappointed with Obama for his torture and Afghanistan...”
– Dems Stay Silent As Right Uses Detroit Incident To Attack Obama’s Foreign Policy | The Plum Line (via firthofforth)
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Red State Socialism →
exercisesinnarcissism:
A chart that shows how more Republican-controlled states spend more federal money than Democrat-controlled states. Ironic, eh?
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“There were a total of 674 passengers, not counting crew or the terrorists...”
– FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: The Odds of Airborne Terror (via mikehudack)
Once again, Nate Silver is the voice of rationality. Except, of course, that terrorism is an act of man, and lightning an act of God; in theory, we can do something about the former.
(via newsweek)