Month: January 2006
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More third party dreaming from Andrew Sullivan
Apparently, the dream will never die — here’s another email from an Andrew Sullivan reader pining for a third party (see the first here): I’ve always voted for Democrats, but like you, I’ve grown distrustful of the current direction of the party. I’ll never be a Republican (the religious fundamentalists are anathema to me), but
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Unsupported Gore quote bounces around echo chamber
Here’s a case study in the workings of the conservative echo chamber. Today, Human Events Online published a story headlined “Al Gore to Attack Bush ‘Police State.’” By putting the phrase in quotes, Human Events suggests that Gore used it or is going to in his speech. However, the article itself, which quotes from a
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Duke prof Chemerinsky testifies on Alito
Erwin Chemerinsky, the Duke law professor who I’m TAing for this semester, testified in the Alito hearings today — here’s the summary on the Washington Post’s nomination blog: Erwin Chemerinsky, a professor at Duke University Law School, then addressed the impact on the Supreme Court of Alito replacing Sandra Day O’Connor, particularly on crucial questions
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Another wiretap poll question
A Washington Post poll released Wednesday shows slightly more positive results than the AP poll I mentioned earlier: 11. Would you consider this wiretapping of telephone calls and e-mails without court approval as an acceptable or unacceptable way for the federal government to investigate terrorism? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat? ——Acceptable—— ——Unacceptable——
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Ted Koppel as a Times columnist: why?
This announcement is annoying: Ted Koppel, the former anchor of “Nightline” on ABC, has been named a contributing columnist for The New York Times. His column will appear on the Op-Ed page periodically. Mr. Koppel’s appointment, which is effective Jan. 29, was announced by Gail Collins, editor of the editorial page. Separately, NPR announced yesterday
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What is Eric Alterman talking about?
I have previously criticized the methodology of the Groseclose/Milyo media bias study (PDF). But at the end of a diatribe attacking it on the American Progress website, Eric Alterman takes a cheap shot at the authors: Check the fine print and one finds this study — naively touted as both objective and significant by the
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Bush attacks dissent at VFW
During a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars yesterday, President Bush engaged in yet another attack on dissent: We face an added challenge in the months ahead: The campaign season will soon be upon us — and that means our nation must carry on this war in an election year. There is a vigorous
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Answering John Henke’s questions about George Allen
Jon Henke at Q&O attacks my post on the ugly racial history of George Allen, a Republican senator and 2008 presidential contender: I’ll ask Brendan: do you actually believe George Allen to be racist? Specifically: Are you alleging that the noose in his office was a reflection of Allen’s feelings about black people, as opposed
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What is John Micklethwait talking about?
In the special Economist issue “The World in 2006,” US editor John Micklethwait notes the setbacks suffered by President Bush during 2005 — the failure of Social Security privatization, our struggles in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, and the DeLay scandals — before offering this ridiculous analysis (sub. required): As a result, a president who stormed back
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A better poll question on no-warrant wiretaps
I previously slammed this awful Rasmussen poll question about President Bush’s no-warrant wiretap program: Should the National Security Agency be allowed to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States? As I wrote, the obvious answer is yes, but the question is whether the NSA should have