Month: September 2006
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WSJ correct on waterboarding
A week ago, I questioned a Wall Street Journal editorial claim that “Last year ABC News reported that 11 top al Qaeda figures broke only after ‘waterboarding,’ which induces a feeling of suffocation and is the most controversial of the known techniques employed.” I cited a Media Matters report stating that no such ABC News
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Making up a new Brendan
I went through a number of flame wars at Spinsanity, but two aspects of the TAP controversy have been especially interesting: 1. The invention of a fictitious Brendan. Atrios and a number of readers have created a bizarre caricature of me as some sort of aspiring David Broder who kowtows to the center and constantly
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USA Today hypes gas price-approval link
A USA Today article yesterday made some exaggerated claims about the effect of gasoline prices on President Bush’s approval ratings: When it comes to President Bush’s approval rating — the number that measures his political health — one factor seems more powerful than any Oval Office address or legislative initiative. It’s the price of a
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Bush dissembles on taxes and revenue
Reuters reports that President Bush claimed Democrats will raise taxes if they take control of the House: President George W. Bush charged on Thursday that Democrats would raise taxes if put in control of the U.S. Congress, turning to a familiar campaign theme as he seeks to stave off Republican losses in November. “If they
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Great moments in Congressional debate
The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank eviscerates a House committee for its absurd debate on the definition of torture: Confronted with one of the weightiest issues of the times — whether to reinterpret the Geneva Conventions’ torture prohibitions — the committee members quickly retreated to the familiar terrain of extraneous and off-point arguments. Rep. Jerry Nadler
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Offensive comparison watch: Rep. Steve King
From the Wall Street Journal — a lesson in inappropriate comparisons: What we have here is panicked Republicans engaging in pre-election theatrics as they seek to remind voters that they’re tough on the illegal immigration problem they’ve done nothing to actually solve. Here’s one example of how tough they are. Steve King of Iowa suggested
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Digg my column!
If you’re a Digg member, please go digg my Time.com column on the TAP controversy and the future of opinion journalism! And make sure to read down to the end of the post about the column below, which now includes multiple updates on comments and reaction. [Update: Digg link is fixed now.]
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The future of opinion journalism
I have a new column at Time.com [Update: link offline — see here] on The American Prospect’s attempt to limit my criticism of liberals on their blog (which caused me to quit) and its implications for the future of opinion journalism. Here’s how it begins: Not that long ago, many people thought the Internet would
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Bush straw man watch
WashingtonPost.com’s Dan Froomkin flags the latest entries in the endless string of straw-man arguments made by President Bush: Straw Man Watch Here’s an astonishing exchange from the Rose Garden on Friday: “Q Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, former Secretary of State Colin Powell says the world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of
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The author of Brainless responds
Last week, I criticized the title of the forthcoming William Morrow book Brainless: The Lies and Lunacy of Ann Coulter: That is one annoying and offensive title. Coulter is not “brainless” — she’s obviously very intelligent, and has successfully pandered her way to millions of dollars. In addition, “brainless” and “lunacy” implicitly reference cultural stereotypes