Month: February 2007
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Misperceptions of civilian casualties in Iraq
A new AP survey finds that the public is knowledgeable about American military deaths in Iraq, but they “woefully underestimate the number of Iraqi civilians who have been killed”: WASHINGTON – Americans are keenly aware of how many U.S. forces have lost their lives in Iraq, according to a new AP-Ipsos poll. But they woefully
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Study: Flag makes Americans more tolerant
Contrary to the lefty hypothesis that nationalism activates prejudice toward outgroups, a new study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin finds that subliminal exposure to the American flag reduces hostility toward outgroups (PDF – subscription required): Three studies examined the implications of nationalistic ideologies and exposure to the U.S. flag for the activation of
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The Wall Street Journal’s fuzzy math on AMT
Today, the Wall Street Journal editorial page blames Democrats for problems with the Alternative Minimum Tax, which is going to hit millions of taxpayers in coming years if it is not reformed. Apparently, however, the WSJ has no use for budget rules — check out this creative use of scare quotes: The estimated “cost” of
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9/11 conspiracy theories come to Duke
Why oh why are these people showing their film at Duke? Director Mike Berger and writer Rebecca Cerese, a resident of Chapel Hill, spoke Tuesday night in Richard White Lecture Hall and presented their film, “Improbable Collapse,” which presents a controversial take on the events of Sept. 11. The documentary retraced the events of the
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Why Hillary should apologize for Iraq vote
Writing in Slate, Will Saletan makes a convincing argument that Hillary’s refusal to apologize for her vote on Iraq is a mistake. Here’s how it begins: Five years ago, Hillary Clinton supported a Senate resolution authorizing President Bush to use force in Iraq. So did I. It took me four years to admit this was
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Comparing John Murtha to Lee Harvey Oswald
In the latest attack on dissent from the right, Matthew Yglesias flags National Review’s Mackubin Thomas Owens comparing Rep. John Murtha, a leading Democratic opponent of the war in Iraq, to JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald: We Marines maintain that except for Lee Harvey Oswald, there is no such thing as an “ex-Marine.” I believe
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Joe Biden: Blowhard
Some people think the Senate has made Joe Biden more of a blowhard, but I think he’s always been one. Check out this quote from Oct. 27, 1990, which has to be one of the dumbest things anyone has ever said in Congress: Cleaning up the mess created by S&L crooks over the next 10
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Byron Dorgan on Iran-Contra
Here’s an amusing Byron Dorgan quote from the Congressional Record about Iran-Contra (2/25/87): Mr. Speaker, I have not said much about the Iranian scandal because I think it is embarrassing enough for everyone concerned. But last night’s statement by the President, “Do you remember what you were doing on August 8,” the President asked, that
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Exaggerated commentary on events in Iraq
After (appropriately) mocking Mickey Kaus for relying on a single report from a blogger to evaluate the prospects for the “surge,” Kevin Drum makes an important point about the blogger tendency to overreact to news from Iraq: A consistent mistake made by a fair number of partisans on both sides — Andrew Sullivan is the
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Dreyfuss quotes Bush out of context
Writing in the Washington Monthly, Robert Dreyfuss argues that the prospects for Iraq after a US pullout are not as bad as some have suggested. As evidence for this, he quotes a statement from President Bush out of context: President Bush himself has warned darkly that after controlling Iraq, Islamic militants will “establish a radical