Month: February 2007
-
Rep. Todd Akin on Davy Crockett’s Blackberry
If you haven’t heard Rep. Todd Akin’s bizarre statement opposing the Democratic anti-“surge” resolution yet, well, you need to go watch it. Here’s the quote: Could you picture Davy Crockett at the Alamo looking at his Blackberry getting a message from Congress? “Davy Crockett, we support you. The only thing is we are not going
-
Lincoln myth spreads to House floor
TPM’s Greg Sargent points out that Rep. Don Young (R-AK) repeated the phony anti-dissent quote falsely attributed to Abraham Lincoln on the House floor yesterday — here’s the video: Yes, it’s the same quote Frank Gaffney cited in his Washington Times column Tuesday, which suggested that dissent should be a “hanging offense.” In a laudable
-
Does corporate social responsibility work?
A new article by Aaron Chatterji, a professor at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, and UC-Berkeley grad student Siona Listokin makes a convincing argument that the progressive focus on corporate social responsibility is at least partially misdirected (free registration required): A generation of activists has been raised on the idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR)–that
-
My 2002 take on Iraq and internationalism
I just came across a new attack on my American Prospect Online piece from August 2002 on Democrats’ need for a new internationalist doctrine. I think it still holds up pretty well: In recent weeks, it has become increasingly clear that there is a void at the heart of the Democratic Party. At the outset
-
Frank Gaffney suggests dissent is treasonous
Glenn Greenwald, who is now blogging at Salon, has exposed the latest conservative pundit to suggest that dissent is treasonus. In a Washington Times column, national security commentator Frank Gaffney begins by citing a quote calling for the arrest, exile or hanging of dissenting members of Congress, which he attributes to Abraham Lincoln: Congressmen who
-
Dana Milbank on House GOP talking points
Via Michael Crowley at TNR’s The Plank, Dana Milbank mocks the incoherence of GOP talking points on the Democrats’ anti-“surge” resolution: There was good reason for this anxiety. As head of the House Republican Conference, the 32-year-old redhead [Rep. Adam Putnam, R-FL] is leading his caucus into a public-opinion meat grinder: supporting President Bush’s increase
-
Coinsurance for vaccines?
With all the anti-vaccine hysteria, you’d think that health care providers would be doing everything possible to maximize compliance rates. But no! I was shocked to discover that our family’s insurance provider charged us coinsurance for vaccinating our son. Not only is that bad for society, but it doesn’t even make sense from a cost-benefit
-
The deliberative dystopia of Hardball
I can’t stand to watch it, but Bob Somerby routinely suffers through the inanity of MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews.” Check out the five questions Matthews recently asked New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, who is running for president, during an interview: QUESTION 1: Welcome back to Hardball. Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico is a
-
More reasons to like Barack Obama
He can’t stand listening to a fellow senator who has to be Joe Biden: Listening to a bloviating colleague at his first meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama slipped a three-word note to a member of his staff: “Shoot. Me. Now.” I feel the same way.
-
“Obama Bin Laden” trademark denied
Today’s sign of the apocalypse — someone tried to trademark “Obama bin Laden”. Luckily, they were turned down: Government officials have rejected a Florida man’s bid to trademark the term “Obama bin Laden,” ruling that the conflation of the names of a U.S. Senator and the world’s leading terrorist was “scandalous” and wrongly suggested a