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Tricky WSJ editorial on interrogation
In an editorial backing the Bush administration’s position on coercive interrogation today, the Wall Street Journal suggests that this position is necessary to prevent an attack in the so-called “ticking bomb” scenario: Now the four GOP Senators and most Democrats are working to put CIA interrogators under similarly restrictive rules. If they get their way,
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More on Nazi/Communist comparisons
On The Horse’s Mouth last week, I wrote a post that criticized Nazi/fascist comparisons made by various public figures, including Sean Penn’s recent suggestion that fascism has come to America under President Bush. In it, I specifically disavowed any equivalence between the importance of Penn and more powerful conservatives who used rhetoric comparing war opponents
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Media Matters wrong on Bush 9/11 speech
In his column on the Media Matters website this week, Jamison Foser criticizes my Horse’s Mouth post about a New York Times article on reactions to President Bush’s primetime address on 9/11. Here’s what I wrote: [New York Times reporter David] Stout also fails to directly contradict Democratic minority leader Nancy Pelosi, who mischaracterized President
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Peggy Noonan: Bush not trying to polarize
Things that make you go hmm: Peggy Noonan claiming President Bush is “not trying to polarize: Pundits and historians call Mr. Bush polarizing–and he is, but in some unusual ways. For one thing, he’s not trying to polarize. He is not saying, “My team is for less government, your team is for more–my team, stand
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George Will goes monocausal
In his column today, George Will, a political philosopher turned pundit, offers a monocausal explanation of social behavior that would make Karl Marx blush. Apparently, “most social pathologies” ranging from “crime to schools that cannot teach” are caused by single parent families: [Washington Post reporter and author Thomas] Edsall notes that one-third of American children
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College Republicans disavow Michigan intern
The article I linked to last week on a College Republicans intern who wanted to hold a “Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day” has caused an uproar, and the GOP is running for the hills, as Michael Crowley notes: Republicans on campus and in Washington distanced themselves yesterday from controversial political activities discussed by an intern
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Warning: Great art inside
Romenesko flags this hilarious advisory from the News & Observer, a newspaper based in Raleigh (see a PDF of the front page): From the Page One left rail “Advisory to Readers”: “Today’s Life, etc. section includes a photo of a famous fresco by Michelangelo that includes nudity.” The picture of the Sistine Chapel (which appears
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Horse’s Mouth posts for 9/14
Here are my posts on The Horse’s Mouth yesterday: –A nasty title for an anti-Coulter book –Times correction watch: 1 for 3
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Mocking Boehner and Pryce’s PR tactics
In the conclusion to All the President’s Spin, we argue that it’s important to stigmatize the use of PR tactics by embarrassing politicians who robotically repeat talking points and buzzwords (like “The Daily Show” does). So it’s good to see a columnist for The Hill mocking Deborah Pryce and John Boehner for their hackery in
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Dana Milbank on “Treason Season”
The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank has written an excellent column on the Republican strategy of suggesting that Democrats are traitors, which includes another objectionable quote from John Boehner: House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) was his genial self at a meeting with reporters yesterday morning, showing off his golf-ball-pattern tie and talking of a conversation