Fox News slammed over 'callous' line
Julian Borger in Washington
Saturday July 9, 2005
The Guardian
Rupert Murdoch's Fox News channel was under fire yesterday for comments by some of its leading journalists in response to the London bombs.
Speaking about the reaction of the financial markets, Brit Hume, the channel's Washington managing editor, said: "Just on a personal basis ... I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought 'hmm, time to buy'."
The host of a Fox News programme, Brian Kilmeade, said the attacks had the effect of putting terrorism back on the top of the G8's agenda, in place of global warming and African aid. "I think that works to our advantage, in the western world's advantage, for people to experience something like this together, just 500 miles from where the attacks have happened."
Another Fox News host, John Gibson, said before the blasts that the International Olympic Committee "missed a golden opportunity" by not awarding the 2012 games to France. "If they had picked France instead of London to hold the Olympics, it would have been the one time we could look forward to where we didn't worry about terrorism. They'd blow up Paris, and who cares?" He added: "This is why I thought the Brits should let the French have the Olympics - let somebody else be worried about guys with backpack bombs for a while."
Media Matters for America, a watchdog and frequent critic of Fox, criticised the comments on its website. "I think it's absolutely sickening three Fox anchors had such callous reactions to the bombings that took dozens of lives," said the Jamison Foser, of the group.
The Fox News media relations office had not responded by the time the Guardian went to press yesterday.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
"PERFUMED PRINCES"
That is a phrase of contempt used by David Hackworth to describe the higher brass. It seems that it also applies to the boardroom:
Executives Cash In, Regardless of Performance
By Ben White and Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, March 22, 2005; Page E01
"Even though the escalation of pay has often been justified as necessary, when you look at the details, that is not the case, because much of the pay is not all that sensitive to performance," said Harvard Law School professor Lucian A. Bebchuk, author of the new book "Pay Without Performance." "Our view is that pay is much less connected to performance than investors commonly recognize," he said.
Between 1993 and 2002, total compensation paid by all public companies to their top five executives was $260 billion, according to a study by Bebchuk and Cornell University professor Yaniv Grinstein. From 1993 to 1997, executive pay amounted to 6 percent of total corporate profit, the study said. That number increased to 10 percent of aggregate corporate profit from 1998 to 2002.
Executives Cash In, Regardless of Performance
By Ben White and Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, March 22, 2005; Page E01
"Even though the escalation of pay has often been justified as necessary, when you look at the details, that is not the case, because much of the pay is not all that sensitive to performance," said Harvard Law School professor Lucian A. Bebchuk, author of the new book "Pay Without Performance." "Our view is that pay is much less connected to performance than investors commonly recognize," he said.
Between 1993 and 2002, total compensation paid by all public companies to their top five executives was $260 billion, according to a study by Bebchuk and Cornell University professor Yaniv Grinstein. From 1993 to 1997, executive pay amounted to 6 percent of total corporate profit, the study said. That number increased to 10 percent of aggregate corporate profit from 1998 to 2002.
Friday, July 08, 2005
AT LONG LAST, IS IT OVER?
Fla.'s Gov. Bush ends Schiavo inquiry
By DAVID ROYSE Associated Press Writer
Jul 7, 10:13 PM EDT
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida's state attorney said there was no evidence Terri Schiavo's collapse 15 years ago involved criminal activity, and Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday declared an end to the state's inquiry.
Bush had asked State Attorney Bernie McCabe to investigate Schiavo's case after her autopsy last month. He said he now considers the state's involvement with the matter finished.
"Based on your conclusions, I will follow your recommendation that the inquiry by the state be closed," Bush said in a two-sentence letter.
In asking McCabe to look again into how Schiavo slipped into a persistent vegetative state, Bush had cited an alleged gap between when Schiavo's husband Michael found her and when he called 911. The governor had said the issue remained unsettled.
McCabe said, however, that while such discrepancies may exist in the record, Schiavo's statements that he called 911 immediately had been consistent.
"This consistency, coupled with the varying recollections of the precise time offered by other interested parties, lead me to the conclusion that such discrepancies are not indicative of criminal activity," McCabe wrote in a letter to Bush accompanying his report.
By DAVID ROYSE Associated Press Writer
Jul 7, 10:13 PM EDT
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida's state attorney said there was no evidence Terri Schiavo's collapse 15 years ago involved criminal activity, and Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday declared an end to the state's inquiry.
Bush had asked State Attorney Bernie McCabe to investigate Schiavo's case after her autopsy last month. He said he now considers the state's involvement with the matter finished.
"Based on your conclusions, I will follow your recommendation that the inquiry by the state be closed," Bush said in a two-sentence letter.
In asking McCabe to look again into how Schiavo slipped into a persistent vegetative state, Bush had cited an alleged gap between when Schiavo's husband Michael found her and when he called 911. The governor had said the issue remained unsettled.
McCabe said, however, that while such discrepancies may exist in the record, Schiavo's statements that he called 911 immediately had been consistent.
"This consistency, coupled with the varying recollections of the precise time offered by other interested parties, lead me to the conclusion that such discrepancies are not indicative of criminal activity," McCabe wrote in a letter to Bush accompanying his report.
36%
Gallup: Only 1 in 3 Think the U.S. Is Winning War on Terror
By E&P Staff
Published: July 05, 2005 4:30 PM ET
NEW YORK The latest Gallup poll, released today, finds that not only is there increasing public frustration with the war in Iraq, but the public "is not too confident that the United States and its allies are winning the war against terrorism," Gallup reports.
About a third of Americans think the United States is winning the war on terror, while 20% say the terrorists are winning; 41% say neither side is winning.
This is the second consecutive survey in which 20% of respondents say the terrorists are winning. The number saying the U.S. is winning, 36%, is the lowest mark in more than two years. Not surprisingly, Democrats are less likely to say the U.S. winning, while young people (age 18-29) are most likely, with nearly half of them believing it.
By E&P Staff
Published: July 05, 2005 4:30 PM ET
NEW YORK The latest Gallup poll, released today, finds that not only is there increasing public frustration with the war in Iraq, but the public "is not too confident that the United States and its allies are winning the war against terrorism," Gallup reports.
About a third of Americans think the United States is winning the war on terror, while 20% say the terrorists are winning; 41% say neither side is winning.
This is the second consecutive survey in which 20% of respondents say the terrorists are winning. The number saying the U.S. is winning, 36%, is the lowest mark in more than two years. Not surprisingly, Democrats are less likely to say the U.S. winning, while young people (age 18-29) are most likely, with nearly half of them believing it.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
MORE ON FRANCE
Help from France key in covert operations
Paris’s shadowy ‘Alliance Base’ aids U.S. in terror fight
By Dana Priest
Washington Post
Updated: 10:59 p.m. ET July 2, 2005
John E. McLaughlin, the former acting CIA director who retired recently after a 32-year career, described the relationship between the CIA and its French counterparts as "one of the best in the world. What they are willing to contribute is extraordinarily valuable."
Paris’s shadowy ‘Alliance Base’ aids U.S. in terror fight
By Dana Priest
Washington Post
Updated: 10:59 p.m. ET July 2, 2005
John E. McLaughlin, the former acting CIA director who retired recently after a 32-year career, described the relationship between the CIA and its French counterparts as "one of the best in the world. What they are willing to contribute is extraordinarily valuable."
A NEW LOW FOR FOX NEWS
(Via Atrios) Yesterday, John Gibson wrote that the Olympic Committee made a mistake by choosing London for the 2012 Games because Paris would make a better terrorist target. Despicable.
We Are All Americans
Jean-Marie Colombani,
Le Monde
Paris, France, Sept. 12, 2001.
We Are All Americans
Jean-Marie Colombani,
Le Monde
Paris, France, Sept. 12, 2001.
IRAQ, 9-11 AND THE DSMs
I haven't done a letter count but I am sure that the vast majority of the LTE's about Bush's speech are negative. Here's another one:
In response to the June 29 article "Iraq sacrifice worth it, Bush says."
When George W. Bush addressed the nation, I was shocked to hear him lie at least five times on one subject - the supposed connection between 9/11 and Iraq.
The Star's news coverage accurately reported he repeatedly said we are in Iraq because of the 9/11 terrorists, but the Star did not bother to mention there is no credible evidence that connects Sadaam Hussein or any other Iraqi officials with the attack or with al Qaida.
It is time for Bush to stop cynically lying about 9/11. It is time for news reporters to insist he come clean with the American people about why we are really in Iraq, and why he was planning to go to war even before 9/11, as shown by the Downing Street memos.
And it is time for the Star to clearly expose this man's repeated lies.
The American people are finally catching on. Why is the Star so far behind?
Barbara Tellman
Retired, Tucson
In response to the June 29 article "Iraq sacrifice worth it, Bush says."
When George W. Bush addressed the nation, I was shocked to hear him lie at least five times on one subject - the supposed connection between 9/11 and Iraq.
The Star's news coverage accurately reported he repeatedly said we are in Iraq because of the 9/11 terrorists, but the Star did not bother to mention there is no credible evidence that connects Sadaam Hussein or any other Iraqi officials with the attack or with al Qaida.
It is time for Bush to stop cynically lying about 9/11. It is time for news reporters to insist he come clean with the American people about why we are really in Iraq, and why he was planning to go to war even before 9/11, as shown by the Downing Street memos.
And it is time for the Star to clearly expose this man's repeated lies.
The American people are finally catching on. Why is the Star so far behind?
Barbara Tellman
Retired, Tucson
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
THE PARTY OF "VALUES," JUNIOR EDITION
GOP operative accused of theft
Criminal complaint alleges embezzlement of most of $25,000
By ERIN NEFF REVIEW-JOURNAL
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
The young Nevada man designated to chair the upcoming 2005 Young Republican National Convention in Las Vegas has been accused of embezzling registration fees from around the country to pay off bar tabs, personal loans and credit card debts.
Nevada's national committeeman for Young Republicans filed a criminal complaint Monday with the Reno Police Department alleging Nathan Taylor received more than $25,000 in registration fees and donations through his corporation, YRNC 2005, and spent almost all of it in the past year for personal use.
Criminal complaint alleges embezzlement of most of $25,000
By ERIN NEFF REVIEW-JOURNAL
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
The young Nevada man designated to chair the upcoming 2005 Young Republican National Convention in Las Vegas has been accused of embezzling registration fees from around the country to pay off bar tabs, personal loans and credit card debts.
Nevada's national committeeman for Young Republicans filed a criminal complaint Monday with the Reno Police Department alleging Nathan Taylor received more than $25,000 in registration fees and donations through his corporation, YRNC 2005, and spent almost all of it in the past year for personal use.
RUTH BADER GINSBURG
(Via Daily Howler)
The wingnuts have been whining that Ginsburg was a radical leftist nominee but was confirmed so Bush should get to nominate a freak like Scalia or Thomas. They also mention that she worked for, horror of horrors, the ACLU.
But let's look at the facts:
Judge Ruth Ginsburg Named to High Court; Nominee's Philosophy Seen Strengthening the Center; [FINAL Edition]
Joan Biskupic. The Washington Post (pre-1997 Fulltext). Washington, D.C.: Jun 15, 1993. pg. A.01
On the D.C. Court of Appeals, to which she was appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, she has become a swing vote. A 1988 computer study by Legal Times newspaper found that she had sided more with Republican-appointed colleagues than Democratic counterparts. In cases that were not unanimous, she voted most often with then-Judge Kenneth W. Starr, who became George Bush's solicitor general, and Laurence H. Silberman, a Reagan appointee still on the court.
While Ginsburg supports abortion rights, she has criticized the legal analysis of Roe v. Wade. Her point, which was first made public in a 1984 speech at the University of North Carolina and generated new controversy after a recent talk at New York University law school, is that the broad framework for a right to privacy to end a pregnancy is not constitutionally sound.
She criticized the ruling for preempting state legislatures, which in the early 1970s were moving more toward the legalization of abortion. She credits Roe's overreach with spawning the vocal "right- to-life movement" and bitter legislative attempts to counteract a liberal abortion policy.
Ginsburg contends that Roe's legal authority was weakened by author Blackmun's concentration on the privacy and autonomy elements involved in a woman's decision, in consultation with her physician, to end a pregnancy. She said the court should have grounded its ruling more on a sex-equality basis.
"I do not suggest that the court should never step ahead of the political branches in pursuit of a constitutional precept," she said in her speech in New York. She noted the importance of the 1954 school desegregation ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, but stressed that in that situation, prospects for state legislation to desegregate schools were "bleak."
The wingnuts have been whining that Ginsburg was a radical leftist nominee but was confirmed so Bush should get to nominate a freak like Scalia or Thomas. They also mention that she worked for, horror of horrors, the ACLU.
But let's look at the facts:
Judge Ruth Ginsburg Named to High Court; Nominee's Philosophy Seen Strengthening the Center; [FINAL Edition]
Joan Biskupic. The Washington Post (pre-1997 Fulltext). Washington, D.C.: Jun 15, 1993. pg. A.01
On the D.C. Court of Appeals, to which she was appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, she has become a swing vote. A 1988 computer study by Legal Times newspaper found that she had sided more with Republican-appointed colleagues than Democratic counterparts. In cases that were not unanimous, she voted most often with then-Judge Kenneth W. Starr, who became George Bush's solicitor general, and Laurence H. Silberman, a Reagan appointee still on the court.
While Ginsburg supports abortion rights, she has criticized the legal analysis of Roe v. Wade. Her point, which was first made public in a 1984 speech at the University of North Carolina and generated new controversy after a recent talk at New York University law school, is that the broad framework for a right to privacy to end a pregnancy is not constitutionally sound.
She criticized the ruling for preempting state legislatures, which in the early 1970s were moving more toward the legalization of abortion. She credits Roe's overreach with spawning the vocal "right- to-life movement" and bitter legislative attempts to counteract a liberal abortion policy.
Ginsburg contends that Roe's legal authority was weakened by author Blackmun's concentration on the privacy and autonomy elements involved in a woman's decision, in consultation with her physician, to end a pregnancy. She said the court should have grounded its ruling more on a sex-equality basis.
"I do not suggest that the court should never step ahead of the political branches in pursuit of a constitutional precept," she said in her speech in New York. She noted the importance of the 1954 school desegregation ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, but stressed that in that situation, prospects for state legislation to desegregate schools were "bleak."
HEBREWS 13:17
Listening to AM radio, I finally got the citation for verses which some people have claimed require strict obedience to our political leaders because that is what God wants. I thought this might be a problem with the translation so I went to Crosswalk and got 6 different ones:
I next looked at some of the commentaries available at Crosswalk:
The commentaries indicate that "those who rule over you" or "leaders" refer to priests, pastors, ministers, etc., NOT political leaders but only the Catholic translation (Douay-Rheims) makes this clear. Of course, if Falwell, Dobson and Weyrich get their way, there will be no distinction between religious and political leaders.
The New Revised Standard Version
13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing—for that would be harmful to you.
The American Standard Version
13:17
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit [to them]: for they watch in behalf of your souls, as they that shall give account; that they may do this with joy, and not with grief: for this [were] unprofitable for you.
The King James Version (Authorized)
13:17
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
The New American Standard Bible
13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.The New King James Version
13:17
Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
The Douay-Rheims Bible
13:17
Obey your prelates and be subject to them. For they watch as being to render an account of your souls: that they may do this with joy and not with grief. For this is not expedient for you.
I next looked at some of the commentaries available at Crosswalk:
Matthew Henry Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
The apostle then states what is their duty to living ministers; to obey and submit to them, so far as is agreeable to the mind and will of God, made known in his word. Christians must not think themselves too wise, too good, or too great, to learn. The people must search the Scriptures, and so far as the ministers teach according to that rule, they ought to receive their instructions
as the word of God, which works in those that believe.
John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
How vigilant then ought every pastor to be! How careful of every soul committed to his charge! ... Whoever answers this character of a Christian pastor may undoubtedly demand this obedience.
The commentaries indicate that "those who rule over you" or "leaders" refer to priests, pastors, ministers, etc., NOT political leaders but only the Catholic translation (Douay-Rheims) makes this clear. Of course, if Falwell, Dobson and Weyrich get their way, there will be no distinction between religious and political leaders.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
A NEW PART OF THE MACHINE
I had heard about Grover Norquist's Wednesday meetings but I hadn't heard of any others until I got The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America by John Micklethwait and Adrian Woolridge from the library. Paul Weyrich, founder of the Free Congress Foundation and the Heritage Foundation, also leads the Coalitions for America Wednesday lunch meetings. These are focused on the culture war. Here's how John and Adrian describe it (p. 17):
And here's what the Free Congress Foundation says about itself:
"The atmosphere here is more inquisitorial than at Norquist's meeting. Rather than a forum for activists and staffers to pool their plans, Weyrich's lunch gives leading politicians and people from the administration a chance to justify themselves to the assembled barons of the conservative movement."
And here's what the Free Congress Foundation says about itself:
"Washington is full of "think tanks," places that produce books and papers about particular policy questions. So what’s different about the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation?
Free Congress Foundation is politically conservative, but it is more than that: it is also culturally conservative. Most think tanks talk about tax rates or the environment or welfare policy and occasionally we do also. But our main focus is on the Culture War. Will America return to the culture that made it great, our traditional, Judeo-Christian, Western culture? Or will we continue the long slide into the cultural and moral decay of political correctness? If we do, America, once the greatest nation on earth, will become no less than a third world country."
MORE TUCSON REACTION TO THE BUSH SPEECH
I'd say the Bush speech didn't do much for his poll numbers.
George W. Bush was all over TV giving us a pep talk on Iraq. That can only mean one thing - his polls are down.
Time to strike up the band. It's time for another public relations blitz by the same guy who tried to sell us on a rotten Social Security scheme.
Isn't he the same guy who told us Sadaam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction?
And isn't he the guy who gave Condoleezza Rice a promotion for ignoring all of the 9/11 warnings?
And now he wants us to stay the course in Iraq.
Sorry, George, try making a good decision for a change so that we can back you. Fighting terrorism is a worthy cause, but the mess you've made of Iraq is just adding fuel to the fire. It's time to get out, and let Iraq rule itself.
Jim Waters
Tucson
"Iraq sacrifice worth it, Bush says" (June 29, 2005). What he did not say is he wants this sacrifice to continue with other people's children.
He, and the other podium warriors, praise our men and women in the military as brave and patriotic individuals engaged in a noble cause.
Definitely, our military women and men are worthy of our support; there is national unanimity on this. How we support them is the issue.
If the podium warriors believe the Iraqi war is a noble cause, then why do they not encourage their progeny to join this worthy cause?
Three and a half years from now Bush will be chain-sawing on his Crawford ranch while the brave and patriotic will still be dying for a "worthy" cause?
Bush is pregnant with false pride at the expense of other people's children. He needs to be held accountable for gross malpractice as commander-in-chief. George, keep your manipulative hands off my grandchildren!
Ruben Perez
Oracle
I feel sick today. Seventeen U.S. soldiers killed today on a remote hilltop in Afghanistan. But Bush says, "It's worth it." I ask, "For who?"
Seventeen young men and women dying for a lie Bush and his minions keep telling. Seventeen families that will have a car pull up in front of their house and be given the bad news.
Parents, wives, children devastated now and forever. I feel sick today. But Bush says, "It's worth it." Why don't I believe him?
Republicans need to feel sick and ashamed today, because it's not worth it.
I feel like I have a cancer or sickness or pain that won't go away. I feel dirty and disgusted by what I read and hear from Bush and his minions.
How could this all happen? It is a bottomless, hopeless pit of despair with no end in sight. I feel sick today.
Justin Wood
Republican, U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam 1968, Tucson
George W. Bush was all over TV giving us a pep talk on Iraq. That can only mean one thing - his polls are down.
Time to strike up the band. It's time for another public relations blitz by the same guy who tried to sell us on a rotten Social Security scheme.
Isn't he the same guy who told us Sadaam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction?
And isn't he the guy who gave Condoleezza Rice a promotion for ignoring all of the 9/11 warnings?
And now he wants us to stay the course in Iraq.
Sorry, George, try making a good decision for a change so that we can back you. Fighting terrorism is a worthy cause, but the mess you've made of Iraq is just adding fuel to the fire. It's time to get out, and let Iraq rule itself.
Jim Waters
Tucson
"Iraq sacrifice worth it, Bush says" (June 29, 2005). What he did not say is he wants this sacrifice to continue with other people's children.
He, and the other podium warriors, praise our men and women in the military as brave and patriotic individuals engaged in a noble cause.
Definitely, our military women and men are worthy of our support; there is national unanimity on this. How we support them is the issue.
If the podium warriors believe the Iraqi war is a noble cause, then why do they not encourage their progeny to join this worthy cause?
Three and a half years from now Bush will be chain-sawing on his Crawford ranch while the brave and patriotic will still be dying for a "worthy" cause?
Bush is pregnant with false pride at the expense of other people's children. He needs to be held accountable for gross malpractice as commander-in-chief. George, keep your manipulative hands off my grandchildren!
Ruben Perez
Oracle
I feel sick today. Seventeen U.S. soldiers killed today on a remote hilltop in Afghanistan. But Bush says, "It's worth it." I ask, "For who?"
Seventeen young men and women dying for a lie Bush and his minions keep telling. Seventeen families that will have a car pull up in front of their house and be given the bad news.
Parents, wives, children devastated now and forever. I feel sick today. But Bush says, "It's worth it." Why don't I believe him?
Republicans need to feel sick and ashamed today, because it's not worth it.
I feel like I have a cancer or sickness or pain that won't go away. I feel dirty and disgusted by what I read and hear from Bush and his minions.
How could this all happen? It is a bottomless, hopeless pit of despair with no end in sight. I feel sick today.
Justin Wood
Republican, U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam 1968, Tucson
MORE DEBUNKING OF WINGNUT DSM DENIAL
My letter made it also!
In response to the June 29 online letter to the editor from Wayne Boettcher:
Wayne Boettcher states, "Now would the Star also cover the fact that Michael Smith, the original British journalist who brought out the memo, had retyped it and destroyed the originals, completely discrediting the contents?"
This is a popular misconception among those in denial about the import of the memos.
As Smith has clearly stated, the "originals" he refers to are copies he made of the official government documents.
Smith returned the government documents to his sources after he copied them, so the original government documents still exist.
Then, in order to protect his sources, Smith had the memos retyped. Smith then destroyed the copies he had made of the original government documents.
Steven J.
Tucson
In response to the June 29 online letter to the editor from Wayne Boettcher:
Wayne Boettcher states, "Now would the Star also cover the fact that Michael Smith, the original British journalist who brought out the memo, had retyped it and destroyed the originals, completely discrediting the contents?"
This is a popular misconception among those in denial about the import of the memos.
As Smith has clearly stated, the "originals" he refers to are copies he made of the official government documents.
Smith returned the government documents to his sources after he copied them, so the original government documents still exist.
Then, in order to protect his sources, Smith had the memos retyped. Smith then destroyed the copies he had made of the original government documents.
Steven J.
Tucson
PEDIATRICIANS STAND UP TO THE "CHRISTOCRATS"
This is the second MD group to challenge the nonsense from the religious Right. Perhaps doctors will become important donors to the Democratic Party in the 2006 election?
Pediatricians decry abstinence-only ed
By LINDSEY TANNER
AP Medical Writer
Jul 5, 6:55 AM EDT
CHICAGO (AP) -- A leading group of pediatricians says teenagers need access to birth control and emergency contraception, not the abstinence-only approach to sex education favored by religious groups and President Bush.
The recommendations are part of the American Academy of Pediatrics' updated teen pregnancy policy.
"Even though there is great enthusiasm in some circles for abstinence-only interventions, the evidence does not support abstinence-only interventions as the best way to keep young people from unintended pregnancy," said Dr. Jonathan Klein, chairman of the academy committee that wrote the new recommendations.
Teaching abstinence but not birth control makes it more likely that once teenagers initiate sexual activity they will have unsafe sex and contract sexually transmitted diseases, said Dr. S. Paige Hertweck, a pediatric obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Louisville who provided advice for the report.
Pediatricians decry abstinence-only ed
By LINDSEY TANNER
AP Medical Writer
Jul 5, 6:55 AM EDT
CHICAGO (AP) -- A leading group of pediatricians says teenagers need access to birth control and emergency contraception, not the abstinence-only approach to sex education favored by religious groups and President Bush.
The recommendations are part of the American Academy of Pediatrics' updated teen pregnancy policy.
"Even though there is great enthusiasm in some circles for abstinence-only interventions, the evidence does not support abstinence-only interventions as the best way to keep young people from unintended pregnancy," said Dr. Jonathan Klein, chairman of the academy committee that wrote the new recommendations.
Teaching abstinence but not birth control makes it more likely that once teenagers initiate sexual activity they will have unsafe sex and contract sexually transmitted diseases, said Dr. S. Paige Hertweck, a pediatric obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Louisville who provided advice for the report.
"PATRIOT PASTORS"
A chilling term but it shows what we are up against - a demented attempt to meld Church and State for the benefit of single-party rule.
Christian conservatives fight filibusters
BY WAYNE SLATER
The Dallas Morning News
Posted on Tue, May. 17, 2005
DALLAS - (KRT) - Kelly Shackelford is no stranger to matters of politics and faith, so picking a fight over the filibuster seemed only natural.
With a showdown looming in the Senate this week, Shackelford and a national network of grass-roots Christian conservatives are working furiously - some publicly, some behind the scenes - to win confirmation of the president's judicial nominees.
"You can pick an issue that our supporters really care about, and it's all going to be affected by what kind of judges we have," said Shackelford, who heads the Plano, Texas-based Liberty Legal Institute.
Under attack, he said, are "religious freedom, the misuse of the concept of separation of church and state, marriage and life."
"We're e-mailing, conference-calling and everything we can," said Rick Scarborough, a Baptist pastor from Lufkin, Texas, who heads the Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration.
Scarborough said he has enlisted several thousand Christian ministers for his Patriot Pastor network.
"We're lost enormous ground in this country morally as a result of the acts of judges," he said. "We as Christian conservatives have concluded that the warfare right now is more in the courts than at the ballot box."
The fight over federal judges has led to an unprecedented show of coordination among conservative groups.
"I've got a list of over 50 groups who've signed on to work on confirmations," said David Barton, founder of the Texas-based group WallBuilders, which has challenged the separation of religion from public life. "The networking that's occurring now wasn't occurring five, 10 years ago."
Gary Marx, who heads a Virginia-based confederation of about 75 groups, said his members have tapped a network of 675,000 grass-roots conservatives in six states for a pressure campaign on potentially wayward Republicans.
In Ohio, the Rev. Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church said at a gathering of 1,000 Patriot Pastors last week that the issues underscoring the filibuster fight transcend partisan politics.
"We're not Democrats. We're not Republicans. We're Christocrats," he declared.
Dobson told his Focus on the Family radio audience that if the Democrats prevail in the fight over judges, "the things that we believe in are gone."
Shackelford said Friday that it is not an overstatement to say the pending Senate vote over filibustering judges is among the most important decisions in decades.
Christian conservatives fight filibusters
BY WAYNE SLATER
The Dallas Morning News
Posted on Tue, May. 17, 2005
DALLAS - (KRT) - Kelly Shackelford is no stranger to matters of politics and faith, so picking a fight over the filibuster seemed only natural.
With a showdown looming in the Senate this week, Shackelford and a national network of grass-roots Christian conservatives are working furiously - some publicly, some behind the scenes - to win confirmation of the president's judicial nominees.
"You can pick an issue that our supporters really care about, and it's all going to be affected by what kind of judges we have," said Shackelford, who heads the Plano, Texas-based Liberty Legal Institute.
Under attack, he said, are "religious freedom, the misuse of the concept of separation of church and state, marriage and life."
"We're e-mailing, conference-calling and everything we can," said Rick Scarborough, a Baptist pastor from Lufkin, Texas, who heads the Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration.
Scarborough said he has enlisted several thousand Christian ministers for his Patriot Pastor network.
"We're lost enormous ground in this country morally as a result of the acts of judges," he said. "We as Christian conservatives have concluded that the warfare right now is more in the courts than at the ballot box."
The fight over federal judges has led to an unprecedented show of coordination among conservative groups.
"I've got a list of over 50 groups who've signed on to work on confirmations," said David Barton, founder of the Texas-based group WallBuilders, which has challenged the separation of religion from public life. "The networking that's occurring now wasn't occurring five, 10 years ago."
Gary Marx, who heads a Virginia-based confederation of about 75 groups, said his members have tapped a network of 675,000 grass-roots conservatives in six states for a pressure campaign on potentially wayward Republicans.
In Ohio, the Rev. Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church said at a gathering of 1,000 Patriot Pastors last week that the issues underscoring the filibuster fight transcend partisan politics.
"We're not Democrats. We're not Republicans. We're Christocrats," he declared.
Dobson told his Focus on the Family radio audience that if the Democrats prevail in the fight over judges, "the things that we believe in are gone."
Shackelford said Friday that it is not an overstatement to say the pending Senate vote over filibustering judges is among the most important decisions in decades.
Monday, July 04, 2005
MORE HATE SPEECH
PigBoy is at it again:
"The religious left in this country hates and despises the God of Christianity and Catholicism and whatever else," the high priest of conservative talk radio, Rush Limbaugh, said on his show April 27. "They despise it because they fear it and it's a threat, because that God has moral absolutes, that God has right and wrong, that God doesn't deal in nuance."
"The religious left in this country hates and despises the God of Christianity and Catholicism and whatever else," the high priest of conservative talk radio, Rush Limbaugh, said on his show April 27. "They despise it because they fear it and it's a threat, because that God has moral absolutes, that God has right and wrong, that God doesn't deal in nuance."
AUSTIN BAY GOES TO IRAQ
NOTE: Bay writes a national security column for Creators Syndicate. His commentaries run on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. He has appeared as a guest analyst on CNN,C-SPAN, and ABC News Nightline. Bay, who has had two commercial wargames published, served for four years as a consultant in wargaming at the Pentagon. He holds the rank of Colonel (Armor) in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Bay is now retired from the US Army Reserve, but was recalled to active duty and served in Iraq in 2004. For this tour of duty in Iraq, he was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service.
Bay went on a whirlwind tour of the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan. Here are some excerpts I found notable:
Again, many thanks to everyone who contributed via PayPal. I will get out individual email thanks yous to everyone. (About two-dozen have already gone out.) Your generosity and confidence is gratifying. I have already used the PayPal contributions to take care of extra digital tape and a memory card for the camera. The money will pay for the international phone bills generated on the trip, a boggling hotel laundry bill, and the extra night stuck in a Qatari hotel waiting for the flight to Djibouti. The PayPal contributions bridged the difference between the University of Texas's travel grant and the Weekly Standard's travel expenses.
We spent several hours Friday morning listening to senior US and British officers discuss Iraqi security training programs.
But no Iraqi officers or soldiers.
We left the training cadre and visited the 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. When I walked into the briefing room I recognized a face - the assistant division commander, Brigadier -General Karl Horst gave me the same "We've met before" look I gave him.
Great. Meets old acquaintance and listens to briefings. Again, no Iraqis.
We left Baghdad by C-17 and flew back to Qatar. The Ritz-Carlton is almost tasteful in its excess that's where we've spent the night. I went swimming in the hotel's outside pool, a winding lagoon with waterfalls and gorttoes. I felt like the jungle boat ride at Disneyland. Don't laugh too hard this is an opportunity to clean some clothes.
Yup, good thing for PayPal & The Weekly Standard.
Today began at 0600 sharp. We moved from Baghdad to Fallujah by Blackhawk helicopter.
Doesn't this guy ever ride in a Humvee?
The Marines gave us a briefing on the situation in Al Anbar province in general and Fallujah in particular.
No Iraqis, once again.
We flew back to Baghdad and caught a C-17 hop up north to Tal Afar.
Well, there are no IED's at 15,000 feet.
The resulting firefight lasted ten minutes. Part of the Iraqi platoon withdrew, but SFC Villalobos and an Iraqi Army fireteam returned fire and tried to reach the wounded US officer. Villalobos finally threw a heavy fragmentation grenade at the insurgent position, killing one and wounding three. Yes, part of this newly-minted Iraqi Army unit retreated, but part of it stood and fought.
That must've done wonders for that unit's morale.
Today June 15 began at 0450 hours with a knock on the door. Beware the Ides of June, at least if you want to sleep late. We trucked out to the air base and caught a C-17 hop to Baghdad.
Must be a Humvee shortage.
Once in Baghdad we drove from the airbase area to Camp Victory (where Al Faw Palace is located). The current chief of operations gave us a briefing in the CorpsÂ’ Joint Operations Center.
I wonder what he drove in? Again, no Iraqis.
Bay is now retired from the US Army Reserve, but was recalled to active duty and served in Iraq in 2004. For this tour of duty in Iraq, he was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service.
Bay went on a whirlwind tour of the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan. Here are some excerpts I found notable:
Again, many thanks to everyone who contributed via PayPal. I will get out individual email thanks yous to everyone. (About two-dozen have already gone out.) Your generosity and confidence is gratifying. I have already used the PayPal contributions to take care of extra digital tape and a memory card for the camera. The money will pay for the international phone bills generated on the trip, a boggling hotel laundry bill, and the extra night stuck in a Qatari hotel waiting for the flight to Djibouti. The PayPal contributions bridged the difference between the University of Texas's travel grant and the Weekly Standard's travel expenses.
We spent several hours Friday morning listening to senior US and British officers discuss Iraqi security training programs.
But no Iraqi officers or soldiers.
We left the training cadre and visited the 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. When I walked into the briefing room I recognized a face - the assistant division commander, Brigadier -General Karl Horst gave me the same "We've met before" look I gave him.
Great. Meets old acquaintance and listens to briefings. Again, no Iraqis.
We left Baghdad by C-17 and flew back to Qatar. The Ritz-Carlton is almost tasteful in its excess that's where we've spent the night. I went swimming in the hotel's outside pool, a winding lagoon with waterfalls and gorttoes. I felt like the jungle boat ride at Disneyland. Don't laugh too hard this is an opportunity to clean some clothes.
Yup, good thing for PayPal & The Weekly Standard.
Today began at 0600 sharp. We moved from Baghdad to Fallujah by Blackhawk helicopter.
Doesn't this guy ever ride in a Humvee?
The Marines gave us a briefing on the situation in Al Anbar province in general and Fallujah in particular.
No Iraqis, once again.
We flew back to Baghdad and caught a C-17 hop up north to Tal Afar.
Well, there are no IED's at 15,000 feet.
The resulting firefight lasted ten minutes. Part of the Iraqi platoon withdrew, but SFC Villalobos and an Iraqi Army fireteam returned fire and tried to reach the wounded US officer. Villalobos finally threw a heavy fragmentation grenade at the insurgent position, killing one and wounding three. Yes, part of this newly-minted Iraqi Army unit retreated, but part of it stood and fought.
That must've done wonders for that unit's morale.
Today June 15 began at 0450 hours with a knock on the door. Beware the Ides of June, at least if you want to sleep late. We trucked out to the air base and caught a C-17 hop to Baghdad.
Must be a Humvee shortage.
Once in Baghdad we drove from the airbase area to Camp Victory (where Al Faw Palace is located). The current chief of operations gave us a briefing in the CorpsÂ’ Joint Operations Center.
I wonder what he drove in? Again, no Iraqis.
THE NOISE MACHINE CRANKS UP
Anti-Hillary forces ready to step up
By Dick Polman
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
6/19/20
Mike Krempasky, a conservative organizer who trains young activists, said: "The machine is starting to gear up. The main audience will be the people who should be against Hillary but who have been numbed over the past few years by her successful efforts in the Senate to sand down some of her hard edges. Right now, she doesn't attract the broad opposition she used to get - the almost visceral negative reaction."
Former Rep. John LeBoutillier, R-N.Y., a Klein friend and proprietor of a stop-Hillary Web site, said the other day: "The 'new media' is where it's at. In the old days, you'd send out review copies of a book and beg to go on the 'Today' show. But now you can advertise on Web sites and go on talk radio and Fox News Channel. That's where the action is."
Klein's book is being heavily promoted by NewsMax.com, a conservative Web site that, in turn, is partially bankrolled by conservative scion Richard Mellon Scaife, who financed investigations of the Clintons in the '90s. NewsMax has placed ads for Klein's book on conservative blogs.
NOTE: I got this from my local paper and sent a thank you to Knight-Ridder. They passed it on to Mr. Polman, who works for the Philadeplphia Inquirer. He replied by sending me the original, uncut article and here's a juicy quote from it:
That's sufficient motivation for LeBoutillier to contend on his Web site (stophillarypac.com) that at heart she is "a radical America-hating lawyer."
Over the phone, he said: "She's a damn good candidate, and a lot of Republicans are underestimating her. What I intend to say a lot is that she's a hard-core hard-left-winger, a Jane Fonda in the Senate."
He paused for a moment.
"I don't know if that argument works anymore," he said. "We may have used it up."
By Dick Polman
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
6/19/20
Mike Krempasky, a conservative organizer who trains young activists, said: "The machine is starting to gear up. The main audience will be the people who should be against Hillary but who have been numbed over the past few years by her successful efforts in the Senate to sand down some of her hard edges. Right now, she doesn't attract the broad opposition she used to get - the almost visceral negative reaction."
Former Rep. John LeBoutillier, R-N.Y., a Klein friend and proprietor of a stop-Hillary Web site, said the other day: "The 'new media' is where it's at. In the old days, you'd send out review copies of a book and beg to go on the 'Today' show. But now you can advertise on Web sites and go on talk radio and Fox News Channel. That's where the action is."
Klein's book is being heavily promoted by NewsMax.com, a conservative Web site that, in turn, is partially bankrolled by conservative scion Richard Mellon Scaife, who financed investigations of the Clintons in the '90s. NewsMax has placed ads for Klein's book on conservative blogs.
NOTE: I got this from my local paper and sent a thank you to Knight-Ridder. They passed it on to Mr. Polman, who works for the Philadeplphia Inquirer. He replied by sending me the original, uncut article and here's a juicy quote from it:
That's sufficient motivation for LeBoutillier to contend on his Web site (stophillarypac.com) that at heart she is "a radical America-hating lawyer."
Over the phone, he said: "She's a damn good candidate, and a lot of Republicans are underestimating her. What I intend to say a lot is that she's a hard-core hard-left-winger, a Jane Fonda in the Senate."
He paused for a moment.
"I don't know if that argument works anymore," he said. "We may have used it up."
LIE RADIO GOES TO BAGHDAD!
(Via Atrios)
Move America Forward board member Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.) Buzz Patterson will be part of the delegation to support our troops and report on their story first hand. Patterson held the distinction of carrying the nuclear football (containing the top-secret nuclear codes for our nation) for President Bill Clinton. Patterson is also host of "The Buzz Cut" on the RighTalk Radio Network.
"With the recent onslaught by liberals that Guantanamo Bay is a "gulag," that our military is akin to "Nazis" and America is the "terrorist" nation, the war of our generation hangs in the balance. If we, as a nation, are not forearmed we will lose this war. A just and noble cause will be squandered and the ultimate sacrifices of our patriots will be relegated to political fodder by the Left. Personally, I'm disgusted and angry. I'm going to Baghdad to tell their story, not ours. Our men and women in uniform need a voice..and they're not getting it from corporate mainstream media!" Patterson concluded. LINK
"The war is being won, if not already won, I think," Patterson, who is retired from the U.S. Air Force, said. "[Iraq] is stabilized and we want the soldiers themselves to tell the story."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161463,00.html
Move America Forward board member Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.) Buzz Patterson will be part of the delegation to support our troops and report on their story first hand. Patterson held the distinction of carrying the nuclear football (containing the top-secret nuclear codes for our nation) for President Bill Clinton. Patterson is also host of "The Buzz Cut" on the RighTalk Radio Network.
"With the recent onslaught by liberals that Guantanamo Bay is a "gulag," that our military is akin to "Nazis" and America is the "terrorist" nation, the war of our generation hangs in the balance. If we, as a nation, are not forearmed we will lose this war. A just and noble cause will be squandered and the ultimate sacrifices of our patriots will be relegated to political fodder by the Left. Personally, I'm disgusted and angry. I'm going to Baghdad to tell their story, not ours. Our men and women in uniform need a voice..and they're not getting it from corporate mainstream media!" Patterson concluded. LINK
"The war is being won, if not already won, I think," Patterson, who is retired from the U.S. Air Force, said. "[Iraq] is stabilized and we want the soldiers themselves to tell the story."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161463,00.html
Sunday, July 03, 2005
RICHARD M. WEAVER
(Taken from Nash, pp. 31-34)
Weaver was one of the pioneers of the post-war intellectual development of conservatism in America. He was graduated from the Univ. of Kentucky in 1932 and attended graduate school at Vanderbilt from 1933-36, studying under John Crowe Ransom. Although he had joined Norman Thomas's Socialist Party in 1932, by 1940 he was profoundly disappointed in liberalism and spent the next 3 years studying the Civil War at Louisiana State University. His dissertation celebrated the old South, extolling it's feudal social structure, chivalry, concept of what a gentleman is and older, less intellectual religiousness.
In 1947, he published his seminal work, Ideas Have Consequences, which tried to explain the decline of the West. Weaver traced the original mistake to William of Occam (1287 - 1347). According to Weaver, the nominalism that Willam espoused led to the denial of Universals that transcend experience. This is in turn led to a decline in a belief in objective Revealed Truth and the rise of relativism, best expressed by the phrase "man is the measure of all things."
The last 3 chapters of Weaver's book explained his solution to the problem. The first step
I write about Weaver because I had thought that the emphasis on conservative religion came about more recently and yes, I didn't read Buckley's God and Man at Yale (1951) but I should've inferred from the title what was afoot.
Weaver was one of the pioneers of the post-war intellectual development of conservatism in America. He was graduated from the Univ. of Kentucky in 1932 and attended graduate school at Vanderbilt from 1933-36, studying under John Crowe Ransom. Although he had joined Norman Thomas's Socialist Party in 1932, by 1940 he was profoundly disappointed in liberalism and spent the next 3 years studying the Civil War at Louisiana State University. His dissertation celebrated the old South, extolling it's feudal social structure, chivalry, concept of what a gentleman is and older, less intellectual religiousness.
In 1947, he published his seminal work, Ideas Have Consequences, which tried to explain the decline of the West. Weaver traced the original mistake to William of Occam (1287 - 1347). According to Weaver, the nominalism that Willam espoused led to the denial of Universals that transcend experience. This is in turn led to a decline in a belief in objective Revealed Truth and the rise of relativism, best expressed by the phrase "man is the measure of all things."
The last 3 chapters of Weaver's book explained his solution to the problem. The first step
"must be a driving afresh of the wedge between the material and the transcendental....That there is a world of ought, that the apparent does not exhaust the real -- these are so essential to the very conception of improvement that it should be superfluous to mention them...To bring dualism back into the world and rebuke the moral impotence fathered by empiricism is then the broad character of our objective."
I write about Weaver because I had thought that the emphasis on conservative religion came about more recently and yes, I didn't read Buckley's God and Man at Yale (1951) but I should've inferred from the title what was afoot.
THE SAGE OF OMAHA SPEAKS
Warren Buffett was on Lou Dobbs' show and had some interesting things to say. Here's perhaps the most famous comment from this interview:
DOBBS: In point of fact, the Congressional Budget Office, which is considered to be the bipartisan objective standard of such things, has research that suggests that the deficit in Social Security would be only 0.4 percent of our GDP over 75 years as compared to the other large deficits percentages that associated with trade in the budget deficit. Do you have, we're talking about fixing the fixes we're in, a quick answer for Social Security?
BUFFETT: I personally would increase the taxable base above the present $90,000. I pay very little in the way of Social Security taxes because I make a lot more than $90,000. And the people in my office pay the full tax. We're already edging up the retirement age a bit. And I would means test ... I get a check for $1,700 or $1,900 or something every month. I'm 74. And I cash it. But I'll eat without it.
DOBBS: That's a progressive idea. In other words, the rich people would pay more?
BUFFETT: Yeah. The rich people are doing so well in this country. I mean, we never had it so good.
DOBBS: What a radical idea.
BUFFETT: It's class warfare, my class is winning, but they shouldn't be.
DOBBS: In point of fact, the Congressional Budget Office, which is considered to be the bipartisan objective standard of such things, has research that suggests that the deficit in Social Security would be only 0.4 percent of our GDP over 75 years as compared to the other large deficits percentages that associated with trade in the budget deficit. Do you have, we're talking about fixing the fixes we're in, a quick answer for Social Security?
BUFFETT: I personally would increase the taxable base above the present $90,000. I pay very little in the way of Social Security taxes because I make a lot more than $90,000. And the people in my office pay the full tax. We're already edging up the retirement age a bit. And I would means test ... I get a check for $1,700 or $1,900 or something every month. I'm 74. And I cash it. But I'll eat without it.
DOBBS: That's a progressive idea. In other words, the rich people would pay more?
BUFFETT: Yeah. The rich people are doing so well in this country. I mean, we never had it so good.
DOBBS: What a radical idea.
BUFFETT: It's class warfare, my class is winning, but they shouldn't be.
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