:: blame the extended gestation.... ::

:: Saturday, December 27, 2003 ::

whoopps...
Blogcritics.org: Meat Puppets bassist shot by security guard

:: Jim Nichols 12/27/2003 07:32:00 PM [+] ::
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I like this guy...
Calpundit: Bill O'Reilly, Cultural Anthropologist:

"And despite what O'Reilly and other bluenoses seem to think, I'm pretty sure that the per capita amount of sex in the world today isn't any larger than it was a thousand years ago, rap music and Britney Spears notwithstanding."

:: Jim Nichols 12/27/2003 07:24:00 PM [+] ::
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We're still stretching for anything aren't we boys...
BBC NEWS | Politics | Bremer rejects Blair WMD claims:

"The prime minister said in a Christmas message to UK troops that the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) had unearthed 'massive evidence' of clandestine labs.

The head of the Coalition Provisional Authority said it was not true.

Paul Bremer, said it sounded like a 'red herring' made up by someone to upset the rebuilding effort.

Former chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has also said Mr Blair's assertions are untrue. "

And for the "Say what???" comment of the day:

"'Now, frankly, these things weren't being developed unless they were developed for a purpose.' "

:: Jim Nichols 12/27/2003 07:09:00 PM [+] ::
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Dear God, not that!

" scantily clad women in sexual poses. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/27/2003 07:05:00 PM [+] ::
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Economic Scene: The True Costs of S.U.V.’s:

"TRAFFIC fatalities in the United States fell steadily from 54,600 in 1972 to 34,900 in 1992. But then they started to rise again, and by 2002 there were 38,300 traffic deaths a year.
Our performance compared with other countries has also deteriorated. America's ranking has fallen from first to ninth over the last 30 years, with Australia, Britain and Canada all having better records.

A big part of the difference between the United States and other countries seems to be the prevalence of sport utility vehicles and pickups on American highways. Sales of light trucks - S.U.V.'s, pickups and minivans - were about a fifth of total automobile sales 30 years ago. Now they account for more than half.

But aren't large vehicles supposed to be safer than small cars? Yes, they are safer for their occupants in collisions, but their design makes them all the more dangerous for anyone they hit."

:: Jim Nichols 12/27/2003 06:58:00 PM [+] ::
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Probably true...
Eschaton:

"The process will go something like this. First, they'll quote Bush campaign sources describing Dean as 'pessimistic.' Next, they'll move onto Democratic campaign sources, often anonymous, describing Dean as 'pessimistic.' Next, they'll stop bothering getting the quote and just write things like, 'Some have criticized Dean for his unappealing pessimism...' And, then, finally, process complete, campaign analysis pieces in print and the 'objective journalists' on the roundtable shows, will just write/say things like 'Dean's pessimistic rhetoric...' By the end no discussion or news story about Dean will see the light of day without the word 'pessimism.'"

:: Jim Nichols 12/27/2003 03:02:00 PM [+] ::
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Here's an interesting attack on Krugman
The Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid:

" It seems as though we have caught Paul Krugman in another substantive misrepresentation of economic data. "

I'm gonna go back and read his paper again to see if I can make heads or tails of this critique. I really need to learn more about economics, its sad when you can't make heads or tails of anyones thinking (or the thinking of those thinking on others thinking)

update: okay lets reword that, Krugmans piece was an article not a paper... I don't know why I updated instead of just changed the words. But then again I don't want to be like the Bush administration and just change history...

:: Jim Nichols 12/27/2003 01:26:00 PM [+] ::
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Thats not good news for me...
Moderate alcohol consumption linked to brain shrinkage:

"A study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions found a link between low to moderate alcohol consumption and a decrease in the brain size of middle-aged adults. Brain atrophy is associated with impaired cognition and motor functions. The researchers also found that low or moderate consumption did not reduce the risk of stroke, which contradicts the findings of some previous studies. The study is published in the rapid access edition of Stroke: The Journal of the American Heart Association. "

They need to just go out and say "no Jim, its good to drink as much as you do..."

:: Jim Nichols 12/27/2003 01:07:00 PM [+] ::
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Finally!
Okay I finally figured out how to put up an RSS feed. Now that I figured out what I was doing wrong, I'm not really sure why I couldn't do it on the first try... oh well i'm not gonna ask any questions i'm just gonna be glad I got it working...

:: Jim Nichols 12/27/2003 07:54:00 AM [+] ::
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Lecture Notes, Philosophy 151, October 3, 1995:

"Schopenhauer understood the notion of things in themselves to be metaphysical, that is, to indicate a kind of reality, one more fundamental than that of appearances."

Something I've never understood: how can metaphysical things be more fundamental than appearances? The idea of a chair can't be MORE fundamental than the chair i'm sitting on can it?

:: Jim Nichols 12/27/2003 04:52:00 AM [+] ::
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Bush EPA Loves Death (from Atrios)

The EPA has expressed disappointment that, by their own estimates, 19,000 lives will now be saved.


... an alert reader notes that the paragraph from the NYT article quoted by Demagogue is no longer actually in the article. Down the memory hole...

It's in the cache at google news, but not at the article it links to.

The new paragraph appears to be:


The Environmental Protection Agency, which had proposed the new rule, said in a statement that it was "disappointed with the court's decision" and that neither the regulation nor the court's stay of it would have much effect on emissions.



The old one was:


The Environmental Protection Agency expressed disappointment with the court's decision but did not say whether it would be appealed. The court order, while only two pages in length, was a strong statement in one of the most contentious environmental and public health battles of the last several years — whether aging coal-fired power plants must install controls as they increase their pollution emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that full enforcement of existing rules on power plant pollution would save 19,000 lives per year.



you can email their ombudsman Danny Okrent at public@nytimes.com and ask him about this.

:: Jim Nichols 12/27/2003 04:01:00 AM [+] ::
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Shouldn't the military own their own planes?

Pentagon’s War Needs Are a Lifeline for Airlines:

"The Pentagon spent more than $1.2 billion this year to fly troops and supplies to Iraq on commercial aircraft, giving airlines a financial lifeline as they struggled with the weak economy, the emergence of SARS and travelers' reluctance to fly because of the war in Iraq.

According to a military report that outlined the use of passenger and cargo airlines in the Iraq conflict, the government paid $636.2 million to 10 airlines that flew troops overseas during a 131-day emergency mobilization from February through June. It also paid $574 million to 14 cargo carriers to deliver equipment to Iraq and neighboring countries in that period."

Honestly I don't have a problem with the pentagon running things like this. But people please, I can't imagine this being the most cost effective way to do things... and we don't have national health care... so either the pentagon needs to get their act together or else the federal government needs to be ready to fork over money for humans and not just war.

Ironicly enough the airlines appreciate publicly subsidizing private profits but please cut the warmongering... its bad for business:

"executives at several airlines, who would speak only if they were not named, said that while they valued the Pentagon's business, the industry as a whole would have fared much better without the disruption the war caused to the business climate and to the psyche of passengers."

:: Jim Nichols 12/26/2003 01:31:00 AM [+] ::
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I don't think this is supposed to be impressive but...

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 05:26:00 PM [+] ::
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More reasons for atheists to love the holidays

Not only am I racking up the hits today--a wopping 15 hits today so far--but I'm also getting to play catch-up on my backed up bloglines...

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 05:19:00 PM [+] ::
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Good for Howard Out of the Mainstream? Hardly (washingtonpost.com):

"More important, The Post's editorial comes close to equating the Bush administration's foreign policy -- including its signature doctrine of 'preemptive war' -- with the American foreign policy mainstream. In fact, the Bush agenda represents a radical departure from decades of bipartisan consensus on the appropriate use of U.S. power and our leadership in the world community. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 05:15:00 PM [+] ::
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Neocons in a nutshell Calpundit: Neocon Singlemindedness:

"Having failed so spectacularly in the 80s to understand the consequences of a single-minded foreign policy, they are now asking us to give them another chance against a different enemy. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 05:03:00 PM [+] ::
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I already noted this marriage poll

but I'm so happy to see 60% support.. i'd love to see these guys be forced to send it to congress like they claimed... that or how they will sneak out of it. Go have fun...

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 04:58:00 PM [+] ::
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Frustrated but not malcontent BBC NEWS | England | Freed hostage tells of ordeal:
Okay I don't mean to mock this guys ordeal but:

"Freed hostage Mark Henderson has said he is bitter but not angry at being kept in captivity for 102 days by Colombian rebels. "

...where's the line that distinguishes the two?

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 04:54:00 PM [+] ::
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The bottom of my page fell off. I hate when these things happen...

update: it came back. I love when these things happen...

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 02:26:00 PM [+] ::
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JON CARROLL:

"The Untied Way is a program of small cash donations to individuals for use in self-identified need areas.
Here's how it works. Go to your local ATM and withdraw $200 in 20s. It can be more or less, but make sure it's just a tiny bit more than you can afford. It should hurt just a little, so you'll know that you're making a choice.

Take your self and your 20s down to any area of town where people might ask you for money. (If you don't know any, San Francisco's Market Street is always reliable, and it's easily accessible by public transportation.)

Walk along. Hand a $20 bill to any person who asks for money. Repeat until you are out of money. Congratulations: You have become an Untied Way volunteer. You will not get a T-shirt.
It is true that some of your recipients may use the money for self- destructive purposes. That is not ideal, but neither was it ideal when you used your money for self-destructive purposes. We're all just trying to figure it out as we go along, and your fine home or apartment does not place you closer to enlightenment. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 02:24:00 PM [+] ::
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When Paycheck Is Low, Discount Retailers Have Pull:

" Living from paycheck to paycheck is the norm in the United States, economists say, and Wal-Mart's cash registers offer some proof of that. For more than a year, the retailer says, it has detected spikes in sales twice a month, around the 1st and the 15th, which is about the time that many people are paid. "

"'Even though you can point to improving economic indicators, one conspicuous omission from that list is wage growth,' said Jared Bernstein, senior economist for the Economic Policy Institute, a research group in Washington. 'And that's where most working families meet the economy.' "

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 02:17:00 PM [+] ::
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Frank Rich Rules....

Frank Rich: Napster Runs for President in ’04:

"The elusive piece of this phenomenon is cultural: the Internet. Rather than compare Dr. Dean to McGovern or Goldwater, it may make more sense to recall Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy. It was not until F.D.R.'s fireside chats on radio in 1933 that a medium in mass use for years became a political force. J.F.K. did the same for television, not only by vanquishing the camera-challenged Richard Nixon during the 1960 debates but by replacing the Eisenhower White House's prerecorded TV news conferences (which could be cleaned up with editing) with live broadcasts. Until Kennedy proved otherwise, most of Washington's wise men thought, as The New York Times columnist James Reston wrote in 1961, that a spontaneous televised press conference was 'the goofiest idea since the Hula Hoop.'"

wait! They cancelled K Street? I liked that show... though I have to admit it was kind of crappy (don't ask)

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 01:47:00 PM [+] ::
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Yeah Me Too!
For the Record: I'm ready for my apology, Bill:

O'Reilly last March (as reported in the Times magazine of Dec 14, p. 84):
"If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein, and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again".

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 01:17:00 PM [+] ::
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Blame the Extended Gestation... or just blame Jim

I like the holidays... i've already had 8 hits today. I've been averaging 6 a day. I have dreams of one day getting 15 to 20 in a day! Could you imagine that kind of power in one persons hands? Kind of scary...

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 01:09:00 PM [+] ::
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The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2002-2003

Go check out the Project Censored site.


#1: The Neoconservative Plan for Global Dominance
#2: Homeland Security Threatens Civil Liberty
#3: US Illegally Removes Pages from Iraq U.N. Report
#4: Rumsfeld's Plan to Provoke Terrorists
#5: The Effort to Make Unions Disappear
#6: Closing Access to Information Technology
#7: Treaty Busting by the United States
#8: US/British Forces Continue Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons Despite Massive Evidence of Negative Health Effects
#9: In Afghanistan: Poverty, Women's Rights, and Civil Disruption Worse than Ever
#10: Africa Faces Threat of New Colonialism
#11: U.S. Implicated in Taliban Massacre
#12: Bush Administration Behind Failed Military Coup in Venezuela
#13: Corporate Personhood Challenged
#14: Unwanted Refugees a Global Problem
#15: U.S. Military's War on the Earth
#16: Plan Puebla-Panama and the FTAA
#17: Clear Channel Monopoly Draws Criticism
#18: Charter Forest Proposal Threatens Access to Public Lands
#19: U.S. Dollar vs. the Euro: Another Reason for the Invasion of Iraq
#20: Pentagon Increases Private Military Contracts
#21: Third World Austerity Policies: Coming Soon to a City Near You
#22: Welfare Reform Up For Reauthorization, but Still No Safety Net
#23: Argentina Crisis Sparks Cooperative Growth
#24: Aid to Israel Fuels Repressive Occupation in Palestine
#25: Convicted Corporations Receive Perks Instead of Punishment

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 01:06:00 PM [+] ::
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Rule number one: attack Howard Dean

Alterman's piece on the recent explosion of attacks on Dean (Washington Goes to War (with Howard Dean)) brings up something for me. For one, all the things being said about Dean were being said about Bush--I know cause I said some of it. Second, why wouldn't a Dean campaign win over swing voters? He's proven he's not an insider (which is kinda silly to say about a rich kid from New York but I digress) all the "insiders" are attacking the hell out of him. If you "hate washington" the way people always claim they do, he's your man.

I'm starting to (re)think (for a third or fourth time) that Dean might just be able to win.

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 12:56:00 PM [+] ::
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Class Warfare:

"It's payback time in Sacramento. When newly elected Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unilaterally imposed draconian budget cuts on the state just before Christmas, he wiped out this year's remaining funding for the Institute for Labor and Employment. If he does the same thing with next year's appropriation in March, the institute will be destroyed. "

"Labor studies programs around the country are watching what is happening to the ILE in California with trepidation. Conservative foundations have been orchestrating a national attack on labor studies. If the opponents of the ILE prevail, activist-oriented programs in Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri and other states will be next on the right-wing hit list."

This reminds me of the lack of labor consciousness among friends and family of mine; it is amzing. I mentioned the Borders strike to a friend of mine of the other day; about how I couldn't shop there right now. And she kinda laughed and said I was "funny."

Oh speaking of Borders strike, appears that they are keeping track of emails and phone calls so go hit up their comments page.

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 12:35:00 PM [+] ::
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Suprise suprise
Chomsky is getting attacked again.

But whats new... what I really wanted to point out was that I want to be able to blog like this when I grow up.

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 12:23:00 PM [+] ::
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The Nader question mark Election Matters:

"So why go independent? Critics (and even former supporters) say this is just the latest evidence that Nader is on an extended ego trip. But that's a simplistic calculation. Nader has an ego, but his presidential ambitions have always been guided by a firm, and hardly irrational, belief that both major parties are corrupted--the Republicans beyond repair and the Democrats not much better. Nader wants to upset the country's politics just as he upset the corporate world with his unsafe-at-any-speed activism of the 1960s. There's little point in questioning his sincerity. There is, however, good reason to question his strategy. "

I'm all for as many candidates running as possible and I don't regret voting green in 2000 (moderate voters should be the target audience of the Democrats; not us wimpy leftist) I just know I for one won't waste my time, money, or vote on anybody but a Dem (unless for some freakish reason you do get a republican in blue clothing like Lieberman). And I am planning on throwing all three (time, money, vote) into the mix this year.

I do think the local level is where the Greens need to be pushing.

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 12:14:00 PM [+] ::
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Nothin says manipulation of the facts like "the Bush adminstration"

Journalists Take Flak in Iraq:

"When US Central Command has good news to report in Iraq, as it did after troops from the Fourth Infantry Division captured Saddam Hussein on December 13, it adores the media. But journalists say that when there's bad news--a helicopter crash, a mortar attack--they are increasingly being blocked from covering the story by US soldiers, who frequently confiscate and destroy their film disks and videotapes. "

Gettin' the soldiers to do the dirty work eh there George?

"'Our journalists in Iraq have been shoved to the ground, pushed out of the way, told to leave the scene of explosions; we've had camera disks and videotapes confiscated, reporters detained,' says Sandy Johnson, Washington bureau chief for the Associated Press."

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 12:01:00 PM [+] ::
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Mad Cow
Interesting post at ProfessorBainbridge.com on: BSE and Regulation.

That:

The BSE scare provides a classic example of the necessity for and inherent failures of regulation.

also:

As a result of this information asymmetry, Gresham's law kicks in - bad products chase out good ones - and the average level of quality is inefficiently low. In addition, there is a negative externality problem. Because consumers bear the costs of food-borne diseases, ranchers and farmers lack the economic incentives to take adequate precautions. In theory, regulation addresses these failures by forcing the producers to internalize the social costs of food-borne ailments.

I was gonna mention that... you know the whole Gresham's law thing but I see its quite well put there.

I also thought it was interesting that according to one expert:

The department had been willfully blind to the threat, he said. The only reason mad cow disease had not been found here, he said, is that the department's animal inspection agency was testing too few animals.

So basicly we've had madcow and have been playing dumb by not doing our homework; something I find to be quite common with storys in regards to regulation. Why people won't put the money into the system to properly regulate i'll never know. My only question now is; does anyone know what exactly it does to humans, or is it all conjecture at this point? I'm too lazy right now to try to go hunt that info down right now...

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 11:48:00 AM [+] ::
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Safire: "I worry about Dean not getting the Democratic nomination."

Good ole Will...Its nice to know he cares....

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 11:10:00 AM [+] ::
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I didn't give anyone a damn thing this year... okay I burned a cd just to screw with the RIAA

So, Scrooge was right after all - www.smh.com.au:

This is why I love economists:

"It's a little-known fact that the first economic rationalist was Ebenezer Scrooge. That's because economists simply can't understand why people would do something as stupid as giving presents at Christmas.

Conventional economics teaches that gift giving is irrational. The satisfaction or 'utility' a person derives from consumption is determined by their personal preferences. But no one understands your preferences as well as you do."

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 09:34:00 AM [+] ::
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A creationist explanation for the Grand Canyon???
Peer News:

" In a series of recent decisions, the National Park Service has approved the display of religious symbols and Bible verses, as well as the sale of creationist books giving a non-evolutionary explanation for the Grand Canyon and other natural wonders within national parks, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Also, under pressure from conservative groups, the Park Service has agreed to edit the videotape that has been shown at the Lincoln Memorial since 1995 to remove any image of gay and abortion rights demonstrations that occurred at the memorial"

"This fall, the Park Service also approved a creationist text, “Grand Canyon: A Different View” for sale in park bookstores and museums. The book by Tom Vail, claims that the Grand Canyon is really only a few thousand years old, developing on a biblical rather than an evolutionary time scale. At the same time, Park Service leadership has blocked publication of guidance for park rangers and other interpretative staff that labeled creationism as lacking any scientific basis."

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 09:28:00 AM [+] ::
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Giving a shout out to the public school system

Wow I just snagged a huge chunk of this blog and stuck it in my word processor to spell check it. I can't spell. Jesus, that's kind of embarrassing (I misspelled embarrassing just now).

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 09:25:00 AM [+] ::
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"If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?"

--Scott Adams

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 09:19:00 AM [+] ::
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Newstrafficker is dead... long live the newstrafficker!
I have decided to kill the duel blogging thing I had been doing (rather poorly I might add). Newstrafficker is now dead. The logic was that I wasn't able to comment on everything I happen upon and want people to find; but i've realized that was simply an excuse for not commenting on things. My new years resolution is to comment more than I link--and I link a lot! That means I have to start thinking, yee gods... and then from there I have to put those thought down on... err well I can't very well say paper, but you know what I mean.

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 09:14:00 AM [+] ::
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President reaps a year-end rebound | csmonitor.com:

"As he heads into a year in which he'll campaign for reelection, the economy appears to be improving. The capture of Saddam Hussein has made many view the occupation of Iraq more positively. Money is flowing into his reelection accounts like water down the Potomac. Democrats seem more divided than they were only weeks ago."

I can't decide if this is gonna be a nightmare year to come or not. Lately i've had a really bad feeling... just hearing people praise him disgusts me. You know, I don't have a problem with Bush, I have a problem with Bush supporters; and i'm not talking the logical supporters, millionaires and such i'm talking the working class religious vote that is the backbone of Republican support. The rich fund it and the poor vote it. As you can tell i'm not in the mood for deep political analysis today just a bit of bitching for me...

:: Jim Nichols 12/25/2003 09:08:00 AM [+] ::
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Yahoo! News - Court Blocks Clean-Air Change:

"A federal appeals court yesterday blocked the Bush administration from implementing a major environmental rule change this week that would allow thousands of coal plants and refineries to upgrade their facilities without installing expensive anti-pollution equipment."

See the courts are good for something: stoping renegade environmental policy

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 11:44:00 PM [+] ::
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AlterNet: Hard Lines and Second Thoughts:

"Flawed as it may be, however, The Fog of War is very much worth seeing. Though Morris thought up the idea in 1995 and filmed most, if not all, of his film before U.S. troops poured into Baghdad, the unspoken parallels between Vietnam and Iraq are eerie and provocative. News footage of the middle-aged McNamara – arrogant, cocky-as-hell, jousting with the press in his wire-rimmed glasses – look uncannily like the briefing follies run today by Donald Rumsfeld. Likewise, the manner in which the Johnson administration cooked the intelligence over the Gulf of Tonkin and then proceeded to delude the American people, and itself, that we were acting on behalf of the cause of Vietnamese freedom is a sober cautionary tale that meshes neatly with today's headlines. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 11:36:00 PM [+] ::
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Why do the poor seem to like war so much? AlterNet: Let Them Eat War:

"George W. Bush is sinking in the polls, but a few beats on the war drum could reverse that trend and re-elect him in 2004. Ironically, the sector of American society now poised to keep him in the White House is the one which stands to lose the most from virtually all of his policies – blue-collar men. A full 49 percent of them and 38 percent percent of blue-collar women told a January 2003 Roper poll they would vote for Bush in 2004. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 11:15:00 PM [+] ::
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And people wonder why I'm always mentioning: "Hey, people are dumb."
AlterNet: Gay Marriage: The Gender Gap:

"Religious beliefs and biblical teachings are the most common reasons people give for opposing same-sex marriage. "

Religion is the reason people oppose gay marriage... and what do you know... the state is who you go to when you get a marriage license. Any questions? See there doesn't seem to be any conflict what-so-ever. You can have your religion stay sacred (sic) and the government can refuse to discriminate against people by allowing people to get marriage licenses.

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 11:05:00 PM [+] ::
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AlterNet: More 'Right' on Israel Than Bush:

"when it comes to the Israel/Palestinian issue, the Democratic establishment is virtually indistinguishable from the Bush administration. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 10:57:00 PM [+] ::
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White House Faulted on Uranium Claim (washingtonpost.com):

"the board believes the White House was so anxious 'to grab onto something affirmative' about Hussein's nuclear ambitions that it disregarded warnings from the intelligence community that the claim was questionable."

But there was "no deliberate effort to fabricate" it was simply a matter of getting so worked up they couldn't do their job--which is the definition of not being worthy of the office.

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 10:52:00 PM [+] ::
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Message to Republican College Kids: Vote for Bush and You'll Get the Draft! - A BuzzFlash Editorial:

"The Bush Administration denies interest in a draft. But with an increasing number of men and women not re-enlisting in the army and not joining the reserves, where do you think that the new soldiers for Bush's endless war will come from? They are going to run out of foreigners who are joining the army and dying in order to get posthumous citizenship.

So, before the complacent young Republican college kids vote for Bush in November, they should think twice about this reality: Bush's February, 2005, surprise will be the reinstitution of the draft."

One question... the way things are going isn't the draft going to be inevitable? Granted a democrat will likely be able to bring in more foreign support but still we've got problems

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 10:41:00 PM [+] ::
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Here we go again
Proposition 187 supporters launch new ballot measure:

"Backers of Proposition 187 a decade ago have resurrected their effort to deny public services to illegal immigrants and started gathering signatures to qualify a new measure for the November ballot. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 10:08:00 PM [+] ::
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Its great to expose those who believe in the system to... the system

The Miami Herald | 12/20/2003 | Judge: I saw police commit felonies:

"A judge presiding over the cases of free trade protesters said in court that he saw ''no less than 20 felonies committed by police officers'' during the November demonstrations, adding to a chorus of complaints about police conduct."

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 05:05:00 AM [+] ::
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Eschaton:

"George will debates himself about the meaning of the constitution:


In 1993:

The Constitution provides only that, other than in the five cases, a simple majority vote shall decide the disposition by each house of business that has consequences beyond each house, such as passing legislation or confirming executive or judicial nominees. Procedural rules internal to each house are another matter. And the generation that wrote and ratified the Constitution - the generation whose actions are considered particularly illuminating concerning the meaning and spirit of the Constitution - set the Senate's permissive tradition regarding extended debate. There was something very like a filibuster in the First Congress.

Ten Years Later:

The president, preoccupied with regime change elsewhere, will occupy a substantially diminished presidency unless he defeats the current attempt to alter the constitutional regime here. If at least 41 Senate Democrats succeed in blocking a vote on the confirmation of Miguel Estrada to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Constitution effectively will be amended.

If Senate rules, exploited by an anti-constitutional minority, are allowed to trump the Constitution's text and two centuries of practice, the Senate's power to consent to judicial nominations will have become a Senate right to require a 60-vote supermajority for confirmations. By thus nullifying the president's power to shape the judiciary, the Democratic Party will wield a presidential power without having won a presidential election."

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 04:47:00 AM [+] ::
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Ralph Nader Won't Run Under Green Party:

"If there's a political litmus test for a spoiler in next year's presidential election, it likely won't be green. Ralph Nader, who ran under the Green Party banner in 2000, says he will not do so again — although he has not ruled out running for president as an independent. "

I wonder why Nader won't run green? I wonder if his threat of running as an independent is merely to keep the Dem's aware of their left; which was why he ran the first two times: the dems long ago left the left hangin'. And please cut the crap about Nader's ego... name a politician that doesn't have an ego... thats why they become politicians to begin with!!!

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 02:05:00 AM [+] ::
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New Chomsky

AlterNet: Dictators R Us:

"All people who have any concern for human rights, justice and integrity should be overjoyed by the capture of Saddam Hussein, and should be awaiting a fair trial for him by an international tribunal. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 01:10:00 AM [+] ::
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About that "no one could have seen 9/11 coming comment" I was just kidding....
TIME.com: Condi and the 9/11 Commission:

"Poised to convene its first hard-hitting hearings in January, the federal commission investigating the 9/11 attacks continues to be at odds with the White House over access to key information and witnesses. Two government sources tell TIME that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is arguing over ground rules for her appearance in part because she does not want to testify under oath or, according to one source, in public."

:: Jim Nichols 12/24/2003 12:58:00 AM [+] ::
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Borders Strike

Here's a website for Borders Books and Waldenbooks Employee Network :: The Borders Books Employee Union Web Site. There appears to be a strike in ann-arbor. Passing on would be much appreciated.

Here is their comments page and here is a customer service phone number: 1-888-81-BOOKS

:: Jim Nichols 12/23/2003 11:26:00 PM [+] ::
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The Decembrist: What if Bush is a Nixonian Liberal?:

"Until they craft an alternative vision, Democrats are much better off establishing the 'logical argument that Bush is a bad president' than granting him the totally undeserved credit for being a conservative one."

:: Jim Nichols 12/23/2003 10:57:00 PM [+] ::
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"The Post-Modern President" by Joshua Micah Marshall: "Every president deceives. But each has his own style of deceit." And this president takes part in the most noxious of kinds. For instances The American Prospect is noting the recent WSJ article in regards to the fact that once again (TAPPED: December 2003 Archives): "the Bush administration is rejiggering official government data to make things look better than they really are." This time in regards to health care.

This is a far more serious form of corruption, I think, than most people realize. The Bush administration's systemic distortion of government-produced data undermines the entire policy process and compromises honest debate. If you don't have a handle on what problems exist, you can't have a worthwhile debate about fixing them.

:: Jim Nichols 12/23/2003 10:45:00 PM [+] ::
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Wal-Mart rollout - or rollback? | csmonitor.com:

"as Wal-Mart stores continue to spread across the US, community opposition is also mounting from critics who say its 'always low prices' mean always low wages for nonunion workers and that its famous 'rollbacks' on goods roll over local businesses and economies."

The other day my dad and I were watching tv when a Wal-Mart ad ran. It went something to the effect of how Wal-Mart is helping to "revive" communitites, creating jobs, yah-dah yah-dah yah-dah... we just started cracking up. But then again the other day I was thinking, and anyone a little more up on econ feel free to email me, but should we expect companies to provide living wages, and health care, and all that jazz to employees. Or would the government be the better environment to facilitate those kinds of benifits? Now of coarse if you're against socialism and want competition and a market you're gonna want corporations to provide that stuff since to truly get the gov involved in the way it should be you would be taking the market out of the equation.

:: Jim Nichols 12/23/2003 10:30:00 PM [+] ::
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The New Yorker: THE GREAT ELECTION GRAB:

"DeLay said that the current makeup of the congressional delegation did not reflect the state’s true political orientation, so he set out to insure that it did."

Should districts be drawn to "reflect [a] state's true political orientation"? I think districts should be drawn in squares starting in the corner of a state evenly dividing the entire state by population.

:: Jim Nichols 12/23/2003 07:30:00 PM [+] ::
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On the Time Magazine Person of the Year: tonypierce.com + busblog:

"other than getting sent to war, seriously, what did the troops do that was all that amazing?

is it sacrilege to say that? no it isn't. they did their fucking jobs. just like school teachers and firemen and cops and bloggers."

:: Jim Nichols 12/23/2003 06:45:00 PM [+] ::
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The Australian: Neil Clark: The war we never should have fought [ 17dec03 ]:

"First, the unpalatable fact for those crowing most loudly over Hussein's capture is that the worst of the crimes he is likely to be charged with took place at a time when he was enthusiastically sponsored by the West. If Hussein does receive a fair and open trial, as both Bush and the Iraqi Governing Council have promised, it will surely reveal just how much support, both moral and material, the Iraqi dictator received from Washington and its allies during his murderous heydays of the 1980s. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/23/2003 05:05:00 PM [+] ::
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Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | It's greed, not ideology, that rules the White House: "Why the US wants Iraq's debts cancelled - and Argentina's paid in full "

"Those looking for ideology in the White House should consider this: for the men who rule our world, rules are for other people. The powerful feed ideology to the masses like fast food while they dine on that most rarefied delicacy: impunity."

:: Jim Nichols 12/23/2003 04:57:00 PM [+] ::
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Guardian Unlimited Film | Features | Bollywood gambles on Kazaa:

"Bollywood movie fans will soon be able to download full-length features with the file-sharing software Kazaa.

A deal struck between a partner of Sharman Networks Ltd, the company which owns Kazaa, and IndiaFM.com, a popular entertainment site, will allow Indian film producers to distribute movies, music and other large, rich media files online to an estimated 60 million international Kazaa users."

The multinationals want them dead... the little guys just want any edge up they can get. Trying to flip globalization on its back...

:: Jim Nichols 12/23/2003 04:42:00 PM [+] ::
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Infoshop News - Syndicalism and Revolution:

"The nature of any new social formation that emerges from major social conflicts, will be determined by the character of the main social forces at work in that process.

The only way that we can ensure that a society that is self-managing emerges as the result of such a social process is if the main movements that are working for change have a self-managing character and practice, so that people have developed the egalitarian and democratic practices and habits required for society itself to be self-managed.

The way in which people organize themselves for change is important in shaping what the outcome will be down the road."

"The basic idea of syndicalism is that by developing mass organizations that are self-managed by their participants, particularly organizations rooted in the struggle at the point of production, the working class develops the self-activity, self-confidence, unity, and self-organization that would enable it to emancipate itself from subjugation to an exploiting class. The self-management of the movement itself foreshadows and prefigures self-management of production by the workforce, and the direct self-governance of the society by the people. To create a society in which the mass of the population are directly empowered, directly in control, this process of self-management must first emerge and become entrenched in practices of self-management of struggles within capitalism, to break habits of deference or resignation to forms of hierarchical control. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/22/2003 07:29:00 PM [+] ::
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Center for American Progress - 'A Shroud of Secrecy' :

"According to U.S. News and World Report, 'the Bush administration has quietly but efficiently dropped a shroud of secrecy across many critical operations of the federal government -- cloaking its own affairs from scrutiny and removing from the public domain important information on health, safety, and environmental matters.'"

Here are some of the most egregious examples:
'A Shroud of Secrecy'

:: Jim Nichols 12/22/2003 12:14:00 AM [+] ::
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CBS News | Ashcroft Flying High | July 26, 2001 21:53:20:

"In response to inquiries from CBS News over why Ashcroft was traveling exclusively by leased jet aircraft instead of commercial airlines, the Justice Department cited what it called a 'threat assessment' by the FBI, and said Ashcroft has been advised to travel only by private jet for the remainder of his term. "

But, we didn't have any warnings about a possible 9/11...

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 11:50:00 PM [+] ::
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I've put up a message board (more free crap... one of these days i'm gonna break down buy a book, figure out how to do all of this and just pay to have a site--it'll look nicer at least!), seeing as how my guestbook has never been used i'm not positive this is gonna get anywhere... but i'm all for giving things a shot.

update: yeah, that idea lasted a whole 6 hours. Why do I care what you people think! That's what email and blogs are for...

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 06:29:00 PM [+] ::
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How attacks on Dean may impact race | csmonitor.com:

"Dean memorably stated that Hussein's capture 'did not make America safer' - an assertion that runs counter to post-capture polls, which show a solid majority of Americans believing the war has made them safer."

Jesus! Am I the only one who agree's with Dean that capturing Saddam doesn't make us safer? We're gonna find an enemy, if only to have an excuse to keep up military spending, so you can't claim that getting rid of Iraq as a threat makes us safer because the idea that Iraq was a threat is a joke. In fact the reason we went after Iraq is precisely because they wouldn't be able to put up a real fight... Kuwait was spending more on their military for christ's sake!

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 05:36:00 PM [+] ::
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"...excuses have no place in art and intentions count for nothing: at every moment the artist has to listen to his instinct, and it is this that makes art the most real of all things, the most austere school of life, the true last judgment. " --Proust

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 03:40:00 PM [+] ::
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Crooked Timber: Resistentialism:

"Go into any of the little cafes or horlogeries on Paris's Left Bank (make sure the Seine is flowing away from you, otherwise you'll be on the Right Bank, where no one is ever seen) and sooner or later you will hear someone say, 'Les choses sont contre nous.' "Things are against us." This is the nearest English translation I can find for the basic concept of Resistentialism, the grim but enthralling philosophy now identified with bespectacled, betrousered, two-eyed Pierre-Marie Ventre."

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 03:37:00 PM [+] ::
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The "War on Terror" as gateway to reelectionA Flawed Terrorist Yardstick:

"The Justice Dept. tally of more than 280 suspects detained for prosecution after Sept. 11 is inflated with dismissed and unrelated cases."

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 02:58:00 PM [+] ::
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Chomsky's thoughts on my recent tangent....

Topic: Use of language (1 of 2), Read 46 times
Conf: ChomskyChat
From: Jim Nichols jimn4@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, December 19, 2003 08:41 AM

Maybe i'm wrong--nitpicking when I should be looking at the bigger picture--but it seems to me that some words (e.g. monster, evildoer) do harm to properly understanding Hussein and his capture. In a way I think that calling Saddam a monster explains away his crimes and the complicity of others while those crimes were taking place. When President Bush or Dan Rather get busy writing off Saddam in neat mythological terms we tend to forget that monsters don't violate human rights or become vicious dictators--humans do. That goes for hobgoblins, warlocks, and the lot of them. Maybe this is just my teacup orbiting the sun... am I off base or does an issue like this help explain some of the complacency of many human beings?

thanks in advance for any thoughts on the matter!

Jim


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Topic: Chomsky Re: Use of language (2 of 2), Read 11 times
Conf: ChomskyChat
From:
Date: Sunday, December 21, 2003 08:08 AM

Reply from NC,

Could be, but personally I don't see anything wrong with describing a murderous tyrant as a "monster," and insisting that those who aided and abetting his crimes should have to bear responsibility for them. The press rightly identifies the worst crimes, the ones that might merit a charge of "genocide," as the 1988 slaughter and gassing of Kurds, and the vicious repression of the post-war 1991 rebellion that might well have overthrown him. In both cases, those currently at the helm in Washington had decisive responsibility, and explained why: in the former case, not because of Iran (the war was over) but because of Washington's responsibility to US exporters with the usual boilerplate about how supporting Saddam would contribute to stability and human rights; in the latter case, because, as the New York Times pointed out, there was near unanimity among the US leadership and their allies that Saddam offered more hope for "stability" in Iraq than those who were trying to overthrow him: that is, Iraqis must not rule Iraq. The record of New Labour in the UK is in some respects even worse.

It's possible, and doubtless intended, that the rhetoric about "good" (us) and "evil" (them), "monster," etc., will help to deflect these obvious, and obviously unacceptable, conclusions about what a "fair trial" would be. But I think it's only a small increment to much more powerful barriers, which it won't be easy to overcome. That's common. Take today's headlines: Libya giving up WMD, so therefore we may welcome them into the club of civilized countries. Including Israel, which has far and away the most extensive and dangerous WMD programs in the region, and spurs proliferation too, as recognized at the highest US planning levels; or the US, hardly known for its polite behavior, and moving on towards even more dangerous plans for WMD. Any mention of that? Or of the fact that whatever one thinks of Qaddafi and his terrorist actions, Libya was one of the main targets of state terror during the "war on terror" run by the Reagan administration (that is, pretty much those back in charge), selected as a convenient punching bag because it was completely defenseless and so disliked it would gain no support. Facts are all easily available, but the chances of their being mentioned are approximately zero, and if they were, it would simply set off tantrums.

Noam Chomsky

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 02:48:00 PM [+] ::
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So whats getting blown up for christmas?
Yahoo! News - U.S. to Raise Terror Alert to 'High,' Officials Say:

"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will raise the nation's terror alert status on Sunday to the second highest level, warning of a 'high' risk of terrorist attacks after U.S. authorities said they were alarmed at the volume of threats at home and overseas. "

Pretty soon the songs gonna change to: I'm dreaming of a green (terror alert) christmas

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 02:36:00 PM [+] ::
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Google Search: Jim Nichols Yeah! I've made it to the first page. That way whenever someone typers in Jim Nichols my site will pop up. Not that too many people type in Jim Nichols; or want to read my site for that matter!

*wow... less than 24 hours later and Jim Nichols is no longer popping up on the first page (I was no. 8) when you google it. Wow, this is terrible for my self-esteem!!!

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 02:32:00 AM [+] ::
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tonypierce.com + busblog: he has some great one-liners:

"people dont ask, but they should. and my answer would be, yes, it is tiresome always being right."

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 02:25:00 AM [+] ::
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Pulse of the Twin Cities - Locally Grown Alternative Newspaper: "We spent $100 million on Whitewater [Clinton's pre-presidential financial scandal]. Only $3 million has been spent on investigating September 11! " hey stick that down as number 7....

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 02:16:00 AM [+] ::
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Atlantic Unbound | Interviews | 2003.12.10: "Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing With the Death Penalty is Turow's highly personal examination of capital punishment"

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 02:03:00 AM [+] ::
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How to beat Bush update:

1. the deficit
2. the medicare bill
3. habitual tax-cut user in need of rehab not re-election
4. the war in Iraq
5. not where's waldo--where's the employed worker
6. Children are still being left behind
(7. We spent $100 million on Whitewater. Only $3 million has been spent on investigating September 11)

Any questions? Notice how 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are all campaign issues for Bush. All you have to do is flip it on him and attack him with the facts.

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 01:12:00 AM [+] ::
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Saddam, So Not Worth It / Dubya, now that you've got your dime-store thug, can you stop the warmongering and death?:

"After all, Saddam's not the only dreadful world leader who's abused his allies, ravaged his economy, launched two blood-drenched wars in as many years, authorized the bombing of tens of thousands, allowed hundreds of U.S. soldiers to die, cut the benefits of war veterans, poisoned the environment, invoked the name of God to justify it all and smirked away every notion of his obvious ineptitude. "

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 12:53:00 AM [+] ::
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The Leiter Reports: Editorials, News, Updates: Our Dangerous Mass Media:

"Has anyone else noticed that the mainstream media--and I mean the genuinely middle-of-the-road media, not the crytpo-fascist media like Fox--is consistently reporting the recent decision in the Padilla case--and the less important 9th Circuit decision about the Guatanomo prisoners--under the rubric, 'Administration Suffers Setbacks in War on Terror,' instead of under rubrics like, 'Administration Suffers Setbacks in Its Attack on the Rule of Law and Democratic Rights,' or simply 'Victory for the Rule of Law and Democracy.' Any of these headlines would be appropriate; isn't it striking which one the media consistently choose?"

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 12:50:00 AM [+] ::
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You know what I realized the other day. I'm gonna have to bite my tongue and actually try to do some fund raising for the dem's once there's a candidate. Got to put my (and my friends) money where my mouth is. All I know is i'm not gonna send any money in to pay for this free-for-all attack crap thats going on... Bush is getting too much material to work with as it is.

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 12:42:00 AM [+] ::
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The Decembrist: Medicare Post-Mortem II -- The Message and the Liberal Quandary:

"So long as liberalism is defined principally by its greater generosity, more benefits, more taxes, more government, etc., it will be vulnerable to the manipulations of quasi-conservatives who can spend recklessly to buy power, always protected by the assumption that the liberals' alternative would be even more reckless."

"But there has to be a way to use the reality, now proven over at least four presidential administrations, that Democrats are responsible, moderate, and get more out of government for less, while Republicans are reckless, irresponsible, rob the future, and produce exactly the kind of government that we don't like. I don't know how best to convey that point, but as long as the distinguishing characteristic of liberalism is 'more,' we can't get that point across. We need a way to talk about the future, about security, about doing more with less, about letting the private sector do what it can do best but not insulating it from risk."

:: Jim Nichols 12/21/2003 12:01:00 AM [+] ::
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