Archive for February 7th, 2006
Feb 7, 2006 at 10:57 PM by Political Chase
Nicholas Kristof and Bill O’Reilly aren’t by themselves in the dueling mode. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Barak Obama (D-IL) are taking swings at each other according to Roll Call (sub. req.). The celebrity status Senators are the bipartisan leaders on an effort to overhaul Congressional lobbying and ethic rules.
In a letter last week, Obama accused McCain and the GOP of stalling the project after a suggestion from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) to assemble a task force to study the issue (their project, not altercation). McCain received the letter as a personal affront and responded with a flaming letter, accusing Obama of trying to score points with the Dems.
“I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine,” McCain wrote to Obama on Monday, referring to a discussion the two Senators had last month. “Thank you for disabusing me of such notions.”
“I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party’s effort to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman Senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness,” McCain wrote. “Again, I have been around long enough to appreciate that in politics the public interest isn’t always a priority for every one of us. Good luck to you, Senator.”
No Senator operates under the “turn the other cheek” principle; yesterday Obama fired off a nastygram in kind.
“I confess that I have no idea what has prompted your response. But let me assure you that I am not interested in typical partisan rhetoric or posturing. The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable.”
Boys, boys. Go to your rooms.
Technorati Tags : John+McCain, Barak+Obama, politics
Feb 7, 2006 at 9:13 PM by Political Chase
In this post, I am doing something I would only consider under extraordinary circumstances – paste the entire piece of a subscription based article. I think the cause is notable, and somehow believe Nicholas Kristof and The New York Times would approve.
Kristof and Bill O’Reilly (Fox News – the “Fair & Balanced†news network) have been exchanging “pleasantries†since at least December. Kristof has challenged O’Reilly to accompany him on a trip to Darur. According to Kristof, O’Reilly has declined his challenge. The details are in the column below.
I will make a contribution and hope you will consider it as well. It’s noted in the article, but I’ll do it here as well. If you want to help, you can email Nicholas Kristoff at sponsorbill@gmail.com.
As a suggestion, consider contacting Fox News and letting them know what you think.
The New York Times
February 7, 2006
Op-Ed Columnist
Helping Bill O’Reilly
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Please, readers, help Bill O’Reilly!
After Mr. O’Reilly denounced me in December as a “left-wing ideologue” (a charge that alarmed me, given his expertise on ideologues), I challenged him to defend traditional values by joining me on a trip to Darfur. I wrote: “You’ll have to leave your studio, Bill. You’ll encounter pure evil. If you’re like me, you’ll be scared … and you’ll finally be using your talents for an important cause.”
A few days ago, I finally got my answer. Mr. O’Reilly declared in his column: “I do three hours of daily news analysis on TV and radio. There’s no way I can go to Africa.”
No need to give up so easily, Bill. With a satellite phone, you can do your show from anywhere.
But maybe Mr. O’Reilly’s concern is cost, so I thought my readers might want to give him a hand. You can help sponsor a trip by Mr. O’Reilly to Darfur, where he can use his television savvy to thunder against something actually meriting his blustery rage.
If you want to help, send e-mail to sponsorbill@gmail.com or snail mail to me at The Times, and tell me how much you’re willing to pay for Mr. O’Reilly’s expenses in Darfur. Offers will be anonymous, except maybe to the N.S.A. Don’t send money; all I’m looking for is pledges. I’ll post updates at nytimes.com/ontheground.
(Note: pledges cannot be earmarked. It is not possible to underwrite only Mr. O’Reilly’s outgoing ticket to Darfur without bringing him home as well.)
Sure, this is a desperate measure. But with several hundred thousand people already murdered in Darfur and two million homeless and living in shantytowns, the best hope for those still alive is a strong dose of American outrage.
Worse, all the horrors that we’ve already seen in Darfur may be remembered only as the prelude. Security in the region is deteriorating, African Union peacekeepers are becoming targets, and the U.N. has warned that if humanitarian agencies are forced out, the death toll may rise to 100,000 per month.
Continue reading ‘Nicholas Kristof vs. Bill O’Reily’
Feb 7, 2006 at 7:52 PM by Political Chase
Conservative Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) has, what appears to be, a quite liberal staffer.
An aide to Sen. Jeff Sessions agreed Friday to shut down her Web diary, which included a provocative photo of her bare midriff in unzipped jeans, after the office heard about a complaint, the senator’s spokesman said.
Technorati Tags : Jeff+Sessions, Stormie+Janzen, politics
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Feb 7, 2006 at 7:24 PM by Political Chase
The Islamic protests over a Danish paper publishing a cartoon depicting Muhammad has gotten out of control. I do not intend for this to be derogatory, offensive or viewed as supporting one side or the other. My Western-based culture and thereby mentality makes it hard to understand the overwhelming response by the followers of Muhammad, especially when combined with the extreme violation of law – secular and canonical.
Today, protesters attacked a NATO base in Kabul, Afghanistan to which NATO responded with gunfire. Three protesters were killed. Assuming for a moment the protesters have a valid theological and scriptural reason to protest, how do they justify their actions in other countries – like most of Europe and obviously Afghanistan? I have never read the Qur’an, therefore ignorance is an impediment, but I find it hard to believe a God-based religion supports this action scripturally or theologically.
Anybody have the answer?
Technorati Tags : Islamic+protesters, Muhammad, NATO, cartoon+protest, Kabul
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Feb 7, 2006 at 5:57 PM by Political Chase
The New York Times provides a simple explanation to a complex standard. If you listened to or read the transcripts of yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the NSA’s intelligence surveillance, you may have experienced the same problem I did. Either from boredom or complexity of their statements, probably both, I was confused by the Senators’ and Gonzales’ explanation of which Constitution law takes precedent if there is a conflict. The NYT offers this brief, but effective clarification.
Under the ordinary rules that courts use to harmonize potentially conflicting laws, the more specific one typically governs. Here, that would seem to be the 1978 law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which created an elaborate legal scheme to regulate wiretaps, as well as a secret court that promptly hears warrant applications.
If a later law means to override or amend an earlier one, moreover, courts generally require it to say so specifically.
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Feb 7, 2006 at 5:23 PM by Political Chase
Four more churches set on fire in Alabama.
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Feb 7, 2006 at 4:42 PM by Political Chase
The transcript for yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on the NSA’s electronic surveillance is in two parts.
Part 1 is located here and Part 2 is located here.
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Feb 7, 2006 at 8:21 AM by Political Chase
"I plan to pursue a ‘humble’ foreign policy: ‘If we’re an arrogant nation, they’ll resent us; if we’re a humble nation, but strong, they’ll welcome us.’ "1
—George W. Bush, October 2000
So that’s what Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was trying to articulate in today’s hearing. Well, indeed, we have seen Mr. Bush putting that “humble foreign policy” into play since January 20, 2001 And as to arrogance, shutter the thought; that’s just Dubya, “working hard – even sometimes on Saturday,” protecting Americans. Hmm. Okay.
1. Risen, James (2006). State of War – The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration, Free Press.
Technorati Tags : Alberto+Gonzales, George+Bush, Senate+Judiciary+hearing, FISA, NSA, terrorism, politics
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Feb 7, 2006 at 7:55 AM by Political Chase
"I plan to pursue plan to pursue a ‘humble’ foreign policy: ‘If we’re an arrogant nation, they’ll resent us; if we’re a humble nation, but strong, they’ll welcome us.’ "1
—George W. Bush, October 2000
So that’s what Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was trying to articulate in today’s hearing. Well, indeed, we have seen Mr. Bush putting that “humble foreign policy” into play since January 20, 2001 And as to arroganyce…well I just just get goose bumps at the thought of that.
1. Risen, James (2006). State of War – The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration Free Press
Technorati Tags : Alberto+Gonzales, George+Bush, Senate+Judiciary+hearing, FISA, NSA, terrorism, politics
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