First Looks category archive
DL 0
Tomorrow.
6 p. m., Tangier Restaurant, 18th and Lombard, Center City Philadelphia.
Make it there, say “Hi” to Brendan and the gang, and hoist one (Scotch, rocks, “if God ha’ wanted water in it, he’d ha’ put water in it”) for me.
I’ll be doing the cooling tower thing. It’s deadline time in the world of billable hours.
Words Fail Me 0
Beyond comprehension. Follow the links.
Lies, Damned Lies, and Bush Speeches 0
Glenn Greenwald:
When the Founders drafted the Constitution, they had a clear understanding of tyranny. They also had a clear idea about how to prevent it from ever taking root in America. Their solution was to separate the government’s powers into three co-equal branches: the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. Each of these branches plays a vital role in our free society. Each serves as a check on the others. And to preserve our liberty, each must meet its responsibilities — and resist the temptation to encroach on the powers the Constitution accords to others.
(snippage)
And when the Gonzales-led Justice Department issued a 42-page single-spaced Memorandum in 2006 justifying the President’s decision to spy on Americans in violation of our “laws,” it was explained to us that the President is the “sole organ for the Nation in foreign affairs”; that “the President has independent authority to repel aggressive acts by third parties even without specific congressional authorization, and courts may not review the level of force selected”; and that statutes restricting the President’s actions relating to war “could probably be read as simply providing ‘a recommendation’ that the President could decline to follow at his discretion.”
These are the still-valid premises that led the Constitution-revering George W. Bush to spend the last six years ignoring and violating statutes whenever he wanted to, keeping Congress completely in the dark about what he was doing, and issuing one signing statement after the next explaining why he has no obligation to comply with what Congress adorably calls their “laws.”
It boggles the mind.
Via Andrew Sullivan.
Why Doesn’t It Stop? 0
Steve has a truth theory. I urge you to read the whole post–he covers a lot more ground than this excerpt indicates:
I’ll answer my own question. We do so because the Bush administration places more weight upon cozying up to corporate interests and protecting their profits than he does upon looking out for the welfare of American citizens. Should the two concerns intersect, all the better; should they not, then we apparently turn a blind eye to danger.
Planted Questions in Candidate Debates 0
There was a small furor over a planted question at the Democratic candidates’ debate last week.
(Full disclosure: I avoid the debates, whether in primaries or general elections because I think they are more of a waste of time than Windows solitare.)
Susie has more.
New Cell Phone 0
Not much posting lately. Real life has sort of intervened. In the mean time, I’ve been learning about my new phone.
I think it’s all set up.
I’ve added this, and this, and this.
Oh, yeah, and some proper wall paper.
What Digby Said 0
This has been another edition of What Digby Said.
Soooooo . . . . . . ? 1
Bet they still can’t tell us what’s going in that furry little mind.
Political Discourse and Why It’s Off-Course 2
Some thoughts from the Demon Princess(emphasis added):
The question was prescient.
In fact, I now think that our complacence as liberals & our willingness to tolerate the pernicious effect of corporate money in politix as well as our inattention to other matters such as how easy it is otherwise to jerry-rig voting machines, & to jerrymander voting districts, has come back to bite our asses, big time.
Worse, & I hate to even think it, much less say it out loud ~ our high level of tolerance & blind adherence to 18th Century Enlightenment principles, based on calm, rational discussion & belief that if we provide a “marketplace of ideas” and conduct ourselves appropriately, “the truth will out,” and a sort of rational sanity will prevail.
That was before the Neocons snuck up on us, consolidating their power slowly, & now, in the full flower of the Bush years, our own liberal brand of tolerance has allowed the rabid neo-cons to storm us like the radical bunch of Berserkers they are, hell bent on undermining every legal underpinning of democracy here at home and wreaking untold havoc on the rest of the world.
The problem is that the “marketplace of ideas” paradigm only functions well where accurate information is shared in transparent fashion. We’re fed only propaganda, shallow jingoism, lies, distortions & cover-ups, & it’s getting mighty hard to defend our core principles in the face of all that noise.
Drinking Liberally 0
Tomorrow, Tangier Restaurant, 18th and Lombard, Center City Philadelphia. Good food, good companionship, and it isn’t always all about politics.
I’ll be visiting a sick friend, but you can be there.
Symbolism 1
As a Southerner, I know the mixed feelings about the Confederate battle ensign.
But, nonetheless, I also know what it means to most of the world.
Indeed, my brother summed that up in a quotation in this post.
So, as far as I am concerned, when Cheney’s cronies fly the Stars and Bars, it sends a message.
Or, probably more likely, it tells a truth.
C-5 0
I don’t care how many times I see one of these fly over, it’s still as impressive as the first time.
(Warning, check your volume before clicking the link.)
Gasp! 1
Golly gosh gee, Batman, you can’t believe every email you receive.
Even if it does seem to make sense.
Morally Bankrupt 2
A while ago, I explained how contemporary conservatism is morally and politically bankrupt.
To summarize, it’s bankrupt because it doesn’t work at providing compentent governance; it just makes the rich, richer and the poor, poorer.
But, of course, that’s what it’s for.
Tim F. expands on the idea (while also taking a few well-earned swings at liberalism) at Balloon Juice.