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June 2008 - Posts

Three things that don't surprise me

Monday, June 30, 2008 9:50 PM
Three stories showed up today, and none of them should come as a surprise: 1) Today is the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska event ; on this day in 1908, something (either a small asteroid or a small comet) exploded in the air over Siberia. Although it
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The sorta weekly roundup

Sunday, June 29, 2008 12:45 PM
R. Neal has this week's edition of the intermittent, kinda weekly roundup of Tennessee liberal bloggers. A lot happened this week, so go here to see what everyone's been talking about. (Mr. Neal has also started yet another blog: SmartEnergyViews is dedicated
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On the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift

Thursday, June 26, 2008 10:24 PM
This year is the 60th anniversary of the start of the Cold War, and today marks the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Berlin Airlift . In recognition of that anniversary, Spiegel has published an interview with Helmut Schmidt , who was chancellor
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Quote of the day (on political courage)

Wednesday, June 25, 2008 10:28 PM
Jann Wenner interviews Barack Obama in this week's issue of "Rolling Stone." After Obama enumerated the contents of his iPod, he said this (via Blah3 ): When Mr. Wenner asked how Mr. Obama might respond to harsh attacks from Republicans, suggesting that
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Feingold speaks on the FISA travesty

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 8:50 PM
In this interview with Amy Goodman , Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) promises to filibuster the horrid FISA amnesty bill when it reaches the Senate. First, he outlines the most potent objections to the bill: Sen. Russ Feingold : Well, this is a great blow
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Playing political games with the US census

Monday, June 23, 2008 6:25 PM
The Bush administration's mismanagement of the Census Bureau is posing a threat to the integrity of the 2010 census. Among other problems, there's this : Lawmakers must also ensure that the final census funding bill includes a provision from the House
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The sporadic Sunday roundup

Sunday, June 22, 2008 12:33 PM
R. Neal has this week's edition of the Tennessee liberal blog roundup. Go here for this week's edition, including bonus roundups on the AP/blogger controversy and the Fred Hobbs smackdown. Share this post: Email | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit
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Hiatus "Lost" blogging: Hans van Eeghen and the number of days in March

Thursday, June 19, 2008 8:02 AM
During this season's "Lost" finale, ABC ran a commercial for a company called " Octagon Global Recruiting ." The commercial and the website seek volunteers to work on the DHARMA Initiative. Visitors to the site may register for email notifications of
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If a general calls them war crimes ...

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 9:38 PM
Major General Antonio Taguba, who conducted an extensive inquiry into the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, has spoken out again on the Bush regime's lawlessness. In his preface to a new report from Physicians for Human Rights, he says this: In order for [detainees]
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GOP obstructionism and collapsing ice shelves

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 7:32 PM
Today, GOP obstructionists in the Senate filibustered a bill which would have provided tax incentives to build out renewable energy sources and which would have extended tax credits for individuals to purchase plug-in hybrid automobiles. The bill would
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AP follows RIAA and MPAA into the gutter

Monday, June 16, 2008 9:40 PM
Last week, the Associated Press sent seven DMCA take-down notices to the Drudge Retort (a liberal counterpoint to that other Drudge) based solely on the fact that they had posted short excerpts of AP wire stories. After some pretty significant blowback
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Chalk one up for the Constitution

Thursday, June 12, 2008 1:10 PM
This morning, the US Supreme Court handed down its decision in Boumediene v. Bush , holding that Guantanamo detainees have the right to challenge their detention in US civilian courts. As SCOTUSblog said: The Court, dividing 5-4, ruled that Congress had
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Snarky reasons to vote Republican

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:35 PM
Via Doug McCaughan : That pretty much says it all. Share this post: Email | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit
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The growing ranks of the underinsured

Tuesday, June 10, 2008 6:27 PM
In addition to the 47 million Americans with no health insurance, the ranks of those considered underinsured are growing at an alarming rate. A new study by the Commonwealth Fund has found that the number of Americans with inadequate health insurance
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Bionic hand wins engineering prize

Monday, June 09, 2008 11:06 PM
This is just unbelievably cool: The world's most advanced, commercially available, bionic hand has won the UK's top engineering prize. The i-LIMB, a prosthetic device with five individually powered digits, beat three other finalists to win this year's
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The Sunday roundup

Sunday, June 08, 2008 12:35 PM
R. Neal has this week's roundup of Tennessee liberal bloggers, focusing on Clinton's withdrawal from the race and her endorsement of Obama. Go here . Share this post: Email | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit
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Bush negotiating in secret for permanent bases in Iraq

Thursday, June 05, 2008 7:40 PM
Contrary to the will of the American people, the US Congress, the Iraqi parliament , the Iraqi president, and the Iraqi people, George Bush is engaged in secret negotiations with Iraqi president Nouri al-Maliki to establish fifty permanent US military
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Why a McCain vote is a bad idea, reason #3,744

Wednesday, June 04, 2008 11:01 PM
As if we needed another reason why McCain would be a horrid president : If elected president, Senator John McCain would reserve the right to run his own warrantless wiretapping program against Americans, based on the theory that the president's wartime
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Another stupid idea from the Dept. of Homeland Insecurity

Tuesday, June 03, 2008 8:21 PM
Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, announced another in a long line of stupid security policies today: The United States said Tuesday that visitors from closely allied countries like Britain and Japan will soon have to register personal
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RIP, Bo Diddley

Monday, June 02, 2008 6:27 PM
The music world lost a living icon today -- Bo Diddley died . He was an innovator like few others of his day, and his influence still resonates strongly across many musical genres. Here's a video clip of Bo playing "Road Runner," circa 1960: He may not
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Indiana Jones and the Big Pile of Crap

Sunday, June 01, 2008 8:08 PM
I have a stubborn streak, and sometimes it doesn't serve me all that well. At crucial times, I have a tendency to ignore well-informed advice from others, and this can sometimes lead to bad consequences. I made that same mistake again today; I've been
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