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Friday, Aug 27, 2004
convention
"That brings us back to 1940, and the convention that had it all--the five days in Philadelphia during which the Republicans took six ballots to select a candidate. Not only was the convention exciting, but the stakes were also high: Would this country keep its head in the sands of isolationism, or would it face the menace of Adolf Hitler? "
its rainesing again
"I was not the first, nor will I be the last writer to break his pick on that stone. But in reviewing what I wrote in 1982 after two years of close observation of Reagan on the campaign trail and in the White House, I saw a couple of points that seemed worth revisiting as Reagan's self-appointed heir seeks a second term. I characterised Reagan as a "political primitive" who valued "beliefs over knowledge" based on verifiable facts. The White House spin was that this was a positive in that it represented "rawbone American thinking". I also noted that Reagan had a "high tolerance for ambiguity" as to the outcome of policies that proceeded from such rough-hewn thought.
That strikes me as a different - less troubling - trait than what Brookhiser sees as Bush's refusal to recognise the mere existence of ambiguity. In general, I've come to feel that what we have in George Bush is a shadowy version of Reagan's strengths and an exaggerated version of his intellectual weaknesses."
vote iv
"A plan to make the presidential battleground of Missouri the first state to allow military voters serving in combat zones such as Iraq to cast their absentee ballots via e-mail is renewing concerns about the security of online voting."
Thursday, Aug 26, 2004
frame game
"BERKELEY – With the Democratic National Convention over and the Republican one beginning next week, it seemed a good time to check in with George Lakoff, the UC Berkeley professor of cognitive linguistics whose scrutiny of the language of politics has begun to bring him national recognition. The author of the seminal book "Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think," Lakoff's specialty is dissecting "framing," or the ways in which conservatives and liberals position issues to fit their respective moral worldviews. (For more on framing, read this excerpt from the NewsCenter's October 2003 interview with Lakoff.) He grasps how Republicans use language more effectively than Democrats, and what Democrats can do about it."
walk, dont run
naomi klein and todd gitlin spar over protesting at rnc convention on democracy now.
marriage penalty
a few weeks back in the glow of the democratic convention, george will claimed that for 95% of the delegates the most important issue was gay marriage. this claim went unchallenged on This Weak when uttered. it was an obvious overstatement which im sure will if pressed would have said he was exaggerating for effect and that delegates are part of the "activist' wing of the party. as we all know most of these fabrications go unchecked. here from the pew center we have their annual report on americans and religion and public life. when asked what are their voting priorities, gay marriage ranked last (among those listed) for both democrats and swing voters (pg 10). plenty of other baubles to ponder within.
your song
"Ludlow Music dropped its demands that JibJab, a small web animation site, stop using Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" in a satirical Flash cartoon. It turned out Ludlow did not own the rights to the song as it claimed, a lawyer representing JibJab said on Tuesday."
exit music
sweet goodbye from tbogg to his father.
heat of the moment
another back2iraq episode from our intrepid reporter in najaf.
Wednesday, Aug 25, 2004
red flag
"Aug. 24, 2004 -- Military officials are cracking down on blogs written by soldiers and Marines in Iraq, saying some of them reveal sensitive information. Critics say it's an attempt to suppress unflattering truths about the U.S. occupation. NPR's Eric Niiler reports."