Think Progress � Mainstream TV Media Drops The Ball On NSA Ruling, Instead Devotes Attention To JonBenet Ramsey

Think Progress � Mainstream TV Media Drops The Ball On NSA Ruling, Instead Devotes Attention To JonBenet Ramsey

I didn't think about this until today, but yes indeed it is suspiciously convenient how this arrest comes right after the NSA ruling, effectively snatching headlines and primetime news stories away from such an important story. If this is indeed a result of political manipulation, we are in deep, deep trouble.

I too was manipulated to a large degree by this coincidence: I didn't think too much about the ruling, because there just wasn't much reaction soon after it broke. The headline caught my attention via the Latest Headlines button in Firefox, and I knew it was major. But soon after my attention was grabbed by the Ramsey announcement, and the ripple-effect through my entire blogroll. Hopefully the public isn't fooled for long, and this story gets the attention it deserves.

Fun Facts About George W. Bush

I copied this from some comment on some lefty website, thinking I'd like to have a list of GWB's sins all in one place. Not nearly complete, I'm sure, and some of them are more factual than others, but it's good enough for a few moments of Bush-hating zen. Read these to remind yourself of why you've had that knot in the pit of your stomach for the last 5 years.

He also has at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine. His Texas driving record has been erased and is no longer available to the public. Gee, I wonder why.

He went AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during time of REAL war.

He steadfastly refuses to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use, which are of concern to an American public who must depend on the mental and physical well-being of their president.

All records of his tenure as governor of Texas have been sealed in his father's library, unavailable for public view.

All records of any SEC investigations into his insider trading or bankrupt companies have been sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

All minutes of meetings of any public corporation for which he served on the board have been sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

Any records or minutes from meetings he attended regarding public energy policy have been sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

That's before he became President. Since then, he's spent the U.S. surplus and bankrupted the US Treasury, shattering the record for the biggest annual deficit in history

He's presided over the biggest drop in the history of the stock market. In his first two years in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs. He cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history. He set the all-time record for most real estate foreclosures in a 12-month period. He's the first president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously struggle against bankruptcy.

He's the first president in US history to enter office with a criminal record. He has appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history. He changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts. But he's also the first president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.

He's set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history. While on a month long vacation, he presided over the worst security failure in US history.

He's presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.

He's cut health care benefits for war veterans.

He set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any president in US history.

He's set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president, since the advent of TV.

He's signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any other US president in history, while dissolving more international treaties than any president in US history.

15 million people simultaneously took to the streets to protest against him, shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.

His presidency has been the most secretive and unaccountable of any in US history, even that of Nixon, the King of Paranoia.

His cabinet members are the richest of any administration in US history.

He's presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.

He set the all-time record for the biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other president in US history.

He's the first president in US history to order a US attack and military occupation of a sovereign nation, against the will of the United Nations and the vast majority of the international community.

He's created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history
of the United States, the Bureau of Homeland Security

He is the first president in US history to compel the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission. He has withdrawn the US from the World Court of Law.

He's the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board. He is the first president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US elections. Yet he has spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.

He has removed more checks and balances, and has had the least amount of Congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.

He refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default
no longer abides by the Geneva Conventions.

He is the all-time US and world record holder for most corporate campaign donations. The biggest lifetime contributor to his campaign presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history, the late Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).

He set all-time record for the number of administration appointees who
violated US law by not selling their huge investments in corporations
bidding for gov't contracts.

He has removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history. In a little over two years.

He is the first US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view his presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability, not Islamic terrorists.

Robert Scheer: Why We Don’t Know Our Enemy

Truthdig - Reports - Robert Scheer: Why We Don’t Know Our Enemy

We sure don't know our enemy. Robert Sheer breaks the last 5 years down nicely in this article, and has me thinking about how my perception of the world has drastically changed over that period. We all see now how the "weapons of mass destruction" meme was carefully crafted to garner public support, piggybacking on post-9/11 anxieties, and justify a war widely seen as breaking international law. But who could have predicted that Saddam Hussein's regime would pssess _absolutely no_ weapons that could be construed as WMDs? Some call is a disappearing act, that massive amounts of weapons were secretly transported to Syria, or were so well-hidden that they haven't been found yet. This is becoming increasingly laughable every day; although at the time of the invasion, no one could say for sure the US would fail to find evidence that their assertion was right, superficially justifying the entire episoe

For without this, the US's cannot wash their hands of Iraq. The administration was wrong about the fundamental justification for aggression, so each subsequent loss is cast against that ground. Only an end to the violence could be construed as a progress in the public's eye, despite any reported stability achieved in the newly-formed government.

If Saddam dispensed of weapons he indeed had before 2003, he must laugh to himself to see the Bush administration twist in the wind these days. It's an ugly, ugly scene that these boys have created. Let's hope it doesn't get much worse before it gets better.

Up Against the Beast: High-Level Drug Running (Pt. II) [Free Republic]

Up Against the Beast: High-Level Drug Running (Pt. II) [Free Republic]

Now this is interesting. Reading this conspiracy stuff about CIA drug-running, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, one is struck by the overarching picture that is painted. And then reading comments on _Freerepublic_ of all places, one is struck by how reasonable the comments are. They read like a "lefty" site, whatever that's means. Is this because this story was pre-9/11, that the Freerepublic guys seem no different from a lefty like me? Or is it the subject matter-- a story that makes villians of both the Bushes and the Clintons? This story, which continues to seep into mainstream consciousnes could conceivably unite the left and right, even in these polarized times.

To crank up the conspiracy spinning, perhaps the Bushes and Clintons have a lot more in common than we realized. The War on Terror has done wonders for dividing the public and distracting them from a truly remarkable story, and those involved in these shocking acts are still firmly in power.

Majority Whip Blunt On Global Warming: "Information Not Adequate Yet...To Do Anything Meaningful"... | The Huffington Post

Majority Whip Blunt On Global Warming: "Information Not Adequate Yet...To Do Anything Meaningful"... | The Huffington Post

The comments of political threads can be hairy, but often are chock-full of good points, coming from both sides. If you can tolerate the noise, the polarized nature of political blogs these days leads to some very interesting discussion. If a community is educated-- like the Huffington Post's audience-- ideas must be discussed in a rational manner. Trolls cannot be eliminated, but they can be sufficiently discouraged through light moderation and social norms. Dissent should be encouraged, ideally, but because of group-think and other factors political blogs tend to lean decidedly to the right or left.

But even in this polarized environment, useful discussion emerges from time to time. In a "healthy" community like HuffPo (as of date), commentors are careful and thoughtful about their comments, trying to persuade and educate, or say something funny (which is also persuasive and educational in a way). This, as opposed to baiting behaviour, attempting to disrupt discussion or anger people (i.e. trolling). Educated readers are less likely to get baited, and subsequently the "trolls" have to get smarter. This, in of itself is a good thing. Smart trolls can be funny too, or otherwise make one think from their perspective. This, to me is healthy, and what political blogs should aim for. The political divide on the blogging scene clearly reduces the benefits of communicating across traditional barriers that blogging provides.

As bloggers sense this reality, I anticipate that political blogs will tend to move to the centre as they become more popular, just as a newspaper or magazine would.