Fall guy appointed at NY Times We found nothing wrong with the Times's judgment in not jumping on this bandwagon to a beat set by a right wing chorus. They carried an AP story that covered the essential news points of the day.

The paper's judgment can be faulted for not providing the analysis that can set apart a newspaper's style of journalism from all the other supposed alternatives: The ACORN sting story needed perspective. Reflexively responding to the right's calls of bias does nothing to maintain the intellectual integrity and veracity of the paper. The charges of bias are just as politically motivated as were the videographers.

ACORN now has a chance to remake itself and develop a deeper community base (they'll pay a penalty for stupidity and lose federal dollars). But some other unintended good may come of this, also.

The legislation that will deny federal contracts to ACORN could just as easily deny contracts to Blackwater/Xe, KBR and Halliburton for their misdeeds.  ¶ 9/28/2009 12:56:00 PM 0 comments

  Telco immunity back in the game? This is a few days old but good news all the same.  ¶ 9/28/2009 09:23:00 AM 0 comments

  Ahmadinejad as myth-buster The fact remains that a world without him and Michael Ledeen would be a better place.  ¶ 9/28/2009 01:51:00 AM 0 comments

  Apple demonstrates "Freedom of the press belongs to the owner of the press" Apple has created a closed system and people are buying into the "nanny" system by the millions.  ¶ 9/28/2009 01:22:00 AM 0 comments

  Spy case bears watching The analyst had a high security clearance but there was something about the program involving the 902nd Military Intelligence Battalion that kept him returning, after an accidental discovery, to the material that he did not have authorization to view.

The 902nd has previously been involved in domestic surveillance of anti-war protesters.  ¶ 9/18/2009 04:25:00 AM 0 comments

  How many high-fives does the Van Jones score warrant? He called Republicans "assholes": Repug use of words like Hitler and Nazi is so much more genteel. Shucks, why not pack a gun to up the warm, pink and fuzzy factor?

He signed a goofy petition; Shrub's machinations around 9-11 were so bizarrely stupid as to invite contemplation of the absurd.

Obama cut loose a low-level functionary in a patronage job rather then let the matter become a distraction. There was no missed scoop. All the President had to do was dig in his heels to make this story just one more bit of spittle off the foaming mouths of the shout-machine.  ¶ 9/15/2009 03:54:00 AM 0 comments

  "Norma Rae" inspiration dies Brain cancer took Crystal Lee Sutton. She lived modestly despite what others thought the movie would have brought her.  ¶ 9/14/2009 04:35:00 PM 0 comments

  The Bush Legacy Couldn't run the wars he started (Iraq and Afghanistan- the other isn't a war) and screwed-over most of the people he governed.

Obama has been a disappointment but he'll have to solidly peg the "Fail" meter to outdo his predecessor.  ¶ 9/14/2009 02:23:00 AM 0 comments

  Whitfield Diffie on wiretapping Diffie has probably forgotten more about information technology than most of us will ever know about the subject.  ¶ 9/12/2009 04:11:00 PM 0 comments

  Loudmouth Wilson learns what Limbaugh and Hannity already knew It's good for the money.

It seems he could use it.  ¶ 9/11/2009 11:08:00 PM 0 comments

  Corn and Pinkerton on Bloggingheads.tv More contentious than usual as they cover health care reform and Obama's address to a joint session of Congress.

Pinkerton's argument that "death panels" exist because doctors will be paid gives one of those opportunities to ask for that person's medical coverage: The kind of coverage wherein doctors work for free.

The pairing remains one of the best on Bloggingheads.  ¶ 9/10/2009 11:55:00 PM 0 comments

  Obama can start here This link to the broad swath of information kept by the DHS on U.S. citizens gives a hint of where Obama can start to roll back the Bush excesses. The current administration has disappointed us by not addressing these matters.

The right has lately taken up the issue of the Patriot Act, conveniently forgetting that it was a Bush creation and the lefties in this country were aghast at its creation. It seems the nature of government that it will seldom voluntarily relinquish power. Obama could also assume with a reasonable amount of certainty that any steps he initiated towards restraining the information collection would be painted as leaving us prostrate at the feet of Osama.

It is time to give the right what they want: Let's roll back the Patriot Act and these other insidious collectings of information.  ¶ 9/09/2009 03:13:00 AM 0 comments

  Our Labor Day message We have chosen to mark this day since the beginning of this blog. It seems a cruel irony that now, after enduring eight years of Bush, this would be a year in which the prospects for the working man seem the darkest. We dislike most politicians but thought that Obama might offer some relief to common folk. The Obama administration has, instead, squandered the opportunities they have had to bring meaningful change to the lives of those that had counted on this new wave washing over them.

Obama was saddled from the start with the detritus of Bush's bad ways. Republicans blamed an unsympathetic media for declaring a recession even as it grew to staggering proportions. Our national policies were now driven by fear and hate.

Obama's promises for actions to separate ourselves from these past indiscretions have fallen far short of that goal.  ¶ 9/07/2009 07:05:00 AM 0 comments

  Boredom on Bloggingheads.tv The first Wright/Kaus diavlog we've cut short.  ¶ 9/04/2009 10:23:00 PM 0 comments