January 2007 Archives

The Endlessly Maddening (for Liberals) Case of Ralph Nader - New York Times

The New York Times favorably reviews a new documentary about Ralph Nader. Personally, although I count myself a liberal, I do not share liberals' outrage over Nader's role in the 2000 presidential campaign. Not that I am blind to the tremendous damage that has resulted from the Bush presidency, but because I believe that it really was up to the Democrats to win the election, and that they dropped the ball. I am crossing my fingers that we will do better in 2008, although early signs appear mixed to me.

As for Mr. Nader, for one of whose organizations I worked in the nineties, he will always be one of my heroes for his uncompromising stand on behalf of consumer safety and corporate accountability in the face of tremendous opposition.

Robert Stein, a former comptroller for the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority which governed Iraq and oversaw the reconstruction effort after the U.S. invasion, was sentenced to nine years in prison and forced to return $3.6 million in taxpayer money that he garnered in bribes for diverting nearly nine million dollars in contracts to a particular American contractor. Characterized as "one of the largest fraud schemes to emerge from the reconstruction of Iraq" by the Post, this scheme leaves one to wonder how many others there have been and how big they were.

Muslim Wakeup! excerpts Paul Barrett's new book American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion.

The Episcopal Church and fifteen breakaway parishes are wrangling over property, according to the Washington Post.  As far as I am concerned, the atavistic parishes should walk away without a cent.

Jimmy Carter's 'Peace' Mission To Brandeis - washingtonpost.com

Jimmy Carter defended his latest book in a speech at Brandeis Univerisity, where he was generally well-received by a student body that is 50 percent Jewish:

WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 23 -- Former president Jimmy Carter flew north to Brandeis University to speak on Tuesday of his hurt at the personal attacks by some American Jews that followed publication of his latest book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid," which urges Israel to turn away from a policy of creating "Bantustans" on the West Bank.

"This is the first time that I've ever been called a liar and a bigot and an anti-Semite and a coward and a plagiarist." Carter paused and squinted at the audience. "This has hurt me."

Carter did apologize for one sentence in the book that he said could be miscontrued as condoning terrorism. However, he strongly defended the book's thesis that Israel has effectively divided the Palestinian territories into ungovernable sham statelets, or "Bantustans." Needless to say, while respectful, not all of the students bought the ex-President's argument, according to the Washington Post.

I give the audience great credit for their respectful hearing of what must have been an unpalatable argument to many of them. The fact that they were respectful while still asking tough questions shows that at Brandeis, at least, the students and faculty understand the meaning of freedom of expression. On a more personal note, one of my Moroccan friends was so moved by Carter's book that he intends to write the ex-President a letter of thanks.

Sixty years of Washington, D.C. music history came to an abrupt halt today as WGMS classical radio went off the air. At the time, WGMS continued to be the most successful classical station in the country. Announcer Chip Brienza had the final word.The station is donating its 15,000 disc music library to WETA 90.9 public radio, which is resuming a classical format after approximately a two-year hiatus, during which WETA essentially aped the news/talk format of its sister station, WAMU. With this welcome return to a classical format, I am hopeful that WETA will seize the opportunity to offer truly fresh and innovative classical broadcasting on the most powerful signal in the Washington area.

The Post's Paul Farhi has the story, and Mark Fisher has commentary.

Firefox extension: Book Burro Saves money on Books >> Dumb Little Man

Normally, I am not too big on "make your toilet paper into precut squares to save money" kind of sites. Dumb Little Man, however, has at least one useful suggestion to offer: a Firefox extension that provides price comparisons among online booksellers. It is enough to make me want to see if there are more.

Jimmy Carter - A New Chance for Peace? - washingtonpost.com

The clear fact is that Israel will never find peace until it is willing to withdraw from its neighboring occupied territories and permit the Palestinians to exercise their basic human and political rights.

Jimmy Carter claims that too much attention has been focused on the provocative title of his recent book "Peace Not Apartheid" and not enough on the premise that peace talks need to be resumed and persecution of Palestinians ended. Carter insists that he is offering a way for Israel and the Palestinians to find peace and security, and calls on the Democratic leaders of the Senate and the House to send a fact finding mission to Israel and the occupied territories in preparation for and support of peace talks.

Pentagon Sets Rules for Detainee Trials - washingtonpost.com

The military is once more prepared to try "enemy combatants" in military tribunals with relaxed rules of evidence, particularly allowing the admission of hearsay and evidence obtained through coercion (but not "torture') before Dec. 30, 2005. The tribunals will be comprised of American military officers and will have the power to impose the death penalty. Detainees have no right of habeas corpus, which has raised speculation that the Congressional act authorizing the tribunals will be struck down by the Supreme Court. Then again, why should anyone accused of being a terrorist have rights?

Va. Lawmaker's Comments Anger Blacks, Jews - washingtonpost.com

First, George Allen comes out and compares a South Asian to a "Macaca" monkey, then characterizes Judaism as an "aspersion." Then Congressman Virgil Goode attacks Keith Ellison for being sworn in on the Koran and suggests that the immigration laws should keep people like Ellison out of the country. (Ellison , who is African American, was born a citizen of the United States.) Now Virginia Delegate Frank Hargrove is denying the country's responsibility for slavery and talking about Christ-killing on Martin Luther King Day:

RICHMOND, Jan. 16 -- A veteran Virginia lawmaker from suburban Richmond ignited a hot exchange in the House of Delegates on Tuesday after criticizing a proposal for the state to issue an apology for slavery and likening it to requiring Jews to apologize for "killing Christ."

What are they drinking in Virginia?

FederalNewsRadio - WFED: Pentagon Disavows Comment on Detainees

Amid a storm of condemnation, the Pentagon has backed away from comments by a senior official that were clearly designed to intimidate law firms representing detainees in Guantanamo Bay:

Charles "Cully" Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said in a radio interview last week that companies might want to consider taking their business to other firms that do not represent suspected terrorists.

As an editorial in the New York Times points out, Stimson's remarks strike at the heart of the American tradition of fair representation for anyone accused of a crime. As the Times also observes, we have come to expect nothing less from the Bush Administration.

newsrack blog

Thomas Nephew has a fascinating analysis of the President's speech and its consequences for the war effort — in Afghanistan!

The quiz says that I am a "Hard Core Liberal!" I seem to fit comfortably on the Barney Frank-Ralph Nader-Socialist axis. Rock on!

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the link to the quiz.

I'm Tortured by Doubt - washingtonpost.com

Funny thing, as Scott Adams points out, is that torture's proponents have not ponied up much evidence that it even works.