Specter strikes back! EFCA card check is DOA

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 19 July 2009 11:56:28 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

From the NYTimes Democrats Drop Key Part of Bill to Assist Unions A half-dozen senators friendly to labor have decided to drop a central provision of a bill that would have made it easier to organize workers. The so-called[...]

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Frustration

post from Where's the Outrage? on 19 July 2009 11:52:29 PM. © Where's the Outrage?

4 hours worth of editing - poof! Tried to save and the D drive said up yours. Once I closed[...]

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Only in Italy

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 19 July 2009 11:44:00 PM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

Regardless of what anyone thinks about the Pope, this is pretty funny. The Guardian:

But the patrol that pulled over a Ford Fiesta on Friday doing 112mph was surprised to find at the wheel a 56-year-old nun who claimed she needed to be at the pope's side after the pontiff lost his balance in the bathroom and broke his wrist.

In the back were two fellow Salesian nuns, aged 65 and 78, who had jumped in the car in Turin when news broke of Pope Benedict's fall near Aosta, where he is spending his summer holiday.

"The police were shocked to find three nuns of a certain age in the Fiesta," confessed the nun, named only as AM. "But we were afraid of getting there late. I know you shouldn't go so fast, but the news of his Holiness's injury had made us truly anxious."

The pope underwent surgery on Friday and was able to hold a blessing on Sunday with his right wrist in plaster.

The police chose not to forgive the nun, pointing out that she was 30mph over the limit. They suspended her licence for a month and issued a ?375 (£323) fine. But AM is a "determined sort", said her lawyer, Anna Orecchioni.

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Senator Browns Book Slams Media on Health Care
Reform

post from Sustainable Middle Class on 19 July 2009 11:37:03 PM. © Sustainable Middle Class

Cokie Roberts “received huge speaking fees from health care concerns while still covering the health care debate.”In his 1999 book Congress from the Inside: Observations from the Majority and the Minority, then Congressman Sherrod Brown (OH-D) wrote of the negative roll played by the news media with respect to Clinton health care reform. An excerpt:The [...]

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The LiberalOasis Radio Show: Annual John Hodgman
Edition

post from LiberalOasis : The Blog on 19 July 2009 11:35:00 PM. © LiberalOasis : The Blog

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The LiberalOasis Radio Show was broadcast today at 12 noon on WHMP in Western MA. Our special guest for the entirety of the show was John Hodgman, resident expert on The Daily Show, and author most recently of "More Information Than You Require.". He discussed his famous address to Radio & TV Correspondents Dinner, as well as matters of national import: Sonia Sotomayor, health care and the possibility of a second stimulus.

You can download the podcast at these links: (iTunes / XML feed / MP3).

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Open Thread

post from Crooks and Liars on 19 July 2009 11:30:41 PM. © Crooks and Liars

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Introducing Sarah Palin's former speech writer -- Lee Stranahan.

Video courtesy of Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

Open thread below...

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C&L's Late Nite Music Club with Peter and Gordon

post from Crooks and Liars on 19 July 2009 11:00:33 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Title: WomanArtist: Peter and Gordon
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We'd like to take the time to note Thursday's passing of Gordon Waller, who comprised half of Peter and Gordon (the other half being Peter Asher). That's Waller singing the lead vocal in this video.

This harmonious pair of British Invasion heartthrobs will always be closely linked with The Beatles, primarily because Paul McCartney pseudonymously authored a number of their songs- including their chart topping A World Without Love, as well as Woman- while Macca was dating Asher's sister, Jane. After Peter and Gordon went their separate ways in 1967, Waller earned considerable success as a record producer. For more, see Gordon Skene's post at our excellent sister site, Newstalgia.

Here's a word from Peter.

Godspeed, Mr. Waller.

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Late Night: Who is Governor X

post from Firedoglake on 19 July 2009 11:00:09 PM. © Firedoglake

Since it's summertime, it must be hookertime. More salacious details from Eliot Spitzer's callgirl, who now says there's another "prominent" governor (with a wife "prominent in her own right") in her 2006 appointment book, corroborated by ex-madam[...]

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The intellectual dishonesty of Pat Buchanan

There's much to be said about the shocking display of racism exhibited by Pat Buchanan on MSNBC over the past few days, but let's take a look at the accuracy and relevance of the three of the claims he made yesterday on Rachel Maddow's show.

Buchanan made the claim while attempting to explain why 108 of 110 Supreme Court justices have been white. As you'll see, he's every bit as intellectually dishonest as he is racist.

Buchanan claimed: White men were 100% of people who died at Gettysburg and Vicksburg

In the strictest sense, this claim is not true -- at least one black solider was killed at Gettysburg. But even though the claim is nearly true, it's intellectually dishonest to claim that it is relevant.

The implicit argument offered by Buchanan is that African-Americans sat on the sidelines during the Civil War. The reality, however, is that by the end of the war, 10% of the Union army was black. 200,000 Union soldiers were black and 38,000 died. Moreover, at the onset of the war, much of the African-American population was enslaved.

Buchanan's claim is a rhetorical attempt to claim moral superiority for whites, but the flip-side of his claim undercuts its absurdity: were it not for racist whites (like Buchanan, who undoubtedly would have sided with the Confederacy), we would never have had a civil war in the first place.

Buchanan claimed: White men were close to 100% of the people who died at Normandy

The 320th Antiaircraft Barrage Balloon Battalion at Normandy

As the above picture shows, Buchanan's claim is wrong. Not only did 2,000 African-Americans storm the beaches of Normandy, but 1.2 million blacks served in World War II. Moreover, it's important to remember that during this time, black soldiers were segregated from white. So even if Buchanan's claim were true, the reason would have been traceable to institutionalized racism, not the moral superiority of white people.

Starting with the Korean War, the U.S. government began tracking deaths by race. Those numbers also refute Buchanan's general claim: in the Korean War, whites comprised 80% of the war dead. In Vietnam, it was 86%. In the first Gulf War it was 76%. So Buchanan's 100% claim just doesn't add up.

Buchanan claimed: This has been a country built, basically, by white folks

Buchanan primarily based this assertion on the above two claims plus the obviously true claim that the authors of the Constitution and the signers of the Declaration of Independence were white men.

Aside from the intellectual dishonesty of his military claims, Buchanan ignores the massive contributions of non-whites to America's development. He offers no recognition to the slaves whose labor was essential for such a long period of time and he fails to address contributions made by other immigrant groups such as Chinese-Americans who helped build the rail system, or Latinos who are an important part of the agricultural economy today.

Perhaps the real problem with Pat Buchanan's narrative of America is that he views everything through a racial and ethnic filter. We're all in this thing together, and the last thing we need is to exacerbate the racial and ethnic divisions in America. Rejecting the anger and hatred and lies at the heart of Pat Buchanan's world view won't magically those divisions, but it sure would be a major step in the right direction.