Archive for Politics
September 7, 2008 at 12:35 am · Filed under Politics
The following are three somewhat drawn out (close to 20 minutes total) videos representing the official response to the Saint Paul RNC police/protester interactions. Here we see the mayor (Chris Coleman) and the Police Chief Harrington giving statements, followed by a question period. The third video, at about 6 minutes, addresses the issue of journalists having been arrested.
Shown in these three videos are what seem to be the two most mealy-mouthed presentations to the press by prominent officials I’ve seen … ever, really. I really had no idea Chris Coleman was so inarticulate.
And what I see here is somewhat offensive. Even if one considers the antics of the “anarchists” in these demonstrations to be sophomoric or ill advised, they are not hardened criminals, and the police were not in danger (nor was anyone else, really) to the extent indicated by Harrington’s choice of words. […]
Original post by Greg Laden none@example.com
September 6, 2008 at 5:40 pm · Filed under Politics
If you ever have been so bored as to scroll down the blogroll on the sidebar to the left, you’ll see a category of links for “Other Stuff I Care About.” The Southern Law Poverty Center (SPLCenter) is amongst that stuff and the renewal form sitting beside me here at the home office tells me I’ve been a member since 1999.
The SPLCenter is a fabulous organization in Montgomery, Alabama, that was founded in 1971 by the civil rights attorneys, Morris Dees and Joe Levin. Their original mission was to fight racist, Neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic hate groups through litigation that caused the organizations to go broke. Their mission has since expanded to fight for the rights of any party victimized by discrimination, taking cases few other lawyers would pursue. In addition, SPLCenter hosts The Intelligence Project which tracks hate group activity around the US and Teaching […]
Original post by Abel Pharmboy none@example.com
September 6, 2008 at 3:20 am · Filed under Politics, Tattoo, Etc.
If you’re an Obama supporter, you can now put your skin where your mouth is: an Oklahoma tattoo artist is giving away free tattoos of the presidential hopeful!
Talk about a stinging endorsement! A tattoo shop in Moore, Oklahoma is giving Barack Obama tattoos for free.
"I don’t have any extra money to donate to the cause," said Phillip Calfy, tattoo shop owner. "I’m a tattoo artist and a lot of people that are into the tattoo thing like free tattoos."
Link (with video clip) - Thanks Shana Chapman!
Original post by Alex
September 4, 2008 at 9:40 am · Filed under Politics, Food & Drinks, Crime & Law
Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry has just launched a new attack in the war against obesity: a ban on new fast-food restaurants in poor L.A. neighborhoods!
The move is trend-setting California’s latest salvo in an expanding war on the fast-food industry, which is bracing for copycat maneuvers around the United States that could threaten growth.
But residents are skeptical that such laws will have much impact in Los Angeles’ low-income and minority neighborhoods, which are already blanketed with cheap and easy-to-find meals at chains such as McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and Domino’s Pizza.
"It’s stupid. It’s our body, we choose what we put in it," Tonya Owens, a 45-year-old nurse assistant told Reuters.
Edwin Tsai, interviewed at a cluster of fast-food chains in the affected district, which includes the neighborhoods of South Los Angeles, West Adams, Baldwin Hills and Leimert Park, said there were reasons people eat at places like McDonald’s.
"It’s fast […]
Original post by Alex
September 4, 2008 at 12:17 am · Filed under Politics
Matt “Framing Science” Nisbit has a post up that asks a somewhat very loaded question: “Did the Far Left Blogs Turn Lieberman Into a Republican?” In fact, now that I look more closely at the question, I’m starting to notice that the question isn’t just loaded; it’s loaded on multiple levels. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Matt is a communications guy, and he knows what to do to shape a message (even if he doesn’t always manage to do it successfully).
Matt seems to see part of his mission in life as a voice in the wilderness, pointing out all the ways we communicate wrong, and all the ways the Republicans do it right. One of the things that he thinks Republicans do right is “mobilizing” or “activating” their base. One of the things that he thinks we do wrong is in failing to “mobilize” or “activate” the Republican base. […]
Original post by Mike Dunford none@example.com
September 3, 2008 at 8:54 pm · Filed under Politics, Fashion, Sports
The French Health, Youth, and Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot made a bet with the French Olympic athletes: if they came home with 40 medals from the Beijing Olympic Games, she’ll wear pinc Crocs to work.
The French athletes did just that (they got 7 gold, 16 silver, and 17 bronze medals), so the Minister made good on her words!
Link - Thanks Jee! (Image and original article: Xinhuanet)
Minister Bachelot wasn’t the only politician ever to wear crocs - here’s President Bush in black Crocs (with socks!)
Original post by Alex
September 2, 2008 at 8:29 pm · Filed under Politics
Logo from the Second International Eugenics Conference in 1921
Eugenics is the pseudoscientific belief of improving the human race through selective breeding. Though forms of it still exist today (proponents focus on prenatal genetic screening, in vitro fertilization, and genetic engineering), its association with Nazism and the use of eugenics to rationalize the Holocaust have caused it to become thoroughly discredited.
Max-Bro blog has a fascinating post about the 33 disturbing but true facts about Eugenics. For example:
Even with concentration camps, euthanasia campaigns and sterilization wards public knowledge in both Germany and America, early eugenic founders looked on with approval as Nazi Germany enacted brutal racial campaigns against its own citizens. Joseph DeJarnette, superintendent of Virginia’s Western State Hospital even complained in 1934, “Hitler is beating us at our own game.”
The term “moron” comes from the eugenic movement. Coined by Henry Goddard, an early eugenic founder, it comes from the Greek word […]
Original post by Alex
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