Thursday, June 04, 2009

thursday reads

Right-wing advocate for domestic terrorism arrested (Hartford Courant):

Internet radio host Hal Turner — accused of inciting Catholics to "take up arms" and singling out two Connecticut lawmakers and a state ethics official on a website — was taken into custody in New Jersey late Wednesday after state Capitol police in Connecticut obtained a warrant for his arrest.

Turner, who has been identified as a white supremacist and anti-Semite by several anti-racism groups, hosts an Internet radio program with an associated blog. On Tuesday, the blog included a post that promised to release the home addresses of state Rep. Michael Lawlor, state Sen. Andrew McDonald and Thomas Jones of the State Ethics Office.

"Mr. Turner's comments are above and beyond the threshold of free speech," Capitol Police Chief Michael J. Fallon said in an e-mail announcing the warrant. "He is inciting others through his website to commit acts of violence and has created fear and alarm. He should be held accountable for his conduct."


The Rachel Maddow Show: Red Alert


E.J. Dionne Jr. gets it:
A media environment that tilts to the right is obscuring what President Obama stands for and closing off political options that should be part of the public discussion.

Yes, you read that correctly: If you doubt that there is a conservative inclination in the media, consider which arguments you hear regularly and which you don't. When Rush Limbaugh sneezes or Newt Gingrich tweets, their views ricochet from the Internet to cable television and into the traditional media. It is remarkable how successful they are in setting what passes for the news agenda.

The power of the Limbaugh-Gingrich axis means that Obama is regularly cast as somewhere on the far left end of a truncated political spectrum. He's the guy who nominates a "racist" to the Supreme Court (though Gingrich retreated from the word yesterday), wants to weaken America's defenses against terrorism and is proposing a massive government takeover of the private economy. Steve Forbes, writing for his magazine, recently went so far as to compare Obama's economic policies to those of Juan Peron's Argentina.



Barbara Ehrenreich: Welcome to a Dying Industry, J-School Grads


America's Best Christian takes time to explain to less informed Christians the curious details of the Lord's concept of marriage.

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

wednesday reads

Emptywheel: Why Did CIA Hide Dick Cheney's Role in Briefing?


Alaska, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas opt-out of national academic standards.


Tom Engelhardt: To the Graduating Class of American Empire, 2009


New Zealand is ranked at number one, the United States is 83rd and Iraq remains at the bottom of the ne Global Peace Index.


John Cole: The Genius of Zero Tolerance

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

tuesday reads

Greg Palast: Grand Theft Auto


Pratap Chatterjee: Is Halliburton Forgiven and Forgotten? Or How to Stay Out of Sight While Profiting From the War in Iraq


BLDGBLOG: Saddam's Palaces: An Interview with Richard Mosse


Bernard Chazelle: From the Oubliettes of History: the Negligibles

Monday, June 01, 2009

monday reads

Domestic terrorist assassinates Dr. George Tiller.

Jesus's Jihadis

McClatchy takes a look at the domestic right wing terrorist suspected in the assassination of Dr. Tiller.


Michael Moore: Goodbye, GM